In a deeply well-written series, nearly every single line of dialogue is bursting with meaning. Whether they rely on complex investigations of lore and subtext or tell the audience the moral directly, these stories transform ordinary conversations into arguments about morality, philosophy, and the absurdities of life. Game of Thrones earned so much love in its early years precisely because its dialogue consistently pulled this off.
Looking back on the show's first season, it would be difficult to find any scenes where the dialogue isn't rich with deeper meaning. So many of the show's best lines come from those episodes, where each character's values were on display in their every action and conversation. Here, we will explore one quote per episode that sums up its key idea or importance to the season and the show as a whole.
Episode 1: “Winter Is Coming”
"He won’t be a boy forever. And winter is coming."
While there may be other lines that are more memorable from the first episode—Tyrion's advice to Jon about not forgetting what you are being a notable example—this line captures the most important themes in two short sentences. While it initially was said in reference to Ned's decision to have Bran watch the deserter's execution, it captures one of the central ideas of this first season: that nobody stays innocent for long when troubles are on the horizon.
True enough, Bran has a lot of growing up to do. In this first episode alone, he sees a man die, spots the queen in the midst of incestuous adultery, and is flung from a tower. The importance of this line is emphasized by the fact that Jaime asks Bran's age before attempting to kill him. His boyhood does not save him from this monster, nor will it save any of his siblings.
The episode as a whole is about the juxtaposition of childhood innocence with the problems of adulthood. It's most notable with the Stark children, as we see both Sansa and Jon eager to throw away their childhoods to start a new phase of their lives. But we also see the adults reference their youth, from Jaime and Cersei discussing Tywin's scoldings to Ned and Robert mourning Jon Arryn's role as their pseudo-father.
The children have to grow up quickly, and the adults will find out that their childhood bonds are not enough to protect them from the cruelest players in the game of thrones.
Episode 2: “The Kingsroad”
"Damn it. Children fight!"
While much of this episode is spent getting characters into place for future plot developments, the conflict between Arya and Joffrey is notable because it shouldn't have as many consequences as it does. Robert yells this line when the fight is brought before him, and he's right. In any other context, a fight between children would be easily resolved by their respective parents. But in this episode, as in House of the Dragon, a fight between children becomes a miniaturized battle between factions.
This shows just how much impact each character's actions have, symbolically and literally. Across the Narrow Sea, Viserys is trying to build an army and make big moves, but he is actually just playing at war. But on the Kingsroad, what should have been a minor skirmish turns into a crisis between the respect owed to the royal family and the value of truth and honor. Children fight. It shouldn't impact the rest of the world, but it does.
For the story at large, this highlights how immature characters given too much power can cause chaos. Joffrey showing a bit of teenage defiance costs Ned his head. Robin Arryn's childlike desire to make people fly has life-and-death consequences. Sansa wanting to live out a fairytale ends up dooming herself and her family. Children acting like children is dangerous in the world of Westeros, and they must grow into their power or take the world down with them.
Episode 3: “Lord Snow”
"Someday you'll sit on the throne and the truth will be what you make it."
Episode 3 is a meditation on truth, and nearly every arc relies on characters either seeking truth or plotting to cover it up. Cersei says this line to Joffrey while discussing the incident on the Kingsroad and his future as a ruler. Similar to later discussions of what power is, this conversation helps to clarify how Cersei understands the world.
When she and Jaime were in danger, they had the power to silence Bran and thus keep their secrets. When Joffrey was hurt, she wielded her power and his title to punish the Starks. She believes that power allows you to literally rewrite history, and she does it multiple times in just the first few episodes.
While Bran's memory loss would seem to lend credence to her philosophy, there are multiple other examples throughout the episode that bring it into question. Though Littlefinger has far less power than Catelyn on the surface, his manipulation of the truth about the catspaw dagger gives him the upper hand.
Similarly, once Tyrion reveals the truth about the other Night's Watch initiates to Jon, he is able to reclaim some power from Ser Allister by forging connections with his peers. In both cases, someone with less overt power triumphs by rejecting the "truths" of their superiors.
As the series progresses, the claims of those in power become less important, both because they have less power to back them up and because there are too many stories to evaluate. While it seems as though truth always comes out in the end, perhaps the more important response to this early moral is that loyalty trumps both truth and lies, because it doesn't need to be proven.
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Episode 4: “Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things”
"I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples, bastards and broken things."
Unsurprisingly, the best line to summarize episode 4 is the one that its title is drawn from. After gifting the Starks with designs to allow Bran to continue riding horses, Tyrion tells them about his fondness for those society typically rejects. However, the line could just as easily be applied to George R.R. Martin and the showrunners, as this particular episode focuses almost exclusively on those populations.
While Bran is the most obvious example of a "cripple," this is also the episode where Sansa learns the story behind the Hound's disfigurement. Jon is the obvious "bastard," but the episode also includes Ned learning about Gendry and Jon Arryn's quest to find all of Robert's illegitimate children. While some might object to the title including "broken things," Samwell Tarly and Arya Stark are both put forward as noble children who cannot assimilate into the roles they were supposedly born to.
All of these characters are intended to be sympathetic at this point in the story, and Tyrion is that much more beloved for being one of the only people to see their value. But as the story progresses, these are also the characters who thrive the most, because they are not complacent in their roles.
Those who have survived abuse know how to survive, and those who know suffering avoid inflicting it on others. The series doesn't pretend that you should want to be in one of these groups, but it does suggest that wisdom can be gained from them.
Episode 5: “The Wolf and the Lion”
"Do you think it's honor that's keeping the peace? It's fear — fear and blood."
Episode 5 is one of the best-written in the entire series, which made it difficult to pick which line deserved the top spot. But ultimately, the price of peace best sums up the episode, which centers on the deterioration of stability in Westeros. This quote emerges during Robert and Ned's argument over killing Daenerys. While Ned finds it reprehensible to kill an innocent, Robert sees it as a necessary evil.
Taking the episode as a whole, we see multiple circumstances where fear and violence are used as a method of control; no honorable choices come to any good. Catelyn intends to try and kill Tyrion for his role in Bran's attack, Ned refuses to take part in assassinating Daenerys, and Jaime ambushes Ned to defend his brother. At this point in the story, those who use violence swiftly seem to win, while those who try to do things the 'right way' end up suffering.
The immediate aftermath of this episode highlights this moral even more. Catelyn and Lysa allowing Tyrion a trial lets him escape, Tywin scolds Jaime for keeping Ned alive after attacking him, and Ned is on the path to his own destruction. In the show as a whole, it's made clear that violence for violence's sake is a bad strategy, but controlled violence, fear balanced with honor, is a useful tool, and this is where the Stark family begins to learn that lesson.
Episode 6: “A Golden Crown”
"There is only one God and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: Not today."
The catchphrase "Not today" pops up multiple times throughout the series, but it is first introduced while Arya is she is training with Syrio Forel. It is both a mindset to keep in a fight and a way to view the world. Rather than praying to the Old Gods or the New ones, Arya is told to resist the God that wants her dead, whatever it takes.
This episode clearly shows which characters have learned this lesson and which haven't. Robb and Theon do what it takes to keep themselves and Bran alive, despite the fact that enslaving Osha isn't honorable. Tyrion knows that a standard trial will end in his death, so he demands a Trial by Combat, hoping that he has sold somebody on the idea that he's of more value alive than dead. However, Viserys ignores the very possibility of death, which leads to his downfall.
Per this slogan, the most critical goal at all times is to stay alive. As the series continues, we see that (generally) those who thrive are the ones who can endure suffering, rather than giving in. Those who are so arrogant that they don't imagine death as an option find themselves shocked by it. And those, like Ned Stark, who think death is acceptable, are sure to find it.
Episode 7: “You Win or You Die”
"What we don't know is usually what gets us killed."
While this episode includes the titular line about playing the game of thrones, its most powerful lesson actually comes from Littlefinger while he was training prostitutes for his brothel. They ask him to join, claiming that the person he's saving himself for can't be hurt by what she doesn't know. He rebukes them and then shares his lifelong obsession with Catelyn and his dreams of winning everything.
In such a deadly world, it's critical to explore what the characters do and don't know. The men at the Wall don't know enough about the White Walkers, so they bring in the corpses that intend to kill them. Daenerys doesn't know about Robert's assassination attempt, but Jorah's discovery of it allows him to save her. Robert doesn't know about the true parentage of his children, so he doesn't know better than to trust the Lannisters.
And, of course, Ned doesn't know who his real supporters are, which is a fatal bit of ignorance when he tries to confront Cersei.
This lesson continues throughout the series, which is why characters like Varys and Littlefinger are so important. Renly doesn't know that his brother has access to magic. Robb doesn't know that the Boltons and Freys have turned on him. Kraznys doesn't know that Daenerys speaks Valyrian. And each time, that ignorance gets them killed.
Characters like Tyrion and Sansa learn these lessons, which give them the ability to eventually turn the tables on those who wanted to see them dead and the wisdom to learn more about the greater threat that had been hiding.
Episode 8: “The Pointy End”
"It's always the innocents who suffer. "
Varys comes to speak with Ned in the dungeons, where he shames him for endangering people by telling Cersei that he knew about her children. While this line is said somewhat mockingly, as Varys makes it clear that Ned's attempt at mercy is only going to cause more harm, it's also clear foreshadowing for the rest of the episode and much of the series as a whole.
In this same episode, Sansa is referred to as innocent twice, but it doesn't save her from becoming a hostage, and it won't save her from more suffering down the line. Ned is also technically innocent, unless naivety can be counted as a crime.
But perhaps the most important application here is that ordinary people will suffer. In order to support Daenerys, Khal Drogo sacks Lhazar, where men are slaughtered and women raped and enslaved.
As fans see in the last two episodes of the season, some of those innocents are going to hold a grudge, striking against those with more power than they
have. As the show continues, the innocent continue to suffer, starving from blocked supply lines, thrown into wars, and generally used as pawns in the nobility's games. The series highlights that the innocents are generally those who have to suffer for those with power to get what they want, but they are also often overlooked, a dangerous mistake when they come back to get revenge on their oppressors.
Episode 9: “Baelor”
"Love is the death of duty."
The heart of this episode, and consequently this quote, comes from a conversation between Jon and Maester Aemon. When Jon feels the pull to abandon the Night's Watch to join Robb and fight for Ned, Aemon wisely reminds him of the complexities of honor, particularly when it comes into conflict with love.
But, of course, this moral doesn't just apply to Jon. Ned is willing to die rather than swear to a lie, but he isn't willing to let his children suffer the same fate. Daenerys rejects the Dothraki value systems to try to save Khal Drogo.
In his story about his first wife, Tyrion shares his own attempt to choose love over duty. However, we also see a few examples of the opposite. Sansa is constantly torn between the two, but generally chooses her role as Joffrey's fiancée over her family, and Robb continues fighting, despite the possible consequences for his sisters.
Naturally, this conflict doesn't end with this episode or even this season. The betrothal between Robb and House Frey is eventually broken, costing him and his family their lives. Jon has doubts but typically chooses duty over love, which doesn't end well for those he loves. While the story doesn't firmly land on one side or the other every time, it is constantly putting the two at odds to see which each character will choose.
Episode 10: “Fire and Blood”
"When dead men and worse come hunting for us in the night, do you think it matters who sits on the Iron Throne?"
Perhaps the biggest source of conflict in Game of Thrones is between the imminent political threats and the more distant, but far more important, supernatural ones. This quote comes from Jeor Mormont, who tries to keep Jon focused after his near-desertion. He acknowledges the pain Jon must be feeling, but reminds him that nothing happening in the South matters if the dead rise.
This episode establishes the key threats for Westeros moving forward, but many of them have nothing to do with politics. While the audience feels for the Starks and wishes them success, there are more important things to deal with. The dead are rising beyond the Wall, so the Night's Watch has to defend it. Daenerys brought the dragons back, which not only are threats themselves, but also increase the power of magic and wildfire.
This line, and its concept as a whole, are part of why so many fans were frustrated by season 8. The White Walkers didn't live up to the threat that had been foreshadowed since the first season, and the dragons didn't get much to do either beyond the burning of King's Landing.
In the end, the story itself prioritized the question of who wins the throne over how they stop a supernatural apocalypse, a disappointing end for a series that so frequently reminded its audience not to get distracted from what mattered most.