When Lord Commander Mormont begs Tyrion to bring their case before his sister at court, Tyrion knows there will be no aid from the crown. He even thinks it's all baloney until he walks atop the Wall with Jon and looks out into the freezing darkness. The wet nurses in the south are more optimistic than those in the north. Tyrion recalls his telling him that one day, if men were good, the gods would give the world a summer without ending. Now Mormont is pointing out it's been n

Ned arrives in King's Landing already late for the first meeting of the small council. He learns Robert has bankrupted the crown, but still means to throw away a fortune on a tourney in his honor. Littlefinger leads Ned to Catelyn, who he's hidden in a brothel. She begs him to learn who tried to kill Bran and to trust Littlefinger. Scenes 1: You're Late: Despite being tired from the road, Ned must dress in borrowed clothing to attend an emergency small council meeting to thro

Hurt and angry he's been sent to live among criminals, Jon keeps to himself and is hard on the other boys in practice. Donal Noye tells Jon he's a bully and that he is no better than any man of the Watch. Lord Snow Though Jon had begged Benjen to take him with, the tables were turned when Ned accepted the Handship and Catelyn forbade Jon from remaining at Winterfell. Instead of leaving them all behind, Jon got kicked out. Now, Jon feels he's being called a criminal for having

Catelyn would keep her presence in King's Landing a secret, but an armed guard finds her and brings her to Littlefinger. He introduces her to Varys and Littlefinger recognizes the dagger as belonging to Tyrion Lannister. Good Lord, Bad Lord Catelyn pays the oarsmen directly, herself, ensuring they are not paid slave wages. In random contrast, Maegor had the craftsmen who built the red keep all killed so as to retain its secrets. True story? Theme: Bran's Vision The ship Storm

In his dream, he is falling, but a crow flies beside him saying he must learn to fly. Bran sees the Others coming, wakes up, and shivering, names his direwolf Summer. A crow in Bran's dream guides him to ignore the memory of his fall and of Jamie Lannister. It's clear Bran does remember Jaime's role in his fall. What will happen if Bran tells Robb, who unsheathed his sword at Catelyn's suspicion it was Jaime. Bran sees Winterfell "as the eagle sees it," Master Lewin looking t

Arya is brought before the king for judgment and the queen calls for Lady's pelt as a trophy. Lord Stark kills Lady, himself, to deny the queen her trophy. But the Hound has ridden down Mycah, his body cut nearly in two. "It was hard to see how she had caused so much trouble." Ned's outrage is central in this chapter about the impositions of royalty. Though it is subtext, the shock of Mycah's "execution" points out that the royal family would presume to slay an innocent child

When the queen cancels tea, she tasks Joffrey to look after Sansa. It's a dream come true. But, when they encounter Arya practicing swordplay with sticks and Joffrey turns bully, Nymeria bites Joffrey to disarm him. Then, he hates Sansa. Live Steel In Arya's first chapter, when Joffrey was tasked to spar with Robb a second time he called for live steel so as to avoid being trounced again. Now, when he encounters Arya and Mycah, Joffrey shows he's still bitter about the beati

A nervous wreck of worry by Bran's bed, Catelyn has insisted his wolf be kept outside. But she changes her mind after someone's catspaw tries to slit Bran's throat and his wolf saves both of their lives. Taking the knife, Catelyn travels to King's Landing to investigate. Foreshadowing Warging Bran Semi-Warged Catelyn : r/pureasoiaf Robb reminds Catelyn Rickon needs her, but she begins to shake when he opens the window and she can hear Summer howling. Catelyn is not herself.

Tyrion tells Jon the Wall is a penal colony and not the noble calling he's been told it is. When Jon is furious, Tyrion teaches him to feel his anger by imagining his enemies burning. That night, he sees Jon staring into the fire. Where Maps Fail Tyrion's reading informs him but, like looking at maps, there are ways to misinform oneself with knowledge. The kingsroad on the map looks no different north of Winterfell, but it narrows, the terrain becomes mountainous. Travel time

Dany trembles through her Dothraki wedding, fearing her wedding night. When the time comes, she fears her brother's wrath should she disappoint. But her husband is patient and gentle. With such a protector, her brother will never hurt her again. Lesser Man Jorah warns Viserys "A lesser man may beg a favor from the khal, but must never presume to berate him." Viserys warns Jorah he is no lesser man. "The dragon does not beg." 100 At the wedding, Viserys seethes at every dish o

Before saying goodbye to Arya and giving her Needle, Jon must face his step-mother to say goodbye to Bran. She tries to deny him entry, but he defies her. After he's given Bran his love, Jon hears Catelyn's grief and speaks gently to comfort her, but she turns on him and says he's the one who should be hurt. Man of the Watch We see Jon defy Catelyn boldly but gently enough. She does not call the guard as she threatens. Jon can call bluffs? He seems formidable and loving. In 9

Having stayed up all night reading, Tyrion stops on his way to breakfast to remind his nephew, the crowned prince, to visit the Starks and comfort them, as they're worried about their son who fell and hasn't woken up yet. At breakfast, Tyrion tells Jaime Bran is going to live and that he will stop by Winterfell on his way back from the Wall to hear what the boy says. From their looks and whispers, both twins were involved. Tyrion tells Joffrey and Cersei to spend more time co

Climbing the battlements one last time, Bran overhears a conversation about his father. When he maneuvers to see who is talking, Bran sees the queen naked wrestling with her twin brother. They catch him and Jaime shoves Bran out the window. Bran is eager to go to King's Landing and meet the legendary Kingsguard, Barristan Selmy. He wonders why Jon is so angry to be going to the Wall with Benjen. Bran is deeply sad to be leaving the people of Winterfell and climbs the Broken

Her sister is the perfect lady but Arya is hopeless. She runs away in shame, hoping to see her brother, Robb, beat the crowned prince her sister gets to marry. Jon comforts her, excluded too, but she's still in trouble for having run away. The chapter compares Arya and Joffrey, both perceived as badly behaved becaue they don't like being at a loss compared to older children who have had longer to practice and who may have talent where they struggle. Jon calls Joffrey a little

Catelyn feels she must convince Ned to accept the king's offer. When Lysa's letter arrives, with its suspection Jon Arryn was murdered by the Lannisters, Catelyn leverages the power of her fear and succeeds. But Ned would leave her behind to rule in his stead until Robb comes of age. Eventually, we will learn that the letter Catelyn receives from Lysa was dictated by Littlefinger in the same breath as he bid her poison Jon Arryn, who the letter claims was poisoned by the La

Upset about his exclusion for being a bastard, Jon asks to join the Night's Watch. Benjen says Jon should father a bastard before giving his life in service, but Jon loses his temper and swears he'll never father a bastard. Jon felt anger rise inside him."I'm not your son!" Benjen Stark stood up. "More's the pity." He put a hand on Jon's shoulder. "Come back to me after you've fathered a few bastards of your own and we'll see how you feel." Apparently regretting he has no chi

After visiting Lyanna's grave in Winterfell's crypts, King Robert proposes Ned be the new Hand, and wed his eldest daughter to the crown prince. Ned would say no but, not wanting to offend the king, asks for time to consider. Robert Might Kill Ned Cersei Rules Through Robert Eddard's story focuses on the concern that Robert will disbelieve and kill Ned if he accuses Cersei of having killed Jon Arryn to cover up the high treason of her having cuckolded the king. The early omen

With Robb due back at Riverrun, Catelyn frets that he won't ask to see her. She reassures herself that he will. When he does, he forgives...

Tyrion searches Varys's chambers, discovering them to be a front. He presses Varys to arrange a final meeting with Shae so he can explain...

Glad to be on his way back to Cersei, Jaime still vies to provoke Brienne so he can kill her and escape. Spying an inn, he thinks there...