Recaps

At Tyrion Lannister’s trial, Sansa Stark returned and declared herself his lawful wife, then testified that she had been abducted by Dontos Hollard and hidden in Flea Bottom. When Tywin asked for a witness, Vito Corleone stepped forward to support her.

• Sansa appeared at the trial, named herself the rightful heir to Winterfell and Tyrion’s lawful wife, and said she had been staying in Flea Bottom.
• Tywin questioned Sansa about her disappearance, and she said she had been abducted rather than having fled King's Landing.
• Sansa testified that Dontos Hollard had seized her during the chaos after Joffrey collapsed and drugged her before taking her aboard a ship.
• Cersei accused Sansa of conspiring with Tyrion to murder Joffrey, but Tywin ignored her outburst and asked whether Sansa had a witness.
• Vito Corleone stepped into the Great Sept and offered to bear witness for Sansa.

Corleone testified that Sansa Stark had been smuggled from King’s Landing and hidden in Flea Bottom, prompting Tywin to question what Corleone intended by protecting her. Sansa defended Tyrion Lannister against Cersei’s accusations and ended by claiming she could prove his respect for women because she was still a virgin.

• Corleone told Tywin that his fleet had found Sansa Stark locked in a crate aboard a smuggling vessel bound for Driftmark, though he had no information about Dontos Hollard.
• Sansa recounted how Dontos Hollard had taken her from the royal wedding feast and how Joffrey had later stripped him of his knighthood after she pleaded for his life.
• Corleone suggested that Dontos might have abducted Sansa out of wounded pride, while Tywin privately considered whether Corleone was seeking control over Sansa and the North.
• Sansa rejected the prostitutes’ accusations against Tyrion, and Cersei angrily denounced him as a monster who had poisoned Joffrey.
• Sansa demanded solid evidence that Tyrion had abused women, then declared that she could prove he respected women because she was still a virgin.

At Tyrion Lannister’s trial, Sansa testified that he had never forced her and had treated her with kindness, but Cersei and the gathered nobles mocked him. As Tywin prepared to rule, Tyrion denounced his father and revealed what had happened to Tysha, until Jaime arrived with a battered Dontos Hollard and announced new evidence.

• Sansa testified that Tyrion had respected her wishes throughout their marriage and defended him against the accusations.
• Cersei dismissed Sansa’s testimony, and Tyrion mocked himself as the monster the nobles expected him to be.
• Tywin said Sansa’s testimony could not disprove the other witnesses or clear Tyrion of Joffrey’s death.
• Tyrion confronted Tywin, confessed sarcastically, and revealed how Tywin had made him believe Tysha was a hired whore rather than his true love.
• Jaime entered the sept with Dontos Hollard and told Tywin that they had new evidence.

Petyr Baelish reflected on his plans to take control of the Vale while worrying that Sansa Stark had vanished after his failed abduction scheme. When Tywin Lannister summoned him to King's Landing for questioning, Petyr used Lysa Tully's fear to justify refusing to leave the Vale for now.

• Petyr considered how he would use Lysa's dependence on him to gain control of the Vale and eventually remove her.
• Petyr worried that Sansa Stark had disappeared after the ship arranged to carry her away failed to arrive.
• Lysa brought Petyr breakfast and became jealous of the maids, while Petyr soothed her with promises he did not mean.
• Nestor Royce delivered Tywin Lannister's order requiring Petyr to return to King's Landing for questioning.
• Lysa refused to let Petyr go, and Petyr persuaded her and Nestor that his presence was needed to protect her and Robert.
• Petyr told Nestor to reply that he could not travel, then resolved to consolidate his power in the Vale before returning to King's Landing.

Tyrion visited Vito Corleone’s orderly Flea Bottom administration center after being released from the Black Cells on bail, then learned Sansa Stark wanted their marriage dissolved. He agreed to the divorce and demanded that the ceremony happen publicly, leaving the announcement poised to reach Tywin.

• Tyrion toured the House of Order and learned that Flea Bottom residents registered for tokens granting access to grain, clinics, and literacy classes.
• Corleone told Tyrion that he was released on bail pending trial, had to remain in King’s Landing, and had to report daily to the City Watch.
• Tyrion confirmed that Bronn had delivered ten thousand Gold Dragons to Corleone and asked whether their transaction was finished.
• Sansa arrived with Bishop Renard and presented a formal request to dissolve her marriage to Tyrion.
• Tyrion agreed to the divorce, then demanded that Bishop Renard perform the ceremony publicly so everyone would know Sansa had initiated it.

Tyrion told Jaime that he and Sansa had divorced, while Jaime prepared to leave King's Landing for the Wall and entrusted Tyrion's safety to Vito Corleone. Corleone agreed to protect Tyrion and gave Jaime a custom-forged sword and notes on left-handed swordsmen before Jaime rode north.

• Tyrion told Jaime that Sansa had requested a divorce and that Bishop Renard had performed the ceremony in Corleone's office.
• Sansa passed Jaime and Tyrion without speaking to Tyrion, and Tyrion remarked that she had become a warrior.
• Jaime thanked Corleone for helping find Dontos Hollard and revealed that he was leaving King's Landing to relearn swordsmanship at the Wall.
• Jaime asked Corleone to protect Tyrion, and Corleone agreed on the condition that Jaime return alive and master the left-handed sword.
• Corleone gave Jaime a sword forged by Master Tobho Mott and a booklet of records about left-handed swordsmen.
• Jaime rode north toward the Wall as Corleone watched him leave.

Tywin Lannister learned that Tyrion and Sansa had formally dissolved their marriage, while his search for Vito Corleone’s allies yielded little and left him increasingly wary of Corleone’s growing influence. As Tywin turned to pressure Petyr Baelish and reassure himself that he still controlled events, Kevan arrived with Oberyn Martell’s demand to reopen the murders of Elia Martell and her children and make Gregor Clegane name who ordered them.

• Tybert told Tywin that Tyrion and Sansa had dissolved their marriage and that Tyrion had requested a public ceremony.
• Tybert reported that his investigation into leaks to Vito Corleone had identified three people with suspicious movements, and Tywin ordered them sent to the Black Cells for questioning.
• Tywin ordered Tybert to investigate Corleone’s unexplained ability to withstand blades and to seek records from the Citadel and intelligence from the Iron Bank.
• Tywin questioned Tybert’s loyalty by recalling his daughter Meera Ya, then ordered him to continue investigating and to cultivate Vale lords opposed to Petyr Baelish.
• Tywin concluded that Corleone wanted power beyond Flea Bottom and resolved not to be frightened or lose control.
• Kevan told Tywin that Oberyn Martell had formally demanded that the murders of Elia Martell and her children be reexamined and that Gregor Clegane identify who gave the order.

At a Small Council meeting, Oberyn demanded a new investigation and trial over the murders of Elia Martell and her children, while Cersei unexpectedly supported him and proposed a regency council. Tywin arrived as Cersei’s bid for power was underway and told the council to continue.

• Tommen signed royal documents as Oberyn clashed with Mace Tyrell and Grand Maester Pycelle over reopening the case of Elia Martell’s murder.
• Cersei backed Oberyn’s demand for justice, arguing that Gregor Clegane should face trial if guilty.
• Oberyn presented a formal proposal to reopen the investigation, detain Gregor, establish a judicial committee, and summon witnesses; Tommen and Cersei supported it.
• Cersei proposed a temporary Seven-Member Regency Council to oversee the trial, prompting Mace to realize she was using the case to claim power.
• Tywin entered the Council Chamber and ordered the council to continue, saying he wanted to hear what had happened at a meeting held without the Hand.

Tywin shut down Cersei’s push for a Regency Council and a trial over Elia Martell’s murder until Vito Corleone arrived with Amory Lorch as a witness. Lorch implicated himself in the order to clear out the Red Keep but hesitated to name who gave it, and Oberyn demanded the Mountain as a more direct witness.

• Cersei demanded justice for Elia Martell and argued for a Regency Council, but Tywin accused her of seeking revenge and Mace Tyrell and Pycelle sided with him.
• Tywin declared the proposed trial baseless and moved to end the meeting, but Vito Corleone entered with the wounded Amory Lorch.
• Oberyn questioned Lorch, who admitted he had followed orders to clear out the Red Keep and prevent the Targaryens from posing a future threat.
• Lorch hesitated to identify who gave the order, while Tywin remained silent and Corleone’s presence unsettled him.
• Oberyn called for another, more direct witness and named Gregor Clegane, the Mountain.

Corleone exposed Cersei’s secret treatment of Gregor Clegane and forced Tywin to summon him to face Amory Lochy. Before Lochy could name who ordered the murders of Elia and her children, Clegane crushed his head, leaving Oberyn staring at his old enemy in hatred.

• Oberyn demanded that Gregor Clegane be brought before Lochy, and Corleone revealed that Clegane was receiving secret treatment in the Red Keep.
• Tywin demanded the truth from Cersei, who admitted arranging Clegane’s treatment, and ordered the guards to bring him to the council chamber.
• Qyburn brought Clegane into the chamber, where Oberyn questioned Lochy about the murders of Elia and her children.
• Lochy identified Clegane as Elia’s killer and admitted that he had stabbed Rhaenys, then began to reveal who gave the order.
• Clegane crushed Lochy’s head before he could name the person who ordered the murders, and Oberyn confronted him in furious grief.

After the Mountain crushed Lochy, Oberyn attacked him, but Corleone intervened and fought the transformed Clegane. Corleone exposed the Mountain’s monstrous condition, yet his blade could not stop him, and the chapter ended with the Mountain killing Qyburn.

• The Mountain crushed Lochy’s head, prompting Oberyn to rush at him with his poisoned dagger, but Corleone blocked the attack and warned Oberyn that Clegane had changed.
• The Mountain attacked Corleone with overwhelming speed and strength, while Corleone dodged and countered, discovering that the creature’s body leaked black liquid instead of blood.
• Corleone pierced the Mountain’s eye slit with his sword, but the Mountain snapped the blade, tore off his visor, and revealed his deformed face.
• Qyburn approached the Mountain in excitement, but the creature grabbed him by the throat despite Cersei’s command to stop.
• The Mountain crushed Qyburn’s neck.

After the Mountain killed Qyburn and attacked Corleone, Tywin stopped him and declared that the incident would end with a trial by combat. Corleone arranged for the trial to promote his arena, while Oberyn volunteered to face the Mountain; Tywin ended the chapter considering how Corleone might be killed.

• The Mountain killed Qyburn and relentlessly attacked Corleone until Tywin ordered him to stop.
• Tywin tried to contain the scandal, but Oberyn demanded justice for his sister and her children.
• Corleone proposed a public trial by combat, and the Mountain nodded that he would accept.
• Corleone persuaded Tywin to hold the trial in five days at the Free Fighting Arena in Flea Bottom, but agreed not to fight himself.
• Oberyn volunteered to fight the Mountain, and Tywin confirmed the match before Oberyn left threatening his opponent.
• Corleone asked Tywin for a generous gold gift for the arena opening, and Tywin later thought about how to kill him.

Oliver Chelsted sought Vito Corleone’s help at the House of Order and witnessed Corleone order retaliation against Dickon Bywater for extorting Tobho Mott. Corleone then sent Prince Oberyn a booklet with a warning to study it before his trial by combat against Gregor Clegane.

• Oliver waited in line at the House of Order and learned from Harys Waters that Corleone had promised to recover stolen cargo for a fair fee.
• Corleone welcomed Oliver, shared lunch with him, and ordered Rorge to find out who was extorting Tobho Mott.
• After Rorge identified Dickon Bywater, Corleone declared Mott’s forge under the Black Hand Mafia’s protection and ordered Rorge to bring back Bywater’s left little finger.
• Corleone asked about Prince Oberyn’s preparations and learned that Oberyn was indulging himself instead of training for the trial by combat.
• Corleone gave Rorge a booklet for Oberyn and ordered him to warn the prince to read and memorize it if he wanted to avoid having his head crushed.

Corleone heard Oliver Chelsted’s plea for help after brigands drove his impoverished household from its only reliable source of food. Oliver explained that he could not seek aid from Lord Tywin because his grandfather had once opposed him, leaving Corleone to consider the Chelsteds’ desperate situation.

• Rorge accepted Corleone’s booklet of advice for Prince Oberyn and left to deliver it personally.
• Corleone recalled details of Chelsted Castle and praised Oliver’s grandfather, Qarlton Chelsted, as a forceful Hand, briefly restoring Oliver’s pride.
• Oliver explained that his family survived on meager crops, timber, and hunting outside the Kingswood, but brigands had occupied caves in the hills and attacked his people.
• Oliver revealed that Chelsted Castle had fewer than fifteen capable fighters, only twenty Gold Dragons, and nearly a hundred people at risk of starving through winter.
• Corleone asked why Oliver had not appealed to Lord Tywin, and Oliver explained that Qarlton had joined attacks against Tywin while serving on the Small Council.

Corleone agreed to help Ser Chelsted drive the outlaws from his lands and prepared to ride to Chelsted Castle with Yego and ten elite fighters. In the hills, Andrey threatened Garin over the group’s reckless behavior, and Garin revealed that they were Yronwoods.

• Corleone reasoned that the outlaws near Chelsted Castle might have a purpose beyond ordinary raiding and agreed to investigate in person.
• Oliver said Chelsted Castle could survive the winter if its hunting grounds became accessible again, and Corleone arranged to leave at dawn with Yego and ten armored fighters.
• Andrey sharpened his sword apart from the reveling outlaws and rebuked Garin for treating their mission as entertainment.
• Garin accused Andrey of failing to stop an old man from escaping, and Andrey pressed his blade to Garin’s neck.
• Garin showed Andrey an iron badge bearing a black portcullis and declared that they were Yronwoods.

Andrey left his camp after ordering his companions to withdraw, while Corleone discovered a Yronwood sigil among the remains of a slaughtered group in the Kingswood and suspected the men were pursuing Oberyn. Corleone rode toward King's Landing as Daemon Sand arrived at Oberyn's brothel suite, where a booklet about Gregor Clegane lay abandoned in the corridor.

• Andrey sheathed his sword, told Garin and the others to clean up and follow their original plan, then left for a boat at the Blackwater Rush.
• Corleone and Ser Oliver found the bandits' abandoned camp, where Yego uncovered eight brutally murdered men and a Black Gate sigil.
• Corleone recognized the sigil as House Yronwood's and suspected the group might be seeking revenge on Oberyn, though he questioned why they would act in King's Landing.
• Corleone ordered Oliver to seal Chelsted Castle, then rode with Yego and ten others to pursue the group while he returned to King's Landing.
• At the Hummingbird brothel, Caron and Marlos guarded Oberyn's suite while Corleone's wine-stained booklet about Gregor Clegane lay discarded nearby.
• Daemon Sand arrived with an armored knight and asked Caron and Marlos whether Oberyn was still enjoying himself.

Daemon brought Andrey Dalt, disguised as Ser Denzel, to Oberyn with a claim of urgent military business. While Daemon spoke privately with Oberyn, Andrey killed the two guards outside the prince’s room after they casually disparaged him.

• Daemon introduced the armored Andrey Dalt as Ser Denzel and persuaded Caron to let him report an urgent matter to Oberyn.
• Daemon entered Oberyn’s room alone, leaving Andrey waiting in the corridor with Caron and Marlos.
• Caron and Marlos tried to make conversation with Andrey and criticized his brother’s withdrawn nature.
• Andrey drew his sword, cut Marlos’s throat, and seized Caron by the throat.
• Andrey stabbed Caron through the heart and repeated Daemon’s warning not to casually judge others.

Daemon betrayed Oberyn Martell and joined Andrey Dalt in an ambush arranged by House Yronwood, leaving Oberyn wounded and outnumbered. Oberyn learned Daemon had turned against him to marry Ynys Yronwood, who was Daemon's father's wife.

• Daemon warned Oberyn that Anders Yronwood was plotting revenge and had allies in King's Landing, then seized Oberyn's spear as Andrey Dalt charged into the room.
• Oberyn evaded Andrey's attack, armed himself with a curved sword, and fought back while Daemon blocked Ellaria's escape.
• Oberyn attacked Daemon and disarmed him, but Andrey forced him to retreat, and Daemon retrieved the spear to join the fight.
• Andrey and Daemon cornered Oberyn, and Andrey badly wounded his shoulder while Oberyn demanded to know why Daemon had betrayed him.
• Daemon said he had been promised marriage to Anders's eldest daughter, Ynys Yronwood, and Oberyn realized she was Daemon's father's wife.

Oberyn escaped Daemon and Andrey after Ellaria sacrificed herself to save him, but he was ambushed repeatedly while gravely wounded. As Garin stabbed him in the chest, Oberyn fought back until a scarred stranger seized Garin, leaving Oberyn’s fate uncertain.

• Oberyn broke through the Hummingbird’s window, but jumped only after Ellaria threw herself onto Daemon’s spear to help him escape.
• Oberyn landed injured and fled into the streets, while Daemon and Andrey abandoned the pursuit and left King's Landing.
• Five of Daemon’s men disguised as peddlers ambushed Oberyn in an alley, and he killed them despite his wounds.
• Garin approached Oberyn pretending to help, then stabbed him in the chest and mocked him.
• Oberyn grappled with Garin until a scarred stranger grabbed Garin by the head and threatened him.

Sandor Clegane defeated Garin and the assassins who ambushed him and Oberyn Martell, but the Gold Cloaks mistook him for Oberyn’s attacker and recognized him as a wanted fugitive. Vito Corleone arrived, took control of the scene, and was greeted by the Hound, who told him he had come too late.

• Garin tried to bribe the burn-scarred man with money, then attacked him with a dagger, but the man broke his wrist and beat him down.
• Garin’s four companions attacked the man, but he killed them all, leaving Garin alive and Oberyn gravely wounded.
• The Gold Cloaks arrived and accused the Hound of attacking Oberyn, then recognized him as Sandor Clegane, a fugitive wanted for insulting King Joffrey.
• The Gold Cloak captain secured the scene and waited for help rather than arresting the Hound.
• Vito Corleone arrived with his men, paid off the Gold Cloaks, and took charge of the wounded Oberyn and Garin.
• The Hound greeted Corleone and said, “You’re late, Vito Corleone.”

Corleone operated on Oberyn Martell and kept him alive, then offered to repair the Hound’s burned face, which the Hound refused. News spread that House Yronwood had plotted against Oberyn, while Oberyn’s injuries threatened to ruin the opening match at Corleone’s Free Fighting Arena.

• Corleone spent three hours operating on Oberyn Martell, and the Hound watched as he repaired Oberyn’s wounds and finished the stitches.
• Corleone offered to restore much of the Hound’s face for ten thousand gold dragons or another favor, but the Hound refused because he valued the honest reactions his scars provoked.
• The Hound complained that Arya Stark had stolen his money and dagger, then admitted he had searched for her for half a month before giving up.
• Rorge reported that rumors accused House Yronwood of plotting Oberyn’s assassination and warned that Dorne was nearing internal strife.
• Corleone realized Oberyn’s injuries could cancel the arena’s advertised bout against Gregor Clegane and inflict major financial and reputational damage.

Corleone recruited the Hound to replace the injured Oberyn and fight the Mountain, offering him a share of the arena wagers and a chance at revenge. After the Hound accepted, he overpowered Rorge in the corridor, prompting Rorge to seek out the best instructors and become stronger.

• Corleone offered the Hound five percent of the Free Fighting Arena's wagers to fight the Mountain in Oberyn's place, and Rorge revealed the wagers had reached 247,852 Gold Dragons.
• The Hound accepted the fight, choosing the dangerous chance for revenge and money over a safe job at the House of Order.
• Rorge confronted the Hound in the corridor over his disrespectful speech, but the Hound twisted his wrist and choked him until he let go.
• After the Hound left, Rorge admitted his weakness and decided to find expert instructors to train him in combat.

On the opening day of Corleone's Ring of Order, King's Landing gathered to watch the Hound fight the Mountain as gamblers wagered vast sums. Earl Ralf Leek introduced his heir Herb Lake to Tommen and revealed that his eldest son Aemon Lake had renounced his inheritance to travel across the Narrow Sea, a choice that left Tommen envious and Margaery suspicious.

• Corleone's Ring of Order opened to a packed crowd, with heavy betting on the Hound's fight against the Mountain.
• Corleone's campaign recast the fight as a battle of brothers, and wagers at the arena's betting office exceeded three hundred thousand Gold Dragons.
• Tommen sat with Cersei and Tywin at the royal seats, uneasy as nobles fawned over his grandfather and paid him little attention.
• Ralf Leek entered the VIP section with his son Herb Lake and paid his respects directly to Tommen instead of approaching Tywin.
• Ralf introduced Herb as his heir and told Tommen that his eldest son, Aemon Lake, had renounced his inheritance to become a wandering knight across the Narrow Sea.
• Tommen envied Aemon's freedom, while Margaery wondered why the story sounded familiar.

Ryfrey's boast about Herb courting Myrcella prompted Cersei to demand that Herb defeat Trystane in a duel, but Tyrion and Bronn interrupted the confrontation. Bronn rejected Cersei's claim that he owed her loyalty, and someone behind him challenged him over whether he wanted them dead.

• Ryfrey praised Herb to Tommen and said he would have had Herb court Myrcella if she were not betrothed to Trystane.
• Cersei ordered Herb to challenge Trystane in Dorne and said she would agree to the marriage if Herb won.
• Tyrion arrived with Bronn, showed that he was legally free to move around King's Landing, and claimed he was Bronn's squire.
• Cersei tried to expel Tyrion from the nobles' section and accused Bronn of bringing her son's murderer before her.
• Bronn said he had fulfilled his paid agreement with Cersei and owed her nothing, then explained that waiting to inherit Stokeworth could take decades.
• An unseen speaker behind Bronn asked whether he was so eager for them to die.

Bronn confronted Falyse over Stokeworth’s inheritance, and Cersei intervened before Falyse and the Queen Mother exchanged increasingly personal insults in front of the assembled nobles. As the crowd egged them on and Tywin prepared to step in, rhythmic tapping came from behind the crowd, and people parted to let someone approach.

• Falyse challenged Bronn for joking about how long she and Balman would live, and Bronn bluntly admitted he wanted Stokeworth and suggested their deaths could leave it to him.
• Balman tried to defend his marriage and criticize Bronn, but Cersei rebuked him and defended her decision to arrange Bronn’s marriage to Lollys.
• Cersei insulted Bronn for associating with Tyrion, then Falyse accused Cersei of bringing about the deaths of Robert and Joffrey.
• Cersei and Falyse traded insults about their marriages, children, age, and inheritance while the nobles cheered them on.
• Tywin prepared to silence the women, but rhythmic tapping sounded behind the crowd, which parted as someone approached.