Chapter Summaries

Arthas dueled Syrio Forel outside the Gold Cloaks' headquarters, where their swordsmanship proved evenly matched until Syrio pierced Arthas's chest. Arthas revealed that the wound did not stop him, seized Syrio's sword hand, and ordered everyone to stand down before declaring he had more important matters to attend to.

• Arthas arrived at the Gold Cloaks' headquarters and reprimanded Gendry, Lancel, and the guards for failing to confront Syrio Forel.
• Arthas borrowed Renly's sword and challenged Syrio to a duel outside the reception hall.
• Arthas and Syrio exchanged hundreds of rapid strikes, impressing the watching Gold Cloaks with their swordsmanship.
• Syrio pushed his speed beyond its usual limits and thrust his sword into Arthas's chest while Arthas appeared distracted.
• Arthas ordered the Gold Cloaks to stand down, pulled Syrio's sword from his chest, and said he had more important matters to attend to.

Jaime resisted the Lich King’s possession at Winterfell, driving an ancient entity from his body into a crow that knocked Bran down. Arthas located the entity and summoned Daven Lannister to hunt it, while Daven left Gilly and an infant in the care of Smalljon Umber before setting out.

• At Winterfell, Jaime struggled against an invisible force as it tried to make him attack Bran, while spectral energy from Arthas fought for control of his body.
• Arthas sensed an ancient presence inside Jaime and used Unholy Aura to recover from his wounds as he challenged the intruder.
• Jaime expelled the entity from his body; it fled into a crow, which flew into Bran and knocked him backward.
• Arthas located the entity’s approximate position and summoned Daven Lannister, ordering him to find it and tear out its heart and soul.
• Daven killed Craster, then received Arthas’s command and prepared to leave beyond the Wall.
• Daven gave Gilly his badge and the infant, directing her to cross the Wall and find Smalljon Umber, then set out to hunt the entity.

After Bran fell into a coma, Catelyn pleaded with Eddard to stay in Winterfell, but he left to help Robert in King's Landing. There, Syrio recovered from his duel with Arthas, who appointed him swordsmanship instructor for the City Watch and promised him a chance to challenge famous knights at the king's tournament.

• Catelyn begged Eddard to remain in Winterfell, but he said Robert needed him and left to serve as Hand of the King.
• Syrio woke after spending nearly a day unconscious from Arthas's throw, and Lancel told him the duel had made him famous in King's Landing.
• Syrio worried about Arthas and recalled a similar aura surrounding Kuiluo Valentine when Jaina Targaryen defeated him.
• Arthas visited Syrio, praised his swordsmanship, and declared that even geniuses only reached the threshold of challenging him.
• Arthas appointed Syrio to supervise the City Watch's training and said the king's tournament would bring the Seven Kingdoms' famous knights to King's Landing.

Eddard traveled toward King's Landing with Arya and Sansa, troubled by Joffrey and the Lannisters' growing influence over the court. In King's Landing, Arthas continued reorganizing the Gold Cloaks and learned that the Faith of the Seven was resisting his plans, prompting him to target the High Septon, Sparrow.

• Eddard worried about Joffrey, Sansa's lie, and the Lannisters' control of key positions in King's Landing as Robert warned him that his throne was in danger.
• Syrio trained the Gold Cloaks and gave Gendry private instruction, teaching him to control his strength with a heavy hammer.
• Arthas observed the improving Gold Cloaks as Lancel reported the costs of city works and proposed testing smithies before upgrading their equipment.
• Lancel told Arthas that Robert and Eddard would reach King's Landing within three days and that the Faith of the Seven was preparing to restore the Sons of the Warrior.
• Arthas welcomed Sparrow's resistance and imagined how satisfying it would be to bring him down, as blue magical energy flickered at his fingertips.

The High Sparrow ordered Archbishop Jaqen to recruit at least a hundred Sons of the Warrior by the next day so they could confront Arthas. Meanwhile, Arthas commissioned Tobho Mott to make two thousand sets of weapons and armor, then agreed to attend the High Sparrow’s evening service.

• The High Sparrow learned that the Gold Cloaks’ operations and relief work had made it difficult to recruit Sons of the Warrior, leaving the group with just over thirty men.
• The High Sparrow ordered Archbishop Jaqen to gather at least a hundred Sons of the Warrior before the next day, and Jaqen left to carry out the order.
• Arthas was mobbed by grateful residents of King’s Landing as he traveled to Tobho Mott’s smithy.
• Arthas inspected Tobho’s sample greatsword and offered him 150 Gold Dragons per set for an order of two thousand sets of weapons and refined iron armor within three months.
• Lancel told Arthas that the High Sparrow had invited him to evening prayers at the Great Sept of Baelor, and Arthas said he would attend on time.

Arthas attended the High Sparrow’s feast alone and unarmed, only to be accused of crimes and confronted by the Sons of the Warrior. He unleashed Frostmourne and slaughtered the gathered faithful, ending with the High Sparrow’s death.

• The High Sparrow welcomed Arthas to the Great Sept and led him inside, where nearly a hundred Sons of the Warrior waited.
• The High Sparrow accused Arthas of sin and ordered him to kneel, prompting Arthas to reveal Frostmourne.
• Arthas killed the Sons of the Warrior who attacked him and raised the dead as an undead army.
• The trapped faithful begged for mercy and sang “The Rains of Castamere” while Arthas killed them one by one.
• Arthas pierced the High Sparrow with Frostmourne, and the High Sparrow died singing the song’s final line.

Robert returned to King's Landing and found the city transformed, with clean streets and an orderly watch, while Arthas toured the newly completed sewage system with Renly and Barristan. Arthas revealed that he had deliberately concealed Robert's return from them and intended to turn Barristan into a Death Knight.

• Robert arrived at the Gate of the Gods and angrily asked why Arthas, Renly, and Barristan had not come to welcome him.
• Jero told Robert and Eddard that Arthas was inspecting Flea Bottom's newly opened sewage system, so Robert led his procession there with Cersei and Jaime.
• Robert's party entered King's Landing and marveled at its clean streets, orderly stalls, and Gold Cloaks on patrol.
• Crawford showed Arthas, Renly, and Barristan the city's new network of sewers, and both lords praised the work.
• Lancel reported that Robert was waiting at the passage entrance, and Arthas admitted he had deliberately kept the king's return from Renly and Barristan.
• Arthas led Renly and Barristan out to meet Robert, while privately planning to make Barristan the commander of his Death Knight Army.

Arthas defended his actions against Robert’s attempt to dismiss him, while the crowd of King’s Landing rose up in his support. Arthas left Robert with three days to come speak with him before he would no longer guarantee what happened.

• Arthas blamed Renly for authorizing the executions of the former High Septon and Janos, and Renly confirmed that he had approved them.
• Eddard said Arthas had not followed the required jury-of-seven procedure, so Robert dismissed Arthas as Commander of the City Watch and ordered him back to the Westerlands.
• The crowd protested Robert’s decision, and the Gold Cloaks ignored the king’s order to disperse them until Lancel formed a line to push them back.
• The crowd pelted Robert’s party with eggs and stones, while Barristan shielded Robert and Eddard deflected the projectiles with a sword.
• Robert reaffirmed Arthas’s dismissal, and Arthas said he would remain in King’s Landing for three days, warning that he could not guarantee what would happen if Robert did not meet him.

Eddard told Robert that dismissing Arthas had plunged King's Landing into riots, while the Gold Cloaks refused to intervene. Robert ordered Janos released to restore order, and Arthas remained confident as Margaery questioned him about the unrest.

• Eddard reported over a hundred violent incidents and numerous demonstrations in King's Landing after Robert dismissed Arthas.
• Eddard said Lancel Lannister had sent out the Gold Cloaks, but they watched the riots without intervening.
• Robert ordered Eddard to release Janos from the dungeons and give him command of the City Watch; Eddard reluctantly agreed to retry him after the unrest ended.
• Margaery visited Arthas at breakfast and teased him about the chaos in the city.
• Arthas assured Margaery that he had acted with confidence and made her eat a piece of steak he offered her.

Newly released Janos tried to retake control of the Gold Cloaks, unaware that Lancel and Gendry were following Arthas’s plan. The Gold Cloaks rejected Janos’s promises, and the chapter ended with the crowd overwhelming him.

• Janos returned to Gold Cloaks headquarters, appointed Gendry as his deputy, and dismissed Lancel.
• Lancel revealed that he had secretly seasoned Janos’s tea, leaving Janos sick and furious.
• Gendry summoned the Gold Cloaks to Gold Cloaks Square on Janos’s orders.
• Janos promised the Gold Cloaks he would restore their old privileges, but they booed him because Arthas had improved their pay and treatment.
• Gendry staged an attack on a disobedient Gold Cloak, prompting a Lannister squad leader and the gathered Gold Cloaks to rush Janos.
• The crowd swallowed Janos, who glimpsed Gendry smiling before he lost consciousness.