Game of Thrones Episode 53: Oathbreaker

Jon Snow wakes up at Castle Black after his resurrection, and Davos Seaworth is the first to find him alive and struggling to understand what happened. Melisandre, Davos, and a few of the Night’s Watch men realize that Jon has returned from death, and Jon is visibly shaken, cold, and confused.

At Castle Black, Jon is confronted with the men who betrayed and murdered him, including Alliser Thorne and Olly. After a brief, tense sequence, Jon orders their execution and carries it out himself, ending with the traitors being hanged. When it is over, Jon removes his Lord Commander cloak and gives it to Edd Tollett, symbolically passing command of Castle Black to him.

In Braavos, Arya continues her brutal training with the Waif while still blind. She is beaten whenever she fails to answer truthfully about who she is, and after enduring the punishment and proving herself in combat, she is restored to sight.

Bran Stark and the Three-Eyed Raven continue Bran’s visions beyond the Wall. Bran witnesses the young Ned Stark in combat during the Tower of Joy vision, where Eddard and his companions face several elite fighters in a deadly confrontation. Bran tries to understand what is happening, but the vision ends before he can fully reach the tower.

Daenerys Targaryen is brought to Vaes Dothrak, where she is taken before the gathered Dothraki widows to face judgment for having left the Dothraki after Khal Drogo’s death. She is told that her fate will be decided by the khals and that the best outcome she can hope for is to live among the widows at the temple.

In Meereen, Varys and Tyrion learn who is financing the Sons of the Harpy. The money is coming from wealthy families in the slave-holding cities who want slavery restored in Slaver’s Bay.

At King’s Landing, Cersei continues plotting against her enemies while Qyburn makes use of his network of child spies, the “little birds.” Cersei, Jaime, and the Mountain visit Qyburn, and Jaime is unsettled by the presence of the reanimated warrior guarding her. Tommen also meets with the High Sparrow, who manipulates him and maintains control over the political situation.

At Winterfell, Ramsay Bolton receives an unexpected visitor, Lord Umber. Umber claims to bring a gift and presents Ramsay with Osha and Rickon Stark, the missing Stark boy who has been brought back into the story.

Samwell Tarly and Gilly leave on a ship headed for Horn Hill. Sam explains that he is taking Gilly there because women are not allowed at the Citadel, and he believes she will be safer with his family.