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Synopsis: For the first time in the show’s history, we get a flashback. This one has a young Cersei visiting an old woman, Maggy the Frog, a witch who can see the future. She tells Cersei her future-she will marry a king, be queen for a time, the king will have twenty children and she will have three, who will die. Back in regular time, Queen-regent Cersei arrives at Tywin’s funeral at the Sept of Baelor. As Tywin’s body lies in the sept, Cersei berates Jaime for his hand in Tywin’s death. She knows he let Tyrion escape and that he was the one who murdered Tywin. Tyrion tumbles out of his crate after traveling with Varys. They have arrived in Pentos, at the palace of Illyrio, one of Varys’ buds who is most remembered from the first episode when he gifted Daenerys with three dragon eggs. Speaking of the Khaleesi, there’s a trouble brewing right there in Mereen. One of her Unsullied is murdered in a brothel by the Sons of the Harpy, a rebellious group mobilizing against her. At Castle Black, Jon is training Olly how to fight. Gilly wonders why Sam isn’t training but he thinks killing a White Walker and a Then qualifies him as experienced. Thorne is back in command and Slynt is by his side. Melisandre tells Jon that Stannis wants to speak to him and they ride up to the top of the wall. He notes that she doesn’t get cold. She asks him if he’s a virgin and he admits he is not. Good, she replies. Stannis tells Jon of his plans to take the North, and he wants to enlist the Wildlings into his army. Stannis wants Jon to convince Mance to kneel for Stannis or he will be executed.

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Synopsis: Picking up right after the last episode, Jon Snow begins his march through the dead Wildlings at the gate as he heads to their camp. He raises his hands and is confronted by Mance. He says he’s been sent to negotiate. Mance says he thought Jon was loyal, and he admits how he was sent to infiltrate the camp. Mance asks of Ygritte, and Snow says she died. They have a drink in her honor. They drink to Grenn and the giant that perished. Mance and Jon admit the truths of their positions. Mance just wants to get his men south of the wall. Before the can finish their conversation, the Wildling camp is attacked, not by Crows, but by Stannis Baratheon and his men. Stannis and Davos approach and Mance throws down his knives. Stannis introduces himself and tells Mance to kneel. He refuses. Stannis’ men take the Wildlings prisoner. When Davos recognizes Jon’s garb as a crow, Jon reveals he’s Ned Stark’s son. He says when he was Mance’s prisoner he was treated honorably and suggests Stannis do the same and he agrees. Jon suggests they burn the dead before nightfall. Qyburn tends to the wounds of the Mountain, but they are severe. Turns out he was poisoned in the fight against Oberyn. Pycelle suggests putting the Mountain out of his misery but Qyburn suggests he can save him, although he may not be the same. Pycelle objects but Cersei dismisses him. She entrusts Qyburn to save him. Cersei confronts Tywin about marrying Loras again. She refuses. He calls on her to support the family, but she says that she will stay with her son, the King. Cersei tells him that she was willing to poison Tommen at the battle of Blackwater, and that is how far she was willing to go. She threatens to tell everyone the truth, that the stories of Jaime and her are true. She throws Tywin’s legacy in his face, and walks out. Moving on, Cersei finds Jaime and throws herself at him saying that she’s choosing him. She tells him that she told their father the truth. They go at it right there on the table.

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Synopsis: Jon and Samwell are atop the wall keeping an eye out for the Wildling attack. Sam asks Jon about Ygritte and notes that there’s nothing in their vows that forbids them from sexing, marrying and fathering children, sure, but the rest has some wiggle room. At the Wildling camp, they prepare for the attack. Ygritte fashions some arrows while the others give her shit for banging out Jon Snow. She assumes he’s dead, but if he’s not, she promises to finish the job. She says she will kill anyone that tries to take that away from her. Maester Aemon visits Sam in the library. Sam is reading up on the Wildlings and Aemon says it’s because he loved Gilly. Sam denies it, but Aemon knows the truth. He admits he was in love once. When Sam leaves the library, he hears a ruckus at the gate. Gilly is alive! And is begging to be let in with baby Sam. The elder Sam swears that from now on, wherever Gilly goes, he goes. The alarm sounds. Jon heads to the top of the wall and sees a massive fire below, just like Mance promised. Thorne tells Jon he’d be well within his rights to throw him an “I told you so” about sealing the tunnel, but if they survive, they’re still not gonna be pals.

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Synopsis: It’s a party going on in Mole’s Town, where Sam had left Gilly. She is doing some clean-up in a bar when her whore roommate chastises her for baby Sam keeping her awake. Before they can catfight, the Wildlings arrive. Tormund, Ygritte and the others slaughter the town. Gilly hides with the baby but Ygritte finds her, shushing her and leaving her be as blood drips through the ceiling behind her. Adult Sam is upset to hear about the massacre and he believes that Gilly is dead. They had a fellow brothers of the Night Watch that were a part of the slaughter as well. Jon knows that the attack on Castle Black is on next. In a stream, the Unsullied are bathing themselves. Grey Worm emerges from the water and sees a naked Missandei bathing herself further down and stares at with fascination. She catches him but doesn’t immediately cover herself. Later, she tells Dany of the exchange and Dany wonders if Missandei is interested in Grey Worm. Missandei admits she might be a little smitten. When Grey Worm comes to Missandei to apologize, the smitten kitten says he has no need to be sorry. Grey Worm thanks Misssandei for teaching him the common tongue and confesses he might be a little smitten too. Ramsay and his men are just outside a castle. He preps his slave Reek (Theon) to pretend to be Theon (who he really is) in order to fool the castle. The brainwashing runs deep, as Reek/Theon agrees. Theon meets with the master of the castle to surrender to Ramsay but he refuses. One of his own men takes an axe to the man’s head. He wants to agree to surrender if that means they live. Theon says it does. The men surrender, and for their agreement, Ramsay has them flayed. He tells Theon to get ready to head home.

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Synopsis: Jaime is upset Tyrion threw away the deal he had made, ensuring Tyrion’s survival. Tyrion confesses he fell in love with Shae and it broke him listening to her lie on the stand. Jaime says he can’t fight for Tyrion, he’s not up to par with his left hand and he would surely lose. Tyrion hopes Bronn will fight for him again and asks Jaime to find him. He wonders who Cersei has chosen as her champion. After Gregor “the Mountain” Clegane disembowels a man, Cersei approaches him (the third version of him) to fight for her. On the Arya and Hound road show, they find a dying man. After talking to him for a bit, the Hound puts the man out of his misery, while showing Arya where the heart is. Just then, The Hound is attacked and learns about the bounty on his head. Arya recognizes the man as one who threatened her before. She shows the younger Clegane that she’s learning, as she stabs the man through the heart. Jon returns to Castle Black and gets a warm welcome from his friends and a cold one from Thorne and Janos. Jon recommends sealing the tunnel to keep Mance and his men from getting through. Thorne refuses to listen. He assigns Jon and Sam watch duty on top of the wall. Bronn visits Tyrion and says he won’t be able to fight for him. Cersei arranged for him to wed a highborn woman. Tyrion is upset, but understands Bronn’s position, no hard feelings. Tyrion worries he may have to take on the Mountain himself.

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Synopsis: We’ve heard a lot of mention of Braavos before, but this is the first time we see it on screen, as Davos and Stannis sail under the giant Colossus of Braavos, or whatever it’s called. Later, they impatiently wait to be seen at the Iron Bank. Three men finally enter and offer them a seat. Stannis thinks his claim on the throne is stronger than the bastard Tommen, but the bank defers to their partnership with Tywin, and his word. The bank won’t support Stannis. He begins to march out, but Davos speaks up on his behalf. He says that Tywin is the true power in King’s Landing, but he’s old and when he’s gone the Lannisters left will not pay the bank back. Davos meets his old friend, Salladhor Saan, and tosses some coin his way to sail with them. Apparently, the bank changed their minds. On another ship, Yara makes her way North with her men, ready to take on Ramsay and get her brother back. As Ramsay is busy pounding it out with Myranda, Yara’s men take the castle. Yara puts an axe to a man’s throat to take her to Theon and he brings them to the kennels where he sleeps. Theon, broken and afraid, is frightened of Yara. He says she can’t take him, he’s Reek now, and he screams until Ramsay arrives. A melee breaks out and Theon bites Yara, and returns to his cage. When Ramsay goes to bring out his dogs, Yara and her remaining men retreat. Theon is dead, she tells them. In the morning Ramsay thanks Theon for staying loyal to him. He gives him a bath as a reward and as he cleans him up, he asks Theon to pretend to be his old self again so he can help Ramsay take the Greyjoys home.

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Synopsis: Tommen is pronounced king as his family, the townsfolk, and a flirty Margaery look on. Long may he reign. Cersei catches Tyrell’s side smile and walks over to say “hey.” Cersei admits that Joffrey was a bit of a monster, the things he did shocked even her, but she still cared for her first born. Cersei asks if Margaery is still interested in being queen and Tyrell feigns as if she hasn’t spent every waking moment about it. Daenerys gets word of Joffrey’s demise. She also learns that Daario has taken Mereen’s navy for her. Dany and her council talk strategy, and her mission. Jorah tells her that the kingdom’s she’s freed have seen revolts, and that the ones she’s left behind have begun to mobilize against her. As the others leave, she talks more with Jorah and decides to rule in Mereen until she can get Slaver’s Bay under control. Littlefinger and Sansa make their way to the Eyrie as the Knights of the Vale watch their approach. Baelish offers advice on how to rule the Vale. When they approach the gate Littlefinger presents Sansa as his niece and they are let in. Petyr receives a warm welcome from Lysa and Robin. Lysa lets Sansa knows who she really is and cautions her to maintain her secret. When alone with Baelish, Lysa throws herself at her intended. She wants to get married as soon as possible. Turns out they’ve been conspiring for some time, including poisoning her husband, Jon Arryn, you know the guy whose death started this whole series. This means her letter to Catelyn about the Lannister threat was also a lie. So, the entire conflict, though always brewing, was set into motion by Lysa, at Baelish’s behest. A big moment, that is underplayed rather dramatically. That night, Sansa listens as her aunt is rogered roundly.

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Synopsis: For a series with so much action, it’s kind of crazy there are two separate storylines dealing with illiteracy. First Shireen with Davos, now we get Missandei helping Grey Worm learn the common tongue. In doing so, they share a little bit about their histories as slaves. Daenerys and Selmy interrupt, lessons will have to wait. It’s time. Grey Worm and a group of unsullied infiltrate Mereen, and find their way into a meeting of slaves. The slaves weigh the pros and cons of revolution. Grey Worm brings them weapons to help them in their cause. He says no one can give them their freedom, they have to take it. The next morning, they do. A group of masters are chased down and killed. Later, when the rest of the masters are rounded up, Dany orders that 163 of them be crucified, in exchange for the 163 slaves that were crucified as a warning for her on the way to city. Selmy cautions against it, but Dany is firm. The men are crucified. At the pyramid-like tower of Mereen Dany stands above the city, her flag hanging behind her. In King’s Landing, Bronn and Jaime continue their training. Jaime asks Bronn if he thinks Tyrion was behind Joffrey’s murder. He doesn’t. Poison isn’t his style. Nor murder. Bronn chides Jaime for not visiting Tyrion. So, he does. Jaime apologizes for not visiting sooner, but Tyrion understands it’s complicated. He asks if Cersei asked Jaime to kill him, and he says she did. Tyrion wonders if that’s why he came, but Jaime knows he didn’t do it. He thinks Sansa was involved, why else would she disappear, but Tyrion knows his wife is not a killer, not yet, he says. On the ship, Sansa asks Littlefinger where they are headed. Baelish says they are going to her aunt Lysa’s, where is to be married to her. Sansa asks him if he killed Joffrey. He says he’s been in the Vale, but Sansa says he was obviously working with someone. He doesn’t name his accomplice, but admits that her necklace housed the poison that was used. He admits that he had other friends that wanted Joffrey gone.

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Synopsis: Picking up immediately after the end of the last episode, Cersei sits over a dead Joffrey, the fool rushes off with Sansa, and Tyrion is taken away by the kingsguard. Cersei notices Sansa’s absence and cries out. Tywin orders the city shut down. Sansa arrives at an old ship and arrives to her savior, Lord Baelish. For his troubles, Littlefinger has the fool executed, and Baelish says because he doesn’t trust the drunken fool to keep his silence. Baelish notes that Sansa’s necklace was a fake and something he gave to the fool to give to her. Margaery sits with Olenna, wondering if she still counts as a Queen. She thinks she’s cursed. Olenna says the alliance with the Lannisters is still important. Tommen and Cersei sit over Joffrey’s body. Tywin tells Tommen that he is officially going to be king. He asks Tommen what the most important quality for a king to have is. Tommen throws out a few thoughts, but Tywin counsels him against them until Tommen lands on wisdom. Tywin agrees but says it is important to surround himself with a wise committee. Tywin takes Tommen away to continue the lesson but Cersei stays behind. Jaime arrives to check on her. Cersei says it was Tyrion, that he threatened her. Cersei asks Jaime to avenge their son and to kill Tyrion but Jaime says there will be a trial. Cersei cries, and falls into Jaime’s arms. They start to kiss, but Cersei pulls away. Jaime calls her hateful and pulls her back to him. She tries to fight him off but he pulls her down and rips her clothes off. She’s not into it, but he forces himself on her anyway, raping her right next to their dead son.

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Synopsis: Ramsay and his lady, Myranda, along with his dogs, and Theon/Reek in tow, hunt a young girl through the woods. Myranda gets a shot in, bringing the girl down and they all watch as his dogs devour her. Tyrion and Jaime have dinner, where Jaime laments his predicament with his hand, or lack thereof. Tyrion enlists Bronn’s aid to help Jaime train swordfighting with his left hand. Roose Bolton arrives at Winterfell and greets Ramsay with his new bride, another Frey daughter. Ramsay introduces his father to Theon, after his reprogramming. Bolton is upset Ramsay acted without his orders. Theon would’ve been a valuable bargaining chip. Roose says he’s placed too much trust in Ramsay. Ramsay demonstrates his power over Theon. Theon confesses that he didn’t kill the Stark boys but two orphans he passed off as them. Ramsay tells Theon that Roose killed Robb. Roose sends Locke and his men to find the Stark boys. Roose dangles the Bolton name for his bastard son if he proves himself. Varys warns Tyrion that Shae is in danger, Cersei knows who she is and Tywin has threatened to kill the next whore of Tyrion’s. Joffrey receives his wedding gifts, including a gold goblet from Mace Tyrell, Margaery’s father. Cersei points out Shae to Tywin. Tyrion gives Joffrey a book. Tywin gives Joffrey the other Valyrian steel sword he made from Ned’s blade. Joffrey uses Tyrion’s book to practice with his sword. He names his sword widow’s wail. Tyrion meets with Shae and tells her she has to go. He is mean to her so she will leave. He calls for Bronn to take Shae away, as she breaks down. The Red Woman sacrifices several men. Including Stannis’ wife Selyse’s brother. Davos continues to question Stannis’ reliance and belief in Melisandre. At dinner, Selyse says she fears for their daughter because she’s stubborn. Stannis says Shireen is not to be touched. Melisandre visits Shireen and they discuss the sacrifice. Shireen is stubborn and believes that there’s something wrong with the sacrifice. Melisandre tells the little girl that there aren’t seven gods as she was originally taught, but two: the lord of light and the lord of darkness. Bran wargs into Summer but Hodor wakes him in the middle of it. Jojen warns him against spending too much time warging. Summer happens on tree with the face in it and Bran has Hodor bring him closer. When he touches it, he has visions of the three-eyed raven, his father, the White Walkers, the Iron Throne, and more. A voice tells him “north.”

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