Directed By: Mark Mylod / Written By: Bryan Cogman

Original Airdate: June 5, 2016

After escaping with a fleet, Theon and Yara Greyjoy sail across the Narrow Sea towards Meereen in an attempt to ally with Daenerys Targaryen. Meanwhile, Jaime Lannister arrives at Riverrun to assist negotiating a siege of the castle, an assignment the High Sparrow persuaded King Tommen to command as to remove Jaime from the capital before Cersei Lannister’s trial. In King’s Landing, Queen Margaery seems to be converted to the Faith and sends her grandmother Olenna Tyrell back home. In the North, Jon Snow and Sansa Stark continue their campaign for support in retaking Winterfell. In Braavos, Arya Stark makes arrangements to return to Westeros before someone makes an attempt on her life while a former ally of hers, who was presumed dead, is alive and well.

main cast

Volantis

Some time after escaping the Iron Islands, Theon Greyjoy and his sister Yara Greyjoy have sailed their contingent of the Iron Fleet across the Narrow Sea to the Free City of Volantis to hide and rest. Inside a brothel, Theon sits despondently as Yara and the others carouse with prostitutes. Yara repeatedly tells Theon to drink some ale and he repeatedly refuses. Yara is persuading Theon to regain his former identity and self confidence, as she will need his assistance in getting justice and retaking the Iron Islands from their uncle, Euron Greyjoy. When pressed, Theon asserts that if justice were served, he would be burnt for his crimes at Winterfell, so Yara responds, “Fuck justice then. Do it for revenge.” Eventually she convinces him to put his guilt aside and help her because she needs him. He begins to gain some composure the more he drinks. Yara then reveals to Theon that she plans to take the Iron Fleet to another city in Essos named Meereen and forge an alliance with Queen Daenerys Targaryen before Euron does. After the conversation, she goes to have sex with a female whore who has been trying to seduce her.

riverrun

Meanwhile, Ser Jaime Lannister arrives on horseback at Riverrun, accompanied by Bronn and an army of eight-thousand Lannister soldiers. Upon their arrival to the castle, Bronn comments on the size of the trenches as he insists this is a sorry attempt at a siege. After riding in further and walking through House Frey’s camp, Jaime witnesses Lord Walder Frey’s sons, Lothar Frey and Black Walder Rivers, threatening Ser Brynden 'The Blackfish' Tully to surrender the castle or else they will kill his nephew Edmure Tully, who is bound by the hands with a noose around his neck. When Brynden remains silent and indicates no sign of surrender, Black Walder removes the noose from Edmure, pushes him forward on the wooden platform and draws a blade to his throat. Black Walder then shouts at Brynden, reminding him that he was the one to slit his late niece Catelyn Stark’s throat at the Red Wedding. Regardless of this, knowing his nephew is too valuable to lose, Brynden dismisses them and Edmure is spared. Jaime then remarks on the Freys' poor attempts at siege warfare and points out that threatening to hang Edmure and then not doing so makes them look weak. To prove his point, he threatens to strike Black Walder if he speaks again; when Black Walder begins to answer, Jaime slaps him hard with his armored hand. Jaime then assumes command of the siege and orders Edmure to be washed and fed. He also sends word to Brynden that he wishes to parley with him.

Later on, as the drawbridge lowers, Ser Brynden meets with Jaime outside over the moat. However, it quickly becomes clear that the ‘Blackfish’ is not interested in surrendering as Brynden asks Ser Jaime whether he has come to honor his vow to Lady Catelyn and return her two daughters, Sansa and Arya Stark. When Jaime informs Brynden that he doesn’t have either of the girls, Brynden then asks him if he wishes to resume his captivity. Jaime then informs him why he has traveled to Riverrun and commands for Brynden to surrender in the name of King Tommen Baratheon. After the ‘Blackfish’ reports to Jaime that his nephew Edmure is marked for death regardless, he then quips that "negotiating with an oathbreaker is like building on quicksand," declaring that he is ready to die in his home. Brynden then challenges Jaime to storm the castle or try to starve them out, claiming that they have two years worth of provisions. Brynden rightly asks Jaime, "Do you have two years?"

king’s Landing

In King’s Landing, Queen Margaery Tyrell is studying the Seven-Pointed Star at the Great Sept when the High Sparrow enters and they discuss the passage she's been reading. Margaery notes that in the past she pretended to love the poor when in fact she only really pitied them. The High Sparrow asks her why she hasn't joined King Tommen in the marriage bed, and Margaery explains that the desires that once drove her no longer do so. The High Sparrow assures her that desire is not necessary but she has a duty to produce an heir. The High Sparrow then makes a thinly veiled threat against Margaery's grandmother, Lady Olenna Tyrell, in stating that while she is a remarkable woman, she is also an unrepentant sinner.

Afterwards, Queen Margaery returns to the Red Keep, as Lady Olenna meets with her under the supervision of Septa Unella. Olenna insults the septa until Margaery comes to Unella's defense. Olenna then pulls Margaery into another room in an attempt to gain some privacy, but Unella simply follows them. She then tries to convince Margaery to leave King's Landing and return to Highgarden. However, Queen Margaery refuses to leave, stating that her duty requires her to be at King Tommen's side and instead pleads for Olenna to return to Highgarden without her. As she emphatically urges for her grandmother to return home, Margaery secretly slips a piece of paper into Olenna's hand. In doing so, she communicates to Olenna that she doesn't quite mean what she's been saying in front of Unella. Once in private, Olenna unfolds the piece of paper and finds that there is a rose drawn on it, indicating that Margaery is merely tricking the Sparrows, her true loyalty still with House Tyrell. Olenna also seems to understand that Margaery is urging her to leave for her own safety.

Some time later, Cersei Lannister confronts Olenna about her plans to leave King’s Landing, telling her to remain for the sake of Margaery and Ser Loras Tyrell. Olenna angrily retorts that the reason all of this is happening is because of Cersei, as she was the one who allowed the Faith Militant to reform and allowed them to arrest her grandchildren. Olenna then reminds her of the smug look Cersei gave her when Loras and Margaery were being dragged away by the Faith Militant. Cersei admits that she made a mistake with the Sparrows, but insists that an alliance between the Lannisters and Tyrells is more important now than it ever was. Olenna refuses her, noting that Cersei has neither influence nor support anymore and is surrounded by enemies. She tells Cersei that she will be leaving the capital as soon as possible, and that Cersei's utter defeat is her only consolation.

the north

Meanwhile, as they approach the wildling camp along the Wall, Jon Snow, Sansa Stark and Ser Davos Seaworth begin their campaign for allies to retake Winterfell from Lord Ramsay Bolton. First, with help from Tormund Giantsbane and the giant Wun Wun, Jon speaks with the wildlings and their elders, led by Dim Dalba, who are still indebted to Jon for saving them at Hardhome. Jon asks for their help in the coming battle against Ramsay. Though Tormund stands by Jon, Dalba is skeptical, citing that they were allowed into the North to help fight against the White Walkers, not the Boltons. Jon agrees this isn't their fight and he shouldn't be asking for their help but points out that if Ramsay wins, he will wipe them all out anyway. Tormund speaks up for Jon, saying he died for the wildlings' well-being and if they don't help him, they are cowards. The wildlings agree after Wun Wun stands up and bellows "Snow," confirming his allegiance. When the meeting disperses, Jon asks Tormund if he's sure they will join him, and Tormund responds: "We’re not clever like you southerners. When we say we'll do something, we do it." Prior to traveling to their next destination, Davos shows Jon and Sansa the letter sent from Bear Island by House Mormont leader Lyanna Mormont rejecting Stannis Baratheon's previous plea for help some months before his death.

The trio then travel to Bear Island, where they meet with Lyanna, the ten-year old head of House Mormont. Sansa and Jon try to flatter her with small talk about her mother Maege. Jon then tells Lyanna of his friendship and service in the Night's Watch under her uncle, the deceased Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. However, Lyanna is unimpressed and aggressively brushes them off, demanding to know their business in Bear Island. Once they’ve addressed their intention, Lyanna rejects their request for help and stresses that House Stark is dead and that she needs her forces to garrison Bear Island. She also remarks that Jon and Sansa cannot be considered Starks since the former is a bastard and the latter has been married twice into enemy houses, House Lannister and then House Bolton. Jon then reveals that Ramsay is holding Rickon Stark hostage but Lyanna is initially unconcerned about the threat of Ramsay and House Bolton. However, before Lyanna can dismiss them, Davos then intervenes. After briefly discussing his background, Davos manages to convince the young Lady Mormont that they need to defeat Ramsay Bolton in order to unite the North against the impending threat of the White Walkers, as he then warns her of the dangers the army of the dead pose to the living. Lyanna eventually agrees and informs them they they will be supplied them with sixty-two men, the remaining force of their house, promising that each will fight with the worth of ten men.

Continuing their campaign, Jon, Sansa and Davos then travel to  Deepwood Motte to secure the allegiance of House Glover. However, they receive a frosty reception from Lord Robett Glover, who points out that the late King Robb Stark failed to protect his home from the usurping Ironborn. House Glover only recently have taken the castle back from the Ironborn with the aide of House Bolton, as Robett asserts that he could be skinned by the Boltons for even talking with them. Lord Glover then asks what other Northern houses have pledged to fight for them as Jon informs him that they’ve secured House Mormont. Expecting more, Robett firmly repeats his inquiry of who else is fighting in this army. Jon then, quite sheepishly, informs Glover that the bulk of the force are made up of wildlings. Glover laughs and states that the rumors of Jon’s allegiance with the Free Folk are true, then asserting that House Glover will not be abandoning their ancestral home to fight alongside wildlings. When Sansa tries to highlight the fact that the Glovers had pledged fealty to House Stark, Robett responds that despite the Glovers being one of the Starks' most loyal bannermen, Robett asserts that King Robb did not come to Robett’s aid when the Ironborn invaded his stronghold, imprisoned his wife and children, and brutalized his subjects. Robett adds that the late King instead married the “foreign whore” Talisa Maegyr and got himself and his loyal subjects killed. Lord Glover then shoots a glance over to Jon, indicating a repeat of history with bedding the wildling Ygritte, which resulted in a foreign alliance. Robett then informs Sansa that he received their meeting out of respect for their father, Lord Eddard Stark, but warns them that they have outstayed their welcome.

In the end, Jon, Sansa and Ser Davos are only able to recruit a small number of minor houses, only adding a few hundred extra soldiers to their army. As they ride into their camp somewhere along the Wall, Lady Lyanna Mormont and her men are seen among the Stark and wildling forces. Jon insists they they won’t be staying at the camp for long, as another storm can hit at any time. Ser Davos then leaves Jon and Sansa to deal with a brawl among the wildlings. Sansa questions Jon over Davos’ role as his advisor, though Jon is insistent that Davos is the reason he is alive. Jon vouches for his previous service to Stannis Baratheon., an argument that Sansa does not find encouraging considering Stannis’ numerous failures in battle. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Jon is adamant that they attack Winterfell as soon as possible before Ramsay rallies more forces. Sansa disagrees, instead opting to try and recruit more houses, and is later seen in private writing a letter in her tent.

braavos

Arya Stark is walking casually through the streets of Braavos as she descends a path of steps and overhears two tradesmen conversing. The Westerosi trader is speaking with his companion concerning the Ironborn fleet's arrival in Slaver's Bay when he is approached by Arya, who recognizes him as a trader due to his usage of the common tongue. Arya pays the man with two bags of coins in order to secure passage at dawn for her journey back to Westeros. Afterwards, Arya is standing on a bridge admiring a view of the Titan of Braavos statue, perhaps appreciating where her journey has taken her regardless of the looming threat against her by the Faceless Men. Arya is then interrupted by an old woman who approaches her and eventually reveals herself to be the Waif once the mask is removed. The Waif repeatedly stabs Arya in the gut, twisting the knife as she does. However, Arya escapes by rolling over the bridge and crashing into the river. After a few moments, the Waif assumes her death, as Arya hasn’t come up for air, and walks pleased with herself. Arya eventually emerges from the water and is left stumbling through the streets of Braavos, visibly terrified and leaving a trail of blood behind her.

the riverlands

Meanwhile, in the lush valleys of the Riverlands, a small and simplistic village is in the process of building a sept from the ground up. While the village leader, Brother Ray, a former sellsword turned septon, is overseeing the construction and socializing with the other villagers, a large man carries a single log by himself with ease. The man is revealed to be Sandor ‘The Hound’ Clegane, who has survived his wounds from the fight with Brienne of Tarth some time ago in the Vale of Arryn when he was left for dead by Arya Stark. The village leader, who goes by Brother Ray, approaches Clegane while he is chopping wood for the construction of the sept. The septon informs Sandor that in all his days he’s never swing an axe like that, then asking him “how many men did it take to cut you down?” Sandor admits that it was only one person, later confessing that it was a woman. Afterwards, while they are taking a break, Brother Ray recounts to the Hound how he had saved his life, as Sandor had a broken leg and was covered in bugs when he found him in the mountains of the Vale. Assuming Sandor was nothing more than a corpse when Ray then tried to bury him, the Hound coughed, so he loaded him onto a wagon and took him to be nursed back to health. The septon then asks Sandor how he kept himself going, with the Hound admitting that it was “hate”. Ray notes that Sandor is alive because the gods have a plan for him and they are not done with him yet. Ray then admits that he does not know much about the gods and wonders aloud if the Seven, the Old Gods, and R'hllor are all the same deity; he concludes that the most important thing is that there is a force greater than humankind out there. When Ray mentions justice, Sandor remarks that if there was justice in the world, he should have been punished. Brother Ray then responds that perhaps he has been punished already.

Some time later, at a gathering, Brother Ray recalls aloud to the villagers the story of how he became a religious man, noting that he used to be soldier. The veteran of the War of the Ninepenny Kings then confesses that he was never a brave soldier. His friends believed he was not afraid of anything, but he admits he was only brave because he was worried people would see him for what he truly was: "a coward who followed orders". Ray explains that he burned down villages, stole crops and killed anyone that he was told to. Continuing, he then admits to once cutting the throat of a young boy, while the mother held back and screamed. That night, he couldn’t forget the mother's screams and became ashamed of what he was. After that, Brother Ray notes that he became a man of peace and an ordained septon. He informs the villagers that is it never too late for redemption, and when noticing three riders approaching, Ray also declares that it’s not about waiting for the gods to answer their prayers. The trio of riders, Lem, Gatins and Morgan, are from the Brotherhood Without Banners, who have come to the village in attempt to extort the group. Upon learning that the villagers have no worthwhile possessions, they eventually leave. Before departing, however, Lem warns the villagers to “Stay safe. The night is dark and full of terrors”. Afterwards, Sandor stresses to Brother Ray that the Brotherhood will return and that he should defend himself from them. However, the septon asserts to Sandor that "Violence is a disease—you don’t cure it by spreading it to more people." Sandor replies that you don't cure it by dying either. Some time later, while Sandor goes out to the forest to chop wood, he returns to find the building site ransacked and all of the villagers have been mercilessly slaughtered. As the Hound slowly approaches the sept, he discovers that Brother Ray has been hung from the rafters of the unfinished site, his lifeless body swaying underneath the noose. A raging Sandor then picks up an axe and heads off to find the Brotherhood, leaving his recently peaceful life behind him in order to avenge the village.

*Episode descriptions from GOT Wiki