Chapter Summaries

Samwell flew south to assess the Ironborn occupation of the Reach and coordinated with House Hightower to attack the rebels at Highgarden. The chapter ended with him reassuring the worried Margaery as their forces prepared to strike.

• Samwell flew past Longtable and saw Ironborn devastation along the Mander, including a besieged Fossoway castle and occupied Highgarden.
• Samwell visited House Hightower's camp, where Ser Baelor Hightower agreed to march on Highgarden alongside the northern Reach forces the day after tomorrow.
• Samwell learned that House Redwyne had not answered Baelor's messages and suspected Count Paxter had allowed the rebellion to develop.
• Samwell revealed that his army had taken Storm's End, astonishing the assembled Reach lords.
• Samwell returned to Bitterbridge and told Margaery about the devastation and the planned assault, while she worried about the hostages held at Highgarden.

Eddard Stark sought passage for his army across the Twins, where Wald Frey demanded a marriage alliance in exchange. Eddard agreed that Robb would marry one of Wald’s granddaughters, and Wald promised two thousand soldiers to help retake Winterfell.

• Eddard arrived at the Twins and asked Wald Frey to let his army cross the Green Fork.
• Wald offered Eddard bread, salt, and wine as guest right, then played “The Rains of Castamere” at the dinner.
• Wald urged Eddard to claim the Iron Throne, but Eddard firmly refused.
• Wald demanded that Eddard marry one of his daughters or granddaughters; Eddard refused to remarry and agreed that Robb would marry one of Wald’s granddaughters.
• Wald pledged two thousand elite soldiers to accompany Eddard north and help retake Winterfell.

Samwell uncovered House Merryweather’s plot to capture him at Longtable and learned that Lady Olenna was under guard. As Cleopatra burst into the feast, Samwell confronted Count Orton with his trap already in motion.

• Samwell arrived at Longtable, suspected House Merryweather had joined the rebellion, and learned that Lady Olenna was being watched and a force of archers planned to seize him at the feast.
• Samwell used his falcon to send military orders to Chiman Tiger Tooth, while Cleopatra burned the stables and flew away.
• Samwell entered the feast in armor and danced with Lady Tania, then threatened her until she revealed Orton’s plot and Ser Gerold Hill’s presence.
• Samwell promised Lady Tania a castle if she obeyed him, then approached Orton as a servant reported the stable fire.
• As Orton accused Samwell’s dragon of burning his stables, Cleopatra smashed through the banquet hall doors.

Samwell seized Longtable with the White Dragon’s help, forcing House Merryweather to surrender and killing Gerold Hill. He made Lady Tania Countess and asked her to lead him to Lady Olenna.

• Samwell used the White Dragon’s fire to stop the crossbowmen, took Count Orton hostage, and ordered his army to enter the castle.
• Samwell learned Gerold Hill had fled, then had his soldiers capture him as they secured Longtable.
• Samwell demanded that Gerold reveal which Reach houses the Lannisters had recruited, but Gerold refused.
• Samwell ordered Lady Tania to prove her loyalty by killing Gerold, and she cut his throat with a dinner knife.
• Samwell declared Lady Tania ruler of Longtable until her six-year-old son came of age, after an arrow struck Count Orton as he tried to flee.
• Lady Tania pledged loyalty to Samwell and House Tyrell, then offered to take him to Lady Olenna.

Samwell reunited with Lady Olenna at Longtable and prepared to attack the rebels and Ironborn, while Garlan Tyrell reached Cider Hall and discovered his father-in-law had betrayed him. The chapter ended with Lord Raymond ordering armed men to seize Garlan.

• Samwell told Lady Tania that Russell Merryweather would become his foster son and ordered her to secure the loyalty of House Merryweather's bannermen.
• Samwell found Lady Olenna weakened but recovering, told her that he had killed Lord Orton and taken Storm's End, and discussed the planned assault on the rebels and Ironborn.
• Samwell and Lady Olenna suspected that Garlan Tyrell had gone to Cider Hall to lift the Ironborn siege and worried that House Fossoway might support the Lannisters.
• Garlan's cavalry arrived at Cider Hall, and Lord Raymond told him that his wife Leonette had returned to Highgarden.
• Lord Raymond argued that House Tyrell should negotiate by surrendering Samwell, but Garlan refused to betray him.
• Lord Raymond had armed men draw their swords and hold Garlan at swordpoint, declaring that the Reach should not become Caesar's vassal.

Samwell confronted the rebellion at Cider Hall and realized that his command over the Reach depended too heavily on House Tyrell and allied nobles. After Olenna arrived and the rebels opened the gates, he considered a risky plan to end the unrest but decided to discuss it with Randyll first.

• Samwell reached Cider Hall and learned that Raymond Fossoway had taken Garlan hostage and fled toward Highgarden on Ironborn ships.
• Samwell reorganized the Southern Army cavalry but held back from attacking because the rebels detained Horse Party nobles and his authority relied on House Tyrell's support.
• Samwell decided that acquiring the Unsullied in Astapor could give House Caesar an army of its own, though he postponed the plan until the Reach rebellion was settled.
• Samwell sent cavalry to drive off Ironborn raiders, but learned they had already plundered nearby settlements and withdrawn onto the Mander River.
• Olenna, Margaery, and their party arrived at Cider Hall, where Ser Tanton Fossoway invited them inside and asked to speak with Olenna alone.
• Margaery reassured Samwell, who resolved to wait for Randyll before deciding whether to use his risky plan to end the rebellion.

Samwell faced pressure to leave the Reach as House Lannister’s allies threatened House Tyrell, but he chose to stay after the rebels sent back Yalan Tyrell’s head. He ended the chapter resolved to stand with Margaery and confront the crisis.

• Margaery shared an apple with Samwell in the garden and recalled how Garlan had fallen in love with Leonette Fossoway.
• Lady Olenna gave the rebels House Tyrell’s terms, while Samwell worried she might sacrifice him to protect Highgarden.
• Lord Randyll arrived with the Northern Army and urged Samwell to return to Storm’s End with Margaery, arguing that the Reach was compromised.
• Samwell refused to flee, saying he would stay and revealing that he had a plan.
• Margaery arrived in tears and told Samwell that the envoy had returned from Highgarden with Yalan Tyrell’s head.
• Remembering Margaery’s loyalty to him, Samwell became more determined to stay and face the rebels.

The Reach’s leaders agreed to besiege Highgarden and negotiate with the rebels rather than storm the city, and Lord Randyll was chosen to command the army. As the force marched out, Margaery mourned Yarlan and feared for Samwell, who promised to return safely.

• At the military council, Reach nobles argued over whether to attack Highgarden, while Lady Olenna warned against driving the rebels to harm her family.
• Lord Randyll proposed besieging Highgarden and sending envoys to negotiate, and Lady Olenna approved the plan.
• Loras Tyrell declined command, and the council chose Lord Randyll instead; Samwell promised Lady Olenna that her family would remain safe.
• Samwell told Margaery that the army would besiege Highgarden and reassured her before leaving; she reminded him that she and their baby would await his return.
• After the army marched out, Margaery remembered Yarlan, asked the Silent Sisters to place roses in her cousin’s hand, and wept.

Samwell disguised himself as Mace Tyrell and infiltrated the rebel council at Highgarden to free the Tyrell hostages and turn the factions against each other. When his disguise was exposed, he used his enhanced speed to kill Stafford, wound Balon, and seize Awen, leaving both sides facing a hostage standoff.

• Samwell, disguised as Mace Tyrell, convinced the patrol soldiers that he had important information for Lady Awen and was brought to the castle hall.
• Balon announced that the Ironborn would withdraw before dawn, while Awen insisted they remain and Stafford urged her to negotiate with the Reach army.
• Samwell offered to reveal how Caesar hatched his dragon in exchange for the release of Tyrell family members, and Stafford agreed to release Garlan if the secret proved real.
• After the others left the hall, shouts outside revealed that the Mace Tyrell impostor had been discovered.
• Samwell used his extraordinary speed to kill Stafford, strike Balon, and take Awen hostage with Balon's blade.
• As Ironborn and rebel soldiers rushed into the hall, Samwell declared that both sides now had hostages and proposed negotiations.

Samwell, disguised as Duke Mace, forced the rebels and Ironborn at Highgarden to negotiate, securing agreements for their withdrawal and the release of hostages. The crisis seemed settled, but Samwell then announced that he had terms of his own.

• Samwell took Countess Arwyn Oakheart hostage and persuaded Ser Torgen Oakheart to negotiate, summoning Duke Mace and Willas Tyrell.
• Willas secured King Balon's agreement to withdraw the Ironborn in exchange for his release after they left Highgarden, while Victarion agreed to leave the seized wealth behind but not Highgarden's people.
• Ser Torgen demanded Felwood and immunity for House Oakheart; Willas agreed to an engagement with Torgen's six-year-old daughter and to go to Old Oak as a hostage.
• Count Fossoway demanded a Stormlands castle, and Samwell offered Rain House; Duke Mace eventually approved the terms.
• Ser Torgen released Arwyn, and Samwell announced that he had terms of his own.

Samwell killed King Balon and Lady Awen during the Highgarden crisis, while the Reach army routed the Ironborn and the rebels withdrew under a negotiated agreement. Afterward, Samwell planned to strengthen his control of the Stormlands, address the trapped army in Dorne, and secured Lord Mace’s investiture as Earl of Storm’s End, increasing his attribute points.

• Samwell stabbed King Balon to death and escaped Highgarden after killing Lady Awen, whose death passed Old Oak’s inheritance to Ser Torgen.
• Victarion led the Ironborn toward the harbor, but Lord Randyll’s cavalry attacked them and left nearly two thousand dead outside Highgarden.
• Ser Torgen agreed to let the rebels withdraw, and Lord Randyll entered Highgarden after the envoy confirmed the army would not interfere.
• Samwell and Lord Randyll discussed punishing the Deer Party, consolidating the Stormlands, and persuading House Martell to release the Stormlands army trapped in Dorne.
• Samwell asked Lord Mace for an investiture, and the decree made him an Earl and raised his attribute points by ten.

Samwell met with Lady Olenna after helping end Highgarden’s rebellion, while considering how to use his new rank and attribute points. Lady Olenna urged him to approach Doran Martell about releasing the northern armies, suggesting Myrcella Baratheon as a possible queen for House Martell.

• Samwell received ten attribute points after becoming Earl of Storm's End and weighed how to spend them.
• Lady Olenna criticized Samwell for killing Arwyn Oakheart and gambling with the lives of her family, then took charge of the rebellion’s aftermath.
• Lady Olenna told Samwell that Stannis had returned to Dragonstone and that Winterfell had fallen to the Ironborn, leaving the North in a dangerous position.
• Samwell proposed attacking King's Landing, but Lady Olenna said the Reach needed time to recover and advised him to negotiate with Doran Martell for the northern armies held in Dorne.
• Lady Olenna suggested Samwell offer Princess Myrcella Baratheon as a queen to House Martell instead of marrying Princess Arianne.

Samwell agreed to Lady Olenna’s plan to crown Myrcella, though he feared it would make him a Kingslayer, and prepared to marry Margaery. As his attributes rose, his body underwent increasingly strange changes, and the chapter ended on his wedding day.

• Lady Olenna proposed crowning Myrcella under Dornish law and suggested Samwell could receive a dukedom, and Samwell agreed to write to Prince Doran.
• Lady Olenna announced that Samwell and Margaery would marry in seven days, and Samwell worried she might be plotting against him.
• Samwell discovered that his teeth were being replaced and that his skin and internal organs had changed as his attributes increased.
• Samwell welcomed two maids who came to help him dress for his wedding to Margaery.

Samwell prepared to marry Margaery Tyrell while learning that Lady Olenna and Prince Doran had agreed to a plan to crown Myrcella Baratheon, which could make his killing of Joffrey look like regicide. He entered the sept with Cleopatra, and Margaery arrived at the altar as the ceremony began.

• Samwell showed Randyll Tarly the proposal to crown Myrcella Baratheon, and they discussed how accepting her claim could stain Samwell as a regicide.
• Randyll warned Samwell that Lady Olenna put House Tyrell's interests first and advised him to keep Margaery close.
• Samwell arrived at the Sept of the Seven, where Cleopatra followed him inside as nobles watched.
• Margaery entered the sept escorted by Duke Mace, wearing a gown designed to conceal her pregnancy.

Samwell and Margaery married before the Seven, but during the wedding celebrations Samwell learned that powerful conspirators were plotting to kill him. He left disguised as Mace after Horas revealed the plan, and his ruby bracelet shattered as his disguise faded.

• Margaery and Samwell exchanged vows in the sept, and the High Septon pronounced them husband and wife.
• Samwell slipped away from the banquet and, disguised as Mace, questioned Horas Redwyne in the garden.
• Horas told Samwell that Paxter and Olenna were plotting against Caesar, believing him responsible for Hobber's death based on information from Varys.
• Samwell promised Horas he would keep the plot from Margaery, then realized Varys and other powerful figures were among his enemies.
• Samwell's disguise faded in a secluded corner, and the ruby bracelet on his wrist shattered.

Samwell and Margaery celebrated their wedding in Highgarden, where Margaery rode Cleopatra and the newlyweds began their feast. The chapter ended with them cutting open a pigeon pie as seven pigeons flew out, while Samwell continued to distrust Lady Olenna despite her advice about his coronation.

• Samwell and Margaery emerged before the cheering crowd, and Samwell invited her to ride Cleopatra around Highgarden.
• Margaery enjoyed the flight, though the dragon’s heat scorched her dress, and she returned to change before the wedding feast.
• Margaery warmly greeted the guests as she and Samwell crossed the banquet hall and took their places beneath the Tyrell and Caesar banners.
• Lady Olenna advised Samwell to hold his coronation ceremony on an island in the Dornish Sea, and Samwell agreed while remaining wary of her motives.
• Samwell and Margaery cut open the pigeon pie together, releasing seven white pigeons as the guests cheered.

At his wedding feast, Samwell rejected the bedding ceremony and realized he needed to become a true Caesar to survive the struggle for power. After discussing Olenna Tyrell’s plot with Count Randyll, he decided to use the rebels against House Tyrell and attend the coronation to crown himself.

• Samwell and Margaery danced at their wedding feast, and Tara admitted she fancied Chiman Tiger Tooth before turning her attention to Ser Bruce Buckler.
• Samwell carried Margaery away from the bedding ceremony, and they escaped into the bridal chamber while guests chased them and shouted lewd jokes.
• After Margaery fell asleep, Samwell met Count Randyll and shared intelligence from Horas Redwyne about Olenna’s plans.
• Count Randyll warned Samwell that Olenna intended to trap him at the coronation by making him acknowledge Myrcella Baratheon and then accusing him of regicide.
• Samwell said he would turn the Deer Party into true rebels and attend the coronation ceremony to crown himself.

Samwell questioned Archmaester Marwyn about magic and resurrection after catching him studying the White Dragon. Marwyn proposed that gods were higher beings constrained by the magic tide and revealed his knowledge of different kinds of resurrection, leaving Samwell wondering whether Dickon could be freed from the Lord of Light’s influence.

• Samwell confronted Archmaester Marwyn, who admitted he wanted to study the White Dragon but was refused permission to take samples.
• Marwyn explained his belief that gods were higher beings imprisoned by the magic tide, whose influence waxed and waned with magic.
• Marwyn said he had revived condemned prisoners through the Drowning ritual, which Samwell recognized as primitive cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
• Marwyn described a young man resurrected by a red priest who became a fanatical puppet of R'hllor, prompting Samwell to ask whether Dickon could be freed from that state.
• Marwyn looked at Samwell and said that freeing a resurrected person from the Lord of Light's influence might be possible.

Samwell discussed resurrection, the Faceless Men, and the gods with Archmaester Marwyn, who suggested that worshipping multiple gods of death might help Dickon resist R'hllor’s influence. Marwyn advised Samwell to seek answers in Braavos, then agreed to Samwell’s demand that every raven in Highgarden be dead in two weeks in exchange for a possible Dragon Egg.

• Archmaester Marwyn connected the White Walkers’ Wights and the resurrected Valyrian mine slaves, proposing that the first Faceless Man escaped supernatural control through worship of multiple gods of death.
• Samwell considered trying the idea with Dickon, while Marwyn warned that Samwell might fit the Azor Ahai prophecy and that the gods could be manipulating him.
• Marwyn urged Samwell to visit the House of Black and White, and Samwell agreed to consider taking Dickon to Braavos.
• Samwell refused Marwyn’s request for dragon flesh but promised him a Dragon Egg if his dragons laid one, on the condition that Marwyn kill every raven in Highgarden within two weeks.
• Marwyn accepted Samwell’s condition.

Samwell visited Stormlands lords by dragon to secure their loyalty and invited them to talks on Blood Reef Island, promising to win the release of prisoners and avenge Renly. After leaving House Whitehead, he flew back toward Storm's End, determined to give the hesitant nobles a proper claim to follow.

• Lady Mary told Samwell that House Mertyns served no one and offered its loyalty if he ransomed her son Michael and avenged Renly at the upcoming talks.
• Lady Mary agreed to attend the Blood Reef Island talks, and Samwell took her grandson Roga for a flight on the White Dragon.
• Count Adam agreed to swear loyalty to Samwell if Dorne released House Whitehead's army, and Samwell invited him to the talks as a witness to something he would reveal there.
• Samwell concluded that many Stormlands nobles resented the Lannisters and distrusted the Iron Throne, while the White Dragon's presence helped win their support.
• Samwell flew north from Crying Tower toward Storm's End with Cleopatra as dawn approached.