Cripples, Bastards, And Broken Things
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"Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" is the fourth episode of the first season of the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, 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 based a ...
medieval fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic (fantasy), magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those c ...
television series ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...
'', which first aired on May 8, 2011. It was written by
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 ...
and directed by
Brian Kirk Brian Kirk is a film and television director from Northern Ireland who has directed episodes of ''Game of Thrones'', FX (TV network), FX's ''The Riches'' and Showtime (TV network), Showtime's ''Brotherhood (Showtime TV series), Brotherhood'' a ...
. In this episode Lord Eddard Stark, the new Hand of the King, investigates the sudden death of his predecessor. Jon Snow, Eddard's bastard son, defends a new recruit who has just joined the rangers at "the Wall". Exiled prince Viserys becomes increasingly frustrated as the Dothraki horde he needs to invade Westeros and win back his crown continues to linger at Vaes Dothrak. The episode ends with Eddard's wife Catelyn arresting Tyrion Lannister on suspicion of attempting to murder her son Bran. The title comes from the original book, spoken by Tyrion after he provides Bran Stark with a saddle design that will allow him to ride despite his paraplegia: "I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things." Critical reaction to the episode was mostly positive, with critics citing the Night's Watch scenes at the Wall as highlights, as well as the performances of
Michelle Fairley Michelle Fairley is an actress from Northern Ireland. She is best known for playing Catelyn Stark in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2013). She has since appeared in the USA Network series '' Suits'' (2013), the Fox series '' 24: Live ...
as Catelyn Stark and
Peter Dinklage Peter Hayden Dinklage (; born June 11, 1969) is an American actor. Portraying Tyrion Lannister on the HBO television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), Dinklage won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama S ...
as Tyrion Lannister, particularly during the episode's final scene. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 2.5 million in its initial broadcast.


Plot


In King's Landing

Ned quietly inquires into the death of Jon Arryn, his mentor and predecessor as Hand of the King. He questions Grand Maester Pycelle, who tended to Arryn in his final days, and learns Arryn's last words were "the seed is strong", and that he was researching the houses of the Seven Kingdoms. Helped by Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish and his web of informants, Eddard questions
Gendry Gendry 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 HBO television adaptation ''Game of Thrones'', where the character is portrayed by English actor Joe D ...
, a smith's apprentice whom Arryn had visited, and deduces that Gendry is a bastard of king
Robert Baratheon Robert Baratheon 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 he is portrayed by English actor Mark Addy ...
. Ned plans to question Arryn's former squire Ser Hugh of the Vale, but Ser Hugh is killed by Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane in a jousting tournament.


In Vaes Dothrak

Khal Drogo's khalasar arrives at the city of Vaes Dothrak. Daenerys fights back against her brother Viserys, who grows impatient for control of Drogo's army to reconquer the Seven Kingdoms. Jorah tells Daenerys that the people of the Seven Kingdoms do not care who rules them as long as they are ruled well, and Daenerys agrees that Viserys would be a poor conqueror.


At the Wall

The Night's Watch receives
Samwell Tarly Samwell Tarly, or simply Sam, 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'', where the character is portrayed by Engli ...
, an obese, fearful, and clumsy recruit who becomes an easy target for Ser Alliser. Sam explains to Jon that his father forced him to join and forsake his inheritance because he considered Sam unworthy. Jon defends Sam from their fellow recruits, and Thorne warns them to toughen up if they are to survive.


At Winterfell

On his way to King's Landing, Tyrion receives a cold welcome at Winterfell from Robb Stark, acting Lord of the castle in his father's absence. Despite Robb's suspicion that the Lannisters are behind the attempts on Bran's life, Tyrion gives Bran designs for a saddle for him to ride despite his
paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...
. Before leaving, Tyrion taunts Theon for the Greyjoys’ failed rebellion against King Robert, calling Theon a "hostage" to the Starks.


At the Inn at the Crossroads

Further south, Tyrion and his retinue intend to spend the night at the Inn at the Crossroads, where he recognizes Lady Catelyn Stark in disguise. She calls upon her father's bannermen to seize Tyrion to face trial for Bran's attempted murder.


Production


Writing

"Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" is the first episode of the series that was not written by the show's creators and executive producers
David Benioff David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American novelist, screenwriter, and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known for co-creating ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–201 ...
and
D. B. Weiss Daniel Brett Weiss (; born April 23, 1971) is an American screenwriter and television producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known for co-creating ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. R. Mart ...
. The script was authored by writer
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 ...
, based on
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of Hi ...
's original
work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an ani ...
. Cogman worked on the ''Game of Thrones'' pilot as a writing assistant and was contracted for the full series as script-editor and the unofficial "keeper of the mythos" for the show, entrusted with the task of writing the series
bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
outlining character and background information, and making sure that the world-building remained consistent. In this capacity, he was approached by Benioff and Weiss, who asked him to write a treatment for the fourth episode. Believing it was only an exercise that would be completely rewritten by another professional writer, he completed the script that ended up being episode four. The chapters of the book covered in this episode are Bran IV (less the first few pages that were included in the previous episode), Eddard V, Jon IV, Eddard VI, Catelyn V, Sansa II, Daenerys IV (chapters 25–30 and 37). Among the scenes created for the show, there are the conversations between Theon and Tyrion, Sansa and Septa Mordane, Doreah and Viserys, Jory Cassel and Jaime, Jon and Samwell and Eddard Stark and Cersei. The character of Alliser Thorne is given some more depth by justifying his harshness towards the new recruits, and a more subdued version of Bran's dream is included. During the bathtub scene in which Viserys recalls the old Targaryen dragons, he lists names taken from the books (Balerion, Meraxes and Vhagar) and others invented for the show. Among them a dragon called Vermithrax is mentioned, which is an homage to Vermithrax Pejorative from the 1981 film ''
Dragonslayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...
''. Author George R. R. Martin once ranked the film the fifth best fantasy movie of all time, and called ''Vermithrax'' "the best dragon ever put on film," and the one with "the coolest dragon name as well."


Casting

This episode introduces the character of Samwell Tarly, a new recruit of the Night's Watch and a self-described coward. John Bradley was cast in the part, the actor's first professional appearance after graduating from the
Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre The Manchester School of Theatre (originally the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre) is a tertiary school of theatre, drama and performance situated in the city of Manchester, founded in 1970. It is a part of Manchester Metropolitan Unive ...
. The scene used in the auditions belonged to "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things," with Sam explaining to Jon how his father forced him to take the black. According to author and executive producer George R. R. Martin, Bradley delivered "a heartbreaking performance." Australian actor
Conan Stevens Mark "Conan" Stevens is an Australian actor and former professional wrestler as 7 FT Thunder.Jason Momoa Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa (; born August 1, 1979) is an American actor. He made his acting debut as Jason Ioane on the syndicated action drama series '' Baywatch: Hawaii'' (1999–2001), which was followed by portrayals of Ronon Dex on the ...
, Stevens was chosen for the part of Gregor. Other recurring roles making their first appearance in the episode include Dominic Carter as commander of the City Watch Janos Slynt,
Jerome Flynn Jerome Patrick Flynn (born 16 March 1963) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Bronn in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–19). His other roles include Paddy Garvey of the King's Fusiliers in the IT ...
as the mercenary ("sellsword") Bronn, and
Joe Dempsie Joe Dempsie (born ) is an English actor, best known for his roles as Chris Miles in the E4 teen comedy-drama '' Skins'' (2007–2008) and Gendry Baratheon in ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2013; 2017–2019). Dempsie's earlier acting credits i ...
as the smith's apprentice Gendry. The character of Gendry was made older for the series than he appears in the books.


Props

The book of lineages Ned receives from Pycelle was prepared by Bryan Cogman, who in addition to writing episode four also served as the show's "lore master" and authored the historical background content included in the first season's DVD and Blu-ray release. Cogman wrote two pages worth of text detailing the lineage of four noble houses. The text concerning house Umber was shown in "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things," and the Baratheon text appears in episode six, " A Golden Crown." Cogman also wrote text for the houses of Targaryen and Royce, but the corresponding scenes were removed from the final script for episode four. Cogman said that he drew on the novels and the fan-created website ''Wiki of Ice and Fire'' for reference, and invented what could not be sourced, including even some Internet fan message board names as in-jokes.


Filming locations

The episode was shot at Belfast's studio
The Paint Hall Not to be confused with Screen Ireland. Northern Ireland Screen is the national screen agency for Northern Ireland. The agency's purpose is to promote the development of a sustainable film, animation and television production industry.About Us > ...
, including interior shots of King's Landing, and on location throughout
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
: The scenes taking place at the grounds of Castle Black continued to be filmed at the large exterior set built on the abandoned quarry of
Magheramorne Magheramorne () is a hamlet in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is about 5 miles south of Larne on the shores of Larne Lough. It had a population of 75 people in the 2001 census. Following the reform of Northern Ireland's local government sy ...
, the grounds of the ruined
Shane's Castle Shane's Castle is a ruined castle near Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, which was mostly destroyed in 1816 by fire. The castle is situated on the north-east shores of Lough Neagh, 2.7 miles from Randalstown. Built ...
were used as the location of the tournament, and the area known as the Sandy Brae, at the foot of the
Mourne Mountains The Mourne Mountains ( ; ), also called the Mournes or the Mountains of Mourne, are a predominantly granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountain in all of Ulster, Slieve Donard ...
, was used for the entrance to Vaes Dothrak. Much of this episode was filmed early in the production; an Eddard and Arya scene from this episode was filmed on the very first day of shooting.


Reception


Ratings

"Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things"'s first airing was seen by 2.5 million viewers, a slight increase from the previous episode's 2.4 million. Including the repeat, the night's viewers totalled 3.1 million, which was also in line with the previous week's ratings. In the UK, the viewership increased significantly, rising to 628,000 viewers from 510,000 the previous week.


Critical response

"Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" was received positively by critics.
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surveyed 19 reviews of the episode and judged 100% of them to be positive with an average score of 8.7 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Nuanced characters and a gripping plot help 'Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things' set a new first-season benchmark for Game of Thrones." Emily VanDerWerff from ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an 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 created in ...
'' gave it an A−, and Maureen Ryan from
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rated it with a 70 out of 100. VanDerWerff stated this was his favorite episode of the show so far, "an hour that simultaneously feels more propulsive and more relaxed than the last three." He admitted that the better part of it was given to exposition, with many monologues by the characters to expose their motivations and background. In his opinion, though, it was done skillfully and efficiently.
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming 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 district and is headed by its former e ...
's Matt Fowler wrote that it was another great, exposition-heavy episode and that the best and most natural scene happened between Viserys and Doreah in the bath. Out of the different storylines, many critics singled out the scenes on the Wall as the best. Myles McNutt from Cultural Learnings wrote that "Jon Snow’s time at the Wall is maybe my favorite central location of those introduced early in the series, and it is in large part due to the work done in this episode," and Maureen Ryan stated that "they're exceptionally well acted and written. John Bradley is a great addition as Samwell Tarly, and I continue to be very impressed with Kit Harington's quietly charismatic performance as Jon." Besides the acting and the writing, both agreed that one of the reasons the Night's Watch scenes worked for them is that it was easy to connect with the story of a group of raw recruits bonding under a hard-nosed trainer who tries to prepare them to face great danger. The closing scene was praised by HitFix's Alan Sepinwall, highlighting Michelle Fairley's acting as Catelyn gathers allies to arrest Tyrion.


References


External links


"Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things"
at
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, 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 based a ...
* {{Game of Thrones episodes, 1 2011 American television episodes Game of Thrones season 1 episodes