“You Win or You Die” is an important episode of the first season of Game of Thrones as it encapsulates the height of political tension concerning the power dynamics of the story. Westeros is incredibly unforgiving and as the title hints, the story revolves around backbreaking decisions that will either grant you the power you seek or destroy you along with everything you have.
Significant events unfold in this episode starting with the introduction of Tywin Lannister which takes place while he is skinning a deer- a symbolic representation of the demise of King Robert Baratheon. Following this, Tywin gives orders to Jaime to go and raise an army against the Starks which represents the open Strife between the two prominent houses. This also marks the decline of the previously rich house as Tywin’s words signal the importance of family legacy along with power further cementing the undying ambition the Lannisters have.
In King’s Landing, Ned Stark tells Queen Cersei Lannister the truth – he has figured out that her children, Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen, are not the offspring of King Robert, but of her brother, Jaime. He gives her the option to escape before he tells Robert, but this noble act complicates matters further. When Robert returns from a boar hunt mortally wounded, he names Joffrey as King and Ned as the Protector of the Realm until Joffrey reaches maturity. Nobly, however, Ned amends the document to state “rightful heir”, which is also not Joffrey, maintaining that he will not name Joffrey who was not the true son.
Ned tries to guarantee the succession and contacts Robert’s younger brother Renly Baratheon, proposing a claim to the throne. Renly threatens to take the throne by armed force with the aid of the City Watch, but Ned will not pursue power through fingerprints, choosing instead to execute the transition legally. That decision turns out to be his undoing. After Robert dies, Cersei rips his will, and backed by the City Watch – who betray Ned – she has Joffrey crowned King. Instead, he is arrested for treason, in what is in fact a betrayal orchestrated by Petyr Baelish (Littlefinger), who has professed allegiance to Ned.
On the Narrow Sea, Daenerys Targaryen Start to take her first steps as a ‘Khalessi.’ She commands the Dothraki change some of their customs, including using currency instead of taking goods by force. This causes friction with Dothraki warriors. During a dispute, Khal Drogo kills one of the disgruntled warriors, but sustains a wound during the process. This wound can become infected as foreshadowing future complications..s.
As potentital consequences show for Daenerys, in combination of desperate choices to save drogo, she starts to become more vulnerable and pregnant daenerys waiting for the child.
Back in the North, Jon continues his training alongside ‘The Wall.’ He learns that Benjen Stark is still missing while he also receives worrying updates from his Friend Samwell Tarly – white walkers are on the way and something more sinister is preparing right beyond the wall.
“You win or you die” underline the central themes of the series ‘Game of thrones’, part remains the same, hrait, corruption, honor and the hard truth of chase in power.
This episode also marks the moment the season takes its dark turn, starting the series off the ‘game of thrones’ claiming its major casualty.
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