"The Lion and the Rose" is the second episode of the
fourth season of
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
's
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
television series ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
'', and the 32nd overall. The episode was written by
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
, the author of the ''
A Song of Ice and Fire
''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...
'' novels from which the series is adapted, and directed by
Alex Graves.
It aired on April 13, 2014.
The episode focuses principally on the long-awaited royal wedding between
Joffrey Baratheon and
Margaery Tyrell. It ends with Joffrey's death after drinking poisoned wine at the reception, a plot development that despite being in the books came as a shock to viewers since it abruptly killed the show's principal villain just a few episodes after the
Red Wedding
''Red Wedding'' (french: Noces rouges) is a 2012 documentary film co-directed by Lida Chan and Guillaume Suon, which portrays a victim of forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge regime.
The film premiered at the 2012 International Documentary Fi ...
had violently killed off several of the show's protagonists. Other storylines include
House Bolton
George R. R. Martin's '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others bey ...
's quest to retake the
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
, and
Bran's continued journey north of
The Wall. The title refers to the sigils of the wedding couple's respective houses – a lion for Joffrey Baratheon, who is in truth an illegitimate bastard, and a rose for Margaery Tyrell.
Unlike Martin's previous three episodes, his draft of the screenplay has some major differences from the episode as produced, with more minor characters and detail at the wedding feast. Most significantly, it sets up some plotlines from the books that the series would ultimately not use, such as
Ramsay marrying an impostor woman posing as
Arya instead of
Sansa. It would have also resolved the unanswered question from the
show's first season of who had been behind the attempted assassination of Bran Stark by implying more strongly than the books did that it was Joffrey, rather than
Littlefinger as the series would suggest several seasons later.
"The Lion and the Rose" received critical acclaim, and was declared one of the best episodes of the series. It received five
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nominations, including
Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series,
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for
Lena Headey and
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for
Diana Rigg, winning the award for
Outstanding Costumes for a Series. Martin received a
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949.
Eligibility
Th ...
nomination for
Television: Episodic Drama.
Plot
At the Dreadfort
Ramsay hunts a woman with the assistance of his servant, Reek (formerly
Theon), his bedwarmer Myranda, and his hounds.
Roose and his wife,
Walda, arrive at the Dreadfort. Roose, having intended to trade Theon to the
Ironborn for Moat Cailin, is unable to do so and castigates Ramsay for torturing Theon. Ramsay demonstrates his brainwashing of Reek by being shaved by him while Ramsay coaxes out the true story about what happened to
Bran and
Rickon Stark
Rickon Stark is a fictional character in the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation '' Game of Thrones''. Introduced in 1996's ''A Game of Thrones'', Rickon is the ...
. Roose orders Locke to eliminate the Stark boys, who pose a threat to his new position as Warden of the North. Ramsay suggests that they also kill
Jon
Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Castle Black
The fictional world in which the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' novels by George R. R. Martin take place is divided into several continents, known collectively as The Known World.
Most of the story takes place on the continent of Westeros and in ...
, and orders Ramsay to retake Moat Cailin, hinting Ramsay may be legitimized if successful.
Beyond the Wall
After stopping at a weirwood, Bran has strange visions, including the same one of a ruined and snowbound Red Keep that
Daenerys had in the House of the Undying, a dragon above
King's Landing, a large weirwood further North, and a voice telling him to go there. He tells his companions he knows where they must go.
At Dragonstone
Melisandre
Melisandre of Asshai is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. She is a priestess of the god R'hllor (also called ...
orders several men burned at the stake, including
Selyse's brother Ser Axell Florent, as a tribute to the Lord of Light. Melisandre speaks with
Shireen about her faith.
In King's Landing
Tyrion encourages
Jaime
Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and i ...
to train his left hand with
Bronn.
Varys
Lord Varys is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''.
Introduced in 1996's ''A Game of Thrones'', Varys is a form ...
tells Tyrion that
Cersei
Cersei Lannister is a fictional character in the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation '' Game of Thrones'', where she is portrayed by Bermudan-English act ...
knows about
Shae. After overhearing Cersei and
Tywin discussing Shae, Tyrion orders Bronn to escort Shae to the boat to sail for
Essos, but she refuses to leave until Tyrion calls her a whore.
Joffrey Joffrey can refer to:
* Joffrey Tower, a Chicago high-rise
* Joffrey Ballet, a Chicago-based ballet company
** Robert Joffrey, American dancer and founder of the ballet company
* Joffrey Lupul, Canadian professional ice hockey player
* Joffrey Rey ...
and
Margaery are married at the Sept of Baelor, and the court returns to the Red Keep for the wedding feast. Jaime tells
Loras that if he weds Cersei she would kill him in his sleep; Loras retorts with a remark about their incest. Cersei accuses
Brienne
The County of Brienne was a medieval county in France centered on Brienne-le-Château.
Counts of Brienne
* Engelbert I
* Engelbert II
* Engelbert III
* Engelbert IV
* Walter I (? – c. 1090)
* Erard I (c. 1090 – c. 1120?)
* Walter II ...
of being in love with Jaime.
Oberyn and his paramour,
Ellaria Sand, trade thinly veiled insults with Cersei and Tywin.
Joffrey presents a crude play with dwarves depicting the
War of the Five Kings
''A Clash of Kings'' is the second of seven planned novels in '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', an epic fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on November 16, 1998 in the United Kingdom; the first United States ...
and suggests that Tyrion participate. Embarrassed by Tyrion's witty response, Joffrey belittles Tyrion into being his cupbearer. Margaery defuses the tension, but then Joffrey begins choking. During the commotion, Dontos tells
Sansa to flee with him. As he dies, Joffrey points accusingly at Tyrion and a grief-stricken Cersei orders him arrested for poisoning the king.
Production
Writing
The episode was written by
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
, author of the ''
A Song of Ice and Fire
''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...
'' novels. Chapters adapted from ''A Storm of Swords'' to the episode were part of chapter 9 (Bran I), and chapters 59 and 60 (Sansa IV and Tyrion VIII).
Original draft
In 2018, ''
Vanity Fair'' writer Joanna Robinson compared the episode as aired with an early draft by Martin archived at the
Writers Guild of America library in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Unlike the two previous episodes he had written, this draft had significant differences from the produced version. Robinson considers it the moment the show began to diverge considerably from the books, whose plotlines it had begun to outpace, and believes this may be why Martin wrote no more for the series.
The most significant difference involved who had masterminded the attempted assassination of
Bran Stark in
season 1, precipitating the
War of the Five Kings
''A Clash of Kings'' is the second of seven planned novels in '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', an epic fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on November 16, 1998 in the United Kingdom; the first United States ...
that dominated the next two seasons. In Martin's script, after Joffrey is presented with the
Valyrian steel sword, reforged from that of the executed
Ned Stark's Ice, as a wedding gift by
his father
His or HIS may refer to:
Computing
* Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company
* Honeywell Information Systems
* Hybrid intelligent system
* Microsoft Host Integration Server
Education
* Hangzhou International School, in ...
, he says "I am no stranger to Valyrian steel." This remark prompts
Tyrion Lannister, who was framed for the assassination attempt, to realize that Joffrey was actually behind it (as the books heavily imply); Tyrion then makes remarks to Joffrey, and later
Sansa, insinuating that he knows this.
Scenes that built on this disclosure remained in the final script. Had they made it to screen, they would have illuminated Joffrey's antagonism toward his uncle the morning of the wedding and more credibly implicated Tyrion as a suspect in the king's poisoning.
Tyrion in Martin's draft is straightforward with
Shae when he implores her to leave the city, pointing out that Ros, the last prostitute his family discovered in relation to him, was captured and murdered. Both are violent, with Tyrion slapping Shae to underline his point and she drawing a dagger to fend him off.
In Martin's draft, Bran's first vision is more extensive. While it does not include the
Night King
The Night King is a fictional character appearing in the HBO high fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', based on George R. R. Martin's novel series ''A Song of Ice and Fire''. He is depicted as the leader and the first of the White Walke ...
's first appearance onscreen as it does in the series, it would have been an extensive
montage
Montage may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films
* Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing
* ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film
Music
* Montage (music), or sound collage
* ''Montage'' (Block B EP), 2017 ...
of scenes from the past, present and possible future in the series.
Flashbacks would have included scenes of Ned cleaning Ice beneath a weirwood tree from the show's original pilot, Bran's uncle Benjen and Lyanna Stark as children (later shown in a more extensive flashback in season 6),
King Aerys watching and laughing as Ned's father and brother are burned and Jaime and
Cersei
Cersei Lannister is a fictional character in the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation '' Game of Thrones'', where she is portrayed by Bermudan-English act ...
embracing in the old keep at Winterfell just before Bran discovered them. Scenes reflecting the show's present included
Jon
Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Robb
Robb is a surname of Scottish origin, formed from a diminution (reduction) of the name Robert. Robert was a popular name, especially after its use by three Scots Kings in the fourteenth century. Rob is first recorded as a surname in the mid-15th ...
surrounded by the
Red Wedding
''Red Wedding'' (french: Noces rouges) is a 2012 documentary film co-directed by Lida Chan and Guillaume Suon, which portrays a victim of forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge regime.
The film premiered at the 2012 International Documentary Fi ...
dead, and
Arya holding her sword Needle as her face blurs and changes. Possible future images include a dragon's shadow passing over King's Landing, "hints of strange small children with very dark eyes" and a group of four distinctive northern hills behind a very large weirwood.
The episode would also have set up some of the plotlines from the books that were not used in the later seasons of the series. Roose Bolton tells Ramsay that he has arranged for him to marry Arya as a way of consolidating the family's hold on the North; a role assigned to Sansa instead in
the next season. Several lines were also intended to set up Jaime's trip to the Riverlands, which in the books immediately follows Joffrey's wedding but in the series was largely replaced by Jamie and Bronn's expedition to Dorne to bring Myrcella back to King's Landing. The two characters who take that trip instead in the books, along with many other minor characters from the wedding scenes, were in Martin's draft but eliminated from the produced version as
showrunner
A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...
s
David Benioff and
D. B. Weiss
Daniel Brett Weiss (; born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known as co-creator of ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. R ...
were beginning to focus on the more established characters in the later seasons.
Robinson believes a note by Martin in the script suggests a different resolution to Ramsay's plot arc in
the books
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, where he is still alive and in power at Winterfell at the end of ''
A Dance with Dragons'', in contrast to his death at the end of
the sixth season of ''Game of Thrones''. Martin's note told the showrunners that Ramsay's dogs would eventually battle the Stark children's direwolves, so the show should emphasize the former as much as possible to build audience anticipation. However, that never happened onscreen, where all but two of the wolves are dead as of the end of
season 7
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
, and seems unlikely in the books. Robinson believes this indicates that Ramsay will have a very different plot arc in the series' two final books.
Lesser differences include a more protracted, bloodier death scene for Joffrey as the poison drives him to slash his own face, a more lavish feast, and Theon's appearance as Reek following Ramsay's extensive torture more closely resembling that described in the books, complete with whitened hair and missing fingers, something that would have required more extensive special effects for the remainder of the series, as well as speaking in rhyme. Similarly, the burning of the heretics on the beach at Dragonstone would have demonstrated the power of the Lord of Light, with the bonfires suddenly changing to different colors and apparitions of the now-forgiven dead seen briefly above; the scene would have also foreshadowed
Shireen's sacrifice by the same method the next season. The scene where Varys warns Tyrion that Cersei has told Tywin about Shae, a short conversation on a garden path in the finished episode, instead takes place at more length in the Red Keep's dungeons, with Varys dressed as "a denizen of the dungeons" in armor, carrying a whip and wearing a false beard.
Martin also wrote that some of the scenes should be
shot from an individual character's point of view, much as most of his book chapters are written from the point of view of the character they take their name from. While he admitted that it had been difficult to bring that aspect of his story to the screen, he nevertheless attempted it here, calling for the scene where Ramsay and Myranda chase the woman to her death at the hands of his hounds to be seen from the woman's point of view as she runs and then falls to the ground, then from Theon's as he looks on defeated. The producers did, however, shoot scenes from the point of view of Bran's direwolf Summer, which Robinson notes saved them money since the animals have been expensive to shoot scenes with.
Casting
The episode has the introduction of new recurring cast members
Roger Ashton-Griffiths
Roger Ashton-Griffiths (born 19 January 1957) is an English character actor, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his role as Mace Tyrell in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''.
Life and career
Born in Hertfordshire, As ...
as Mace Tyrell, the Lord of Highgarden, and Elisabeth Webster as Walda Frey, Roose Bolton's new bride. Young actor
Dean-Charles Chapman takes over the role of Tommen Baratheon as of this episode. In a cameo appearance, the Icelandic band
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...
performed their rendition of "
The Rains of Castamere
"The Rains of Castamere" is the ninth and penultimate episode of the third season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series '' Game of Thrones'', and the 29th episode of the series. The episode was written by executive producers David Beniof ...
" at King Joffrey's wedding, and again during the credits.
Bryan Cogman
Robert Bryan Cogman (born July 25, 1979) is an American television writer and producer. He wrote eleven episodes of the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''.
He is also the author of the book ''Inside HBO's Game of Thrones'' which features a preface ...
, a regular screenwriter for the show, made an uncredited
cameo in the episode as a Dragonstone waiter.
With this episode,
Iwan Rheon (
Ramsay Snow) is promoted to series regular.
Reception
Ratings
"The Lion and the Rose" was watched by an estimated 6.31 million people during its first hour. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 1.651 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week. It also received 0.095 million timeshift viewers.
Critical reception
The episode received unanimous critical acclaim; according to
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
all 35 reviews aggregated by the website were positive, with an average score of 9.5 out of 10. James Poniewozik at ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' called it the best episode of the series, singling out the protracted wedding sequence for particular praise. Writing for ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', Emily VanDerWerff gave the episode an "A" grade, calling it "one of the best episodes of this show, and Joffrey’s wedding is one of the best sequences in the whole series." VanDerWerff praised Martin's script as well as the directing by Alex Graves, which she said "smartly creates a real sense of tension throughout the sequence, even when nothing particularly dramatic is going on."
In his review for ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'', Matt Fowler gave the episode a 9.4/10 and noted that it "featured a shocking death that was actually an immense crowd-pleaser."
TVLine named
Jack Gleeson the "Performer of the Week" for his performance in this episode.
James Hibberd
James Hibberd (born 19 April 1981 in Southampton, Hampshire) was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and bowled medium-fast.
Hibberd made his debut for the Hampshire Cricket Board in the 38-County Cup during the 2000 season, p ...
of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' named it the third best television episode of 2014.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
* at
HBO.com
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lion And The Rose, The
2014 American television episodes
Fiction about regicide
Game of Thrones (season 4) episodes
Television episodes written by George R. R. Martin
Television episodes about weddings
Television episodes about murder