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| "'''The Mountain and the Viper'''" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of HBO's acclaimed fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 38th overall. The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Alex Graves. It aired on June 1, 2014. | |
| This episode marks the final appearance of Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell). | |
| ==Plot== | |
| ===At the Wall=== | |
| Mole's Town is attacked by wildlings, but Ygritte spares Gilly and her son | |
| ===At Moat Cailin=== | |
| Theon enters Moat Cailin and gives the terms for their surrender to Ralf Kenning. Ralf declines, but is murdered by one of his men, who agrees. However, after the Ironborn open the Moat's gates, Ramsay's army slaughters them. As a reward for retaking the Moat, Roose legitimizes Ramsay as a true Bolton. Bolton's army and Reek depart for their new seat at Winterfell. | |
| ===In Meereen=== | |
| Barristan receives a letter with the Hand of the King's seal. The letter is Jorah's royal pardon signed by Robert for spying on Daenerys. Jorah admits his spying on Daenerys and she exiles him. | |
| ===In the Vale=== | |
| Petyr is interrogated by the nobility of the Vale about Lysa's death. He claims that Lysa committed suicide. Lord Yohn Royce demands to speak with Sansa, who reveals her identity, corroborates Petyr's story and convinces them of his innocence. Petyr, Sansa and Robin leave the Eyrie to tour the Vale. Sansa dyes her hair black to hide her identity. Sandor and Arya arrive at Bloody Gate, only to be informed of Lysa's death, by Donnel. | |
| ===In King's Landing=== | |
| Tyrion's trial by combat begins. Oberyn knocks Gregor to the ground, but instead of finishing him, Oberyn screams at him to confess that Tywin gave him the order to kill Elia and her children. Gregor knocks Oberyn down, confessing to the murder of Elia and her children and crushing Oberyn's skull with his hands. Tywin sentences Tyrion to death for regicide. | |
| ==Production== | |
| ===Writing=== | |
| The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. | |
| This episode contains content from three of George Martin's novels: ''A Storm of Swords'', chapters Daenerys V, Daenerys VI, and Tyrion X; ''A Feast for Crows'', chapters Alayne I and Alayne II; and ''A Dance with Dragons'', chapter Reek II. | |
| ==Reception== | |
| === Ratings === | |
| "The Mountain and the Viper" was watched by an estimated 7.17 million people during its first airing. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 1.811 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week. It also received 0.062 million timeshift viewers. | |
| === Critical reception === | |
| The episode received high praise from critics and audiences alike, with the fight between Prince Oberyn and the Mountain being hailed as the episode's highlight. On Rotten Tomatoes it obtained a 97% score, based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "With one of the most gruesome scenes to date, 'The Mountain and the Viper' delivers a tense, twisty final scene well worth the wait." | |
| Writing for ''The A.V. Club'', Emily VanDerWerff gave the episode an A- and praised the staging of the final fight by director Alex Graves. Erik Adams, also writing for the ''A.V. Club'' gave the episode an A. Terri Schwartz, writing for Zap2it.com, wrote the episode was "one of the strongest ''Game of Thrones'' episodes to date, and that's just the type of episode that the death of Oberyn Martell deserves." | |
| ===Awards and nominations=== | |
| Year | |
| Award | |
| Category | |
| Nominee(s) | |
| Result | |
| 2014 | |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | |
| Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Fantasy Series | |
| Deborah Riley, Paul Ghirardani, and Rob Cameron | |
| Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) | |
| Ramin Djawadi | |
| 2015 | |
| ADG Excellence in Production Design Award | |
| One-Hour Single Camera Fantasy Television Series | |
| Deborah Riley | |
| SFX Awards | |
| Best TV Episode | |
| Hugo Awards | |
| Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form | |
| David Benioff, Alex Graves, and D. B. Weiss | |
| ==References== | |
| ==External links== | |
| * at HBO.com | |
| * | |
| * | |