Sansa has fled to the Godswood, and when she removes her hairnet, she notices that one of the black amethysts is missing. Dontos told her she must wear it for the wedding feast, but she now remembers that the amethysts are from Asshai, and that Dontos called the hairnet “magic”. Dontos then appears in the godswood, and Sansa accuses him of murdering the King by using one of the amethysts. Dontos denies it, telling her Tyrion has already been arrested for poisoning the King. She dresses under a heavy cloak, and Dontos leads her to a secret stairway down to the river. They are rowed out to a ship, and Sansa is shocked to find Littlefingeron board. When Dontos calls for his reward of ten thousand gold dragons, Littlefinger commands Lothor Brune to kill the drunk.

Littlefinger explains to her that the fool sold her for a promise of gold, and once he drank that up he would sell her whereabouts to the Queen for more gold. He reveals that it was he who wrote the note so long ago, asking her to go to the godswood. Littlefinger also planned for the dwarf jousters at the wedding, and Sansa asks him why he should wish Joffrey dead. Littlefinger responds, "I had no motive. Always keep your foes confused. Sometimes the best way to baffle them is to make moves that have no purpose…Remember that when you come to play the game of thrones." He claims he had her mother's maidenhood and tells her that she could have been his daughter, had he and Catelyn wed, and therefore he must look out for Sansa.Follow Jimmy: https://twitter.com/theFLOCKAVELI

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George R.R. Martin’s long-awaited The Winds of Winter sparked controversy at Seattle Worldcon 2025 when a fan crossed the line during a panel with Brandon Sanderson. The audience member bluntly told Martin he “wouldn’t be around for much longer” and asked if Sanderson might finish the series. The offensive comment drew backlash, with fans rallying behind Martin in support.

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Joined by Ser Ezra the Watchfull!

Will Sarella Sand be the one to uncover Jon Snow’s parentage at the Citadel?

One of the big mysteries in A Song of Ice and Fire is the identity of “the Sphinx.” In his dying words, Maester Aemon urges Samwell Tarly to “seek the Sphinx at Oldtown… the Sphinx is the riddle.”

Many fans believe the Sphinx is Alleras, a young Dornish “boy” studying at the Citadel — who is actually Sarella Sand, one of Oberyn Martell’s Sand Snakes, in disguise. The Alleras = Sarella theory is one of the most widely accepted in the fandom… but it raises a key question: why is the Sphinx so important in the first place?

What if the answer is that Alleras is the one who uncovers Jon Snow’s true parentage?

In the show, Sam learns about Rhaegar and Lyanna’s marriage when Gilly reads it from an old book at the Citadel. But in the books, maybe Sam learns it through Alleras, who’s been investigating the mystery as well. Sarella — being from Dorne — would have far more personal interest in the truth. She would want to know why her aunt, Elia Martell, was set aside for Lyanna Stark… and why Rhaegar sent members of the Kingsguard to protect Lyanna at the Tower of Joy instead of fighting beside him at the Trident.

This revelation could have huge ripple effects in the books that the show never touched. We know Dorne will play a much bigger role in The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. The show more or less abandoned the Dornish plot when it became unpopular, but George R.R. Martin has been building something much more important.

If Alleras uncovers the truth, she could use it to rally Dorne behind Daenerys instead of Young Griff — knowing he’s a pretender — and push Daenerys toward seeking out the real Targaryen heir.

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Sansa has learned from Tyrion the fate of her brother and mother at the Red Wedding. She and her husband join many other guests at the Queen’s Ballroom to give Joffrey his wedding gifts. It is a new year, the 300th since Aegon's Conquest, and Joffrey’s wedding is that night. Tyrion presents his nephew with a copy of Grand Maester Kaeth’s Lives of Four Kings, one of only four copies in existence written by Kaeth himself. Kevan tells the King it is "A book every king should read." Joffrey is disappointed with the gift, and hacks the book in half with the Valyrian sword his grandfather had just given him. Joffrey remarks that he is no stranger to Valyrian steel, and also that Tyrion owes him another gift. Tyrion suggests a Valyrian dagger with a dragonbone hilt, which seems to unsettle Joffrey for a moment before he says it is a good idea but wants one with a gold hilt instead.

Later, back in their rooms, Sansa tells Tyrion that she would rather not know how Robb and her mother had perished, and Tyrion promises that he will say no more.

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*** We are splitting this episode in half, just because its such a small chapter and we talked most of the show about the news, for the listeners who just want the chapter episodes by themselves***

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Tyrion is lying in bed beside his wife. Dreadful details of the Red Wedding have reached King's Landing, about how the Freys mutilated the corpses of Robb Stark and Catelyn Tully. Tyrion has tried to keep those stories from Sansa and wants to comfort her but he knows she will never take comfort from a Lannister. He leaves to visit Shae in the room where the dragon skulls are kept, but he remembers his recent conversation with Varys. The eunuch warned him that if confronted by the Queen, he would tell her the truth about Shae. Tyrion realizes that if he is to save Shae, he must either send her away or marry her off. After she pleases him, he decides that he will marry her to Ser Tallad, and Cersei will never think to find out who she is.

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*** We are splitting this episode in half, just because its such a small chapter and we talked most of the show about the news, for the listeners who just want the chapter episodes by themselves***

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