Sons of the Harpy (episode)

"Sons of the Harpy" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of Game of Thrones. It is the forty-fourth episode of the series overall. It premiered on May 3, 2015. It was written by Dave Hill, and directed by Mark Mylod.

In King's Landing
At a Small Council meeting, Master of Coin Mace Tyrell brings bad news that the Iron Bank of Braavos is starting to call in its debts from Westeros. They have started by calling in a tenth of the Iron Throne's current debts to the bank - and they physically do not possess more than half that much money. Rebuilding the Royal Fleet was also a massive expense. Mace offers that House Tyrell could front the money for the time being, but Cersei clearly does not want to give the Tyrells more power over the crown. Instead, she says that they will send Mace himself to Braavos to negotiate for more time, because sending such a high-ranking official will show the bank how seriously they take their large debts. Mace is oblivious that this is also Cersei's way of removing Mace from the capital, and takes it as a high honor - as well as that Cersei will send Ser Meryn Trant of the Kingsguard along to "guard" him. After he leaves, Pycelle bitterly points out that the Small Council is growing even smaller (the only three members left in the capital are Pycelle, Cersei, and her lackey Qyburn), but she says it hasn't quite grown small enough yet. Cersei then meets with the High Sparrow - who by her influence, has been elected as the new High Septon of the Faith of the Seven. Cersei is trying to build up a new alliance between the Crown and the Faith, as a counterweight against the large political influence the Tyrells now possess. Cersei points out to the High Sparrow that the War of the Five Kings has devastated much of the countryside, resulting in septs being burned, clergymen attacked, and even Silent Sisters raped. Bodies of holy men are piling up in the streets. The High Sparrow admits that wars make men obey the sword more than the gods. Cersei points out that before the Targaryens, the military order known as the Faith Militant dispensed the justice of the Seven. The High Septon is confused, as the Targaryens disbanded the Faith Militant over two centuries ago. Cersei explains that, as part of the new alliance she hopes to build between the Crown and the Faith, she will tell her son to repeal the law and allow the Faith Militant to be reestablished and re-armed: an army whose purpose is to defend the Faith, holy men, and the smallfolk - and which will incidentally be turned against the Crown's enemies. She then advises him that there is a great sinner in their midst who has been shielded by gold and power.

The new Faith Militant (many of its members drawn from the fanatical Sparrows) storm through the streets of King's Landing, attacking taverns, brothels, and street vendors selling idols from other religions. The City Watch look on, helpless, and do not intervene. They ransack Littlefinger's brothel, dragging prostitutes like Marei out into the street by their hair. Olyvar is struck and ignored as they barge in; he then sees that in another room they have singled out a homosexual man having sex with one of the male prostitutes, and approach him with a knife (it isn't clear if they killed him or castrated him). Olyvar flees. As a sign of their zealotry, the Faith Militant have the Seven-Pointed Star symbol of the Faith carved into their foreheads - including Lancel Lannister, who leads a squad of the Faith Militant to apprehend Loras Tyrell while his is sparring in the practice yard. Lancel proclaims that his sexual perversions are sins against the laws of gods and men, and Loras is dragged off. Margaery Tyrell is furious at Tommen for her brother's arrest, then tries to manipulate him by weeping at how hurt she is that he let this happen to Loras. Tommen then goes to his mother and, briefly standing up to her, demands that Loras be released at once. Cersei calmly points out that she didn't arrest Loras, the Faith Militant simply dragged him off and imprisoned him, so he should ask the High Sparrow to release him. Tommen naively thinks the High Sparrow will simply do as he requests, so he heads to the Great Sept of Baelor with five Kingsguard and several Lannister guards. Their path up the stairs to the Great Sept is blocked by a human wall of the Faith Militant, who say that the High Sparrow is praying and does not wish to be disturbed. The Kingsguard request that Tommen let them kill the Faith Militant to pass (as they are armed with swords, and the Faith Militant - though more numerous - are armed with clubs). Tommen is surprised at this and does not want to risk bloodshed escalating matters. Unsure of what to do, the mob of commoners behind him starts shouting that he is really a bastard and an abomination of incest. Realizing this is not going to end well, Tommen meekly withdraws back to the Red Keep. Margaery is even more upset at how ineffectual young Tommen was, so she leaves saying that she is going to bring her grandmother Olenna back to the capital to deal with this.

In Dorne
Jaime Lannister and Ser Bronn are on a Pentoshi merchant ship, which is headed to Oldtown in the Reach. They sail past Tarth island off the coast of the Stormlands (Brienne of Tarth's home - which draws away Jaime's thoughts for a moment). Jaime explains that to Bronn he bribed the captain to let them take a small boat to shore as they pass Dorne, and they will land just outside of Sunspear and the adjacent Water Gardens. Below decks, Bronn remarks on why Jaime must want to go and protect Princess Myrcella for himself: he's the one who let Tyrion escape, and he hopes this will make up for that. Jaime curtly says that Varys did (when in fact, Jaime forced Varys to help him free Tyrion). Bronn says that if Jaime ever sees Tyrion again Jaime should give him his regards; Jaime angrily says that if he sees his brother again, he's going to split him in two for murdering their father Tywin. Bronn rows the pair ashore at dusk, though Jaime can't help row with his one hand. When they awake the next morning Bronn kills a snake that was near Jaime's head and roasts it up for breakfast. Bronn is worried that the ship's captain will subsequently spread word that a Lannister is in Dorne; Jaime says he bribed him with a large bag of gold, but Bronn still worries. A mounted patrol soon comes by, however, and they see their tracks in the sand. Jaime and Bronn present themselves and try to pass off that they are simple travelers and their boat capsized in the night, but the routine doesn't work, and the sentries demand that they drop their weapons so they can be taken prisoner and their identities confirmed. Bronn plants his sword in the sand - then quickly throws a dagger in the lead sentry's throat while Jaime picks up Bronn's sword. Jaime can't fight very well left-handed so Bronn kills one sentry's horse in order for Jaime to fight him on foot. Jaime is being overpowered but at the last moment he catches the sentry's sword in his prosthetic metal right hand; he then uses the distraction to land a killing blow on the sentry with his left hand. Bronn, having finished off the other sentries, notes that they now have their horses: fine Dornish sand steeds, capable of running a day and a night without tiring. Jaime says the bodies need to be buried so they won't raise more questions - Bronn says it will take a lot of time to dig holes for them all, though Jaime again points out that he can't really do much digging with one hand. Annoyed, Bronn then drags off the bodies to bury. Meanwhile, elsewhere outside of Sunspear, Ellaria Sand meets with three of the eight Sand Snakes, her lover Oberyn Martell's bastard daughters. Obara Sand, the eldest, is the daughter of a peasant; Nymeria Sand (commonly called "Nym") is the daughter of an eastern noblewoman; the youngest of the three, Tyene Sand, is Ellaria's own daughter. She informs them that Prince Doran Martell will not raise Dorne's armies to avenge his brother's death. They worry that they have no army to march against the Lannisters, but Ellaria tells them that they don't need one: to start a war, all they need to do is kill Cersei's daughter Myrcella, currently in Doran's possession.

Obara then points out that they may have a problem. The Pentoshi ship captain found her in Planky Town (the port near Sunspear), and as Bronn feared, he indeed tried to sell her information about Jaime Lannister's arrival in Dorne. The Sand Snakes, however, were insulted that he wanted to be paid for such vital information instead of offering it freely, so they took him prisoner and tortured it out of him: Nymeria uses her whip to knock a bucket over, and reveals underneath that they buried the ship's captain neck-deep in the sand, with his head under a bucket full of poisonous scorpions. They realize that they are now in a race against time to see who can take Myrcella from Doran first, Jaime Lannister or themselves. Ellaria asks if the three girls are with her, knowing this will bring Dorne into war. Nymeria and Ellaria's daughter Tyene say yes. Obara notes that when she first met Oberyn, he was a man whom she had never met who one day appeared, said he was her father, and that he was taking her away from her mother. Her mother wept, but Oberyn said that we all must choose our battles and the gods let us choose our weapons. He threw his spear at her feet, pointed to her mother's tears, then to his spear, and told her to choose. She chose the spear - and answers Ellaria that she is with her, as she chose the path of the spear and war long ago. She then throws her spear to impale the ship's captain in the head.

In the Free Cities
At Volantis, during the night Jorah Mormont knocks out a fisherman and steals his boat, leaving with his captive Tyrion Lannister. Later when they are at sea, Tyrion urges for Jorah to remove his gag. Jorah will not volunteer any information about himself, but from a few observations (such as the bear sigil on his armor), Tyrion quickly surmises that he must be Jorah Mormont. He admits to Tyrion that the "Queen" he is taking him to is not Cersei but Daenerys. Tyrion recalls from Small Council meetings that Jorah was spying on Daenerys for Varys. Given that he is half the world away from Daenerys, he also accurately deduces that she must have found out he was spying on her and had him exiled - and therefore, he kidnapped Tyrion in the hope that presenting him as a gift to Daenerys will get him back in her favor. Tyrion laughs aloud at his situation, informing Jorah that he was already heading to meet Daenerys, so this is a waste of a kidnapping. Tyrion also points out that there is no guarantee this will assuage Daenerys, and it is just as likely she will remain angry at Jorah, and welcome himself as an ally. Jorah smacks Tyrion across the face, quieting him down.

In the North
At Winterfell, Sansa Stark takes the opportunity to visit her family's underground crypts. She comes to the tomb and statue of her aunt Lyanna Stark (and finds the feather token that Robert Baratheon left there years ago when he visited the castle). Petyr Baelish arrives and said he thought he'd find her there. Sansa remarks that her father Eddard Stark never talked about Lyanna, but she would at times find him down in the crypts lighting candles at her tomb. Sansa never knew Lyanna because she died before she was born, but she notes that people say she was beautiful.

Littlefinger says that he actually saw Lyanna once years ago, and she was as beautiful as everyone says. Back when he was a boy living with Sansa's mother's family (House Tully), the old Lord Whent of Harrenhal held a massive tournament: every notable figure of the time came from across Westeros: the Mad King, his son Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, Robert Baratheon, Lyanna Stark, everyone. Lyanna had already been publicly betrothed to Robert at the time. Baelish remembers how awed he was, a boy from nowhere and with no significant holdings, to see all of these living legends gathered in one place. In the final tilt, Prince Rhaegar rode against Ser Barristan Selmy. Rhaegar won and the entire crowd erupted in cheers - only to suddenly drop dead silent when Rhaegar rode right past his wife, Elia Martell, to lay a crown of winter roses in Lyanna's lap. Not long afterwards, Rhaegar made off with Lyanna, sparking off Robert's Rebellion which overthrew the Targaryen dynasty. Littlefinger wonders how many thousands died because Rhaegar chose Lyanna - to which Sansa says that he chose her, then kidnapped and raped her. Baelish gives her a wry look and moves on to another part of the crypts.

Sansa notices that he is wearing riding clothes, and he explains that he is heading back to King's Landing, because Cersei sent a letter requesting his presence and it would be best not to make her suspicious by refusing to come. Sansa will be alone with the Boltons but he explains his plan to her: Stannis will have to attack the Boltons soon if he is to beat the winter snows, and he bets that Stannis will probably win, because he is one of the best military commanders in all of Westeros, and the Boltons will be outnumbered by Stannis (and the other Northern Houses that will switch to his side, because the entire region loathes them). Stannis will then make Sansa the new ruler of the North, as the last (known) surviving Stark heir and in memory of her father Eddard's support for Stannis. Sansa asks what will happen on the off chance that Stannis gets killed, and Littlefinger explains that at least, marrying Ramsay Bolton now (while they're desperate enough because of Stannis to risk angering Cersei) will at least leave Sansa in a position to insinuate herself among the Boltons and help destroy them from within in future plans. Either way, Sansa will be Littlefinger's powerful "ally" in the North (much as Sweetrobin Arryn is his ally/puppet in the Vale). Littlefinger kisses Sansa on the lips (and she is wary enough not to overtly resist), and he departs.

In Meereen
In Meereen, Daenerys Targaryen is looking down on the streets below from her royal apartments in the Great Pyramid, and Ser Barristan Selmy also brings up Rhaegar Targaryen (her elder brother, who died before she was born). He says that the city's inhabitants always seem happy from such a distance, but Rhaegar actually liked to leave the Red Keep and mingle with the common people on the streets. Barristan accompanied him often to guard him, and says that Rhaegar liked to sing to people. He was a great singer, so he would find a place on one of the streets just like any public minstrel and sing. He liked to see how much money he could make, and everyone enjoyed his singing, so he often made quite a lot. Daenerys is surprised, because her brother Viserys only told her that Rhaegar was a great killer. Barristan scoffs that Rhaegar was a great warrior but never enjoyed killing, he was a gentle man who enjoyed singing. She asks what they did with all the money, and Barristan says that they did all sorts of things: sometimes they just gave it to the next minstrel on the road, once Rhaegar gave it all to an orphanage in the slums of Flea Bottom, and one time they spent it to get horribly drunk. Daario Naharis then comes to say that the day's supplicants are waiting in the throne room, chief among them Hizdahr zo Loraq.

Hizdahr again beseeches Daenerys to reopen the fighting pits of Meereen, because today is the traditional beginning of the fighting season. Daenerys again refuses, but Hizdahr rationally argues that the fighting pits provide a great spectacle that has always been enjoyed by both the slave-masters and slaves, and is one of the few things that can bring the city together. Bringing back this major tradition will not instantly solve all of her problems, he concedes, but it would be a start at mending together her subjects. As he speaks, the Sons of the Harpy are already mounting a series of large-scale attacks in the streets. A Meereenese prostitute helps them distract and kill some of the Second Sons, and when a patrol of Unsullied arrives, she feigns fear and directs them into a trap by pointing that the Sons of the Harpy ran into a narrow alleyway. The Unsullied give chase, only to be surrounded by a much larger number of the Sons of the Harpy. Brutal fighting rages throughout the streets of Meereen. Grey Worm is among the ambushed Unsullied: he kills many attackers, though he loses his helmet, is slashed in the leg, and is stabbed in his side. Grey Worm pulls the dagger out of himself, stabs a foe in the throat with it, and keeps fighting, though he begins to slow down from his wounds. Most of the Sons of the Harpy are dead but they outnumbered the Unsullied so much to begin with that only Grey Worm is left. Just then Ser Barristan arrives and saves Grey Worm by drawing the attention of the remaining rebels. Ser Barristan may be old but he is one of the most experienced swordsmen alive and greatest fighters in the world: he takes on eight Sons of the Harpy and defeats them all, save for the last one who slashes him across the back. He falls to his knees and just as his attacker is about to slit his throat, Grey Worm takes him out with by throwing a sword in his back. Grey Worm staggers over Barristan, but he has lost consciousness. Grey Worm then slumps down to the floor as well.

First

 * Merchant captain
 * Obara Sand
 * Nymeria Sand
 * Tyene Sand

Deaths

 * Merchant captain
 * Ser Barristan Selmy
 * Lead Dornish Guard

Cast
Starring
 * Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
 * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Ser Jaime Lannister
 * Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister
 * Emilia Clarke as Queen Daenerys Targaryen
 * Kit Harington as Jon Snow
 * Aidan Gillen as Petyr Baelish
 * Natalie Dormer as Queen Margaery Tyrell
 * Stephen Dillane as King Stannis Baratheon
 * Carice van Houten as Melisandre
 * Indira Varma as Ellaria Sand
 * John Bradley as Samwell Tarly
 * Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark
 * Jerome Flynn as Bronn
 * Michiel Huisman as Daario Naharis
 * Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei
 * Dean-Charles Chapman as King Tommen Baratheon
 * with Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont

Guest Starring
 * Jonathan Pryce as High Sparrow
 * Ian McElhinney as Barristan Selmy
 * Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle
 * Anton Lesser as Qyburn
 * Tara Fitzgerald as Queen Selyse Baratheon
 * Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Lord Mace Tyrell
 * Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm
 * Ian Beattie as Ser Meryn Trant
 * Joel Fry as Hizdahr zo Loraq
 * Eugene Simon as Lancel Lannister
 * Ben Crompton as Eddison Tollett
 * Keisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand
 * Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand
 * Jessica Henwick as Nymeria Sand
 * Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon
 * Brenock O'Connor as Olly
 * Finn Jones as Loras Tyrell
 * Will Tudor as Olyvar
 * Gary Pillai as Merchant captain
 * Christian Vit as Lead Dornish Guard
 * Josephine Gillan as Marei
 * Meena Rayann as Meereenese prostitute
 * Simon Norbury as TBA
 * Jack Olohan as TBA
 * Slavko Sobin as Meereenese fighter
 * Paddy Wallace as Lead Kingsguard
 * Allon Sylvain as Foreign merchant
 * Will Fortune as TBA
 * Rob Brockman as TBA
 * Daniel Johnson as TBA
 * Richard Fitzwell as TBA
 * Ben Yates as TBA
 * Samantha Bentley as 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

 * 17 of 28 cast members for the fifth season appear in this episode.
 * Starring cast members Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Hannah Murray (Gilly), Kristofer Hivju (Tormund), Conleth Hill (Varys), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H'ghar), Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton) and Diana Rigg (Olenna Tyrell) are not credited and do not appear in this episode.

In the books

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


 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Game of Thrones:
 * Chapter 58, Eddard XV: Lord Whent’s tourney at Harrenhal is recounted by a witness: Prince Rhaegar unhorsed Ser Barristan Selmy in the final tilt to claim the champion’s crown, yet all the smiles died when he urged his horse past his own wife, Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty’s laurel —"a crown of winter roses, blue as frost"— in Lyanna Stark’s lap.
 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Storm of Swords:
 * Chapter 42, Daenerys IV: Ser Barristan speaks to Dany of her brother Rhaegar's love for music and the harp.
 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Feast for Crows:
 * Chapter 2, The Captain of the Guards: The three eldest Sand Snakes —Obara, Nym and Tyene— want to go to war against the Lannisters in retaliation to their father Oberyn's murder. When Obara is questioned on her intentions, to make her point she recounts how Oberyn came to claim her, though her mother protested that she was too young and a girl. Oberyn tossed his spear at Obara's feet and said: "girl or boy, we fight our battles, but the gods let us choose our weapons." He pointed to the spear and then to her mother's tears, and Obara picked up the spear.
 * Chapter 12, Cersei III: Cersei consigns Mace Tyrell to a mission away from King's Landing in order to get rid of him for a while, so that she can scheme against the Tyrells more freely.
 * Chapter 13, The Soiled Knight: A relative of Prince Doran hatches a plan involving Princess Myrcella in order to bait the Lannisters into a conflict with Dorne, which would force Doran's hand to enter into the war he is trying to avoid.
 * Chapter 28, Cersei VI: Cersei duplicitously concedes to the High Sparrow's concerns that the holy men and women need protection, and so she agrees to restore the Faith Militant, which the Targaryens disbanded centuries ago.
 * Chapter 32, Cersei VII: Cersei conspires to get rid of Loras Tyrell.
 * Chapter 40, The Princess in the Tower: Cersei's Kingsguard arrives in Dorne.
 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Dance with Dragons:
 * Chapter 3, Jon I: Melisandre tries to get close to Jon Snow, but Jon keeps his distance. Mysteriously quoting Ygritte, Melisandre warns: "You know nothing, Jon Snow".
 * Chapter 7, Jon II: Jon refuses to sign a letter requesting support for the Night's Watch until Sam convinces him to do so.
 * Chapter 8, Tyrion III: When asked why would he support Queen Daenerys, Tyrion replies it’s for gold and glory, and for hate, "which you would understand if you ever met my sister".
 * Chapter 11, Daenerys II: The Sons of the Harpy attack a number of Unsullied on the streets of Meereen, including a loved one of Missandei. Much to Dany's frustration, Hizdahr zo Loraq insists on the reopening of the fighting pits, arguing it is traditional and the only way for the pit fighters to win glory and be remembered.
 * Chapter 27, Tyrion VII: Tyrion realizes his abductor is not taking her to Cersei but to Daenerys, and reveals he has figured out he is Jorah Mormont. Since Jorah was working for Varys as well, Tyrion argues they are allies, but Jorah doesn't listen.
 * Chapter 33, Tyrion VIII: In Volantis, Tyrion and Jorah take a ship to Meereen.
 * Epilogue: The recently chosen Master of Coin is sent to Braavos to negotiate the Crown's debt with the Iron Bank.
 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of The Winds of Winter:
 * Chapter unknown, Alayne I: Sansa is unsure of Littlefinger's plan, but he insists she can charm her intended.

Memorable Quotes
Stannis Baratheon: "My father used to tell me that boredom indicates a lack of inner resources."

Shireen Baratheon: "Were you bored a lot too?"

Melisandre: "You know nothing, Jon Snow."

Jaime Lannister: "He murdered my father. If I ever see him, I'll split him in two; then I'll give him your regards."

Bronn: "I've had an exciting life. I want my death to be boring."

Hizdahr zo Loraq: [Urging Daenerys to reopen the fighting pits] "All men must die. But not all can die in glory."

Hizdahr zo Loraq: "Traditions are the only thing that will hold this city - your city - together. Without them, the former slaves and former masters have nothing in common. Nothing but centuries of mistrust and resentment. I can't promise this is the answer to all our problems, but it's a start."