Game of Thrones 410: The Children

In Season 4 King Joffrey Baratheon was poisoned and succeeded by his younger brother, Tommen. At the Wall, the Night’s Watch managed to defeat an offensive by the Free Folk, aided by the timely arrival of Stannis Baratheon and his mercenary army. The Free Folk were attempting to cross the Wall to escape the relentless advance of the White Walkers and their army of the dead. Meanwhile, in Essos, Daenerys Targaryen captured Meereen but faced unrest among the cities of Slaver’s Bay.

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Main Events

? ?? 402 Purple Wedding

To secure the alliance between the Lannisters and the Tyrells, King Joffrey Baratheon married Margaery Tyrell at the Great Sept of Baelor in King’s Landing. At the wedding feast, however, Joffrey suddenly started choking after drinking his wine before falling to the ground, dead. Joffrey’s mother Cersei Lannister immediately accused her brother Tyrion of arranging the murder in collusion with his wife Sansa Stark, who disappeared during the event. see external link

? ?? 404 Siege of Meereen

After taking Astapor and Yunkai, Daenerys Targaryen moved on Meereeen, the third of the great cities of Slaver‘s Bay. In an attempt to intimidate her, the Great Masters of Meereen had 163 slave children nailed to milepost markers on the road to the city, but, after having Daario Naharis defeat the Meereenese champion, Daenerys incited a slave revolt within Meereen itself. With the support of Daenerys’s Unsullied, the rebellion quickly succeeded and Daenerys was welcomed into the city, where she began her rule as queen. see external link

? ?? 409–? ?? 410 Battle for the Wall

As many as 100,000 Free Folk (“wildlings”) united under Mance Rayder, King-Beyond-the-Wall, attacked the Wall in the vicinity of Castle Black, which was defended by a meager force of 102 men of the Night’s Watch led by Ser Alliser Thorne. After narrowly defeating the first night’s attack, Jon Snow met with Mance Rayder, ostensibly to discuss terms but in reality intending to assassinate him. At that point, however, hundreds of cavalry led by Stannis Baratheon—who had arrived undetected in the east—charged into the wildling camp, routing them and capturing a surprised Mance. see external link

? ?? 410 Assassination of Tywin Lannister

After being accused of poisoning King Joffrey Baratheon, Tyrion Lannister, uncle of both Joffrey and his successor Tommen, turned down the chance to join the Night’s Watch, opting for trial by combat instead. This ended in disaster for Tyrion—his champion, Oberyn Martell, was killed by Gregor “the Mountain” Clegane—but, on the eve of his execution, Tyrion’s brother Jaime surreptitiously released him from his cell. As Tyrion was escaping, he found his father Tywin, the Hand of the King, in his chambers and, after a heated argument, killed him with a crossbow. Tywin’s death destabilized the regime as there was nobody of comparable power and influence to replace him. see external link