Battle of King's Landing


 * This article is about Daenerys Targaryen's attack. For other battles taking place at King's Landing, see the Battle of King's Landing (disambiguation).

"I defended the city last time it was attacked; I know it better than anyone. The city will fall tomorrow."

- Tyrion Lannister to Jaime Lannister

"You’ll be Queen, for a time. Then comes another - younger, more beautiful — to cast you down and take all you hold dear."

- Maggy to Cersei Lannister predicting the outcome of the battle years prior.

The Battle of King's Landing was the final engagement of Daenerys Targaryen's war for Westeros, fought for control over King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and seat of the Iron Throne.

The remaining Unsullied, Dothraki, and Northern-Vale armies from the Great War are positioned outside the gates of King's Landing, facing the Golden Company. Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen, riding Drogon, engages the Iron Fleet. By dive-bombing from the sky, she successfully catches them by surprise and destroys the majority of the fleet before engaging the anti-dragon scorpions along the city wall. She eventually makes her way to the city gates, creating a breach via dragon fire and killing a significant portion of the Golden Company in the process, while allowing her own forces into the city. Daenerys would proceed to lay waste to a large portion of the surviving soldiers of the Golden Company as well as destroy all of the anti-dragon scorpions emplacements along the city's wall, effectively eliminating the Lannister's numerical and tactical advantage over her own forces.

With the battle effectively lost, Lannister soldiers surrender, and begin ringing the city's bells indicating such. However, Daenerys refuses to accept this and instead goes on a rampage with Drogon and begins burning the city and its inhabitants, unintentionally setting off the wildfire caches beneath it, while the Unsullied, Dothraki, and Northern troops begin to sack the city. The Red Keep is significantly damaged in the process, with large sections collapsing, killing Cersei and Jaime Lannister, who previously killed Euron Greyjoy in a duel just outside the Red Keep. Jon Snow orders his forces to pull back while Daenerys and her armies seize control over the remnants of the ruined city. Ironically, the Targaryens did the same thing to city under House Lannister that House Lannister had done to the city under them during the Sack of King's Landing, albeit the way in which House Targaryen did so was disproportionately more violent.

Prelude
"We have won the Great War. Now we will win the last war."

- Daenerys Targaryen Daenerys Targaryen resumed hostilities with Queen Cersei Lannister after the Great War was won and the White Walkers were destroyed. Daenerys began her campaign to take the Iron Throne that her father, the Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen, sat upon before being overthrown in Robert's Rebellion by Robert Baratheon, crushing the Targaryen dynasty. After the War of the Five Kings, however, the Baratheon dynasty was also left in crumbles, and Cersei of House Lannister seized the Iron Throne with none left to oppose her after destroying her gathered enemies if the Great Sept of Baelor using leftover wildfire. Cersei had promised to send her armies north to fight alongside the Targaryen, Stark, and Arryn armies but instead held back her forces, restrengthening her position by hiring the Golden Company, which was ferried to Westeros by her prospective consort and ally, Euron Greyjoy, the commander of the Iron Fleet.

After the Battle of Ice and Fire, Daenerys and her forces sailed for Dragonstone but were ambushed by Euron and the Iron Fleet, using Qyburn's anti-dragon scorpions to kill one of her last dragons, Rhaegal and smash her fleet. The ironborn also took Missandei captive and delivered her to Cersei in King's Landing. Daenerys, Tyrion Lannister, and Grey Worm parleyed with Cersei outside the gates of King's Landing, but Cersei ultimately refused to surrender to Daenerys and ordered Ser Gregor Clegane to behead Missandei before them. Daenerys angrily walks away with her forces.

For coming to the aid of the North in the Great War, Jon Snow agrees to help Daenerys in her resumed campaign. He marches south on the Kingsroad with what remains of the Dothraki and the armies of the North and the Vale straight towards King's Landing. Under a new prince, Dorne has also declared for Daenerys Targaryen, but they do not send their forces to King's Landing. Yara Greyjoy, who retook the Iron Islands, too doesn't send any forces as they are relatively very insignificant. Daenerys also restored House Baratheon by legitimizing Gendry, a bastard son of Robert Baratheon, but he is unable to rally the Stormlands in time to participate in the battle. The Riverlands and the Reach also do not participate in the battle.

Tyrion reveals to Daenerys that Varys has betrayed her, and as a result, Daenerys has him burnt alive by Drogon on the beaches of Dragonstone in front of Tyrion and Jon. Tyrion later convinces Daenerys to not attack the city if the bells are rung, signaling surrender. He frees his brother Jaime, who was captured by the Targaryen forces while trying to cross their lines, telling him to convince their sister to surrender and escape to Pentos using a boat provided by Ser Davos Seaworth. Meanwhile, in King's Landing, Cersei rounds up as many smallfolk as she can to create a human shield against Daenerys, closing the gates to the Red Keep as it becomes filled up. Sandor Clegane and Arya Stark, having ridden south from Winterfell in hopes of killing Gregor and Cersei, make it through, but Jaime is unable to make it through and takes an alternate path to the Red Keep.

The battle
"Dracarys!"

- Missandei's last words Sailing from Dragonstone and marching from the Kingsroad, Jon Snow, Ser Davos Seaworth, and Lord Tyrion Lannister consolidate the Unsullied, Dothraki, and Northern-Vale forces outside the gates of King's Landing. Captain Harry Strickland leads the Golden Company outside the city walls to face off the combined Targaryen, Stark, and Arryn forces.

In Blackwater Bay, Daenerys Targaryen ambushes the Iron Fleet on Drogon who were still busy in preparation. The sun rays reflected from the clouds make it difficult for them to focus while targeting upwards. In addition, Drogon flying low also makes it difficult for them to target him. In the ensuing attack, the Iron Fleet is all but wiped out; the ironborn fire their scorpions, but the mighty dragon is far too fast for them. Euron manages to jump into the sea before his ship is destroyed. She then proceeds to destroy the Lannister forces manning the Scorpions on the ramparts.

While the Northern forces have a standoff with the Golden Company outside the city walls, Daenerys directs Drogon to the front gates, catching the defenders completely by surprise, destroying the gate in a fiery blast that shatters the Golden Company's lines and creates a breach.

Seeing the opportunity, the Targaryen, Stark, and Arryn forces charge through. Harry Strickland recovers, but is then killed by Grey Worm as he tries to retreat into the city. The Dothraki are the first to enter the city, cutting through the still-recovering Lannister forces and preventing them from recovering fast enough to create a proper defense. The Northmen and Unsullied are close behind, mopping up the stunned Lannister forces and pouring into the city. Daenerys attacks the Golden Company directly, decimating their retreating forces as they try to flee.

Meanwhile, the Targaryen, Stark, and Arryn forces continue to slaughter the Lannister soldiers in their way while Daenerys and Drogon strafe the city walls, destroying the scorpions. Watching from the Red Keep, Cersei is in complete denial of her dire situation.

As the fighting continues, Jon Snow, Davos Seaworth, Grey Worm and the bulk of the forces march down the main street of King's Landing, cutting down Lannister stragglers, soon joining up with a group of Northmen in a standoff with a Lannister continent. With the last of the scorpions destroyed, Daenerys lands Drogon on a nearby roof, intimidating the remaining Lannister soldiers and small folk.

Realizing that the war is lost, the Lannister soldiers drop their weapons and surrender, causing a cry to go out to ring the bells. Cersei can only watch in stunned silence as both her soldiers and people turn on her, their cries to ring the bells echoing throughout the city. The bells soon begin ringing, signaling that the battle has come to an end with a relatively bloodless Targaryan victory.

Daenerys stares at the Red Keep, knowing that her hated enemy who killed her child and close friend still holds it; in a terrifying turn of events, she becomes enraged and unleashes Drogon on a destructive rampage across the city, destroying countless buildings and killing thousands of smallfolk and surrendered Lannister soldiers as a horrified Tyrion watches from beyond the city's burnt walls. Grey Worm hurls a spear at one of the Lannister soldiers, triggering the Northern and Vale soldiers to sack the city, ignoring Jon Snow's orders to stand down. In the ensuing chaos, Jon and Davos are separated, and Jon is forced to kill one of his own bannermen when he attempts to rape a woman.

Across King's Landing, the wildfire caches placed beneath the city by the Mad King, begin to explode, triggered by the dragonfire, while buildings crumble, crushing those in their path. Seeing how dangerous the city has become, Jon orders the Stark and Arryn forces to retreat from the city.

Arya Stark and Sandor Clegane infiltrate the Red Keep, but Sandor convinces Arya to turn back, warning her that if she goes further down her path for murder and vengeance, she'll end up like him. Arya rushes out of the Red Keep, trying to save fleeing peasants, while Sandor confronts Cersei, Qyburn, and her Queensguard, among them his brother, Ser Gregor Clegane. Sandor's taunting of Gregor breaks Cersei and Qyburn's hold over him; the Mountain smashes Qyburn's skull while Cersei flees. Sandor kills the remaining Queensguard that survived from the falling stones and duels his brother, knocking off his armor and revealing his undead appearance. The Mountain is able to survive the Hound's attacks and pushes him against a wall, attempting to crush his eyes, but the Hound repels him and tackles him through a wall, and the two brothers fall hundreds of feet to their deaths into the flames below.



Ser Jaime Lannister goes around the Red Keep, but is confronted by Euron Greyjoy, and the two engage in a brutal melee; Euron stabs Jaime multiple times, but Jaime ultimately overpowers Euron and runs him through with his sword, killing him. Jaime then rushes to his sister, finding her in the Red Keep and comforting her. They rush down to the crypts beneath the Red Keep where the dragon skulls are kept, but their exit to the boat has been blocked off by debris. Cersei pleads with her brother to save her and their child, but Jaime embraces her as they are crushed to death by the collapsing debris.

Aftermath


A stirring Arya Stark wakes up in rubble, covered in ash, blood, and debris, having been unable to save anyone despite her attempts. She finds a horse and rides out of the ruined city.

Daenerys Targaryen seizes control over what little remains of King's Landing, which has been thoroughly burnt and turned into ashes from dragonfire and wildfire. The Unsullied stand guard by her while the Dothraki cheer her on. Jon Snow, Davos Seaworth, and Tyrion Lannister walk through the ruined city covered in ashes, seeing the Red Keep somewhat crumbled and parts of it burning but still largely intact.

The casualties during the battle were immense. Including Lannister soldiers and innocent civilians, the death toll likely reached tens, if not hundreds of thousands, making the battle one of the deadliest in Westerosi history.