In the Riverlands:
Arya & the Hound
Arya wakes up early and decides the best alarm clock will
be a heavy rock applied with force to the Hound’s head. Unfortunately, he’s a
light sleeper. Time for them to ride off and he warns her that there are men
worse than him out there – she disagrees that there can be men worse than him
and he points to his brother who is Not a Nice Man. He adds that there are
violent people and rapists out there; and how he saved Sansa from the latter
not long ago.
He’s also not taking her to Kings Landing – he’s taking her to the Twins to be with her mother and brother, for ransom. He also tells her about her uncle’s upcoming marriage.
Dragonstone: Mellisandre,
Gendry and Stannis the also-ran.
Gendry is taken to Stannis who examines him and declares
he is half-Robert and half low born. Gendry is taken away to be given a
comfortable room and Stannis doesn’t see the point with lots of analogies to
slaughtering a lamb. Looks like Gendry is headed to sacrifice.
In the dungeon, Davos is continuing to learn to read (and
quite pleased by his progress) and Stannis drops in for a very awkward visit
and belated condolences for his son. He also tells Davos about Gendry’s
upcoming sacrifice – and Davos isn’t a big fan of Stannis killing his own
nephew. Anyway Stannis has come to release Davos so long as he swears not to
raise a hand against Mellisandre – he agrees, but adds he won’t hold his tongue
and pushes further that Stannis doesn’t want to, why else would he release
Davos just before the sacrifice of Gendry, knowing Davos would speak against
it?
Stannis is still caught up in Mellisandre’s visions though – and of a battle in the snow.
Gendry is stunned by the wealth of his room and
Mellisandre and he talk about the contrast between how they lived as poor
people and the nobles; how he is unsure about every luxury, afraid he will have
to pay for it. She instead turns to her religion and how to “draw” his power
from him using the rituals of her god – which naturally involved nakedness and sex.
The Lord of Light also requires kinky bondage and all this sex to happen with
her fully naked and him with
his trousers on. Oh and leeches. Yes leeches – and she brings in Davos and
Stannis to watch.
Mellisandre is into some very very unusual kinks.
Taking the3
leeches full of special powerful king’s blood, Stannis casts each into
the flaming brazier each with a name – usurper Robb Stark, usurper Balon
Greyjoy and usurper Joffrey Baratheon.
Kings Landing
Sansa, Shae, Tyrion and a whole lot of angst
Sansa is being primped by a stony faced Shae when Tyrion
comes to visit. Feel the tension in the air. It’s their wedding day and Tyrion
tries to reassure her that it wasn’t his decision but she won’t be a prisoner –
though he reflects being married to him is a different kind of prison. It’s not
great reassurance but it’s sincere. After much flailing, he promises her that
he will never hurt her.
Meanwhile, Margaery is playing super-duper friendly to
Cersei who Does Not Like It but has to put up with it. Cersei tells a passive
aggressive little story about House Rain that was the second-wealthiest in the
land, just like the Tyrells, and how it challenged House Lannister and how the
Lannisters slaughtered them. What a pretty little story. She adds that she will
have Margaery strangled in her sleep if she ever calls Cersei sister again.
Well, that was overt. It seems Cersei has given up the subtle manoeuvring
against the Tyrells. Hey, Margy, you’re marrying her son, you could always call
her mother!
Sansa emerges – and Joffrey steps forward to give her away (they could not possibly make this wedding any worse). One long walk past all the assembled dignitaries to Tyrion’s side, where he removes a stool. The ceremony begins, which includes Tyrion putting a cloak (offering her his protection) across her shoulders, causing tittering across the crowd because Tyrion isn’t tall enough to reach Sansa’s shoulders without the stool that Joffrey removed, she has to kneel.
