The remaining members of the Night's Watch from Castle Black and several people from Mole's Townman the Wall as Mance’s army approaches. As the Watch repels attack after attack from their great vantage point, some of the wildlings have reach the gate. To his surprise, Jon is left in command as Donal Noye leaves to defend the gate. Jon orders fire arrows and oil casks dropped on the giants and mammoths, and the defenders once again repel the wildling attack. In the aftermath of the fighting, Jon goes down into the gate tunnel, to find Donal Noye dead alongside Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg. When Jon tells Maester Aemon the news, the ancient maester tells him that he must lead the Watch now.

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Davos and a few hand-picked men he knows to be loyal only to Stannis begin their mission in the dark of night. They find Edric Storm in Pylos' solar, and the maester tells the boy to listen to Davos, as he is the King's Hand. Davos and his men bring Edric in secrecy to a ship of Salladhor's, and Davos tells the boy that he must go with Ser Andrew Estermont on an adventure. With the boy safely away from Dragonstone, Davos goes to face Stannis. He tells the King that Joffrey is dead, and Melisandre states that Tommen will be named king. When she asks Stannis for the boy, the King warns her that she will pay with her life if she is wrong. Melisandre is sure that Stannis is the one prophesied 5,000 years ago, that the comet was his herald. But Davos reveals that Edric Storm is gone, and judges based on her reaction that Melisandre has not foreseen this in her flames. Davos tells Stannis that a king must protect his people or he is no king at all. When Stannis draws Lightbringer to behead Davos, the Onion Knight begins to read out the letter that Maester Pylos received from the Night's Watch.

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At an unnamed inn on the road to King's Landing, Jaime hears that the king is dead, his firstborn son, but he is more concerned about Cersei. Jaime and Brienne have already learned of Robb Stark’s demise, and found out that Lord Clement Piper rode to King's Landing to bend the knee since his son Marq is held captive at the Twins. When they arrive at the Red Keep, Ser Loras confronts Brienne, accusing her of killing Renly. Jaime reminds the Knight of Flowers that he is his Lord Commander and orders him to sheathe his sword, but has Brienne arrested and taken to a tower cell.

Jaime finds Cersei in the castle sept, where Joffrey is lying in state, and shows her his stump. She asks him to kill Tyrion for murdering Joffrey. Despite Cersei's words that Tyrion threatened her when she held Alayaya prisoner, Jaime tells her he wishes to learn more about what happened. He has sex with her on the Mother's altar, and afterwards Cersei calls it folly, saying that they must be more careful with their father in the castle. He responds that they should stop hiding their love and wed, even if Tommenwould lose the Iron Throne, he would still be heir to Casterly Rock, but she sends him away in anger.

Jaime then visits his father, and Lord Tywin is furious when he learns that Vargo Hoat maimed his son. The Hand of the King reveals that the Bloody Mummers were routed at Harrenhal, and that Gregor Clegane will kill Vargo soon but is using him for amusement in the meantime. Tywin then speaks of his plans to bribe the High Septon to release Jaime of his vows to the Kingsguard, find a new husband for Cersei, and perhaps marry Jaime to Margaery. Jaime vehemently refuses to hear of it, stating that he is a knight of the Kingsguard, and that is all he means to be. Lord Tywin turns from his son in disgust, saying, "You are not my son. You say you are Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. Very well, ser. Go do your duty."

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Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will launch on HBO Max in January 2026, Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and HBO Max Content, has confirmed.

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Sansa has fled to the Godswood, and when she removes her hairnet, she notices that one of the black amethysts is missing. Dontos told her she must wear it for the wedding feast, but she now remembers that the amethysts are from Asshai, and that Dontos called the hairnet “magic”. Dontos then appears in the godswood, and Sansa accuses him of murdering the King by using one of the amethysts. Dontos denies it, telling her Tyrion has already been arrested for poisoning the King. She dresses under a heavy cloak, and Dontos leads her to a secret stairway down to the river. They are rowed out to a ship, and Sansa is shocked to find Littlefingeron board. When Dontos calls for his reward of ten thousand gold dragons, Littlefinger commands Lothor Brune to kill the drunk.

Littlefinger explains to her that the fool sold her for a promise of gold, and once he drank that up he would sell her whereabouts to the Queen for more gold. He reveals that it was he who wrote the note so long ago, asking her to go to the godswood. Littlefinger also planned for the dwarf jousters at the wedding, and Sansa asks him why he should wish Joffrey dead. Littlefinger responds, "I had no motive. Always keep your foes confused. Sometimes the best way to baffle them is to make moves that have no purpose…Remember that when you come to play the game of thrones." He claims he had her mother's maidenhood and tells her that she could have been his daughter, had he and Catelyn wed, and therefore he must look out for Sansa.Follow Jimmy: https://twitter.com/theFLOCKAVELI

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Tyrion puzzles out how his nephew must have found Littlefinger’s Valyrian dagger amongst Robert’s possessions, assuming that the king had probably forgotten he even owned it. Joffrey must then have paid some unsavory freerider to open Bran’s throat, though Tyrion still cannot figure out why, attributing it to Joffrey's innate cruelty for the moment. Tyrion is slightly drunk while Joffrey and Margaery are wed in the Great Sept of Baelor, and continues to drink until night falls and it is time for the great wedding feast. As they enter the ballroom, Olenna, the Queen of Thorns, comes over to tell Sansa how beautiful she looks, and the old lady straightens out the hairnet that Dontos gave her. Many at the wedding offer their condolences to Sansa on the loss of her mother and brother; watching his wife's courteous and friendly nature to the other guests, Tyrion muses she would have made Joffrey a great queen and wife if he'd had the sense to love her, something Tyrion believes his nephew incapable of.

During the feast, Joffrey calls for the royal jousters, and the party is entertained as two dwarfs battle each other. Joffrey then mocks his uncle, commanding Tyrion to fight the dwarfs as the king’s champion. Tyrion rebuffs him, but the King dumps a huge goblet of wine over Tyrion’s head. Joffrey commands Tyrion to serve him wine, and the hall erupts in laughter. Tyrion refills the goblet, and then the pigeon pie is brought out, and Joffrey calls for Ser Ilyn’s sword. Sansa is horrified to learn that the King’s Justice no longer holds her father’s greatsword, Ice. 

Joffrey calls for more wine, Margaery at his side, and then begins to eat some of Tyrion’s pie. He commands Tyrion to serve him more wine, which Tyrion does. The King then begins to cough, unable to breathe as he claws at his throat. Lady Olenna and Margaery call out for help, but the Kingsguardare powerless to do anything. As Grand Maester Pycelle calls for his potions, Tyrion dumps the rest of the wine out on the floor, and Joffrey, now turning black, seems to either reach for--or point at--his uncle. Sansa has slipped off during the confusion, but when Cersei finally lets go of her son’s lifeless body, she commands the Kingsguard to arrest Tyrion for murdering the King.

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George R.R. Martin’s long-awaited The Winds of Winter sparked controversy at Seattle Worldcon 2025 when a fan crossed the line during a panel with Brandon Sanderson. The audience member bluntly told Martin he “wouldn’t be around for much longer” and asked if Sanderson might finish the series. The offensive comment drew backlash, with fans rallying behind Martin in support.

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Joined by Ser Ezra the Watchfull!

Will Sarella Sand be the one to uncover Jon Snow’s parentage at the Citadel?

One of the big mysteries in A Song of Ice and Fire is the identity of “the Sphinx.” In his dying words, Maester Aemon urges Samwell Tarly to “seek the Sphinx at Oldtown… the Sphinx is the riddle.”

Many fans believe the Sphinx is Alleras, a young Dornish “boy” studying at the Citadel — who is actually Sarella Sand, one of Oberyn Martell’s Sand Snakes, in disguise. The Alleras = Sarella theory is one of the most widely accepted in the fandom… but it raises a key question: why is the Sphinx so important in the first place?

What if the answer is that Alleras is the one who uncovers Jon Snow’s true parentage?

In the show, Sam learns about Rhaegar and Lyanna’s marriage when Gilly reads it from an old book at the Citadel. But in the books, maybe Sam learns it through Alleras, who’s been investigating the mystery as well. Sarella — being from Dorne — would have far more personal interest in the truth. She would want to know why her aunt, Elia Martell, was set aside for Lyanna Stark… and why Rhaegar sent members of the Kingsguard to protect Lyanna at the Tower of Joy instead of fighting beside him at the Trident.

This revelation could have huge ripple effects in the books that the show never touched. We know Dorne will play a much bigger role in The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. The show more or less abandoned the Dornish plot when it became unpopular, but George R.R. Martin has been building something much more important.

If Alleras uncovers the truth, she could use it to rally Dorne behind Daenerys instead of Young Griff — knowing he’s a pretender — and push Daenerys toward seeking out the real Targaryen heir.

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Sansa has learned from Tyrion the fate of her brother and mother at the Red Wedding. She and her husband join many other guests at the Queen’s Ballroom to give Joffrey his wedding gifts. It is a new year, the 300th since Aegon's Conquest, and Joffrey’s wedding is that night. Tyrion presents his nephew with a copy of Grand Maester Kaeth’s Lives of Four Kings, one of only four copies in existence written by Kaeth himself. Kevan tells the King it is "A book every king should read." Joffrey is disappointed with the gift, and hacks the book in half with the Valyrian sword his grandfather had just given him. Joffrey remarks that he is no stranger to Valyrian steel, and also that Tyrion owes him another gift. Tyrion suggests a Valyrian dagger with a dragonbone hilt, which seems to unsettle Joffrey for a moment before he says it is a good idea but wants one with a gold hilt instead. 

Later, back in their rooms, Sansa tells Tyrion that she would rather not know how Robb and her mother had perished, and Tyrion promises that he will say no more.

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*** We are splitting this episode in half, just because its such a small chapter and we talked most of the show about the news, for the listeners who just want the chapter episodes by themselves***

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