A Clash of Kings

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, death by suicide, and death.

Cersei complains about sitting helplessly in the ballroom while the battle rages on outside. If Stannis breaches the keep, Cersei considers offering herself to him to save herself from the soldiers’ violations. This scandalizes Sansa.

Ser Osney Kettleblack reports that Stannis’s fleet has been decimated by wildfire. He also reports that Joffrey is still alive, which pleases Cersei. Cersei recalls her upbringing and her resentment that Jaime was raised to become a hero while she was raised to become a stranger’s wife.

When Kettleblack reports that Stannis’s men have reached the Mud Gate, Cersei orders for Joffrey to be brought back to the Red Keep. She then accuses Sansa of betrayal, going to the godswood to pray for the Lannisters’ defeat. She reveals that the real reason Ser Ilyn Payne is with them is to kill herself and Sansa before Stannis does.

Tyrion and Podrick ride into the battle. When Tyrion observes that the fighting is concentrated on the waterfront, he leads his soldiers to the Mud Gate. As he kills more soldiers, Tyrion finally experiences the high of battle fever that Jaime always told him about.