ACT THREE
INT. RED KEEP – THRONE ROOM – DAY
The throne room is the picture of opulence. Sunlight gleams off the Iron Throne and Cersei’s silver crown. Cersei is holding court.
The little Flea Bottom girl is pushed in front of Queen Cersei.
CERSEI LANNISTER
What brings you to my court, little dove?
Qyburn addresses the court.
QYBURN
She was found in Flea Bottom, Your Grace. She was pretending to be Daenerys Targaryen. She called herself ‘the Unburnt.’
Murmurs race through the courtiers. Cersei holds up her hand to silence them. Then she holds out her hand to the little girl.
CERSEI LANNISTER
Come, little dove.
The girl pads up the steps to the Iron Throne.
CERSEI LANNISTER (CONT’D)
Tell me. How old are you?
LITTLE GIRL
Almost seven, Your Grace.
CERSEI LANNISTER
And what does a girl of seven know of Daenerys Targaryen?
LITTLE GIRL
She has silver hair and three big dragons. She can walk through fire, and fly high as the clouds.
CERSEI LANNISTER
And would you like to fly?
LITTLE GIRL
Girls can’t fly, Your Grace. Only Daenerys.
CERSEI LANNISTER
And why is that?
LITTLE GIRL
’Cause she’s the Dragon Queen. When she comes, her dragons will melt the snow. We will be warm again.
Whispers echo through the throne room. Cersei’s smile stiffens. The little girl looks from person to person, trying to understand what she has done wrong.
CERSEI LANNISTER
You’d like to be warm, little dove?
Hesitantly, the little girl nods. Cersei smiles more widely.
EXT. WINTERFELL – CORRIDOR – DAY
Sansa walks down the corridor when Tyrion catches up with her.
TYRION LANNISTER
Lady Sansa!
Sansa turns.
SANSA STARK
Lord Tyrion.
TYRION LANNISTER
May I walk with you?
Sansa nods. They assume a slow pace, the air thick with shared history.
TYRION LANNISTER (CONT’D)
That could have gone better.
SANSA STARK
Yes.
TYRION LANNISTER
Are the Northern lords always so…unyielding?
SANSA STARK
They’re good, loyal men.
TYRION LANNISTER
I’m sure they are.
(beat)
(MORE)
TYRION LANNISTER (CONT’D)
Daenerys is much the same, you know. If you give her a chance, I think you’ll find–-
SANSA STARK
It’s not me you need to convince.
TYRION LANNISTER
Of course. But I know how people see you here. We’re a long ways from King’s Landing.
(long beat as they walk)
How have you fared since we last met?
SANSA STARK
Well enough since we took back Winterfell. And you?
TYRION LANNISTER
Oh, quite well, quite well.
(beat)
Well, there was a small incident with some slavers in Mereen, but it was all part of a larger plan.
SANSA STARK
(smiling)
Ah.
(beat)
TYRION LANNISTER
I didn’t kill Joffrey.
SANSA STARK
I never thought you did.
TYRION LANNISTER
You were wise to run.
SANSA STARK
I was too stupid to know I was supposed to run. Littlefinger smuggled me out.
TYRION LANNISTER
He has always been enamored of you.
SANSA STARK
He should have saved himself the trouble. My suitors tend to meet with unpleasant fates.
TYRION LANNISTER
Oh, I don’t know. I’m doing all right.
SANSA STARK
(joking)
You’re not my suitor. And there was that incident with the slavers in Mereen.
TYRION LANNISTER
Well said, my lady.
SANSA STARK
(correcting him)
Lady Stark.
TYRION LANNISTER
Of course. Lady Stark.
(beat)
I envy you that.
SANSA STARK
My name?
TYRION LANNISTER
Your certainty. I have always been a Lannister, and yet I have never been a Lannister.
SANSA STARK
(joking)
The disgraced daughter and the demon monkey. I remember.
TYRION LANNISTER
(genuine)
I’m touched.
SANSA STARK
(kindly)
Lannisters are not welcome in Winterfell. A demon monkey, however…I should hope he would be very comfortable here.
TYRION LANNISTER
(genuinely)
That is most kind of you.
SANSA STARK
No kinder than you were to me.
She pauses at an adjoining hallway. She turns to Tyrion.
SANSA STARK (CONT’D)
I should see to the others. I am glad you are well, Lord Tyrion.
Tyrion bows and watches her walk away.
TYRION LANNISTER
(sotto)
It’s good to see you, Lady Stark.
EXT. THE SILENCE – SAILING – DAY
Yara is dozing fitfully in her chains, still lashed to the mast in soiled clothes. Her mouth is bloody and swollen, as though she’s been punched.
The sky is clear and bright, the sea calm. A beautiful day interrupted by a kick in the gut. Yara’s eyes pop open. Euron stands over her.
EURON GREYJOY
Wake up. How can you sleep on such a beautiful day?
YARA GREYJOY
It’s easier to stay awake while the sun’s up, if you have a cabin to sleep in at night.
EURON GREYJOY
You could share mine. It’s a nice little room. Cozy. Bed’s just big enough for one. Or two, if one’s on top.
Yara tries to muster up some spit to hawk at him, but she’s too dry. Euron notices.
EURON GREYJOY (CONT’D)
My poor niece. Are you hungry?
(off her non-response)
I think it’s time to break the fast.
Euron puts two fingers in his mouth and gives a shrill dog-whistle. A sailor comes around the corner, bringing Kinvara, who is conscious but again strangely vacant.
YARA GREYJOY
(dawning realization)
What are you doing? Why are you doing this?
EURON GREYJOY
You have to give them what they want. That’s why the Iron Islands have always failed. The Ironborn are just takers. They rape, they reive. They think so small. But me, I give.
Euron takes hold of Kinvara and propels her to the side of the ship. Kinvara’s eyes widen with fear as he pulls out his dagger. Euron winks at Yara, than slices Kinvara’s throat and pushes her into the ocean.
YARA GREYJOY
Is that supposed to frighten me? I’ve killed a hundred men in worse ways than that.
EURON GREYJOY
(mock surprised)
A hundred men you say! The Drowned God must fear the very ocean you sail on.
YARA GREYJOY
I will meet the Drowned God knowing that I am more of the Iron Islands than you will ever be.
EURON GREYJOY
Hang the Iron Islands. I am to marry the queen. Do you understand what that will make me?
YARA GREYJOY
As dead as the woman you just pushed overboard. Cersei would never let you live.
Euron whispers in Yara’s ear.
EURON GREYJOY
Nor I her. Once there’s a crown on my head and my cock in her cunt, there will be no more reason for her. She will have a tragic accident.
YARA GREYJOY
And what reason is there for me? I can’t make you a king. Do you plan to push me overboard too?
EURON GREYJOY
Oh, no. Not yet. And you’re wrong. You will make me a king. You’re from the royal family of the Iron Islands. Your blood is precious.
Euron pulls a small bundle of meat and cheese from his pocket and pushes it into Yara’s mouth.
EURON GREYJOY (CONT’D)
Eat up. Can’t have you losing that pretty figure, now can we?
He walks along the deck, whistling “The Rains Of Castamere.” In the waters below, something ENORMOUS and FAST pulls Kinvara’s body beneath the waves.
EXT. WINTERFELL – GODSWOOD – DAY
Bran sits in his chair next to the weirwood tree, waiting. The leaves whisper in the wind. The sound of footsteps crunching in the snow punctures the stillness.
Jon and Sam appear, their breath lingering in the cold. Sam sits on the bench. Jon remains standing, looking up at the weirwood tree.
JON SNOW
I took my vows under a tree like this.
BRAN STARK
With Samwell Tarly. I know.
JON SNOW
I keep hearing that you know things. But I don’t understand how you know.
SAMWELL TARLY
I told you. He’s the Three-eyed Raven.
JON SNOW
(joking)
You only look like you have got two eyes to me.
BRAN STARK
They said ‘For the Watch.’ When they stabbed you.
(beat)
Thorne never liked you.
(MORE)
BRAN STARK (CONT’D)
But the others? They loved you. And you loved them.
JON SNOW
How do you know that?
BRAN STARK
You need to understand. The things I see, the things I know, they’re real. And you need to know.
JON SNOW
Bran, what happened to you beyond the Wall…I couldn’t protect you.
BRAN STARK
You know nothing, Jon Snow.
JON SNOW
Do not say that.
Jon turns away.
SAMWELL TARLY
Jon. Please. It’s important.
Something in Sam’s voice makes Jon turn back.
BRAN STARK
I know you’ve always wondered. Who your parents were.
JON SNOW
Are you saying you know who my mother was?
BRAN STARK
Yes.
JON SNOW
Tell me.
BRAN STARK
You and I are related. But we’re not brothers. Not even half-brothers. We never were.
JON SNOW
Of course we are.
BRAN STARK
No. Your father wasn’t a Stark. Your mother was.
JON SNOW
My mother…?
SAMWELL TARLY
Lyanna. Your aunt. She gave birth to you in a tower in Dorne.
JON SNOW
No.
BRAN STARK
Rhaegar Targaryen was your father.
Jon pales.
JON SNOW
The Mad King’s son? The man who stole Lyanna and raped her, and left her to die?
SAMWELL TARLY
It wasn’t like that. Jon, they were married. They were in love.
JON SNOW
That’s not possible.
BRAN STARK
It’s true.
JON SNOW
(standing)
No! I’m Jon Snow, son of Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. I don’t care what powers you say you have. That is who I am. Your brother.
BRAN STARK
You are Aegon Targaryen. The trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, and the true heir to the Iron Throne.
JON SNOW
How did I get here, then? Why would my father –- your father –- why would he raise me as a bastard and not tell me of my true parentage?
SAMWELL TARLY
He was protecting you, Jon. You’d have done the same.
Jon stares at the face on the weirwood tree, pondering his past, his future, his present.
INT. WINTERFELL – CRYPTS – DAY
Torchlight flickers over the statue of Ned Stark, throwing his carved face into relief. Jon stands before Ned’s tomb, speaking to the stone as though Ned himself were standing in front of him.
JON SNOW
I never wanted anything more than to be your son. To be true born. Eat at your table. Carry your name.
There’s a pause, as though he’s waiting for Ned to answer. But of course, there is no answer.
JON SNOW (CONT’D)
You told me next time I saw you, you’d tell me about my mother. Were you going to tell me the truth? Or would I have lived and died without knowing?
Footsteps echo in the crypt. Sansa appears, her red hair and pale skin gleaming in the torchlight.
SANSA STARK
Bran just told me.
Jon gestures at Eddard’s tomb.
JON SNOW
I have so many questions for him, and I will never have the answers.
SANSA STARK
Look at me. You are the heir to the Iron Throne. You cannot run from this.
JON SNOW
I don’t want the Iron Throne! I just want to be a Stark, to be part of this family.
(beat)
I don’t even know what to call myself.
SANSA STARK
Call yourself what you want. Names change.
(MORE)
SANSA STARK (CONT’D)
I’ve been called Lannister, Bolton, traitor, whore. What does it matter what your name is?
JON SNOW
It matters! All I’ve ever wanted is to have your name.
SANSA STARK
You have us. Me, and Arya, and Bran. You are father’s child as surely as any of us.
JON SNOW
How can you say that when you know what I am?
SANSA STARK
Because I see him in your eyes. I hear him in your words.
JON SNOW
How can I be a dragon in the North or a wolf in the South?
SANSA STARK
It’s what you are. How can you be anything else?
JON SNOW
I’ve already pledged my word that Daenerys will sit on the Iron Throne.
SANSA STARK
You know the truth now. That is more important than your promises.
JON SNOW
I’ll not break my vow.
SANSA STARK
You’ve pledged yourself to Daenerys. There’s no reason she can’t pledge herself to you.
JON SNOW
Honor demands–- (that I keep my vow.)
SANSA STARK
Father was ruled by honor, and I watched his head fall from his shoulders.
(MORE)
SANSA STARK (CONT’D)
There is no honor in forfeiting your claim because you’re too stubborn to do what’s right for your people.
(beat)
The King in the North is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Do you not understand what that means for everyone who looks to you?
JON SNOW
They’ll flay me alive when they find out I’m half Targaryen.
SANSA STARK
They’re scared. They want to know you won’t abandon them. That you’ll protect them.
JON SNOW
You told me yourself that no one can protect anyone.
SANSA STARK
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Targaryen or not, they’re still your people. Be their king. Tell them what they need to hear.
Sansa gazes up into Ned’s stone face.
SANSA STARK (CONT’D)
It’s what father would have done.
EXT. GODSWOOD – DAY
Daenerys trails through the snow, running her hands over the frost-caked trees. She’s never seen forests like this. She’s never felt the cold burn of snow.
She comes across Bran sitting by the weirwood tree and hesitates.
BRAN STARK
There’s no need to be afraid.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
I’m not afraid. May I join you?
Bran nods.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN (CONT’D)
Arya said you can see things. That you know unknowable things.
BRAN STARK
Your dragon.
Daenerys sits on the bench.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Can you see him?
BRAN STARK
Yes.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Where is he?
BRAN STARK
A hundred leagues north. Not far.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Is he hurt? Can he feel pain?
BRAN STARK
I do not know. Can the dead feel?
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
How do I save him?
BRAN STARK
A white walker cannot be saved. Only destroyed.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
A dragon is not a slave. Viserion is still in there.
BRAN STARK
He’s not your Viserion anymore.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
I can feel him calling to me. I will find a way to win him back.
BRAN STARK
Not until the sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
Daenerys is startled by his words.
BRAN STARK (CONT’D)
Why are you really here?
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
You know why I’m here. To save my dragon. To save the North. To be queen of Westeros.
BRAN STARK
You know you will never sit on the Iron Throne.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
I know no such thing.
BRAN STARK
But you do. Have you forgotten what you saw in the House of the Undying?
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
(to herself)
The throne. Covered in snow.
BRAN STARK
You did not touch the throne, nor sit upon it. You turned away.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
It was only a dream. Less than a dream; a moment of madness.
BRAN STARK
There can be truth in dreams and madness.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Can you see into the future? Can you tell me true that I will never rule?
Bran looks up at the weirwood and its blood red leaves.
BRAN STARK
The future branches. There are many possibilites.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Then I will rule, because I must. I made a promise to bring change to Westeros. I will not rest until it comes to pass.
Bran regards her sadly, this woman who cares so much, yet knows so little and refuses to accept his counsel.
BRAN STARK
You should speak to Jon. He’s waiting for you, on the wall.
Bran turns back to the weirwood. After a moment, Daenerys stands.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Someone once told me that I couldn’t have children.
BRAN STARK
The witch. Mirri Maz Duur.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Is it true?
BRAN STARK
It’s a prophecy. Prophecies surround you.
Daenerys nods and leaves Bran sitting alone beneath the weirwood tree.
END OF ACT THREE