Recaps

Jaime Lannister left the Kingsguard and chose to travel north to protect Myrcella and support Lynn. After breaking with Cersei as her lover, he met Lynn at the gates of King's Landing, ready to join the war.

• Jaime reflected on his past, visited the White Sword Tower, and left his entry in the White Book unfinished.
• Jaime told Cersei he was going north to protect their daughter and urged her to remain in King's Landing and secure House Lannister's position.
• Cersei reluctantly let Jaime go, warning him not to leave Myrcella a widow.
• Jaime formally resigned from the Kingsguard before Robert and declared he would help Lynn in the North.
• Jaime left King's Landing and met Lynn at the city gates, where he said he was ready to go.

Myrcella sought Sansa’s help to fund Lynn’s needs and confessed she wanted Robert dead. The two women joined forces and began planning to kill Robert and frame Stannis, leaving their dangerous plot underway.

• Myrcella went to Sansa’s office and demanded royal treasury funds to buy Lynn weapons, armor, and supplies.
• Sansa mocked Myrcella, then admitted she had been saving money for Lynn and resented Myrcella for marrying him.
• Myrcella apologized and declared that Robert must die, and Sansa agreed to join her.
• Sansa and Myrcella discussed Joffrey as Robert’s successor and identified Stannis and Renly as threats to Lynn’s interests.
• Myrcella proposed framing Stannis for Robert’s murder, and Sansa asked how they would carry out the plan.

Tywin welcomed Jaime’s resignation from the Kingsguard and supported his journey north, seeing it as a chance for House Lannister to gain power whatever happened to Lynn. In King’s Landing, a Faceless Man intent on destroying Euron Greyjoy’s dragon egg arranged to be sent to the Wall so he could approach the North unnoticed.

• Tywin learned that Jaime had left the Kingsguard and decided House Lannister would back him as he went north to meet Lynn and the dragon.
• Tywin wrote to Jaime that Casterly Rock would stand behind him.
• A Faceless Man arrived in King’s Landing and resolved to assassinate Balon Greyjoy and destroy the petrified dragon egg before pursuing Lynn and his dragon.
• The Faceless Man stole a merchant’s purse in front of the City Watch, then provoked a watchman into striking him unconscious so he would be imprisoned.
• After waking in the Black Cells, the Faceless Man waited to be sent to the Wall as cover for his journey north.

Garth recruited prisoners from the Black Cells for a plot to assassinate Robert Baratheon and announced that only one would survive a staged journey to meet the employer. Jaqen H'ghar accepted the challenge, while the prisoners prepared to turn on one another before morning.

• Garth, the Stark-appointed chief gaoler, told the Black Cells prisoners that they could earn gold, women, or freedom by taking a dangerous job.
• Garth revealed that the target was Robert Baratheon, prompting the prisoners to laugh in disbelief.
• Jaqen H'ghar agreed to consider the job but demanded to know who the employer was.
• Garth said every prisoner would be escorted out of the city the next morning and that only the sole survivor would meet the client.
• After Garth left, the prisoners eyed one another with growing murderous intent, while Jaqen returned to his corner and closed his eyes.

Jaqen H'ghar survived the prisoners' poisoning and met Sansa Stark and Myrcella Baratheon, who wanted him to assassinate Robert and frame Stannis. He revealed Robert was already dying from poison, proposed framing Stannis with fabricated evidence instead, and asked to travel north with the Starks and Lord Lynn.

• Jaqen H'ghar poisoned the prisoners in the wagon, took an antidote, and was the only one left standing.
• Garth brought Jaqen to the Tower of the Hand, where he discovered Sansa Stark and Myrcella Baratheon were his employers.
• Myrcella and Sansa asked Jaqen to kill Robert Baratheon and arrange for Stannis Baratheon to take the blame.
• Jaqen told them Robert had been slowly poisoned with Tears of Lys and advised them to wait for his death rather than use an obvious assassin.
• Jaqen proposed planting fabricated clues to implicate Stannis, and Sansa and Myrcella agreed to his plan.
• Jaqen refused payment in Gold Dragons and asked to travel north with the Starks and Lord Lynn; Sansa said he needed Lynn's consent.

Lynn uncovered Jaqen H'ghar's mission to study Winter and learn how to kill a dragon, then confronted him in Flea Bottom. He forced Jaqen to choose between carrying out their shared plan under Lynn's direction or facing death.

• Sansa and Myrcella told Lynn that Jaqen had offered to help poison Robert and frame Stannis in exchange for going north with Lynn.
• Lynn used greensight to discover that Jaqen served the House of Black and White and had come to study Winter's weaknesses and learn how to kill a dragon.
• Lynn confronted Jaqen in Flea Bottom, revealed his secret mission and the poisoned needle in his sleeve, and left Jaqen terrified by his knowledge.
• Lynn gave Jaqen a lifelike mask of Stannis and offered to help frame Stannis without killing him.
• Lynn ordered Jaqen to follow his plan and then assassinate Balon Greyjoy, warning that refusal would cost him his head.

Lynn challenged Jaqen’s mission to oppose dragon power, arguing that power could be used to end suffering and build a more just society. Jaqen left persuaded enough to consider giving Lynn access to the Temple of Black and White’s forbidden knowledge, while Lord Varys was revealed to be listening nearby.

• Jaqen explained that the Faceless Men opposed dragons because Old Valyria had used them to enslave people, and he argued that supernatural power inevitably created tyrants.
• Lynn agreed that the Valyrian dragonlords had been evil but said he wanted to use his dragon to reduce suffering and create a society where people could live in safety and abundance.
• Lynn described his vision of Great Unity, and Jaqen reconsidered the purpose of the Many-Faced God and the Temple of Black and White.
• Lynn gave Jaqen a human-skin mask of Stannis and ordered him to spread the story that Robert Baratheon had died through his younger brother’s plot.
• Jaqen tested the mask, offered to persuade the Temple of Black and White to hand Lynn its dragon eggs, necromancy, and blood magic, then disappeared into the shadows.
• Lynn called out Lord Varys, who had been eavesdropping.

Varys pledged his service to Lynn and promised that his Little Birds would help bring about Lynn’s great harmony world. As Jaqen posed as Stannis to plant a forged letter, Robert rode out to hunt in the Kingswood, leaving Varys to report that unrest was beginning in King’s Landing.

• After hearing Lynn’s vision, Varys knelt and pledged his loyalty, and Lynn told him to be patient while they watched events unfold.
• Jaqen questioned his faith, disguised himself as Stannis Baratheon, and wrote a forged letter to Davos urging him to ready the fleet.
• Jaqen arranged for a ragged boy to steal the letter and carry it through Flea Bottom toward Robert’s informant.
• Robert set out for the Kingswood to hunt the White Stag while Lynn and Ned watched from the Tower of the Hand.
• Varys told Lynn that the stag had entered the woods and King’s Landing had begun to grow restless.

Lysa Arryn went to Riverrun seeking Hoster Tully’s support against Robert, but their confrontation ended with Hoster dead. She pretended to grieve and told Edmure that Hoster had agreed to an alliance with the Vale before he died.

• Lysa Arryn rode to Riverrun with Robert Arryn, leaving the Vale under the control of her scheming vassals.
• Edmure Tully let Lysa into Riverrun but warned her that Hoster Tully was gravely ill and needed rest.
• Lysa demanded Hoster support her, and he condemned her for betraying House Tully and dishonoring its words.
• Lysa accused Hoster of sacrificing her for his own ambitions, then covered his mouth as he struggled and died.
• Lysa pretended to discover Hoster’s death in grief, then told Edmure that Hoster had approved an alliance with the Vale and urged him to protect Riverrun.

After Hoster Tully’s funeral, Edmure learned from his father’s final letter that Hoster had opposed Lysa’s plans for war. Lysa then lured Edmure away from Riverrun and revealed that she intended to seize power by force.

• Edmure failed twice to shoot a flaming arrow onto Hoster’s funeral boat, so Brynden Tully took the bow and set it alight with a single shot.
• Maester Vyman gave Edmure Hoster’s letter, which warned him that Lysa was blinded by obsession and urged him to protect the Riverlands from her plans.
• Edmure decided to confront Lysa, but she entered the study and persuaded him to ride with her, claiming that she regretted her actions.
• At a riverbank, Bronze Yohn and Arryn knights surrounded Edmure and Lysa, who admitted she had been pretending and ordered Ser Andar to seize the Duke of Riverrun.

Lysa Arryn had Andar Royce killed after he refused to seize Edmure, then used his death to cow the Vale knights and order House Royce arrested. With Edmure captured, she demanded that he support her or die.

• Andar Royce refused Lysa's order to seize Edmure, declaring his loyalty to House Arryn and the Vale rather than to Lysa's madness.
• Lysa ordered Ser Vardis and Ser Lyn to kill Andar, and the two knights fought him while Edmure watched helplessly.
• A hidden crossbowman shot Andar in the neck, and Lysa claimed he had attempted to attack her and was suspected of colluding with the enemy.
• Lysa ordered the Vale knights to arrest House Royce members without alerting the house, and Ser Vardis and Ser Lyn seized Edmure.
• Lysa threatened Edmure and demanded that he support her or die.

Edmure defied Lysa after she murdered Ser Andar Royce, but Lysa revealed her alliance with Walder Frey and threatened to force Edmure to rule Riverrun under their control. Edmure lunged at Lysa and was knocked unconscious, leaving Walder to begin imposing obedience on him.

• Edmure rejected Lysa’s demands and vowed that Brynden Tully would avenge him and defend Riverrun.
• Lysa summoned Walder Frey and revealed that she had secured his support through a marriage alliance between Robert Arryn and one of Walder’s granddaughters.
• Walder and Lysa revealed their plan to control Riverrun and unite the Riverlands and Vale through their alliance.
• Lysa threatened to have Frey soldiers slaughter House Tully unless Edmure announced their alliance, summoned his vassals, and married into House Frey.
• Edmure lunged at Lysa, but Ser Vardis struck him unconscious as Walder promised to teach him obedience.

Edmure was tortured into accepting Lysa and Walder Frey's demands, while Catelyn received a suspicious letter announcing Hoster's death and Edmure's marriage. Robb tried to stop Catelyn from returning to Riverrun, then discovered Theon had fled as news arrived that King Robert was near death.

• Walder Frey had Black Walder whip Edmure and desecrate House Tully's banner until Edmure broke.
• Lysa agreed to Walder Frey's demands, and Edmure signed a pact accepting an alliance and marriage to Roslin Frey under threat to House Tully.
• At Winterfell, Catelyn read Edmure's letter announcing Hoster's death and her brother's wedding, but Robb suspected a trap and urged her not to return to Riverrun.
• Catelyn found a hidden note revealing that Edmure was under their control and insisted on going to Riverrun, while Robb considered restraining her until his father returned.
• Robb learned Theon Greyjoy had ridden away alone and ordered the guards to pursue him.
• News arrived that King Robert had broken his leg and been gored by a wild boar, leaving him near death.

Robert discovered that he had been poisoned with Tears of Lys and blamed Stannis, stripping him of his titles and ordering Dragonstone blockaded. On Dragonstone, Melisandre reassured Stannis that his enemies were spreading lies and began using the flames to reveal the truth.

• Varys read Robert a letter claiming Stannis planned to reclaim the throne after Robert died.
• Pycelle tested Robert’s blood and revealed that someone had been slowly poisoning him with Tears of Lys.
• Robert accused Stannis of attempted murder, stripped him of his titles, ordered the fleet to blockade Dragonstone, and summoned Ned.
• Stannis received word of Robert’s accusations and wondered whether Cersei, Varys, or Lynn had framed him.
• Melisandre told Stannis that the accusations were a trick of the darkness and urged him to trust the Lord of Light.
• Melisandre prayed over the fire, and its flames began forming indistinct images for Stannis.

Melisandre’s vision convinced Stannis that Renly had poisoned Robert and framed him, while Liana manipulated Joffrey into suspecting both uncles and trusting Lynn. Stannis and Joffrey each vowed to destroy their supposed enemies, leaving the Baratheon family poised for conflict.

• Melisandre interpreted the flames as showing Renly crowned king, and Stannis declared him an enemy for regicide and treason.
• Joffrey brooded over Robert’s impending death and his fear of Stannis and Renly.
• Liana told Joffrey that Lynn suspected his uncles and argued that Renly would benefit from a fight between Joffrey and Stannis.
• Joffrey concluded that Renly had poisoned Robert and framed Stannis, and he praised Lynn as his loyal ally.
• Joffrey vowed to punish anyone who challenged his claim, while Liana privately took amusement in how easily she had deceived him.

Robert confessed his regrets to Ned and asked him to protect Joffrey and spare Daenerys before dying in King's Landing. Ned promised, though he knew he could not support Joffrey, and faced the coming conflict with grief and uncertainty.

• Ned stayed alone with the dying Robert, who confessed that he had idealized Lyanna, failed as king and husband, and wrongly doubted Ned.
• Robert asked Ned to watch over Joffrey and keep Stannis and Renly from tearing the realm apart, and Ned promised to protect Robert's bloodline.
• Robert asked Ned to let Daenerys live, then died after thanking him.
• Ned closed Robert's eyes and reflected that he could not help Joffrey take the throne or prevent the war to come.

After Robert’s death, Lynn publicly backed Joffrey as the lawful heir, and Joffrey was crowned King of the Seven Kingdoms. Joffrey then dismissed Ned as Hand, alarming Cersei and unsettling the assembled nobles.

• Lynn entered the Iron Throne Hall and declared his support for Joffrey’s succession.
• Joffrey arrived, threatened to march on Storm’s End unless Renly returned and begged forgiveness, and announced plans for a grand coronation.
• The High Septon crowned Joffrey at the Great Sept of Baelor, and the nobles acclaimed him king.
• As he left the sept, Joffrey dismissed Ned as Hand and ordered him to return to the North.
• Cersei feared Joffrey had alienated Lynn and undermined the new king’s support among the nobles.

Joffrey dismissed Ned Stark as Hand of the King during his coronation, prompting Ned and Lynn to leave King's Landing with their northern guards. Joffrey mistook Lynn's composure for approval and turned his attention to war with Renly, while Lynn and Ned planned their journey north.

• Joffrey dismissed Ned Stark from his position as Hand of the King, and Ned calmly accepted the decision.
• Lynn supported Ned's departure, and the two men left the Great Sept of Baelor with Myrcella, Jaime, Jaqen, and northern guards.
• Cersei berated Joffrey for driving away their strongest ally, but Joffrey insisted Lynn admired his decisiveness and was loyal to the crown.
• Joffrey ordered Cersei to have Tywin muster the armies of the Westerlands to fight Renly.
• On the Kingsroad, Lynn reassured Ned that leaving Joffrey was the best way to honor Robert's promises.
• Lynn planned to ride Winter with Ned to Winterfell while the guards sailed north to avoid Lysa's army.

Ned returned to Winterfell with Lynn, Myrcella, and Jaime, where the Starks reunited and learned that Riverrun was threatened by Lysa Arryn and Walder Frey. Catelyn grieved over her family’s peril, and Robb asked Lynn how they should respond.

• Winter brought Ned, Lynn, Myrcella, and Jaime to Winterfell, where Ned praised Robb for keeping Catelyn from traveling to Riverrun.
• Ned reunited with Catelyn, who confronted Robb before Lynn explained that Sansa had stayed in King's Landing to run a business.
• Lynn told Catelyn that Lysa had poisoned Jon Arryn and plotted with Walder Frey to seize the Vale and Riverlands through Edmure’s wedding.
• Lynn warned that Edmure’s wedding was a trap for House Tully and that Catelyn would be captured if she went to Riverrun.
• Robb promised to avenge Hoster and rescue Edmure, then asked Lynn what they should do next.

Lynn organized Winterfell and the Riverlands to prepare for rescuing Catelyn’s family and avenging the plot at Riverrun. In the courtyard, Jaime taught Bran archery, and Bran asked him to keep teaching him as Jaime considered becoming a true knight again.

• Lynn told Robb to summon the North’s vassals to Winterfell under the pretext of a Harvest Council, and asked Catelyn to warn loyal Riverlands vassals to hold their castles and await his signal.
• Lynn told Ned to rest and host a feast for vassals arriving early so he could explain the plan.
• Jaime saw Bran and Rickon practicing archery and showed Bran how to improve his stance and aim.
• Bran hit the straw dummy, thanked Jaime as Ser Jaime, and asked him to continue teaching him archery and swordsmanship.
• Jaime reflected on his past and wondered whether he could become a true knight again.

After Lynn returned to Winterfell, Arya reunited with him, and Ned and Catelyn decided to arrange their wedding before the coming war. Myrcella struggled with the news until Arya asked her to become an ally, and Myrcella agreed to stand with her beside Lynn.

• Arya embraced Lynn when he returned to Winterfell, while Ned watched and struggled with the thought of his daughter growing up.
• Catelyn proposed that Lynn and Arya marry when the northern Vassals gathered, and Ned agreed despite his sadness at letting Arya go.
• Myrcella learned that Lynn and Arya would marry and felt bitter about sharing the man she loved.
• Arya brought Myrcella food, acknowledged her hurt, and proposed that they become allies instead of rivals.
• Myrcella accepted Arya's offer and clasped her hand, agreeing to stand with her as war approached.

Lynn reassured Robb that he would deal with Theon and Balon Greyjoy while the northern lords gathered at Winterfell for the Harvest Council. After welcoming the assembled lords and winning Greatjon Umber’s drinking contest and arm-wrestling challenge, Lynn opened the council.

• Robb told Lynn that Theon Greyjoy had fled toward the western coast, and Lynn arranged for Jaqen H'ghar to travel to the Iron Islands and return with Balon’s head and Theon.
• Three days later, Ned Stark, Robb, and Lynn welcomed the northern lords arriving at Winterfell for the Harvest Council.
• Greatjon Umber greeted Ned and challenged Lynn to a drinking contest, while Maege Mormont and Wyman Manderly arrived with their families and gifts.
• Roose Bolton arrived with his men and exchanged a wary look with Lynn before entering Winterfell.
• At the feast, Lynn defeated Greatjon in an arm-wrestling match, then rose to address the lords and begin the Harvest Council.

Lynn warned the northern lords that the coming Long Night would bring a catastrophic food shortage and that the North could not survive without Riverlands grain. After he revealed Lysa Arryn and Walder Frey's control of Riverrun and their plans against House Tully, the lords rallied behind a campaign to disrupt their wedding.

• Lynn told the northern lords that wildlings had fled the coming Long Night and that even his preparations could not feed everyone through it.
• Wyman Manderly offered half of White Harbor's remaining grain, while Maege Mormont and other lords explained they had no surplus to spare.
• Lynn pointed to the Riverlands as the North's essential source of food and explained that Lysa Arryn and Walder Frey had seized control of it.
• The northern lords erupted in anger when they learned Lysa and Walder intended to use the Riverlands to deprive the North of grain.
• Lynn revealed that Lysa Arryn and Walder Frey planned to force Edmure Tully into a wedding with a Frey daughter, then urged the lords to disrupt the ceremony.

Roose Bolton tried to cast the coming war as a personal conflict for Lynn, but Lynn and Lyanna Mormont persuaded the northern lords that their survival and shared interests depended on victory. The hall renewed its support for the campaign, while Lynn resolved to wait for House Bolton to expose its treachery.

• Roose Bolton questioned the reasons for marching south and framed the war as a duty to protect Lynn.
• Lynn admitted that he wanted to survive, then argued that victory would secure grain from the Riverlands and the Reach for the North.
• Greatjon Umber and Wyman Manderly backed Lynn's bargain, but Lyanna Mormont challenged Roose Bolton and reminded the lords how Lynn had helped the North.
• Lyanna declared that House Mormont would fight to repay Lynn's kindness and protect the North, prompting the lords to roar their support for war.
• Roose Bolton withdrew in silence as Lynn resolved to destroy House Bolton when it revealed its treachery, then thanked Lyanna and called her his friend.

After Lyanna Mormont rallied the northern lords behind Lynn’s southern campaign, Ned Stark announced that Arya would be betrothed to Lynn, binding him to House Stark and strengthening the North’s unity. The lords celebrated at Winterfell as they prepared to discuss the march south.

• Lyanna Mormont’s passionate speech turned the lords against Roose Bolton’s doubts and rallied them behind Lynn’s campaign.
• Ned Stark recognized the North’s renewed unity and, urged on by Catelyn, decided to announce Arya’s betrothal.
• Ned declared that Arya Stark would be betrothed to Lynn, Earl of the Gift, making Lynn part of House Stark.
• The lords cheered the betrothal, while Roose Bolton watched Lynn with a clenched fist.
• Ned invited the lords to remain at Winterfell for two more days to celebrate and discuss the march south.