High Sparrow (episode)

"High Sparrow" is the third episode of the fifth season of Game of Thrones. It is the forty-third episode of the series overall. It premiered on April 26, 2015. It was written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and directed by Mark Mylod.

In King's Landing
As Cersei Lannister passes a large crowd on her way to the Great Sept of Baelor, she is increasingly annoyed as people cheer on Margaery, completely ignoring her. Tommen Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell are wed, much to the dismay of Cersei. That night, they consummate their marriage. They are elated and discuss their future together. Tommen thinks that his mother is unhappy in King's Landing. Seeing an opportunity, Margaery manipulates Tommen into thinking that as long as Cersei stays in King’s Landing, she will continue to treat him like a child, watching over him. The next morning, Tommen and Cersei are out for a walk. Tommen tells his mother that he thinks she should return to Casterly Rock if it will make her happy, since she used to talk so fondly of it, but Cersei declines. Deducing that this is Margaery’s doing, Cersei pays her a visit, to find Margaery busy gloating about her “exhausting” night with the King. Greeting her mother-in-law, Margaery now more confident than ever, subtly rubs her queenship in Cersei’s face. Seeing herself losing, Cersei walks away.

In Littlefinger’s brothel, the Sparrows attack the High Septon as he engages the services of prostitutes dressed as the Seven. He is forced to walk naked through the streets while the Sparrows proclaim him a sinner. Angered by the humiliation, he wants the Small Council to arrest the Sparrows and execute their leader, the High Sparrow. Although unsympathetic, Cersei decides to meet with the High Sparrow, who turns out to be a humble man serving food to the poor, barefoot. The High Sparrow makes no efforts to hide the actions of the other Sparrows. Cersei tells him that he will not be arrested or executed, and that the High Septon has been imprisoned instead, which surprises the High Sparrow. Returning to the Red Keep, Cersei has Qyburn send a message to Petyr Baelish. As Qyburn writes, behind him, the body of Gregor Clegane begins shaking, but Qyburn shushes him calmly.

In the North
While being served lunch by Reek, Roose Bolton scolds Ramsay on his recent flaying of Lord Cerwyn and his family on what was supposed to be a routine tax collection. Ramsay points out that he eventually got the taxes, but Roose reminds his son that terror cannot sustain their hold on the North and that they are outnumbered if the other houses rise up in rebellion. With Tywin Lannister's death, the pact between the Lannisters and the Boltons is effectively dead. Roose then declares that the best way to cement Bolton control of the North is through marriage.

Sansa Stark is horrified to see Moat Cailin. There is only one reason Baelish could be taking her there - he means to return her to Winterfell, straight into the arms of the Boltons. Recalling their earlier discussion of a marriage proposal, Sansa realizes that the proposal is not for him, but for her, and furiously declares that she would rather die than marry Roose Bolton. Littlefinger corrects her and clarifies that she will be marrying Ramsay Bolton, then calms her down by convincing her that nobody will look for her there, and suggesting that this is her best opportunity for revenge. Sansa reluctantly agrees.

At Winterfell itself, the Boltons and their households greet Sansa and Littlefinger. After a tense moment, Sansa graciously accepts Roose's welcome, putting on an air of politeness that protected her in King's Landing, while from afar, Ramsay's bedwarmer and secret lover, Myranda, observes with jealousy and anger. Sansa is later shown to her old room, seemingly foreign to her after all this time. To her surprise, the servant attending her welcomes her back and quietly assures her that, "the North remembers". Later, as Sansa explores the castle, Reek hides his face from her, but seems to have difficulty forcing himself not to call out to her.

Elsewhere in the castle, Baelish subtly warns Ramsay against inflicting any harm on Sansa, and discusses the situation with Roose, who is suspicious of Littlefinger's motives in betraying the Lannisters. Baelish points out that Tywin is dead, Jaime is one-handed and politically useless, and that Cersei is about to be forced into the background by Margaery, who is quite fond of Sansa. Bolton, nevertheless, demands to read any messages Littlefinger might send off back to the Capital.

At the Wall
King Stannis Baratheon tries unsuccessfully to convince the new Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jon Snow, to accept his offer of legitimization. Jon declines Stannis's offer and reiterates that his place is with the Night's Watch. Jon also reiterates the Night's Watch's neutrality in the affairs of the Seven Kingdoms and asks Stannis when he plans to leave; Castle Black's stores are insufficient to feed the Night's Watch, Stannis's army, and the wildling prisoners indefinitely. Stannis confirms that his army will leave soon enough to confront the Boltons at Winterfell before the winter snows trap them at the Wall. He leaves the fate of the wildling prisoners in Jon's hands, allowing Jon to decide whether to execute them or to see if Tormund is more willing to negotiate than Mance. When Stannis suggests appointing Alliser Thorne as the new commander of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, Jon retorts that "it is better to have your enemies close by than far away." As Davos Seaworth prepares to leave with his liege, he invites Jon to ponder on the second-to-last stanza on the Night's Watch oath: "I am the shield that guards the realms of men." He also assures Jon that Stannis's leadership advice is offered because the king has taken a liking to him.

Later, at the mess hall, Lord Commander Jon Snow asks Sam about Maester Aemon and it is learned his health is waning and entrusts his care in Sam's hands. He begins assigning roles to members of the Watch. He assigns one black brother to oversee the digging of a new latrine pit to accommodate the wildling prisoners. Snow also shows respect to Ser Alliser Thorne by appointing him as the new First Ranger, commending his experience. Finally, Lord Commander Snow assigns Janos Slynt with the task of restoring and manning the abandoned castle Greyguard. Slynt refuses Jon not once, but three times. Even after being warned that he is disobeying a direct order, he flippantly tells Jon that he can take his order and 'shove it up his bastard arse'. Having publicly disobeyed and insulted Jon, the Lord Commander orders Janos taken outside, and calls for Olly to fetch him his sword. Ser Alliser briefly hesitates but then moves out of the way to let Dolorous Edd and others grab Slynt, who angrily protests that he has important friends at court and dismisses the matter as a scare tactic. Jon has Janos dragged out into the courtyard where, obedient to the laws of his father Eddard Stark - that the man who passes the sentence must swing the sword - he prepares to publicly behead him for treason. Slynt's bluster is lost, and the man who once took a baby girl from its mother's arms and killed it starts crying and begging for mercy, saying that he will do whatever Jon asks and that he is afraid. Despite Slynt's pleas, Jon executes the cowardly former Commander of the City Watch with a single blow - incidentally exacting small justice on one of the men who betrayed his own father to his death. From across the courtyard, Stannis Baratheon sees Jon behead Janos for refusing his orders, and slightly nods in approval.

In the Free Cities
In Braavos, Arya Stark has been put to work cleaning the main sanctuary of the House of Black and White. She watches as Jaqen H'ghar assists a supplicant in drinking from the temple's well. She protests to Jaqen that she wants to learn, but he brushes off her discontent. Later on, Arya is accosted in her room by The Waif, who repeatedly asks her who she is, hitting her when she gives the expected response of "no one." Jaqen eventually arrives and demands to know what is going on, as the Waif has overstepped her bounds. He does, however, point out that Arya cannot be no one, as she is wearing Arya Stark's clothes, is in possession of silver stolen by Arya Stark, and was about to attack the Waif using Arya Stark's sword. Realizing his point, Arya binds her old clothing to a rock and tosses it into the lagoon along with the stolen silver. She cannot bring herself to discard Needle so easily,  and instead hides it within a sea wall nearby. Back at the House, Jaqen allows Arya to progress to an inner chamber where she is to assist the Waif in stripping and washing corpses. The Waif is silent when Arya asks what happens to the bodies after they are cleaned.

Meanwhile, Tyrion Lannister and Varys finally arrive in Volantis. Sick of the carriage they've been riding in, Tyrion again dismisses the dangers and insists they leave to explore. The pair move through the Long Bridge's markets, where Varys explains the meaning of the various tattoos Volantene slaves must sport. Varys nearly loses Tyrion, but finds him observing the sermon of a Red Priestess. Tyrion claims curiosity, since Thoros of Myr was the only Red Priest in King's Landing. The Red Priestess evangelizes in High Valyrian, telling the tale of how she was once a slave herself. Like another Red Priestess, she preaches of a prophesied savior, but she speaks not of Promised Prince, only of a Dragon Queen. Tyrion's interest in the scene wanes when the Priestess halts in her sermon and stares directly into his eyes.

Tyrion next leads Varys to a brothel. Catching sight of a prostitute dressed as Daenerys, Varys tells Tyrion that a woman who inspires both sermons and whores is probably worth meeting. Tyrion woos a dark-haired prostitute, but when she finally agrees to service him, he finds that he can't bring himself to patronize her. He then goes to urinate off the side of the bridge, with Varys losing sight of him. As Tyrion finishes, he is abducted by Jorah Mormont, who declares that he is taking him to "the queen".

Appearances

 * Main: High Sparrow/Appearances

First

 * Lord Medger Cerwyn (corpse)
 * Lady Cerwyn (corpse)
 * The Waif
 * The High Sparrow
 * Red Priestess
 * Clea

Deaths

 * Lord Medger Cerwyn (off-screen)
 * Lady Cerwyn (off-screen)
 * Despondent man
 * Lord Janos Slynt

Cast
Starring
 * Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
 * Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister
 * Kit Harington as Lord Commander Jon Snow
 * Aidan Gillen as Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish
 * Natalie Dormer as Queen Margaery Tyrell
 * Stephen Dillane as King Stannis Baratheon
 * Liam Cunningham as Ser Davos Seaworth
 * Conleth Hill as Lord Varys
 * Alfie Allen as Reek
 * Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark
 * Maisie Williams as Arya Stark
 * John Bradley as Samwell Tarly
 * Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth
 * Dean-Charles Chapman as King Tommen Baratheon
 * Tom Wlaschiha as Jaqen H'ghar
 * Michael McElhatton as Lord Roose Bolton
 * Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton
 * Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont

Guest Starring
 * Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow
 * Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle
 * Anton Lesser as Qyburn
 * Owen Teale as Ser Alliser Thorne
 * Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Mace Tyrell
 * Ben Crompton as Eddison Tollett
 * Faye Marsay as The Waif
 * Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne
 * Dominic Carter as Janos Slynt
 * Ian Beattie as Ser Meryn Trant
 * Eugene Simon as Ser Lancel Lannister
 * Brenock O'Connor as Olly
 * Will Tudor as Olyvar
 * Finn Jones as Ser Loras Tyrell
 * Charlotte Hope as Myranda
 * Rila Fukushima as Red Priestess
 * Elizabeth Webster as Walda Bolton
 * Paul Bentley as the High Septon
 * Brian Fortune as Othell Yarwyck
 * Michael Condron as Bowen Marsh
 * Stella McCusker as Old woman
 * Mishael Lopes Cardozo as Brothel guard
 * David Garlick as Despondent man
 * Matt McArdle as Sellsword
 * Eddie Elks as a Sellsword 2
 * Gwyneth Keyworth as Clea
 * Emina Muftic as Beggar woman
 * Samantha Bentley as "The Mother of Dragons" and The Stranger
 * Xena Avramidis as The Warrior
 * Portia Victoria as The Smith
 * Em Scribbler as The Mother
 * Rebecca Scott as The Maiden
 * Rosie Ruthless as The Crone

Cast notes

 * 18 of 27 cast members for the fifth season appear in this episode.
 * Starring cast members Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Carice van Houten (Melisandre), Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand), Kristofer Hivju (Tormund), Hannah Murray (Gilly), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Michiel Huisman (Daario Naharis) and Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei) are not credited and do not appear in this episode.
 * Michael McElhatton is added to the main cast with his name appearing in the opening credits, starting with this episode. He previously appeared in a recurring role in the second, third and fourth season.

Tommen's age in the TV continuity

 * Tommen Baratheon is actually 7 years old at the beginning of the novels, and only 9 years old at this point in the narrative, when he marries Margaery - the same age as Bran Stark. Most child characters such as Arya or Sansa were aged up by 2 years in the TV continuity, though others were not: Bran states that he is 10 years old in Season 1, and Joffrey is four years older than his book counterpart.
 * Back in Season 1, Loras stated on-screen that Tommen is only eight years old. Four years pass by Season 5, which by this original number would make him only 12 on his wedding night - but when Tommen was recast for Season 4 with an older actor, his age was apparently retconned so that he is around 18 years old in Season 5. Other than retconning this one specific line from Season 1, however, it was indeed possible to increase Tommen's age to around 18 without violating internal story logic (Tommen can't be older than Joffrey would have been).
 * Tommen's older brother Joffrey was aged-up in the TV series by 4 years, not only 2 years, to make him 16 years old in Season 1, instead of 12 years old as in the first novel (actor Jack Gleeson was actually 18 years old in Season 1; they cast an older and more experienced actor due to the narrative weight the role needed to carry). Four years have passed in-universe since Season 1, meaning Joffrey would have been around 20 years old this season.
 * Tommen is the third of Cersei's children, meaning she had to have two nine month long pregnancies after giving birth to Joffrey - one for Myrcella, then one for Tommen. Therefore, Tommen can be physically no more than 18 years old in Season 5, without the TV series contradicting its own internal chronology.
 * Tommen was originally played by Callum Wharry in Seasons 1 and 2, an actor around the same age as Bran's actor, in the range of 9 to 10 years old. However, the role of Tommen was recast in Season 4 with Dean-Charles Chapman, who was about three years older than then previous actor. Chapman turned 17 during filming on Season 5, but that doesn't necessarily reflect the age of the character he is portraying (within a year or so). Therefore when the role was recast with the older Chapman playing Tommen, the character's age was increased to around 17-18 years old. By placing his birth as early as physically possible, Tommen's age could indeed be increased to about 18 in Season 5 without outright contradicting the established chronology. It is to be retroactively understood that he was closer to 14 years old back in Season 1, as if the older actor Chapman had been playing him at the time (though Tommen did not appear very prominently in the first two seasons anyway - to the point that he did not have a single speaking line in Season 1).
 * There have been a few instances in which a child from the books was made a young adult in the TV series: Missandei is only 10 years old in the novels, and Podrick Payne is roughly the same age as Sansa Stark, making him only about 13 years old during the third novel (meaning he wasn't old enough to have sex with prostitutes as his TV counterpart did in Season 3).
 * The legal age of adulthood in Westeros is 16 - in the novels, though Samwell Tarly's comments in Season 1 implied that in the TV version it was changed to 18. Also consider that Robb Stark was around 16 years old in Season 1 (14 in the novels), but married Talisa at the end of Season 2 when he was himself also only around 17-18 (16 in the novels). In the TV version, Tommen might actually be a few months older at this point than Robb Stark was when he married Talisa.
 * As a result of all of this, the 9 year old Tommen in the books has not yet consummated his marriage to Margaery Tyrell - though as with when Podrick had sex in Season 3, the Tommen in the TV continuity is simply older than his book counterpart.
 * In a subsequent interview with Vulture.com, Dean-Charles Chapman revealed that the writers never told him how old Tommen is, and he assumed he was still 12 years old, based specifically on the fact that he was said to be 8 years old four years before in Season 1. He even tries to play him younger by user a higher pitched voice than his normal speaking voice. Chapman said: "It's kind of hard to get in the mind of a 12-year-old, because I can't even remember being 12. And Tommen is so young, he's like a baby." The same interview, however, postulated that the character might have been aged-up when he was recast, and that Chapman just assumed he is 12 years old because the writers never specified how old Tommen is.
 * A further point of evidence that Tommen is not 12 in Season 5, but closer to 17-18, is that he doesn't have a Regent. If Tommen was under the legal age of majority in Westeros (16 in the novels, but possibly increased to 18 in the TV continuity) he would by definition need to have a regent to rule in his name. In the novels, following the deaths in rapid succession of Joffrey and then Tywin, Cersei becomes the Queen Regent for Tommen, as she was regent for Joffrey, because both of them were underaged when they came to the throne. In contrast, during Season 5 it is repeatedly said that Cersei is only the Queen Mother, not the Queen Regent. Kevan explicitly points this out at the Small Council meeting in "The House of Black and White", when he said that Cersei is the Queen Mother, nothing more, and in this context he surely would have mentioned if she was regent again for an underraged son. A regent would have the right to appoint new Small Council members. After her wedding night, Margaery mockingly asks what title to refer to Cersei by, suggesting Queen Mother - not "Queen Regent".

Sansa Stark's storyline

 * Littlefinger makes no attempt in the novels to make a marriage-alliance between Sansa Stark and Ramsay Bolton, this is a massive departure from the book narrative.
 * It also appears that this will affect Brienne of Tarth's storyline: she saw that Sansa was heading back into the North past Moat Cailin and accurately deduces they must be heading to Winterfell. In the novels, Brienne never tried to find Sansa in the Eyrie, and never encountered Arya Stark on the road there, but instead had lengthy adventures fruitlessly searching the devastated Riverlands for Arya, and having several run ins with the "Brave Companions" who had turned brigand - the mercenaries working for the Lannisters who cut of Jaime's sword-hand (simplified into just a particularly ruthless group of Bolton soldiers led by Locke in the TV version).
 * In the novels, Sansa remains at Littlefinger's side in the Vale, becoming his protege of sorts as he engages in various subplots to tighten his initially weak hold over the major Vale lords. Sansa has become so hardened at this point that she is willing to stand by and do nothing even as she knows Littlefinger is plotting to kill innocent Vale lords to make way for his own allies, but she has learned to play the game of politics and that she must bide her time. Eventually, at the end of the most current novels, Littlefinger explains that his plan for Sansa is indeed to enter her into a marriage alliance - to Harrold Hardyng, the closest living relative of Sweetrobin Arryn (his first cousin once removed). Unlike the sickly runt Sweetrobin, whose presence crippled the Vale during the War of the Five Kings, "Harry the Heir" is every inch a handsome and honorable young lord and warrior. Littlefinger's plan was to trick the Starks and Lannisters into fighting each other, until both sides were either dead or nearly exhausted, while keeping the Vale itself out of the war and its armies at full strength. Littlefinger explains to Sansa that he plans to gradually poison Sweetrobin to death, at which Harry will be the new Lord of the Vale, and she will marry him. At the wedding ceremony, he plans for her to finally reveal herself as not his own bastard daughter "Alayne", but as Sansa Stark, by wearing a stunning gown emblazoned with a Stark direwolf and making an emotional plea to the honorable knights of the Vale to lead their armies to retake the North from the terrible Boltons.
 * The fact that Sansa is still married to Tyrion raises a legal issue: if she gets married again, will the second marriage be legal? In the show, Littlefinger tells the Boltons "Tyrion never consummated the marriage. By the law of the land, she's no man's wife". In the novels it is not that simple, though: in A Storm of Swords Tywin tells Tyrion "Do I need to remind you that a marriage that has not been consummated can be set aside?", and Tyrion answers "By the High Septon or a Council of Faith" - namely a marriage is not annulled automatically on the ground of non-consummation, there has to be an official ceremony conducted by clergymen (it is unclear if both husband and wife must be present, or one is sufficient). In A Feast for Crows, Sansa discusses this problem with Littlefinger when he informs her he has made a marriage contract for her with Harrold Hardyng. Littlefinger explains how he intends to bypass that legal obstacle: "The dwarf wed Ned Stark’s daughter, not mine. Be that as it may. This is only a betrothal. The marriage must needs wait until Cersei is done and Sansa’s safely widowed". He does not explain further how and when Cersei will be "done" and Tyrion will die.
 * Thus it is possible that in the future, Sansa can have her marriage to Ramsay annulled on the grounds that it was bigamous, because she was already technically married to Tyrion (regardless of the fact that Tyrion never consummated it), and then have her marriage to Tyrion also annulled for being unconsummated (divorce does not exist in Westeros, only annulment).
 * The Boltons' storyline also involves a wedding: to secure their claim over the North. Tywin Lannister granted them a marriage-alliance between Ramsay Bolton and the captive Arya Stark - except that Arya was never the Lannisters' captive. Both the Lannisters and the Boltons think Arya is dead, but they plan to publicly pretend that the Lannisters captured her when Sansa was captured, and just pass off a servant girl claiming to be Arya. Brienne was even going to charge in and try to rescue Arya when she first arrived in King's Landing and found out that the girl was heading north, only for Jaime to pull her aside and explain that it can't be Arya (he met her once during the feast at Winterfell, but some girl that Tywin is passing off as her.)
 * In the fifth and current novel, it is revealed that "Fake Arya" is none other than Jeyne Poole - Sansa's best friend from Winterfell. Jeyne actually does exist in the TV continuity but only appeared in the feast scene at Winterfell in the first episode of the TV series. Sansa assumed Jeyne was dead after the massacre of Eddard Stark's household servants when Joffrey seized power, during which Jeyne's father Vayon Poole (Eddard's household steward) was killed (Vayon actually did appear in the TV series and had a few speaking lines before he was killed). Jeyne is the best replacement for Arya, because she grew up alongside the Stark girls and can easily pass off as one of them due to her knowledge of the castle - enough time has passed that she could plausibly be an older Arya, and when Northern lords quiz her knowledge on things like who the Starks' blacksmith was, she knows (but it takes her almost too long to remember) the answer is "Mikken" because she grew up in Winterfell alongside the Stark girls. Had anyone looked at her closely, the truth would have been immediately revealed - because Jeyne's eyes are brown, not grey. Theon wonders how can anyone miss such a conspicuous detail. He assumes that if anyone noticed that - they'd be wise enough to keep their private doubts to themselves, knowing well how the Boltons deal with their enemies.
 * The fifth novel not only revealed that Jeyne Poole was alive, but where she had been for the past three years. After the massacre of Eddard's household servants and Sansa's capture, the Lannisters secretly handed Jeyne Poole over to Littlefinger to keep prisoner. For no apparent reason other than abject cruelty, Littlefinger then had the eleven year old Jeyne sexually enslaved in one of his brothels. She spent the next three years being repeatedly beaten and raped (she was more valuable if her virginity was intact, but they forced her to please men with oral sex, etc.) It isn't even clear if Littlefinger ever had future plans for Jeyne, or simply did this because he could. Much later on, Jeyne arrives back in Winterfell along with Roose Bolton, where she is forced to marry Ramsay. "Reek" (the broken thing formerly known as Theon Greyjoy) is made to walk her down the aisle, to "prove" that she is the real Arya, because as a ward of the Starks he grew up alongside Eddard's children and would presumably recognize her. Reek realizes that she is actually Jeyne Poole but dares not help her - as Fake Arya she has value to the Boltons, but if she is exposed as a fraud she is useless to them and will kill her without a moment's hesitation.
 * Once Jeyne is married to Ramsay, her suffering truly begins. He tortures her in several violent and sadistic ways, bizarre even by his own standards. Even as the wedding guests remain in the castle, her crying and wails of terror echo through the castle halls - Ramsay simply doesn't care that the assembled lords of the North can hear what he is doing, though his indiscretion in this regard angers his father. At one point Ramsay apparently forced Reek to "warm up" Jeyne by performing oral sex on her, for his own enjoyment at their suffering (Reek complied because he knew Ramsay would severely torture both of them further if he resisted). Jeyne also heavily implied that at one point Ramsay forced her to have sex with one of his hunting dogs for his own sadistic amusement, seriously threatening to cut off her feet one at a time until she gave in.
 * The general point is held in the TV version that "Littlefinger wants Sansa to enter into a marriage-alliance which will directly lead to her retaking the North from the Boltons". The TV show didn't entirely invent this storyline whole-cloth - it drastically condensed together two subplots which were related to each other in the novels. In the book version, it was to marry the handsome heir to the Vale, to lead an army of Vale lords against the Boltons. In the TV version, this was heavily condensed so that Sansa's marriage-alliance is instead to Ramsay Bolton himself, in order to destroy the Boltons from within (much as Margaery Tyrell is doing to the Lannisters). The general point also stands that "Ramsay marries a Stark girl" to secure his hold on the North - but instead of Jeyne Poole posing as Arya as in the novels, he is actually marrying the real Stark daughter Sansa.
 * Littlefinger's reasoning is slightly different in the TV version: in the novels, he actually didn't know that Stannis and his remaining army were at the Wall (or thought they were nearly defeated), while in the TV version, Littlefinger is quite aware that Stannis is at the Wall, and this has altered his plans. Littlefinger goes on to explain (as revealed in previews from next episode) that he thinks that Stannis will ultimately defeat the Boltons: Stannis is one of the best military commanders in all of Westeros, and his core army might be small but if he rallies the remnants of the other Northern Houses the Boltons will be unable to hold Winterfell against all of them. However, on the off-chance that Stannis randomly dies in battle, he had to have a contingency plan. The Boltons are wary of marrying the Sansa Stark, because when Cersei realizes Sansa escaped to them she will be enraged - but Stannis's presence has made them desperate. If Littlefinger waited until after the assault on Winterfell, and if Stannis happened to die in the attempt, the Boltons wouldn't be open to making such a marriage alliance anymore. Therefore it only made sense to marry Sansa to Ramsay Bolton before Stannis arrived: she can help undermine the Boltons from within to aid Stannis, if Stannis wins (as Baelish thinks he probably will) she will be made ruler of the North (as Littlefinger's puppet, he hopes), and if Stannis dies, Ramsay will have already married Sansa, at least leaving her in a position to undermine them from within in future plots.
 * While this internal logic generally holds in the TV version, it raises two questions:
 * In the novels, Stannis Baratheon hates Littlefinger, and by this point in the novels it seems probable that he would execute him if he encounters him again. Stannis and Littlefinger were both on Robert's Small Council, and a lawful man like Stannis loathed a corrupt whore-monger like Littlefinger who kept bribing all of the court officials. Stannis is no fool, and accurately deduces that Littlefinger must have played a major role in helping the Lannisters seize his throne after Robert died. In the TV version, Littlefinger might just hope that Stannis's situation is desperate enough that he cannot afford to oppose Littlefinger's rule in the Vale (given that he doesn't even have the North yet).
 * This was actually answered later in Season 5: Littlefinger really plans to wait until after Stannis and the Boltons fight, then use the Vale's fresh armies to finish off the weakened survivor - either way Sansa is left as ruler in the North, as his agent, and Littlefinger actually has no intention of working with Stannis.
 * It isn't clear how this will fit with Sansa Stark's character arc across the entire TV series, in which she grew from an innocent girl-turned-victim, to a hardened and cunning player of the political game.
 * Basically, Sansa's storyline has finally reached the long-dreaded point where it has officially surpassed the current novels: it is condensing Ramsay Bolton's subplot from the fifth and most current novel, with what Sansa's storyline was apparently going to be in the unpublished sixth novel. Therefore it is hard to judge how well Sansa's storyline is being condensed - Sansa is apparently going to return to Winterfell at some point in the sixth novel, and for all anyone knows, there might be similar dramatic moments in it such as Sansa being stunned to be standing in Winterfell again.
 * The TV writers subsequently gave a lengthy interview with Entertainment Weekly, in which they said that they have been planning to condense the Sansa and Bolton storylines like this since back during the writing stages of Season 2. That was before Ramsay was even cast or mentioned by name (though his father Roose had made brief mention of sending his "bastard" to retake Winterfell from Theon). Therefore, this was not a snap decision made for Season 5: instead they had three years to devote time to thinking out how to adequately condense the two storylines together. As they explained, Sansa's storyline in the Vale from the novels removes her from interacting with the rest of the established cast (except Littlefinger) for an entire book. Additionally, the various subplots about Littlefinger consolidating his hold over Vale lords that have never appeared prominently before would have made it extremely difficult to introduce them all, and even then, Sansa's subplot in the Vale simply doesn't have that many chapters.
 * David Benioff: "We really wanted Sansa to play a major part this season. If we were going to stay absolutely faithful to the book, it was going to be very hard to do that. There was as subplot we loved from the books, but it used a character (Jeyne Poole) that's not in the show."
 * Bryan Cogman: "The seeds were planted early on in our minds. In the books, Sansa has very few chapters in the Vale once she's up there. That was not going to be an option for one of our lead characters. While this is a very bold departure, [we liked] the power of bringing a Stark back to Winterfell and having her reunite with Theon under these circumstances...You have this storyline with Ramsay. Do you have one of your leading ladies — who is an incredibly talented actor who we've followed for five years and viewers love and adore — do it? Or do you bring in a new character to do it? To me, the question answers itself: You use the character the audience is invested in."
 * When David Benioff was asked in the Entertainment Weekly interview if it was contradictory that Littlefinger is so obsessed with Sansa, but would nonetheless hand her over to the Boltons, he pointed out that Littlefinger truly cares about no one - he has a stalker-crush on Sansa but doesn't truly "care" about her, and his obsession with power is ultimately greater than his obsession with Sansa:
 * Benioff: "That's the thing about Littlefinger — as much as he might care for Sansa, he cares for nothing more than power. And now he sees an opportunity to gain more power for himself."
 * Elio and Linda of Westeros.org, co-authors with George R.R. Martin of The World of Ice and Fire sourcebook, made a special ten minute long video separate from their regular episode reviews (after episode 6), specifically devoted to discussing the major condensations of Sansa's plotline. While they had some misgivings they stressed a nuanced approach to this condensation, pointing out that fundamentally, no one really knows what is going to happen to Sansa in the next novel. Indeed, there has been considerable speculation that Littlefinger himself might try to rape Sansa at some point (as in the TV show, he's kissing her on the mouth now and his stalker-crush with her may soon advance further). For that matter, her dashing new betrothed Harrold Hardyng might turn out to be very violent and domineering in private, and force himself on her. As for criticisms that this damaged Sansa's storyarc, in which she seemed to be growing as a political player in her own right in the Vale, they pointed out that character arcs are rarely predictable in the story, i.e. based purely on Seasons 1 and 2, it would seem that Robb Stark's "character arc" was to become a powerful young boy-king ruling an independent North - only to suddenly have this subverted in Season 3 when he is killed at the Red Wedding. Therefore, they cautioned, it is difficult to tell how drastic of a change this was without actually being able to compare it to Sansa's unpublished storyline in the next novel.

In the books

 * See: Differences between books and TV series - Season 5


 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Feast for Crows:
 * Chapter 4, Brienne I: Brienne recalls that she first met Renly when he visited Tarth. He was the only man ever to treat her courteously. She also recalls how her father tried to arrange her a marriage.
 * Chapter 6, Arya I: Arya meets the Waif.
 * ​Chapter 7​, Cersei II: In the dungeons below the Red Keep, Qyburn experiments with the Mountain.
 * Chapter 12, Cersei III: Cersei bitterly observes as King Tommen and Margaery Tyrell wed at the Great Sept. At the insistence of the Tyrells, the newlyweds sleep in the same bed on their wedding night.
 * Chapter 14, Brienne III: Podrick tells Brienne how he came to be Tyrion's squire: during the War of the Five Kings, Pod attached himself to Ser Lorimer, who stole a ham from Lord Tywin's personal stores and shared it with Pod. The knight was hanged, but he was spared due to his family's name.
 * Chapter 15, Samwell II: Maester Aemon's health is deteriorating, and Sam takes care of him.
 * Chapter 17, Cersei IV: Cersei gets rid of the High Septon.
 * Chapter 20, Brienne IV: Brienne recalls how some noblemen played with her by pretending to seduce her, and mockingly dubbed her "Brienne the Beauty."
 * Chapter 22, Arya II: In the House of Black and White, Arya is frustrated that she is only given menial tasks. She witnesses people entering the temple to drink from the pool and die before the statues. Her instructor chastises her for seeking to use their training for her own purposes, instead of to serve the Many-Faced God. Arya asks which of the statutes is Him, and he says all of them are. He orders her to dispose of Arya’s possessions to truly become “no one”, and in a pier she trows most of it to the water, except for Needle, which reminds her too much of home, so she hides it under a stone near the temple. The Waif is assigned to guide her. Arya asks her instructor to teach her how to become a Faceless Man.
 * Chapter 24, Cersei V: Margaery manipulates Tommen to resist Cersei's commands, angering Cersei. A prominent septon is dragged naked from a brothel into the streets by the Sparrows.
 * Chapter 28, Cersei VI: Cersei meets the High Sparrow.
 * Chapter 41, Alayne II: Littlefinger arranges a marriage for Sansa with the unlikely heir of a Lord and Warden, in order to eventually help her win Winterfell back.


 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Dance with Dragons:
 * Chapter 3, Jon I: After being chosen Lord Commander, Jon Snow definitively refuses Stannis's offer to be legitimized and become Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North.
 * Chapter 7, Jon II: In order to get rid of Lord Janos Slynt, Jon gives him the command of Greyguard, but Slynt refuses, as it is a ruin. Jon gives Slynt one last chance, but he refuses him again and tells Jon to "stick his order up his bastard's arse." Jon instructs Edd to take Janos outside. Ser Alliser Thorne reaches for his sword hilt, but he reconsiders and steps aside to let Edd take Janos. Jon decides to behead Slynt himself, with Longclaw. With his head on the block, Slynt begs for mercy, but Jon executes him anyway. Jon meets Stannis's eyes, and the king nods in approval.
 * Chapter 17, Jon IV: Jon realizes there is not enough in Castle Black to feed the Night's Watch, the wildlings, and Stannis' men through the winter. Stannis decides he will leave the wildling prisoners in Jon's care when he marches to Winterfell.
 * Chapter 22, Tyrion VI: Just after arriving in a city under Volantene rule, a guard rubs Tyrion's head, claiming it's good luck to do so to a dwarf, to which Tyrion replies it's even better luck to suck on a dwarf's cock. Tyrion and his companion listen to a Red Priest preaching of Daenerys Targaryen, who is believed to be a prophesied savior, which reminds him of the only Red Priest he ever knew, Thoros of Myr. Tyrion convinces his companion to let him go to a brothel, where he selects a whore. Tyrion stumbles into a Westerosi man who takes him prisoner to be "delivered to the queen".
 * Chapter 27, Tyrion VII: Tyrion and his companion arrive at Volantis and cross the Long Bridge, in order to look for a ship to take them to Meereen.
 * Chapter 32, Reek III: Roose Bolton berates his son Ramsay for being so openly cruel, since the northmen already despise House Bolton. In order to ensure their hold over the North, Ramsay is to wed a “Stark” procured by Littlefinger.
 * Chapter 37, The Prince of Winterfell: At Winterfell, Ramsay meets his intended, who Reek recognizes from Theon’s life as a ward of the Starks in the castle.
 * Chapter 45, The Blind Girl: Arya is made to disrobe and wash the bodies of those who seek death at the temple. Though she is curious, the Faceless Men don't tell her what they do with the bodies.


 * The sixth novel, The Winds of Winter, remains unpublished, so there are some events brought forward from it that may occur in the story, yet the specific chapters are unknown. This may include Sansa's wedding and her return to Winterfell, both of which are also part of Littlefinger's plan in the books but have not happened yet. The episode is adapted from the following chapters of The Winds of Winter:
 * Chapter unknown, Alayne I: Sansa meets her intended. Myranda is envious of Sansa, as she is in love with him.

Memorable Quotes
Margaery Tyrell, to Cersei: "Can we bring you anything to eat or drink? I wish we had some wine for you - it's a bit early in the day for us."

Brienne of Tarth: "Nothing's more hateful than failing to protect the one you love."

Varys: "Someone who inspires priests and whores is worth taking seriously."

Jon Snow: I heard it was best to keep your enemies close.

Stannis Baratheon: Whoever said that didn't have many enemies.

Roose Bolton: "I have something important to tell you. Stop eating and listen. We don't have enough men to hold the North if the other Houses rise up against us. Do you understand that?"

Ramsay Bolton: "Our pact with the Lannisters protects..."

Roose: "I had a pact with Tywin Lannister, and Tywin Lannister is dead. The remaining Lannisters are a thousand miles away, dealing with that fact. They've never once, in the history of the Seven Kingdoms, sent their army this far North. If you think they will for us, you're a fool. We've become a Great House, by entering into alliance with other Houses and parlaying those alliances into greater power. The best way to forge a lasting alliance, isn't by peeling a man's skin off. The best way is marriage. Now that you're a Bolton by Royal decree, it's high time you married a suitable bride, and as it happens, I've found the perfect girl to solidify our hold on the North.""

Brothel guard: "It's good luck to rub a dwarf's head."

Tyrion Lannister: "It's even better luck to suck a dwarf's cock."