Kissed by Fire

Written by Bryan Cogman
Directed by Alex Graves

In the Brotherhood Without Banners' hideout, the Hound's trial begins. Thoros of Myr slices Lord Beric Dondarrion's outstretched hand, using the blood to ignite Beric's sword. Arya Stark is thrilled to see Beric's flaming blade gives him an advantage, until the Hound crashes his sword down on his opponent. Thoros begins to pray over his brother's dead body while Arya rushes at the Hound yelling, "Burn in hell!" "He will... but not today," answers Beric, miraculously alive. After the fight, the Brotherhood seizes the Hound's gold but sets him free. Beric silences Arya's protests, declaring the Hound innocent in God's eyes.

At the wildling camp, Orell and Tormund prod Jon Snow for information about the Night's Watch's patrol of the Wall. Because Jon's response is guarded, Orell accuses him of lying. Ygritte comes to Jon's defense, pulling her knife on the man. Tormund breaks up the dispute but informs Jon he will kill him if it turns out he lied. Out of earshot, Jon tells Ygritte he doesn't need her protection. She reminds him he does and lures him into a cave. Now secluded, Ygritte tells Jon to prove his loyalty by breaking his vow of celibacy. He relents and the two consummate their relationship.

Tyrion Lannister voices his concern about the expense of the royal wedding to Lady Olenna Tyrell. Although disappointed that Tyrion isn't nearly as debauched as his reputation suggested, Lady Olenna agrees to foot half the bill. In a different part of the castle, Cersei approaches Littlefinger with a specific request: Find out if the Tyrells have the crown's best interests at heart.

Lady Margaery and Sansa Stark watch as Ser Loras Tyrell trains with a man-at-arms. Margaery assures the smitten Sansa she can persuade Joffrey to consent to the union. After the squire tending to Loras suggests he "spar with a proper partner" the two fall into bed together. Loras reveals that he is engaged and the squire, a spy for Littlefinger, moves quickly to report this development. Littlefinger approaches Sansa with an offer to leave, but claiming concern for his safety, Sansa tells him she'd prefer to wait.

Robb Stark, along with Catelyn, Talisa, and Edmure Tully regard the corpses of young Willem and Martyn Lannister. Lord Rickard Karstark defends his actions, but Robb sentences Karstark's accomplices to hang. Robb's mother, wife and uncle plead with him to spare Karstark's life: Robb cannot win the war without him and his men. But the Young Wolf believes there's only one honorable course of action. The next morning he takes Karstark's head.

In the Brotherhood's hideout, Thoros informs Arya she's a hostage; they'll obtain her ransom from Robb at Riverrun. She pretends not to be frightened as Beric explains he died and was resurrected by the Lord of Light. He's been killed and brought back six times, though each time he returns as "a bit less." Arya laments her father couldn't cheat death this way.

Still bound, Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth arrive at Harrenhal. Locke presents the Kingslayer to Lord Roose Bolton, who toys with Jaime about Cersei's safety before sending him to the maester. Qyburn, who lost his chains for "bold" experimentation, advises amputating the full arm to protect from infection. Jaime refuses and forgoing milk of the poppy, screams while Qyburn cuts away the rotten flesh.

Arriving at the bathhouse, Jaime finds Brienne already in a tub. To her horror, he hops into the same one. After some teasing, he proposes a truce, claiming he trusts her. He makes good on this sentiment by telling her the story of how he got the name ‘Kingslayer.' After the Lannisters entered King's Landing and sacked the city, Aerys not only refused to surrender, he prepared his pyromancers to set the city on fire. Jaime was told to bring his father's head. Left with no choice, Jaime drove his sword into the Aerys' back and climbed atop the Iron Throne. Ned Stark found him there and immediately judged him guilty; Jaime never told him the truth. Woozy and weak, the former knight struggles to stand in the bath. Brienne catches him and calls for help for the Kingslayer, but he corrects her: "My name is Jaime."

Arya finds Gendry repairing Beric's armor. Drawn to their atmosphere of equality and family, he's decided to stay with the Brotherhood. Arya is heartbroken.

While Selyse Baratheon prays to the Lord of Light, her husband, Stannis, enters her chamber. He confesses to his affair with his red priestess but is shocked to learn Selyse not only knew, she "wept with joy" when she learned of his "son." Her complicity fuels Stannis' guilt as the couple stands in the shadow of their stillborn baby boys, preserved in jars.

Selyse turns bitter when she realizes Stannis wants to see their daughter too. Shireen, who suffers from disfiguring greyscale, is pleased to see her father. When she inquires about Davos Seaworth, Stannis tells her of his treason. She ignores her father's order to forget her friend and sneaks down to Davos' prison cell with a book to keep him company. Learning that Davos cannot read, Shireen insists she will teach him how.

Daenerys Targaryen marches with her army of Unsullied. Jorah Mormont and Barristan Selmy follow, trading war stories. Jorah digs to see if Barristan knows how he betrayed Dany, but learns that the Lord Commander was not welcome at Small Council meetings. Dany asks her new army to choose their own leader; they select Grey Worm. Perturbed that the Unsullied are named after vermin, she encourages them to select new ones. The solider maintains ‘Grey Worm' is honorable because it's what he was called when Dany set him free.

Staring at a map of Westeros, Robb ponders his options without the Karstarks. At Talisa's mention of Winterfell, Robb realizes he needs to take Casterly Rock and catch the Lannisters unawares. Robb tells his wife that will mean turning to Walder Frey, the man whose daughter he was supposed to marry.

Tyrion enters Lord Tywin's chamber, surprised to find Cersei present. Tywin discloses that the Tyrells are conspiring to wed Sansa to Loras. He views this union as a betrayal against the crown and a strategic plot to control the North. Aware that the Tyrells' hands are tied until after the royal wedding, Tywin decrees they must act quickly; Tyrion will marry Sansa. Smug at her brother's predicament, Cersei is taken aback to learn her father's plan for her: She's to marry Loras Tyrell.