Westeros
The 'A Song of Ice and Fire' Domain
GoT
EP210: Valar Morghulis
Tyrion awakens to a changed situation. King Joffrey doles out rewards to his subjects. As Theon stirs his men to action, Luwin offers some final advice. Brienne silences Jaime; Arya receives a gift from Jaqen; Dany goes to a strange place; Jon proves himself to Qhorin.
Index
Recap
Tyrion awakens in bed, his head and nose heavily bandaged. His eyes and thoughts are filled with memories of the Battle of the Blackwater Rush. Then his vision comes into focus, and above him stands Grand Maester Pycelle, who smiles down on him. Tyrion calls weakly for Pod, and then shouts for him. Podrick Payne enters to hear Tyrion inform him that he should find Bronn or Varys, tell them that he is present with the Grand Maester, and that he’s very much alive. Podrick leaves as Pycelle asks if Tyrion would like something for the pain.
Tyrion keeps Pycelle from touching him and asks what’s happened. Pycelle—speaking with strength and confidence—informs him that Stannis suffered a “stunning defeat” at the hands of Lord Tywin. Pycelle informs him that he’s in new chambers, cramped but “you don’t need much room, do you?” He also informs him, as he leaves, that Tyrion is no longer Hand of the King. He turns to go and then stops, turning back with a coin in his hand. He blithely flips it onto Tyrion’s bed, telling him, “For your trouble,” echoing what Tyrion told Daisy after he had Pycelle dragged into the cells.
Outside the throne room, a pile of horse manure alls from a destrier onto the stone floor. We see it is Lord Tywin’s horse, with the Lord of Casterly Rock on its back in his splendid armor. He rides through the open doors towards the throne. Joffrey declares his grandfather the Savior of the City and names him Hand of the King. The gathered court watches as a servant brings the Hand of the King’s badge of office to him. Tywin thanks Joffrey and, after a look to his daughter, rides out.
Petyr Baelish is called forward. He kneels and Joffrey announces that for his service and ingenuity in arranging the union of House Lannister and House Tyrell, he is granted the seat of Harrenhal as his own, for himself and for his heirs. Littlefinger thanks him, saying he is honored beyond words. He rises and says he shall have to acquire sons and grandsons. The rest of the court laughs, though Varys looks annoyed by Littlefinger receiving such honors.
Next, Joffrey calls forward Ser Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers. Loras kneels before the throne as Joffrey thanks the Tyrells or having come to the aid of the Lannisters. Loras proposes that Margaery marry Joffrey, and that she remains “innocent”. Joffrey questions her as to whether she ants that, and she professes that she has come to love him from afar having heard tales of his courage and his wisdom. Joffrey says it would be an honor to return her love… but Cersei reveals that the small council does not believe that marrying the daughter and sister of traitors is wise. Joffrey claims to resist, as the court urges him to marry Margaery, and Grand Maester Pycelle comes forward and reveals that the High Septon and he believes that the crimes of the Starks free Joffrey from any promise he made to them.
Joffrey happily accepts the betrothal to Margaery. She seems pleased, while Loras seems to have simply done something he had to do. They both look to Sansa in the gallery, as others do (among them Lord Baelish). She looks suitably stunned… but then when she walks down the gallery, away from the crowd, she begins to smile and laughs with joy until Littlefinger stops her. He gives her his condolences, and then reveals that Joffrey will continue to abuse her and will enjoy her “in other ways” now that she’s a woman. She starts to say that now she can be allowed to go home… but he says no, Joffrey won’t give away his “toys”. Then Littlefinger says that she has a tender heart, as her mother had at her age, and he will help her get home. Sansa insists King’s Landing is her home now, and Littlefinger says to that, “We’re all liars here, and every one of us is better than you.”
In the brothel, Ros is putting makeup over her black eye when there’s a knock at the door. A hooded man enters and sits on the bed as she begins to disrobe for him. He pulls back his hood to reveal it’s Varys, and he assures her there’s no need. He says he’s not like most men, and she replies that most men say that. Then she sits next to him and asks him to say what he wants her to do. He says he wants her to say whether working for Lord Baelish has been everything she hoped for. Varys believes her true talents are wasted on her clients, and she says he’s very kind, reaching for his crotch… and she realizes that he’s a eunuch, and knows who he is.
Varys promises to protect those who work for him, that he doesn’t abuse them to satisfy royal whims or force them to abuse each other. She asks what she can do for him and he has her sit beside him again. He says that Littlefinger sees a collection of “profitable holes”, while he sees a potential partner. She says she’s afraid of him, and Varys reveals that she should be, as he’s dangerous. But everyone has their weaknesses, and though Baelish hides them very well, it’s not as well as he thinks.
At the Trident, Brienne pulls their boat to a rocky shore as Jaime asks if she’s a virgin. She pushes him on to walk, holding a rope that his chains are bound to. He starts to mock how her life had been, taller than the boys, ugly, and some might have tried to get inside her. He supposed she fought them off, but dreamed that one was strong enough to beat her, fling her down, tear down her clothes… and he suggests he’s strong enough. Brienne’s gaze is beyond him, however, even as she says she’s not interested. He notices her gaze and follows it to the bodies of three women hanging from a tree, with a sign stating, “They lay with lions.” Jaime supposed that this is glorious work of the northern “freedom fighters”, and he supposes it must make her proud as their servant. She says she serves Lady Catelyn, not the Starks, and he supposes she can say that when they swing in her dreams. He ties him to a tree as she moves to have the women down from the tree and properly buried.
Just then, three men—wearing Stark armor—appear, arguing with one another. They stop and ask Brienne’s business. She insists she’s traveling with a prisoner, which make them laugh because her voice reveals to them that she’s a woman. They laugh until she says she’ll be going. Then they stop her and ask who she fights for. She says the Starks. She’s asked what her prisoner did, and Jaime—taking on a commoner’s dialect—claims that apaprently eating is now a crime. She replies that no, stealing is a crime, and he says that that means it’s not a crime to starve, and that’s justice for you. When questioned further, she says she’s taking him to Riverrun, as he stole from the Tullys and goes into their dungeons. They suggest killing him, and he complains that all he did is steal a pig. She tells them she’s only following orders, and that he must be important to someone. One of the three northmen wonders how important he can be, to have a woman for an escort. She ignores them, and the man says “m’lady” can have it her way.
One of the men, who’s been staring at Jaime, wonders if he knows him. Jaime asks if he’s been to Ashemark and when the man says no, he replies that he doesn’t know him. The man presses the point, however, wondering. Brienne starts to march Jaime away when they ask her what she thinks of the “beauties” hanging from the tree. She hopes they had quick deaths… and one of them responds that two of them did have quick deaths. Suddenly, the second man recognizes him as Jaime Lannister, as he saw him when he fought at the Whispering Wood. Brienne tries to say that if he were the kingslayer, she’d only be carrying his head. Then the first northman asks a question of the both of them: say Jaime’s supposed name together, at the same time, on the count of three. He starts to count… and Brienne springs into action, pushing Jaime out of the way, cuts down the second man after taking his blade, pushes away the first, and kills the third. It’s done in seconds, and Jaime stares at her, amazed.
Then Brienne goes up to the northman injured on the ground. “Two quick deaths?” she asks, as she draws her own sword… and then she shoves it slowly into his belly and up his rib cage until he dies in excruciating pain. She surveys her handiwork, while Jaime notes they were Starks. She repeats: “I don’t serve the Starks. I serve Lady Catelyn.” She says she’ll take him to King’s Landing, just as she said, but first she cuts down the women from the tree.
In Robb’s camp, Robb sits with his mother. Catelyn warns him of crossing Walder, but Robb means to do it anyways because he loves her. Catelyn says that Ned didn’t love her when they married, as they hardly knew one another. Love didn’t just happen for them, it was built slowly over the years. She promises it lasts longer… and Robb wonders if it’s what she thinks will happen between him and one of Walder’s daughters. She asks why not? Just because she isn’t beautiful, exotic, or exciting? Robb pushes that aside, claiming she’s arguing just to argue, and because she arranged it. She notes he agreed and gave the Freys his word. She warns him not to treat his oaths recklessly, and tells him that if his father lived for one thing—Robb cuts her off, saying his father is dead and the parent he has left has no right to call anyone reckless. He storms off.
On Dragonstone, Stannis broods. Accusingly, he tells Melisandre—who stares out at the sea—that she saw his victory in the flames. She says she did, and still does. He claims the flames lied and he’s no better than a savage, believing in a fire god. He goes on angrily about having trusted in her god at Blackwater, had led his men to the very gates of the seventh hell as their brothers burned alive. For what, he asks? To be attacked from behind by the Lannisters and Tyrells. They argue further as he questions what she knows of war. She says she’s been fighting far longer than he has—and he puts that to the test, demanding she show him how she fights as he starts to strangle her with his bare hands. “Show me,” he demands… and she lifts her hands away from his, not trying to escape him as she strangles.
Stannis asks where her gods is now… and she manages to say, “Inside you.” He lets her go, and she falls gasping to the ground. He walks away, turning his back. “I murdered my brother,” he says, and she stands up and moves to join him. She says they both did, and that he can share the weight of it with her. He says Renly wasn’t her brother, however. She moves to put an arm around him, and caresses his head. She tells him that the war will last for years, thousands will die, and that Stannis will betray his men, his family, and everything he held dear because it will be worth it because he is the Son of Fire, the Warrior of Light, and all the pretenders will be swept aside when he is king.
Stannis says she promises, but she doesn’t truly know, none of them do. She takes him by the hand to a brazier, and tells him to look into the flames. She’s looking over his shoulder as he sees only fire, and she tells him to keep looking. And then… she asks, does he see what she sees, and Stannis, mouth falling open in amazement, says in an awed voice, “Yes.”
At Winterfell, Theon sits in his chamber as he complains about a man sounding a hornblower outside the walls. Maester Luwin says they want him to know he’s surrounded. Theon replies he’s well aware of that, having looked at the northern forces ringing the castle from the battlements. Luwin adds that they want to trouble his sleep and sap his spirit, and Theon angrily silences him by thanking the “wise, bald man”. Theon then asks if there’s any word from Lord Balon, and when Luwin says know, he asks for more ravens to be sent. Luwin notes Theon had them all killed.
Theon starts to speak about seeing Winterfell for the first time, as a long horn blast stops him. The annoyance on his face is plain. Then he resumes and says that it looked like something that had been there for thousands of years, and would be there for thousands of years after he was dead. He says he thought that of course Ned Stark crushed his father’s rebellion and killed his brothers, because they could never stand a chance against the man who lived in such a place. Luwin says that Ned went out of his way to make this a home for Theon, and Theon spits back that his captors always reminded him of how kind they were being to him. Theon says they’ve all loved reminding him about how lucky he is to be someone’s prisoner, about how much he owes them. And then to go back to his real father—the horn sounds again and Theon leaps from the chair, shouting at the window that he’ll kill that man, swearing it by all the gods.
Luwin tells Theon to listen and suggests to him that he runs—five hundred northmen wait outside the walls, and he only has twenty men. He suggests that he run at nightfall and Theon replies that there’s nowhere to run, that he’ll never make it to the Iron Islands… and even if he did, he’d be a coward in their sight. He won’t do it. Then Luwin suggests he join the Night’s Watch and take the black, as he’d be beyond reach of the law and his past crimes would be forgiven. Theon says he won’t make it so far, but Luwin suggests there are hidden ways to escape the castle in need. He admits the road will be dangerous, but with a little luck… and it’s plain Theon is considering it as Luwin presses on, saying he’ll have opportunities.
Theon stands and says the opportunity for Jon Snow to kill him in his sleep. Luwin ripostes that it’d given him the opportunity to make amends for what he had done. Theon then says he’s done a lot, things he’d never imagined himself doing. Luwin moves up to him and says that Theon isn’t the man he’s pretending to be… not yet. Theon says he may be right, but then says he’s gone too far to pretend to be anything else. Luwin pats his shoulder.
In the morning, Theon holds a rousing speech, telling his men how he’s ready to lead them out to die that day, but that their war cries will echo through eternity. Theon promises the man who kills the hornblower will stand in bronze—a statue—on the shores of Pyke, as he begins to repeat, “What is dead may never die!” The other men repeat the words, some cheering, others (such as Lorren) more dour. Theon roars—and suddenly he’s clubbed from behind, falling unconscious. Dagmer lowers the spear he used, and Lorren remarks he thought Theon would never shut up. “It was a good speech,” Damger replies. “Didn’t want to interrupt.” Two men bend down to bind Theon and put a sack over his head. Luwin comes out and demands to know what they’re doing ... and Dagmer drives the spear into his belly. He tells the others it’s time to go home, and Theon is dragged away as Luwin lies on the ground while several denizens of Winterfell stare on, dumbfounded.
Tyrion is in his chamber, asking Varys why he should believe him. Varys questions why he would lie, and Tyrion replies that it might be to cause strife between him and Cersei. Varys notes sarcastically that there was so much love between them, and then repeats the news he gave Tyrion: Cersei ordered Ser Mandon Moore of the Kingsguard to kill him, and if it weren’t for Podrick he’d be dead. Tyrion asks Podrick if it’d be excessive to ask Pod to save his life twice in a week. Podrick smiles and says no, and so Tyrion asks him to find Bronn and put his four most loyal gold cloaks outside his door at all times. Varys interrupts and notes that Bronn has been dismissed as commander of the City Watch and that the Watch is now firmly in the hands of Tywin… or Cersei, it depends on which guardsman one means.
Tyrion then asks after his tribesmen, and Varys notes they’ve gone home after Tywin paid them handsomely. Varys adds that he and Tyrion won’t be seeing one another for some time. Tyrion wonders if Varys doesn’t want to be seen too close to a drowning man, and notes sarcastically that he thought they were friends. Varys replies that they are, and asks Podrick to open the door. Shae enters the room, and Tyrion flinches at that. Varys informs Tyrion, before he leaves, that many know that without Tyrion the city would have been defeated; there’ll be no honors from the king, the histories will be silent on the topic, but they will not forget. He bows and leaves, taking Podrick with him.
Shae sits on Tyrion’s bed and calls him her love. He says it’s good that she came, and she replies she wanted to. When she reaches to remove the bandages, he stops her and insists she doesn’t want to see. He reveals he hasn’t looked at it, and she insists she’ll be the first as she starts to unwrap them. The bandages pull away painfully to reveal ugly diagonal scar across Tyrion’s face. She stares at it for a time and then tells him that he’s a mess. Tyrion says he’s now a monster as well as a dwarf, and that Shae should charge him double. She angrily asks if he thinks she’s here for money, and Tyrion says that that that’s the arrangement they made. She mocks him, and tells him she doesn’t care about his money. She urges him to leave King’s Landing—they’ll try to kill him again, and he’s terrible at fighting. She asks him to take a boat to Pentos and never come back. When he asks what they’ll do there, she says, “Eat. Drink. Fuck. Live.”
Tyrion says he wants to go with her, and Shae tells him to do so, to forget about everyone else and go with her. But Tyrion shakes his head and tells her he can’t, that he belongs there. The bad people—those who want to hurt him—he can outwit them, and he likes that more than anything he’s ever done. Then, almost tearful, he asks if she’s going to leave. She informs him he has a terrible memory, and repeats the words he had her repeat: “I am yours, and you are mine.” He breaks into tears and embraces her hard to him.
In the riverlands, a septon weds Robb and Talisa beneath a tree. There are no other witnesses as they speak their vows: “I am hers and she is mine,” Robb says, as she says, “I am his and he his mine.” They kiss.
And away in Qarth, Jorah leads Dany and Kovarro up the steep slope to the tall tower called the House of the Undying. Kovarro warns that it is a house of ghosts, and then asks where the guards are. Jorah says there are none, as the warlocks kill with sorcery. Dany dares them to try and she climbs steps to the tower… and finds that there is no door by which to enter. She begins to search around its base, Jorah following behind. She outpaches him, turning out of his sight for a moment… and then she’s gone as Jorah arrives behind Kovarro.
Jorah stares up at the top of the tower, calling for Dany. She is inside and can hear his voice as she takes up a torch. She calls out, addressing Pyat, wondering if he’s trying to frighten her with magic tricks and if he’s afraid of a little girl. She hears the cries of her dragons, and goes toward the sound.
Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie are walking in a ravine together when Gendry spots Jaqen H’ghar watching them from above. He wonders how he found them, and Arya has them stop as she goes forward to approach… only for Jaqen to have disappeared from the crest above them, and instead he appears behind her. He informs her he’s been waiting for her. She asks him how she knew they were coming this way, and he replies that after all the things she’s seen him do, that’s her question? She then asks how he killed the guards and he informs her that it’s no harder than taking a new name, if you know the way. She wants to learn how to do it too, and he tells her if she wishes to learn, she must go with him to Braavos. She replies that her dancing master came from Braavos. He smiles and says to be a dancing master is a special thing… but to be a Faceless Man is something else entirely.
Jaqen says Arya has many names on her lips, names to offer up to the red god, and he can show her how to offer them all one by one. She says she wants to… but she can’t, she must find her mother, brother… and after a hesitation, her sister too. Jaqen says they must part but gives her a coin “of great value”. It won’t buy a horse, but if she wishes to find Jaqen again, she need only give the coin to him and say the words, “valar morghulis.” She then asks Jaqen not to go. He informs her Jaqen is dead, and tells her to repeat the words: “valar morghulis.” He turns away for a moment, lifting his hand to his face… and when he looks back, his face is entirely changed, and his hair has lost the white that was in it. He bids her farewell and walks away as Arya stares after him, and then looks to the coin.
In Winterfell, Osha leads Hodor and the children out of the crypt of Winterfell. The castle is on fire, its people killed about the courtyard. The direwolves are at the entrance to the godswood, whimpering, and Bran has Hodor take them there. Hodor passes between the two wolves, and we see Luwin is lying pale and bleeding at the foot of the heart tree. Rickon runs to him, weeping, but Luwin smiles and reaches for them. The boys want to know what medicine to get him, but he says he feels fine. Bran tells him everything has been burned, but Luwin says not everything: not them. He warns them they may come back, however, and so they must go. He tells Osha to take them north, but Osha says that’s the wrong way, that Catelyn and Robb are in the south.
Luwin warns that there are too many enemies to the south, while to the north is the Wall and there they can find the protection of Jon and the Watch. Bran tells Luwin he doesn’t want to leave him, and Luwin replies he doesn’t want to leave them, either, having pulled them into the world and has seen them almost every day of his life since. He counts himself very lucky, he says, before he sends them away with Hodor, assuring them he’ll be right there. Speaking with Osha privately, he tells her to protect them. She nods, and when he warns that she may have to protect them from other wildlings, she says she has no great love for her own kind. Wracked by pain from his mortal wound, Osha says she’ll bring milk of the poppy if he tells her where to find it. He insists he doesn’t want milk of the poppy… and looks at her knife instead. He nods her head, and she looks away to see if the children are watching. “Do it quickly,” are his last words, as she pulls the knife.
We see the direwolves leading the way as Osha leads Rickon by the hand and Hodor pushes a barrow containing Bran. In the distance, Winterfell burns, great clouds of smoke reaching into the sky.
In Qarth, Daenerys takes a stone stairway up toward the sound of her dragons. She opens the door and the sounds end. She enters a chamber with a stone altar in the middle, and several doors set in the walls around it. She hears her dragons again, through one of the doors, and chooses one… only to exit into the ruined throne room in King’s Landing, with snow falling through the collapsed ceiling. It’s a strange place, with no life or movement save the wind and falling snow. She sees the Iron Throne and moves to it, reaching out to the frost-covered seat… and stopping short when she hears her dragons cry out again. She moves on to another door, a gate that slowly opens—
It is the gate at Castle Black, exiting from the Wall. Winter lies heavy, a snowstorm blowing, but through the snow she can see a tent. She moves to it, wrapping her arms around herself from the cold, only to enter… and see Drogo there, holding a dark-haired child in his arms. “Moon of my life,” he says in Dothraki, greeting her. They stare at one another, and then she looks to the infant. Then she speaks with Drogo in Dothraki as well, telling him it’s dark magic, like the magic that stole him from her. She wonders if she’s dead and doesn’t know it, that maybe they are together in the Night Lands. Drogo responds that perhaps he refused to enter them without her, perhaps he even told the Great Stallion to “fuck himself” and came back for her. She smiles and replies that it sounds like something Drogo would do.
She kneels down, touching her son’s face. Then Drogo suggests it might be the dream of one or the other of them. He doesn’t know, suggesting that they are questions for wise men with skinny arms. He tells her that she is the moon of his life, and that is all he knows and all he needs to know. If it is a dream, he will kill the man who tries to wake him from it. Daenerys weeps as she twines her hand with Drogo’s and touches his cheek with the other, touching forehead to forehead. In the distance, she hears the cry of the dragons… and then speaks the words Mirri Maz Duur told her, the words that say Drogo would not return until the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, until the rivers run dry and the mountains blow in the wind like leaves. Then she rises. Drogo is still, almost lifeless as she turns her back and leaves…
... and enters the chamber once more, but now she sees her three dragons—small collars about their necks which are chained to the stone—reaching or her. She goes to them, when Pyat Pree appears behind her and informs her that the dragons miss their mother. Then another Pyat appears, and another. They tell her that their magic was born again with the birth of the dragons. The warlock’s magic is strongest in the presence of the dragons, and the dragons are strongest in her presence. The warlocks will keep here there from winter to summer and winter again, for a thousand thousand seasons. Suddenly she lifts an arm, and then another, and finds them manacled. The other Pyats chain her arms across the chamber, with the dragons behind her as she confronts Pyat Pree. He tells her this her home, and she insists that her home is across the narrow sea where her people are waiting for her.
She looks back behind her to the dragons… and then to Pyat, and says, “Dracarys.” The black dragon puffs out a ring of smoke… and then spits out a jet of fire that strikes Pyat’s arm, setting the sleeve on fire. He tries to put it out… and all three dragons roar flames at him, as he falls and screams, writhing until he dies. Daenerys watches, and looks back to the dragons as the chains binding them crumble into dust, and so too do the chains holding her.
Beyond the Wall, Jon and Qhorin are being marched along a ridge by the wildlings. Ygritte informs Jon that they’ll reach Mance Rayder’s location by sundown. She promises it won’t be a fun night for Jon, as Mance knows how to make crows sing, and then she smacks him on the back of the head with the flat of Longclaw. Jon ignores her. She smacks him again, telling him that if he knows what to say, he might make it through the night. Still Jon ignores her, and she hits him again, telling him not talking is not the way to go. Then he tells her to be careful with it, that she might cut herself. She angrily swings it at him again, and he ducks the blow and suggests she’s never swung a sword before. He starts picking a fight with her… and the Qhorin elbows a man in the face, steals back his sword, and attacks Jon.
Qhorin is restrained by two wildlings as Jon shouts at him to stop, and Qhorin asks why he’d do so for a traitor who means to give Mance Rayder an invitation to Castle Black? Rattleshirt commands the others to let them fight, and Ygritte throws down Longclaw within Jon’s reach. He gets up to defend himself with it, both men fighting furiously with their hands bound, and Qhorin has the better of it. He asks if that’s all Jon has, and Jon fights back harder. Qhorin continues to insult him and egg him on, asking him if his traitor father taught him one maneuver… or if it was his whore mother before he headbutts Jon who falls to the ground. And then Jon gets up and screams as he attacks Halfhand, disarming him. The two stare at one another a moment… and then Jon runs him through with the sword. Qhorin’s last words are part of the oath of the Watch: “We are the watchers on the wall.” He falls down dead.
Ygritte informs Rattleshirt that he can tell Mance that Jon Snow is the man who killed Qhorin Halfhand. Rattleshirt goes up to him, takes away Longclaw… and then uses it to cut Jon’s bonds. He orders the others to burn the body, and then he tells Jon that he wouldn’t want Qhorin coming back for him. Ygritte stares at Jon, as he looks back at her, and then she tells him to come along with her. Over the edge of the ridge they stand on, Jon sees a valley filled from one end to the other by the wildling encampment, a huge mass of people. Ygritte informs him it’s time to meet the King-beyond-the-Wall. They start down the slope.
In Qarth, Xaro sleeps next to Doreah. Kovarro’s arakh snatches away the key from around Xaro’s neck, waking him and then Doreah. The rest of the Dothraki enter, as does Jorah and Daenerys with her three dragons. Doreah begs Daenerys’s mercy, saying that Xaro promises Dany would never leave Qarth alive, but Daenerys tells them to come. She turns and leaves, as Jorah and the Dothraki move forward. Then Kovarro unlocks the vault for Daenerys, who enters into it with a torch…
And discovers that it is empty: the fabled fortune of “the wealthiest man in Qarth” was all a lie. Daenerys thanks Xaro for teaching her this lesson, and then orders Doreah and Xaro placed in the vault. Xaro promises her that as King of Qarth he can bring her a thousand ships and help her take the Iron Throne, while Doreah cries and begs. But the vault is shut and locked by Jorah. He hands the key to Daenerys. In Xaro’s home, the Dothraki are looting his manse of all its wealth. Jorah remarks that it was all a lie, to which Dany replies it looks real enough to her. She empties a golden fruit bowl and asks if it will be enough for a ship, and he says yes, a small one. She departs as he commands the Dothraki to gather all the gold and jewels. Daenerys departs with her three dragons, and the black dragon roars as she passes out of sight.
And beyond the Wall, Samwell, Grenn, and Dolorous Edd are digging at the base of the Fist of the First Men to collect animal droppings to fuel the Night’s Watch’s fires. Samwell starts to speak about how interesting Gilly is, leading Edd and Grenn to roll their eyes. Samwell says that given how she’s been treated and how her life is, she still has hope that life will get better. Dolorous Edd replies that what Sam really finds interesting is that she spoke six words to him, to which Sam retorts that the thing he found interesting about Edd is absolutely nothing.
Then a horn sounds, and they wonder if the Halfhand is returning with Jon. And then a second horn, and Grenn takes out a sword and Edd says they need to join the rest… and then a third blast. Edd screams, “Run!” and he and Grenn take off as Samwell stumbles along behind them and a snowstorm sweeps over them. And then Samwell sees vague figures approaching through the snow. He runs and hides behind a rock, terrified. The figures are wildlings turned into wights, marching past him. And then a horse is next to him… a dead horse, it’s throat and face torn half off, and atop it is a White Walker with a pale spear of ice in its hand. It stares down at Jon, pale and terrifying… and then it looks to the Fist, and points its spear as it cries out. More and more wights appear behind it, in their scores and hundreds, and another Other appears on a white horse, raising its pale icy sword as it repeats the cry.
Recap
Tyrion awakens in bed, his head and nose heavily bandaged. His eyes and thoughts are filled with memories of the Battle of the Blackwater Rush. Then his vision comes into focus, and above him stands Grand Maester Pycelle, who smiles down on him. Tyrion calls weakly for Pod, and then shouts for him. Podrick Payne enters to hear Tyrion inform him that he should find Bronn or Varys, tell them that he is present with the Grand Maester, and that he’s very much alive. Podrick leaves as Pycelle asks if Tyrion would like something for the pain.
Tyrion keeps Pycelle from touching him and asks what’s happened. Pycelle—speaking with strength and confidence—informs him that Stannis suffered a “stunning defeat” at the hands of Lord Tywin. Pycelle informs him that he’s in new chambers, cramped but “you don’t need much room, do you?” He also informs him, as he leaves, that Tyrion is no longer Hand of the King. He turns to go and then stops, turning back with a coin in his hand. He blithely flips it onto Tyrion’s bed, telling him, “For your trouble,” echoing what Tyrion told Daisy after he had Pycelle dragged into the cells.
Outside the throne room, a pile of horse manure alls from a destrier onto the stone floor. We see it is Lord Tywin’s horse, with the Lord of Casterly Rock on its back in his splendid armor. He rides through the open doors towards the throne. Joffrey declares his grandfather the Savior of the City and names him Hand of the King. The gathered court watches as a servant brings the Hand of the King’s badge of office to him. Tywin thanks Joffrey and, after a look to his daughter, rides out.
Petyr Baelish is called forward. He kneels and Joffrey announces that for his service and ingenuity in arranging the union of House Lannister and House Tyrell, he is granted the seat of Harrenhal as his own, for himself and for his heirs. Littlefinger thanks him, saying he is honored beyond words. He rises and says he shall have to acquire sons and grandsons. The rest of the court laughs, though Varys looks annoyed by Littlefinger receiving such honors.
Next, Joffrey calls forward Ser Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers. Loras kneels before the throne as Joffrey thanks the Tyrells or having come to the aid of the Lannisters. Loras proposes that Margaery marry Joffrey, and that she remains “innocent”. Joffrey questions her as to whether she ants that, and she professes that she has come to love him from afar having heard tales of his courage and his wisdom. Joffrey says it would be an honor to return her love… but Cersei reveals that the small council does not believe that marrying the daughter and sister of traitors is wise. Joffrey claims to resist, as the court urges him to marry Margaery, and Grand Maester Pycelle comes forward and reveals that the High Septon and he believes that the crimes of the Starks free Joffrey from any promise he made to them.
Joffrey happily accepts the betrothal to Margaery. She seems pleased, while Loras seems to have simply done something he had to do. They both look to Sansa in the gallery, as others do (among them Lord Baelish). She looks suitably stunned… but then when she walks down the gallery, away from the crowd, she begins to smile and laughs with joy until Littlefinger stops her. He gives her his condolences, and then reveals that Joffrey will continue to abuse her and will enjoy her “in other ways” now that she’s a woman. She starts to say that now she can be allowed to go home… but he says no, Joffrey won’t give away his “toys”. Then Littlefinger says that she has a tender heart, as her mother had at her age, and he will help her get home. Sansa insists King’s Landing is her home now, and Littlefinger says to that, “We’re all liars here, and every one of us is better than you.”
In the brothel, Ros is putting makeup over her black eye when there’s a knock at the door. A hooded man enters and sits on the bed as she begins to disrobe for him. He pulls back his hood to reveal it’s Varys, and he assures her there’s no need. He says he’s not like most men, and she replies that most men say that. Then she sits next to him and asks him to say what he wants her to do. He says he wants her to say whether working for Lord Baelish has been everything she hoped for. Varys believes her true talents are wasted on her clients, and she says he’s very kind, reaching for his crotch… and she realizes that he’s a eunuch, and knows who he is.
Varys promises to protect those who work for him, that he doesn’t abuse them to satisfy royal whims or force them to abuse each other. She asks what she can do for him and he has her sit beside him again. He says that Littlefinger sees a collection of “profitable holes”, while he sees a potential partner. She says she’s afraid of him, and Varys reveals that she should be, as he’s dangerous. But everyone has their weaknesses, and though Baelish hides them very well, it’s not as well as he thinks.
At the Trident, Brienne pulls their boat to a rocky shore as Jaime asks if she’s a virgin. She pushes him on to walk, holding a rope that his chains are bound to. He starts to mock how her life had been, taller than the boys, ugly, and some might have tried to get inside her. He supposed she fought them off, but dreamed that one was strong enough to beat her, fling her down, tear down her clothes… and he suggests he’s strong enough. Brienne’s gaze is beyond him, however, even as she says she’s not interested. He notices her gaze and follows it to the bodies of three women hanging from a tree, with a sign stating, “They lay with lions.” Jaime supposed that this is glorious work of the northern “freedom fighters”, and he supposes it must make her proud as their servant. She says she serves Lady Catelyn, not the Starks, and he supposes she can say that when they swing in her dreams. He ties him to a tree as she moves to have the women down from the tree and properly buried.
Just then, three men—wearing Stark armor—appear, arguing with one another. They stop and ask Brienne’s business. She insists she’s traveling with a prisoner, which make them laugh because her voice reveals to them that she’s a woman. They laugh until she says she’ll be going. Then they stop her and ask who she fights for. She says the Starks. She’s asked what her prisoner did, and Jaime—taking on a commoner’s dialect—claims that apaprently eating is now a crime. She replies that no, stealing is a crime, and he says that that means it’s not a crime to starve, and that’s justice for you. When questioned further, she says she’s taking him to Riverrun, as he stole from the Tullys and goes into their dungeons. They suggest killing him, and he complains that all he did is steal a pig. She tells them she’s only following orders, and that he must be important to someone. One of the three northmen wonders how important he can be, to have a woman for an escort. She ignores them, and the man says “m’lady” can have it her way.
One of the men, who’s been staring at Jaime, wonders if he knows him. Jaime asks if he’s been to Ashemark and when the man says no, he replies that he doesn’t know him. The man presses the point, however, wondering. Brienne starts to march Jaime away when they ask her what she thinks of the “beauties” hanging from the tree. She hopes they had quick deaths… and one of them responds that two of them did have quick deaths. Suddenly, the second man recognizes him as Jaime Lannister, as he saw him when he fought at the Whispering Wood. Brienne tries to say that if he were the kingslayer, she’d only be carrying his head. Then the first northman asks a question of the both of them: say Jaime’s supposed name together, at the same time, on the count of three. He starts to count… and Brienne springs into action, pushing Jaime out of the way, cuts down the second man after taking his blade, pushes away the first, and kills the third. It’s done in seconds, and Jaime stares at her, amazed.
Then Brienne goes up to the northman injured on the ground. “Two quick deaths?” she asks, as she draws her own sword… and then she shoves it slowly into his belly and up his rib cage until he dies in excruciating pain. She surveys her handiwork, while Jaime notes they were Starks. She repeats: “I don’t serve the Starks. I serve Lady Catelyn.” She says she’ll take him to King’s Landing, just as she said, but first she cuts down the women from the tree.
In Robb’s camp, Robb sits with his mother. Catelyn warns him of crossing Walder, but Robb means to do it anyways because he loves her. Catelyn says that Ned didn’t love her when they married, as they hardly knew one another. Love didn’t just happen for them, it was built slowly over the years. She promises it lasts longer… and Robb wonders if it’s what she thinks will happen between him and one of Walder’s daughters. She asks why not? Just because she isn’t beautiful, exotic, or exciting? Robb pushes that aside, claiming she’s arguing just to argue, and because she arranged it. She notes he agreed and gave the Freys his word. She warns him not to treat his oaths recklessly, and tells him that if his father lived for one thing—Robb cuts her off, saying his father is dead and the parent he has left has no right to call anyone reckless. He storms off.
On Dragonstone, Stannis broods. Accusingly, he tells Melisandre—who stares out at the sea—that she saw his victory in the flames. She says she did, and still does. He claims the flames lied and he’s no better than a savage, believing in a fire god. He goes on angrily about having trusted in her god at Blackwater, had led his men to the very gates of the seventh hell as their brothers burned alive. For what, he asks? To be attacked from behind by the Lannisters and Tyrells. They argue further as he questions what she knows of war. She says she’s been fighting far longer than he has—and he puts that to the test, demanding she show him how she fights as he starts to strangle her with his bare hands. “Show me,” he demands… and she lifts her hands away from his, not trying to escape him as she strangles.
Stannis asks where her gods is now… and she manages to say, “Inside you.” He lets her go, and she falls gasping to the ground. He walks away, turning his back. “I murdered my brother,” he says, and she stands up and moves to join him. She says they both did, and that he can share the weight of it with her. He says Renly wasn’t her brother, however. She moves to put an arm around him, and caresses his head. She tells him that the war will last for years, thousands will die, and that Stannis will betray his men, his family, and everything he held dear because it will be worth it because he is the Son of Fire, the Warrior of Light, and all the pretenders will be swept aside when he is king.
Stannis says she promises, but she doesn’t truly know, none of them do. She takes him by the hand to a brazier, and tells him to look into the flames. She’s looking over his shoulder as he sees only fire, and she tells him to keep looking. And then… she asks, does he see what she sees, and Stannis, mouth falling open in amazement, says in an awed voice, “Yes.”
At Winterfell, Theon sits in his chamber as he complains about a man sounding a hornblower outside the walls. Maester Luwin says they want him to know he’s surrounded. Theon replies he’s well aware of that, having looked at the northern forces ringing the castle from the battlements. Luwin adds that they want to trouble his sleep and sap his spirit, and Theon angrily silences him by thanking the “wise, bald man”. Theon then asks if there’s any word from Lord Balon, and when Luwin says know, he asks for more ravens to be sent. Luwin notes Theon had them all killed.
Theon starts to speak about seeing Winterfell for the first time, as a long horn blast stops him. The annoyance on his face is plain. Then he resumes and says that it looked like something that had been there for thousands of years, and would be there for thousands of years after he was dead. He says he thought that of course Ned Stark crushed his father’s rebellion and killed his brothers, because they could never stand a chance against the man who lived in such a place. Luwin says that Ned went out of his way to make this a home for Theon, and Theon spits back that his captors always reminded him of how kind they were being to him. Theon says they’ve all loved reminding him about how lucky he is to be someone’s prisoner, about how much he owes them. And then to go back to his real father—the horn sounds again and Theon leaps from the chair, shouting at the window that he’ll kill that man, swearing it by all the gods.
Luwin tells Theon to listen and suggests to him that he runs—five hundred northmen wait outside the walls, and he only has twenty men. He suggests that he run at nightfall and Theon replies that there’s nowhere to run, that he’ll never make it to the Iron Islands… and even if he did, he’d be a coward in their sight. He won’t do it. Then Luwin suggests he join the Night’s Watch and take the black, as he’d be beyond reach of the law and his past crimes would be forgiven. Theon says he won’t make it so far, but Luwin suggests there are hidden ways to escape the castle in need. He admits the road will be dangerous, but with a little luck… and it’s plain Theon is considering it as Luwin presses on, saying he’ll have opportunities.
Theon stands and says the opportunity for Jon Snow to kill him in his sleep. Luwin ripostes that it’d given him the opportunity to make amends for what he had done. Theon then says he’s done a lot, things he’d never imagined himself doing. Luwin moves up to him and says that Theon isn’t the man he’s pretending to be… not yet. Theon says he may be right, but then says he’s gone too far to pretend to be anything else. Luwin pats his shoulder.
In the morning, Theon holds a rousing speech, telling his men how he’s ready to lead them out to die that day, but that their war cries will echo through eternity. Theon promises the man who kills the hornblower will stand in bronze—a statue—on the shores of Pyke, as he begins to repeat, “What is dead may never die!” The other men repeat the words, some cheering, others (such as Lorren) more dour. Theon roars—and suddenly he’s clubbed from behind, falling unconscious. Dagmer lowers the spear he used, and Lorren remarks he thought Theon would never shut up. “It was a good speech,” Damger replies. “Didn’t want to interrupt.” Two men bend down to bind Theon and put a sack over his head. Luwin comes out and demands to know what they’re doing ... and Dagmer drives the spear into his belly. He tells the others it’s time to go home, and Theon is dragged away as Luwin lies on the ground while several denizens of Winterfell stare on, dumbfounded.
Tyrion is in his chamber, asking Varys why he should believe him. Varys questions why he would lie, and Tyrion replies that it might be to cause strife between him and Cersei. Varys notes sarcastically that there was so much love between them, and then repeats the news he gave Tyrion: Cersei ordered Ser Mandon Moore of the Kingsguard to kill him, and if it weren’t for Podrick he’d be dead. Tyrion asks Podrick if it’d be excessive to ask Pod to save his life twice in a week. Podrick smiles and says no, and so Tyrion asks him to find Bronn and put his four most loyal gold cloaks outside his door at all times. Varys interrupts and notes that Bronn has been dismissed as commander of the City Watch and that the Watch is now firmly in the hands of Tywin… or Cersei, it depends on which guardsman one means.
Tyrion then asks after his tribesmen, and Varys notes they’ve gone home after Tywin paid them handsomely. Varys adds that he and Tyrion won’t be seeing one another for some time. Tyrion wonders if Varys doesn’t want to be seen too close to a drowning man, and notes sarcastically that he thought they were friends. Varys replies that they are, and asks Podrick to open the door. Shae enters the room, and Tyrion flinches at that. Varys informs Tyrion, before he leaves, that many know that without Tyrion the city would have been defeated; there’ll be no honors from the king, the histories will be silent on the topic, but they will not forget. He bows and leaves, taking Podrick with him.
Shae sits on Tyrion’s bed and calls him her love. He says it’s good that she came, and she replies she wanted to. When she reaches to remove the bandages, he stops her and insists she doesn’t want to see. He reveals he hasn’t looked at it, and she insists she’ll be the first as she starts to unwrap them. The bandages pull away painfully to reveal ugly diagonal scar across Tyrion’s face. She stares at it for a time and then tells him that he’s a mess. Tyrion says he’s now a monster as well as a dwarf, and that Shae should charge him double. She angrily asks if he thinks she’s here for money, and Tyrion says that that that’s the arrangement they made. She mocks him, and tells him she doesn’t care about his money. She urges him to leave King’s Landing—they’ll try to kill him again, and he’s terrible at fighting. She asks him to take a boat to Pentos and never come back. When he asks what they’ll do there, she says, “Eat. Drink. Fuck. Live.”
Tyrion says he wants to go with her, and Shae tells him to do so, to forget about everyone else and go with her. But Tyrion shakes his head and tells her he can’t, that he belongs there. The bad people—those who want to hurt him—he can outwit them, and he likes that more than anything he’s ever done. Then, almost tearful, he asks if she’s going to leave. She informs him he has a terrible memory, and repeats the words he had her repeat: “I am yours, and you are mine.” He breaks into tears and embraces her hard to him.
In the riverlands, a septon weds Robb and Talisa beneath a tree. There are no other witnesses as they speak their vows: “I am hers and she is mine,” Robb says, as she says, “I am his and he his mine.” They kiss.
And away in Qarth, Jorah leads Dany and Kovarro up the steep slope to the tall tower called the House of the Undying. Kovarro warns that it is a house of ghosts, and then asks where the guards are. Jorah says there are none, as the warlocks kill with sorcery. Dany dares them to try and she climbs steps to the tower… and finds that there is no door by which to enter. She begins to search around its base, Jorah following behind. She outpaches him, turning out of his sight for a moment… and then she’s gone as Jorah arrives behind Kovarro.
Jorah stares up at the top of the tower, calling for Dany. She is inside and can hear his voice as she takes up a torch. She calls out, addressing Pyat, wondering if he’s trying to frighten her with magic tricks and if he’s afraid of a little girl. She hears the cries of her dragons, and goes toward the sound.
Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie are walking in a ravine together when Gendry spots Jaqen H’ghar watching them from above. He wonders how he found them, and Arya has them stop as she goes forward to approach… only for Jaqen to have disappeared from the crest above them, and instead he appears behind her. He informs her he’s been waiting for her. She asks him how she knew they were coming this way, and he replies that after all the things she’s seen him do, that’s her question? She then asks how he killed the guards and he informs her that it’s no harder than taking a new name, if you know the way. She wants to learn how to do it too, and he tells her if she wishes to learn, she must go with him to Braavos. She replies that her dancing master came from Braavos. He smiles and says to be a dancing master is a special thing… but to be a Faceless Man is something else entirely.
Jaqen says Arya has many names on her lips, names to offer up to the red god, and he can show her how to offer them all one by one. She says she wants to… but she can’t, she must find her mother, brother… and after a hesitation, her sister too. Jaqen says they must part but gives her a coin “of great value”. It won’t buy a horse, but if she wishes to find Jaqen again, she need only give the coin to him and say the words, “valar morghulis.” She then asks Jaqen not to go. He informs her Jaqen is dead, and tells her to repeat the words: “valar morghulis.” He turns away for a moment, lifting his hand to his face… and when he looks back, his face is entirely changed, and his hair has lost the white that was in it. He bids her farewell and walks away as Arya stares after him, and then looks to the coin.
In Winterfell, Osha leads Hodor and the children out of the crypt of Winterfell. The castle is on fire, its people killed about the courtyard. The direwolves are at the entrance to the godswood, whimpering, and Bran has Hodor take them there. Hodor passes between the two wolves, and we see Luwin is lying pale and bleeding at the foot of the heart tree. Rickon runs to him, weeping, but Luwin smiles and reaches for them. The boys want to know what medicine to get him, but he says he feels fine. Bran tells him everything has been burned, but Luwin says not everything: not them. He warns them they may come back, however, and so they must go. He tells Osha to take them north, but Osha says that’s the wrong way, that Catelyn and Robb are in the south.
Luwin warns that there are too many enemies to the south, while to the north is the Wall and there they can find the protection of Jon and the Watch. Bran tells Luwin he doesn’t want to leave him, and Luwin replies he doesn’t want to leave them, either, having pulled them into the world and has seen them almost every day of his life since. He counts himself very lucky, he says, before he sends them away with Hodor, assuring them he’ll be right there. Speaking with Osha privately, he tells her to protect them. She nods, and when he warns that she may have to protect them from other wildlings, she says she has no great love for her own kind. Wracked by pain from his mortal wound, Osha says she’ll bring milk of the poppy if he tells her where to find it. He insists he doesn’t want milk of the poppy… and looks at her knife instead. He nods her head, and she looks away to see if the children are watching. “Do it quickly,” are his last words, as she pulls the knife.
We see the direwolves leading the way as Osha leads Rickon by the hand and Hodor pushes a barrow containing Bran. In the distance, Winterfell burns, great clouds of smoke reaching into the sky.
In Qarth, Daenerys takes a stone stairway up toward the sound of her dragons. She opens the door and the sounds end. She enters a chamber with a stone altar in the middle, and several doors set in the walls around it. She hears her dragons again, through one of the doors, and chooses one… only to exit into the ruined throne room in King’s Landing, with snow falling through the collapsed ceiling. It’s a strange place, with no life or movement save the wind and falling snow. She sees the Iron Throne and moves to it, reaching out to the frost-covered seat… and stopping short when she hears her dragons cry out again. She moves on to another door, a gate that slowly opens—
It is the gate at Castle Black, exiting from the Wall. Winter lies heavy, a snowstorm blowing, but through the snow she can see a tent. She moves to it, wrapping her arms around herself from the cold, only to enter… and see Drogo there, holding a dark-haired child in his arms. “Moon of my life,” he says in Dothraki, greeting her. They stare at one another, and then she looks to the infant. Then she speaks with Drogo in Dothraki as well, telling him it’s dark magic, like the magic that stole him from her. She wonders if she’s dead and doesn’t know it, that maybe they are together in the Night Lands. Drogo responds that perhaps he refused to enter them without her, perhaps he even told the Great Stallion to “fuck himself” and came back for her. She smiles and replies that it sounds like something Drogo would do.
She kneels down, touching her son’s face. Then Drogo suggests it might be the dream of one or the other of them. He doesn’t know, suggesting that they are questions for wise men with skinny arms. He tells her that she is the moon of his life, and that is all he knows and all he needs to know. If it is a dream, he will kill the man who tries to wake him from it. Daenerys weeps as she twines her hand with Drogo’s and touches his cheek with the other, touching forehead to forehead. In the distance, she hears the cry of the dragons… and then speaks the words Mirri Maz Duur told her, the words that say Drogo would not return until the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, until the rivers run dry and the mountains blow in the wind like leaves. Then she rises. Drogo is still, almost lifeless as she turns her back and leaves…
... and enters the chamber once more, but now she sees her three dragons—small collars about their necks which are chained to the stone—reaching or her. She goes to them, when Pyat Pree appears behind her and informs her that the dragons miss their mother. Then another Pyat appears, and another. They tell her that their magic was born again with the birth of the dragons. The warlock’s magic is strongest in the presence of the dragons, and the dragons are strongest in her presence. The warlocks will keep here there from winter to summer and winter again, for a thousand thousand seasons. Suddenly she lifts an arm, and then another, and finds them manacled. The other Pyats chain her arms across the chamber, with the dragons behind her as she confronts Pyat Pree. He tells her this her home, and she insists that her home is across the narrow sea where her people are waiting for her.
She looks back behind her to the dragons… and then to Pyat, and says, “Dracarys.” The black dragon puffs out a ring of smoke… and then spits out a jet of fire that strikes Pyat’s arm, setting the sleeve on fire. He tries to put it out… and all three dragons roar flames at him, as he falls and screams, writhing until he dies. Daenerys watches, and looks back to the dragons as the chains binding them crumble into dust, and so too do the chains holding her.
Beyond the Wall, Jon and Qhorin are being marched along a ridge by the wildlings. Ygritte informs Jon that they’ll reach Mance Rayder’s location by sundown. She promises it won’t be a fun night for Jon, as Mance knows how to make crows sing, and then she smacks him on the back of the head with the flat of Longclaw. Jon ignores her. She smacks him again, telling him that if he knows what to say, he might make it through the night. Still Jon ignores her, and she hits him again, telling him not talking is not the way to go. Then he tells her to be careful with it, that she might cut herself. She angrily swings it at him again, and he ducks the blow and suggests she’s never swung a sword before. He starts picking a fight with her… and the Qhorin elbows a man in the face, steals back his sword, and attacks Jon.
Qhorin is restrained by two wildlings as Jon shouts at him to stop, and Qhorin asks why he’d do so for a traitor who means to give Mance Rayder an invitation to Castle Black? Rattleshirt commands the others to let them fight, and Ygritte throws down Longclaw within Jon’s reach. He gets up to defend himself with it, both men fighting furiously with their hands bound, and Qhorin has the better of it. He asks if that’s all Jon has, and Jon fights back harder. Qhorin continues to insult him and egg him on, asking him if his traitor father taught him one maneuver… or if it was his whore mother before he headbutts Jon who falls to the ground. And then Jon gets up and screams as he attacks Halfhand, disarming him. The two stare at one another a moment… and then Jon runs him through with the sword. Qhorin’s last words are part of the oath of the Watch: “We are the watchers on the wall.” He falls down dead.
Ygritte informs Rattleshirt that he can tell Mance that Jon Snow is the man who killed Qhorin Halfhand. Rattleshirt goes up to him, takes away Longclaw… and then uses it to cut Jon’s bonds. He orders the others to burn the body, and then he tells Jon that he wouldn’t want Qhorin coming back for him. Ygritte stares at Jon, as he looks back at her, and then she tells him to come along with her. Over the edge of the ridge they stand on, Jon sees a valley filled from one end to the other by the wildling encampment, a huge mass of people. Ygritte informs him it’s time to meet the King-beyond-the-Wall. They start down the slope.
In Qarth, Xaro sleeps next to Doreah. Kovarro’s arakh snatches away the key from around Xaro’s neck, waking him and then Doreah. The rest of the Dothraki enter, as does Jorah and Daenerys with her three dragons. Doreah begs Daenerys’s mercy, saying that Xaro promises Dany would never leave Qarth alive, but Daenerys tells them to come. She turns and leaves, as Jorah and the Dothraki move forward. Then Kovarro unlocks the vault for Daenerys, who enters into it with a torch…
And discovers that it is empty: the fabled fortune of “the wealthiest man in Qarth” was all a lie. Daenerys thanks Xaro for teaching her this lesson, and then orders Doreah and Xaro placed in the vault. Xaro promises her that as King of Qarth he can bring her a thousand ships and help her take the Iron Throne, while Doreah cries and begs. But the vault is shut and locked by Jorah. He hands the key to Daenerys. In Xaro’s home, the Dothraki are looting his manse of all its wealth. Jorah remarks that it was all a lie, to which Dany replies it looks real enough to her. She empties a golden fruit bowl and asks if it will be enough for a ship, and he says yes, a small one. She departs as he commands the Dothraki to gather all the gold and jewels. Daenerys departs with her three dragons, and the black dragon roars as she passes out of sight.
And beyond the Wall, Samwell, Grenn, and Dolorous Edd are digging at the base of the Fist of the First Men to collect animal droppings to fuel the Night’s Watch’s fires. Samwell starts to speak about how interesting Gilly is, leading Edd and Grenn to roll their eyes. Samwell says that given how she’s been treated and how her life is, she still has hope that life will get better. Dolorous Edd replies that what Sam really finds interesting is that she spoke six words to him, to which Sam retorts that the thing he found interesting about Edd is absolutely nothing.
Then a horn sounds, and they wonder if the Halfhand is returning with Jon. And then a second horn, and Grenn takes out a sword and Edd says they need to join the rest… and then a third blast. Edd screams, “Run!” and he and Grenn take off as Samwell stumbles along behind them and a snowstorm sweeps over them. And then Samwell sees vague figures approaching through the snow. He runs and hides behind a rock, terrified. The figures are wildlings turned into wights, marching past him. And then a horse is next to him… a dead horse, it’s throat and face torn half off, and atop it is a White Walker with a pale spear of ice in its hand. It stares down at Jon, pale and terrifying… and then it looks to the Fist, and points its spear as it cries out. More and more wights appear behind it, in their scores and hundreds, and another Other appears on a white horse, raising its pale icy sword as it repeats the cry.
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