[King's Landing — Locations]
Later, Jon learns his true lineage from Samwell Tarly , revealing Daenerys is his aunt. A dragonrider whose dragon was Rhaegal , he fights in the Battle of Winterfell , during which the Night King is defeated and the return of the Long Night is prevented. Afterwards, Jon aids Daenerys in her resumed campaign to take the Iron Throne and participates in the Battle of King's Landing . However, when Daenerys lays waste to a surrendered King's Landing , Jon tries but is unable to dissuade her from more destruction and assassinates her to prevent further carnage.
Robert ultimately killed Rhaegar at the Battle of the Trident , effectively ensuring their victory in the war. After the Sack of King's Landing , Ned continued south in search of his sister and ultimately found her at the Tower of Joy in the Red Mountains at the border of Dorne. Ned and his companions engaged in a final fierce melee with the remaining Kingsguard, which resulted in the deaths of all combatants save Ned himself and Howland Reed .
After defeating the last of the Kingsguard, Ned rushed into the tower to save his sister - only to find Lyanna dying from childbirth, having just given birth to Rhaegar's own son. Desperate to protect the life of her newborn child, a fading Lyanna pleaded with Ned to promise her that he would keep her son safe, and his true heritage hidden from Robert as he had been Rhaegar's most bitter enemy. Furthermore, the boy's existence was a potential threat to Robert's claim to the Iron Throne after the deaths of Rhaegar's other children, Rhaenys and Aegon , by his wife Elia Martell , who also perished, during the Sack of King's Landing. In accordance with her last wish, Ned resolved to pass Lyanna's son off as his own bastard and raise him in his home castle - a great blow to his honor as he knew that his decision would shame both himself and his wife, Catelyn Tully .
News of Eddard's execution reach Castle Black. Jon immediately leaves, meaning to join Robb and seek vengeance for his father's death. Samwell, Pypar, and Grenn intercept him and convince him to stay. Mormont tells Jon their war against the White Walkers is more important than the game of thrones in King's Landing. He tells Jon that the Watch is marching beyond the Wall in force, to find Benjen and learn the truth about the threat. Jon swears to him not to attempt to desert again and accompanies the troops as they set out.
While making the plans for attacking King's Landing, Daenerys wants to take the Red Keep, while Tyrion and Jon vouch for a siege in hopes this will reduce casualties. Sansa opts for letting their forces rest before charging into another battle. Jon, however, assures the queen that they will obey her command. Afterward, Sansa and Arya state that they do not trust her. When Jon defends Daenerys and says that they only have to get to know her, Sansa and Arya reply they never will as she is not one of them. Jon says he has never been a Stark, but they both insist he is. Pained, Jon looks at Bran, who says that it's his choice to tell them. Jon makes them both swear to never tell anyone the secret he is about to reveal to them. After they do, then at a loss for words, Jon tells Bran to reveal the truth of his parentage to them.
Jon marches to King's Landing along the Kingsroad with the surviving Stark, Arryn, and Dothraki forces unopposed while the Unsullied reach the capital ahead of them. Hopes for a peaceful surrender, however, are quickly extinguished with Missandei's execution. Later, Jon separates from his forces after crossing the Trident and heads back to Dragonstone. Varys informs him about Daenerys's unstable state of mind and is requested by him to take the Iron Throne, but he refuses.
During the Battle of King's Landing , the Golden Company is caught off-guard by Drogon and as a result, is decimated by the charging Northern and Targaryen forces. The Lannister forces and people of King's Landing surrender. However, Daenerys and Drogon burn the streets filled with people as both the Targaryen and Northern forces start slaughtering the surrendered Lannister forces and civilians alike, as Jon tries in vain to hold them back. As a result, the Lannister forces clash again and Jon is forced to fight to deflect their attacks. He is horrified by the carnage that occurs despite his calls to stop it, and kills one of his soldiers trying to rape a woman. When the wildfire caches stored below the city years ago by Aerys start erupting due to Drogon's dragonfire, Jon orders his forces to evacuate.
At the Red Keep, Jon witnesses Daenerys giving a speech to her victorious forces, in which she declares she "liberated" the people of King's Landing and will "liberate" the world. Tyrion disavows his loyalty and being arrested for releasing Jaime. He then reunites with an injured Arya. Surprised, he asks why she was in King's Landing, to which Arya responds that she came to kill Cersei, but Daenerys got there first. She warns Jon that he will always be a danger to her because of his parentage and Sansa will never bend the knee to her.
Unbeknownst to Jon, his half-brother Aegon Targaryen , the son of Rhaegar and Elia Martell, is alive, as revealed in the fifth novel (Varys switched him with another baby, whom the Mountain killed during the Sack of King's Landing ); he has recently arrived at Westeros with his guardian Jon Connington and nearly half of the Golden Company , to claim his birthright. Since the marriage of Rhaegar and Elia has never been annulled (it is an invention of the TV show), Aegon has a stronger claim than Daenerys for the Iron Throne, but it is unclear whether he is ahead of Jon too, since it has not been revealed yet in the books whether Rhaegar married Lyanna or not.
Daenerys was conceived during Robert's Rebellion . To escape Robert Baratheon 's wrath after the Sack of King's Landing , in which Daenerys's father, niece , and nephew were killed, the pregnant Queen Rhaella and young Prince Viserys were sent to the island-castle of Dragonstone , where the queen gave birth to Daenerys. On that night, a severe summer storm raged, giving Daenerys the epithet "Stormborn." Her mother died shortly thereafter, leaving Daenerys and her brother orphans.
Daenerys arrives at the House of the Undying and is magically separated from Jorah and Kovarro. She finds herself in an empty circular room with many doors. She chooses one and opens it. She is presented with tempting visions. First the snowy, ruined throne room of King's Landing where she turns away from the Iron Throne. She then walks through the gates of the Wall surrounded by more snow, and into Drogo's tent. She finds Drogo and what would have been her infant son Rhaego. They talk about whose dream they are in, and Daenerys silently leaves after touching Rhaego's hair. She returns to the room with many doors and finds her dragons chained to a pedestal in front of her. Pyat Pree appears and explains that she and her brood are the sources of his restored magic. Daenerys is also chained by Pyat's magic. However, the young queen is unconcerned and simply regards Pree with a cool, almost lazy gaze. She calmly utters a single word: "Dracarys"; after a couple of tries, all three dragons unleash their fiery breath, and Pyat Pree is incinerated.
As a meeting with her advisers and commanders of her forces is held in the highest quarters of the Great Pyramid, she is informed that the Second Sons had taken the Meereenese navy, composed of 93 ships. Although she did not command Daario to take them, she asks if it is enough to take her army to King's Landing. Jorah remarks that even though she might be able to take King's Landing, she wouldn't be able to hold all the Seven Kingdoms. He also tells her that in Yunkai, the Wise Masters re-established slavery and took control of the city, swearing to take revenge against Daenerys. In Astapor, the council she has left behind to rule has been overthrown by a butcher named Cleon , who named himself "His Imperial Majesty." Daenerys commands everyone except Ser Jorah to leave her, and she questions her ability to rule the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros if she can't even pacify the three cities of Slaver's Bay. Thus she decides to stay in Meereen to gather more knowledge and experience, doing what queens do - rule.
Daenerys later stops an argument between Ellaria Sand and Tyrion over the assassination of Myrcella Baratheon , to which Daenerys replies Ellaria must respect her Hand. She also agrees with Tyrion over Yara's idea to attack King's Landing immediately, and that the Unsullied should attack Casterly Rock while the Westerosi armies lay siege to the capital. When everyone has left the chamber, she requests an audience alone with Olenna Tyrell . Daenerys then tells her that she knows Olenna is on her side due to their mutual hatred for Cersei, rather than a love for Daenerys herself. In response, Olenna encourages Daenerys to be a dragon, rather than a "sheep", like the other high lords and ladies.
Sometime later, Daenerys discusses Drogo, Jorah, Daario and Jon Snow with Tyrion. A concerned Daenerys says that they're heroes who all do stupid, brave things and die. Tyrion notes that all the men she's named have all fallen in love with her. Daenerys dismisses this about Jon, claiming that he is "too little" for her, but Tyrion thinks Jon has feelings for her. When Daenerys clarifies she knows Tyrion is brave, that's why she chose him as her Hand, they discuss Cersei and how to take King's Landing. Explaining fear is all Cersei has, Tyrion tells Daenerys that it made the Lannisters' power brittle. When Daenerys says Aegon got a long way with fear, Tyrion tells Daenerys she needs to be different from who came before her if she wishes to break the wheel. The negotiations with Cersei will be difficult and Tyrion cautions Daenerys that his sister will likely try to provoke her. He lightly admonishes her for losing her temper and burning Randyll and Dickon, but Daenerys says it was necessary. Tyrion believes Daenerys acted too hastily instead of exploring other options and giving the Tarlys time to think. He wants Daenerys to defeat her enemies, as he believes in the world she wants to build. The subject turns to her succession and he notes she told him she can't have children. Daenerys wants to set this discussion aside until after she wins the throne, and leaves.
Tyrion consults with Daenerys, the latter of whom is now ordering Grey Worm and the Unsullied to sack King's Landing. Tyrion is strongly against it, saying that the citizens of the city are not Daenerys's enemy and are innocent. Daenerys counters that the slaves in Meereen turned against their masters and liberated themselves. Tyrion responds that the smallfolk are afraid of Cersei because Cersei will punish any rebellious acts. Daenerys says they are hostages in a tyrant's grip, and Tyrion begs her not to burn the city, or thousands of children will die. Daenerys counters that Cersei is using mercy as a weakness against them but Cersei is wrong, mercy is their strength - her mercy for the future generations of Westeros, not those in the present. In a last-ditch effort to get through to Daenerys, Tyrion bargains one last time: wait for the city to surrender and call off the attack when the people ring the city's bells, indicating the full, unconditional surrender of Cersei and her army. Reluctantly, Daenerys agrees. Before Tyrion leaves, she informs her Hand that Jaime was caught by her men trying to get past their lines. She warns him that the next time he fails her, it will be his very last.
Daenerys attacks Euron's Iron Fleet atop Drogon as the Battle of King's Landing begins, sinking the fleet and destroying the scorpions. Daenerys then attacks the scorpions stationed across the walls of King's Landing, destroying them all, preventing the Lannister soldiers from targeting Drogon.
Daenerys destroys the gate and its walls that the Golden Company guards, killing many of the sellswords from the debris that falls upon them. This allows the Dothraki, Unsullied, the Northern and the Vale armies to destroy the remaining sellsword contingent and charge into the city. Overwhelmed, the Lannister soldiers and civilians surrender, ringing the city's bells. However, Daenerys, consumed by grief and anger, instead goes on a rampage, using Drogon to burn King's Landing. The dragonfire also sets off the wildfire caches placed around the city by her father, the Mad King, years ago , leaving the city in ashes. At the same time, her armies, taking their lead from Daenerys, proceed to run riot through the city, killing any Lannister soldiers and civilians they can get their hands on.
Daenerys later stands over the carnage and ashes of King's Landing, as she is cheered on by the Dothraki and guarded by the Unsullied. She delivers a speech to her victorious armies, proclaiming that they gave her the Seven Kingdoms and "liberated" the people of King's Landing but declares their war is not over. She will continue to "liberate" the rest of the world as they did for King's Landing, and will "break the wheel" to free it from those whom she perceives as tyrants. Tyrion approaches Daenerys, who confronts him about freeing his brother. She becomes angry after he retorts that she slaughtered a city, and tosses away his Hand of the Queen pin. In return, Daenerys has him arrested. Jon visits an imprisoned Tyrion, who tries to convince a conflicted Jon on what Daenerys has become. He understands Jon loves her, he loves her too, and knows he is asking Jon to do a terrible thing, but it is also the right thing. Tyrion then stresses that Daenerys is now the greatest threat to the people.
After losing Rhaegal in her first battle against the Iron Fleet, Daenerys became enraged and would have incinerated the fleet then-and-there, but realized that a head-on attack would be putting her remaining dragon, Drogon , in great danger. In her next encounter with the Iron Fleet, she had the insight to change her approach, managing to destroy the fleet with apparently little effort and ensure Drogon's survival. She also managed to skillfully eliminate all the scorpions perched on the battlements of King's Landing and secure the surrender of its inhabitants with what seemed like a minimal death toll.
During the Battle of King's Landing , Daenerys finally snapped - burning the inhabitants alive even though the city had surrendered to her - and by all appearances seemed to have gone mad. However, this may not have been the actual "Targaryen madness" that prompted her father to attempt a similar action: It is equally possible that her actions were motivated or even triggered by the extreme anger and grief over her recent losses, most of which were caused in some way by the Lannisters. Also, it should be noted that the Targaryen Madness, historically, does not always equate to "insanity" as we might understand it. In fact, of all the Targaryens who ruled as kings, the only one who could truly be called "insane" in the contemporary sense was Aerys II; Daenerys's father heard voices in his head and lost all touch with reality. Daenerys displayed no such symptoms, and after her destructive rampage, she seemed perfectly lucid when speaking to Jon in the ruins of the Red Keep. Madness takes many forms, including true psychopathy, which seems to have emerged in Daenerys. Though her actions may be justifiable, that does not make them right, or proof of a sound mind. Her ancestor Maegor , it could be argued, was justified in taking a similarly harsh hand in dealing with the rebellious Faith Militant, but his cruelty was objectively excessive and, as his successor, Jaehaerys I , proved, not the only solution to the problem.
Daenerys arrives in Winterfell at the beginning of Season 8 wearing a very similar gown to that where she rescued Jon, however this time it has a red base instead of grey, which ultimately mixes Targaryen and Northern styles, and a split in the skirt, which suits for riding a horse. Also, at one point she has one-sided shoulder fur, which was mainly added because of Daenerys wanting the Northerner's acceptance but was also incorporated as Daenerys was trying to match Jon's silhouette. However, since it is only draped on one shoulder, she is only partly matching his silhouette, therefore, it is possible that the costumes are hinting Daenerys and Jon have a visual harmony that only works from one angle. Also, the juxtaposition between Jon's dark costume and Daenerys' light costume alludes to both their differences. Throughout the season, her costumes vary by how she feels. For example, whenever she feels alienated or threatened, she reasserts her authority by wearing more of her House colors or the strong-shoulders. Eventually, during the Battle of King's Landing, she wears a bluish, scale-embossed dress with a visible dragon chain, which was (arguably) purposefully hidden behind her hair to hide her conqueror side, accompanied by a red sash, which was also fastened beneath her shoulder instead of above her shoulder, therefore appearing more hidden. So when she attacks the city, she appears a formidable conqueror, however, the dress is unique and symbolizes that she had different intentions.
Tyrion spent a lot of time at court in King's Landing to avoid his father. He got on well with Jaime, his niece Myrcella and nephew Tommen , but had a colder relationship with Cersei and the psychopathic Joffrey . Tyrion is committed to the good of both his house, and since Cersei married King Robert Baratheon , his family's hold on the throne .
The next morning, Tyrion leads the tribes into battle at the Green Fork , but is knocked out by one of his own warriors' mis-swung hammers just as the engagement begins. He is found by Bronn, after the battle, who brings Tyrion before his father on a medical stretcher. He learns from his father that Robb deceived them, delaying their army with a feinting force so the main Stark host can fall on and defeat Jaime's army in battle, with the Northern army now regrouping for an attack on King's Landing.
With Jaime captured, Robb's forces now allied to those of the Riverlands and both Stannis and Renly Baratheon claiming the Iron Throne , the odds have swung against the Lannisters. Tywin risks being caught between three armies, so he retreats to Harrenhal . Tyrion makes shrewd observations about the ominous turn the current situation has taken now that Joffrey has killed Eddard. Grudgingly impressed, Tywin orders Tyrion to report to King's Landing and act as the Hand of the King to try to keep Joffrey in line and execute any of the Small Council members if they try anything treasonous. Tywin forbids him to take "that whore" with him, but Tyrion defies him and asks Shae to come to King's Landing with him.
He installs Shae in the Tower of the Hand , in defiance of his father 's orders. She is initially thrilled at being brought to the capital, and says that big cities make her "want to fuck." He explains how populous the liars of King's Landing are, trying to convince Shae that he is somewhat truthful in comparison. He also laments Eddard Stark and his honor, but also remarks on how that was his downfall, emphasizing how the court is built on his lies. Tyrion states that he will make changes during his tenure as Hand of the King to Shae, before the two share a tender kiss.
After Tyrion has been incarcerated, he gets a visit from Podrick who smuggles in some food and writing materials to help him get through prison life. He informs Tyrion of Sansa's disappearance. Tyrion is sure that Sansa had nothing to do with the murder. Just as Pod leaves he turns around and tells Tyrion about a man whom he didn't know offering him a knighthood if he testified against him. Tyrion knew that it wasn't a suggestion, and soon enough, they'll threaten him with something worse. Tyrion advises Pod to leave King's Landing, sending him off with a final farewell.
After an hour's recess, Jaime comes to Tyrion and tells him that, when the verdict of guilty is pronounced, he must ask for mercy. Secretly, Jaime had made a deal with Tywin: in exchange for sparing Tyrion, Jaime will renounce his vows and return to Casterly Rock as Tywin's heir, while Tyrion will be sent to live out his days on the Wall with the Night's Watch . Tyrion points out that their father wanted this outcome all along. However, Cersei calls in her last witness: Shae . A hurt Tyrion can do little as Shae reveals his sexual pleasures in front of the court and his supposed desire to bed Sansa Stark, which she agreed to let him do if he killed the King for her. Tyrion's anger at the betrayal leads him to finally lash out. With tears in his eyes, he angrily states that he had saved King's Landing from Stannis, not Tywin or the Tyrells, and now wishes he had just let Stannis kill them all, especially after how easily they turned against him for allegedly murdering a King who, in all irony, they hated and despised.
Tyrion later joins Daenerys for a council of war with Missandei, Varys, Grey Worm, Olenna Tyrell, the Greyjoy siblings and Ellaria Sand. Tyrion initially clashes with Ellaria, as he knows she poisoned his niece Myrcella and she blames him indirectly for Oberyn's death. After Daenerys stops their argument, Tyrion helps her explain their plan to invade Westeros: as Cersei is trying to rally the Lords to defend King's Landing against a foreign army, Daenerys' Unsullied and Dothraki will not attack the city or they will "prove her point."
Daenerys decides to attack the Lannister army en route to King's Landing following their victory at the Sack of Highgarden , which would destroy expenses retrieved in the process, atop Drogon . Tyrion is present when she attacks the Lannister forces outside King's Landing during the Battle of the Goldroad , watching miserable as the Dothraki massacre his kinsmen. When Drogon is injured and is forced to land, Tyrion watches in horror as Jaime foolishly charges at Daenerys on the battlefield and nearly incinerated by Drogon, before being saved by Bronn .
Arriving at a secluded beach close to the Red Keep, Tyrion remarks that he murdered his own father the last time he was in King's Landing, with Davos remarking that Tyrion murdered his son the last time he visited the city. With time short, Tyrion makes his way inside. In the cellar beneath the Red Keep, Bronn arranges the meeting in the guise of a secret sparring session. Tyrion commends Jaime for outsmarting him at the siege of Casterly Rock, then does his best to explain his true motivations for murdering their father. When Jaime demands to know the real reason for the meeting, Tyrion explains that though Daenerys' victory is inevitable, she is genuinely nothing like her father, and has a more important request for Cersei.
After Cersei agrees to a summit in the Dragonpit at King's Landing , Tyrion and Jon arrive in the capital with their various allies, while the Unsullied and the Dothraki amass outside the city walls to attack in case the truce gets broken. At the harbor, Tyrion, Varys, Missandei, Jon and Davos nervously sail past Euron Greyjoy's fleet.
He later takes part in planning the Battle of King's Landing . He, along with Jon and others, convinces Daenerys in besieging the city instead of using the dragons. After learning of Jon's true parentage from Sansa, he informs Varys about it. All hopes for a peaceful surrender are quickly dashed, after the Iron Fleet's ambush and Cersei having Missandei executed, even though Tyrion begs Cersei to surrender, for the sake of her unborn child.
Daenerys, who now believes she can only win Westeros through fear, is seemingly persuaded by Tyrion to stop attacking once King's Landing surrenders. She informs Tyrion that Jaime had been captured while trying to sneak into the city, warning him not to fail her again or it will be the last time. Before the Battle of King's Landing , Tyrion secretly releases Jaime. He convinces him to try to convince Cersei to have the city surrender and flee with her to Pentos to start a new life, for the sake of their unborn child. He also tearfully thanks Jaime for being the only family member to treat him with love and not as a monster, before the brothers hug. However, Tyrion's plan is foiled when after the city surrenders, Daenerys has Drogon burn King's Landing and raze over the Red Keep, killing Cersei and Jamie in the process. Tyrion stares in absolute horror at the untold destruction of the city.
After the destruction of King's Landing, Tyrion, Jon, and Davos walk through the remains of the city, horrified by the devastation. Tyrion decides to go to the Red Keep alone and goes down to the cellars where he discovers the dead bodies of his siblings and tears up. After Daenerys finishes her speech on liberating the whole world, she confronts Tyrion about him freeing his brother. In response, he states that she slaughtered a whole city, and removes his Hand of the Queen brooch before throwing it away in disgust. Daenerys, furious at a further betrayal, orders him arrested.
King Bran however notices the position of Masters of War , Laws and Whisperers are vacant, which Tyrion assures will be filled before the king goes away to find Drogon. They then move on to their primary tasks concerning the rehabilitation of King's Landing, providing clean water, food to civilians, the reconstruction of the royal fleet and the ports. As Bronn discusses using some of the Crown's gold to rebuild the city's brothels, which is met with opposition, Tyrion relates how he once brought 'a honeycomb and a jackass into a brothel.'
Despite Tyrion's poor and mutually hateful relationship; with his sister, Cersei, he was noted to have had a very good relationship; with at least two of her children, Myrcella and Tommen . This is seen where Mrycella showcased active care, affection, love and worry for Tyrion and; when he had returned safely back to King's landing, she; made sure to happily state that; she was glad he had survived alongside Tommen. Tyrion himself reciprocates her affection and love and; despite his relationship; with their mother, he truly cared for them. As seen where Tyrion was enraged upon learning of Mrycella's death and angerly argued; with Ellaria Sand ; due to her hand in her death.
Shae is not brought to the Tower of the Hand; instead she is put in a manse that Tyrion can approach by using a secret tunnel from a brothel. In the aftermath of the riots in King's Landing and as Stannis's troops advance on the city, Tyrion arranges Shae to become Lollys Stokeworth 's servant to have an excuse to bring her into the Red Keep, both for her protection and to keep her close.
The "bloody flux" plague decimates the siege; Yezzan is among its victims. Tyrion seizes the opportunity to escape with Jorah and Penny to the camp of the Second Sons, who have recently betrayed Daenerys to side with the armies of Yunkai. Tyrion and Jorah join the sellsword company, intending to persuade them to change their allegiance back to Daenerys in exchange for the wealth of Casterly Rock, his birthright since Jaime has renounced it. Meanwhile, back in King's Landing, Varys shoots Kevan Lannister with a crossbow to fool Cersei into thinking Tyrion is still in the capital.
After all her children died, Cersei assumed the throne, making her the first officially recognized queen regnant in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. Her reign came to an abrupt end during the Battle of King's Landing , where she and Jaime were killed. She was the last monarch to sit on the Iron Throne .
In King's Landing , Queen Cersei watches the Silent Sisters preparing the body of Lord Jon Arryn , the Hand of the King , for burial. She and her twin brother, Jaime, discuss the situation and wonder if Jon told anyone else about what he had discovered. Jaime tells her not to worry, since if the king knew the truth they'd be dead already, and that Robert will simply choose a new Hand of the King everything will go on as normal. She suggests that Jaime could be the next Hand, but Jaime refuses, citing the position as too much responsibility and danger.
She and Robert were grief-stricken and her prayers and tears were for naught. She offers to pray for Bran's survival, hoping that this time the gods will listen. The royal party sets out for King's Landing, now joined by Eddard, Sansa and Arya . However, an incident between Arya's direwolf and Joffrey on the Kingsroad escalates into an argument between Cersei and Eddard. Robert defuses the situation by agreeing that he and Eddard will attend to their own discipline. Cersei insists that the direwolf must be killed. When Nymeria cannot be found (Arya having driven her off to protect her), Cersei has Sansa's wolf, Lady , killed instead. A furious Eddard attends to the matter himself to spare Lady a much more grisly death at the hands of Ilyn Payne .
Arriving back at court, Cersei talks to Joffrey about the incident on the Kingsroad. She tells him that when he is king, the truth will be whatever he decides it will be. Joffrey tells her that he thinks there will be trouble with the Starks, and that when he is king he'll double their taxes, force them to contribute to a standing army and, if they should object, he'd crush them. Cersei elucidates that the North is too vast and wild to be militarily conquered by outsiders. She cautions Joffrey that he will need to be cleverer as king. She also advises him to be kind to Sansa to avoid causing trouble for later, and concludes that "anyone who isn't us is an enemy." A raven arrives in King's Landing with news of Bran's recovery. Cersei fears he will expose their secret, but Jaime comforts her.
At the tournament , a drunken Robert embarrasses Cersei, causing her to leave. She visits Eddard at his chambers, remarking at how the Hand is not at his own tournament. Though Cersei attempts to start the conversation in an attempt to put the incident on the Kingsroad behind them, Eddard correctly deduces that she has an ulterior motive for her visit. Cersei then wonders aloud to Eddard what his true purpose is for being at King's Landing, as she knows how little Starks enjoy being in the capital. When Eddard tells her he is there to faithfully serve their King, Cersei remarks that just as his brother Brandon was born to lead, Eddard was born to follow.
Eddard confronts Cersei and tells her he knows her children are fathered by Jaime. She does not deny it, instead saying that she and her brother belong together, always. Cersei says she did love Robert at first, but on their wedding night he whispered Lyanna's name, which soured their relationship afterwards. Eddard advises her to leave King's Landing before Robert returns from a hunt, as he will then tell Robert the truth. Cersei instead warns him that "In the game of thrones, you win or you die."
Cersei continues to govern from King's Landing as the Queen Regent to Joffrey . She is driven to defend Joffrey's claim in the face of several challengers in the War of the Five Kings . Facing imminent winter, she orders the city gates barred to prevent further refugees from entering the city. She is perturbed by the arrival of her brother Tyrion , who has been named acting Hand of the King by their father Tywin Lannister . She fears that Tyrion schemes to usurp her power and is frustrated when he tells her that since she failed to prevent the death of Eddard Stark , she has been viewed as the disappointing child by Tywin. Tyrion wins her temporary acceptance when he pledges to free Jaime from captivity, but insists that they need to find the fugitive Arya Stark in order to facilitate a prisoner exchange.
At King's Landing, Tywin Lannister calls the first meeting of the Small Council since he arrived in the city and assumed his position as Hand of the King. He has the meeting place changed to a room next to his own quarters in the Tower of the Hand, asserting his dominance. Tywin arrives early and has all of the council members called in at once. All of the seats are on one side of the table, as a non-verbal test to see how each of them reacts around him. Cersei arrives to find the seats are all occupied, but not wanting to play that game and be relegated to a lowly position, she pulls up a chair so she is sitting at Tywin's right hand, opposite Littlefinger.
Later on, Cersei and the Small Council are visited by the High Septon , who has recently been abducted from Littlefinger's brothel and forced to walk naked through the streets of King's Landing. Cersei is mildly amused and not particularly sympathetic to the man's plight. She later pays a visit to the so-called High Sparrow . Assuming a much more conciliatory and humble tone than she ever has before, Cersei talks with him about the relationship between the Faith and the Crown, and also mentions that she's had the High Septon thrown in the Black Cells .
Cersei is brought to a cell where she is stripped naked and washed, and her long blonde hair is cut short. She is then brought outside, where she is forced to walk completely naked through the streets of King's Landing, from the Great Sept of Baelor to the Red Keep as punishment. She is escorted through an angry mob, who hurl filth and vicious insults at her.
A man in King's Landing brags about revealing himself to Cersei during her walk of shame. When the man leaves the crowd to urinate, the gigantic Kingsguard knight walks up behind him and brutally kills him by smashing his head against the wall before reporting back to Cersei.
Cersei visits Olenna Tyrell in an attempt to convince her to stay in King's Landing. She uses Margaery and Loras as an excuse for Olenna to stay, but Olenna angrily reminds Cersei that all this is happening because of Cersei herself. Olenna reminds her of the smug look she gave her when Loras and Margaery were being dragged away by the Faith Militant. She tells Cersei that the universally hated Queen Mother has no support in King's Landing, and has lost.
The explosion kills Margaery, Mace, and Loras Tyrell, Kevan Lannister, all of the Sparrows including Lancel and the High Sparrow, and a number of King's Landing citizens. Cersei watches amused and then goes on to "confess her sins" including her incestuous relationship with her brother, the murder of her husband and the explosion of the Great Sept, to captured Septa Unella. Later she gives her as prisoner to the Mountain, so she can be tortured, calling "Shame" continuously upon her departure. She also states that Unella is not going to die for some time.
Jaime returns to King's Landing to inform Cersei of their defeat in the Battle of the Goldroad . He flatly insists that the Lannisters have no chance of defeating Daenerys, even if Cersei were able to buy enough mercenaries to replace their huge losses; Qyburn's scorpion did little more than anger Drogon, and neither the Lannister soldiers nor any mercenaries will be able to match the huge horde of Dothraki, who Jaime notes killed their men as if it were sport to them, not war. Cersei snidely asks Jaime if they are expected to surrender to a Queen whose throne Cersei occupies and whose father Jaime betrayed and murdered, mockingly remarking that Tyrion could intercede for them with Daenerys.
Cersei is standing on the ramparts of King's Landing looking at Euron's Iron Fleet when Qyburn brings her the news that the Wall has been breached, as the Golden Company ferry into the bay. She coolly replies "good", and goes to meet the capain of the company, Harry Strickland , who reveals that their elephants are absent due to the length of the voyage. Euron continues to press his suite of marriage, and after much persistence, Cersei allows him to follow her into her chamber. The two have sex, and despite her apparent satisfaction, Cersei calls Euron the most arrogant man she's ever met. When he claims he will make her pregnant and then leaves the room, Cersei's face becomes drawn and pensive.
Cersei's plan, however, backfires as Daenerys has Drogon and her armies slaughter Cersei's forces and the civilians in King's Landing . Cersei spends much of the battle in numb denial as she watches the carnage unfold from the Red Keep, unable to accept that all her planning and efforts were for naught and her fall is inevitable, and there is absolutely nothing she can do to change the outcome.
Following the battle, the corpses of both Cersei and Jaime were discovered in the ruins of the Red Keep by Tyrion. She left a hated legacy, with Yara Greyjoy still seeing Daenerys as a savior who freed them from the tyrant queen, despite her massacre of the people in King's Landing.
Cersei is ruthless, willful, cold, ambitious, and cunning in the sense that she is utterly willing to betray anyone who trusts her, or do anything to protect her own. However, she is also arrogant and self-centered to a fault, which has proven to be one of her greatest weaknesses. While she certainly believes herself to be a master strategist, she is extremely impatient, short-sighted, and prone to displays of poor judgment and poor leadership, resulting in her being both unskilled at manipulating enemies who openly distrust her and incapable of thinking about the long-term consequences of her actions. Cersei's own father Tywin stated to her that he distrusts her because she isn't nearly as intelligent as she believes herself to be. This makes for a dangerous combination, as not only is Cersei not as intelligent as she thinks, but she does not even realize her own limitations. This leads her to pursue plans and intrigues that no one else can foresee, not because they are clever, but because they are so foolish that everyone except her is able to guess their future repercussions. She had Ned Stark falsely confess to treason, which led to Joffrey foolishly executing him. She attempted to marry Loras to Sansa, which led to Tywin insisting that she marry Loras instead. She gave power to the Sparrows and the Faith Militant, which led to her imprisonment and forced walk of atonement . Furthermore, her plot to destroy the Tyrells and the Faith Militant led to Tommen's suicide, and her subsequent refusal to help against the Night King and later refusal to surrender led to the destruction of King's Landing and her own death. Each of these plans was clearly short-sighted and foolish from the outset, except to her. Paradoxically, this gives her a slight tactical advantage in the short term, as all her plans seem to work initially, but strategically she is simply incompetent, because she kept trying to solve every problem caused by her own plans with other short-sighted plans until it was no longer possible to come up with any more.
After she was humiliated by the Faith Militant, the megalomania, immorality and vengefulness Cersei possessed all her life reached its peak. Combined with the rage she felt for her uncle Kevan and the fact that Olenna Tyrell and Pycelle deprived her of power, Cersei began plotting with Qyburn to avoid her trial, simultaneously destroy her enemies, including the High Sparrow and Queen Margaery and gain her revenge on the faith militant.This ended up destroying the alliance with the Tyrells, the only effective ally to King's Landing and a bloody revolt is to be expected by a vindictive Olenna. Cersei, however, does not seem concerned regarding this, displaying much more recklessness and slight mental imbalance on her part. Despite declaring herself Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, the title is effectively meaningless as currently the only major houses supporting her are her own and the Freys, although with the death of Walder Frey as well as the Freys' apparent military incompetence , they are unlikely to be useful allies. Along with the Lannisters now pitted against the rest of the great houses of Westeros, there is also the matter of the Crown's debt to the Iron Bank which has still not been resolved. So while Cersei might have achieved her ultimate ambition of being crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, she is still in an incredibly precarious situation. However, this appears lost on her, further demonstrating her inability to see the far-reaching consequences of her actions.
Beforehand, Cersei was known to have an extremely thinly-veiled sense of morality, which can be attributed to her love for her own children, no matter how twisted it was. Now that Tommen, Joffrey and Myrcella are all dead, however, Cersei has begun displaying more ruthlessness and depravity in her convictions. Her use of wildfire to destroy the Great Sept of Baelor can be seen as symbolically developing the same madness of the the Mad King . This act also destroyed the area surrounding the Great Sept for half a mile, effectively murdering hundreds of innocent people. Ironically, this may serve to drive a wedge between her and Jaime; Jaime outright said that the only thing he cares about is Cersei and that he was willing to kill even children if it reunited them, but Cersei has committed an act similar to the one he had to kill the Mad King for. Jaime's grim look upon returning to King's Landing and witnessing her coronation means that he understands that she is becoming exactly like him.
During the Battle of King's Landing , Cersei's true nature comes forth; a weak, fearful, delusional and tearful woman that is in no control of her actions and with her death so close, she becomes more afraid and sad, as she drowns in her own tears with only her brother as comfort until the end.
She offers her uncle Kevan the position of Hand of the King, which he agrees, on the condition that he also be named Regent and that Cersei removes herself from King's Landing and, just like Tywin wanted, returns to Casterly Rock and re-marries. Cersei is infuriated and a fierce argument takes place during which she threatens Kevan. As he leaves, Kevan calls her an unfit mother, and hints that he knows Jaime fathered her children. In response, she throws her wine in his face, then later spitefully names two lesser Lannister cousins Warden of the West and Castellan of Casterly Rock, respectively, instead of Kevan. She ignores the advice of Kevan and Jaime to appoint a capable and respected man like Randyll Tarly or Mathis Rowan as Hand, choosing instead the weak and compliant Harys Swyft .
Cersei's stupidity is underscored by the fact that even the unworthy people she has recently appointed to the Small Council - who mainly act as sycophants - are aware of the dangerous repercussions of Margaery's arrest. They express their concern that, due to Margaery's popularity and her family's military strength, the smallfolk will riot and Mace will storm King's Landing. Cersei, smug about her "victory", is not worried, but agrees that some precautions must be taken. Of course, she could have figured the consequences of her poorly developed schemes in advance, had she thought it over.
Jaime began an incestuous relationship with his twin Cersei in his youth. At the age of 16, Jaime rose to the rank of knighthood . At the behest of Cersei, he consented to join the Kingsguard , which would prevent his father's plans for him to marry Lysa Tully from coming into effect. Although initially hesitant (due the fact that Tywin was unable to accept Tyrion as his heir should Jaime be inducted), Jaime agreed, as Cersei's betrothal to Rhaegar would allow the two of them to be in King's Landing together. However, Tywin erupted in fury and resigned his position as Hand of the King , taking Cersei back to Casterly Rock with him. Jaime was sworn into the Kingsguard by the Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen during the Great Tourney at Harrenhal . He was then the youngest man ever appointed to its membership.
At the conclusion of Robert's Rebellion , Jaime's father Tywin arrived at the gates of King's Landing with the main Lannister army, pledging his allegiance. Most of the small council urged Aerys not to trust Tywin, especially Jaime, knowing his father would never support the losing side of a war. Instead, Pycelle gave the opposite counsel, and once the Lannister army was allowed inside, Tywin ordered his men to attack the city. As Lannister soldiers raped and pillaged throughout the city during the Sack of King's Landing , King Aerys remained holed up inside the Red Keep , for hours maniacally repeating the order to "burn them all."
Jaime always refused to discuss precisely what happened the day he slew the Mad King, and thus his true motivations – and what plans Aerys had for King's Landing – were never revealed. On one occasion he confides the truth to Brienne : Aerys's final orders were for Jaime to kill his father, and to burn the entire city and its inhabitants with wildfire . Unwilling to let that happen, Jaime killed him, and in doing so actually saved thousands of innocent lives. He adds that the "honorable" Ned Stark judged him guilty on the spot, without giving Jaime a chance to explain.
In King's Landing , Jaime counsels Cersei over fears that Jon Arryn may have discovered their secret prior to his death. Jaime argues that even if he knew, Arryn did not inform the king, for if he had, they would already be dead. If Arryn knew, his knowledge died with him. He accompanies Robert to Winterfell where the king plans to ask Eddard Stark to replace Jon Arryn as Hand of the King . After their arrival, Cersei sends Jaime to find Tyrion. Jaime tracks Tyrion to a brothel, tells him that he is needed at the feast that night and brings him several whores to speed his exit.
The royal party reaches King's Landing. Eddard barely has time to get off his horse before he is asked to attend a meeting of the king's small council. Jaime awaits him in the throne room. Jaime is unhappy with Eddard judging him for killing the Mad King, the murderer of Eddard's father and brother , but Eddard is unapologetic. He says it wasn't justice that drove Jaime to kill Aerys, and that Jaime served Aerys loyally when serving was the easier thing to do. A raven arrives at King's Landing with news of Bran's recovery. In the capital, Cersei fears he will expose their secret, but Jaime comforts her.
Upon hearing of his brother's capture by Catelyn , he confronts Eddard in the streets of King's Landing. Knowing that killing Eddard will result in Tyrion's death, he instead has Eddard's guards killed , stabbing Jory through the eye himself. He and Eddard fiercely cross swords in an intense duel, and Jaime is surprised that Eddard is a match for him. After minutes of dueling, and neither opponent gaining ground on the other, the fight ends abruptly and prematurely when a Lannister guardsmen stabs Eddard through the leg. An irritated Jaime knocks out the guardsman and then departs the city, telling Eddard that he wants his brother back.
Jaime joins the army of his father in the field. Tywin laments Jaime's pride and how he spends so much effort trying to convince others he doesn't care what they think of him. Tywin is incredulous and disgusted that Jaime would let Eddard live and go free because his victory was not "clean." He says that if other houses think they can take a Lannister hostage and not suffer for it they will lose respect for the Lannister name. Tywin says that Jaime must accept responsibility for the future destiny of their house, which will be decided by this war against the Tullys and Starks. They will either die out like the Targaryens or begin a dynasty that will last 1,000 years. He gives Jaime thirty-thousand men and sends him to besiege Riverrun . In King's Landing, Eddard tells Cersei that he knows that Jaime is the true father of Cersei's three children. She admits it, saying they have loved one another from the womb and are destined to be together always.
Some weeks later, Kevan , Jaime's uncle, tells Tyrion that Jaime has won several significant battles, smashing a host of the river lords at the Golden Tooth and currently laying siege to Riverrun. Robb Stark marches two thousand men towards Tywin's forces in order to create a distraction. The remaining force feints outside Riverrun, drawing out Jaime and a small number of troops to deal with what appears to be a small scouting party, and Jaime is taken prisoner in the resulting Battle of Whispering Wood . Jaime offers to fight Robb in single combat to decide the war, but Robb knows that Jaime is better at swordplay than he is and says they aren't going to do it his way. Robb initially intends to use Jaime as a bargaining chip for his father's and sisters' lives. However, Eddard is executed in King's Landing before news of Jaime's capture can reach the capital.
Catelyn makes a deal with Jaime and releases him. She tasks Brienne with escorting him to King's Landing to exchange him for her captive daughters. Brienne successfully smuggles him out of the camp on horseback and then they travel by rowboat to evade pursuit. Jaime needles her about her appearance and masculinity, unsuccessfully attempting to goad her into dueling him.
Jaime continues to be escorted by Brienne to King's Landing. On their way there, they are spotted by a traveler. Jaime urges Brienne to kill the traveler, since he believes the man recognized him and will give away their whereabouts, but she refuses.
While sitting at the dinner table with Brienne and Roose, Jaime clumsily tries to cut his meat with one hand until an annoyed Brienne helps him. Roose tells Jaime that wars cost money and that many people would pay a great deal of money for him. After discussing how busy Tywin is battling Robb all over the North, Jaime informs Roose that his father would make time for him. Roose tells Jaime, that when he is well enough to travel, he will allow him to return to King's Landing on the condition that he will tell Tywin the truth, that he had nothing to do with his maiming.
Jaime arrives in Brienne's chambers to tell her goodbye before he leaves for King's Landing. He informs her that Roose Bolton has demanded she stay behind with Locke. He tells Brienne that he owes her a debt. Brienne tells Jaime that if he keeps his word to Catelyn the debt will be paid. Jaime promises that he will return the Stark girls to their mother.
Steelshanks relents and escorts Jaime back to Harrenhal, where he finds Brienne being forced to fight a bear in a gladiatorial pit, using only a wooden sword. Jaime dives into the pit to aid her, forcing Steelshanks to aid them both by firing arrows at the bear. Jaime and Brienne narrowly escape the bear, and he once again demands that she accompanies him, asking Locke whether he believes Bolton would prefer to reward him or to ensure that Jaime reaches King's Landing. This time, Locke relents, and Jaime and Brienne depart together.
Jaime walks into the gates of King's Landing with Brienne and Qyburn. A worker pulling a cart orders that he move out of the way, calling him a "Country Boy." Jaime immediately returns to Cersei back at the Red Keep . He steps into her room and notices her admiring a seashell fondly. He says her name and as she turns, he notices she is taken aback by his stump.
Cersei later offers Jaime a golden hand to cover his stump. As Qyburn fits it to him, he complains about it, believing it to be useless. He later tries to get intimate with Cersei but she refuses him saying that she blames him for leaving King's Landing after his fight with Ned Stark and for getting captured. Jaime protests that he murdered people so he could get back to her, but Cersei coldly replies, "You took too long."
Jaime, Meryn, and Joffrey are later discussing which Kingsguard will be where in the wedding. Joffrey is paying no attention because he thinks he is safe now that the war is over but Jaime tells him that the war is not over while Stannis still lives. Later, Jaime and Brienne discuss what to do with Sansa. Brienne says that Jaime must keep his vow and get Sansa out of King's Landing, but Jaime says that her family are dead and there is nowhere to take her that is safer than King's Landing.
Later, Jaime goes to Castle Stokeworth in order to recruit Bronn on his mission to return Myrcella to King's Landing. To convince him to go, Jaime reveals that Cersei has arranged for Wyllis Bracken to marry Lollys Stokeworth instead of Bronn, and offers him a much better girl than Lollys and a much better castle once they return from Dorne .
Jaime is locked up in a bedroom-like cell. Areo brings Myrcella to visit him. Jaime tells her that the situation has grown dangerous and he needs to take Myrcella back to King's Landing, though he fails to mention that it is because the Dornishmen seek to use her as a way to gain revenge for Oberyn. She soundly rejects his advice and claims she wants to stay in Dorne and marry Trystane, before leaving him alone.
Later, Jaime is escorted into the main apartments of the Water Gardens by Areo Hotah, to be received by Prince Doran Martell in his solar, along with Ellaria, Trystane and Myrcella. He comments on the nature of Myrcella's clothes, suggesting that they are too revealing, covering this suggestion up by asking if she is cold. She rebuffs this, stating that she is suited to the Dornish climate. Doran asks Jaime why he has snuck into Dorne to abduct Myrcella back to King's Landing.
Jaime, Bronn, Myrcella, and Trystane say their farewells to the Martells to return to King's Landing. Upon saying goodbye, Ellaria kisses Myrcella on the lips. Aboard the ship, Myrcella and Jaime talk about Cersei. Jaime begins to come clean to Myrcella, awkwardly telling her that one cannot choose who he/she love. Myrcella then reveals that she knows that Jaime is her real father, and that she is glad that he is, and the two embrace. However, Myrcella's nose starts to bleed and she collapses and dies in Jaime's arms, a victim of poison from Ellaria's kiss.
Jaime and Tommen later mourn Myrcella in the Sept of Baelor. Jaime informs Tommen they haven't found Trystane's killers, though Tommen suspects Cersei was involved. When Jaime asks why he has not allowed his mother to pay respects, Tommen informs Jaime that the High Sparrow has forbidden Cersei from entering the Sept. Jaime reassures Tommen that he will not let the Sparrows imprison her again while he is in the city and asks Tommen why has he not visited his mother yet. As Tommen questions his ability to rule and protect his family, the High Sparrow arrives and Jaime orders Tommen to go see his mother. Jaime is furious at what the High Sparrow has done to Cersei and considers killing him on the spot but backs down when the fanatics surround him. The High Sparrow then revels in the idea that he has managed to take control of King's Landing, effectively ruling the Seven Kingdoms, angering Jaime further.
After Brienne fails to persuade the Blackfish, Jaime visits Edmure to offer him a deal, trying to tempt him with seeing his son and sending him, his son and his wife, Roslin Frey to Casterly Rock, offering them comfortable rooms. Jaime promises that Edmure's son will be taken care of, that he will be given knights to train, and a keep of his own desire when he comes of age. Edmure ridicules Jaime. Jaime, realizing he cannot peacefully try to persuade Edmure into surrendering the castle, responds by warning him that people can do anything for love, threatening that he will kill every Tully in order to be able to return to King's Landing and be with Cersei again. With his family's life credibly threatened, Edmure agrees to cooperate.
Upon returning to King's Landing, Jaime, Bronn, and the Lannister forces are shocked to see the Great Sept in ruins . That evening, Jaime arrives at the throne room of the Red Keep in time to witness Cersei's coronation, but is visibly displeased that Tommen, their last child, is dead and his sister-lover has committed the very atrocity that Jaime prevented at such great personal cost when he killed the Mad King.
Later, Jaime coordinates the soldiers loading up the spoils of war for transport after the sack of Highgarden allowed them to seize all of House Tyrell's substantial gold stores, which they send ahead to King's Landing first, before moving on to securing grain shipments. Jaime procures a large bag of gold coins and gives it to Bronn as payment for his services. Bronn, however, is annoyed that this isn't the full reward he was promised, which included a wife from the nobility and a castle. He then half-seriously asks why Jaime doesn't just grant him Highgarden , as they need someone to rule it. Jaime waves this aside by saying they don't actually intend to hold Highgarden for long as it would be difficult for Bronn of all people to rule over hostile territory, and the war isn't over yet, so at this point he thinks Bronn should be satisfied with a more movable big sack of gold than a castle he'll have trouble defending. Bronn, however, is not amused.
Some time later, Jaime's Lannister army has advanced much farther east along the Goldroad , in the northeast of the Reach . Randyll Tarly comes to Jaime and says they should hurry to get all of their grain wagons over the Blackwater Rush to King's Landing on the northern side, as they will be vulnerable if their formation is caught on both sides of the river. Jaime agrees, but Randyll suggests flogging the stragglers to motivate them. Jaime urges that his soldiers fought well at Highgarden, however, and he should at least give them a fair warning first instead of launching right into the flogging. Jaime and Bronn then encounter Dickon again. Jaime asks what he thought of his first taste of battle, and Dickon nervously claims it was glorious - only to then dejectedly admit that he was quite conflicted: House Tarly had been loyal vassals of the Tyrells for generations; he knew many of the men they killed, even hunted side by side with them. Jaime earnestly advises the young man that the guilt is not his but Olenna's as she was the one who chose to side with Daenerys's foreign army against Queen Cersei, so it is truly Olenna's fault they died and the fact that Dickon wasn't involved with the decision making process on either side means he shouldn't dwell on it. Dickon then outright confesses that the aftermath was horrible, notably the smell of all the fresh corpses. Bronn playfully taunts that Dickon, a sheltered nobleman, finally found out that men void their bowels when they die.
Appalled at just how far Cersei will go to keep herself in power, Jaime nods to Clegane and tells his sister to give the order. After a moment's hesitation, she nods and Clegane draws his sword. However, since Cersei doesn't actually speak the words, a thoroughly disgusted Jaime calls her bluff. He storms out, leaving a saddened Cersei behind him. He abandons his Lannister armor for simpler garb and departs King's Landing alone. On the ride north, he pulls a riding glove over his golden hand and notices that it has begun to snow, indicating that winter has finally come to King's Landing.
Jaime makes the long journey from King's Landing north to Winterfell. After hitching his horse near the castle, he removes the hood of his cloak to look around and sees a young man in a wheelchair staring at him, placid and emotionless, but with a knowing glare. It only takes a moment for him to realize it is Bran (whom he has not seen since he threw him from the tower window). Jaime stares back in shock.
Learning of the Iron Fleet ambushing the Targaryen fleet later, he is horrified of what fate awaits Cersei if she loses and decides to head back despite Brienne begging him not to. Jaime's plan to sneak into King's Landing fails after being discovered by the besieging forces , though Tyrion helps him escape, so he can convince Cersei to have her forces surrender and flee to Pentos for the sake of their baby. Disguised as a refugee, he is able to slip into the city. He is forced to fight Euron while sneaking into the Red Keep and is able to slay him, though being gravely wounded in the fight.
Jaime is the only member of Tyrion's immediate family who ever treated him with respect or kindness. In fact, he admires Tyrion's intellect and his ability to tell off those who insult him. Jaime never approved of Tywin and Cersei's long history of abuse towards Tyrion, and has always treated him like a brother, the only adult of Tyrion's immediate family to recognize how irrational it was to blame him for their mother's death in childbirth. Indeed, Jaime is the only member of the core Lannister family who has a reasonably good relationship with all of the others. Among the three siblings, Cersei and Tyrion can't stand each other, but they both like Jaime (both Cersei and Tyrion have acknowledged the only reason they haven't gone out of their way to seriously harm or kill each other is because Jaime would never forgive them if they did). However, in recent times, Jaime's good relationship with Tyrion was tarnished with the death of their father, and Jaime said he would kill Tyrion the next time they meet (though it is unclear if he really meant it). His relationship with Cersei has also deteriorated in the aftermath of Tywin's death since it was Jaime who set Tyrion free and inadvertently allowed him to kill their father. Over time, however, and especially after learning that it was Olenna who killed Joffrey, Jaime comes to accept that Tyrion effectively murdered Tywin out of self-defense, a man bound and determined to execute his son; when they meet again in King's Landing, Jaime is initially hostile towards Tyrion, but deep down understands his motives and listens to him, and by the time of the parley in the Dragonpit, Jaime treats Tyrion with the same respect as before, indicating that he has at least partially forgiven his brother. Over time it becomes clear that Jaime has fully forgiven his brother and shows him the same amount of love and respect as before. This can be seen in the brother's final goodbye where Tyrion tells his brother how much he has meant to him, bringing Jaime to tears as he embraces his little brother one last time.
Jaime's attitude towards violence is also complex: he threw Bran out a tower window to kill him, but later saved Brienne twice (from being raped, then fed to a bear) from Locke's soldiers. The difference seems to be that after witnessing the depravity of the Mad King, needless violence and brutality deeply offend Jaime, though if he decides that violence and murder are absolutely necessary he will ruthlessly carry it out himself. He threw Bran out of a window because had the boy reported that he saw the incest between Jaime and his sister, Cersei, the woman he loved, then all of their children would be executed, so he felt he had no choice. However, he was dreadfully sorry for crippling the boy and was amazed to learn that Bran was not angry at him. Jaime killed his defenseless cousin Alton Lannister in order to orchestrate an escape from Robb's camp, but he deeply regretted it afterwards, subtly hinting at it to Tyrion and then outright confessing to the High Sparrow about it, showing that he has a greater conscience than he is given credit for. This sets him apart from Cersei, who destroyed the Sept of Baelor and everyone inside (including their uncle and cousin) and around it, and proved unapologetic about what she had done. Jaime also was capable of reproach for the mistakes he made and their consequences, unlike Cersei: he felt guilt for freeing Tyrion because it led to the death of his father, whereas Cersei is blind to her own mistakes, which led to the deaths of her children. The upshot of this is that Jaime has no delusions about his own conscience. He is certainly ruthless when he needs to be, but unlike Cersei or Joffrey he does not act with cruelty for his own enjoyment. Quite the opposite, in fact: the very murder of Aerys that gained Jaime his negative reputation was actually an act of prevention against a potential genocide that would have engulfed all of King's Landing.
At the climax of Robert's Rebellion , when the Lannister armies stormed King's Landing , Aerys insisted - quite ironically, as Jaime muses many years afterwards - that Jaime stayed and guarded him, to make certain that Tywin would not act against him. Jaime protested, pleading Rhaegar to let Darry or Selmy guard the king, but Rhaegar refused to deprive his father of "that crutch" in such hour. Jaime was angered to be referred as "a crutch", but obeyed.
The TV series' depiction of an escape attempt by Jaime, during which he kills Torrhen Karstark, is a very loose adaptation of events in the books. In the TV version, Jaime kills Torrhen because he was guarding his cell, which causes Lord Rickard Karstark to become enraged and demand revenge, to the point that Catelyn releases Jaime (in promise of her daughters' safe return from King's Landing) because she fears he won't live out the night. In the books, Jaime killed Rickard's sons Torrhen and Eddard Karstark at the battle in the Whispering Wood (Eddard Karstark's death is apparently unchanged in the TV version). While Lord Karstark was certainly upset in the books, he wasn't going to go disobey Robb's direct command as his liege-lord that Jaime must remain unharmed (at least because he thought they'd execute him eventually). Catelyn's decision to exchange Jaime as a prisoner isn't rushed by pressure from within the Stark camp, but is rather due to her grief at hearing the (false) report that Bran and Rickon have been killed by Theon at Winterfell. Furthermore, she had recently been told by Cleos Frey that he only saw Sansa when he visited King's Landing, which makes Catelyn wonder if Arya is dead too. Believing (somewhat justifiably) that even holding Jaime as prisoner is no guarantee that the crazed Joffrey won't have her daughters killed on a whim, Catelyn decides that keeping her remaining children safe is what matters most, so she releases Jaime, sending him under escort by Brienne to King's Landing. Rickard Karstark only truly becomes enraged after Catelyn releases Jaime, because he never thought they'd release the killer of his sons, as well as because it is a very poor exchange to trade a prominent Lannister warrior for two girls. The TV series may have moved Torrhen's death around to make it closer to Jaime's release, instead of just mentioning that Jaime killed Torrhen at the end of Season 1 and expecting the audience to remember this over a season later.
Similarly, "Alton Lannister" is actually a renamed version the character Cleos Frey in the books. Cleos's father is a Frey but his mother is a Lannister, and his name may have been changed because of concerns that the audience would be confused as the Freys are on Robb's side. Jaime does not kill him in the books (nor does he kill any of his kin), this is an invention of the TV series. Instead, Cleos is sent back to King's Landing again along with Brienne and Jaime, but is killed by outlaws along the way.
Jaime then comes back to the forefront of the narrative in the third novel, A Storm of Swords , even becoming a POV character, but while this can be done in a book, the TV series producers felt that it would be odd for one of the main cast members to disappear for an entire season (similarly, Daenerys doesn't appear that much in the second book either, so the TV show padded out her storyline in Qarth ). This was partially made up for by showing more events that happened to Jaime "off screen", such as Robb interrogating him (in the season premiere) and actually depicting his failed escape attempt. Their primary solution, however, was to move ahead some of Jaime's storyline from the third book to late Season 2: Jaime is only released from captivity at the very end of the second book (as a cliffhanger), thus all of Jaime's scenes with Brienne leading him back to King's Landing are actually from the beginning of the third book. TV producers Benioff and Weiss insisted that they don't see each season as being required to neatly adapt each book matched to one season, but instead they are trying to adapt the story as a whole, so parts from other books will spill into other seasons as they are required, i.e. pointing out that the Jaime/Brienne scenes in late Season 2 aren't fabrications of the TV series, just moving up some scenes that actually occurred in the next book.
Jaime and Brienne do not return to King's Landing in time for Joffrey's wedding . They are still en route back to the capital when they learn of Joffrey's death. Jaime is not particularly upset by the news and reflects that Joffrey was little more to him than "a squirt of seed", and that he deserved to die. At Cersei's insistence, he had kept his distance from their children and never grew too close to them, so as not to arouse suspicion about their true paternity. He decides that, if he had the choice, he would rather have his sword hand than his son back, since he and Cersei can always make another son.
Since Sansa has already escaped by the time he returns to King's Landing (unlike in the show), and Arya is long gone, maybe dead, Jaime is unable to fulfill the second part of his oath to Catelyn. Still, he tries to fulfill it by arming and equipping Brienne as best as he can, including the fine sword Oathkeeper, for the perilous search she intends to conduct.
Jaime has always been his father's favorite child (since Jaime disappointed him the least of all his children) - as long as he obeyed his father. This changes in the third novel; after Jaime returns to King's Landing, he severs his relationship with the two people who always had negative influence on him - his father first: Tywin demands that Jaime quit the Kingsguard and take his place as the heir of Casterly Rock. Jaime, sick and tired of the corruption, injustice and political manipulations around him, refuses to be his father's puppet anymore and exclaims in rage "I am a knight of the Kingsguard. The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard! And that's all I mean to be!." Tywin, furious at Jaime's defiance, answers harshly " You are not my son " (almost the same words he told Tyrion, after the latter shot him). This is their last conversation in the books. Kevan tries to make peace between them, but in vain.
Arya then plays a significant role in the Great War , effectively ending the conflict through her killing of the Night King during the Battle of Winterfell . Afterwards, Arya rides south with Sandor Clegane to kill Cersei Lannister , not intent on returning to Winterfell. She arrives at King's Landing as it is being destroyed by Daenerys Targaryen . Sandor convinces Arya to abandon her quest for vengeance and Arya tries to help the smallfolk survive the destruction of King's Landing, though she fails. Weeks later, following Daenerys's assassination to stop her further destruction, Arya is part of a Great Council in the Dragonpit that decides the future of Westeros, during which Arya's younger brother Bran is chosen as king. After bidding farewell to her siblings, Arya decides to leave Westeros and sail west to discover what lies beyond where the maps of the known world end.
On King Robert 's visit to Winterfell , Arya rushes out to see the arrival of his entourage. She is scolded when she finally joins the receiving line in the courtyard. Arya is overheard by Queen Cersei when she asks Sansa where the "Imp" is, a reference to Tyrion . Later that evening at the feast, she tests her mother 's patience by misbehaving and throwing food at her sister, prompting Robb to send her to bed early. Robert names Arya's father as his Hand of the King , Joffrey is betrothed to Sansa, and Eddard decides to take his daughters with him to King's Landing to experience the court. Before leaving, Arya receives a pet direwolf , one of several pups found by her brothers outside the castle, and names her Nymeria , after a great warrior-queen of Essos . She also receives a sword as a gift from Jon. She names it Needle , as a play on words that she may now enjoy doing "needlework."
After reaching King's Landing, Arya argues incessantly with Sansa over the incident, to her father's despair. Eddard tries to make Arya understand that Sansa could not contradict her future husband. Arya is disgusted that Eddard thinks such an excuse is acceptable and questions why he would betroth Sansa to someone like Joffrey. Eddard discovers Needle when he comes to Arya's room to talk to her while she is practicing. When he realizes she is serious about learning, he hires Syrio Forel , a master sword-fighter who was formerly the First Sword of Braavos , to train Arya in the art of combat. Eddard is bemused to find that Syrio's training regime includes having Arya balance on her tiptoes for hours at a time and chasing cats around their new residence in the Red Keep to learn agility. Arya and her father discuss how Bran cannot be a knight now that he is paralyzed below the waist, but he can be lord of a holdfast, or sit on the King's council . When Arya asks if she can as well, Eddard laughs and says that someday she will marry a powerful lord and have children who can be lords or even king and rule the land. Arya replies that is not her destiny: "That's not me" .
Arya lives on the streets of King's Landing, catching wild birds to feed herself. While trying to bargain for something to eat at a baker's stand, Arya notices crowds of people running to the city's center. She discovers that they are assembling to witness the trial of the Hand of the King. Dropping the pigeon she holds, Arya runs to the crowded square, and, to get a better view and see her father, she climbs on the pedestal of a statue of former Targaryen king Baelor (for whom the Sept is named). Eddard is brought out and pulled through the crowd. He spots Arya, and then, as he is taken past Yoren , the Night's Watch recruiter, he manages to signal in Arya's direction saying "Baelor", hoping that Yoren can find Arya and take her to safety. As previously agreed with Joffrey and Cersei, Eddard confesses to treason, but instead of granting mercy, Joffrey reneges and orders his execution . Arya dashes forward, drawing her sword in an attempt to save her father. Yoren manages to grab her. Holding Arya against his chest, he tells her not to look. Before he is executed, Eddard looks to the statue of Baelor and sees that Arya is gone. Arya looks up at the sky. Upon seeing the frightened birds taking flight from the cheer of the crowd, Arya knows that her father is dead.
Arya travels north on the Kingsroad with Yoren , posing as one of his Night's Watch recruits. She is drawn to one of the prisoners in the wagon, Jaqen H'ghar . Since he is a murderer from the black cells of the dungeons, where the worst criminals are kept in King's Landing, he will stay locked up in the cage until they reach the Wall. He asks for water, but the other two murderers, Rorge and Biter , threaten her, so she does not get it for him. She forms a bond with former blacksmith's apprentice Gendry who sees through her disguise. When Gold Cloaks arrive from King's Landing with a warrant for one of the recruits, Arya fears that they are looking for her, but it is actually Gendry (who is unaware of his status as a royal bastard of Robert Baratheon). Yoren intimidates them into leaving empty-handed. Arya confesses her identity to Gendry after he reveals being questioned by her father before leaving the capital.
Some time later, now a captive of the Hound, Arya picks up a rock and stands over the Hound planning to strike. She thinks he is sound asleep, but he opens his eyes and tells her she has one chance to hit him and kill him, because if she fails, he will break her hands. Later she sits on the horse with him sullen and refusing food he offers her. Sandor points out that for all she hates him, Arya could have been taken captive by far worse. He tells her the story of Sansa and how he rescued her from the mob, men who were going to rape her in every way then slit her throat and leaving her to die. Arya says he's lying, but Sandor says, "Ask your sister, if you ever see her again" . They continue onward across the meadows and arrive at a river, which Arya initially thinks is the Blackwater . Rather confused with her lack of understanding, he tells her it is the Red Fork of the Trident . Arya had believed the Hound was taking her back to King's Landing , but he reveals that he is in fact taking her to the Twins , intending to get a reward by ransoming her back to her family. The marriage of her uncle is imminent, and both her brother and her mother will be there at the Twins. He tells her ruefully that if she was not so busy trying to bash his skull in, they might make it in time for the wedding. Arya hides a smile, as the Hound spurs the horse to a gallop.
While riding to destinations unknown, Arya and Sandor come across a group of four Frey soldiers eating at a campfire. They are mocking the death of Arya's mother , while one of the soldiers describes the process of sewing Grey Wind's head onto Robb Stark's dead body. Arya then dismounts from Sandor's horse and slowly walks up behind the soldier . He turns around and asks her what she wants, and she says she wants to keep warm and is hungry. The soldiers rudely tell her to go away, then she says she has money, and shows them the Braavosi coin given to her by Jaqen H'ghar . She purposely drops the coin, and when the soldier bends down to pick it up, she repeatedly stabs him in the back of the neck with a knife. The other three men draw their weapons, but Sandor appears and kills all three with ease. Sandor asks Arya how she got a knife, and she says she took it from him. Sandor asks if that was the first man she has ever killed, and Arya confirms, "the first man " (not counting the stableboy in King's Landing). As Sandor helps himself to the soldiers' dinner, Arya picks up the coin with her bloodied fingers and whispers, "Valar Morghulis."
She quickly stabs him in the eyes and several times in the chest, but her blade is too short and has little effect. She teases him about how he was the first name on her list and how the Many-Faced God has denied her of others, but how he has delivered Trant to her. She asks him if he remembers Syrio Forel , who he presumably killed in King's Landing. She assumes he doesn't. Arya then asks if he knows who she is, though Trant is in too much pain and shock to understand what is happening. She reveals herself as Arya Stark, and slits his throat.
Upon arriving in Westeros, Arya travels to the Twins where she disguises herself as a serving girl. After Jaime and his soldiers depart for King's Landing, Arya manages to kill both "Lame" Lothar Frey and "Black" Walder Rivers , who were responsible for the deaths of Talisa Stark and her mother Catelyn Stark , respectively. She then proceeds to dismember their bodies and bake them into a pie , which she serves to Lord Walder Frey as the two are alone in the dining hall, still wearing the face of a serving girl. After she reveals her true identity, she slits Walder's throat and watches with amusement as he dies.
After departing from the Twins, Arya comes across a small convoy of Lannister soldiers, one of which gains her attention with a sweet song. Arya agrees, upon request, to join them at their fire, and accepts their offerings of food and drink, though cautiously. She engages in some small talk with them, including the destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor , all the while keeping her eye on their swords, and states that she is heading for King's Landing. After she admits that she is planning on killing Queen Cersei, they laugh, unaware that this is her true intention.
Later, Arya attends the discussions regarding Daenerys resuming her conquest of Westeros. While Daenerys asserts that King's Landing must be taken as soon as possible, Sansa counters that their men are exhausted from fighting the White Walkers and need rest, to which Arya silently agrees.
Jon reaffirms his loyalty to Daenerys's cause and states that the North will march to King's Landing, much to his sisters' displeasure. As the meeting's adjourned, Arya blocks Jon before he could leave the room and all the siblings all go down to the godswood to talk. Arya and Sansa express their distrust towards Daenerys while Jon defends her, stating she is the reason they survived the battle. Arya concedes that Jon did the right thing when he bent the knee to Daenerys as they needed Daenerys's dragons and her army, but adds that they're doing the right thing when they tell Jon they don't trust Daenerys. Jon insists they just need time to get to know her but Arya says they'll never know her because she's not one of them. Jon protests they can't only trust the people they grew up with and Arya replies she only needs her family, they are the last of the Starks. Jon responds he's not a Stark; Sansa and Arya disagree, Arya telling Jon, "You're my brother. Not my half-brother or my bastard brother. My brother." This prompts Jon to decide to tell his sisters the truth of his heritage - but only after they swear this information to secrecy. Once Arya and Sansa vow not to tell, Jon has Bran tell them.
Arya bluntly informs the guard that she came to kill Cersei, and it doesn't take much persuasion from the Hound for the guard to allow them to pass. The two enter King's Landing and manage to infiltrate the Red Keep amid the crowd of refugees scrambling inside. As the buildings of the Red Keep start to collapse all around them, Arya is still determined to carry out her revenge on Cersei. However, Sandor, witnessing the destruction being wrought by Daenerys on top of Drogon, dissuades Arya noting that Cersei will die regardless. He earnestly discourages her from ending up like him - beaten down by the world and driven by nothing the desire for vengeance. She thanks him, calling him 'Sandor' for the first time, and bids a final goodbye before fleeing.
Arya tries to flee the city but is trapped in by the mass of scared people fleeing the dragon's flames. She tries to rescue the inhabitants but is knocked unconscious, unable to help anyone. Regaining her consciousness after the Battle of King's Landing is over, she witnesses the city in ruins and leaves on a horseback, shell-shocked by Daenerys's massacre.
After Bran exiles Jon into the Night's Watch to prevent a war with the Unsullied, the Stark siblings bid him a final farewell on the docks of King's Landing. Arya informs them all that she has decided to sail to the west of Westeros, where no one has ever gone before, fulfilling her promise to Lady Crane. When Jon asks if she has Needle with her, she assures him that she does. She later captains a ship flying the Stark sigil, and departs into uncharted waters.
Once she begins the journey to King's Landing, however, she endures a constant stream of loss and trauma. As she watches her pet, sword instructor, friends, and family members taken from her one by one, she becomes increasingly detached towards murder and death. This is only exacerbated when she is captured by the Hound and is exposed to his fatalistic worldview as they traverse the war-ravaged Riverlands, though the two develop a mutual reliance and almost grudging respect for each other. When she witnesses and learns of the betrayal and murder of her family at the Red Wedding , she becomes colder and her urge to seek revenge on those who have wronged her and her family increases.
While she is initially horrified when she accidentally stabs the stableboy in King's Landing during the betrayal of her father and his men, by the time she and the Hound have fled the massacre at the Twins, she is able to kill without remorse and has accepted Syrio's belief that the only true god is Death. Following Yoren's advice to her before he died, she has taken to listing off the names of each person she intends to kill each night before she sleeps.
That being said, Arya is not completely blinded by revenge. After learning that her family has retaken Winterfell, she ultimately chooses reuniting with her loved ones over vengeance against her enemies (at least for the time being). During her last interaction with Sandor, Arya becomes encouraged to live her life to the fullest instead of being consumed by revenge like Sandor leading her to travel to new places. In spite of her cold-blooded personality and sadistic views toward people she hates, Arya does have her limits as the carnage in the aftermath of the Battle of King's Landing left her in a state of shock and horror at how far Daenerys' ruthlessness would go.
Arya seems to prefer staying out of politics. During a war meeting, planning for the Battle of King's Landing , Arya was clearly distrustful of Daenerys when she wanted northern troops to fight immediately. However, she did not actively speak out against her, preferring to let Sansa speak on her behalf. Later, instead of taking any action involving the truth about Jon's true parentage, she instead rides with the Hound to King's Landing to kill Cersei. Later, during a Great Council in the Dragonpit to elect the next monarch Arya withholds her vote for Bran since Sansa declares the North an independent kingdom and only speaks to threaten Yara when she suggests letting the unsullied keep Jon. All of this speaks to her preferring to let Sansa speak for her family on political matters and for her to focus on confronting threats to her family, friends, and herself in a more direct matter, outside of politics.
Arriving in King's Landing, Sansa's enmity towards Arya and her father continues. Eddard fails to mollify Sansa by buying her a doll as she had outgrown dolls. Eddard explains to Arya that Sansa could not defy Joffrey or go against his version of events if Sansa wished to maintain his goodwill in marriage.
Sansa remains a captive of Queen Regent Cersei in King's Landing. She has learned to feign loyalty to Joffrey to avoid further abuse from him. She attends Joffrey's name day tournament and convinces him to spare Ser Dontos Hollard when he attends drunk.
Sansa and Shae sit on the docks watching ships arrive and depart. Sansa wants to play a game making up stories about where the ships are headed, but Shae, in typical fashion, is uninterested. Sansa tells Shae that she enjoys the game because the truth is either "terrible or boring." Baelish arrives and tells Sansa of a new role that he has taken which will allow him to leave King's Landing, and offers to smuggle her out of the city. She is hesitant about the idea.
While she prays at the Red Keeps's godswood under guard, Margaery comes and talks to her, telling her that they should see Highgarden , the Tyrell home, together. Sansa replies that Cersei would never allow her to leave King's Landing. Margaery tells her that she could be wife to her brother, and this idea pleases Sansa.
Still unaware of this plan, Loras and Sansa spend more time together in the following weeks, though Sansa is far more enthusiastic about their impending marriage than he is. Loras admits he's always wanted a big wedding with many guests, fancy food, and a good tournament, though he only seems to remember that there will be a bride when Sansa gives him an expectant look. One subject where they do find common ground is their shared hatred of King's Landing, with Loras declaring the capital to be "the most terrible place there is."
Tyrion decides he might as well dash Sansa's hopes sooner rather than later. He goes to Sansa's chamber and asks for a private word, but Sansa declines to dismiss Shae. Tyrion gives Shae a carefully coded apology for not telling her in private before breaking the news to Sansa. As she watches Littlefinger's ship depart for the Vale of Arryn, Sansa is devastated to realize that both of her chances to leave King's Landing have gone, and she has no choice but to marry into the family that killed her father and is keeping her hostage.
Sansa, as "Alayne," is called to testify before Lord Yohn Royce , Lady Anya Waynwood , and Ser Vance Corbray before Baelish can get to her, much to his chagrin. Sansa quickly reveals her true identity and relates the tale of her captivity and flight from King's Landing. She then proceeds to truthfully tell of Lysa's mental instability, jealousy, and death, changing only a few small details (she kissed Littlefinger on the cheek and Lysa threw herself through the Moon Door). Sansa breaks down in tears and the lords are convinced, but while none of them are looking, she gives Littlefinger a stony, almost triumphant gaze; this indicates she is finally playing the ruthless game of thrones.
Sansa is later found by Littlefinger in the Godswood. She tells him about how she had prayed in it every day as a little girl, always dreaming of being somewhere else. She then asks what he truly wants, and he tells her what his ultimate ambition is: himself sitting on the Iron Throne with Sansa at his side. He tries to kiss her but she rebukes him. As she walks away, he tells her that although he had officially aligned House Arryn with House Stark, reprisals would come from King's Landing. Sansa reminds Littlefinger he's declared for other houses before and this did not stop him from switching sides to ensure his own interests. Before she leaves, Littlefinger once again reminds her of Jon's illegitimate birth.
In private, Jon tells Sansa that though she is his sister and can question his decisions, her publicly doing so in front of the Northern lords and ladies undermines his authority with them. Sansa tells Jon he is a good ruler but implores him not to repeat the past mistakes of Ned and Robb. After receiving a message from Cersei demanding that Jon bend the knee, Sansa warns Jon not to underestimate the new queen and recommends dealing with her before confronting the Night King . Sansa also remarks that she learned a lot from Cersei during her time at King's Landing.
Sansa brings Arya to Bran in the Godswood, where he is lost in thought by the Weirwood heart tree . Arya hugs Bran, who remains somewhat detached even at the sight of Arya. Bran says he isn't surprised Arya is alive because he saw her at the Inn at the Crossroads. Arya is confused, and Sansa explains that Bran is having "visions" now. Bran says he thought Arya was going to King's Landing, and when Sansa asks why Arya would head there of all places, he again startles them both by revealing Cersei is on Arya's list of names. Sansa asks Arya who else is on her list. Arya responds that most of these people, aside from Cersei, are dead already.
Several weeks following the Battle of King's Landing , after which Daenerys lays waste to its surrendered populace and she is assassinated by Jon to stop her destruction, Sansa journeys to King's Landing. She takes command of the northern forces and stations them outside of the city. She does this to ensure the safety of herself and the other lords and ladies inside Kings's Landing, where she attends a great council in the dragonpit to decide the future of Westeros with the rest of the council. While Bran is elected as King of the Andals and the First Men , Sansa holds to her convictions and requests that the North become an independent realm once more, to which Bran agrees. Jon is sentenced to rejoin the Night's Watch , and Arya intends to sail west of the Sunset Sea . After saying her goodbyes to her siblings, Sansa returns to Winterfell and is crowned Queen in the North .
Sansa subsequently escapes King's Landing to the Vale with Littlefinger, and her experiences have clearly changed her personality. She had to learn from painful experience how to lie to survive at Joffrey's court, saying one thing but meaning another and manipulating people to her own ends as best she could. No longer under constant control by Joffrey and Cersei's guards, she is in her own way beginning to mature into her own power and influence as a political force.
In the books, Sansa is shown to be partially responsible for her father's arrest by revealing to Cersei his plan to have his daughters leave the capital city. Given that she is only a naive eleven-year-old, and that Eddard didn't give her any explanation for why he wanted to send her away from King's Landing, she assumed he was simply fighting with Cersei over some matter of state. Still enraptured with the idea of staying and marrying Joffrey, Sansa thought that if she told Cersei she would then smooth over whatever disagreement they had. Yet the main fault is Eddard's, for foolishly revealing his cards to Cersei, and even more foolishly - putting his trust in Littlefinger and revealing his plan to him. Thus Littlefinger and Cersei knew what Eddard planned to do and had time to prepare counter-measures, regardless of what Sansa told Cersei.
Sansa technically gained the title of "princess" when her brother Robb was declared the new King in the North . While her brothers Bran and Rickon use the title of "prince" among the Northerners at Winterfell, Sansa's storyline involves her being held as a prisoner at King Joffrey's court in King's Landing. The Lannisters refuse to acknowledge the North's claims of independence so they don't refer to Sansa as "princess." Meanwhile, Sansa is in fear for her life and is subjected to frequent beatings at the hands of the Kingsguard at Joffrey's whim, so she doesn't refer to herself as "princess" for fear of angering her captors. Thus her title is rarely, if ever, invoked (unless Robb and Catelyn in the Northern camp are discussing her captivity).
Following Sansa's escape from King's Landing, Littlefinger takes her first to his ancestral home at the Fingers. There he reveals Sansa part of the scheme to murder Joffrey; he does not reveal what his motive was, nor why it was necessary to involve her in the scheme.
Eddard was a trusted, close friend and counselor of King Robert Baratheon . Both boys were fostered as children by Jon Arryn , the Defender of the Vale , they grew to love each other as brothers and loved Jon Arryn as a father figure. He supported Robert's play for the throne by acting as a general in several major battles. Eddard's sister, Lyanna, who was betrothed to Robert, was purportedly kidnapped by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen , igniting a war. Brandon protested the kidnapping, but his attempt to bring Rhaegar to justice failed. Lord Rickard was summoned to court in King's Landing by Aerys, and both Brandon and Rickard were brutally executed by the Mad King. Their deaths left Eddard to inherit Rickard's responsibilities, serving King Robert instead.
A raven bearing news of the death of Jon Arryn , Eddard's childhood mentor and foster father, flies to Winterfell. The missive also states that King Robert and much of the royal court is on their way to the castle. Eddard realizes that Robert means to name him as Hand of the King to replace Jon. He ponders refusal. However, when Robert arrives, he makes it clear that he badly needs Eddard's help in King's Landing . He also sweetens the deal by offering to betroth his son and heir Joffrey to Eddard's daughter Sansa . Eddard remains uncertain until a secret letter from Lysa Arryn , Catelyn 's sister, implicates the Lannisters in the death of Jon Arryn. Eddard decides to accept to investigate both Jon Arryn's death and a potential plot against the king. He decides to bring both of his daughters to introduce them at court.
Bran is found comatose at the base of a disused tower following an apparent climbing accident. Eddard reluctantly decides to leave as planned, to his wife's distress. Eddard, Arya , Sansa, and the royal party head south to King's Landing . At their parting, Eddard tells Jon he is a Stark and that while he does not have Eddard's name, he has his blood. He also promises to tell him about his mother the next time they meet.
On his arrival in King's Landing, Eddard is immediately summoned to a Small Council meeting and finds the capital immersed in political intrigue. Members of the king's Small Council are at the heart of these machinations: Petyr Baelish , the Master of Coin , known as Littlefinger; Varys , the Master of Whisperers ; Pycelle , the Grand Maester ; and Renly Baratheon , the Master of Laws and Robert's younger brother. Eddard learns that the crown is six million gold dragons in debt, with half of it owed to Lord Tywin Lannister . Regardless, Robert has ordered a lavish tournament to celebrate Eddard's appointment.
While acclimating to the political maneuvering, Eddard also tries to repair the rift between Sansa and Arya with mixed results. Sansa rejects his gifts, but Arya is delighted when he hires a swordmaster, Syrio Forel , to train her.
Theon Greyjoy , after reflecting on his betrayal of the Starks and his abandonment by his father, comes to the conclusion that Ned Stark was the closest thing to a father he ever had, realizing that his "real father died in King's Landing", which he confesses to Ramsay Snow . The realization that he had betrayed Ned's memory and the only people who ever truly treated him like family moves Theon to tears.
Jon and Gendry bond over their fathers, Ned and Robert , having been friends. Jon tells Gendry that he saw Robert Baratheon at Winterfell and Gendry tells Jon that he met Ned in King's Landing. Jon reveals he grew up on stories about their fathers and Gendry says he heard they fought together and won, telling Jon he wants to join him on their mission beyond the Wall.
Robb sends his prisoner Alton Lannister to King's Landing with peace terms. Robb sends deliberately disagreeable terms to Queen Regent Cersei to waste her time: his demands include the release of his sisters, the return of his father's remains along with the remains of all those who served him, and the recognition of the North as a free and independent kingdom. The terms are rejected as expected. Theon appeals to Robb to send him to Pyke to seek an alliance with his father citing their need for a fleet in order to attack King's Landing. Catelyn counsels against putting trust in Balon because of Greyjoy Rebellion . She asks Robb to consider exchanging Jaime for his sisters. She then asks to return to her younger sons at Winterfell, but Robb tasks her with seeking an alliance with Renly, and sends Ser Rodrik instead to Winterfell. Catelyn remarks on the fact that Renly has now declared himself King of the Andals and the First Men , and how there is now an excess of Kings in Westeros .
Instead, Robb and Brynden are furious with Edmure: their grand strategy for the war was to lure Tywin and Gregor's Lannister armies into the Westerlands , where they would be vulnerable out of position, and more importantly, to leave the capital city vulnerable to attack by the Baratheons. Edmure's role in this was to offer token defense as a feint to lure the Lannisters back across the Red Fork of the Trident. Instead, by successfully attacking the Lannisters at Stone Mill, Edmure kept them penned in the Riverlands, and thus close enough to King's Landing that Tywin was able to rush to the defense of the city at the Battle of the Blackwater . The Starks' strategic position in the war has been ruined. Edmure insists that they took valuable captives in the battle, Willem and Martyn Lannister , but Robb angrily points out that he didn't stop fighting because his sisters are held captive.
The bloody corpses of the prisoners are laid out on the floor in front of Robb in Riverrun's main meeting room. Robb is disgusted, remarking that Karstark needed five men to brutally murder two unarmed squires in their own prison cell. Karstark insists that it was a father's vengeance. Robb points out that these boys had nothing to do with the death of Karstark's sons, who were both killed by Jaime. Rickard explains that he was denied his vengeance when Catelyn set Jaime free in hopes of a prisoner exchange for her daughters in King's Landing. Rickard decides to enact vengeance by killing Jaime's kin who they held prisoner.
Robb's strict adherence to justice makes things turn out just as badly as his advisors said they would: the Karstarks withdraw their soldiers from his army and march for home, resulting in Robb losing almost half of his forces which were stationed at Riverrun. Robb openly admits to Talisa that she was right, and he made a mistake. Robb says Tywin Lannister realizes that he's in such a strong position he doesn't even need to attack the Northerners anymore, he just needs to wait, and let their demoralized forces unravel. When the war began Robb's army was unified around a central purpose, but now they have lost momentum, and his generals are acting like bickering children. Robb shows Talisa a war map of the Seven Kingdoms - depicting Robb's armies concentrated around Riverrun and Harrenhal, Lannister and Tyrell armies overrunning the Stormlands , Lannister/Tyrell armies concentrated in King's Landing, and Greyjoy forces occupying the western coasts of the North . Talisa suggests that he try to take the fight to the Lannisters if they won't come to him, but he explains that this is hopeless. Taking the city would have been difficult to begin with, but now Tywin and the bulk of the main Lannister army, as well as a large Tyrell army, are defending the city. Attacking the capital head-on would be suicide, and Tywin would crush them within a day. Talisa suggests that he lead his army back to the North to repulse the Greyjoys from his homeland and rebuild his power base. Robb points out that as soon as all of his tired soldiers are back home, they won't want to leave again - particularly because "winter is coming", and the coming one is expected to be very long, five years or more. The Northerners have been away from their farms fighting in the war, however, so they haven't even begun to collect harvests to set aside as winter stockpiles.
Thus if Robb returns to the North, it will be difficult to rally his men to return south to defend the riverlords who declared for him. Eyeing the map with Talisa, Robb decides that if King's Landing is too strong to attack and he can't return home, his only remaining option is to strike where his enemy is weakest. Robb decides that with the main Lannister army group under Tywin now positioned all the way to the east in King's Landing, he needs to return to the Westerlands and make an all-or-nothing assault against Casterly Rock . This will make the Lannisters lose face, just as Robb did when he lost his home castle of Winterfell, and bring momentum back to his army. However, with the loss of the Karstark forces, they don't currently have enough men to consider attacking Casterly Rock. The only way they can gain enough soldiers to even attempt such an assault is if Robb can win back the allegiance of House Frey, whose thousands of soldiers withdrew from Robb's army when he broke his promise to make a marriage-alliance with them by marrying Talisa, a political nobody, instead of one of Lord Walder Frey's daughters. Thus, Robb must try to repair his alliance with House Frey.
Robb later consults with his mother about attacking Casterly Rock. Robb claims that it is a dangerous move, but if Tywin's castle is taken away from him - the lords of Westeros will realize he is not invincible. Catelyn points out that the plan requires the cooperation of Lord Frey, and in case reinforcements arrive from King's Landing before the castle is taken - the Stark host will be destroyed. She silently examines the map, and finally says in a harsh voice "Show them how it feels to lose what they love."
Robb's death is a cause for celebration in King's Landing, as Joffrey openly mocks Robb and the way in which he died, taking credit for defeating the Young Wolf. Tyrion mentions to his father that the northerners will never forget the way in which Robb and his forces were killed to which Tywin proudly boasts it as a reminder of what will happen if the north ever goes to war with the south again.
Bran is being trained by his father, brothers and the castle's staff in leadership and combat. Bran is considered old enough to see some of the uglier sides of life, and his father takes him to see a deserter from the Night's Watch being executed . The Starks find a litter of direwolf pups and Ned reluctantly agrees to let his children adopt them because they are the symbol of their House. Bran eventually settles on naming his direwolf Summer. King Robert Baratheon 's party arrives at Winterfell, and Ned agrees to act as the Hand of the King and accompany Robert back to King's Landing , and to take Bran, Sansa and Arya with him.
After Catelyn leaves for King's Landing, Old Nan sits by Bran’s bedside to watch him. She offers to tell him the story of Duncan the Tall and Bran replies that he hates her stories —he prefers the scary ones. She retorts that he is a "sweet summer child" who knows nothing about fear, and tells him that fear is for the winter and for the Long Night, a winter season thousands of years ago that lasted a generation, in which those who didn't freeze to death had to face the White Walkers , who ventured south for the first time and swept through Westeros. They are interrupted by Robb, and Bran asks him if it is true he will never walk again. Sadly, Robb says yes. Bran says that he would rather be dead, to Robb's distress.
Bran is later brought to join Sansa in what initially appears to be a trial for Arya but actually Petyr. Sansa accuses Petyr of murdering their aunt Lysa Arryn , orchestrating the Assassination of Jon Arryn , and conspiring with the Lannisters to betray their father, leading to the deaths of the entire Stark household in King's Landing as well as Ned's execution. At first, Petyr denies these accusations and points out that none of them actually saw him do any of these things. Bran reminds Petyr that he held a knife to his father's throat and repeats what he said to him then: "I did warn you not to trust me." Arya then shows Petyr the very same dagger that was meant to kill Bran and tells him that he lied to their parents about it belonging to Tyrion. Bran watches as his mother's former childhood friend and suitor crumples to the floor and begs for his life before Arya slits his throat with his own dagger.
After the battle with the dead, Sam takes part in the mass funeral, lighting the funeral pyre with Edd's body on top, and the celebrations at Winterfell. Before departing to fight the Lannister forces at King's Landing , Jon bids farewell to Sam, who informs him that Gilly is pregnant with his child.
When King Bran arrives and asks if they have heard anything about Drogon , he tries to state that he was last seen flying east of Volantis , but is interrupted by Bronn before he can complete his sentence. After Bran goes looking for the dragon himself with the Sight , Tyrion discusses with him about clean water improving the health of people, based on his experience with the Casterly Rock sewers. Sam tries to inform him about the research done by Ebrose on this subject, but is interrupted again by Bronn who sums it up as "the strong live and the weak don't." Tyrion then assigns Sam to hire the best builders for building a proper sewage system and providing clean water to King's Landing . When Bronn suggests rebuilding the brothels, Sam is dismissive of the idea.
Theon and Robb exchange views over the matter of Jory Cassel 's death and the growing Stark-Lannister animosity in King's Landing . Robb brusquely reminds Theon that he is not a Stark. Bran is taken prisoner by wildlings in the forest near Winterfell and Theon saves him by shooting Stiv , the wildling leader, in the back with an arrow. Robb is angry at him, as Bran could have been hurt. Theon counters that he just saved Bran's life, and Robb was too hesitant to kill. Taking pride in his action, Theon says that you're "only considered a real man in the Iron Islands once you've killed your first enemy."
With the departure of Ros for King's Landing, Theon is left at the castle and is bored. He accosts the surviving wildling prisoner, the spearwife Osha , as she is now a servant at Winterfell. Theon throws his weight around, insisting that she call him "my lord", even though his father still holds the title. He is warned off by Maester Luwin who reminds Theon that he of all people should know that being a guest and a prisoner are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Theon appeals to Robb to seek an alliance with his father, Balon Greyjoy , reasoning that Robb needs a fleet to attack King's Landing, and confident that Balon will listen to him. Despite Catelyn's reservations that Balon Greyjoy cannot be trusted, Robb sends Theon home to Pyke as his envoy.
However, he shows no sympathy when Bran falls from a tower and is severely injured, and has to be physically chastised by his uncle Tyrion before he will pay his respects to Bran's parents. While on the Kingsroad to King's Landing , Joffrey is walking with Sansa and chances upon her sister Arya practicing sword play with a commoner, Mycah . Joffrey sees a chance to have some fun with Mycah, who is too scared to move. Joffrey accuses him of assault on a noble girl and starts to slice into his face with his sword. Enraged, Arya hits Joffrey, allowing Mycah to get away.
In King's Landing, Joffrey tells his mother about how he would handle the people of the North as she treats his injury. He suggests capturing Winterfell, taxing the people hard and forcing their warriors to join a "royal army." Cersei elucidates the flaws in his plan and warns Joffrey that a king needs to be more careful in choosing his battles. Cersei tells her son that, "Everyone who isn't us is an enemy." She also urges Joffrey to do something nice for Sansa to win back her goodwill.
Becoming stressed with Jon Snow 's reign as King in the North , Sansa remarks that Joffrey showed similar behavior, as he never listens to anyone on how to rule. Jon then questions if he is anything like Joffrey, to which Sansa replies he is the furthest from Joffrey she has ever known. In King's Landing, Cersei reels off a list of her enemies and calls Sansa, who she still believes had a hand in Joffrey's death, a "murdering whore."
Even into the first months of Joffrey's reign as king, many commoners assume that the "good King Joffrey" will soon restore peace and order and put an end to the war. At first, some can't really grasp that Joffrey himself started the war with a flippant outburst which killed Eddard Stark, and thus assume Eddard may have deserved it (given that no "sane" ruler would randomly execute a major lord without justification). Only gradually and grudgingly do people start to suspect that Joffrey might not be a fit king, but even then they try to rationalize this disconnect between Joffrey's beautiful appearance and horrible personality by latching onto the belief that assuredly Joffrey's uncle, the "demon-monkey" dwarf Tyrion, must be leading the attractive boy astray with bad counsel. Only after Joffrey has several meltdowns in open court, and brazenly commits several atrocities in full view of the public (i.e. needlessly starting the riots in King's Landing by antagonizing starving refugees) do people start to accept that someone as attractive as Joffrey could truly be so evil.
Stannis arrives with a force superior to the defenders of King's Landing in both ships and soldiers, and attempts to take the city in the massive Battle of the Blackwater . He is sailing into the harbor when Tyrion springs a surprise attack, using an unmanned ship filled with wildfire . Bronn shoots a flaming arrow at the wildfire , which has spread over the water in between Stannis's ships, and a massive explosion destroys many of them, including Davos's command ship. Stannis orders the survivors to prepare for landing. When Ser Imry Florent tells him that hundreds will die, he coldly replies, "Thousands."
During his stay at King's Landing, Eddard sent Stannis two letters: the first contained a polite request to return to the council. Eddard did not receive any answer, and it is unknown whether Stannis received it. The second letter, which Eddard wrote after discovering the truth about Cersei's children, was given to Tomard with strict instructions to deliver it personally to Stannis. However, Tom was killed and the letter was taken from his body before it could be delivered.
Petyr became obsessed and in love with Catelyn, but she never returned his affections. Lysa was infatuated with Petyr, but he only loved Catelyn. Eventually when she was betrothed to Brandon Stark , heir to Winterfell , Petyr challenged him to a duel, thinking he could win through pluck and courage but he was promptly overpowered and nearly killed, though Catelyn begged Brandon to spare his life (an act which she deeply regretted years later ). Embittered, Petyr was cast out of Riverrun and returned to the Vale. During the course of Robert's Rebellion , however, Brandon was killed by the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen , so Catelyn married his younger brother Eddard Stark , while to secure a political alliance Lysa was wed to Jon Arryn , ruler of the Vale. Manipulating Lysa's infatuation with himself, Petyr ingratiated himself into Jon's services, first as a customs officer at Gulltown , where he increased the port's revenues tenfold. Seeing Littlefinger's financial acumen, Jon was easily convinced by Lysa to later bring Littlefinger to the royal court at King's Landing , and make him Master of Coin on King Robert Baratheon 's Small Council . Petyr's blatant ambition often placed him at odds with the Master of Whisperers , Varys .
A short time later, Littlefinger meets with Sansa, offering her a place on his ship that will take him from the capital to the Vale of Arryn. Sansa practices lying for a change, and tells him that they should wait until after Joffrey's wedding, primarily because she fears for his safety if the plan fails (in actuality, she believes her staying in King's Landing will result in a marriage to Loras). A master manipulator, Littlefinger is clearly suspicious of her motives, but doesn't press the matter for the moment. Instead he says he is touched by her concern for his safety, and insists that she call him "Petyr."
Still sailing, Lord Baelish approaches Sansa at her cabin and tells her that they are on their way to the Vale where she will be safe. Sansa accuses him of killing Joffrey; he tries to deny it at first, but Sansa knows that he had something to do with the murder because getting her out of King's Landing was part of the plan. He admits it, telling her about the poison in the necklace, and states that Joffrey couldn't be trusted and had to be removed. Because Baelish has been away for a while, he would never be suspected, and the whole purpose of the murder was to confuse the Lannisters--which his new friend, Lady Olenna , wanted very badly.
Following Lysa's death, Petyr Baelish is questioned by Lord Yohn Royce , Lady Anya Waynwood , and Ser Vance Corbray about Lysa's death, which he claims was suicide. The lords don't believe him, given Lysa's devotion to her son. They rebuff Littlefinger's explanations in favor of speaking with the only other witness: his "niece", Alayne. Baelish is noticeably concerned after they reveal that they will not allow him to speak to her prior to her testimony so they can hear the "unadulterated truth." However, after confirming that Baelish can stay for her testimony, Alayne reveals her true identity, the tale of her captivity and flight from King's Landing. She then speaks of Lysa's mental instability, jealousy, and death, changing only a few details: saying Littlefinger only kissed her on the cheek and that Lysa did throw herself from the Moon Door. Sansa breaks down in tears and the lords are convinced, but while none of them are looking, she gives Littlefinger a stony, almost triumphant gaze.
Baelish later stands in his ruined brothel with a look of regret. He is approached by Olenna Tyrell, having sent her a letter to speak with him. As they speak, Olenna mentions how her grandchildren, Margaery and Loras, have been arrested due to Cersei's machinations and demands his help by threatening that if anything happens to her or if House Tyrell goes down, she will reveal his involvement in Joffrey's murder, which will certainly lead to his execution; she also threatens to have her men murder him should any harm befall her. Outmaneuvered, Baelish reveals that Cersei summoned him to King's Landing for "a piece of information he had" , his prostitute Olyvar, and he tells Olenna that he will give her the same thing he gave Cersei: a handsome young man — implied, in this instance, to be Lancel. Olenna subsequently forces Lancel to reveal the adulterous affair he had with Cersei to the High Sparrow , who has her arrested.
Varys and Tyrion later confront Daenerys outside the dragonglass mountain, where they inform her of the loss of Olenna Tyrell and Highgarden as well as the fact that the Unsullied hold Casterly Rock , but are starved out and will be most likely defeated due to Euron Greyjoy 's attack on their navy. Because of this, Daenerys decides to attack head on with her dragons. However, she still is swayed from attacking King's Landing , and instead decides on attacking the Lannister - Tarly forces on the Goldroad .
The shadow assassinates Renly , and Stannis takes control of the majority of his army. Catelyn and Brienne are in the tent with Renly when he is killed. Catelyn is not sure what she saw, but Brienne is sure it was a shadow with Stannis's face. Stannis sails on King's Landing with his new forces, but Davos convinces him to leave Melisandre behind lest she be credited for his victory.
Catelyn says that she hasn't been to the capital city of King's Landing since nine years before her husband went there to be the new Hand of the King, which would be around the time of the Greyjoy Rebellion .
The next day, Catelyn goes to the tower where Bran fell and finds a blonde strand of hair inside. She summons Robb, Theon Greyjoy , Luwin and Ser Rodrik Cassel , the master-at-arms , and tells that that she suspects that the Lannisters tried to kill Bran because he saw something in the tower. Robb and Theon are for making war, but Luwin schools them to caution. Catelyn decides that Ned must know the truth and resolves to meet him in King's Landing. Ser Rodrik escorts her, while Robb commands the castle in her absence. Bran awakens after her departure but is paralyzed by his injuries.
Catelyn lingers at the Eyrie trying to convince Lysa to commit the Vale's knights to oppose the Lannisters. Lysa is unwilling to take any action which might endanger her son. Catelyn finally decides to leave after Lysa delays telling her about Eddard's arrest in King's Landing , following King Robert's death . Catelyn and Ser Rodrik ride north and meet Robb's army as he marches south. They join his war council, though Catelyn is careful to not embarrass her son or make him appear indecisive. Catelyn points out that to confront the two Lannister armies that have invaded the Riverlands , her father's lands, Robb's army must cross the Green Fork of the Trident at the Twins , which means negotiating with the famously unreliable and prickly Lord Walder Frey .
She visits Jaime's cell and accuses him of being a man without honor. Jaime asserts that he has more honor than some; he reveals that Cersei is the only one he has slept with and reminds Catelyn how her husband cheated on her and fathered Jon Snow . Catelyn releases Jaime, planning to exchange him for her captive daughters. She sends Brienne to escort him to King's Landing . Brienne successfully smuggles him out of the camp and travels by rowboat to evade pursuit. Robb is furious that Catelyn acted behind his back and orders her kept under guard. He says that Jaime has played her for a fool and that she has weakened their position.
Catelyn releases Jaime not to prevent Rickard Karstark from killing him; the news about the alleged deaths of Bran and Rickon, combined with Cleos Frey's admission he has not seen Arya, drive her to attempt saving Sansa. Once again, Catelyn acts very rashly and selfishly: she does not give any thought about the damage her deed will cause Robb's authority, nor about the folly in the idea of sending Jaime via a land strewn with enemies and outlaws, escorted by only two people (one of whom - Cleos Frey - is an untrustworthy coward). She also does not take into consideration that even if Jaime is brought to King's Landing - the Lannisters will not simply let Sansa go away. The foolhardy plan goes totally wrong: Cleos Frey is killed by outlaws; Jaime and Brienne are captured by the Brave Companions; Brienne is nearly gang-raped and killed, and saved thanks to Jaime; by the time they finally arrive at King's Landing, Sansa had already escaped (even if she had still been there, it is highly doubtful Tywin would have released her); finally, Jaime's escape costs Robb the Karstark troops.
Before Oberyn travels to King's Landing, Doran gives him instructions: to take the measure of Joffrey and his council; to make note of their strengths and weaknesses; to find friends for Dorne, if there are any to be found; to learn what he can of Elia's end; but not to provoke Lord Tywin unduly. Oberyn laughs and says "When have I provoked any man unduly ? You would do better to warn the Lannisters against provoking me." Eventually he goes beyond anything Doran asked him, refusing to wait any longer in seeking justice for Elia.
When Oberyn travels to King's Landing to take Dorne's seat on the Small Council, he meets Tyrion at the gates of the capital with the main Dornish party, not in a brothel as depicted in the TV series. It is at this point that he tells Tyrion about the first time they met, soon after Tyrion had been born, which the series held back until Oberyn visited Tyrion in his black cell, probably for dramatic effect. Similarly, Oberyn offered to be Tyrion's champion before Tyrion actually demanded a trial by combat, whereas in the series he dramatically volunteers to be his champion when Tyrion has lost all hope of finding anyone to fight for him, and is resigned to facing the Mountain himself.
Catelyn decides to free Jaime in an attempt to exchange him for her two daughters, who she believes are both being held hostage in King's Landing by the Lannisters. She orders Brienne to smuggle Jaime from the camp and deliver him to King's Landing in order to secure the safety of her daughters. Brienne travels by horse until finding a rowboat to evade pursuit. She suffers the constant antagonism of her captive as he taunts her about her appearance and her likely dismal history with the opposite sex.
Lord Bolton allows Jaime to leave for King's Landing, but decides to keep Brienne in Harrenhal for abetting treason, in spite of Jaime's protests. Soon afterwards, Lord Bolton departs to attend Edmure Tully 's wedding at the Twins , leaving Brienne in Locke's custody. Locke attempts to ransom Brienne to her father, who offers 300 gold dragons for her return. He rejects the offer as derisory, having believed Jaime's earlier lie that Brienne's father owned all the sapphire mines in Westeros.
Instead, he throws her into a gladiatorial pit with a bear, giving her only a wooden sword to defend herself. After hearing that Brienne has been left at Locke's mercy at Harrenhal, Jaime compels his escorts to return to save her. Jaime jumps into the pit, and with the help of Steelshanks who is bound by his duty to ensure Jaime arrives in King's Landing safely, the two of them manage to escape the pit. Locke is outraged, but Jaime insists that Brienne accompany him, adding that Lord Bolton will not be pleased if he discovers that Locke placed his own amusement over Jaime's safe return to King's Landing. Locke relents, and Brienne and Jaime depart together.
Later that day, Brienne meets with Jaime near the Red Keep's Godswood to discuss the Stark girls. Jaime seems uninterested in fulfilling his promise to the now-deceased Catelyn, telling Brienne that Arya has not been seen for months and is probably dead, and Sansa is now his sister-in-law. Brienne demands that Jaime look her in the eye and say that Sansa is safe in King's Landing; Jaime is unable to do so.
Brienne is present at the wedding feast of King Joffrey and Queen Margaery. She greets the king and queen with a bow, which earns her a brash reaction from Cersei . Joffrey mistakes her for the one who assassinated Renly Baratheon, which Margaery quickly corrects. Right after, Cersei thanks her for bringing her brother back to King's Landing safely. Brienne adds that Jaime saved her on multiple occasions, which irritates Cersei. Cersei finds it interesting that Brienne served Renly, followed by Catelyn, and now Jaime. Brienne states that she does not serve her brother, but Cersei wonders aloud if Brienne is in love with him; Brienne does not answer the question before leaving.
Following Sansa's escape from King's Landing, Jaime tasks Brienne with finding her and taking her somewhere safe, far away from his sister. As parting gifts, he gives her a new suit of armor and lets her keep his Valyrian steel sword, as it was reforged from Eddard Stark 's greatsword Ice , and it would be appropriate to protect Ned Stark's daughter with a sword forged from his. He also sends her Tyrion 's former squire Podrick Payne to accompany Brienne on her travels. During an emotional farewell on the Kingsroad , Jaime asks her to name the sword, and after a moment's thought, she chooses to call it " Oathkeeper ."
After failing to locate Arya, Podrick asks Brienne if they intend to journey to Castle Black to see if Sansa has been taken in by Jon. Brienne dismisses the idea of the two of them continuing to travel together, as Podrick is now hundreds of miles from the dangers of King's Landing. Podrick wishes to remain with Brienne as her squire in order to locate Sansa, but she sharply reminds him that she is not a knight, nor his mother. Brienne laments that the only thing she ever wanted was to fight for a lord she believed in, but now all the good lords are dead and the rest are monsters.
Brienne later takes part in the first meeting of the Small Council , under the stewardship of Tyrion, the new Hand of the King. She tells Podrick to take Bran away from the meeting so he can focus on finding Drogon, who has been seen flying towards Volantis , using his abilities as a warg . When Bronn suggests rebuilding the city's brothels (since all of the well-known ones were destroyed following the Battle of King's Landing ), she expresses disapproval at the thought of prioritizing it over rebuilding the royal fleet, which clearly takes precedence due to the lack of ships in the Six Kingdoms following the Last War .
Podrick Payne runs away from King's Landing and meets up with Brienne at Maidenpool , hoping that if they find Sansa, they will also find Tyrion. During a bloody encounter with three of the Brave Companions (Timeon, Pyg, and Shagwell), Pod helps Brienne by throwing a stone at Shagwell's head, stunning him while Brienne deals with the other thugs, and eventually kills all the three.
Brienne and Cersei have no interactions throughout the novels. In the fifth novel Cersei is told that Jaime was seen in Brienne's company. She vaguely remembers Brienne as " a huge, ugly, shambling thing who dressed in man's mail ." It is unknown where she met Brienne; since Brienne was arrested at Jaime's order (for her own protection) as soon as they entered King's Landing, and left shortly after Jaime released her, Cersei could not have met her.
On his return to King's Landing Sandor stands guard over Joffrey during the tournament held in honor of Eddard's appointment as Hand. Sandor watches distastefully as his brother Gregor kills Ser Hugh of the Vale . Littlefinger tells Sansa that Sandor and Gregor hate one another because, when he was very young, Sandor played with one of Gregor's toys without his elder brother's permission. Gregor held Sandor's face over an open fire, resulting in his hideous burns. They have been enemies ever since.
He is then brought to the hollow hill, where is he is confronted by the Brotherhood's leader, Beric Dondarrion . The Brotherhood still tries to convict him of crimes, because of his long service to the Lannisters , but cannot find anything against him. They also accuse him of being accountable of the total number of crimes committed by House Clegane , such as the events of the Sack of King's Landing and the Battle at the Mummer's Ford , which Sandor explains were the crimes of his brother alone.
Arya attempts to kill Sandor with a rock, thinking he is sound asleep. He opens his eyes and tells her she has one chance to hit him, and kill him, but if she fails he will break her hands. Later she sits on the horse with him, sullen and refusing the food he offers her. Sandor points out that for all she hates him, Arya could have been taken captive by someone far worse. He tells her about Sansa and how he rescued her from a group of would-be rapists. Arya disbelieves this, but Sandor says: "Ask your sister if you ever see her again." They arrive at a river which Arya initially thinks to be the Blackwater. He points out that the river is the Red Fork of the Trident. Arya believed he was taking her back to King's Landing, but he reveals that he is in fact taking her to The Twins, where her mother and brother will shortly be attending her uncle 's wedding to Roslin Frey , and he will ransom her to them. He tells her ruefully that if she wasn't so busy trying to kill him they might make it in time for the wedding, which somewhat amuses Arya.
While the living celebrate their victory over the dead, Sandor expresses disinterest in sleeping with any woman. When Sansa talks to him, he states she wouldn't have to go through the trauma she went through if she escaped King's Landing with him during the Battle of the Blackwater . Sansa however replies that if she did, she wouldn't have learnt so much and would still be a "little bird."
During the Battle of King's Landing , Sandor and Arya infiltrate King's Landing in order to assassinate Cersei. After they reach the Red Keep , Sandor witnesses the destruction being wrought by Drogon and convinces Arya to leave the city in order to survive. He is able to reach the Red Keep and effortlessly slaughters the surviving Queensguard , but allows Cersei to flee, only having desire to kill Gregor and knowing that the Lannister queen will likely die during Daenerys 's attack.
The history of Sandor's burns is revealed to Sansa by Sandor himself, and delivered with a warning that he will kill her if she ever reveals it to anyone; Arya is never told, neither by Sandor nor by anyone else. In the television adaption, Littlefinger tells Sansa of the origins of Sandor's burned face as they attend the Hand's Tournament in King's Landing, with the same ominous warning as to what will happen to her should she tell anyone else; Arya sits next to Sansa and listens to the story too.
During Robert's Rebellion , one year after Rhaegar knighted him, Gregor participated in the Sack of King's Landing . After entering the Red Keep, he brutally killed Rhaegar's daughter Rhaenys and baby son Aegon : he killed Aegon by bashing his head against the wall, and then, while still covered in the gore from the children, proceeded to viciously torture and rape Elia; after torturing and raping her for several hours, he then horrifically killed her. It is rumored that he killed her by cutting her in half with a single swing of his massive sword, although he later claimed to have "smashed her head in with his bare hands."
Catelyn takes Tyrion into custody, on suspicion of the attempted assassination of her son Bran . In response, Gregor is dispatched to raid the Riverlands , her homeland. Refugees from the Riverlands attend court in King's Landing and report that a huge knight who could take the head of a horse off in one blow led the attack and had sacked their villages. Littlefinger asks Eddard: "Remind you of someone?" Eddard sends Beric Dondarrion with a hundred men to bring Gregor to justice. Eddard declares him a false knight and strips him of all ranks and titles, lands and holdings, and sentences him to death. The ruling was made null by Eddard's arrest for treason and subsequent beheading.
Oberyn Martell discusses with Tyrion how the last time he was in King's Landing, it was for the wedding of his sister Elia to Rhaegar. He also states that during the Sack of King's Landing, his sister was raped and murdered by Gregor. Oberyn believes that Tyrion's father, Tywin, was the one to give the order to the Mountain. He told Tyrion that he intended to avenge her.
Polliver tells Gregor's brother Sandor when meeting in a tavern further north, that while loyal to the Mountain and the Lannisters, Polliver wasn't in agreement with Gregor's torturous methods because they were repetitive and boring.
Gregor is present when Euron and Captain Harry Strickland announce the arrival of the Golden Company to Cersei. Afterwards, Euron makes another move on Cersei, but Clegane stops him from proceeding with a menacing stare. Nevertheless, when the queen finally allows Euron to have his way with her, Clegane does not intervene. During the parley outside the gates of King's Landing, Gregor carries out Cersei's order of executing Missandei .
During the Battle of King's Landing , Gregor stays by Cersei's side to guard her. As Daenerys intensifies Drogon's fiery assault on the Red Keep, Qyburn convinces Cersei to flee her tower while Gregor protects them both from the falling debris. On the stairs they are confronted by Sandor who slays all the surviving Kingsguard except Gregor who remains at Cersei's side. Gregor wishes to fight Sandor but Cersei and Qyburn order him to guard her. In anger, he bashes in Qyburn's skull while Cersei flees past both of the brothers.
Later, Margaery and Olenna invite Sansa for a private meeting with them at the gardens of King's Landing. Loras escorts Sansa to the gardens for the meeting. During the meeting, Lady Olenna dismisses Mace as a fool for supporting Renly's claim to the throne. By contrast, Margaery speaks well of her late husband.
Olenna assists Margaery in picking out a necklace for her upcoming wedding. She selects the finest of those on offer, noting affectionately that it is similar to one she received from Margaery's grandfather on her 51st name day. Olenna chucks the piece over the rampart and into Blackwater Bay and orders the Tyrell handmaidens to canvass every jeweler in King's Landing for better offerings.
Tommen and Margaery are finally wed, much to Cersei's dismay. That night, they consummate their marriage. They are elated and discuss their future together. Tommen tells Margaery how he thinks that his mother is unhappy in King's Landing. Seeing an opportunity to get rid of Cersei, Margaery manipulates Tommen into thinking that as long as Cersei stays in King’s Landing, she will continue to treat him like a child, like a mother lioness watching over her cub.
When Tommen tries to convince his mother to leave King's Landing, Cersei deduces that this is Margaery’s doing and pays her a visit, only to find Margaery busy gloating about her “exhausting” night with the King. Greeting her new mother-in-law, Margaery, now more confident than ever and even dressing like Cersei, rubs her queenship and marriage in Cersei’s face, getting less subtle with each barb. Seeing herself losing, Cersei walks away. Margaery and her entourage laugh following her exit.
When Jaime returns home to King's Landing after the sacking of Highgarden and the Battle of the Goldroad , he informs Cersei of Olenna's involvement in the murder of Joffrey, and explains her motivations to kill him in order to protect Margaery from the gruesome nature of Joffrey. In addition, Margaery would have been better able to control the more calm-natured and naive Tommen. He remarks that Olenna, her son and grandchildren are dead and that House Tyrell is officially extinct.
Margaery's great beauty was equaled by her cleverness, which she had in abundance. A true protégée of her grandmother Olenna, she was a gifted manipulator who knew how to maneuver her way in court politics. Margaery's strength was in her ability to win the minds and loyalties of her subjects, which had proven to be a threat to those who rival her family, such as the Lannisters. She demonstrated her formidable skill in her charity work to win over the commoners of King's Landing, as well as her manipulation of Joffrey by making him think she was excited by his dark impulses. In return, Margaery gained the acceptance of both her subjects and Joffrey, who was an unpredictable and uncontrollable madman to everyone else, including his mother. This proved to be a threat to Cersei, who only relied on the fear of her family name and her position as a source of power.
Although Margaery had to develop many different facades depending on who she is trying to manipulate, she was shown to genuinely have a good heart, compassion, and empathy. Margaery had loving relationships with all of her family members: she loved her brother Loras and was entirely tolerant of his homosexuality - to the point that when her father contracted a marriage-alliance between herself and Loras's own lover Renly, she acknowledged that it was a paper marriage, and was quite frank that she had no issues with her new husband continuing his sexual relationship with her brother. In addition, she rather resourcefully suggested utilizing Loras in order to help conceive a child with Renly. She also showed genuine concern for Sansa Stark and tried to form a friendship with her, even offering her help to get out of King's Landing once married to Joffrey - though this may have been in part because she had the more long-term goal of good relations with the North, sensing that the unstable Lannisters wouldn't be in power forever. She shared a very strong bond with her grandmother , sharing her acuity for manipulation and political maneuvering. Though she had developed many facades in order to sway the opinions of others in her favor, she was extremely loyal to her family and house, and would go to great lengths to keep them safe. Though she was willing and able to feign affection for Renly and Joffrey, she genuinely cared for Tommen (she may not have exactly loved him, but it's quite clear that she at least liked him) and bore him no ill will when he failed to stop the arrest of both her and her brother, a feeling which he reciprocated to such an extent that he willingly committed suicide when she was murdered by Cersei.
The first book, A Game of Thrones , features a small subplot hinting that Renly Baratheon was working as an agent to the Tyrells' rising power by trying to bring Margaery to King's Landing. He shows her picture to Ned Stark and asks if she resembles Lyanna Stark , hoping that such a resemblance will convince Robert to cast Cersei aside and make Margaery Queen. A slightly bemused Ned insists that Margaery and Lyanna look nothing alike. Ned thinks it ironic that Renly, who is said to strongly resemble a young Robert, should be smitten with a girl whom he thinks resembles Lyanna. In the second novel, Renly reveals that he and Loras have planned to wed Margaery to Robert.
When word of Margaery's arrest reaches them, her father and Randyll Tarly abandon their military campaigns in the Stormlands and the Riverlands, march on King's Landing with their armies and demand Margaery's release. As the case against her is weak, Margaery is released to Randyll Tarly's custody while awaiting trial for her alleged crimes.
Following her granddaughter's engagement to Joffrey, Olenna moves to King's Landing , working behind the scenes to cement the Tyrells' position, along with an entourage of Tyrell maidens and servants whom she finds exceedingly boring and irritating, deriding the former as a "foolish flock of hens." Reasoning that Sansa is the best person to ask about Joffrey, Olenna invites her to a lunch of lemon cakes (Sansa's favorite) and cheese (her own favorite). Initially too scared to speak, Sansa breaks down after much prodding from Olenna and confesses that Joffrey is "a monster." Olenna is disappointed but unsurprised at the revelation.
Hoping to mitigate the potential costs of an extravagant royal wedding, Tyrion meets Olenna. She lectures him on the importance of an extravagant royal wedding, particularly if it, along with the large amounts of grain and livestock brought to King's Landing from the Reach, prevents the smallfolk from ripping the nobles apart if it brings a bit of change to their dull lives. Olenna also reminds Tyrion of the thousands of Tyrell troops now assisting the Lannisters in the current war , and that the royal house traditionally pays for a royal wedding.
Olenna departs King's Landing some time soon after Joffrey's funeral, but conveniently before Tommen's coronation. She claims that she has grown to hate the long walks through the Red Keep's gardens that seem to take up much of her time in the capital, preferring to throw herself from the cliffs than endure one more leisurely stroll through them.
Feeling outmaneuvered and unsupported, Margaery hastens to write to Olenna in the wake of Loras's arrest by the Faith Militant . Upon receiving Margaery's letter Olenna immediately sets off from Highgarden in a carriage and with a full escort of soldiers, reaching King's Landing several days later. On approach, the carriage halts some distance from the city for some reason, prompting Olenna to open the window to see if they've arrived. She quickly slams it shut again, since she can "smell the shit from five miles away" and orders her coachmen to continue on. She arrives at the Red Keep, promising Margaery that she will resolve the situation.
Conceding the point, Baelish reveals that Cersei summoned him to King's Landing for "a piece of information he had" , his prostitute Olyvar, and he tells Olenna that he will give her the same thing he gave Cersei: "a handsome young man" —implied, in this instance, to be Lancel . Subsequently Olenna confronts Lancel about the adulterous affair, and he is forced to give up Cersei to the High Sparrow, who has her arrested, combined with the charges of incest with Jaime and the murder of Robert (which Lancel also revealed in conversation with the High Sparrow).
Not long after Daenerys retakes the island, Olenna travels to Dragonstone to attend a council meeting with Daenerys and her advisers. Olenna warns Daenerys about what happened to her granddaughter, Margaery, saying that despite the people's love for her she was ultimately killed and that in order to maintain the loyalty of the masses, Daenerys must be feared as well as loved. Olenna also voices her disagreement with Tyrion's plan to use the Greyjoy fleet to ferry the Dornish army up to King's Landing, but ultimately agrees to cooperate.
Having grown tired of Olenna’s shaming of himself and Cersei, Jaime moves to end the meeting. Accepting her death, Olenna asks Jaime how she will die. Jaime replies that Cersei wanted to have her whipped through the streets of King's Landing and beheaded in front of the Red Keep , or flayed alive and hung from the city walls but he had talked her out of her brutal ideas in favor of a merciful death. Jaime reveals a vial of poison and pours it into Olenna’s wine. Jaime assures Olenna that there will be no pain.
In the books, Olenna remains in King's Landing until after Tommen's coronation, as she hadn't yet finished thrashing out the details of his marriage to Margaery. Although she is of course nowhere near the proceedings, she is still in the Red Keep during Tywin's murder.
The castle is located alongside the Kingsroad as it makes its way from the Wall to the capital of the Six Kingdoms , King's Landing , more than a thousand miles to the south. A small godswood is enclosed within the walls. It is situated atop hot springs which keep the castle warm even in the worst winters. Winding tombs below the castle contain the remains of Stark kings and lords and record the history of the ancient family. The castle has stood for millennia. According to Maester Luwin , there are hidden passageways built in the castle so its Lords could escape.
The full castle as it appears at the start of the narrative has not been standing for eight thousand years: it was gradually expanded over many centuries like a tree growing new branches, giving it a less organized appearance than large castles which were planned out all at once such as the Red Keep in King's Landing. Parts have also had to be rebuilt over time, either due to natural degeneration or damage in sieges (Winterfell was burned out several times in ancient wars with the Boltons and other enemies, but the Starks always rallied and rebuilt it). The eldest surviving part of the castle is the First Keep, an old tower no longer actively used, which some maesters think dates back to some point after the Andal Invasion began six thousand years ago.
King's Landing is the capital, and largest city, of the Seven / Six Kingdoms . Located on the east coast of Westeros in the Crownlands , just north of where the Blackwater Rush flows into Blackwater Bay and overlooking Blackwater Bay, King's Landing is the site of the Iron Throne and the Red Keep , the seat of the King of the Andals and the First Men (hence the name). It enjoys a warm climate and life there is luxurious for those that can afford it, although it is not without its slums such as Flea Bottom . The city is overpopulated and dangerous at the best of times, despite being policed by the City Watch .
King's Landing was founded by King Aegon I Targaryen , King of the Andals and the First Men. He established a small wooden fort atop the hill, named the Aegonfort in his honor, where his ships first landed from Dragonstone , and used this as a base for his campaign to conquer the continent . Having achieved his goal, he established the new capital on the site of his original fort. The city expanded rapidly under his descendants. By the time of Robert's Rebellion , the city had a population of approximately half a million people.
King's Landing has suffered occasional attacks during its existence, most notably during the civil war known as Robert's Rebellion , when Lord Tywin Lannister betrayed King Aerys II Targaryen and ordered his army to brutally sack the city before turning it over to Robert Baratheon as a sign of fealty.
During the War of the Five Kings , the problems in King's Landing have multiplied. The worst of these are the food shortages exacerbated by an influx of refugees into the city seeking the protection of the city walls from the war, this even led to riots at one point early into the war during which the High Septon , and Aron Santagar perished, along with many other citizens. Despite its opulence and status as the capital, King's Landing is often referred to in a derisive manner by outsiders, likely due to corruption and poor standards of living such as water filtration. A recurring theme is the stench of human waste; the crowded population and sea breeze means such smells are particularly pungent.
The Red Keep is the seat of the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms . It is located on the easternmost side of the city, overlooking Blackwater Bay and the Narrow Sea . After Daenerys invaded King's Landing, the Red Keep was heavily damaged and is in the process of rebuilding.
Production Designer Gemma Jackson described the conception of the overall look for King's Landing by saying that, "When I was thinking about King's Landing, the whole red aspect of it, that immediately made me think of Rajasthan", which is the northwest region of India.
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, King's Landing is the largest city in Westeros, with a population of roughly half a million. It is built around three tall hills: Visenya's Hill, Rhaenys's Hill and Aegon's Hill. The Red Keep is the primary fortress and redoubt of the city, located atop Aegon's Hill behind several inner walls.
King's Landing was rapidly constructed within the first century of rule by the Targaryen dynasty. This rapid expansion didn't keep pace with organized "city-planning", resulting in numerous slums forming such as the district known as Flea Bottom . Many of these slum districts are poorly organized, ugly, and filthy because their placement wasn't thought out during the rush to slap down new buildings. In contrast, the second largest city in Westeros, Oldtown in the Reach , is thousands of years old, but grew only in incremental steps which were well planned out beforehand, resulting in it being a much better organized and beautiful city without the squalid slums of King's Landing, while being only slightly smaller than the capital itself.
In the TV series, King's Landing is presented as having a warm, Mediterranean or even a sub-tropical climate, and outdoor scenes set in King's Landing are filmed in Mediterranean locations such as Malta and Croatia. Author George R.R. Martin has noted this isn't quite the same as in the books, where it has more of a temperate climate, saying: "King's Landing, that's the capital, is not quite so tropical - in the books it's more like medieval Paris or London." According to the production team in Season 1 behind-the-scenes featurettes, the change in climate was made because they wanted to emphasize how much more lush and abundant King's Landing is compared to Winterfell. It's quite possible that the TV city's climate is far less comfortable in winter.
King's Landing is located on the north bank of the mouth of the Blackwater Rush, and its outline is roughly shaped like a diamond, with a point in each cardinal direction (north, south, east, west). This is because the river mouth flows from southwest to northeast. Many maps simply tilt the viewing angle so that the river is drawn flowing straight across the bottom, with the southeast side of the city at the bottom and the northwest side at the top, and the overall city appears to have a simple square shape.
The city was built around three large hills, named for Aegon Targaryen and his sisters, who founded the city. The largest is Aegon's High Hill, located on the eastern corner, on which the Red Keep was built. Visenya's Hill is in the southern corner, and Rhaenys's Hill is in the northern corner (there is no hill in the western corner). King's Landing has seven gates, one in the middle of each of the four walls, and at three of the four corners (the eastern corner at Aegon's High Hill has no gate, because it is located directly on the coast, where the river meets the bay). The names of the gates are the River Gate (commonly known as the "Mud Gate," southeast wall), the King's Gate (south corner), the Lion Gate (southwest wall), the Gates of the Gods (west corner), the Old gate (northwest wall), the Dragon Gate (north corner), and the Iron Gate (northeast wall).
The Kingsroad begins at Storm's End to the south, and after passing over the Blackwater river, it enters the city through the River Gate in the southeast wall, eventually exiting the city through the Gate of the Gods in the western corner (though it soon curves north to head to Winterfell and Castle Black ). The Goldroad exits through the Lion Gate on the southwestern wall, heading to Casterly Rock . The Roseroad , which leads to Highgarden , doesn't directly connect to King's Landing, but instead merges with the King's Road just a few miles south of the crossing over the Blackwater. The only other major road out of the city is the Rosby Road, which exits from the Iron Gate on the northeast side, leading to the towns of Rosby and later Duskendale , the Crownlands' secondary port. The Tourney of the Hand (seen in Season 1) was held on fair grounds outside of the King's Gate.
The worst of King's Landing's slum districts, Flea Bottom, is located at the eastern base of Rhaenys's Hill, extending east to the Rosby Road. Also known as "the Bottom", it is physically located at the bottom of the valley between Rhaenys's Hill and Aegon's High Hill. The slum does not extend all the way up the eastern side of Rhaenys's Hill, but proceeding downwards from the summit, it begins below the Street of Flour, which is the location of many bakeries. When Arya is hiding in Flea Bottom after her father's arrest, she mentions having to walk down from the Street of Flour to enter Flea Bottom. In the TV series, the Street of Flour is seen in "Baelor" when Arya attempts to sell the meat from a pigeon she caught to a baker in exchange for a pie.
Dany later chairs another meeting in the Chamber of the Painted Table with Yara Greyjoy , Ellaria Sand , and Lady Olenna Tyrell . Following a heated discussion, Tyrion convinces Daenerys to send Ellaria and the Sand Snakes on Yara's fleet to Dorne to rally the Dornishmen for a siege of King's Landing . Tyrion's plan is to use a combination of Dornish and House Tyrell forces to lay siege to King's Landing to combat the image that Daenerys is a foreign invader. He also successfully proposes sending Grey Worm and the Unsullied to seize the Lannister seat of Casterly Rock . Olenna reluctantly agrees to commit her forces but admits privately that she is motivated by hatred and a desire for vengeance against the Lannisters. Before Grey Worm departs for Casterly Rock, he and Missandei express their love for each other and have sex.
Although the Second Sons have taken hold of the Meereenese fleet, Daenerys learns that the council she had left behind to rule Astapor has been overthrown by a self-proclaimed king called Cleon and that the Wise Masters of Yunkai have returned to power and enslaved all the freedmen in the city. Therefore, instead of sailing to King's Landing in her newly acquired fleet and take the Iron Throne with her army, Daenerys decides to remain in Meereen to rule over Slaver's Bay and enforce her abolition of slavery. In order to accomplish this, she sends Hizdahr zo Loraq , a Great Master at her service, to Yunkai to negotiate with the Wise Masters: if they do not comply with her demands of abandoning slavery once and for all, Daario will send in his Second Sons and execute them all.
Daenerys's hold over Meereen is weakened after three great subsequent losses for her cause. Firstly, after Tywin Lannister uncovers her adviser Jorah Mormont as a former spy for King's Landing , she is forced to exile him. Secondly, having been shown that her abolition of slavery has left many former servants in an even more precarious position, she begrudgingly accepts the creation of one-year contracts, effectively reintroducing slavery in all but name and giving some power back to the Great Masters. Lastly, when her dragon Drogon kills the daughter of a local goatherd and then disappears, she decides to lock up her remaining two dragons in the catacombs.
Harrenhal is a huge castle, the largest one in all of Westeros , though it is also the most ill-omened. It is located on the northern shore of the Gods Eye lake at the heart of the Riverlands , south of the River Trident and northwest of King's Landing .
Following the Battle of King's Landing , Jon assassinates Daenerys . In order to avoid a war between the Unsullied and Jon's supporters, Tyrion, as his position as Hand of the King to Bran, regretfully informs him that Bran has banished him to the Night's Watch again, which Jon accepts.