The Ghosts of Harrenhal: A Song of Ice and Fire Podcast (ASOIAF)

Send us Fan Mail Kevan Lannister presides over the Small Council, has dinner with Cersei, and then gets murdered by Varys and his little birds. Busy day. Mackelly and Simon try to keep it together. Chapter Review: Kevan Lannister and the Small Council quiz Ronnet Connington over the reappearance of cousin Jon Connington and this pretender Aegon. He protests his loyalty, but is held pending further consideration. Harys Swyft is trying to make new loans to pay off the existing loans. Next the ...

Send us Fan Mail Daenerys lives. She’s learned to ride Drogon, but now she tries to walk home. This leads to an unfortunate run-in with old friends. Simon and Mackelly try to put one foot in front of the other. Chapter Review: Daenerys Targaryen lives. Drogon has brought her to a rocky outcrop in the Dothraki sea which he has made his lair. Between a small pond and the scraps from Drogon’s successful hunts, she’s surviving. What’s more, she’s learning to ride the dragon. Unlike horses he tur...

Send us Fan Mail Ser Barristan watches a man die before meeting with his queen’s new council to discuss both peace and war plans. He then talks with the Dornishmen to offer a get-out-of-jail card. Finally, he meets with the Green Grace. The Yunki’i have rejected his ransom offer for the hostages. To emphasize this point, the Yunkai begin launching corpses into the city. Mackelly and Simon duck and cover. Chapter Review: Ser Barristan Selmy scans the horizon for a sign of Queen Daenerys Targa...

Send us Fan Mail Jon Snow tries to arrange for a rescue mission to Hardhome, but his plans are derailed by a taunting missive from Ramsay Bolton. He now decides to go south to confront his tormentor, but this is the last straw for his critics who gang up on him and stab him repeatedly. Mackelly and Simon try to find reasons for hope. Chapter Review: Lord Commander Jon Snow describes his plan to rescue the free folk at Hardhome to Queen Selyse. She suggests the simpler solution, of letting th...

Send us Fan Mail Quentyn Martell tries to fulfill his destiny, and his deal with the Windblown, to obtain dragons. Not much goes to plan and the chapter ends with Rhaegal setting Quentyn afire. Simon and Mackelly hope his Targaryen blood will save him. Chapter Review: Prince Quentyn Martell is determined to obtain a dragon. He cannot face the shame of returning to Dorne empty-handed. Gerris Drinkwater catches him testing his flesh against candle flame, with predictable results. Gerris ...

Send us Fan Mail Ser Barristan Selmy commits to the plan to oust King Hizdhar. He’s not thrilled about it, and extracts promises from Skahaz that blood would only be shed as a last resort. His capture of Hizdahr is interrupted - the dragons are loose. Jenny and Mackelly fetch buckets of sand. Chapter Review: Ser Barristan Selmy plots with Skahaz mo Kandaq to dethrone King Hizdahr zo Loraq and to establish a council to rule Meereen until Queen Daenerys Targaryen returns. If all goes well, the...

Send us Fan Mail Tyrion makes a deal with the Second Sons which gives him, Penny, and Jorah a second chance. Mackelly and Simon weigh up the deal that he’s struck. Chapter Review: Tyrion Lannister signs a stack of parchments, each gifting an increasing tranche of gold to the senior members of the Second Sons. He feigns anguish at the amounts but knows that he’s good for it if he comes into his inheritance and dead anyway if he doesn’t…so it’s all an act. After the bookkeeping he formally sig...

Send us Fan Mail Cersei does the walk of shame through King’s Landing. Mackelly and Simon wistfully recall their college days. Chapter Review: Queen Cersei Lannister is shaved (all over) and must walk through the streets of King’s Landing, from the Great Sept of Baelor to the Red Keep to atone for the cherry-picked sins that she has confessed to. She’s a lion and won’t be cowed. She keeps her eyes on the Red Keep and the promise of seeing her son King Tommen again as the crowd pelt he...

Send us Fan Mail Arya gets her first assignment as an assassin for the House of Black and White. She also gets a new face, that of a little girl who had been badly beaten. After a successful mission, Arya is promoted to Acolyte and given her first apprenticeship. Simon and Mackelly decide to stop biting their coins. Chapter Review: Arya Stark witnesses a meeting of priests of the House of Black and White. When the meeting ends, one of the men talks with her. He accuses her of being too soft,...

Send us Fan Mail Victarion Greyjoy follows Moqorro’s advice and gains many victories. He believes that he is now blessed by two gods. Simon and Mackelly wonder if poly-religiosity is frowned upon by the deities. Chapter Review: Victarion Greyjoy is advised by Moqorro where to sail. Repeatedly the red priest comes up with the goods and the Iron Fleet swells with each captured vessel. Victarion emulates his intended (well intended by him) Daenerys Targaryen by freeing the galley slaves. They s...

Send us Fan Mail Asha Greyjoy watches a preview of her own possible gruesome fate, listens as Stannis’ army argues over their best course of action, and has a most unexpected reunion. Mackelly and Simon must remember their names. Chapter Review: Asha Greyjoy stands, cold and hungry, as the Queen’s Men chain four naked men to poles before setting the men on fire. The condemned men’s crime was cannibalism. Asha isn’t surprised. The lords and knights have access to horse meat and a warm longhal...

Send us Fan Mail Jon Connington retakes his ancestral home, pines for Rhaegar, plots his next move, and hopes that a splash of cheap plonk will keep the greyscale at bay. Simon and Mackelly celebrate the Westerly motion. Chapter Review: Jon Connington and the Golden Company successfully retake Griffin’s Roost. It wasn’t hard, security has become lax. Not all of the ships that set out have arrived, so the force is split between those liberating stormlands holdfasts and keeps, and those waitin...

Send us Fan Mail Quentyn Martell stays in Meereen and offers the Tattered Prince his heart’s desire if the latter can help Quentyn to steal a dragon. Simon and Mackelly think that that might be quite risky. Chapter Review: Quentyn Martell and friends discuss Ser Baristan Selmy’s warning to go home. Quentyn is resolute, Daenerys’ words about the dragon having three heads has given him a glimmer of hope. His companions stay with him, but they’re less convinced. They arrange a meeting with the...

Send us Fan Mail Ser Barristan Selmy gets more dispirited by Hizdahr’s rule and suggests to Quentyn Martell that the Prince of Dorne should leave town. An idea Prince Quentyn isn’t a fan of. Simon and Mackelly try to think of alternatives. Chapter Review: With Queen Daenerys Targaryen still missing, Ser Barristan Selmy attends King Hizdahr zo Loraq’s court. He sees few friends and a lot of Hizdahr loyalists. A delegation from the Yunkai besiegers arrive with a statement in the form of...

Send us Fan Mail Jon watches as more than three thousand Free Folk pass through the Wall. He also receives desperate news from Hardhome where Cotter Pyke’s mission is going very badly. Simon and Mackelly celebrate the good news and worry about the bad. Chapter Review: Lord Commander Jon Snow rides out to meet with Tormund north of the Wall. The wildling waves his people forward. They come in a great procession that takes the whole day to get through the Wall. More than three thousand in tota...

Send us Fan Mail Tyrion, Penny, and Jorah hitch a ride on the pale mare to start a new life. Mackelly and Simon look to a brighter future. Chapter Review: Tyrion Lannister, Penny, and Sweets tend to their master Yezzan zo Qaggaz, who is sick with the bloody flux. Some survive but the slaver was in such poor health anyway that Tyrion has no doubt that he’ll die. A healer is called for, who says the only help is clean water from the well. Nurse died the previous day. He too could not survive ...

Send us Fan Mail Victarion Greyjoy meets Moqorro. The priest of R’hllor proves his value by curing Victarion’s wounded hand. Onwards to Meereen and Daenerys - to claim her as his bride. Simon and Mackelly wonder if he and Daenerys might be ill-suited. Chapter Review: Victarion Greyjoy is awaiting the rest of his storm-ravaged Iron Fleet on the Isle of Cedars. The fleet has dwindled from 93 down to 54, but that new number includes captured cogs and fishing boats that hardly cover for the othe...

Send us Fan Mail Barristan Selmy takes stock after the departure of Daenerys on Drogon. As Hizdahr cements his power, the old knight is forced into plots that he hoped he’d left behind. Simon and Mackelly egg him on. Chapter Review: With Queen Daenerys Targaryen still missing, Ser Barristan Selmy is informed by the seneschal Reznak mo Reznak that King Hizdahr zo Loraq no longer needs him by the new king’s side. Selmy is fine with that. He’s short of friends right now, with Daario and company...

Send us Fan Mail Cersei makes the only play she can. She wisely confesses to most of her crimes, that have already been verified by other witnesses anyway, but denies the big ones. For those questions, trial by combat will determine her guilt. Uncle Kevan reports wholesale changes in the Small Council. Mackelly and Simon weigh her chances. Chapter Review: Queen Cersei Lannister hates her jailors, three dour septas. But they break her down and she is ready to confess. She’s brought before the...

Send us Fan Mail Jon negotiates terms with Tormund, introduces Val to Queen Selyse, and not for the first time tries to convince his underlings of the true meaning of their vows and the sanity of his plans. Simon and Mackelly try to shake the feeling that it is Groundhog day, again. Chapter Review: Lord Commander Jon Snow and Tormund Giantsbane discuss terms for Tormund’s band of roughly four thousand free folk to pass through the Wall at Castle Black. After much arguing and threats of viole...

Send us Fan Mail Daenerys attends the reopening of the fighting pits. It’s pretty much as she expected until Drogon arrives and whisks her away. Simon and Mackelly try not to get carried away. Chapter Review: Daenerys Targaryen dons a tokar for the reopening of the fighting pits. Barristan Selmy reports that he freed Meris of the Windblown who assured him that she and the rest of the Westerosi deserters were in fact emissaries from the Tattered Prince who was ready to switch sides. All he wa...

Send us Fan Mail Theon watches as a child's body is laid before Lord Roose instigating in-fighting in the castle. Roose calls for battle preparations against Stannis. Theon is called into duty to smuggle Arya out of Winterfell. All goes well, until it doesn’t. Mackelly and Simon hope for a soft landing. Chapter Review: Theon Greyjoy sits at the back of the Great Hall of Winterfell, alongside the bard Abel and some of his women. Ser Hosteen Frey bursts through the doors with Little Walder’s d...

Send us Fan Mail Daenerys hosts her conquerors, the Yunkai’i. Peace has cost her more than she can stomach. Mackelly and Simon sympathize with her. Chapter Review: Daenerys Targaryen attends a banquet thrown for the Yunkai’i to celebrate the peace. The accords hold, no re-enslavement, no more freeing of the existing slaves, but Daenerys is far from pleased that a slave market has been opened outside her walls - technically not in violation, but an obvious goad to her. To ensure a peaceful e...

Send us Fan Mail Jon has a full day at the Wall. He gives away a bride, checks on his new high-born prisoner, gets news from Eastwatch, and believes Val and Tormund have returned to Castle Black. Simon and Mackelly throw some rice in celebration of the new couple. Chapter Review: Lord Commander Jon Snow waits with Alys Karstark as Melisandre prays to R’hllor. Jon notices that his top ranking brothers are not in attendance. Eventually, Melisandre asks who is to be wed. Jon escorts Alys to her...

Send us Fan Mail Jaime ends the siege of Raventree Hall. On his way back to Riverrun, Brienne of Tarth finds Jamie and tells him that she’s found the Stark girl and that Jamie must come quickly, and alone. Simon and Mackelly say hello to an old friend. Chapter Review: Jaime Lannister arrives at Raventree Hall and tries to bring an end to hostilities between the Brackens and the Blackwoods. Good luck with that! Jonos Bracken wants several pounds of flesh as his payment for delivering the Blac...

Send us Fan Mail Please enjoy some of the flubs, confusion, and mishaps that we suffered through this year and then compiled just for you. Thank you all for being part of this journey. Support the show Support us: Buy us a Cup of Arbor Gold, or become a sustainer and receive cool perksDonate to our causeUse our exclusive URL for a free 30-day trial of AudibleBuy or gift Marriott Bonvoy points through our affiliate linkBuy GoH merchandise through our store.Rate and review us at Apple Podcasts,...

Send us Fan Mail Tyrion, Penny, and Jorah are sold into slavery. Their first job goes well and they may be destined for better things. Mackelly and Simon look for the silver linings. Chapter Review: Tyrion Lannister and Penny, are sold into slavery outside the walls of Meereen to Yezzan zo Qaggaz a Yunkish noble, they fetch a good price with the promise of entertainment. Their immediate boss will be a functionary who goes by Nurse. He’s the one they’ll answer to. Tyrion convinces Nurs...

Send us Fan Mail Theon continues to wander Winterfell. A fact that is noted when men start being found murdered. His worthlessness proves to be a sufficiently strong alibi. He is once again propositioned by Abel’s women. Simon and Mackelly consult their IP lawyers. Chapter Review: Theon Greyjoy continues to haunt Winterfell, and Winterfell returns the favor. The blizzard rages on, making the living conditions increasingly intolerable. Ropes are strung between the buildings to prevent people ...

Send us Fan Mail Arya learns much and more in the House of Black and White despite being completely blind. When she cracks a riddle, she awakens to find her sight returned. Mackelly and Simon feel their pupils dilate. Chapter Review: Arya Stark’s education continues apace in the House of Black and White. Without her sight she’s developing her four other senses. In addition, she’s learning languages, potions, and poisons. More painfully she’s learning how to defend herself against silent assa...

Send us Fan Mail Jon welcomes Queen Selyse and her entourage. He then hammers out the details of a loan with the Iron Bank. Later he's notified that a girl has arrived at the castle. Simon and Mackelly suggest they keep the giant out of the liquor cabinet. Chapter Review: Lord Commander Jon Snow greets Queen Selyse Baratheon. She and her entourage have stopped at Castle Black on their way to the Nightfort. Before escorting her and Princess Shireen to the King’s Tower, Jon warns the queen abou...

Send us Fan Mail Daenerys openly flaunts her relationship with Daario, tells Quentyn Martell that he has come to late, and despite all kinds of misgivings, goes ahead and marries Hizdahr zo Loraq. Simon and Mackelly throw some confetti, half-heartedly. Chapter Review: Daenerys Targaryen spends her last nights as a single woman in the arms of Daario Naharis. Her looming nuptials strain their relationship. The Yunkaii continue to mass beyond her gates. She knows deep down that this will never ...

Send us Fan Mail Asha Greyjoy bent the knee to King Stannis. She’s been rewarded with shackles but is also treated as the king’s prize in his army’s ill-fated march on Winterfell. Simon and Mackelly hope she’s packed her thermals. Chapter Review: Stannis Baratheon's army winds out of Deepwood Motte. Among the baggage rolls Asha Greyjoy, fettered and guarded by Alysane “She-Bear” Mormont. Asha is Stannis’s living trophy for the lords of the north. The king plans to march 100 leagues through t...

Send us Fan Mail Theon has the freedom of Winterfell while Ramsay is distracted by Arya. He gets wooed by Abel’s women and learns the source of Barbrey Dustin’s animus towards the Starks. Simon and Mackelly try to see light at the end of the tunnel. Chapter Review: Theon Greyjoy roams Winterfell considering whether he might escape. But since The Iron Islands are death to him, and Winterfell is the only home he’s ever known, where would he go? Intel arrives that the snow storm that blights th...

Send us Fan Mail Tyrion and company are all but sunk by a fearsome storm after being becalmed for weeks. Be careful what you wish for. They’re rescued by, what even the nose-less can tell is a slave-ship. Mackelly and Simon move things from the frying pan into the fire. Chapter Review: Tyrion Lannister, Penny, and Jorah Mormont are still aboard the Selaesori Qhoran AKA “the Stinky Steward.” It’s been becalmed for nearly two weeks and the sailors are beginning to question if Tyrion and Penny ...

Send us Fan Mail Jon sends Val to Tormund Giantsbane with terms. In a shocking turn of events, Jon’s advisers disagree with the plan. Simon and Mackelly would like to remind Jon, well his advisers actually, of what befell Janos Slynt, and why. Chapter Review: Lord Commander Jon Snow escorts Val through the Wall. She’s headed north to find Tormund Giantsbane and offer him safe passage through the Wall if he’ll follow the expected rules - don’t kill everyone and help defend the Wall. She’s con...

Send us Fan Mail Areo Hotah watches as the skull of the Mountain is presented to Prince Doran Martell. Finally peace between Dorne and the Iron Throne, predicted no one, ever. Mackelly and Simon roll out the barbed wire and start digging the trenches. Chapter Review: In the Old Palace of Sunspear, Areo Hotah watches as Maester Caleotte delivers an ebony chest to Prince Doran Martell. Inside is the skull of Gregor Clegane, which Obara Sand places on a marble pedestal. Doran declares that “the...

Send us Fan Mail Jeyne Poole marries Ramsay Bolton at Winterfell. Theon gives her away, Wyman Manderly supplies the victuals, Abel serenades the newlyweds, and Barbrey Dustin steals Simon’s best material. Simon and Mackelly reminisce about the good old days. Chapter Review: Theon Greyjoy encourages Jeyne Poole to never drop her facade, she must be Arya Stark. He escorts her to the godswood where Ramsay Bolton and the gathered northern lords await. The ceremony takes only a few moments despit...

Send us Fan Mail Daenerys continues her struggle to balance compassion with pragmatism, facing the horrors outside Meereen’s walls, the humiliations of marriage politics, and stunning betrayals. With Darrio's return, the queen gives into her desires. Simon and Mackelly ponder whether such lust will make her stronger, or break her reign. Chapter Review: Daenerys Targaryen rides out to witness the Astapori refugees beyond the gates of Meereen. The misery is staggering: starving families, corps...

Send us Fan Mail Jon takes the new Night's Watch recruits north of the Wall to say their vows before the weirwood trees. Jon returns with swollen ranks to find a letter from Stannis. Simon and Mackelly second guess every decision. Chapter Review: Lord Commander Jon Snow takes a group of new recruits north of the Wall to say their words before the grove of weirwoods where he said his own vows. The usual naysayers say nay, but Jon is adamant and takes Ghost along for added protection. They fin...

Send us Fan Mail Bran begins his training with the three-eyed crow. It’s disconcerting, slightly dangerous, but he begins to glimpse that it might give him a life far beyond what he could have expected. Simon and Mackelly are rooting for him. Chapter Review: Bran Stark starts his training in green-seeing and skin-changing with the three-eyed crow, who we learn is former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch Bryden Rivers. Jojen Reed’s health has recovered but he seems resigned to a fate that h...

Send us Fan Mail Tyrion, Jorah, and Penny are at sea. Tyrion and Penny make peace, Jorah broods. The priest Moqorro wants them to make haste, he’s seen nasty shadows headed towards Daenerys and wants to be there to protect her. Mackelly and Simon take their Dramamine. Chapter Review: Tyrion Lannister is aboard the Selaesori Qhoran AKA “the Stinky Steward,” captained by a sour-faced man, but he’s not commanding this journey, that would be the priest of R’Hllor Moqorro. Penny is keeping to her...

Send us Fan Mail Reek/Theon is taken aside by Roose Bolton, to Ramsay’s dismay. Roose gives Ramsay some fatherly advice and takes Reek to meet w Lady Dustin, she is unimpressed. Simon and Mackelly speculate as to what Bolton senior is plotting. Chapter Review: Reek watches as Ramsay Bolton returns empty-handed from a hunt to find three missing Freys. Only the Bolton’s need to keep the Dustins and Ryswells on-board is keeping Ramsay’s anger in check. As Ramsay and company feast, they’re...

Send us Fan Mail Melisandre sees much and more in her flames. She counsels Jon Snow and unveils a shocking truth about Rattleshirt. She reveals that her sorcery isn’t as easy as she lets on and how Jon can both save Arya and keep his Night’s Watch vows. Simon and Mackelly sift through the flames and try not to get burned. Chapter Review: Melisandre searches the flames for Stannis and the girl on a dying horse. She doesn’t find her king or the girl but does see much else, including omens of J...

Send us Fan Mail Daenerys comes to the realization that she cannot face her internal and external threats alone, and must marry Hizdahr zo Loraq. Simon and Mackelly fuss over the bride-to-be. Chapter Review: Daenerys Targaryen clashes with Admiral Groleo. He wants her to unleash the dragons on the blockading ships, she wants him to build ships and fight her enemies. Thus far Hizdahr zo Loraq has been true to his word: 26 days with no murders. Skahaz mo Kandaq, the Shavepate, has been spying...

Send us Fan Mail Davos isn’t dead. The Manderlys' animosity was all for show. They know the Freys lie. But they’re not ready to join Stannis yet. However, if Davos can find and return Rickon Stark, then that would seal the deal. Mackelly and Simon debate who that might be. Chapter Review: Davos Seaworth is kept waiting for his execution. The gaoler refers to him as “The Dead Man,” but he’s fed and has more than decent accommodation. After several days Robett Glover comes and takes him throug...

Send us Fan Mail Jon makes a controversial choice for his ranging crew, gets unexpectedly bested in the yard, gets even more unexpected news out of Barrowtown, and receives a pair of impactful prophecies from Melisandre. Jenny and Mackelly break down Jon’s busy day. Chapter Review: Lord Commander Jon Snow has commanded nine Night’s Watch brothers to range north of the Wall. One of those nine is Ser Alliser Thorne, who is not happy about the assignment. He tells Jon that if he dies by an Other...

Send us Fan Mail Tyrion and Ser Jorah make it to Volantis where Tyrion seeks escape. But when he finds out that they’re headed to Daenerys, not Cersei, his outlook changes markedly. Mackelly and Simon refuse to take the bait. Chapter Review: Tyrion Lannister arrives in Volantis as a prisoner of Ser Jorah Mormont. He tries all his tricks to wheedle out of his predicament but gets nowhere. In the city, they see the High Priest of R’hllor preaching a pro-Daenerys message to a multitude of slave...

Send us Fan Mail Asha Greyjoy learns that Theon lives, that previous kingsmoots have been contested, that Tris Botley is not interested in a thruple, and that where there’s five northmen there’s probably 3000. Simon and Mackelly wish that our favorite Kraken could find happiness. Chapter Review: At Deepwood Motte, Asha receives a letter from Ramsay Bolton written in ironborn blood, that includes a party-favor of some of Theon’s skin. She had thought her brother dead. She has sex with Qarl th...

Send us Fan Mail Quentyn Martell and his traveling companions joined up with the Windblown to get to Slaver’s Bay. Now it’s time to ditch their new friends and turn their cloaks to Daenerys Targaryen’s side of the war. The timing of the move is integral. However, before they can make their break, they catch a break that makes their task a whole lot easier. Simon and Mackelly offer them fresh brown cloaks to turn. Chapter Review: Prince Quentyn Martell and his traveling companions survived th...

Send us Fan Mail Jon Connington and Aegon Targaryen meet the Golden Company. The route to Daenerys is closed, so the young prince suggests that instead they head West. Connington, infected with greyscale, is impressed. Simon and Mackelly carefully examine their extremities. Chapter Review Griff, Jon Connington, leads young Griff, Aegon Targaryen, to the encampment of the Golden Company. They are led to the commander’s tent. Within Homeless Harry Strickland is bathing his sore toes, Conningto...