Directed By: Alik Sakharov / Written By: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss

Original Airdate: May 5, 2013

In King's Landing, Tywin Lannister meets with Olenna Tyrell to discuss their children's proposed marriages while Tyrion and Cersei bemoan their fate. In the Riverlands, Arya Stark takes an immediate dislike to Melisandre when she arrives at their camp, which grows when she learns Melisandre is taking someone away with her. At Harrenhal, Jaime Lannister negotiates his release, while at Riverrun Robb Stark realizes he has no choice but to repair relations with the Freys. However, since Robb didn't marry one of the Frey daughters as promised, a new demand is made instead. Meanwhile, Jon and the contingent of wildlings arrive at the Wall and begin the seven-hundred-foot climb to the top to venture into the Seven Kingdoms.

main cast

beyond the wall

Beyond the Wall, Samwell Tarly, Gilly and her newborn son stop to camp during their journey to the Wall after having fled the mutiny at Craster's Keep that has claimed the lives of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and several other members of the Night’s Watch. Having troubles stoking the fire, Gilly instructs Samwell on how to let the fire breathe. He then sheepishly compliments her on her knowledge of fires. When Gilly asks about fires back home, Samwell explains that the Reach isn’t a cold place, then adding that he also did have servants. Gilly then asserts that she assumed correctly of his highborn status. Quickly changing the subject, Sam shows Gilly the volcanic dragonglass dagger he found at the Fist of the First Men. She asks him what does it do, as he then assumes it doesn’t have a purpose but marvels at it’s beauty. When Samwell then mentions they are a few days away from the Wall, Gilly asks if it is as big as they say. Samwell exaggerates it’s size and informs her that on a warm day one can see the Wall weeping. He then informs her about Castle Black and how they keep a fire burning throughout the day and night, as well as the venison stew that is served to the Watch. When Samwell mentions some of the Night’s Watch members singing as well, Gilly then insists on Sam singing to her and the baby. After a brief resistance, Samwell begins singing “The Song of the Seven” to his new travel companions.

hollow hill

Outside of Hollow Hill, the hideout of the Brotherhood without Banners, Anguy trains Arya Stark on proper use of a bow. After confidently firing an arrow at a practice dummy, Arya asserts that she hit the target exactly where she wanted to: “face, tits, balls”. Anguy, however, informs Arya that she’s not as good as she thinks she is and took her time with shooting. He instructs Arya on her form, and then after advising her to never aim, Anguy insists that her eye will know where to land. During her training, Arya then spots someone behind her target, which is revealed to be the Red Priestess Melisandre and a small group of Stannis Baratheon's men. Thoros of Myr then speaks to Melisandre in High Valyrian, noting that he doesn’t often see Red Priestesses within the Riverlands. Melisandre declares that she knows who Thoros is and then demands to know what became of his mission to convert the late King Robert Baratheon to the worship of the Lord of Light. After bluntly telling her he failed, Melisandre claims that Thoros quit and also calls him a drunk. Thoros tells her that he worships R’hllor in his own way. He then asks that Melisandre be more open about her needs and that she should refrain from speaking High Valyrian, as the rest of the Brotherhood cannot. Melisandre is then brought to into the cave and is shocked when she learns of the six deaths and resurrections of  Ser Beric Dondarrion, exclaiming that Thoros, as a Red Priest, should not possess that kind of power. Thoros, however, claims that he has no power, alluding that R’hllor acts alone through him. He then declares that by the time he came to Westeros, he didn’t believe in the Lord of Light, or any god for that matter. Thoros explains that it wasn’t until Ser Beric came along is when he understood his faith. Melisandre then informs that the Brotherhood has someone the Lord of Light needs. Soon after, she has her men take Gendry into custody. Gendry protests, however, Melisandre hints at a higher purpose that he can serve than if he is to remain with the Brotherhood. Arya also protests, particularly when she sees that Melisandre has given the Brotherhood two heavy sacks of gold in exchange for the capture of Gendry. Arya confronts the Red Priestess, calling her a witch, but Melisandre ignores the barb. The Red Priestess then grab’s Arya’s face and intensely stares into her eyes. She vaguely informs Arya that she sees many other eyes, of many other colors: “eyes that you will shut forever.“ She then lets go of Arya’s face and before departing with Gendry, Melisandre assures Arya that they will meet again.

riverrun

Meanwhile, at Riverrun, King Robb Stark along with Catelyn Stark, Brynden Tully and Edmure Tully meet with Walder Rivers and Lothar Frey to discuss an alliance for his planned attack on the home of House Lannister at Casterly Rock. The Freys carry Walder Frey's demands for an alliance, which includes a formal apology from Robb for his violation of the oath he took to marry one of his daughters. Robb admits he was wrong in his betrayal and happily agrees to give a formal apology. Frey also demands that as restitution for the betrayal he will take the castle of Harrenhal and all of its lands and incomes. Edmure starts to argue this but Robb cuts him off and agrees to this arrangement saying that once it is no longer needed for the war Harrenhal is expendable as it is not part of the North. The final request is for Edmure to marry Roslin, one of his daughters, within a fortnight or the alliance will be broken. Bryden argues that they are in the middle of a war to which Black Walder replies with his father’s distrust of long engagements after Robb’s recent break of oath. Edmure is reluctant to marry a woman he has never met, but is eventually convinced by the group to go through with the arrangement.

harrenhal

Elsewhere in the Riverlands, Lord Roose Bolton has dinner with the captive Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth at Harrenhal. As Jaime struggles with one hand to cut his meat Brienne mentions to Bolton that as he is a Stark bannerman he should allow Brienne to take Jaime back to King's Landing on the basis of Catelyn Stark’s order. Jaime then insists that his father, Lord Tywin Lannister, would pay the most and that if he is sent back up North his father would make Bolton pay the most for his actions. Bolton tells Jaime he will send him to King's Landing as restitution for his lost hand but only on the condition that Jaime swear to tell his father that Bolton was not personally responsible for maiming him. With the assumption that Brienne will continue with him in their journey back to the capital, Jaime informs her of their resumed travels together. However, Roose Bolton then demands to keep Brienne with him as she is under arrest for abetting treason. As Brienne protests and Jaime is insistent that she is the one to bring him home Bolton denies this allowance and tells Jaime that he should have learned his lesson by now of overplaying his position.

the north

In the North, as Bran Stark continues his journey north towards the Wall, tensions rise when his group stop for camp before sunset. Osha tries to instruct Meera Reed on how to skin a rabbit properly. When Meera replies that she knows how to skin a rabbit but Osha insists that she does not, adding that when you grow up in the North you learn the proper way to handle game. Meera then asserts that without her bow there wouldn’t be any game to skin, and questions why they don’t teach people in the North to say thank you for catching their food. When an increasingly-annoyed Bran has had enough of their argument, he diffuses the situation by shouting at them, asserting that they have both been at each other’s throats since meeting. He insists that they make peace or they will never make it to the Wall. Osha and Meera then begrudgingly compliment each other in front of Bran in order to appease him. The awkward conversation is then interrupted as Jojen Reed starts experiencing a seizure while sleeping. Meera explains that the seizures are caused by his visions and that they take a large toll on his body. When Jojen wakes, he then informs Bran that in his vision he saw his half-brother Jon Snow at Castle Black. When Bran questions what he saw, Jojen insists that Jon is on the wrong side of the Wall, and is surrounded by enemies, meaning the wildlings.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the North, in the dungeon of Theon Greyjoy’s torture chamber, the ‘servant’ who has revealed himself as the main torturer awakens Theon to continue toying him, mentally and physically. A delirious Theon exhaustedly tries asking for water as his captor then informs him he wishes he had some for him while picking up a mug and pouring the remains of his own water out on the floor. The captor then begins teasing Theon as he cites Theon’s admission of his feelings towards his father and the betrayed House Stark. He then informs Theon that now he knows the Stark boys are alive he will hunt them down himself. The boy then threatens to remove Theon's pinky finger if he cannot guess what his true identity is and their current location. He gives the impression that Theon guessed right when Theon says he is the younger brother of Torrhen Karstark, Rickard Karstark's son, and that they are in Karhold, the seat of House Karstark. But then, the boy tells Theon he was lying, and begins flaying Theon's finger while telling him that he is torturing Theon purely for his own amusement.

king’s landing

In King's Landing, Lord Tywin Lannister meets with Lady Olenna Tyrell to discuss having Ser Loras Tyrell marry his daughter, Cersei Lannister. They trade barbs about Cersei's age, her capability to have more children and of Ser Loras's well-known homosexuality. Tywin is adamant that the two wed but Olenna blatantly refuses to consent, stating her grandson is the most desirable bachelor in Westeros and then hinting at King Joffrey Baratheon being the result of incest. Tywin replies that if that is true, Joffrey has no right to the throne and the Tyrells just "threw a flower into the dirt", implying Margaery Tyrell’s arranged marriage to his grandson. Olenna says she will not risk "throwing another flower into the dirt" if Cersei cannot bear heirs for House Tyrell. Realizing her unchanged position on the matter, Tywin threatens to make Ser Loras a knight of the Kingsguard, which would force Loras to give up his right to marriage and to inherit his home of Highgarden. With her hands tied, Olenna eventually relents and consents to the marriage of Loras and Cersei.

In the gardens, Sansa Stark tries to get closer to Ser Loras by discussing their impending wedding, however, Loras is clearly uncomfortable being so close to her. Sansa becomes suspicious when she realizes that Loras seems more excited by the food and the wedding joust than by her. Cersei and  Tyrion Lannister observe the couple from Cersei's chambers overlooking the garden. Tyrion sarcastically asks which of the four of them has it the worst. He then finally accuses his sister of trying to have him killed during the Battle of the Blackwater. Cersei, tired of fighting him, remains quiet while he deduces that only two people can command the Kingsguard. Tyrion realizes that while Cersei certainly has the authority to command a Kingsguard, she isn't stupid enough to command Ser Mandon Moore to kill him in public. Tyrion realizes that it was in fact King Joffrey who ordered Ser Mandon Moore to kill him, because Tyrion was the only one who stood up to him. Cersei tells him his life is not in danger from Joffrey, as he dare not try anything like that now that Tywin is the Hand. They then discuss their brother Jaime's possible return to the capital, with Cersei wondering where he could possibly be. She then asks Tyrion which one of them should be the one to break the news to Sansa. Tyrion decides he might as well dash Sansa's hopes sooner rather than later. He goes to Sansa's chamber and asks for a private word, but Sansa declines to dismiss Shae. Tyrion gives Shae a carefully coded apology for not telling her in private before breaking the news to Sansa.

Later on, Lord Varys finds Lord Petyr Baelish in the throne room. Varys and Littlefinger discuss the Iron Throne, noting that it’s pageantry and propaganda is what creates nations and cements dynasties. Varys asserts that he serves the realm, but Lord Baelish scoffs that "the realm" is an invention of Aegon the Conqueror during the start of the Targaryen dynasty. Littlefinger then informs Varys that he is aware of the arrangement he had with Ros acting as spy for him, and as result he has given Ros to "a friend" who is eager for a “new experience”. Lord Baelish revels in the chaos that he has caused, likening chaos to a ladder for those brave enough to climb, rather than a pit to be lost in, as Varys and everyone else sees it. Meanwhile, the “friend” Littlefinger has implied to Varys is none other than King Joffrey, who coldly sits in his chambers with his crossbow. He coldly stares towards his bed at Ros’ lifeless and bloodied corpse that has been tied to his bed and is filled with arrows. Elsewhere, looking out on Blackwater Bay, a distraught Sansa heavily weeps as she watches Littlefinger's ship depart without her. Both of her plans to either marry Ser Loras or escape King's Landing with Baelish are now in tatters.

the wall

Meanwhile, at their temporary camp at the base of the Wall, the wildling party, led by Tormund Giantsbane, prepare for a treacherous climb. Jon Snow and Ygritte nervously discuss the impending climb. When Jon asks if she’s ever climbed it before, she informs him that she hasn’t, expressing her fear that while it is a long way up, it’s also a long way down. However, Ygritte explains her excitement, as she’s been waiting her whole life to see the world from the top of the Wall. When they flirtatiously discuss the other night in the cave, being Jon’s first time, Ygritte reveals she is aware that Jon is still loyal to the Night's Watch, but tells him he must be loyal to each other instead, noting that the Night’s Watch and her king, Mance Rayder, don’t care if they live or die. ‘It’s you and me that matter’.

During the climb, as they are half-way up the Wall, a struggling Jon, who is last within his group, looks down to view their journey upwards thus far. His terror is then exacerbated when Ygritte accidentally strikes an already splitting crack in the ice with her pick. This causes the crack to spider out into a large break which dislodges a massive sheet of ice, sending several wildlings to their deaths, as well as leaving Ygritte and Jon to hang precariously by their safety rope. As they are roped together in groups of four, Orell decides that he and Tormund can’t continue climbing with the weight of Jon and Ygritte's bodies. As Jon and Ygritte hang beneath him, Orell all-too-quickly decides to start cutting the rope vigorously. Just as the rope breaks with the final thrust of Orell’s blade, Jon barely manages to swing to his left to plant a hook in the ice. As a terrified Ygritte starts plummeting down the Wall, Jon uses all of the strength he can manage to keep himself held onto his hook in order to brace for the weight of catching her as his connecting line saves her. After finding a large enough foot-hole in the Wall to stand on, Jon then reels Ygritte in as she pulls herself up. Once at safety, they take a moment to catch their breath as Jon then looks above at Orell with disdain. They continue on with the climb and after a few more taxing hours, Jon, Ygritte and the wildlings reach the top of the Wall. Though exhausted, they are still jubilant to have survived the climb. Ygritte is awed by the view beyond the Wall and to the south, before she and Jon share a passionate kiss.

*Episode descriptions from GOT Wiki