RECAP: 'Game Of Thrones' Battle Of Blackwater Thrills Fans

It was the question on every Game of Thrones fan's mind Sunday night — would the city of King's Landing and the Iron Throne be taken by the approaching ships of Lord Stannis (Stephen Dillaine) and his army in the Battle of Blackwater on the penultimate episode to the season two finale of the acclaimed HBO program, fittingly entitled "Blackwater."

The battle has been anticipated by readers of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels, on which Game of Thrones is based, since season two began, and it did not disappoint, as Lord Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) prepared to defend his city and Joffrey's (Jack Gleeson) throne to the bitter end, despite the fact that Stannis had five times as many troops as the royal army.

In the meantime, Queen Cersei (Lena Headey), momentarily safe with the city's women inside the castle walls, played mildly sadistic mind games with her almost-daughter-in-law Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) as she voraciously imbibed red wine, presumably to steel herself against what seemed like inevitable defeat.

In the meantime, Tyrion sent a decoy ship filled with the highly explosive neon green Wildfire, to greet Stannis' fleet. The ship exploded and wreaked havoc on the ships. But victory was not yet assured, as the troops continued to approach the walls and storm the castle. As a horrified Joffrey retreated indoors to "hide behind his mothers skirts," Tyrion took the men's morale in hand. "Those are brave men knocking at our door," he told his dubious soldiers. "Let's go kill them!"

Many casualties later, Kings Landing still stood, and the final scene of the episode saw Tywin Lannisiter (Charles Dance) burst through the castle doors, preventing Cersei from poisoning her youngest son, and announce their victory, as Tyrion lay bloody and dazed, but still alive, on the battlefield.

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