Dany balances justice and mercy; Jaime tasks Brienne with his honor; Jon readies his men.[5]
Synopsis
In Meereen
Daenerys has 163 of the Great Masters crucified.
Missandei teaches Grey Worm how to speak the Common Tongue, where he reveals that all he remembers since his castration is that he was born in the Summer Isles. Missandei also reveals that she can remember that she saw Naath burning, as she was taken as a slave for Slaver's Bay. Daenerys commands him and several Unsullied to infiltrate Meereen disguised as slaves and convince the slaves to rise against their masters. They visit a slave pen, where a number of slaves are discussing whether or not to rise against the Great Masters. One of the young slaves is already trying to convince his fellow men in chains to fight, but the older slaves argue they have no means to oppose their Masters, who have squashed every previous slave rebellion. Grey Worm arrives and tells them that only they can free themselves, then presents them with weapons. The uprising is a resounding success. With the city hers, Dany orders the crucifixion of 163 of the so-called "Great Masters" in retaliation for the 163 slave children crucified on the road to Meereen. Ser Barristan advises her against it, saying that sometimes it is best to answer injustice with mercy. Daenerys shows her Targaryen blood by firmly declaring that she will "answer injustice with justice." The cries of the crucified Great Masters reach Dany's ears atop the Great Pyramid of Meereen, where the city's emblem, the golden harpy of Ghis, has been draped in the banner of House Targaryen. Now, she has conquered all three of the cities on Slaver's Bay.
At the Wall
Jon Snow and Grenn are teaching several recruits, including Locke and Olly, how to fight against wildlings. Alliser Thorne admonishes Jon and reminds him that he is a steward, not a ranger, trying to provoke Jon for an excuse to have him killed. Jon leaves the yard and talks with Locke, who pretends he is from the Stormlands and genuinely wants to protect the realm. Janos Slynt points out to Thorne that while Jon is well liked, Thorne is not, and when MaesterAemon insists upon an election for a new Lord Commander, Jon is far more likely to succeed Mormont. Slynt convinces Thorne to allow Jon to deal with the mutineers, in the hope that they will remove him from the problem. Meanwhile, Samwell Tarly is fretting about Gilly's safety in Mole's Town with the wildlings loose. Jon sympathizes, telling Sam he knows how hard it is. He confides that ever since Sam told him that his younger brother Bran Stark was alive and going beyond the Wall, he has wanted to go and find him. Sam explains he really tried to bring Bran back with him but Bran was determined to go beyond the Wall. When Sam and Jon think that Bran must have found shelter at Craster's Keep, they are interrupted by Locke. Locke brings Jon to Thorne, who sanctions his mission to Craster's Keep but tells Jon that he must secure volunteers rather than have men ordered along with him. Jon gives an impassioned speech, insisting that not only must the mutineers be dealt with for Castle Black's safety, but Lord Commander Mormont deserves justice. Much to Thorne and Slynt's surprise, Grenn, Eddison Tollett and a group of other men join Jon on his mission, including Locke who asks to say his vows if that is required before he goes north of the Wall.
In King's Landing
During their sword training, Bronn implores Jaime to visit his brother Tyrion in the dungeon, saying that Tyrion named Jaime his champion in the Eyrie because he knew Jaime would ride day and night to fight for him. Jaime finally visits Tyrion, confessing that Cersei asked him to murder him. Convincing Jaime that he didn't kill Joffrey, Tyrion notes that not even irrefutable evidence and a confession by the real perpetrator would satisfy Cersei. She is out for Tyrion's blood, and he says that the trial is even worse because at least one judge has always wanted him dead. Jaime tells Tyrion that Cersei offers a knighthood to whoever captures Sansa Stark. Tyrion insists that Sansa had nothing to do with the murder, despite having the best motive. Later, Jaime visits Cersei, who is disgusted that, in her view, Jaime is taking Tyrion's side because of his long-held affection for their brother.
Meanwhile, Lady Olenna tells Margaery that she is about to leave for Highgarden. She mentions the new and prospective marriage between Margaery and the new king, Tommen. She insists that Cersei will turn Tommen against Margaery by the time they marry if Margaery doesn't act fast. Fortunately, Cersei is well distracted by accusing her innocent brother of the murder of her son. Margaery insists that Olenna cannot be certain of Tyrion's innocence, but Olenna states that Tyrion certainly is innocent and confesses that she would never have let Margaery marry "that beast." Margaery is shocked but her grandmother firmly ends the conversation. That night, Margaery enters Tommen's chambers, slipping past the Kingsguard and charming Tommen. She puts in his mind the idea that one day she will be his and they might as well learn to like each other. She compliments him on his cat and kind demeanor. She promises to visit again and Tommen falls asleep smiling.
Jaime sends Brienne on Catelyn's mission.
In the chambers of the Kingsguard, Jaime tasks Brienne with finding Sansa. He urges her to find and keep the girl safe from those who would hand her over to Cersei and provides her with a horse, supplies, and a freshly forged suit of armor. Jaime then gifts her with the sword his father gave him, saying that its Valyrian steel is forged from Ned Stark's sword, and thus should be used to defend Ned Stark's daughters. He also insists she take Podrick Payne with her as a squire, both as a reward for the boy's service to Tyrion and to keep him safe from those who would seek to use him against his former master. Before departing, Brienne names the sword "Oathkeeper" and vows to find Sansa, for the sake of Jaime and Lady Catelyn.
On the Narrow Sea
Sansa accuses Petyr Baelish of having Joffrey Baratheon murdered. At first, Baelish evades the accusation, pointing out that he has been away for weeks and that Tyrion could be the perpetrator. Sansa defends Tyrion, with an innate certainty that he is innocent, and also concludes that Baelish is far too smart to trust a drunk like Ser Dontos to be his accomplice. Impressed with her instincts, Baelish admits that Tyrion is, in fact, innocent, and reveals Sansa's own part in Joffrey's death - Ser Dontos's necklace was the murder weapon, and someone slipped a stone (which was poisonous) into Joffrey's wine. Sansa is bewildered, because the Lannisters have done so much for Baelish, including granting him the seat of Harrenhal. Baelish confesses that while his friendship with the Lannisters was fruitful, it is best to keep enemies confused and his absence from the wedding means that he will never be suspected. Sansa declares that she doesn't entirely believe him: he's too clever to poison a king just to cause confusion. Baelish is again impressed, and confirms that Joffrey was simply too volatile; a king like him as an ally was more a hindrance than a benefit. More importantly, though, Joffrey's death was something that his "new friends" wanted very much, and a gift is always helpful to help a new friendship "grow strong."
Beyond the Wall
At Craster's Keep, the mutinous deserters are still entrenched there, indulging themselves on the food stored there and raping Craster's wives. Karl Tanner drinks wine from the skull of Jeor Mormont, drunkenly bragging about himself and his skill as a hired killer back in King's Landing before ordering Rast to "feed the beast." At the same time, one of Craster's wives enters with Craster's last son, insisting the infant must be given as a 'gift to the gods. At Karl's orders, Rast leaves the infant on a patch of open ground, then deals with the beast - Ghost, who the mutineers have caged, and whom Rast taunts by withholding food and water from the direwolf. Suddenly, a snowstorm whips up and the temperature drops, causing the water Rast was taunting Ghost with to freeze. Recognizing the approach of White Walkers, Rast flees.
Bran being held as a prisoner at Craster's Keep.
Nearby, Bran Stark and his companions hear the child's cries. Warging into Summer, Bran goes to investigate, but Summer falls into a trap just outside Craster's Keep. Meera Reed, sensing danger, urges them to move on, but Bran insists on trying to free Ghost and Summer; before they can, however, they are taken prisoner by the mutineers. Some of the deserters amuse themselves by tormenting Hodor, while the others are taken to Karl. Karl asks who they are and answers their silence by threatening to kill Meera and Jojen. Jojen is suddenly overcome by a seizure and falls to the floor while Meera begs to be let go so she can help him. Karl does so when Bran reveals his true identity.
In the Land of Always Winter
The White Walker takes Craster's last son to the Land of Always Winter, riding an undead wight-horse.
Somewhere in the northernmost reaches of the world, a lone White Walker rides its undead horse towards a shattered mountain, cradling Craster's last son in its arm. When it reaches the mountain, the White Walker strides up a large ring of icicle columns, dismounts and places the child on an ice altar in center. On the other side, a line of dark-garbed White Walkers watch the proceedings. After a moment, one of them strolls forth and carefully picks up the wailing child, who swiftly calms. The White Walker presses the nail of its index finger into the baby's cheek. The sound of cracking ice can be heard as the child's eyes turn a depthless, icy blue.
Jon Snow: "If the Night's Watch is truly brothers, then Lord Commander Mormont was our father. He lived and died for the Watch and he was betrayed by his own men, stabbed in the back by cowards. He deserved far better. All we can give him now is justice. Who will join me?"
Behind the scenes
The name of the episode comes from Oathkeeper, the name Brienne gives to the first Valyrian steel sword made from Ice.
Despite appearing in the title sequence, Winterfell, and the Dreadfort do not appear in the episode itself. Their associated storylines via Bran's and Locke's respective arcs do appear, however.
Joffrey's assassins are revealed: Olenna Tyrell plotted together with Petyr Baelish to poison him during the royal wedding. The poison was smuggled into the ceremony in the form of fake crystals in the necklace that Dontos gave to Sansa - which as Baelish revealed last episode, were not actual jewels, but could be crushed into a fine powder and would dissolve in wine. If you pay close attention during the wedding scene, Olenna fiddles with Sansa's necklace when she speaks to her, and afterwards one of the crystals is missing from it (as she passes Joffrey's wine goblet, what sounds like the crystal dropping into it can also be heard). Ironically, as Olenna was retrieving the poison crystal, she was remarking on the Red Wedding which Joffrey's family engineered, and noting with mock horror how horrid the idea of killing a man at a wedding was.
Between Season 3 and Season 4, Comedy Central's South Park aired a three-part storyline parodying Game of Thrones, the "Black Friday" trilogy. All of the boys are avid Game of Thrones fans, but as the Christmas shopping season starts up they split into two rival factions over the next round of video game "console wars," between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Soon every boy in school, cosplaying as Game of Thrones characters, start fighting each other and hatching various devious plots to win against the other side - to the point that some of them even visit George R.R. Martin at his home to ask how Game of Thrones would win their conflict. A running joke throughout "Black Friday" is satirizing how characters in Game of Thrones frequently discuss political intrigue while walking through the castle gardens in King's Landing (as Cartman keeps discussing political backstabbing while trespassing in a neighbor's extensive gardens). In the Season 4 Blu-ray commentary, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss revealed that they saw the South Park parody, and in response, consciously stopped having characters do this quite as frequently. The TV series even references the joke in "Oathkeeper," when Olenna Tyrell is getting ready to leave King's Landing while walking with Margaery in the gardens, which she notes has become tedious, saying: "If I have to take one more leisurely stroll through these gardens, I'll fling myself from the cliffs." [6]
In an interview with the Game of Owns podcast two weeks after "Oathkeeper" aired, writer Bryan Cogman answered several questions:[7]
Cogman stated that Tommen was recast in Season 4 because when Tommen becomes the new king, a heavier acting load would fall on the character so they wanted a more experienced actor. He also confirmed that they did not cast Dean-Charles Chapman as Tommen's first cousin Martyn Lannister in Season 3 to somehow set him up as the new, older Tommen (Martyn and Tommen are related, so logically, an older Tommen might resemble his older cousin). Rather, Chapman was cast simply to play Martyn in Season 3, and after Martyn was killed, Chapman thought his time working on the TV series was over. Chapman was only called back to the TV series after the production team had decided to recast Tommen in Season 4 (it isn't clear if he had to audition or was hand-picked).
Season 4 follows what the Night's Watch mutineers were doing even after the Mutiny at Craster's Keep, when their fate is only briefly alluded to in the books. The writers were actually discussing back in Season 3 that they wanted to eventually follow up on these characters. This is why they cast a bigger, more experienced actor such as Burn Gorman to play Karl Tanner (who personally killed Craster) because they wanted to return and expand on the character in Season 4 (in the books, Craster and Mormont are killed by fairly minor characters, but Season 4 builds up that Karl was a dangerous hired assassin in Flea Bottom).
The on-set camera directors got a bit carried away with showing the subjugation of Craster's wives by the mutineers, which they actually toned down in the editing room from what they originally filmed. They filmed a long establishing shot of the full horror of what was going on at Craster's Keep, before Karl starts monologuing. They decided that it was gratuitous even by their standards and didn't really serve the plot.
In the Blu-ray commentary, it is explained that the only part cut was a longer tracking shot of a mutineer entering the kitchen, then drunkenly vomiting over the food that Craster's wives are preparing. As for the overall scenes of the mutineers brutalizing Craster's wives, professional porn actresses were hired for the shots, and the commentary says that the overall look they were attempting was "a nightmarish cross between a Gustave Doré etching, a Bruegel painting, and a work by Heironymus Bosch."[8]
The extended rape montage at Craster's Keep was actually the opening scene of the episode in the original draft, but they quickly realized it didn't work (then cut most of it out, and pushed the rest to the end of the episode). First, it was too dark and grim to open with. Second, they realized it was odd to open with a scene that doesn't include any characters the audience knows very well.
In an interview with MakingGameOfThrones.com, Cogman made several more statements about the episode:[9]
Speaking of the sequence showing the Night's Watch mutineers who have taken over Craster's Keep and who are brutalizing Craster's remaining wives, Cogman said "That sequence to this day was the hardest to write for the show." It was implied to happen "off screen" in the books after Sam and Gilly fled, but it wasn't shown in the narrative, so he struggled with how much of this very dark sequence to actually show in the TV series.
As for why they wanted to include the sequence, one of the reasons was, "We've paid a lot of lip service to idea that Night’s Watch is made up of shady characters, rapists and thieves, but we never saw much of that. The mutiny was the beginning. This is the worst of the worst finally free of the shackles of society." Logically, the mutineers who actually turned on Mormont were the absolute lowliest dregs of the Night's Watch, hardened criminals (rapists like Rast and murderers like Karl) who rejected any societal limits and who lived to brutalize and take advantage of other people.
Of the other character dynamics going on at Craster's Keep, Cogman said: "The original idea behind Morag was that she was the first of the daughters who became Craster's wife. So she's the prime wife, if you will, and the matriarchal figure for these women. She knows she can't fight these mutineers and knows that without them, the White Walkers could destroy the wives. So there's a lot going on. And then you throw in Bran and Hodor, two of the most endearing characters. To have to write a scene where Hodor gets bear-baited and beat up was just miserable. But the idea was to put Bran, Hodor, Jojen and Meera into a really dangerous situation beyond the Wall that didn't involve the supernatural, but rather humanity at its worst.
Cogman envisioned Ser Pounce in the script as a kitten (as he is in the books), but they cast a huge "sumo wrestler cat," and he was "a nightmare" to work with. As he also explained in the Game of Owns podcast, the cat wouldn't jump on the bed, and it was scared of the many lit candles in the set. Natalie Dormer (Margaery) found it very annoying to work with the cat. In Cogman's own words, "This is probably the last time you'll see Ser Pounce because filming with a cat is a nightmare. Natalie Dormer (Margaery) wanted to kill me. But the cat is in it because he serves a purpose: You immediately see that Tommen is not Joffrey. Tommen is a sweet boy with a cat named Ser Pounce, and who has found himself in incredible circumstances. He is going to be king and he is going to marry this woman. The innocence of Tommen is fun to play with because there isn't a lot of innocence in this world."
Cogman said, "I love the Olenna-Margaery dynamic. When Diana [Rigg] joined the cast, I remember looking at an old publicity shot for 'The Avengers' (the 1960s spy show) I thought, she's the Natalie Dormer of her era. In our version of the story, Olenna was Margaery in her day and Margaery will be one day be Olenna. It was a scene not unlike Sansa and Littlefinger's, so it's two tutor-protégé scenes back to back. Olenna is illustrating to Margaery what she has to do next through a personal story. That was based on a nugget that [author] George [R. R. Martin] has in the book; Olenna, in an entirely different scene says: 'Oh, I was engaged to a Targaryen once, but I got out of it.' The Dany storyline can seem so far removed, so whenever you can thread in that the Targaryens were the family once in power, the better."
Tommen is obviously now sleeping in Joffrey's old bedchamber: the boar's head Joffrey shot with an arrow is seen on the wall. Cogman said, "David and Dan thought of that. They've moved Tommen into Joffrey's room and the remnants of this monstrous person are still there. A big part of the show is the impact of these characters. A lot of people die, but their impact is felt long after. Ned Stark's spirit looms large over the whole story, and it's absolutely the same with Joffrey's."
Cogman notes that Margaery's scene with Tommen is a sequel of sorts to her prior scenes with her past political betrothals: her averted sex scene with Renly in Season 2's "What Is Dead May Never Die," and her scene with Joffrey in Season 3's "Dark Wings, Dark Words." In each scene, she is assessing her new betrothed, and particularly in the cases of Joffrey and Tommen, explores around in the conversation until she finds what points she can manipulate them on. She had to figure out that Joffrey didn't react to sexual advances but got excited by sadistic violence, while Tommen is simply too young and innocent to react to either of those things, but is fond of his cat.
It was actually Benioff and Weiss's idea that Daenerys would inspire the slaves in Meereen to rise up and free themselves, led by Grey Worm, instead of her freeing them directly. In the books, when Daenerys takes Meereen she has Jorah and Barristan sneak in through the sewers to release the city's slaves, so they can attack from within to distract the defenders while her main army storms the gates from outside. Elements of this were moved to how Daenerys captured Yunkai in the TV series. The book version still essentially involved Jorah and Barristan (two Westerosi men) sneaking in to release the slaves, but they felt it would make more dramatic sense for the slaves to be inspired by Daenerys's arrival in the season premiere, and then have Grey Worm be the one to sneak in and free them - because he was himself a slave. This fits with the line Grey Worm has in the episode that no one can give the slaves their freedom, they must take it for themselves.
Olenna Tyrell's story that she was once betrothed to a Targaryen in her youth is based on information in the novels, when she mentions that she was originally supposed to marry a Targaryen but struggled as hard as she could to avoid the match. The identity of the Targaryen she was betrothed to was revealed in the current books - but was revealed in the World of Ice and Fire sourcebook which was released a few months after Season 4 ended. In the book continuity, Olenna was supposed to marry King Aegon V Targaryen's younger son Daeron, the younger brother of King Jaehaerys II. Daeron was thus the nephew of Maester Aemon. Given that the TV series officially removed Jaehaerys II, to make Aegon V the father of the Mad King Aerys II instead of his grandfather, it isn't clear if Daeron still exists in the TV continuity, or if that entire generation of House Targaryen has been simply omitted. Nor does Olenna have a sister named Viola - Luthor Tyrell was supposed to marry Daeron's sister, not her sister. For that matter, Daeron Targaryen didn't want to be in the match either, as he was secretly a homosexual.
Regarding Margaery Tyrell's scene with Tommen, his exact age hasn't been clearly established in the TV series. In the books, a little under two years pass between the beginning of the narrative and Joffrey's death; Tommen is 7 years old at the beginning of the narrative but 8 years old when Joffrey dies (apparently soon to turn 9 years old). The TV series aged-up most of the child characters by two years, though this isn't true for all of them. Joffrey's age was increased by four years, not two, so he is about 16 in Season 1 instead of 12 as in the first novel. Time moves more slowly in the TV series so one TV season equals roughly one year, meaning that by Season 4 three years have passed since the beginning of the narrative, making Joffrey 19 when he died. If Tommen was aged-up by the same two year increment that other child characters like Arya and Sansa were, then he should be about 12 years old in Season 4. Given that Joffrey was Cersei's first child and Tommen her third, it would be impossible for Tommen to be more than 17 years old. Actor Dean-Charles Chapman turned 16 during filming on Season 4, but this doesn't necessarily reflect the age of the character he is portraying. Tommen is therefore far too young in the books for Margaery to attempt to "seduce" him physically, but instead she tries to "seduce" his friendship by being kind to him as Cersei is not. Tommen is some years older in the TV version, but either way, TV-Margaery quickly realizes that he is too young to make physically seducing him effective, so she starts emotionally seducing him as she did in the books.
The Grey Worm/Missandei scenes in this episode are actually the first in the entire series to include only non-white characters, or to focus on People of Color characters. This includes Dothraki and Dornishmen (though more Dornish characters will appear in Season 5).
This is in-part simply due to the structure of the books, which are told from subjective third person Point of View (such as "Bran" chapters from Bran Stark's POV, or "Tyrion" chapters from Tyrion's POV). All of the chapters in Essos up to this point were narrated from Daenerys's POV, so while many of the non-white characters in the books appear in her storyline, these scenes are all presented from her perspective. The TV series has more freedom to show what characters in Daenerys's storyline were doing "off screen" when she isn't around, from their own perspectives. Any scenes involving the Dothraki in Seasons 1 and 2 had either Daenerys, Viserys, or Jorah present as the narrative focus/POV narrator of sorts. Salladhor Saan was changed to be black in the TV series, but he has always appeared in scenes alongside Davos Seaworth (who is another POV narrator in the books). Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand were introduced in Season 4, but they actually have no scenes entirely alone (unless one counts the brothel scenes in which there are white prostitutes, but Oberyn and Ellaria are the only major, named characters). Several Dornish characters do later become POV narrators, but only starting in the material which will be adapted as Season 5.
Missandei identifies for the first time in dialogue that she is from the island of Naath, and was taken from there by slavers as a child. Naath is off the coast of Sothoryos, the third continent in the known world besides Westeros and Essos. It is loosely analogous to real-life Africa. Grey Worm also states that he was taken as a baby from the Summer Isles (a large island group west of Naath and mainland Sothoryos). The books never established Grey Worm's geographic or ethnic origin - though it is entirely plausible that he is from the Summer Isles.
Daenerys apparently wanted Missandei to teach Grey Worm how to speak the Common Tongue of Westeros so he can function as a more effective army commander when she eventually invades the Seven Kingdoms. In the books, Kraznys actually stated that the Unsullied are trained to be able to pick up new languages fairly quickly, so they can better serve their new masters - if Qohor purchases a contingent of Unsullied, they are expected to learn Qohorik Low Valyrian in a short amount of time. At certain points in Season 3, Grey Worm seemed to acknowledge comments made by Daenerys and Jorah in the Common Tongue (English). This was therefore not an inconsistency: the books outright state that an Unsullied such as Grey Worm is trained to quickly learn how to speak new languages, at least on a basic level. Grey Worm's continued lessons with Missandei are to give him a more advanced command of the language.
For the shot when Grey Worm and his Unsullied infiltrate Meereen by wading through a sewer line, the actors actually wore wet suits underneath their costumes because the water was freezing.[10]
Props master Gordon Fitzgerald explained that for the prop of Jeor Mormont's skull that Karl is using as a cup, instead of just using a generic prop skull, his team went an extra step and used pictures of the actor's jaw and teeth for reference, then remodeled a prop skull to match them.[11]
The image of the White Walker reflecting off of the ice is one of the images that Bran saw in his vision in "The Lion and the Rose."
"Kill the Masters" graffiti in Meereen, incongruously written in the Common Tongue of Westeros.
It is odd that the "Kill the Masters" graffiti in Meereen is written in the Common Tongue of Westeros (English) - given that in Slaver's Bay, the population speaks Low Valyrian. Linguist David J. Peterson, who developed the Valyrian languages in the TV show, pointed this out when he was shown the script. Asked if he had any questions, the message he sent to the writers was: "There's a scene where we see 'Kill the masters' graffitied on the wall. Fans of the books will be expecting to see this in Valyrian glyphs as opposed to English characters, but thus far we haven't discussed creating a writing system for Valyrian. This is something I'm able and willing to do (I created the writing systems used throughout Defiance), and can do if D&D are interested." The producers apparently wanted the viewers to be able to read the graffiti.[12]
In the novels, the Low Valyrian languages in the Free Cities and Slaver's Bay do not use the same writing system as the Common Tongue of Westeros. Instead, the Valyrian writing system is said to be based on glyphs. In the TV series, the glyph system wasn't developed, characters writing in Valyrian languages have simply written using Common Tongue (English) letters - apparently so the audience can at least sound it out. This was first seen in Season 3's "The Bear and the Maiden Fair," when Talisa is writing a letter in Valyrian.
The scene at the end of the episode, which confirms the long-held speculation that Craster's sons are taken to be turned into White Walkers, is original and does not appear in the novels. The idea is mentioned, however: Craster's wives suspect that the babies that Craster gave the White Walkers as sacrifice were turned into new Others - but it wasn't clear if this is what actually happens, or if it was just the wild suspicion of Craster's frightened, isolated wives. Confirmation of this has not occurred in the books yet.
The mysterious "senior" White Walker in this scene was first identified in the Game of Thrones Viewer's Guide as the infamous "Night's King". However the HBO synopsis mentioning this was later retracted, making it unclear if that was intended to be the character's (spoiled) real identity or just an error. The producers later refer to the character as the Night King in the Inside the Episode for "Hardhome".
Jon quipping to Locke that he should have gone easier on the other recruit is a callback to season one's "Lord Snow", in which Jon briefly became unpopular with the other recruits because of his superior martial skills and aloof manner.
Jaime makes it sound to Cersei as if his promise to Catelyn to return her daughters to her ("The Bear and the Maiden Fair") was false, and he swore that only so she would set him free. It is unclear whether he actually never meant to keep his promise, or just said that in order to appease Cersei: on one hand, in "Two Swords" he had a chance to help Sansa escape, but when Brienne talked with him about that - he refused to fulfil his promise. On the other hand, in this episode he arms Brienne with a fine sword and sends her to find Sansa, so she can fulfil her oath to Catelyn ("Dark Wings, Dark Words").
Chapter 61, Sansa V: aboard the ship, Littlefinger admits to killing Joffrey. When Sansa asks him why he should wish Joffrey dead, considering the Lannisters gave him wealth and power, he replies that he has no motive and that one should always keep one's enemies confused.
Chapter 72, Jaime IX: Jaime sends Brienne on a mission to find Sansa Stark, and presents her with his Valyrian steel sword, which he names Oathkeeper.
Chapter 77, Tyrion XI: Jaime visits Tyrion at his cell and asks if he killed Joffrey.
The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Feast for Crows
Chapter 9, Brienne II: Brienne meets Pod, who decides to accompany her on her mission.
Chapter 14, Brienne III: Podrick mistakenly calls Brienne "Ser" instead of "My Lady", causing Brienne to have a bad first impression of Podrick.
Chapter 27, Jaime III: Jaime continues training with a discrete sword partner, hoping to improve his left-handed swordsmanship without people finding out.
The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Dance with Dragons:
↑In "Winter Is Coming," which takes place in 298 AC, Sansa Stark tells Cersei Lannister that she is 13 years old and Bran Stark tells Jaime Lannister that he is 10 years old. Arya Stark was born between Sansa and Bran, making her either 11 or 12 in Season 1. The rest of the Stark children have been aged up by 2 years from their book ages, so it can be assumed that she is 11 in Season 1. Arya is 18 in Season 8 according to HBO, which means at least 7 years occur in the span of the series; therefore, each season of Game of Thrones must roughly correspond to a year in-universe, placing the events of Season 4 in 301 AC.
