"Oathkeeper" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of Game of Thrones. It is the thirty-fourth episode of the series overall. It premiered on April 27, 2014. It was written by producer Bryan Cogman and directed by Michelle MacLaren.
Plot
Template:S04E04 Synopsis
Summary
Across the Narrow Sea
Missandei teaches Grey Worm how to speak the Common Tongue. Dany commands him and several Unsullied to infiltrate Meereen disguised as slaves and convince the slaves to rise against their masters, providing 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 Meereen's tallest pyramid, 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 in 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 Jon is well liked and Thorne is not, and when Maester Aemon 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, and it is revealed that Sam told Jon about Bran still being alive and north of the wall. Locke brings Jon to Thorne, who sanctions his mission 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.
At 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 an irrefutable 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 whomever 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, and compliments him on his cat and kind demeanour. She promises to visit again and Tommen falls asleep smiling.
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 armour. Jaime then gifts her with the sword his father gave him, saying that the Valarian steel is forged from Ned Stark's sword and that the steel from Ned Stark's sword 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.
En route to the Vale
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 mentions that Baelish is far too smart to trust a drunk with the scheme. Impressed with her instincts, Baelish admits that Tyrion is in fact innocent, and reveals Sansa's own part in Joffrey's death - Ser Dontos' necklace was in fact 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 Harrenhall. Baelish confesses that whilst 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 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. Recognising the approach of White Walkers, Rast flees.
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, who threatens to kill Meera and Jojen until Bran reveals his true identity.
In the Lands of Always Winter
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 places the baby upon an altar of ice at the center of a ring of large icicles. On the other side, a line of dark-garbed White Walkers watches the proceedings. After a moment, one of them strides 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.
Appearances
- Main: Oathkeeper/Appearances
First
- Ser Pounce
- Morag
- Craster's last son
- White Walker
- White Walkers' master
Deaths
- Great Master 1
Production
Cast
Cast notes
- 13 of 25 cast members for the fourth season appear in this episode.
- Starring cast members Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon), Conleth Hill (Varys), Kristofer Hivju (Tormund), Sibel Kekilli (Shae), Rose Leslie (Ygritte), Rory McCann (Sandor Clegane), Hannah Murray (Gilly), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Snow), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), and Carice van Houten (Melisandre) are not credited and do not appear in this episode.
Notes
- 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. What are technically their associated storylines (Bran's and Locke's, respectively) do appear, however.
- 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".
- 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 Others as sacrifice were turned into new Others. Confirmation of this has not occured in the books yet.
- The mysterious, "senior" White Walker in this scene was first identified in the HBO 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 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.
- 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.
In the books
- The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Storm of Swords:
- Chapter 57, Daenerys V: Daenerys sends her Unsullied through the sewers to conquer Meereen.
- Chapter 61, Sansa V: Littlefinger tells Sansa aboard the ship to always keep your foes confused.
- Chapter 72, Jaime IX: Jaime sends Brienne on a mission to find Sansa Stark.
- The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Dance with Dragons:
- Chapter 4, Bran I: Bran wargs into Summer and soon finds five dead bodies of Night's Watch brothers, who are presumed to be five of the Betrayers.
See: Differences between books and TV series - Season 4#Oathkeeper
Memorable quotes
Jaime Lannister - "It is the duty of the Lord Commander to fill those pages and there's still room left in mine."
Bronn - "You want to fight pretty or do you want to win?
Barristan Selmy - "Sometimes, it is better to answer injustice with mercy."
Daenerys Targaryen - "I will answer injustice with justice."
Image gallery
