A Storm of Swords

Though shocked, Sansa tries to hold back her glee over Joffrey’s death. As she removes her hairnet, she realizes that one of its black amethysts is missing. This makes her anxious, remembering that the drunken knight reduced to being court jester Ser Dontos claimed that the hair net had magical qualities intended to work at Joffrey’s wedding. Dontos affirms this the next time they meet, but reassures her over her worries that she was an accessory to Joffrey’s murder. Dontos sneaks her out of the castle, bringing her to a trading galley in the bay. There, Littlefinger reveals himself to be the mastermind behind Sansa’s rescue. When Dontos asks Littlefinger for payment, Littlefinger has him killed. Littlefinger implies that he also ensured that Tyrion would be framed for Joffrey’s murder.

Sansa asks why Littlefinger would orchestrate Joffrey’s death. Littlefinger deflects—he had no real motive to kill Joffrey. He stresses that this ambiguity is important in playing the game of thrones. The only thing he makes clear is that he rescued Sansa out of devotion to Catelyn.

Brienne learns about Catelyn’s death and turns despondent. Not long after, Jaime learns about his son and nephew Joffrey’s death.

When they reach King’s Landing, Jaime searches for Cersei in the Red Keep. No one recognizes Jaime until he encounters the Kingsguard. Loras sees Brienne and antagonizes her, believing that she killed his lover, Renly Baratheon. Jaime uses his station as Kingsguard Lord Commander to defend Brienne.

Jaime finds Cersei praying over Joffrey’s body in the sept. Their reunion is bittersweet as they share their grief over the death of their son. Cersei urges Jaime to avenge Joffrey, but Jaime is reluctant to kill his brother, Tyrion. Cersei seduces Jaime and they have sex in the sept. She immediately regrets this, fearing Tywin will learn of their incest. When Jaime proposes to her, Cersei belittles his affections and dismisses him.

Jaime reunites with Tywin, who says that the loss of Jaime’s sword hand will hinder his ability to serve in the Kingsguard. Jaime still wants to serve. Instead, Tywin directs him to abandon his role, marry Margaery, and claim his inheritance of Casterly Rock. Upset, Jaime declares that he is meant to be the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, which stuns Tywin. Tywin disowns him.

Davos puts Edric on one of Salladhor Saan’s ships to remove him from Dragonstone. Later, Davos and Melisandre inform Stannis that Joffrey is dead, though Melisandre frames it as the result of the leech ritual she performed. Melisandre once again urges Stannis to sacrifice Edric. Davos reveals that Edric is no longer on Dragonstone. Stannis accuses him of treason. Davos argues that as king, Stannis must protect Edric, who is one of his subjects. He appeals to Stannis to hear his counsel and shows him the letter from the Night’s Watch.

The wildling army arrives at the Wall. Donal Noye descends the Wall to defend the gate. He leaves Jon in charge of the rest of the defense.

The wildling giants push a battering ram toward the gate. Jon succeeds in hindering them with arrows and burning pitch. When Jon goes down to inspect the damage at the gate, he finds that Noye and his men have been killed. Jon tries to pass command of the Wall to another ranger, but Maester Aemon insists that Jon should continue leading the defense.

Arya grieves over the loss of her family. She finds solace in her dreams of being a wolfpack leader. With nowhere left to turn, she rides on with Sandor, though he does not know where to go either.

Sandor decides to ransom Arya to her aunt Lysa in the Vale. Arya is so disappointed by this idea that she proposes returning to the Twins to rescue Catelyn. The next time she dreams of herself as a wolf, Arya pulls Catelyn’s corpse out of the river, leaving just as several men arrive on horseback. This dream assures Arya that Catelyn is dead.

Kevan Lannister, Tywin’s brother, informs his nephew, Tyrion, that if Tyrion demands trial by combat, Cersei intends to select Gregor as her champion. Tyrion has little to incentivize his mercenary protector Bronn to fight on his behalf. Kevan asks Tyrion for a list of witnesses to defend him. The only person Tyrion can think of is Sansa, who is missing.

Tywin, Mace, and Oberyn preside as judges over the trial. On the first day, Tyrion denies his guilt in Joffrey’s murder. The prosecution’s witnesses are increasingly antagonistic toward Tyrion. That evening, Tyrion tries to list Varys as a defense witness. On the second day of the trial, Maester Pycelle claims that Tyrion stole the poison that killed Joffrey from the Maester’s chamber. That evening, Tywin offers to send Tyrion to the Night’s Watch if Tyrion admits his guilt, rather than having him executed. Tyrion refuses the offer. On the third day, Varys is called for the prosecution. Varys provides a wealth of evidence that implicates Tyrion in Joffrey’s assassination. Cersei asks for one more day to call a special witness.

That evening, Oberyn visits Tyrion in his cell. He doubts Tyrion’s guilt and considers it against Tywin’s political maneuvers. He understands that Tywin is trying to pacify the tensions between their houses. What Oberyn wants, however, is justice for Elia. Tyrion lies that Tywin did not command Gregor to kill her, but Oberyn sees through it. He offers to champion Tyrion in combat.

Jaime assembles the Kingsguard. While waiting for them to arrive, he considers the legacies of the great Kingsguard knights, reading their histories in the Book of the Brothers. As Lord Commander, it is his responsibility to update its pages, including his own scant entry.

Jaime spends the assembly indicting the failures of each Kingsguard member. He is disappointed that they have used their power to either elevate their status or abuse the powerless. The last knight Jaime confronts is Loras, who remains convinced that Brienne killed Renly. Jaime defends Brienne’s honor by testifying to the oath she kept. Loras concedes it would have been impossible for Brienne to cut through Renly’s armor, but he cannot believe Brienne’s claim that a magical shadow killed Renly (which is indeed what happened through Melisandre’s shadow magic). Jaime implores Loras to interview Brienne and judge her fairly.

Before he leaves, Loras claims that Renly only kept Brienne around because she was the only member of his guard who wanted to die for him. Jaime considers this against his grief over Joffrey.

Littlefinger brings Sansa to his ancestral home in the Fingers. There, they will meet Lysa, whom Littlefinger will soon marry. This does little to console Sansa, though she concedes that her aunt will likely be kind to her.

Littlefinger’s ancestral home shows his humble origins. He tells Sansa that they need to disguise her as his daughter (born out of wedlock) for her protection. Littlefinger renames her “Alayne Stone.”

Littlefinger explains his belief that, in King’s Landing, people are either pieces or players. Pieces become players when they can discern what other people want. This is how Littlefinger managed to acquire so many pieces in the city. To prove this, he also reveals that Olenna Tyrell was the person who took the poison from Sansa’s hairnet and placed it in Joffrey’s cup. Littlefinger convinced the Tyrells that they could ascend in status through marriage even after killing Joffrey to save Margaery from his cruelty. The Tyrells’ current position remains secure as Margaery is expected to marry Joffrey’s younger brother Tommen.

Lysa arrives and urges Littlefinger to marry her at once. Sansa meets Lysa’s singer, Marillion, who attempts to seduce her. When she rebuffs his advances, he sexually abuses her until one of Littlefinger’s guards stops him.

The next morning, Littlefinger reveals Sansa’s true identity to Lysa. Lysa observes Sansa’s resemblance to Catelyn and suggests that her hair should be dyed black to mask her identity. She expresses her affection for her niece and promises to shelter her. After confirming that Sansa is not pregnant with Tyrion’s child, Lysa offers to wed Sansa to her cousin Robert once Tyrion is executed.

The wildlings continue to siege the Wall for several days, though their progress is insignificant. Reinforcements soon arrive from the castle of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, led by Ser Alliser Thorne and Ser Janos Slynt. Thorne and Slynt accuse Jon of deserting the Night’s Watch to join the wildlings. Jon admits that he had to break his vows to maintain his cover, but he insists that he never abandoned his duty to the Night’s Watch.

Thorne and Slynt reveal that they have captured the wildling Rattleshirt, who identifies Jon as the killer of Qhorin, a Night’s Watch leader. Jon finds it difficult to prove that Qhorin asked Jon to kill him (what actually happened was that Qhorin was already dying, so he demanded that Jon kill him in a showy way, knowing that Jon’s willingness to execute Qhorin in front of wildlings would maintain Jon’s cover as a Night’s Watch deserter). Slynt, who assumes command of Castle Black, suspects that Qhorin’s murder is part of a larger plot to forge an alliance between the Starks and the wildlings. Maester Aemon defends Jon by citing his skillful defense of the Wall as proof of his fidelity. Slynt nevertheless has Jon incarcerated.