Tonight's episode was written by George RR Martin himself.
We begin with Jon and Ygritte, now over the wall with the rest of the Wildlings and on their way to Castle Black. The Warg is a tad bit jealous of Jon and warns him he will never hold onto Ygritte. Later on, he (the Warg) talks to Ygritte and tells her she is beautiful, fierce, wild. That she loves Jon because he is pretty but she won't when she finds out what he is.
Robb, Talisi, and Catelyn are delayed in their journey to Walder Frey's by the rain. Catelyn warns Robb that Walder Frey will not be happy, he wanted a King for his daughter, not the heir to Riverrun. Robb is not overly worried. After everyone leaves, the lovers have at it on their pile of bearskins, and Talisi tells Robb she is pregnant. She is worried he may be mad, but Robb is overjoyed.
Sansa and Margaery have a private talk about Sansa's engagement to Tyrion. Once more, poor Sansa is being used as a pawn by the Lannisters. She calls herself a stupid, stupid little girl with stupid little dreams. Margaery tells her she wants her to be happy--that women in our position must make the best of their circumstances and asks Sansa if Tyrion has mistreated her or if he is being kind to her. Sansa says he has tried, but he is a Lannister. She is sorry she is complaining to Margaery, and Margaery assures her that she should not, she will be the mother of a king, sons learn from their mothers, and I plan to teach mine a great deal. She tells Sansa that her son might be the lord of Casterly Rock. Most women don't really know what they like (in men)until they've tried it and Tyrion might surprise you.
Tyrion is bemoaning his fate with Bronn--she's a child. Bronn tells him to bed one, wed one, and later we see Tyrion and Shea talking. He's telling her he will set her up nicely in a home of her own, and that he has no choice in wedding Sansa. She is having none of it, and tells him 'I'm your whore, when you're tired of ..... me, I will be nothing.
Smackdown between Joffrey and Tywin! Joffrey is complaining about being left out of the matters of the small council, about not being informed of important matters and decisions. Tywin patronizes him, but pooh poohs any of Joffrey's worries or concerns--especially the ones about Daenarys and her dragons. Curiosities on the other side of the world are not to be worried about. It is easy to see who is in charge, and Tywin leaves Joffrey sitting small on the Iron Throne with an unsure expression on his face.
Across the Narrow Sea, Dani has reached Yunkai, the yellow city. Jorah tells her that taking the city won't bring her any closer to the Iron Throne, she should just pass on by. Dani asks him how many slaves there are in Yunkai, Jorah says 200,000, and Dani says--then there are 200,000 reasons to take the city. She sends a man to the city to tell the slavers she will meet with them and accept their terms of surrender or they will meet the same fate as the city of Astapor.
A slaver arrives in a litter with not only gold but threats, telling her of the strength of Yunkai, it has never been defeated, and that they have powerful friends. He presents her with a chest of gold and tells her she can have as many ships as she wants to take her back to Westeros as long as she leaves them to conduct their affairs in peace. Dani tells him she has a gift for him as well--your life and the lives of your masters. But you have to release every slave, and give them food, clothing and payment for their service. The slaver calls her mad, and leaves. Jorah tells Dani they are a proud people and will not bend. Dani asks Jorah to find out about the powerful friends Yunkai has and that the slaver threatened her with.
Melisandre and Gendry are on the deck of a ship sailing past the burned wreckage of the Battle of Blackwater. She informs a surprised Gendry that his father was King Robert. That there is power in a king's blood.
Arya is sulking and Beric is trying to get her to talk. She won't have anything to do with a traitor who took gold for Gendry and gave him up. And then poor Arya finds out that they are going to pursue a small band of Lannister men instead of taking her to her brother. She escapes, and runs off into the forest...right into the arms of the Hound.
Jaime meets with Brienne before his departure to say goodbye. She wants to know if he knows what they plan on doing with her, and he tells her he only knows she is to remain here, and that he owes her a debt. She asks him to keep his promise to return the Stark girls to their mother.
Poor Theon, once more he is released, this time by two lovely young women who immediately set to seducing him. Their lovemaking is rudely interrupted by the boy and his horn. He pulls out a wicked, hooked knife, and backed by two of his thugs asks Theon what is his most important part. They immediately set to attacking Theon and although we do not see what they did, we can well imagine which part of Theon's body is being removed.
Jon and Ygritte are still traveling towards Castle Black. He tells her--you won't win, 6 times Castle Black has been attacked and 6 times you've failed. You don't have the discipline, the training, and if you attack the wall, you will die, all of you. Ygritte notices his use of the word 'you'.
Bran and company are still on the road (to nowhere it seems). Osha is boiling over with resentment that she and Hodor are doing all the work and Jojen and his sister are just sitting around talking to Bran. An argument ensues in which she is informed that he is talking to Bran about what is happening to him. They tell her they are not going to Jon after all, but are going north to find the 3 eyed raven that has been haunting Bran since his fall. Osha is incensed. She tells them that to go north is to die. She tells them her story, how her husband disappeared, and returned to their hut as a White Walker and tried to strangle her.
Jaime is on the road, briefly stopping. He finds out that an offer was made and refused for Brienne's release. The story Jaime told about her father paying her weight in sapphires, although a good story at the time, has come back to bite him in the butt. He's told she will be their entertainment for the night, and beyond tonight she won't care much. Jaime persuades/threatens them with Lannister wealth/wrath to return to Harrenhal where he finds a strangely empty courtyard. Distant shouts lead him to a ring at the bottom of which is Brienne doing battle with a huge bear armed only with a wooden sword. Jaime jumps into the ring to help her out, and his threats/promises of Lannister punishment/reward help him rescue her and arrange for her to go with him to King's Landing.
