The Wolf and the Lion
Accordingly, Emilia Clarke, Iain Glen, Harry Lloyd, Richard Madden and Kit Harington all have their names omitted from the opening titles.
"The Wolf and the Lion" was written by the show creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based on the book by George R. R. Martin.
These include the dialectical confrontation between Littlefinger and Varys, and the conversation between King Robert and Queen Cersei, and the young lovers Renly and Loras.
[5] The new location of the court is also introduced: Scottish actress Kate Dickie was cast as the Lady of the Eyrie, Lysa Arryn, also making her first appearance in this episode.
The role of her son (renamed Robin in the series to avoid confusion with King Robert) went to Lino Facioli, and the knight of the Vale Ser Vardis Egen was played by Brendan McCormack.
[citation needed] Also appearing in this episode is the casting team's Robert Sterne, who reprises his cameo role as a page in King's Landing.
[9] For the CGI compositions of the Vale of Arryn, as seen in the establishing shot of the Eyrie and from the sky cells, the visual effects team used images and textures from the Greek rock formations of Meteora.
[10] In keeping with the transition of the series from exposition to action, each episode shows more fight scenes, and "The Wolf and the Lion" has a large number that had to be choreographed.
Reeves commented on the ambush by the Hill men as one of the most difficult as he had to show many people fighting on screen at the same time making every one look original and exciting, and also noting how intimidating it could be for the actors to have 20 stuntmen running through their midst with axes and swords.
[11] The episode is dedicated "to the memory of Caroline Lois Benoist," a 26-year-old animal trainer who had been working on the production for six months, mainly training the dogs that doubled as the series' direwolves.
The website's critical consensus reads, "With "The Wolf and the Lion," Game of Thrones tightens its grip while ratcheting up the tension through powerful writing, terrific acting, and an evocative, immersive setting.
"[17][18] Reviewers agreed that after four episodes presenting the setting and introducing the main characters, the story started to move forward faster and raise the stakes.
[20] Maureen Ryan believed that one of the reasons the episode worked so well was because it left out the storylines with the Night's Watch and the Dothraki and focused in a single location.
[17] Other aspects of the show that were highlighted by the critics were the effectiveness of the action scenes and the visuals, especially the views of the Eyrie and its sky cells, and the dragon skulls.
