A strategic reTweet!

As House Gatewatch tradition now demands, I logged on to Twitter (@Axechucker) and checked through the Twitter feeds that were hash-tagged #GameOfThrones. I cheerfully retweeted many of the more interesting or passionate tweets regarding the third episode, “Lord Snow.”

This time I made it to the 56th minute mark before Twitter banned me for spamming them. I’m making steady improvement. Luckily The Rabbit (for some reason disguised as Nymeria) came in and lent a helping hand. I came back on later, retweeted the late west coast tweets (whilst dodging #OsamaBinLongGoner tweets), then waited for Monday’s Eurotweets.

Oh, the waiting was worth it. I actually tried to keep this one spoiler-free. I think it’s mostly safe! Well, except for rampant cursing.

Here’s what Twitter was thinking while the show ran:

@CoopersTroopers: Happy and surprised my wife is really getting into Game of Thrones. Really cool TV series so far. Great job @hbo!

I vote all spouses should be exposed to Game of Thrones.

Some people prepare for the show in specific ways:

@zombotofthedead: Jane shows up at my front door with booze. Woo! Time for #gameofthrones!!!!! #lordsnow <3@asplenia: #GameofThrones drinking game: a shot everytime someone dies.

If I tried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the tweets.

Some people are still a bit scarred from last week:

@SimonJadis: Hoping that I have no reason to cry during tonight’s Game of Thrones. Last week was enough.

@12ptCourier: Sansa’s Wolf, Lady, being sacrificed has honestly been pissing me off all week. Someone will pay dearly

Some people have realized there may be a theme here:

@benjiw: Winter sounds particularly harsh. All this portentous “winter is coming” stuff is worrying me.
@ericbuscher: Those Starks, it’s all about the winter. Worst dinner party guests ever. “Pass the ham, did I tell you winter is coming?”

@teachermansopus: I really hope a dude named “Winter” shows up at some point #heyo

@Ms_Rena: wait the winter’s are years??? No wonder they keep saying “Winter is coming”

@andreaannejones: Wait, wait, #gameofthrones …. IS WINTER COMING?

@silkskinned: How do they measure years with uneven seasons?

That’s a good question, silk. I’m going to say “by counting days,” though if the sun hides for years that too is problematic.

One sharp-eyed viewer noted the candles. There were a lot of candles.

@MagnuScribble: Amazing that with all the candles that are lit in the rooms there weren’t more fires. Or were there?

Candlestick Makers may actually be more upwardly mobile than Butchers or Bakers. (And none of them should let their sons play with Arya.)

So we open with Ned and the girls arriving at King’s Landing. Ned is not happy.

@cynicgrrl: Ned Stark needs to wash his face.

@Goofyfan_Chuck: Nice to see HHH do some dramatic work…oh wait, it’s Sean Bean. My bad.

@Paco_ICEandFIRE: NED STARK WILL SHUT YOU DOWN WITH ONE LOOK!!

It’s true. That poor seneschal. Or whatever he was. (Perhaps Ned’s disdain was partly due to the fact that this dude wasn’t a named character from the books.)

Ned strides into the Red Keep throne room… (And how bleeping gorgeous is that? Though since this was our first shot of the iron throne I would have given it at least one lingering view. They’re not big on lingering views, I notice.) Jaime is there to greet him. Great scene, setting up future conflict…

@NoBadWords: My god, the actor who plays Jaime Lannister is hot!

@BabyFriday: All I can follow is that medieval Aaron Eckhart is a total dick.

@CateDubMajor: Jaime’s a bitch

@smuk_drom: Jaime Lannister is the hottest douche nozzle ever

@cdeminski: Ohh, baddie pushed his son out the window, but Ned might kick his ass anyway..

@ReallyAlly: I WANT NAKED SEAN BEAN ASS

Don’t we all?

Ned enters the small council chamber, tucked inauspiciously behind the throne room… and we meet the small council!

@jmanzel: RENLYYYYYYYY :D gotta love @GethinAnthony

Gethin Anthony’s following is small but very passionate. And I love that he and Finn Jones are good mates in real life. You’d hate to have those two hating one another.

@djm42: I think Varys has been perfectly cast.

Love Conleth Hill. And we haven’t even seen much of his unctuous arse as yet. I hear there are a few juicy scenes to come. Especially with Varys and…

@AidanGillenFans: OMG! OMG! OMG! IT’S HERE! IT’S HERE! IT’S HERE!!!! #Littlefinger #GameOfThrones

@murraynmitch: Mayor Carcetti playing politics again

@SummerofTeacher: Awesome! #TheWire characters on #gameofthrones #votecarcetti

@PeteChatzDoinIt: only a matter of time before #Wire characters showed up. All great shows have at least 1 former #Wire cast member.

@SueThePirate: Aidan Gillen is sheer cheeky bliss as Littlefinger

@audomatic: Just realized why Littlefinger’s smug expression was so damn familiar. Of course, Stuart from the original Queer as Folk.

@faboamanto: Watch your back Ned! Search your pockets as well

Well that’s respect, at least. I have to say Aidan Gillen’s fan base is at least as passionate as Gethin Anthony’s:

@anuhealani: Unf, Petyr Baelish. Unf.

Okay!

The council meeting began:

@KevinWGlass: Budget deficit talk! This is my kinda show!

@bourgeoisbchick: The Realm’s surplus was turned into a deficit – was Bush the old king?

@BabyFriday: I hope it’s okay that I have no idea what’s going on.

@angelacolter: Anyone else notice that the “right hand of the king” is actually a left hand? Continuity!

I did not notice that! Though do they ever say “right hand of the king” on the show? I don’t recall that.

We shift to the beauteous Queen Cersei schooling her eldest son. And he needs it. This scene got a lot of reaction. Twitter went haywire for a bit.

@JRibakove: I tend to prefer dark hair, but naturally dark-haired Lena Headey looks hot in that blond wig.

@IanMenard: Cersei Lannister is so evil, but I can’t help respecting her.

@miafarradaily: Cersei is coming off much less impetuous than she does in the book. Wise move….

@LadyCourageous: i for one would very much like to see Queen Cersei in armour #trailer

@Edwin_Mitchell: In Westeros, it is social acceptable to tell your 12 year old soon that he can fuck painted whores if he wants to.

@PreachyPreach: “And if you’d rather fuck painted whores, fuck painted whores.” Great maternal advice there in #Gameofthrones

Some people took Cersei to task for this—or rather took the writer to task for it. But I get this line, and the offhanded, casual way Headey delivered it. She’s telling her son he can have it while at the same time deriding it as cheap. Why say “painted whores” when you can say “perfumed courtesans?” Cersei doesn’t like whores in large part because Tyrion dallies with so many. She’s basically telling Joffrey he can have them if he wants, and underlining how so very beneath him it would be if he actually did.

@Nabigboobs: What a great mother/son talk. O_O

@Gradiio: Hmmm, my mother never gave me advice like that! Wow!

@ADKerns: cersei is the best parent

@JulieDiCaro: My cat is named Circe. Now that makes me sad.

@murraynmitch: All I know is, if you have blond hair, you are evil, just like World War 2.

@queenofgarlands: prince joffrey is a little azzhole…all Lannisters are azzholes

@melliemel4ever: Prince Joffery has to be the offspring of Cersei & her lover-brother. That weasel is most definitely the product of incest…

@ericgrau: Dear Joffrey and Sansa, I hate both of you. Sincerely, Eric.

Speaking of Sansa, she was barely in the episode, yet still got some love. Love-ish.

@witofastaircase: I can’t be mad at Sansa. I feel so bad for her :(

I love Sansa to death, but who didn’t want to smack her upside the head when she dissed Ned’s doll? Young lady!

Arya got even more than her usual love. Maisie was insanely good this episode. She really shone. Good on you, kid!

@SueThePirate: Arya stabbing the table makes me all warm and happy inside. Brutal child <3@ucmytwitts: I love this little girl! She’s a tom boy w/ big balls but still a little lady!

@nocleversig: I’m liking me little Arya on #gameofthrones

@marshwigglegoth: I love this wee girl that plays the youngest daughter. She’s cool.

@archasa: Wow. Can’t help tweeting that Maisie Williams is AWESOMETACULAR! She’s an explosion of brilliance!

She is precisely awesometacular. You hit the nail on the head. Now let’s hope all this praise doesn’t go to her head as well.

Possibly the best quote of the entire show was Ned’s “War is easier than daughters” line:

@murraynmitch: Not the first time I’ve heard “war was easier than daughters”

Daughters are never easy. Unless they are Kardashians.

Ned and Arya had a great scene together. And all I got was:

@pigeonspotting: Sean Bean’s hands are enormous

I didn’t even notice until then.

So we soar off to Winterfell, where Old Nan is telling her tales to an ornery Bran. By the way, “Lord Snow” was dedicated to the memory of Margaret John. We still miss our Old Nan.

@mpardo916: don’t listen to it…crows are all liars

@EveryGogi: “I hate your stories!” – “I know a story about a boy who hated stories…” Um, Bran….LAWYERED.

@gusandleo: Nothing quite like a good, old fashioned bedside story.

@TvMoviesEtc: The White Walkers are 100x more terrifying to me now that I know that they apparently have GIANT SPIDERS

@cbates05: This old lady is creepy

@Phoenix_torn: Awe Old Nan. RIP :(

@DomaldTrump: I would bang Old Nan

I thought The Domald was married? I guess he thinks he can have anyone. I don’t think he’s getting a hold of Old Nan’s birth certificate.

So Robb comes and (not unkindly) boots Old Nan out of the room so he can have some alone time with Bran…

@EpicKaitlin: Robb Stark, you can have some time with me.

@Paco_ICEandFIRE: DO I NEED TO B THROWN OUT A WINDOW FOR U TO WANT TO SPEND TIME WITH ME ROBB?!

Probably, Paco.

@sharmonious: Poor little Bran. All he ever wanted to be was a knight.

@truebloodnet: OK I have to admit, it bothers me that they all have different accents LOL

I dunno. Other than a few dropped words, Richard Madden has a pretty good Sean Bean accent going. The Scots brogue is certainly tilted away. Old Nan too. Like a hard Welsh. Bran and Sansa both seem to have more “proper” accents, if that’s the word. Any Brits want to weigh in?

@EpicKaitlin: Robb and Jon need their own spinoff where they hang out and are hot and maybe there are sword fights.

I’m not sure I want to guess at what sort of sword fight she means.

Speaking of Snow… he always has his adorers:

@lamabo8: Jon Snow is fucking hot. End of story. He’s my favorite character and possibly my new love.

Kit’s scenes were excellent, but that’s par for course. I liked that we got to see Pyp (Josef Altin) and Grenn (Mark Stanley). I love how quickly they pounced on Jon once they were alone. Rast just slid up behind him and—bam! Knife to the throat and sword to the belly. Grenn gave us our first “halfman” too, once Tyrion sauntered in.

Excellent scene. But oddly, the thing that seemed to get the most mention was:

@faboamanto: Missing! One large white direwolf, answers to name of Ghost! If found, contact #lordsnow

@Paco_ICEandFIRE: STILL NO GHOST!! WTF

And the debate still rages. If I’m honest, I miss Ghost (and the other direwolves) as well, but for me (Ghost-wise) he was missed more last episode than this one. Now I understand training these dogs was not the easiest thing in the world. It is known. But how hard would it have been to give us one two-second shot of Ghost sitting somewhere near the campfire in episode 2? We got one half-a-heartbeat faraway white blur, and that was it. The wolf doesn’t even have to interact with anyone. Jon looks over… and there we see a shot of Ghost. Just sitting. Not difficult. Fantastic show, obviously, but they screwed the pooch. That’s all I’ll say on that.

Tyrion got his share of adoration. Because Dinklage is awesome. Emmy? Yes. A nomination at least.

@frodabaggins: “What’s the strangest thing you’ve eaten?” “Do Dornish girls count?”

@ReallyAlly: They just got trolled by an imp

@gusandleo: Tyrion really does have big balls of steel, doesn’t he?

@DanRice26: Peter Dinklage is a scene stealing m’fer He may b 4′ tall but a giant of an actor. #TheStationAgent

@silkskinned: Tyrion’s attitude towards White Walkers is essentially “pics or it didn’t happen”.

@Yogzotot: I love Tyrion for being a skeptic. Unfortunately, he is a character in a fantasy story with actual magic and dragons.

@akaGERMZ: Oh, and that little midget be running shit. Im weak!

Yes you is.

Of little mention was Benjen (an awesome Joseph Mawle), whose scene with Tyrion and Yoren was freaking great. I feel a little bad for Owen Teale, since a lot of Alliser Thorne’s lines from the book were actually given to Benjen. But I can’t fault the logic. Another great scene that allowed the actors to just act.

Apparently not everyone believes Jaime loves his little brother:

@Ms_Rena: that whore Cersei and her lover brother are framing the imp, no way he was involved in trying to kill Bran

But it’s good to see Tyrion’s bottom is being supported.

The Jaime / Cersei scene got a few reactions. Because duh.

@jnyfer: this brother-lover stuff is disturbing….

@Paco_ICEandFIRE: FLAWLESS TWINCEST

@stepharrr: “Oh you slut.” “Who, the blonde one?” “No. George R.R. Martin.” #gameofthrones #truthbetold

I would say stepharr is correct in pinning the blame here on GRRM. Though I wouldn’t call him a slut…

Michelle Fairley was once again beloved. That woman can play heartbreaking love like no one else.

@roundabritt: I’d like to know who has been stealing what should’ve been Michelle Fairley’s more prominent career til now. She’s great.

@SCHirst: Back Alley Sally! Oh my god, I think I love Cat!

That was my nickname in high school!

The whole Ned / Cat / Petyr brothel scene was cool. And not just because of boobs. Though it had a skeptic or two:

@zergbane: Call bullshit. It’s impossible for even a reasonable strong many to strangle another with one hand. #gameofthrones and I *like* Ned Stark.

@THE_JOFF_: I hope I never have to sit thru a Ned/Cat sex scene

If I were The Joff, I probably wouldn’t either.

Someone is suspicious of the king himself! Or at least expects him to #FAILWHALE:

@faboamanto: Ned, I think Robert was never the man you thought he was.

Mark Addy had some excellent screen time with Robert’s Rant. I know there were some detractors, but the vibe I got was most people loved it. And I was one of them. But few mentioned the fantastic unspoken chemistry Nikolaj Coster-Waldau seemed to share with Ian McElhinney. That was excellent. With just a few glances, McElhinney has completely won me over… and Jaime Lannister got the best of that exchange with Robert. Shut him down, yo.

@moriya2k2: Damn I’m loving the dialog in Game of Thrones. The king is awesome

@MandingoJones: This episode of Game of Thrones is really uneven. =\ Moments of heartfelt quality combined with awkward exposition.

@onlytheholly: A little annoyed by the amount of deviating tonight. Not gonna lie.

@BionicChango: Mark Addy just stole the whole episode.

@miafarradaily: And Jaime! Jaime didn’t get deep till A Storm of Swords I think but now, 3 episodes in and he’s got layers…LOVE IT!

We met Lancel (an excellently tentative Eugene Simon), who just… gets… no… respect.

@JMNelis: Lancel looks like Edward the Bard from Final Fantasy IV. #NerdyAsHell

@amarettosaurus: Lancel looks like Prince Valiant. #willyouyoungpeopleevengetthat

He sort of does. A blond Prince Valiant. Love the page hat.

And of course, as Gemma might say, we have the Dothrakis!

@WelshAlienNYC: Here come the DOTHRAKIS! They’re way hotter & meaner than any other kingdom dwellers @GameOfThrones

@rgentry3: #GameOfThrones was that a field of weed?

@KimberleeVDW: I feel like the albino queen got a tan?

@ReallyAlly: Emilia Clarke is flawless.

@Contact_Light: Danaerys. Nudity to follow, presumably.

Nope!

@DMGilchrist: He whipping the shit out of that dude head. #Damn

@Featherdream: In a sick twisted way, Viserys from #gameofthrones is disturbingly hot …

@ReallyAlly: What now, bitch? WHAT. NOW.

Sorefoot King is what, bitch.

People were in awe of the Great Stallion…

@cdeminski: Blondie just got her boob felt up by her handmaiden. That must mean she’s pregnant. Isn’t that how everybody knows?

@vivaciousvirgo: He knocked her up in 3 episodes? Great Stallion indeed.

@ShellOldhamF8: is scared of being blessed by the Great Stallion

@Paco_ICEandFIRE: SER JORAH CAN FEED ME HIS GOAT ANY DAY, ANY NITE

I’m beginning to love Paco.

Dany and Drogo, happy and seemingly in love…

@CateDubMajor: Yea Dany and her Mandingo!!

@thepainted_lady: Dany is a lucky, lucky girl in so very many ways.

@DMGilchrist: All that doggy style has got that woman pregnant.

@SuperPistolSari: I love how they don’t drag shit out. Time moves quick.

@cdeminski: Blondie and the Barbarian, so cute together… now that she’s figured him out. He’s a man of few words, but many grunts.

@gusandleo: Holy cannoli, another couple who actually care for each other! That makes… what, 2?

That’s not a bad ratio for a GRRM story.

Back at the Wall…

@LadyCourageous: Jon Snow is the prettiest man at the wall. But Tyrion has the loveliest voice :)

@silkskinned: “Undisciplined boys and tired old men” basically describes classes at the Writer’s Center. #gameofthrones #yeahiwentthere

@ReallyAlly: I love Maester Aemon.

@LumpSatAlone: “Is this what Scotland is like all the time?”

@formulacyan: Having grown up north of the arctic circle, it is painful to watch #gameofthrones where they can’t seem to bother putting on hats..

@KimberleeVDW: They say it’s cold but their breath isn’t showing… bad acting

Mmmm… I’m going to say the fault there doesn’t really lie with the actors. Unless there’s an opposite equivalent to chewing ice cubes that I don’t know about.

Randomly, here’s a lad who seems to know what’s what:

@bigbetterirish: I for one Welcome our Whitewalker overlords >_> #GameofThrones #icangetbluecontacts #undeadsnowpeoplehavefeelingstoo

Finally, the last scene. I can pretty much sum up, with one word, the lightning-fast blips that went up when a certain man stepped onto the screen. Because a lot of people just seemed to scream that word all at once:

@silkskinned: SYRIO

@norsk_heks: SYRIO! :D

@MikeBrendan: Syrio!!!!

@melkorsbane: SYRIO!!!

@Mystery_Donut: Fuck yeah! Syrio!

@Lifeiskitsch: Yay! Syrio! @mratlantis

@DePhrank: boy or girl, you are a sword. That is all.

@Phoenix_torn: Enter Syrio! Just So! Perfect. @mratlantis wins already

Mister Atlantis is very popular here. Just so. Though a certain inspiration did come to mind:

@jennnmarshall: My name is Syrio Forel, you kill my father, prepare to die.

Hah!

Oh, and lest we forget… boobies made a comeback this week!

@USNessie: Is anyone keeping a boobie tally in tonight’s episode of #GameofThrones?

@APBBlue: This show features a lot of boobs. #GameOfThrones

@Fee501st: It’s best boobies show on tv according to @CaseyMckinnon

@McSherrie: Just as a point, this is the first #GameofThrones episode where no one died. We did get to see breasts, though. #ofcourse

@mountain_duwe: This show is kinda like Lord of The Rings but with less Elijah Wood and magic, and more tits and blood. A lot more tits.

@Sequelcast: #GameofThrones is like #Lassie with chainmail, blood, and tits. #Direwolves

There were a few small mentions of sex:

@Lilymaehesford: There’s A lot of sex on #gameofthrones can’t say I’m complaining w/ all the hot guys and all!

@ChrisJMac7: Love this show, #gameofthrones even if its a bit too much on the hardcore sex side of things! People boning everywhere!

The only problem here was there was no sex in this episode. At all. Other than that, hey, spot on, guys!

Final verdicts? Well here you go:

@jflowlu: #GameofThrones gets better every week. It has gone from pretty decent to really good.

@roundabritt: I am so in love with the casting of #gameofthrones …just superb.

@mac0109: I hate when TV ruins a good thing. Props to the @GameOfThrones writers for sticking so closely to the book! #betterthisway

@theCheska: Nothing makes me happier than when a show is accurate to it’s book

@Locke_Dunnegan: I am going to sue the makers of Game of Thrones for taking the casting list from my dreams. Everything is perfect.

@HarperFiction: The kids in #GameofThrones are brilliant actors. Not that the adults are a bad line up. #seanbean

@SweetSigma: SBean & Peter Dinklage top of their games again, but Mark Addy ‘war stories’ scene knocked out the park, brilliant! #3wayemmy

@TreyPeden: also kind of loves the Kalisi. So many ossum badass ladies in this show! Even the youngest Stark daughter rocks!

@LTaylorFineArt: #GameofThrones is a little slow but I like the story line. It makes me want to drink mead out of an aged mug while watching it though.

@The_Ambassador_: “this shit makes me want to wear a robe and not wear shoes” my brother on #gameofthrones

I couldn’t have put it better myself. And from the football world:

@FreddyAdu11: game of thrones looks like such a great show so far. Prob gonna get better and better.

And so is Freddy!

Understandably, some remain conflicted. It’s a lot to digest, our show:

@SmartChic74: I still don’t know if #GameofThrones is awesome or if I hate it. #shouldhavereadthebooks.

@VikkiHeat: 3rd episode of #GameofThrones watched. Starting to like it a lot now. Don’t tell George RR Martin I said that, though! ;)

Your secret is safe with me, Ms. Heat.

• Published on 05/04/2011 at 2:00 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/20/2016 at 6:04 PM CDT