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===Piracy=== The episode set a BitTorrent record with about 1.5 million downloads within 12 hours and set a record for 250,000 users sharing the file at the same time.

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====Awards and nominations==== Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series Outstanding Special and Visual Effects Joe Bauer, Joern Grosshans, Steve Kullback, Adam Chazen, Eric Carney, Sabrina Gerhardt, Matthew Rouleau, Thomas H. Schelesny, and Robert Simon Hollywood Professional Alliance Tim Kimmel, Onnalee Blank, Mathew Waters, Paula Fairfield, Brad Katona and Jed M. Dodge Joe Bauer, Sven Martin, Jörn Grosshans, Thomas Schelesny and Matthew Rouleau Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Television Series – One Hour Ronan Hill, Richard Dyer, Onnalee Blank, Mathew Waters, Brett Voss American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series Directors Guild of America Award Best Sound Editing in Television, Short Form: FX/Foley Best Sound Editing in Television, Short Form: Dialogue / ADR Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Broadcast Program

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'''''Rani Mahal''''' is an upcoming Indian television series, which will air on Sony Entertainment Television (India) and Sony Entertainment Television Asia. Many news sources claimed that this show is an Indian adaptation of American fantasy drama series ''Game of Thrones'' which based on best-selling novel ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', which has been denied by Sony Entertainment Television (India) and Lost Boy Productions.

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The '''Dothraki language''' is a constructed fictional language in George R. R. Martin's fantasy novel series ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. It is spoken by the Dothraki, a nomadic people in the series's fictional world. The language was developed for the TV series by the linguist David J. Peterson, working off the Dothraki words and phrases in Martin's novels. , the language comprised 3163 words, not all of which have been made public. In 2012, 146 newborn girls in the United States were named "Khaleesi", the Dothraki term for the wife of a ''khal'' or ruler, and the title adopted in the series by Daenerys Targaryen. Dothraki and Valyrian have been described as "the most convincing fictional tongues since Elvish".

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==Development== David J. Peterson, creator of the Dothraki spoken language for ''Game of Thrones'' The Dothraki vocabulary was created by David J. Peterson well in advance of the adaptation. HBO hired the Language Creation Society to create the language, and after an application process involving over 30 conlangers, Peterson was chosen to develop the Dothraki language. He delivered over 1700 words to HBO before the initial shooting. Peterson drew inspiration from George R. R. Martin’s description of the language, as well as from such languages as Estonian, Inuktitut, Turkish, Russian, and Swahili. David J. Peterson and his development of the Dothraki language were featured on an April 8, 2012 episode of CNN's ''The Next List''. He went on to create the Valyrian languages for season 3 of ''Game of Thrones''. Peterson and his development of Dothraki were also featured on the January 8, 2017 episode of ''To Tell the Truth''.

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===Language constraints=== The Dothraki language was developed under two significant constraints. First, the language had to match the uses already put down in the books. Secondly, it had to be easily pronounceable or learnable by the actors. These two constraints influenced the grammar and phonology of the language: for instance, as in English, there is no contrast between aspirated and unaspirated stops.

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==Phonology and romanization== David Peterson has said, "You know, most people probably don't really know what Arabic actually sounds like, so to an untrained ear, it might sound like Arabic. To someone who knows Arabic, it doesn't. I tend to think of the sound as a mix between Arabic (minus the distinctive pharyngeals) and Spanish, due to the dental consonants." Regarding the orthography, the Dothraki themselves do not have a writing system—nor do many of the surrounding peoples (e.g., the Lhazareen). If there were to be any written examples of Dothraki in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' universe, it would be in a writing system developed in the Free Cities and adapted to Dothraki, or in some place like Ghis or Qarth, which do have writing systems.

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=== Consonants === There are 23 consonant phonemes in the Dothraki language. Here the romanized form is given on the left, and the IPA in brackets. The letters and do not appear in Dothraki, although appears in the digraph . and seem to appear only in names, as in ''Pono'' and ''Bharbo''. These consonants were used in the past but have since developed into and . They can still be used as variants of and . Voiceless stops may be aspirated. This does not change word meaning. The geminates of consonants marked with digraphs have a reduced orthography:

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=== Vowels === Dothraki has a four vowel system shown below: In the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' books, never occurs as a vowel, appearing only after , and only in names, as in ''Jhiqui'' and ''Quaro''. In sequence of multiple vowels, each such vowel represents a separate syllable. Examples: ''shierak'' ('star'), ''rhaesh'' ('country'), ''khaleesi'' ('queen'). The vowels are realized as after . turns into after dental consonants. can be pronounced as after .

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===Parts of speech=== Though prepositions are also sometimes employed, the language is foremost inflectional. Prefixes, suffixes and circumfixes are all used. Verbs conjugate in infinitive, past, present, future, two imperatives and (archaic) participle; they also agree with person, number and polarity. Nouns divide into two classes, inanimate and animate. They decline in five cases, nominative, accusative, genitive, allative and ablative. Animate nouns also decline according to number.

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===Word order=== The basic word order is SVO (subject–verb–object). In a basic sentence, the order of these elements (when all three are present) is as in English: first comes the subject (S), followed by the verb (V), and then the object (O). :'''Khal ahhas arakh.''' ''The Khal (S) sharpened (V) the arakh (O).'' When only a subject is present, the subject precedes the verb, as it does in English: :''The arakh (S) is sharp (V).'' In noun phrases there is a specific order as well. The order is as follows: demonstrative, noun, adverb, adjective, genitive noun, prepositional phrase. Prepositions always precede their noun complements. but adjectives, possessor and prepositional phrases all follow the noun: :'''jin ave sekke verven anni m'orvikoon''' :this father very violent of.mine with.a.whip :''this very violent father of mine with a whip'' Adverbs normally are sentence final, but they can also immediately follow the verb. Modal particles precede the verb. In the episode "Andy's Ancestry" from the United States television show ''The Office'', Dwight Schrute created the Dothraki phrase "throat rip" by placing "throat" in front to make it the accusative. Peterson adapted that language technique and called it the "Schrutean compound".

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==Sample== : '''Nevakhi vekha ha maan: Rekke, m'aresakea norethi fitte.''' : seat. exist. for there. with.coward. hair. short : ''There is a place for him: There, with the short-haired cowards.''

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==External links== * The official Dothraki blog at dothraki.com * The Dothraki Language Wiki at wiki.dothraki.org * The LCS blog about the language at dothraki.conlang.org

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"'''''Game of Thrones'' Theme'''", also referred to as "'''''Game of Thrones'' Main Title Theme'''", is the theme music of HBO's award-winning fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and plays during the title sequence. It was composed by Ramin Djawadi in 2011, after series creator David Benioff and D. B. Weiss approached him requesting a theme. Asked to avoid flutes and violins, which the producers felt were overused in fantasy themes, Djawadi used the cello as the lead instrument. The piece begins in a minor key, then switches between corresponding major and minor keys repeatedly. Djawadi was shown a preliminary rendering of the title sequence before composing this music to accompany it. Several artists have covered or parodied the music, sometimes adding lyrics to the originally instrumental work.

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==Composition== Ramin Djawadi is the composer of the ''Game of Thrones'' score. Ramin Djawadi began composing the music for the show after he had watched the first two episodes of the series that the showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss sent him, and discussed the concepts of the show with them. According to Djawadi, the show creators wanted the main title theme to be about a journey as there are many locations and characters in the show and the narrative involves much traveling. After Djawadi was shown a preliminary animated ''Game of Thrones'' title sequence that the visual effect artists were still working on, he was inspired to write the piece. He said that he started humming what would become the theme tune in the car after seeing the visuals for the title sequence, and conceived of the idea for the theme on the drive back to his studio. The finished theme music was presented to the producer three days later. Djawadi said he intended to capture the overall impression of the show with the theme tune. Cello is featured strongly as Benioff and Weiss wanted to avoid the flutes or solo vocals found in many other productions in the fantasy genre so as to give the show a distinctive sound, and Djawadi chose cello as the main instrument for the music as he thought it has a "darker sound" that suited the show. Djawadi started with a riff and he built the title theme around the riff. The tune begins with the riff played on strings in a minor key, then changed to a major key after 2 bars, and back to minor again. Djawadi said that he wanted to reflect the "backstabbing and conspiracy" and the unpredictability of the show: "... I thought it would be cool to kinda do the same play with the music. So even though the majority of the piece is in minor, there's that little hint of major in there where it kinda switches and then it changes back again." The main melody is then introduced with the cello, joined later by a solo violin that may suggest an interplay between different characters. The melody is then repeated with the entire orchestra. The next section introduces a change in melody, described by Djawadi as giving "a sense of adventure", and continues with a repeat that involves a choir of twenty female voices - recorded in Prague, like the instrumental parts. The title theme ends with a combination of dulcimer and kantele, producing a "shimmery quality" in its sound that Djawadi thought would give a sense of mystery and anticipation for the episode. The title music is reprised as a global theme in the soundtracks for the series. It may be played occasionally on its own in fragments, sometimes as part of the theme of individual characters or in combination with other pieces of music, and may also be played in large section during particularly important scenes.

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===Weekly charts=== Belgium (Ultratop Back Catalogue Singles Wallonia) French Singles Sales Chart (Pure Charts) French Singles Sales Chart (Pure Charts)

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==Cover versions and parodies== The main theme of ''Game of Thrones'' has inspired many tributes and cover versions, including a rendition by the electropop band Chvrches. Lyrics were added for the first time in 2014, when "Weird Al" Yankovic performed a parody version during the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. In March 2015, FORTE added lyrics based on High Valyrian text for an operatic performance and music video. Some of the cover and parody versions mentioned by news media include: * an electric and acoustic cello version by Grammy nominated cellist Tina Guo *a violin version by Jason Yang, * a metal version by Roger Lima, * an electric harp duet version by the "Harp Twins", Camille and Kennerly Kitt, * a bleeping "8-bit" remix in the style of early video game music, * a rendition in the noise of floppy disk drives, * a violin and voice duet by Lindsey Stirling and Peter Hollens, * a cello version by ''Break of Reality'', * a violin version by Ben Shapiro * a ska interpretation by Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra, * a chamber music version by Aston, * a Ragtime Piano Rendition by Jonny May, * a choral parody used in two episodes of ''South Park'', with lyrics solely about "wieners", * an elaborate parody of the opening at the beginning of a 2012 episode of ''The Simpsons'', "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart", *a vocal version performed by French musician and singer Luc Arbogast. The song peaked at number 125 on French Singles Sales Chart in 2014 and stayed one week there. * a parody performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic at the 2014 Emmy awards, * an orchestra version performed at Illich Steel and Iron Works by Mariupol orchestra "Renaissance", * a remix by Armin van Buuren, KSHMR and The Golden Army. * a bluegrass cover version performed by the Tennessee-based band Flat Lonesome for SirusXM radio station. * In 2017, Canadian band Barenaked Ladies opened and closed their end-of-show popular music medley/parody with the Game of Thrones Theme with lead singer Ed Robertson adding the lyrics "''Horses - tits and horses'' repeated ''and some dong!''", poking fun at the content of the series. * In 2019, American band Our Last Night covered the song with a post-hardcore theme.

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==Credits and personnel== Personnel adapted from the album liner notes. * Ramin Djawadi – composer, primary artist, producer

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==See also== * ''Game of Thrones'' title sequence

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'''Gregor Clegane''', nicknamed "'''The Mountain That Rides'''" or simply "'''The Mountain'''", is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. In the books, the character is initially introduced in 1996's ''A Game of Thrones''. He subsequently appeared in ''A Clash of Kings'' (1998), ''A Storm of Swords'' (2000) and in ''A Dance with Dragons'' (2011). A famous knight and retainer to House Lannister, he is well known for his enormous size, prowess in battle, extremely cruel nature, and uncontrollable temper. He is the older brother of Sandor "The Hound" Clegane; who has hated him ever since Gregor gruesomely scarred Sandor by shoving his face into a brazier when they were children. After being mortally wounded in a duel with Oberyn Martell, he is resuscitated by Qyburn via sinister means and becomes the personal bodyguard of Cersei Lannister under the name '''Robert Strong'''. In the HBO television adaptation, Clegane was originally portrayed by Australian actor Conan Stevens in season one, and by Welsh actor Ian Whyte in season two; Icelandic actor and strongman Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson took over the role from season four onwards.

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== Character description == Ser Gregor Clegane, known as the Mountain That Rides, or simply the Mountain, is the older brother of Sandor Clegane and is a vassal to Tywin Lannister. His size and strength make him a fearsome warrior (in the novels he is nearly 8 feet tall, and weighs over 400 lbs.), and he has earned a reputation for brutality. When they were children, Gregor shoved Sandor's face into a brazier for using his toy, gruesomely scarring him. Over the course of his service to House Lannister, he has committed numerous war crimes, but he is most infamous for the rape and murder of the Targaryen/Martell royal family. Clegane was one of the first Lannister soldiers to enter King's Landing during its sack at the end of Robert Baratheon's rebellion. He raped and murdered Princess Elia, and murdered her children Rhaenys and Aegon, a grudge House Martell still bears at the onset of ''A Game of Thrones''. Gregor Clegane is not a point of view character in the novels, so his actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other people, such as Arya Stark and Cersei Lannister. Gregor is mostly a background character in the novels.

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== Storylines == In ''A Game of Thrones'', Tywin Lannister sends him to raid the Riverlands in retaliation for Catelyn Stark's abduction of Tyrion. Beric Dondarrion is sent to arrest Gregor, but Gregor ambushes and kills him. He and his men continue raiding the Riverlands throughout ''A Clash of Kings''. When Tyrion Lannister demands a trial by combat, the accuser Cersei Lannister chooses Gregor as her champion. Elia's brother Oberyn Martell volunteers as Tyrion's champion to expose Gregor as a murderer. Oberyn wounds Gregor with a poisoned spear, but the Mountain is ultimately victorious, admitting to murdering Elia and Aegon before crushing Oberyn's skull. Gregor succumbs to the poison and his body is given to Qyburn for experimentation. Following Cersei's walk of atonement, she gains a bodyguard named Ser Robert Strong who is of similar enormous stature as Gregor, and whose body is completely covered in armor.

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====Season 1==== Tywin Lannister sends him to raid the Riverlands. Beric Dondarrion is sent to arrest Gregor. When war breaks out, Gregor is given command of Tywin's vanguard and left flank and leads his men through intimidation.

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====Season 2==== He is left to command Harrenhal in Tywin's absence and to find and destroy "The Brotherhood Without Banners", invoking the escape of Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie from Harrenhal.

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====Season 3==== He later abandons Harrenhal after slaughtering the prisoners and is defeated by Edmure Tully at the Stone Mill, but manages to escape back to the Westerlands. Robb chides his uncle, having planned to draw the Mountain into a trap of his own making to be captured or killed.

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====Season 4==== Ser Gregor is chosen as Cersei's champion for Tyrion's trial by combat, and fights Oberyn Martell, Tyrion's champion who wants to kill Gregor as revenge for the murder of his sister, Elia Martell. Oberyn inflicts several serious injuries on Clegane with his poisoned spear, but Gregor eventually kills Oberyn by crushing his skull, while admitting that he did rape Elia, killed her children and enjoyed it, before collapsing from his own injuries. It is later revealed that The Mountain has been poisoned with manticore venom, a poison with which Oberyn had laced his weapon, and that he is slowly dying. Cersei enlists ex-maester Qyburn to save him, though Qyburn claims that the procedure will "change" Clegane.

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====Season 5==== The procedure is seemingly a success as Ser Gregor has become active again, though the procedure has changed his physical appearance and his behavior. Gregor has also sworn a vow of silence and vowed to serve as Cersei's personal bodyguard until all her enemies are destroyed.

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====Season 6==== Ser Gregor continues to act as Cersei's bodyguard to intimidate all those who may bother or mock her. He also rips the head off of a Faith Militant with his bare hands when they try to take Cersei into their custody. After Cersei destroys the Great Sept of Baelor and retakes power, she has Gregor torture Septa Unella in revenge for torturing her during her time in prison.

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====Season 7==== Ser Gregor is still with Cersei as a member of the Queensguard. He is confronted by his brother Sandor "The Hound" Clegane in the season finale, where Sandor conveys an ominous message that he (Gregor) already knows who is coming for him and that he has always known.

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====Season 8==== Ser Gregor's face after going through the procedure Qyburn used to save him after the fight against Oberyn Martell Ser Gregor is present when Daenerys Targaryen arrives at King's Landing with all her forces, demanding the release of her advisor Missandei and Cersei's surrender. A defiant Cersei has Ser Gregor decapitate Missandei. Ser Gregor is killed in the penultimate episode of the series, in a sword duel with his brother, Sandor. Realizing that he can barely injure Gregor without also dying himself, Sandor tackles his brother off the Red Keep stairwell to both of their deaths in the raging inferno below.

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'''Ellaria Sand''' is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of high fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin and its television adaptation, ''Game of Thrones''. Ellaria first appears in ''A Storm of Swords'' (2000), and while she is only mentioned in ''A Feast for Crows'' (2005), she returns in ''A Dance with Dragons'' (2011). She is the paramour to Oberyn Martell and mother to several of his bastard daughters, the Sand Snakes. After the death of her lover in a duel at the hands of Ser Gregor Clegane, she is sent into deep mourning, although her subsequent characterization differs between the novels and the television adaptation. In the novels, she sues for peace, seeking an end to the cycle of revenge. In the television adaptation, however, she is portrayed as ruthless and vengeful, willing to do anything to destroy House Lannister, even if it means killing Oberyn's own family in the process. The character is portrayed by Indira Varma in the HBO television adaptation.

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==Character description== Ellaria Sand is a bastard from Dorne but is not discriminated against for this, as Dorne's views and customs towards children born out of wedlock differ from those of the rest of Westeros, where bastards are often discriminated against. She is the paramour of Oberyn Martell, as even in Dorne a Prince cannot marry a bastard. She is the mother of the youngest four Sand Snakes (Oberyn's bastard daughters). Like Oberyn, she is bisexual. In the novels, Ellaria Sand is mostly a background character. She is not a point of view character; rather, her actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other people, such as Tyrion Lannister, Arianne Martell, and Areo Hotah.

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====''A Storm of Swords''==== Ellaria comes with Oberyn to King's Landing, as part of Tyrion Lannister's efforts to win them to the Iron Throne. Oberyn, however, clearly wants revenge for his sister's death, apparently committed on the orders of Tywin Lannister, during King Robert's rebellion. Oberyn wants Ellaria to sit with him at Joffrey Baratheon's wedding, causing trouble when Olenna Tyrell calls her "the serpent's whore". Later, when Tyrion is condemned for poisoning Joffrey Baratheon, Oberyn acts as his champion in a Trial by Combat against Ser Gregor Clegane, who had raped and murdered Oberyn's sister, Elia Martell, during the Sack of King's Landing. Oberyn wounds Gregor with a poisoned spear but is killed by Gregor. Afterwards, Ellaria returns to Dorne.

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====''A Dance with Dragons''==== Gregor Clegane apparently dies of the poison after spending days in agony (Oberyn having treated the poison to work slowly). His skull is sent to Dorne, where Oberyn's brother, Doran Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne, sees it. Despite Gregor and Tywin's deaths, Oberyn's bastard daughters want revenge. Ellaria argues against revenge, saying all those they want revenge against are dead and the Lannisters they are now targeting took no part in their kin's deaths. She reminds them Oberyn died trying to avenge his sister's death and worries they too will die, if they seek vengeance. Doran sends her back to her father, Lord Harmen Uller of Hellholt with her youngest daughter Loreza Sand.

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==TV adaptation== English actress Indira Varma portrays Ellaria Sand. Ellaria Sand is played by the British actress Indira Varma in the television adaption of the series of books. She won the Empire Hero Award along with the rest of the cast in 2015. She was also nominated, along with the rest of the cast for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2016.

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====Season 4==== Ellaria Sand's storyline in this season is very similar to her storyline in ''A Storm of Swords''.

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====Season 5==== Ellaria tries to persuade Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne, to avenge his brother's death. However, Doran refuses, as Oberyn's death was via trial by combat, and therefore by Westerosi law, Gregor Clegane did not murder Oberyn. Ellaria soon learns that Jaime Lannister is sailing for Dorne, planning to rescue his daughter Myrcella, betrothed to Doran's son, Trystane. When Jaime arrives at the Water Gardens, the Sand Snakes attack him and Bronn, but the skirmish ends with all arrested by Martell guards. Doran and Jaime reach a deal, Trystane will marry Myrcella, but the two will live in King's Landing and Trystane will be granted a seat on the Small Council. Ellaria is threatened with death by Doran if she ever defies him and she feigns allegiance to him. She kisses Myrcella goodbye at the docks, secretly wearing lipstick coated with a slow-acting poison, which kills Myrcella on the ship headed for King's Landing.

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====Season 6==== After Doran Martell realises that Myrcella has been murdered, Ellaria stabs Doran, while in King's Landing, Obara and Nymeria, who had snuck onto the ship headed to King's Landing, kill Trystane. This makes Ellaria the de facto ruler of Dorne. A while later, Ellaria meets Olenna Tyrell, whose son and grandchildren have been killed by Cersei, the present Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Ellaria then reveals her allegiance to Daenerys Targaryen. Later, Martell and Tyrell ships can be seen in Daenerys' fleet heading for Westeros.

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====Season 7==== Ellaria and the Sand Snakes arrive in Dragonstone to discuss the conquest of Westeros with Daenrys. Yara and Theon Greyjoy return Ellaria and the Sand Snakes to Dorne so they can gather their army. En route, Euron Greyjoy attacks them and burns Yara's fleet. He kills Obara and Nymeria and captures Yara, and takes Ellaria and Tyene to Cersei, as a gift. In the dungeons Cersei recalls the death of Oberyn Martell and explains how much she loved Myrcella. Then she kisses Tyene using the same poison that Ellaria used to murder Myrcella. She tells Ellaria that she will be watching Tyene die and after Tyene's death, she will be kept alive to watch as her daughter's body rots away.

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==References==

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'''Gendry''' is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its HBO television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. First appearing in 1996's ''A Game of Thrones'', Gendry is a blacksmith apprentice in King's Landing, and an unacknowledged bastard of King Robert Baratheon. He subsequently appeared in ''A Clash of Kings'' (1998), ''A Storm of Swords'' (2000) and ''A Feast for Crows'' (2005). After Queen Cersei Lannister orders the execution of all of King Robert's bastards, Gendry is forced to flee King's Landing alongside Arya Stark under the protection of Yoren, a recruiter for the Night's Watch. He later joins the outlaw group Brotherhood Without Banners and is knighted by its leader Beric Dondarrion, and becomes a follower of R'hllor. Gendry is portrayed by English actor Joe Dempsie in the HBO television adaptation.

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== Character description == Gendry was conceived and born in King's Landing after Robert's Rebellion ended and is one of sixteen (twenty in the television series) bastard children of King Robert Baratheon,. He is portrayed as tall and very muscled, having blue eyes and thick black hair, very similar to his biological father Robert and uncle Renly in their youth (Brienne of Tarth once almost mistook him for Renly for a moment). He is stubborn and easily confused. Despite being one of the only four surviving biological children of King Robert (along with Mya Stone, Edric Storm and Bella Rivers), Gendry never knew who his father was. His mother was reported to have been a worker at an alehouse who died when Gendry was still a young boy, and all he remembers of her was that she had blond hair. Later on, Tobho Mott, a master armourer from Qohor, was offered double the customary fee by a "lord" with concealed identity to take Gendry in as a smith apprentice, but accepted him for free after being impressed by the boy's physique. Gendry turns out to be a talented apprentice, and likes to spend time polishing a bull head helmet that he proudly made for himself, which earned him the nickname "Bull" by Arya Stark.

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==Storylines == Coat of arms of House Baratheon Gendry is not a point of view character in the novels, and his actions are witnessed and interpreted primarily through the eyes of Arya Stark, as well as some descriptions from Eddard Stark and Brienne of Tarth. He has the most story arc out of King Robert's children.

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====''A Game of Thrones''==== In his investigation about the death of Jon Arryn, Eddard Stark meets several people who had met with Arryn shortly before his death. One of them is Gendry, who was sought by both Jon Arryn and Stannis Baratheon. Eddard immediately recognizes Gendry as Robert Baratheon's bastard child, and tells Tobho Mott that if Gendry ever shows interest in military service, he is to be sent directly to Eddard. Gendry has shown promise as a blacksmith and made a helmet in the shape of a bull. Eddard compliments the helmet, offering to purchase it, but Gendry refuses, to the shame of his master.

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====''A Clash of Kings''==== After Eddard Stark's political fall and eventual execution, Varys makes arrangements for the Night's Watch recruiter Yoren to take Gendry to the Wall in order to ensure his safety. Gendry travels north with Yoren and thirty other recruits including Lommy Greenhands, Hot Pie and a disguised Arya Stark. Not far from King's Landing they are stopped by several gold cloaks from the City Watch, who demand that Yoren give up Gendry as he is wanted by Queen Regent Cersei Lannister. Yoren refuses, and chases off the gold cloaks with his recruits. Later, near an abandoned holdfast by the God's Eye, the recruits are attacked by soldiers led by Ser Amory Lorch. Yoren is killed in the fight, and Gendry along with Arya, Lommy and Hot Pie escape through a secret tunnel. Whilst on a reconnaissance run with Arya, Gendry confronts her about her true gender and identity. He eventually has the truth out of her and is subsequently embarrassed by how crass he had spoken to her when she was in fact highborn. Gendry is later captured by soldiers led by Ser Gregor Clegane, but is spared from death since a blacksmith is useful as a slave laborer. After Lannister man at arms, Polliver, kills the injured Lommy, they are taken to Harrenhal, where Gendry works as a smith. When Arya decides to escape from Harrenhal, however, she persuades Gendry and Hot Pie to join her.

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====''A Storm of Swords''==== While wandering around the Riverlands looking for the direction of Riverrun, Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie are captured by the Brotherhood without Banners, led by a resurrected Beric Dondarrion. At the Peach brothel in Stoney Sept, Gendry declines sleeping with Bella. Later he argues with Arya, jealous she talked to Beric's squire Edric Dayne, who claims to be Jon Snow's milk brother. Gendry is later impressed with Thoros of Myr's description of the ideals of the brotherhood, and decides to join them. He is knighted by Beric, thus becoming Ser Gendry, knight of the hollow hill.

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====''A Feast for Crows''==== While questing to find Sansa Stark, Brienne of Tarth encounters Gendry working as a smith at the Inn at the Crossroads along with a group of orphans, and is struck by his resemblance to the late Renly Baratheon. At the inn, Brienne encounters and duels with Rorge, killing him, only to be savaged by Biter; Gendry saves Brienne by driving a spear through Biter's neck.

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==TV adaptation== Joe Dempsie plays the role of Gendry in the television series ''Game of Thrones''. Gendry is played by Joe Dempsie in the television adaption of the series of books. Explaining how he got cast for the role: When I was cast as Gendry, I didn't have any of the physical attributes the part required. I was astounded that I got the role, to be honest. But David and Dan said, "We need to dye ''sic'' his hair black ... and it'd be great you hit the gym before we start filming." So I was told to get in shape. Dempsie has received positive reviews for his performance as Gendry in the television series. He and the rest of the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014.

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===Season 1=== Eddard "Ned" Stark tells the smith to send Gendry to him if he ever shows interest in wielding a sword. Gendry shows promise as a smith and makes a helmet in the shape of a bull's head; Eddard compliments the helmet, offering to purchase it. Gendry refuses, to the shame of the master smith. After Ned's arrest and eventual execution, arrangements are made for Yoren of the Night's Watch to take Gendry to the Wall with him.

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===Season 2=== Gendry travels North with Yoren and other Night's Watch recruits, including Arya Stark (disguised as an orphan boy named 'Arry), Lommy Greenhands, Hot Pie and Jaqen H'ghar. During their journey, they are stopped by the Goldcloaks of the City Watch, who demand that Yoren hand Gendry over to them - King Joffrey has ordered that all of his father Robert's bastards be killed, but Yoren turns the Goldcloaks away. Later, Gendry forces Arya to reveal her true identity, and is surprised to learn she is in fact Ned Stark's daughter. After the Goldcloaks get help from Ser Amory Lorch and his men, they ambush the travelling party. In the chaos, Yoren is killed. Gendry's life is then saved by Arya, who convinces the Goldcloaks that Lommy, who was killed during the attack, was in fact Gendry. Gendry and the rest of the recruits are then escorted to Harrenhal, the ruined castle-turned-prison. Ser Gregor Clegane oversees order here, and arbitrarily has many of the prisoners tortured and killed. Gendry is nearly tortured and killed but is saved by the arrival of Lord Tywin Lannister, who chides Clegane's men for their reckless treatment of the prisoners. Thanks to Jaqen H'ghars help, Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie are able to escape Harrenhal.

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===Season 3=== As they head towards the Riverlands, the group encounters the Brotherhood Without Banners, a group of outlaws who defend the weak. Inspired, he decides to join the Brotherhood but is betrayed by them when they sell him to Lady Melisandre, as ordered by the Lord of Light. Melisandre later reveals to Gendry that the late King Robert was his father, and that she is bringing him to meet his uncle Stannis at Dragonstone. But in truth, Melisandre and Stannis plan to use his blood in a magic ritual to create a death curse on the usurpers to his throne, King Joffrey, the King in the North Robb Stark, and King of the Iron Islands Balon Greyjoy. Before they can sacrifice him, however, Davos Seaworth helps Gendry escape to King's Landing in a rowing boat. Unable to swim or row competently, Gendry is nevertheless convinced that the Red Woman has a surer death in store for him, and returns to Westeros' capital by sea.

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===Season 7=== In the years after his escape from Dragonstone, a series of events result in the deaths of the rest of House Baratheon, leaving Gendry as the only person with Baratheon heritage. Gendry returns to work as a blacksmith in King's Landing, hiding in plain sight from the Lannister soldiers and Goldcloaks. Although he reasons that the Lannisters will not think to look for him in the city, he grates at having to manufacture weapons for their army. Gendry is greeted by Davos, who has returned briefly to the capital to find him. He wants his assistance in the coming war against the White Walkers, and Gendry leaps at the chance of escaping his life armoring his enemies. After meeting King in the North Jon Snow and bonding over their status as the bastards of Robert Baratheon and (allegedly) Ned Stark respectively, they head north to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. He, along with Jon, Tormund Giantsbane, Sandor Clegane, Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr and Jorah Mormont, heads beyond the Wall to retrieve a wight to present as evidence to Cersei Lannister of the impending White Walker invasion, with Davos remaining at Eastwatch. Gendry still resents Beric and Thoros for selling him. The group manages to capture a lone wight, but Jon realizes that the rest of the wights are approaching and orders Gendry to run back to Eastwatch to send a raven to Daenerys Targaryen requesting her assistance. After running through the night, Gendry collapses from exhaustion outside Eastwatch, but is rescued by Davos and a group of wildlings and manages to tell them of Jon's warning.

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===Season 8=== Gendry joins Daenerys' army as they camp at Winterfell in anticipation of the White Walkers' attack. Gendry is tasked with smithing weapons from dragonglass, capable of instantly killing the wights. Reunited with Arya, she bids him create a dual-bladed, dragonglass staff. On the eve of the attack, Gendry gives her the weapon and relates his Baratheon heritage to her. Arya inquires of his past romantic liaisons, then expresses her desire to lose her virginity, should they die tomorrow, and they make love. Gendry survives the Long Night and is legitimised a Baratheon by Daenerys, and given lordship of Storm's End. Gendry professes his love to Arya and proposes, however Arya is uninterested in marriage and declines. After Jon kills Daenerys, Gendry travels to King's Landing along with Westeros' other nobility to decide the future of the Seven Kingdoms. Tyrion proposes that Bran Stark be crowned king, and Gendry approves, along with the other lords, unanimously.

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==Sources==

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'''''Thronecast''''' is a British television series on Sky Atlantic which is presented by Sue Perkins and Jamie East. It is an aftershow to ''Game of Thrones'', which also airs on the channel. Each episode is an hour in length and features interviews with members of the cast and crew, interaction with the audience and social media alongside analysis of the previous episode and a preview of the next episode of ''Game of Thrones''. It was the only official aftershow for the American series until HBO aired ''After the Thrones'' in 2016 – a show which was cancelled after only one series. ''Thronecast'' was originally devised by Koink Productions Ltd for Sky Digital Entertainment. The series began airing online in April 2011 as a series of 10-minute podcasts presented by Geoff Lloyd to correspond with the first series of ''Game of Thrones''. Annabel Port joined Geoff for the second series, which corresponded with the broadcast of the second series of ''Game of Thrones''. For the third series, ''Thronecast'' became a 15-minute on-air show that was broadcast on Sky Atlantic following each episode of the third series of ''Game of Thrones'', and featured new guest presenter Grace Dent. The fourth series was presented by Jamie East and Rachel Parris, and was 30 minutes long. The fifth series was presented by Sue Perkins and Jamie East and was 30 minutes long, except for the series finale which was an extended hour long special. Perkins and East continued to present the seventh and eighth series of the show which were all 60 minutes long with the exception of the final episode of the show, which was 70 minutes. Series 7 and 8 included pre-series episodes titled ''War Room'', and the eighth series also included a 90 minutes long gameshow titled ''Gameshow of Thrones'' and a 30-minute pre-finale episode titled ''Thronecast: The End is Coming''. Each series was also made available on Sky Go, On Demand (previously Sky Anytime and Sky Anytime+) and NOW TV. Series 1 to 4 of Thronecast were produced by Koink Productions Ltd for Sky Atlantic. Series 5 of Thronecast was produced by CPL Productions for Sky Atlantic. Series 6 and 7 of the show were produced by Sky's in-house production company, Sky Vision Productions. Series 8 of the show was produced by independent production company Znak & Co Ltd.

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===Series 2 (2012)=== A special episode of Thronecast was filmed before the start of the second series, which featured interviews with Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister).

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===Series 5 (2015)=== The series finale was an extended one-hour episode and was viewed by 560,000 viewers, making it the second highest-rated broadcast that week, behind the actual episode. It also received 29,000 timeshifted viewers.

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===Series 6 (2016)=== The series finale was an extended one-hour episode and was viewed by 587,000 viewers, making it the second highest-rated broadcast that week, behind the actual episode. It also received 45,000 timeshifted viewers.

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===Specials (2017)=== A pre-series episode titled "War Room", filmed on location, was broadcast the week before the start of Series 7.

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===Specials (2019)=== Two specials aired before Series 8: "Gameshow of Thrones" featuring a number of stars of the show with superfans, plus "War Room" featuring superfans Al Murray, Lauren Laverne and Jonathan Ross.

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===Series 8 (2019)=== The series finale includes a special 30-minute pre-show episode titled "The End is Coming", and a 70-minute post-show episode. These episodes incorporated an additional studio segment titled "Littlefinger's Establishment", where Jamie East talked to stars of the show and superfans about their memories of working on the show. Episode 3 of Series 8 was the most viewed episode of ''Thronecast'' according to BARB figures.

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==See also== *''After the Thrones'' – a similar talk show hosted by Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan which also discusses episodes of ''Game of Thrones''. *''Talking Dead'' – a similar talk show hosted by Chris Hardwick which discusses episodes of ''The Walking Dead'' and ''Fear the Walking Dead''. *''Talking Bad'' – a similar talk show hosted by Hardwick which discussed episodes of ''Breaking Bad''s fifth series. *''Talking Saul'' – a similar talk show hosted by Hardwick which discusses episodes of ''Better Call Saul''. *''Talking Preacher'' – a similar talk show hosted by Hardwick which discusses episodes of ''Preacher''.

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==External links== * Official Thronecast website at Sky Atlantic * Official Game of Thrones website at Sky Atlantic

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'''''A Dance with Dragons''''' is the fifth novel, of seven planned, in the epic fantasy series ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' by American author George R. R. Martin. In some areas, the paperback edition was published in two parts, titled ''Dreams and Dust'' and ''After the Feast''. It was the only novel in the series to be published during the eight-season run of the HBO adaptation of the series, ''Game of Thrones'', and runs to 1,040 pages with a word count of almost 415,000. The US hardcover was officially published on July 12, 2011, and a few weeks later went to No. 1 on both ''Publishers Weekly'' and ''USA Today'' bestsellers lists. The novel has been adapted for television as the fifth season of ''Game of Thrones'', although elements of the book have also appeared in the series' third, fourth and sixth seasons.

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===The Wall and beyond=== Stannis Baratheon, a claimant to the Iron Throne of Westeros, occupies the Wall at the realm's northern border, having helped to repel an invasion of wildlings from the northern wilderness. Stannis apparently executes Mance Rayder, the leader of the wildlings, for refusing to submit to him, and marches south with his army to seek support in his bid for the throne. Jon Snow, the newly elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, the order that defends the Wall, brokers a truce with the wildlings, allowing them through the Wall in exchange for their assistance in defending the Wall against the hostile otherworldly creatures known as the Others. This creates unrest among the Night's Watch, who have considered the wildlings their enemies for centuries. Stannis's advisor, the sorceress Melisandre, warns Jon that a Northern girl is in trouble, who Jon assumes is his half-sister, Arya Stark. Mance is revealed to be alive thanks to Melisandre's magical trickery, and he is sent to the Starks' ancestral castle Winterfell, now occupied by the enemy Boltons, to rescue Arya. However, the girl in Melisandre's visions turns out to be Alys Karstark, a young noblewoman fleeing to the Wall to escape her treacherous uncle. To protect Alys and aid the wildlings' integration into Westerosi society, Jon arranges for Alys to marry Sigorn of Thenn, a wildling leader. Jon receives a taunting letter from Ramsay Bolton, who claims to have crushed Stannis's army at Winterfell. Ramsay demands that Jon hand over to him Stannis' wife and daughter or be killed, and also insists that Jon deliver Arya and his foster-brother Theon Greyjoy, neither of whom Jon has seen in years. Jon instead decides that he will seek out and kill Ramsay himself, asking for volunteers from the Watch to accompany him. For this perceived betrayal of the Watch's principle of neutrality, Jon is betrayed and stabbed by several of his own men. Meanwhile, Jon's crippled half-brother Bran Stark, traveling north of the Wall, is led to the last surviving Children of the Forest, the non-human natives of Westeros. They introduce Bran and his companions to the "last greenseer", an ancient man intertwined with the roots of a weirwood tree. He helps Bran learn clairvoyant "greensight", enabling Bran to witness the past and present through the eyes of the weirwood trees that grow throughout the North.

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====In the Free Cities==== Having killed his father Tywin, the Hand of the King, the dwarf Tyrion Lannister is smuggled out of Westeros to the city of Pentos by the spymaster Varys, where he is sheltered by the aristocrat Illyrio Mopatis. Tyrion is sent south with a party ostensibly to aid the exiled princess Daenerys Targaryen, who controls the only living dragons, in claiming the Iron Throne; on the journey, he learns that Varys and Illyrio have hidden the presumed-dead Aegon Targaryen, son of Daenerys's late brother Prince Rhaegar, intending to eventually install him as king of Westeros with Daenerys's aid. Tyrion persuades Aegon to invade Westeros immediately, without waiting for Daenerys. Soon afterward, Tyrion is kidnapped by Daenerys's disgraced advisor Jorah Mormont, who intends to deliver him to Daenerys in order to regain her favor. In the Free City of Braavos, Arya is an acolyte of the guild of assassins known as the Faceless Men. Temporarily afflicted with blindness at their hands, she develops her sense of hearing, and realizes that she can "see" through cats the same way she could with her pet direwolf, Nymeria. After her sight is restored, she is tasked with assassinating a corrupt merchant while magically disguised with another girl's face. After doing so, Arya is declared an apprentice of the Faceless Men, to be sent to another assassin to continue her training.

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====Slaver's Bay==== Daenerys has conquered the city of Meereen and banned slavery, but struggles to maintain peace within the city while also trying to prevent military defeat at the hands of the neighboring city of Yunkai. A plague known as the "pale mare" (dysentery) ravages the city. Daenerys' dragons have become increasingly dangerous, and she reluctantly confines them in a dungeon for the safety of her people. Drogon, the largest, evades capture and flies off. Despite her sexual relationship with the mercenary Daario Naharis, Daenerys marries the Meereenese nobleman Hizdahr zo Loraq to secure an alliance that will hopefully appease the Sons of the Harpy, a violent Meereenese resistance group. Quentyn Martell, the son of the Prince of Dorne in southern Westeros, arrives in Meereen to seek to reestablish the allegiance between Daenerys's family and his, but is unable to maintain her attention. Jorah and Tyrion are shipwrecked, kidnapped, and sold to a Yunkish slave trader; at Meereen, Tyrion escapes in the mass confusion of the plague ravaging the Yunkish army, joins the Second Sons mercenary group, and secures their support for Daenerys. Meanwhile, another Westerosi, Victarion Greyjoy, the brother of the king of the Ironborn, sails for Meereen, intending to marry Daenerys and use her dragons to overthrow his brother. At Hizdahr's insistence, Daenerys reopens the city's "fighting pits" for gladiatorial combat, but the noise and carnage attract Drogon. Two hundred people are killed in the resulting panic, at which point Daenerys climbs on Drogon to calm him. He flies off with Daenerys on his back. Hizdahr is soon implicated in an attempt to poison Daenerys, and her advisor Barristan Selmy removes Hizdahr from power and prepares for battle with the armies outside Meereen. Quentyn attempts to prove his worth by riding one of the remaining dragons, but is killed, releasing both dragons in the process. Drogon flies Daenerys to the Dothraki Sea, the grassland controlled by the nomadic Dothraki people. After several days, Daenerys encounters a Dothraki horde led by Khal Jhaqo.

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====The North==== In the North, Roose Bolton has assumed authority after conspiring with House Frey to overthrow the Stark family, the North's longtime overlords; meanwhile, much of the region is occupied by the Ironborn. Stannis wins the support of the northern lords and hill clans by pledging support for the Starks and fighting off the Ironborn; while doing so, he captures Asha Greyjoy, Victarion's niece. He marches his forces toward Winterfell to attack the Boltons, but his army becomes snowbound and cannot advance. Stannis's advisor Davos Seaworth is sent to win the support of the wealthy lord Wyman Manderly, who pretends to execute Davos to curry favor with the Lannister regime that controls the Iron Throne. In a secret meeting, Davos is told the Manderlys and other Northern vassals intend to feign submission to the Boltons and Lannisters while plotting revenge for Robb Stark's death. Revealing to Davos that young Rickon Stark is in hiding on the remote island of Skagos, Manderly pledges to support Stannis if Davos can retrieve Rickon and unite the Starks' supporters around him. Theon Greyjoy is a prisoner of the Boltons, mutilated and driven nearly insane by torture at the hands of Roose's sadistic son Ramsay, who renames him "Reek". To cement his rule over the North, Roose Bolton has Ramsay apparently married to Arya Stark; his bride is actually Jeyne Poole, a friend of Arya's sister Sansa forced to impersonate Arya. Ramsay abuses Jeyne physically and sexually. Mance Rayder arrives at Winterfell in disguise and enlists Theon to help him free the false Arya. Mance and his spearwives are left behind while Theon and Jeyne escape, leaping from the castle wall into the snow to be captured by Stannis's forces.

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====The South==== Jaime Lannister, the uncle (and, secretly, father) of the young king Tommen Baratheon, negotiates the surrender of the last of the late Robb Stark's allies, nominally putting an end to the Stark–Lannister war in the Riverlands. Brienne of Tarth, whom Jaime had sent to search for Sansa Stark (and who unbeknownst to Jaime was captured by Sansa's undead, vengeful mother Catelyn), finds Jaime and tells him Sansa is in danger; he follows after her. After Tyrion convinces Aegon to attack Westeros, Aegon and his forces capture several castles in the Stormlands with little resistance. Meanwhile, Aegon's foster father Jon Connington is secretly succumbing to greyscale, a deadly and infectious disease. Doran Martell, the prince of Dorne, sends three of his nieces north to the capital city of King's Landing to infiltrate the Faith and the government and work in Dorne's interests. Cersei Lannister, Tommen's mother and queen regent, has been arrested by the Faith on charges of fornication and conspiracy. In order to gain release from her imprisonment, she confesses to several of the lesser charges against her, but does not confess to having murdered her husband King Robert Baratheon, nor that her children are the product of incest. As a condition of her release, she is forced to walk naked across the city as the smallfolk pelt her with rotten vegetables and insults. Meanwhile, Cersei's ally, the ex-maester Qyburn, has created "Ser Robert Strong", an eight-foot-tall figure encased in armor, to be an unbeatable champion in Cersei's upcoming trial by combat. Having taken control of the government, Cersei's uncle Kevan Lannister and the Grand Maester Pycelle attempt to undo the damage caused by Cersei's misrule. However, Varys returns to King's Landing and murders both Kevan and Pycelle, revealing that he has been plotting for years for the Lannisters to destroy themselves so that Aegon Targaryen can take the throne, having been raised to be an ideal ruler. The book ends with Varys sending his "little birds" (child spies) to finish Kevan off.

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===Extras=== In addition to the maps published in previous books, the book includes a new map of the previously-unmapped area of the Free Cities on the eastern continent. Like the previous four volumes in the ''Ice and Fire'' series, the book includes an appendix with a complete list of characters.

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==Characters== The story is narrated from the point of view of 18 different characters, including two minor one-off point-of-view (POV) characters featured in the prologue and epilogue. All but two POV characters were identified before the book's release. * Prologue: Varamyr Sixskins, a skinchanger and one of the surviving wildlings north of the Wall. * Jon Snow, the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and bastard son of Eddard Stark. * Bran Stark, rightful heir to his brother, the late Robb Stark. Seeking an old power beyond the Wall, believed dead by his own family. * Davos Seaworth, former smuggler and Hand of the King to Stannis Baratheon. Has recently learned to read, sent to negotiate with northern houses. * Reek, the Prince of Winterfell, the Turncloak, a Ghost in Winterfell: Theon Greyjoy, presumed-dead son of recently deceased King Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands, a captive of Ramsay Bolton and now tortured, starved and barely sane. * The Wayward Bride, the King's Prize, the Sacrifice: Asha Greyjoy, niece of King Euron Greyjoy of the Iron Islands, fled the Iron Islands after her uncle's coronation. * Lady Melisandre, a shadow-binder from Asshai and a devoted priestess to the red god R'hllor, advisor to Stannis. In the eastern continent of Essos: * Daenerys Targaryen, heir to the Targaryen dynasty which ruled Westeros for 300 years until their deposition 15 years before the first novel. Self-proclaimed Queen of Westeros, she now rules the city of Meereen. * Tyrion Lannister, dwarf and uncle to the King Tommen of Westeros, a fugitive wanted for kinslaying and regicide. Recently fled the Seven Kingdoms. * The Merchant's Man, the Windblown, the Spurned Suitor, the Dragontamer: Quentyn Martell, eldest son of Prince Doran Martell of Dorne, traveling into the East on a mission for his father. * The Lost Lord, the Griffin Reborn: Jon Connington, one of the former Hands of the King to Aerys Targaryen and one of Prince Rhaegar's closest friends. Exiled, and falsely believed dead. His identity as a narrator was kept secret throughout the book's pre-release process. * The Queensguard, the Discarded Knight, the Kingbreaker, the Queen's Hand: Ser Barristan Selmy, the former Lord Commander of Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard, and the first of Daenerys's Queensguard. * The Iron Suitor: Victarion Greyjoy, Captain of the Iron fleet, recently gone on a quest to find Daenerys and use her for the Ironborn's own ends. * The Blind Girl, the Ugly Little Girl: Arya Stark, hiding in the Free City of Braavos, where she has taken on the identity of the "Cat of the Canals" and continues her training as an assassin by the House of Black and White (The Faceless Men). * The Watcher: Areo Hotah, Captain of Doran Martell's guard. * Ser Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard; currently occupying the lands around Riverrun. * Cersei Lannister, the Queen Regent, currently imprisoned in a tower cell, awaiting trial. * Epilogue: Ser Kevan Lannister, head of House Lannister in light of his brother's death, and current regent to King Tommen. His identity as a narrator was kept secret throughout the book's pre-release process. Chapters for several POVs, which may include Sansa Stark, Samwell Tarly, Aeron Damphair, Arianne Martell, and Brienne of Tarth were written for the book, but they will instead tentatively appear in the next book, ''The Winds of Winter''.

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===Early development=== ''A Dance with Dragons'' was originally intended to be the title of the second novel in the sequence, when Martin still envisioned the series as a trilogy. Some early US editions of ''A Game of Thrones'' (1996) list ''A Dance of Dragons'' as the forthcoming second volume in the series. The 1998 anthology ''Legends'', which features the novella ''The Hedge Knight'' from the same universe, listed ''A Dance of Dragons'' as the third installment of a four-book series. In May 2005 Martin announced that the "sheer size" of his still-unfinished manuscript for ''A Feast for Crows'' had led him and his publishers to split the narrative into two books. Rather than divide the text in half chronologically, Martin opted to instead split the material by character and location, resulting in "two novels taking place simultaneously" with different casts of characters. Published in 2005, ''A Feast for Crows'' is narrated primarily by characters in the South of the Seven Kingdoms and in the new locations of the Iron Islands and Dorne. ''A Dance with Dragons'' features characters in the North and across the narrow sea, although Jaime Lannister, Cersei Lannister, Arya Stark, Areo Hotah and Victarion and Asha Greyjoy appear in both volumes. Approximately one-third of the published ''A Dance with Dragons'' consists of material that had been written for the pre-split ''A Feast for Crows'', although much of this has been rewritten by Martin. In 2009, Martin confirmed that, contrary to earlier statements, Sansa Stark would not appear in ''A Dance with Dragons''; Sansa chapters initially slated for the novel have instead been pushed back to ''The Winds of Winter'', which is planned to be the sixth book in the series. In early 2010, Martin noted that his intent for ''A Dance with Dragons'' was for the first 800 manuscript pages to cover the alternate characters in the same time span as ''A Feast for Crows'', and that "Everything that follows is post-''Feast'', so that's where some of the cast from the last book start popping up again." Stating that "I wanted to resolve at least a few of the cliffhangers from ''Feast''," Martin also mentioned the possibility that some of his finished chapters might get pushed to the next novel, ''The Winds of Winter,'' depending on the length of the finished manuscript for ''A Dance with Dragons''.

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===Road to publication=== Despite original, optimistic predictions of possible completion in late 2006, Martin completed the novel in April 2011, nearly five years later. During this period, Martin's blog featured sporadic updates on his progress, and in January 2008 he posted an update affirming his vigilant commitment to finishing the novel. In early 2008, publisher Spectra Books (a division of Random House) announced that ''A Dance with Dragons'' would be released on September 30, 2008, but Martin stated this would only be possible if he finished writing by the end of June, before his trip to Spain and Portugal; he did not meet his goal. On February 19, 2009, Martin posted on his website: "I am trying to finish the book by June. I think I can do that. If I do, ''A Dance with Dragons'' will likely be published in September or October." On June 22, 2009, the author expressed "guarded optimism" with respect to his progress on the novel, while still not confirming a publication date. When asked in a July 2009 interview with ''FREE! Magazine'' how the book was going, Martin stated, "It is going pretty well, actually. I am hoping to finish it by September or October; that is my goal." On October 6, 2009, Martin said that his working manuscript for ''A Dance With Dragons'' had just exceeded 1,100 pages of completed chapters, plus "considerably more in partials, fragments, and roughs." He noted that this made the upcoming novel longer than his earlier books ''A Game of Thrones'' and ''A Feast for Crows'', and nearly as long as ''A Clash of Kings''. On March 2, 2010, Martin remarked that he had reached 1,311 manuscript pages, making ''Dance'' the second-longest novel in the series at that point, behind only the 1,521-page manuscript of ''A Storm of Swords''. On July 8, 2010, Martin spoke at a conference and confirmed the current length of the book to be 1,400 manuscript pages. He expressed his disappointment that he was unable to completely finish the novel by the conference, although he would not speculate how soon the book would be completed after his return home on July 11. At the same conference, Martin also confirmed that he has written one Sansa, one Arya, and two Arianne chapters for the planned sixth novel, ''Winds of Winter'', and had transferred two Cersei chapters from that book into ''A Dance with Dragons''. On August 7, 2010, Martin confirmed that he had completed eight POVs, excluding the prologue and epilogue. At the New York Comic Con on October 10, 2010, Spectra senior editor Anne Groell announced that Martin had only five chapters remaining to finish, with sections of the chapters already completed. She stated her desire to have the manuscript completed by December. In a December 2010 interview with Bear Swarm, Martin stated that he almost had ''A Dance With Dragons'' completed. On March 3, 2011, the publisher announced that the novel, though at that point still not completed, would be officially published on July 12, 2011. Martin claimed this July 2011 publication date was different from the previous publication dates mentioned, in that this was "real", as opposed to earlier "wishful thinking, boundless optimism, cockeyed dreams, and honest mistakes". On March 12, he revealed that the unfinished manuscript had exceeded ''A Storm of Swords'' in length, making it the longest volume in the entire series. On March 27, he announced that the manuscript had exceeded 1,600 pages. On April 27, 2011, it was announced that Martin had completed ''A Dance with Dragons''. After incorporating requested changes made by his book editor and her staff copy-editors, suggested final draft notes from trusted friends, and his own final "sweat" (a line-by-line reread done to tighten and eliminate any unnecessary "fat" remaining in the manuscript), the final draft had been reduced to 1,510 pages; this made ''Dragons'' the second-longest novel, by a narrow margin, to volume three, ''A Storm of Swords''. The novel was now ready to meet its July 12, 2011 release date. On June 29, 2011, Amazon Germany had mistakenly released 180 copies of the novel early. Martin requested that those who held copies not spoil the book for fans who had to wait. Several ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' websites put an embargo in place on their forums with the same intent.

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==Editions== '''Foreign-language editions''' * Bulgarian: Бард: "Танц с Дракони" ("Dance with Dragons") * Catalan: Alfaguara: "Dansa amb dracs" ("Dance with Dragons") * Chinese (traditional): Three volumes, "與龍共舞" 上, 中 and 下 * Croatian: Two volumes, Algoritam: "Ples zmajeva" ("A Dance of Dragons") * Czech: Talpress: "Tanec s draky" ("A Dance with Dragons") * Danish: "En dans med drager" ("A Dance with Dragons") * Dutch: Two volumes, Luitingh-Sijthoff: "Oude vetes, Nieuwe strijd", "Zwaarden tegen draken" ("Old Feuds, New Battle", "Swords Against Dragons") * Estonian: Two volumes, hardcover : Varrak "Tants Lohedega" ("A Dance with Dragons") book 1 (09/23/2016) & book 2 (05/18/2017) * Finnish: Two volumes: "Lohikäärmetanssi" ("Dragondance") 1 and 2 * French: Three volumes, Pygmalion: "Le Bûcher d'un roi", "Les dragons de Meereen", "Une danse avec les dragons" ("The Stake/Pyre of a King", "The Dragons of Meereen", "A Dance with Dragons") * German: FanPro (2012): "Drachenreigen" ("Dragons' Round"). Two volumes, Blanvalet (2012): "Der Sohn des Greifen", "Ein Tanz mit Drachen" ("The Son of the Griffin", "A Dance with Dragons") * Greek: Two volumes, Anubis: "Το Κάλεσμα της Φλόγας", "Το Σπαθί στο Σκοτάδι" ("Call of the Flame", "The Sword in the Darkness") * Hebrew: "ריקוד עם דרקונים חלק א – חלומות ואבק, ריקוד עם דרקונים חלק ב – לאחר המשתה" ("Dance with Dragons Part I – Dreams and Dust, Dancing with Dragons Part II – After the Feast") * Hungarian: Alexandra Könyvkiadó: "Sárkányok tánca" ("Dance of Dragons") * Italian: Three volumes, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore (2011, 2012): "I guerrieri del ghiaccio", "I fuochi di Valyria", "La danza dei draghi" ("The Warriors of Ice", "The Fires of Valyria", "The Dance of Dragons") * Japanese: Hardcover : Three volumes, Hayakawa (2013): "竜との舞踏" ("Dance with Dragons") I, II and III, paperback : Hayakawa (2016), I, II and III * Latvian: "Deja ar Pūķiem" ("A Dance with Dragons") * Lithuanian: Two volumes: "Šokis su Drakonais: Sapnai ir Dulkės", "Šokis su Drakonais: Po Puotos" ("Dance with Dragons: Dreams and the Dust", "Dance with Dragons: After the Feast") * Norwegian: Two volumes, Vendetta: "Drømmer og støv", "Dragenes dans" ("Dreams and Dust", "Dance of the Dragons") * Polish: "Taniec ze smokami" ("A Dance with Dragons") * Brazilian Portuguese: Leya: "A Dança dos Dragões" ("The Dance of Dragons") * European Portuguese: Two volumes, Saída de Emergência: "A Dança dos Dragões", "Os Reinos do Caos" ("A Dance of Dragons", "The Kingdom of Chaos") * Romanian: Nemira: "Dansul dragonilor" ("The Dance of the Dragons") * Russian: AST: "Танец с драконами" ("Dance with Dragons") * Serbian: Two volumes, Лагуна: "Плес са змајевима Део први: Снови и прах", "Плес са змајевима Део други: После гозбе" ("A Dance with Dragons Part I: Dreams and Dust", "A Dance with Dragons Part II: After the Feast") * Slovenian: "Ples z zmaji" ("A Dance with Dragons") * Spanish: Ediciones Gigamesh: "Danza de dragones" ("Dance of Dragons") * Swedish: "Drakarnas dans" ("Dance of the Dragons") * Turkish: "Ejderhaların Dansı" ("Dance of Dragons") * Ukrainian: One volume, KM Publishing (2018): "Танок драконів" ("A Dance of Dragons") * Vietnamese: Three volumes: "Trò Chơi Vương Quyền 5A: Đánh thức Rồng Thiêng", "Trò Chơi Vương Quyền 5B: Trấn thủ thành Mereen", "Trò Chơi Vương Quyền 5C: Vũ điệu Rồng Thiêng". ("Game of Thrones 5A: Awake Dragon", "Game of Thrones 5B: Defense on Mereen", "Game of Thrones 5C: Dance of Dragons")

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===Critical response=== ''The Atlantic'' Rachael Brown found ''A Dance with Dragons'' "infinitely more satisfying than its predecessor, 2005's bleak and plodding ''A Feast for Crows''. The aspects of Martin's work that have endeared him to fans are abundant here – rich world building, narrative twists and turns, and gritty depictions of the human struggle for power. Characters who were sorely missed in ''Feast'' – Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister, and Jon Snow – make up more than a third of the novel, and Martin is wise enough to give us at least a chapter from (almost) everyone else. Weaknesses that have plagued Martin's previous books are also present: too much repetition, unexceptional prose, and characters who use the same idioms (and have sex in exactly the same manner) no matter their ethnicity, social class, or continent. But while ''A Dance with Dragons'' cries out for better editing, it remains entirely engrossing. Martin has hidden so many clues and red herrings throughout his previous volumes that it is a thrill to see certain pieces fall into place." Remy Verhoeve of ''The Huffington Post'' said, "''A Dance with Dragons'' is just a book, of course. It is not the Second Coming or anything. And I understand that the author must feel a lot of pressure concerning this one (he should). It's late and it has to repair some of the damage done by ''A Feast for Crows'', which frankly felt as if it was written by a ghost writer at times. Finally it is here, and some of the things we've been wondering about for more than a decade are actually revealed (not everything, but at least some things). It has the same structural problems as the previous book; it is sprawling and incoherent at times, but at least the characters are more interesting than in the previous installment. It does feel like I'm reading a bunch of separate stories within the same setting–the chapters are told through the eyes of various characters–but that doesn't really bother me as I love the setting and like to see it through various points of view. Theories that have been bandied about online for the last ten years mostly come true in this book, so in that respect the novel isn't shocking but neither is it disappointing. Martin also manages to put in a few twists, but ends the book much like he did the previous one with cliffhangers instead of wrapping things up a little better so the next long wait won't hurt so much." David Orr of ''The New York Times'' said, "''A Dance With Dragons'' comes in at roughly 9,574,622,012 pages, and smart money says the final two books in the series will make this one look like 'The Old Man and the Sea'. Such length isn't necessary, and it hurts Martin's prose and his plot mechanics. Tyrion 'waddles' at least 12 times here, and even if we suppose the unflattering word reflects Tyrion's contempt for his own awkward gait, it seems unlikely he would indulge this contempt when he's, say, fighting for his life. Similarly, when your novel's terrain stretches across hundreds of miles and your world lacks jet propulsion, as an author you face some basic problems of transportation that can result in conveyance via Rube Goldberg." ''Time'' James Poniewozik found a possible "weakness to the early Meereen sections by marking time (and making Dany uncharacteristically indecisive) to allow time for all the pieces to fall into place" and said, "All this makes for a thousand-page book that feels half as long, that moves dextrously, answers key questions and gobsmacks you with convincing feints and change-ups. As in ''AFFC'', there are sections that feel like they could have used an editor. In some chapters you suddenly find yourself in a strange land with a character you have little attachment to, wondering where this thread is going, as if you had stayed too long at a party after the friends you came with have left. ''The Washington Post'' Bill Sheehan said, "Filled with vividly rendered set pieces, unexpected turnings, assorted cliffhangers and moments of appalling cruelty, ''A Dance With Dragons'' is epic fantasy as it should be written: passionate, compelling, convincingly detailed and thoroughly imagined. Despite a number of overtly fantastic elements (dragons, seers, shape shifters and sorcerers), the book — and the series as a whole — feels grounded in the brutal reality of medieval times and has more in common with the Wars of the Roses than it does with ''The Lord of the Rings''. The result is a complex summer blockbuster with brains and heart, a book with rare — and potentially enormous — appeal. Megan Wasson of ''The Christian Science Monitor'' said, "''A Dance with Dragons'' may well be one of the best books in the five-book series so far. Martin's prose is concise but pithy, begging to be devoured over and over again. All the fans' favorite characters make an appearance, unlike in the last book. But what truly sets this book above some of the others in the series is Martin's ability to keep his readers on their toes and the edges of their seats. No character, no matter how likeable and seemingly important, is ever safe from Martin's pen (remember Ned Stark?), and on the other hand, no one can ever be truly pronounced dead. What you thought was going to happen after reading Books No. 1, 2, and even 3 and 4, now clearly will not happen, and that's where Martin's strength lies."

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===Awards=== In April 2012, ''A Dance with Dragons'' was nominated for the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novel. In May 2012, it was nominated for the 2012 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and won it in June 2012. In August 2012, the novel was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

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==External links== * of author George R. R. Martin

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"'''Lord Snow'''" is the third episode of the first season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones''. It first aired on May 1, 2011. It was written by the show creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by series regular Brian Kirk, his directorial debut for the series. The plot follows Jon Snow's training at The Wall; Eddard's arrival at King's Landing, followed by Catelyn, looking for Bran's would-be murderer; Arya reveals her desire to learn sword fighting to her father; Joffrey is given a lesson in ruling the Kingdom by Cersei, and Robert longs for the glory of his past. Meanwhile, Daenerys learns she is pregnant. The episode was the first to feature Old Nan, played by Margaret John, who died before the series was broadcast; the episode is dedicated to her memory in the final credit. The title of the episode is the demeaning nickname given to Jon Snow by Ser Alliser Thorne, the sadistic trainer of Night's Watch recruits, referring to the fact that he's highborn, yet ended up at the Wall. Critical reception was generally positive, with critics praising Maisie Williams for her portrayal of Arya Stark, and her sword lesson scenes, as well as the introduction of the Small Council, and further character development for the series. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 2.4 million in its initial broadcast.

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===In the Dothraki Sea=== Daenerys gains confidence and earns the respect of Ser Jorah Mormont. After assaulting her, Viserys is nearly killed by one of Danerys's bloodriders. Irri notices that Daenerys is pregnant and Jorah, upon being told, departs for Qohor for supplies. Later, Daenerys reveals to Drogo that their child is a boy.

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===In Winterfell=== With Bran now awake, Robb tells him that he will never walk again. Bran, saying he is unable to remember anything about his fall, wishes he was dead.

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===At the Wall=== Jon easily beats his fellow recruits in combat. Master-at-arms Ser Alliser berates them all for their poor performance, even Jon, nicknaming him "Lord Snow" to mock his bastard heritage. Jon asks Benjen to take him north of the Wall, but he tells Jon that he must earn it. Jon makes amends by giving his fellow recruits proper sword training. Tyrion is asked to provide more men from Cersei and Jaime for the outnumbered Night's Watch. Though skeptical, Tyrion agrees to do so; he departs the Wall and says goodbye to Jon, who finally accepts Tyrion as a friend.

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===In King's Landing=== On his way to a meeting of the king's Small Council, Ned encounters Jaime Lannister. It is revealed that Jaime killed the Mad King Aerys Targaryen, father of Daenerys and Viserys. Ned remains dissatisfied that Jaime broke his oath as knight of the Kingsguard. Ned joins the Small Council, consisting of Robert's brother Lord Renly, Lord Varys, Grand Maester Pycelle, and Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish. Renly announces Robert's plans for a great tourney in honor of Ned's appointment as the Hand of the King. Ned learns that the crown is heavily indebted. Upon arriving in King's Landing, Catelyn is taken to a brothel owned by Littlefinger who, along with Varys and Ser Rodrik, discuss the attempt on Bran's life. Littlefinger admits that the assassin's dagger was once his but he lost it to Tyrion. Ned agrees to ally with Littlefinger to find who is responsible for Bran's attempted murder. Ned returns to his keep to find Sansa and Arya arguing, with Arya angry at Sansa for lying for Joffrey. Ned reminds her that Sansa and Joffrey will be married one day. Learning that Arya aspires to be a swordsman and has a sword of her own, Ned hires Syrio Forel to teach her the art of swordsmanship.

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===Writing=== The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. "Lord Snow" was written by the show creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based on A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, including chapters 18-22, 24 and 37. (Catelyn IV, Jon III, Eddard IV, Tyrion III, Arya II, Bran IV and Daenerys IV).

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===Casting=== The third episode introduces a number of new characters to the story, due to the expansion of the story to the new locales of King's Landing and the Wall. In the capital city the members of the council are presented. Series regular Aidan Gillen, known for his roles in ''Queer as Folk'' and ''The Wire'' takes the role of Lord Petyr Baelish, the king's master of coin known as "Littlefinger." Gethin Anthony plays the king's youngest brother Renly Baratheon, and veteran actor Julian Glover, well known to science fiction and fantasy fans after appearing in films such as ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'', was cast as Grand Maester Pycelle after actor Roy Dotrice had to be replaced for medical reasons. Author George R. R. Martin wrote on the casting of Conleth Hill as spymaster Varys: "Hill, like Varys, is quite a chameleon, an actor who truly disappears inside the characters he portrays, more than capable not only of bringing the slimy, simpering eunuch to life." Ian McElhinney plays Ser Barristan Selmy, the commander of the Kingsguard, and Miltos Yorelemou appears as the fencing instructor Syrio Forel. McElhinney had previously played Gillen's father in ''Queer as Folk''. The hierarchy of the Wall is introduced with James Cosmo as commander Jeor Mormont, Peter Vaughan as the blind maester Aemon, Owen Teale as the trainer of the new recruits Ser Alliser Thorne, and Francis Magee as the recruiter Yoren. This episode also marks the first appearance of the Welsh actress Margaret John as Old Nan. 84-year-old Margaret John died on 2 February 2011, a few months after having finished recording her scenes in ''Game of Thrones'', which was her last role on television. Executive producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss issued a statement grieving her death. The episode "Lord Snow" is dedicated to her, with the last credit being "In the memory of Margaret John." The Mdina Gate doubles as the gate of the Red Keep.

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===Filming locations=== To film the scenes at the Wall the production built a set on the abandoned quarry of Magheramorne, a few minutes north of Belfast. The composite set (with both exteriors and interiors) consisted of a large section of Castle Black including the courtyard, the ravenry, the mess hall and the barracks, and used the stone wall of the quarry as the basis for the ice wall that protects Westeros from the dangers that dwell beyond. They also made a real elevator to lift the rangers to the top of the Wall. For the streets of King's Landing, the production flew to Malta. The gate of Fort Ricasoli doubled as the King's Gate, shown at the beginning of the episode when the royal entourage enters the city. The entrance of the Red Keep used when Catelyn and Rodrik enter the fortification corresponds to Mdina Gate, and also in Mdina the Pjazza Mesquita is the location for the entrance to the brothel owned by Lord Baelish. Ron Donachie, the actor playing Ser Rodrik Cassel, said that the scene where he entered King's Landing was his favourite moment. Visiting a museum in the Maltese capital of Valletta, Donachie had seen a painting of armed knights riding through that Gate of Mdina itself and found exciting that to be able to do the same thing, "especially in Rodrik’s full-scale Stark battle regalia".

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===Other=== On the scene where Old Nan offers to tell Bran stories, she claims that his favorites are the ones about Ser Duncan the Tall. The tales of Duncan and his squire Egg are a series of novellas written by author George R. R. Martin, taking place about a hundred years before the events of ''Game of Thrones''.

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===Ratings=== "Lord Snow"'s first airing was seen by 2.4 million viewers, which represented a 10% increase in the ratings from the two previous episodes. Combined with the second airing it reached 3.1 million viewers, which were considered good results especially considering that the news of Osama Bin Laden's death broke during the West Coast airing of the episode. In the UK, the viewership figures were in line with those obtained on the previous week, with around 510,000 viewers. Those figures are in the top end for the network, Sky Atlantic.

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===Critical response=== While the majority of the critics gave "Lord Snow" a positive review, many suggested that it suffered from having to introduce many new characters and locations. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 10 reviews of the episode and judged 80% of them to be positive with an average score of 8.75 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "'Lord Snow' is an intriguing and heavy transitional episode with standout performances from Bean and Gillen, though it would be better served with more focus on character change and development." Myles McNutt wrote at Cultural Learnings that it was "perhaps the most narratively uninteresting episode of the first six," although he highlighted that it was "hardly a bad episode of television, filled as it is with satisfying sequences that capture many themes key to the series," and added that many issues introduced in this episode had a payoff in future installments. ''Entertainment Weekly'' James Hibberd also thought that it was his least favorite episode of the first six, due to too much character development. However, Alan Sepinwall from HitFix, liked the "more rambling quality of 'Lord Snow,' and while admitting it is heavy on exposition he felt it worked "because the stories are being told with such passion." IGN's Matt Fowler wrote that "Lord Snow" was "dense and filled with tons of exposition and backstory, which may or may not have interested those new to this story - but I found myself hanging on every precious word." Alan Sepinwall wrote a positive review of the episode for HitFix, saying "Arya's fencing lesson is a wonderful scene, carried by the joy of Maisie Williams' performance and the playful, Inigo Montoya-ish quality of her new teacher Syrio, but it's also such a small, simple thing that you wouldn't ordinarily expect it to be the note that an episode of dramatic television goes out on" and continued "I liked the looser, more rambling quality of "Lord Snow," an episode largely about transitions, fish out of water, and old ghosts. Some of the scenes were highly praised by reviewers. The closing scene with Arya taking her first lesson from the Braavosi Syrio Forel was highlighted. Maureen Ryan from AOL TV stated that it was her favorite scene of the series so far, and James Hibberd remarked upon the quality of all the child actors of the show and stated that Maisie Williams owned her role in this episode. Other scenes that were noted by the critics were the father-daughter dialogue with Eddard Stark and Arya, King Robert remembering with the members of his Kingsguard their first killings, and Eddard attending his first session of the Small Council.

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"'''Book of the Stranger'''" is the fourth episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 54th overall. The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Daniel Sackheim. Sansa Stark arrives at the Wall and reunites with Jon Snow, and later receives a message from Ramsay Bolton challenging Jon to come take back Winterfell and rescue Rickon Stark; Margaery Tyrell is reunited with her brother, Loras; Cersei and Jaime Lannister plot with their uncle Kevan and Olenna Tyrell to have them released; and Daenerys Targaryen faces the khals. "Book of the Stranger" received widespread acclaim from critics, who noted the reunion of Jon Snow and Sansa Stark, and Daenerys Targaryen taking charge of all the khalasars as high points of the episode, one calling them "huge, forward moving story elements that harkened back to season 1." Filming of the episode's closing scene was shot at two different locations. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 7.82 million in its initial broadcast. The episode was Emilia Clarke's selection for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards to support her nomination. This episode marks the final appearance for Natalia Tena (Osha).

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===At the Wall=== Jon, having just resigned from the Night's Watch, states his desires to head south, as he is disillusioned by the betrayal of his fellow Night's Watchmen and tired of all of the endless fighting. Edd is unhappy with Jon's decision after seeing what had happened at Hardhome. They are interrupted by the lookout's horn as Sansa, Brienne, and Podrick arrive at Castle Black and Sansa is reunited with Jon. After telling each other their stories, Sansa tries to convince Jon to help her retake Winterfell. However, Jon is still reluctant to fight. Frustrated, Sansa declares to Jon that she will take back Winterfell whether he helps her or not. Meanwhile, Brienne confronts Davos and Melisandre, and informs them that she killed Stannis after he admitted to using dark magic to assassinate Renly Baratheon. She warns Davos and Melisandre that even though that was in the past, she does not forget or forgive. Some time later, a letter from Ramsay to Jon arrives. Ramsay boasts that he has Rickon in his custody and demands Sansa's return, threatening to have the Bolton army exterminate the wildlings, kill Rickon and gang-rape Sansa while forcing Jon to watch before they kill him. Angered, Sansa decides to fight to take back Winterfell from the Boltons, and Jon agrees. When Tormund warns him that the wildlings don't have the numbers to battle Ramsay's army, Sansa points out that Jon can use his status as the son of Eddard Stark to unite the various Northern houses and defeat Ramsay.

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===At Runestone=== Littlefinger arrives at Runestone in the Vale. When Lord Yohn Royce asks how Sansa became married to Ramsay instead of travelling to the Fingers, Littlefinger claims Roose Bolton's men attacked them and kidnapped her on the way. When Royce is dubious, Littlefinger adds that he was the only person who knew of their destination, implying his guilt. He manipulates Robin Arryn into considering executing Royce, then into giving him a second chance after he pledges his absolute loyalty. Littlefinger then tells Robin that Sansa, his cousin, has escaped the Boltons and is taking refuge at Castle Black, but that she is still not safe. Robin agrees to command Royce to lead the knights of the Vale to protect her.

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===In Meereen=== Despite Grey Worm and Missandei's objections, Tyrion arranges a diplomatic meeting with the masters of Astapor, Yunkai and Volantis. He proposes a deal allowing the cities seven years to transition away from slavery, while compensating the masters for any losses. In return, the masters will cease their support of the Sons of the Harpy. As the masters deliberate, Tyrion is confronted by the former slaves of Meereen, who oppose any kind of negotiation with the masters. Grey Worm and Missandei reluctantly support Tyrion, but in private they warn him that the masters, with whom they are both familiar, will use him if he tries to use them.

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===In King's Landing=== Margaery is brought to meet the High Sparrow, who warns her to stay away from her life of riches and sin, and recounts his past of how, as a proud cobbler, he learned his wealth-guided pursuits were lies and that the shoeless poor were closer to the truth than anyone. He then takes Margaery to see Loras, who is breaking under the Sparrows' torture and is willing to do anything to make it stop. Margaery realises that the High Sparrow is trying to use Loras to break her, and tells him to remain strong. Cersei meets with Tommen, who brings up the High Sparrow. Tommen is reluctant to provoke him, but Cersei says he is dangerous because he has no respect for the Crown. Tommen tells Cersei that Margaery's walk of atonement will happen soon. Cersei relays the information to Kevan and Olenna in the Small Council chamber. Olenna is horrified and pledges her army to defeat the Sparrows. Kevan is bound by an order from Tommen to not attack the Sparrows but is reasoned to by Cersei, that there is also no order to defend the Sparrows from Olenna's army and that he can have his son Lancel back once the Sparrows are defeated. Assuring him that Tommen will forgive Kevan when he has Margaery back.

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===At Pyke=== Theon returns to the Iron Islands and reunites with Yara. Yara has not forgiven Theon for not coming with her after her costly assault on the Dreadfort, and accuses Theon of returning to the Iron Islands to take advantage of Balon's death to seize the throne. Theon insists he only heard the news after landing and promises that he will instead support Yara's claim at the Kingsmoot.

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===In Winterfell=== Osha is brought before Ramsay, who asks her why she was helping Rickon. Osha claims that she intended to betray Rickon and attempts to seduce Ramsay while reaching for a nearby knife. However, Ramsay tells her that he is aware Osha used a similar ruse to escape Theon. Realizing this, she tries to stab him, but he quickly stabs her in the neck with another knife, killing her.

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===In Vaes Dothrak=== Jorah and Daario arrive at Vaes Dothrak and hide their weapons, as they are forbidden in the city. In the process, Jorah accidentally reveals his greyscale infection to Daario. They infiltrate the city and are forced to kill two of Khal Moro's bloodriders when discovered. At the Temple of the Dosh Khaleen, Daenerys befriends one of the younger Dosh Khaleen, and when they go outside, they encounter Jorah and Daario. The two men want to try to sneak Daenerys out of Vaes Dothrak, but Daenerys knows that is impossible due to the 100,000 Dothraki present in the city. Instead, she tells them she has a different plan. Later that night, Daenerys stands before the gathered khals in the temple to hear her fate. There, she recalls her pregnancy ritual in this temple and her husband's vow to conquer Westeros. She accuses the khals of being unsuited to leading the Dothraki due to their lack of ambition, and says she will lead them. When Khal Moro and the other khals threaten to gang-rape her, she tells them they will die instead. She tips two braziers onto the straw floor, quickly setting the entire temple on fire and killing the khals, who have been barred inside by the younger Dosh Khaleen. A Dothraki crowd of thousands witnesses Daenerys emerge from the burning temple, naked but unburned. Amazed, they, along with Jorah and Daario, bow down to her.

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===Writing=== Series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss wrote the episode "Book of the Stranger" was written by the series' creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Some material in this episode is taken from the Jon XIII chapter in ''A Dance With Dragons''. Some elements in the episode are also based on the sixth novel in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series, ''The Winds of Winter'', which author George R. R. Martin had hoped to have completed before the sixth season began airing.

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===Filming=== Actress Emilia Clarke portrays Daenerys Targaryen in the series "Book of the Stranger" was directed by Daniel Sackheim. He joined the series as a director in the sixth season. He also directed the previous episode, "Oathbreaker". In an interview Sackheim commented on the Jon and Sansa reunion stating "Sometimes as a director, you're just looking at what's in front of you, and not taking into account the bigger picture and the epic nature of two siblings who have been separated for six seasons — and have never had scenes together, and were both really looking forward to it — reuniting. The only note I gave them during the scene was, "Hold yourself back. As much as it's joyous to see each other, you're equally as scared. You don't know what to expect." The operative word was fear. Fear of the unknown. In a way, it added to the emotional resonance of the scene." For the final scene with Daenerys Targaryen emerging from the great fire of the Temple of the Dosh Khaleen, the filming took place in two different locations, with the close ups of Emilia Clarke taking place on a closed set in Belfast, and the large-scale set shots taking place in Spain. In an interview, Clarke had previously indicated she had become reluctant to do nude scenes unless it served the plot. After the episode aired, Clarke made a point to indicate that it was not a body double in the final scene of the episode, stating, "I'd like to remind people the last time I took my clothes off was season 3. That was awhile ago. It's now season 6. But this is all me, all proud, all strong. I'm just feeling genuinely happy I said 'Yes.' That ain't no body double!" She continued, "Taking off my clothes is not the easiest thing, but with the magic of the effects, I don't have to do a season 1 and go on a cliff and do it, I'm in control of it." Series co-creator and executive producer Weiss praised Clarke's portrayal in the scene saying "Emilia absolutely crushed it. It's one of those weird scenes because it was half shot in Spain, half in Belfast. But largely due to her performance, it works brilliantly." Sackheim, the director of the episode, noted in an interview, "With the interior, there was only one way for her to play it, which is, bemused. She's the keeper of the secret. She knows how to extricate herself from this. I thought the ease with which she delivered the lines was necessary for the audience to feel jeopardy for her and for them to think she was crazy. The sequence outside was all about claiming the throne — or reclaiming the throne." Sackheim also stated, "We wanted to clearly distinguish everything we've seen from the end of the last season and the beginning of this one."

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=== Ratings === "Book of the Stranger" was viewed by 7.82 million American households on its initial viewing on HBO, which was slightly more than the previous week's rating of 7.28 million viewers for the episode "Oathbreaker". The episode also acquired a 3.9 rating in the 18–49 demographic, making it the highest rated show on cable television of the night. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 2.775 million viewers on Sky Atlantic; it also received 0.116 million timeshift viewers.

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===Critical reception=== "Book of the Stranger" received universal praise from critics, with many citing the reunion of Jon Snow and Sansa Stark, the final scene involving Daenerys Targaryen killing the leaders of the khalasar, and the forward moving storytelling as strong points for the episode. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the episode has an approval rating of 100% based on 63 reviews, with an average rating of 8.79/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Book of the Stranger"'s warm reunions, new alliances, and exquisitely fiery finale is ''Game of Thrones'' at its best." It is the highest-rated ''Game of Thrones'' episode on the website. In a review for IGN, Matt Fowler wrote of the episode, ""Book of the Stranger" handed us two very lovely, satisfying moments with the Stark/Snow reunion at Castle Black (and the subsequent vow to defeat Ramsay and rescue Rickon) and Daenerys's conquering of Vaes Dothrak. Both were huge, forward-moving story elements that harkened back to Season 1 and gave viewers something to root for and grab onto as the show itself heads into its final arcs." Fowler also noted, "As a reader of the books with no more books to read, Season 6 has been a very interesting experience," giving the episode a 9.2 out of 10. Jeremy Egner of ''The New York Times'' also praised the scenes at Castle Black and in Vaes Dothrak, writing "''Game of Thrones'' lived up to its billing as ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' on Sunday, as there was plenty of action in both of the signature halves of the story." Brandon Nowalk of ''The A.V. Club'' wrote, "Now that is how you set the table. "Book Of The Stranger" doesn't just check off plot points. In fact, there aren't a lot of plot points to check off. It's an episode of introductions, reunions, and wall-to-wall scheming," giving the episode an A. Eliana Dockterman of ''Time'' wrote about the strong female storylines in the episode, stating "The creators of ''Game of Thrones'' have been touting the sixth season of the show as the year when women finally wreak vengeance. The fourth episode, "Book of the Stranger," suggests that they will hold true to their word."

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