Game of Thrones Season 1 Episode 3 "Lord Snow"

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        We got our first real view of the Seven Kingdom's capital city, King's Landing, this week (and my apologies to commenter Bezerker because weirdly it does look a bit like Tuscany). But it certainly isn't as nice a place to holiday however, as Ned Stark swiftly found out. Whether trying to cope with the machinations of the King's small council or attempting to work out what game Peter Baelish, aka Littlefinger, is really playing, Ned wore the harried look of a man increasingly out of his depth. Nor did he fare much better when he (somewhat insensitively) tried to replace Sansa's dead wolf with a wooden doll. Still at least Arya's happy with her new "dancing" lessons.

        Speaking of Littlefinger, Aidan Gillen was on fine slippery form. Few actors do weaselly as well as Gillen - and his Baelish, all surface charm and furiously conniving brain, was a pleasure to watch. It's hard to know just what game Littlefinger is playing here. It's possible that he's telling the truth - and that the knife sent to kill Bran belonged to Tyrion - although contradicting that is both what we know of Tyrion so far, and the brief scene last week when he told Jaime he'd like to know what really happened to Bran - but it's just as possible that he's lying for his own ends. What those ends might be is anyone's guess. He claims to be driven only by a desire to help Catelyn, the woman he apparently adores, but there were more questions raised than answered in his brief scenes. Would a man who bears a scar from neck to navel because of Ned's older brother really be so forgiving? Can someone as sharp as Littlefinger truly not bristle at Catelyn's condescending dismissal of their relationship? The slight wince as she said that he was a "good friend" suggests that there's a lot going on behind the smarm.