Kissed by Fire

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Kissed By Fire
Game of Thrones
Episode # Season 3, Episode 5
Airdate April 28, 2013
Director Alex Graves
Episode chronology
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"And Now His Watch Is Ended" "The Climb"
List of Game of Thrones episodes

"Kissed By Fire" is the fifth episode of the third season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 25th episode of the series. Written by story editor Bryan Cogman and directed by Alex Graves, it aired on April 28, 2013.

The Hound is tried. Jaime recalls his past to Brienne. Robb is betrayed. Jon and Ygritte spend some time alone. Stannis visits his family. Davos has a visitor. Littlefinger uncovers a plot. The Lannisters arrange marriages.

The title of the episodes alludes to the term wildlings uses to red-haired people like Ygritte, who are considered to be blessed with good luck.

Plot

In the Riverlands

At the Hollow Hill

Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye) leads the Brotherhood Without Banners in a prayer to the Lord of Light before Lord Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) and the Hound (Rory McCann) begin their trial by combat. Dondarrion uses his blood to magically set his sword afire, which visibly frightens the pyrophobic Hound. This gives Beric the early advantage and he even manages to set the Hound's shield on fire, but when the Hound presses back Beric's flaming sword breaks and the Hound cuts through his armor and deep into his shoulder, killing him.

Thoros rushes to Dondarrion and begins to pray, while the Hound tries desperately to extinguish his burning shield. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) tries to kill the Hound, but Gendry (Joe Dempsie) stops her. The Hound taunts that the red god prefers him to her butcher's boy, and Arya curses him. They are interrupted by Dondarrion, whom Thoros' prayer has resurrected. Having won the trial, the Hound is freed. The Brotherhood return his weapons but keep all of his gold and leave him only a promissory note. The Hound declares them thieves, but Anguy (Phillip McGinley) insists he should be thankful to be alive. Arya insists the Hound is guilty, but Beric shouts her down and bids the Hound go in peace, promising the Lord of Light is not done with him. The Hound is hooded and escorted out by the outlaws to be released.

Afterward, Arya finds Gendry repairing Beric's armor and he explains his intent to smith for the Brotherhood. Arya argues that her brother King Robb needs men too, but Gendry says he is done serving other men. Arya points out that he will be serving Lord Beric, but Gendry says at least the Brotherhood chose Beric and they are more like a family, something he has never had. Arya offers that she could be his family, but Gendry solemnly points out that their class difference means they can never be family: he would always be a commoner and she would be "my lady."

Later that night, Arya recites her kill list beside the fire. The Brotherhood plan to ransom her at Riverrun; Beric would like to waive the ransom out of respect for her father, but they need the gold to support themselves. Beric know Arya is angry with him, but insists releasing the Hound was the right thing to do. When Arya ask how he survived death, Thoros explains that the Lord of Light brings him back. Beric opens his tunic to reveal several grievous scars and they explain he has been resurrected six times now. He has been killed by lance, sword, arrow, axe, and for his fifth death the Lannisters hanged him and stuck a dagger in his eye. Beric sadly admits that each time he loses pieces of who he was. Arya asks if Thoros could bring back a man without a head. Thoros and Beric understand she means her father, but Thoros says he does not think it works that way. Beric tries to console her that he would not wish his resurrection on her father, but Arya says she would because at least Beric is alive.

At Harrenhal

Locke (Noah Taylor) proudly presents his captives Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) to his commander, Lord Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton). Bolton remains calm, but is visibly furious that Locke has maimed such a valuable hostage. He disgustedly orders Locke to dispose of Jaime's rotting hand, apologizes to Brienne for her treatment, and orders suitable accommodations prepared for them. When Jaime presses for news from the capital, Bolton toys with him by leading him to believe the worst before revealing the truth. Jaime collapses in relief and Bolton calls for him to be attended by Qyburn (Anton Lesser).

Examining Jaime's stump, Qyburn discovers it has become badly infected. He assures Jaime he will not die, but the safest option would be to remove the arm at the shoulder. Jaime insists he will kill Qyburn if he tries. He notices that Qyburn wears a maester's robes but lacks a maester's chain of office. Qyburn explains that he was striped of his chain because his experiments were "too bold." He offers to make the cut at Jaime's elbow, but Jaime finds the strength to grab him by the throat and threatens to kill him again. Qyburn agrees to do his best to save the whole arm. He offers Jaime milk of the poppy for the pain, but Jaime refuses, fearing Qyburn means to drug him to sleep and take his whole arm. Qyburn cautions that the pain will be fierce, but Jaime insists he will scream loudly, which he does.

Afterward, Jaime joins Brienne in Harrenhal's bathhouse and climbs into the same massive tub. Startled, Brienne insists there are other tubs, but Jaime wants her close by to save him from drowning if he faints. When Brienne asks why she should care, Jaime brings up her oath to return him safely and implies his lost hand is a mark of failure. However, when Jaime claims that she failed Renly as well, Brienne defiantly stands to confront him in the nude. Jaime immediately apologizes, admitting she did her best. When he asks for a truce, Brienne acidly declares a truce is built on trust, but Jaime insists that he trusts her.

As Brienne settles back into the tub, Jaime notes that he has seen the look on her face countless times in the past seventeen years: contempt for the Kingslayer. He asks if she knows about wildfire, and explains that Mad King Aerys was obsessed with it and loved to watch men he thought were against him burn. Eventually, half the realm was against him, so Aerys had his pyromancers place caches of wildfire all over King's Landing, even under the Red Keep itself. After Robert's victory at the Trident, Jaime's father arrived with the his army, promising to defend the city. Jaime says he and Varys warned Aerys not to trust Lord Tywin and urged a peaceful surrender, but Aerys listened to Grand Maester Pycelle instead. When the sack began, Jaime says he begged the king to surrender, but instead Aerys ordered Jaime to kill his own father and ordered his pyromancer to ignite the wildfire and burn them all.

Jaime asks if Brienne would have kept her oath if her precious Renly commanded her to kill her own father and stand by while thousands of innocents burned alive. When she does not answer, Jaime continues that first he killed the pyromancer, then stabbed Aerys in the back as he turned to run. Jaime says believes Aerys did not expected to die in the fire, but rather thought he would be reborn as a dragon, so Jaime cut his throat to make sure that did not happen.

Stunned, Brienne asks why Jaime never told anyone this before to defend his honor. Jaime rages that the honorable Lord Eddard Stark judged him guilty on sight and would never have listened to his side. In a sudden frenzy, Jaime springs to his feet and demands to know by what right the wolf judges the lion. The strain is quickly too much, however, and Jaime collapses. Brienne manages to catch him before he hits the water and calls for help for the Kingslayer. Delirious, Jaime whispers to her, "Jaime. My name is Jaime."

At Riverrun

Lord Rickard Karstark (John Stahl) fights his way into the cell of the captive squires Willem and Martyn Lannister with some of his men, killing the guardsmen posted there. Confused, Willem asks if it is a rescue before he is killed. Martyn begs that he is just an innocent squire, but Lord Rickard stabs him to death regardless.

The boys' bodies are presented to King Robb Stark (Richard Madden) in the great hall. When the culprits are brought in, Robb notes with disgust that it took five men to murder two unarmed squires. Lord Rickard insists it was vengeance for his sons, but Robb rages that these were boys. Karstark blames Robb's mother Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) for driving him to this by freeing Jaime Lannister, and argues that the only treason is freeing enemies, not killing them. In the process he calls Robb a boy and declares that Robb, whom he mocks as "the King Who Lost the North," only means to give him a scolding. With calm fury, Robb orders Karstark taken away and his men hanged. When one begs mercy because he only watched for the guards, Robb orders him hanged last so he can watch the others die.

Robb's uncle Edmure Tully (Tobias Menzies) insists that Tywin Lannister's retribution for his nephews will be fierce; he suggests they quietly bury the boys and keep quiet until after the war. Robb insists he cannot fight for justice if he will not deal justice to his own men. Catelyn and his wife Talisa warn Robb that the Karstark forces will abandon him if he executes their lord. All three urge Robb to keep Lord Rickard as a hostage, but Robb ignores their pleas.

At his execution, Lord Rickard recalls the long service to House Stark and reminds Robb that the Starks and Karstarks are kin.[1] Robb insists that their blood ties did not stop Lord Rickard's betrayal and will not save him now. Lord Rickard replies that he only wants it to haunt Robb to the end of his days. With his last words, Lord Rickard declares, "Kill me and be cursed. You are no king of mine." Robb passes the sentence of death and--obedient to the laws of the First Men--personally executes Lord Rickard.

As predicted, the Karstark forces abandon Robb, depriving him of almost half his forces. As he broods over his campaign maps, Robb explains to Talisa that Tywin Lannister knows he only needs to wait for them to unravel. Talisa suggests they force a battle, but Robb declares that an attack on King's Landing would be suicide. Talisa then suggest they retreat north, drive out the Greyjoys, and return in the spring. Robb replies that winter could last five years and once his men are home they will not want to leave again. He laments that when he gathered his army they were united by a purpose, but now they are like bickering children. Talisa encourages him to find a new purpose, but when Robb asks what that could be she admits she does not know the geography. As Robb gently guides her through the locations, his eye catches something: with the main Lannister army stationed at King's Landing in the east, the Westerlands and Lord Tywin's home at Casterly Rock are open to attack and cannot run away. A victory there will demoralize the Lannisters and reinvigorate the Starks. When Talisa asks if Robb can do it, he admits that he needs to replace the Karstarks by winning back the allegiance of House Frey, who withdrew their support when he broke his vow and married Talisa.

Beyond the Wall

En route to the Wall, Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and Orell (Mackenzie Crook) question Jon Snow (Kit Harington) about the defenses, though they refuse to say where they mean to climb. Jon admits that out of nineteen castles, only Castle Black, Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and the Shadow Tower are manned. When Tormund asks about the garrison at Castle Black, Jon lies that there are a thousand men, which Orell does not believe. Jon aggressively defends his lie, backed by Ygritte (Rose Leslie), but Tormund promises to kill him if he lies.

As they walk away, Ygritte steals Jon's sword Longclaw and insists he steal it back, leading him into a nearby cave with a hot spring. There she starts undressing and insists Jon break his oath of celibacy with her. Jon is quite hesitant because of his vows and his virginity, but once they start kissing he begins kissing his way down her body. Ygritte asks why he is still dressed, but her accusation, "You know nothing, Jon Snow," ends mid-word when he starts performing oral sex on her.

Laying together afterward, Ygritte asks if oral sex is what lords do to their ladies in the south, but Jon admits he's never been with anyone else. The thought that Jon was a "maid" amuses Ygritte, but she admits she was not. Her first was a boy with red hair--"kissed by fire"--like her, but he was weak, not like Jon. She begin listing other boys, which makes Jon uncomfortable, so he urges they should get back. Ygritte refuses and they move to one of the hot pools, where Ygritte expresses a wish that they could stay in the cave forever and forget all the horrible things happening in the word outside.

At Dragonstone

King Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) visits his wife Selyse (Tara Fitzgerald) in her chambers. Selyse is a fanatical believer in the Lord of Light, and Stannis finds her praying. They have a very reserved and formal relationship, but Selyse reveres him as the Lord of Light's chosen one. She assures Stannis he will be victorious one day, but he does not believe her anymore. Bound by his sense of duty, Stannis confesses and begins to apologize for his adultery with Melisandre, but Selyse says she knows and claims nothing done to serve the Lord of Light can be a sin. She insists she wept for joy when Melisandre told her, and adds that Melisandre gave Stannis a son (of sorts) while she gave him nothing but stillborns (whom she keeps preserved in jars). Stannis insists that is not true and insists on seeing his daughter, Princess Shireen (Kerry Ingram. Selyse considers this only a distraction, but relents because Stannis is her king.

He finds Shireen, whose face has been disfigured by greyscale, drawing and singing a song about life under the sea. She is excited to see him and asks if he won his battle. When Stannis admits he did not, Shireen asks if her friend Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) came back with him, then shows Stannis the toy ship Davos gave her. Awkwardly, Stannis explains that Davos has been imprisoned for treason and advises Shireen to forget him.

That night, Shireen sneaks down to visit Davos in the dungeons. He insists she should not be there, but Shireen assures him the guard on duty drank too much wine and is sleeping. She asks if Davos is truly a traitor and he admits he is for disobeying Stannis. Shireen does not care and offers Davos a book about Aegon the Conqueror to pass the time. Davos tries to refuse and admits he cannot read. Undaunted, Shireen offers to teach him. When Davos insist they cannot, Shireen asks what the guards could do besides lock them in cells. They share a laugh and Shireen begins reading to him.

In Slaver's Bay

Rather than depart for Westeros, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and her army of Unsullied march north to free the slaves of nearby Yunkai. As they travel, Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) and Ser Barristan Selmy (Ian McElhinney) discuss the Siege of Pyke during the Greyjoy Rebellion. Jorah explains that he was the second man through the breach behind Thoros of Myr, who fought with a flaming sword. Jorah recalls the moment King Robert knighted him after the battle as the proudest of his life, though at the time he was preoccupied by how badly he needed to piss after sixteen hours in his armor.

Barristan recalls Robert as a good man, a great warrior, and a terrible king. He laments that he wasted his life fighting for terrible kings, but a man of honor keeps his vows, even to a drunk or a lunatic. Barristan declares that he wants to serve with pride for someone he believes in just once before he dies. Then he asks if Jorah believes in Daenerys and Jorah replies, "With all my heart."

When Barristan explains that Robert wanted Daenerys dead, Jorah asks if any of the small council spoke against it, probing to know whether Barristan knows he was originally spying on Daenerys. Barristan replies that he was never welcome on the small council, despite the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard's traditional seat, because he served the Mad King and killed a dozen of Robert's friends on the Trident.

Relieved, Jorah turns the conversation to their return to Westeros. Barristan says Daenerys will have good, experienced men to advise her, but he respectfully criticizes Jorah's reputation. Jorah admits he deserves his bad reputation for selling slaves, but he takes offense when Barristan implies he should not be present when they invade Westeros. He points out that he was defending Daenerys while Barristan was still bowing to Robert and insists he takes orders from Daenerys, not Barristan.

Meanwhile, Daenerys and her handmaiden Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) meet with the officers of the Unsullied. She asks whom they have chosen as their commander and the eunuchs part ranks to reveal their choice. At Daenerys' request, their new leader (Jacob Anderson) removes his helmet and introduces himself as Grey Worm. Missandei explains that the Unsullied are forced to take demeaning names to remind them they are worthless vermin. Disgusted, Daenerys proclaims that the Unsullied may choose new names or reclaim their old ones. The Unsullied commander insists he will remain Grey Worm; the name he had when he was made a slave was accursed, but Grey Worm was his name the day Daenerys set him free. Daenerys is visibly touched by his devotion.

At King's Landing

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) meets with Littlefinger (w:Aidan Gillen) to ask his help. She fears the Tyrells do not have the crown's best interests at heart, but her father Lord Tywin needs facts. She asks that Baelish use his good working relationship with the Tyrells to investigate before he leaves for the Vale. He agrees, and Cersei implies that she expects better results than when he failed to find Arya Stark.

Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) watch Ser Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones) sparring. Sansa compliments Loras' skill and asks when they might marry. Margaery replies that she will plant the seed once she and Joffrey are married. Sansa worries Joffrey has too many reasons to keep her close, but Margaery remains sure she can convince him.

After the match, a young squire named Olyvar brings water to Loras and begins flirting with him. Soon after the two are having sex back in Loras' chambers. As they finish, Loras wonders aloud how Olyvar knew about his sexuality when his betrothed seems unaware of it. Olyvar declares slyly that they rarely do. Immediately after, Olyvar reports back to his employer, Littlefinger, so he may pass the information on to Cersei.

Soon after, Littlefinger meets with Sansa, who is watching the ships. He notes that she is wearing her hair in a similar style to Margaery and asks he again if she wants to accompany him to the Vale of Arryn. Sansa admits she wants to go home more than anything, but tries her hand at lying by suggesting they wait until after the royal wedding because she is concerned about the danger it would put him in. Undeceived, Littlefinger thanks her for her concern and asks her to call him Petyr, since they are friends.

Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) summons Lady Olenna Tyrell (Dianna Rigg) to discuss the mounting cost of the upcoming royal wedding. Tyrion suggests the extravagance is unseemly and undesired in wartime, but Olenna quickly lists off detailed figures of the soldiers and supplies House Tyrell has provided, demonstrating that she is quite familiar with wartime expenses. She adds that the royal wedding will help keep the common people distracted and prevent them from turning on the nobility again. Olenna has clearly won the debate, so Tyrion is shocked when she willingly offers to pay for half the cost of the wedding and departs.

Tyrion reports his success to Lord Tywin (Charles Dance), but finds his father uninterested. Tywin explains that Cersei, who acts quite smug about her success, has uncovered the Tyrell's plot to marry Sansa to Loras and steal the key to the North. When Tyrion questions her value, Tywin explains that without the Karstarks Robb's days are numbered and Sansa is his heir. Tyrion argues that the Tyrells are too valuable to refuse, but Tywin points out that if they act first and find Sansa a different husband, the Tyrells cannot openly object without revealing their plot.

Tyrion quickly realizes they are talking about him and protests that forcing Sansa to marry him after just escaping Joffrey is cruel. Tywin declares that Sansa's happiness is neither his concern nor Tyrion's. Tyrion protests that she is a child, but Cersei assures him Sansa is a maid who can bear children. Tyrion threatens to refuse, but Tywin points out that he demanded a reward for his service and the heir to the North is a better reward than he could hope for. He adds that it is past time Tyrion was wed, which leads Tyrion to declare he was wed.

Cersei gloats that Tyrion should be thankful, but her satisfaction vanishes when Tywin declares that she is expected to marry Loras. She refuses, but Tywin insist such a marriage will secure Lannister control over the Reach as Tyrion's will secure the North. She protests that she is the Queen Regent not a broodmare, but Tywin roars that she is his daughter and will as she is told and put an end to the rumors of incest once and for all. Cersei tries pleading instead of defiance, but Tywin is unmoved. Standing, he rages that both of them have disgrace the family name for far too long. As their father departs, Tyrion and Cersei can only brood in silent defeat.

Casting

Main cast members Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon), Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran Stark), Conleth Hill (Varys), Sibel Kekilli (Shae), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), and Carice van Houten (Melisandre) do not appear in this episode and are not credited.

This episode marks the introduction of Queen Selyse Baratheon, played by Tara Fitzgerald. The character previously appeared in a single scene of the episode "The North Remembers" played by an extra named Sarah MacKeever. The episode also marks the debut of Kerry Ingram as Princess Shireen Baratheon and Jacob Anderson as the Unsullied commander Grey Worm.

Character List

Locations

Differences from the books

The episode is roughly based on chapters 19, 20, 26, 31, 34, and 37 of A Storm of Swords.

The following scenes do no appear in the books:

References and notes

  1. House Karstark was founded by Karlon Stark as a cadet branch of House Stark many centuries earlier.

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Kissed by Fire. The list of authors can be seen in the page history of Kissed by Fire. As with A Wiki of Ice and Fire, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.