"The Rains of Castamere" is the ninth and penultimate episode of the
third season of
HBO's
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
television series ''
Game of Thrones'', and the 29th episode of the series. The episode was written by executive producers
David Benioff
David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American writer, director and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known as co-creator and showrunner of '' Game of Thrones'' (2 ...
and
D. B. Weiss
Daniel Brett Weiss (; born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known as co-creator of ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. ...
, and directed by
David Nutter
David Nutter (born 1960) is an American television and film director and television producer. He is best known for directing pilot episodes for television. In 2015, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Serie ...
. It first aired on .
The episode is centered on the wedding of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey, one of the most memorable events of the book series, commonly called "
The Red Wedding", during which
Robb Stark and his banner-men are massacred. Other storylines include
Bran Stark
Brandon Stark, known as Bran, is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation '' Game of Thrones'', where he is portrayed by English ...
's group's having to separate,
Jon Snow's loyalties being tested, and
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen ( ) is a fictional character in the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' by American author George R. R. Martin. She is a prominent Narrative mode#Third-person view, point of view character, and is one of ...
's plotting her invasion of the city of Yunkai. The title is a song belonging to the Lannister family, whose lyrics foreshadow the Red Wedding and which is played by the band at the wedding right before the slaughter begins.
"The Rains of Castamere" is widely regarded as one of the most harrowing episodes of television in history. It earned Benioff and Weiss a nomination for
, and was the recipient of the
Hugo Award for
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.
This episode marks the final appearance of
Richard Madden
Richard Madden (born 18 June 1986) is a Scottish actor. He was cast in his first role at age 11 and made his screen acting debut in 2000. He later began performing on stage whilst a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In 2007, he ...
(
Robb Stark),
Oona Chaplin
Oona Castilla Chaplin (; born 4 June 1986) is a Spanish-Swiss actress. Her roles include Talisa Maegyr in the HBO TV series ''Game of Thrones'', Kitty Trevelyan in the BBC drama '' The Crimson Field'', and Zilpha Geary in the series ''Taboo' ...
(
Talisa Stark
George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others (A So ...
), and
Michelle Fairley
Michelle Fairley (born 1964–1965) is an actress from Northern Ireland. She is best known for playing Catelyn Stark in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2013). She has since appeared in the USA Network series '' Suits'' (2013), the ...
(
Catelyn Stark
Catelyn Stark (née Tully), later known as Lady Stoneheart, is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. She is a pr ...
).
Plot
Beyond the Wall
Sam and Gilly continue their march south. Sam tells Gilly he plans for them to cross the Wall using the entrance at the Nightfort, an abandoned castle to the west of Castle Black.
In the North
Bran and his group take shelter in an abandoned mill. They see an old horse breeder captured by Jon's wildling group.
Hodor
George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others beyo ...
, scared of thunderstorms, begins yelling, which threatens to give away their location. Bran accidentally uses his warg abilities to enter Hodor's mind and subdue him.
Orell tells Jon to kill the old man to prove his loyalty, but when he hesitates,
Ygritte
George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others beyo ...
kills him instead.
Tormund realizes that Jon is not loyal to them and orders his men to kill him. Bran enters Summer's mind and helps Jon to defeat Tormund's men and Orell. Jon escapes, leaving behind a saddened Ygritte. With dangers ahead, Bran asks Osha and Rickon to leave for Last Hearth, the home of the Umber family.
In Yunkai
Daario, Jorah, and Grey Worm enter the city and fight some slave guards. The other slaves refuse to fight and Daenerys is soon in control of the city.
At the Twins
The Stark army arrive at the Twins. Robb apologizes to
Walder Frey
George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others bey ...
and his daughters for not keeping his promised betrothal. After
Edmure marries
Roslin, Frey calls for the bedding ceremony and the couple are taken away. Talisa tells Robb that she wants to name their son Eddard. The doors to the hall are then locked and a Lannister song, "The Rains of Castamere", begins to play, and Catelyn realizes that they have been betrayed by
Roose Bolton. The Freys attack, killing many of the Starks, including Talisa.
Sandor Clegane
Sandor Clegane, nicknamed the Hound, is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''.
Introduced in 1996's ''A Game of ...
, travelling to the Twins with
Arya Stark
Arya Stark is a fictional character in American author George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' epic fantasy novel series, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones'', where she is portrayed by English actress Maisie Williams. S ...
, steals a cart of food. That night, they arrive and, despite being turned away by the guards, Arya sneaks in. She witnesses the killing of the Stark soldiers and Robb's direwolf before being recaptured by Sandor. Catelyn threatens to kill Walder's wife, Joyeuse, if he does not let Robb leave alive, but Walder is indifferent to the threat. Robb is stabbed and killed by Roose while Catelyn watches in horror. After cutting Joyeuse's throat, Catelyn's own throat is cut by Black Walder Frey.
Production
Writing
"The Rains of Castamere" was written by executive producers
David Benioff
David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American writer, director and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known as co-creator and showrunner of '' Game of Thrones'' (2 ...
and
D. B. Weiss
Daniel Brett Weiss (; born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known as co-creator of ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. ...
, based on
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
's original work from his novel ''
A Storm of Swords
''A Storm of Swords'' is the third of seven planned novels in ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 8, 2000, in the United Kingdom, with a United States edition fol ...
''. The episode adapts content from chapters 41 to 43 and 50 to 53 (Bran III, Jon V, Daenerys IV, Catelyn VI, Arya X, Catelyn VII, and Arya XI).
The episode includes one of the most important plot turns of the series: the betrayal and assassination of the Stark forces during a marriage ceremony in what came to be known as "
The Red Wedding". The event culminates in Roose Bolton delivering Jaime Lannister's message from "
The Bear and the Maiden Fair
"The Bear and the Maiden Fair" is the seventh episode of the third season of HBO's fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 27th episode of the series overall. The episode was written by George R. R. Martin, the author of the ' ...
", before killing Robb. This tragic turn of events had a profound impact on Benioff and Weiss in their first read of the novels and it was the scene that convinced them to attempt to obtain the rights for a television series.
![Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Edinburgh_Castle%2C_Edinburgh_-_geograph.org.uk_-_505910.jpg)
George R. R. Martin conceived The Red Wedding during the earliest stages of the planning of his saga, when he was envisioning a trilogy with The Red Wedding as one of the climactic events at the end of the first of the three books. Martin was particularly inspired by two events in
Scottish history
The recorded begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century, when the province of Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. North of this was Caledonia, inhabited by the ''Picti'', whose uprisings forced Rome ...
. One of them was the 15th century historical event known as the "
Black Dinner
Clan Douglas is an ancient clan or noble house from the Scottish Lowlands.
Taking their name from Douglas in Lanarkshire, their leaders gained vast territories throughout the Borders, Angus, Lothian, Moray, and also in France and Sweden. The f ...
", where the Scottish king invited the chieftains of the powerful
Clan Douglas
Clan Douglas is an ancient clan or noble house from the Scottish Lowlands.
Taking their name from Douglas in Lanarkshire, their leaders gained vast territories throughout the Borders, Angus, Lothian, Moray, and also in France and Sweden. ...
to a feast at
Edinburgh Castle.
A black bull's head, the symbol of death, was served as the last course of the dinner while a single drum was playing in the background, and the Douglases were murdered.
Another event from which the author drew inspiration was the 1692
Massacre of Glencoe
The Massacre of Glencoe ( gd, Murt Ghlinne Comhann) took place in Glen Coe in the Highlands of Scotland
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Cultur ...
, where
Clan MacDonald
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...
hosted the
Campbell Clan who killed thirty-eight of their hosts overnight.
Martin has said The Red Wedding was the hardest thing he has ever written. He explained that he always tries to put himself in the skin of his characters when writing from their perspective, and develops bonds with them. He even felt attached to the minor characters killed during the massacre. It was so painful for him that he skipped the chapter and continued writing, and only when the rest of the book was finished, he "forced himself" to come back to the dreaded scene. In 2012, at ComicCon he even joked that "he will visit a country with no television when the episode goes on air".
Martin also said he killed off Robb because he believed the audience would assume that the story was about Ned Stark's heir avenging his death and wished to keep them guessing.
Richard Madden suggested Talisa — whose counterpart Jeyne Westerling was not killed in the books — died so Robb's heir could not avenge his death.
Casting
Will Champion
William Champion (born 31 July 1978) is an English musician and songwriter best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Southampton, he learned various instruments during his childhood, being influenced b ...
, the drummer and backing vocalist of the band
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
, has a cameo appearance as one of the musicians who play at the wedding.
Reception
Ratings
"The Rains of Castamere" premiered to 5.22 million viewers and received a 2.8 rating in adults 18–49. The second airing was viewed by 1.08 million people, bringing total viewership for the night to 6.30 million. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 1.013 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week. It also received 0.112 million timeshift viewers.
Critical reception
![Michelle Fairley by Gage Skidmore 2 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Michelle_Fairley_by_Gage_Skidmore_2_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The episode received universal acclaim by critics and is cited as one of the best of the series.
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, a prominent
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
, surveyed 39 reviews of the installment and judged 100% of them to be positive with an average score of 9.94 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The most unforgettable episode of ''Game of Thrones'' thus far, 'The Rains of Castamere' (or as it shall forever be known, 'The Red Wedding') packs a dramatic wallop that feels as exquisitely shocking as it does ultimately inevitable." The majority of the comments were directed at the massacre at the end of the episode, where praise was especially given to
Michelle Fairley
Michelle Fairley (born 1964–1965) is an actress from Northern Ireland. She is best known for playing Catelyn Stark in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2013). She has since appeared in the USA Network series '' Suits'' (2013), the ...
's performance, leading to the disappointment of many critics when she was not nominated for the
for the
65th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in prime time television programming from June 1, 2012 until May 31, 2013, were held on Sunday, September 22, 2013 at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. CBS televised the cer ...
.
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Matt Fowler gave the episode a perfect 10/10, calling it "an exquisitely awful event that managed to out-do the unpredictable and horrifying death of Ned Stark back in Season 1".
Fowler also said he believed that the episode's depiction of the Red Wedding was more powerful than its depiction in ''
A Song of Ice and Fire''.
Writing for ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', both David Sims and Emily VanDerWerff gave the episode an "A" grade. Sims (writing for people who have not read the novels) expressed shock at the deaths of several main characters, writing, "I don’t think I’ve really processed what I just watched".
VanDerWerff, who reviews the episodes for people who have read the novels, wrote "If
he readerdoesn’t terribly want to deal with the thought of the deaths of Catelyn and Robb, well, he or she can read that much more quickly. Or he or she can read that much more slowly if there’s a need to process the emotions more fully. On TV, you can't really do that."
Reviewing for ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'', Erik Kain called the episode "one of the best episodes of HBO's dark drama yet", and noted "there was a deeper sense of tragedy knowing
obbalso lost his unborn child". Sean Collins of the ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' also praised the episode, and commented on the unusual step the show took in ending one of its central conflicts.
Sarah Hughes
Sarah Elizabeth Hughes (born May 2, 1985) is a former American competitive figure skater. She is the 2002 Olympic Champion and the 2001 World bronze medalist in ladies' singles.
Personal life
Hughes was born in Great Neck, New York, a subur ...
of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' highlighted the decision to kill Talisa, writing that her "heartbreaking end was unbearable".
“The Rains of Castamere“ is considered one of the most shocking and traumatic episodes in TV history. For its 65th anniversary, ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
'' picked "The Rains of Castamere" as the third best episode of the 21st century.
Viewer reception
The episode was also notable for the intense and emotional response it received from viewers, many of whom were unaware of what was about to transpire and had
reaction video
A reaction video is a video in which people react to something. Videos showing the emotional reactions of people viewing television series episodes, film trailers and music videos are also numerous and popular on video hosting services such as You ...
s filmed by people who had read the book on which it was based. This led to George R. R. Martin giving his personal analysis of the reactions, which he stated were on par with the responses he received from readers of ''A Storm of Swords''.
Madden said that he sobbed "very loudly" on an airplane flight right after filming the scene, and that he and Fairley were "both in tears" when they watched the episode.
Awards and nominations
See also
*The death of
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the ...
, as told in the ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...
''.
References
External links
"The Rains of Castamere"at
HBO.com
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rains of Castamere, The
2013 American television episodes
Game of Thrones (season 3) episodes
Fiction about regicide
Television episodes about mass murder
Television episodes about weddings
Television episodes directed by David Nutter
Television episodes written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss