As the wall turned dark, all eyes went to the Stark family. But only Stannis could understand the pain they were going through. Maester Cressen was like a father to him growing up, if anyone understood the pain, it was him.
"Ned, if you want—"
"No" the Lord of Winterfell cut his brother off. "We've wasted enough time as is. Let us continue."
His children resonated with his words, still teary-eyed but they were ready to continue as well.
[NORTH OF THE WALL]
[The screen is black. A White Walker unleashes a horrendous screech. Weapons clash while men grunt and scream in the sounds of battle.]
[Fall back!]
"Fuck I forgot about this" Robb swore loud enough for his parents to hear.
They heard him but didn't chastise him for it. They too had forgotten about this.
[NORTH OF THE WALL]
[It is dawn. The wind howls as SAMWELL TARLY runs, desperate and exhausted, through blizzard conditions of blinding snow.]
"He's made it" Jon muttered in relief. He may not know the boy like his future self did, but he still cared enough to be relieved that the man survived.
[SAM comes to a halt. Just ahead, a Night's Watchman kneels in the snow. SAM approaches the kneeling figure, and realizes that the man is decapitated and holding his own lifeless head in his lap.]
"Gods" Sana muttered, hands over her mouth.
[SAM looks ill and defeated. Behind him, a figure strides towards him, axe drawn. SAM turns and his eyes widen as he sees the undead Free Folk striding towards him. The ghoul raises his axe to strike, and SAM recoils and falls.]
"The boy is a liability" Olenna clicked her tongue in distaste. She understood why Randyll Tarly sent him away, and she approved of it. Such a man heading the House of Tarly would ruin it for certain.
Margaery did not defend Sam this time, not when she agreed with her grandmother. Sam was a sweet boy but he was no good on the battlefield like he was in a library.
[At the last moment, a direwolf pounces on the undead man, saving Sam's life.]
Jon let out a relieved breath. Ghost was there… good the wolf would be great help here.
[As SAM lies stunned, GHOST pulls the attacker away by the ankle. The ghoul shakes his way free and claws forward to SAM, grabbing at his legs. As SAM scrambles backwards, a torch lights the ghoul on fire. Engulfed in flames, the undead wildling finally collapses. SAM looks up to see LORD COMMANDER JEOR MORMONT and the Night's Watch.]
"Did you send the ravens? Tarly, look at me. Did you send the ravens?"
[SAM keeps his eyes on the ground in shame.]
"Fuck sake" Brandon ground out under his breath.
"That was your job. Your only job. We need to get back to the Wall. It's a long march. We know what's out there, but we have to make it, have to warn them or before winter's done, everyone you've ever known will be dead."
A shiver ran down everyone's spines. To think they might end up like those ice zombies…
[BEYOND THE WALL]
[The party, including "RATTLESHIRT" LORD OF BONES, JON SNOW, and YGRITTE, return to the bustling wildling camp. A giant walks by, carrying a bundle of huge stakes. JON is awed.]
"A giant!" Bran said in awe, his discomfort from seeing the dead pushed away in favour of the wonder before him.
Many more were in awe as well, lifting the mood considerably.
"To think there still were some alive" Ned muttered in awe. Benjen had always told him there were, but Ned always considered his brother exaggerating.
[The giant drives a large stake into the ground.]
"Don't stare too long. They're shy. When they stop being shy, they get angry. And when they're angry, I've seen them pound a man straight into the ground like a hammer on a nail."
The people shivered collectively.
"It is a little surprising to learn that the thing is shy. It's like imagining Gregor Clegane being shy" Tyrion mused.
"I think besides those things even Gregor would look normal" Jaime muttered.
[The giant finishes his work and looks at JON, growling. The party continues to walk through the camp, and the wildlings heckle JON as he passes.]
"You're wearing the wrong colour."
"Mance was a ranger."
"In your hearts, all you crows want to fly free."
"When I'm free, will I be free to go?"
[Boys throw rocks at JON.]
"Sure, you will."
[YGRITTE swats a boy with her staff.]
"And I'll be free to kill you. Got no respect, this lot. Got no fathers to slap 'em when they're foul."
"What happened to their fathers?"
"Some of them were killed by crows like you."
The thought made Jon frown. It made a lot of people frown thoughtfully.
"Don't look so grim, Jon Snow. If Mance Rayder likes you, you'll live another day. And if he don't..."
[A FREE FOLK TENT]
[RATTLESHIRT, JON, and YGRITTE enter the tent. TORMUND GIANTSBANE eats hungrily by the fire.]
"I smell a crow."
"We killed his friends. Thought you'd want to question this one."
"What do we want with a baby crow?"
"This baby killed Qhorin Halfhand. He wants to be one of us."
[TORMUND rises and stares at JON.]
"That half-handed cunt killed friends of mine. Friends twice your size."
"My father told me big men fall just as quick as little ones if you put a sword through their hearts."
Ned shook his head with a small smile.
"Plenty of little men tried to put their swords through my heart. And there's plenty of little skeletons buried in the woods. What's your name, boy?"
"Jon Snow."
[JON kneels before TORMUND, mistaking him for MANCE RAYDER, the King-Beyond-the-Wall.]
Ned and Brandon the Elder couldn't help their snorts.
Lyanna pinned them with a glare to shut up while Jon sank into the seat blushing.
[The wildlings laugh]
"From now on, you'd better kneel every time I fart."
[Tormund Laughs.]
[MANCE rises from the back of the tent.]
"Stand, boy. We don't kneel for anyone beyond the Wall."
"He looks familiar" Robb frowned.
"Now that you mention it…" Jon muttered.
"You both have seen him before" Ned explained, "he came to Winterfell when you were young. He was still a Brother of The Watch back then."
"He helped us with the prank we played on Tom!" Robb suddenly said.
"With the snow!" Jon agreed. "He just didn't rat us out."
"That is a big help in pranks" Robb muttered.
Jon was inclined to agree.
"Thank you for the gift, Lord of Bones. You can leave us."
[RATTLESHIRT leaves. YGRITTE gives JON a look, and exits as well.]
"The girl likes you. You like her back, Snow? That why you want to join us?"
"All the girls like him for his looks" Robb rolled his eyes.
"They do not" Jon muttered.
Lyanna gave Robb a look to which the boy nodded. She gave Arya and Sansa similar looks, who also nodded. She then looked at her son and giggled, ruffling his hair.
Jon huffed but didn't move the hand away. He would not admit it out loud, but he didn't mind it.
"Don't panic, boy. This isn't the damned Night's Watch where we make you swear off girls."
"This chicken eater you thought was king is Tormund Giantsbane."
"Can't believe this pup killed the Halfhand."
"He was our enemy and I'm glad he's dead."
"And he was once your brother" Ned muttered under his breath. He could never forgive oathbreakers, no matter the reason they had for doing so.
[MANCE extends his hand, and JON shakes it. MANCE holds on firmly.]
"He was my brother once. Back when he had a whole hand. What were you doing with him?"
"The Lord Commander sent me to the Halfhand for seasoning."
"Why?"
"He wants me to lead one day."
"But here you are, a traitor kneeling before the King-Beyond-the-Wall."
"If I'm a traitor, then you are, too."
[TORMUND glowers.]
"Why do you want to join us, Jon Snow?"
[JON hesitates]
"I want to be free."
"Should not have hesitated" Obery clicked his tongue.
"No, I don't think so. I think what you want most of all is to be a hero. I'll ask you one last time ... why do you want to join us?"
[MANCE's guard rises and close in, menacingly.]
"For Freefolks who do not kneel to another, they sure serve and act as if they are" Tyrion noted.
"I suppose theirs is a bond of respect" Doran answered softly, "they respect Mance Rayder and choose to follow him. Not for any oaths made to a man but because he's proven to them his worth and earned his place."
"Aye" Robert agreed, "these are warriors, prideful things who rely on strength alone. Any loyalties they have come from strength and to people who have earned that loyalty."
Doran looked at the fat King, who stared intently at the wall.
"We stopped at Craster's Keep on the way north. I saw... I saw Craster take his own baby boy and leave it in the woods. I saw what took it."
"You're telling me you saw one of them? And why would that make you desert your brothers?"
"Because when I told the Lord Commander, he already knew. Thousands of years ago, the First Men battled the White Walkers and defeated them. I want to fight for the side that fights for the living. Did I come to the right place?"
"We'll need to find you a new cloak."
"I think you've earned his respect" Robb whispered to Jon.
"Yeah," Jon muttered back.
[EXT. BLACKWATER BAY]
[SER DAVOS SEAWORTH lies on a rocky shore, bruised, battered, and dehydrated.]
"He's alive!" Shireen cheered, grabbing her father's hand and grinning up at the man. Her grin only grew seeing the smile on her father's face.
[He looks out to the sea and sees a boat in the distance. He climbs atop the rocks and starts waving. He removes his shirt in desperation and waves that as well. DAVOS starts to lose hope. Then a horn blows from the distant boat. He is relieved. A ship's boat has made it to DAVOS. He greets them as they row to him.]
"I was in the battle at Blackwater. I was a captain and a knight."
"Aye, Ser, and serving which king?"
"The one true king of Westeros... Stannis Baratheon."
"Under normal circumstances, men would choose the safer option so close to the capital" Renly muttered.
"Such is a man's true loyalty. Through thick or thin, he will never leave your side. Even to save his life" Robert muttered.
Once more Renly questioned how someone like Stannis could attract such loyalty.
[The man smiles slightly and throws a rope to DAVOS.]
[DAVOS and SALLADHOR sit in the captain's quarters. DAVOS sits and SALLADHOR stands above him.]
"Luck shines on him" Jon Arryn commented with a smile.
"There was a good chance that I sent men to scour the seas for him" Stannis stated. "Ser Davos is… a very important man to me."
Robert nods. He understood the value of an honourable and true man. This Ser Davos might just be the Ned in Stannis' life.
"I thought you were dead. Everyone thought you were dead. And your son? He may have swam ashore as you did."
"No, the wildfire took him. I saw it."
Stannis felt for the man. He knew the boy, and he was shaping up to be like his father. That was before the Red Witch of course.
"I'm so sorry, my friend. I, too, have lost a son. There is nothing worse in this world. But, Davos, you were a good father."
"If I was a good father, he'd still be here. Stannis lives?"
"He licks his wounds at Dragonstone."
"Will you take me there?"
"There is nothing for me at Dragonstone."
"He is abandoning your cause" Robert noted.
"I have just lost spectacularly with the greater number. I do not blame him. I do not like it, but I do not blame him" Stannis muttered.
"This war is not over."
"Not for you, maybe. But for Salladhor Saan, the war is over."
"We're both sworn to King Stannis."
"I am sworn to no man. I promised you 30 ships and you promised me riches and glory. I delivered the ships."
"Stannis never gives up. Never. Now he will regroup ..."
"He's a broken man. His fleet lies at the bottom of Blackwater Bay. They say he sees no one ... not his generals, not even his wife. Only the Red Woman whispering in his ear, telling him what she sees in the flames and burning men alive."
"That fucking witch" Robert grunted. "Should I hear you've associated with that woman this time, I will have both of you flogged. Am I understood?"
"Yes, your Grace" Stannis muttered. It was ironic that Robert would tell him to stay away from a woman.
"They built a great fire when Stannis returned. All those who spoke against her she called servants of darkness. They say she sang to them as they burned."
[SALLADHOR stands and pours himself some wine, then sits again.]
"Servants of darkness. I'm thinking Dragonstone is a good place for us to avoid."
"Take me back there, please."
"You cannot turn Stannis against her."
"If anyone can it would be him… unless I'm far too gone" Stannis muttered.
"The pirate says this woman is singing to people while burning them, and you're probably allowing it. You might be too far gone" Renly stated out loud, a hint of teasing in his tone.
Stannis pursed his lips.
"Maybe not, but I could carve her heart out."
"You could try. If you fail, they will burn you. If you succeed, they'll burn you. And you've only just come back to life. Stay alive a little longer, my friend."
"You call me friend. You drank with me on my wedding day."
"And you drank with me on four of my wedding days, but I don't ask you for favours."
"I have to stop her. Please, do this for me."
"When you are dead, I will gather your bones in a little sack and let your widow wear them around her neck."
"He is extremely loyal" Robert noted.
"Bordering bind, I'm aware" Stannis muttered.
[EXT. HARRENHALL]
[ROBB's forces have arrived at Harrenhall. ROBB surveys a courtyard that is littered with bodies. Flies buzz noisily among the corpses. RICKARD KARSTARK and ROOSE BOLTON enter.]
"Two hundred Northmen slaughtered like sheep."
"The debt will be repaid, my friend. For them and for your sons."
"Will it? They rot in the ground while their killer runs free."
Catelyn flinched at the reminder.
"The Kingslayer won't remain free for long. My best hunters are after him."
[ROBB and CATELYN walk somberly through the courtyard. CATELYN stops at a body propped against a section of wooden spikes, a blade through his heart. ROBB comes up behind her and looks at the sigil on the man's chest.]
"Ser Jeremy. My father's bannerman."
[ROBB looks over at RICKARD KARSTARK and ROOSE BOLTON and the two men exit. He glances around at his soldiers atop the walls and throughout the courtyard and steps back from his mother.]
"Find her a chamber that will serve as a cell."
Catelyn's eyes widened before landing on Robb. The boy did not look at her, but she could see the shame in them.
But was it her son's fault? When her actions probably cut a rift between him and his men?
[A Stark soldier nods and leaves. CATELYN looks down as she is escorted away from ROBB by a group of soldiers. TALISA approaches ROBB, watching as CATELYN is led away.]
"She's your mother."
"She freed Jaime Lannister. The Lannisters robbed them of their sons and she robbed them of their justice."
"Never easy to choose between duty and family" Rickard murmured softly. He had been lucky that the choice was so obvious for him, Brandon or the man who had him as a prisoner. This was harder, Robb was the leader now.
[QYBURN coughs nearby and TALISA moves to tend to him.]
"This needs to be cleaned and closed."
[ROBB holds a waterskin to QYBURN's mouth and he takes a few gulps.]
"What's your name, friend?"
"Don't just call him friend! What if he's Lannister?!" Arya hissed.
Robb blinked in surprise. He had not thought about that.
"Qyburn."
"You're lucky to be alive."
"Lucky?"
[A bird caws as TALISA sets to treat QYBURN's injuries.]