Game of Thrones: Season 3, Episode 5: 'Kissed by Fire' Recap

“Game of Thrones”, season 3, episode 5, “Kissed by Fire”

In King’s Landing…

Cersei Lannister calls for Littlefinger. She asks him to get some information for her. She believes the Tyrells are up to something sneaky, and she wants him to obtain proof before he leaves the city. He agrees to do it.

Sansa Stark and Margaery Tyrell watch on as Loras Tyrell spars with various other men. They discuss the plans for Sansa marrying Loras so that she can finally leave King’s Landing. But as they talk, one of the squires approaches Loras and gets rather touchy-feely with him.

In Loras’ bedroom shortly after, he and the squire boy get rather intimate. In the brief intermission between sessions, Loras asks the boy how he knew about him, pointing out that his intended wife (Sansa Stark) doesn’t even know about him, and the boy says he just knew. He always does.

Later, the boy reports to Littlefinger, saying the Loras is intended to marry Sansa Stark.

Tywin Lannister calls for a meeting with Cersei and Tyrion. He informs Tyrion of the plot between the Tyrells and the Starks, and how they intend to use Sansa as their key to the north. Tywin says it can’t happen, and that it must be stopped. And to do that, Tyrion must marry Sansa. Tyrion says that that would just be cruel and that he refuses. Tywin says he has no choice. And as Cersei gloats, Tywin informs her that she is to marry Loras. She refuses, and Tywin says she must in order to silence the awful rumors about her. He calls them both a disgrace and leaves them.

In the North, beyond The Wall…

Jon Snow and Ygritte gather firewood as their small bunch of Wildlings march towards Castle Black at The Wall. The warg asks Jon what kind of defense the Night’s Watch has set up at Castle Black and across The Wall. They know there are 19 castles along The Wall, and he wants to know how many are manned. Jon says that there are only 3 currently occupied; Castle Black, Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and The Shadow Tower. Jon tells the warg that there are 1,000 men at Castle Black, and when the warg doubts him, he is pushed away by Tormund, who says he likes Jon, but if Jon is lying, he’ll kill him.

When they walk away, Ygritte steals Jon’s beloved sword and she eggs him on into chasing her. She runs into a cave with a hot spring, and when he follows her in, she strips in front of him. She asks him to prove that he’s abandoned the Night’s Watch by breaking his vows of celibacy and sleeping with her. After much hesitation by him and provocation by her, he gives in and rocks her world.

After their passionate encounter, Ygritte has Jon join her in the hot spring, and she tells him she wishes they could stay like that forever, and not have to go back.

Across the Narrow Sea, north of Astapor…

Daenerys Targaryen and her new army of the freed Unsullied march north towards the city of Yunkai. Daenerys calls forth the officers of the Unsullied and reminds them that they are free men, and as such, she asks that they choose a leader amongst themselves. The officers part, leaving one man standing. Daenerys calls him forth and tells him to remove his helmet and tell her his name. He says his name is Grey Worm.

Confused, Daenerys asks Missandei, and she explains that when the Unullied are captured as children to become slaves, they are given names like Grey Worm and Black Rat to remind them that they are vermin. Not happy to hear this, she tells the Unsullied that they are free to choose their own names now, and to tell the others they can as well.

Grey Worm says that he will keep his name. He explains that his birth name was an unlucky one because he was captured while named that. But when he was named Grey Worm, Daenerys freed him and his brethren, and it will be a name he wears with pride.

In Harrenhal…

Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth are brought to Lord Roose Bolton. Roose is disgusted by the way they treated Brienne and Jaime (such a valuable hostage), he demands that they are provided reasonable accommodations.

Jaime is seen by a Maester, who checks Jaime’s hand stump, noticing how horribly infected it has grown. He reassures Jaime that he won’t die, but they might have to amputate his entire arm to stop the infection. Jaime threatens him. He finally agrees to try to save what he can, but he warns Jaime that it will be extremely painful. Jaime doesn’t seem to care, so the man peels off chunks of rotted flesh, causing Jaime to yell out in pain.

Later, Jaime enters the bathhouse and sees Brienne. He joins her in a tub and asks her to pull him out of the water if he should faint because he doesn’t want to be the first Lannister to die in a bathtub. She says she doesn’t care how he dies, and he reminds her that she swore an oath to return him to King’s Landing, and that she’s failed that big time, and that it’s no wonder that Renly died with her protecting him. This deeply upsets her, and she stands, ready to fight him. He apologizes to her and says he’s tired of fighting and wants a truce. She points out that there needs to be trust in order to have a truce.

Jaime begins telling her the story of how he got the name kingslayer, and how it wasn’t what everyone thought it was. Brienne asks why he wouldn’t tell everyone the truth, and he says that no one would believe him, and that he was judged as guilty the moment Ned Stark laid eyes on him. As he speaks, he begins to lose consciousness, and Brienne calls out for help.

In Riverrun…

The two Lannister children that Robb Stark’s army took prisoner and cared for were killed by a group of men led by Lord Rickard Karstark, acting in revenge for his son killed by Jaime Lannister. Robb calls Karstark and his men before him and demands an explanation. Karstark says that it’s war, and their enemies should be killed. Robb Stark tells his men to take Karstark to the dungeon and hang all the rest.

Edmure Tully (Robb’s uncle) suggests that Robb hide the bodies of the Lannister boys, because if Tywin ever learns about their death, he will strike back. Robb ignores him and says that justice must be dealt, and that Karstark, a murderer, must be put to death. Catelyn Stark and Robb’s wife Talisa both protest, warning that if Robb kills Karstark, all of Karstark’s forces (nearly half) will back out of his army. Instead of killing him, Catelyn suggest they just hold him hostage until the war is over. Edmure agrees with this, but Robb ignores them both.

Robb brings Karstark into the courtyard to be beheaded. Karstark reminds Robb that they are kin and both descendent from the First Men. Robb says that that won’t stop him from executing him, and Karstark says that that wasn’t the goal. In his final words, Karstark says that Robb shall be cursed as a kinslayer and that Robb is no kind of his. Robb then chops off his head and storms away.

Later that night, Robb cannot sleep. The inevitable has happened; Karstark’s forces have pulled out of Robb’s army. Talisa begs him to come to bed, but he refuses. Talisa suggests that they just head back north to Winterfell and chase away the Greyjoys from the castle, but Robb says that if they go home, the armies will lose their fighting spirit. Looking at the world map, he realizes that most of the Lannister/Tyrell army has relocated south to King’s Landing, and that they can potentially strike the Lannister’s in their home town of Casterly Rock. He would just need more troops, and he knows where to go to find them: The House Frey. He was originally supposed to marry Walder Frey’s daughter, but broke that promise to marry Talisa.