Directed By: Michelle MacLaren / Written By: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss

Original Airdate: May 19, 2013

The time for Tyrion Lannister's wedding to Sansa Stark has arrived in King’s Landing as he now must accept its inevitability. Meanwhile, King Joffrey Baratheon goes out of his way to embarrass them both at the ceremony. In the Riverlands, Arya Stark assumes Sandor Clegane is taking her to the capital but is surprised to learn of other plans. At Dragonstone, Melisandre returns with Gendry and an intent on showing Stannis Baratheon the power of king's blood. Beyond the Wall, Samwell Tarly, Gilly and her baby journey closer to Castle Black as they encounter a White Walker. In Essos, the Yunkai hire an army to protect them as Daenerys tries to convince their leaders to come to her side, which is rejected outside of one mercenary with an ulterior motive.

main cast

the riverlands

In the Riverlands, Arya Stark, now a captive of Sandor Clegane, picks up a rock and stands over him sleeping as she plans to strike. He then opens his eyes and tells her she has one chance to hit him, and kill him, but if she fails he will break her hands. They set off on horseback together as Arya sits with him sullen and refusing food he offers her. The Hound points out that for all she hates him, Arya could have been taken captive by someone far worse. He tells her about her sister Sansa Stark and how he rescued her from a group of would-be rapists. Arya doesn’t believe this, but Sandor says "Ask your sister if you ever see her again." They arrive at a river that Sandor points out is the Red Fork of the Trident. Arya believed he was taking her back to King's Landing, but he reveals that he is in fact taking her to The Twins, where her mother Lady Catelyn and brother Robb Stark will shortly be attending her uncle Edmure Tully’s wedding, and he will ransom her to them. The Hound ruefully informs her that if she wasn't so busy trying to kill him, they might make it in time for the wedding. Arya has a small and hidden smile as Sandor spurs the horse to a gallop.

yunkai

Meanwhile, outside Yunkai, Daenerys Targaryen, Ser Jorah Mormont and Ser Barristan Selmy hide behind a ruined building to spy on the encampment of the Second Sons, a professional mercenary company, the "powerful friends" the Yunkish have employed. Barristan explains that although there are only 2,000 of them, the Second Sons are armored and mounted, enough to cause trouble for the Unsullied. Daenerys tells Barristan to organize a meeting with the Second Sons' captains, saying that men who fight for gold "can't afford to lose to a girl". Shortly thereafter, Daenerys hosts the captains Mero, a Braavosi also known as the Titan's Bastard, and Prendahl na Ghezn, a Ghiscari. Also in attendance is Prendahl's capable and striking lieutenant, Daario Naharis. The uncouth and sexually vulgar Mero makes himself at home, states that Daenerys reminds him of a whore he knows in Lys and feels up her aide Missandei, although the surprisingly gracious queen shrugs his insults off. Prendahl and Mero refuse Daenerys' offer of an alliance with her larger army, pointing out they will not get their rewards until she reclaims the Iron Throne, which is still a distant prospect. With aplomb she replies that a fortnight previous she had no army, and a year before that she had no dragons. Smiling gently she gives them two days to make a decision and sends them off with a barrel of wine Mero had demanded. Daario smiles over his back at her as they depart. Once the sellswords are gone, Daenerys drops her pretence of cordiality and while glowering at Mero's back, instructs Barristan that if they must fight the Second Sons, he is to kill Mero first. Selmy replies that he would be glad to do so.

That evening, as Daenerys bathes, she is surprised to learn that Missandei speaks no fewer than nineteen languages. Missandei insists that this shouldn't be that odd, since it only took Daenerys a year to gain a reasonable grasp of Dothraki. The khaleesi bristles at the idea that she speaks only “reasonable” Dothraki and switches to the language to teach Missandei a lesson, only to have her pronunciation corrected. As Daenerys closes her eyes and sinks down into the tub in relaxation, she is suddenly interrupted with a gasp from Missandei. When a startled Daenerys opens her eyes, she sees an Unsullied soldier with a knife to Missandei's throat, advising both women not to scream. He then removes his helmet, revealing himself as the flirtatious mercenary Daario Naharis. He explains that he was supposed to kill Daenerys on orders from both of his captains, however, they ran into a "philosophical disagreement" over her beauty. Daario then dumps out both of his captain’s severed heads from a satchel. Intrigued, she rises from her bath and asks if Daario will swear fealty to her. He bends the knee and swears his sword, his men and his heart to Daenerys.

dragonstone

Melisandre finally arrives back at Dragonstone with Gendry Baratheon in tow.  Stannis Baratheon is less than impressed by the sight of the bastard boy, who is technically his nephew.  When Gendry bows to greet him, Stannis grabs his face and stares into his eyes, coldly stating to Melisandre that the boy is half-Robert Baratheon, half-lowborn. Melisandre then orders for Gendry to be bathed and clothed, declaring that she will come visit him soon. In private, Stannis is bemused with Melisandre’s orders, believing it to be pointless as they intend to sacrifice him. He advises her to get on with things and not torture Gendry. Melisandre however, reveals that this is merely a ruse to keep Gendry feeling secure, in much the same way as keeping a sacrificial lamb from seeing the blade of the knife. Melisandre explains that if the lamb panics, it seeps into the meat and spoils the flavor. Stannis pointedly asks if she has much experience in slaughtering lambs, as Melisandre notes that “none have seen the blade.”

Meanwhile, Ser Davos Seaworth, still languishes in his cell while attempting to read aloud a passage about Visenya Targaryen and her dragon Vhagar. He is suddenly paid a visit by Stannis, who quickly admits that Davos does not belong “in a place like this,” though Davos assures Stannis that he has seen worse. After much time passed, Stannis apologizes to Davos regarding the loss of his son Matthos Seaworth during the Battle of Blackwater. A stoic Davos prompts Stannis to change the subject towards the impending sacrifice of Gendry. Davos protests Melisandre’s plan asserting that Gendry is his blood, however, Stannis dismisses his relation to the boy as one of Robert’s bastards. Davos then declaes that unlike Stannis’ brother Renly Baratheon, who was a rebel against his rightful king, Gendry is an innocent who has never done him any wrong.  Stannis argues that the sacrifice of one bastard boy will usher in his victory, which he believes is the only way to save everyone from the coming darkness: “the night that never ends.” Stannis asks Davos, “what’s one bastard boy against a kingdom?” He then asks how Davos can doubt the power of Melisandre's Lord of Light when he saw the shadow creature she gave birth to. Davos speculates that the real reason Stannis is paying him a visit in the dungeons is because deep down, a part of him knows what he's about to do is wrong. After extracting a promise from Davos that he won't act against Melisandre again, Stannis has him released.

Later that evening, in Gendry's quarters, Melisandre offers Gendry some wine and his hesitation leads her to drink from the goblet to assuage any fear of poisoning. After Gendry admits his belief that he is a “mistake” as a bastard, they then converse about lineage. Melisandre asserts that his father Robert chose his mother in the tavern on the day of conception because the Lord of Light willed it to be, then claiming to Gendry that he has a power instead him he can’t begin to understand. After stating that she was brought here to draw his power from him, Melisandre declares that the Lord of Light demands this for them both. She then slowly starts to seduce Gendry and removes his clothing. Once she takes off her own clothing, Melisandre lays him down on the bed and straddles him seductively. The ruse carries on long enough to distract him until Melisandre then promptly ties him to the bed and to his surprise begins placing leeches all over his body to extract his royal blood. When Stannis and Ser Davos then enter the room, Melisandre explains to Gendry that Davos wanted a demonstration of the power in king's blood. She then removes the leeches from Gendry’s body and lights a fire in a nearby brazier and as part of a magical ritual. Stannis throws the leeches into the flames at Melisandre's direction, and recites the names of three people he wishes dead as they burn. The usurpers and rivaling kings: Robb Stark, Balon Greyjoy and Joffrey Baratheon.

king’s landing

In King's Landing, Tyrion Lannister speaks with Sansa Stark before their wedding, though he knows the girl is not thrilled at the prospect of marrying him. Tyrion promises Sansa that he will not mistreat her, and Sansa recalls something Margaery Tyrell told her once: “there are worse Lannisters she could be wed to.” Later on, inside the Great Sept of Baelor, Lady Margaery attempts to ingratiate herself to Cersei Lannister, commenting that they will technically be sisters soon. Cersei responds by telling Margaery the story behind the song "Rains of Castamere," relating how it refers to the destruction of House Reyne after their failed rebellion against House Lannister. This implies the similarities between the ambitions and position of Houses Reyne and House Tyrell, and that the same fate may fall upon the Tyrells if they plot against the Lannisters. Cersei concludes by threatening to have Margaery strangled in her sleep if she ever dares call her sister again. The ceremony then begins, turning out to be quite a grim affair. King Joffrey smugly escorts Sansa to the altar in place of her father, the late Eddard Stark, and then petulantly removes the stool upon which Tyrion was to stand on in order stand tall enough to cloak Sansa in Lannister colors as part of the ceremony. This elicites snickers from the royal congregation in the Sept, though the scowl of Lord Tywin Lannister quickly silences them. Tyrion, in the face of humiliation, asks Sansa to kneel and he places the cloak around her shoulders as the High Septon then begins the ceremony.

Later that evening at the wedding feast, Lady Olenna Tyrell is seated with her grandchildren, Margaery and Loras Tyrell, while she discusses what the dynamics of the Lannister and Tyrell families will be after Ser Loras is married to Cersei. Margaery shoots her grandmother a withering glare, however, just before Loras eventually storms out. Meanwhile, Tyrion spends the wedding feast mostly by getting deeply drunk and making light of his father Tywin’s insistence that his inebriated state will render him unfit to impregnate his wife. Tyrion, drunkenly proclaiming himself "the god of tits and wine," reminds his father that he has long called him "a drunken little lust-filled beast," so doing his duty in the marriage bed will not pose a problem. Lord Tywin forcefully grabs the wine goblet out of Tyrion’s hand, demanding his son that he will do his duty. At the same time, Joffrey is himself drinking too much wine, and losing what few inhibitions he has, his behavior becomes increasingly offensive to both Sansa and Tyrion. Afterwards, Cersei momentarily leaves the festivities for a moment of quiet but is interrupted by Ser Loras, who she dismissively insults when he struggles to make conversation with her. Meanwhile, against his mother’s ineffectual protests, King Joffrey, flanked by his Kingsguard, taunts Sansa that she's still found a way to marry a Lannister, stating this is must be a “dream come true” for her. Joffrey then reflects that it doesn't matter which Lannister gets her pregnant, and openly asserts that he might want to rape her this evening after his uncle Tyrion has fallen asleep, noting that the Kingsguard would hold her down. After re-joining the feast, Joffrey then declares it time for the bedding ceremony, which involves the men at the wedding stripping the bride and the women stripping the groom before carrying them off to the marriage bed. However, Tyrion angrily insists there won’t be a bedding ceremony. King Joffrey then tries to rally enthusiasm by the royal court, claiming the ceremony as tradition. When the king continues to push for the ceremony, however, a furious Tyrion slams his dagger into the table and threatens that Joffrey will "be fucking [his] own bride with a wooden cock" if he doesn't let the matter go. As the court stands in shocked silence, Joffrey seethes with outrage as Lord Tywin defuses the situation by agreeing that there will be no bedding ceremony. Tywin then placates Joffrey by claiming Tyrion's outburst is merely the result of his being extremely drunk.. Tyrion eventually swallows his anger and begins to act far more drunk than he actually is and escorts Sansa to their bedchamber.

Once they are alone in their quarters, Tyrion pours himself another glass of wine when Sansa asks him if this is a wise idea. He then drunkenly comments on Sansa’s “astoundingly” long neck, then asking how old she is. When Sansa informs him that she is fourteen, Tyrion rants about the demands of his father. A tense moment then passes as Sansa nervously begins to undress. Tyrion ultimately tells her to stop, deciding that he will not consummate the marriage if she does not want to, and only will if she changes her mind. When Sansa questions what he will do if she never does, Tyrion sarcastically jokes "and so my watch begins" - implying that his marriage will be celibate for all time, like a brother of the Night's Watch. Tyrion then abruptly passes out on a nearby lounge, leaving Sansa their bed. The following morning, Shae enters in fury. She tends to her duties whilst ignoring Tyrion, who awakens from his lounge, indicating that he did not sleep in the bed with Sansa. As Shae then approaches the bed, with a hint of a smile, she notices that Sansa's bed sheets are not stained with blood and Tyrion's bride is still a virgin.

beyond the wall

Meanwhile, Samwell Tarly, Gilly and her newborn continue their journey beyond the Wall and take refuge in a cabin at White Tree, an abandoned wildling village lying in the Haunted Forest, north-west of Castle Black. Upon arrival, Samwell checks for any sign of inhabitants but the singular cabin left standing is empty. After witnessing the arrival of a crow perching atop the heart tree of the village, Sam suggests staying overnight. Shortly after nightfall, a storm has set in while Sam attempts to build a fire. Gilly insists that the hopeless Sam abandons his efforts and join her under the furs. An awkward Samwell then sits beside her and exclaims his witness of having seen her newborn wink at him, though Gilly finds this unlikely. Gilly eventually gets the fire going herself while Sam suggests that she name her son. However, Gilly claims she doesn’t know many boy names. Samwell gives her some examples, and also explains the difference between first and last names. Gilly likes the name Randyll, Sam's father's first name, but Sam asks her not to give the child that name. Samwell then shares the truth about his father and his upbringing that was marked by cruelty, which they both have in common. Suddenly, they are interrupted by a thunderous squawking of the crows. Samwell and Gilly go outside to investigate and Gilly is then horrified to see a White Walker approaching them, and knows that it is after her child. Samwell recognises it as the same one that spared him before the battle at the Fist of the First Men. Sam draws his sword but the White Walker grabs his sword blade with a resounding clang. There is a crunching of ice and then the sword itself shatters in his grip. The creature swats the much heavier Sam aside with one backhand, then continues towards Gilly. As the monster reaches out to seize the infant, Samwell pulls out his dragonglass dagger, and runs at the White Walker in desperation. With a mighty howl that mixes with Gilly's screams, Sam plunges the glass blade into the Walker and it lets out an unholy guttural screech of agony. Whirling to face Samwell, its face blanches as it recognises him and screeches again, this time in disbelief. It falls to its knees, and shatters, leaving nothing but white dust. The dagger is then left behind. as Sam and Gilly race away in a panic. The crows fly out of the trees and chase them, screaming their hatred.

*Episode descriptions from GOT Wiki