Chapter Summaries

Stannis arrived at the Wall and demanded authority over its defenses while Melisandre declared him Azor Ahai; he appointed Tyrion to weaponize Wildfire. The chapter ended with Lord Mace reading news that Gryn was building trebuchets to aid the Lannister siege of Riverrun.

• Melisandre proclaimed Stannis the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, and Stannis showed the Night's Watch his glowing sword, Lightbringer.
• Stannis gave the Night's Watch three days to consider his proposal and said he would organize defenses against the Wildlings and White Walkers once Eddard arrived.
• Stannis questioned Tyrion about his escape and journey to the Wall, while Melisandre used the flames to press him for the truth.
• Tyrion explained his friendship with Lord Gryn and accepted Stannis's order to train soldiers to use Wildfire.
• Stannis told Tyrion he would remain in the Night's Watch as his Steward until the war ended and ordered Mormont to prepare a list for rebuilding the ruins.
• At Storm's End, Lord Mace read intelligence that Gryn was building trebuchets to support the Lannisters' siege of Riverrun.

Lord Mace Tyrell celebrated the siege of Storm's End until Euron Greyjoy's raid on the Shield Islands forced him to send reinforcements under Garth to join Garlan. Meanwhile, Margaery woke Tommen and teased him as she helped him prepare for the day.

• Lord Mace and the Reach nobles celebrated his siege tactics after Garth read a letter saying Gryn had joined the Lannister siege of Riverrun with ten thousand men.
• Garth warned Lord Mace that Gryn might be pursuing control of the Riverlands, and Lord Mace ordered a copy of the letter sent to Lady Olenna.
• Ser Theodore brought news that Euron Greyjoy had raided the Shield Islands with a thousand warships, prompting Lord Mace to send thirty thousand troops under Garth to reinforce Garlan near Brightwater Keep.
• Lord Mace kept the rest of his army at Storm's End and said he would later lead an invasion of the Iron Islands himself.
• Margaery greeted Tommen in the King's Bedchamber, presented him with a green robe, and teased him about being shy as he insisted he was brave.

Margaery comforted Tommen as they exchanged secrets, then left to address the Greyjoy threat to the Reach. Meanwhile, Lannister forces attacked Riverrun, and Brynden Tully ordered boiling oil poured onto the assaulting soldiers.

• Margaery and Tommen traded secrets, and Tommen confessed that he had not mourned Joffrey's death and had lied to Cersei about his grief.
• Margaery reassured Tommen about his feelings and encouraged him to become a good king before Mego Tyrell arrived with news.
• Margaery learned that Greyjoys were harassing the Reach and ordered Paxter Redwyne to take the fleet there while Mathis Rowan protected her in King's Landing.
• Lannister Soldiers assaulted Riverrun with ladders and a battering ram as Brynden Tully watched from the walls.
• Brynden Tully ordered his defenders to pour boiling oil onto the attackers.

The Lannisters withdrew from Riverrun after Brynden Tully’s boiling oil shattered their assault, while Jaime tried to preserve the army’s morale. The next morning, Gryn Crabb questioned his prisoner Asha Greyjoy, who revealed that she had come to discuss an earlier invitation concerning the Iron Islands.

• Tully soldiers poured boiling oil on the Lannister attackers, inflicting heavy casualties and throwing their assault into chaos.
• Jaime persuaded Daven Lannister to order an orderly retreat, and the Lannisters blamed the Freys and complained about Crabb’s lack of support.
• The next morning, Gryn read the Code of Laws by the river as Ser Anguy brought the captured Asha Greyjoy to speak with him.
• Asha offered her naval skills and flirted with Gryn, but he rejected both explanations and asked her to be honest.
• Asha said Rodrik Harlaw had told her about an invitation from Kevan Lannister and Gryn to discuss the Iron Islands.
• Gryn explained that the earlier talks had lapsed after Kevan’s death and noted that the new Iron Islands leader was raiding the Reach.

Gryn weighed Asha Greyjoy’s request for support as she sought to reclaim the Seastone Chair, while he managed Riverlands affairs and tested the Alchemists’ Guild’s new explosive. The chapter ended with Gryn asking Asha how she planned to deal with Euron Greyjoy.

• Gryn told Asha that the kings claiming power were rebels and left her to decide what she could offer in exchange for his support.
• Gryn ordered Jason Mallister to help Ser Martyn Baker attack the Twins in a month and promised him half its wealth if they succeeded.
• Gryn heard reports of High Septon Zari’s growing following in Harrenhal and requested food aid from Tommen I while leaving the religious dispute to the septons.
• Gryn tested a powerful green-flaming explosive with Anguy and Mutton, then arranged for the first Big Fruit to be sent to Riverrun.
• Gryn met Asha alone in his tent, discussed his precautions against assassination, and asked how she planned to deal with Euron Greyjoy.

Gryn and Asha agreed to cooperate to remove Euron Greyjoy and restore Asha’s claim to the Seastone Chair, with Gryn promising to bring Theon back from Eastwatch. At Riverrun, Gryn’s Wildfire bombardment and the Lannisters’ failed assault led Jaime to propose a war council with Houses Lannister, Crabb, and Frey.

• Asha tried to seduce Gryn, but he proposed helping her reclaim Pyke by joining forces against Euron Greyjoy.
• Gryn suggested using Theon’s return to lure Euron onto land, and promised to get Theon safely back to Asha from Eastwatch.
• Gryn’s forces fired Wildfire at Riverrun, while Brynden Tully ordered the southern side evacuated and prepared the defenders for battle.
• Daven Lannister ordered an assault after the Wildfire attack, but Jaime warned that the troops were unprepared and helped restore order.
• Crabb’s trebuchets continued launching Wildfire at Riverrun, and Jaime sent a letter proposing a war council among Houses Lannister, Crabb, and Frey.
• Gryn asked Ser Balon Swen when and where the meeting would take place, and Balon said Gryn could choose both.

Gryn pressured Ser Balon to choose between his family and his Kingsguard vows, suggesting Balon could save Stonehelm only through a sacrifice. On Oakenshield, Aeron Greyjoy arrived at Euron’s feast and learned that Rodrik Harlaw had sent Hotho Harlaw to restrain the raiding and protect Asha.

• Gryn questioned Ser Balon’s loyalty by confronting him with his family’s history of shifting allegiances and betrayal.
• Gryn said he intended to punish treasonous families and offered Ser Balon a chance to save Stonehelm if he accepted a sacrifice.
• Ironborn occupied Hewett Castle and feasted on its riches while Aeron Greyjoy and Captain Nute complained about their lack of spoils.
• Aeron warned Captain Nute to keep quiet and said Euron had promised his men the spoils of a future castle raid.
• Hotho Harlaw told Aeron that Rodrik Harlaw had ordered him to raid only for gold, and Aeron concluded Rodrik had sent him to protect Asha.

Aeron resisted Euron’s rule and condemned his irreverence toward the Drowned God while Euron humiliated the Hewett women and prepared to sail for the Arbor. Euron revealed Dragonbinder to Aeron and said he intended to entrust the horn to him.

• Aeron told Hoso he would oppose Euron and rally ordinary Ironborn against a king who did not revere the Drowned God.
• Euron ordered the Hewett women to strip and serve the pirates, then rewarded Falia Flowers and promised his captains a conquest of the Green Lands.
• Euron granted three Shield Islands to rival leaders, ordered the Ironborn to gather supplies, and announced they would sail at dawn.
• Aeron warned Hoso that Euron’s new lordships were dangerous, then followed Euron’s illegitimate son to a private chamber.
• Euron told Aeron that Redwyne’s Arbor was his next target and offered to entrust Dragonbinder to him.

Aeron agreed to sail with Euron while secretly helping Hoso escape with Dragonbinder and a message for Asha. In the Reach, Garlan prepared to confront the Greyjoys, while Aurane Waters offered Allard Seaworth command of a new Royal Fleet ship.

• Euron told Aeron he planned to conquer the Green Lands and marry Daenerys Targaryen, claiming he had a lead on her whereabouts.
• Aeron refused Euron's Shade of the Evening and left with Dragonbinder, then gave the horn to Hoso to take to Asha along with a message and a blood-written parchment for Asha's uncle.
• Garlan returned to Highgarden, where Willas discussed the Greyjoy threat and plans to ransom captives before sending Garlan to fight on the Shield Islands.
• Aurane Waters welcomed seven new Royal Fleet ships, including the Sweet Cersei, and offered Allard Seaworth command of one of them.
• Allard declined to choose a ship and told Aurane he would follow his arrangements.

Allard Seaworth spotted Margaery meeting Lady Taena and Lord Mathis Rowan in secret, while Margaery revealed Cersei’s crimes and her plan to face the Faith’s trial. She asked Mathis to help expose Cersei at the right moment, hoping the High Sparrow would use the trial to challenge royal authority.

• Aurane Waters gave the Sweet Cersei to Allard Seaworth and invited the fleet crew out for wine and women, while Allard privately disdained his commander's behavior.
• Allard recognized Margaery, Lady Taena, and Lord Mathis Rowan entering the same inn, then left to avoid attracting the notice of their hidden guards.
• Margaery told Mathis that Lady Taena had revealed Cersei ordered Osney Kettleblack to murder the previous High Septon and had used Lancel Lannister to help kill Robert I.
• Margaery explained that Cersei planned to accuse her of infidelity and challenge her former marriage to Renly before the Faith, but she refused Mathis's offer to escort her to Storm's End.
• Margaery said she would accept the Faith's trial and asked Mathis to arrange for evidence of Cersei's crimes to reach the High Sparrow at the right moment.

Margaery entrusted Count Mathis with protecting her and the Tyrells’ interests, while Cersei plotted to kill Tyrion by sending Osney to the Wall and framing Margaery. The chapter ended with the Lannisters meeting Gryn Crabb beneath Riverrun.

• Margaery told Count Mathis she would leave her safety and the situation in King's Landing to his judgment, and he promised to become her shield.
• Cersei learned Tyrion had escaped to the Wall and, after Qyburn warned that attacking the Night's Watch could aid Stannis, agreed to send a trusted man there to kill him.
• Taena told Cersei that Margaery had sought her secrets and accepted the gemstones she had received from Margaery as proof the trap was working.
• Cersei ordered Osney to accuse Margaery of crimes, Take the Black, and kill Tyrion in exchange for a promised return from the Wall.
• Genna Lannister, Daven Lannister, and Jaime Lannister met beneath Riverrun, where a herald introduced Gryn Crabb with an extravagant list of titles.

Gryn refused Ser Daven’s request for Wildfire, condemned his leadership, and challenged him before Jaime and Genna intervened. Two days later, Daven launched a brutal assault on Riverrun, where Duke Brynden and his soldiers prepared to defend the castle again.

• Gryn refused to provide Wildfire for the siege and explained that he and Jaime feared it would consume everything in green flames.
• Gryn confronted Ser Daven over his failure to take Riverrun and challenged him to a sword fight, but Genna stopped Daven before the duel began.
• Gryn warned Lord Aemon about the Frey army’s poor performance and said he would forgive Daven if he took Riverrun by the deadline.
• Jaime told Daven to focus on the siege, while Genna urged Jaime to accept the responsibility left by Tywin’s absence.
• Two days later, Daven led the Lannister army in a day-long assault on Riverrun, and his forces attacked again the following morning.
• Duke Brynden encouraged the Tully soldiers defending Riverrun, though he privately feared their fate had already been decided.

As the Lannisters struggled to take Riverrun, Ser Daven discussed Lord Emmon's offer and Lady Genna's warning with Jaime, who insisted on remaining Kingsguard. Meanwhile, Gryn Crabb spoke with Asha before she left for Ten Towers, and Brynden Tully prepared to use the sluice gates as Crabb's Wildfire intensified the assault.

• Ser Daven told Jaime that Lord Emmon would bring two thousand soldiers in exchange for the chance to become Duke of Riverrun, and relayed Lady Genna's warning that the Lannisters needed a new protector.
• Jaime rejected the prospect of taking Lord Tywin's place and insisted that he was Kingsguard, while Ser Daven prepared for another assault on Riverrun.
• Asha told Gryn she had been summoned back to Ten Towers, and Gryn promised that she would soon hear news of her brother.
• Ser Daven led another Lannister attack on Riverrun, but Crabb's trebuchets launched Wildfire that confused the defenders and raised Lannister morale.
• Brynden told his captain that the sluice gates would flood Riverrun's moat when the Freys arrived, while Maester Vyman warned that Crabb's increasingly accurate Wildfire threatened the castle.

Lord Aenys Frey brought two thousand soldiers to the Lannister camp, where Ser Daven arranged to use them in the siege of Riverrun while Jaime sought to persuade Brynden Tully to surrender. Their meeting on the bridge ended in a failed duel negotiation when an arrow from an unseen shooter struck Brynden’s armor, prompting him to accuse Jaime of treachery.

• Lord Aenys Frey demanded Jaime’s signature on a promise to give him Riverrun and asked the Lannisters to cover his soldiers’ expenses, but Jaime agreed only to raise his request at the Small Council.
• Ser Daven doubled the Frey soldiers’ bonuses and planned to send them into the next assault, while Jaime warned that the Freys were Lannister allies and offered to speak with Brynden Tully.
• Ser Daven told Jaime that the next assault would come within two days and that Lannister soldiers might have to cross Riverrun’s flooded ditches under fire.
• Jaime met Brynden on the bridge and offered to spare Riverrun’s people if they surrendered, but Brynden rejected his promises and refused to yield.
• Jaime challenged Brynden to a duel, offering to withdraw if Brynden won and pardon Riverrun if Jaime won; as they reached for their swords, an arrow struck Brynden’s armor and he accused Jaime of treachery.

Ser Jaime confronted Ser Balon Swen after Balon’s failed ambush on Brynden Tully and learned that Balon had acted under Duke Gryn’s pressure to keep the war going. At the Red Keep, Cersei considered Margaery’s schemes and her memories of Rhaegar before questioning Tommen about who had encouraged him to claim the throne early.

• Ser Jaime turned back from Riverrun after Brynden Tully escaped into the castle and its portcullis fell.
• Ser Jaime struck Ser Balon Swen and condemned his dishonorable ambush, while Balon remained silent about Duke Gryn’s coercion and House Swann’s danger.
• Taena Merryweather told Cersei that Margaery was learning the Summer Isles language from Jalabar Xho and had given Tommen a black cat.
• Cersei recalled her thwarted childhood betrothal to Rhaegar and ordered someone to watch the cat, fearing Tommen might harm it.
• Tommen told Cersei he wanted to sit on the Iron Throne before coming of age, and she asked who had put the idea in his head.

Cersei confronted Tommen over Margaery’s influence, then arrived in the Maidenvault garden and clashed with Margaery until Tommen intervened. Elsewhere, Gryn rewarded House Swen’s service and considered his forces’ next move toward Golden Tooth.

• Cersei pressured Tommen to reveal that Margaery had encouraged him to attend Small Council meetings, then sent him away with a story about kings and their Hands.
• After learning that Tommen had secretly sided with Margaery, Cersei went to the Maidenvault garden and asked to speak with her alone.
• Cersei accused Margaery of encouraging Tommen to defy her, while Margaery provoked her and warned against creating a rift between mother and son.
• Tommen rushed between Cersei and Margaery, declared that Cersei could not hurt his future wife, and was dragged away by the ear after offering to eat beets in exchange for Margaery’s safety.
• Gryn heard Ser Anguy’s report about Jaime, then wrote Lord Selwyn Tarth to permit House Swen to join the pro-Crabb faction in the Stormlands.
• Gryn reviewed Dick Crabb and Ser Mason’s position near Pinkmaiden and turned his attention to Golden Tooth.

Gryn appointed Ser Mutton to command Crackclaw Point warriors in King's Landing, prepared to receive Margaery Tyrell's Rose Bread, and managed Riverlands affairs as events unfolded across Westeros. At Riverrun, Brynden ordered the sluice gate opened during the Lannister-Frey assault, sending the river surging toward the moat.

• Gryn named Ser Mutton commander of two thousand Crackclaw Point warriors and placed Vale and Riverlands knights under his command, stressing fair treatment and loyalty to House Crabb.
• Gryn wrote to Lyanna Crabb, named her daughter Isabelle, and sent her sapphires; he then discussed restoring Riverlands farmland with his advisory council.
• Eddard Stark set out to meet Stannis Baratheon at the Wall, while Asha Greyjoy sailed for Ten Towers and Cersei Lannister arranged for Margaery Tyrell to enter the Great Sept of Baelor.
• Gryn learned that Margaery planned to redirect Rose Bread to the Riverlands and sent Maester Orfo and his assistants to prepare a receiving camp near the Blackwater Rush and Gold Road.
• Daven Lannister led Lannister and Frey forces in an assault on Riverrun, and Brynden ordered the Tully soldiers to raise the sluice gate, releasing the river toward the moat.

The Lannisters renewed their siege of Riverrun after the sluice gates flooded their troops, while Jaime struggled with his feelings for Cersei and Aeron remained Euron’s prisoner. Brynden received boiling oil from a mysterious employer and resolved to protect Riverrun without involving the Starks.

• The flood at Riverrun drowned many Frey soldiers, and Emmon Frey accused Daven Lannister of sending them to their deaths before accepting his promise of compensation.
• Jaime drank himself into a stupor, then found Pia in his tent, where she confessed she had long admired him and comforted him.
• Euron Greyjoy tortured Aeron, suspected that Asha had taken Dragonbinder, and threatened to reconsider whether he would spare her.
• Daven led the Lannister army in a renewed assault on Riverrun, and Brynden’s defenders used wine to sustain their morale.
• Seven boats delivered boiling oil to Riverrun on behalf of a mysterious employer who promised to send more, and Brynden agreed to keep the arrangement secret.
• Brynden suspected Crabb might be allowing the deliveries through, but refused Maester Vyman’s attempt to dissuade him from fighting the Lannisters.

Daven Lannister’s siege of Riverrun suffered repeated setbacks as Brynden Tully used boiling oil to repel the Lannister assaults, while Daven waited for reinforcements and Jaime helped hold the army together. With both sides nearing exhaustion and the deadline approaching, Daven begged Jaime to bring Crabb soldiers, but Jaime said Duke Gryn had chosen to remain an observer.

• Daven ordered a retreat after Brynden’s boiling oil destroyed Lannister siege weapons, then wondered whether Cersei could govern House Lannister effectively.
• Daven found Jaime asleep with Pia, told him the assault had failed, and later heard Jaime promise to meet with dissatisfied lords and settle Pia’s situation.
• Daven urged Jaime to claim the title of Warden of the West, but Jaime said he was a Kingsguard; Daven then asked him to tell more about Cersei.
• After three thousand reinforcements arrived from Golden Tooth, Daven renewed the siege, but Brynden poured out Riverrun’s remaining boiling oil and routed the attackers.
• Brynden and Daven continued fighting for days until both armies neared exhaustion, while the one-month deadline left Daven little time to take Riverrun.
• Daven begged Jaime for a thousand Crabb soldiers to secure victory, but Jaime replied that Duke Gryn had declared himself an observer in the battle.

Gryn Crabb agreed to provide Ser Daven with a thousand Crabb warriors in exchange for Jaime returning to the capital’s political crisis by meeting Mace Tyrell at Storm’s End. In King’s Landing, Cersei dismissed the Iron Bank’s demands and tried to convince Tommen that Margaery had betrayed him, but he insisted she was innocent.

• Gryn agreed to send Ser Daven a thousand Crabb warriors within seven days, provided Jaime went to Storm’s End as a Lannister envoy to placate Mace Tyrell.
• Gryn warned Jaime that Margaery had been imprisoned by the Faith after Osney Kettleblack and others confessed to illicit relations with her, and that the crisis could spark another war.
• Cersei refused to repay the Iron Bank envoy Nahor Dimittis and ordered him escorted out of the throne room.
• Cersei prepared to visit Margaery in the Great Sept, but Tommen confronted her and demanded that she release his fiancée.
• Cersei told Tommen that Margaery was not a virgin and had betrayed him, but Tommen rejected the accusation, saying Margaery’s childhood riding injury explained the examination.