ACT FOUR
EXT. WINTERFELL – CRENULATIONS – NIGHT
Daenerys glides along the walkway in the lightly falling snow. Flakes cling to her silvery hair like tiny jewels. She joins Jon, who’s brooding at the vast expanse before him.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
I can see why you like it here. It’s peaceful, in its way.
JON SNOW
You should have seen it before, in the summer.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Was it very different?
JON SNOW
Yes. It was.
She takes note of his sadness.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
What is it?
JON SNOW
There is something I need to tell you. I swear, I didn’t know.
Daenerys takes a step back.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Go on.
JON SNOW
You know I was raised a bastard. I never knew who my mother was. I thought she was someone my father met on the road when he was off to fight in Robert’s rebellion. But I was wrong.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
You’ve learned her name.
JON SNOW
Aye. And my father’s. Lord Stark protected me all these years –– from the truth.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Why did he need to protect you?
JON SNOW
Because the rebels were slaughtering Targaryen babes in their sleep.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
I don’t understand.
Jon gently turns her to face him. She searches his eyes.
JON SNOW
Eddard Stark wasn’t my father. My father’s name was Rhaegar Targaryen.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Rhaegar Targaryen?
She laughs out of pure disbelief.
JON SNOW
He married my mother, Lyanna Stark, in secret. They named me Aegon. Aegon…Targaryen.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Rhaegar’s children were murdered in the rebellion. So was he.
JON SNOW
It’s the truth.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
The truth? You are Northern. You live in ice and snow. You are no dragon.
JON SNOW
Aye, the North is in my blood, but I am Aegon Targaryen.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Bran told you this?
JON SNOW
Aye. And Samwell Tarly found record at the Citadel of Rhaeger’s annulment for Elia Martel and his secret marriage to Lyanna Stark.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Tarly, that name keeps haunting me as much as my own.
JON SNOW
Sam is like a brother to me. He’s a good man.
Dany nods, accepting.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Tyrion advised me against punishing the Tarlys. Do you expect me to kneel to you?
JON SNOW
Of course not. I promised you my sword and my loyalty, and both remain yours.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
You speak of loyalty? A moment ago you told me that you have the superior claim to the throne.
JON SNOW
Aye, by blood and birth, but the throne is meant for you. You have the love of your people, and the loyalty of your army. I have no wish to stand in your way. We need to stand together, as kin if nothing more. When the fighting is done, if you wish me to remain in the North, I will.
Daenerys considers this.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
If you go against me, there will be no mercy for you.
JON SNOW
I have no wish to go against you, now or ever. I need you with me to win this war.
(beat)
Will you stand with me before the Northern lords?
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Do you think it wise to tell them?
JON SNOW
I do.
Beat.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Then I will stand with you.
INT. CASTLE BLACK – COURTYARD – NIGHT
Dolorous Edd, Beric Dondarrion, and Tormund Giantsbane are overseeing the preparations for the journey south. Men pile food into crates and polish weapons. Tormund steals a wineskin from a man whose arms are full of them and takes a swig.
DOLOROUS EDD
We’re going to need that for medicine.
TORMUND GIANTSBANE
My poor lonely heart aches.
BERIC DONDARRION
Miss Jon, do you?
Tormund advances on Beric with flared nostrils, but they’re interrupted by a steward, who hands a scroll to Dolorous Edd.
Dolorous Edd opens the scroll, pretends to read it, nods, and dismisses the steward. Then he hands it to Beric.
DOLOROUS EDD
What’s that say?
BERIC DONDARRION
Got…full…wight…hunt tomorrow? Gods, his letters are horrible.
DOLOROUS EDD
It’s Watch speak. The Night’s Watch is coming to Castle Black.
TORMUND GIANTSBANE
And we’re going to hunt us some fucking wights.
Tormund holds up his wineskin in a silent toast, and the other men grin.
EXT. KING’S LANDING – FLEA BOTTOM – NIGHT
The Queensguard march through the street, four of them carrying a large box. Torchlight gleams off their weapons and helms. Scared faces peek out of the shadows.
The Queensguard stop in the street where the little girl was playing that morning.
A Queensguard PAINTS something on the wall as…
…other guards pry the top off the box.
Smallfolk cover their noses. The smell of scorched meat fills the air.
Out of the box, a guard lifts the charred, brittle body of the little girl.
GASPS fill the streets.
A WOMAN utters a heart-wrenching WAIL when she sees the child.
Someone HISSES. A rock flies from the shadows to hit a Queensguard.
The six guards pull their swords as more rocks fly, then dung, sticks, and debris. Bodies press forward in a wave of helpless anger. A pack of men overwhelms a guard, killing him brutally.
The Queensguard retreats, cutting their attackers down one by one.
In the flickering torchlight, the newly painted words are finally visible. Large black letters above the corpse’s head spell out “THE UNBURNT.”
INT. WINTERFELL – GREAT HALL – NIGHT
The Northern lords are once again assembled. Tyrion, Varys, Jorah, and Missandei wait with Daenerys. Arya, Bran, and Sansa sit together at the head table. This time, Jon paces as he talks.
JON SNOW
You all know me as a bastard, and still you named me king. For your trust, and your loyalty, I will be forever grateful. I was raised a Stark in all but name.
(MORE)
JON SNOW (CONT’D)
The North runs as deep in my blood as it does in yours.
(beat)
But I have just learned of my true lineage. Eddard Stark is the father I remember, and the father I love. But he was not my father.
There’s a pause as this sinks in. No one is pleased by this news.
JON SNOW (CONT’D)
I am the trueborn son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen.
Instant uproar. Jon holds up his hands to ask for silence, and the room slowly calms.
JON SNOW (CONT’D)
I know this seems impossible. But I am both Stark and Targaryen. By birth alone, Daenerys and I both have a claim to the Iron Throne.
More chatter. Again Jon gestures for silence. Sansa studies the Northern lords.
JON SNOW (CONT’D)
I have no interest in ruling Westeros. My desire is to serve you. To serve the North. So as the man you named king, I ask you to trust my choice to support Queen Daenerys. I ask you to fight with us as one army, to defeat the forces we cannot fight separately.
LORD MAZIN
If what you say is true, you’re not truly of the North. You’re a Targaryen, not one of us. Why should we not pick a new king amongst ourselves, and let him lead us into battle?
JON SNOW
My mother was Lyanna Stark. The North is more a part of me than anything I’ve ever known. The white walkers don’t care about Houses. They don’t care about bloodlines. How much do you think our bloodlines will be worth when we’re bleeding into the snow?
(MORE)
JON SNOW (CONT’D)
Targaryen, Lannister, Stark, Karstark, Mormont –– we are one people now. I have looked the Night King in the eye, and I will stand and fight him. Who among you will fight with me?
Murmurs run through the room, but no one speaks until Lyanna Mormont stands.
LYANNA MORMONT
I chose you to lead because I believed Ned Stark’s blood ran through your veins.
(short pause)
But if what you say is true, you are the son of Lyanna Stark. I was named for your mother, and I’ve heard tales of her since I was in my crib. You have Stark blood in you. And Stark honor. When I spoke for you, I said that you were my king and the North remembers. I will honor my vow. I know no king, but the King in the North.
She turns to Daenerys.
LYANNA MORMONT (CONT’D)
But House Mormont supports the King in the North, and only the King in the North.
There are shouts of agreement. Daenerys is silently furious.
Suddenly, a HORN sounds from the wall.
Bran draws everyone’s attention.
BRAN
Last Hearth has fallen.
Jon and Sansa look at each other.
EXT. WINTERFELL – COURTYARD – SAME
The guards heave the gate open. NED UMBER stumbles in, covered in muck, his fingers blue with cold.
BRAN STARK (V.O.)
Ned Umber is the only survivor.
INT. WINTERFELL – GREAT HALL – NIGHT
Jon and Daenerys, as well as every person in the great hall, hang on Bran’s next words.
BRAN STARK
The Night King is headed for Winterfell.
Tyrion looks to his queen. Jon looks to Sansa.
EXT. THE SILENCE – NIGHT
The wind howls. The gale might well knock Yara over if she wasn’t bound to the mast. Euron grips Yara’s wrist and slices through the ropes. He drags her to the bow of the ship.
Terrified, Yara struggles. Euron ties her to the bow, facing outward –– a live figurehead.
Yara tries to shout, but her voice is carried away on the wind. Euron closes his eyes and whispers something. The sea below Yara shimmers with a phosphorescent glow. A shadowy outline appears below the surface.
It expands as it moves, stretching an enormous distance around and behind the ship.
Euron has a maniacal gleam on his face as he pulls out his dagger. Yara screams as he plunges the dagger into her arm. Her blood streams into the sea.
The thing beneath the water stirs. A giant TENTACLE rises from the frothing water. It soars up to the bow and gropes for Yara, attaching itself to her exposed, bloody flesh. It latches on to suck her royal blood as she screams into the night.
CUT TO BLACK.
END OF EPISODE 801