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Second Sons

"Second Sons" is the eighth episode of the third season of HBO's fantasy drama television series . The episode was written by the showrunners and from a story outline by , and directed by . It is the twenty-eighth episode of the series overall and originally aired on May 19, 2013. In the episode, developments unfold across Westeros and Essos, including preparations for a in King's Landing, Stannis Baratheon's alliance-building at Dragonstone, Sam's journey beyond , and Daenerys Targaryen's negotiations with the sellsword company known as the Second Sons outside Yunkai. The title refers to the episode's exploration of themes involving younger siblings and disinherited figures, as well as the mercenary group encountered by Daenerys. The episode received positive reviews for its character-driven storytelling and earned 4.37 million U.S. viewers on its initial broadcast.)

Synopsis

Riverlands

In the Riverlands, , having escaped Harrenhal earlier in the season, travels as a reluctant captive of , known as . One night, while Clegane sleeps by a fire, Arya seizes a nearby rock and stands over him, intending to bludgeon him to death and strike his name from her personal list of enemies; this act underscores her vengeful disposition forged by loss and trauma. However, Clegane awakens, grabs her wrist, and challenges her to finish the deed, warning that failure would result in him breaking her hands, forcing Arya to drop the rock and highlighting his constant vigilance despite their fragile truce. As they ride toward the Twins, Clegane reveals his plan to Arya to her brother, , at the upcoming wedding there, motivated by the substantial reward to fund his own vendetta against his elder brother, . During their conversation, Clegane recounts Gregor's cruelty, noting how he once killed a man for , a detail that illustrates the deep-seated hatred stemming from childhood abuse, including the burning of Clegane's face, and emphasizes his desire for as a driving force. Arya, seated awkwardly in front of him on the horse, expresses ongoing contempt, viewing him as one of her tormentors, yet their exchanges reveal a pragmatic interdependence amid the war-torn landscape. This pairing embodies a tense dynamic of survival and reluctant alliance, where Arya's youthful ferocity clashes with Clegane's cynical pragmatism, forging an uneasy bond tested by mutual distrust and the perils of the road. Their interactions highlight themes of and in a world where personal vendettas intersect with broader conflicts, as Clegane protects Arya from greater threats while exploiting her value.

King's Landing

In King's Landing, the episode centers on the forced marriage of to , orchestrated by to secure Lannister claims to the North through Sansa's status as the last Stark heir. Sansa displays clear reluctance, remaining silent and withdrawn during preparations, her dreams of a chivalrous union shattered by the political coercion. Tyrion, equally uncomfortable, visits Sansa beforehand to offer reassurance, promising not to harm her and acknowledging the arrangement as a "different kind of ," though she responds minimally. The ceremony unfolds at the Great Sept of in a humiliating manner, with Joffrey gleefully escorting Sansa and removing Tyrion's stool during the cloaking ritual, forcing the dwarf to climb awkwardly to complete the vows; Tyrion requests Sansa kneel to maintain some dignity for them both. Amid the wedding events, engages in a tense private conversation with while walking the gardens, where Margaery attempts to build rapport by suggesting they become "sisters" in their upcoming alliances. Cersei rebuffs her sharply, recounting the Lannister history embodied in the song ""—a reference to the ruthless extermination of House Reyne—and warns that if Margaery calls her sister again, she will have her strangled in her sleep, underscoring Cersei's paranoia and threats against the Tyrells' ambitions for Joffrey. Margaery, undeterred but visibly unsettled, responds strategically by later dismissing her brother Loras's input on court matters, demonstrating her calculated navigation of the power dynamics. The subsequent wedding feast in the royal court descends into chaos due to Joffrey's cruel antics, as he mocks the proceedings and taunts Sansa directly, stripping her of a and threatening to consummate the himself. Emboldened, Joffrey demands a to further humiliate the couple, ordering the guests to strip Tyrion and carry Sansa to the bedchamber. Tyrion intervenes fiercely, slamming a knife into the table and retorting that any such action would leave Joffrey "fucking [his] own bride with a wooden cock," a bold defiance that momentarily silences the king until Tywin intervenes, dismissing it as a jest to de-escalate the confrontation.

Dragonstone

Melisandre arrives at Dragonstone with Gendry, the illegitimate son of the late King Robert Baratheon, whom she presents to Stannis Baratheon as a source of king's blood essential for a ritual to weaken his enemies. Stannis, who claims the Iron Throne as Robert's rightful heir, initially contemplates sacrificing Gendry outright but is persuaded by Melisandre to use his blood in a less lethal manner through blood magic. To prepare, Melisandre seduces Gendry in her chambers, binding him to the bed and applying leeches to his body, including his genitals, to draw his blood while invoking the power of R'hllor. Meanwhile, Davos Seaworth remains imprisoned in Dragonstone's dungeons after the Battle of the Blackwater for attempting to assassinate Melisandre, whom he blamed for Stannis's defeat and the deaths of his sons. During his confinement, Davos receives secret lessons in reading from Princess Shireen Baratheon, Stannis's daughter, marking a significant personal development for the formerly illiterate smuggler. Stannis visits Davos in his cell to seek counsel on using Gendry's blood in Melisandre's ritual, extracts a promise that he will not attempt to harm her again, releases him, and reinstates him as Hand of the King, tasking him with reading a letter from the Night's Watch warning of Mance Rayder's army of 100,000 wildlings marching on the Wall. The episode culminates in a ritual on Dragonstone's shores, where Melisandre presents a bowl of leeches engorged with Gendry's blood. Stannis, , and name the "usurpers"—, , and Balon Greyjoy—before casting the leeches into a roaring , symbolically cursing them to their doom as part of Melisandre's to aid Stannis's campaign. , though reinstated, watches uneasily, his moral reservations about the evident.

Yunkai

Outside the walls of Yunkai, , accompanied by Ser and Ser Barristan Selmy, encounters the Second Sons, a company of approximately 2,000 men hired by the city to defend against her advancing army. Daenerys meets with the company's captains—Mero, known as the Titan's Bastard; Prendahl na Ghezn; and —in her command tent, where she proposes either payment to abandon their contract or an alliance to join her cause in exchange for ongoing employment and glory. Mero crudely dismisses her overtures, mocking her authority and comparing her to a common prostitute, while Prendahl insists on upholding their deal with Yunkai; Daario, however, shows intrigue toward Daenerys, though the captains ultimately reject her offer and depart with two days to reconsider. That night, Daario infiltrates the Second Sons' camp alone, drawing the short straw in a captains' plot to assassinate Daenerys but instead beheading Mero and Prendahl, then presenting their heads to her at dawn as proof of his defection. He kneels in allegiance, declaring, "I am of Tyrosh, and I have come to obey," and pledges the full company of 2,000 sellswords to her service, motivated by admiration for her leadership and conquests, including her recent acquisition of the Unsullied from Astapor. The storyline underscores the episode's titular theme, portraying the Second Sons as a band of overlooked "second sons"—disenfranchised warriors from noble or common backgrounds in Essos' Free Cities, often younger siblings or outcasts denied inheritance, who turn to life for fortune and purpose, mirroring broader motifs of ambition and betrayal in the narrative.

Beyond the Wall

In the episode "Second Sons," and Gilly arrive at an abandoned wildling farmhouse north of , seeking shelter after their arduous from 's Keep. Exhausted from their journey through the snowy wilderness, they decide to spend the night there as dusk falls, with a ominously circling nearby. Inside the dilapidated structure, the pair huddles under furs to combat the biting cold, which threatens their survival in the unforgiving northern climate. While tending to a struggling fire, they discuss potential names for Gilly's newborn son, with Sam proposing traditional Westerosi options such as , , or Tristifer, while Gilly weighs names tied to her past like or Mormont, sparking a about family legacies and the dangers of ill-chosen monikers. The fragile peace shatters when a , mounted on a horse, attacks the farmhouse under cover of night. Alerted by the intensifying cawing of crows, grabs his and ventures outside to investigate, only for the creature to disarm him effortlessly—its strike shatters his steel blade into fragments. then advances on Gilly and the baby inside, forcing Sam into a desperate defense. Drawing on an dagger—known as dragonglass—that he had previously acquired during the Night's Watch ranging beyond , Sam stabs the in the arm. The creature lets out a piercing screech, its body rapidly crystallizing before exploding into shards of ice, effectively destroying it. This marks the first confirmed slaying of a White Walker in centuries, achieved through improvised use of an ancient material rather than conventional weaponry. In the attack's aftermath, Sam grasps the dagger's significance, declaring that dragonglass can kill White Walkers—a revelation drawn from fragmented lore and now empirically proven. This discovery carries profound implications for the Night's Watch's defense against the Others, offering a potential weapon in the escalating war against the undead hordes threatening Westeros from the far north. Fleeing the site amid swarming crows, Sam and Gilly press onward, their bond strengthened by the ordeal.

Production

Writing

The episode "Second Sons" was written by series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The script adapts material from George R.R. Martin's novel A Storm of Swords, primarily drawing from the chapters Samwell I, Sansa III, Davos IV, Daenerys IV, Samwell III, and Arya IX. A central motif in the writing is the theme of "second sons," which underscores characters who are overlooked heirs or underdogs navigating power dynamics; this includes Tyrion Lannister as Tywin's disfavored younger son, Daario Naharis as a lowborn lieutenant rising through betrayal, and the titular mercenary company composed of disinherited noble younger sons. The adaptation features notable deviations from the source material to streamline the narrative for television. The defection of the Second Sons is condensed: in the book, Daario Naharis of the rival Stormcrows assassinates the Second Sons' captains Mero and Prendahl na Ghezn and delivers their heads to Daenerys, after which the remaining Second Sons defect to her without fighting; the show merges the Stormcrows into the Second Sons, with Daario as their lieutenant who assassinates his own captains to bring the company to Daenerys' side. In the wedding scene between Tyrion and Sansa, the script adds dialogue and interactions to amplify emotional tensions, portraying Tyrion as more reluctant and compassionate—such as his gentle request for Sansa to kneel for the cloak—compared to the book's briefer and less intimate depiction of the ceremony, where Tyrion is awkward and proceeds dutifully amid his reluctance, without the added Tyrell attendees or extended awkward exchanges.

Casting

The episode "Second Sons" introduced the captains of the titular mercenary company hired by Yunkai: as Mero, the self-styled Titan's Bastard; as Prendahl na Ghezn, the company's co-leader; and as , their lieutenant. Skrein's casting marked the on-screen debut of in season 3, but he departed the role after three episodes due to scheduling conflicts with other projects, leading to his replacement by beginning in season 4. Among the returning ensemble, Peter Dinklage reprised his role as Tyrion Lannister, central to the episode's depiction of the royal wedding, while Maisie Williams continued as Arya Stark, highlighting her character's evolving intensity during travels with the Hound.

Filming

The principal interior scenes for "Second Sons," including the wedding ceremony of Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark in the Great Sept of Baelor, were filmed at The Paint Hall studios within Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This expansive facility, originally a ship-painting hangar from the Harland & Wolff shipyard, served as the primary soundstage for much of the series' interior sets during Season 3 production, allowing for the construction of detailed replicas of King's Landing landmarks. Exterior sequences set in the Riverlands, such as those featuring and traveling through wooded and riverside terrain, utilized the diverse landscapes of to evoke the rugged Westerosi countryside. Locations like in provided the dense, misty forests and riverbanks needed for these scenes, with production crews leveraging the region's natural topography and variable weather to capture authentic outdoor environments without extensive alterations. Filming for the Yunkai sequences, depicting Daenerys Targaryen's negotiations with the Second Sons mercenary company amid desert surroundings, took place at the ancient of near , . This , with its mud-brick architecture and arid backdrop, stood in for the Essosi city, requiring minimal set modifications as crews integrated the existing fortified structures to simulate the slave city's walls and pyramids. The episode's Beyond the Wall segments, particularly Samwell Tarly's recounting of his encounter with a to Gilly, incorporated practical effects for the dragonglass prop and the creature's shattering demise in a flashback. The dragonglass weapons were crafted from molded to mimic obsidian's brittle texture, while the 's destruction—depicting ice-like fragmentation upon stabbing—involved a combination of on performers and targeted to convey the rapid crystallization and explosion, challenging choreographers to synchronize actor movements with the prop's safe breakage for realism.

Reception

Viewership

The episode "Second Sons" premiered on in the United States on May 19, 2013, drawing 5.1 million viewers and achieving a 2.5 household in the 18-49 demographic, which represented a series high at the time and underscored the show's growing popularity. In the , the episode aired on the following day and remained a robust performance for the channel's entertainment lineup. Internationally, "Second Sons" was broadcast on HBO's partner networks in over 170 countries and territories shortly after the U.S. , with many regions receiving the simultaneously or within hours to minimize spoilers and maximize global engagement. Post- streaming on platforms like boosted the 's accessibility, contributing to the season's overall digital viewership surge, though specific streaming metrics for this episode were not disclosed by . The season 3 average of 14.4 million viewers across platforms highlighted the episode's role in the show's expanding international .

Critical reception

"Second Sons" received universal critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode holds a 97% approval rating based on 34 critics' reviews. Individual reviews highlighted its efficient storytelling and focused narratives, allowing deeper exploration of key character arcs. Critics widely praised the performances, particularly Peter Dinklage's portrayal of Tyrion Lannister, whose wit and vulnerability shone during the awkward wedding to Sansa Stark. The wedding sequence was lauded for building tension through humor and discomfort, with Joffrey's cruelty amplifying the scene's emotional stakes. The White Walker reveal, conveyed through Sam's urgent warning to Gilly, was acclaimed as a pivotal moment that reemphasized the supernatural threat beyond political intrigue. Similarly, Daario Naharis' unexpected betrayal and declaration of loyalty to Daenerys was celebrated as a thrilling twist that advanced her storyline effectively. While the episode's overall pacing was commended for its restraint and impact, some reviewers noted minor issues with the Riverlands subplot involving and , which felt slower compared to the more dynamic threads. Nonetheless, "Second Sons" was broadly lauded for its thematic depth, examining marginalization and the corrupting nature of power through the lens of outcast mercenaries and forced alliances. This acclaim contributed to the episode's strong viewership, underscoring the series' rising popularity.

Accolades

"Second Sons" received a nomination for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series at the 65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, recognizing the work of department head hairstylist Kevin Alexander, along with Candice Banks, Rosalia Culora, Gary Machin, and Dana Kalder; the episode lost to Boardwalk Empire's "Resolution." Actor Peter Dinklage submitted "Second Sons" as his episode of choice for consideration in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category at the same 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, highlighting his performance as Tyrion Lannister in scenes involving the character's wedding preparations and interactions. The episode contributed to broader recognition for the third season's ensemble, with Game of Thrones earning a nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the , where the season's pivotal wedding sequences were noted for their collective impact, though the cast did not win.

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