Directed By: Miguel Sapochnik / Written By: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss

Original Airdate: May 31, 2015

In Braavos, Arya Stark continues her training with the Faceless Men and poses as an oyster seller whilst assigned with a specific task. In Meereen, Daenerys Targaryen sits in judgment on Jorah Mormont and Tyrion Lannister’s arrival, pondering over what to do with the both of them. At Winterfell, Sansa Stark learns something important from Theon Greyjoy while the Boltons await Stannis Baratheon’s arrival. In King's Landing, an imprisoned Cersei Lannister learns from Qyburn that the High Sparrow has a strong case against her and recommends a way out. Meanwhile, Jon Snow and Tormund Giantsbane arrive at the wildling fishing village Hardhome only to be confronted with war.

main cast

king’s landing

Some time after Cersei Lannister’s imprisonment in King’s Landing, Septa Unella continues to demand Cersei to "confess" in return for her freedom. She, however, remains defiant despite being obliged to drink water from the floor out of sheer thirst. Qyburn then visits her in her cell, and informs her that her trial will soon begin for the crimes of fornication, treason, incest, and the complicit actions of the late King Robert Baratheon's murder, all of which Cersei furiously dismisses as lies. Qyburn then informs her that Grand Maester Pycelle has summoned her uncle Kevan Lannister to serve as Hand of the King. Kevan has, at this point in time, already arrived, and he has refused to visit his niece in prison. Qyburn also tells her that her son King Tommen Baratheon has become reclusive, refusing to see anyone and refusing to eat in his emotional state. When Unella returns to ask for confession, Cersei still refuses stating she will not beg for the High Sparrow’s forgiveness, “a barefooted commoner”. Before leaving, Qyburn informs Cersei that "the work continues" on their secret project.

castle black

Meanwhile, at Castle Black, Gilly continues to tend to Samwell Tarly's wounds following the recent attack made on the couple by two aggressive Black Brothers. Samwell asks Gilly if she was scared as she informs him that she was. Samwell tells her that was scared as well. Jon Snow’s steward Olly then enters with some food, having heard of the incident. Once Gilly leaves, excusing herself to check on Little Sam, Olly expresses his concerns at joining forces with the wildlings, particularly Tormund Giantsbane, who led the raid at Olly’s village in the Gift where his parents were brutally murdered. Samwell insists that the wildlings are people like anyone else and there are good ones and bad ones. He then reassures Olly that the Jon knows what he is doing, and that unless he is successful, neither the Night's Watch nor Westeros itself stands a chance fighting against the impending war with the White Walkers and their army of the dead. Samwell then explains this is a hard choice that Jon had to make, however unpopular, but tells him not to worry, as Jon always comes back. Olly still appears unwavering in his disagreement.

braavos

In Braavos, Arya Stark assumes the identity of “Lanna,” an orphan-turned-clam-seller, and shows Jaqen H'ghar she can convincingly become a different person with an elaborate and believable backstory. The Faceless Man sends her to the fishing markets where she observes someone Jaqen refers to as "the thin man," a gambler that refused a contract to insure a man's boat, leaving the man in desperate circumstances. Jaqen later explains the thin man's business is a gamble of sorts, yet he does not honor his agreements: when a ship captain dies at sea, he is supposed to make good on his promise and pay the family, but he often doesn't. Jaqen instructs “Lanna” to return to the harbor again to carefully watch the man and “get to know him as well as the girl knows herself.” When Arya asks of her instructions beyond that point, Jaqen then instructs her to kill him, and hands her a "gift" - a vial of poison.  As Arya leaves, the Waif asserts her skepticism of Arya’s success and asks Jaqen what is to happen if she’s not ready. He cryptically responds by saying “then it is all the same to the Many-Faced God.”

winterfell

At Winterfell, a bitter and determined Sansa Stark confronts Reek about his latest betrayal. He apologetically affirms he was helping her and that there is no escaping Ramsay Bolton. He tells her that Theon Greyjoy tried to escape but Ramsay caught him and tortured him until there was no Theon left. Sansa coldly expresses approval and reminds Reek of the role he played in her family's downfall, and that if she could do to him what Ramsay did, she would. Reek shamefully admits he deserved his torture as he did terrible things, specifically killing "those boys". Enraged by his seemingly dismissive reference to her brothers as "those boys," rather than Bran and  Rickon Stark, Sansa vehemently demands to know why they should be dead while he still breathes the air. This sentiment forces Reek to finally admit they were not in fact Bran and Rickon, only two farm boys. Stunned by this admission, Sansa's anger towards Reek cools but when she presses him as to where they might have gone, calling him Theon again, he breaks down running out the room, crying, "Not Theon! Reek!" Meanwhile, in the great hall of Winterfell, Lord Roose Bolton maintains that his army must wait inside Winterfell, thus starving out King Stannis Baratheon’s forces, as Winterfell had enough supplies to last six months under siege. Such conditions would cause a mutiny in the ranks of the Baratheon force and break them down. Ramsay, on the other hand, has a plan to defeat Stannis decisively and asks his father to lend him just "twenty good men."

meereen

Meanwhile, in the throne room of Meereen, Queen Daenerys Targaryen ponders on what to do with Tyrion Lannister and Ser Jorah Mormont. She asks Tyrion why she shouldn't kill him, since he is a  Lannister, however, Tyrion claims that “I am the greatest Lannister killer of our time,” citing the murder of his father Lord Tywin Lannister, as well as his mother Joanna during childbirth. Daenerys then rhetorically asks Tyrion that she should simply allow him into her service because he murdered members of his own family. When ordered to inform her why he has come to see her from the other end of the world, Tyrion explains to Daenerys how he learned about her from Lord Varys. Tyrion then adds that Daenerys needs his advice despite having a powerful army and large dragons, as she lacks both political experience and practical knowledge of Westeros. She eventually agrees to spare his life, but asks what to do about Ser Jorah. She seems poised to fulfill her promise of killing him if she saw him again, as it would not do at all for a queen not to keep her word. Tyrion defends Jorah, however, commenting that he is clearly devoted to her and quite possibly in love with her, but also that he did not trust her enough to inform her of his mission to spy on her for the late King Robert Baratheon. Tyrion argues that as a queen she should remain true to her oaths, but she should also not kill those who are devoted to her. He then strongly advises that Jorah cannot be trusted to stand by her side. Instead of sentencing a heartbroken Jorah to death, she decides to exile him from the city for a second time. The guards escort Jorah outside of the throne room, as he then rolls up his sleeve again to check on the spread of his greyscale.

Later, Tyrion and Daenerys sit in her solar and talk about ambitions. When Tyrion mentions what a horrible father Tywin was, Daenerys admits that she no longer has any illusions about her own father, King Aerys Targaryen. They discuss the role of Varys in their stories and Tyrion assures Daenerys he trusts him and he was convinced by him that she could be a ruler who deserves his support. Daenerys decides Tyrion will remain as her adviser. When Tyrion asks what she wants to be advised on, Tyrion nearly rolls his eyes at her desire for the Iron Throne. She assures him that she will stay in Meereen and help stabilize things but Essos is not her home. Tyrion asks who will support her in Westeros to which Daenerys somewhat idealistically answers that the common people will support her. He then notes that House Targaryen and House Stark are effectively dead, House Lannister nor House Baratheon will ever support her claim and only leaves House Tyrell, who might be willing to switch sides but that is still not enough. Daenerys stubbornly likens the Great Houses to the spokes on a wheel, one on top and then others, and on and on, crushing the commoners beneath in their struggle for supremacy. Tyrion warns that others have dreamed of stopping the wheel, but Daenerys clarifies that she plans to break it.

Meanwhile, as he contemplates his progressing greyscale, the exiled Ser Jorah returns to the lower fighting pits to meet with the slaver Yezzan. Jorah tosses the slaver a coin and declares that whomever won in the lower pits will fight in the Great Pit of Daznak in front of the queen during the Great Games. Though Yezzan asserts that he had struck him, Jorah insists that he is the best fighter that Yezzan has. Jorah then emphasizes the fact that if he wins the Great Games, he would be of high value for Yezzan to then sell on afterwards. However, Yezzen insists that Jorah is a free man who could have gone anywhere, asking why he would return to fight for him. Jorah urges to fight for his queen and declares that he would belong to Yezzan if he wins.

hardhome

Jon Snow, Tormund Giantsbane and Eddison Tollett, along with other members of the Night's Watch and the Free Folk, arrive at a sheltered fishing village named Hardhome. Many of the wildlings who survived the Battle of Castle Black and were not captured by the forces of Stannis Baratheon had fled to Hardhome. Tormund has come as Jon’s aide to assist with convincing the rest of the wildlings to join them in the upcoming war against the White Walkers and their army of wights. Upon their arrival, Tormund and Jon are unfavorably welcomed by the Lord of Bones, who recalls the last time he saw Tormund was when the “little crow” was his prisoner. Jon then asserts that Tormund is no longer his prisoner, as they are now allies. This causes further division with their arrival, as Rattleshirt calls Tormund a “fucking traitor” and insults him for being at the side of an enemy like Jon Snow. Tormund asserts that he doesn’t fight for the crows. Once Tormund has had enough of Rattleshirt’s continuous insults, he then seizes his staff and beats his former ally to death with it, quieting the gathered wildlings. He then demands for the clan chieftans to all meet in the town hall.

The wildling elders then gather in the town hall in order to hear out Jon's proposal, who introduces himself and emphasizes his understanding that : “we are not friends, we’ve never been friends, we won’t become friends today”. Nevertheless, Jon urges for an alliance between the Free Folk and the Night's Watch in the face of their common enemy, the undead. He stresses that this is about everyone’s survival and putting the Wall between them and their enemy. Karsi, a spearwife and chieftess to the ice-river clans, declares that the Wall was built to keep them out. A skeptical Thenn warrior named Loboda then asks when the crows have ever cared for their lives before. Jon points out that these aren’t normal times and they are all the same to the White Walkers : “meat for their army”. Jon then offers them the cache of dragonglass daggers found by the Watch, explaining to the elders of its value in killing White Walkers. Furthermore, Jon also invites them all to join him south of the wall so they can seek shelter and farm new lands. Despite the gestures, the wildlings still remain hesitant with Jon’s proposal. Having not seen their King-Beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder, since he was taken prisoner, the wildlings then question his whereabouts. Jon reluctantly informs them that Mance is dead and that he shot him personally with an arrow. The group is infuriated by the news, as they move in to kill Jon. However, Tormund vouches for him, describing how Mance was about to be burned at the stake as a warning from Stannis Baratheon. He notes that Jon defied Stannis by ending his life quickly instead of humiliating him and making him suffer in the flames. Jon makes one last plea for an alliance, exclaiming that none of them can face this threat alone and if they end up losing : “at least we’ll give the fuckers a fight”. Some leaders are eventually convinced, such as Karsi and the giant Wun Wun, but others like Loboda begin to leave.

Afterwards, approximately five thousand wildlings gather to set sail to the Wall, the Night's Watch starts gathering the dragonglass daggers in the town hall. Eddison approaches Wun Wun who holds one of the daggers, examining it curiously. The giant appears unwilling to hand it over and Edd walks away quietly, without collecting the arrowhead. Outside, the dogs suddenlt begin to bark as the sounds of an incoming storm are heard. Eventually recognizing the sign of approaching White Walkers, Loboda orders the gates of Hardhome to be shut, abandoning many of the Free Folk on the other side to their fate. As the storm reaches the village, the screams of the people shut outside the walls of Hardhome quickly fall silent.

Moments later, a large host of undead wights begin wildly smashing through the gates. On the shore, Jon, Tormund, Loboda and Karsi join the defense of Hardome while buying time for the rest of the Free Folk to board the boats bound for Castle Black. Meanwhile, Eddison, Wun Wun and others are trapped inside the town hall, which is eventually set upon by wights. Outside, Jon attempts to convince Karsi to board the boats, but she argues that he should go instead, as she doesn't believe the Night's Watch will let her daughters and the rest of the wildlings through the Wall if Jon is not there. Jon vows that he has given orders as the Lord Commander, however, Karsi argues that he needs to be there to enforce it. Tormund then runs up to Jon to steer his direction towards the gates, shouting a warning that everyone will die if it is breached. After racing to the gates, Jon and the men of the Watch help aide it’s defense. With the gate itself nearly breached, Jon, Tormund, Karsi and Loboda continue slashing through countless numbers of charging wights. The number of the undead begin to overwhelm the defenders. Jon then notices several White Walkers mounted on undead horses observing the battle from above on top of the cliffs, including their leader the Night King.

With the arrival of the White Walkers, Jon realizes the sudden urgency to collect the stash of dragonglass, as he then commands Loboda to come with him, as they charge towards the town hall in order to retrieve the weapons. However, upon their arrival, the town hall has been set on fire and Wun Wun bursts through the roof covered in wights who have climbed on top of him. As the giant easily tears the wights apart, Jon and Loboda head into the hall, now engulfed in flames. They are quickly confronted by one of the White Walkers lieutenants. While Loboda faces the threat, Jon goes for the dragonglass stash. After a short-lived fight, Loboda is brutally impaled after his axe shatters to ice immediately upon contacting the White Walker's icy blade. Jon eventually finds the stash of dragonglass and grabs a dagger but is tossed aside by the White Walker. Jon then retreats from the burning town hall and retrieves Longclaw. When he again engages the White Walker, both he and the skillful warrior are surprised to see that the Valyrian steel sword doesn't shatter on contact with the Walker's ice blade. Seizing the opportunity, Jon strikes at the Walker, who immediately shatters to pieces after being touched by Longclaw. The Night King looks upon this turn of events with mild interest, likely because he didn't expect anybody to put up any form of meaningful resistance. Meanwhile, by the port, Karsi fights off multiple wights before being confronted by child wights. She freezes in shock and is unable to bring herself to kill the children, reminding Karsi of her own. Overwhelmed in horror, Karsi is then mauled to death by the dead children.

The Night King then screams a hiss into the air that pierces through the horrific noise of the massacre, signalling more wights to leap from the cliffs. As the wights continue to arrive in droves, they begin slaughtering the remaining defenders as they attempt to flee for their lives. Jon, Tormund and Eddison eventually make it onto the last remaining boat, and they are shielded by the giant Wun Wun, who wields a burning log as a club for the wights before walking into the sea with them. As they row further out to safety, Jon and the others view the massacre from the water. The Night King then walks himself out onto the jetty and stares back out at Jon and his fleeing party. He then silently raises his arms triumphantly and all around him the slain wildlings suddenly begin to rise up as undead wights with icy blue eyes, including Karsi. The Night King and his growing army stare out in silence as the surviving defenders retreat from Hardhome. The wildlings are ultimately successful in evacuating around five-thousand people, but at least as many were killed and revived by the Night King.

*Episode descriptions from GOT Wiki