Season 9 Episode 8
Jon rode hard into Winterfell and looked around for Sansa. "Where's Sansa?" he asked Grand Maestro Wolkan.
"She went to Eyrie to marry Robin Arryn," he replied.
Jon took a moment to absorb that and then nodded sadly. He hadn't been told and had no idea. He had never met Robin in person, but he had heard stories. "I need you to send a raven to have her come back immediately," Jon pressed him.
"She is on her way back," Wolkan assured him.
"We need to call in all our bannermen," Jon told him.
"Only the Lady of Winterfell can give that order," Wolkan protested.
"The White Walkers are back," Jon said seriously.
"Yes, right away," Wolkan said immediately.
On the road to Winterfell, Sansa and Brienne made small talk. "I can't believe what I just did," Sansa said conversationally.
"You did your duty to the North and to your brother," Brienne said to her.
"I'm just happy I don't have to deal with him until our next visit," Sansa muttered.
"Is he really that bad?" Brienne asked curiously.
"He's like a child, dim-witted and stupid," Sansa said.
"He has been sheltered from the horrors of war," Brienne agreed.
"How was...Ser Jaime?" Sansa asked delicately.
Brienne hesitated to answer not even wanting to acknowledge their night. "He was passionate, he was kind," she said vaguely.
"Robin was done so quickly," Sansa shook her head dismayed.
"If I may, there are those who marry and there are those you love. Seldom are they the same," Brienne said.
"I know," Sansa said sadly. "Did you love Ser Jaime?"
"I did, but I don't think he felt the same way. He died in the arms of Cersei. Was he trying to save her or kill her? I don't know," Brienne said honestly.
"Would it make you feel better if you believed he had gone back to kill her?" Sansa asked.
"Sometimes, I imagine he told me not to come with him because he knew he wouldn't come back from his mission to kill Cersei. I imagine he wanted me to live," Brienne said thoughtfully.
The two then saw the smoke arising from one of the nearby castles. "My Lady, look," Brienne pointed out.
"Winterfell is under attack," Sansa realized.
"We must make haste, my Lady," Brienne said to her and the two rode as quick as they could back to Winterfell.
King's Landing
Tyrion assembled the small Council on the war effort. "Thanks to Lady Stark, the Vale is off the table."
"You mean, we've lost the Vale to the North," Bronn pointed out.
"Better that they be lost than against us," Samwell said.
"Excellent point," Tyrion agreed.
"We still have forces from The Reach and Dorne converging on us. They've already taken Storms End. They'll be here soon," Bronn warned.
Gendry then entered the room out of breath. "Sorry I'm late," he said apologetically.
"Most understandable," Tyrion allowed.
Davos came in shortly thereafter. "I gathered as many as I could. I pity those left behind."
"The men of Dorne are quite disciplined," Tyrion said confused.
"Not so much in The Reach," Bronn said dryly.
"What's our plan?" Gendry asked.
"Our plan is that we have no plan. Our king knows all," Tyrion said as he drank down his wine cup.
"He'd better or we're fucked," Bronn said.
A messenger came in and whispered into Tyrion's ear. "The king has called us to the Great Hall."
The small Council came into the Great Hall where Bran and his King's Guard entertained the nobles of The Reach. Lady Alana was placed before Bran in chains with a gag in her mouth. "She stands accused of adultery and conspiring with Dorne to kill her husband and lord," a Reach lord said to Bran.
"How do you know she did these things?" Tyrion asked skeptically.
"Because I told them," Bran replied softly.
"We cannot use your insight as evidence in a trial," Tyrion said obviously.
"No, but there is sufficient evidence of her treason, isn't there? And what is the penalty for treason?" Bran asked.
"Death, of course, but she is the last of her house. You would orphan her small children," Tyrion objected.
"And how many orphans were made at Storms End?" Bran asked rhetorically. "I saw every death as if I were there."
Tyrion faced Bran. "If you execute her, Prince Quentyn will have no reason to stop his campaign. Show mercy, I beg you."
"Very well," Bran said as if he were testing him. "The Mad Queen before me would have burned you alive," he addressed Alana.
"Lord Bronn," Bran called over.
"Yes, Your Grace," Bronn said coming over to his chair. "I appointed you Master of Coin and Lord of The Reach even though you are ill-suited for either task. You spend freely, have no credit to your name, and have no leadership skills whatsoever. You have betrayed people that trusted you for money."
"Thank you, Your Grace," Bronn winced.
Bran turned to the Reach nobles. "I made Ser Bronn the Lord of Highgarden to see if your ambitions could be checked. To see if you would remain loyal to the king. You failed my test," he said to them.
The lords looked fearful of the King's Guard realizing they could be executed on the spot. "Lord Bronn, you do not have a house name, do you?" Bran asked.
"My father didn't feel the need to give me one," Bronn said bitterly.
"I shall give you one then. You are to marry Alana Tyrell and take her name. You shall be a father to her children and the two of you shall rule Highgarden together. You shall be faithful to her as you are to me," Bran said to him.
"Your Grace...," Bronn said dumbfounded.
"Bring her to me," Bran ordered the lords.
Alana was brought closer to Bran and the gag removed. "Do you accept my terms or do you accept death?" Bran asked her.
"I accept your terms, Your Grace," she said submissively.
Bran extended his hand out to her. She kissed his hand. "You will be my guests until I have dealt with Dorne," Bran said to the Reach nobles.
Winterfell
Sansa and Brienne came into Winterfell and noticed Jon arming her men. "Jon? What is this?" she asked him.
"The Dead are back. I saw them," Jon said to her.
Sansa gave him a look of disbelief. "Arya killed the Night King," Sansa reminded him.
"There's a Night Queen as well, and her army is far greater," Jon told her.
"I am the Queen of the North. I give the order to assemble our troops," Sansa said crossly.
"You weren't here," Jon stressed.
"You gave up your crown, Jon," Sansa pointed out.
"I know I did, but I just lost everyone I knew north of the wall," Jon said emotionally.
"The Unsullied have left. You can come home now," Sansa told him.
"I made an oath. I'm only here because the Dead have come back," Jon said stubbornly.
"Will it ever end?" Sansa asked.
Jon hesitated to say. "She...spoke to me. She told me that we broke the treaty they had made with Bran the Builder, our ancestor. She said that we invaded their lands north of the wall and that we haven't lived up to our part of the bargain."
"What bargain?" Sansa questioned.
"Human sacrifices, infants and children," Jon said grimly.
Sansa gave that some thought. "Well, how many does she want?"
"We're not discussing it," Jon refused.
"How many, Jon?" Sansa asked.
"One hundred, alright. Each year," Jon said visibly upset.
"Ghastly," Brienne remarked.
"I'll call upon all of our men and the Vale," Sansa pledged.
"I heard about your marriage. Congratulations," Jon said feeling hurt he had not been there.
"It was just to stop Edmure from sacking King's Landing," Sansa downplayed.
"Edmure marched against King's Landing?" Jon asked surprised.
Sansa smiled amused. "You know nothing, Jon. Let me tell you all about it," Sansa said inviting him inside.
King's Landing
The elite Dornish army that had been spared from all the recent wars was now at King's Landing. The small Council met to consider what could be done about it with Bran present. "Unlike before, we cannot rely on an ally to save us. The walls are still incomplete and many of our defenders have already fled," Tyrion said grimly.
"We don't have nearly enough ships to evacuate the population," Davos said.
"We won't be evacuating," Bran replied softly.
"Does His Grace have a plan for defeating twenty thousand Dornish men?" Tyrion asked skeptically.
"You are of the impression that you are the master and that I am the student. It is the other way around. Send a raven to the Dornish camp that if they return home, they may have their independent kingdom," Bran said to Tyrion.
"Your Grace, they will see your offer as a sign of weakness," Tryion advised.
"I know," Bran replied.
Meereen
Daenerys lay on the steps of the throne as Aegon and Daario dueled before her. Torgo was at her side with wonder. "Why do you not sit on your throne?" he asked her.
"I am no queen," Daenerys replied.
"You are the queen to the Unsullied," Torgo said to her.
"I appreciate the support, but I failed you. I burned down King's Landing, and I allowed Jon Snow to get close to me. I was so full of myself that I had no plan for if I were to die," Daenerys said to him.
"I failed you, too, my queen. I didn't kill Jon Snow or Tyrion Lannister when I could have. I just...gave up," Torgo admitted.
Daenerys gave him a sympathetic look. "You were the one that bound us together, the Unsullied, the Dothraki," Torgo said to her. "I could not keep the alliance intact. The death of Missandei broke me," Torgo said.
"The war broke us both," Daenerys said.
Aegon forced Daario back. "You've been well-trained, but you lack experience in fighting," Daario remarked.
"That I am," Aegon agreed.
Daario pushed Aegon back aggressively leaning on his experience in the fighting pits. "Do not kill my nephew," Daenerys warned Daario.
"I'll just give him a scar on his pretty face," Daario smiled as he got the better of the fight.
Aegon smirked back and then expertly sliced Daario's leg sending him to the floor. He then whirled Daario's sword out of his hand before placing it at his neck. "I yield," Daario said humbled.
Aegon withdrew. "I was trained by my guardian, Jon Connington, for many years."
"But do you have the stomach to kill a man?" Daario asked getting back up.
Aegon made no reply. "Have you killed a man before?" Daenerys asked.
"No," Aegon replied hesitantly.
"It is time," Torgo said impatiently.
The other three nodded and went down towards the entrance of the pyramid. Torgo and Daario came out first and were greeted by thousands of people from Meereen and curious foreigners from all over. The Unsullied army was stationed at the base of the pyramid preventing the crowd from getting too close. They pounded their pikes as they saw their commander. Daario gave his own awkward wave to the crowd. By this time, the people of Meereen were aware of his leadership as Daenery's regent.
Daenerys then came out in her red dress followed by Red priests and priestess. The crowd roared upon seeing her having heard the rumors of her demise at King's Landing. The crowd was then awed by Drogon flying over the city. A lone raven watched the ceremony intently. Kinvara then spotted the raven and pointed at it. The raven suddenly incinerated into nothing. Aegon then exited the pyramid and joined with Daenerys. The crowd looked upon Aegon with uncertainty never having seen him before.
Daenerys took a king's crown from the red priests and faced Aegon. "Aegon of House Targaryen, sixth of his name, I crown you King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, The rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, King of Dragonstone, King of Meereen, and breaker of chains," Daenerys recited in High Vaylrian.
Aegon then bowed his head to her as she crowned him. Aegon then faced the crowd and took Daenerys' hand. The Unsullied pounded their pikes to him. The crowd then cheered for their new king. Music started playing as the people began to celebrate in the streets.
Drogon then landed on the pyramid and roared enthusiastically sensing the energy of the crowd. Daenerys smiled at him. Drogon's eyes then turned white. He flapped his wings and took to the air. Daenerys gave Drogon an odd look as he flew off. Kinvara eyed the dragon realizing what was happening.
"Where is he going?" Daenerys asked panicked.
"He is being controlled," Kinvara determined.
"What can we do?" Daenerys asked fearfully.
"We can pray," Kinvara replied.
King's Landing
Prince Quentyn scoffed at the note had received from King Bran in his war-tent. "We have more than enough to take King's Landing," a Dornish general told him.
Quentyn looked over a map of King's Landing. "We will attack where the wall has been breached with a frontal assault. We will then make our way to the Red Keep. I do not want a bloodbath like the Mad Queen."
"They will fall easily," a general said confidently.
"Leave King Bran the Broken to me. I will make him earn the name," Quentyn smiled.
In the Red Keep tower, Bran stared off into space out the window. "They're about to attack," Tyrion said as he went to his room.
"He's not to be disturbed, even for you," Podrick told him.
"How long has been that way?" Tyrion asked.
"For most of the day, my lord," Podrick replied.
The Dornish army then charged towards King's Landing's breached wall. As they did, Drogon flew over King's Landing. The civilian inhabitants fled in terror as the dragon cast a shadow over him. Quentyn and his generals stared in horror as Drogon went right for the Dornish army.
