Scripting Season 2: Episode 2

Here is the latest installment in our ten-part scripting series, in which we do our best to predict how the writers will take A Clash of Kings and turn it into a 10-hour season of dramatic and exciting television. Fire and Blood has given me the reins for this one and I have taken a crack at scripting episode two.

As FaB mentioned in the first scripting post, this year we know that the writers will be deviating from and expanding on the source material and so these speculative scripts reflect that. Some of these scenes are ones we know have been filmed and other changes are our best guesses as to how they may adapt this story.

SEASON TWO; EPISODE TWO

THEON 1
DAVOS 1 (second half)
TYRION 2 (second half)
JON 2
DAENERYS 1 (second half)
ARYA 2
TYRION 3
JON 3 (first half)

The episode one post can be found HERE. The full breakdown of the book is HERE. PLEASE NOTE that none of these scripts are official. Episode two covers roughly 106 pages, from page 122-228 in the US paperback. The one exception, the Arya 4 chapter has been pushed back to episode 3 while the Jon 3 chapter has been brought forward to this episode.

As one would expect, spoilers abound. Click through at your own risk.

Introductions: Damger Cleftjaw (Ralph Ineson), Balon Greyjoy (Patrick Malahide), Salladhor Saan (Lucian Msamati), Dolorous Edd (Ben Crompton), Gilly (Hannah Murray), Craster (Robert Pugh), Xaro Xhoan Daxos (Nonso Anozie), Pyat Pree (Ian Hanmore), Quaithe (Laura Pradelska)

Deaths: Mhaegan, Barra, Tobho Mott?

Sex: Captain’s daughter and Theon, Cersei and Lancel, Stannis and Melisandre

OPENING CREDITS

EXT. KING’S LANDING – DAY

The Gold Cloaks are storming through the city streets, busting down doors, as screams come from within and frightened women run out bloodied and crying. Next, we see the Gold Clocks enter a familiar building.

INT. BROTHEL – KING’S LANDING – DAY

Gold Cloaks storm through the whorehouse, room by room, opening doors and pulling back curtains to reveal whores and their johns in various states of undress and in various compromising positions. One room contains a woman, MHAEGAN, clutching a babe to her breast. “In here, milord!” the Gold Cloak calls out. JANOS SLYNT enters the room and demands Mhaegan hand over the babe. She refuses. Slynt slits her throat with one swipe of his sword. The babe screams frantically. Slynt turns to his Gold Cloak, “Shut this bastard up” and strides out of the room. The young Gold Cloak looks squeamish, but unsheathes his dagger.

INT. SHIP’S QUARTERS – DAY

Closeup on THEON GREYJOY’s face. He looks pleased. Zoom out to reveal a woman kneeling before him. Theon finishes. The CAPTAIN’S DAUGHTER tells Theon that was her first time. “Imagine that, the first cock you sucked belongs to the son of Balon Greyjoy and a future Hand of the King.” Theon tells her of Robb’s plans and that he is heading to Pyke to ask his father to join Robb’s cause. A call from above deck. “Take me with you, milord! I can be your salt wife.” Theon laughs and departs.

EXT. PYKE – DAY

Theon walks down the gangplank, he sees a familiar face. It is DAGMER CLEFTJAW. The Cleftjaw greets Theon. Theon is anxious to meet with his father. Dagmer tells him he has been with the Starks too long, he forgets what it is to be an Ironborn. The Old Ways must be honored first.

INT. DRAGONSTONE – NIGHT

DAVOS SEAWORTH ascends the circular stairs of Dragonstone’s keep. He arrives at the entrance to the Chamber of the Painted Table, the guards open the doors and we see STANNIS BARATHEON seated on the raised chair, surveying the table. Stannis tells Davos of the letter he intends to send out to the Seven Kingdoms, proclaiming Joffrey the product of incest and declaring Stannis the rightful king of Westeros. Stannis says he trusts Davos, wants his advice (some of Davos’ backstory is revealed via exposition here). Davos says they must get Renly to bend the knee first, if they hope to have the strongest claim. He also says that some of his men are upset that he has forsaken the Seven, Davos himself hints that he does not trust the Red Priestess. Stannis says he does not believe in gods himself, but cannot deny Melisandre’s power. He hopes this power will tip the scales in his favor.

INT. RED KEEP – DAY

TYRION LANNISTER sits at the Hand’s desk, speaking with VARYS. BRONN is there as well. Tyrion is furious over the actions of the Gold Cloaks. He assumes Cersei was the one behind it, Varys does not deny it. He says the baby was Robert’s bastard and that the mother still loved Robert. Tyrion questions why Varys didn’t stop it, Varys replies that he did get one bastard out of the city. Tyrion asks Bronn if he would kill a baby without question. Bronn replies, “I would not… I would ask how much first.”

EXT. VILLAGE – DUSK

“Gone, milord. All gone.” The Old Bear, JEOR MORMONT, sits astride his horse, listening to the report of his rangers who have just scoured the village of Whitetree. JON SNOW is beside Mormont, as is DOLOROUS EDD TOLLETT.  “All except those poor souls whose charred bones we found. Or maybe they were the lucky ones,”  Dolorous Edd says. The Old Bear tells Jon to have Sam send a raven back to the wall, letting them know what they’ve found. Jon rides off.

EXT. FOREST – DUSK

SAMWELL TARLY is tending the ravens. Jon rides up. “Another one,” Jon says. “Another? That’s the fourth one already,” Sam replies. GRENN is there too. Sam confides in them both that he, surprisingly, isn’t scared. Jon tells him to be careful or Mormont might send him out scouting and hunting with Grenn. “If you were out there you’d be frightened,” Grenn says. “The woods are quiet as a crypt and we haven’t been able to find any game in days. It’s not just villages that are deserted, the whole bloody forest is empty.”

EXT. VAES TOLORRO – DAY

The sun beats down on the city of bones. JORAH MORMONT rides through the abandoned streets, dismounts and enters a ruined building. Inside sits DAENERYS TARGARYEN surrounded by her three dragons. “We must continue on, my queen.” Dany says they will wait until her riders return, they have already lost Doreah, she doesn’t want to lose any others. Jorah begins to object when IRRI enters. Kovarro has returned, he has discovered a city and brings with him three who would see Dany’s dragons. “Bring them before me.”

EXT. PYKE – BEACH – DAY

A Drowned Priest is pouring salt water over Theon’s head and saying a blessing to the Drowned God. “What is dead may never die.” “But rises again, harder and stronger.”

EXT. PYKE – ROAD – DAY

Theon and the Cleftjaw travel to his father’s castle. On the way they talk of the situation in the Iron Islands: Euron is gone, Aeron is a priest, Yara has her own ship, etc. Theon tries to learn what his father’s plan is but Dagmer will not say. Theon is annoyed and says as heir to the Seastone Chair he should be apprised of any plans. Dagmer says that Theon has been away for too long, he is now seen as a Stark and an outsider, that his sister Yara is in line to succeed his father now.

INT. RED KEEP – BEDCHAMBER – NIGHT

CERSEI LANNISTER and LANCEL LANNISTER are having sex. They finish (or, more accurately, Lancel finishes). Lancel is clearly enamored of Cersei, but she is bored of him. She leaves him and heads off into the Red Keep.

INT. RED KEEP – DUNGEONS – NIGHT

Cersei walks through the Red Keep and enters the dungeons. Screaming can be heard. Cersei walks to the cell where the screaming is coming from. TOBHO MOTT is there, chained to a rack. Janos Slynt is torturing Mott, trying to find out what happened to his apprentice, Gendry. Mott eventually leads them to believe that he has been sent to the Wall. Cersei orders Slynt to dispatch Gold Cloaks to track down the party from the Night’s Watch and bring the bastard boy back to King’s Landing.

EXT. DRAGONSTONE DOCKS – DAY

DAVOS SEAWORTH walks down the docks. He enters an inn.

INT. DOCKSIDE INN – DAY

Davos scans the room, he sees Lyseni pirate SALLADHOR SAAN and joins him at his table. They talk of the letter that Stannis has sent out. The whole of Westeros has heard of it by now. Saan tells him he heard of Stannis’s Lightbringer. Davos briefly describes the burning of the Seven and Stannis pulling Lightbringer from the flames. Saan says it’s not the real Lightbringer. He tells the legend of Azor Ahai. Davos insists it’s the Red Priestess, she is leading Stannis astray with her false Lightbringer and her false Red God. Saan says he would agree, but he values his life too much. He takes his leave.

INT. CRASTER’S KEEP – DAY

The Nights Watch has arrived at Craster’s Keep. CRASTER is a wildling who lives beyond the Wall with his dozens of wives and daughters. He meets with Mormont and agrees to let the Watch spend the night and will give information on Mance Rayder’s whereabouts for a price. He wants a new axe. Mormont sends Jon to fetch an axe…

EXT. CRASTER’S KEEP – DAY

Jon goes to fetch an axe from the armory cart, but in the process hears screaming of “Wolf! Wolf!” He goes to find GHOST in amongst a rabbit hutch, with a young, pregnant GIRL trapped in there as well, cowering in fear of the direwolf. Jon calls Ghost off and the girl, who’s name is GILLY, throws herself at Jon’s feet and begs him to take her with him when the Watch leaves. She fears for her baby. If it is a girl, Craster will take her for a wife and she will be forced to serve him for life. “And if it is a boy? What then?” “Worse, much worse.”

INT. VAES TOLORRO – DAY

The three seekers from Qarth introduce themselves to Dany. XARO XHOAN DAXOS is a wealthy merchant prince, PYAT PREE is a leader of the warlocks of Qarth, and QUAITHE is a mysterious priestess from Asshai. Xaro promises that if she comes to Qarth that the Thirteen will lavish her with gifts. Pyat Pree promises to petition the Undying Ones for an audience. Quaithe offers only cryptic warnings. “Beware all in Qarth, for when they see your dragons they will lust, because dragons are fire incarnate, and fire is power.”

EXT. KINGSROAD – DAY

Yoren leads his small party down the Kingsroad. Two Gold Cloaks ride up and stop them. They are looking for a boy, queen’s orders. Yoren refuses to give up his charges. One of the guards threatens him so Yoren puts a sword to his throat, the rest of Yoren’s band also stand behind Yoren, ready to fight if they must. The Gold Cloak runs off, but warns that he will be back with more. “They’re looking for me?” Arya asks. “No, they were looking for me,” Gendry replies. Arya doesn’t understand why they would be looking for Gendry. Either way, Yoren decides it’s best they leave the Kingsroad and advises Gendry and Arya that if they do happen to be overtaken, both of them are to flee to the Wall.

INT. RED KEEP – DAY

The Small Council. Cersei, LITTLEFINGER, GRAND MAESTER PYCELLE, and Tyrion are there. Stannis’ letter has made it to King’s Landing. Cersei is furious. Littlefinger thinks they should spread a vicious rumor about Stannis’ daughter. Tyrion thinks they should do nothing. Cersei thinks Tyrion is an idiot. Tyrion shoots her a witty retort and then leaves.

EXT. KING’S LANDING – DAY

Tyrion and Bronn ride through the city streets. Tyrion gets quite a few dirty stares from the crowd. Him and Bronn talk of the mood of the people in the city. There is a growing famine and though Tyrion has done what he could to increase the food supply, the common folk still go hungry. And they blame Tyrion for it. They arrive at a brothel.

INT. BROTHEL – DAY

Tyrion and Bronn enter the brothel. Tyrion is met by the madame and is taken to a room with a secret passage hidden in a wardrobe. Tyrion climbs down the ladder in the passage.

INT. PASSAGE – DAY

Tyrion gets to the bottom of the ladder and is greeted by Varys with torch in hand. It’s revealed that Tyrion is traveling to meet Shae in secret. They begin walking down the passage. Tyrion tells Varys his absence at the Small Council was noted and mentions Stannis’ letter. Tyrion wonders how Stannis heard of Cersei and Jaime’s incest but Varys doesn’t reveal anything. They emerge from the passage into…

INT. STABLE – DAY

…a stable, where a horse is saddled and ready for Tyrion, along with a cloak to disguise himself. Tyrion mounts up and thanks Varys for his help. Varys is obsequious. “Sometimes I think you’re my best friend in this city, but then other times I feel you’re my worst enemy,” Tyrion tells him. “I feel much the same about you,” Varys replies. Tyrion rides off.

INT. VAES TOLORRO – NIGHT

Dany and Jorah discuss the three seekers from Qarth. Jorah tells Dany that he doesn’t trust any of them, but that staying in Vaes Tolorro would be suicide. He also tells her that Kovarro heard some news while in Qarth: King Robert is dead. Dany is taken aback, but sees it as an opportunity. She tells Jorah they will ride for Qarth at first light.

EXT. CRASTER’S KEEP – NIGHT

Jon wakes in the night to go take a piss. He goes to the edge of the woods to relieve himself, but as he turns back towards the keep, he hears a baby crying. He follows the cries into the woods. He finds Craster, kneeling down, with a crying baby laid at his feet. As he watches, a dark shape with glowing blue eyes appears before Craster. Jon watches in horror as the White Walker picks up the baby and carries it off into the woods. He runs back to the keep before Craster sees him.

INT. PYKE – NIGHT

Theon arrives at the castle and is brought before his father. BALON GREYJOY sits the Seastone Chair, carved in the shape of a kraken. He listens to Theon’s proposal of an alliance with Robb Stark. Balon will lead the Ironborn into battle against Casterly Rock, seizing the castle after Robb draws out its main force. Balon will be declared King of the Iron Islands and Theon will take Casterly Rock as his seat. Theon is proud of this plan, which he helped draft up with Robb. Balon chides Theon on being a glorified errand boy for the Young Wolf. He does not want a crown from the Stark boy. And he believes Casterly Rock is too strong to be taken. Balon tells Theon that he has called his banners and means to declare himself king. Not just of the Iron Islands, but of the whole North.

INT. DRAGONSTONE – NIGHT

Stannis meets with his lords and commanders around the Painted Table. Davos is there, as is his son MATHOS. MELISANDRE is there as well. They are arguing over what Stannis should do first now that he has laid his claim for the Iron Throne. Renly holds the Baratheon ancestral stronghold of Storm’s End and has rallied the Baratheon’s banners to his cause. He has also combined forces with the Tyrells, through a marriage to Margaery Tyrell. Some of Stannis’ lords think it best to ignore Renly and his forces, Dragonstone is very close to King’s Landing, they should just sail down the Blackwater and lay seige to the city. Others think they should defeat Renly first, then add his bannermen to their cause, to ensure victory. Still others want to ally with Robb Stark. Finally, Melisandre speaks up. “My lords, we will sail to Storm’s End. The castle will be ours within a fortnight without a single drop of our soldiers’ blood being shed. I have seen it in the flames.” At this, everyone starts speaking at once. Stannis silences them all and orders them out of the room. They all leave save Melisandre.

“How can you know this?” Stannis asks. Melisandre again says that she has seen it in the flames. “The Red God knows all. His flames never lie.” Stannis is unsure. He is unsettled by Mel’s prophesy and dislikes having to take Storm’s End from Renly; as the elder brother it is now his by rights, just as the Iron Throne is. Melisandre moves in close to Stannis and tells him that if he desires the Iron Throne, he need only obey her, as she can give him what he desires. She kisses him. She pushes him down onto the table and climbs on top of him. As they have sex, the camera zooms into Melisandre’s face, awash with pleasure and power, the ruby at her throat glowing brightly.

END CREDITS

Winter Is Coming: This is really hard to do. I have new found respect for David and Dan and Bryan and George. So many storylines to juggle, it is hard to know what to focus on in each episode. At this juncture of the story I count ten separate storylines (Jon, Bran, Theon, Robb, Renly, Tyrion, Sansa, Stannis, Arya, and Dany). This episode I decided to cut Robb, Renly, Sansa, and Bran’s stories and focus on the other six. I think the above outline would equal out to an hour, but I’m not positive. If it is over, you could probably cut the Davos/Saan scene or trim some of the other scenes like Cersei/Lancel or Theon getting a BJ. If it is under, then I would probably add a scene or two with Sansa and Joffrey or at Robb’s camp. I think saving Catelyn’s arrival to Renly’s camp until episode three is best. And Bran’s storyline is pretty sparse at this point (until Theon arrives in Winterfell, when it picks up) so putting him aside for now makes sense.

As to some of the changes from the book, the opening scene is one we know about due to set reports from Dubrovnik. Same goes for the torture scene with Tobho Mott. The Cleftjaw taking Aeron’s role was an obvious change. Now as to Tyrion not sending Janos Slynt to the Wall, that was one I went back and forth on. Eventually I decided, since they haven’t cast a Jacelyn Bywater, that probably means that Slynt won’t be getting sent to the Wall in the second episode. As to what they will ultimately do with this character? They really have a lot of flexibility. [Spoilers up to ADWD] He could stay until the end of the season and then be banished to the Wall. They could keep him around even longer and maybe have him be Cersei’s catspaw, replacing one of the Kettleblacks. He could even be killed in the battle of the Blackwater. Slynt isn’t really needed at the Wall as Thorne is enough of a foil for Jon and although his death was quite awesome in Dance with Dragons, it is a scene that could easily be cut.

Now about the two new scenes that probably took people by surprise, namely Jon seeing Craster offering the baby to the Walkers and Stannis and Mel getting it on, those are based on rumors I have heard. Those scenes might not be in the show, but I thought they sounded plausible and interesting enough, that I included them in my speculative script.

So there you go. That’s my version of episode two. I am anxious to hear your thoughts. Do you agree with my decisions? What would you have done differently? Do you think we will see Stannis and Melisandre have sex on the Painted Table? Let me know in the comments below.

• Published on 01/04/2012 at 3:30 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/20/2016 at 6:29 PM CDT