Game of Thrones Episode 35: First of His Name

Tommen Baratheon is crowned king in King’s Landing, and the court quickly turns to managing the fallout from Joffrey’s death and the next marriage arrangement. Cersei is civil with Margaery in public, but she and Tywin discuss the political future of the throne, including plans for Tommen and for Cersei herself.

In Meereen, Daenerys learns that Joffrey is dead and that her forces have seized the Meereenese navy without her direct order. She considers whether to sail west and press her claim to the Iron Throne, but Jorah warns her that Yunkai and Astapor have fallen back into slavery; after weighing the news, she chooses to stay in Meereen and rule there for now.

Littlefinger and Sansa travel north to the Eyrie, where Lysa Arryn receives them and openly presents herself as aware of the situation around them. Petyr smooths things over at the gates by introducing Sansa under a false name, and once inside, Lysa’s behavior makes clear that the arrangement is uneasy and unpredictable.

Beyond the Wall, Jon Snow leads a raid on Craster’s Keep with a group of volunteers from the Night’s Watch. The attack turns into a brutal fight against the mutineers, while Bran and the others, who are being held there, are caught in the chaos; during the struggle, Bran’s strange abilities surface, and the group manages to escape the worst of the danger as the keep is left in ruins and burned afterward.

The episode keeps returning to the political and emotional strain around these events: Cersei pushes forward with the new order in King’s Landing, Daenerys chooses responsibility over immediate conquest, and Jon’s mission shows how far the Watch has fallen from its original purpose.