Recaps

Liu Qian ordered a kingdom-wide campaign to reveal Jon Snow’s identity while falsely accusing Eddard Stark of plotting to restore the Targaryens. As the rumors spread through King’s Landing, Varys learned of them and feared they would ruin his plans.

• Liu Qian learned that Catelyn had told Littlefinger her suspicions about Jon Arryn’s death and that Eddard had resigned after clashing with Robert.
• Liu Qian wrote to Mezzo, ordering agents to spread the truth about Jon Snow’s parentage alongside a fabricated tale that Eddard planned to put Jon on the Iron Throne.
• Liu Qian sent the sealed letter to Mezzo by his fastest raven.
• A Little Bird brought Varys a note reporting that the rumors had spread throughout King’s Landing.
• Varys feared the news would disrupt his plans and ordered the boy to trace its source and verify whether it was true.

Eddard Stark learned that Jon Snow’s parentage had been exposed, but Jaime Lannister arrested him before he could flee with his daughters. In the Throne Room, Robert demanded to know whether Jon was Rhaegar Targaryen’s son, and Eddard was unable to answer.

• Vayon Poole told Eddard that a paper revealing Jon Snow’s parentage had spread through King’s Landing, so Eddard ordered him to find Sansa and Arya and prepare to leave.
• Jaime Lannister and the Gold Cloaks confronted Eddard, and Jaime ordered them to seize him for treason and harboring the fallen dynasty’s remnants.
• Jory, Tommard, and Desmond fought the Gold Cloaks but were killed, and Eddard surrendered after demanding that his family be spared.
• Jaime accused Catelyn of abducting Tyrion and had Eddard taken to the Throne Room, where Eddard told Vayon to protect Sansa and Arya.
• Robert demanded that Eddard confirm whether Jon Snow was Rhaegar Targaryen’s son, but Eddard could not speak.

Robert confronted Eddard over a letter claiming Jon was Rhaegar and Lyanna’s lawful son, and ordered Jon brought to King’s Landing while imprisoning Eddard. Eddard then accused Renly of plotting to replace Cersei with Margaery and poisoning Jon Arryn.

• Renly taunted Eddard, while Littlefinger and Varys each mistakenly believed the other had revealed the secret about Jon.
• Cersei and Pycelle challenged Eddard to summon Howland Reed, and Robert ordered the Kingsguard to send a hundred Gold Cloaks to Castle Black for Jon.
• Cersei argued that Jon was legitimate and called for his death, while Robert declared that Rhaegar’s son had to die regardless of legitimacy.
• Cersei accused Eddard of treason and blurted out that his father and brother had died in the throne room, prompting Robert to slap her.
• Robert ordered Eddard held in the Red Keep’s dungeons until Jon was brought to King’s Landing, and Renly demanded that Eddard stand trial.
• Eddard accused Renly of trying to make Margaery queen and poisoning Jon Arryn to remove an obstacle to his plan.

Eddard exposed Renly and Mace Tyrell’s plot before Robert, but Robert imprisoned him and then learned that Jon was Rhaegar and Lyanna’s son. Robert rejected Eddard’s plea to spare Jon and left the dungeon determined to punish him.

• Eddard accused Renly and Mace Tyrell of plotting, and Mace collapsed unconscious under the court’s scrutiny.
• Robert stripped Renly of his office and ordered him back to Storm’s End, then had Eddard imprisoned and sent letters to Winterfell, the Citadel, and Casterly Rock.
• Robert visited Eddard in the dungeon and confronted him about the accusation that Jon was a Targaryen.
• Eddard confessed that Jon was Rhaegar and Lyanna’s son and begged Robert to spare him.
• Eddard told Robert that Lyanna and Rhaegar had loved each other, but Robert rejected the truth and vowed that Jon must die.
• Robert left the dungeon calling Eddard Lord Stark, while Eddard collapsed in despair.

Stannis decided to wait for Robert to weaken while Varys and Illyrio plotted to use Dorne against the newly revealed Jon Snow. The chapter ended with Illyrio revealing that Braavos and Volantis were preparing a gift for the Easterner besieging Myr.

• Stannis blamed Eddard Stark for manipulating the Baratheons and decided to stay on Dragonstone rather than return to King's Landing.
• Stannis chose not to reveal the princes' and princess's parentage, hoping Robert would die in a Lannister poisoning plot and leave him next in line for the throne.
• Varys told Illyrio that rumors of Rhaegar's legitimate son Jon Snow had disrupted their plans, while the Citadel investigated Septon Maynard's diary.
• Varys proposed that Dorne use its rebellious daughter to bring Jon Snow south and force Dorne into conflict with the Iron Throne.
• Illyrio revealed that he had persuaded the Sealord and Volantis to prepare a gift for the Easterner besieging Myr.

Liu Qian’s army used wildfire to devastate Myr’s walls, but a vast Dothraki force suddenly charged toward its flank and rear. Liu Qian ordered his troops into a defensive formation as the horsemen reached them.

• Liu Qian received wildfire from Crown Town and suspected the Free Cities would use hired forces against him.
• Liu Qian ordered catapults to bombard Myr with wildfire, setting the walls and defenders ablaze and breaking sections of the battlements.
• Prince Janyi offered to lead the Windblown in an assault after the fires subsided, while Liu Qian watched the eastern plain.
• Tens of thousands of Dothraki horsemen appeared on the horizon and charged toward Liu Qian’s army.
• Liu Qian ordered Jelena and Chai Yi to form the army into a shield-and-spear defense as the Dothraki reached them.

Liu Qian’s forces struggled to hold off the Dothraki until Blooddance, Silverfall, and Duskwraith arrived with their riders. Liu Qian and Jelena mounted their dragons and led the counterattack against the terrified enemy.

• Liu Qian’s trench traps disrupted the Dothraki charge, but the riders broke through the Dragon Spirit Guardians’ shield wall and plunged the battlefield into a brutal melee.
• Prince Janyi urged Liu Qian to find and kill the Khal, but the Khal remained hidden in the chaos.
• Blooddance appeared from the clouds, followed by Silverfall and Duskwraith, and the dragons’ arrival spread terror among the Dothraki.
• Janice arrived on Duskwraith, and Liu Qian invited Jelena to ride with him and break the enemy.
• Blooddance burned approaching Dothraki riders with dragonfire, and Liu Qian and Jelena mounted Blooddance and Silverfall as the three dragons charged into battle.

Liu Qian, Jelena, and Janice used their Great Dragons to burn through the Dothraki forces, sending the riders into a rout. Khal Drogo tried to kill Liu Qian with a powerful dragonbone arrow, but it bounced harmlessly off Blooddance's scales.

• Liu Qian ordered Blooddance to breathe blood-red Dragonfire on Dothraki cavalry regrouping near the trenches, killing dozens of riders and horses.
• Jelena and Silverfall burned Dothraki horse-archers with silver-white Dragonfire, while Janice and Duskwraith attacked flankers with purple flames.
• The three dragons' attacks spread terror through the Dothraki ranks, and many riders fled in panic.
• Khal Drogo stayed on the battlefield, called for his Dragonbone Bow, and took aim at Liu Qian riding Blooddance.
• Khal Drogo's arrow struck a thick scale beneath Blooddance's neck and broke apart, leaving only a faint white mark.

Liu Qian killed Khal Drogo with a flaming arrow from his Blood Magic Dragonbone Bow, then used the dragons and his army to crush Drogo’s Bloodriders and break the Dothraki resistance. The surviving warriors fled or surrendered as Liu Qian’s forces pursued them near Myr.

• Khal Drogo’s Dragonbone Bow failed to pierce Blooddance’s scales, and Liu Qian mocked him before drawing his own rune-covered Dragonbone Bow.
• Liu Qian fired a flaming arrow through Khal Drogo’s heart, killing him as Kohoro, Haggo, and Qotho watched.
• Drogo’s Bloodriders charged Liu Qian to avenge their Khal, but Blooddance, Silverfall, and Duskwraith incinerated them with Dragonfire.
• The defeated Dothraki lost their will to fight and fled or begged for mercy as Liu Qian ordered his army to pursue and capture them.
• Prince Janyi sent the Windblown after the fleeing warriors, while Liu Qian and the other dragonriders used Dragonfire to block their escape and force them to surrender.

After defeating the Dothraki, Liu Qian and the dragonriders flew to Myr, where Wildfire was engulfing the city walls. They attacked the Governor’s Residence, while the First Governor and the council panicked inside Pearl Hall.

• The Dothraki Screamers surrendered after Dragonfire trapped them, and Liu Qian’s troops bound the captives and handed them to the Slave Soldiers.
• Liu Qian told Jelena and Janice to follow him to Myr, and the three dragonriders flew toward the city.
• Liu Qian saw emerald Wildfire consuming Myr’s walls and ordered an attack on the Governor’s Residence.
• Blooddance blasted the residence’s fountain square and entrance with red fire, while Silverfall destroyed a defensive tower with silver flames.
• Janice and Duskwraith swept purple flames through the residence’s eastern gardens and servants’ quarters.
• The First Governor and the other members of the Governor’s Council panicked inside Pearl Hall as Dragonfire shook the residence.

Liu Qian conquered Myr with Blooddance, killed the city’s governors, and began taking control of its wealth and prisoners. Days later, Mezzo sent news of war in the Riverlands and Eddard Stark’s imprisonment, prompting Liu Qian to send letters to Robert and Tywin.

• Blooddance broke into Myr’s Pearl Hall, where Liu Qian accused the governors of conspiring against him and burned them alive.
• Liu Qian, Jelena, and Janice flew over Myr on their dragons, and the city’s remaining resistance collapsed.
• Liu Qian’s army took control of Myr and counted roughly a million golden dragons’ worth of Myr iron coins, nearly thirty thousand Dothraki screamers, and a hundred thousand warhorses.
• Mezzo reported that Tywin was ravaging the Riverlands after Catelyn captured the Imp, while Eddard Stark was imprisoned for treason and Jon Snow’s identity stirred controversy.
• Liu Qian asked Mezzo to deliver letters to King Robert and Lord Tywin through his informants in Westeros.

Robb Stark read the Iron Throne’s accusations against Eddard Stark and Catelyn’s report of war in the Riverlands to the northern lords, then argued that they should rescue his father. Roose Bolton urged caution and hinted that surrendering Jon Snow could prevent war, but a loud voice cut off the debate.

• Robb Stark read King Robert’s decree accusing Eddard Stark of treason over Jon Snow’s parentage and ordering Winterfell to summon Howland Reed to swear fealty.
• Robb Stark read Catelyn’s report that Tywin Lannister’s forces were ravaging the Riverlands and besieging Riverrun.
• Robb Stark denounced the accusations as a conspiracy and called for his father’s rescue, while Grey Wind growled beside him.
• Rickard Karstark and Dacey Mormont urged war, while Galbart Glover called for caution and Wyman Manderly worried over Jon Snow’s parentage.
• Roose Bolton suggested that surrendering Jon Snow might avert war, prompting murmurs among the lords.
• An impatient voice thundered through the hall and ordered everyone to stop dithering.

At Winterfell, Grey Wind maimed Greatjon Umber after he challenged Robb Stark’s courage and leadership. Robb secured the northern lords’ oaths and ordered their armies to muster against the Iron Throne.

• Jon Umber insulted Robb and questioned his fitness to lead the North, prompting Grey Wind to bite off Jon’s pointing finger.
• Robb confronted the injured Jon and demanded to know whether House Umber would remain loyal to House Stark and follow him south.
• Jon declared House Umber loyal, and the other northern lords swore their allegiance to Robb.
• Roose Bolton was the last to pledge the Dreadfort’s support to Robb.
• Robb ordered the vassals’ armies to muster and rallied the lords with the North’s call to remember.

Robb Stark refused to hand Jon Snow over to the Iron Throne, choosing to prepare for war despite Maester Luwin’s warnings. In a separate meeting, Roose Bolton and several northern lords agreed to send only limited forces, leaving Robb’s campaign weakened.

• Maester Luwin urged Robb Stark to follow Catelyn’s letter and send Jon Snow to King's Landing, but Robb refused because he would not betray his brother.
• Robb declared that he would fight the Iron Throne to free Eddard, while Maester Luwin warned that defying the crown could bring war upon the North.
• Roose Bolton, Lady Flint, Ser Harrion Tallhart, and the Glover brothers discussed refusing to commit their full strength to Robb’s southern campaign.
• Roose Bolton proposed handing Jon Snow over to preserve peace with the Iron Throne, and the other lords agreed to send only limited troops.

Maester Aemon learned that Jon Snow was the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, while the Iron Throne ordered Castle Black to seize him. Lord Commander Mormont announced Jon’s identity and Eddard Stark’s imprisonment, then had Jon taken to a confinement cell to await the Gold Cloaks.

• Clydas read the Iron Throne’s order to Maester Aemon, who realized Jon was his kin and asked to be taken to Lord Commander Jeor Mormont.
• Mormont arrived at supper and told the Night’s Watch that Jon was Rhaegar and Lyanna’s son and that Eddard Stark had been imprisoned for treason.
• Jon was stunned by the revelation and grieved over Eddard’s imprisonment and his parents’ fates.
• Mormont said the Night’s Watch would obey the order to hold Jon until the Gold Cloaks arrived to escort him south.
• Mormont ordered a ranger to take Jon to the confinement cell and bar anyone from approaching him.

After learning his true parentage and facing execution, Jon escaped Castle Black with Ser Alliser Thorne. In the forest, Thorne pledged his sword and loyalty to Jon, who accepted his allegiance.

• Alliser Thorne entered Jon's cell and offered to help him escape, revealing that he believed Jon was the rightful heir to the Seven Kingdoms.
• Thorne gave Jon warm clothes and a sword, then led him through Castle Black as guards raised the alarm.
• Thorne and Jon escaped over a wooden barrier while Lord Commander Mormont and the guards pursued them.
• After fleeing into the forest, Thorne knelt before Jon and pledged his life and loyalty to him.
• Jon accepted Thorne's allegiance.

Tywin Lannister prepared to march on Pinkmaiden despite King Robert's order to halt, but three letters warned that Cersei's children were Jaime's and that the scandal might be exposed. Fearing for House Lannister, Tywin secretly rode for King's Landing with five thousand cavalry, leaving Ser Damion to command the army.

• Tywin rejected King Robert's demand to halt the Riverlands campaign and surrender Gregor Clegane, ordering his army to take Pinkmaiden.
• Tywin read three letters claiming that Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen were Jaime and Cersei's children, and ordered the attendant to keep the letters secret.
• Tywin weighed the risk of leaving the campaign against the danger to Cersei, Jaime, and House Lannister, then decided to go to King's Landing.
• Tywin appointed Ser Damion to command the remaining troops and secretly departed the camp at night with five thousand elite cavalrymen.

After a bloody confrontation with Cersei, Robert discovered evidence that Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen were Jaime’s children and ordered their bastardy declared. He legitimized all his own bastards and sent Barristan to find them, beginning with Gendry.

• Robert beat Cersei in his bedchamber while Jaime watched, restrained by Barristan.
• Robert found a sealed parchment inside a dead doe in the Kingswood, read it, and rushed back to King's Landing in fury.
• Robert ordered Meryn Trant to bring Cersei and Jaime to the Throne Room, but Varys helped them escape through a secret passage.
• Robert searched Jon Arryn’s books and found genealogical evidence that the Baratheon-Lannister children should have black hair.
• Robert ordered Pycelle to announce that Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen were bastards, then legitimized all his bastards and ordered Varys’s list delivered to Barristan.
• Barristan took Gold Cloaks to Tobho Mott’s smithy to find Gendry, the first name on the list.

Ser Barristan abandoned the Red Keep to rescue Gendry as Tywin Lannister’s army seized control of King’s Landing. In the Throne Room, Jaime killed Robert during the fighting, leaving Tywin’s forces victorious and Robert dead.

• Ser Barristan recognized Gendry as Robert’s son and took him out of the smithy to escape the Lannister forces.
• Gold Cloaks found Cersei and Jaime and brought them before Robert in the Throne Room.
• Tywin rode into the Throne Room with his army, and Lannister loyalists attacked Robert’s supporters.
• Jaime stabbed Robert through the heart as the fighting erupted, and Robert’s sword cut Cersei’s face as he fell.
• Tywin’s forces killed or subdued Robert’s loyalists, while Jaime stood over Robert’s body in shock and guilt.

Tywin Lannister arranged for the Small Council to blame Eddard Stark for King Robert’s assassination and planned Joffrey’s coronation while preparing to campaign against the northern and Riverlands forces. He left Cersei fearing for her safety as he ordered Jaime to join him on another front.

• Tywin questioned the Small Council, and Mace Tyrell, Pycelle, Varys, and Petyr Baelish all blamed the imprisoned Eddard Stark for regicide.
• Tywin ordered Pycelle to send letters accusing Eddard of killing Robert, forging earlier letters, and plotting to restore the Targaryens, while announcing Joffrey’s coming coronation.
• Tywin pressured Mace to invite Olenna and the Tyrell family to King's Landing, keeping Mace as a hostage while the Lannisters retaliated against House Tyrell.
• Tywin ordered Varys to monitor the great houses, especially Storm's End, Dragonstone, Winterfell, and Highgarden.
• Tywin said he would lead the campaign against the North and Riverlands and told Jaime he would serve on another front.
• Cersei objected to Tywin and Jaime leaving King's Landing and asked who would protect her and the children.

Tywin secured King's Landing, warned Cersei to obey him, and berated Jaime and Cersei over their relationship and the scandal that nearly ruined House Lannister. He then revealed that he had received three letters warning that Robert would discover their secret, leaving Jaime shocked and questioning what the letters meant.

• Littlefinger told Cersei that Janos Slynt and the City Watch had pledged loyalty to Tywin, who also left two thousand Westerlands soldiers in King's Landing under the Queen's command.
• Tywin warned Cersei not to act foolishly and said he would send someone to govern the city in his stead.
• Tywin promised rewards to Littlefinger and Janos Slynt for helping secure King's Landing, and the Small Council members withdrew.
• Tywin angrily confronted Cersei and Jaime, while Jaime defended their love and insisted he had done nothing wrong by protecting Cersei and King's Landing.
• Tywin revealed that he had received three letters warning that Robert was about to discover Jaime and Cersei's secret, and Jaime reacted with shock.

Tywin, Jaime, and Cersei suspected that hidden enemies had engineered Robert’s death and the crisis in King’s Landing, while Varys and Illyrio discussed using the resulting war to prepare Young Griff’s return. They also considered how to respond to the Easterner with multiple dragons, deciding to wait until he threatened Westeros directly.

• Tywin concluded that three letters had been designed to draw him to King’s Landing and provoke war, and ordered Cersei to watch the Small Council while he and Jaime left for the Riverlands.
• Tywin dismissed Joffrey’s coronation as unimportant compared with winning the war, and Jaime agreed to depart with him.
• In a secret passage, Varys told Illyrio that Robert had legitimized his bastards and that he had exposed Cersei’s secret to intensify the conflict after Tywin’s army secured the city.
• Varys suspected Littlefinger had helped cause the crisis by financing Janos Slynt and noted his earlier exchange with Renly, but he admitted he could not determine Littlefinger’s goal.
• Illyrio warned that an Easterner had defeated Khal Drogo and possessed at least four dragons, and Varys recommended waiting to hire the best assassin until the man threatened Westeros and married the princess.

After hearing that Robert was dead and that his bastards had been legitimized, Renly sought the Reach’s support and marched to Highgarden. Lady Olenna welcomed him, and the two sides prepared to discuss the kingdom’s future.

• Renly received word that Eddard Stark had supposedly murdered Robert and that Tywin had saved the royal family, but he dismissed the account as Lannister lies.
• Renly ordered the maester to seek an alliance with Lady Olenna, confine Edric Storm, and summon the Stormlands’ lords and armies.
• Half a month later, Renly rode with part of the Stormlands’ forces to Highgarden, where cheering crowds hailed him as king.
• Lady Olenna and Willas Tyrell greeted Renly at Highgarden, and Olenna invited him inside to discuss the kingdom’s future.

Renly secured the support of the Reach and Stormlands, declared his claim to the Iron Throne, and was crowned and married to Margaery at Highgarden. After the celebrations, Olenna warned Willas that Margaery needed to conceive quickly to quiet rumors about Renly and Loras.

• At a feast in Highgarden, Olenna told Renly that Tywin had urged the Tyrells to attend Joffrey's coronation and pledged Highgarden's support despite Mace's captivity.
• Renly denounced the Lannisters, declared his claim to the Iron Throne, and received the vows of the gathered Stormlands and Reach nobles.
• The next morning, Renly was crowned and married Margaery in Highgarden's Great Sept.
• During the celebration, Olenna told Willas that Margaery needed to conceive quickly to silence rumors about Renly and Loras.

At Highgarden, news of the Easterner’s dragons reached the Tyrells as Renly spent his wedding night with Margaery. On Dragonstone, Stannis faced a lack of money and ships, but rejected the possibility of seeking help from the Easterner, leaving his kingdom’s future uncertain.

• Garlan Tyrell told Willas Tyrell and Lady Olenna that Myr had fallen to the Easterner, who commanded three dragons, and Lady Olenna said the Tyrells would focus on the Lannisters.
• Renly entered Margaery Tyrell’s bridal chamber, and Tanya Merryweather concluded that rumors about Renly’s disinterest in women were false.
• Davos told Stannis Baratheon that the Iron Bank had refused his loan request, while Earl Celtigar warned that the Royal Fleet had too few seaworthy ships.
• Monford Velaryon suggested borrowing ships or money from the Easterner, who had taken Myr and possessed a large fleet.
• Stannis rejected Monford’s suggestion, calling the Easterner an enemy, while Davos withheld his support and Stannis remained without money or ships.