You Win or You Die
The episode furthers the story line of deterioration of the political balance of the Seven Kingdoms, with Eddard Stark revealing what he has discovered to Cersei Lannister while King Robert is still away on a hunt.
The title of the episode is part of a quote from Cersei Lannister during the final confrontation with Eddard: "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.
Lord Tywin gives half his forces to his son Jaime to attack Riverrun, seat of House Tully and Lady Catelyn's childhood home, believing war with the Starks will allow the Lannisters to rule the Seven Kingdoms.
The exteriors of the entrance of Vaes Dothrak were filmed in the Sandy Brae area,[8] and for the confrontation between Eddard and Cersei taking place in the Red Keep's gardens (identified as a godswood in the novels) the production used the cloister of the St Dominic Monastery in Rabat, in Malta.
This could be considered positive when taking into account that the episode had been offered in advance during the preceding week in HBO's online service, and that it was aired in a three-day holiday weekend which often results in lower viewership.
The website's critical consensus reads, "The cinematic, fast-paced "You Win or You Die" thrusts the plot forward while hinting at painful moments looming for fans.
"[11] Time's reviewer James Poniewozik called "You Win or You Die" the "most thrilling and thematically rich hour to date,"[12] AOL TV's Maureen Ryan found it an excellent outing that "saw the stakes raised in satisfying and suspenseful ways,"[13] and HitFix's Alan Sepinwall called it a terrific episode and commended how "it turned the spotlight on the characters who are villains in Ned Stark's version of the story.
"[14] "The titular game of thrones (which gets namechecked in the line from Cersei that also provides the individual episode name) has moved past the opening gambit stage now.
Major players are falling, alliances are being made and broken, and based on what we know is happening in the north with the White Walkers and to the east with the Dothraki, the game is bound to get a lot bloodier in a damn hurry.
"[16] The final showdown with the Lannisters seizing control from Eddard was much discussed, with many commentators criticizing Ned's ingenuity and his actions during the episode.
"[15] Drogo's rant vowing to give his unborn son the Iron Throne led to compliments about Jason Momoa's intensity and Emilia Clarke's calm and loving facial expressions.
[4][13] However, the scene where Littlefinger exposes his motivations while hiring two whores for his brothel was largely criticized as an example of the show's perceived abuse of conversations with prostitutes as an expository device, a situation for which Myles McNutt coined the term "sexposition.
"[15] Aidan Gillen's acting was consistently praised and the comparison between Littlefinger's actions and faking an orgasm was considered apt, but many agreed with Meslow's statement that it was "annoyingly overshadowed by the series' most gratuitous sex scene to date.
"[17] Among other criticisms were the scene's excessive length, the repetition of the dramatic approach, and the assumption that viewers were not going to pay attention when presented with a long exposition that did not include sex.
