10. Ser Barristan Saves Daenerys ("Valar Dohaeris")
Season 3 opens for Daenerys Targaryan as she and Ser Jorah Mormont debate the merits of purchasing an army of Unsullied slave warriors. As they walk, Ser Jorah argues that to buy the slaves would be to save them from the cruelties of their current masters. The khaleesi, however, is entranced by a friendly little girl with ragged clothes and curiously blue lips. The child rolls a hollow wooden ball at Daenerys and gestures for her to open it. Dany smiles, but before she can take a look at her new treasure, a cloaked man knocks her to the ground and smashes it out of her hands. The ball nevertheless pops open in front of her...revealing a manticore. The creature darts forward to strike, but the stranger demonstrates remarkable reflexes and kills it. WTF? And the scene's not even over. The stranger lowers his hood, and we see a vaguely familiar face. Dany is puzzled, but Ser Jorah steps forward protectively. " is one of the greatest fighters the Seven Kingdoms has ever seen," warns Ser Jorah, "and Lord Commander of Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard." These words do not have the desired effect, and she allows the man to step forward. "I am Barristan Selmy," he says, "Kingsguard to your father. Allow me to join your Queensguard, and I will not fail you again." Objectively, Dany should not have been particularly excited about the newcomer. Ser Barristan is not a young man. He switched loyalties between Targaryen and Baratheon twice, only seeking Daenerys when dismissed by Joffrey. There is none to confirm his identity, save for the clearly suspicious Ser Jorah. But damn it, he's so impressive and that our "WTF?" turns into a "Hell yeah!" before we really even have time to think it through.
Fiction buff and writer. If it's on Netflix, it's probably in my queue. I've bought DVDs for the special features and usually claim that the book is better than the movie or show (and can provide examples). I've never met a TV show that I won't marathon. Follow on Twitter @lah9891 .
