During its previous five seasons, Game of Thrones has always seen a big episode nine that gets fans excited for whats to come. But the case can be made that the second episode of nearly every season has been just as important, and sometimes even more so.
Warning: Spoilers from the books, theories, and show may be afoot. Since we’re all caught up, it shouldn’t be a big deal. But just in case, don’t complain.
When you look at the history of Game of Thrones as a TV series, the ninth episode has featured arguably the season’s biggest moment, scene, battle, or memory. Let’s take a look back at each through the first five seasons.
Season 1 – The beheading of Eddard Stark: In the ninth episode of season one, our beloved Ned Stark lost his head. This is easily the biggest moment from season one because it was also the first truly shocking death. For those who had never read the books, it was shocking and abnormal. To that point, Ned Stark was the story’s main character and all of a sudden, he was dead.
Season 2 – The Battle of the Blackwater: The battle pitted Stannis against King Joffrey and was the first major battle in the series. The special effects were fantastic and it was once again, the first major battle in a series that takes place during a war for the most part.
Season 3 – The Red Wedding: Does this really need to be explained? Two seasons after Ned lost his head, his wife, son, and the majority of his banner men were murdered.
Season 4 – The Battle at The Wall: This was the second major battle, although there were others between the Blackwater and the Wall. Overall, this fight meant a lot for the season and series as a whole because it was well known this was coming for a while.
Season 5 – The Dance of Dragons: We finally got to see what the dragons can truly do and the last Targaryen (that we know of at least) was nearly killed. On top of that, Dany fled and her storyline and fight for Westeros was immediately put in danger.
When looking back, it’s easy to understand why episode nines are talked about so much. However, episode two has been possibly even more important for the overall storyline of the series. Let’s take a look back at each episode two and the reasons why.
Season 1 – Bran is nearly murdered and the Starks begin to suspect the Lannisters attempted to kill him: The moment where Catelyn becomes suspicious of the Lannisters being responsible for Bran’s attempted murder begins the fight between the Starks and Lannisters. This fight between the two families still lingers in season six. Additionally, looking at season one specifically, the battle between the two families was so major that it led to Ned’s beheading and the war that followed.
Season 2 – The White Walkers: In the second episode of season one, we witness a White Walker take one of Craster’s babies. This was the first instance we saw a White Walker other than in the series premiere. It also set in motion the backbone of the series, in that the battle for the Iron Throne is pointless and that the battle between ice and fire is much more important. (Get it? Because the book series is called A Song of Ice and Fire.)
Season 3 – Jon Snow learns about Wargs and Bran Stark meets the Reeds: This is probably the weakest episode two of them all. However, we do learn about wargs through Jon Snow for the first time. On top of that, Bran Stark meets the Reeds, who eventually help bring him to the Three-Eyed Raven. If I had to guess, I think Bran meeting the Reeds and then going to the Three-Eyed Raven could have major implications going forward, although it hasn’t just yet.
Season 4 – King Joffrey’s murder: This was a massive moment in Game of Thrones. It completely altered the landscape in Kings Landing by putting King Tommen in charge and taking away one of the main villains at that point. This also led to Sansa going North, Tyrion going to Essos to join Dany, and the death of Tywin Lannister. In short, Joffrey’s death set a lot of story in motion.
Season 5 – Jon Snow elected Lord Commander: In the fifth episode two of the series, Jon Snow was named the 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. This was big because it led to the Battle at Hardhome, the mutiny against Jon Snow, and eventually…
Season 6 – Jon Snow Resurrected: For the first time, a main character was brought back from the dead. (Beric Dondarrion was also brought back, but Snow is a more central character.) We learned the power of the R’hllor is real and that Snow is much more important to the story than maybe previously suggested.
When you look back at all the episode twos and nines, there’s one big difference. Episode nines have typically defined a season storyline and ended what many knew was coming. Episode twos, however, have set narratives in motion and at the same time, began storylines that are still running to this day.
In short, the main point here is that while fans are always eager to see what big and important events happen in the ninth episode of a Game of Thrones season, maybe they should instead dwell on episode two and think about the implications such moments could have going forward.
