The Mountain and the Viper

"**The Mountain and the Viper**"
"The Mountain and the Viper"
Game of Thrones episode
	Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane (left) and Oberyn "the Viper" Martell (right) engage in a trial by combat. This scene was acclaimed by critics.
Episode no.	Season 4; Episode 8
Directed by	Alex Graves
Written by	David Benioff; D. B. Weiss
Featured music	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by	Anette Haellmigk
Editing by	Tim Porter
Original air date	June 1, 2014
Running time	52 minutes
Guest appearances
	Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell; Indira Varma as Ellaria Sand; Michael McElhatton as Roose Bolton; Ian McElhinney as Ser Barristan Selmy; Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle; Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Mace Tyrell; Yuri Kolokolnikov as Styr; Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm; Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei; Mark Stanley as Grenn; Ben Crompton as Edd Tollett; Josef Altin as Pypar; Paola Dionisotti as Anya Waynwood; Rupert Vansittart as Yohn Royce; Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Gregor Clegane; Grahame Fox as Ralf Kenning; Lino Facioli as Robin Arryn; Lois Winstone as the Mole's Town whore; Jody Halse as Adrack Humble; Alisdair Simpson as Donnel Waynwood; Richard Doubleday as Vance Corbray; Lu Corfield as the Mole's Town madam; Tim Landers as Kegs; Cormac McDonagh as Black Jack Bulwer; Andy Moore as Mully; Samuel Paul Small as a little bird;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Mockingbird"	Next →; "The Watchers on the Wall"
	Game of Thrones season 4
	List of episodes

"The Mountain and the Viper" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones. The 38th episode overall, it was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Alex Graves.^[1] It first aired on HBO on June 1, 2014.^[2]

In the episode, Mole's Town is attacked by wildlings, but Gilly is spared by Ygritte; Theon Greyjoy negotiates with the remaining ironborn at Moat Cailin; Roose Bolton legitimizes his bastard son Ramsay; Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish is interrogated by the Lords of the Vale following Lysa Arryn's death; Sandor Clegane and Arya Stark arrive at the Eyrie; Jorah Mormont admits to Daenerys Targaryen that he spied on her for Robert Baratheon years earlier, and is banished from Meereen; and Tyrion Lannister's trial by combat takes place in King's Landing. The title refers to Tyrion's trial by combat, a duel between Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane and Oberyn "The Viper" Martell.^[3]

The episode achieved a viewership of 7.17 million in the United States during its initial broadcast,^[4] and received positive reviews from critics, who gave heavy praise to the climactic duel sequence in particular. At the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2014, the episode was nominated for Outstanding Music Composition (Original Dramatic Score), and won the award for Outstanding Production Design in a Single-Camera Fantasy Series (sharing with "The Laws of Gods and Men").^[5]

This episode marks the final appearance of Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell).

^ "The Mountain and the Viper". HBO. Home Box Office, Inc. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
^ "Shows A–Z – Game of Thrones". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
^ Hibberd, James (June 1, 2014). "Game of Thrones recap: 'The Mountain and the Viper'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score) - 2014". Emmys.com. Retrieved June 5, 2022.

[1] "The Mountain and the Viper". HBO. Home Box Office, Inc. Retrieved June 5, 2022.

[futon-2] "Shows A–Z – Game of Thrones". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 16, 2014.

[3] Hibberd, James (June 1, 2014). "Game of Thrones recap: 'The Mountain and the Viper'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 5, 2022.

[:0-4] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] "Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score) - 2014". Emmys.com. Retrieved June 5, 2022.

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