Fire and Blood (Game of Thrones)

"Fire and Blood" is the tenth and final episode of the first season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones. First aired on June 19, 2011, it was written by the show's creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Alan Taylor.

This article is about the 10th episode of Game of Thrones TV series. For the prequel book to A Song of Ice and Fire, see Fire & Blood (book). For other uses, see Fire and Blood (disambiguation).

"Fire and Blood"
Game of Thrones episode
The final scene, with Daenerys Targaryen and her dragon hatchlings. This scene received much critical acclaim.
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 10
Directed byAlan Taylor
Written by
Featured musicRamin Djawadi
Cinematography byAlik Sakharov
Editing byFrances Parker
Original air dateJune 19, 2011 (2011-06-19)
Running time53 minutes[1]
Guest appearance(s)

The title of the episode is the motto of House Targaryen, and alludes to the aftermath of the previous episode's climactic events. The episode's action revolves around the Starks' reactions to Eddard Stark's execution: Sansa is taken hostage, Arya flees in disguise, Robb and Catelyn lead an army against the Lannisters, and Jon Snow struggles with his divided loyalty. Across the narrow sea, Daenerys must deal with the blood magic that has robbed her of her husband, her son, and her army.

The episode was well received by critics, who singled out the closing scene as a particularly strong way to end the first season. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 3.04 million in its initial broadcast. This episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series.

Plot

At Winterfell

Maester Luwin informs Bran and Rickon of Ned's execution.

In the Riverlands

At the Stark army camp, Robb vows revenge on the Lannisters after Ned's death, but Catelyn says they must first rescue Arya and Sansa. The Starks followers now support Northern independence, proclaiming Robb the "King in the North", rather than support Stannis or Renly Baratheon, who have both claimed the Iron Throne. Jaime tells Catelyn he pushed Bran out of the tower window, but does not explain why.

At the Lannister army camp, Tywin, unable to sue for peace with the Starks after Ned's execution, orders Tyrion to go to King's Landing in his stead as "Hand of the King" to keep Joffrey under control. Against his father's orders, Tyrion brings Shae with him.

In King's Landing

Joffrey forces Sansa to look at Ned and his household staff's severed heads on spikes. When Sansa says she wishes to see Joffrey's head mounted there after Joffrey says Robb's head will be, Joffrey has Ser Meryn slap her. The Hound advises Sansa to obey Joffrey for her own safety.

Arya, rescued by Night's Watch recruiter Yoren, escapes with him under the alias of "Arry", a boy, to the Wall with his new recruits, including Lommy, Hot Pie, and Gendry, the late Robert's unknowing bastard son.

At the Wall

Jon attempts to desert the Night's Watch to join Robb and avenge Ned, but Sam, Pyp, and Grenn convince him to return. The next morning, Jeor, despite knowing Jon attempted to desert, orders him to join him in an expedition beyond the Wall, intended to counter the threats of the wildlings and the White Walkers, and to find Benjen Stark.

In Lhazar

Daenerys learns that her unborn son died due to Mirri's spell. Furthermore, although Drogo's life was saved, he has fallen into a catatonic state, causing most of his followers to abandon him. Mirri reveals that she caused this to avenge the destruction of her village and her people. Daenerys mercy kills Drogo.

Daenerys has Mirri tied to Drogo's funeral pyre, with her dragons eggs placed on top. Daenerys declares herself queen of a new khalasar and steps into the lit pyre. By daybreak, Jorah and her remaining loyalists find her unharmed in the ashes, carrying three dragon hatchlings, the first born in 300 years. Amazed, they bow to Daenerys.

Production

Writing

The episode was written by showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.[2] Like the rest of the first season, it adapts the plot of A Game of Thrones, the first novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. The episode covers the novel's chapters 66 to 73, that is, Arya V, Bran VII, Sansa VI, Daenerys IX, Tyrion IX, Jon IX, Catelyn XI, and Daenerys X. It also covers part of the second novel, A Clash of Kings: Arya I (chapter 2) and part of Catelyn VII (chapter 55).[3] Scenes added for the adaptation include Catelyn and Robb receiving news of Eddard's death, the revelation of Cersei and Lancel Lannister's relationship, as well as interactions between Grand Maester Pycelle, the prostitute Ros, Varys, and Littlefinger.[3]

Filming

The dragons featured in the episode's finale were implemented by BlueBolt, the lead VFX agency for the first season.[4][5] VFX supervisor Angela Barson confirmed that the CGI dragons were among the most stressful effects, prompting sleepless nights.[6] Commenting on the episode's climactic scene where the hatchling dragons are revealed, actress Emilia Clarke told VH1, "You see the relationship that Dany has with her eggs, and you see that grow and grow and grow and kind of the intuitive connection she has with them, you see that develop really beautifully".[7] Clarke also hinted that she expected to "get to play with some more dragons!" in the second season, based on her conversations with book author and executive producer George R.R. Martin.[7] "VFX Data Wrangler" Naill McEvoy later confirmed that dragon presence would be increasing in season two.[8]

In the scene where Joffrey forces Sansa to view the heads of Ned and his entourage on spikes, one of the prosthetic heads briefly seen in profile is that of former U.S. president George W. Bush. In their commentary on the DVD release of season 1, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss explained that this was not meant as a political statement, but rather because the production used the prosthetic heads that happened to be at hand. Following media reports in June 2012, HBO apologized for this shot, which their statement described as "unacceptable, disrespectful and in very bad taste". The statement also said that the shot would be edited for any future home video production[9] and TV broadcasts. HBO removed the episode from digital download services until the scene was edited.[10] In the edited scene, the head bears no resemblance to Bush.[11]

Reception

Airings and ratings

"Fire and Blood" was first aired on HBO in the U.S. and Canada on June 19, 2011.[12] The episode was the most watched episode of the season and was viewed by an estimated 3.041 million viewers and received a 1.4 share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[12] This means that it was seen by 1.4% of all 18- to 49-year-olds at the time of the broadcast.[12] With repeats, the episode brought in 3.9 million total viewers.[13] In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 1.314 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week.[14]

Critical response

"Fire and Blood" received positive reviews, and much critical acclaim for the closing scene.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 23 reviews of the episode and judged 100% of them to be positive with an average score of 9.27 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Fire and Blood" creatively provides closure after a shocking penultimate episode while strategically setting up arcs for season two."[15] Matt Fowler of IGN wrote that " 'Fire and Blood' wasn't exactly a powerful roar of an episode, but that book fans would definitely appreciate the small parts of the second book, A Clash of Kings, that got included to help set up season two next year". He rated the episode 8.5 out of 10.[16]

Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave it an "A-", commenting:

The series, especially, has shown that it's willing to stretch some of these emotional or philosophical moments out, to really get the most out of the actors' performances and give them scenes where they can expand their characters beyond what's on the page. In a finale that could have felt too scattered—we drop in on every major character of the season who's still alive—that sense that cooler heads would rather prevent greater war but were thwarted by hotter, younger heads was what united the story.[17]

David Sims, also writing for The A.V. Club, called it a fitting end to the season, "leaving absolutely everyone salivating for season two".[18] Writing for the Star-Ledger, Jenifer Braun praised the episode for its set dressing ("I have to say, it's a pleasure just to look at all the shiny stuff the HBO set dressers came up with for Tywin Lannister's tent") and the authenticity of the baby dragons ("And wow, HBO, seamless special effects here. Baby Dragon looks every bit as real as the series' dogs").[19] HitFix said it "Wrapped up its terrific first season...it was damned entertaining along the way--with the finale as possibly the most entertaining so far--and we know that at least one more season is coming. And if the creative team can keep up this level of quality, it's hard to imagine HBO shutting things down anytime soon, even with a budget that only figures to get higher. Dragons aren't cheap, but they're also amazing".[20]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2011 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Special Visual Effects Rafael Morant, Adam McInnes, Graham Hills, Lucy Ainsworth-Taylor, Stuart Brisdon, Damien Macé, Henry Badgett, and Angela Barson Nominated [21]

George W. Bush controversy and removal
The use of an effigy of George W. Bush's head on a spike caused HBO to issue an apology and to edit the scene.[9][10][11]

The episode contains a scene in which Joffrey forces Sansa to look at her father and family household staff beheaded on spikes. After a scene of the disfigured heads is shot, one decapitated head resembled former U.S. president George W. Bush. HBO quickly began removing and editing the scene as it sparked political outrage on social media. The beheaded prop was edited to resemble an ordinary head prop.

A small amount of politicians began calling for a boycott of the series, describing the scene as 'despicable'. Creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss both apologized for the filming of the prop, stating:

We use a lot of prosthetic body parts on the show; heads, arms etc. We cannot afford to have all these made from scratch, especially in the scenes where we need a lot of them, so we rent them in bulk. After the scene was already shot, someone pointed out that one of the heads looked like George W. Bush. In the DVD commentary, we mentioned this, though we should not have. We meant no disrespect to the former President and apologize if anything we said or did suggested otherwise.[22]

References
  1. "Game of Thrones 10". HBO. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  2. "Fire and Blood". Game of Thrones. Season 1. Episode 10. June 19, 2011. HBO.
  3. Garcia, Elio. "EP110: Fire and Blood". Westeros.org. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  4. Marzolf, Steve (June 20, 2011). "A Season Finale's Dance With Dragons". makinggameofthrones.com. HBO. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  5. "Game of Thrones". BlueBolt. Archived from the original on April 3, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  6. Frei, Vincent (September 29, 2011). "Game of Thrones: Angela Barson – VFX Supervisor – BlueBolt". artofvfx.com. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  7. Warner, Kara (June 20, 2011). "'Game Of Thrones': What's Next For Dany And Her Dragons?". VH1. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  8. Taylor, Cat (December 11, 2011). "Meet the Guy Who Sees What Isn't There (Yet)". makinggameofthrones.com. HBO. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  9. Woerner, Meredith (June 13, 2012). "George W. Bush's decapitated head appeared on Game of Thrones". io9. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  10. Goldberg, Lesley (June 15, 2012). "HBO Yanks Bush Head 'Game of Thrones' Episode, Halts DVD Shipments". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  11. Hughes, Sarah Anne (June 25, 2012). "'Game of Thrones' prop 'George Bush' head now nondescript as possible (Photo)". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  12. Seidman, Robert (June 21, 2011). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Falling Skies,' 'Game of Thrones', 'The Killing,' 'In Plain Sight,' 'Law & Order: CI,' 'The Glades' and Much More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 24, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  13. West, Kelly (June 21, 2011). "Game Of Thrones Fire And Blood: Inside The Episode Video And Season Finale Ratings". Cinemablend. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  14. "Top 10 Ratings (20-26 June 2011)". BARB. Archived from the original on July 18, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  15. "Fire and Blood". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  16. Fowler, Matt. "Game of Thrones: "Fire and Blood" Review". IGN. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  17. VanDerWerff, Emily (June 19, 2011). ""Fire and Blood" (for experts)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  18. Sims, David (June 19, 2011). ""Fire and Blood" (for newbies)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  19. Braun, Jenifer (June 20, 2011). "'Game of Thrones' finale recap: Blood and Fire -- The end of the beginning". Star-Ledger. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  20. Sepinwall, Alan (June 19, 2011). "'Game of Thrones' - 'Fire & Blood':Reviewing the season finale". HitFix. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  21. "Game Of Thrones". Emmys.com. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  22. Fitzpatrick, Kevin (June 14, 2012). "HBO Apologizes for 'Game of Thrones' George W. Bush Head". screencrush.com. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
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