"The Bells" is the fifth episode of the eighth season of Game of Thrones. It was the seventy-second episode of the series overall. It premiered on May 12, 2019. It was written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss and directed by Miguel Sapochnik.
Plot
Varys betrays his queen, and Daenerys brings her forces to King's Landing.
Summary
At Dragonstone
Varys is writing letters pertaining to the truth about Jon Snow's heritage when one of his spies walks in and says that the Daenerys has not eaten anything in days, and that her soldiers are constantly on alert. Varys assures her that the higher the risk, the greater the reward. She is sent back to the kitchen as Varys gets word of the arrival of Jon Snow and his men.
Varys updates Jon on Daenerys' state. He says that he is worried about her, saying, "They say that when a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin." He says that he knows not what side Daenerys' coin will land on, but that he knows which side Jon's will land on, implying that he wants Jon to take the Iron Throne over Daenerys. Jon vehemently refuses, to which Varys says that he has advised kings and rulers for many years, and knows how Daenerys will end up, given everything he has seen. Jon is still opposed to the idea, saying that Daenerys is his Queen now and forever.
Tyrion meets with Daenerys in Dragonstone's war room, where she has been holed up for days. She tells her Hand that Jon is the one who betrayed her, while Tyrion says that it was actually Varys. Daenerys elaborates by saying that had Jon not told anyone about his true lineage, then none of the talk of replacing her would have happened.
Later that night, Varys is writing more letters when Grey Worm and his men come into his room, shackles in hand. Varys knows what is about to occur. Without resistance, he is taken to the shores of Dragonstone, where Daenerys, Jon, and Tyrion are waiting for him. Tyrion tells Varys that it was him who sold his treachery out to Daenerys. Varys understands, and states that he hopes that he is wrong about everything he said about Daenerys. He bids one more farewell to Tyrion before Drogon burns him at Daenerys' command.
In their room later, Jon confronts Daenerys about her execution of Varys, and she says that all she has left is fear. Daenerys confides in Jon that he is more liked in Westeros than she is, and that Jon's claim to the Iron Throne is indeed stronger than her own. Despite this, Jon proclaims her to be his Queen regardless of how others feel about her. Daenerys asks if that's all she is to him and they kiss, but Jon once again pulls away. In response, Daenerys resigns herself to her darkest intentions, solemnly saying, "Alright then. Let it be fear."
In Dragonstone's throne room, Tyrion consults with Daenerys, the latter of whom is now ordering Grey Worm and the Unsullied to sack King's Landing. Tyrion is strongly against it, saying that he should show the citizens of the city mercy like she did in Meereen. Daenerys counters by saying that she thought that their mercy was their weakness, but now she understands that mercy is their strength - her mercy for the future generations of Westeros, not those in the present.
In a last ditch effort to get through to Daenerys, Tyrion bargains one last time: he wil go talk to Cersei and convince her to surrernder. When he does, he will ring the city's bells. indicating the full, unconditional surrender of Cersei and her army. He tells her not to attack unless he's done this deed. Reluctantly, she agrees. Before Tyrion leaves, she informs her Hand that Jaime was caught by her men trying to escape Winterfell. She warns him that the next time she fails him will be his very last.
In King's Landing
Ser Davos and his men are prepping for the siege outside King's Landing, when Tyrion arrives. He asks Davos if he can smuggle something specific for him. He gets passed the guards surrounding Jamie's tent and enters to see his brother chained to a post. He reveals that he smuggled the key to his shackles and unchains him, saying that he wants him to be the one to go to Cersei and convince her to surrender, saying it will be much easier for him than it would be for Tyrion himself. Jamie agrees, and Tyrion thanks Jamie for everything he has ever done for him before the two brothers share a tearful goodbye for the last time.
The next morning, the Unsullied, Dothraki, and Northmen united army are waiting outside the walls of King's Landing, while a select few citizens of the city have been crowded in the Red Keep to protect them the coming invasion. Cersei overlooks the city and sees her plan coming to fruition: she intends to keep a vast swath of innocent civilians in the path of the Red Keep, seeing if Daenerys will truly burn the city and all the inhabitants with it.
As the armies wait at the gates for the bells to ring, all of a sudden, Daenerys, riding atop Drogon, divebombs from the sky and destroys the gates of King's Landing, along with nearly everyone in its path. Grey Worm and the united army charge the gate and take care of what remains of the Golden Company's men. In the mayhem, Grey Worm kills Captain Strickland. Daenerys circles around the city and takes out the scorpion crossbows atop the city's walls. She then takes Drogon and burns the Iron Fleet ship by ship, including Euron Greyjoy's, who is thrown from his ship into the sea when his efforts to take out Drogon with his own scorpion crossbow fail.
The united army takes to the streets of King's Landing, taking out any and all enemy soldiers in their path. They make their way to the gates of the inner-most part of the city, where Lannister soldiers are waiting. Daenerys perches Drogon upon one of the walls. The citizens of the city cry out for the bells to be rung. After a long amount of time passes, the bells are finally rung, signalling what appears to be the end of the sack of the city.
The Lannister soldiers throw down their weapons and surrender. As the bells keep ringing, Daenerys looks at the Red Keep and, with a look of pure rage in her eyes, is unable to accept Cersei's surrender. Without uttering a single word, she takes Drogon to the skies and proceeds to burn down the entirety of King's Landing, scorching entire buildings and wide swaths of neighborhoods, killing both soldiers and innocent civilians alike.
Grey Worm takes his spear and throws it at the Lannister Captain, plunging into his chest and killing him. With that, it becomes the call to arms as the Unsullied and Dothraki charge into the inner-most parts of the city, killing anyone, soldier or civilian, they come across. Jon and Tyrion are horrified by what they are laying witness to, Varys' warnings of Daenerys growing instability coming true before their very eyes. Jon orders his own men back, and tries his best to get the Unsullied and Dothraki to stop, even having to stop a soldier from raping an innocent woman.
Jaimie sneaks around the cliffs on which the Red Keep is situated. He encounters Euron, who survived his brush with death. He and Jamie fight, saying that he will personally deliver his head to Cersei so she can kiss it one last time. Their fight culminates when, after Euron manages to stab Jamie twice in the abdomen, Jamie drives his sword through Euron's stomach. He walks away as Euron dies, saying, "I'm the man who killed Jamie Lannister!"
Meanwhile, Arya Stark and Sandor Clegane have snuck into the Red Keep. Arya plans to kill Cersei, but Sandor manages to convince her to choose life over vengeance, saying that he himself has been seeking revenge his entire life. He tells Arya to be better than someone like him, a living embodiment of the vengeance she is seeking. As Sandor goes to deal with his brother, Arya calls him by his name for the first time, and thanks him before they both go their separate ways.
Qyburn evacuates Cersei from the Red Keep, but they come across Sandor. He effortlessly dispatches the Queensguard before he stands face to face with his brother. Cersei orders Gregor to protect her. Qyburn tries to stop Gregor, but the Mountain grabs Qyburn and throws him against a wall, killing him instantly. Cersei leaves and the two battle. At the same time, Arya is trying to escape through the city, nearly getting trampled in the process by civilians trying to escape Daenerys' wrath of hellfire.
Gregor and Sandor fight, but the latter's attacks seem to have no effect, with Gregor even pulling a sword clean from his stomach with no signs of slowing down. Gregor beats down Sandor and lifts him up against the wall, preparing to gouge out his eyes. Just as Gregor does this, Sandor grabs a knife from his side and stabs Gregor clean through his eye. Even this does nothing to stop Gregor, who begins pulling the knife from his eye. Knowing that none of his attacks will truly kill Gregor, Sandor knows what he must do. Mustering up enough courage to face his fears, Sandor runs and tackles Gregor through the opposite wall, sending them both hurtling hundreds of feet into the fiery remains of the city.
Cersei is all alone in her castle when she sees Jamie, bloodied and mortally wounded following his fight with Euron. The two of them go deep into the Red Keep, where Tyrion had told Jamie to go where there would be a boat waiting for them on the beach to take them away from the city. However, they find their path has been blocked by rubble. Finally, Cersei begins to cry, saying that she does not want to die. Jamie reassures her enough to have her look at him. Hearing the Red Keep above them crumbling away, the two twins embrace as the ceilings cave in on them, killing them both.
Meanwhile, Arya regains consciousness after she was left incapacitated by a concussive blast. She manages to get into a building full of women and children and convinces them to keep moving, les they perish where they stand. They begin to escape, but most of them, save a mother and her young daughter, are killed by the roving Dothraki pack. The mother collapses and tells Arya to take her daughetr to safety. She grabs the child and begins to run, but the girl refuses to leave her mother and goes to her side just as Daenerys and Drogon swoop down one last time and unleash another torrent of fire upon the innocent civilians.
Arya awakes later and sees the devestation around her. She looks and sees that the mother and her daughter were burned alive. She stumbles around the city and sees the dead bodies of many innocent men, women, and children, all at the hands of her brother's lover. She suddenly sees a white horse among the throes of the dead. She goes up to it and is able to calm it before mounting the horse, riding out of the city to an uncertain future, leaving the devastation of King's Landing behind her, in what has become an unrequited order fulfilled: the last words of the Mad King, "Burn them all," coming to life as King's Landing burns.
Appearances
- Main: Season 8, Episode 5/Appearances
First
Deaths
- Varys
- Harry Strickland
- Euron Greyjoy
- Qyburn
- Sandor Clegane
- Gregor Clegane
- Martha
- Nora
- Jaime Lannister
- Cersei Lannister
Production
Cast
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Starring
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Guest Starring
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Cast notes
- 10 of 18 starring cast members appear in this episode.
- Annabel Brook, Andrew Burford, Yusuf Chaudhri, Nick Chopping, Adam Collins, Josh Dyer, Andrew Eadie, Rachael Evelyn, Pete Ford, Luke Gomes, Dan Griffiths, Rob Hayns, Michael Homick, Rowley Irlam, Kye Mckee, Jason Oettle, Juliet Reeve, Shane Roberts, Anna Stephenson, Ryan Stuart, Laura Swift, Andy Wareham, and Ben Wright were stunt performers in this episode.
Notes
General
- Due to concerns about spoilers, HBO is only releasing the titles of Season 8 episodes the moment they start airing - meaning that Game of Thrones Wiki can only make up accurate episode titles for each one as they are revealed.
- Two long-standing fan theories are referenced in this episode: "Cleganebowl," a final showdown between Sandor and Gregor Clegane, and "Mad Queen Daenerys".
- Winterfell and Last Hearth both appear in the Title sequence despite not appearing in the episode while Dragonstone once again does not appear despite being a major setting for the episode.
- With the deaths of Sandor and Gregor Clegane, all known member of House Clegane are dead, rendering the house extinct.
- With Jaime and Cersei's deaths, Tyrion seemingly becomes Lord of Casterly Rock and head of House Lannister as the sole remaining offspring of Tywin Lannister. This is ironic given Tywin's resentment toward Tyrion and refusal to make Tyrion his heir.
- With the death of Euron, Yara's rule of the Iron Islands is now uncontested.
Callbacks
- Drogon's shadow is seen flying over King's Landing. Bran saw this image in a vision way back in Season 6's "Blood of My Blood," and before that in Season 4's "The Lion and the Rose."
- Tyrion once again shows his Valyrian leaves much to be desired, mixing up words like he did in Season 5's "Mother's Mercy" and Season 6's "The Red Woman" and "Book of the Stranger."
- It had previously been said that the Mad King ordered caches of wildfire placedall over King's Landing ("Kissed by Fire"). These caches are ignited by Drogon's dragonfire.
- Jamie's final words to Cersei, "Nothing else matters.", refers to the Season 6 premiere where he comforts Cersei after arriving with Myrcella's body.
In the books
[This section will be updated with comparisons when the sixth and seventh novels are released.]
Memorable quotes
Preview
Gallery
See also
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