Although it is barely visible, one of the heads on spikes that Joffrey has placed on the battlements of the Red Keep was a model of former president George W. Bush. The crew did not intend this as political commentary; they had simply received the head from another movie set. After an official apology from HBO and the show's creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the episode was pulled from all digital platforms, including HBO Go and iTunes, and all shipments of the DVD box set featuring the creators' commentary that drew attention to the use of the head as a prop were halted. An updated version of the episode with the head digitally replaced was released online on June 25, 2012.
The episode title is a reference to the words of House Targaryen, 'Fire and Blood', making this the second episode title to use a house motto after Winter Is Coming (2011) (House Stark's words).
Sean Bean still receives top billing on this episode, even though he is technically not in it. Only a lifeless head in his likeness is seen.
The birth of Daenerys' dragons (in the year 298 after the Targaryen conquest) marks the first living dragons in nearly 150 years. According to the books and Histories & Lore bonus features, the last dragon died during the reign of King Aegon III, in the year 153. Forty years before the start of the show, Daenerys' grandfather Aegon V did a previous attempt to hatch the last three dragon eggs in Westeros, which ended in a fire that burned down his summer palace. The blaze killed Aegon and his oldest son Duncan, an event known as the Tragedy at Summerhall, which started the reign of Aegon's second son Aerys (Daenerys' father and the later Mad King).
Jaime taunts Catelyn about Ned's death by saying that widowhood suits her. This is specifically wry, given that in The Wolf and the Lion (2011), Ned told Barristan Selmy that "I don't think the widow's life would suit her."