In King's Landing, Tyrion asks Varys whether he has any evidence that his sister tried to have him killed during the Battle of Blackwater. Varys has none. He does, however, give Tyrion a nice lecture on how revenge is a dish Best Served Cold. He tells of how as a boy, he was castrated by a sorcerer as part of a dark magical ritual (hence his distrust of all magic), then cast aside. Varys worked his way up from petty thief in Myr to Master of Whispers in King's Landing, always expanding his influence. He opens a large box to reveal the sorcerer, bound and gagged, finally in Varys' clutches after all these years. Later, Varys is informed by Ros that Littlefinger likely plans to take Sansa with him to the Vale, as he has ordered two feather beds for his ship. Varys intends to stop him from doing so, and to that end has a discussion with Lady Olenna. Lady Olenna comments that Sansa is a naïve and uninteresting girl, but as Robb Stark's heir (since Arya, Bran, and Rickon are presumed dead), to control her opens the way for control of the North.
Joffrey takes Lady Margaery on a tour of the Great Sept of Baelor. She pretends to share his macabre interest in the Targaryen tombs. She leads Joffrey to greet the crowd of common people outside the Sept, who give them, or at least Margaery, their adoration. Cersei is increasingly concerned with the Tyrells' influence in the city and on Joffrey, as she discusses Lord Tywin. Her father points out that the Tyrells saved the city from Stannis's army, and that someone needs to rein Joffrey in if Cersei is incapable of doing so. Furthermore, he chews her out for not being as intelligent as she thinks she is, saying that his reason for not giving her more influence is his lack of faith in her political abilities rather than her sex.
Sansa and Margaery meet in the Godswood outside the city, and seem to hit it off rather well. Margaery suggests that once she becomes Queen, Sansa could marry Ser Loras and live in Highgarden. Sansa is thrilled at the idea.
In the North, Bran has another dream where Jojen tells him he has to catch the Three-eyed Raven. When he tries to climb a tree to reach it, his mother Catelyn appears and reminds him that he promised to stop climbing. Psychotically, she screams, "Promise Me!" over and over again and then shoves him out of the tree. He wakes up shaken, with Jojen staring at him.
Elsewhere, Theon is led by his apparent savior to Deepwood Motte, where his sister Yara is allegedly waiting for him. They sneak into the castle through the sewers, where Theon expresses his regret at his past actions. He admits that Ned Stark was his true father all along and that Balon Greyjoy never cared about him. Unfortunately, his actions during the Sack of Winterfell have ruined any chance of reconciling with Robb and the others (even though, as he admits, Bran and Rickon are still alive), so he feels he has no choice but to return to the Iron Islands with Yara. The Boy leads Theon to a room which turns out to be the very torture chamber that he thought he'd escaped from. A band of men step out of the shadows, and the Boy claims that Theon was the one who killed their comrades during his escape attempt (when it was really himself), telling them to, "put him back where he belongs." The men beat Theon up and bind him kicking and screaming to the cross once more.
In the Riverlands, Arya, Gendry and the Hound are led to the hidden base of the Brotherhood without Banners. Sandor Clegane is brought before the Brotherhood's leader, Beric Dondarrion, and told he will stand trial for his crimes. When they accuse him of the Mountain's crimes, he retorts that he hates his brother and has nothing to do with Gregor's actions. As the men of the Brotherhood cannot name any specific crimes that the Hound has committed, Arya mentions his killing of her friend Mycah. Lord Beric, a convert to the faith of the Lord of Light, sentences Clegane to a trial by combat to determine his guilt. He will fight the Hound himself.
Elsewhere, Jaime is suffering further torments by Lord Bolton's men. Left to ride with his severed hand dangling around his neck, he loses consciousness and slips onto the muddy ground. When he begs for water, Locke gives him horse piss to drink. Jaime manages to grab a sword off one of the soldiers, but is hopeless at fighting with his left hand. He is handily defeated, beaten and told that he will lose his other hand if he makes such an attempt again. While sitting by the fire that night, Brienne criticizes Jaime for slipping into despondency, telling him he cannot hope to get revenge if he dies. She asks him why he lied about her father's wealth in order to save her the night before. Jaime cannot answer.
Beyond the Wall, the surviving men of the Night's Watch are still recovering their strength in Craster's Keep. Some of them are dying of their wounds, and the rest are starved for food. Many suspect that Craster is secretly hoarding supplies and keeping it from them. One night, tensions boil over, and a fight breaks out between Craster and some of the men. Craster is killed by Karl. When Lord Commander Mormont tries to intervene, Rast stabs and kills him. In the ensuing chaos, Sam runs to fetch Gilly and her son. They escape into the night, with Rast promising to slit Sam's throat.
In Astapor, Daenerys is making the final transaction to buy all the Unsullied in the city. She hands Drogon, her largest dragon, over to Master Kraznys on a chained leash. Kraznys hands her a ceremonial whip, a symbol of command over the Unsullied. Upon establishing that the deal is finalized and after testing the discipline of her new army, Dany reveals to Kraznys that she does indeed speak Valyrian, and could therefore understand all his insults. Furthermore, she points out that a dragon is not a slave and not his to control. She orders the Unsullied to kill all the Good Masters of Astapor, to spare the children, and to free any slaves they find. To Drogon she simply says "Dracarys," whereupon he burns Kraznys mo Nakloz to a crisp and rains fire over the city. After the sack of Astapor is complete, Dany tells the Unsullied that they are no longer slaves, and may go their own way if they so please. They all declare their willingness to stay with her as free men. Eight thousand soldiers march out of the gates of the city under Daenerys' banner, her three dragons flying overhead.
Tropes in this episode include:
- The Ace: Theon mentions seeing Robb this way. See Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence below.
- A Day in the Limelight: Although the episode follows the same usual narrative structure, following several different storylines at the same time, Varys has much more screentime than usual in the scenes in King's Landing, with his past and his motivations being revealed.
- Adaptation Expansion:
- The books give Theon's escape attempt only a brief mention in a flashback. Also, it involves Kyra, who isn't in the series, instead of The Boy.
- The sorcerer who castrated Varys actually appears. In the novel he's merely mentioned.
- Adapted Out: Willas Tyrell, the older brother of Loras and Margaery, has apparently been excised (he was mentioned in the Season 1 viewer's guide, but disappeared from the season 2 and 3 versions), which is why Margaery has to offer to pair Sansa up with Loras. It adds to the adaptation, as it will imply that Loras will be made a member of the Kingsguard not only as a reward to the Tyrells but also as the Lannisters' counter to Lady Olenna's plans involving Sansa.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Brienne asking Jaime, "Why did you help me?"
- Artistic License – Geography: In-universe example. While following the boy to his sister's location in the east, Theon asks how much further it is to Deepwood Motte. The only problem with that is that Deepwood Motte is in the far west of the North and across the country from the Dreadfort, separated by hundreds of miles. The only major stronghold east of the Dreadfort would be Karhold, seat of the Karstarks. Theon is never exactly sure where he is being held, nor by whom, and it may be Theon noticed this; in his next appearance he guesses his captors are the Karstarks, perhaps for this very reason.
- Asshole Victim:
- Kraznys mo Nakloz is an utter asshole the entire time he is dealing with Danaerys and her people. Drogon crisping the bastard is immensely satisfying.
- Craster is a massive asshole who abused and raped his daughters and sacrificed his sons to ice demons. His killer may be a psycho but killing Craster is no horrible deed.
- Ass Shove: Discussed between the Bolton men. "How many fingers do you think we can shove up [Jaime's] ass?"
- Badass Boast:
- Daenerys tells off the Good Masters in style. See Oh, Crap! further down the page.
- Tywin has a nicely understated one; after his "The Reason You Suck" Speech about Cersei's lack of control over Joffrey, she suggests that he try to stop Joffrey doing what he likes. Tywin simply says, "I will."
- Ballistic Discount: Daenerys does this with an entire army! After being given control of the Unsullied, she immediately orders them to sack the very city that sold them to her. As for getting her payment back, Drogon is perfectly capable of freeing himself from Kraznys' clutches with a simple application of fire.
- Batman Gambit: Dany's comes to fruition here in the closing moments of the episode: Trade Drogon for Astapor's entire legion of Unsullied, make the trade, burn the Good Masters, take Drogon back, bask in awesome closing music.
- Best Served Cold: Varys shares the story of how a sorcerer castrated him to use the parts in a spell, and he survived against all odds simply for the chance at revenge. Which has now finally paid off.
- Big Badass Battle Sequence: Dany purchases the Unsullied, orders them to sack Astapor and then gives them their freedom. The battle sequence and the following scene of 8000 soldiers marching out of the city gates are suitably epic.
- Bilingual Backfire: Daenerys pretends to not understand the Valyrian language when she is in the Slaver Coast cities and is underestimated by the native speakers. The translator is surprised to hear it, and the jerk who was speaking very ill of her in front of her gets an instant look of surprise and horror on his face.
- Blindfolded Trip: Arya and Sandor are hooded by the Brotherhood Without Banners so they don't know where their headquarters are.
- Bound and Gagged: The sorcerer in Varys' box is gagged, presumably to prevent him casting spells as well as screaming.
- Break the Badass: Jaime can't even bring himself to eat after losing his sword hand until Brienne's insult of him "acting like a woman" shakes him out of it.
- Brick Joke: Varys and Ros meet in secret about Littlefinger, but first and far more important is working out just what Prodrick actually did to impress the prostitutes he was with so much.
- Brought Down to Normal: Exhausted and with his sword hand gone, Jaime can't even manage a good fight against his tormentors.
- Bullying a Dragon:
- Literally in the case of Kraznys mo Nakloz bullying Danaerys, he gets incinerated for it . You'd think people would learn...
- Craster feels perfectly confident to taunt the more unruly members of the Night's Watch and gets taken out by Karl Tanner for it.
- Call-Back:
- Varys welcomes someone to the capital by telling them, "King's Landing is made brighter by your presence." Olenna even lampshades it, saying that she bets that it's his normal line.
- Tywin making his daughter wait while he scribbles on a parchment recalls him doing the same thing to Tyrion earlier in the season, and implies Cersei is in similar disfavour—Tywin quickly confirms this.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Cersei over her father favouring his sons over her, when she's the only one who cares about the family legacy "that you love so much more than your actual children."
- Catapult Nightmare: Bran jerks himself into wakefulness (as much as a parapalegic can) after his mother shoves him out of a tree in his vision-dream.
- Cool Old Guy: It was always taken as read that Mormont would be this, but we finally get the demonstration of it. He gets stabbed in the back, but is still strong enough that he's able to wrestle his attacker up against a post to the point that the younger man can't get free and nearly strangle him to death before succumbing to the wound.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Unsullied in Astapor easily kill Astapor's non-Unsullied soldiers and sack the city.
- Dirty Coward: Even whilst Jaime is one-handed Locke's men don't have the balls to attack Jaime dead on having to kick him from behind to subdue him.
- Desecrating the Dead: Discussed when Joffrey mentions that Robert had wanted to just dump the bodies of the Targaryens killed during the sack of King's Landing in the Blackwater, but the High Septon convinced him to grant them a proper burial.
- Dissonant Serenity: As the mutiny breaks out at Craster's Keep, there's one Night's Watch ranger leaning off to the side, not doing anything except watch all hell break loose. He's seen at 5:00 in this clip
at the far left as Lord Commander Mormont dies. - Equal-Opportunity Evil: Tywin claims that the reason he distrusts Cersei is because she's not as clever as she thinks she is, rather than because she's a woman. The books mention that his wife, in addition to being the love of his life, was his most trusted confidante, so it's quite possible he means what he says.
- Evil Is Petty: Locke and his men enjoy themselves humiliating Jaime.
- Failed a Spot Check: Apparently no one noticed Daenerys giving orders to her new soldiers in perfect Valyrian. Except for Dany's allies and Missandei.
- Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: When the Boy asks Theon if Robb "lorded it over" him, Theon replies, "Didn't have to, all he had to do was ... be. Be who he was born to be; his life fit him better than his clothes. How could someone like that be a brother to me?"
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: The Boy posing as Theon's rescuer is a Darker and Edgier version of this, as the deception leads Theon to give up far more important information (in particular, the survival of Bran and Rickon) than what he told his torturers.
- Hope Spot:
- Ohhh, poor Theon. He thinks the Boy is leading him to Yara, but in fact he leads him back to his stronghold by a different path, and back into the exact same torture room he rescued him from previously.
- The next episode reveals that Sansa's prospects of marriage to Loras are another case of false hope.
- Mormont tries to usher Rast out of Craster's Keep and it looks like the tense mood might pass. Then Karl insults Craster to his face and all-out chaos erupts.
- Hypocritical Humor: Brienne chastising Jaime: "You sound like a bloody woman!"
- I Drank WHAT?!: Jaime begs Locke for water, who lets him gulp down a container before telling him it's horse piss.
- In the Back:
- Mormont gets stabbed in the back by Rast while facing down Craster's killer.
- An Astapori overseer gets a spear in the back from an Unsullied after Dany orders the sacking of Astapor to begin.
- Kick Them While They Are Down:
- The Bolton men beat Jaime very severely and repeatedly.
- What the Boy does to Theon.
- Kubrick Stare: Dany keeps an impassive expression throughout Master Kraznys' string of insults, but the last time he calls her a bitch, she gives him one of these when he's not looking. Kraznys' horrible flame-y death ensues shortly after.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Barristan has this when drawing his sword, after he realizes that Dany was playing Kraznys all along and is about to lead the sack on Astapor.
- Manipulative Bastard:
- Margaery continues to play Joffrey like a fiddle, and tempts Sansa with an offer to marry Loras, despite Sansa being just about the only person in King's Landing ignorant of his sexuality. However, she's still doing Sansa a kindness by rescuing her from more uncaring manipulators, so she's arguably acting as a Guile Antihero.
- And on the absolute darkest end of this trope, we have the Boy, who toys with Theon.
- Mercy Kill: Invoked by Craster; when Mormont protests him turfing them out, insisting those wounded at the Fist of the First Men still need time to recover their strength, Craster points out most are as strong as they're going to get and Mormont should just put the dying out of their misery (or leave them behind for Craster to deal with).Craster: I'll be glad when you and yours are gone.Jeor Mormont: As soon as our wounded are strong enough.Craster: Bah, they're as strong as they're gonna get. Them that's dying, cut their throats and be done with it. Or leave them if you've not the stomach, and I'll sort them meself."
- Mic Drop: The Khaleesi would have never even seen a microphone, so the slaver's whip she is given to symbolize her control of the Unsullied is used instead. After her burning of Kraznys, sacking of Astapor, cool girls don't look at explosions moment and freeing of the slaves which makes them ten times more loyal to her, Daenerys drops the thing in the dirt.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Theon has a moment of this when he realizes that the Starks were more his family then Balon and Yara ever were.Theon: My real father lost his head at King's Landing.
- Never Trust a Trailer: Varys' line, "It's been a long time, my old friend," was implied to be directed at Tyrion or someone like Doran Martell in ads for the season. It's actually to the sorcerer who castrated him.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Margaery plays as one to appeal to Joffrey. It works wonderfully.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Daenerys reveals she was playing at this in her dealings with the Good Masters.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Yes, Kraznys, Daenerys has understood everything you were saying.
- Theon is apparently so stunned by the betrayal that he can't even properly have this reaction.
- Sam, Grenn, Edd and the other loyalists of the Night's Watch have this reaction when Rast stabs Mormont, just before all hell breaks loose.
- Parental Favoritism: During his conversation with Cersei, Tywin makes it clear Jaime is his favorite of his children. Cersei is in the middle and Tyrion is at the bottom.
- Pet the Dog: However politically motivated Margaery's ambitions for Sansa to marry Loras might be, she does seem to be genuinely happy for her.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "Dracarys." Muthafucka!!!
- Psychotic Smirk: Theon's "rescuer" gives quite a creepy one after he reveals his true colors.
- Quick Draw: Karl is a pretty fast draw with his knives, as Craster finds out the hard way.
- Rape, Pillage, and Burn: An unusual version with Daenerys's conquest of Astapor, as the first two are forbidden, yet she burns down a good part of the city and completely overthrows its aristocracy.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Tywin quickly puts Cersei in her place by dismissing her fears over the Tyrells gaining influence, noting that they are doing a better job than her at reining in Joffrey. He also tells her in simple terms that he isn't raising her as an heir to strategically protect House Lannister simply because she isn't as smart as she thinks she is, not because she's a woman.
- Replacement Goldfish: Daenerys gets a new white mare following the Sack of Astapor.
- Rule of Symbolism: The Unsullied trampling Daenerys' discarded whip as they march out of Astapor, having killed their former slavers.
- Running Gag: Word of Podrick's epic session with three of Littlefinger's best ladies makes it all the way back to Varys.
- Sacred Hospitality: Rast and his friends violate it when they attack their host Craster and start a riot.Jeor: The gods will curse us for this! By all the laws of-!Karl: There are no laws beyond the Wall, old man!
- Scenery Porn: The interior of Baelor's Sept.
- Self-Deprecation: Lady Olenna continues her habit of tearing her own house to pieces, this time lamenting the less-than-impressive words of the Tyrells, "Growing strong." She also calls herself "decrepit" while playfully inquiring if Varys is attempting to seduce her.
- Shout-Out: This is not the first time one of Charles Dance's characters has noticed someone is "still here".
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: When Craster threatens to kill anyone who calls him a bastard a second time, Karl calls him a bastard and then
Crosses the Line Twice, by calling him a "daughter-fucking wildling bastard." - Sigil Spam: Olenna doesn't care for the Tyrells' tendency to cover every scrap of clothing and fabric with roses, especially since they have such an unimpressive sigil and words compared to other major houses.
- Slasher Smile: The Boy's when Theon is tied up again.
- Slave Liberation: Dany's first command for her Unsullied is to free all the slaves of Astapor and kill their masters. Afterward, she frees the Unsullied themselves, all of whom choose to continue following her.
- Slow Clap: To signal his intention to serve Daenerys as a free man, one of the Unsullied begins rapping his spear haft upon the ground, shortly joined by all of his fellows.
- So Proud of You: Jorah and Barristan share a smile as they watch Daenerys free her slaves, having taken over Astapor.
- Sympathy for the Hero: Unlike in the books, TV!Varys never got a moment to express his admiration for Ned Stark to the man himself. Instead, in this episode he tells Lady Olenna that he admired Ned and sympathizes with the plight of Sansa Stark.
- Tactful Translation: The slaver Kraznys mo Nakloz keeps insulting Danaerys in Valyrian. His translator and slave Missandei "cleans up" his statements when she translates Kraznys's words into Westeros. Emilia Clarke plays this wonderfully in all their interactions; she looks like she's getting a little more annoyed with every word the man says.
- Taking You with Me: Jeor Mormont tries to choke his killer to death after being stabbed in the back. He comes close, but succumbs to his injury seconds before he manages to.
- Title Drop: "And Now His Watch Is Ended" is part of the eulogy given to fallen Night's Watch members. They recite it while cremating their fallen brothers.
- Too Dumb to Live:
- Craster probably should have known he was sitting on a powder keg and that the crows were on the verge of succumbing to cannibalistic urges. His penchant for insulting people in a creepy manner doesn't help either.
- And too greedy too. The Good Masters of Astapor are so excited by the thought of owning one of the three living dragons that they agree to sell every single one of their Unsullied. And who is the buyer of these super soldiers, whom they have been insulting non-stop in Valyrian? Daenerys. Of House Targaryen. The last Great Valyrian House. Who happens to speak Valyrian. To sum up: They insulted a woman in what is famously her family's mother tongue, and then handed over an unbeatable army and left themselves with no one capable of defending the city, all to obtain a dragon they had no idea how to control. A true masterclass in stupidity.
- Too Dumb To Escape: Theon has spent nine years as ward of the Starks. Maester Luwin has been seen teaching a ten-year-old Bran the heraldry, history and geography of the noble houses of Westeros, so presumably he has taught the other children as well, including Theon. Yet, when Theon is captured and strapped on an X-shaped cross, he fails to remember that a man strapped to an X-shaped cross is the sigil of House Bolton. In addition, when The Boy frees him, he instructs him to ride east to Deepwood Motte. Deepwood Motte is on the western coast of the North.
- Trunk Shot: When Varys shows Tyrion the trapped sorcerer, they are shown watching him from this angle, with part of the lid and box visible and covering them.
- Undying Loyalty: Grenn, Edd and the other loyalists of the Night's Watch furiously attack Karl and the other mutineers after Mormont gets stabbed.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Dany's advisers are appalled by her trading of a dragon for an army. Neither they nor the viewers are aware that her plan involves turning her dragon against the would-be buyer and using the army to conquer Astapor.
- Villainous Breakdown: Kraznys mo Nakloz loses it when Dany orders the Unsullied to kill the Good Masters of Astapor, spending the last few seconds of his life screaming at the slave soldiers he just sold to the woman who's now their new mistress, whom they're conditioned to obey without question.Kraznys: [in Valyrian] I am your master! Kill her! Kill her! KILL HER!
- Wangst: In-universe, Brienne calls Jaime out on his whining, pointing out it's likely the first drawback of his cushy life.
- Wham Episode: The Boy leads Theon back into a trap, revealing the rescue as a lie to break Theon's spirit. Commander Mormont is murdered by Rast and the Night's Watch north of the Wall disintegrate into anarchy. But these pale compared to Daenerys' sacking Astapor in a Batman Gambit.
- Wham Line:
- "Dovaogēdys!" ("Unsullied!") Letting everyone and their mother know that that Daenerys' entire exchange with the Good Masters was done with a Completely Unnecessary Translator—she understood everything Kraznys mo Nakloz said about her.
- "A dragon is not a slave."
- "You are a bastard."note
- When She Smiles: Sansa has a nervous but joyful smile when Margaery suggests marrying her to Loras, allowing Sansa to escape King's Landing and the clutches of Joffrey and Cersei.
- With My Hands Tied: Brienne tries to back Jaime up, despite having her arms completely bound. The mere fact she manages to get off her horse in such a state is impressive both for her and her actress.
- Worthy Opponent: Varys mentions that he enjoys Littlefinger's presence, but that Littlefinger terrifies him with his willingness to destroy the Seven Kingdoms in his drive to rule them.Varys: I rather enjoy him, but he would see this country burn if he could be king of the ashes.
