Introduction to the Special Issue

This scene, near the beginning of Season 3 of the television series Game of
Thrones, perhaps encompasses why, as lawyers, we have become so
fascinated with the world and characters of Game of Thrones. In the context
of their bitter and dangerous sibling rivalry (at the time of this exchange
Tyrion is locked in his room believing Cersei has attempted to have him
murdered during the battle for King’s Landing against Stannis Baratheon, a
battle during which Tyrion fought bravely to defend the city and his nephew
King Joffrey), Tyrion and Cersei are bickering about the legal meaning of
slander. Further, Cersei defends her right to have taken the law into her own
hands: the servant girl lost an eye, but learned her place as a result of Cersei’s
intervention.