6. Where the Game Is Played
Episode Four: "Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things" Commentators: Writer/story editor Bryan Cogman, Kit Harrington (Jon Snow) "Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things" was, aside from the unaired pilot, the first episode of series to be shot and the small council meetings between Ned, Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen), Pycelle, Varys (Conleth Hill) and Renly Baratheon (Gethin Anthony) were some of the first scenes of that episode to be shot. That may not seem like a big deal, but consider that around the small council table is "where the game is played," as writer Bryan Cogman says, and the actors had to play out some truly important and nuanced machinations that would put into motion gears that could not later be stopped on some of the first days of meeting each other. That's not exactly an easy task for any actor. Cogman also admits to having great difficulty writing the scene between Ned and Pycelle in which the Grand Maester shows the Lord of Winterfell the book about which former Hand, Jon Arryn had been inquiring, "The Lineage and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms." According to Cogman, this scene was so difficult to write because plot-wise, it was one of the most important exchanges in all of the first season. Despite the fact that it exposes the big reveal that ultimately causes Ned to confront Cersei about her inappropriate family ties and yet, it is still just a dry conversation about a book. If Cogman wasn't precise with the scene, the implications would be lost on the viewer and if he took too much time to explain, then he'd lose the art of subtlety. Cogman deserves praise not only for how effectively this scene plays out, but also for the fact that he hand wrote ALL OF THE COPY that would go into the aforementioned book. If that doesn't impress you, then you should also know that he also wrote text for EVERY SINGLE raven scroll in the entire show even if the viewer never gets to see what the character is reading.