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===At Winterfell=== Sansa and Littlefinger discuss Arya's actions. Littlefinger advises Sansa to always assume others have the worst possible motive. Sansa summons Arya before the lords of the North and Vale, then stuns Littlefinger by accusing him of murder and treason, which Bran corroborates. Finding no allies in the crowd, Littlefinger begs for mercy, but Arya executes him. Sam arrives at Winterfell with his family. Bran tells him that Jon's real parents were Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Sam reveals information from the High Septon's journal: in secret, Rhaegar's marriage to Elia Martell was annulled and he married Lyanna. Bran determines that, as Rhaegar's legitimate son, Jon is the heir to the Iron Throne.

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===In the Narrow Sea=== Tyrion witnesses Jon Snow entering Daenerys's cabin. Jon and Daenerys give in to their feelings for each other and have sex.

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===At Eastwatch-by-the-sea=== The undead army arrives at Eastwatch. When the Night King appears, riding Viserion, Tormund orders the defenders to evacuate. Breathing blue fire, Viserion destroys Eastwatch and a section of the Wall, allowing the White Walkers to finally invade the Seven Kingdoms to put an end to mankind.

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===Writing=== The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. "The Dragon and the Wolf" was written by the series' co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. In the "Inside the Episode" featurette published by HBO following the airing of the episode, they described the meeting at the dragon pit as one of the most challenging scenes in the episode to write, as they felt it was important to give each character their due. Weiss described the many different interactions between various characters as "deceptively difficult", and the necessity for the actors to be "playing off the person they're supposed to be playing off of" for the scene to be properly translated during the filming process. For the culmination of the Winterfell storyline, and the death of Littlefinger, Benioff and Weiss stressed the importance of the scenes leading up to the finale, which they described as a realistic threat of harm between Arya and Sansa, with Benioff saying "It's one of the benefits of working on a show like this, where over the years so many beloved characters have been killed, and so many characters make decisions you wish they hadn't that you can believe Sansa might conspire against Arya, or that Arya might decide that Sansa has betrayed the family and deserves to die." Benioff continued by revealing his excitement in seeing Aiden Gillan's performance as Littlefinger, as it was the first time that they had written a scene in which the character was caught unaware, saying "He's imagined every conceivable eventuality except this one." Isaac Hemsptead Wright, who portrays Bran, described a scene that was originally written between his character and Sansa, but it was later removed from the episode. Another challenge involved with writing the episode involved the presentation of the information regarding Jon Snow's lineage, as it mostly consisted of details that had already been revealed in prior scenes. As such, the inclusion of a montage, of Rhaegar and Lyanna, and Jon and Daenerys, was one of the ways that Benioff and Weiss stated they were able to go about this problem. Weiss noted that it was important to make it clear "that this was almost like an information bomb that Jon was heading towards." Benioff continued by describing Jon and Daenery's intimacy as a complication "on a political level," and "on a personal level," due to the two being related, with Weiss adding "Just as we're seeing these two people come together we’re hearing the information that will inevitably, if not tear them apart at least cause real problems in their relationship." In writing the final interaction between Jaime and Cersei, Benioff felt it was important to convey Cersei's refusal to confide her plan to abandon the agreement to fight the White Walkers and subsequent alignment with Euron and the Iron Bank, and its effect on Jaime, saying "He's realizing that his loyalty to her is not reflected in her loyalty to him. I think that's absolutely what informs his decision to leave King's Landing." Leading up to the seventh-season finale, Benioff and Weiss revealed that it was always planned for the penultimate season to end with the destruction of the Wall, and the White Walker army crossing into the Seven Kingdoms. Weiss noted, "The wall's kept these things out for eight thousand years and there's no real reason it can't keep doing that unless something puts a hole in the Wall. There's one thing on the board from the beginning that is now big enough to do that and that's a dragon." They also felt it was essential for the seventh-season finale to contrast well with previous season finale episodes, particularly the sixth-season finale, "The Winds of Winter", which Benioff stated had a more "triumphant ending" as opposed to something "much more horrific" with the conclusion of "The Dragon and the Wolf".

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===Filming=== "The Dragon and the Wolf" was directed by Jeremy Podeswa. He joined the series as a director in the fifth season, his first episode being "Kill the Boy", which was followed by "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken", for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. He further directed two more episodes in the series' sixth season, and also directed the seventh season's premiere episode, "Dragonstone". This would be Podeswa's final episode as a director for the series, as he would later reveal that he would not be returning for the series' final season. The Roman amphitheatre at Italica stood in as the dragon pit in King's Landing. In an interview with ''Variety'', Podeswa described the tone in filming the scene at the dragon pit as "laden with tension," and that he was very excited to film the sequence due to several characters meeting for the first time and others reuniting after a long absence from each other. According to a separate interview with ''USA Today'', shooting of the dragon pit scene took place over the course of six days, and was first rehearsed in Belfast, and later on set in Spain. The Italica ruins near Seville, Spain stood in for the dragon pit. Podeswa revealed that the sequence was "40 to 50 pages" in the script, which he felt was a lot of material to work with, saying he had to "make sure everything landed," and that "every look in that script and every moment that needed to be there was actually going to end up on screen." "The Dragon and the Wolf" marks Aidan Gillen's final appearance as Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish. In an interview with ''The Hollywood Reporter'', Podeswa described filming the death of Littlefinger and Aidan Gillen's performance, saying "It was moving and difficult to see somebody get to the end of their role on the show, but it was an amazing scene to go out on. The mood when we were shooting it was incredible, actually. Aidan's performance was so, so passionate, and so surprising in a way." The filming of the scene took place over the course of an entire day, with the conclusion being filmed later, with Podeswa noting, "We didn't really shoot the end until a certain point, and was very ready at that point." Podeswa also described the process behind filming the sexual intimacy between Jon and Daenerys, saying, "In the script, it described the fact that they were love-making, but it didn't go into great detail in terms of what was going on between them as characters in that moment." He went on to state that he "built in a moment between" Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke, who portray Jon and Daenerys respectively, where they "stop for a moment and look into each other's eyes." He continued, "The intention from my point of view, and their point of view too, is that they're driven by passion into this. They don't even fully understand what it's all about and what the consequences of it are. They really can't stop themselves. It's almost destiny that's bringing them together." In regards to the similarity between the appearance of Rhaegar and Viserys Targaryen, Podeswa stated that the brothers were meant to look similar. Podeswa's first reaction to the final scene of the episode, with the destruction of a portion of the Wall, was "This is an enormous, spectacular sequence. How are we actually going to pull it off?" In order to piece together the sequence, Podeswa was required to work with several different departments, including Benioff and Weiss, the visual effects department, storyboard artist, the set designers, stuntmen, the cinematographer, and the actors themselves. All of the scenes that were filmed on top of the Wall, with Kristofer Hivju and Richard Dormer as Tormund and Beric respectively, were on an actual set in Belfast, along with filming of the stuntmen falling, which would be later transposed by visual effects. He continued by describing the process of creating the non-practical shots by saying, "All of the more panoramic spectacular shots are visual effects, but they're designed by me working with the visual effects department from storyboards that I created with storyboard artists." There were also several interactive elements involved, which Podeswa noted by saying, "When we were shooting the Wall set, we had the lighting effect on the Wall that was caused by the flame, but we hadn't created the flame yet." He continued by revealing the process that went into Viserion's appearance, saying "Everything comes from a sense of logic, so I guess in this particular instance with Viserion, what were the wounds that he suffered before he died? What happened to him underwater and when he was dragged up? All of those kinds of things folded into the discussion of what he should appear to look like when he's resurrected."

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===Ratings=== "The Dragon and the Wolf" was viewed by 12.07 million viewers on its initial live broadcast on HBO, and an additional 4.4 million viewers on streaming platforms, for a total 16.5 million viewers. This set a ratings record for ''Game of Thrones'' as the highest rated episode of the series to date, surpassing "Eastwatch", which previously held the record. The episode also acquired a 5.7 rating in the 18–49 demographic, making it the highest rated show on cable television of the night. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 3.54 million viewers on Sky Atlantic, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week on its channel. It also received 1.02 million timeshift viewers.

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===Critical reception=== "The Dragon and the Wolf" was praised by critics, who listed the meeting at the Dragonpit, Cersei's lack of cooperation to defeat the White Walkers, Aidan Gillen's performance as Littlefinger, and the demolition of the Wall as highlights of the episode. The episode has received an 87% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 47 reviews, with an average score of 8.7 out of 10. The site's consensus reads "While much slower in pace than the season that preceded it, 'The Dragon and the Wolf' delivered satisfying conclusions to several story arcs, and masterfully set up the series' final season." The pacing of the episode received mixed reviews, with Matt Fowler of IGN praising its ability at, "Delivering lengthy meaningful scenes filled with dialogue, deception, revelations, twists," and assembly the dragon pit. He gave the episode a 9.3 out of 10. On the other hand, Erik Kain of ''Forbes'' believed the episode to be too rushed, but praised it nonetheless for being one of the most "ultimately satisfying episodes HBO has given us to date." He listed the reveal of Jon Snow's lineage as one of the most important moments of the episode, and praised it for paralleling Jon and Daenerys's intimate sexual encounter. Myles McNutt of ''The A.V Club'' wrote that the episode returned to the slow pace of the premiere and criticized its pacing and some of the characters motivations, but gave it a B+ overall. Jeremy Egner of ''The New York Times'' also gave praise to the episode, albeit with some criticism towards the episode's predictability, stating that while there were "Plenty of enjoyable moments and blue fire-fueled spectacle, and effectively set up next season’s culminating clashes, it didn't offer much in the way of surprise." Kain and McNutt were also critical that Rhaegar Targaryen bore too great a resemblance to his brother Viserys Targaryen.

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===Accolades=== 60 Minute Network or Syndicated Television Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project Thomas Hullin, Dominik Kirouac, Sylvain Nouveau, Nathan Arbuckle – "Wall Destruction" Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series Kevin Alexander, Candice Banks, Nicola Mount, Rosalia Culora Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) Jane Walker, Kay Bilk, Marianna Kyriacou, Pamela Smyth, Kate Thompson, Nicola Mathews Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series

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==External links== * "The Dragon and the Wolf" at HBO.com

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"'''The Lion and the Rose'''" is the second episode of the fourth season of HBO's fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 32nd overall. The episode was written by George R. R. Martin, the author of the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' novels of which the series is an adaptation, and directed by Alex Graves. It aired on April 13, 2014. The episode focuses principally on the long-awaited royal wedding between Joffrey Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell, which ends tragically as Joffrey dies after drinking poisoned wine at the reception, a plot development that despite being in the books came as a shock to viewers since it abruptly killed the show's principal villain just a few episodes after the Red Wedding had violently killed off several of the show's protagonists. Other storylines include House Bolton's quest to retake the North, and Bran's continued journey north of The Wall. The title refers to the sigils of the wedding couple's respective houses – a lion for Joffrey Baratheon, who is in truth an illegitimate bastard, and a rose for Margaery Tyrell. Off-camera, "The Lion and the Rose" is notable as the last episode Martin wrote for the series. Unlike his previous three episodes, his draft of the screenplay has some major differences from the episode as produced, with more minor characters and detail at the wedding feast. Most significantly, it sets up some plotlines from the books that the series would ultimately not use, such as Ramsay marrying an impostor woman posing as Arya instead of Sansa. It would have also resolved the unanswered question from the show's first season of who had been behind the attempted assassination of Bran Stark by implying more strongly than the books did that it was Joffrey, rather than Littlefinger as the series would suggest several seasons later.

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===At the Dreadfort=== Ramsay hunts a woman with the assistance of his servant, Reek (formerly Theon) and his bedwarmer Myranda. Roose and his wife Walda arrive at the Dreadfort. Roose intended to trade Theon to the Ironborn for Moat Cailin, but now is unable to do so because Ramsay castrated Theon. After being informed of what really happened at Winterfell, Roose orders Locke to kill Bran and Rickon, who pose a threat to his new position as Warden of the North. Ramsay suggests that they also kill Jon. Roose orders Ramsay to occupy Moat Cailin.

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===Beyond the Wall=== After stopping at wierwood, Bran has strange visions and reveals that he knows where they must go.

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===At Dragonstone=== Melisandre orders several men burned at the stake, including Selyse's brother Ser Axell Florent, as a tribute to the Lord of Light.

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===In King's Landing=== Tyrion encourages Jaime to train his left hand with Bronn. Varys tells Tyrion that Cersei knows about Shae. Lord Mace Tyrell gives Joffrey a large gold goblet and Tywin gives him second Valyrian steel sword that Tywin had forged. Tyrion orders Bronn to escort Shae to the boat to sail for Essos. After Joffrey and Margaery's wedding ceremony, Jaime tells Loras that if he weds Cersei she would kill him in his sleep. Loras tells him that he knows about their incest. Cersei accuses Brienne of being in love with Jaime. Oberyn and his paramour Ellaria Sand tell Cersei and Tywin that Myrcella is in Dorne. After Joffrey presents a crude play with dwarves depicting the War of the Five Kings, he orders Tyrion to be his cupbearer. Joffrey eats cake that Margaery gives him, drinks wine that Tyrion gives him and begins choking. Dontos tells Sansa to flee with him. Joffrey, before dying, points at Tyrion and Cersei orders Tyrion arrested on charges of poisoning the king.

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===Writing=== "The Lion and the Rose" was the series' final episode scripted by the author of the original saga, George R. R. Martin. The episode was written by George R. R. Martin, author of the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' novels. This episode was his last contribution to the series. Chapters adapted from ''A Storm of Swords'' to the episode were part of chapter 9 (Bran I), and chapters 59 and 60 (Sansa IV and Tyrion VIII).

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====Original draft==== In 2018, ''Vanity Fair'' writer Joanna Robinson compared the episode as aired with an early draft by Martin archived at the Writers Guild of America library in Los Angeles. Unlike the two previous episodes he had written, this draft had significant differences from the produced version. Martin considers it the moment the show began to diverge considerably from the books, whose plotlines it had begun to outpace, and believes this may be why Martin wrote no more for the series. The most significant difference was an earlier, and different, resolution of the Catspaw plot arc, involving who had masterminded the attempted assassination of Bran Stark in season 1, precipitating the War of the Five Kings that dominated the next two seasons, than that ultimately filmed. In Martin's script, after Joffrey is presented with the Valyrian steel sword, reforged from that of the executed Ned Stark's Ice, as a wedding gift by his father, he says "I am no stranger to Valyrian steel." This remark prompts Tyrion Lannister, who was framed for the assassination attempt, to realize that Joffrey was actually behind it (as the books heavily imply); Tyrion then makes remarks to Joffrey, and later Sansa, insinuating that he knows this. Scenes that built on this disclosure remained in the final script. "Had this made it to the screen, Robinson explains, "it would have helped explain why Joffrey is so publicly monstrous to his uncle at his wedding, and also set up Tyrion as a more credible suspect in the Joffrey poisoning plot—he threatened the boy just that morning." Tyrion in Martin's draft is also more violent to Shae when he warns her (honestly, as opposed to the series) that since his father knows why she is in King's Landing, he will have her killed. In Martin's draft, Bran's first vision is more extensive. While it does not include the Night King's first appearance onscreen as it does in the series, it would have been an extensive montage of scenes from the past, present and possible future in the series. Flashbacks would have included scenes of Ned cleaning Ice beneath a weirwood tree from the show's original pilot, Bran's uncle Benjen and Lyanna Stark as children (later shown in a more extensive flashback in season 6), King Aerys watching and laughing as Ned's father and brother are burned and Jaime and Cersei embracing in the old keep at Winterfell just before Bran discovered them. Scenes reflecting the show's present included Jon with Ghost, a bloodied Robb surrounded by the Red Wedding dead, and Arya holding her sword Needle as her face blurs and changes. Possible future images include a dragon's shadow passing over King's Landing, "hints of strange small children with very dark eyes" and a group of four distinctive northern hills behind a very large weirwood. The episode would also have set up some of the plotlines from the books that were not used in the later seasons of the series. Roose Bolton tells Ramsay that he has arranged for him to marry Arya as a way of consolidating the family's hold on the North; a role assigned to Sansa instead in the next season. Several lines were also intended to set up Jaime's trip to the Riverlands, which in the books immediately follows Joffrey's wedding but in the series was largely replaced by Jamie and Bronn's expedition to Dorne to bring Myrcella back to King's Landing. The two characters who take that trip instead in the books, along with many other minor characters from the wedding scenes, were in Martin's draft but eliminated from the produced version as showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss were beginning to focus on the more established characters in the later seasons. Robinson believes a note by Martin in the script suggests a different resolution to Ramsay's plot arc in the books, where he is still alive and in power at Winterfell at the end of ''A Dance with Dragons'', in contrast to his death at the end of the sixth season of ''Game of Thrones''. Martin's note told the showrunners that Ramsay's dogs would eventually battle the Stark children's direwolves, so the show should emphasize the former as much as possible to build audience anticipation. However, that never happened onscreen, where all but two of the wolves are dead as of the end of season 7, and seems unlikely in the books. Robinson believes this indicates that Ramsay will have a very different plot arc in the series' two final books. Lesser differences include a more protracted, bloodier death scene for Joffrey as the poison drives him to slash his own face, a more lavish feast, and Theon's appearance as Reek following Ramsay's extensive torture more closely resembling that described in the books, complete with whitened hair and missing fingers, something that would have required more extensive special effects for the remainder of the series, as well as speaking in rhyme. Similarly, the burning of the heretics on the beach at Dragonstone would have demonstrated the power of the Lord of Light, with the bonfires suddenly changing to different colors and apparitions of the now-forgiven dead seen briefly above; the scene would have also foreshadowed Shireen's sacrifice by the same method the next season. The scene where Varys warns Tyrion that Cersei has told Tywin about Shae, a short conversation on a garden path in the finished episode, instead takes place at more length in the Red Keep's dungeons, with Varys dressed as "a denizen of the dungeons" in armor, carrying a whip and wearing a false beard. Martin also wrote that some of the scenes should be shot from an individual character's point of view, much as most of his book chapters are written from the point of view of the character they take their name from. While he admitted that it had been difficult to bring that aspect of his story to the screen, he nevertheless attempted it here, calling for the scene where Ramsay and Myranda chase the woman to her death at the hands of his hounds to be seen from the woman's point of view as she runs and then falls to the ground, then from Theon's as he looks on defeated. The producers did, however, shoot scenes from the point of view of Bran's direwolf Summer, which Robinson notes saved them money since the animals have been expensive to shoot scenes with.

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===Casting=== Members of Sigur Rós appeared in the episode. The episode has the introduction of new recurring cast members Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Mace Tyrell, the Lord of Highgarden, and Elisabeth Webster as Walda Frey, Roose Bolton's new bride. Young actor Dean-Charles Chapman takes over the role of Tommen Baratheon as of this episode. In a cameo appearance, the Icelandic band Sigur Rós performed their rendition of "The Rains of Castamere" at King Joffrey's wedding, and again during the credits. With this episode, Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Snow) is promoted to series regular.

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===Ratings=== "The Lion and the Rose" was watched by an estimated 6.31 million people during its first hour. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 1.651 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week. It also received 0.095 million timeshift viewers.

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===Critical reception=== The episode received unanimous critical acclaim; according to Rotten Tomatoes all 35 reviews aggregated by the website were positive, with an average score of 9.5 out of 10. James Poniewozik at ''Time'' called it "perhaps the best episode" of the series, singling out the protracted wedding sequence for particular praise. Writing for The A.V. Club, Emily VanDerWerff gave the episode an "A" grade, calling it "one of the best episodes of this show, and Joffrey’s wedding is one of the best sequences in the whole series." VanDerWerff praised Martin's script as well as the directing by Alex Graves, which she said "smartly creates a real sense of tension throughout the sequence, even when nothing particularly dramatic is going on." In his review for IGN, Matt Fowler gave the episode a 9.4/10 and noted that it "featured a shocking death that was actually an immense crowd-pleaser." TVLine named Jack Gleeson the "Performer of the Week" for his performance in this episode. James Hibberd of ''Entertainment Weekly'' named it the third best television episode of 2014.

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====Awards and nominations==== Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell Outstanding Costumes for a Series Michele Clapton, Sheena Wichary, Alexander Fordham, and Nina Ayres Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series Kevin Alexander, Candice Banks, Rosalia Culora, Gary Machin, and Nicola Mount ''Game of Thrones'' – The Purple Wedding Writers Guild of America Awards

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The soundtrack album of the eighth season of HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', titled '''''Game of Thrones: Season 8''''', was released digitally on May 19, 2019, A double CD release was released July 19, 2019 and a vinyl release is set later in the year. Ramin Djawadi received his seventh Primetime Emmy Award nomination, for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score), for the season's third episode, "The Long Night" and then won the award, making two consecutive wins for Ramin.

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==Background== "It's been such an honor to be a part of this incredible show for the past eight years", said Ramin Djawadi. Djawadi says of his track "The Night King": "When I talked to Miguel Sapochnik|Miguel Sapochnik, the director, and when David Benioff|David Benioff and D. B. Weiss|D. B. Weiss came to my studio and we started working on this episode, we all agreed that it had to be a piano piece again, just like 'Light of the Seven'.... It definitely misled the audience because of what they knew from 'Light of the Seven', back in season six. We always treated the music as another character in the show."

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'''Melisandre of Asshai''' is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. She is a priestess of the god R'hllor (also called the Red God or the Lord of Light) from the continent Essos and a close advisor to King Stannis Baratheon in his campaign to take the Iron Throne. She is often nicknamed '''the Red Woman''' due to the color of her hair and clothes, and has mysterious powers over fire and shadow. She is a prominent example of Martin's use of magic within the story, and is the source of several important prophecies that guide the narrative. Introduced in ''A Clash of Kings'' (1998), Melisandre has come to Westeros to propagate her faith in the Red God. She subsequently appeared in Martin's ''A Storm of Swords'' (2000) and ''A Dance with Dragons'' (2011). Melisandre is not a point-of-view character in the first four novels, her actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other characters such as Davos Seaworth and Jon Snow. In the fifth novel ''A Dance with Dragons'', she has a single point-of-view chapter. George R. R. Martin stated she will return as a viewpoint character in future novels. Melisandre is portrayed by Dutch actress Carice van Houten in the HBO television adaptation, in a performance which earned van Houten a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series nomination.

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===Background=== Melisandre was born an unknown number of years before the start of the series, possibly with the name "Melony". As a child slave, she was sold to the Red Temple and trained for the priesthood. Believing Stannis Baratheon to be the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, a mythic messiah prophesied by her faith, she travels to his island stronghold, Dragonstone, during the events of ''A Game of Thrones''. Tywin Lannister indirectly mentioned her as "a shadowbinder from Asshai" during a private conversation with Tyrion Lannister after the Battle in the Whispering Wood. Also known as "The Red Woman", Melisandre possesses magical abilities that can cast glamour and manipulate fire and shadow, has prophetic visions by looking into fire, and takes an aggressively militant stance against the other religions of Westeros. She is described as a beautiful voluptuous foreign woman with red eyes and red hair, always dressing in red robes and wearing a red gold choker set with a large ruby, and rarely sleeps or eats. Melisandre is introduced in ''A Clash of Kings'' and serves as the third-person narrator for one chapter of ''A Dance with Dragons''.

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==== ''A Clash of Kings'' ==== Melisandre converts Stannis's wife Selyse to her religion, along with several other members of Stannis' court. Stannis' maester Cressen, fearing Melisandre's power and her influence over him, tries to assassinate Melisandre with poison in a murder-suicide, and although Melisandre drinks most of the poison her powers allow her to survive. When Stannis' brother Renly also declares himself king, Melisandre has a vision of Renly defeating Stannis' host at King's Landing. She convinces Stannis to impregnate her, giving birth to a shadow demon that kills Renly. She also births another demon that kills Storm's End's castellan, Ser Cortnay Penrose, when he refuses to yield Storm's End. Ser Bryce Caron convinces Stannis to leave Melisandre at Dragonstone during the Battle of the Blackwater, which ends in Stannis' defeat. During the battle, Ser Garlan Tyrell dons Renly's armor and leads the Tyrell-Lannister vanguard, thus fulfilling Melisandre's earlier prophecy.

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==== ''A Storm of Swords'' ==== Stannis' advisor Davos Seaworth blames Melisandre for Stannis' defeat and plans to assassinate her but Melisandre sees the plot in her flames and has him arrested. She attempts to persuade Stannis to sacrifice his bastard nephew Edric Storm to awaken stone dragons beneath Dragonstone. Stannis only allows her to leech him and burns the leeches to curse Stannis's rivals: Balon Greyjoy, Robb Stark, and Joffrey Baratheon. All three die in various circumstances soon after. Davos smuggles Edric to Lys to prevent his sacrifice. Melisandre then accompanies Stannis and Davos to the Wall to defeat Mance Rayder's wildling host.

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==== ''A Feast for Crows'' and ''A Dance with Dragons'' ==== Jon Snow swaps Mance Rayder's baby son with Gilly's baby, and sends the baby with Gilly, Samwell Tarly and Maester Aemon to Oldtown, to prevent Melisandre from burning the baby to perform fire magic. When Stannis orders Mance Rayder to be burned alive for deserting the Night's Watch, she uses her magic to secretly switch Mance's identity with Rattleshirt's, another wildling raider, resulting in Rattleshirt being burned instead. She later reveals this to Jon Snow, and sends Mance to Winterfell with six spearwives to rescue "Arya Stark" (actually Sansa Stark's handmaiden Jeyne Poole) from Ramsay Bolton. Melisandre remains at the Wall while Stannis marches on Winterfell. Noting that her powers are stronger at the Wall, she asks R'hllor for a vision of Azor Ahai, but only sees "Snow". She also warns Jon of having seen "daggers in the dark". Jon ignores her warnings, and is later stabbed by mutineers led by Bowen Marsh.

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== TV adaptation == Carice van Houten plays the role of Melisandre in the television series

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====Season 2==== Melisandre is first introduced during a beach side ceremony on Dragonstone, where she burns the statues of the Faith of the Seven, drawing the ire of Stannis' maester Cressen. Cressen attempts to poison her in a murder-suicide attempt; despite drinking the poison, Melisandre is unharmed. She convinces Stannis to impregnate her, giving birth to a shadow demon that kills Stannis' brother Renly, a rival claimant to the throne. However, Stannis' advisor, Davos Seaworth, counsels Stannis to leave Melisandre on Dragonstone when he attacks King's Landing; when the attack fails, Melisandre claims that Stannis' defeat was a result of not bringing her to the battle. Stannis attempts to strangle Melisandre in a fit of rage, before she makes him understand his role in Renly's death, and assures him that his betrayals will be worth it in the end.

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====Season 3==== Melisandre begins burning members of Stannis' court alive at Dragonstone. Davos, blaming Melisandre for Stannis' defeat, tries to assassinate her but fails and is imprisoned. She travels to the Riverlands to meet up with the Brotherhood without Banners, who have taken on Robert Baratheon's bastard Gendry as a blacksmith. During her meeting, Melisandre is astonished when the Red Priest Thoros of Myr reveals he has resurrected the Brotherhood's leader Ser Beric Dondarrion six times. Melisandre purchases Gendry from the Brotherhood, much to the fury of Gendry's friend Arya Stark. Before parting ways, Melisandre leaves Arya with a cryptic prophesy: "I see a darkness in you, and in that darkness eyes staring back at me. Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you'll shut forever. We will meet again." Melisandre uses Gendry's blood in a ritual to kill Stannis' rivals. However, before Gendry can be sacrificed, Davos helps him escape. Davos staves off his own execution by showing Stannis a letter from the Night's Watch, claiming that the White Walkers have returned. After burning the letter in the flames, Melisandre corroborates Davos' story, and declares that Stannis will have need of Davos in future.

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====Season 4==== Melisandre accompanies Stannis, Davos and their army to the Wall. Before the Baratheon forces sail north, she convinces Selyse Baratheon to bring Stannis' daughter Shireen to the Wall with them, claiming that the Lord of Light has use for her.

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====Season 5==== Melisandre presides over Mance Rayder's burning. She attempts to seduce Jon Snow, but he rejects her advances. She later joins Stannis and Davos on their mission to take Winterfell from the Boltons. When a large snowstorm delays their march, Melisandre suggests that Stannis sacrifice Shireen. Stannis initially refuses, but after a raiding party led by Ramsay Bolton burns their supplies, he gives in and allows her to burn Shireen at the stake. The blizzard lifts, but half of Stannis' army deserts and Selyse commits suicide out of guilt for Shireen's death. Melisandre flees to Castle Black, where her distraught demeanour leads Davos and Jon to realise that Stannis and Shireen are dead.

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====Season 6==== Still reeling from Stannis' defeat, Melisandre is further shocked when Jon is assassinated by his officers, as she had had a vision of him fighting at Winterfell. In shock and suffering a crisis of faith, she returns to her sleeping chambers. She removes her ruby necklace while undressing, proving that the necklace is a magical glamour, as she is revealed to have a physical body countless years older than she normally appears. Following the imprisonment of the mutineers by the wildlings, Davos persuades her to attempt a resurrection of Jon, which, to her shock, is ultimately successful. Melisandre comes to believe that the "prince that was promised" was not Stannis, but Jon, and dedicates herself to his service. Realizing that her constant meddling had done more harm than good, Melisandre works no magic without Jon's permission, nor does she try to convert anyone – including Snow – to worship the Lord of Light. Melisandre joins Jon in his march on Winterfell to confront Ramsay Bolton. Although Jon forbids her from resurrecting him again if he falls. Melisandre says she will at least try, as the Lord of Light might still need him. In the aftermath of House Stark's recapture of Winterfell (which validates her vision), Melisandre is confronted by Davos, who has discovered that she burned Shireen at the stake. Jon Snow exiles her from the North, threatening to have her executed if she ever returns. Melisandre protests that she is now dedicated to the cause of defeating the White Walkers, but ultimately agrees to leave and rides south.

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====Season 7==== Melisandre arrives on Dragonstone, which is now occupied by Daenerys Targaryen. Melisandre claims that both she and Jon (who has been crowned King in the North since her exile) are the "prince that was promised", and suggests that Daenerys summon Jon to Dragonstone to hear of his experiences fighting the White Walkers. When Jon and Davos arrive on Dragonstone to meet Daenerys, Melisandre avoids them and decides to return to Volantis. Although Daenerys' advisor Varys warns that Melisandre will not be safe if she ever returns to Westeros, she declares that she will eventually make one final journey to Westeros to die.

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====Season 8==== Melisandre returns to Winterfell as the forces of the living prepare to do battle with the White Walkers and their army of wights and sets Daenerys' Dothraki horde's arakhs on fire before they charge the dead. She is confronted by Davos as she enters Winterfell, but assures him she will be dead before dawn. When Daenerys is unable to see Davos' signal to light a defensive trench, Grey Worm escorts her outside to use her abilities to ignite the trench. The wights ultimately make their way into the castle, and Melisandre takes refuge in the Great Hall, later joined by Arya, Sandor Clegane, and a mortally wounded Beric Dondarrion. Melisandre tells Arya that Beric was resurrected for a purpose that has now been served, and reminds her of her prophecy that Arya would "shut many eyes forever", emphasizing the blue eyes of the wights and White Walkers. Arya realizes that her third victim is the Night King, commander of the White Walkers and leaves for Winterfell's Godswood, where she ultimately destroys the Night King, in doing so destroying the rest of the army of the dead. In the battle's aftermath, her purpose fulfilled, Melisandre walks out of Winterfell while removing her necklace and collapses into dust.

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===Recognition and awards=== Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

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"'''Oathkeeper'''" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of HBO's fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 34th overall. The episode was written by Bryan Cogman, and directed by Michelle MacLaren. It aired on April 27, 2014. The title refers to the new sword gifted to Brienne of Tarth by Jaime Lannister and the themes of duty that propel the episode. The episode focuses on the aftermath of Joffrey's wedding, the Night's Watch's attempt to deal with the mutineers, and Daenerys's continued conquest of Meereen. "Oathkeeper" also featured the debut appearance of the Night King, the leader of the White Walkers, though he was not identified as such until the following year.

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===In King's Landing=== Jaime visits Tyrion in his cell and tells him that Cersei is searching for Sansa. Olenna prepares to return to Highgarden and implies to Margaery that she had a hand in Joffrey's death to protect Margaery from his cruelty. Margaery talks with Tommen about their marriage. Jaime sends Brienne to find and protect Sansa and gives her his Valyrian steel sword, which she names Oathkeeper and service of Podrick as a squire.

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===In the Narrow Sea=== On the way to the Eyrie, Petyr tells Sansa that he plans to marry Lysa. Petyr tells her that Joffrey's death will help him and his new powerful allies grow strong, referring to the House Tyrell and that the missing stone in her necklace was the poison used for Joffrey's murder.

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===At the Wall=== Jon trains Locke and Olly. Thorne sends Jon to kill the group at Craster's Keep and Edd, Grenn and Locke volunteer to help him.

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===In Meereen=== Missandei teaches Grey Worm the Common Tongue, the language of Westeros. Grey Worm and other Unsullied infiltrate the city, arm the slaves and incite a slave uprising that leaves Daenerys in control of the city. Daenerys orders 163 masters crucified, as justice for the slave children crucified along the road to Meereen.

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===Beyond the Wall=== Karl orders Rast to dispose Craster's last son to the White Walkers. Bran's group is captured by Karl's group. White Walker retrieves Craster's son, travels to the White Walkers' fortress in the Lands of Always Winter and the leader of the White Walkers, the Night King transforms the boy into a White Walker.

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== Production == Series veteran Bryan Cogman wrote this episode. "Oathkeeper" was written by Bryan Cogman based on ''A Storm of Swords''. Reviewer Walt Hickey of FiveThirtyEight notes that the episode "contained the final scene of Jaime Lannister’s ninth ''"Storm of Swords"'' chapter. But lots of material from that chapter hasn't been on the show yet, so I reasoned that he has completed only eight." In addition to chapter 72 (Jaime IX), some of the content from this episode is also found in ''A Storm of Swords'' chapters 61, 68, and 71 (Sansa V, Sansa VI, Daenerys VI). Theresa DeLucci, a reviewer for ''Tor.com'', notes that the episode "didn't even take liberties with the books; it completely made up whole new stories" that do not appear in ''A Storm of Swords'', including conversations between Missandei and Grey Worm, Bran's appearance at Craster's keep, and the final White Walker scene. Reviewers from IGN applauded the new material, noting that the scenes at Craster's keep "give Bran something to do" and hint at the nature of the White Walkers. Erik Kain, of ''Forbes'' magazine, notes these departures from the books as well, stating that the episode departed as much from the books as any episode thus far in the HBO adaptation of Martin's book series. These deviations, notes Kain, "leave both readers and newcomers to the story of Westeros and its motley band of heroes and villains entirely uncertain as to what's coming next."

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=== Ratings === "Oathkeeper" established a new series high in ratings, with 6.95 million people watching the premiere. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 1.598 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week. It also received 0.112 million timeshift viewers.

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=== Critical reception === Like the season's other episodes, "Oathkeeper" received acclaim from critics, with Rotten Tomatoes counting 97% positive reviews from among 36. The site's consensus is that "If it's a bit more subdued than its predecessors, 'Oathkeeper' is nonetheless a rock-solid installment of Game of Thrones – one that features assured direction, strong action scenes, and intriguing plot developments." Eric Goldman and Roth Cornet of IGN commented on the episode being a "game changer" because it diverges from the book series more than any other ''Game of Thrones'' episode; a few of the changes include Jon's and Bran's storylines, how Daenerys conquered Meereen, and new information with regard to how White Walkers multiply their army. Goldman and Cornet stated that much of the episode feels like a spoiler for readers of the series because of the changes, including the show creators, who know how the ongoing book series will end, possibly having incorporated aspects that happen later in the books. Though Goldman and Cornet indicated that significantly diverging from the books could be detrimental to the show, they credited "Oathkeeper" with adding an element of surprise and intrigue for all viewers. Writing for ''The A.V. Club'', Emily VanDerWerff (writing for viewers who have read the books) and Erik Adams (writing for viewers who have not) both gave the episode a B. VanDerWerff commented that the scenes between Jamie and Cersei "seems to truly want us to think that what happened last week wasn't, in any way, rape" and wondered "whether the show is going to acknowledge it at all." Adams notes how the episode serves as a "bridge" between episodes and plotlines well under way, but that there are "thematic riches" to be found; namely, the multiple searches for justice.

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=== Accolades === Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) Canadian Society of Cinematographers

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The soundtrack album of the third season of HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', titled '''''Game of Thrones: Season 3''''', was released digitally on June 4, 2013, and on CD on July 2, 2013. The album was composed by Ramin Djawadi.

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==Credits and personnel== Personnel adapted from the album liner notes. * Ramin Djawadi – composer, primary artist, producer * The Hold Steady – band, primary artist * George R.R. Martin – lyricist * Kerry Ingram – primary artist

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'''Robert Baratheon''' is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. Introduced in 1996's ''A Game of Thrones'', Robert Baratheon is the eldest son and heir of Lord Steffon Baratheon and Lady Cassana Estermont of Storm's End, the lord paramount of the Stormlands, one of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and brother to Stannis and Renly. After his betrothed Lyanna Stark was kidnapped by Rhaegar Targaryen, Robert, along with the aid of her brother and his close friend, Eddard Stark, and their foster guardian Jon Arryn, initiated a bloody rebellion against the "Mad King" Aerys II Targaryen. After crushing the Targaryen dynasty and winning the war, Robert took the Iron Throne and established the Baratheon dynasty as its first king. However, due to Lyanna's untimely death during the war, Robert instead married Tywin Lannister's daughter Cersei to ensure political stability. Although Robert's rule has been relatively peaceful, he proves to be an ineffective ruler and is unhappy in both his marriage to Cersei and his responsibilities as king, instead living a life of infidelity and wanton excess. He has fathered many bastards, unaware that his three children by Cersei were in fact fathered by her twin brother Jaime Lannister as products of incest. Although Robert is killed in the first novel, the legacy of his rebellion and rule continues to have great impact on the contemporary events of Westeros. His death creates a power vacuum in which both of his brothers, Cersei's eldest son Joffrey, and several other claimants fight for control of the Seven Kingdoms, known as the War of Five Kings. Robert is portrayed by English actor Mark Addy in the HBO television adaptation.

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== Character == Robert Baratheon is not a point of view character in the novels, so his actions are mainly witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of Ned Stark. He only appears in the first book of the series ''A Game of Thrones'', though is mentioned numerous times in the later books by characters such as Cersei Lannister.

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===Background=== Before he became king, Robert Baratheon was the ward of Jon Arryn and was raised at the Eyrie alongside Eddard Stark. Fifteen years before the novels, Robert was betrothed to Ned's younger sister Lyanna, with whom he was madly (and unrequitedly) in love. After Lyanna disappeared with Rhaegar Targaryen, Robert led a rebellion to overthrow the Targaryen dynasty and later killed Rhaegar in single combat. He then married Cersei Lannister to ensure House Lannister's support for his rule, but remained attached to the memory of Lyanna, resulting in an estranged marriage with Cersei.

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===Personality and description=== Robert is in his mid-thirties when the events of the books begin. He has the classical Baratheon look: black hair and bright blue eyes, and is a very tall man, with Eddard Stark estimating him to be six and a half feet. As a young adult, Robert was handsome, clean-shaven and muscled "like a maiden's fantasy". However, after he won the Iron Throne, Robert becomes very obese due to excessive feasting and drinking, gaining weight, and turns into an often red-faced man with dark circles underneath his eyes and appears half-drunk and sweating when walking, with a wild, thick, fierce beard that hides his double chin. In his youth, Robert is as strong as a bull and fearless in battle with a powerful voice, wielding a large spiked iron war hammer too heavy for Eddard Stark to lift, and was a formidable warrior well loved by soldiers. Though headstrong, rash and impatient, Robert can be merciful towards his enemies as long as they are honest and brave, and can inspire loyalty and friendship in even enemies via charisma alone. Although deconditioned after becoming king due to weight gain and frequent drinking, Jaime Lannister still believes that Robert is stronger than him. Robert is a jovial man of huge appetites and knows to indulge in pleasures. He is quite promiscuous, having fathered multiple bastard children (17 according to the prophecy by Lannisport fortuneteller Maggy the Frog) with whores or any women he encounters, and his lusts are the subject of ribald drinking songs throughout the realms. As king, Robert is known to impose upon the hospitality (voluntarily or not) of his subjects, but at the same time also possesses a rather careless generosity. A proud man, Robert rarely back down on words spoken in a drunken bravado. As king, Robert is no longer used to someone disagreeing with him, which makes him vulnerable to manipulation by others. Robert loathes his responsibilities as king and frequently expresses his preference to winning the throne in battle rather than sitting on it. He has never truly loved his wife and is unaware that none of his three children with her are his, but instead Jaime Lannister's. Under his reign, the realm has been bankrupted, and Robert is deeply in debt to his wife's family. Tyrion Lannister considers Robert to be "a great blustering oaf", while Varys describes him as a fool. His queen wife Cersei Lannister considers him to be an ignorant, dumb, slow-witted, drunken brute who does not have the ruthless streak she believes a king requires. According to Petyr Baelish, Robert is practised at closing his eyes to things he would rather not see.

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== Storylines == Coat of arms of House Baratheon

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====''A Game of Thrones''==== King Robert has come to Winterfell to appoint his close friend Eddard Stark the Hand of The King, after the untimely death of Jon Arryn. He was unaware that Cersei's three children were in fact fathered by her twin brother Jaime. More interested in food, drink, and tourneys than in governance, Robert has squandered the royal treasury, leaving the crown heavily in debt. After a hunting accident orchestrated by Cersei, Robert is mortally wounded and appoints Eddard as the regent for his son Joffrey. After Robert's death, Eddard loses the political struggle against the Lannisters and is later publicly executed by beheading, and the kingdoms plunge into civil war known as the War of the Five Kings (which encompasses the entirety of the following two books) in which Robert's two brothers Renly and Stannis Baratheon both declare themselves the rightful kings. Eddard's vengeful son Robb and later Balon Greyjoy also secede and declare kingships.

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====''A Clash of Kings''==== Robert briefly appears in ''A Clash of Kings'' in a flashback sequence.

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==TV adaptation== Robert Baratheon is played by Mark Addy in the television adaption of the series of books. Addy's audition for the role was according to showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss the best they saw, him being the easiest actor to cast for the show.

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==== Season 1 ==== Robert's storyline is the same in the show as it is in the novels, however, his wife Cersei reveals that she had one stillborn son by him, which is not the case in the novels, where Cersei uses guile and trickery to prevent him from ever actually engaging in sexual intercourse with her while drunk.

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==== Season 2 ==== After his death, Robert's bastards are ordered to be killed by Joffrey Baratheon, Robert's supposed legal heir and the new king. Gendry is subsequently forced to flee the capital.

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==== Seasons 6 & 7 ==== In seasons six and seven, Bran Stark's gift of vision as the Three-Eyed Raven revealed to him the truth of Rhaegar and Lyanna's relationship and states that 'Robert's Rebellion was built on a lie'.

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==== Season 8 ==== Daenerys Targaryen legitimizes Gendry, naming him Robert's lawful son and Lord of Storm's End.

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"'''The Kingsroad'''" is the second episode of the first season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', first aired on April 24, 2011. It was written by the show creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Tim Van Patten. Nearly all the action of the episode happens during travel: Eddard Stark and his daughters accompany the king's entourage to King's Landing to occupy the post of Hand of the King, Tyrion Lannister joins Jon in his travel to the Wall, and the newly wed Daenerys goes with her husband's ''khalasar'' to the city of Vaes Dothrak. Meanwhile, in Winterfell a grieving Catelyn Stark watches over her unconscious son Bran. The title of the episode refers to the long road that snakes throughout Westeros, eventually ending at King's Landing. Viewing figures were unchanged from the premiere, despite the second episode airing on Easter Sunday. Critical reception to the episode was favorable. Filming locations included several notable Northern Ireland locations, and the filming itself was complicated by the difficulty of integrating canine actors into several crucial scenes. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 2.2 million in its initial broadcast.

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===In the Dothraki Sea=== En route to Vaes Dothrak with Khal Drogo's ''khalasar'', Jorah Mormont reveals to Viserys Targaryen that he was exiled for selling poachers into slavery. Viserys is impatient for control of Drogo's army. Daenerys Targaryen struggles with her new marriage and the nomadic Dothraki lifestyle, taking comfort in her dragon eggs. Distressed by sex with the Khal, she asks her handmaiden Doreah how to please her husband.

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===In the North=== Bran Stark has been in a coma for over a month. After slapping his nephew Joffrey Baratheon for refusing to give his condolences to the Starks, Tyrion Lannister informs his siblings that Bran will survive. Ned Stark and his daughters prepare to journey to the capital with King Robert Baratheon, while Jon Snow leaves to join his uncle Benjen in the Night's Watch, accompanied by Tyrion. Jon gives Arya Stark a sword, and Catelyn Stark chastises Ned for leaving her. Ned promises to tell Jon about his mother when they meet again. As they embark for King's Landing, Robert tells Ned of Daenerys Targaryen's marriage to Khal Drogo and the possibility of Viserys raising a Dothraki army to overthrow him. A fire breaks out at Winterfell as an assassin tries to kill Bran, but is held off by Catelyn and killed by Bran's direwolf. A strand of blonde hair in the tower where Bran fell convinces Catelyn that the Lannisters are involved. Confiding with her son Robb, Maester Luwin, Master-at-Arms Ser Rodrik Cassel, and the Starks' ward Theon Greyjoy, Catelyn decides to go to King's Landing to warn Ned.

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===At the Wall=== Reaching the Wall, Tyrion disabuses Jon of his romantic notions of the once-noble Night's Watch, now a place for criminals, prisoners, and bastards.

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===At the Inn at the Crossroads=== The king's entourage stops at an inn, where Joffrey's cruelty to Arya's commoner friend Mycah results in Joffrey being bitten by Arya's direwolf Nymeria, whom he accuses of attacking him. Sansa, newly betrothed to Joffrey, claims to remember nothing, and King Robert gives in to Cersei Lannister's demand that the direwolf be killed. With Nymeria having fled, Sansa's direwolf Lady is to be killed instead, which Ned takes responsibility for himself. He encounters Joffrey's bodyguard, Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, who has killed Mycah for the prince. Ned kills Lady, while in the North, Bran suddenly awakens from his coma.

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===Writing=== The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The second episode was written by the show creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based on the original book by George R. R. Martin."The Kingsroad" includes chapters 10-11, 13-18 and 24. (Tyrion I, Jon II, Eddard II, Tyrion II, Catelyn III, Sansa I, Eddard III, Bran III, Daenerys III.) While the events in this episode mostly follow the book, differences in the screen adaptation include not introducing the council's delegation with Ser Barristan and Lord Renly and the conversation between Robert and Eddard taking place during breakfast instead of on horseback. Some scenes were also created for the series, most notably a conversation between Catelyn and Cersei at Bran's bedside remembering the Queen's first child by Robert that died early of sickness (in the novel, when Ned confronts Cersei about Jaime fathering her children, she hinted that her first pregnancy, which was by Robert, she had aborted), and a confrontation between Jaime and Jon before Jon leaves for the Wall.

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===Casting=== This episode marks the first appearance of regular guest star Roxanne McKee, best known for her role of Louise Summers in the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. McKee was chosen among a great number of candidates to play the part of Doreah, a slave serving as Daenerys Targaryen's handmaiden. Also introduced in this episode is British musician Wilko Johnson as the executioner Ilyn Payne. The mute headsman of ''Game of Thrones'' is Johnson's first acting job.

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===Filming locations=== The principal shooting for the episode was done at The Paint Hall studio. The scenes at the Inn at the Crossroads were filmed on location at the Redhall Estate, in Ballycarry, during the first days of September 2010.

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===Direwolves=== "The Kingsroad" has a significant number of scenes that include direwolves. To stand in for the extinct species, the production team considered using real wolves, but the UK safety laws and close work with child actors made this impractical. Instead, they chose to use Northern Inuit Dogs due to their resemblance to wolves. During this episode, the dogs had to interact with the main characters, which proved difficult. Actor Sean Bean reported that for the final scene where he has to sacrifice Lady, the animal was too scared to remain still. They had to keep rehearsing the scene until the dog felt comfortable, making a shot that should have taken a few minutes about three hours long. The dog that portrayed Lady, Zanni, was adopted after the season wrapped by the family of Sophie Turner, the actress playing the direwolf's owner, Sansa Stark.

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===Ratings=== The second episode of ''Game of Thrones'' attracted the same viewing figures as the premiere, with 2.2 million viewers. The second repeat obtained 0.7 million, which was also similar to the previous week's figure. These ratings have been considered positive, especially considering that it was aired on an Easter Sunday.

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===Critical response=== Critical reaction was favorable, although some critics felt it was inferior to the first episode. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 10 reviews of the episode and judged 100% of them to be positive with an average score of 7.3 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "'The Kingsroad' brings surprising new developments for characters undergoing change while pushing the various plots forward at an effective pace." ''Entertainment Weekly''s James Hibberd considered the second episode better than the first one, while TV Squad's Maureen Ryan gave "The Kingsroad" the lowest score from the first six episodes of the series. Matt Fowler, who reviewed the episode for IGN, gave it a score of 8/10, and maintained that it was still a solid effort that focused on shifting all the main characters out of their comfort zones. Tod VanDerWerff, from The A.V. Club, gave the episode a "''B''," saying "it was a small step up from the pilot...and is a particularly eventful hour of ''Game Of Thrones'', layering on plot point after plot point in a brisk, fairly economical matter." Alan Sepinwall from HitFix, has described "The Kingsroad" as a transition episode and therefore "not as likely to excite as the premiere or some of the season's later episodes." Maureen Ryan felt that the show lacked a thematic unity, and while it had some effective moments, in some ways "lacked emotional spark." At Cultural Learnings, Myles McNutt admitted that having to move all pieces into place made the episode resemble a travelogue, but he considered the lack of cohesion to be very purposeful since it helped to emphasize the splitting of the Stark family and the different motivations and destinies that awaited the protagonists.

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'''''A Clash of Kings''''' is the second novel in ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', an epic fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin expected to consist of seven volumes. It was first published on 16 November 1998 in the United Kingdom, although the first United States edition did not follow until February 2, 1999 Like its predecessor, ''A Game of Thrones'', it won the Locus Award (in 1999) for Best Novel and was nominated for the Nebula Award (also in 1999) for best novel. In May 2005 Meisha Merlin released a limited edition of the novel, fully illustrated by John Howe. The novel has been adapted for television by HBO as the second season of the TV series ''Game of Thrones''. ''A Clash of Kings'' is also the name of the first expansion to the ''Game of Thrones'' board game.

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== Plot summary == ''A Clash of Kings'' depicts the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros in civil war, while the Night's Watch mounts a reconnaissance to investigate the mysterious people known as wildlings. Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen continues her plan to reconquer the Seven Kingdoms.

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===In the Seven Kingdoms=== With King Robert Baratheon dead, his purported son Joffrey and his brothers Renly and Stannis all claim the throne of the Seven Kingdoms. Two regions attempt to secede from the realm: Robb Stark is declared "King in the North" while Balon Greyjoy declares himself king of the Iron Islands. The war among these contenders is dubbed the War of the Five Kings. Stannis Baratheon, claiming the throne as Robert's eldest brother and therefore heir, is supported by Melisandre, a foreign priestess who believes Stannis to be the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, a messianic figure of her faith. Renly Baratheon has married Margaery Tyrell, the daughter of the wealthy Lord Mace Tyrell, who is supporting Renly's attempt to usurp the throne. Robb sends his mother Catelyn Stark to meet with Renly and Stannis to discuss an alliance against Joffrey's family, the Lannisters, but she is unable to reach an agreement with them. Melisandre uses magic to send a shadow to assassinate Renly; after witnessing Renly's death, Catelyn and Renly's bodyguard Brienne of Tarth flee the scene. Having lost Renly, some of his followers shift their support to Stannis. Tyrion Lannister, Joffrey's uncle, arrives at King's Landing as acting Hand of the King, the senior adviser to Joffrey's reign. Whilst jockeying for power against Joffrey's mother, the Queen Regent Cersei, Tyrion improves the defenses of the city. Learning of Renly's death, and knowing that the Tyrells will not support Stannis, Tyrion sends the crown's treasurer Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish to negotiate a marriage alliance between Margaery and Joffrey. Riots break out in the city due to Joffrey's cruelty and food shortages caused by the ongoing war. Robb wins several victories against the Lannisters while Robb's younger brother Bran rules the Northern stronghold of Winterfell in his absence. Robb sends his friend Theon Greyjoy, Balon Greyjoy's son, who grew up as a hostage in Winterfell, to negotiate an alliance between the North and the Iron Islands. Theon betrays Robb and attacks Winterfell, taking the castle and capturing Bran and his younger brother Rickon. When Bran and Rickon escape, Theon fakes their deaths. Believing this ruse, Stark supporters besiege the castle, including a force from the Starks' sometime ally House Bolton. However, the Bolton soldiers turn against the Stark and Greyjoy forces alike, burn Winterfell, slaughter its inhabitants, and take Theon prisoner. Robb's sister Arya is taken north posing as a new recruit for the Night's Watch. The recruits are attacked by Lannister forces, and the survivors are taken to the gigantic castle of Harrenhal, which is controlled by Joffrey's grandfather Tywin Lannister, and put to work as servants. For saving his life during the attack, a mysterious man named Jaqen H'ghar promises to repay Arya by killing three men of her choice. Arya leverages this offer to help Northern forces retake control of Harrenhal. Jaqen gives Arya a mysterious iron coin and tells her to find him in the foreign city of Braavos if she should ever desire to learn his secrets. Arya soon escapes the castle. Stannis' army launches assaults on King's Landing by both land and sea in a battle in Blackwater Bay. Under Tyrion's command, the Lannister forces use "wildfire" (similar to Greek fire) to ignite the bay, and raise a massive chain across its mouth to prevent Stannis' fleet from retreating. Tywin leads his army and the Tyrell forces to the defense of King's Landing, and Stannis's forces are defeated. During the battle, Tyrion is attacked and injured by a knight of Joffrey's Kingsguard; by the time Tyrion regains consciousness after the battle, Tywin has assumed the post of Hand of the King.

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===Beyond the Wall=== A scouting party from the Night's Watch learns that the wildlings are uniting under "King-beyond-the-Wall" Mance Rayder. The Watch then continue to an ancient hill-top fortress known as the Fist of the First Men, where Jeor Mormont sends Jon Snow and Qhorin Halfhand with others to the Skirling Pass, where they are hunted by wildling warriors. Facing certain defeat, Halfhand commands Jon to infiltrate the wildlings and learn their plans. They are captured by wildlings who demand Jon fight Qhorin to join them. Jon kills Qhorin with the aid of his direwolf, Ghost, and learns that Mance Rayder is advancing on the Wall with thirty thousand wildlings, giants, and mammoths.

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===Across the Narrow Sea=== Daenerys Targaryen travels east, accompanied by the knight Jorah Mormont, her remaining followers, and three newly hatched dragons. Scouts find a safe route to the city of Qarth, where her dragons make Daenerys notorious. Xaro Xhoan Daxos, the leader of the Thirteen, a prominent group of traders in Qarth, initially befriends the outsiders; but Daenerys cannot secure aid in claiming the Iron Throne, because she refuses to give away any of her dragons. As a last resort, Daenerys seeks counsel from the warlocks of Qarth, who show Daenerys many confusing visions and threaten her life, whereupon one of Daenerys' dragons, Drogon, burns down the warlocks' House of the Undying. An attempt to assassinate Daenerys is thwarted by a fat warrior named Strong Belwas and his squire Arstan Whitebeard: agents of Daenerys' ally Illyrio Mopatis, who have come to escort her back to Pentos.

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== Characters == The tale is told through the eyes of 9 recurring POV characters plus one prologue POV character: * Prologue: Maester Cressen, maester at Dragonstone * Tyrion Lannister, youngest son of Lord Tywin Lannister, a dwarf and a brother to Queen Cersei, and the acting Hand of the King * Lady Catelyn Stark, of House Tully, widow of Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell * Ser Davos Seaworth, a smuggler turned knight in the service of King Stannis Baratheon, often called the Onion Knight * Sansa Stark, eldest daughter of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, held captive by Queen Cersei at King's Landing * Arya Stark, youngest daughter of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, missing and presumed dead * Bran Stark, second son of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark and heir to Winterfell and the King in the North * Jon Snow, bastard son of Eddard Stark, and a man of the Night's Watch * Theon Greyjoy, heir to the Seastone Chair and former ward of Lord Eddard Stark * Queen Daenerys Targaryen, the Unburnt and Mother of Dragons, of the Targaryen dynasty

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==Editions== * Arabic: "اغنية الثلج والنار: صراع الملوك" ("A Song of Ice and Fire : Clash of kings") * Bulgarian: Бард :"Сблъсък на Крале" * Catalan: Alfaguara :"Xoc de reis" ("Clash of kings") * Croatian: Algoritam: "Sraz kraljeva" * Chinese: "列王的纷争", 重庆出版社(2006) ("Conflict of Kings"). * Czech: Talpress: "Střet králů" ("Clash of Kings") * Danish: Gyldendal :"Kongernes Kamp" ("The Battle of Kings") * Dutch: One volume, Luithing Fantasy (1999): hardcover : ''De Strijd der Koningen'' ("The Clash of Kings") * Estonian: Two volumes, hardcover : Varrak (2008, 2009), "Kuningate heitlus I & II" ("A Clash of Kings") * Finnish: Kirjava: "Kuninkaiden koitos" * French: Three volumes (Hardcover: Pygmalion (2000); paperback: J'ai Lu (2002)): "La bataille des rois", "L'ombre maléfique", "L'invincible forteresse" ("The Battle of Kings", "The Evil Shadow", "The Invincible Fortress"). * German: Single volume, Fantasy Productions (2004): "Königsfehde" ("King's Feud"). Two volumes, Blanvalet (2000): "Der Thron der Sieben Königreiche", "Die Saat des goldenen Löwen" ("The Throne of the Seven Kingdoms", "The Seed of the Golden Lion"). * Georgian: Paperback, Arete (2014): "მეფეთა ჯახი" I/II ("Clash of Kings" I/II) * Greek: Anubis: "Σύγκρουση Βασιλέων" ("Clash of Kings") * Hebrew: "I/II עימות המלכים" ("Clash of Kings") * Hungarian: Alexandra Könyvkiadó : "Királyok csatája" ("Battle of Kings") * Icelandic: UGL: "Konungar kljást" ("Kings Clash") * Indonesian: Fantasious: "Pertempuran Raja-raja" ("Battle of Kings") * Italian: Two volumes, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore (2001, 2002): "Il regno dei lupi", "La regina dei draghi" ("The Kingdom of Wolves", "The Queen of Dragons"). * Japanese: Two volumes, hardcover : Hayakawa (2004), paperback : Hayakawa (2007): "王狼たちの戦旗" ("Banner of the Wolf Kings") * Korean: Eun Haeng Namu Publishing Co. :"왕들의 전쟁" ("War of Kings") * Latvian: Whitebook: "Karaļu cīņa" ("War of Kings") * Lithuanian: Alma Littera "Karalių kova" ("A Battle of Kings") * Norwegian: Two volumes (2012) 'Bok II Del I: Kongenes kamp' (Book II Part I: The Battle of Kings) and 'Bok II Del II: Dragenes dronning' (Book II Part II: The Queen of Dragons) * Polish: Zysk i s-ka: "Starcie królów" * Brazilian Portuguese: Leya: "A Fúria dos Reis" ("Wrath of the Kings") * European Portuguese: Two Volumes, Saída de Emergência : "A Fúria dos Reis", "O Despertar da Magia" * Romanian: Nemira: "Încleștarea regilor" * Russian: Single volume, AST (2004, 2005, 2006): "Битва королей" ("The Battle of Kings"). Two volumes, AST (2000): "Битва королей. Книга 1", "Битва королей. Книга 2" ("The Battle of Kings: Book 1", "The Battle of Kings: Book 2). * Serbian: Лагуна : "Судар краљева" * Slovenian: "Spopad kraljev" ("Clash of Kings") * Spanish: Gigamesh (2003): "Choque de reyes" ("Clash of Kings"). * Swedish: Forum bokförlag: "Kungarnas krig" ("War of the Kings") * Turkish: Two volumes, Epsilon Yayınevi: "Buz ve Ateşin Şarkısı II: Kralların Çarpışması - Kısım I & Kralların Çarpışması - Kısım II" ("A Clash of Kings") * Ukrainian: One volume, KM Publishing (2014): "Битва Королів" ("A Clash of Kings") * Vietnamese: Two volumes: "Trò Chơi Vương Quyền 2A: Hậu Duệ Của Sư Tử Vàng", "Trò Chơi Vương Quyền 2B: Bảy Phụ Quốc". ("Game of Thrones 2A: Descendants of the Golden Lion", "Game of Thrones 2B: Seven Kingdoms")

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==Television adaptation== ''A Clash of Kings'' has been adapted for television by HBO as the second season of its successful adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire''. Filming began July 2011, and the first episode of season 2 of ''Game of Thrones'' aired on April 1, 2012.

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==Reception== As with its predecessor, ''A Clash of Kings'' was positively received by critics. Dorman Shindler of ''The Dallas Morning News'' described it as "one of the best works in this particular subgenre", praising "the richness of this invented world and its cultures ... that lends Mr. Martin's novels the feeling of medieval history rather than fiction." Writing in ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', Jim Hopper called ''A Clash of Kings'' "High Fantasy with a vengeance" and commented: "I'll admit to staying up too late one night last week to finish off this big book, and I hope it's not too terribly long until the next one comes out." Danielle Pilon wrote in the ''Winnipeg Free Press'' that the book "shows no signs of the usual 'middle book' aimlessness". Although she found the constantly switching viewpoints "momentarily confusing", she felt that it "draws the reader deep into the labyrinthine political and military intrigues and evokes sympathy for characters on all sides of the conflict." Bradley H. Sinor of the ''Tulsa World'' praised Martin for "keeping readers balanced on a sword's edge" and managing to do "three important things" with ''A Clash of Kings'': "It grips the reader whether or not they read the earlier book, tells a satisfying story and leaves the reader wanting the next book as soon as possible." ''The Oregonian's'' Steve Perry called the book "easily as good as the first novel" and commented that the ''Song of Ice and Fire'' books were "so complex, fascinating and well-rendered that readers will almost certainly be hooked into the whole series." However, he cautioned that "if it were a movie, it would be rated "R" for sex and violence, so don't pick the book up for your 10-year-old nephew who likes Conan."

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==Awards and nominations== * Locus Award – Best Novel (Fantasy) (Won) – (1999) * Nebula Award – Best Novel (Nominated) – (1999) * Ignotus Award – Best Novel (Foreign) (Won) – (2004)

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'''''The Sons of the Dragon''''' is a novella by George R. R. Martin, set in the fictional land of Westeros, the setting of Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series. The story commences about 270 years before the start of ''A Game of Thrones'' (1996). It portrays the death of Aegon I, known as "Aegon the Conqueror", and his two sons Aenys I, his successor to the throne, and Maegor I "the Cruel", in their respective successions to the throne thereafter, and the conflicts faced between them. The story concludes with the death of Maegor, and introduces the groundwork for its sequel, being about the life of his successor and nephew Jaehaerys I "the Conciliator", who reigned 55 years as the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.

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==Format== As with his previous Westerosi "histories", including ''The World of Ice and Fire'', ''The Rogue Prince'' and ''The Princess and the Queen'', Martin wrote ''The Sons of the Dragon'' from the perspective of a fictional Westerosi scholar, referred to in-universe as some rank of "maester". Unlike the previous works, attributed to Maester Yandel and Archmaester Gyldayn, the maester of ''The Sons of the Dragon'' remains anonymous throughout the story. At the conclusion of the novella, the unnamed maester notes that the following history of the Targaryen family, concerning the life of Jaehaerys I, would be a "task for another maester".

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==Background== Following an early 2017 leak that revealed plans for the novella to be included in the anthology ''The Book of Swords'' (edited by Martin's longtime friend Gardner Dozois), Martin himself confirmed that the anthology was scheduled to be released on October 10, 2017, and confirmed that ''The Sons of the Dragon'' would be included. The story was derived from previously written lengthier material that Martin had prepared for the companion book ''The World of Ice & Fire'', but was removed because the book was becoming too long for the original concept of a fully illustrated book. It and several other stories appeared in abridged versions in other anthologies. The story is included in full in ''Fire & Blood''.

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==Publication== The novella was released by Bantam Spectra in October 2017 in hardcover, paperback and audiobook formats, all as the final story in ''The Book of Swords'' anthology. The audiobook edition was narrated by Ralph Lister, who previously collaborated with Martin and Dozois as narrator for their 2012 anthology ''Down These Strange Streets''.

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"'''The Gift'''" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of HBO's fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 47th overall. The episode was written by the series' creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Miguel Sapochnik, his directorial debut for the series. This episode marks the final appearance for Peter Vaughan (Maester Aemon).

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===At the Wall=== Jon leaves for Hardhome with Tormund and some rangers, in spite of Ser Alliser's complaints. Before they leave, Sam gives Jon a bag of dragonglass weapons, reminding him of their use against the White Walkers. Sam and Gilly visit Maester Aemon, who has fallen ill and dies at nightfall. In the morning, Sam eulogizes him before lighting his funeral pyre. Afterward, Gilly is attacked in the dining hall by two brothers. Sam attempts to intervene and is badly beaten before Jon's wolf, Ghost, scares off the brothers. Gilly tends to Sam and the two have sex.

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===At Winterfell=== Reek brings food to Sansa, who has been imprisoned in her bedchamber by Ramsay. She begs for him to help, asking him to light a candle at the top of the broken tower, the aim of which is to send a signal to Stark sympathizers to rescue her. Instead, Reek tells Ramsay, who reacts by flaying and killing the old lady from whom Sansa learned the signal. As Ramsay is talking to Sansa, however, she discreetly steals a corkscrew from the top of a barrel. Meanwhile, Brienne and Podrick wait out in the snow for the signal, to no avail.

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===In the North=== Stannis' troops have made a camp and are trapped by the snowstorm. Davos Seaworth meets with Stannis and tells him that supplies, as well as horses, have been lost to the winter. The Stormcrows, a group of 500 sellswords, have abandoned the camp during the night. Davos suggests returning to Castle Black, but Stannis replies that doing so could delay them for years, since winters in Westeros can last for years at a time. After Davos leaves, Stannis asks Melisandre if she is sure of his victory. Melisandre assures him that she saw a vision of Stannis winning, but she asks for permission to sacrifice his daughter Shireen to the Red God. Stannis is disgusted and refuses, and dismisses Melisandre.

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===In Meereen=== Jorah is sold by the slave traders to a Meereenese man, Yezzan zo Qaggaz, who is looking for fighters for the upcoming games at Meereen. Before Yezzan leaves, Tyrion convinces Yezzan to purchase him as well by showing fighting prowess by attacking with a chain a slave herder who had been whipping Tyrion. Daenerys and Daario discuss her pending marriage to Hizdahr zo Loraq. Daario advises her to kill all of Meereen's nobles when the fighting pits get re-opened, but she declines. Yezzan takes his fighters to Meereen, where they fight in front of Daenerys. When Jorah realizes that Daenerys is present, he enters the pits and easily defeats the other fighters before revealing his identity to Daenerys, who orders he be taken out of her sight. Jorah tells her he brought her a gift, and Tyrion enters the arena, where he reveals his identity to a stunned Daenerys.

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===In Dorne=== Myrcella is brought to speak with Jaime, and asks why he came to take her back to King's Landing, when what she wants is to stay and marry Trystane. In the cells, Bronn is taunted by Tyene Sand exposing her breasts to him, before learning that her daggers, with which he'd been cut during their fight, had been coated with a slow-acting poison that would activate when his heart rate increased. He slowly succumbs to the poison, but Tyene gives him the antidote after he gives in to her request that he call her the most beautiful woman in the world.

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===In King's Landing=== In the Sept of Baelor, Olenna meets with the High Sparrow to discuss the imprisonment of her grandchildren, Loras and Margaery. She demands that he release them, but he declines, stating they will be punished for their crimes. The High Sparrow tells her that the laws of the Faith must be applied to everyone equally. Olenna first tries to bribe him, but upon seeing that he cannot be bought, threatens to end the Tyrell support for the capital by stopping shipments of food. The High Sparrow remains unfazed. He counters that she and the rest of the nobility are outnumbered by the smallfolk, and tells her to consider what will come when the smallfolk stop fearing the nobility. On her way out, Olenna receives a letter from Petyr Baelish. In the Red Keep, Tommen anguishes over his inability to help Margaery. Cersei offers to speak with the High Sparrow for him, and advocate for Margaery and Loras's release. Petyr meets with Olenna in his ransacked brothel, where they share a tense conversation. Olenna reminds Petyr of the role they both played in Joffrey's murder, and warns that, should her house fall, she won't keep his involvement a secret. In the Sept, Cersei meets with Margaery and brings her food, but Margaery refuses and angrily orders her mother-in-law to leave, knowing full well that she was responsible for imprisoning both her and Loras. Cersei then meets with the High Sparrow, and after a brief discussion on Margaery and Loras, he reveals that her cousin Lancel has informed against her regarding a sin she has committed. Cersei tries to leave but is stopped by a tall septa, who proceeds to lock Cersei in a cell.

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===Writing=== The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. This episode was written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the series' creators. It contains content from George R. R. Martin's novels ''A Feast for Crows'', chapters Samwell II, Samwell IV, and Cersei X and ''A Dance with Dragons'', chapters The King's Prize, Tyrion X, and Daenerys IV. Like other episodes in season 5, this episode differed considerably from Martin's novels in places. Aemon's death takes place at Castle Black rather than at sea, which Myles McNutt of ''A.V. Club'' notes, "establishes a shifting of the guard at Castle Black and marking Sam’s reemergence as a more significant character." In what Sara Stewart of the ''New York Post'' calls "the biggest departure yet from the books," Tyrion actually meets Daenerys at the end of the episode, which has yet to happen as of ''A Dance with Dragons''. The decision was largely approved by critics from ''The Atlantic'' and other publications. David Benioff cited the television adaptation's faster pace as part of the rationale behind this decision.

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===Filming=== Miguel Sapochnik served as director for the episode, his first episode for the series. "The Gift" was directed by Miguel Sapochnik. It was his first time being a director for ''Game of Thrones''; he also directed the subsequent episode, "Hardhome".

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===Ratings=== "The Gift" was watched by 5.5 million and a 2.5 in the key 18–49 demographic during the its first airing. This is significantly fewer viewers than the previous episode, "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken", which had an audience of 6.2 million. According to ''Business Insider'', likely causes for the lower ratings include backlash from the rape scene in "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken", in response to which many fans announced they would stop watching the show, and increased use of streaming through HBO Now. Rebecca Martin of ''Wetpaint'', however, maintains that the Memorial Day weekend air date was probably the only reason for the decrease in ratings. The season two episode "Blackwater", which also aired on Memorial Day weekend, also suffered a notable drop in ratings. Whatever the reason, the ratings for the episode immediately after "The Gift", "Hardhome", were higher than those of either "The Gift" or "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken". With Live+7 DVR viewing factored in, the episode had an overall rating of 8.87 million viewers, and a 4.5 in the 18–49 demographic. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 2.293 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week. It also received 0.176 million timeshift viewers.

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===Critical reviews=== The episode received very positive reviews. It scored 91% on Rotten Tomatoes from 32 reviews with a rating average of 7.9 out of 10 and the consensus reading: "'The Gift' is a jam-packed installment that delivers long-awaited plot turns in a satisfying manner, even though it continues a disturbing theme from the previous episode." Erik Kain of ''Forbes'' called this a "terrific, exciting, tense episode," though, like Myles McNutt of ''The A.V. Club'', he questioned both the "anemic" Dorne storyline and the gratuitousness of Tyene exposing her breasts in the prison scene.

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===Awards and nominations=== Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell

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The seventh and penultimate season of the fantasy drama television series ''Game of Thrones'' premiered on HBO on July 16, 2017, and concluded on August 27, 2017. Unlike previous seasons, which consisted of ten episodes each, the seventh season consisted of only seven episodes. Like the previous season, it largely consisted of original content not found in George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series, while also incorporating material that Martin revealed to showrunners about the upcoming novels in the series. The series was adapted for television by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The penultimate season focuses primarily on the convergence of the show's main plotlines in preparation for the final season. Daenerys Targaryen arrives in Westeros with her army and three dragons and begins to wage war against the Lannisters while Jon Snow continues his efforts to find ways to defeat the Army of the Dead. He forges an alliance with Daenerys in an attempt to unite their forces against the White Walker army. HBO ordered the seventh season on April 21, 2016, three days before the premiere of the show's sixth season, and began filming on August 31, 2016. The season was filmed primarily in Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia and Iceland. ''Game of Thrones'' features a large ensemble cast, including Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, and Kit Harington. The season introduces several new cast members, including Jim Broadbent and Tom Hopper. The series received 22 nominations for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, and won for Outstanding Drama Series and Dinklage won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

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===Guest cast=== The recurring actors listed here are those who appeared in season 7. They are listed by the region in which they first appear.

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====In the North, including the Wall==== * Richard Dormer as Beric Dondarrion * Ben Crompton as Eddison Tollett * Bella Ramsey as Lyanna Mormont * Tim McInnerny as Robett Glover * Megan Parkinson as Alys Karstark * Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne * Richard Rycroft as Maester Wolkan * Rupert Vansittart as Yohn Royce

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