In King's Landing, guests begin arriving for Joffrey Baratheon and
Margaery Tyrell's wedding. Amongst those in attendance is the vengeful
Oberyn Martell, Prince of Dorne, who blames Tywin Lannister for the
death of his sister, niece and nephew at the hands of the Mountain, Ser
Gregor Clegane. After Joffrey is poisoned at his wedding by Margaery's
grandmother, Olenna Tyrell, a distraught Cersei Lannister is quick to
blame her younger brother, Tyrion, for the death of her son. Tyrion
struggles to survive these accusations as he is pitted against both his
father and his sister while he is abandoned by all those he once held
dear, including his former lover Shae. Outraged at the kangaroo court
presiding over his trial, Tyrion demands a trial by combat. Cersei
chooses the Mountain as her champion and Oberyn offers to represent
Tyrion. The trial ends in a victory for the Mountain and Tyrion is
sentenced to death by his father. Before he can be executed, Tyrion is
freed by his brother Jaime, who tells him Varys will smuggle him to the
Free Cities. Tyrion, discovering that Shae had been sleeping with Tywin,
strangles her before shooting Tywin and fleeing Westeros with Varys.
In the aftermath of Joffrey's murder, Tyrion's wife Sansa Stark –
still grieving the loss of her mother and brother – successfully escapes
King's Landing with the help of Petyr Baelish. Baelish smuggles her to
the Vale, where she comes into conflict with her jealous aunt, Lysa
Arryn, who mistrusts the relationship between Petyr and Sansa. After
Lysa witnesses Littlefinger kiss Sansa, she attempts to throw Sansa
through the Moon Door, only for Littlefinger to intervene and push Lysa
to her death. When Littlefinger is interrogated, Sansa defends him. She
then joins him and her cousin Robin Arryn in a tour of the Vale.
Meanwhile, with the Riverlands under Frey rule and Winterfell still
in ruins, Arya Stark and her captor Sandor Clegane make for the Eyrie.
During their travels, they encounter and kill the sadistic Lannister
soldier Polliver and the outlaws Rorge and Biter. However, the duo
arrive at the Eyrie days after Lysa Arryn's death and are denied entry;
they then encounter Brienne of Tarth and her new squire Podrick Payne,
who have been tasked by Jaime to bring the Stark sisters to safety.
Brienne and the Hound fight, ending with the Hound grievously wounded.
Though he begs Arya to end his suffering, she only takes his silver and
leaves. She encounters a Braavosi ship captain, who gives her passage
after she shows him the coin Jaqen H'ghar gave her, and saying the words
"valar morghulis".
Bran Stark, accompanied by the Reeds and Hodor, continues his mission
north of the Wall trying to find the three-eyed raven he has been
dreaming about. Despite being held up by the mutineers at Craster's Keep
and a wight attack that kills Jojen, Bran finally meets the three-eyed
raven, who tells him that Bran will fly.
At the Wall, a recently returned Jon Snow tries to warn his leaders
about Mance Rayder's impending attack on the Wall from both sides. The
southern attack is being led by Tormund Giantsbane and Ygritte, who have
recently joined forces with another Wildling tribe, cannibalistic
Thenns. Jon Snow must also contend with the mutineers at Craster's Keep,
led by the deranged Karl Tanner. Meanwhile, Jon's sworn brother Samwell
Tarly struggles with his feelings for the wildling girl, Gilly, and the
impact she is having on the Night's Watch. The Wildlings launch a
massive attack on Castle Black, leading to the deaths of many brothers
and Wildlings, including Ygritte, Pyp, and Grenn. Jon Snow bravely goes
beyond the Wall to assassinate Rayder, only to be spared by the sudden
arrival of Stannis Baratheon and his forces, who overwhelm the Wildlings
and rescue the Night's Watch. Davos Seaworth and Stannis had
successfully negotiated with the Iron Bank of Braavos to shift their
support from the Lannisters to the Baratheons of Dragonstone, using the
money to fund the offense on the Wildlings.
In the North, Roose Bolton aims to cement his hold on the North. To
this end he orders his hunter Locke to kill Jon Snow and track down Bran
and Rickon Stark (an ultimately unsuccessful venture), and sends his
bastard Ramsay Snow to take Moat Cailin, a fortification occupied by the
Ironborn. Ramsay uses the enslaved Theon Greyjoy, forced to assume the
identity of Ramsay's serving man Reek, to secure Moat Cailin. Roose
rewards Ramsay by legitimizing him as a Bolton, and moves his seat to
the former Stark stronghold of Winterfell.
Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys Targaryen continues her conquest of
Slaver's Bay by taking control of the largest city, Meereen, by
instigating a slave uprising. However, Daenerys alienates herself from
the former masters of Meereen by ordering 163 masters crucified as
justice for 163 slaves they had publicly crucified to intimidate her.
Daenerys decides to remain in Meereen to learn to rule, and begins a
relationship with the sellsword Daario Naharis. However, Daenerys is
shocked to discover that her trusted advisor Jorah Mormont had spied on
her for Robert Baratheon, and exiles him from Meereen. Daenerys faces
further struggles when she learns that her dragon Drogon has begun
killing humans; while she is unable to capture Drogon, she is forced to
chain her other two dragons as a precaution.
