Recaps

Randyll captured Mace after he surrendered, while Oberyn’s Dornish forces stormed Storm’s End and cornered Renly on the western wall. Renly was pinned to a pillar and Brienne was captured, leaving the defenders defeated.

• Mace surrendered to Randyll, who ordered soldiers to take him away and lock him up.
• Oberyn led the Dornish through Storm’s End’s west gate as the castle defenders were attacked from both sides.
• Brienne urged Renly to escape through the south gate, but Renly refused to abandon Storm’s End and led a charge against the Dornish.
• Oberyn confronted Renly and fought him on the steps, while Brienne and the Rainbow Guard were overwhelmed.
• Oberyn pierced Renly’s shoulder and pinned him to a pillar, and the Dornish captured Brienne after disarming and binding her.

Oberyn killed Renly at Storm's End, and Brienne challenged him to avenge her fallen king. Oberyn accepted the duel, and the fight began with him easily evading her attacks.

• Oberyn killed Renly with his spear, leaving Brienne pinned nearby to watch.
• Brienne broke free briefly before soldiers subdued her again, and she vowed to avenge Renly.
• Brienne challenged Oberyn to a duel, and he ordered the soldiers to release her and give her a sword.
• Oberyn and Brienne began fighting, with Oberyn dodging and parrying her strikes while criticizing her speed and asking who taught her swordplay.

Brienne fought Oberyn to avenge Renly, but Oberyn killed her and ordered her laid beside the king she had served. After Storm's End fell to the Targaryens, Loras saw Renly's body and learned that Renly had refused to surrender.

• Brienne fought Oberyn with increasing desperation, explaining that she had sworn to protect Renly and wanted to avenge him.
• Oberyn ran his spear through Brienne's belly, then pulled it free and ordered soldiers to lay her beside Renly.
• The Targaryen Three-Headed Fire Dragon Banner rose above Storm's End after the fighting ended, and the surviving Stormlands lords surrendered or were captured.
• Loras was brought into the great hall, saw Renly's body, and mourned over him.
• Loras asked Oberyn why Renly had not surrendered, and Oberyn told him that Renly had chosen to die fighting.

After Renly died, Loras killed himself, leaving Randyll and Oberyn to find their bodies and Mace to learn of his son's death. As Mace traveled from Storm's End to King's Landing, Qyburn gave him milk of the poppy and watched him fall asleep.

• Loras sent the guards away, kissed Renly, and killed himself with Renly's sword.
• The guards found Loras beside Renly, and Randyll confirmed Loras was dead.
• Oberyn urged Randyll to bury Loras and Renly together, then told him to send word to Viserys.
• Mace learned that Loras had killed himself and collapsed in grief.
• Mace left Storm's End for King's Landing with Maester Qyburn, who treated his wound and gave him milk of the poppy.
• Mace fell asleep after drinking the medicine, and Qyburn watched him with a gentle smile.

Qyburn kept Mace Tyrell dependent on milk of the poppy until he died on the road to King's Landing, claiming an infected wound was responsible. Viserys learned of Mace, Renly, and Loras's deaths and comforted Margaery, whose grief suggested she had known the plan beforehand.

• Qyburn repeatedly gave Mace milk of the poppy and reassured him as his condition worsened.
• Mace died near Bitterbridge, and Qyburn told the convoy officer that his infected wound had killed him.
• Varys informed Viserys that Storm's End had fallen, Renly and Loras were dead, and Mace had died on the journey.
• Viserys ordered proper burials for Loras and the others, then went to tell Margaery the news.
• Margaery broke down in Viserys's arms, and Viserys suspected she had known of her family's fate in advance.

Margaery told Viserys she had accepted the deaths of Mace and Loras to protect House Tyrell, though she still grieved for her father and brother. After Viserys comforted her, she chose to stay by his side, but he told her to return to Highgarden.

• Viserys asked Margaery whether she had agreed with Olenna's plan, and she admitted she had chosen Highgarden over her father and Loras.
• Margaery explained that she had expected Loras to die and Mace to be sent to the Night's Watch, but suspected Mace's death in the fighting was too much of a coincidence.
• Margaery confessed that she did not regret her choice but was still grieving for her brother and father, and Viserys comforted her.
• Margaery told Viserys she wanted to stay by his side forever, but he firmly told her to return to Highgarden.

Viserys asked Margaery to return to Highgarden and keep the Reach stable for him, and she agreed after he promised to visit and bring her back once the war was over. They spent the night together, and Margaery fell asleep in his arms.

• Viserys told Margaery he needed her to represent him at Highgarden and keep the Reach stable.
• Margaery hesitated because she did not want to leave Viserys, but he assured her that he trusted her and that she would be working for him.
• Margaery agreed to go to Highgarden after Viserys promised to visit her and bring her back when the war was over.
• Margaery and Viserys spent their remaining time together kissing and embracing.
• Viserys kissed Margaery good night, and she fell asleep in his arms.

Robb Stark returned from King's Landing to the northern camp outside the Crag after securing Viserys's agreement to two years without taxes and five years without sending troops. He told the gathered northern lords he would explain his visit, while his suspicions about Roose Bolton remained unresolved.

• Catelyn said goodbye to Sansa and Arya, and Robb left King's Landing with his party under Viserys's protection.
• Jeyne hugged Viserys before leaving for the North with Robb's party.
• At the fork by the Trident, Robb told Catelyn he was thinking about Roose Bolton and planned to announce the North's withdrawal from the war.
• Robb and his companions followed their old route through the Golden Tooth to the Crag, where they reached the northern camp.
• Robb met Brynden the Blackfish, then gathered the northern lords and began recounting his visit to King's Landing.

Robb and the northern lords accepted Viserys's terms and decided to withdraw from the Westerlands. They planned to avoid the Twins by crossing the Green Fork in groups, but first had to secure enough grain for the detour.

• Robb told the lords that Viserys had exempted the North from taxes for two years and troop summons for five, and that Sansa and Arya had chosen to stay in King's Landing.
• Old Karstark, Earl Herman Tallhart, and Brynden the Blackfish supported withdrawing, while the lords agreed that the North could no longer seek independence from the Seven Kingdoms.
• Robb explained that House Frey controlled the Twins and proposed crossing the Green Fork at the Trident ferry crossing instead of attacking the castle.
• The lords warned that the detour would take at least half a month and that their provisions were running short, so Robb ordered them to requisition grain and said he had asked Lord Edmure for supplies.
• Robb told Brynden that Roose Bolton had been instructed to bring his men from Harlon Castle to meet them at the ferry crossing.
• After the meeting, Robb watched the Twins and admitted to himself that he avoided attacking House Frey because he felt he owed them.

Walder Frey chose to let Robb Stark’s army leave and sent Lyman to court the Targaryen Dragonlord while keeping House Frey’s options open. Outside Harrenhal, Roose Bolton learned that Robb had bent the knee and ordered the northern forces to meet him at the Trident crossing and withdraw north.

• Lyman Frey told Walder Frey that the northerners planned to leave by ferry, but Walder refused to attack them and warned against risking the Twins.
• Walder sent Lyman to King's Landing with a gift and Roslin’s portrait, offering House Frey’s loyalty and a possible marriage alliance to the Dragonlord.
• Walder watched the Green Fork and resolved to wait for Robb Stark’s position to weaken before seeking revenge.
• Jon Snow delivered Robb’s raven message to Roose Bolton outside Harrenhal.
• Roose told Ramsay Snow that Robb had bent the knee and ordered Bolton’s forces to meet him at the Trident crossing before withdrawing north.

Roose Bolton ordered his camp to join Robb Stark, then warned Ramsay against scheming and reminded him that Domeric remained the heir. Ramsay suppressed his anger for now and approached Jon Snow, still looking for an opportunity to manipulate him.

• Roose Bolton ordered Jon to tell the lords to pack and prepare to join Robb Stark the next morning.
• Ramsay suggested allying with the Dragonlord, but Roose rebuked him and warned him to behave while Domeric lived.
• Ramsay left the command tent and vowed to kill Domeric and claim the Dreadfort when he had the chance.
• Ramsay suppressed his rage, spotted Jon returning from Earl Mormont's tent, and went to speak with him.

Jon rejected Ramsay’s attempt to recruit him into the Bastard Alliance and reaffirmed his loyalty to Robb and the North. Ramsay watched him leave and vowed to make his enemies kneel, while hinting that Jon would not escape him.

• Jon reflected that he had kept quiet about Ramsay because he understood the loneliness of being a bastard and did not see Ramsay as a threat.
• Ramsay mocked Robb’s submission to Viserys and tried to persuade Jon that the Bastard Alliance could give them a chance to prove themselves.
• Jon refused to betray Robb or the North and rejected Ramsay’s claim that they were both mongrels without family.
• Jon warned Ramsay to leave him out of his plans, then left after insisting that he had a father and brothers.
• Ramsay called Jon ungrateful and vowed to make the northern lords kneel before him, then said Jon could not escape him.

Tywin ordered the Lannister forces to abandon Harrenhal as water shortages and the threat of Viserys made holding the castle untenable. He gambled that Viserys would spare House Lannister, while Jaime’s disappearance left the house’s future uncertain.

• Kevan reported that Roose Bolton and the northern forces were withdrawing, but Tywin refused to pursue them because his soldiers were weakened by poisoned water and the ongoing shortage.
• Tywin explained that Viserys would soon threaten Harrenhal and ordered the Lannister soldiers to retreat through the western river valley, taking supplies and burning what they could not carry.
• Tywin planned to rebuild House Lannister’s strength in the Westerlands and offer its wealth to Viserys in hopes of securing the house’s survival.
• Tywin learned that Jaime was still missing and ordered Kevan to keep searching for him, alive or dead.
• Alone, Tywin feared Jaime had gone to seek revenge on Viserys and struggled to contain his anxiety about the Lannister succession.

Robb led his people across the Green Fork while he worried about Viserys’s intentions toward House Stark. At Harlon Castle, Tywin faced a growing siege and ordered the water rations cut as he waited for Viserys to arrive.

• Brynden told Robb that provisions would last ten days and that Bolton’s men were approaching, while Robb said Edmure had promised grain.
• Brynden reported that Vale cavalry had surrounded Harlon Castle and Viserys’s army was nearing Harrenhal with more than a dozen dragons.
• Robb wondered whether Viserys would spare House Stark and whether Sansa and Arya were safe, while Jeyne tried to comfort him.
• Robb and the last cavalry crossed the Green Fork by dusk on the third day, and Robb ordered Roose Bolton and Earl Karstark to arrange the remaining crossing before riding for Winterfell with Jeyne.
• Kevan warned Tywin that Viserys’s forces had grown to sixty or seventy thousand and that Harrenhal’s water supply was compromised.
• Tywin ordered the daily water ration halved again, believing Viserys’s army was waiting for the defenders to die of thirst or for Viserys to arrive.

Viserys prepared to lead his dragons and ten thousand soldiers from King’s Landing to Harrenhal, where Arthur and the Vale’s cavalry had surrounded the remaining Lannister forces. The dragons’ flight stirred awe and fear across the city as the army marched north.

• Tywin ordered Kevan to have a maester find a way to make the river water drinkable, then watched the Three-Headed Fire Dragon Banners and murmured Viserys’s name.
• Ten dragons patrolled King’s Landing, frightening many residents while an Old Beggar told children that Viserys’s dragons protected the common people.
• Duke Clinton told Viserys that the troops were assembled and that Arthur and the Vale’s cavalry had surrounded Harrenhal.
• Viserys, Rhaenys, and Daenerys mounted King Ghidorah, Meleys, and Acmot, then took flight toward Harrenhal with the other dragons.
• Sansa watched Viserys depart, while Arya trained with her Valyrian steel shortsword instead of seeing him off.
• Ten thousand soldiers marched north along the Kingsroad behind the Three-Headed Dragon Banners.

Viserys's army and the Vale cavalry arrived at Harrenhal to begin their assault while the Lannisters struggled with dwindling water and poisoned wells. Tywin prepared to resist, and thirteen dragons appeared above the castle as the attack began.

• Viserys slowed King Ghidorah to keep pace with the ground troops, reassured nervous Daenerys, and flew toward Harrenhal with Rhaenys.
• Andar Royce received word that Viserys's army was near and ordered the Vale cavalry to prepare to attack Harlon Castle.
• A Lannister officer told Kevan that the wells were failing and the river water could not be purified while corpses remained in it.
• Tywin and Kevan saw the Empire's army advance and ordered the defenders to prepare the archers and Scorpions after negotiations had repeatedly been refused.
• Thirteen dragons descended through the clouds toward Harrenhal, and the castle's defenders reacted with fear, resolve, and prayers.

Thirteen dragons led by King Ghidorah attacked Harlon Castle, overwhelming the Westerlands defenders with their devastating powers. Daenerys joined the assault on Acmot and destroyed a Scorpion before climbing back into the sky with Vermax and Viserion guarding her.

• King Ghidorah arrived over Harlon Castle with twelve other dragons, terrifying Tywin, Kevan, and the defenders.
• A Scorpion commander ordered the defenders to fire, but King Ghidorah's Golden Ray erased the bolts, the Scorpions, and a large section of the wall.
• Kevan ordered a second volley, which King Ghidorah froze with Frost Breath along with the defenders and part of the wall.
• Blackflame, Meleys, Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes attacked the castle's defenses with dragonfire, destroying towers, walls, and soldiers.
• Daenerys ordered Acmot to attack and destroyed a Scorpion with dragonfire before retreating into the sky, guarded by Vermax and Viserion.

The Empire’s dragons destroyed Harrenhal’s defenses, killing Tywin and Kevan as the Westerlands resistance collapsed. Viserys, Daenerys, and Rhaenys arrived after the battle, and the Empire began securing the castle and gathering prisoners.

• Rhaenys, Meleys, King Ghidorah, and Blackflame swept over Harrenhal, destroying its defenses and setting parts of the castle ablaze.
• Kevan urged Tywin to escape through a secret passage, but Tywin refused, believing the Lannisters had no army left and no chance to negotiate.
• Vhagar’s Golden Ray killed Tywin, and a second Golden Ray killed Kevan and the soldiers gathered nearby.
• The Empire’s troops entered Harrenhal as the surviving Westerlands soldiers surrendered, and Duke Clinton ordered the prisoners gathered and prepared for transport to the Wall.
• Viserys landed with Daenerys and Rhaenys, comforted Daenerys, and then headed with them toward the officers holding the prisoners.

Viserys questioned the captured Westerlands nobles after his army defeated their forces and learned that Tywin and Kevan Lannister had vanished in dragonfire. He ordered the prisoners who surrendered, except House Lannister, sent to the Wall, while those who refused would remain imprisoned until the Westerlands was pacified.

• Clinton reported that more than thirteen thousand Westerlands soldiers and over four thousand wounded had been captured, along with more than two hundred nobles.
• Clinton told Viserys that no trace of Tywin or Kevan Lannister had been found and that both the Mountain and Amory Lorch were in custody.
• Viserys ordered the Mountain and Amory Lorch sent to Dorne and went to question the captured nobles.
• Addam Marbrand begged Viserys for mercy on behalf of the Westerlands houses.
• Tybalt Crakehall offered surrender and service at the Wall, telling Viserys that his father had died in dragonfire.
• Viserys ordered the surrendered prisoners, except members of House Lannister, registered and sent to the Wall, while those unwilling to surrender would be imprisoned.

Viserys secured the Westerlands officers’ allegiance and questioned Maester Osric about the Citadel’s secrets. Osric gave him documents accusing the Citadel of conspiring against dragons and House Targaryen, leaving Viserys with evidence he could use against it.

• Viserys offered the captured officers’ families safety if they swore allegiance and wrote to their relatives, and Addam Marbrand, Tybalt Crakehall, and the others knelt.
• Duke Clinton told Viserys that Maester Osric claimed to know secrets about the Citadel, dragon eggs, and magic, so Viserys ordered him brought in.
• Osric accused the Citadel of exterminating dragons, undermining House Targaryen, and sabotaging Aegon V’s attempt to hatch dragon eggs at Summerhall.
• Osric gave Viserys an old coded parchment as evidence, and Viserys handed it to Rhaenys for safekeeping.
• Osric presented a secret Citadel letter about improved scorpions and bolts, and Viserys ordered Clinton to keep him under close guard and treat him better.

Viserys discussed how to undermine the Citadel’s influence with Duke Arthur and said he would confront it once he united the Seven Kingdoms. In Harrenhal’s courtyard, Daenerys and Rhaenys spent time with their dragons as King Ghidorah rested nearby.

• Viserys asked Duke Arthur how they should handle the Citadel, and Arthur warned that acting rashly could provoke strong opposition.
• Viserys proposed secretly informing the great noble houses that the Citadel controlled their livelihoods, then said he would go to Oldtown to root it out after uniting the Seven Kingdoms.
• Viserys left the hall and watched the dragons feast or rest in Harrenhal’s courtyard, including King Ghidorah, who absorbed magic as she slept.
• Daenerys played with Acmot, Viserion, and Vermax, while Rhaenys affectionately stroked Meleys.

After Viserys’s victory brought the Westerlands and Riverlands under the Iron Throne, Balon Greyjoy weighed whether the Iron Islands should submit or defend their independence. The chapter left the islands awaiting the envoys’ report, which would shape their next move.

• Rhaenys fed Meleys while Daenerys told Viserys she would stand beside him and protect what mattered, despite not wanting to grow used to war.
• After Harrenhal fell and Tywin died, the Westerlands surrendered, and Earl Alliser took control of Casterly Rock and the Lannister gold mines.
• The Riverlands’ houses swore fealty to Viserys, and Lord Jason Mallister yielded when Viserys arrived above Seaguard on King Ghidorah.
• Balon Greyjoy sent envoys to King's Landing to learn whether Viserys would recognize the Iron Islands’ position.
• Balon considered Theon’s succession and weighed submitting to Viserys against preserving the Iron Islands’ independence by force.

Balon considered compromising with Viserys while vowing that the Ironborn would resist if threatened. Edmure Tully chose to submit to Viserys, who planned to accept House Tully’s allegiance while weakening it and supporting rival Riverlands houses.

• Balon weighed the survival of House Greyjoy against the Ironborn’s defiance and resolved to make Viserys pay if he attacked them.
• Edmure told the Riverlands lords that House Tully should bend the knee, and they accepted his decision.
• Viserys returned to King’s Landing and learned that the Westerlands were largely pacified and House Tully had sworn allegiance.
• Varys advised Viserys to accept House Tully’s submission with a modest punishment while quietly undermining its power and supporting House Frey and House Darry.
• Viserys agreed with Varys’s approach to the Riverlands.

Viserys decided to restore House Darry’s standing in the Riverlands and planned to use its ties to House Frey to counter House Tully. Duke Willem Darry arrived in King’s Landing to meet with Viserys, who began by recalling their years in exile.

• Viserys told Varys that House Darry would reclaim its place in the Riverlands and discussed its alliance with House Frey.
• Varys reported that Lyman Frey had brought Roslin to King’s Landing and sought an audience; Viserys told Varys to keep them waiting while hinting that he would summon Roslin later.
• Duke Willem Darry arrived in King’s Landing after overseeing the Imperial Navy’s fleet and harbor preparations.
• Viserys welcomed William and asked how long he had served him, and William recalled their departure from Dragonstone thirteen years earlier.

Viserys told William Darry that he planned to transfer Riverlands territory from House Tully to House Darry and ordered him to build a crown-funded standing army there. William left with plans to take control of the granted lands, while Viserys intended to use House Frey as a pawn.

• Viserys explained that he planned to weaken House Tully and give House Darry a legitimate claim to Riverlands lands.
• Viserys granted House Darry territory east of Riverrun, including Lord Harroway's Town, and warned William about its risk of flooding.
• Viserys ordered William to take his nephew Harry Darry and assume control of the granted lands, promising royal support against resistance.
• Viserys required House Darry to establish a two-thousand-man army in the Riverlands, funded and armed by the crown but loyal only to the Iron Throne.
• Viserys told William that House Frey would be used as a pawn despite Walder Frey's belief that his offer had secured royal support.