The Dread Evil Lord Varlak
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Episode 1
An army marches from Winterfell, combining with forces from the Vale and Riverlands. They plan to meet up with Danaerys’ forces marching from the South, but the army of the dead come too soon, and after heavy fighting this army is beaten back in disarray. Edmure Tully, newly crowned as lord of the Riverlands, continues to underwhelm and dies in the fighting. Brienne dies allowing Sansa to escape. Jon’s absence is the tipping point for his support in the North, instead loyalty switches to Sansa.
The Golden Company arrives in Kings Landing, and Cersei sends this army North, claiming it is to support Danaerys army.
Melisandre returns, and with her is a cabal of priestesses. Varys begins to investigate what they’re up to.
Bran and Sam learn of Rhaegar’s belief that Jon would be Azor Ahai, and start to investigate what really happened thousands of years ago.
Episode 2
Danaerys meets the army of the dead in open war. It’s a huge fight on the ground, while above the dragons fight, Rhaegal is injured, while Drogon and the undead Viserion are killed, causing both Danaerys and the Night King to be brought to the ground. Beric saves Dany but dies in the act, while the Night King is burned by Rhaegal. There is a moment of triumph as it appears the Night King is dead but he rises again, and as he does so many thousands of newly dead also rise to join his army. Dany’s army breaks from the field in disarray.
Bran begins to have visions of the original Azor Ahai, showing his first and second attempts to forge the weapon.
Episode 3
Dany’s army rallies as best it could. Many Dothraki desert. The army of the North expresses a desire to return to Winterfell but Sansa says no such journey is possible now. The armies of the Vale and the Riverlands opt to retreat to their keeps however they are stopped at the Twins. They have been betrayed by the Gold Company, who under Cersei’s command have taken the Twins and King’s Road, and trapped Dany’s forces in the North with the Army of the Dead.
Melisandre now appears to Dany, telling her of the story of Azor Ahai and the forging of the weapon. Tyrion says not to trust them, but after Cersei’s betrayal Dany doesn’t trust Tyrion at all, and dismisses him from her service. Cast out of the camp, Tyrion meets up with Jaime, who had been shadowing the camp. They start to work with Varys to investigate what the priestesses are up to.
Sansa tells Arya about Cersei’s betrayal. Arya heads to King’s Landing with the Hound.
Bran has a vision of the weapon being created by being cast in to the heart of Nissa Nissa. The vision ends with a cut to Dany making Jon the new Hand of the King.
Episode 4
Dany is trapped but the Army of Dead does not advance on them. Instead one portion of the army go and overrun Winterfell. Bran, Sam and his family narrowly escape. Bran tells Sam they need to reach the Island of Faces.
The priestesses tempt Dany by talking of forging a weapon that can slay the Night King, if she is willing to make the blood sacrifices, though Dany doesn’t seem to realise how extreme these sacrifices will be. Dany tasks her Hand Jon with making this weapon. Davos smuggles Jaime in to the Twins, where he attempts to get the Golden Company to change sides or accept bribes, but fails. While there he uncovers their own motivations, as their leader claims Targaryen heritage and considers himself the true heir if Dany falls, at which point they will betray Cersei and claim the throne themselves.
Episode 5
Jon’s first two attempts at forging the weapon fail. Bran and Sam reach the camp. They say there were few undead surrounding the army. It is realised that the army of the dead have moved on, bypassing both Dany’s army and the Golden Company by crossing the river on a bridge of ice. Bran says they will be marching on the Isle of Faces.
Jaime returns to King’s Landing, to tell Cersei about the Golden Company’s planned betrayal and get her to release the blockade. Cersei realises this was all planned by the Iron Bank, and murders that banker guy.
As plans are made to break through the Golden Company, Bran and Sam tell Jon about his true heritage, and his claim to the throne, and the sacrifice it will take to forge Lightbringer. Jon tells Dany but resumes his pledge, giving some earnest Northern speech about how none of that matters with the army of the dead over the wall. Both express their willingness to sacrifice themselves to forge Lightbringer.
Tyrion convinces the Golden Company to let them pass – their job was to make sure the Army of the Dead and Dany’s army destroy each other, so the Golden Company should let them pass so they can continue trying to destroy each other.
Episode 6
Jon won’t take the final step of making the weapon. Dany says she will. Stab, Jon dies. But like before, Jon rises again. But this time he is very different. Lightbringer is the sword, but now Jon is the weapon. He takes on an otherworldly appearance, he is wrapped in light just as the Night King is wrapped in ice.
Cersei continues her plotting, wild claims about what she will do to the Iron Company and everyone else. Jaime confronts her and knows he has to kill her, but will not do it while she carries his child. He leaves, and Cersei orders the Mountain to murder Jaime. But the Mountain is cut off on the way by the Hound, they begin an epic fight. Both Jaime and the Hound are badly wounded, and the Mountain is eventually brought down. Meanwhile Cersei flees in to her chambers, and tells the chamber maid to get out. Arya reveals herself, “The Starks send their regards.” She stabs Cersei in the gut, just as at the Red Wedding, and then flees as King’s Guard come rushing in.
Jaime comes across Cersei. The guards let him past. Cersei is badly wounded, her unborn child is clearly dead, but Cersei is not dying. Grabbing her about the neck he jumps from the window, taking her with him.
They reach the army of the dead, which is making preparations to cross the waters, they’re freezing the water. They meet in battle. Dany’s army is now much reduced, but Dany rides Rhaegar, and Jon is a force of equal slaughter on the ground. Jon slays the Night King, and he stays dead.
But the army of the dead doesn’t disintegrate, instead it looks to Jon, to Azor Ahai. Jon is in agony, he is unstable, and becoming something else. Varys knows this is the work of the priestesses. He confronts them, breaks their ritual, and in the subsequent fight both Varys and Melissandre are among the dead.
Jon and Bran go on to the Isle of Faces. Bran places a piece of dragonglass in to the chest of Jon. Jon releases the dead, they fall to the ground. He turns and marches North, taking the surviving White Walkers with him.
In the prologue Dany is crowned. Drogon, last of his kind, is dying of his wounds. She rules over a shattered, exhausted, and the first task will likely be to hunt down the Dothraki deserters who still pillage the country. But there is hope, dawn is breaking, and Dany is pregnant with Jon’s tiny, incestuous little baby. Dany and Tyrion talk, suggesting this may all be a cyclical pattern, that will repeat itself again.
Jorah and Sansa arrive at a destroyed Winterfell. The Weirwood tree is hacked and burned, but there are small signs of life. Jorah continues on, marching up the Wall to begin his duty in the Night’s Watch.
Also somewhere in there something about Theon getting Yara back, and Euron getting killed. However that nonsense has to get resolved, I guess.
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