Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
With Joffrey on the Iron Throne, the realm fractures into rival claims: Robb Stark fights for northern independence, while Stannis and Renly Baratheon each seek the crown. Tyrion arrives in King’s Landing as acting Hand and plays the royal council against itself. Robb wins battles in the Riverlands and sends Theon Greyjoy to seek support from his father, Balon, who instead orders an attack on the North. Theon captures Winterfell and executes its castellan, Rodrik Cassel. Osha later helps Bran and Rickon escape. Unable to find them, Theon presents two burned bodies as the Stark boys, concealing their flight.
Beyond the Wall, Jon Snow is separated from the Night’s Watch and captured by wildlings, while Daenerys reaches Qarth with her dragons and searches for allies. Stannis’s fleet attacks King’s Landing in the Battle of the Blackwater. Tyrion directs the city’s defense with wildfire, but is wounded; Tywin arrives with the Tyrell army and saves the Lannisters’ hold on the capital. Afterward, Joffrey chooses Margaery Tyrell as his bride, and Tywin replaces Tyrion as Hand. Robb breaks his marriage pact with House Frey by marrying Talisa. In Qarth, Daenerys retrieves her dragons from the House of the Undying. Jon is taken toward the wildling camp, where the season leaves him in the hands of his captors; the last scene shows the dead gathering beyond the Wall.