Chapter Summaries

Arya Stark entered Cersei Lannister’s cell to confront her over the deaths of her family, while Tommen went to visit his imprisoned mother with Corleone. The chapter ended when Randyll Tarly learned that a servant named Ali had already gone inside and reacted with alarm.

• Gendry recognized the servant as Arya Stark, and she admitted she had come to kill Cersei Lannister.
• After recalling their past in the Riverlands, Gendry let Arya enter the cell and told her to bark like a dog if she needed help.
• Arya listed the people on her death list and confronted Cersei, who was too disturbed to recognize her at first.
• Corleone encouraged Tommen to visit his mother and reassured him that caring about family did not make him weak.
• Randyll Tarly met Corleone and Tommen at the dungeon entrance, then warned Tommen that Cersei was mentally disturbed.
• When Randyll heard that Ali had gone into Cersei’s cell, he shouted in alarm.

Corleone caught Arya Stark trying to kill Cersei Lannister in the Black Cells and subdued her, but Gendry’s blood magic erupted and turned him against them. After Gendry struck Arya and briefly regained control, the flames took him over again, leaving Corleone to face the empowered Baratheon with a Gold Dragon coin.

• Corleone recognized Arya Stark in disguise and defeated her when she attacked him in the Black Cells.
• Arya confessed that she wanted revenge for her father’s death, while Corleone insisted that Cersei Lannister had to face a public trial.
• Gendry cut his palm and called on the power of his Baratheon blood to save Arya, awakening flames that dramatically increased his strength and speed.
• Gendry attacked Corleone, then struck Arya when she tried to stop the fight, before regaining control and identifying himself as Gendry Baratheon.
• Gendry’s flames surged again, and Corleone rose to face him with Lady Forlorn and a Gold Dragon coin, demanding to know what had taken hold of him.

Corleone used Fate's Gambit to trace an attack to Benerro in Volantis and killed the High Priest despite the intervention of R'hllor. He refused to become the Lord of Light's spokesman but offered to fight the Cold God as a partner in exchange for a favor.

• Benerro recalled his visions of a black hand, Melisandre's extinguished flame, and the Lord of Light's silence before hearing a voice demand that he save Arya Stark in the name of Baratheon.
• Corleone's Fate Wheel carried him to Benerro, where he confronted the High Priest over the attack and prepared to kill him.
• R'hllor appeared as a giant flaming eye, but Corleone resisted its pressure and beheaded Benerro with Lady Forlorn.
• R'hllor restrained Corleone and conveyed a request for him to serve as a mortal spokesman against the Cold God's power.
• Corleone refused to become R'hllor's spokesman but offered to be his partner in exchange for a favor, and the temple's flames reignited.

Randyll Tarly found Vito Corleone wounded and unconscious, Gendry unconscious, Arya in disguise, and Cersei dead in the Black Cells, then blamed the attack on Stannis Baratheon and sent word north. At Castle Black, Jon Snow asked Jaime Lannister to seek Roose Bolton’s help against Mance Rayder, and Samwell Tarly arrived with alarming news from King’s Landing.

• Randyll Tarly and Lyn Corbray entered the Black Cells, where Gendry collapsed after Randyll blocked his attack on Vito Corleone.
• Lyn Corbray found the unconscious Arya beneath a thin mask, and Gold Cloaks discovered Cersei’s corpse.
• Rorge tried to kill Gendry, but Randyll Tarly stopped him and claimed authority as Master of Laws while Rorge carried the unconscious Corleone away.
• Randyll Tarly ordered Gendry imprisoned alone, told the Small Council that Stannis had sent the assassin, and sent ravens to Roose Bolton and the northern lords.
• At Castle Black, Jon Snow grieved Ygritte and asked Jaime Lannister to persuade Roose Bolton to send troops against Mance Rayder’s wildlings.
• Samwell Tarly burst into the hall with a letter from King’s Landing and announced that something terrible had happened.

Jaime Lannister arrived at Winterfell to request troops for the Night’s Watch, where Mance Rayder’s Wildling army threatened Castle Black. Roose Bolton offered only twenty men, so Jaime proposed using them to kill Stannis Baratheon instead.

• Ramsay Bolton taunted Jaime about his severed hand and humiliated his servant Reek, while Jaime answered with insults and defied Ramsay’s threat of a hunt.
• Roose Bolton introduced Ramsay’s bride as Lady Stark, and Jaime recognized that she was not Arya Stark but did not expose the deception.
• Jaime asked Roose for reinforcements against Mance Rayder’s approaching army, explaining that fewer than thirty men defended Castle Black.
• Roose refused to send many troops because the North remained unstable and Stannis Baratheon had gathered forces at White Harbor, but he offered Jaime twenty men.
• Jaime declined Roose’s invitation to stay for the wedding feast and offered to use the twenty men to kill Stannis Baratheon.

Jaime arranged to have a Black Hand emblem sewn onto a cloak while waiting for Roose Bolton’s cavalry. In King’s Landing, Corleone woke from a four-day coma, learned that Randyll Tarly and House Tyrell had moved against him, suspected Varys had supplied Tarly with information, and asked to see Sansa Stark.

• Roose Bolton agreed to assemble two hundred elite cavalrymen to help Jaime kill Stannis.
• Jaime visited a tailor in Winter Town and ordered a Black Hand emblem sewn onto a cloak.
• Corleone woke after four days unconscious and heard from Rorge that Randyll Tarly had taken control of the Gold Cloaks and House Tyrell had tried to remove him as Acting Hand.
• Corleone suspected Varys had revealed the Black Hand Mafia’s arrangements to Randyll Tarly.
• Corleone learned that Sansa Stark had cared for him while he was unconscious and asked Rorge to bring her to him.

Corleone invited Sansa to dinner and proposed marriage, openly explaining that he wanted House Stark’s support and promising to protect her family. Sansa accepted on the condition that he help her reclaim what was hers, and Corleone revealed that the attendant serving dessert was Arya Stark.

• Sansa told Corleone that she had cared for him because she considered him a friend, and he invited her to share dinner.
• Corleone served Sansa a northern-style feast and explained that he wanted House Stark’s backing to strengthen his power.
• Corleone knelt and asked Sansa to marry him, promising to treat her family as his own and protect them.
• Sansa accepted his proposal and required him to help her reclaim what was hers.
• Corleone told Sansa that her relatives might be unable to attend the wedding, then seized the attendant’s wrist and identified her as Arya Stark.

Arya reunited with Sansa at Corleone’s residence and agreed to stay for a meal before pursuing Gendry, whom Randyll Tarly’s men held. Meanwhile, Varys helped Randyll weaken the Black Hand Mafia, but Arya captured him and welcomed him into the Mafia’s hands.

• Corleone exposed Arya’s disguise, and she reunited with Sansa before explaining that she had come to rescue Gendry.
• Corleone told Arya that Randyll Tarly’s men held Gendry, then persuaded her to eat with Sansa before acting.
• Varys reflected on how Randyll’s campaign had seized Mafia businesses and weakened its influence in the Gold Cloaks.
• Varys entered his secret chamber and prepared a drug for the chained captive he kept inside.
• Arya ambushed Varys, and he woke bound in an unfamiliar room before a masked figure welcomed him to the Black Hand Mafia.

Corleone confronted Varys over helping Randyll Tarly target the Black Hand Mafia and coerced him into agreeing to cooperate. After offering Varys his rescued torture victim as a gift, Corleone warned that he knew about Varys’s activities across the Narrow Sea and Aegon Targaryen.

• Corleone accused Varys of giving Randyll Tarly information to shut down Mafia businesses and of staying silent about Cersei’s plan to destroy the Great Sept of Baelor.
• Corleone ordered Yego to carve “eunuch” into Varys’s face, but paused while Yego learned to write the word; faced with the threat, Varys promised to cooperate.
• Corleone and Varys agreed to a partnership, and Corleone presented him with the injured man from Varys’s secret chamber, whose wounds had been treated.
• Corleone warned Varys not to betray him and revealed that he knew about the boy Aegon Targaryen across the Narrow Sea.

Randyll Tarly prepared evidence and arrest orders against the Black Hand Mafia, but Lyn Corbray revealed that the Small Council had moved its meeting to the House of Order after Vito Corleone woke. Randyll hurried to catch up, furious that he had been left out, while Lyn said he was patrolling the Red Keep on the king’s orders.

• Randyll Tarly reviewed evidence against Rorge, Yego, and Sandor Clegane and prepared orders to shut down the Black Hand Mafia’s businesses.
• Randyll noticed that the Small Council, Queen Margaery Tyrell, and Olenna Redwyne had not arrived at the Throne Room.
• Lyn Corbray told Randyll that Vito Corleone had woken and that the Small Council meeting had moved to the House of Order in Flea Bottom.
• Randyll took his documents and rushed out, angry that no one had told him about the meeting.
• Randyll warned Lyn to stay by the king, and Lyn replied that he was patrolling the Red Keep on the king’s orders.

Randyll Tarly learned that Bronn had arrested Dickon and his men, while Corleone hosted a banquet attended by Olenna Redwyne, Sansa, Margaery, Rorge, and Varys. Varys worried that Corleone knew about his plans and Aegon Targaryen, then was knocked down when the banquet hall door burst open.

• Lyn Corbray warned Randyll Tarly that his soldiers might cause trouble in King's Landing, and Randyll's adjutant reported that Bronn had arrested Dickon and his men.
• Randyll ordered his troops to assemble and set off for Flea Bottom, suspecting Corleone had arranged the arrests.
• Olenna praised Sansa at the banquet, while Margaery thanked Rorge for rescuing her and invited Corleone to dance, but he declined.
• Drunk Earl Ralf Leek tried to demonstrate his swordsmanship, fell onto Varys, and vomited on him.
• Varys feared Corleone had discovered his connection to Aegon Targaryen and his plans with Illyrio Mopatis, then headed for the door to wash.
• The main entrance burst open and struck Varys, knocking him to the floor.

Randyll Tarly confronted Vito Corleone over Dickon’s arrest and presented fabricated evidence accusing Black Hand Mafia members of crimes. Corleone exposed the witnesses as fakes, leaving Randyll to blame Varys and concede his failure before Corleone revealed that he had witnesses of his own.

• Randyll Tarly burst into Corleone’s banquet and demanded an explanation for Dickon’s arrest, but Rorge ordered his knights out of the hall.
• Corleone explained that Bronn had been unable to command the City Watch and asked Randyll why he had sidelined the Gold Cloaks.
• Rorge brought Randyll’s documents to Corleone, who read out their accusations against Rorge, Yego, and the Hound; all three denied the charges.
• Randyll saw the supposedly injured butcher dancing and the supposedly maimed merchant using his hand, realizing the evidence and witnesses had been staged.
• Randyll admitted he had no witnesses and blamed Varys for the false intelligence, while Corleone said he had witnesses of his own.

Corleone confronted Randyll Tarly with Ros’s accusation that Dickon had assaulted her, while Randyll tried to discredit her and secure his son’s custody. After Corleone revealed that Oberyn demanded punishment and would champion Ros in a trial by combat, he rejected Randyll’s proposal to have the Gold Cloaks handle the case and exposed a sack of bloody body parts.

• Two Black Hand Mafia members brought the battered Dickon into the hall with Ros, and Corleone asked her to describe what happened.
• Ros testified that Dickon had drunkenly chased geese, tried to force himself on her, and was beaten by Oberyn after urinating on him from a windowsill.
• Randyll blamed Ros’s work at a brothel for undermining her accusation, but Corleone argued that Dickon’s conduct—not her occupation—should determine his guilt.
• Corleone said Oberyn demanded severe punishment and would fight as Ros’s champion if Dickon chose trial by combat; Margaery and Olenna declined to support Randyll.
• Randyll proposed transferring Dickon to the Gold Cloaks and personally supervising the hearing, but Corleone rejected the plan and had his men spill a bloodstained sack of mangled body parts onto the floor.

Corleone confronted Randyll Tarly with evidence of corruption among his men, then persuaded him to remain Master of Laws and take on the Riverrun problem. He told Randyll he would need no army, then introduced his fiancée, Lady Sansa Stark, before the Small Council.

• Margaery Tyrell saw the bloody remains as Corleone listed the crimes of Randyll Tarly’s men and showed him the soldiers’ detailed testimony.
• Randyll Tarly accepted that Corleone had outmaneuvered him, while Olenna Redwyne stayed silent as Randyll criticized House Tyrell’s betrayal.
• Corleone refused to dismiss Randyll and asked him to lead a swift operation to bring Riverrun back under the crown’s control.
• Randyll agreed to take the assignment but warned that raising and marching an army from Horn Hill would take at least two months.
• Corleone said Randyll would not need to send troops and introduced Lady Sansa Stark as his fiancée.

Edmure Tully endured another day of Frey humiliation outside Riverrun while Brynden Tully watched from the walls. Randyll Tarly arrived with royal reinforcements, destroyed the gallows, and told Edmure he had come to negotiate terms.

• Edwyn Frey had Edmure Tully placed beneath the gallows again and refused his request to see Roslin, who was pregnant.
• Edmure endured the Freys' daily insults while Brynden watched from Riverrun and judged his nephew's character.
• Brynden spotted a dust cloud approaching and ordered the garrison to arms when he recognized the banners.
• Randyll Tarly arrived with a force of knights, dismissed Edwyn's claims that the gallows tactic was working, and ordered a great-hammer knight to smash it down.
• Randyll rode up to the fallen Edmure and said he had come to discuss terms on behalf of the Iron Throne, with a reason Edmure could not refuse.

Randyll Tarly arrived at the Frey camp to take command of the siege of Riverrun, where Sansa Stark revealed herself and reunited with her uncle Edmure Tully. Sansa asked Edmure to help win Riverrun for her cause and promised he could remain Duke if Aemon Frey died, just as Aemon arrived at the feast.

• Randyll Tarly entered Lyman Frey's tent, mocked his failed siege, and announced he would take command of the campaign.
• Sansa Stark revealed herself to Edmure Tully and identified him as her uncle, stopping Lyman from having him hanged again.
• At the Freys' feast, Sansa told Edmure she was betrothed to Vito Corleone and that he had promised to help her retake Winterfell.
• Sansa asked Edmure to persuade Brynden Tully to surrender Riverrun, but Edmure said he could not sway him and that the Iron Throne had promised the castle to Aemon Frey.
• Sansa told Edmure that if Aemon died, she would guarantee Edmure remained Duke of Riverrun after its fall.
• Aemon Frey entered the feast, and Sansa addressed Edmure as her plan came into focus.

Sansa Stark faced Aemon Frey's insults and turned his demand to execute Edmure Tully into a chance to arrange Riverrun's peaceful surrender to House Frey. Edmure agreed to persuade Brynden to open the gates, while Aemon left believing he had secured the outcome and Sansa quietly considered her future husband, Vito Corleone.

• Aemon Frey insulted Sansa and demanded that Lyman Frey hang Edmure Tully, prompting Randyll Tarly to threaten him with a court in King's Landing.
• Lyman defied Aemon by asserting his future inheritance and telling his uncle to guard Riverrun as an earl.
• Sansa declared that she had come to help House Frey take Riverrun and explained that she served Vito Corleone's interests as his betrothed.
• Sansa invited Edmure to confirm her account, and he agreed to persuade Brynden to surrender Riverrun peacefully to House Frey.
• Aemon left smugly, Lyman smashed his wine cup in anger, and Sansa watched the others' reactions while thinking of Vito Corleone.

Aemon Frey celebrated taking Riverrun, then overheard Lyman Frey plotting to kill him and hurried to prepare a counterattack. Both men arrived at the feast expecting the other to strike, and their sons each claimed to have arranged an ambush, leaving the family poised for violence.

• Aemon Frey watched Riverrun's gates open and led his men into the castle after the silver trout banner was lowered.
• At the victory feast, Aemon boasted about becoming Earl of Riverrun and reveled in being free of Genna Lannister's control.
• Aemon overheard Lyman Frey and Edwyn discussing a plan to kill him, then told Lyonel, who arranged for twenty armed men to wait in the armory.
• Lyman came to the feast wearing hidden mail after hearing that Aemon might attack, and he and Aemon exchanged wary smiles when they noticed each other's armor.
• Lyonel and Edwyn each returned to the hall and told their fathers that armed men were ready to attack when a cup smashed, though Lyman had not given Edwyn those instructions.

Sansa and Brynden Tully arranged to turn the Freys against one another during Riverrun’s victory feast. After Brynden staged a fight with Edmure, Lyman Frey and Aemon Frey mistook each other for conspirators, and Brynden’s final words pushed the hall into open violence.

• Sansa explained to Brynden that Randyll Tarly’s cooperation required no persuasion because Riverrun’s peaceful recovery served the Iron Throne’s interests.
• Sansa asked Brynden to fuel the Freys’ conflict, and Brynden struck Edmure and staged a sword fight with him to provoke confusion.
• Lyman and Aemon misread the staged duel as a signal of betrayal, drew daggers on each other, and called their soldiers to attack.
• Lyonel Frey and Edwyn Frey’s signals brought armed Frey soldiers into the banquet hall, where Lyman and Aemon accused each other of plotting an ambush.
• Brynden killed a young Frey who tried to stop the fighting, declared that House Tully supported the Freys, and Lyman and Aemon ordered their sides to kill the others.

A sudden order sparked a bloody fight between the Freys in Riverrun's hall, where they could not distinguish allies from enemies. After the slaughter left Edwyn Frey alive among the bodies, the Maiden told him he was first in line to inherit the Twins.

• Aemon Frey's and Lyman Frey's forces began fighting, and the Freys' identical clothes made it impossible to tell friend from foe.
• Edmure Tully and Brynden Tully fought through the Freys, while Aemon and Lyman hesitated in a standoff at the edge of the hall.
• A black-armored knight killed Aemon and Lyman, then joined the battle and crushed the Freys with his warhammer.
• Edwyn Frey killed the last living opponent he could find and discovered Lyman's corpse beneath the fallen twin-tower banner.
• The Maiden arrived with Black-armored Knights and congratulated Edwyn, telling him he was first in line to inherit the Twins.