Game of Thrones Episode 50: Mother's Mercy

The episode follows several converging crises: Stannis’s army is shattered outside Winterfell, Cersei is forced through a humiliating punishment in King’s Landing, Daenerys is stranded among the Dothraki, Arya is punished after disobeying the Faceless Men, and Jon Snow is killed at Castle Black.

At Stannis’s camp, melting snow and the thaw suggest a change in the weather, but the army’s situation collapses almost immediately. Melisandre is pleased by the weather at first, but Stannis is cold toward her after the sacrifice of Shireen, and he learns that nearly half his soldiers have deserted overnight, taking the horses with them. He then receives the news that Selyse has hanged herself. Stannis still orders the remaining men to move out and march on Winterfell.

Outside Winterfell, the Bolton cavalry attacks Stannis’s weakened force before the siege can properly begin. His troops are quickly overwhelmed, the battle turns into a slaughter, and Stannis is left wounded and exhausted after the fighting ends. Brienne of Tarth, who has been nearby searching for Sansa, finds Stannis alone after the battle and confronts him. He admits to killing Renly, and Brienne executes him with her sword.

Inside Winterfell, Sansa escapes her room and makes her way through the castle while trying to avoid attention. She reaches the broken tower and signals for help by lighting the candle as instructed earlier, but the situation inside the castle is chaotic and dangerous. Ramsay is later seen returning to the castle after the battle, and Sansa’s attempt to flee does not end with a clean escape in the episode.

In King’s Landing, Cersei is brought before the High Sparrow and is pressured to confess her sins. She admits to multiple offenses under the sparrows’ questioning and asks to be allowed to see Tommen. After her confession, she is told she must perform a walk of atonement to atone before her trial. She is stripped, shorn, and forced to walk through the streets while the crowd jeers and abuses her.

On the voyage from Dorne, Jaime and Myrcella leave with Trystane, but Myrcella is suddenly poisoned and dies in Jaime’s arms after Ellaria Sand’s revenge plot takes effect. Jaime is devastated as he returns to King’s Landing with Myrcella’s body.

At Meereen, Daenerys is separated from the people around her and ends up alone in the aftermath of the fighting at the fighting pit. She rides Drogon away from the arena, but the dragon is struck by arrows and she is forced to land far from safety. She is then surrounded by a group of Dothraki riders who take her captive.

At the Wall, Jon Snow is confronted over his decisions and receives news that causes tension among the men. Later, he is lured outside by a message about his uncle, only to be ambushed by several brothers of the Night’s Watch. They stab him repeatedly while saying, “For the Watch,” leaving him bleeding out in the snow.

Arya, meanwhile, continues her training with the Faceless Men in Braavos but is punished after she disobeys orders. She is beaten and blinded as the consequence of her failure to obey.