‘the bells’
Directed By: Miguel Sapochnik / Written By: David Benioff & D. B. Weiss
Original Airdate: May 12, 2019
Following Euron Greyjoy’s ambush outside of Dragonstone, which has resulted in the deaths of Missandei and Rhaegal, the Targaryen and Northern armies arrive at King’s Landing and prepare for all-out war. While Euron’s Iron Fleet and the hired Golden Company brace for battle, Arya Stark and Sandor Clegane arrive in the capital as they plan to kill Cersei Lannister and Ser Gregor Clegane. Meanwhile, Jaime Lannister also arrives in hopes that he can make it to the Red Keep in time to save Cersei before the attack. The fiery battle commences when Daenerys Targaryen approaches the capital with Drogon and Cersei’s forces are quickly demolished. The remaining Lannister army surrenders, though a grieving Daenerys contemplates if justice has been served.
main cast
featuring
PILOU ASBAEK as EURON GREYJOY / ANTON LESSER as QYBURN / HAFBOR JULIUS BJORNSSON as GREGOR CLEGANE
MARC RISSMANN as HARRY STRICKLAND / BRONTE CARMICHAEL as MARTHA and LAURA ELPHINSTONE as NORA
dragonstone
At Dragonstone, Lord Varys is writing letters pertaining to the truth about Jon Snow's heritage when Martha, one of his little birds, walks in and tells Varys that Daenerys Targaryen has not eaten anything in days. Varys responds they'll try again at supper and assures her that the higher the risk, the greater the reward. She is sent back to the kitchen as Varys gets word of the arrival of Jon and his men. On the shore, Jon briefs Varys on the Northern army’s progress and asks about Daenerys’ well-being. Varys expresses his concern for them all and speaks of Daenerys' mental state: "They say that when a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin." He further states that while he doesn’t know what side Daenerys' coin will land on, he does know which side Jon's will land on, implying that he wants Jon to take the Iron Throne. Jon vehemently refuses, saying that Daenerys is his queen now and forever. Meanwhile, after witnessing the pair converse, Tyrion Lannister visits the grieving Daenerys in the war room where she’s been holed up for days. When she surmises to him that someone has betrayed her, Tyrion confirms Varys, as Daenerys correctly assumes that Varys knows the truth about Jon. She informs Tyrion that he had told Varys: "You learned from Sansa. And she learned from Jon, though I begged him not to tell her," and thus feels Jon has also betrayed her. An angered Daenerys tells her Hand: “Sansa trusted you to spread secrets that could destroy your own queen. And you did not let her down." Tyrion asks for Daenerys' forgiveness, insisting they want the better world she desires and that their intentions were good: "Varys as much as anyone… But it doesn't matter now." Daenerys replies, "No. It doesn't matter now." Later that evening, Lord Varys is writing more letters when he hears the approach of guards. He burns the letter he is currently writing as Grey Worm and a handful of Unsullied come into his room, shackles in hand. Varys understands what is about to occur. Without resistance, he is taken to the shores of Dragonstone, where Daenerys, Jon and Tyrion are all waiting for him. Tyrion solemnly informs Varys that it was him who sold his treachery out to Daenerys. Varys understands, and states that he truly hopes that he is wrong about everything he said about the dragon queen. He bids one more farewell to his long-time friend before Drogon burns him alive on Daenerys' command. A devastated Tyrion watches in anguish, while Jon looks at Daenerys with concern.
Afterwards, in her chambers, Daenerys and Grey Worm burn a slave collar in the fireplace as they are still both grieving for Missandei. After Jon interrupts and Grey Worm exits, Daenerys insists that Sansa betrayed Jon’s trust: “Now she knows what happens when people hear the truth about you." Daenerys confides that the people of Westeros love Jon more than her, that all she has here is fear, not love. Jon tells Daenerys that she will always be his queen regardless of how others feel about her. She begins kissing Jon, however, he breaks away from the embrace, still unable to get over their blood relation. In response, Daenerys accepts this but firmly asserts: "Alright then. Let it be fear." Later on, in the throne room, Tyrion consults with Daenerys, who is now ordering Grey Worm and the Unsullied to sack King's Landing. Tyrion is strongly against it, citing the innocent citizens of the city again. As Daenerys understands that they are hostages in a tyrant's grip, Tyrion begs her not to burn the city, or thousands will die. In a last-ditch effort to get through to her, Tyrion bargains one last time: he will go talk to his sister Cersei Lannister and convince her to surrender. He urges to call off the attack when she hears the bells of the capital being rung, indicating the Lannister army’s surrender. Reluctantly, Daenerys agrees. Before Tyrion leaves, she informs him that his brother Jaime Lannister was caught by her men trying to get past their lines. She warns him that the next time he fails her, it will be his very last.
king’s landing
Some time later, Ser Davos Seaworth and his men are prepping for the siege outside of King's Landing when Jon and Tyrion arrive by boat. Tyrion asks Davos if he can smuggle something specific for him. After persuading the guards surrounding Jaime's tent to allow him entry, he enters to see his brother shackled to a post. Tyrion reveals that he smuggled the key to Jaime's shackles and unchains him, saying that he wants him to be the one to go to Cersei and convince her to surrender, saying it will be much easier for him than it would be for Tyrion himself. Tyrion informs that he’s arranged for a boat that will take both Jaime and Cersei across the Narrow Sea to Pentos so they can happily live out their days, demonstrating his true understanding of the love his brother and sister have for each other. Jaime agrees but argues that Daenerys will kill Tyrion for this, but Tyrion replies that he considers his life a fair exchange if it allows Daenerys to take the city without slaughtering thousands. Tyrion thanks Jaime for everything he has ever done for him before the two brothers share a tearful goodbye.
After traveling overnight by boat, Jon, Tyrion, Ser Davos and the united army, comprised of the Unsullied, Dothraki and Northmen, wait outside the walls of King's Landing, ready for battle. Tyrion instructs Jon that when they hear the bells he is to call off his men. Meanwhile, scores of citizens from the city have been crowded within the walls of the Red Keep to protect them from the coming invasion. Queen Cersei herself overlooks the city and witnesses her plan coming to fruition: she intends to keep a vast swath of innocent civilians in the path of the Red Keep, seeing if Daenerys will truly burn the city and all the inhabitants with it. While the Red Keep gates close, Arya Stark and Sandor Clegane manage to sneak in at the last minute, though Ser Jaime doesn’t make it in time and takes to the back alleys of the city to find another entrance into the castle in order to save Cersei. In Blackwater Bay, the Iron Fleet waits in silence, as the deafening quiet permeates throughout the rest of the city. Hearing a faint noise in the distance, Euron Greyjoy peers upwards into the sky when suddenly Daenerys, riding atop Drogon, ambushes them by diving directly out of the sun. The Ironborn men fire their scorpions, but are unable to land a hit, for their target is too fast. Drogon all but destroys the Iron Fleet within moments, though Euron himself is able to escape by jumping into the sea. Daenerys and Drogon then take to the city’s walls where the Lannister army also fail on several attempts to land a hit with more scorpion launchers. As the united Targaryen and Northern armies patiently stand across the field from the Golden Company army, awaiting the sound of the bells, Daenerys and Drogon suddenly burst through the gates in a fiery blast. Raining dragonfire below, Drogon quickly scatters Cersei’s hired mercenaries. Grey Worm and the united army charge the gate and take care of what remains of the Golden Company's men. In the mayhem, Grey Worm impales a fleeing Captain Strickland in the back with his spear, killing him. As Jon, Grey Worm, Ser Davos and the united army then take to the streets of King's Landing, taking out any and all enemy soldiers in their path, Daenerys and Drogon strafe the city walls, destroying the remaining scorpions. They united army then make their way to the gates of the inner-most part of the city, where Lannister soldiers are waiting. The two opposing armies come to an intense standstill, as Cersei looks out from her Red Keep balcony with fearful anticipation. Daenerys perches Drogon atop one of the walls. Realizing their chances of winning are dwindling, the Lannister soldiers drop their swords and surrender. Jon is visibly relieved as the battle is seemingly over. Shouts from the citizens of the capital can be heard all around the city, as they cry out for the bells to ring and for the war to come to an end.
After a long amount of time passes, the bells are finally rung, signaling what appears to be the end of the sack of the city. However, while the bells keep ringing, Daenerys looks at the Red Keep with a look of pure hatred in her eyes. Without uttering a single word, Daenerys takes Drogon to the skies, and in a terrifying display of rage, proceeds to burn down the entirety of King's Landing, scorching entire neighborhoods, killing both soldiers and innocent civilians alike. Grey Worm then throws his spear at a Lannister captain, impaling him, and with this it an all-out war breaks out on the ground. Jon and Tyrion are horrified by what they are bearing witness to. Jon orders his own men back. Unfortunately, the Northmen are in no mood to be merciful towards House Lannister, the house who are almost single-handedly responsible for every single atrocity the North has suffered over the years, and join the Unsullied and Dothraki. Chaos erupts as the united army begins killing anyone, soldier or civilian, and raping women they come across. A horrified Jon is caught up in the disorder, deflecting attacks and shouting at his men to stop fighting. Ser Davos is trying to usher people to safety while an increasingly fearful Cersei looks on from the Red Keep in alarm as the carnage continues. Jon finds one of the soldiers grabbing an innocent woman and intervenes to stop the soldier from raping her. The soldier attacks Jon and Jon is forced to kill him. Meanwhile, Ser Jaime sneaks around the cliffs on which the Red Keep is situated and encounters Euron Greyjoy, who survived his brush with death in Blackwater Bay. Jaime urges Euron to help him save Cersei, but Euron points out that the city and Cersei are lost. He and Jaime fight, saying that he will personally deliver Jaime's severed head to Cersei so she can kiss it one last time. Although Euron stabs Jaime multiple times, Jaime is able to overpower Euron and impales him through the stomach with his sword. He walks away, severely injured, as Euron utters his final words, smiling: "I'm the man who killed Jaime Lannister." At the same time, Arya and Sandor sneak into the Red Keep, however, Sandor grabs Arya's arm and urges her to choose life over vengeance. When Arya tries to continue onward, Sandor shouts at Arya, "Look at me! You wanna be like me? You come with me, you die here." Convinced, Sandor carries on without her, as Arya calls him by his name for the first time and thanks him before going their separate ways. Having convinced Cersei that all is lost, Qyburn evacuates Cersei from the Red Keep, but they come across Sandor. The Hound effortlessly dispatches the Queensguard before he stands face to face with his brother. Cersei orders Gregor Clegane to protect her. When Gregor ignores her, Qyburn repeats the order, but the Mountain then smashes his head against a wall, killing him. Cersei then flees as the Clegane brothers duel.
As the Red Keep continues to crumble around her, Cersei is alone when attempting her escape. She enters the painted atrium in panic, seemingly unsure of how to exit the castle without being crushed by falling debris. Suddenly she sees her brother Jaime from across the room, who managed to find her within the chaos. They quickly embrace, as Cersei breaks down in front of him. She then expresses concern for her brother, who is bloodied and badly wounded from his victorious fight against Euron. He cradles his defeated sister in his arms, as they then continue to make their way out of the atrium and deep below the castle to find the boat Tyrion has arranged for their escape from the city. As the evenly-matched Clegane brothers continue to duel to the death, Arya has made her way out of the falling castle and back onto the dangerous streets that are littered with bloodshed and raining fire. She attempts to flee the flame-engulfed city but is trapped in by the large mass of terrified civilians fleeing dragonfire. Arya tries to rescue a young girl and some other inhabitants but is knocked unconscious, unable to help anyone. Meanwhile, Gregor beats down Sandor and prepares to gouge out his eyes, however, Sandor grabs a knife from his side and stabs Gregor clean through his eye. Even this does nothing to stop Gregor, who begins pulling the knife from his eye. Knowing that nothing will truly kill Gregor, Sandor musters enough courage and tackles Gregor through a badly-damaged wall, sending them both hurtling hundreds of feet into the fiery remains of the city to their deaths. On the ground, Jon and Davos witness caches of wildfire exploding, further adding to the destruction of the capital. Jon and Davos then rush people out of the city as fire rains down upon them from above. Meanwhile, Jaime and Cersei find their way underneath the Red Keep, however, they find their path has been blocked by rubble. A frightened Cersei begins to cry, saying that she does not want to die. Jaime tells her not to look at the crumbling keep, "Look at me, just look at me. Nothing else matters, nothing else matters, only us." Hearing the castle above them caving in, the twins embrace for the last time as the ceiling caves in on them, killing them both. By the time Arya regains consciousness, the battle has dwindled to smoke, ashes and the flickering of extinguishing flames. As she witnesses the city in complete ruin, Arya then discovers a solitary white horse among the scores of dead bodies on the street. After mounting the horse, Arya rides further out of King’s Landing, shell-shocked by Daenerys' massacre. The historical last words of the “Mad King” Aerys Targaryen: "Burn them all" comes to life at his own daughter's hand, as ashes is all that remains in the capital of the Seven Kingdoms.
*Episode descriptions from GOT Wiki
“Alright then. Let it be fear”
“You think you’ve wanted revenge a long time? I’ve been after it all my life, it’s all I care about. Look at me. LOOK AT ME! You want to be like me? You come with me, you die here”
“Nothing else matters. Only us”
“Every time a Targaryen is born, the Gods flip a coin and the world holds its’ breath”
“The Red Keep’s never fallen. It won’t fall today”
“If it weren’t for you, I never would have survived my childhood. You were the only one who didn’t treat me like a monster. You were all I had”
episode five music
inside the episode
did you know?
The title of the episode recalls what Varys said to Tyrion shortly before the Battle of the Blackwater: ‘’I’ve always hated the bells. They ring for horror. A dead king. A city under siege.’’ Strangely enough, in the same episode, Davos states that he has never known ringing bells to mean surrender of a city, which is precisely what they are supposed to mean in Tyrion's plan.
Three long-standing fan theories are referenced in this episode:
"Cleganebowl," a final showdown between Sandor and Gregor Clegane
"Mad Queen Daenerys", with Daenerys apparently succumbing to the notorious Targaryen madness
Daenerys as the "younger, more beautiful queen" prophesized by Maggy, who would cast Cersei down and take all she held dear
With the deaths of Sandor and Gregor Clegane, all known members of House Clegane are dead, rendering the house extinct. With Jaime and Cersei's deaths, Tyrion has become Lord of Casterly Rock and head of House Lannister as the sole remaining offspring of Tywin Lannister. This is ironic given Tywin's resentment toward Tyrion and refusal to make Tyrion his heir. With the death of Euron, Yara Greyjoy's rule of the Iron Islands is now uncontested.
The white horse found by Arya at the end of the episode may be a reference to the Book of Revelation from the Christian Bible: Revelation 6:8 refers to a rider of the white or ashen horse being death, and where ever the white horse goes, death follows with it. Arya was affiliated with the Many-Faced God of Death, and the horse is leaving behind a burning city with thousands dead.
The destruction of the Red Keep in this episode leaves the fate of prisoners in the Black Cells, like Septa Unella and Ellaria Sand, uncertain. Provided they didn’t die prior to this episode’s events, one can assume they were crushed/suffocated in their cells, as the damage was enough for the basements of the Keep to be crumbling, suggesting the entire structure was compromised.
Qyburn is the seventh consecutive Hand of the King to be killed: prior to him were Qarlton Chelsted, who was executed at Aerys's order; Rossart - slain by Jaime; Jon Arryn - poisoned by his wife; Ned Stark - executed at Joffrey's order; Tywin - shot by Tyrion; Kevan - incinerated when Cersei blew up the Great Sept of Baelor.
The fight between Gregor and Sandor Clegane (known commonly as "Cleganebowl") was choreographed by Vladimír Furdík who also portrayed the Night King in Seasons 6-8.
The dialogue of Varys and Martha implies that Varys tried to poison Daenerys. Martha tells Varys that "she isn't eating," and Varys appears pensive before telling her "we'll try again at supper", implying that Varys had some sort of plan regarding Daenerys' food. Given his recent misgivings about Daenerys's sanity, poison seems the most likely answer. Martha also notes how the soldiers at Dragonstone are watching her, perhaps suggesting that Daenerys suspects someone may try to poison her.
In Season 1 episode "The Wolf and the Lion", Ned Stark objected to kill Daenerys, and did not listen to Varys and Pycelle, who correctly pointed out that either Daenerys died, or many innocent people would. In this episode, it turned to be that Varys and Pycelle were right, while Ned was really acting like a "honorable fool", as Robert called him.
With the deaths of Cersei and the Mountain, Arya's kill list is completed.
Cersei's statement "The Red Keep has never fallen" is not incorrect: the city has fallen during Robert's Rebellion, but the Red Keep itself was technically not put under siege and taken, as Jaime had already killed the Mad King by the time Lannister troops reached the keep.
The City Watch of King's Landing doesn't appear in the episode. A likely reason for this is that Cersei assimilated the City Watch into the Lannister army to replenish their badly-depleted numbers after the Battle of the Goldroad.
Two songs can be heard playing simultaneously during the end credits: "The Light of the Seven" and “The Rains of Castamere”. Both were originally odes to Lannister triumphs: "The Light of the Seven" first being played alongside the destruction of Cersei's enemies in "The Winds of Winter", and the latter being the unofficial anthem of House Lannister, commemorating their destruction of their renegade bannermen. So it's ironic that they play in an episode that sees two Lannisters killed in a similar manner to the Reynes, and House Lannister seemingly on the brink of extinction.
Note that even ruthless people like Tywin and Roose Bolton, who treated their enemies very cruelly, were against killing enemies who had surrendered:
Roose rebuked Ramsay for needlessly killing the ironborn who yielded on two occasions (the Sack of Winterfell and the Surrender of Moat Cailin).
Tywin told Joffrey in the third novel "when your enemies defy you, you must serve them steel and fire. When they go to their knees, however, you must help them back to their feet. Elsewise no man will ever bend the knee to you. And any man who must say I am the king is no true king at all".