Perhaps the audience had the sense that Tyrion wasn’t as malicious as the rest of his family up to this point, but one could easily say that this was the moment that it was confirmed that Tyrion had a little virtue in him.

He was taken prisoner, and when a fight breaks out, aka the perfect time to take off, he ends up defending his captor. He realizes that Catelyn is a good person, now he demonstrates that he is as well, though there’s no immediate payoff for Tyrion as he becomes a captive once more directly following this scene.

So now we know that the Hound is scary. And he’s not necessarily the big teddy bear type, he has compassion where his elder brother, The Mountain, lacks. Sandor, The Hound, is every bit as ferocious and skilled in combat, but he detests vows and rituals. As demonstrated a little bit later, he refuses to be knighted. In this particular scene, the Hound is Joffrey’s personal bodyguard (paid to do so, obviously).

As he does below, Sandor will repeatedly claim he is “no Ser” (no knight) and generally debunk the concept of chivalry, yet in his bow here and elsewhere he shows a natural, if conflicted, notion of such noble behavior.

Ser Gregor Clegane, aka The Mountain that Rides, or simply, The Mountain, is said to be the largest man in Westeros, at roughly eight feet tall and overly muscular.

He has a deep affinity to Tywin Lannister, making him especially feared. He is well known for his temper, ferocity, cruelness, anger – you name it, anything bad. As told by Littlefinger earlier, he and his brother despise each other.

In this particular scene, the Hound knows that his brother is going too far, after beheading the horse and setting his sites on Loras, so he defends Loras, meanwhile showing loyalty to King Robert by stopping as soon as he asks.

The word “dracarys” means “dragonfire”. It’s the command Khaleesi says when she wants her dragons to use their dragon fire to burn something.

The audience learns of Mance Rayder along with Jon. Alliser doesn’t go all that in depth of whom Mance is, other than mentioning that he has men who fight for him.

Mance Rayder is the rumored “king beyond the wall”, he has the ability to lead the Wildlings, which are seen as a threat to the realm. It’s Mance’s first mention, certainly not his last.

This is the first time in the series that this particular rebellion is mentioned. The Greyjoy Rebellion is actually still fairly fresh on the minds of everyone, as it was only 9 years prior to the events that are currently taking place.

Balon Greyjoy, head of House Greyjoy declared himself King of the Iron Islands and lead the rebellion with the strength of their ships. But due to their lack of funding and overall numbers, King Robert and the Iron Throne defeated the Greyjoy’s mainly due to Robert’s brother Stannis. Balon’s eldest sons were killed in combat and much of their land was as well. The Siege of Pyke is often referenced by several characters throughout the series, as it was the last noteworthy battle in the kingdoms.

Some of the mention worthy combatants were Ned Stark and Jaime Lannister, who lead the battles at Pyke. Jory, Ned’s go-to guy, as well as Jorah Mormont, who was made a knight for his valor in combat.

Balon’s punishment was that he had to release his only son, Theon, to be a ward for House Stark.