The flaw in Joffrey's thought was that he was "too old". He failed to realize that an old knight is a knight that hasn't lost a battle or fight.

"Dismissing him was as insulting as it was stupid." - Tywin's words to Cersei

“Here boy, melt it down and add it to the others.” Bro just quit, disrespected the king, and declared himself an enemy of the crown all in one sentence. What a legend.

I love how the Hound still reaches for his sword. He knows that wasn't an empty threat, and that he could genuinely take those 5 down.

"Fuck you and your early retirement package" Ser Barristan the Badass

"You're too old to protect anybody." Old warriors don't get old by accident.

He's too old to protect anybody and yet when he draws his sword, whole throne room goes dead silent. And even tho he walks away without a sword, no one dares approaching him. Now that is fucking badass

"Here BOI!" The disrespect was real and on point. Barristan IMMEDIATELY became one of my favorite characters. I'll never forgive Dumb & Dumber for killing him off so soon. He lasted WAYY longer in the books and was very significant.

The metal sounds clinging as sir Barristan walks away isn't his armor it's his huge balls that are probably made of valyrian steel.

Who else wanted to see him carve through the other five Kings Guard like cake?

He still had so much to do in Game of Thrones but they killed him off in such an underwhelming and anticlimatic way. The actor actually talked about the fact that he was deeply disappointed, being one of the few actors who had actually read the books

I love how Geoffrey is actually startled and jumps when he throws his sword. He didn’t expect that at all.

Everybody gangsta until Sir Barristan Selmy draws his sword

He called the king a boy and left without being punished what a boss

"you're too old to protect anybody" "Fear the old man in a profession where men die young"

Best part about this in the books was Tyrion laying into Cersei for humoring Joffery in Barristan's dismissal. Barristan was a living legend among the small folk and any king he serves gains credibility by association. It was one of the only times Cersei actually admits to fucking up.

Cersei: You're fired. Selmy: You can't fire me, bitch! Cersei: Oh? Why is that? Selmy: 'Cuz I quit!

Littlefinger: "...a *naked* knight lol" 10 seconds later: "...I shouldn't have said that"

"Always be wary of the old man in a profession where men die young" This describes Barristan Selmy perfectly

I love how Varys has respect for him and tries to defuse the situation, and how Hound still grabs his sword, despite there being entirety of Kingsguard. Hound knew Barristan wasn't joking when he said he could easily cut through all of them if he wanted.

Ser Barristan is basically a maxed out account that's been inactive

The fact that Clegane still felt the need to grab his sword even when there were so many guards speaks a lot about Barristan's reputation and skills in combat

barristan had so many good lines within the span of 3 minutes “only death relieves us of our sacred trust” “a man who profaned his blade with the blood of the king he swore to defend” “i am a knight, i shall die a knight” “even now, i can cut through the 5 of you like carving a cake” *“here boy. melt it down and add it to the others!”* a shame what d&d did to his character. he doesn’t even die that early on, not to mention he could’ve easily defended himself from the sons of the harpy if it was book accurate 😞

If you ever doubt that sir barristan Selmy was capable of going through the 5 kings guard, watch the hound go for his sword. He wouldn’t of done that if he thought the kings guard would stop Selmy.

calls the king 'boy', throws him his sword and walks away defenceless. legend

Their must have been 10 men between Barristan and The Hound, but The Hound still had to grab his sword.

If you’ve ever read the books Ser Barristan’s reputation as a knight is unmatched. In his prime he would cut down dozens of men single handedly in combat

I like how at 2:52 there's exactly one guy not laughing, and taking a BIG step back.

Fun fact: Ian McElhinney read all of the books to prepare for his role as Ser Barristan. He was disappointed how the show runners killed him off.

When Barristan drew his sword, every hand in the room reached for their own blade, silencing every laughing mouth there. That's how you know that Barristan was an absolute badass.

I love how the sound of an unsheathed sword silenced the hall filled with laughter.

Barristan Selmy Draws his sword. The hound, who is, let's be honest, always down to throw down and choose violence and also is behind a layer of fully armoured Kingsguard, *hesitates.* The only other thing that makes him hesitate in the series is fire, his greatest fear. That's really all ya need to know 😅

Even though he was all the way in the back we can still see the Hound preparing himself, a sign of respect for Ser Barristan's skills. Clegane is probably the only one here who knew that Selmy wasn't bluffing when he said that he could cut through the five of them easily.

Absolutely incredible storytelling. “Melt it down and add it to the others.” Selmy quits - and asks his sword to be added to the throne, a throne composed of the swords of the king’s enemies. He quits and declares himself enemy in one fucking line.

Really subtle visual storytelling: The Kingsguard draw their swords just a split second after Barristan, Janos only reacts and puts his hand on his sword hilt after they've already drawn their swords (showing the clear difference in skill), and the Hound just calmly rests his hand on his hilt (he's not being slow, he just doesn't care that much since there's already 5 Kingsguard in front of him, but he still gets ready just in case).

What a great show it was. That is shame that they suddenly stop at the 6th season and did not continue it.

"What a weak old man hahah!" *draws sword* "OHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT"

The way he says "the man who profaned his blade with the blood of the king he swore to defend" (2:14) has so much flow, a beat should drop after that

I love hoe they laughed, than he drew his sword and their laughter died out immediately and was replaced by utter terror.

Jamie once said that Ser Barristan was like a painter. Who only used the colour red.

The thing that cements this scene is that the bad ass Sandor Clegane, the Hound, reaches for this sword and looks very aware that Ser Barristan's claim of cutting through all five king's guard was not idle or exaggerating.

Love the little detail that in the background the Hound also stands ready to draw his sword, knowing that Selmy absolutely would wreck havoc.

This scene is epic, but I wish they would've kept this line from the book after the last line in the scene: 'Perhaps Lord Stannis will chance to sit on it when he takes your throne.'

In the books, he actually wrote his dismissal in the white book & killed two guards who came to arrest him for “threatening” the king, dude didn’t even have a sword. What a badass.

The only person alive from this scene is Sansa. Let that sink in

Wish they'd kept his full speech from the books. Sansa heard someone gasp. Ser Boros and Ser Meryn moved forward to confront him, but Ser Barristan froze them in place with a look that dripped contempt. "Have no fear, sers, your king is safe . . . no thanks to you. Even now, I could cut through the five of you as easy as a dagger cuts cheese. If you would serve under the Kingslayer, not a one of you is fit to wear the white." He flung his sword at the foot of the Iron Throne. "Here, boy. Melt it down and add it to the others, if you like. It will do you more good than the swords in the hands of these five. Perhaps Lord Stannis will chance to sit on it when he takes your throne."

Imagine the heartbeatings and adrenaline rush those 5 "mighty" kingsguards had when Barristan Selmy "The Naked Knight" drew his sword from it's shin. Oh boy, they needed a glass of cold water after that for sure.

Sword drop = Westeros equivalent of mic drop.

Even the Hound was like, Oh shit

Love that when he draws his sword he's faster than the other kingsguard and had his sword pointed towards the king ready to strike before the other soldiers could even grasp theirs. It even got the Hound nervous. Subtle details make a scene

King Joffrey’s expressions changing subtly throughout the scene is a testament of the actor’s incredible performance and convincing us to actually hate him.

There’s a saying in the military, “Beware the old man in a profession where the men usually die young.”

One reason the books are better: He's still alive.

Selmy is a beast, someone I would not trifle with, he deserved far better in the show, the master of steel he was. "Beware of an old man in a profession where men usually die young."

You never threaten or embarrass someone who has nothing to lose, especially the second greatest swordsman who ever lived

You know the shit's serious when even The Hound reaches to his sword behind 6 men just for safety.

in the books, after saying "melt it down and add it to the others" he also says "maybe Lord Stannis will sit on it once he takes the throne" and i could feel the burn

Although the hound reaches for his sword, he certainly hesitates not to draw it. He knows who would win one-on-one. But still reaches for it, as he knows the guards in front don't stand a chance.

When Sandor Clegane flinches back in fear when you draw your sword. You are a certified badass.

In the books he took off but not before killing a bunch of goldcloaks, got to the White Sword Tower, wrote down his life achievements and his dismissal in the White Book. Absolute badassery

Love how everyone fell immediately silent when Selmy drew sword. Even Littlefinger was like "oh shit, why did I say that?"

"you are to old to protect the king" the knight on the far right at the end is so shook he can't put his sword back in its scabbard.

I can’t help but be saddened when I think of what this show became in its final seasons. Watching scenes like this, it’s as if they’re from an entirely different series. We had gold for several seasons before everything turned a certain shade of brown.

“Only death releases us from our sacred trust” This dude was slyly challenging everyone in that room to try him

"The man who profaned his blade with the blood of the king he sworn to defend" This sentence alone is better than the entire scrip of season 8.

In the books Janos Slynt and some gold cloaks are sent after Selmy, Selmy writes his final chapter in the kingsguard book, then evades capture whilst killing 2 gold cloaks without a weapon, escapes the city and then gets BACK into the city so that he can see Ned being beheaded and pay his respects. All whilst being undetected. Selmy is the best fighter alive in westeros. After his famous rescue (single handedly) of king Aerys at Duskendale and also his killing of Maelys the Monstrous in single combat, a man whose size and ferocity is possibly moreso than the mountain as he had killed his cousin by twisting his head off.

I love the fact the Sandor reached for his sword too and I could clearly see the "He will totally murder me too" and the "im not payed enough for this sh*t" expressions on his face.

After this, he broke in the tower of the king's guard and wrote his own final sentences for his biography in the book of the king's guard. The man is an absolute mad lad.

Dismissing him was as insulting as it was stupid..

I love Varys face when Barristan said "A hall to die in, and men to burry me."

No matter how many years have passed, I'm still so incredibly pissed at how dirty they ended his character in the show. Even after all this time, a hearty "FUCK YOU" is owed to D&D; Barristan the Bold deserved SO much better. GRRM, I love you, I trust you to give Ser Barristan the arc & ending one of the greatest knights of Westeros deserves.

"Melt it down and add it to the others". The throne was made from the swords of enemies of the first king of Westeros. Barristan Selmy just told him "I am your enemy" and they let him go away.

So they replaced a person who didnt protect his king with a person who killed his king

Every time I see these older scenes, I always gain more respect for Varys. He was taking care of hte 'good guys' of the show in the background. He really was a good spy, even I was convinced he always had bad intentions the first time I watched this. He was just really good at what he did.

What I love most about this scene is how nervous all those knights get when Selmy draws his sword. That added line that he could cut through them all wasn't needed, because their apprehension is what told us they were screwed.

Littlefinger: taunts Selmy Selmy: draws sword Littlefinger: pikachu face

Ser Barristan: *draws sword* Night King(far far away): Something's wrong

Ian McElhinney absolutely nailed the role. On re-reading the books it's his performance I automatically picture.

Ser Barristan would be the perfect Night's Watch LC.

I love how everyone laughs at Selmy, but the second he draws that sword they all shit themselves in fear.

Jeoffrey had a lvl 95 paladin on his account. Then he deleted it...

Notice how when everyone started laughing there was one guy in the back who started backing away. That was a smart man

"A hall to die in" the way he says that sends chills down my spine

In the books, Cersei sent 3 armed men after the unarmed Selmy to be arrested, all 3 died.

Only Ser Barristan Selmy could diss the king like that and get away with it.

Even the Hound was ready to drew his sword. That's how you know not to mess with Selmy

10 years after its release and still one of my favorite scenes ever

I like how even Sandor Clegane was concerned for a second.

The ultimate "you can't fire me because I quit"

2:53 Respect for the Lannister Soldiers who didnt laugh

Sir Selmy reaching for his sword silencing the laughter proved Cercei right about one thing. “Power is power.” Little finger may have had a nice witty comeback but Barristan would have cut down nearly everyone in the room and butchered Little Finger for his insult before being overwhelmed by numbers.

"the safety of king Jeoffry should be of paramount importance" ten seconds later they fire westeros' greatest kingsguard great logic 👍

The man who was able to scare The Hound with a simple threat was taken out by a few thugs in an alley...great writing, D&D.

I love how Barristan just throws his sword on the ground and storms off. The second the room went silent from him drawing his sword he'd made his point. I'm sure he briefly considered fighting but he would not dishonor himself that way

The sound of the unsheathing of the swords echoing in the hall followed by silence was epic. Awesome scene.

so nobody is going to talk about how he called the king a "Boi" infront of everyone, lol

Man the quality of writing and dialogue was so good back then... Oh how the mighty have fallen.

probably my favorite scene in the entire series. what a brilliant portrayal by a fantastic actor. love the notion that even as an elder, he still could cut through younger men

" Here boy! Melt it down and add it to the others" The only disrespect that I accept.

The kingsguard is a pile of shit compared to what it used to be.