Television Review: A Golden Crown (Game of Thrones, S1X06, 2011)
A Golden Crown (S01E06)
Airdate: 22 May 2011
Written by: Janet Esperson, David Benioff & D. B. Weiss Directed by: Daniel Minahan
Running Time: 52 minutes
The monolithic success of Game of Thrones was built upon a broad church of admirers. While a significant portion of the audience fell in love with the series for its intricate plotting, moral ambiguities, and rich characterisation, another segment—perhaps less enamoured with the increasingly complex universe and its Byzantine intrigues, or indifferent to the ‘edgy’ content and shock tactics—found its greatest merit in the show’s ability to deliver brilliantly executed scenes of combat and visceral action. A Golden Crown, the sixth episode of the first season, serves as an early and potent example of this latter strength. Ironically, this instalment, which features two of the season’s most memorable set-pieces, also functions to temporarily wind down the simmering Stark-Lannister conflict that had been its central focus, demonstrating the series’ nuanced handling of pacing and consequence. The episode is often hailed as a high watermark of the early season.
A Golden Crown immediately confronts the audience with the curiously inconsequential aftermath of the previous week’s brutal clash between Eddard Stark and Jaime Lannister. Ned, left in the street with a wounded leg after his men are slaughtered, awakens to sudden reversal fortunne. King Robert Baratheon, accompanied by a dismissive Cersei, begs his old friend to resume his role as Hand of the King. Robert’s motives are rooted in a genuine, if lazy, desire to preserve a fragile peace. He needs a competent administrator to manage the realm’s boring affairs, freeing him to hunt with Renly and Barristan Selmy. This scene efficiently re-establishes the central dynamic: Ned’s honourable rigidity is the kingdom’s best hope for stability, yet it is also a liability in the viper’s nest of King’s Landing.
Ned’s tenure as de facto ruler begins with him limping to the Iron Throne to hear petitions—a sequence masterfully underscoring the burden of power. The petitions largely concern the Riverlands, the ancestral home of his wife Catelyn, which is being ravaged by Ser Gregor Clegane under the implicit encouragement of Tywin Lannister. In a characteristically honourable but politically naïve move, Ned follows the letter of the law: he strips Clegane of titles and lands, issues a death warrant, and summons Tywin to court to answer for his bannerman’s crimes. It is a decisive stroke that wins him no friends, highlighting the episode’s theme of justice versus pragmatism. The narrative cleverly employs the “show, don’t tell” principle here; Clegane’s atrocities are conveyed not through spectacle but through the harrowing accounts of survivors, a choice that is both economically sound and powerfully affective, forcing the viewer, like Ned, to rely on testimony and deduce the horror.
Meanwhile, the episode’s most seismic plot development occurs not through action, but through a quiet, domestic revelation. Sansa’s fleeting encounter with Joffrey, wherein the prince displays a calculated sliver of kindness, solidifies her infatuation. Her protestation to Ned that she will bear Joffrey “yellow-haired babies” triggers his “eureka” moment. Consulting the book of lineage, Ned realises the terrible truth Jon Arryn died for: all Baratheons have black-haired offspring, meaning the golden-haired Joffrey cannot be Robert’s son. This realisation, underscored by Ramin Djawadi’s haunting score, is a superb example of the series rewarding attentive viewers, transforming a seemingly trivial character beat into the key that unlocks the entire series’ central conspiracy.
While the Stark-Lannister feud escalates in the capital, the incident that sparked it—Tyrion’s abduction by Catelyn—reaches its conclusion in the Vale. After bribing his way back to Lysa Arryn’s court, Tyrion demands a trial. His subsequent “confession” is a masterpiece of comic writing, delivered with impeccable timing by Peter Dinklage, who wrings laughter even from Lysa’s own courtiers. When the trial by combat is granted, Tyrion’s request for his brother Jaime is denied, forcing him to rely on the sellsword Bronn. What follows is one of the episode’s—and the series’—defining action sequences. Bronn, fighting without shield or armour, employs speed, evasion, and environmental awareness to exhaust and ultimately defeat the heavily armoured Ser Vardis Egen (Brandon McCormack). As Lysa cries, “You didn’t fight with honour!”, Bronn’s retort—“No. He did.”—encapsulates the show’s cynical ethos. The choreography is brutally intelligent, a clear visualisation of pragmatism triumphing over tradition, and a highlight for viewers who prize tactical combat over mere spectacle.
The narrative threads in Westeros are balanced by significant developments in the North and Essos. North of the Wall, Bran’s first horseback ride since his paralysis is cut short by a wildling attack. His rescue by Robb and Theon is a violent, brief affair, but its primary function is to introduce Osha, a wildling woman spared by the Starks. Notably, the character—described as grungy and middle-aged in George R. R. Martin’s novels—is rejuvenated by the casting of the young Natalia Tena, a decision Martin initially opposed but ultimately accepted. This change would prove fruitful, as Osha evolves into a complex and enduring figure.
It is in Essos, however, that “A Golden Crown” delivers its most iconic and consequential moments. In Vaes Dothrak, Daenerys, growing in confidence, becomes fascinated by her dragon eggs, discovering an immunity to their heat. Her brother Viserys, now utterly disillusioned with the Dothraki, attempts to steal them to fund an army. His drunken, escalating humiliation culminates during a sacred ritual where Daenerys consumes a raw stallion’s heart. Threatening his sister with a sword, he violates the sacred city’s ban on bloodshed and drunkenly demands his “golden crown”. Khal Drogo’s response is a gruesomely brilliant: molten gold poured over Viserys’s head, killing him instantly as Daenerys coldly observes, “He was no dragon.” This climax is rightly celebrated, the best Game of Thrones moment yet. It is a brutally poetic demise, darkly humorous and entirely self-inflicted, serving as the catalyst for Daenerys’s transformation from frightened pawn to determined leader. For classically literate viewers, the scene resonates as a deliberate nod to the alleged fate of the Roman general Crassus, another of Martin’s historical homages.
The episode’s construction benefits from the writing team being joined by Jane Espenson, a television veteran known for her work on *Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her influence is perhaps felt in the sharp, character-focused dialogue, particularly in Tyrion’s scenes. The teleplay adeptly adapts a swathe of Martin’s chapters, weaving together multiple storylines with remarkable economy.
If the episode has a notable flaw, it lies in the presentation of the Dothraki heart-eating ceremony. While undeniably striking, the ritual can feel somewhat gimmicky and ‘shlocky’, inserted for visceral impact without sufficient cultural exposition to fully ground it. A little more contextual explanation might have deepened the moment rather than letting it rely purely on shock value. Nevertheless, this is a minor quibble in an otherwise tightly constructed instalment.
A Golden Crown is perhaps the strongest episode of Game of Thrones’ first season. It advances the plot significantly—Ned uncovers the royal secret, Tyrion gains his freedom, Viserys is removed from the board—while delivering two exceptional action set-pieces: the intellectually satisfying trial by combat and the horrifically memorable “crowning”. It balances political intrigue in King’s Landing with mythic resonance in Essos, all while adhering to the narrative principle of “showing” rather than “telling”. The episode proved the series could deliver satisfying, self-contained storytelling within its serialised framework.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ InLeo blog @drax.leo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://inleo.io/@drax.leo
LeoDex: https://leodex.io/?ref=drax InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax 1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7 BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9