‘Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things’ Suffer a Tough Weekend in Westeros

By Steve Marzolf

We had a little talk about bad parenting last week, and even though Cersei caught a slight break in this Mother’s Day installment of ‘Game of Thrones,’ it appears the Seven Kingdoms host more daddy issues than an emo festival.

Cowardly and portly Samwell Tarly arrived at the Wall with a story worth sobbing over: His father told him to either join the Night’s Watch or saddle up for the ol’ Gary Busey hunting trip. Then Theon Greyjoy – whose dad’s ill-advised rebellion landed the boy as political prisoner before he’d even lost all his baby teeth – got called out on his Stockholm syndrome by Tyrion Lannister (whose old man isn't exactly Mike Brady either). But at least Dany had a moment of victory, finally standing up to her pipsqueak brother and smacking him in the face with a Dothraki fashion accessory. And just in case you’re the single person on Earth who has doubts whether Viserys deserved it, actor Harry Lloyd gave this glimpse into the mind of the character he’s turned into a front-runner for “Creepiest Guy in Westeros.”

‘Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things’ also happens to be written by Bryan Cogman, the show’s story editor, who posts on MGOT when he’s not busy writing episodes and keeping the sprawling back story of ‘Thrones’ straight. So it’s no surprise that he knew the bannermen of Riverrun by heart and worked in a bit of the Targaryen family history to boot. And for those of you who’ve been clamoring to see Ghost in action – now you know who to beg for more.

• Did Jon make the right decision protecting Sam, or is he creating a weak link in the Night’s Watch?
• Is Ned limited to following orders, as Cersei suggested?
• Does anybody out there have any sympathy for Viserys?

A NOTE ON SPOILERS: In the comments, please avoid mentioning or alluding to any events from the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ books that haven’t occurred on the television series. All the fans experiencing this story for the first time will appreciate it!