Chapter Summaries

Rhea asked Redd to eliminate Prince Daemon and offered the Vale’s support for Princess Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne. After accepting Rhea’s personal advances, Redd headed toward Rhaenyra’s room and encountered Alicent in the corridor.

• Rhea asked Redd to get rid of Prince Daemon and offered to persuade Duchess Jeyne Arryn and the Vale to support Princess Rhaenyra.
• Rhea explained that Daemon’s closeness to Rhaenyra made it difficult to discuss acting against him directly with the princess, and Redd said he would consider her proposal.
• Rhea approached Redd privately, and they had sex in the side chamber before she left the Red Keep corridors.
• Redd set off for Rhaenyra’s room, then encountered Alicent Hightower, who greeted him in the corridor.

Redd recognized Alicent’s flirtation as a calculated attempt to test and tempt him, then returned to Rhaenyra and answered her hurt jealousy with forceful intimacy. By morning, Rhaenyra had softened toward him, while Alicent’s intentions remained unresolved.

• Alicent teased Redd and evaded his touch, leaving him convinced she would approach him again when she chose.
• Redd returned to Rhaenyra, who sensed another woman’s perfume on him and grew hurt and jealous.
• Redd dismissed Rhaenyra’s complaint and carried her to bed, where their intimacy continued through the night.
• Rhaenyra woke beside Redd the next morning calmer and affectionate, leaning over to kiss his chin.

At a tournament, Redd brought Rhaenyra to the birthing chamber as Queen Aemma’s labor turned dangerous and the Grand Maesters forced Viserys to choose between saving his wife or their child. Aemma’s scream left Rhaenyra convinced that her father had chosen the unborn heir over her mother, while Redd led her away in shock.

• Redd and Rhaenyra watched the tournament as Viserys celebrated the prospect of his unborn son, Baelon.
• An attendant summoned Viserys from the tournament, and Redd took Rhaenyra to Maegor's Holdfast.
• The Grand Maester told Viserys that he could save Aemma or attempt to save the child, but not both.
• Redd asked Rhaenyra what her father would choose, forcing her to confront her fear that a male heir mattered more to Viserys than she did.
• Aemma screamed from the birthing chamber, and Viserys let the Grand Maesters proceed before Redd led a shaken Rhaenyra into the shadows.

Rhaenyra lit Queen Aemma’s funeral pyre with Syrax’s dragonfire as the court weighed the succession and Viserys delayed naming her heir. Days later, Mysaria sought Redd’s protection and offered him her intelligence network, but he questioned whether the bargain was worth angering the king and Corlys.

• Rhaenyra commanded Syrax to burn Queen Aemma’s funeral pyre while Viserys, Daemon, and Redd watched.
• The funeral ended without Viserys announcing Rhaenyra as heir, leaving the court uneasy and speculating.
• Mysaria visited Redd and asked for his protection in exchange for the intelligence network she controlled.
• Mysaria explained that Corlys had learned of her affair with Daemon, an assassination attempt had cost her child, and her existence threatened Daemon’s marriage alliance with Laena.
• Redd weighed Mysaria’s offer and pointed out that protecting her would mean offending Viserys and Corlys.

Mysaria offered Redd clues implicating Otto Hightower and Alicent in Queen Aemma’s death, then swore loyalty and accepted a mission to find proof. As Mysaria became Redd’s informant in King’s Landing, the chapter revealed that Alicent and Viserys had begun an intimate relationship while Aemma was still pregnant.

• Mysaria suggested Queen Aemma’s death may have been caused by drugs, and Redd rebuked her for offering conjecture as leverage.
• Mysaria revealed that three drug-specialist maesters had met Otto Hightower before dying mysteriously, and that Alicent had tended to the royal couple’s meals and needs.
• Redd demanded absolute loyalty, and Mysaria swore to serve him and submitted to his authority.
• Redd ordered Mysaria to watch Otto and Alicent and find conclusive evidence within one week.
• Mysaria left the Red Keep as Redd’s informant, while Viserys turned to Alicent for comfort after Aemma’s death.
• The chapter revealed that Alicent and Viserys had begun an intimate relationship while Aemma was still pregnant.

Viserys chose Alicent as his new Queen instead of clarifying Rhaenyra’s succession, provoking a bitter quarrel with his daughter and sharpening divisions at court. Redd observed the growing rivalries while Mysaria delivered suspicious evidence concerning preparations for Queen Aemma’s childbirth.

• Viserys convened the Small Council and chose Alicent as his new Queen, while Ser Otto Hightower remained conspicuously silent.
• Rhaenyra protested Viserys’s decision, and their quarrel ended with their relationship openly strained.
• Redd assessed the political consequences as nobles reconsidered Rhaenyra’s prospects and Daemon watched, nursing his ambitions and grudge against Redd.
• Mysaria gave Redd a copy of Otto’s letter requesting childbirth specialists and a list of ingredients and dosages for special preparations.

Alicent negotiated with Redd to secure his silence, offering help recovering debts and a chart marking the Basilisk Isles. She left after rejecting Redd’s provocative invitation, unsettled by her own reaction to the scene with Mysaria.

• Redd weighed whether to reveal a secret and kept Mysaria close as Alicent arrived at his residence.
• Alicent offered an alliance and promised that her family could help recover old debts while doubling Redd’s returns.
• Alicent revealed that she knew the location of a dangerous region and gave Redd a chart marking the Basilisk Isles.
• Redd promised to keep Alicent’s secret for the time being and asked her to provide records and legends about the islands.
• Redd invited Alicent to join Mysaria, but Alicent refused and left, struggling to regain her composure in the corridor.

After Redd agreed to keep the Hightowers’ secret for now, Otto and Alicent moved to speed up their plans to secure the succession. Rhaenyra sought support from Daemon and Rhaenys, but both rejected her claim because her marriage to Redd threatened the Iron Throne’s Targaryen lineage.

• Redd teased Alicent after she fled, then rewarded Mysaria for her submission.
• Alicent told Otto that Redd had agreed to keep the secret and revealed that she was pregnant; Otto ordered her to double the poison in Viserys’s tonic.
• Rhaenyra asked Daemon to support her claim, but he refused because he would not let Redd’s descendants inherit the Iron Throne.
• Rhaenyra turned to Rhaenys, who told her that Viserys could not pass the throne to her after she married Redd.
• Rhaenys explained that Jaehaerys had rejected her and Laenor partly because their Velaryon ties threatened the Targaryen name on the throne.

After Rhaenys told Rhaenyra that Westeros would never accept her children with Redd as heirs, Rhaenyra returned to find Redd with Mysaria. She confided in Redd about her political setbacks and demanded his help, but their argument turned into an intimate confrontation.

• Rhaenys warned Rhaenyra that her father and the lords would reject her children with Redd and advised her to pursue a future in Essos instead.
• Rhaenyra returned to her room and found Redd with Mysaria, whom he introduced as his newest intelligence-gathering subordinate.
• Rhaenyra chose not to break with Redd and told him that Daemon and Rhaenys had both discouraged her from pursuing the throne.
• Rhaenyra asked Redd to help her, then shoved him down and demanded that he take action before she was driven from King's Landing.
• Redd continued touching Rhaenyra as she confronted him, and she slapped his hand away and guarded herself.

Redd persuaded Rhaenyra to accept Mysaria as a source of intelligence and outlined how trade, credit, and King Ghidorah could deter her rivals. At the banquet, Rhaenyra watched Viserys attend to Alicent while Mysaria quietly listened for useful gossip.

• Redd argued that Mysaria could build an intelligence network to help Rhaenyra learn about her father, Alicent, House Hightower, and the nobles who might support a future prince.
• Redd explained that he could use eastern trade, Iron Bank credit, and King Ghidorah to support Rhaenyra, while Mysaria helped him present those promises tactfully.
• Rhaenyra accepted Mysaria as her helper and ordered her to gather intelligence affecting Rhaenyra's claim to inherit.
• Rhaenyra asked how Redd would display his deterrence and promises at the upcoming banquet, and he said he would wait until the audience was assembled.
• At the banquet, Rhaenyra stood beside Redd and watched Viserys show affection toward Alicent, while Mysaria listened to the guests' whispers.

At a banquet held soon after Queen Aemma’s death, Redd helped Rhaenyra answer Viserys’s public display of support for Alicent and her unborn child. They left after invoking Rhaenyra’s claim and the eastern city-states’ interest in a stable succession, while several nobles considered their words.

• Rhaenyra grew angry when she saw Viserys honoring Alicent, and Redd warned her that the watching nobles were waiting to see how she responded.
• Redd led Rhaenyra to Viserys and Alicent, where Rhaenyra offered Alicent pointed condolences and reminded the guests of her late mother and her own position as heir.
• Redd relayed the congratulations of Norvos and Lorath and stressed that trade depended on a stable succession and the lawful heir to the Iron Throne.
• Viserys could not challenge Redd’s remarks without risking his past oaths and eastern interests, so Redd and Rhaenyra left to greet other guests.
• Mysaria noticed that Duke Stark and Lady Arryn appeared thoughtful after hearing Redd speak.

At the banquet, Redd and Rhaenyra used Daemon’s angry departure as an opportunity to seek Lady Laena’s support. Mysaria found Laena staying near King’s Landing after a bitter dispute with Daemon, and Rhaenyra prepared to approach her.

• Redd told Rhaenyra that their public challenge was only the beginning and that Mysaria would gather more information.
• Mysaria reported that Laena had left Daemon after an argument and that Corlys had attended the banquet alone.
• Redd provoked Daemon, who smashed his wine cup and stormed out of the hall.
• Rhaenyra ordered Mysaria to locate Laena and investigate the dispute, while Redd explained that Laena’s support could influence Rhaenys and Corlys.
• Mysaria reported that Laena was staying at a Velaryon villa near King’s Landing after Daemon humiliated her over his intimacy with other women.

Rhaenyra left the feast with Mysaria to seek Laena and win her support, while Redd stayed behind to assess the shifting alliances. He met Countess Jeyne Arryn, who probed the possibility of backing Rhaenyra in exchange for help securing her rule in the Vale.

• Rhaenyra decided to visit Laena immediately, and Mysaria accompanied her while Redd stayed at the feast to handle questions and observe the nobles.
• Redd considered how Daemon's departure and the succession struggle had unsettled the feast as Viserys tried to restore its cheerful mood.
• Lady Rhea introduced Redd to Countess Jeyne Arryn, and Redd noticed the women's unusually intimate manner toward each other.
• Jeyne discussed the Vale's trade and difficult roads with Redd, while he hinted that reducing internal instability could increase the value of its wool and ore.
• Jeyne indicated that, as a woman ruling the Vale, she needed support to suppress opposition and secure her position.

At the banquet, Redd and Lady Jeyne reached a preliminary understanding about supporting Rhaenyra in exchange for closer trade and security ties with the Vale. After the feast, Redd researched the Isle of Tears and considered sending an expedition there, just as an unexpected visitor entered his room.

• Redd invoked the history of women challenging tradition and hinted that he supported Rhaenyra, prompting Lady Jeyne to express interest in friendship and cooperation.
• Redd and Lady Jeyne toasted to future talks on Vale trade and the safety of trade routes, while Lady Rhea led Jeyne away.
• The banquet ended with King Viserys drunk and unconscious, and Redd returned to his room to read about the Isle of Tears.
• Redd considered whether the island’s alleged magic and curses came from radiation and decided to investigate it, possibly with King Ghidorah.
• An unknown figure entered Redd’s room after knocking, and he had invited them in without looking up.

Alicent visited Redd late at night to test his position on Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne, but he argued that bypassing the lawful heir would risk civil war. He demanded that Viserys reaffirm Rhaenyra as heir, while offering Alicent and her children honored positions if the succession was respected.

• Alicent brought Redd an account of the Red Death outbreak in Gogossos and said she also wanted to discuss the banquet and the succession.
• Alicent suggested Rhaenyra should support Viserys’s future son instead of pursuing the throne, arguing that this would preserve stability and Rhaenyra’s status.
• Redd insisted that Rhaenyra was the lawful heir and warned that replacing her with an unborn child could divide Westeros and provoke civil war.
• Redd offered the support of his eastern powers as a foundation for stability if Rhaenyra’s claim was secured, and warned of the costs of bypassing her.
• Redd demanded that Viserys publicly reaffirm Rhaenyra as his sole lawful heir, while telling Alicent that she and her children could be honored if they respected the succession.

Redd pressured Alicent to accept Rhaenyra’s terms, while Rhaenyra failed to win Laena’s support and learned more about the Velaryon family’s troubles. After hearing the news, Redd proposed removing Corlys and Rhaenys through an apparent accident, leaving Rhaenyra shocked as he outlined possible methods.

• Alicent understood Redd’s demands, agreed to report them to Viserys and Otto Hightower, and hurried away.
• Rhaenyra failed to persuade Laena to support her, and Laenor said he could not help.
• Mysaria investigated Laena and Laenor, learning that Laena had tried to leave Westeros and that Corlys had confined Laenor after suppressing rumors about him.
• Mysaria shared her findings with Rhaenyra, who returned with her to Redd and explained the situation.
• Redd proposed eliminating Corlys and Rhaenys, startling Rhaenyra with the danger and consequences of the plan.
• Redd suggested staging a shipwreck, illness, or outside attack and said Mysaria could help make their deaths appear natural.

Redd urged Rhaenyra to consider eliminating Corlys and Rhaenys so Laena and Laenor could inherit Driftmark and its fleet, but she asked for time to decide. After sending her to rest, Redd considered how Mysaria could arrange an accident without Rhaenyra's direct approval and shift suspicion onto Daemon or other enemies.

• Redd argued that removing Corlys and Rhaenys could secure Laena, Laenor, Vhagar, and the Velaryon fleet for Rhaenyra.
• Rhaenyra struggled with the idea of murdering her relatives and a powerful lord, then asked for time to think.
• Redd told Rhaenyra that Mysaria could gather intelligence, and promised that no action would be taken before Rhaenyra decided.
• After Rhaenyra went to rest, Redd reflected on how his marriage alliance had worsened opposition to her claim and considered bypassing her hesitation.
• Redd considered having Mysaria arrange an accident involving Corlys and Rhaenys, with Daemon or another faction blamed for it.

Redd planned to strengthen Rhaenyra’s position through public influence and secret schemes, while using his power as a final safeguard. He ordered Mysaria to discover when Corlys would return to Driftmark, then spent the night with her.

• Redd outlined a public strategy to win noble support for Rhaenyra and a secret one to remove obstacles and shape public opinion.
• Redd identified Daemon’s anger and Otto Hightower’s cunning as factors to exploit or counter, and studied a map of Westeros.
• Redd called for Mysaria and told her to find out as soon as possible when Earl Corlys would return to Driftmark.
• Mysaria appeared dressed to attract Redd, and the two became intimate until morning.

Redd ordered Mysaria to prepare a plausible accident targeting Corlys Velaryon while keeping Rhaenyra uninformed and monitoring the succession. Mysaria hired the Black Company, but their plans risked drawing the attention of Tormund, who discovered that Corlys was the target—and his beloved elder brother.

• Mysaria reported that Corlys would likely sail from King's Landing after the celebrations, and Redd asked her to investigate storms, pirates, and shipping around Driftmark.
• Redd instructed Mysaria to arrange a clean accident, conceal any links to himself or Rhaenyra, and cast suspicion on Daemon or Corlys's enemies.
• Redd ordered Mysaria to monitor Daemon, Alicent Hightower, Ser Otto, and Alicent's pregnancy, while keeping Rhaenyra in the dark for now.
• Mysaria contacted the Black Company, a discreet pirate organization, to help carry out the attack.
• The planned strike fell within the Narrow Sea, where Tormund learned that the target was his beloved elder brother, Corlys Velaryon, and flew into a rage.

Tormund Velaryon defeated the pirates sent against Corlys, alerting House Velaryon to the threat. Redd and Mysaria abandoned plans to attack Corlys directly and shifted toward political pressure and exploiting family divisions.

• Tormund redirected his fleet toward the attack and sent Corlys a warning raven.
• Tormund intercepted the pirates near the Stepstones and defeated them, while a few escaped into the Summer Sea.
• Mysaria secretly told Redd of the failed attack as he watched a knights' tourney rehearsal in the Red Keep.
• Redd concluded that House Velaryon or another power had tipped off Tormund and warned that the failed plot had put Corlys and his family on guard.
• Redd ordered Mysaria to erase traces of their involvement, pursue influence through Laena and Laenor, pressure wavering nobles, and monitor Alicent and the king.
• Redd told Mysaria to have their eastern agents consolidate Norvos and Lorath faster and consider placing part of the fleet near Dragonstone.