Darrow's Lambda clan is denied the Laurel despite his record-breaking helium-3 mining performance.

Eo sings a forbidden song during her public flogging before ArchGovernor Nero au Augustus.

ArchGovernor Augustus orders Eo hanged; Darrow pulls her feet to speed her death.

Darrow is arrested for burying Eo's body in the forbidden forest and sentenced to hang.

Darrow wakes in a shallow grave and is recruited by Sons of Ares leader Dancer.

Dancer brings Darrow to the surface city of Yorkton, revealing the full depth of Red enslavement.

Mickey the Carver surgically transforms Darrow's skeleton, eyes, and muscles into those of a Gold warrior.

Darrow passes the Institute admission test and is selected for House Mars in the Draft.

Darrow kills Julian au Bellona in the Passage, a mandatory one-on-one fight to the death.

Darrow discovers that House Mars member Titus is secretly a Red disguised as a Gold.

Cassius stabs Darrow through the abdomen after receiving footage proving Darrow killed his brother Julian.

Mustang nurses a gravely wounded Darrow back to health in a hidden cave.

Darrow leads his army of freed slaves in a siege and captures House Ceres's castle.

Darrow kills Apollo's Proctor with his knifeRing and leads the Howlers toward Olympus.

Darrow accepts a prestigious apprenticeship with ArchGovernor Nero au Augustus, his wife's killer.

Darrow begins as a Red Helldiver on Mars, his ambitions limited to winning the Laurel for his clan, while his wife Eo dreams of revolution against the Society. After Eo is executed for singing a forbidden song, Darrow is hanged for burying her, only to be revived by the Sons of Ares and surgically transformed into a Gold. He enters the Institute under a false identity, is drafted into House Mars, and kills a fellow student named Julian in a forced duel called the Passage. Darrow's secret is nearly exposed when Cassius stabs him after learning the truth, but Mustang nurses him back to health and he rebuilds with an army of freed slaves. After defeating the cheating Proctors and storming their headquarters at Olympus, Darrow conquers the entire war game and receives an apprenticeship offer from ArchGovernor Augustus. Accepting the offer brings him one step closer to toppling the Society from within, the mission Eo died hoping he would fulfill.

The core events driving Darrow's transformation and conquest.

Darrow and Eo sneak through a forbidden ventilation duct and enter a secret forest for the first time.

Gray guards catch Darrow and Eo as they emerge from the Webbery's hidden passage.

Darrow and Eo are publicly flogged in the Common while ArchGovernor Augustus watches from above.

Darrow cuts down Eo's body from the gallows and carries her through the duct to the forest.

Dancer shows Darrow that footage of Eo's death has been broadcast across Mars, making her a martyr.

Darrow solves Mickey's electronic puzzle cube, proving his intelligence to the skeptical Carver.

Matteo trains Darrow in Gold speech patterns, table manners, and traditional Gold dances.

Darrow meets Cassius and his brother Julian on the shuttle to the Institute.

House Mars fractures into warring factions as Titus and Antonia refuse to accept a single leader.

Darrow and Cassius raid Minerva's castle warroom and escape with six horses and Minerva's standard.

House Diana betrays their alliance with Darrow and occupies Minerva's castle after it falls.

Antonia murders Lea to entrap Darrow, while the Jackal's footage of Julian's killing reaches Cassius.

Darrow publicly takes lashes alongside Tactus to accept shared responsibility for an assault in his army.

Darrow and the Howlers fly to Olympus on stolen gravBoots and capture several Proctors inside.

Mustang delivers her captured twin brother to Darrow, and Darrow is declared ArchPrimus of the game.

Before Eo's death, she and Darrow steal a night in a secret forest, and their discovery by guards sets the tragedy in motion. Eo's execution is preceded by a brutal public flogging, and Darrow's first act of defiance is cutting her down from the gallows and carrying her body to bury in the forest. The Sons of Ares show Darrow footage of Eo spreading across Mars as a martyr before Mickey tests his intellect and Matteo trains him to pass as a Gold. At the Institute, Darrow befriends Cassius and Julian on the shuttle and watches House Mars fracture into violent factions before mounting a bold raid on Minerva's warroom. The betrayal by House Diana, Antonia's murder of Lea, and the Jackal's footage of Julian's killing set the stage for Cassius turning against Darrow. After his recovery, Darrow accepts public lashes for a soldier's crime, his Howlers storm Olympus, and Mustang delivers her brother to seal Darrow's total victory.

The behind-the-scenes moments and alliances that built the revolution.

Eo tells Darrow the Reds are slaves and charges him to fight for their people's freedom.

Uncle Narol secretly holds Darrow's feet down during his hanging, saving his life.

Dancer reveals that Uncle Narol conspired with the Sons of Ares to arrange Darrow's rescue.

Dancer reveals that 97 people before Darrow attempted to infiltrate the Golds and all failed.

ArchGovernor Augustus delivers a speech at the Institute gates condemning equality and democracy as weaknesses.

Fitchner throws a golden ring between Darrow and Julian and declares only one may leave alive.

Darrow sentences Titus to death at a public trial; Cassius kills Titus in a duel instead.

Fitchner tells Darrow that the Jackal is ArchGovernor Augustus's own son, explaining his dominance in the game.

Fitchner secretly reveals to Darrow that ArchGovernor Augustus rigged the game to ensure the Jackal's victory.

Darrow realizes that Mustang's vision of a free social order mirrors Eo's dream of liberation.

Darrow discovers that Sevro is Fitchner's son during a confrontation at Olympus.

Darrow drives a dagger through the Jackal's hand into the table, trapping and exposing him.

Pax throws himself on top of Darrow and dies absorbing the Jackal's blade to protect him.

Fitchner reveals that Mustang and the Jackal are twins just after Darrow kisses Mustang.

Cassius acknowledges Darrow's victory and declares a permanent blood feud between them.

The seeds of revolution are planted when Eo challenges Darrow to fight for their people's freedom, and Uncle Narol's secret act during Darrow's hanging ensures the mission survives. Dancer reveals the network behind Darrow's rescue—including Narol's hidden allegiance—and warns that nearly a hundred men before Darrow attempted this same infiltration and all failed. At the Institute, ArchGovernor Augustus's speech about power crystallizes the enemy Darrow faces, while Fitchner's act of forcing him and Julian into the Passage marks the first true test of his resolve. Fitchner later reveals that the Jackal is Augustus's son and that the game has been rigged, while a quiet moment with Mustang leads Darrow to see that her vision of freedom mirrors Eo's dream. The war game's climax brings rapid revelations: Darrow unmasks the Jackal, Pax dies saving him, and Fitchner discloses that Mustang and the Jackal are twins just after Darrow kisses her. The game ends with Cassius declaring a blood feud, leaving Darrow's victory bittersweet and his future alliances uncertain.