How It All Goes Down
Eddard 13
- Robert comes back from hunting (which is good) but he's dying (which is bad). He was too drunk and a boar wounded him. (Why was he drunk? His Lannister squire kept refilling his wineskin.)
- While he's dying, Robert dictates his will: he wants Joffrey to be king eventually, but he wants Eddard to be in charge until Joffrey is old enough.
- Eddard doesn't have the heart to tell Robert that Joffrey is not actually his son, but he writes the will to say "my heir" instead (31).
- Renly offers Eddard enough soldiers to grab the children and Cersei, but Eddard thinks that children should be left out of it. And, frankly, Renly isn't the rightful heir: Robert's middle brother Stannis is.
- So, to make sure that the rightful heir gets the throne, (a) Eddard writes a letter to Stannis; and (b) he asks Petyr to bribe the City Watch, which Petyr agrees to do. Funny how doing the right thing often involves bribery or violence in this world.