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Westeros is not even the only continent on the map, as it is separated from Essos by the Narrow Sea. In other words, much is at stake in terms of giving body to both places and people, as nothing is left to imagination anymore and one single version is presented to the viewer. Bearing that in mind, choices in terms of cast, fashion, shooting locations and, we argue, languages and accents, prove decisive and, above all, permanent. The most striking thing about the opening of Game of Thrones is the silence, the solemnity with which it begins — clearly this is a series that is going to take its time setting the scene before advancing the action.

Though this is clearly not our world, it is a recognizable one. Martin himself explained the genesis of his work: GoT depicting a pseudo-medieval era, the Old Continent and the history of the Middle Ages provided kings, thrones, realms, conquests and legends. However, its roots and inspirations are fundamentally British, and more generally European.

The more ancient history of England is also conjured with the invasion of the Andals 26 , clearly reminiscent of the Angles who gave their name to the England that we still know today. Alexander Nikolaev 27 details this parallel further:. Basically, the history of Westeros is a mirror-image of the history of the British Isles: the original population of Westeros were the Children of the Forest, later ousted by the First People, who in turn had to move to the North when the Andals came along.

Then came the Rhoynars, who took control over the southern part of the continent. Now think of the British Isles: the mysterious Picts, whose artifacts are found in northern Scotland, may or may not have been the earliest inhabitants of Great Britain.

But Celts in turn had to move, first when the Romans came in the first century CE and then again when Great Britain was invaded from the continent by Germanic tribes Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, collectively referred to as Anglo-Saxons in the fifth century. And then of course there was the Norman conquest in , with William the Conqueror being the prototype for Aegon, bringing new gods and new language to Westeros.

Westeros started out as an upside-down replica of Ireland, as can be observed in figure 2. GoT therefore seems to exist at the crossroads of several historical and geographical entities as a Mid-Atlantic production which is disorienting yet recognizable. The show then also exists at the crossroads of several linguistic identities, notably as this American production casts an overwhelming majority of British actors who perform different languages and accents.

But as G. However, contrary to Tolkien, he did not develop the languages, leaving the creators of the TV series almost no choice but to work on coining them, as Nikolaev 30 points out:. Peterson, who won a contest dreamed up by the Game of Thrones creators. Consequently, GoT both sounds linguistically foreign, as it includes constructed languages that have never been spoken or heard before, and phonologically familiar as English is the dominant vernacular.

In the same way that the show is both fantastic and ordinary, that it is historically, geographically and aesthetically familiar and unknown, it is also linguistically close and distant, authentic and counterfeit. We therefore argue that a topofocal show is necessarily a linguistic show and that accents contribute, as much as places, costumes and sigils, to anchoring the show geographically and historically and to establishing identities.

The antagonism is made obvious throughout the pilot season in many complementary ways. Similarly, Cersei appears with an intricate hairstyle at the Winterfell feast S01E01 and Jaime Lannister is presented as a Prince Charming type knight, whereas Lady Stark and the Stark girls wear their hair down and Ned seems to have greasy hair. In addition, the Starks are presented as spending much time outside, as hard-working, when Jaime Lannister appears inside, in the majestic Iron Throne room, absorbed by the mysteries of politics.

It was not an initially conscious creative decision from the showrunners. Even when the depicted story would realistically have taken place in a different linguistic setting, the language s are replaced by the base language of narration; in my case, English. Still, a central task of narration in any texts with linguistic replacement is to prevent the reader or viewer from assuming that […] the characters would really have spoken English […], especially if mistaken assumptions about the sociolinguistic setting can result in serious misunderstandings of the narrative.

As Bleichenbacher 36 explains:. In theory, evocation could appear on any level of linguistic analysis, but phonology L2 accents and lexis code-switches into the other language for certain words or phrases are clearly its preferred sites. While one could easily assume that non-rhoticity has always been a characteristic of English in England, that is not the case at all. We shall therefore focus here on the major differences between the varieties spoken in the North of England and SSBE, or in other words, contrast the pan-Northern with the pan-Southern phonological and phonetic characteristics.

Wells 48 argues in favour of the following definition:. Within it we can distinguish, as we move away from London and towards the Scottish border, i the midlands, ii the middle north, and iii the far north. Historically, both features are innovations which arose in the South of England during the seventeenth century Watt 56 argues that these monophthongs are usually considered as modern Northern variants by Northern speakers, which explains the gradual disappearance of local Northern variants — that are limited to a small geographical area — in favour of the supralocal ones.

Other works suggest, however, that not all Northern varieties behave in the same way in that respect, as some varieties seem to show no indication of levelling towards these pan-Northern monophthongs, like Manchester for instance He does, however, have an opposition between foot and strut , as the comparison of the following phrases makes clear: so, very lucky 80 ; a little cult , niche show 81 ; and took the picture Contrary to Sean Bean and Richard Madden, he uses, in his native accent, clear diphthongs for goat and face : the audition for Jon Snow 96 , no , no , no 97 ; this girl I was sort of dating at the time, and it was late at night 98 , it weighs a ton He also exhibits bath -broadening: anyone will ask , in the cast In the role of Jon Snow, the most striking Northern features adopted are probably his vowel of strut there are five pups , when you wake up and his use of monophthongs in goat no , you do not know , no one knows , though the actor also uses a shorter vowel in bath words compared to real life to seat a bastard in their midst She also has diphthongs in face and goat great mates ; let it flow , which is not a feature of Northern Ireland, though these variants may be found in varieties from the South of Ireland and obviously, in SSBE.

The two then hope for Jaime's return. Afterwards, Tyrion meets with Sansa and Shae in the former's chambers where he awkwardly informs the two of the recent marital arrangements made by Tywin. Roose apologizes for the way his soldiers treated them, but isn't short of playing a mind game with Jaime, leading him on to believe that Stannis took King's Landing at the Battle of the Blackwater and killed his sister until he reveals the truth.

He then has Jaime taken to former maester Qyburn , the only survivor of Ser Gregor Clegane after he had the castle put to the sword when he and his garrison abandoned it. Qyburn washes out Jaime's wound, who refuses Milk of the Poppy , leaving him agonizing in pain. Jaime then meets with Brienne in a bathtub that he decides to share with her. At first, he insults Brienne for failing to keep him in one piece, comparing it to how she failed to protect Renly Baratheon , but he quickly apologizes for being rude and asks for a truce, stating that he trusts her.

He then tells her the story of how he became the Kingslayer after she continues to glare at him, reminding him of the stares he has been given since the Sack of King's Landing during Robert's Rebellion: the Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen , had caches of wildfire placed beneath King's Landing , and when Tywin arrived and tricked Aerys into opening the city gates, but instead proceeded to sack the city in Robert's name, Aerys ordered Jaime to bring him his father's head and commanded his pyromancers, Wisdom Rossart among them, to "burn them all.

Jaime, overwhelmed by the memories, falls over and nearly faints in the bathtub but is recovered by Brienne. Jaime and Brienne dine with Roose Bolton, who says that he will return Jaime to King's Landing because of the abuses he endured from his men but that Brienne will not accompany them due to her treason. As he is about to leave, Jaime meets with Brienne one last time, the latter of which addresses him as Ser Jaime.

Brienne asks that Jaime remember his vows to return Catelyn's daughters, Sansa and Arya Stark , home to her, to which Jaime says that he will. He then departs from Harrenhal with Bolton soldiers to protect them, as well as Qyburn.

However, on the journey back, Qyburn tells Jaime that Locke believes he is being cheated by Selwyn Tarth given that he has not offered sapphires for his daughter's safe return and says that Locke and the Boltons will likely hurt Brienne, prompting Jaime to force his protectors to return him to Harrenhal. There, he finds Brienne in a fighting pit with Locke's bear. He jumps down to protect her; Steelshanks shoots arrows into the bear while Bolton men bring the two out of the pit.

Jaime then declares that he will be leaving with Brienne, and the two depart from Harrenhal, but not before apologizing to Locke about the sapphires.

Tyrion and Bronn discuss his marriage to Sansa, with Tyrion not looking forward to the wedding due to her being a child. Meanwhile, Tywin meets with his grandson after being summoned to the throne room in the Red Keep. Joffrey asks for a report on the small council meetings that he has missed, which Tywin responds that he is welcome to begin attending them.

Joffrey complains how he hasn't been counseled, but Tywin replies that he is being counseled now. When Joffrey asks about Daenerys Targaryen and her three dragons , Tywin remarks how the Targaryen dragon skulls were kept in the throne room during their reign, the last of which was the size of an apple. He states that Daenerys is the least of their concern, being nothing more than a curiosity in Essos , but Joffrey continues to remain worried over her growing power. It is the day of the wedding of Tyrion and Sansa Stark.

During the ceremony, Joffrey cruelly and mockingly takes away the chair Tyrion was to use to cloak Sansa and bring her under his protection, forcing her to kneel. During the feast, he continues to berate the two, threatening to rape Sansa and forcing the newly wed couple to partake in a bedding ceremony, but Tyrion, who is quite drunk much to the disapproval of his father, threatens Joffrey.

Tywin and Tyrion cool down the situation, and he walks away with Sansa, returning to their chambers where he informs her that his lord father has commanded him to consummate the marriage. As she undresses, however, he refuses to do so and passes out on a nearby chair. Before she sleeps, Sansa tucks him in. The following morning, Shae notices how Sansa's sheets are not stained with blood and that she is still a virgin. After the Red Wedding occurs at the Twins , Tywin calls a small council meeting, which Podrick informs Tyrion of while he is bonding with Sansa.

Joffrey plans to have Robb Stark's head served to Sansa during his wedding feast, but Tyrion retorts that she is no longer his to torment, being Tyrion's wife now. Joffrey replies that as king, everyone is his to torment. When Tyrion softly warns that kings are dying like flies, Joffrey petulantly declares that he is the king and will punish Tyrion for his remarks.

Tywin then says that any man who must declare himself king is no true king and reminds Joffrey that he won his war for him. When Joffrey accuses his grandfather of hiding out under Casterly Rock during Robert's Rebellion , Tywin calmly but menacingly declares the king is tired and sends Joffrey to bed, commanding Grand Maester Pycelle to give him some essence of nightshade to help him sleep.

As the small council disperses, Tywin tells Tyrion to stay behind. Tyrion expresses his disgust over the Red Wedding, and Tywin reveals that he had a hand in it, promising rewards and titles to Walder Frey and Roose Bolton, seeking to protect their family and end the war. Tywin once more commands Tyrion to get Sansa pregnant, but Tyrion refuses to rape her.

He then asks his father when he has ever made a decision solely for the benefit of his family to which Tywin replies it was the day he was born: he let Tyrion live because of his name and his status as Tywin's son, despite Tyrion being a dwarf and having killed his beloved Joanna Lannister when she gave birth to him. Tyrion later finds Sansa in her chambers crying. Meanwhile, Jaime, Brienne, Qyburn, and their entourage finally arrive in King's Landing, where Jaime isn't even recognized due to his poor condition.

He arrives at the Red Keep and returns to his sister. Tywin Lannister has the Stark Valyrian steel ancestral sword, Ice , melted down and reforged into two new swords. However, Jaime refuses, enraging Tywin. When Jaime asks if his father would like the sword back, Tywin tells him that a one-handed man with no family will need all the help he can get.

Qyburn outfits Jaime with a prosthetic golden hand, which Cersei believes is elegant despite Jaime stating a hook would be more practical.

Jaime tells Cersei that he is staying in the Kingsguard to stay by her side, but Cersei snaps back about how Jaime took too long to return to King's Landing by her side and how everything has changed. They are interrupted by Cersei's handmaiden , who brings Cersei important news.

Later, Jaime discusses Kingsguard positions during the royal wedding, stating he shall guard the king , much to Ser Meryn Trant 's chagrin. King Joffrey Baratheon looks through The Book of Brothers and notices how Jaime's page is relatively empty, then points out how Jaime is old and has lost a hand, stating how Jaime cannot protect him. When Tyrion inquires where Prince Doran Martell is, the Dornish lords reply that he has sent his brother, Prince Oberyn Martell , in his stead, while he remains at Sunspear due to his health.

The Dornish lords inform Tyrion that Prince Oberyn arrived before dawn. Tyrion and his companions search the city for Oberyn, finding him in Littlefinger's brothel , where he had gotten in a brawl with two Lannister soldiers. Oberyn introduces them to his paramour , Ellaria Sand , and goes outside the brothel to discuss the death of his sister, Princess Elia Martell , with Tyrion, and tells Tyrion to inform his father that he has arrived at the capital for the royal wedding.

Before the wedding, Joffrey receives wedding gifts: a large goblet from Mace Tyrell , his father-in-law, a book from his uncle Tyrion, and the second Valyrian steel sword reforged from Ice from his grandfather Tywin. He names it Widow's Wail based on a suggestion from the crowd and destroys Tyrion's gift. Afterwards, the wedding feast takes place outside the Red Keep. After Tyrion refuses to join in at Joffrey's behest, Joffrey pours wine on him and names him his cupbearer.

Joffrey intentionally drops his goblet and kicks it under a nearby table, commanding Tyrion to pick it up. While he crawls under, Sansa picks it up and hands it to Tyrion. Joffrey tells Tyrion to fill it up; after he does, Joffrey commands that Tyrion kneel, which he refuses. The tension is broken when the bakers bring out the pigeon pie.

Tyrion and Sansa try to leave, but Joffrey forces them to remain behind and tells Tyrion to pour him more wine. Joffrey drinks and suddenly begins coughing. He clutches at his throat and collapses on the ground, vomiting and convulsing. Within minutes, he dies. Cersei angrily accuses Tyrion of poisoning her son and has the Kingsguard arrest him while Sansa is secretly escorted away to Petyr Baelish by Ser Dontos Hollard , the former king's fool. Cersei stands over the corpse of Joffrey with Tommen Baratheon.

While Tywin takes Tommen away to discuss the duties of kingship, Jaime comes in to be with Cersei, sending the septons and septas away. He tries to comfort his sister and lover, but she backs away. Afterwards, Jaime becomes more aggressive and begins to force himself on her, and the two proceed to have sex despite Cersei stating it's an inappropriate place to perform. Later, Tywin visits Oberyn Martell at Littlefinger's brothel, where he requests that Oberyn join him and Mace Tyrell as a judge for Tyrion's trial and invites him to join the small council.

Tywin points out how the Greyjoys are still in open rebellion and how Daenerys Targaryen has three dragons , which only the Dornish were able to defeat during the War of Conquest three centuries ago. In exchange, Tywin will arrange for a meeting between Oberyn and Gregor Clegane, telling Oberyn that if he helps him bring justice to the king's assassins, he will do the same for Oberyn and Elia's killer.

Meanwhile, Podrick visits Tyrion in his cell, smuggling him food, and tells him how he was approached to testify against Tyrion in exchange for a knighthood. Podrick tells Tyrion that he refused, and Tyrion commands that Podrick leave the capital for his own safety. Tyrion tells Podrick that there has never lived a more loyal squire while Podrick emotionally leaves. Jaime visits Tyrion in his cell after Bronn, who has been training Jaime to sword fight with his left hand at Tyrion's behest, implores him to.

Jaime recalls how Cersei earlier asked Jaime to kill Tyrion and bring her Sansa's head, which he had refused to both. Tyrion also denies a part in Joffrey's murder, which Jaime believes.

Jaime points out how Sansa had the most motive to kill Joffrey, but Tyrion doesn't believe that she did. Later, Jaime gives Brienne of Tarth new armor and his Valyrian steel sword so that she can bring Sansa to safety to fulfill her vows to Catelyn Stark. Outside King's Landing, he also gives her Podrick as a squire and asks what she will name the sword, to which she responds Oathkeeper.

Jaime watches on as Brienne leaves on horseback, who also looks back to Jaime. After Tommen's coronation, Cersei visits Margaery and asks if she still wants to be Queen, which Margaery replies that she will have to ask her father. Later, Cersei visits Oberyn. Oberyn inquires if Cersei really believes Tyrion is the killer, to which she replies that she knows it however, it was in fact Olenna Tyrell and Petyr Baelish. She asks him about her daughter, Myrcella Baratheon , and her safety.

Oberyn replies that they do not hurt little girls in Dorne, but Cersei doesn't believe it. She asks that Oberyn bring her a ship as a gift for her name day, which Cersei missed.

Cersei then visits her father, who refuses to discuss the trial with her. Tywin informs Cersei that they are in tremendous debt to the Iron Bank of Braavos due to Robert Baratheon 's outrageous and reckless spending. Tywin tells Cersei that they need the Tyrells by their side due to their wealth, noting how their gold mines in the Westerlands have run dry. It is the day of Tyrion's trial. At a small council meeting, Varys informs the bureaucrats that Sandor Clegane has slaughtered Lannister soldiers in the Riverlands , so Tywin places a large bounty of silver stags on him.

What's more, she has acquired an army of Unsullied , has both Jorah Mormont and Barristan Selmy as loyal advisors, and that her three dragons are growing larger. Tywin has Varys's little birds smuggle a message into the city. The court trial of Tyrion Lannister begins. King Tommen sits out as a judge with Tywin serving in his stead, along with Mace Tyrell and Oberyn Martell, as Tywin had previously arranged. Tyrion does not confess to the accusations placed on him by Cersei, so the Crown calls forward a number of witnesses who speak out against Tyrion.

Many of these witnesses were previously made enemies of Tyrion during his tenure as acting Hand of the King, including Meryn Trant, Grand Maester Pycelle , and Cersei herself. Varys also speaks out against Tyrion; when Tyrion asks him if Varys remembers their conversation after the Battle of the Blackwater , Varys replies that he has not forgotten.

During the recess, Jaime confronts Tywin, believing that the whole trial is a farce manipulated by Cersei. He strikes a deal with his father: he will leave the Kingsguard and assume his place at Casterly Rock if Tywin lets Tyrion live.

Tywin agrees, promising to send Tyrion to join the Night's Watch. As the court reconvenes, Jaime tells Tyrion to plead guilty and for mercy. However, when Shae is brought forward as the Crown's final witness and lies that Tyrion is guilty, Tyrion loses it and lashes out at the court, stating that he should have let Stannis Baratheon kill them all.

He then demands a trial by combat , much to Cersei and Tywin's chagrin and Jaime's disappointment. Jaime confronts Tyrion in his cell. He tells Tyrion that he is unable to fight for him in his trial, so Tyrion asks that he send for Bronn.

Later, Bronn comes to visit Tyrion, who is surprised to find Bronn in more noble clothing. Bronn tells Tyrion that he is to wed Lollys Stokeworth. Bronn refuses to fight for Tyrion, believing that the Mountain would defeat and kill him. However, he wishes Tyrion good luck.

Finally, Oberyn visits Tyrion and tells him the story of how they first met: when Tyrion had been born, their father took him and his sister, Elia, to Casterly Rock, where Cersei expressed her anger over her new baby brother due to the death of their mother, Joanna Lannister , and her hope for his death, which wounds Tyrion. Oberyn then declares his intentions to Tyrion once more to get justice for the death of his sister at the hands of the Mountain, and tells Tyrion that he will be his champion.

It is the day of the trial by combat of Tyrion. Jaime visits his younger brother in his cell, bringing him wine, and the two discuss their simple cousin Orson Lannister. Tyrion ponders why Orson loved smashing beetles, expressing his dismay that so many innocent beetles had been smashed to death and returned to the dirt. However, the two are unable to come to a conclusion as to why Orson did it.

When the bells ring, an emotional Jaime leaves, but not before wishing Tyrion good luck. Tyrion is escorted to the arena, where he finds Oberyn and Ellaria Sand, the former of which is wearing light armor, no helmet, and is drinking wine while his squire, Daemon Sand , polishes Oberyn's spear; secretly, he is outfitting the spear with manticore venom.

As Oberyn walks out into the arena, Ellaria grabs him, telling him not to die, to which Oberyn replies that he won't. Oberyn and the Mountain clash, during which Oberyn demands that Ser Gregor admits to the rape and murder of his sister, Elia, and her children that she bore with her husband, Rhaegar Targaryen , Rhaenys and Aegon.

Though Oberyn severely injures the Mountain, cutting him on his leg and piercing him through his stomach and chest, he refuses to kill him given that the Mountain has not confessed. As he walks around the Mountain's body demanding that he admit who gave him the order to kill his sister, niece, and nephew, all the while pointing at Tywin, the Mountain suddenly knocks the Red Viper to the ground.

He punches him, knocking out his teeth, and climbs on top of him, where he puts his fingers through Oberyn's eye sockets and confesses to Elia's rape and murder as well as the murder of her children. He then tells Oberyn how he did it: by crushing her skull, and does the same to Oberyn. The crowd is shocked while Ellaria screams in horror. Jaime and Tyrion look on with disappointing and nervous looks while Cersei smirks. Tywin then stands and proclaims that Tyrion is sentenced to death. Pycelle notes how the poison used is manticore venom and that he cannot be saved, by Qyburn says there is a way that no maester is aware of.

Pycelle states that Qyburn is arrogant and dangerous, but Cersei instead dismisses Pycelle, giving the laboratory to Qyburn. Qyburn warns Cersei that the process may change the Mountain somewhat but will certainly not weaken him.

Later, Cersei meets with her father, again telling Tywin that she does not wish to marry Ser Loras Tyrell. She goes on to say how she does not want to be removed from King's Landing and shipped off to Highgarden away from her son, Tommen, which Tywin and the Tyrells will fight over to control.

When Tywin asks how she will stop him, she says that she will expose the truth about her and Jaime, and that Tywin's legacy is a lie, which leaves Tywin in denial. Tywin says that he does not believe her, but Cersei knows that he does, leaving her father. She meets her brother in the White Sword Tower. Jaime is angered that she has allowed Tyrion to die, but Cersei says that she chooses her family and that she does not love Tyrion nor Tywin, only him, all the while seducing Jaime.

Jaime then throws Cersei onto the table, where they proceed to have sex. The night before Tyrion's trial, Jaime has the guards knocked out and frees his little brother, telling him that he is working with Varys, who has secured a galley in the harbor.

The two embrace before Jaime departs, but Tyrion first takes another path: he sneaks into the Tower of the Hand , where he finds Shae in his father's bed.

She grabs a knife, but Tyrion rushes onto the bed and chokes his lover to death, weeping and apologizing afterwards. He then stares at Joffrey's crossbow on the wall, taking it and finding his father on the privy. Tyrion confronts Tywin over wanting him dead all his life, and Tywin admits to it, but states that he would never let Ilyn Payne take his head because of his Lannister name. Tyrion tells his father that he loved Shae and has just murdered her, much to Tywin's surprise, but he simply passes her off as a whore.

When Tywin insists that they return to his chambers, Tyrion says that he cannot: Shae is still in there. Tywin asks mockingly if his son is afraid of a dead whore, triggering Tyrion to fire an arrow into his father's chest.

Tywin, in complete shock, declares that Tyrion is no son of his, to which Tyrion replies that he has always been his son before firing another arrow into his father's heart, killing him. Tyrion then goes to Varys, who suspects that Tyrion has done something. Varys places him into a crate with food, and the crate is placed no the galley. He initially walks towards the Red Keep, but when the bells begin to ring, he instead returns to the galley and sits by Tyrion's crate.

Cersei tells the High Septon to have the other lords wait as she mourns over her father, whose body is being protected by Jaime. Cersei goes on to accuse Jaime of being a "man of action" who does not consider his consequences, and expresses her desire to have Tyrion killed for murdering their father. As she leaves, Jaime looks on sadly at their dead father's body.

Cersei later meets with her cousin, Lancel Lannister , who has joined the Sparrows , a new and extremist movement within the Faith of the Seven. Lancel's father, Ser Kevan Lannister , expresses his disgust over the Sparrows, and apologizes to Cersei for Lancel's strange and pious behavior. Varys explains to Tyrion how he was apart of a group that saw King Robert I Baratheon for the disaster that he was, and implores Tyrion to donate his services to Daenerys Targaryen.

Varys tells Tyrion that talented men have a role to play in "the wars to come," and notes how Daenerys is stronger than King Tommen but gentler than King Stannis , and that she has the right family name. After receiving the necklace of Princess Myrcella Baratheon , Cersei and Jaime's daughter, in the clutches of the statue of a viper, Jaime travels to Dorne with Ser Bronn , intent on rescuing Myrcella, whom they fear is being hurt by House Martell , the rulers of Dorne, in revenge over the deaths of Elia and Oberyn Martell.

Jaime and Bronn have a brief skirmish with some Martell guards, but are able to kill them; Jaime himself uses his right prosthetic golden hand to stop one of the guards' swords.

Nymeria attempts to run off with Myrcella but before she can, they are stopped by a group of Martell guards led by Areo Hotah , the Captain of the Guards. Ellaria later meets with Jaime, and tells him that she does not judge him for being in love with his sister, noting how the Targaryens did the same thing for centuries. She notes how society constantly changes it views on who people are meant to leave, but what never changes is who people truly love. Jaime is later brought before Prince Doran, who questions him as to why he would enter Dorne without telling him.

Jaime tells Doran of the threatening message he and Cersei received; Myrcella notes how the necklace was stolen from her, and Doran immediately looks over at Ellaria. Doran and Trystane agree to show mercy to Jaime and Bronn and allow Myrcella to return to King's Landing , much to Ellaria's displeasure. In exchange, Trystane will be given a seat on the small council.

Trystane also has Areo Hotah punch Bronn in the face for ding the same to him during their earlier encounter. Jaime and Bronn later depart from Dorne. After hearing of Ellaria's words earlier to him, Jaime decides to confront Myrcella and tell her the truth of her parentage. Myrcella interrupts Jaime and confesses to knowing the truth, saying that a part of her always knew. Myrcella tells Jaime she is glad that he is her father, and the two embrace.

Suddenly, Myrcella begins to bleed from her nose and collapses as Jaime panics. Back on the dock, Ellaria drinks an antidote as her nose begins to bleed too: Myrcella has been poisoned by the Sand Snakes.

Tyrion continues to travel with Varys, having agreed to meet with Daenerys Targaryen. The two make a stop in Volantis. While excreting his wastes, he is suddenly apprehended by Ser Jorah Mormont , who tells Tyrion he intends to take him to "the queen.

During their journey, Tyrion and Jorah form a bond of sorts. In Old Valyria , Tyrion is shocked to see one of Daenerys' dragons , Drogon , flying above the ruins. Shortly afterwards, they are attacked by a group of Stone Men. Tyrion does not make contact with them, but Jorah is secretly touched by one, giving him greyscale , the disease that turns men into stone men.

Tyrion later inadvertently informs Jorah of the death of his father, Jeor Mormont , the th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch , who mourns him. Tyrion and Jorah are eventually captured by a group of slavers, and are sold into the services of Yezzan zo Qaggaz , who will have his "freedmen" fight in the fighting pits for the Queen of Meereen , Daenerys Targaryen.

Jorah uses this opportunity to present Daenerys with a gift: Tyrion, who walks into the pits and informs Daenerys that he is the gift. Tyrion and Jorah are brought before Daenerys in one of the pyramids in Meereen , one of the cities of Slaver's Bay which she has conquered from the slave masters. Tyrion advises Daenerys not to execute Jorah since executing those devote to her is unwise, but says that she cannot allow a known traitor around her either.

Tyrion also expresses his thoughts that Jorah is likely in love with Daenerys. Thus, Daenerys emotionally sends Jorah back into exile and has him removed from the city. Daenerys later meets with Tyrion, where she agrees not to have him killed to send a message to House Lannister. Instead, Daenerys will have Tyrion advise her on how to get what she wants: the Iron Throne. Tyrion wonders aloud if she should remain in Slaver's Bay, but Daenerys says that Westeros is her home, not Essos.

Daenerys goes onto tell Tyrion that she intends to "break the wheel" of noble Houses vying for power , all the while hurting those below them - their vassals and, below them, the commoners of the realm. Tyrion notes how his father would have liked Hizdahr. They are shocked to see that the champion of the competition is none other than Jorah himself.

Suddenly, Jorah grabs a spear and throws it towards Daenerys' direction; it instead hits a member of the Sons of the Harpy , an insurgency group of the Great Masters , the slave masters who ruled over Meereen, fighting Daenerys' rule in Meereen.

Suddenly, the Sons of the Harpy rise from the crowd and begin to slaughter the audience, the Unsullied and the Second Sons as panic spreads. In the ensuing massacre, Hizdahr is stabbed to death by the insurgents.

Tyrion slits the throat of one of the insurgents that nearly kills Missandei, and with Jorah and Daario's help, the five leap off the podium and attempt to escape. However, the gates are shut, and they find themselves surrounded by the Sons of the Harpy with few Unsullied left to shield them.

Daenerys closes her eyes, and suddenly Drogon flies into the pit and begins to burn the rebel insurgents, who flee out of fear.

Daenerys climbs atop Drogon and flies away from the city as Tyrion, Missandei, Jorah, and Daario watch on in awe. As Tyrion watches Daario and Jorah depart, he is approached by Varys, who expresses his delight that Tyrion has made it into Daenerys' service. Tyrion says that it would help him govern the city if he had someone with a " vast network of spies ," and tells Varys how he missed him while they were apart.

After being assaulted at a brothel by the radical Sparrows, for mocking the Seven , the High Septon demands justice from the small council. Cersei sees this as an opportunity to undermine House Tyrell , whose influence has grown stronger and stronger over her young son, King Tommen.

She has the High Septon thrown into the dungeons beneath the Red Keep and meets with the so-called High Sparrow , who is serving soup to the smallfolk of King's Landing. Cersei goes on to have her son appoint the High Sparrow as the new High Septon and has the Faith Militant reestablished, with the bulk of the forces being made up of the Sparrows, of course.

As a result, Loras is arrested by a group led by Brother Lancel. However, a squire named Olyvar , who is secretly in the service of Lord Petyr Baelish , provides sufficient evidence of Loras' perversions. As a result, both of the Tyrell children are arrested. Cersei smirks at the shocked Olenna over her victory. Earlier, Cersei had met with Baelish to extract this information from him.

Baelish also informed Cersei that Sansa Stark has returned to Winterfell and is being wed to Ramsay Bolton ; Cersei believes that Sansa played a part in King Joffrey 's murder , and agrees to have Baelish appointed as Warden of the North if he defeats the Boltons in the name of House Lannister.

Baelish, who has control over the armies of House Arryn , the rulers of the Vale , pledges to use the elite "knights of the Vale" to defend the Iron Throne , and promises that he will not rest until the banner of House Lannister flies over Winterfell. Olenna later meets with Littlefinger, who promises her the same gift he gave Cersei: a handsome, young man.

After checking on Margaery, Cersei meets with the High Sparrow and tells him that she believes Margaery's conditions are fine. The High Sparrow declares his intentions to strip the nobility of their wealth and power to expose them for who they truly are. At that moment, Lancel walks out from the shadows, having confessed of his sins.

Realizing their intentions, Cersei attempts to leave, but is apprehended by Septa Unella and locked away. During her time in prison, she is met by Qyburn , an expelled maester who helped heal Jaime's wound and has been experimenting on the deceased Ser Gregor Clegane. Qyburn informs her that Grand Maester Pycelle has called for her uncle Kevan to serve as Hand of the King and Protector of the Realm , and that both Pycelle and Kevan refuse to visit her.

He also informs Cersei that Tommen has fallen into a state of depression and is refusing to eat. He implores Cersei to confess so that she may return to her son, but Cersei refuses to give the High Sparrow that satisfaction. However, Cersei later decides to finally give in. She confesses to some of her sins, but denies any involvement in sleeping with her brother Jaime and conspiring to murder her late husband, King Robert.

Because she confesses to some sins but not all, Cersei must still have a trial; however, if she undergoes a humiliating walk of atonement , she may return to the Red Keep. Reluctantly, Cersei agrees to do so. Her hair is cut and she is stripped naked and forced to walk through the streets of King's Landing as Septa Unella rings a bell next to her, shouting "Shame!

He starts to leave and states his plan to take his own life well before the greyscale envelops him, but Daenerys tearfully commands him to find a cure and come back to her side when she conquers Westeros.

While the rulers of Meereen enjoy a tenuous peace, Tyrion reminds them of the need to convince the Meereenese that everything has been done with Daenerys's blessing, as the Masters could use Tyrion and Varys 's foreign status against them to reclaim Slaver's Bay. Varys is more skeptical, being suspicious of any practitioners of magic, and points out that Melisandre had already declared Stannis Baratheon to be the Prince, only for him to be defeated twice.

Kinvara says that while the Lord of Light has a plan, the humans following him do occasionally make errors. She then unnerves Varys by revealing that she knows Varys was emasculated by a " second-rate sorcerer " and offers to repeat the words he heard in the flames, and identify who it was that spoke.

Varys is uncharacteristically unsettled by this revelation. Kinvara then assures Tyrion that she will send the preachers and priests best suited to the task at hand. Yara argues that raiding the mainland is not enough for their people, and that they need to use military force to teach the mainlanders a lesson. An Ironborn man challenges Yara's candidacy on the grounds that she is a woman and points out that her brother Theon Greyjoy has returned.

Theon endorses his older sister and urges the gathering to do the same; stressing that she is a warrior, a reaver, and an Ironborn. Many shout for Yara to be their Queen. He openly mocks Theon for his military failures and emasculation before deriding Yara as a woman. Yara in turn accuses Euron of killing their King and her father Balon. To her surprise, Euron admits killing Balon but then defends his actions on the grounds that Balon was leading them to defeat in the North.

When Euron states that his only regret is not killing Balon years earlier, he is met by resounding cheers from the crowd. Theon then counters that Euron had spent years gallivanting overseas while Yara was commanding Ironborn ships and men. Yara then suggests building a massive fleet to attack and make their mark on Westeros.

In response, Euron announces that he also supports expanding the Ironborn fleet. Revealing a trick up his sleeve, he then proposes to marry Daenerys Targaryen and then carry her army and dragons back to Westeros.

The Ironborn support Euron's plan and declare him king. The Drowned Men priest Aeron Greyjoy then leads Euron down to the sea to be drowned and reborn, as is the custom. Knowing that Euron will kill them as soon as he is able, Yara, Theon, and many of their loyalists flee the Iron Islands during Euron's coronation, taking much of the Iron Fleet with them. After Euron revives himself, he is crowned by his brother Aeron. After learning that his niece and nephew have fled with their best ships, Euron calls on his followers to build their own ships so that he may pursue the pair and kill them.

The Three-Eyed Raven shows Bran a vision of a heart tree amid spirals of standing stones in a lush green valley. His vision shows Leaf and other Children of the Forest talking amongst themselves, then looking eagerly at a captive bound to the tree. Leaf approaches and forces a Dragonglass dagger into the captive's chest. The captive screams, but does not die, instead becoming the first White Walker. Bran immediately confronts Leaf about creating the White Walkers. Leaf explains that they were at war with the First Men and were desperate.

Later, Bran is the only one in the cave awake and is anxious to warg back into the Weirwood tree. Bran wargs into the tree by himself and sees the army of the dead. He slowly walks through the army until he comes to a space occupied by four White Walkers, including the Night King. He breaks out of the vision with a scream waking the others. The Three-Eyed Raven tells Bran, Meera and Hodor that the Night King is now able to locate Bran, who is now marked on his right forearm, and able to bypass the powerful magic keeping the White Walkers and the wights out of the cave.

As a result, they must leave immediately and Bran must "become" the Three-Eyed Raven. Bran asks whether he is ready, and the Raven says "No" at which point Bran's eyes whiten as he enters another vision. As Meera and Hodor are preparing to leave they notice the air is so cold their breath is visible, indicating the arrival of the army of the dead outside of the cave.

The Night King and three White Walkers start marching towards the cave. The Children of the Forest try using magic projectiles to fend the Walkers off, but are overwhelmed.