In the Game of Thrones world, winners are those who ignore convention and play dirty. Positions, inheritances, and rules of honor no longer matter when there is something gain and with a lot going on already it is easy to get away with practically anything. The title, "A Golden Crown," refers to the final fate of Viserys. He was brought up to believe he would rule a vast kingdom and has a sense of entitlement. This would the right way of thinking if his father were still in power, but Viserys, too, is crazed to a degree. And Khal Drogo? He doesn't care one bit about this scrawny kid and gives him the crown he wants--in burning, liquid form.
"A Golden Crown" doesn't advance the plot as much as last week's episode did, but it did not stagnate. The show is still climbing to a climax, and the pieces are still being shifted around before everything breaks loose. One of the reasons why the episode did not advance as much as last week's was the fact that it focused on several plots instead of just Ned at King's Landing.Tyrion is freed when Bronn, fighting as dirty as possible, wins Tyrion's freedom. We see the the mechanisms of protection work when Robb saves Bran from some criminals, but the perpetrators, grimy and in rags, stand in stark contrast to the high-brow criminals who roam King's Landing. It's easy to kill some miscreants when they are identifiable and expendable compared to the covert killings ordered by someone rich.
After getting his leg punctured last week, Ned sticks around and tends to the king's duty while Robert is off being irresponsible again. Ned discovers that all the Baratheons had black hair--except Joffrey who is blond. Are we to assume Joffrey is Jaimie and Cersei's son?
I think it's interesting that all the young boys--heirs to the thrones--are all damaged or somehow incomplete. Bran can't use his legs, Joffrey is a douche and possibly a product of incest, and Robin is batshit crazy. There are a couple reasons, in my mind, why this is. They are reflections on the current kings and lords in that the boys who seem inadequate as ever do indeed grow up to take positions of huge power. Another possibility is that the lineage of these families are so weak that the elders are forced to fight and deceive even more.
Score: 9.1/10
