Robb sends Theon to win an alliance with his father and the fierce warriors of the Iron Islands. Returning to Pyke after nine years as the Starks' ward, Theon is reunited with his sister, Yara, and his father, Balon, who despises his acquired Northern ways; Balon rejects the proposed alliance and plans to reclaim the Iron Islands' independence by force. In King's Landing, Cersei and Tyrion clash on how to rule: she rejects Robb's peace terms, while Tyrion exiles Janos Slynt, the untrustworthy head of the Gold Cloaks, to the Night's Watch and promotes Bronn in his place. On the road north, Arya confides her true identity to Gendry. At Craster's Keep, Gilly, one of Craster's daughters, approaches Samwell Tarly, fearing for her unborn child if it is a boy; Jon resists helping despite Sam's pleas, and later discovers that Craster sacrifices his sons to the White Walkers before Craster catches him spying and knocks him unconscious.
In the Red Waste, a horse returns to Daenerys's camp with its rider's severed head in a pouch, a message from her enemies. At Dragonstone, Stannis uses the former smuggler Ser Davos Seaworth to seek out new allies for his war with the Lannisters, recruiting the pirate Salladhor Saan and his fleet, and attempts to sire a male heir with Melisandre, his wife Selyse having failed to produce a son.