Chapter Summaries

Ser Mutton spoke with the Hound after the wedding celebrations, while Daenerys and Gryn spent their wedding night together before Gryn departed to prepare for war against the White Walkers. Daenerys became certain she was pregnant, and at Winterfell Catelyn prayed before Arya interrupted her with news she had yet to share.

• The Hound brought roast lamb to Ser Mutton and admitted that women usually fled from his scarred face.
• Daenerys and Gryn discussed having an heir and his coming campaign against the White Walkers before spending the night together.
• Daenerys saw Gryn off as he rode north with his forces, while other armies were assigned to march toward the Wall and defend King's Landing.
• Hearing bells on her return to the Red Keep, Daenerys became certain she was pregnant.
• At Winterfell, Arya interrupted Catelyn's prayers, argued with Septa Mordane about her knightly bow, and told Catelyn she had come to share something.

Lady Catelyn explained to Arya why Gryn I’s visit to Winterfell had to remain confidential and reminded her to show the king proper respect. Sansa finished her lessons in governing with Maester Luwin, and Catelyn arrived at the study asking where its Grey Cloak guards had gone.

• Lady Catelyn warned Arya that revealing Gryn I’s visit could endanger him, and Arya proposed punishing Sansa for discussing it carelessly.
• Lady Catelyn reminded Arya that Gryn was king and a benefactor to House Stark and House Tully, and Arya reluctantly agreed to call him Your Majesty.
• Arya left to watch Rickon practice swordsmanship while Lady Catelyn entered the main keep.
• Sansa sealed a parchment after studying governance with Maester Luwin, who praised her progress.
• Lady Catelyn entered the study and asked where the Grey Cloaks assigned to guard it had gone.

Catelyn reminded Sansa to keep guards close after Sansa explained that she had reassigned them to train new recruits. Arya then rode out with Syrio to welcome King Gryn, and Catelyn arranged to send someone after her.

• Catelyn questioned Sansa about the deaths of Robert and Robb, then warned her that leaving herself without guards was dangerous.
• Arya prepared to leave Winterfell with Syrio, who tried to stop her from riding away without permission.
• Mya Stone urged Arya to seek Catelyn's permission, but Arya rode out with Syrio to welcome the king.
• Mya told Catelyn and Sansa that Arya had left an hour earlier, and Sansa urged them to send someone after her.
• Catelyn comforted Mya, reminded Sansa that the Stark pack survived together, and said she would make arrangements for Arya.

Lady Catelyn sent Dacey to escort Arya south and welcome Gryn, while Gryn learned that Daenerys was pregnant and met with Howland Reed and the marshmen. The king’s party prepared to continue through the Neck toward Winterfell.

• Lady Catelyn told Dacey that Arya had left Winterfell and ordered her to travel south with Arya to welcome King Gryn.
• Lady Catelyn appointed Dacey as her envoy to care for Gryn until he reached Winterfell.
• Ser Brienne delivered Duke Dick Crabb’s letter, confirming that Daenerys was pregnant and that Pycelle and Qyburn had arranged guards for her.
• Gryn ordered the letter burned and invited his companions to return to the tent for a drink.
• Howland Reed and the Neck’s marshmen leaders welcomed Gryn and offered to escort him along the Kingsroad through the Neck.

King Gryn entered the Neck with the crannogmen and discussed their poverty and the barriers to trade with Chief Howland Reed. After promising supplies and escort work, Gryn shot down a flying eagle and suspected a Greenseer was watching him.

• Chief Howland Reed presented Gryn with an ancient dragonglass dagger, and Gryn rewarded the crannogmen chieftains with gilded shortswords.
• Gryn marched into the Neck with the crannogmen as guides and saw how its swamps made it a natural fortress.
• At lunch, Howland told Gryn that Winterfell had promised the crannogmen grain, provisions, and help building stone houses and fireplaces.
• Howland explained that merchants avoided traveling through the Neck because escorts and bad weather made the route costly, and Gryn promised to discuss improving northern trade with Ned.
• Gryn entrusted the crannogmen with escorting grain and supplies through the Neck, then shot an eagle from the sky and suspected a Greenseer was watching him.

Gryn suspected that a Greenseer was using an eagle to watch him and ordered Moqorro to find the Greenseer. At Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, Tyrion tried to keep Jaime and Ser Grit from throwing away their lives, but Grit blamed him for secretly withdrawing the giants.

• Gryn told Moqorro that something had watched him through the eagle's eyes and connected the sighting to the Greenseers.
• Gryn recalled Stannis's Wildling army defeating the northern cavalry and ordered Moqorro to locate the Greenseer.
• At Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, Tyrion, Jaime, and Ser Grit discussed their heavy losses and Jaime's plan to charge at Stannis when the war horn sounded.
• Tyrion said he could get the defenders out, but Jaime refused to leave and thanked his brother before urging him to go.
• Ser Grit grabbed Tyrion by the collar and accused him of secretly withdrawing the giants, which had hastened Eastwatch-by-the-Sea's fall.

Tyrion chose to stand with Jaime, Ser Grit, and the Blue Cloaks to defend Eastwatch-by-the-Sea rather than retreat, and rallied them to fight to the death. As the fortress faced its final battle, the banners of the Lord of Highgarden appeared over the snowy hills.

• Ser Grit refused Tyrion's order to retreat north of The Wall, while Jaime offered to take Tyrion to safety by ship.
• Tyrion reconsidered abandoning Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and declared that he would die fighting alongside the Crabb Legion rather than surrender to Stannis.
• Tyrion rallied the Blue Cloaks with a promise to send Gryn a letter recording their loyalty, and they cheered him and vowed to fight to the death.
• Tyrion wrote a farewell letter and chose Ser Bronn to deliver it.
• Tyrion stood on the battlements armed with two hand axes and saw the banners of the Lord of Highgarden approaching across the snowy hills.

Mace Tyrell’s cavalry defeated Stannis’s Wildling host at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and Mace entered the castle to celebrate his victory. At the feast, Tyrion toasted Mace as a great commander while considering how the victory might help him earn Gryn’s mercy for Tysha.

• Mace Tyrell’s Rose cavalry charged Stannis’s Wildling host and shattered its formation, routing the enemy.
• Mathis Rowan inferred that Stannis was absent from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and that his army was short on supplies.
• Mace ordered Mathis to have the Night’s Watch open the gates, then told Asha Greyjoy to offer nearby fishermen triple wages to move the supplies.
• Mace welcomed the army with a feast at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, where Tyrion enjoyed the food, wine, and company.
• Tyrion sent his two attendants to Ser Bronn and Ser Grit, then raised a toast to Mace as a great commander.

Tyrion won Mace's favor by praising him as a renowned general, then was appointed master of ceremonies. At a war council about Stannis's forces near the Wall of the End, Tyrion persuaded Mace to consider contacting Lord Stark for support.

• Tyrion praised Mace's role in defeating Stannis, and the feasters hailed Mace as a renowned general.
• Mace appointed Tyrion as the feast's temporary master of ceremonies the next morning, while Jaime and Bronn teased him about the role.
• Mace convened a war council, where his lords debated how to confront Stannis's forces and whether to delay for supplies or attack Castle Black.
• Jaime warned that Stannis's forces included Florent-led elite cavalry and insisted the Night's Watch had not surrendered.
• Tyrion suggested contacting Lord Stark at Last Hearth, and he convinced Mace that the northern lords would welcome his leadership.

Tyrion advised Lord Hand Mace on how to use Stark’s campaign against Stannis as a pretext to move against Winterfell, then volunteered to visit Stark’s camp and became Mace’s intended scapegoat. Daemon Sand arrived at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea to deal with Jaime, while Arya reunited with Gryn and proudly declared herself Winterfell’s only female swordswoman.

• Lord Hand Mace considered attacking Winterfell if Stark refused his orders, and Tyrion advised him to monitor Stark’s forces while reclaiming Night’s Watch castles during the fighting.
• Mace rejected Mathis Rowan as a supervisor and revealed that he planned to gather at least sixty thousand Tyrell soldiers at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.
• Tyrion volunteered to go to Stark’s camp, and Mace accepted while privately deciding Tyrion could serve as a scapegoat.
• Daemon Sand arrived at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea on Arianne’s orders to deal with Jaime, who had been exiled to the Wall.
• Arya reunited with Gryn, embraced him, and told him she was Winterfell’s only female swordswoman.

Gryn met Arya and her companions in the North while Ramsay Bolton, disguised as a stableboy, watched him and vowed revenge. The next morning a stableboy was found frozen to death, and Tyrion arrived at the Stark camp seeking an audience with Lord Eddard Stark.

• Gryn greeted Arya, Syrio Forel, and Dacey Mormont, then noticed a filthy stableboy among the horses.
• The stableboy, Ramsay Bolton, feared Gryn had recognized him and resolved to make the Starks pay for his losses.
• Gryn hosted the Northerners at a feast, where Dacey considered her chance to approach the king and help the North.
• At dawn, patrol soldiers found several frozen corpses, including one of Arya's stableboys.
• Tyrion reached the Stark camp and requested an audience with Lord Eddard Stark.

Tyrion told Lord Eddard that the Tyrell army needed Stark forces to draw Stannis into a decisive battle, but Eddard refused because Stannis could track and ambush his troops. Tyrion began to reveal a separate mission from King Gryn, while Gryn summoned Dacey Mormont into his carriage and she asked to draw the curtains.

• Bronn told Tyrion he wanted to leave a will for his unborn son, and Tyrion promised to help him meet the child.
• Tyrion met Lord Eddard and explained that the Lord Hand wanted the Stark army to attack so the Tyrells could destroy Stannis's forces.
• Eddard refused to create an opening for the Tyrells and warned that Stannis could use a shapeshifter to track Stark movements and ambush his troops.
• Tyrion urged Eddard to act for Stark's sake, and when Eddard refused again, Tyrion began to disclose King Gryn's important mission for him.
• Gryn invited Dacey Mormont into his carriage, and after sitting across from him, she asked whether she could draw the curtains.

Gryn offered Dacey a path forward after Robb's death, including a chance to fight the White Walkers or help establish House Mormont in the Riverlands. Meanwhile, Ser Mutton and Sandor Clegane arrived at Winterfell, where Sansa welcomed them and learned the king's party would arrive within three days.

• Gryn reassured Dacey that she had acted loyally and explained that she could not have prevented Robb's death.
• Gryn told Dacey that he had come to investigate reports of White Walkers and described a possible war against them.
• Gryn revealed that Brynden Tully planned to choose one of the Little Wolves as his heir, and said Arya might lead Dacey to establish House Mormont in the Riverlands.
• Dacey swore to keep the secret and thanked Gryn for offering her mercy.
• Ser Mutton and Sandor Clegane rode into Winterfell, where Sansa welcomed them and led them inside.
• Sansa told Catelyn that Ser Mutton expected the king's party to reach Winterfell within three days.

Lady Catelyn warned Sansa that the North’s traditions could shape her future, prompting Sansa to suspect she might have a connection to Riverrun. Meanwhile, Melisandre visited Tyrion in Lord Stark’s camp and said she had come to save lives by the will of the Lord of Light.

• Lady Catelyn disciplined Rickon for barging into the study and told him he could discuss getting cavalry after the Duke of Winterfell returned, if he first cut his hair.
• Sansa admitted she was jealous of Rickon, and Lady Catelyn explained that the North followed the First Men’s traditions and urged Sansa to understand King Gryn Crabb for the sake of the North’s and her own future.
• Alone in her room, Sansa wondered whether her mother’s advice hinted at her great-uncle’s Riverrun.
• Tyrion met Melisandre in Lord Stark’s camp and asked whether she had defected from Stannis.
• Melisandre said she had come to save lives, not seek refuge, and told Tyrion that the Lord of Light had not yet turned His attention to him.

Tyrion agreed to escort Melisandre to Winterfell so she could seek an audience with King Gryn, while Lord Eddard considered Stannis’s silence and Tyrion’s loyalties. Gryn’s royal procession arrived at Winterfell, where Lady Catelyn and the northern lords welcomed him.

• Melisandre told Tyrion that a three-eyed crow was helping Stannis and pressured him to choose life or death before asking him to escort her to Winterfell.
• Tyrion agreed to introduce Melisandre to King Gryn, and she prepared to depart with an escort the next morning.
• Lord Eddard and Ser Rodrik discussed Stannis’s silence and whether Tyrion could be trusted, and Eddard reflected that the Seven Kingdoms shared a common enemy.
• Gryn rode into Winterfell with his royal procession, and Lady Catelyn, her children, and the northern lords knelt to welcome him.

King Gryn arrived at Winterfell, warmly reunited with Lady Catelyn and her children, and sparred with Arya and Rickon before joining the Starks at a feast. The chapter ended with Gryn raising a toast to the prosperity of the Seven Kingdoms.

• Gryn greeted Lady Catelyn and embraced her as Winterfell welcomed the king.
• Catelyn introduced Sansa, Arya, and Rickon to Gryn, who spoke warmly with the children.
• Gryn held Arya’s and Rickon’s hands as he walked with the Stark family, while Catelyn noticed Ser Brienne among the king’s party.
• Gryn sparred with Arya and Rickon in Winterfell’s training yard, delighting the watching crowd.
• Catelyn reminded Sansa to remember her father Ned and the king’s favor as they checked the feast preparations.
• Gryn drank and exchanged greetings with Winterfell’s lords at the feast, then toasted the prosperity of the Seven Kingdoms.

King Gryn attended a Winterfell feast, danced with Sansa, and then joined the Northern nobles on a hunt. As Winterfell settled into daily hunts and feasts, Catelyn encouraged Sansa to consider what she truly wanted.

• Catelyn toasted King Gryn, and Arya teased him about drinking before slipping back to her lowborn friends.
• Gryn watched Leo Tyrell join the dancing, then danced with Sansa, who felt reassured that he cared for all of Ned's children.
• After the feast, Gryn told Brienne to keep other women away from his bedchamber and bathing room.
• Sansa declined to join the snowy hunt, and Catelyn comforted her and urged her to discover what she truly wanted.
• Gryn returned from the Wolfswood with the hunting party, and Winterfell began repeating a routine of hunting by day and feasting by night.

Gryn trained Rickon and Arya at Winterfell, then shared breakfast with them and the Stark women while snow kept the hunt from going ahead. Maester Luwin brought a military report from Duke Ned, revealing that Tyrion and the red priestess had set out to seek an audience with Gryn.

• Gryn praised Rickon’s improving swordsmanship, then invited Syrio Forel to spar for the children.
• Gryn joined Catelyn, Sansa, Arya, and Rickon for breakfast and teased Rickon about taking a bath with a brush.
• Gryn encouraged Arya and Rickon to read, while Sansa arranged a chance to speak with him in the study.
• Maester Luwin delivered a raven letter from Last Hearth, and Catelyn took it with visible tension.
• The report said Tyrion and the red priestess had set out to seek an audience with Gryn.

Gryn discussed Winterfell's troop deployment with Catelyn and arranged reinforcements for Last Hearth as tensions with House Karstark and Stannis's Wildling army continued. He told Sansa that Brynden would lead further reinforcements to Winterfell, then woke abruptly after hearing strange words in a dream.

• Gryn reviewed Harrion Karstark's limited support and agreed that Ned needed to hold Last Hearth.
• Catelyn named the Greatjon to command Winterfell's departing recruits, and Gryn sent Ser Meryn Trant with two thousand men to reinforce Last Hearth.
• Catelyn, Sansa, and Maester Luwin thanked Gryn for supporting Winterfell before Catelyn and Luwin left to arrange the deployment.
• Sansa asked Gryn about Brynden, and he said Brynden would lead King's Landing's reinforcements to Winterfell.
• Gryn woke suddenly after hearing voices say that the place did not belong to him and that only dragonfire could melt Ice.

Gryn was disturbed by a shadowy visitor and asked Brienne to keep watch in his bedchamber. Beyond The Wall, Bran learned that Eddard was in danger and that he had to become a true Greenseer to save him; Jojen arrived as Bran woke in the cave.

• A hoarse voice disturbed Gryn, who summoned Brienne and asked how to lure someone hiding in the shadows into the open.
• Gryn told Brienne to stay on guard in his room, and she slept beneath his bed.
• Bran sat trapped among the Weirwood roots as the Three-Eyed Crow told him he would never walk again but could learn to fly.
• The Three-Eyed Crow told Bran that Eddard had been revived by followers of an alien god and remained in danger, and Bran agreed to become a Greenseer to save him.
• Bran woke to find Jojen Reed standing before him, and Jojen said their companions were safe and had food and warm fires.