'Game of Thrones' Season 3, Episode 2: 'Dark Wings, Dark Words' Recap

“Game of Thrones”, season 3, episode 2, “Dark Wings, Dark Words”

Bran goes running through the woods, aware that he’s dreaming (since he can’t walk). He runs into the 3-eyed Raven, and suddenly draws his bow, and Jon Snow and Robb appear at his side and he hears his father’s voice. He shoots the arrow and misses. A boy appears and tells him he can’t kill the raven because he is the raven. He wakes up and startles Hodor. Osha asks what he dreamt about, and he tells her about the raven. She tells him to stop because she doesn’t want to worry about black magic. She says they should hurry north towards The Wall.

Robb Stark and his new wife Talisa share a bonding moment when they are interrupted by Lord Baltan who has received two ravens, one from Riverrun and one from Winterfell. Robb has to tell his mother, Catelyn, that her father has died, which is what the note from Riverrun said. She is deeply saddened. Then Robb had to inform her that Winterfell has been burned and everyone has been slaughtered, and her sons Bran and Rickon have not been located. But he says that Theon might have taken them hostage instead. Catelyn asks if Theon has made any demands.

Theon Greyjoy, bound and unconscious, is rudely awoken by a bucket of water being thrown on his back. He demands to know where he is and who his captor is. Rather than answer, his captor jams a knife under Theon’s fingernail.

Brienne continues leading Jaime back to King’s Landing. Jaime wants to chat and charm Brienne, but she is in no mood for it. He refuses to keep quiet, though. Jaime hypothesizes that Brienne was in love with the late Renly Baratheon, and she reacts. Jaime says that he can’t blame her, since people can’t choose who they love, except that Renly preferred men. The pair run across a farmer who warns them that the King will find them no matter which route they take. He gives them his blessing and parts ways. Jaime tells Brienne that the farmer recognized him, and she says he didn’t. He asks what they’ll do if he did. She moves on.

In King’s Landing, Joffrey complains about the fabric on his wedding clothes, thinking flowers are not fit for a king. He dismisses his tailor and Cersei asks him what he thinks of his wife-to-be Margaery Tyrell. He thinks she’s perfect for him from a strategic ruling standpoint, and with her family by his side, and will strike fear into the north. Cersei asks what he thinks of the woman, not her family – she tries to point out that Margaery is scheming against him, but he says that women should do what they are told and only that.

Shae worries about what Littlefinger could want with Sansa Stark, but she tells Shae to stop worrying about it. She won’t tell her what he wanted, but she assures her it’s nothing to worry about. As they talk, Loras Tyrell arrives and informs Sansa that his sister and grandmother would like her to join them for tea in the gardens. She accepts, and he escorts her, complimenting her beauty as they walk. She asks if he remembers the first time they met, and he says he does.

In the garden, she is introduced to Elena, who seems to bluntly speak her mind. She also points out how dumb Renly Baratheon was for trying to claim the Iron Throne. She asks Sansa to tell her the truth about Joffrey, but she seems hesitant. She tells them nothing but good things about Joffrey, and Elena calls her bluff. She demands the truth, and promises that no harm will come to her. She brings up Joffrey’s lie about her father, and how he killed her father despite promising to spare him. Margaery points out that Sansa is terrified, but Elena urges her to go on. She says that Joffrey is a monster, but they mustn’t stop the wedding. She says they won’t, and they promise not to betray her, and thank her for her truth.

The Stark troops march to Riverrun to attend Catelyn’s father’s funeral. Robb’s Hand tells him that he believes it to be a waste of their time, and that they already lost the war the minute that Robb married Talisa. Meanwhile, Talisa stops to talk to Catelyn, hoping to bond, but Lady Stark shuts her out. She apologizes, and begins to tell her about how she makes a prayer wheel. She says she’s made them twice before, once when Brann fell from the tower, and once before that when Jon Snow caught the pox. She initially prayed for the gods to kill Jon, but then she decided to pray he would survive because she felt like she’d be a murderer, all because she was jealous of his mother. When she prayed, she promised the gods that she’d be a mother to him and have Ed Stark call him a Stark. And when he lived, she couldn’t keep her promise, so she believes that everything bad that’s happened is because she didn’t keep her promise to the gods and love Jon Snow.

North of The Wall, Mance Rayder explains to Jon Snow how he managed to unite all of the warring people in his group, by telling them they must march south or else they’ll die. They catch up with a warg, a person capable of entering the minds of animals and seeing through their eyes. Mance Rayder says that the man is scouting for them. When he comes to, he says that he saw the Fist of the First Men and many dead crows.

The members of the Night’s Watch march on, and Samwell gets teased for being a coward. Rast suggests he lie down and rest. Samwell falls to his knees in tears and exhaustion. Grenn and Edd stop and ask him what he’s doing, and Samwell says that they left him behind to die when the White Walkers attacked. They said they did because he’s fat and slow, but they’re not going to leave him now. Lord Commander Mormont appears and tells Samwell he’s forbidden from dying, and tells Rast that it’s his job to watch over him and keep him alive until they reach the Wall, else he’ll die, too.

In the woods, Bran is woken up by his Direwolf and Osha, searching for the source of a noise in the woods. Bran spots the boy from his dream approaching. Summer, his direwolf growls, and Osha sneaks up behind him and hold a spear to the back of his head. He says he’s unarmed, and that his sister has the knife. His sister appears and holds the knife to Osha’s throat. The boy approaches Summer, who sniffs him and then stands down. He introduces himself to Bran as Jojen Reed and his sister Meera, who came a long way to find them, and that they have much longer to go.

Elsewhere, Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie head north, hoping to reach the Red Fork of the Trident River and then follow it west to Riverrun. Gendry questions why Arya didn’t request Jaqen to kill King Joffrey or Tywin Lannister and end the war, but before she answers, they hear singing in the distance, and she silences them. They are a group of the Brotherhood Without Banners, a group of outlaws. Thoros of Myr, the leader, immediately surmises that they escaped from Harrenhal. He says he’d like to offer them food and wine and would love to hear their story, then he’ll let them go on their way.

In King’s Landing, Shae surprises Tyrion in his chambers. He’s upset because his father threatened to kill the next woman he finds in her chambers. She mentions that Ros told her not to trust Littlefinger, and that she’s worried about Sansa. She tells Tyrion that they need to protect Sansa. He tells her that she’ll have no trouble, since she’s a great beauty, which Shae isn’t too thrilled to hear him say.

Joffrey summons Margarey to his chambers, informing her that he’s going on a hunting trip. He asks to see if she’s happy in the capital, and she says she is. Then he asks her about being the wife of a traitor, referring to Renly Baratheon. She says that she tried to do her duty as a wife and produce a child for him, but she never could. Joffrey asks why, and she says that she believed he wasn’t interested in the company of women. Joffrey says that Renly was a known degenerate, and has considered making his ‘perversion’ punishable by death. She knows her brother is one of these ‘degenerates’, so she tries to get on Joffrey’s good side. She starts asking about his crossbow and requests that he teach her how to shoot and take her hunting with him one day. She pretends to be excited at the thought of killing, which seems to excite Joffrey. He tells her he’d like to watch her kill something.

In the torture chamber, they continue to torture Theon for information, eventually asking why he took Winterfell. He says he took it to prove himself to his father, and that he hated the Starks and wanted to punish them for holding him hostage. He says he’ll do anything to get them to stop hurting him. They cover his head in a cloak and leave him in the chamber. A boy removes the hood, saying Theon’s sister sent him and that he’ll come back to free him later.

Bran and his crew continue north, and Jojan tells Bran that he knows he’s a warg and that he can see through the eyes of his wolf. Jojan says that the 3-eyed raven is different, though, having the ability to see into the past and the future. Bran says that he saw his father die in his visions, and Jojan says he saw it as well. Bran knows that Jojan’s father protected his father during the last rebellion, so they feel a connection. Bran asks Jojan what else he’s seen, and he says that he’s seen Bran, the only thing that matters.

In a pub, the Brotherhood Without Banners enjoy bread and ale. Thoros asks how a group of untrained kids could have escaped harrenhal. She says that Gendry was a smith and stole the weapons for them, and that they know how to use a sword. Arya says her brothers taught her, and draws a sword on Thoros, who effortlessly disarms her. He toasts her brothers, and tells them they can finish their meal before they’re off. He tells them they’re free. As they leave, he goes to toast them when his archer brings in The Hound, who recognizes Arya, asking Thoros why he’s with the Stark girl.

Trying to cross a bridge, Jaime tries to rest on the ground, but Brienne doesn’t have time for it. She tries to life him up, and he manages to grab one of her swords. He frees the tether between them, but is still shackled. The begin to fight, and he says that she will have to kill him if she wants him to stop. She knocks him to the ground when knights on horseback arrive. They taunt him for losing to a woman. The farmer from earlier steps forth and identifies Jaime Lannister. The men are Robb Stark’s men, and take Jaime captive.