We open this week's episode with a close up of Jaime's hand bobbing against his shirt as they ride. He falls off his horse into the mud, begs for water as he is down, and gets it--dumped on his head. Locke offers him more, which he drinks thirstily only to find out it is not water, but horse piss. Grabbing a sword, Jaime tries to fight the men, but he is too weak and is surrounded and told not to do that again or he will lose his other hand.
Tyrion and Varys are having a chat in a room with a huge crate which Varys is proceeding to open. Tyrion is wanting to know if one of Varys' birds (spies) has told him of his sister's intentions, if he knows or has proof of her trying to end his life. Varys tells him he has only heard whispers. As he continues to open the crate, he tells Tyrion the story of how he lost his genitals. When he was a young boy, he was drugged, castrated, and then had his parts burned in a brazier. The sorceror invoked a spirit of some kind and it spoke. This haunts his nightmares still. Varys did not let this beat him, he became a thief, and then found that stealing 'information' was more valuable, and he began to gain influence slowly. The box comes open and inside we see a man with his lips sewn shut. It appears Varys has found the sorceror who emasculated him.
Some of the Night Watch are shoveling pig shit at Craster's Keep and complaining about the cold, the lack of food, pretty much everything. Sam visits Gilly and her baby and wants to know if she has named him, Gilly asks why?
Bran is on the run in his dream world again and hears the 3 eyed crow in the tree tops. Jojen says you have to go after him which Bran does. Up the tree he goes, and encounters his mother Catelyn who yells at him and tells him no more climbing, promise me, and then he falls out of the tree and startles awake.
Back at King's Landing, Varys and Ros are having a little chat. They discuss Pod, and his way with the ladies, the girls said it is hard to describe, and that is all we find out. Ros does tell Varys that she thinks Baelish is planning on taking Sansa with him when he leaves for the Aerie because he has ordered 2 feather mattresses for his cabin.
Joffrey takes Margaery on a tour of the Sept telling her about the horrific history of the place. Cersei and Olenna are walking together and talking about Robert Baratheon's end. Olenna says we mother's do what we can to keep our sons from the grave.
Margaery and Joffrey continue their tour to the sound of shouting voices from the outside. She convinces Joffrey to go outside and greet the crowd--if he will give them his love they will return it 1000 fold. The doors are opened, and Joffrey reluctantly (and probably remembering the last time he was out in the crowds) steps out to the warm greetings and shout s of the population. (We of course know they are shouting for Margaery, not Joffrey).
Theon is on his way to safety with the young man who has rescued him. They proceed into the castle where his sister supposedly waits through an intricate series of tunnels. The young man tells him he grew up in Salt Cliff and saw him carried away as a prisoner. Theon tells him he is jealous of his sister, jealous of the Starks, and then he confesses to murdering the young farm boys so he could keep Winterfell and make his father proud. Then he says his real father lost his head at King's Landing, I chose wrong. Theon has been led back to the same dungeon he was released from, and put back on the cross. He tells the men that he brought him back, he killed the others. And it sounds like he is in charge. hmmmm
Jaime is having a hard time of it, refusing to eat, and Brienne says he can't die and he needs to take revenge. He needs to stop crying and whining and he is starting to sound like a bloody woman. He starts to eat, and Brienne tells him she knows what he did for her, the lies about the sapphires--why help me?
Cersei is with her father Tywin, wanting to know if everything is being done to get Jaime back and he assures her that it is. She wants to know if it ever occured to him that she might be the one that deserves the credit, not his sons. She can contribute. Tywin says alright, contribute. She now blows her efforts to ingratiate herself with her father by voicing concerns that Margaery is manipulating Joffrey. Tywin says he wishes she knew how to manipulate him. He tells her he does not distrust her as a woman, he distrusts her because she is not as smart as she thinks. The boy has ridden rough shod over her and the city. She says perhaps you should stop him then and he replies--I will.
Olenna and Varys have a confidential talk as they walk. He welcomes her to King's Landing and mentions her interest in Sansa Stark. He says he chooses his allies carefully, that he admired Ned Stark and that he can perhaps help Sansa. He has heard that when Baelish goes she will be going with him. Baelish was born to no lands, no money, no army, but he has already won the first two--he is the most dangerous man in Westeros. If Robb Stark falls, Sansa is the key to the north, why should he have such a lovely bride. Varys admits he enjoys his company but he would see the country burn if he could be king of their ashes. Off they walk leaving us to wonder what plan they are hatching.
Margaery visits Sansa and tells the guards to leave. They talk about nothing for a bit, Margaery tells her she wants to be friends, to have her visit Highgarden. She will be queen soon, and able to allow her to leave King's Landing. She plants the seed of marriage to Lorris and that they would be sisters then.
A dramatic scenes occurs next. We are at Craster's Keep watching the funeral pyre of one of the members of the Night's Watch. The final line of the funeral being 'And now his watch has ended.' The men are blaming Craster for keeping them starving while he eats as much as he wants. They accuse him of being a bloody wildling. Craster is complaining about the length of their stay to Mormont and suggesting he slit the throats of the wounded so they can move on. Mormont says they will as soon as the wounded are strong enough. The men are getting restless, angry and one says--whose throat are you going to cut old man? Mormont tells them to leave, Craster tells them to go sleep in the cold with an empty belly, but the men, not listening to Mormont call Craster a bastard, a daughter f***** wildling bastard, and then they attack and kill Craster. Mormont, trying to restore some semblance of order is in turn attacked and murdered himself. Seeing this, Sam bolts, runs to find Gilly and her baby so they too can flee. As they leave a remaining brother tells Sam to run fast piggy, and sleep well, I'll be cutting your throat one of these nights.
Another dramatic scene with Arya riding hooded with the Brotherhood without Banners. They take her, Gendry, and the Hound to a cave. The Hound mocks them, calling them swineherds and masons. They lead them further in to meet with their leader Beric Dondarrion who happens to be another worshipper of the Lord of Light. (Uh-oh). The hound mocks him as well calling him a leader of a mob of peasants, fighting for ghosts. He is accused of the murders that his brother the Mountain is responsible for and denies them. Arya speaks up and tells of the murder she witnessed, Beric says only the Lord of Light can judge you, and tells the Hound that he will fight in a trial by combat and he himself will be fighting him.
And now, the scene we have been waiting for, and this one I will watch again! Daenarys finally comes into her own in truly spectacular fashion. She strides into the square to see her recently purchased Unsullied standing at attention. Opening a cage, she brings her dragon, flying on a chain, and hands him over to the slaver who turns over the Unsullied to her and hands her his whip, which gives her control of them. She asks him if it is done and he replies in his tongue--the bitch has her army.
The slaver is struggling with the dragon, Dani is reviewing her troops and begins speaking to them in the slaver's tongue, which happens to be Valyrian her native tongue. She has known all along everything that is being said. She gives a few simple commands to test the men and see if they obey her, and then....She says to the slaver, a dragon is no slave, she says to the Unsullied, kill your masters and all the soldiers, but harm no children. The slaver orders his guards to kill Dany, but Dany commands her dragon to burn the slave master and scorch the town. We see little of this, but we know that Dany has been successful in gaining an army of 8000+ who will follow her every command.
As this episode winds to a close, Dany climbs onto a white horse to address her new army. She tells them they are free and may go if they wish and asks them if they will fight for her as free men. A moment's pause, and then spears thump on the ground in a mark of agreement. The vast army rides out with Dany in the lead. She looks at the whip in her hand, throws it to the ground, and we watch as it is trodden into the dirt. Aloft we see her 3 dragons flying.
