Bran is seen standing in Winterfell's yard, practicing his archery, as the opening credits fade.

It's strange,
because in the last episode, he was paralysed. Strangely, he is still crippled when he wakes up from his dream
about a big crow or raven that he pursues through the courtyard. Then he realises that the bird has three eyes,
which is quite unsettling considering how far away Springfield is. Theon Greyjoy informs him that they have
guests; a big-bearded man named Hodor, who seems to be mute, is brought in to act as a low-tech wheelchair.
Upon learning that the visitor is none other than Tyrion Lannister, they descend to meet him. Maester Luwin
quickly reassures him that Bran has no recollection of the day of the accident when he inquires as to whether or
not the latter recalls anything. Also, Tyrion brought Bran a present—a blueprint for a saddle that will let him
ride horses without ever having to use his legs. Tyrion responds to Robb's suspicions about his true intentions by
saying he has a weakness for the downtrodden, the disabled, and anything broken. In an effort to make amends
for his dickish behaviour, Robb extends an invitation to Tyrion Winterfell. However, Tyrion declines, saying
that he will sleep elsewhere and that everyone will be more comfortable as a result.
While making his exit, Tyrion encounters Theon Greyjoy, who promptly informs him that Catelyn Stark has
departed Winterfell. Tyrion makes fun of Theon's family as well; it turns out that Theon's dad was in charge of a
rebellion once, but he was outnumbered ten to one, and no one survived—including Theon's brothers. Even
though Theon gets along with the Starks—as one would expect from a glorified hostage—he takes offence to
Tyrion's condescending remarks.

A new recruit named Samwell Tarly is introduced to the group on the Wall by Alliser Thorne, who then has him
"spar" with the other members. Samwell is overweight, timid, and unconfident; to be fair, he performs about as
well as the vast majority of viewers would, and he gets completely overwhelmed rather fast. After he gives way
and is knocked over, Thorne orders one of the boys to repeatedly hit him in an effort to "encourage" him to get
back up. Thorne orders three other students to assault Jon Snow as he intervenes to protect Sam. Upon their
defeat, Jon furiously storms off, and Sam expresses his gratitude profusely. Some of the other boys get anxious
when Sam admits he is afraid of public speaking.

At the City of the Horse Lords, Vaes Dothrak, we find Khal Drogo's horde having just arrived. After Daenerys
warns Viserys not to insult her people by mentioning their lack of elegant architecture and mud, Viserys has a
tantrum and rides off. When Daenerys questions Ser Jorah Mormont about Viserys's ability to conquer the
Seven Kingdoms with a Dothraki army, Jorah plays it cool and brings up the plot point about the Dothraki's fear
of water their horses can't drink, but his response is still basically "are you kidding me?" Absolute nonsense.
Additionally, he shares his personal history, which includes the sale of slaves—more precisely, poachers—to a
Tyroshi—an action that is explicitly forbidden in the Seven Kingdoms—because "I had no money, and an
expensive wife."

With Doreah by his side, Viserys is lying in a bathtub. Characters in this scene give each other Infodumps while
slapping each other around; this type of scene is known as a "Sexposition" scene. Forget the shaming and get
down to business: the Targaryens' status as Dragon Riders allowed them to defeat the Seven Kingdoms. An
additional fact about the Iron Throne is that it is composed of swords—not merely shaped like them—that have
been fused together by the breath of a dragon. Even though the last dragon perished a long time ago, the Red
Keep's throne room still displayed their skulls. The three dragons that the Targaryens first rode in on—Vhagar,
Meraxes, and Balerion—are the ones that are relevant to our situation, though Viserys mentions as many as he
can remember before getting distracted by sex. Not one, but two were cream and gold, green and bronze, and
black and red, respectively. Does that ring a bell?A hint: Sansa and Septa Mordane visit the Iron Throne at
King's Landing, where Septa assures her of a wonderful future as queen of Joffrey. Because she is still hurting
from Lady, Sansa simply will not have it. The man in charge of the city's police, whose name is not shown
onscreen, is Janos Slynt, and Eddard Stark is getting an update from him. Slynt is the Lord Commander of the
City Watch, also known as the "gold cloaks" due to their distinctive capes. Slynt is covering the chaos that has
broken out in King's Landing as a result of all the tournament goers. Ned clearly failed in his attempt to stop
Robert from throwing it.

Grand Maester Pycelle was Jon Arryn's personal physician during his passing; after the meeting, Ned consults
with him. The evening before he passed away, Lord Arryn paid him a visit, asking for a certain book: "The
Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, with descriptions of many high lords and
noble ladies and their children." This book was requested by Pycelle. True to its name, the book is a real show-
stopper. During the questioning regarding Lord Arryn's final hours, Pycelle notes that he repeatedly said, "The
seed is strong," but dismisses this as pointless gibberish on his deathbed. Concerned about the likelihood that
Arryn was poisoned, Pycelle characterises poison as a tool used by cravens, eunuchs, and women. "Did you
know Lord Varys is a eunuch?" "That is well-known," Ned shoots back. On his way back to his quarters with
the book, he spots Arya practicing what Syrio taught him—standing on one foot. Even though she's sorry Bran
will have to find a new path in life now that he can't be a Knight in Shining Armour, she has her sights set on
becoming an Action Girl.

Samwell Tarly shuffles up to the Wall as Jon Snow watches from atop it. Sam tells the story of how his father
offered him a choice between taking the black or having a hunting "accident"; they share a fire, the watch, and
many backstories. Fearing that sparring would be required of him once more tomorrow, Sam says, "I'm not
going to get better." "Well," Jon says with a grin, "it's hard to imagine things getting worse." Suddenly, he is
friends with someone.

Following Aaron Sorkin's lead, Ned and Littlefinger hold a pedeconference in King's Landing. (I had no idea
that method predated steam.) "Ser Hugh of the Vale," who was knighted nearly immediately after Jon Arryn's
death, is revealed to be the former squire of Arryn by Littlefinger. Um, I don't see anything suspicious about
that. Additionally, Littlefinger identifies all the local spies, including one of Varys's "little birds," a queen's
gardener, and a septa who works for Littlefinger. Ned Stark is being watched by everyone. Littlefinger orders a
deputy to interrogate Ser Hugh and then proposes a visit to an armourer on the Street of Steel, whom
Littlefinger's spies say Lord Arryn frequented in the days leading up to his death. Does anything here smell like
Petyr Baelish is being a bit too forthcoming with information? Because in the eyes of Ned Stark, embodiment of
Honour Before Reason, it isn't. His apologies for mistrusting Littlefinger, and he expresses gratitude to him.
"Distrusting me was the wisest thing you've done since you got off your horse." Littlefinger gives that charming
smile that he's known for.

While interviewing Ser Hugh, Jory Cassel finds that he is haughty and conceited. Lord Arryn's fascination with
"the boy" is introduced to Ned by the more accommodating armourer, Tobho Mott. Gendry is his name. He is
clearly born with a gift for working with his hands—he is now known as The Blacksmith—and has fashioned a
helm in the style of a bull. His eyes are blue, and his hair is black. Is There Anything Else That This Could Be?
Ned is reminded of someone: in response to Jory's question, he verifies that Gendry is the vile son of Robert
Baratheon.

No matter how much Ser Alliser yells at them, no one is to spar with Samwell Tarly; this is the rule that Jon lays
down to the other new recruits at the Wall. Everyone is the same, including Sam. He has arrived here because he
could find no other place in the world. Rast chooses to persist in bullying Pyp and Grenn, but they all eventually
submit once they surprise him while he's sleeping and force him to peer down the vicious jaws of a direwolf.
Sam makes it through training and even manages to "defeat" Grenn the next morning, just as Jon had decreed.
Do you want a man by your side when you're out there, beyond the Wall, as the sun sets? Ser Alliser ruins it all
by making a valid point. "Or a sulky guy?"

Viserys appears in Vaes Dothrak while Daenerys is in her tent, spitting wrath and yanking poor Doreah by the
hair. "You sent this whore to give me commands!" Dany clarifies that she was attempting to extend an invitation
to Viserys for dinner, so clearly something got lost in translation. He turns red, physically attacks her, and
accuses her of having "woken the dragon." She had also had Dothraki-style riding garments made for him—a
leather vest and a belt adorned with gold medallions—but he tosses them back in her face. Taking the belt in her
hands, Dany strikes him in the face. As he looks on in disbelief, she proceeds to tell him what will happen if he
dares to do anything similar again after a single cut across his cheekbone makes him back off. How
disappointing, boss?

The next scene takes place in Castle Black, where Sam and Jon discuss the Night's Watch breaking their
celibacy vows by visiting the brothel in neighbouring Mole's Town. Jon confesses he's just as uninterested in
girls as Sam: he almost had the chance to sleep with Ros, the red-haired whore whoon loved so much, but he
passed because he didn't want to bring shame to his own surname, "Snow," which is used to describe all
Northern bastards. In any case, Ser Alliser interrupts them to vent his frustrations from his previous experience
venturing beyond the Wall, which occurred after the drama. It must have been a terrible ordeal. The story's
Aesop? "Upon taking your vows, they will refer to you as men of the Night's Watch, but you'd be naive to
believe it. And when winter rolls around, you'll be dead in the air.

Dany, distraught over hurting her brother, paces in her tent in Vaes Dothrak. However, Ser Jorah essentially
disregards her worries. Daenerys may have finally admitted the truth when she told him, "My brother will never
take back the Seven Kingdoms." This happened in response to his question about her desire to see Viserys sit on
the Iron Throne. Despite my husband's best efforts, he would be unable to command an army. He'll never whisk
us away to safety.
Proceeds from "The Hand's" tournament have resumed in King's Landing. While they are in the stands, Sansa,
Arya, and Septa Mordane are approached by Petyr Baelish, who claims to be a long-lost acquaintance of their
mother's. (Oh, and in case you were curious about his nickname, he says it comes from the Vale peninsula
known as "The Fingers" and that he was a bit of a misfit growing up.) In a fit of boredom, King Robert orders
the jousts to commence, and with Littlefinger providing some informative narration, we meet the first two
competitors: Ser Hugh of the Vale and Ser Gregor Clegane, also known as "The Mountain." Even though the
first tilt doesn't yield any clear results, the second one leaves Ser Hugh sprawled on the ground with a broken
lance sticking out of his neck. Littlefinger leans in close and drops another Info Dump: the story of the Hound's
scars, as his life as a tourney knight comes to a close. Gregor entered the room just as little Sandor was playing
with a toy that belonged to his brother. Holding his brother's face still, he pushed it into the fire. And You Have
Learned! That story is so touching and lovely, isn't it?

At long last, we're back at the Inn at the Crossroads, the location of the tragic death of Sansa's direwolf two
episodes ago. While Catelyn and Ser Rodrik are having lunch, a singer named Marillion tries and fails to
entertain them. Two unannounced guests—Yoren, a recruiter for the Night's Watch, and Tyrion Lannister, the
Imp—arrive, and they themselves draw up their hoods and remain silent. Carefully doling out some gold, he
purchases a night's lodging from a sellsword named Bronn, all the while Catelyn and Ser Rodrik remain silent.
The fact that Marillion offers to sing for him makes it all pointless; they end up attracting him to them. Lady
Whent of Harrenhal has a black bat, Jonos Bracken of Stone Hedge has a red stallion, and an entire squadron
bearing the twin towers of those who serve Walder Frey at the Twins are among the lords who have pledged
allegiance to Catelyn's father, Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun. Catelyn begins by admitting that her surname was
"Tully" the last time she stayed here. She then gets to her feet and starts to greet each of the men around her by
name and sigil. She has established herself at the very top of the feudal hierarchy, and now she demands that her
subjects arrest Tyrion, accusing him of being involved in a plot to kill Bran.