Chapter Summaries

Varys recognized Lynn’s preserved food as a means of survival during the Long Night and plotted to use Joffrey to plunge the south into chaos. A month later, Jaqen brought Lynn Balon Greyjoy’s head, warned that the House of Black and White feared Lynn’s power, and suggested his food could help him obtain forbidden knowledge.

• Margaery sailed from White Harbor carrying Lynn’s message, while Miranda questioned whether the Tyrells would be persuaded.
• Varys learned that Lynn’s canned venison stayed fresh and decided that Lynn needed to unite Westeros quickly, so he sent a boy to inflame Joffrey’s resentment and urge him toward war.
• Jaqen arrived at Dragon's Landing Castle with Balon Greyjoy’s head and told Lynn he believed he might be the figure named in prophecy.
• Lynn said he wanted wealth, power, and divine power, and Jaqen explained that the House of Black and White would not share forbidden knowledge while it considered Lynn and his dragon a threat to death’s balance.
• Jaqen suggested Lynn offer the preserved food as a gift, then departed for Braavos hoping Lynn would keep more people alive.

Joffrey learned Tywin planned to marry Cersei to Loras Tyrell and led the Gold Cloaks to free her, confronting Tywin at the sept. The chapter ended with Joffrey aiming a crossbow at Tywin, who warned him he had made a grave mistake.

• Lynn dismissed Jaqen’s warning and decided to wait while Varys stirred up trouble in King’s Landing.
• Joffrey heard that Tywin planned to marry Cersei to Loras Tyrell and ordered the Gold Cloaks to bring her out of the sept.
• Joffrey’s forces faced Tywin’s guards at the sept, and Joffrey demanded that Tywin let Cersei go.
• Tywin argued that the marriage served the family and kingdom, while Joffrey accused him of treating Cersei like a bargaining chip.
• Joffrey aimed a crossbow at Tywin, who calmly warned him that he had made a mistake even Aerys would not have dared make.

Liana stopped Joffrey from shooting Tywin and persuaded him to dismiss Tywin as Hand and accuse him of treason. Tywin retreated from the courtyard, while Joffrey named Liana his queen and celebrated his apparent victory.

• Liana approached Joffrey during the armed standoff and urged him to use his royal authority against Tywin.
• Joffrey dismissed Tywin as Hand and removed him from the Small Council, prompting many Lannister guards to surrender.
• Tywin ordered his remaining loyal guards to withdraw, and the Gold Cloaks made only a brief pursuit.
• Joffrey embraced Liana, declared her his queen, and ordered the sept doors opened for Cersei.
• Joffrey hugged the bewildered Cersei and claimed he had saved her while Liana watched Tywin's retreat.

After Joffrey drove Tywin from court and chose Liana as his future queen, Sansa used Lynn’s secret instructions to turn his anger toward House Tyrell. Joffrey ordered an investigation into Highgarden’s taxes and threatened the Tyrells with demands and treason charges, while Sansa wondered whether Lynn would reward her.

• Cersei despaired over Tywin’s departure, Joffrey’s reckless rule, and Myrcella’s continued presence in Lynn’s hands.
• Sansa burned Lynn’s message and went to meet Joffrey, ready to exploit the power vacuum in the Red Keep.
• Sansa flattered Joffrey over his supposed victory against Tywin, then suggested that Tywin had granted House Tyrell unfair tax concessions.
• Joffrey accused Tywin and the Tyrells of betrayal, demanded the ledgers, and ordered Sansa to recalculate Highgarden’s taxes and demand double payment.
• Joffrey ordered House Tyrell to renounce Tywin publicly and threatened any noble who secretly contacted him with treason charges.
• Sansa calmly watched the orders go out and wondered whether Lynn would be pleased and grant her a reward.

After Tywin withdrew from King's Landing, Lady Olenna chose to appease Joffrey and stake House Tyrell's future on Lynn. At Dragon's Landing Castle, Lynn strengthened his defenses and equipped his army while deciding to draw Renly and Stannis into the conflict.

• Tywin recognized that Lynn had engineered his removal from power, ordered a message sent to Mace Tyrell, and returned to Casterly Rock.
• Mace and Loras urged resistance to Joffrey's demands, but Lady Olenna warned that opposing Joffrey meant opposing Lynn.
• Lady Olenna ordered House Tyrell to pay double taxes, denounce Tywin publicly, and offer its wealth and southern granaries to Lynn.
• Lynn used Nature Magic to reinforce Dragon's Landing Castle with vines and rapidly grow crops for its canning workshop.
• Lynn inspected newly forged weapons for his army and resolved to involve Renly and Stannis in the turmoil.

Lynn arrived at Winterfell with an army of wights and revealed that he controlled them, then delivered food to fulfill his promise to the North. He told the stunned lords that he would distribute supplies according to each domain’s population before discussing the North’s future.

• The North’s lords gathered at Winterfell and debated whether Lynn could provide enough food for the long winter.
• The Army of the Dead appeared outside Winterfell, and the lords rushed to the walls in fear.
• Lynn arrived at the head of the wights, stopped them with a gesture, and made them kneel before him.
• Lynn ordered giant wights to carry sealed jars of food into Winterfell, and Ned ordered the gates opened.
• Lynn showed the lords jars containing preserved meat, potatoes, turnips, and salted fish, and promised to calculate and deliver supplies for each domain.
• Lynn said the food would last one year and announced that it was time to discuss the North’s future.

Lynn won the Northern lords’ loyalty by promising food and offering his undead as tireless laborers, assigning thousands to each castle. Ned worried that distributing the dead was dangerous, but Lynn said the arrangement served his plans and that he would retain control.

• Greatjon Umber and the Northern lords knelt before Lynn and pledged their loyalty.
• Lynn promised to double commoners’ rations and proposed using the undead to strengthen castles, repair roads, and mine ore.
• Wyman Manderly and Greatjon supported the plan, and the other lords eagerly agreed to accept undead laborers.
• Lynn assigned ten thousand undead to small castles, fifty thousand to Last Hearth, and one hundred thousand to Winterfell, with his people coordinating them.
• Ned warned Lynn that spreading the undead among the houses was dangerous, but Lynn said he wanted to prevent plots and divided loyalties like those of House Bolton.

Lynn spread his undead laborers across the North, binding its lords and people to a new order as they rebuilt castles and towns. After Miranda reported the North’s rapid progress and Joffrey’s plans for Liana, Lynn received an invitation to become Hand of the King.

• Lynn explained to Ned that distributing undead laborers would make the North dependent on him and unite it under his power.
• Ten thousand undead laborers arrived at Earl Hornwood’s castle, repaired its western wall in ten days, and began clearing woodland and gathering firewood.
• Across the North, the laborers transformed castles and villages, and people gradually came to regard them as helpers.
• A month later, Miranda reported that the lords were rebuilding and expanding their lands, while the Tyrells had submitted to Joffrey and Tywin had retreated to Casterly Rock.
• Miranda told Lynn that Sansa had persuaded Joffrey to marry Liana, and a raven delivered Joffrey’s invitation for Lynn to come to King’s Landing as Hand of the King.

Lynn accepted Joffrey’s invitation to become Hand of the King and prepared to leave Winterfell for King’s Landing. He entrusted the North to Ned and asked the women to learn governance; Myrcella chose to stay, and Lynn departed on Winter.

• Lynn accepted Joffrey’s invitation to serve as Hand of the King, believing he posed the greater danger in King’s Landing.
• Lynn told Arya, Ygritte, Miranda, and Myrcella that they would remain in Winterfell and learn to govern under Ned’s oversight.
• Myrcella declined Lynn’s offer to take her to Cersei, choosing instead to stay and learn to share Lynn’s burdens.
• Ned promised to oversee the North, and Lynn left Winterfell on Winter as Arya, Ygritte, Miranda, and Myrcella watched.

Lynn arrived at the Red Keep on Winter, and Joffrey eagerly welcomed him as the new Hand of the King while trying to claim the dragon for the crown. Joffrey also ordered a grand tournament in Lynn’s honor, leaving Ser Barristan Selmy worried that King's Landing was about to change.

• Winter’s arrival over King’s Landing sparked panic, but Joffrey shoved past Ser Barristan Selmy to welcome Lynn in the Red Keep courtyard.
• Joffrey demanded that Lynn leave Winter in King's Landing, and Lynn agreed on the condition that no one disturb the dragon.
• Lynn told Joffrey that Daenerys Targaryen had hatched a dragon in Essos, and Joffrey ordered Lynn to bring it to King's Landing.
• Joffrey announced a grand tournament for Lynn and ordered invitations sent to every lord in the Seven Kingdoms.
• Liana watched Lynn and Joffrey with a gentle smile, while Ser Barristan Selmy felt uneasy about the changes ahead.

Lynn settled into his role as Hand of the King and received Liana, who continued using a drug to manipulate Joffrey. Cersei then pleaded for his support, but Lynn rejected her and warned her to tell Tywin that his patience was running out.

• Lynn took charge of the Tower of the Hand after Joffrey appointed him Hand of the King.
• Liana visited Lynn and reported that the drug was making Joffrey believe they had been intimate; Lynn gave her another vial and told her to remain beside the king.
• Lynn considered the shifting powers in King's Landing and wondered why Tywin had vanished into Casterly Rock.
• Cersei came to Lynn and offered Lannister gold and armies in exchange for his help regaining power.
• Lynn rejected Cersei, ordered her out, and warned her to tell Tywin that he might give the Westerlands a different ruling family.

Joffrey appointed Lynn as Hand of the King, but Grand Maester Pycelle challenged Lynn’s qualifications, prompting Joffrey to punish him. The chapter ended with Pycelle stripped of his maester’s chain while Lynn watched.

• Joffrey appointed Lynn as the new Hand of the King before the Small Council.
• Grand Maester Pycelle questioned Lynn’s experience and noble birth, urging Joffrey to reconsider.
• Joffrey seized Pycelle by the beard and berated him until Lynn intervened, suggesting that Tywin Lannister could serve as Hand instead.
• Joffrey interpreted Lynn’s words as proof that Pycelle was supporting Tywin and ordered the Kingsguard to tear off Pycelle’s maester’s chain.
• The Kingsguard broke Pycelle’s chain, and Pycelle collapsed beside its scattered links.

Lynn provoked Joffrey into suspecting that Pycelle and Tywin had murdered Robert, and Joffrey brutally attacked the Grand Maester in the Council Chamber. Joffrey continued demanding to know who had ordered his father’s death.

• Cersei tried to stop Joffrey from destroying Pycelle’s chain, warning that Pycelle was a valuable Lannister agent.
• Lynn defended Pycelle at first, then hinted that he had helped cause Robert’s death through the wine he served and the treatment of the king’s wound.
• Joffrey became convinced that Pycelle and Tywin had conspired to murder Robert and attacked Pycelle.
• Cersei tried to pull Joffrey away, but he shoved her aside and continued beating Pycelle.
• Joffrey threatened Ser Barristan Selmy and demanded that Pycelle reveal who had ordered Robert’s death.

Lynn exposed Pycelle’s role in Tywin’s plots to poison and murder Robert, driving Joffrey into grief and rage. Joffrey then turned on Cersei and demanded that Pycelle tell him whether she had been involved.

• Joffrey beat Pycelle and demanded to know who had plotted against Robert.
• Lynn prompted Pycelle to confess that Tywin had twice tried to kill Robert: first by poisoning his wine to cloud his judgment, then by ensuring his hunting wound became fatal.
• Pycelle admitted that he had used boar dung and milk of the poppy to help kill Robert after the hunting accident.
• Joffrey collapsed after learning that Tywin and Pycelle had murdered his father, then awakened and accused Cersei of involvement.
• Joffrey picked up his longsword, pointed it at Pycelle’s neck, and demanded to know whether Cersei had been involved.

Joffrey learned from Pycelle that Cersei had known King Robert would be targeted and had let it happen, then tortured Pycelle to death. He confronted his mother and demanded to know why she had killed his father.

• Joffrey forced Pycelle to reveal that Cersei knew of the plan against King Robert and did nothing to stop it.
• Joffrey tortured Pycelle with his sword until the old man died, while Cersei and the assembled nobles watched.
• Joffrey ordered everyone to leave the Council Chamber, and the nobles, Varys, and Barristan Selmy departed.
• Joffrey cleaned his hands, approached Cersei, and asked why she had killed his father.

After Lynn left the Council Chamber, Cersei revealed to Joffrey that Robert was not his father and that Jaime was. Joffrey decided to protect his claim to the throne by killing everyone who knew the secret, and began strangling Cersei.

• Cersei asked Lynn to leave so she could speak to Joffrey alone, and Lynn stepped outside.
• Cersei told Joffrey that she had hated Robert and had welcomed Tywin's plan to move against him.
• Cersei revealed that Jaime, not Robert, was Joffrey's father, and Joffrey realized his claim to the throne rested on a lie.
• Joffrey asked who else knew the secret, and Cersei named Tywin and Jaime.
• Joffrey decided Cersei was a threat and lunged at her, strangling her in the Council Chamber.

Lynn stopped Joffrey from strangling Cersei and used his knowledge of Joffrey’s secret to secure the king’s obedience. Joffrey agreed to send Cersei away, and Lynn took her from the Red Keep while ordering Joffrey to conceal Pycelle’s death.

• Lynn returned to the Council Chamber and interrupted Joffrey as he tried to kill Cersei.
• Lynn warned Joffrey that killing his mother would turn the realm against him and revealed that he knew Joffrey’s secret.
• Joffrey fell to his knees and begged Lynn to keep the secret, offering him power in exchange.
• Lynn promised to remain silent on the condition that Cersei leave the Red Keep, and Joffrey agreed.
• Lynn led Cersei away to live at his place and ordered Joffrey to report Pycelle’s death as a sudden illness.
• Joffrey stayed behind with Pycelle’s corpse, realizing that he was now Lynn’s obedient subordinate.

Liana persuaded Joffrey that Lynn had acted to protect him, while Lynn confined Cersei to the Tower of the Hand and used Myrcella to make her obey. Cersei, devastated by Joffrey’s betrayal, clung to the hope that Lynn would keep her daughter safe.

• Joffrey lamented being humiliated by Lynn until Liana convinced him that Lynn had supported and protected him.
• Joffrey accepted Liana’s interpretation, decided to make use of Lynn’s strength, and ordered the Council Chamber cleaned.
• Lynn brought Cersei to the Tower of the Hand and forbade her from leaving without his permission.
• Lynn reminded Cersei that she had lost Joffrey and the protection of the Lannister name, then told her Myrcella was his woman.
• Cersei feared for Myrcella, but Lynn promised her daughter would be treated well if Cersei behaved, and Cersei sank into despair.

Lynn persuaded the captive Cersei that Joffrey was doomed and proposed that Myrcella’s future child with him could inherit the Iron Throne. Cersei began weighing betrayal of Joffrey against the chance to become the future king’s grandmother, then asked Lynn what she would gain by helping him.

• Lynn told Cersei that Joffrey was mad, viewed her as a threat, and would eventually ruin House Lannister.
• Lynn presented Myrcella as an alternative to Joffrey and revealed that she would bear his child.
• Cersei realized Lynn might place their child on the Iron Throne and preserve Lannister rule.
• Lynn offered Cersei a choice between clinging to Joffrey and helping secure a future through Myrcella’s child.
• Cersei asked Lynn what she would get if she helped him.

Lynn convinced Cersei that House Lannister had abandoned her and made her submit to him in exchange for a chance at revenge and protection. Cersei agreed to return to the Red Keep the next morning and pretend to be a powerless, remorseful mother so she could remain near Joffrey and carry out Lynn’s plans.

• Lynn challenged Cersei to consider what she could offer him and reminded her that Tywin and Joffrey had treated her as expendable.
• Cersei chose to submit to Lynn, deciding to rely on him for revenge against those who had abandoned her.
• Afterward, Cersei addressed Lynn as “Master” and asked what she should do.
• Lynn told Cersei to return to the Red Keep and act meek and powerless so Joffrey would no longer see her as a threat.
• Lynn said Liana would persuade Joffrey to accept Cersei’s return, and Cersei agreed to go back the next morning.