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Andrew and Manu hit a true watershed moment in the history of television with the finale of "Baelor," where Ned Stark is stunningly executed right after his son, Robb, wins the Battle of the Whispering Wood and takes Jaime Lannister captive. Yowza.
Along the way, Manu brings up a theory that he's discussed on Twitter before with Malora Hightower: the decision to behead Ned was not just Joffrey's violent instinct but also an idea planted by Littlefinger himself. There's more evidence to this than you might think, so take a listen.
This all-timer features some excellent character work by Sean Bean, Michelle Fairley, Maisie Williams, and many others, so let's get right into it.
- Not discussed on the podcast, but worth noting: Jaime talks to Olenna Tyrell about learning from Robb's trick and using it later on at Highgarden in season 7
- Alan Sepinwall's review of "Baelor" at the time of its release captures the shock of Ned's death to pretty much everyone except book readers
- Director Alan Taylor visually breaks down the scene of Ned's execution
- Okay yeah, we need at least one Ned death reaction video
- iTunes link
