Contents
JON — Chapter 50
Overview
At Castle Black, Melisandre weds Alys Karstark to Sigorn, binding House Karstark to the Thenns and Jon’s broader plan to settle free folk. Jon imprisons Cregan Karstark after thwarting his attempt to seize Alys. During the wedding feast, Cotter Pyke departs Eastwatch for Hardhome, and two horn blasts announce Tormund’s arrival, escalating Jon’s precarious alliances.
Summary
In a snow-swept yard at Castle Black, Melisandre conducts a fiery wedding rite uniting Alys Karstark and Sigorn, Magnar of Thenn. Jon observes support and dissent among Night’s Watch and queen’s men, mindful of absentees like Bowen Marsh and Othell Yarwyck. Melisandre’s visions again show only “snow,” heightening Jon’s skepticism and foreboding.
Jon has already intercepted Cregan Karstark and his men before they could claim guest right. Visiting Cregan in an ice cell, Jon informs him Alys is wed and presses him to yield Karhold peacefully to Alys and Sigorn, offering the Wall as mercy via the black. Cregan refuses, spewing insults and vowing defiance, forcing Jon to leave him alive but contained to preserve the Watch’s neutrality.
At the wedding feast, Watch brothers, queen’s men, and free folk mingle uneasily. Old Flint and The Norrey attend with wet nurses, signaling interest in alliances and in the child called Monster. Jon receives Cotter Pyke’s report: calm seas, eleven ships sailing from Eastwatch for Hardhome, with command assignments and risks noted. Jon worries over Ser Glendon Hewett holding Eastwatch.
Ser Axell Florent presses Jon to wed Val to one of Stannis’s knights to bind the wildlings, hinting Jon keeps her for himself. Jon rebuffs him, increasingly wary of queen’s men seeking provocations.
Horn blasts interrupt the feast: first one, then two. The second confirms wildlings at the Wall. Jon identifies the signal—Tormund Giantsbane has arrived—promising the next turn in Jon’s strategy to rescue and settle free folk amid mounting internal threats.
Who Appears
- Jon SnowLord Commander; arranges Alys’s marriage, imprisons Cregan, receives Hardhome fleet news, and anticipates Tormund’s arrival.
- Alys KarstarkBride; weds Sigorn to secure Karhold and escape forced marriage, shows resolve and practicality.
- Sigorn, Magnar of ThennGroom; leads Thenns, accepts marriage to Alys, symbolizing alliance between free folk and northmen.
- MelisandrePerforms the wedding rite; speaks of visions showing only “snow,” warns Jon of nearby danger.
- Queen Selyse FlorentAttends and exalts the R’hllor wedding; her faction eyes political marriages with wildlings.
- Cregan KarstarkCaptured after chasing Alys; defies Jon, refuses to yield Karhold, remains imprisoned.
- Ser Axell FlorentPressures Jon to wed Val to a loyalist knight; provokes with insinuations about Jon’s intentions.
- GhostJon’s direwolf; accompanies him, alert during the horn blasts.
- SatinJon’s steward; assists at the ceremony and feast, draws hostile looks from queen’s men.
- Ser Patrek of King’s MountainQueen’s man; resents Alys’s match, seems eager for conflict.
- Ser MalegornQueen’s knight; escorts Selyse, slighting Satin while asserting queen’s men’s status.
- Old FlintMountain clan chief; attends with warriors and a wet nurse, signaling pragmatic alliance.
- The NorreyMountain clan chief; attends with fighters and a wet nurse, accepting Jon’s arrangements.
- PatchfaceFool whose ominous sayings unsettle Melisandre at the feast.
- Cotter PykeCommander at Eastwatch; sends word his fleet of eleven ships sails for Hardhome.
- Maester HarmuneAt Eastwatch; writes Cotter Pyke’s report and sails with ravens.
- Ulmer of the KingswoodBlack brother; dances and identifies the horn as a Wall signal.
- Owen the OafBlack brother; plays music and reacts to the horn blasts.
- Princess Shireen BaratheonAttends the ceremony and dances, sheltered by her mother’s retinue.
- Tormund GiantsbaneAnnounced by two horn blasts; arrives with wildlings at the chapter’s end.