Recaps

Ygritte confronted Viserys about his promise to take her south, and he assured her she would leave with him this time. The chapter ended with Ygritte still determined to reach King's Landing even if Viserys broke his word.

• Ygritte told Viserys that the Free Folk had their own choices and reminded him that he had promised to take her south.
• Viserys embraced Ygritte and reassured her that he remembered his promise and would take her south.
• Ygritte pressed Viserys to say when he would keep his promise, and he told her to pack because she would leave with him this time.
• Viserys's cold, commanding manner frightened Ygritte when she asked whether he truly meant it.
• Ygritte said she believed Viserys but vowed to steal a horse or travel with a convoy to King's Landing if necessary.

Viserys promised Ygritte he would take her away, then returned to Rhaenys, who pretended to be asleep as he held her through the night. The next morning, Rhaenys gently stroked his hair as he woke.

• Viserys asked Ygritte if she could ride, and she proudly explained that she had learned at Castle Black.
• Ygritte reminded Viserys to keep his promise to take her away, then told him to return to Rhaenys and hurried off down the corridor.
• Viserys waited until the sounds in his and Rhaenys's room had ceased before going inside and joining her in bed.
• Viserys realized Rhaenys was pretending to sleep but held her close without exposing her deception.
• The next morning, Viserys woke to find Rhaenys gently combing her fingers through his silver hair.

Viserys and Rhaenys discussed their plans before leaving for Winterfell, then returning to King's Landing. Rhaenys hoped to explore beyond the Wall, and Viserys promised they could go after dealing with the Night's King, as a Night's Watch horn sounded at Castle Black.

• Rhaenys asked Viserys what they would do next, and he said they would leave for Winterfell the next morning.
• Viserys told Rhaenys they would return to King's Landing after Winterfell, disappointing her.
• Rhaenys said she wanted to see the lands beyond the Wall and the Children of the Forest with Viserys.
• Viserys promised Rhaenys they could explore beyond the Wall with Daenerys after they dealt with the Night's King.
• A Night's Watch horn sounded outside the window at Castle Black.

Viserys and Rhaenys watched the Night's Watch register the Free Folk at Castle Black, where Viserys spotted Ygritte observing him. Rhaenys recognized her and tried to give them a chance to meet alone, but Viserys followed Rhaenys away.

• Viserys woke and dressed as the Night's Watch summoned the Free Folk to register.
• Viserys and Rhaenys watched the Free Folk surrender their weapons, give their names, and receive wooden identification tags.
• Jeor Mormont told Viserys and Rhaenys that the registration had continued every day since their arrival.
• Viserys met Ygritte's gaze near the stables, and Rhaenys noted that Ygritte had been near their room since the night they arrived.
• Rhaenys identified Ygritte and left to give her and Viserys a chance to meet, but Viserys soon followed her.

Viserys toured Castle Black with Rhaenys while Ygritte followed at a distance, then hosted a lavish supper for the Night’s Watch and the Free Folk. He summoned Ygritte to the high table, where she faced Rhaenys as she took the seat he had arranged for her.

• Viserys showed Rhaenys around Castle Black and along the Wall while Ygritte followed them from a distance.
• The Night’s Watch and the Free Folk gathered for a rich supper, though they remained divided across the Great Hall.
• Viserys noticed Ygritte near the doorway and quietly asked Lord Commander Mormont to summon her.
• Ygritte came to the high table and accepted Viserys’s invitation to sit across from Rhaenys.
• Rhaenys watched Ygritte with a composed, faint smile as Ygritte took her seat.

Viserys introduced Ygritte to Rhaenys as the woman who had helped him and the Free Folk, and Rhaenys welcomed her warmly. Their conversation ended with Rhaenys hinting that House Targaryen’s traditions made her accepting of Ygritte’s closeness to Viserys, though Ygritte did not understand the implication.

• Viserys introduced Ygritte to Rhaenys as a Free Folk woman who had helped him and settled the Free Folk at Castle Black.
• Rhaenys thanked Ygritte for her work, and Ygritte criticized southern lords who had broken promises to the Free Folk.
• Rhaenys asked whether Ygritte thought Viserys broke his promises, and Ygritte said he always kept them.
• Rhaenys suggested that she and Ygritte could be companions, and Ygritte questioned whether a southern noblewoman would accept another woman beside the man she loved.
• Rhaenys said she was Targaryen and hinted that her family’s traditions were different, but Ygritte struggled to understand what she meant.

Viserys confirmed that Ygritte would travel south with him, and the next morning he led her and Rhaenys away from Castle Black on dragonback. The Dragon Horde took flight, with King Ghidorah following after refusing to let Ygritte ride her.

• Ygritte asked Viserys whether he would still take her south the next morning, and he confirmed that she would leave with them.
• Rhaenys told Viserys she did not dislike Ygritte and said she expected life in King's Landing to become less dull.
• At dawn, Viserys and Rhaenys prepared to depart Castle Black as the Dragon Horde returned and landed outside its gates.
• King Ghidorah refused to carry Ygritte, so Viserys took her to Blackflame while Rhaenys mounted Meleys.
• Blackflame launched with Viserys and Ygritte, Meleys followed with Rhaenys, and King Ghidorah roared before flying after them at a distance.

Viserys Targaryen and Ygritte flew south with the Dragon Horde and arrived above Winterfell. The dragons' circling triggered the castle's alarm, and its soldiers recognized the approaching ruler and his dragons.

• Viserys and Ygritte left Castle Black, flew to Queenscrown, and continued south along the Kingsroad.
• The Dragon Horde passed over northern villages and strongholds, alarming the people below as it traveled toward Winterfell.
• Viserys slowed Blackflame and circled above Winterfell so he could inspect the castle.
• The dragons' shadows swept over Winterfell, and the castle rang its alarm as soldiers rushed to the walls.
• Winterfell's veterans recognized the dragons belonging to Viserys Targaryen and stared up in shock.

Robb Stark struggled to rebuild the North and secure supplies while worrying over House Bolton’s growing power, which Jon Snow observed from the Dreadfort. The chapter ended with dragons arriving at Winterfell as its guards feared the Dragonlord’s intentions.

• Dragons appeared over Winterfell, alarming the guards, who feared the Dragonlord might have broken the peace with House Stark.
• Robb Stark reviewed reports of Ironborn raids and the immense costs of rebuilding the North and supporting the Night's Watch.
• Robb considered seeking aid from House Bolton and House Manderly, while House Bolton secretly grew wealthier through Ramsay Bolton's raids in the Riverlands.
• Jon Snow reported House Bolton’s increasing distance from Robb while serving as Roose Bolton’s squire at the Dreadfort.
• Roose Bolton praised Jon’s abilities and said he would have made him heir if Jon were his son, leaving Jon both honored and saddened.

Jon reflected on leaving Winterfell, worried about Arya and Sansa, while Robb struggled to secure White Harbor’s support and care for his pregnant wife, Jeyne. An alarm interrupted Robb’s work as four dragons appeared above Winterfell, and he recognized Viserys’s arrival as the inevitable crisis he had feared.

• Jon considered how Lady Catelyn’s grief and suspicion made leaving Winterfell easier, and hoped Arya and Sansa would remain safe and find happiness.
• Robb negotiated with Earl Wyman Manderly for White Harbor’s support, making concessions as he tried to safeguard the North.
• Robb felt guilty that his duties kept him from spending time with Jeyne Westerling, who was pregnant and lonely.
• An alarm bell rang, and Robb rushed into the courtyard, fearing raiders, the Boltons, or danger to Jon.
• Robb saw a black dragon, a red dragon, a green dragon, and a three-headed golden dragon circling Winterfell, and murmured Viserys’s name.
• Catelyn came out of the Main Keep, saw the dragons, and forced herself to remain calm despite their overwhelming presence.

Catelyn steadied Robb as Viserys’s dragons approached Winterfell and judged that the king had not come to attack. Viserys landed outside the city with Ygritte and Rhaenys, and Robb formally welcomed them at the gates.

• Catelyn clasped Robb’s hand and urged him to stay calm, reasoning that Viserys had come for another purpose rather than to wage war.
• Viserys directed Blackflame, Rhaenys, and Meleys to land outside Winterfell, and King Ghidorah followed after surveying the castle and its crypts.
• Winterfell’s gates opened, and Viserys, Ygritte, and Rhaenys approached on foot as the dragons rested outside the city.
• Robb went out with Catelyn to welcome Viserys and knelt before him at the gates.
• Viserys told Robb to rise and asked whether they had disturbed Winterfell’s evening.

Viserys arrived at Winterfell after destroying the Ironborn fleet and killing Victarion Greyjoy, and Robb and Catelyn welcomed him despite their unease at his power. The chapter ended with Viserys, Rhaenys, Ygritte, and the Starks sharing a restrained feast in the great hall.

• Viserys told Robb that Victarion Greyjoy was dead, the Ironborn longships had been burned, and Free Folk near the Shadow Tower would settle in the Gift.
• Robb and Catelyn invited Viserys inside Winterfell, while Maester Luwin worried that the North’s fate would become bound to the young king.
• Rhaenys and Ygritte remarked on Winterfell’s air and warmth as Robb reflected on the unfamiliar presence of dragons in the North.
• Catelyn arranged a feast in Winterfell’s great hall, where Robb welcomed Viserys with a toast to the North.

At a tense feast in Winterfell, Catelyn asked Viserys how Arya and Sansa were faring in King's Landing. Viserys reassured her that both girls were safe and thriving, leaving Catelyn grateful and somewhat relieved.

• Catelyn asked Viserys whether Arya and Sansa were doing well in King's Landing.
• Viserys said Arya practiced swordsmanship with help from Ser Barristan Selmy and was improving quickly.
• Viserys said Sansa spent her days reading and tending a garden near Maegor's Holdfast.
• Viserys explained that Arya and Sansa got along with Daenerys and Rhaenys, who spent time with them.
• Catelyn thanked Viserys and Rhaenys for caring for her daughters, and Robb comforted her beneath the table.
• Viserys said Arya and Sansa were his friends and that he would look after them while they were under his roof.

Catelyn reflected on Viserys’s character as Robb Stark asked what would happen to the Ironborn. Viserys revealed that he had destroyed their castles and ships and offered survivors surrender or death, leaving Robb aware that the king’s warning also applied to the North.

• Catelyn thanked Viserys for helping her and wondered whether her daughters’ confidence in him was justified.
• Robb asked Viserys what he planned to do with the surviving Ironborn.
• Viserys said he had burned every castle and longship in the Iron Islands and would send those who surrendered to mine dragonglass on Dragonstone.
• Viserys declared that Ironborn who refused to surrender would be killed, and that he would spare no potential enemy.
• Robb fell silent, understanding Viserys’s words as a warning to the North, which had yet to submit fully.

After the banquet, Robb reassured Catelyn that Arya and Sansa were safe with Viserys, then summoned Viserys to his study for a private meeting. Viserys went with the attendant, where Robb had prepared an old book and a map marked with his former war plans.

• Robb reflected that Viserys was calculating and decisive, unlike Aerys, and questioned how far he had strayed from Ned Stark's honor.
• Viserys thanked Robb and Catelyn for their hospitality, then left the Great Hall with Rhaenys and Ygritte.
• Catelyn worried about Arya and Sansa, but Robb assured her they were safe and told her to rest.
• Robb sent an attendant to invite Viserys to a private meeting in his study.
• Viserys dismissed the maidservants and followed the attendant to Robb's study, where an old book lay open beside a map of Westeros marked with Robb's former plans.

Robb warned Viserys that some northern houses had not accepted Targaryen rule, and Viserys told him the North had to prepare for the Others regardless. Robb then described how war had left the North short of soldiers and food.

• Robb told Viserys that some northern houses still resisted bending the knee, but promised to work toward the North’s loyalty.
• Viserys said he could give the North time, but the Long Night would not wait.
• Robb asked Viserys about the Wall after reflecting on the ancient accounts of the Others and the threat Benjen had reported.
• Viserys urged the North to send men to reinforce the Wall, warning that its fall would expose the North to ice and death.
• Robb explained that the North could barely raise troops after its losses and faced crippled soldiers, a missed harvest, and nearly empty granaries.

Robb told Viserys that the North had no food left to send to the Wall, so Viserys promised to bring armies and supplies from across Westeros. Viserys rejected Robb’s unspoken plan to capture a wight and reflected angrily on Jon Snow’s role in Daenerys’s death.

• Robb told Viserys that sending grain to the Free Folk had exhausted the North’s reserves and left nothing more for the Wall.
• Viserys said he would bring troops and food north from the Westerlands, Riverlands, Vale, Stormlands, Crownlands, Dorne, and Reach.
• Robb worried that gathering aid would take too long and that southern lords might not believe in the Others.
• Viserys cut Robb off and insisted the southern forces would come, rejecting the idea of capturing a wight to prove the threat.
• Viserys recalled how Jon’s actions had led to Viserion’s death and Daenerys’s murder, and believed Westerosi nobles had manipulated Jon for their own ends.

Viserys explained to Robb how he planned to secure time and grain for the North while binding it more closely to the Targaryens. Robb accepted the arrangement, then asked whether Viserys had truly killed the Others, prompting Viserys to reveal Benjen Stark’s fate.

• Viserys told Robb that the North must mobilize for the Wall and that he had arranged grain shipments from the Land of Long Summer to White Harbor.
• Viserys demanded that the North prepare gold dragons to buy the grain, and Robb agreed to raise the funds.
• Robb recognized that the grain deal tied the North more closely to Viserys and thanked him for the arrangements.
• Robb asked whether Viserys had killed the Others, and Viserys confirmed it.
• Viserys told Robb that Benjen Stark had been wounded beyond the Wall and was now half human and half Other.

Robb Stark learned that the Others could be harmed by magic and pledged the North to the struggle against them. Viserys warned that the fight must save all of Westeros, then asked where Benjen Stark was.

• Robb recalled seeing Benjen Stark transformed into a wight and expressed astonishment that Viserys had killed an Other.
• Viserys explained that the Others were vulnerable to dragonfire, wildfire, Valyrian steel, and dragonglass.
• Robb pledged the North's cooperation and swore to defend the living from the Others.
• Viserys warned that the Wall could eventually fall and urged Robb to help end the eternal winter before it consumed Westeros.
• Viserys asked Robb where Benjen Stark was, explaining that his magical searches had not revealed Benjen's location.

Robb told Viserys that Benjen had withdrawn to Winterfell’s crypts and agreed to take him there the next morning. Viserys also promised to return Sansa and Arya to Winterfell after settling matters in King’s Landing, and later encountered Jeyne Poole waiting by his bath.

• Robb explained that Benjen now ate only raw meat, could not tolerate sunlight, and stayed in the crypts beneath Winterfell.
• Viserys ordered Robb to take him to see Benjen the next morning.
• Viserys told Robb he would bring Sansa and Arya back to Winterfell after resolving matters in King’s Landing, and Robb thanked him on behalf of House Stark.
• After Viserys left, Robb worried that his meeting with Benjen might concern a catastrophe threatening the world.
• Viserys entered Winterfell’s bathhouse and recognized Jeyne Poole kneeling beside the tub.

Jeyne explained to Viserys how she had arranged to attend him at Winterfell, and he allowed her to stay. She bathed him and then joined him in the tub, where she began wiping his chest.

• Jeyne told Viserys she had come from House Poole and persuaded the assigned maids to let her attend him.
• Viserys stopped Jeyne from leaving and told her to stay.
• Jeyne removed Viserys’s robe and carefully washed his back and body.
• Jeyne invited Viserys into the tub, then climbed in herself.
• Jeyne moved in front of Viserys and began wiping his chest with a damp cloth.

In Winterfell's bathhouse, Jeyne admitted she had lied about knowing how to bathe Viserys because she wanted to be near him. She then revealed House Poole's troubles and asked to leave with Viserys rather than be married off for her family's benefit.

• Viserys asked Jeyne whether she had bathed Sansa, and Jeyne confessed she had lied about attending him in King's Landing to get closer to him.
• Viserys reassured Jeyne that she could learn slowly, and she continued helping him bathe.
• After the bath, Viserys asked Jeyne how House Poole was faring, and she described her family's losses and internal disputes.
• Jeyne told Viserys that House Poole's elders planned to marry her to a northern lord's second son in exchange for supplies and land.
• Jeyne asked Viserys to take her with him, saying she would accept being his lover or maid rather than be treated as a bargaining chip.

Viserys agreed to take Jeyne Poole south with him, and Rhaenys learned that he had spent time with her in the bathhouse. Rhaenys voiced her fear of losing her special place in his life, and Viserys reassured her before they fell asleep together.

• Jeyne told Viserys she wanted to stay by his side, and he agreed she could come south with him.
• Viserys returned to the guest chambers and found Rhaenys awake in bed.
• Rhaenys recognized Jeyne's scent on Viserys and asked who he had been with in the bathhouse.
• Viserys told Rhaenys that Jeyne wanted to return to King's Landing with him and that he had agreed.
• Rhaenys reminded Viserys of his promise that she and Dany would always be most special to him.
• Viserys promised he would not break his word, held Rhaenys close, and she fell asleep.

Viserys went with Robb to explore Winterfell’s ancient crypt, where he opened the ironwood door and descended into the burial chambers. They reached the first level, surrounded by the stone tombs and statues of House Stark.

• Robb met Viserys and led him through Winterfell to the hidden entrance of the Stark crypt.
• Robb explained that the crypt door was made of ironwood and recounted the story of Bael and Brandon Stark’s daughter.
• Viserys pushed the heavy door open by himself, astonishing Robb, and entered the crypt with him.
• Viserys and Robb descended the cold stone stairway to the first level of the burial chambers.
• Viserys saw rows of Stark coffins, statues, and carved direwolves in the crypt.

Viserys revealed to Robb the truth about Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, overturning the story Robb had grown up believing. He then told Robb that their surviving child had been raised at Winterfell alongside him, leading Robb to realize the child was Jon Snow.

• Robb showed Viserys the crypt statues of Brandon and Lyanna Stark and explained why Eddard had honored them.
• Viserys told Robb that Lyanna had willingly gone south with Rhaegar and that they had a child together.
• Robb struggled to reconcile Viserys's account with the story his family had taught him.
• Viserys warned Robb not to test his intentions toward House Stark and continued through the crypt.
• Robb asked whether Rhaegar and Lyanna's child was alive, and Viserys revealed that the child had grown up in Winterfell beside Robb.
• Robb realized Viserys meant Jon Snow.