Recaps

The Northern Alliance defeated the Westerlands and Riverlands forces at Riverrun, though Jaime Lannister escaped capture by the main army after Little Deer seized him. Gary considered the heavy casualties and learned from Tyrion that the captured Riverlands and Westerlands soldiers could not simply be added to his forces as he continued his campaign for the Iron Throne.

• Jaime led the Westerlands alliance through the Northern infantry toward the southwest, while Gary’s forces pursued and Melisandre prepared an ambush along the River Road.
• Melisandre failed to ignite the firewood and lamp oil, so Little Deer attacked Jaime, bit off his left hand, and dragged him toward the roadside as Podrick and the Northern soldiers set the ambush alight.
• The Westerlands alliance fled by another mountain path, while Gary’s troops arrived too late to stop its escape; Little Deer survived after Gary healed her wounds, and the Northern Alliance captured Jaime.
• Tyrion reported that the Northern Alliance had killed over ten thousand enemy troops, captured two thousand Westerlands soldiers and three thousand Riverlands soldiers, and suffered more than two thousand deaths.
• Gary ordered the army to expand and continue toward King’s Landing, but Tyrion explained that the Riverlands prisoners would need to guard their homeland and the Westerlands prisoners would likely desert.

Gary rejected the plan to conquer the Westerlands first and divided his forces to secure the Vale, feint at Casterly Rock, and attack the Iron Islands. After learning the Ironborn had taken the Arbor and Oldtown, he agreed to help Asha reclaim the islands before she sailed south to support Highgarden.

• Tyrion and Davos urged Gary to take the Westerlands before the Crownlands, but Gary insisted on attacking the Crownlands directly and ordered Tyrion to seek House Arryn's allegiance.
• Little Deer delivered Bran's letter, revealing that the Ironborn had captured the Arbor and Oldtown and destroyed the Redwyne Fleet; Mace Tyrell was sending Loras and ten thousand soldiers back to the Reach.
• Asha asked Gary for soldiers and dragons to retake the Iron Islands, but Gary refused to lend her the dragons and assigned Jon Umber to lead the feint against Casterly Rock.
• Gary ordered Tyrion to take ten thousand troops, dragons, and giants to the Eyrie and told him to kill Littlefinger if the opportunity arose.
• Gary announced that he would lead two thousand soldiers across the sea to attack the Iron Islands, using an ice cocoon to help Asha land; Asha agreed to sail south afterward to support Highgarden.

Jaqen tried to ease Melisandre’s doubts about the Supreme God, while Gary accepted Barristan’s conversion and made him the first knight of the Supreme God Faith. Gary then suspected Sansa in Highgarden of using shadowbinding to kill Rickon and planned to seek confirmation.

• Jaqen told Melisandre that he had once doubted his faith and revealed that he had spared a noble girl destined to die, later making her a priestess.
• Jaqen cited a Divine Revelation from the Many-Faced God claiming the Supreme God was the world’s oldest god, and Melisandre resumed her prayers with renewed relief.
• Barristan asked Gary whether his reservations came from Barristan’s faith, then offered to follow the Supreme God after losing faith in the Seven.
• Gary accepted Barristan’s oath, and the Primal Stone’s power rejuvenated him as Gary appointed him the first knight of the Supreme God Faith.
• Gary gave Barristan Rickon’s Valyrian steel sword and suspected Sansa in Highgarden was behind Rickon’s death through shadowbinding.

Gary conquered Pyke and helped Asha secure rule of the Iron Islands, then Tyrion led an army to the Vale and forced entry into the Eyrie with the threat of dragons. The chapter ended with Tyrion and Barristan meeting the young Duke Robert Arryn, who mocked Tyrion.

• Gary broke through Pyke's eastern wall with ice fists and captured the castle with two thousand Soldiers of the North.
• Gary and Asha visited the Seven Islands, where Asha became Countess of the Iron Islands and swore fealty to the King in the North.
• Gary left five hundred soldiers to garrison Pyke and sailed back with fifteen hundred troops.
• Tyrion and Barristan reached the Bloody Gate with twenty Giant Heavy Armor Warriors, and Tyrion demanded the Vale declare its allegiance.
• After three Dragons flew toward the Eyrie, Donal Waynwood let Tyrion's party enter the Vale and reported their threats.
• Petyr Baelish brought Tyrion and Barristan to Duke Robert Arryn, who laughed at Tyrion and asked if he could ride a pig.

Tyrion demanded the Vale swear fealty to Luke Stark and threatened the lords with dragons and giants if they refused. Baelish urged them to consider joining the North, and the lords debated the war’s prospects without reaching a decision.

• Tyrion asked Robert Arryn and the Vale lords to pledge allegiance to Luke Stark and warned that dragons could bring the Vale to heel if they refused.
• Tyrion threatened the assembled lords with the dragons and Valyrian steel-clad giants, while the Vale soldiers drew their swords.
• Baelish offered to announce the Vale’s decision and asked Tyrion to bring Daenerys inside, surprising the lords with news of her presence.
• The Vale lords debated whether the North could defeat the larger Lion-Flower Alliance Army, and Barristan reminded Tyrion of Gary’s order concerning Baelish.
• Baelish cited the Ironborn attacks and Luke’s victory over Jaime Lannister, then argued that dragons would grow and help the North win.

Tyrion negotiated the Vale’s fealty and troops while rejecting Baelish’s attempt to secure a marriage alliance for Robert Arryn. Baelish left the northern camp plotting to undermine the North and Vale alliance by threatening Robert Arryn’s life.

• The Vale lords offered twenty thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry in return for a marriage between Daenerys and Robert Arryn, but Baelish proposed Arya instead and Tyrion refused to promise a betrothal.
• Tyrion demanded the Vale swear fealty to Luke and send troops, giving Robert Arryn ten days to appear or the North would attack the Bloody Gate; Baelish accepted, despite Yohn Royce’s objection.
• Ten days later, Robert Arryn and Baelish arrived at the northern camp, while the Vale lords mustered nearly twenty thousand troops near the Bloody Gate.
• Tyrion warned Baelish that Luke might kill him for betraying Eddard and arranged for Yohn Royce to look after Robert Arryn, so Baelish left camp with his trusted men.
• On the road to the Eyrie, Baelish learned that the queen mother had burned his letter and said he would use Robert Arryn’s life to weaken the alliance between the North and the Vale.

Gary negotiated with Robert Arryn and Yohn Royce for the Vale’s allegiance, refusing to marry Arya to Robert and offering Yohn a Small Council seat instead. The Vale’s support was arranged through Yohn, while Gary continued planning to deal with Baelish later.

• Tyrion told Gary that Robert Arryn had arrived with the Vale’s army and urged him to receive the young duke; Gary ordered Baelish watched but not assassinated yet.
• Gary told Yohn Royce that Arya would not marry Robert and offered Yohn a Small Council seat until Robert came of age.
• Robert Arryn demanded that Tyrion become his personal fool and perform pig-riding jousts in exchange for the Vale’s allegiance.
• Gary assigned Yohn to correct Robert’s habits and persuade the Vale lords, then gave him a Valyrian steel dagger as a token of trust.
• Yohn led Robert away and promised to find him other fools, while Robert continued demanding to see Tyrion joust on a pig.

Tyrion freed Jaime and spoke with him about Cersei, their family, and the North's plans to attack the Crownlands. He revealed that the Vale would join the campaign, then asked Jaime what he thought the northern lords intended to do with him.

• Tyrion freed Jaime from the stake and, with Podrick's help, took him outside to relieve himself before returning him to the tent.
• Jaime asked Tyrion about his gilded hand, and Tyrion let slip that they would reach King's Landing before warning him to remain a prisoner.
• Tyrion and Jaime discussed Cersei's suspicions, her relationship with other men, and Jaime's continued loyalty to her.
• Podrick fed Jaime, and Tyrion told him that dragons and the Vale's troops would support the North's advance on the Crownlands.
• Tyrion asked Jaime what he thought the northern lords wanted to do with him.

Tyrion urged Jaime to stay alive and reveal Tommen and Myrcella's parentage so they could be spared, but Jaime did not trust Luke Stark or answer him. Meanwhile, Arianne Martell's party learned that Luke Stark was in the Riverlands and decided to change course to meet him sooner.

• Jaime asked Tyrion to protect Tommen and Myrcella, but Tyrion said their royal claims made their safety difficult.
• Tyrion advised Jaime to live and reveal the children's parentage, promising to seek Luke Stark's mercy for them, but Jaime remained silent.
• Tyene Sand learned in Tarth that the North had conquered the Riverlands, defeated Jaime's army, and captured him alive.
• Arianne chose to let the Martells' identities be exposed and pursue an alliance with Luke Stark, despite Tyene's warning about Kevan Lannister.

Gary planned the North and Vale armies’ campaign through the Crownlands while Davos sought an Iron Bank loan in Pentos. After meeting the bank’s envoy, Naho Dimittis, Davos faced questions about Pentos’s ties to the North and its White Dragon.

• Gary assigned Maidenpool to his own forces, Duskendale to the Vale lords, and Rosby as a later target on the march toward King's Landing.
• Tysha received Gary’s letter and told Davos that the Iron Bank’s fleet would leave for King's Landing in three days.
• Tysha sent Martina and Louise to escort Davos to the harbor, where he met the Iron Bank envoy, Naho Dimittis.
• Naho asked Davos about Pentos’s White Dragon, Tysha’s ice magic, and the rumors that Pentos was subordinate to the North.
• Davos denied that Pentos was a dependency of the North, warning himself that an open alliance could provoke the other Free Cities.

Davos sought a ten-million-Gold-Dragon loan from Iron Bank envoy Naho Dimittis, who refused because the North would not recognize the Iron Throne’s debts. Meanwhile, Tysha prepared to manage Pentos while Bingling traveled to meet Gary, and Gary arranged for Margaery to negotiate with Randyll Tarly.

• Davos offered Dragon Eggs and Valyrian steel as collateral, but Naho refused to lend to the North while the Iron Bank backed the Baratheon Royal House.
• Davos warned Naho that Cersei would not repay the Iron Bank during the war, then offered to work with him if the war’s course changed within a month.
• Tysha told Bingling that Gary wanted him to leave her and the dragon cavalry in Pentos and travel to King's Landing in a month.
• Bingling authorized Tysha to use the dragon cavalry against the Dothraki if needed and welcomed the news that he would meet Gary.
• Margaery proposed persuading Randyll Tarly to become an ally, and Gary arranged for her to negotiate with him near Maidenpool under Daenerys’s protection.
• Gary reassured a shy Daenerys that they were family, and Margaery teased her with a suggestion for the three of them that night.

The North and the Vale prepared to advance south while Cersei’s Small Council debated how to meet the northern threat. In Lys, a silver-haired prince considered returning to Westeros with support from the Golden Company, the Unsullied, Dorne, and possibly the Iron Bank.

• Twenty-five thousand Vale soldiers left Harrenhal for Duskendale, leaving their heirs with Gary and Robert Arryn in the northern camp.
• Gary waited at Harrenhal for northern supply lines to reach him before marching toward Maidenpool, concerned that House Tully could not support his campaign.
• Cersei convened the Small Council after Jaime’s defeat, and Qyburn urged her to repair the giant ballistae and prepare for the North’s dragons.
• Cersei told Mace Tyrell that she had ordered Crownlands towns to reinforce Randyll Tarly at Maidenpool.
• Cersei and Qyburn discussed Littlefinger Baelish’s proposed tactic, and Qyburn advised choosing a Lannister commander rather than one from the Reach.
• In Lys, a blue-haired prince whose hair turned silver discussed returning to Westeros with his Hand, who reported that the Iron Bank might support them if they acknowledged the Iron Throne’s debts.

Margaery led a Northern negotiating party to Maidenpool, where Dickon Tarly insulted her identity and Randyll Tarly tested her before accepting that she was the real Margaery Tyrell. Randyll invited her to discuss the North’s demands but refused to address Dickon’s insult first, leaving the negotiations tense.

• Gary sent Margaery to Maidenpool to seek its surrender, assigning Ice Warriors, Giants Heavy Cavalry, and Little Deer to protect her as Daenerys flew overhead with her dragons.
• Dickon Tarly welcomed the party, then called Margaery a whore and accused her of impersonating Margaery Tyrell, prompting the Ice Warriors and giants to ready their weapons.
• Randyll Tarly arrived and tested Margaery with a question about Garlan Tyrell’s nickname; her answer convinced him she was the real Margaery.
• Margaery explained that she had been in the North while another woman posed as her in King’s Landing, and she rebuked Randyll for calling her father “Puff Fish.”
• Randyll proposed discussing the matter at hand, but Margaery demanded that Dickon’s insult be addressed first, and Randyll said Dickon’s fate would depend on the negotiations.

Margaery met Randyll Tarly at Castle Black to discuss his allegiance to Luke Stark, while Daenerys guarded her in disguise. Randyll offered his forces in exchange for Casterly Rock, the title of Warden of the West, and a Small Council seat, and Little Deer flew north to deliver his demands to Luke.

• Margaery entered Castle Black with Little Deer and Daenerys, while the giants and mammoths waited outside and Daenerys's dragons rested atop the castle.
• Randyll Tarly said he would pledge allegiance to Luke Stark rather than surrender, but warned that dragons could be killed and demanded Casterly Rock, the Wardenship of the West, and a Small Council seat.
• Randyll explained that his troops and Reach allies could weaken the Crownlands' defenses, and Margaery said only Luke could decide whether to grant his demands.
• Margaery sent Little Deer to report Randyll's offer to Luke, and Little Deer transformed into a raven and flew north.
• Daenerys left with five Ice Warriors to find lodging outside the castle, while Randyll questioned Margaery about the disguised commander and suspected her identity was significant.

Gu Li weighed Randyll Tarly’s demand for the Westerlands and offered him the Stormlands instead, while receiving alarming reports about Cersei’s troop movements and the danger facing Highgarden. Randyll accepted the offer and asked to meet Gu Li in person.

• Little Deer reported Randyll Tarly’s terms to Gu Li, who consulted Tyrion and the Northern Lords before offering Randyll the Stormlands rather than the Westerlands.
• Gu Li received intelligence that Cersei had sent twenty thousand Westerlands Alliance troops across the sea and a plea from Sansa reporting that the Arbor and Oldtown had fallen to a gigantic sea monster.
• Little Deer told Margaery and Daenerys about the Stormlands offer, and Margaery decided they should stand firm while seeking Randyll’s support.
• Randyll accepted the Stormlands after learning Tyrion was Gu Li’s Hand and asked Margaery to take him outside Maidenpool to meet Gu Li.

Gary secured Randyll Tarly’s support in exchange for making House Tarly the ruling house of the Stormlands after the war. He pressed Randyll to choose Samwell rather than Dickon as heir, then arranged for Tarly’s forces to join the campaign against King’s Landing.

• Randyll Tarly agreed to bring twenty-four thousand troops north in return for House Tarly ruling the Stormlands after the war.
• Gary confronted Randyll over Dickon’s disrespect toward Margaery and said Dickon would be punished by losing his claim to inherit.
• Tyrion and Gary argued that Samwell should inherit the Stormlands, and Gary revealed that Samwell was expected to become his Grand Maester.
• Randyll asked for time to consider the succession and to see Samwell, while Gary warned that his choice would affect House Tarly’s relationship with the North.
• Gary and Tyrion arranged for Randyll’s four thousand cavalry to join the main force and for his other troops to advance north and besiege King’s Landing.
• Gary left one thousand North infantry to garrison Maidenpool after taking the town without bloodshed.

Gary investigated Cersei’s unexplained troop movements, discussed Highgarden’s plea with Margaery, and learned that the Iron Bank was pressuring Cersei over its debt. As Gary’s forces marched south, Tyrion urged Jaime to choose House Lannister’s future before the coming battle.

• Gary and Tyrion considered Cersei’s secret letter and ordered scouts and a fleet to investigate the Westerlands’ twenty thousand troops.
• Margaery calmly agreed that Gary should focus on the North, and Gary promised a dragon could later help defend Highgarden.
• Naho Dimittis demanded that Cersei repay the Iron Bank within three months, warning that the bank could support House Stark and accept Valyrian steel or dragon eggs instead of gold.
• Gary’s twelve thousand troops and House Tarly’s four thousand cavalry marched south toward Duskendale to reinforce the Vale’s army.
• Tyrion told Jaime that the northern forces were growing while the Crownlands’ defenses weakened, and pressed him to support his family’s future before Tommen and Myrcella’s fates were decided.

Gu Li learned that Cersei might use poison and wildfire to defend King's Landing, so he changed his plans and secretly set out to enter the city. Meanwhile, the Iron Bank envoy Naho Dimittis left King's Landing, believing the North would soon take it and repudiate the crown's debts.

• Bran's letter warned Gu Li that Qyburn had equipped King's Landing's walls with dragon-piercing crossbows and that Cersei might poison waterways and use wildfire.
• Gu Li ordered daily water tests and, after considering that Cersei might fill the city's tunnels with wildfire, decided to infiltrate King's Landing and seal the threat with ice magic.
• Gu Li placed Barristan Selmy in command of the Northern Alliance and arranged for a soldier to impersonate him while he left camp with Tyrion, Melisandre, Little Deer, and a cloaked man.
• Naho Dimittis learned from Iron Bank intelligence that the North was likely to take King's Landing and that the new ruler might reject the crown's debts, so he sailed away and sent the Bank a report.

Davos negotiated with Naho Dimittis for a ten-million-Gold-Dragon loan to the North, agreeing that King Luke would repay part of the Iron Throne’s debt with Valyrian steel. Naho warned Davos that Pentos’s Red God temple was plotting against Magister Tysha’s Supreme God movement, and Davos was left facing an unspecified threat involving a Dothraki Khal.

• Naho told Davos that the Iron Bank’s leaders backed Aegon Targaryen, while his faction had secretly decided to support the North.
• Davos refused to accept House Baratheon’s debts, but negotiated an agreement for King Luke to repay three million Gold Dragons’ worth through fifty Valyrian steel swords and a suit of armor.
• Naho offered the North a ten-million-Gold-Dragon loan and warned that the rival Iron Bank faction could lend Aegon VI as much as twenty to thirty million.
• Davos and Naho signed their contract, and Davos declined to accompany Naho to Braavos to oversee the loan’s release.
• Naho urged Davos to leave Pentos, explaining that the Red God temple had joined with wealthy merchants to spread rumors against the Supreme God and had contacted a Dothraki Khal.

Tysha revealed her preparations to Davos and launched a preemptive strike against Pentos's compromised City Watch before the Dothraki arrived. After leaving Martina to secure the city, she rode west with only a few dozen people to face the enemy, and Davos followed to protect her.

• Davos warned Tysha that tens of thousands of Dothraki were outside Pentos, but she refused to flee and showed him five hundred loyal female cavalry.
• Tysha led the riders to the City Watch barracks, where her ice magic killed the night guards and her forces defeated the compromised garrison, taking over a thousand prisoners.
• Tysha assigned Martina to hold the city gates and help suppress the wealthy merchants' guards while Louise stayed behind.
• Tysha said she had only thirty-odd people stationed outside the city and rode west to confront the Dothraki.
• Davos followed Tysha, determined to protect her and bring her back to Westeros if Pentos fell.

Tysha’s forces defeated the Dothraki attack on Pentos with the Dragon Cavalry and Tysha’s ice magic, forcing the survivors to retreat. After waking from her collapse, Tysha prepared to interrogate the captured merchants, while Louise resolved to build her power in Tysha’s service.

• The Dragon Cavalry used Dragon Acid to kill more than a thousand charging Dothraki, while Tysha froze the moat and sent a deadly wave of ice through the cavalry.
• Tysha collapsed from the strain, and Davos caught her before she fell into the moat.
• The Dragon Cavalry attacked the remaining Dothraki until they sounded a retreat and fled Pentos.
• The mercenaries handed the merchants who had colluded with the Dothraki over to Martina, who warned the mercenaries they would face a substantial fine.
• Tysha woke after two hours, learned that Davos had brought her to the palace, and ordered Louise to take her to question the imprisoned merchants.
• Louise resolved to gain knowledge and wealth so she could buy an army for Tysha and defeat her enemies.

After Tysha’s victory over the Dothraki, she ordered the execution of merchants who conspired with the Red God Temple and declared that she would destroy the temple before leaving Pentos. As her health worsened, Davos agreed to help her, and she revealed that she held a personal grudge against Tyrion Lannister.

• Tysha thanked Davos for bringing her back, then invited him to the dungeon to review the merchants’ confessions.
• Tysha threatened to destroy the Red God Temple and execute anyone in Pentos who opposed the Supreme God, then ordered Martina to hang the merchants.
• Davos urged Tysha to act cautiously, but she explained that she had to resolve the conflict in Pentos before leaving for King's Landing within a month or two.
• Tysha began coughing blood, and Davos and Louise helped her return to her room to rest.
• Tysha asked Davos whether Tyrion Lannister was the Hand of the King and told him that she had a personal grudge against Tyrion.

Barristan brought Margaery and Daenerys a letter from Davos and news that envoys from Dorne had arrived. Margaery and Daenerys received Arianne Martell, Quentyn Martell, and Tyene Sand in the King in the North’s tent, where their identities and places in Luke Stark’s life shocked the visitors.

• Barristan delivered Davos’s letter, and Margaery told him to reply that Davos could remain in Pentos and return with Magister Tysha later.
• Barristan reported that envoys from Dorne had arrived, so Margaery and Daenerys went with him to the main tent to receive them.
• Arianne challenged Margaery’s authority, and Margaery revealed that she was alive and betrothed to Luke Stark.
• Arianne demanded to see Daenerys, who removed her helmet and took the seat of honor, revealing herself as the Dragon Princess.
• Arianne and Quentyn objected to Daenerys serving as a guard and urged her to return to Dorne, while Margaery said Daenerys was also Luke’s fiancée.
• Margaery and Daenerys dismissed the visitors’ objections and asked whether Arianne wanted to marry King Luke too.

Arianne abandoned the prospect of marrying Luke and tried to negotiate a Stark marriage for Quentyn in exchange for Dornish support. Margaery refused to promise Arya’s hand or arrange a meeting with Luke, and Arianne left with Teresa while Quentyn remained behind.

• Arianne rejected a match with Luke and raised the old marriage pact between Quentyn and Daenerys, but Margaery said Daenerys would not be an option.
• Margaery proposed that Quentyn meet Arya in King's Landing, while Arianne pressed to see Luke and questioned whether he was with the army.
• Margaery said Arianne could meet Luke sooner if Dorne sent troops to help the Reach against Ironborn raids.
• Arianne demanded Arya’s betrothal to Quentyn and an order from Luke before Dorne committed troops, then announced that she and Teresa would return to Dorne.
• Arianne warned Margaery to protect Quentyn, and Margaery signaled Barristan to have someone follow the departing women.

Arianne decided to travel to King's Landing to assess the Iron Throne as a potential ally, while Gu Li met with Bran and Arya near the city and planned to infiltrate it with his companions. Gu Li's group set out separately to hide in King's Landing until the northern army surrounded the city.

• Arianne told Teresa they would go to King's Landing if the North refused an alliance, and she remained interested in the King in the North despite his fiancées.
• Gu Li arrived at the stone house, reunited with Arya, and received Bran's report that Cersei had imprisoned Mace Tyrell and requested Westerlands aid.
• Tyrion warned Gu Li about the missing Westerlands Alliance Army of twenty thousand, while Bran had no news about its location.
• Gu Li ordered his companions to enter King's Landing in separate groups, rent a secluded house, and lie low until the northern army surrounded the city.
• Arya warned Gu Li that Gold Cloaks were questioning passersby, but Gu Li left with Tyrion and the others, confident he could get them into the city.