These are our terms.
One hundred of your golden dragons.
Per ship?
Per man.
I could not produce such a coin, even if I wanted to.
Again, you plead poverty.
It is hollow stuff from the mouth of a Lannister.
Whose very stables and sculleries are carved into a mountain of gold.
And we will need it before this war is done.
Break the blockade and it will benefit you.
Do you think that we lack for buyers for our tapestries and perfumes?
We sell where we please, blockade or no.
Essos is as rich as it is vast.
It seems you need us more than we need you.
The Stepstones.
What of them?
Give us the Stepstones.
A smattering of rocks.
Hardly a sacrifice to the lords of Westeros.
Those rocks have been disputed for a generation.
Your...
pirates have waylaid ships, taken slaves, cargo...
Give them to us outright, if you prevail
and all that will cease.
We will impose a simple tax on those passing through.
Recoup the losses we took
- fighting the Velaryon hordes. - Extortion.
You will drive up the price of basic goods.
It is better than starving, surely.
A fleet of warships, then, sailing at your command.
They would break the blockade and hold the passage.
Very well.
The prince regent may have me hanged for this.
With the armada we send now, you can topple the prince regent
and sit the Iron Throne yourself.
Of course, there is one more condition.
I was...
rather set on a bath and a flagon of wine.
The commander of our fleet must agree to go with you.
His name is Lohar.
The sailors are fiercely loyal to him.
If... if he does not lead them, they will not fight.
Very well.
Let us meet this commander then.
Admiral Lohar
this is Tyland Lannister of Casterly Rock.
Well met, Lord Tywin.
It's Tyland.
What sort of man are you?
- I beg your pardon? - A poet...
a philosopher?
I am the master of ships at King's Landing.
- You're thin. - But also tall.
I will not sail with a man who cannot best me.
At... at what?
Some rum wouldn't go amiss.
Your Grace.
Just a little.
You're a good man, Orwyle.
A word, Your Grace?
I must ask you, Your Grace, to steel yourself.
We must leave King's Landing quickly
and we will not return for some time.
What?
The Pretender has found three new riders for her dragons.
- That's impossible. - Your brother thought the same.
He flew to challenge her and was rebuffed.
Fled in terror, from what I hear.
He deserves no less.
Be that as it may, he has gone in fury to Sharp Point
and laid waste to the whole of the town.
Fucking mad cunt.
She really did it then?
I fear so.
So what was the fucking point in all this then?
The gods are cruel, Your Grace, but I hope you can see the urgency.
No, no. I am the king.
Why must I run?
Because the prince regent is going to kill you.
You were in danger before, and now, he is thwarted and he is angry.
There is no telling what he will do but we have an opportunity
- while he is away... - An opportunity to push him out.
Take me to my throne
and once he returns, I shall take him prisoner.
And what then?
When Rhaenyra descends on you with her seven dragons
and you, without Vhagar, what then?
I have, over the years
in anticipation of little bumps in the road
moved the greater part of Harrenhal's gold reserves
to the Iron Bank in Braavos.
We can live well
and remain until what is coming has passed.
You... you want to take me to Essos to live with the goat fuckers.
It's best to live, I think.
- However you do it. - Is it?
My dragon is dead.
I am burnt
and disgusting
and alone.
And I'm a cripple.
You are not alone.
My cock is destroyed, did they tell you that?
Yeah. It burst into flames like a sausage on the spit.
Do not despair, Your Grace. There are better days ahead.
Let your brother and the Pretender
destroy themselves in blood and bitterness.
When they are spent, and their armies in tatters
we will return
and the people will rise up to meet us.
I can't even piss without it running down my leg.
They will be tired of endless deprivation and fear.
They will hail the returning king.
His father's true heir.
Aegon the Victorious
risen from the ashes.
Aegon the Peacemaker.
Aegon the Rebuilder.
Aegon, the Realm's Delight.
This is more like it, Hugh, don't you think?
We're meant to be at the training yards
- learnin' the commands. - Yeah, and I will go
but surely, they'd not deny me my pleasure after so long.
I may never eat fish again.
What are you doing here?
Remove your feet from the table.
- I'd rather not. - Ulf.
It's not up to you, Ulf.
Who's it up to then, boy?
He is the prince, Ulf. Prince Jacaerys Velaryon.
Prince Jacaerys Velaryon. Right here.
Who'd have thought it?
He lives here.
I'll have an apology from you.
The young prince!
And look at that hair.
As dark as they say.
Let them tell us we don't have Targaryen blood, eh?
- My mother is the queen and... - Dragonriders both.
You and I, cut from the same cloth.
It is a sacred inheritance of which you know nothing.
Forgive him, my prince.
He is not much used to the manners of court.
Or any manners at all, I'd say.
Do you know what has happened this last hour?
The so-called prince regent
has burned Sharp Point down to its stones.
Thousands of its folk dead or lost. Its harbor in ashes.
Will you prepare to face such an enemy?
Or will you stay here and make yourself easy?
If you hinder our efforts through sloth or unreadiness
I will see you hanged
and your body fed to the dogs in the street.
I... I meant no disrespect, my prince.
The new riders are a boon to us
but now the deed is done
I cannot erase my doubts.
We know little of who they are
and what is the strength of their character.
Addam of Hull, at least, is known to you.
He's a shipwright in my employ
and it is reported to me that he is a man of integrity.
I've had little to do with him, to my regret.
But the beasts have been claimed.
You now have a great advantage.
You must strike quickly
while the prince regent mulls his next action.
I had hoped my advantage may be in deterrence.
Vhagar has ever been our foremost threat
and she is now overmatched.
Vhagar is not his only dragon.
The third brother is untested, has never left Oldtown
and his dragon is younger than Vermax.
But a dragon, nonetheless.
And you forget another.
Helaena?
She does not ride. She has no taste for it.
She may yet be compelled.
- And her dragon... - Dreamfyre
hatched when the Conqueror was king.
She is formidable.
Still, Helaena is no warrior.
Aemond thought himself invincible.
He has now discovered he is not.
He'll be angry, desperate.
He will not stop at burning Sharp Point
and he will not be denied.
You speak truly
though I wish it was not so.
How goes the Sea Snake?
Better than new.
We'll rejoin the blockade on the morrow.
Let our foes beware, be they Lannister or Greyjoy.
But my ship is no longer the Sea Snake.
She was a testament to my own glory.
I've given her a new name.
The Queen Who Never Was.
Corlys.
I thank you.
What I do now, I do for her.
Your Grace, you are ready.
You have six dragons under your banner.
My ships sail at your command, and my men serve you.
But the Lannisters are marching, and the Hightowers from Oldtown.
You must crush this beast at its head
and before too many days have flown.
There is, of course
another player that has yet to be revealed.
Your Grace, a word.
It seems the sheep on our land has been sold upriver.
My vassals have sent a drove of swine instead.
Dragons do eat pigs, I assume?
Caraxes prefers them. How goes your muster?
We'll be ready to march in two days' time.
- See to those pigs. - At once, Your Grace.
Your Grace, Ser Alfred Broome has come to see you.
Interesting.
I am sent as an emissary from the queen
to ascertain your movements and your intentions.
You've arrived just in time to see my new army, Broome.
What do you think of it?
It's very large.
Lannister hesitates.
I aim to march on King's Landing before he can catch me.
May I have a word in private, Your Grace?
I would speak honestly with you.
I'd expect nothing less.
I was faithful to the king, your brother.
I pledged my banners to Rhaenyra, his heir.
I will never serve the usurpers or the whelps of Oldtown
but there are battles to be fought...
- Traitor. - And in times like this...
Did you hear something?
This place will have you barking at the moon.
While you have mustered an army, Rhaenyra has faltered
turning aside from our judgment
and taking a course, I myself, deem reckless.
Rhaenyra will chart her own course, for good or ill.
But you are a leader of men.
If you declare yourself...
your lords will follow you.
I never took you for a turncloak...
Ser Alfred.
Rhaenyra's intentions are good.
But what we need, in this moment...
is a king.
It appears that the Pretender
sent boats to collect those among the smallfolk
who believed they had any drop of Targaryen blood.
Deception and subterfuge.
Cowards, all of them. Put an end to this madness.
Let no vessel come or go from our harbor
without our inspection.
This will hinder the work of the fishing boats.
The people depend on them for sustenance.
They will need no sustenance if they are slaughtered by the enemy.
We must all make our sacrifices.
Why does everybody hate us?
They're unhappy
and unhappy people look for someone to hate.
We didn't order the blockade.
No, but we are the crown so they expect us to break it.
Drink this.
I was happier before I was queen.
What would you think about leaving this place?
Where would I go?
The prince regent, Your Grace.
Helaena. Here you are.
Mother.
I was just going to bed.
- The crown has need of your service. - Now?
The Pretender has raised new riders against us
and we must answer in kind.
I need you to fly with Dreamfyre to battle.
- Aemond. - I do not wish to fight.
Our wishes must take second place now
to what is necessary to preserve the throne.
I won't burn anyone.
It isn't a question.
- Aemond. - They have defiled our birthright
- made commoners into dragonlords! - Aemond... Aemond!
- Aemond - It is a sin and must be punished!
May I remind you your sister is still the queen?
As you were once!
And you see now what is the consequence of your weakness!
We are in peril today more than yesterday!
Was it peril that moved you to burn the town of Sharp Point?
Peril or basest fury at your own humiliation?
You wish to rule the Seven Kingdoms
but you rain ruin and death upon its smallfolk
when you've been insulted
because it makes you feel strong
and now you seek to corrupt your sister
of all our line, the gentlest and most deserving
- of your protection. - And who will protect her
if she cannot protect herself?
And who will she be if her mind is broken?
'Tis no longer our rule that is threatened
our very lives.
- Would you not have us prevail? - Not like this.
Not like this!
Your Grace.
Grand Maester.
I must again request your assistance.
I need passage.
And your discretion.
Do you think nothing of your oath...
Lord Commander?
I think of nothing else, my lord.
Steward's son from Dorne
fucking the queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
Former queen.
She has broken no oath, for all I may have done.
- I could send you to the Wall. - You could.
Stain the Hightower name for a generation.
- King's mother and his Hand. - She is my sister.
She saved my life.
Twice.
Once from the headsman's axe and once from myself.
Since then, she has been the beacon I follow.
Do not think I have no shame in me, ser.
Desire for women has brought me grief after grief.
Then resist it.
Oh, would that it were so simple.
Your brothers in the Kingsguard find a way.
Do they?
Perhaps they do.
Or perhaps all men are corrupt
and true honor is a mist
that melts in the morning.
That is a bleak philosophy.
I have no philosophy.
Or rather, my philosophy was this.
To protect the righteous and dispense justice on the rest.
But now...
you saw what I saw.
The dragons dance, and men are like dust under their feet.
And all our fine thoughts, all our endeavors
are as nothing.
We march now toward our annihilation.
To die will be a kind of relief.
Don't you think?
You have impressed me, Lord Tyman.
King's Landing has sent a most doughty ambassador.
I hope you will testify to the worth of the ambassador
by agreeing to his most humble request.
I will most certainly consider it.
After dinner.
Have you ever eaten the flesh of your enemies?
What?
I have not and I would not.
So you reject the hospitality of my house.
A jest, my lord.
What do you take me for?
A jest!
Come.
It does not befit a prince to pout.
I'm not pouting.
What would you call it, then?
I'm reading.
While your mother waits?
You're angry.
Aren't you?
I don't see what good it would do.
They are an insult to us.
To what makes us Targaryens.
If any common lout can ride a dragon then...
That does not make me common. Or you.
- You know what I am. - I don't care.
You are the crown prince, the son of the rightful queen
and here you are sulking
because you believe that if not for the dragon
or the trappings of your station, that you are nothing.
Do you believe that you are the first noble heir
who was not sired by his noble father?
Such is the way of the world, Jace
and in resenting it, you only diminish yourself.
Easy enough to say.
I've heard the whispers the whole of my life.
Then prove to them that you are worthy.
Get up and take your place by your mother's side.
Here come my lads, my comely boys
And split your sacks ashore
For you'll be sail-sailing many days
Afore you get some more
So grease the mast and send it up
Betwixt the wind and water
Hoist, me lads, and hoist again
Salute the captain's daughter
Well done, Lord Tyrod!
Good song, well delivered.
It's Tyland.
You have proven yourself most accommodating.
And more accomplished than one would think, to look at you.
Well...
I will be pleased to sail at your side.
And my captains with me.
To the Gullet on the morrow!
And let the Sea Snake rue the day we meet again.
- Yeah! - Yeah!
Yeah! My king will be well pleased. To friendship!
- Yeah! - Yeah!
It is late.
Before you go...
Lord Tyland.
You are a handsome man
and you have proven your worth...
and virility.
I wish to have children by you.
You...
- You want me to... - Indeed.
I want you to fuck my wives.
How many wives do you have?
More wine here!
Taming a dragon is thirsty work.
Oh, and some more of these little birds.
A toast.
To our new riders.
The three of you are not of noble birth
but you have done a thing never dreamed of before now.
I have entrusted you with a power only few have known.
And I charge you to take it up with fealty and respect.
Serve me well, and I will make you knights of the realm.
What do you think of that, boys?
We'll be knights, just like that.
We will not fail you, my queen.
What must we do?
I had thought the mere fact of you might stay the enemy's hand.
But Lord Corlys is right.
We must strike while we have the advantage
and end this war.
Learn your beasts and your commands.
You will fly in two days' time.
The strongholds of the usurper, Oldtown and Lannisport
and their armies, all must be subdued.
Alone, without allies
he will have no choice but to surrender.
You wish for us to kill innocents.
- And so many. - It is hard...
but it cannot be helped.
We must break the will of our enemy
or more will die in a struggle that stretches on without end.
What about Vhagar?
She is fearsome
but she is one dragon.
The prince regent cannot defend against all of us.
I'll take him on myself. Silverwing's a goer, she is.
We're afraid of nothing.
- Even if you are. - There will be time enough
to see which one of us is a coward.
I said more of these little birds!
A knight will comport himself with grace at the queen's table.
Best make me a knight, then.
You forget yourself...
friend.
A sense of humor would do you all good.
There is a message from Harrenhal, Your Grace.
Daemon?
The castellan, Ser Simon Strong.
Daemon has raised his army
but Ser Simon fears treachery.
I will not allow it.
Addam.
Come with me.
Thank you.
Birds.
Do you never sleep, witch?
I'm goin' to the godswood.
When you came here, you were a closed fist.
You wished to bend the world to your will.
But you've discovered, I think, that this world will not be governed.
There are omens here for those who seek them.
You do not scoff?
I'm no longer inclined to.
I'm pleased to hear it.
Do you wish, then, to learn what is given to you?
All your life, you have sought to command your own fate.
But today, you are ready.
It's all a story...
and you are but one part in it.
You know your part.
You know what you must do.
Sister.
We share the same blood, you and I.
I know you wish no harm to anyone.
But in a time like this
when the good of the realm depends on us...
Our mother is not a dragonrider.
She cannot understand
that you and I have a truer call to heed.
Come with me...
to Harrenhal?
We will lay waste to Daemon and his army.
Let our enemy see that we will answer outrage with outrage.
And if I refuse?
Will you burn me as you did Aegon?
- That is a lie. - I saw it.
You burned him and you let him fall.
What you say is treason.
Aegon will be king again.
He's yet to see victory.
He sits on a wooden throne.
And you...
you'll be dead.
You were swallowed up in the God's Eye
and you were never seen again.
I could have you killed.
It wouldn't change anything.
I am the castellan, Ser Simon Strong, Your Grace.
Well met.
Welcome to Harrenhal, my queen.
I did not think to see you here yourself.
Your message gave me much concern.
Yes, I must admit I had reason to fear.
But come, see for yourself.
I wasn't expecting you.
That seems rather a lapse in foresight.
- I see you have done well here. - They are sworn to me.
And not a moment too soon.
And to whom are you sworn?
The realm's only hope
is a leader who can unite it and my brother chose...
you.
You are the true queen, Rhaenyra.
First of Her Name.
Protector of the Realm.
I am meant to serve you, and all of these with me
until death
or the end of our story.
My queen.
For every one of us who falls
a hundred of them!
There will be no mercy!
We fight for our queen!
You sent for me, Lord Hand.
The gulls are flying low today.
The weather will change.
Not until late, I think, but...
- I will ready the storm sails. - We join the blockade
and are like to find ourselves in peril
sooner than late.
I wish to set out on good terms with my first mate.
Have I been remiss in my duties?
You've done what is asked of you, and more.
But you are curt, silent
and the men find you distant.
You cannot lead if you do not inspire.
Well, I never asked to lead, as you well know.
You have been given a position to which all who serve here aspire.
Forgive me, my lord. I will endeavor to improve myself.
I am trying to help you.
You want to help me?
Is this the help you offer after all these years?
A reminder to be grateful?
I mean no offense.
You may go.
Do you know what it was like for us?
To grow up fatherless...
to be sneered upon as bastards
never sure of the bread to feed us?
Do you know what hunger does to a boy?
What grief does?
- Or shame? - You are dismissed.
I sold fish in the market from cold dawn until sunset
putting by coppers to stave off the winter
and I watched the man who sired me walk past
with his son and heir with a fur around his shoulders.
Choosing sweetmeats to eat after supper by the fire.
And now that boy is dead.
And his sister before him.
And the heir that took his place.
And now... you remember I live.
Now you wish to...
suddenly to scatter the crumbs of your favor.
I am an honorable man and I will serve you because I must.
But if it is all the same
I will decline any offers of help.
If I survive this war
I will continue as I began...
alone.
You have done what no one else would dream of
and you have been rewarded.
The gods favor you.
They put the means to victory in your hands.
And yet, to claim it, I must strike
and in striking, I doom thousands to their deaths.
I do not believe my father would've wished this.
He left you with no choice.
Be strong. You know you are just.
You must not let the realm fall
to those who care for power more than peace.
You must prevail.
And who pays the price?
Come.
Begging your pardon, Your Grace.
I had to see you.
- Who knows? - None save my protector.
He laid down his sword at your gate.
I've been, I think... mistaken.
In what?
I was raised to believe there was an order to things.
That there was security in following the paths laid out for us.
I resented you, I think, for caring so little for any of it
for knowing what you wanted.
I did not know what I wanted.
I knew only what was expected of me.
- Why have you come here? - Because I lost my way.
Or rather, it was taken from me.
All those I put my faith in, my...
my husband, my father, my lover, my son...
The incorruptible queen sullies herself with a lover.
Do not judge me for what you yourself have done.
Your father died. I took comfort with another.
I, too, have desires.
Yes, but you alone made virtue your banner.
And I clung to it
in defiance of you, I think, who so disdained it.
I have been alone, of late.
I walked outside the walls of the city
and I felt a weight lifted from me.
- How lovely for you. - I thought, for the first time
what I would choose
if not for the duty I put before all else.
Shall you cast your son down and rule alone?
No, I do not wish to rule, I wish to live.
To be free of all this endless plotting and striving.
The crown will pursue war and victory at any cost.
But as for me...
I would take my daughter
and her child and leave it all behind.
It's too late, Alicent.
You said it yourself.
Blood has been shed, cities burned, armies march
and you wish to wash your hands of what you yourself set in motion.
The arrogance of blaming me
as if you would not have been challenged regardless.
Did not your hand bring it forth like a midwife?
I did only what I thought your father wanted.
Oh, go then.
Leave us behind, as you say.
Rhaenyra.
Wander in the wilderness.
What has it got to do with me?
Did you come here thinking you would be absolved?
He never stopped loving your mother, you know?
He was very fond of me, and I of him, but...
she was the vision that sustained him
even after she herself had slipped from his grasp, it was...
his love for her that kept him resolute in his choice of heir.
And yet, you believe he wavered at the end.
Why have you come here?
Aemond will soon fly to join Cole in the Riverlands.
When he's gone
Helaena as queen will be the crown's authority.
If you come then to King's Landing, I will see to it
that our guards throw down their arms
we will open the gates, we will shed no blood.
You will enter as a conqueror.
Already you have the stronger hand.
Once you take the throne...
this senseless war must end.
Right.
What of Aegon?
He's broken beyond recognition.
He lies in the dark, in pain and terror.
He has many faults, but...
he still heeds his mother. I believe I can prevail upon him
- to bend the knee, if indeed... - No! Still...
you defend him.
Still you imagine you can have all you want
without paying too high a price.
- A price I had no choice but to pay. - What I want
is to set things right.
If I am to take the throne, I must put an end to the opposition.
I must take Aegon's head.
And I have to do it for all to see. You know this.
However you may try to evade it, you know this.
Choose.
Will you shrink from what you set out to do?
Or will you see it through
and make your sacrifice?
A son for a son.
You are much changed.
Let us be done with this, please.
And what do I do with you now?
You let me go, to do what I promised.
And you fly to the Red Keep in three days' time
and you take your throne.
Or you take me for a liar.
I have neither weapon nor armor. My life itself is forfeit.
I cast myself on the mercy of a friend who once loved me.
History will paint you a villain.
A cold queen...
grasping for power and then defeated.
Let them think what they must.
I am at last myself
with no ambition greater than to walk where I please
and to breathe the open air.
To die unremarked and unnoticed...
and be free.
You speak as if from a distant dream.
Come with me.
My part is here, whether I will or no.
It was decided for me long ago.
Go.