Scripting Episode 8
Part eight of our ten-part “scripting” series picks up just after a certain arrest at the end of episode seven.
EPISODE EIGHT
56 scenes; 65 pages
DAENERYS 7
ARYA 4
SANSA 4
½ of JON 7
BRAN 6
DAENERYS 8
TYRION 6
SANSA 5
½ of EDDARD 15
Our (very) rough Season One outline can be found HERE. Episodes 2 – 7 can be found here: Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7. PLEASE NOTE that none of these scripts are official. Episode 8 encompasses pages 530 – 637 of “A Game of Thrones” (U.S. softcover), as well as earlier pages 583 – 594. Pages 452 – 461 (Tyrion 6) are also included, but pages 596 – 606 (Catelyn 8 ) have been moved to episode 9. The first page-and-a-half of Daenerys 7 was seen in episode 7. Note that this episode was the one scripted by George R. R. Martin!
Spoilers are everywhere. Everywhere!
Introductions: Wineseller Assassin, Tysha, Shagga, Gunthor, Conn, Red Keep Stable Boy, Greatjon Umber, Lord Roose Bolton, Lord Robett Glover, Lady Maege Mormont, Lord Medger Cerwyn, Lord Halys Hornwood, Lord Rickard Karstark and his sons Harrion, Torrhen, and Eddard Karstark, Eroeh, Mirri Maz Duur, Chella, Ulf, Timmett son of Timmett, Lord Tywin Lannister, Ser Kevan Lannister, Lord Gyles Rosby, Ser Aron Santagar, Ser Dontos, and Ser Gerold Whitetower and Elia of Dorne (in flashback). NOTE: This episode gives us a buttload of introductions, though many are either non-speaking roles or very minor, with only one or two lines. Yes, I’m still holding out hope for Bolton and Jeyne Poole. If not… well, alas.
Deaths: an uncounted number of Stark guardsmen including Desmond; Jafer Flowers; Othor; Red Keep Stable Boy (stuck with the pointy end); and Masha Heddle. Also, the Greatjon loses a few fingers.
Sex: Tyrion and Tysha make love in a brief flashback. We also get some gratuitous Hodor nudity. Hodor!
EXT. VAES DOTHRAK – HOLLOW HILL – DAY [1 page]
Dany talks to Ser Jorah Mormont, despairing that she will return to Westeros. Jorah promises, someday, they will go home.
EXT. VAES DOTHRAK – WESTERN MARKET – DAY [3 pages]
Dany is carried through the market in a litter carried by the young men of her khas; she is accompanied by Irri and Jhiqui, with Ser Jorah riding along beside. Dany dismounts and shops amongst the colorful tents and stalls, chatting with Ser Jorah. After a moment he excuses himself and leaves. Dany encounters a WINESELLER, who attempts to sell her a special cask of wine; Ser Jorah returns and immediately demands the wineseller taste it first. The wineseller reveals his treachery by throwing the cask at Ser Jorah and attempting to flee, but Rakharo’s whip catches him around the throat and he is caught.
INT. VAES DOTHRAK – HOLLOW HILL – DUSK [3 pages]
Dany is still shaken from the assassination attempt, and she paces restlessly. She fetches her dragon eggs and tells Ser Jorah to light the brazier. In a fit of seeming madness, Dany lays the eggs in the brazier. Nothing happens. Khal Drogo enters and learns of the attempt on Daenerys; he rewards Ser Jorah and Rakharo with horses, and rewards the wineseller by decreeing he will forever run afoot behind the khalasar; so long as the wineseller can keep up, he will live. Lastly he bequeaths a gift to his unborn son: “To Rhaego son of Drogo, the stallion who will mount the world, to him I will give this iron chair his mother’s father sat in. I will give him Seven Kingdoms. I, Drogo, khal, will do this thing.”
OPENING TITLE SEQUENCE [1 page]
EXT. THE HIGH ROAD – NIGHT [1.5 pages]
Tyrion and Bronn make a comfortable camp within a copse of trees rather than try to hide from the mountain clans; Bronn is not completely sold on the idea, but he has now thrown his lot in with Tyrion, for better or worse. Tyrion sings a song, then recalls to Bronn the tale of how he learned it:
SILENT FLASHBACK / TYRION V.O.: [1 page]
EXT. LONELY ROAD – NIGHT
A younger Tyrion and a younger Jaime rescue TYSHA, a maiden, from attacking bandits. Tyrion rides off with her while Jaime pursues the fleeing men.
INT. INN – COMMON ROOM – NIGHT
Tyrion and Tysha share food and laughter.
INT. INN – BEDROOM – NIGHT
Tyrion and Tysha make love. After, she sings him a song.
EXT. COTTAGE – DAY
Tyrion and Tysha wed in secret, setting up home in a small cottage away from Casterly Rock.
BACK TO PRESENT:
EXT. THE HIGH ROAD – NIGHT [1 page]
Tyrion finishes his tale: his father, Lord Tywin, eventually found out about the secret marriage and had Tyrion and Tysha brought before him. Tywin had a septon dissolve the marriage; Jaime reluctantly revealed Tysha was in fact a whore, hired to make a man of Tyrion. Lord Tywin then drove the point home by giving Tysha to his men and then making Tyrion take her last. Lord Tywin paid Tysha in silver; he then gave Tyrion a gold coin to pay her with, “because Lannisters are worth more.” Bronn says, “I would kill the man who did that to me.” Tyrion responds, “You may get that chance one day. A Lannister always pays his debts.” He goes to sleep.
EXT. THE HIGH ROAD – LATER [1.5 pages]
Tyrion is awakened by Bronn; the mountain clans have come. Introduction of SHAGGA, GUNTHOR, CONN, and other clansmen. Tyrion talks them out murdering them, saying he will pay them Lannister gold, and adding, “I will give you the Vale of Arryn.”
INT. RED KEEP – SMALL HALL – DAY [1.5 pages]
Arya’s training with Syrio Forel is interrupted by the arrival of Ser Meryn Trant and five Lannister guardsmen. “Your father wants to see you,” Ser Meryn says. Arya, on Syrio’s advice, refuses, so Ser Meryn sends the men after her. Syrio steps up and, with a wooden sword, beats the living snot out of the guardsmen. But Syrio looks as though he will have a much harder time with Ser Meryn, so he tells Arya to flee. “Swift as a deer,” she whispers. “Just so,” he answers. She flees.
INT. RED KEEP – KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS [quarter page]
Arya sprints through, bowling a baker over and scattering the kitchen help.
INT. RED KEEP – TURRET STAIR – CONTINUOUS [quarter page]
Arya pauses at the stair before deciding to sprint down.
INT. RED KEEP – KITCHEN CELLAR – CONTINUOUS [quarter page]
Arya slips through the cellar but it’s a dead end. She climbs casks to get to a small window near the ceiling.
EXT. RED KEEP – BAILEY YARD – CONTINUOUS [quarter page]
Arya squirms through the window and into the yard, passing the body of one of her father’s guards.
EXT. RED KEEP – STABLES – CONTINUOUS [half page]
Arya reaches the stable doors as men in gold cloaks run toward the bailey in the other direction. She hides until they pass. Hullen, the Stark master of horse, lies dying nearby, but she can do nothing for him.
INT. RED KEEP – STABLES – CONTINUOUS [1.5 pages]
Arya slips into the shadowed stables, encountering more bodies. One is Desmond, who once told her “Every northerner is worth ten of these southron swords.” She kicks his corpse angrily. Arya goes to saddle a horse and notices a fallen chest: it has her belongings in it, so she digs through and finds Needle. Just then, a RED KEEP STABLE BOY discovers Arya, and he comes to grab her, intent on claiming a reward for her. Arya takes Needle and stabs him with the pointy end. “Take it out,” he moans, and when she does he dies. Giving up on saddling a horse, she puts on a heavy cloak and runs for the stable’s back door.
EXT. RED KEEP – STABLES – CONTINUOUS [quarter page]
Arya steps out carefully, walking as casually as she can across the yard toward a distant sept.
INT. RED KEEP – SEPT – CONTINUOUS [quarter page]
Arya enters the empty sept, taking a candle with her as she heads toward the back.
INT. RED KEEP – DRAGON-SKULL CELLAR – DAY [quarter page]
Arya returns to the cellar, creeping through the dark with only a candle for light. The dragon skulls do not scare her any more. She’s more frightened of what could be in a shadows. Her mind thinks back to…
FLASHBACK TO:
INT. WINTERFELL – CRYPTS – NIGHT [1.5 pages]
Robb leads Arya, Sansa, and Bran down through the crypts, with only one candle to light the way. A white ghost leaps out from behind one of the crypts! Sansa shrieks and runs for the stairs; Bran bursts into tears and grabs Robb’s leg. But Arya just punches the ghost’s shoulder; it’s Jon in a sheet with flour thrown over him. “You scared the baby,” she accuses Jon and Robb. Soon they are all laughing.
BACK TO PRESENT:
INT. RED KEEP – DRAGON-SKULL CELLAR – DAY [quarter page]
Arya steadies her nerves. There are no ghosts. She plunges deeper into the darkness.
INT. MAEGOR’S HOLDFAST – SANSA’S ROOM – DAY [quarter page]
Sansa is held in her new room by a locked door. Outside she can hears screams and shouts, running feet and clashing swords. She hears men begging for mercy and men dying. Frightened, she calls through the door, calling for her father, for anyone, but no one comes.
INT. MAEGOR’S HOLDFAST – SANSA’S ROOM – NIGHT [1 page]
Jeyne Poole is shoved into the room; the two friends embrace while Jeyne hysterically recounts the killings that had gone on. She says the Hound broke her door down with a warhammer and the steps were slick with the blood of dead men.
INT. MAEGOR’S HOLDFAST – SANSA’S ROOM – DAY [1 page]
Sansa and Jeyne are kept within with no information given. Jeyne whimpers and cries a lot. Food is brought to them but the servants answer no questions.
INT. MAEGOR’S HOLDFAST – SANSA’S ROOM – NIGHT [half page]
Sansa and Jeyne hear the ringing of the great bell, filling them with dread. It rings on and on … and neither of them knows what it means.
INT. MAEGOR’S HOLDFAST – SANSA’S ROOM – DAY [quarter page]
Sansa is met at her door by Ser Boros Blount, who says he will take her to see the queen. Sansa puts on her best dress and her best face.
EXT. MAEGOR’S HOLDFAST – BRIDGE – DAY [quarter page]
Sansa is escorted across the bridge by Ser Boros and Lannister guardsmen.
INT. RED KEEP – COUNCIL CHAMBERS – DAY [3.5 pages]
Sansa is brought in to meet with Queen Cersei, as well as Varys, Littlefinger, and Grand Maester Pycelle. Sansa asks if Jeyne Poole may be allowed to see her father; Littlefinger volunteers to watch over her instead, so Cersei instructs Ser Boros to escort Jeyne to Littlefinger’s apartments. Cersei then tells Sansa she cannot allow her to marry Joffrey, as her father Eddard is a traitor. Sansa cries and begs– and it is revealed that Sansa had secretly come to Cersei earlier, divulging her father’s plans to send her back to Winterfell. The council seems moved by Sansa’s tears, but they cannot promise her anything; “A child born of traitor’s seed will find that betrayal comes naturally to her,” she is told. Sansa accuses Arya of having traitor’s blood, not her. Cersei tells Sansa that she will take her plight under consideration if Sansa writes letters to her mother and brother, bidding them to make peace with Joffrey. Sansa agrees to write the letters.
INT. MAEGOR’S HOLDFAST – SANSA’S ROOM – NIGHT [quarter page]
Sansa returns to find Jeyne gone. She is alone again.
EXT. HAUNTED FOREST – CLEARING – DAY [1.5 pages]
Jon watches as the bodies of two of Benjen’s rangers– Othor and Jafer Flowers– are uncovered, supervised by a scowling Lord Commander Mormont. Most believe the men to have been slain by wildlings days ago, but Sam points out that the corpses don’t stink and they haven’t bled out as they should. Mormont orders the corpse of Other taken back to Castle Black for study, even though the horses seem frightened of it. The rangers keep the body of Jafer Flowers.
EXT. HAUNTED FOREST – PATH – DAY [quarter page]
Jon, Sam, Mormont, and rangers of the Night’s Watch ride back through the woods towards the Wall, dragging the body of Othor behind them in a litter.
EXT. CASTLE BLACK – COURTYARD – DAY [half page]
Bowen Marsh meets Mormont upon his return. “There’s been a bird,” he says ominously. Jon notices the gathered men around looking at him with uncertain eyes. Ser Alliser Thorne wears a rather satisfied smile. Pyp tells Jon that King Robert is dead.
INT. CASTLE BLACK – LORD COMMANDER’S TOWER – DAY [2 pages]
Mormont gives Jon wine and bids him to sit, then tells him the news of his father: Lord Eddard has been branded a traitor and has been accused of plotting to steal the throne from Robert’s son.
EXT. CASTLE BLACK – TURRET STAIR – DUSK [quarter page]
Jon walks out, stunned. A few men offer support but most just stare. Jon shouts, “My father is no traitor!”
INT. CASTLE BLACK – COMMON HALL – NIGHT [1 page]
Jon goes to dine; his friends offer their support, but Ser Alliser Thorne mocks him. Jon pulls a dagger and vaults the table, going for Ser Alliser’s face, and it takes Sam, Pyp, Grenn, and Toad to drag him back.
INT. CASTLE BLACK – JON’S SLEEPING CELL – NIGHT [half page]
Jon is relieved of his sword and dagger by Mormont, who is clearly disgusted with him. He is left alone in his cell with Ghost.
EXT. WINTERFELL – OUTER WALL PARAPET – MORNING [1 page]
Bran, perched on Hodor’s shoulders, watches with Maester Luwin as more than a thousand Karstark men file toward the gates. Bran regrets that there are not more knights amongst the northmen, but Luwin chides him; “A man’s worth is not marked by a ser before his name.”
EXT. WINTERFELL – COURTYARD – CONTINUOUS [quarter page]
Hodor carries Bran across the yard, through the milling crowds of other newly-arrived Stark bannermen. The men part more readily when Bran whistles for Summer.
EXT. WINTERFELL – GODSWOOD – MORNING [quarter page]
Bran has Hodor take him to the Heart Tree, then sends him off to bathe. Bran sits with Summer and prays for his brother Robb, thinking back to earlier in the day…
FLASHBACK TO:
INT. WINTERFELL – GREAT HALL – NIGHT [2 pages]
Bran watches in silence as Robb meets with many of his bannermen: LORD ROOSE BOLTON, LORD ROBETT GLOVER, LADY MAEGE MORMONT, LORD MEDGER CERWYN, LORD HALYS HORNWOOD, and GREATJON UMBER. The Greatjon attempts to bully Robb; he draws his greatsword and bellows a threat, but Grey Wind is on him in a flash, biting off two of the Greatjon’s fingers. “Doubtless you wanted to cut my meat, milord,” Robb says coldly. The Greatjon sucks on his fingers, then laughs and replies, “Your meat … is bloody tough!”
INT. WINTERFELL – BRAN’S ROOM – NIGHT [1 page]
Robb admits to Bran that he’d been frightened half to death, though more of quiet Roose Bolton than the Greatjon. They talk about Sansa’s shocking letter too; “She lost her wolf,” Bran reasons.
BACK TO PRESENT:
EXT. WINTERFELL – GODSWOOD – MORNING [2 pages]
Bran’s praying is interrupted by Osha; they talk about the gods of the north. Hodor reappears, naked and dripping from his swim. “Now there’s a big man,” Osha remarks. “He has giant’s blood in him, or I’m the queen.” Bran sends him back to get some clothes on. Osha reveals that she and the other wildlings were fleeing the Others, though Mance Rayder is stubborn and is staying to fight them. She tells Bran that Robb is marching the wrong direction; that he should be going north, not south.
INT. WINTERFELL – GREAT HALL – NIGHT [1 page]
Robb takes the newly arrived LORD RICKARD KARSTARK to the solar to speak in private, leaving Bran to entertain the Karstark host, including Karstark’s sons, HARRION, TORRHEN, and EDDARD KARSTARK; Bran can tell the northmen are pitying him, and he hates it.
EXT. WINTERFELL – COURTYARD – DAWN [half page]
Robb bids farewell to Bran and Rickon, though Rickon is having a tantrum, refusing to say goodbye. Robb leaves, riding south with the Stark army and all his bannermen, taking Hal Mollen and Theon Greyjoy as well. Bran remembers Osha’s words too late.
EXT. LHAZAREEN TOWN – OUTSKIRTS – DAY [half page]
Daenerys surveys the scene of Khal Drogo’s latest victory: parts of the LHAZAREEN TOWN are burning in the distance, and the bodies of Lhazareen men lie with the corpses of slaughtered sheep. The bodies of other Dothraki are also scattered about, but they are not from Khal Drogo’s khalasar. Dany watches as a boy tries to make a break for the nearby river, but he is chased down and cruelly toyed with by the Dothraki warriors before finally being killed.
EXT. LHAZAREEN TOWN – SHATTERED GATE – DAY [2 pages]
Dany is met by Ser Jorah, who says Khal Drogo awaits her within the town. Jorah says Khal Drogo slew two khals: first Khal Ogo, then his son Khal Jogo who became khal when Ogo died. We learn Khal Ogo’s khalasar had invaded the Lhazareen town when Drogo attacked them; if the Lhazareen thought they were being saved, they were wrong, for Khal Drogo finished the job Khal Ogo started. The men of Drogo’s khalasar continue to rape and pillage the town as Dany looks on; Dany cannot stand witnessing the rape of one young girl, EROEH, and orders it stopped. Jorah says Dany is indeed Rhaegar’s sister. Quaro, Jhogo, Aggo, and Rakharo go with Ser Jorah to assist; a scuffle breaks out and Eroeh’s rapers are killed.
EXT. LHAZAREEN TOWN – STREET – CONTINUOUS [1 page]
Dany rides through the city, halting every rape she sees and claiming each victim as her property. Ser Jorah says she cannot claim them all, but she says she is khaleesi and it is not his place to tell her what she can and cannot do. One of the victims is MIRRI MAZ DUUR.
EXT. LHAZAREEN TOWN – TEMPLE – DAY [3.5 pages]
Dany arrives to find Khan Drogo wounded, though he says it is nothing. Beside him is a pile of heads taller than he is. Drogo is told of Dany’s mercy and does not like it. “This is the way of war,” he says. Dany urges him to order his men to treat the women gently and take them as wives. Cruel Qotho laughs and asks her if the horse breeds with the sheep; Dany replies angrily, “The dragon feeds on horse and sheep alike.” This amuses Drogo, who decides Dany can keep all she claimed. It is apparent Drogo is more hurt than he admitted. Dany calls for a healer and Mirri Maz Duur offers her services; Mirri claims to have studied healing in the land of Asshai by the Shadow, and that a Westerosi maester named Marwyn taught her “the secrets that hide beneath the skin.”
INT. LHAZAREEN TEMPLE – DAY [1 page]
Mirri Maz Duur binds Khal Drogo’s wounds in a temple antechamber. When she is done, Dany approaches her and asks to have her attend the birth of her son when her time is due. Khal Drogo laughs and says, “You do not ask a slave, you tell her.” Qotho threatens Mirri if any harm should come to the khal; Mirri replies, “The Great Shepherd guards the flock.”
EXT. THE CROSSROADS INN – YARD – DAY [half page]
Tyrion and Bronn follow the trail of havoc left in the wake of the Lannister armies; the inn has been ransacked and burned. Tyrion has with him nearly three-hundred clansmen with him: Stone Crows, Moon Brothers, Black Ears, and Burned Men, led by luminaries such as Shagga, and joined by CHELLA, ULF, and TIMMETT SON OF TIMMETT. Tyrion spies the corpse of Masha Heddle, hanging from a gibbet. “A room, a meal, a flagon of wine, that was all I asked,” he says to the corpse.
EXT. TYWIN’S CAMP – OVERLOOK – DAY [half page]
The sprawl of the Lannister camp is immense. Tyrion says he wants to meet with his father alone, but the clan leaders don’t trust him; Shagga says, “If boy-man lies, Shagga will chop off his manhood–” “–and feed it to the goats,” Tyrion finishes for him, accustomed to the threat by now. He sighs, resigned, and all of the clansmen follow him down toward the camp.
EXT. TYWIN’S CAMP – DAY [5 pages]
LORD TYWIN LANNISTER is having a meal with his brother SER KEVAN LANNISTER when Tyrion rides up. Lord Tywin is not exactly welcoming, but he relates the war is going well; Jaime won a victory at the Golden Tooth, and at Riverrun took Edmure Tully captive, putting Riverrun under siege. Lord Tywin himself took the town of Raventree and Lady Whent yielded Harrenhal for lack of men to defend it. Ser Gregor Clegane also won victories; the only resistance has been by Marq Piper and Karyl Vance raiding Lannister lands across the Red Fork, and Beric Dondarrion harassing foraging parties. Other than that, the Lannisters march unopposed, save for the distant Starks– and Lord Tywin does not think much of Robb Stark. Shagga speaks up, demanding the weapons and armor Tyrion promised, and threatening to roast a Lannister’s manhood in a fire if he does not get his way. “What, no goats?” asks Tyrion. Surprisingly, Lord Tywin treats the mountain clan leaders with courtesy. Amidst the introductions, a messenger approaches with news: the Stark host has left Winterfell and is heading south. Lord Tywin challenges the clansmen by saying, “You need not join us. The men of the winterlands are made of iron and ice, and even my boldest knights fear to face them.” So of course the mountain clans join. “But only if you halfman son goes with us,” adds Shagga. Tyrion is thrilled, of course.
INT. RED KEEP – THRONE ROOM – DAY [7 pages]
Sansa enters in the company of two guards, here to watch the first day of court in King Joffrey’s reign. In attendance is the coughing LORD GYLES ROSBY, gloomy SER ARON SANTAGAR, drunken SER DONTOS, and Jalabhar Xho, though they all avoid meeting her eyes. The Kingsguard stand guard. Also present is the Small Council: Littlefinger, Grand Maester Pycelle, and Lord Varys. Traitors to the realm are named (anyone who has opposed Joffrey thus far) and orders are given to have their lands and holds taken. Lord Tywin Lannister (not present) is made Hand of the King. Queen Cersei (immaculately present) is made Queen Regent and is placed on the Small Council. Janos Slynt is made a lord and given Harrenhal. Ser Barristan is removed as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard; Jaime Lannister is named Lord Commander in his stead. Barristan is shocked. “Only death may relieve us of our sacred trust,” he says. In the end, Barristan removes all of his armor and hurls his sword at Joffrey’s feet. He stalks out of the throne room, furious. Joffrey orders him seized; Lord Janos says his City Watch will see to it. Joffrey then makes The Hound a member of the Kingsguard. Ser Boros Blount protests, saying the Sworn Brothers have always been knights; The Hound retorts, “Until now.” Sansa is then given leave to beg for mercy for her father. Cersei says that if Eddard will confess his crime, the king will be merciful. Sansa says that he will.
INT. RED KEEP DUNGEON CELL – NIGHT [half page]
Ned lies in a filthy cell. He dreams…
FLASHBACK TO:
EXT. HARRENHAL TOURNEY GROUNDS – DAY [2 pages]
Ned dreams of a great tourney; Brandon Stark is there, and a younger Robert Baratheon. A younger Jaime Lannister kneels in the grass to take the Kingsguard oath, swearing to protect King Aerys Targaryen; old SER GEROLD WHITETOWER fastens the white cloak around Jaime’s neck. Jaime then defeats all comers in the tourney, including Ser Arthur Dayne. Prince Rhaegar Targaryen names Lyanna Stark the tournament’s Queen of Beauty instead of his own wife ELIA, laying a crown a blue roses in Lyanna’s lap. “Promise me, Ned,” Lyanna’s voice whispers in the wind.
BACK TO PRESENT:
INT. RED KEEP DUNGEON CELL – NIGHT [half page]
Ned wakes, his broken leg in agony. A gaoler comes to give him water but will not answer any of his questions. Ned is truly forsaken.
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