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  ===Critical response===
  "Fire and Blood" received positive reviews, and much critical acclaim for the closing scene.
  Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 32 reviews of the episode and judged 100% of them to be positive with an average score of 9.2 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Fire and Blood" creatively provides closure after a shocking penultimate episode while strategically setting up arcs for season two." Matt Fowler of IGN wrote that " 'Fire and Blood' wasn't exactly a powerful roar of an episode, but that book fans would definitely appreciate the small parts of the second book, ''A Clash of Kings'', that got included to help set up season two next year". He rated the episode 8.5 out of 10.
  Emily VanDerWerff of ''The A.V. Club'' gave it an "A-", commenting: 
  David Sims, also writing for ''The A.V. Club'', called it a fitting end to the season, "leaving absolutely everyone salivating for season two". Writing for the ''Star-Ledger'', Jenifer Braun praised the episode for its set dressing ("I have to say, it's a pleasure just to look at all the shiny stuff the HBO set dressers came up with for Tywin Lannister's tent") and the authenticity of the baby dragons ("And wow, HBO, seamless special effects here. Baby Dragon looks every bit as real as the series' dogs"). HitFix said it "Wrapped up its terrific first season...it was damned entertaining along the way--with the finale as possibly the most entertaining so far--and we know that at least one more season is coming. And if the creative team can keep up this level of quality, it's hard to imagine HBO shutting things down anytime soon, even with a budget that only figures to get higher. Dragons aren't cheap, but they're also amazing".