“Two Swords”

Tywin oversees the reforging of Ice, House Stark’s ancestral Valyrian steel sword, into two new ones. One is for Jaime, who grieves the loss of his sword hand and Cersei’s love, and the other is a wedding present for King Joffrey, which Joffrey names Widow’s Wail. Prince Oberyn Martell, representing his infirmed brother, Prince Doran of Dorne, arrives in King’s Landing to attend the royal wedding. He and his paramour, Ellaria Sand, are greeted by Tyrion. Oberyn secretly seeks revenge against the Lannisters and Gregor Clegane for the rape and murder of his sister, Elia, wife of the unfaithful Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. In the North, Styr and the cannibalistic Thenns reinforce Tormund, Ygritte and the other Wildlings. Maester Aemon absolves Jon after he explains his actions while with the Wildlings and reveals that their army of 100,000 plans to attack Castle Black. In the Riverlands, the Hound and Arya head to the Eyrie where the Hound intends to ransom Arya to her Aunt Lysa, Jon Arryn’s widow. Along the way, Arya reclaims her sword, Needle, from Polliver, killing him. In Essos, Daenerys marches her army towards Meereen, the last of the three great slave cities; she fears she is losing control over her growing dragons, now horse-sized.

“The Lion and the Rose”

Roose Bolton returns to the Dreadfort with his bride, one of Walder Frey’s daughters. He chastises Ramsay for torturing and castrating Theon, devaluing him as a hostage. Theon, who has degenerated into a subservient persona called ‘Reek’, discloses that Bran and Rickon Stark are alive and threaten Roose’s legitimacy as Warden of the North. Roose orders Ramsay to reclaim the territories under Ironborn occupation, promising a reward if he succeeds. In Dragonstone, Melisandre sacrifices three people, including Stannis’ brother-in-law, burning them to death as a tribute to the Lord of Light, delighting Queen Selyse and disgusting Ser Davos and Princess Shireen. To protect Shae from his family, Tyrion arranges to send her to Pentos on Essos, leaving her distressed. Bronn coaches Jaime in left-handed swordplay. King Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell are wed. During the Royal Wedding feast, Joffrey humiliates Tyrion and taunts Sansa just before Joffrey fatally succumbs to poisoned wine. A distraught Cersei has Tyrion arrested for his murder, while Ser Dontos, a former knight, persuades Sansa to leave the feast with him for her protection.

“Breaker of Chains”

Tywin grooms his young grandson Tommen to be the new king and enlists Oberyn and Mace Tyrell as his fellow judges for Tyrion’s impending murder trial. Tyrion chooses Jaime as his witness. Littlefinger, who hired Ser Dontos to retrieve Sansa, has him killed, then smuggles her out of King’s Landing aboard his ship. In the Riverlands, Arya and the Hound are offered hospitality by a peasant farmer and his daughter, whom the Hound soon robs, angering Arya. To replenish Stannis’ depleted forces, Davos wants to request a loan from the Iron Bank of Braavos to hire mercenaries called the “Golden Company”. At Castle Black, Sam fears for Gilly’s safety and moves her and Little Sam to nearby Mole’s Town. Meanwhile, the Wildlings continue to raid northern villages. The Night’s Watch learns that the mutineers are camped at Craster’s Keep. Jon proposes an attack on them to prevent them leaking Castle Black’s defense weaknesses to Mance Rayder’s approaching army. Daenerys arrives at Meereen and gives a rousing speech before the gates, offering the city’s slaves their freedom.

“Oathkeeper”

Daenerys easily captures Meereen, assisted by a slave revolt. Seeking justice for 163 slain slave children, she nails 163 masters to the same road posts. At sea, Littlefinger reveals his complicity in Joffrey’s death to Sansa. Before leaving King’s Landing, Olenna implies to Margaery that she poisoned Joffrey. She urges Margaery to marry Tommen before Cersei can turn him against her. Jaime believes Tyrion is innocent, but Cersei is adamant he is guilty and also orders Jaime to locate and kill Sansa as an accomplice. Jaime instead sends Brienne to find and protect Sansa, presenting her with new armor, his Valyrian sword, horses and Podrick Payne as her squire. In the North, hoping to eliminate Jon, Alliser Thorne and Janos Slynt agree to allow Jon to lead the expedition against the mutineers. Unknown to Jon, the mutineers have captured Bran and his companions. Further north, a White Walker takes Craster’s last newborn son to a secret ritual site where he is transformed into a Walker.

“First of His Name”

Tommen is crowned king; Cersei surprises Margaery by encouraging her to marry Tommen. Tywin asks Oberyn to be a judge at Tyrion’s trial and swears his innocence in Elia’s rape and murder. In the Vale, Littlefinger takes Sansa to the Eyrie where she is reunited with her aunt, Lysa Arryn, who pressures Littlefinger to marry her immediately. It is revealed that Lysa and Littlefinger killed Jon Arryn and framed the Lannisters. Lysa plans for Sansa to marry her son, Robin, an emotionally immature prepubescent boy. The Hound mocks Arya practicing her water dancing and disparages Syrios Forell’s fighting style. Brienne learns that Podrick lacks practical squiring skills but is impressed he killed a Kingsguard to protect Tyrion. Beyond the Wall, Jon’s group find and defeat the mutineers. Unknown to Jon, Bran and his companions are captives there. Locke attempts to kidnap Bran in the confusion, but Hodor, warged into by Bran, kills him and frees the others. Jojen convinces Bran that they must continue north, while Jon’s men are burning Craster’s Keep and free his daughter/wives. In Meereen, after Jorah informs Daenerys that Astapor and Yunkai have reverted to slavery, she postpones invading Westeros to instead rule as queen until Slaver’s Bay is truly free.

“The Laws of Gods and Men”

In Essos, Davos and Stannis meet with the Iron Bank to secure a loan for Stannis. Davos re-engages Salladhor Saan and his pirates. In Meereen, Daenerys adapts to her new role as queen, hearing her subjects’ endless requests, including nobleman Hizdahr zo Loraq who wishes to reclaim his crucified father’s body, and a peasant man whose goats were killed by Daenerys’ increasingly uncontrollable dragons. In the Dreadfort, Yara leads a mission to rescue Theon, who, emotionally broken, refuses to leave, forcing Yara to abandon him. Ramsay rewards Theon’s obedience and, planning to take Moat Cailin, tasks “Reek” to impersonate “Theon Greyjoy”. In King’s Landing, Tywin puts a bounty on the Hound’s head and instructs Varys to continue spying on Daenerys. Tyrion is tried for Joffrey’s murder. All the witnesses testify against him, including Ser Meryn Trant, Grand Maester Pycelle, Cersei, and Varys, who give compelling, though circumstantial, testimony. To Tyrion’s shock, Shae falsely testifies against him. Tyrion proclaims his innocence and demands a trial by combat.

“Mockingbird”

Cersei appoints Ser Gregor Clegane as her champion in Tyrion’s upcoming trial by combat. Jaime and Bronn decline to fight Ser Gregor for Tyrion, but Oberyn accepts. He seeks to avenge his sister, Elia’s rape and murder by Ser Gregor during the rebellion. Daenerys takes Daario as her lover, then sends him to handle the resurgent slavers at Yunkai. Melisandre and Selyse prepare to depart Dragonstone, intending to take Shireen with them. As the Wildlings approach Castle Black, Alliser Thorne rejects Jon’s suggestion to seal the tunnel. At an inn, Brienne and Podrick meet Hot Pie, who updates them about Arya. They resolve to travel to the Vale, deducing she would seek her living relatives there. In the Vale, Lysa witnesses Littlefinger kissing Sansa. Enraged, she later threatens to throw Sansa through the moon door, a circular opening in the floor with a steep drop to rocks below; Littlefinger intervenes and shoves Lysa to her death.

“The Mountain and the Viper”

The Wildlings attack Mole’s Town. Ygritte discovers Gilly hiding and spares her and Little Sam. Ramsay forces Theon to negotiate with the Ironborn to surrender Moat Cailin. The Ironborn agree, hoping to return home, but Ramsay flays and slaughters them. As a reward for securing Moat Cailin, Roose legitimizes Ramsay as a Bolton, making him his heir. In the Vale, Sansa tells the council investigating Lysa’s death her true identity and claims that Littlefinger is innocent of murdering her aunt. While Littlefinger starts grooming Robin as the Lord of the Vale, the Hound and Arya arrive, only to leave upon learning of Lysa’s death. In King’s Landing, the trial by combat begins. Oberyn gains the upper hand but momentarily relaxes his guard while demanding that Ser Gregor confess his crimes. Near death, Ser Gregor trips Oberyn and crushes his skull while boasting that he raped and murdered Elia. Tywin sentences Tyrion to death. In Essos, Grey Worm and Missandei grow closer. Barristan Selmy intercepts a long-delayed pardon from King Robert for Jorah as a reward for spying on Daenerys. She then exiles Jorah from Meereen as a result.

“The Watchers on the Wall”

The Night’s Watch prepares for the battle. Maester Aemon is revealed to be a Targaryen. Gilly and Little Sam escape Mole’s Town and arrive at Castle Black, where Sam hides them. The Wildlings attack from both sides of the wall. Tormund’s army breaks through from the south and engages the Night’s Watch. A giant breaches the tunnel into Castle Black but is killed by Grenn and five others, at the cost of their own lives. Alliser Thorne joins the fight in the southern part, leaving the incompetent Janos Slynt commanding the Wall. Slynt is told a lie to make him leave the wall and Jon takes charge. After seeing Jon kill Styr, Ygritte aims her bow at him but hesitates, then is fatally shot by Olly. Assisted by Ghost, Jon’s direwolf, the Night’s Watch secure Castle Black’s inner keep, and a wounded Tormund is arrested. The wall climbers are obliterated by a massive swinging scythe. The Wildlings retreat for the night. Jon goes beyond the Wall to find and kill Mance Rayder, believing that the Wildling army will fragment without his command.

“The Children”

Jon’s meeting with Mance Rayder abruptly ends when Stannis and his army overrun the Wildling camp, taking Mance prisoner. Bran finds the weirwood tree from his visions but skeletal creatures attack the group, killing Jojen. A Child of the Forest saves the others and takes them to the Three-Eyed Raven, revealed to be an old man encased within tree roots inside a secure cave. In the Vale, Brienne and Podrick encounter Arya and the Hound, who attacks Brienne; she critically wounds him, while Arya runs off and evades Brienne. The Hound begs Arya to kill him, but she takes his money and leaves him for dead. She boards a ship headed to Braavos to find H’ghar. In King’s Landing, Cersei orders Qyburn to save Ser Gregor, who was poisoned by Oberyn’s blade. Jaime releases Tyrion from prison, but before escaping the city, Tyrion finds Shae in Tywin’s bed and fatally strangles her. He confronts and kills Tywin in the privy, then is smuggled aboard a ship by Varys. In Meereen, some ex-slaves miss their bonds, finding freedom a hardship. A citizen brings Daenerys his daughter’s charred remains, burned by dragon fire. Daenerys chains Rhaegal and Viserion in the catacombs, while Drogon remains at large.