Lord Snow
[1] The plot follows Jon Snow's training at The Wall; Eddard's arrival at King's Landing, followed by Catelyn, looking for Bran's would-be murderer; Arya reveals her desire to learn sword fighting to her father; Joffrey is given a lesson in ruling the Kingdom by Cersei, and Robert longs for the glory of his past.
The title of the episode is the demeaning nickname given to Jon Snow by Ser Alliser Thorne, the sadistic trainer of Night's Watch recruits, referring to his highborn origins.
Master-at-arms Ser Alliser berates them all for their poor performance, even Jon, nicknaming him "Lord Snow" to mock his bastard heritage.
Tyrion is asked to provide more men from Cersei and Jaime for the outnumbered Night's Watch for the threat of the White Walkers to the north.
Upon arriving in King's Landing, Catelyn is taken to a brothel owned by Littlefinger who, along with Varys and Ser Rodrik, discuss the attempt on Bran's life.
Learning that Arya aspires to be a swordsman and has a sword of her own, Ned hires Syrio Forel to teach her the art of swordsmanship.
"Lord Snow" was written by the show creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based on A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, including chapters 18-22, 24 and 36.
Gethin Anthony plays the king's youngest brother Renly Baratheon, and veteran actor Julian Glover, well known to science fiction and fantasy fans after appearing in films such as The Empire Strikes Back and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, was cast as Grand Maester Pycelle after actor Roy Dotrice had to be replaced for medical reasons.
"[4] Ian McElhinney plays Ser Barristan Selmy, the commander of the Kingsguard, and Miltos Yorelemou appears as the fencing instructor Syrio Forel.
Ron Donachie, the actor playing Ser Rodrik Cassel, said that the scene where he entered King's Landing was his favourite moment.
Visiting a museum in the Maltese capital of Valletta, Donachie had seen a painting of armed knights riding through that Gate of Mdina itself and found exciting that to be able to do the same thing, "especially in Rodrik’s full-scale Stark battle regalia".
The tales of Duncan and his squire Egg are a series of novellas written by author George R. R. Martin, taking place about a hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones.
The website's critical consensus reads, "'Lord Snow' is an intriguing and heavy transitional episode with standout performances from Bean and Gillen, though it would be better served with more focus on character change and development.
[15] However, Alan Sepinwall from HitFix, liked the "more rambling quality of 'Lord Snow,'" and while admitting it is heavy on exposition he felt it worked "because the stories are being told with such passion.
"[16] IGN's Matt Fowler wrote that "Lord Snow" was "dense and filled with tons of exposition and backstory, which may or may not have interested those new to this story - but I found myself hanging on every precious word.
