I love how we sometimes only learn about a character’s motivations until the very last sentence of a chapter. Here, Arya, in the care of Lady Smallwood for the evening, is forced to wear a dress, then after ripping it when she fights with Gendry, she’s forced to take another bath and wear another dress. Only as Arya is riding away, in boys clothes, do we learn Smallwood lost her son when he was only 7.

Some of the best storytelling Martin has done so far is this chapter with Samwell; in and of itself it could be a stand-alone short story.