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Lord Stark arrives at King's Landing and immediately starts hating his job. Things look up a bit when he finds out that Lady Stark followed him, then they look down again when it turns out that the dagger held by Bran's attempted assassin was last owned by Tyrion Lannister. So she has to leave again. That leaves him to deal with Arya, who has decided she hates everyone, especially her sister Sansa. So he naturally sets her up with a fencing class, because if she's going to have daydreams about stabbing everyone, she might as well be good at it. He might be planning on having her stab some of the people he has to work with now.
Up at the Wall, Jon Snow doesn't like any of his new coworkers either, since they're all terrible at fighting and seem resentful when he breaks their noses while training. Tyrion, who already holds everyone in contempt anyway, breaks it to Snow that not everyone gets to grow up in a big castle with a personal combat instructor. So Snow starts getting along with people and even seems to like Tyrion now. Tyrion achieves his goals of urinating off the edge of the Wall and getting under everyone's skin, so he heads back south.
Out east, Daenerys has started to realize that she's the queen of a giant horde of bad-ass killers and her brother is just some dude with a bad temper. So she takes a little less guff from him. Also, she's pregnant, which means she wants to eat goat, not horse.
There's also a dollop of backstory about exactly how Jaime Lannister killed the last king. Answer: he stabbed him in the back. Heroic!
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!This week, according to the credits, we will be visiting King's Landing, Winterfell, the Wall, and Vaes Dothrak. Just like last week. I was imagining a lot more travel, so that the map would constantly be showing different locations. Maybe it's a slow build-up. Incidentally, some people have asked why each location is built up via some sort of clockwork apparatus, so here's my theory: the clockwork represents determinism. I'd elaborate on that, but it's not going to start making more sense if I explain my thought process. So let's just get through these credits together and get on with some Throne-Gaming.
The royal procession arrives at a place that I can only assume is King's Landing. I mean, that's where it was going, so it's not a huge stretch. Plus, it's not any of those other places from the credits. Now that we get some exteriors, it has kind of a Middle Eastern feel to it, if that makes sense. Lord Stark dismounts from his horse and is immediately told that someone named Pycelle has called a meeting. For the record, Pycelle's full title is "Grand Maester Pycelle," which suggests that he has a side project as frontman of an old-school rap group. Jory is told to go with the girls. This confused me for a second, because I was thinking of a character named "Ser Jory" from the video game Dragon Age. This Jory is probably also a "Ser," come to think of it. That's completely different from "Sir," because it means that this is a different world. Lord Stark has the opportunity to change into something more appropriate for a council meeting, but he doesn't understand the concept. Because he's a dusty, battle-hardened man of action. He's also someone who can ride all day for months and get right to work, I guess.
Ned walks into an enormous throne room, which I can identify by the big throne up there. It's just that kind of insight that brings you here, right? Show me a room with a throne, and BAM! The computer that lives in my brain just spits the name "throne room" out. It's a gift. The throne, in case you haven't seen it in all the advertising, is made of a lot of swords welded together. It doesn't look comfortable. Or even safe. I wonder when they decided to build it? I mean, you can't just stick two swords together and call it a throne, so they must have had a pretty big pile somewhere. Then the old throne collapses, and they're looking around for something to make an impressive chair out of, and the blacksmith says that he's applied for a public art grant, and then you get a throne? And then when new swords show up, someone just sticks them onto the back or something. That's my theory.
Jaime Lannister is there, too, but I already know how he was made. They had a heroic jawline, a floppy yellow hairstyle, and a complete lack of morals and dumped them all into a shiny suit of armor. He greets Lord Stark with his usual combination of fake friendliness and real condescension. He has a charming analogy to describe what Ned's job as Hand of the King is going to be like: "The King shits and the Hand wipes." At least, I assume it's an analogy. Lord Stark tries to get back at Jaime by making fun of how shiny and unmarked his armor is, but Jaime claims that he's had many people try to attack him, but they all missed him. Jaime then changes the subject from metaphorical shit-wiping to the time that he watched Ned's father die. Jaime just stood there and watched the Mad King Aerys Targaryen kill him and didn't do anything. But, Jaime emphasizes, there were 500 other people there, and they didn't do anything either. It was right here in this giant throne room, which was dead silent. And this is also where Jaime killed the Mad King. It seems like Jaime's kind of trying to make friends with Lord Stark as he says, "When I watched the Mad King die, I remember him laughing as your father died. It felt like justice." But Lord Stark doesn't seem to like the fact that Jaime stabbed the king in the back. Jaime appears to feel that this is unfair, since Lord Stark was also rebelling against the king at the time. Stark is full of righteous indignation: "You served him well. When serving was safe." Lord Stark is kind of a snot, if you ask me. When you're killing Mad Kings, sometimes it's easier to stab 'em in the back. If you want to be all honorable and aboveboard, maybe king-killing isn't the best career for you.
With that out of the way, Lord Stark enters a place that my notes mysteriously refer to as "a smaller (but larger) room." I can't imagine what I was thinking when I wrote that. Surely it can't be both of those things at the same time. It's a smaller room than the Throne Room, but it's still pretty big. I think that's what I was trying to get at. And it's filled with people that have to be introduced to Lord Stark, which means they get introduced to us. By name! First we have Lord Varys, an unctuous, berobed gentleman, who tells Stark that they're all praying for Joffrey's recovery. I'm sure Stark is all broken up about whether Prince Jerk is going to be all right. The other people in the room are Renly Baratheon and Petyr Baelish. Petyr Baelish is called "Littlefinger" everywhere but in this scene (and the scene he's in), so I'm just going to jump straight to calling him that. If you're wondering what sort of guy he is, let's put it this way: he's played by Aidan Gillen, who played political weasel Tommy Carcetti on The Wire. So that should save a bit of characterization time.
Grandmaester Pycelle gives Lord Stark a badge with a hand on it. Because he's the Hand. The people on this council are the "lords of small matters," and the first matter is that King Robert wants a big tournament in honor of Ned's appointment as Hand. The winner, according to this note that Ned is reading out, is to get 40,000 gold dragons. Probably not actual dragons, though. The total purse is 80,000 gold, but the treasury doesn't have that much. They'll have to borrow it from the Lannisters because they already owe a total of sixty million to various places. Lord Stark is outraged that Robert could have spent that much, since the kingdom had plenty of money when they killed Targaryen. And wasn't Jon Arryn supposed to be giving sound advice and keeping this sort of thing from happening? Until his sudden and suspicious death, anyway? The answer is that "Lord Arryn gave wise and prudent advice" that Robert ignored. Yeah, I know people who are always giving me wise and prudent advice. Those guys are downers. Ned is cranky after about five minutes of council-meeting, declaring, "There will be no plans until I speak to Robert!" But they're going to go ahead and borrow the money from the Lannisters and set up the tournament anyway, because it's obviously going to happen, no matter what Ned thinks.
In Cersei's suite of rooms, she dabs ointment onto Joffrey's arm wound while he whines and complains. She tells him that kings should have a few scars and then starts drilling him on how he got hurt. She would like him to just make up some dramatic nonsense about fighting off a million direwolves. She tells him, "Someday, you'll sit on the throne and the truth will be what you make it." He asks if he really has to marry Sansa, and she tells him he does. However, if he doesn't like her, he only has to see her on formal occasions and can fill the intervening time by fucking either painted whores or noble virgins, depending on his tastes. You know, I don't think Cersei is going to make Mother of the Year at this rate. She is stern enough with her son to order him to do something nice for Sansa, though. Joffrey has big plans for what he'd do in case of northern rebellion: double their taxes and conscript ten thousand men for the royal army. Apparently, there isn't a royal army right now, just a bunch of separate armies held by various lords. Joffrey speculates about seizing Winterfell and installing a new Warden of the North, but Cersei warns him, "The North cannot be held. Not be an outsider." She tells him to wait to destroy his enemies, and he picks up on the subtext: "So you agree. The Starks are enemies." She makes it clear: "Everyone who isn't us is an enemy."
Sansa, Arya, and their minder are at a meal. Let's say it's dinner. Arya has a knife, but instead of cutting up her food, she's using to stab the table over and over again. I'm not sure she's any more well-adjusted than Joffrey, frankly. I think a proper young lady is probably a little less... stabby. Sansa is ignoring her by concentrating on her cross-stitch or something. It's probably cross-stitch, right? Ned enters to try to get in a bit of fathering. He gives Arya royal toy, but it turns out to be a doll, which she is offended by. She hasn't played with dolls since she was eight, apparently. I forget how old she is right now, but let's say it's ten or so. Arya runs out of the room, giving some lip service to the idea that she has to ask to be excused. Ned sighs, "War is easier than daughters." Is this going to turn into a show about raising children?
In her room, Arya pulls Needle out so she can wave it around and pretend to be killing people. And sisters. Mostly sisters. There's a knock on the door, and she shouts "Go away!" But it's her father, so she opens the door. She still has her sword in her hand, which is a little aggressive in my opinion. When he asks whose sword it is, she defiantly answers, "Mine!" But she lets him take it anyway. Ned recognizes the mark of his own blacksmith, but Arya won't tell him where she got it. He tries to tell her that ladies should play with swords, but she insists that she wasn't playing. Also, she doesn't want to be a lady. All she knows about swords is Lesson One ("Stick 'em with the pointy end," remember?) and she isn't even sure who she wants to stab. But she knows she wants to stab someone, which is a good start. It's important to have goals. Her real problem, as she reveals to Ned, is that she asked the butcher's boy to practice with her, so she blames herself for his death. And also Lady's. And also, she hates everyone, particularly the king, all the Lannisters, and Sansa. Ned tells Arya the facts of life, which are that Sansa is going to marry Joffrey someday, which means that she can't take sides against him, even when he's wrong. Another round of "Winter is coming," and Arya is willing to admit that maybe she doesn't actually hate Sansa. I think she's the only one, though. Ned says they're in a dangerous place, and gives her back her sword. "Try not to stab your sister with it," he adds.
There's a crow at Bran's window, but if it's supposed to be foreshadowing, it's late by at least two episodes. Bran is still in bed, but he's got an old lady to tell him stories. She says that all crows are liars, which reminds her of a story about crows. Bran is sick of her already and claims to hate stories. She's not the sort of person that can be stopped just by somebody's outright hatred, so she promptly segues into a story about a little boy who hates stories. Bran likes stories about scary things, which is exactly the sort of thing that scary storytelling ladies like to hear. So it turns out that fear is for "the long night," which is when White Walkers move through the woods. And that night lasts hundred years and there are pale spiders as big as hounds. That sort of thing. Robb comes in and tells her to shove off so he can talk to Bran. He starts off with a story about how we're all living inside the eye of a blue-eyed giant named "Macomber." Great. Anyway, Bran doesn't remember anything about his fall. Robb says that Bran never falls, but he pretty clearly does. Also, Bran is bummed out about being doomed to a life without legs, and he'd rather be dead. Bring back the crazy lady!
Lady Stark and Sideburns enter King's Landing. Sideburns thinks Catelyn should probably disguise herself so people don't recognize her, but she pooh-poohs this. The last time she was here was nine years earlier, and no one recognized her then. As soon as she finishes saying this, a couple of horsemen ride up and greet her by name, saying they've been instructed to bring her into the city. Well, that went well!
They're brought into a whorehouse where they're met by Littlefinger (who's still being called Baelish in this scene). He claims that he meant no disrespect by bringing them here, and that he knew they were coming because he heard it from a "dear friend." And that would by Varys, who oils in and talks about how "knowledge is my trade, my lady." He even knows that they're here because they want to get information on this fancy dagger. Unfortunately, Varys only knows that it's Valyrian steel, not whose it is. But Littlefinger does! He's pleased to announce that it's his. However, that doesn't mean that he's the one who set the assassin on Bran. He says that he lost it on a bet, when the Knight of the Flowers unseated Jaime in the last tournament. And he lost it to...Tyrion Lannister! Drama! I'd react more strongly, but I'm a little distracted by the "Knight of the Flowers." Is that really the toughest name he could think of? He must be pretty good if he took down Jaime, but c'mon. Flowers?
Meanwhile, up at the Wall, Tyrion is watching Jon Snow be very good at fighting. A lavishly sarcastic man calls him "Lord Snow" and has the other new recruits attack him. They do not do well, and some of them get their noses broken. You'd think this would make him the belle of the ball, but his only reward is to be named "the least useless person here." Tyrion, watching the festivities with an older soldier named Commander Mormont, comments that the sarcastic guy is charming. I'm not sure you're allowed to use sarcasm to criticize someone else for using sarcasm. Mormont says that he doesn't need to be charming; he needs to be good at training people. Oh, and he's got a note for Lord Stark's son, which is both good and bad news. You know, for a story that's already spread across two continents, people get messages surprisingly quickly and accurately.
Pycelle brings Lord Stark a note from Winterfell. See? From the size of the map and the lack of cell phones, you'd think he'd be out of Winterfell's range. When Pycelle has tottered off, Littlefinger comes up with a smirk (remember: Tommy Carcetti from The Wire) and asks, "Good news? Perhaps you'd like to share it with your wife." Ned says that his wife is in Winterfell, so Ned leads him to the whorehouse. Lord Stark (he's "Lord Stark" when he's angry) thinks this is a joke, and so he grabs Littlefinger by the neck and shoves him against the wall, calling him a "funny man." I'm not sure Lord Stark knows what a "joke" is. Before he can kill Littlefinger, Catelyn sticks her head out the window and tells him to knock it off.
Whoops! Back to the Wall. Snow is putting some weapons back on the racks when some of his fellow recruits would like a word with him. When a conversation starts with "You broke my nose, Bastard," it's probably not going to get better. Indeed, one of them grabs Snow from behind while another puts a knife to Snow's throat. Tyrion enters to calm everything down with his trademark friendliness. He receives a snarled, "What you looking at, half-man?" with an amiable explanation that he's looking at all of them, and has devoted some time to memorizing their faces. Faces, he adds, which would look lovely decorating King's Landing. They leave, snarling and muttering. Snow complains to Tyrion that he was the only one who told him that the Wall would be filled with thieves and rapers and general lowlifes, and he didn't listen. Tyrion drops some backstory on the other recruits, like how this one was arrested for stealing a wheel of cheese or that one was abandoned by his parents as a baby. He points out that the reason Snow is better at fighting than everyone else probably has something to do with the way he grew up in a castle with a personal fight trainer. Oh, and now that he's made Snow feel like a jerk, here's a note about Bran.
In that whorehouse, Catelyn tells Ned that Littlefinger is "like a little brother" to her, and that he's "a true friend." He kind of lurks in the background of these shots, wondering how he can get out of the "little brother" zone and into the "Oh, Littlefinger, I must leave my boorish husband for you!" zone. So of course he'll help!
Elsewhere in King's Landing, Cersei yells at Jaime for throwing Bran out the window. I didn't hear her making a suggestion at the time. I think what she's mostly mad about is that he didn't stab Bran first, although it seems like that would cause even more suspicion. Jaime is not as stressed out as Cersei, and figures that since the kid hasn't said anything yet, maybe he won't. Besides, he thinks he can probably out-think a ten-year-old. And if everything blows up and the twincest becomes generally known, maybe he'll go to war with the king. He names this potential war "The war for Cersei's cunt," because, again, HBO. Are you blown away by the edginess yet? Anyway, he vows to kill lots and lots of people for her. Andwhat else can you ask for from your twin brother?
Robert has himself a kingly feast, which he enjoys while talking about all the people he's killed. The Hound is there, and he obediently participates in the reminiscences. The first man he killed was with a lance through the heart. Ah, good times. Robert's was in a battle after his horse died: "He came running at me, this dumb high-born lad, thinking he could end the rebellion with one swing of his sword." Then Robert smashed him with his hammer, which took while because he had to cave in the armor. And so we don't forget how the king is, he ends his story with, "They never tell you how they all shit themselves. They don't put that part in the songs." Robert sounds like he envies the boy for being dead. It's subtext, but I guess this parallels Bran's wish to be dad from earlier. He demands some wine from the kid who's standing there with a pitcher. It's a Lannister (Lancel Lannister, which the king thinks sounds like he was named by a halfwit with a stutter) and he's out of wine, which is never the best way to get on a king's good side. Robert demands more, then shouts out the door at Jaime Lannister, who's been waiting patiently, "Kingslayer! Get in here!" Robert complains about being surrounded by Lannisters, their blond hair, and their smug, satisfied faces. Jaime looks smug and satisfied. With his blond hair. Robert tries to shame Jaime by talking about how he has to wait at the door, but it's not clear that Jaime understands how to feel shame. He asks about Jaime's first kill, and it was some outlaw. There were no last words, because Jaime cut his head off. Well, how about talking about Aerys Targaryen? Robert would like to know what his last words were. "Did he call you a traitor? Did he plead for a reprieve?" Jaime answers politely, 'He said the same thing he'd been saying for hours. Burn them all." Well. Huh. Jaime excuses himself.
Hey, it's the Dothraki! They're not riding in strict single-file anymore. Daenerys is riding with an advisor who finally gets the name Jorah Mormont. Well, from the way it's said in this scene, it sounds more like "Worwont," but I promise it's Jorah. He explains to Daenerys that the Dothraki don't buy slaves because they don't believe in money. And also because they tend to just get given slaves out of the blue. And if they don't get given enough slaves, they destroy entire cities. You can see how people who do that sort of thing wouldn't bother with money. Daenerys seems to see something in the trees they're passing, so he tells Jorah to tell the convoy to halt. For how long? "Until I tell them otherwise." He says she's sounding like a queen, and she clarifies: "Not a queen. A khaleesi." She goes into the woods, and I notice that she appears to be getting a bit of a tan. Good for her. She's looking around a clearing when Viserys roars out of the woods on his horse. He's furious about being told to halt, so he shouts, "You do not command the dragon!" I guess he's the dragon in this scenario. He clarifies, "I don't take orders from savages or their sluts. Do you hear me?" He acts in a threatening manner toward her when a whip around his throat pulls him to the ground. Oops! Turns out the Dothraki are more loyal to her than he thought, and a rider has taken care of things. A handmaiden asks if she wants him dead. Nah, not right now. The rider seems confused, and the handmaiden shrugs. It's a small gesture, but it definitely conveys, "Yeah, she definitely said not to kill him. I don't know either. Weird, right?" Viserys asks Jorah to "kill these Dothraki dogs." Jorah considers it, but... nah. Not doing that. Viserys is in full tantrum mode, shouting "I am your king!" Jorah pointedly asks the khaleesi what to do. The handmaiden helps her up onto her horse and she rejoins the caravan. The rider says to Viserys, "You, walk."
The Wall is a place of CGI snow and wind noises. And the sound of steel on steel as people practice swordplay. Snow rides an elevator up to the top, and it turns out to be powered by a single guy pushing a stick around. They couldn't get a donkey for that? It takes awhile to get to the top, and Snow is shivering a little. He walks along the top of the Wall, which does have some embankments to keep people from falling off. He hugs Uncle Benjen and the two of them look down at the ground, hundreds of feet away. I guess they're up there as lookouts, because without an elevator, I don't think there's going to be anyone to fight up there. Benjen is leaving in the morning to go "out there" where there have been disturbing reports. Snow, however, is no ranger. He protests that he's better than everyone, but Benjen corrects him: "You're better than no one! Here, a man gets what he earns when he earns it. We'll speak when I return." If I were Jon Snow, I would be getting kind of tired of people telling me they'll talk to me the time they see me.
Tyrion has some good, manly repartee with Yoren, who's one of the longer-time members of the Night's Watch. Their discussion largely centers on bear testicles. Apparently the recruits are mostly pickpockets and thieves, although a few are highborn lads looking for glory. Benjen picks a fight with Tyrion, asking, "The night's watch a joke to you, Lannister?" He seems angry that half the recruits will die north of the wall, and that they'll do so in order that plump little lords like Tyrion can enjoy their afternoons in comfort. Tyrion is unaffected by this, asking, "Do you think I'm plump?" Tyrion claims he has great admiration for the Night's Watch but he doesn't believe that giants and ghouls and White Walkers are over there. Benjen tells him, "You've never been north of the Wall, so don't tell me what's out there." Then he flounces out, "going below" through the tunnel. Yoren is going to King's Landing to pick up a handful of prisoners and Tyrion wants to travel together. He promises Yoren nothing but the finest castles and inns! Hooray! Tyrion has the ability to completely ignore somebody being outraged at him, which is something he has in common with his brother Jaime.
The handmaiden gives Daenerys language lessons and grabs her breast. Is that part of the lesson? She asks, "When was last time you bleed, khaleesi?" Ah, she's pregnant already. According to the handmaiden, "It's a blessing from the Great Stallion." I thought it was Khal Drogo, but okay.
Outside that tent, Jorah is engaging in manly repartee with one of the Dothraki riders. This is a pretty good episode for manly repartee. I have to include the word "manly" right there, because otherwise you'll be imagining Noel Coward exchanging airy persiflage with Oscar Wilde. This isn't that sort of repartee. This is the sort of repartee where Jorah says a scythe is a good horseman's weapon, but broadswords are better for going through armor. The rider refers to armor as "steel dresses" and thinks that both armor and giant swords will slow you down, and that speed defeats size. He asks about Jorah's father, who turns out to be a man of great honor. Oh, and Jorah betrayed him. The handmaiden comes out and announces that the khaleesi would like a change from the horsemeat. How about a nice rabbit? There aren't any rabbits around here. Ducks? Nope. The rider offers to kill a dog, but Jorah earns his keep by stopping that plan. The handmaiden announces, "The khaleesi have baby inside her," so Jorah decides to have one of the goats killed. Goats are both delicious and adorable. They're the perfect companions! He also tells the rider that he has to ride somewhere on his own, then he'll catch up. Hordes are easy to find, so it shouldn't be a problem.
At the Wall, things are going better. Snow is sparring cheerfully and telling his fellow recruits how to fight. You, move more. You, move less. That sort of thing. Everyone's getting along well, so I can only assume that everyone at the Wall is going to be all right. Forever. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
Tyrion is still hobnobbing with the leadership of the Wall, He says that he's seen eight winters, then corrects that to nine. For a second, it seems like he's a lot younger than he looks (and that scene with the whores seems wildly inappropriate), but then he adds that the winter of his birth was three years long, and that this summer has lasted nine. What? I don't understand this cosmology at all, but I guess it helps give some context for the Starks going around saying "Winter is coming" all the time. It's a more useful thing to say when the last winter could be as much as a decade ago. An aged gentleman does, in fact, say that winter is coming. Wildlings have seen White Walkers, but Tyrion airily mocks this (it's very nearly persiflage!), saying that fisherman claim to see mermaids. The aged gentleman continues to predict doom. There are less than a thousand in the Night's Watch, and they're all that stand between the realm and "what lies beyond." So they would like Tyrion to return to King's Landing and tell his sister that the Wall needs more people. My guess is that she'll be okay with imprisoning people, as long as she gets to put a few of the heads on pikes now and then.
Daenerys and Drogo are entwined in their tent. There are candles, dragon eggs, and a fire. She tells him she knows that it's a boy, and they kiss. Looks like everything's going fine here, too!
Tyrion is, in fact, pissing of the top of the Wall, just like he said he would. He's a man of his word! Snow waits for him to be done, then tells him that he's sorry to see him leave. "It's either me or this cold, and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere." Snow asks Tyrion to tell Bran he'll miss him. Tyrion is not overflowing with the milk of human kindness: "If you're going to be a cripple, it's better to be a rich cripple." They part, with Tyrion calling Jon "Lord Snow," but I don't think he means it in a mean way.
Arya enters a room that's occupied by a bushy-haired foreign person named Syrio Forel. He's basically Italian, but you have to translate that into this world, so I don't know what the local name is. Did you see Topsy Turvy? Do you remember the dance master? That's kind of what this guy is like. And, in fact, he is allegedly giving Arya "dancing lessons." He starts by calling her a boy and throwing a wooden sword at her. She drops it, but he tells her that tomorrow, she'll catch it. She whines that it's too heavy to use it one-handed, but, says Syrio, it will make her strong. He makes her turn sideways and praises her skinniness since it presents less of a target. He adjusts her grip. "The steel must be part of your arm! Can you drop part of your arm?" I want to emphasize this: although obviously none of this show is set in the real world, he is extravagantly foreign. She points out that she's a girl, not a boy, but he doesn't care: "Boy, girl. You are a sword. " While trying to refine her grip, he tells her, "You are holding..." And she finishes the sentence, "...a needle!" "Just so." This style of swordfighting is different from the usual Westeros brutality; he calls it "the water dance." He's also got a water-based theory: "All men are made of water. Did you know this? If you pierce them, the water leaks out and they die." He tells her to try to strike her. She swings wildly, and he does fancy sword things in response to get out of the way. She is undeterred. He keeps tapping her with the sword, telling her she's dead over and over again. She doesn't stop, but she does lose her sword. And the time he throws the sword, she catches it. She's very motivated, even though she keeps dying. Ned looks in and as he watches, the sounds of the wooden swords are replaced by steel on steel. He looks more serious and he's either contemplating his little girl getting into real sword fights or the many life-or-death fights he's been in himself. Or both. Or it's possible they just used the wrong sound effects, I guess.
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