Highlights
- Lord Beric Dondarrion leads the Brotherhood Without Banners, a group dedicated to protecting the weak and smallfolk from rogue forces in the Riverlands.
- Beric wields a flaming sword, a rare and powerful weapon granted to him by the Lord of Light, which he uses to fight against the darkness and the Dead.
- Beric sacrifices himself in the Battle of Winterfell to save Arya Stark, ultimately allowing her to kill the Night King and win the Great War. #GameofThrones
Beric of House Dondarrion has quite an interesting journey on HBO's Game of Thrones. In A Song of Ice and Fire books, he is the Lord of Blackhaven which lies in the Dornish Marches, and his House swears fealty to House Baratheon of Storm's End. In HBO's Game of Thrones, Lord Beric Dondarrion gives his life for the only war that matters.
In Game of Thrones season 1, episode 6 "A Golden Crown," Lord Hand Eddard Stark commands Lord Beric Dondarrion to assemble a hundred men and to bring Tywin Lannister's mad dog, Ser Gregor Clegane to justice for inflicting mass atrocities on the smallfolk of the Riverlands. Beric answers the call, and his storyline is lost in the political upheaval at King's Landing. He is a changed man when he appears in Game of Thrones season 3, episode 4 "And Now His Watch Is Ended." He doesn't fight for the bigwigs but has deserted elite causes to protect the smallfolk. Beric wields a rather peculiar flaming sword and makes his obeisance to the Lord of Light.
Game Of Thrones: Robert Baratheon's Warhammer, Explained
The powerful, and muscular Robert Baratheon wielded a Warhammer, and here is what Game of Thrones lore says about his weapon of choice.
Beric Dondarrion Leads Brotherhood Without Banners
Lord Eddard Stark's detachment is ambushed at the Mummer's Ford by Ser Gregor's men. The battle results in the House Lannister forces' decisive victory over Lord Beric and his men. While Gregor drives a lance right through Beric's chest and kills him, his friend, Thoros of Myr brings him back. The surviving soldiers and many more deserters and commoners form the Brotherhood Without Banners in the Riverlands, with Beric at the forefront. This group aims to protect the smallfolk from the rogue forces.
Game of Thrones' "And Now His Watch Is Ended" shows Beric, Thoros of Myr, engaging in a heated argument with Gregor's estranged younger brother, Sandor, aka the Hound:
That's what we are: ghosts. Waiting for you in the dark. You can't see us, but we see you. No matter whose cloak you wear: Lannister, Stark, Baratheon, you prey on the weak, the Brotherhood Without Banners will hunt you down.
While Sandor denies the murder charges against him, Arya, who is present at the Brotherhood's hideout says he murdered his friend, the butcher's son, Mycah - a boy of twelve. Sandor presents his defense, but Beric sentences him to trial by combat:
...but it's me you will fight.
As the War of the Five Kings rages around them, Beric focuses on protecting the weak. He claims he's been reborn in the light of the Lord of Light:
I've been reborn in the light of the one true god, as have we all. As would any man who's seen the things we've seen.
The next Game of Thrones season 3, episode 5 "Kissed by Fire," unveils the spectacular flaming sword that he wields until the end.
Beric Unveils The Flaming Sword
Game of Thrones' "Kissed By Fire" opens with Beric igniting his sword. Thoros of Myr calls upon the Lord of Light, and every outlaw joins in unison. He slices Beric's left hand and the latter uses his blood to ignite his sword. The Hound looks slightly perturbed but Arya Stark looks thrilled and with that, the men duel. It's an epic match, and for a while, it looks like the Hound, known for his fear of fire, won't make it. But with Beric's shield gone, the Hound manages to impale him deep into his left shoulder. Thoros prays on Beric's body, and he is revived, once again. Sandor is set free and later, Beric reminisces the number of times (six) the Lord of Light has brought him back.
The key difference between Stannis's and Beric's swords is that the former's weapon was merely dubbed Lightbringer by Lady Melisandre. Beric's radiated heat and fire, and he wielded it in the fight against the darkness in the North. In Game of Thrones lore, Azor Ahai uses his Lightbringer to end the Long Night, and Beric uses his flaming sword to fight the Dead in the second Long Night. As for Stannis, he was not a believer of the Lord of Light, but merely parroted Melisandre's chants as he believed she could help him win the throne. Beric, on the other hand, was an ardent believer and his sword shone brightly until the very end.
Beric's Wields His Flaming Sword
Beric knows that the Lord of Light keeps bringing him back for a reason. He and Thoros believe that they are part of something larger. In Game of Thrones season 6, episode 8 "No One," Beric and the Hound cross paths, and they discuss the looming threat in the North. Upon his insistence, Sandor agrees to fight with them:
We need good men to help us.
In Game of Thrones season 7, episode 1 "Dragonstone," Beric, Sandor, and his party travel North, intent on doing something about the Dead that will march past the Wall.
Beric wields his flaming sword north of the Wall, and he is accompanied by Jon, Tormund, Thoros, Sandor, Jorah, and a few Wildlings. They are to capture a Wight to convince Cersei Lannister about the threat of the Army of the Dead. In Game of Thrones season 7, episode 6 "Beyond the Wall," both Beric and Thoros light their swords when they are under attack by a zombie polar bear. Thoros is gravely injured and Beric uses the flaming sword to cauterize his wounds. The episode also shows that he can extinguish the flame of his sword at will by thrusting it into the ground below. Thoros freezes to death and Beric uses the flame of his sword to burn his corpse, so he isn't reanimated as a Wight:
Lord of Light, come to us in our darkness. For the night is dark and full of terrors.
With his priest dead, Beric is on his last life, and now his purpose is clearer than ever. Rescued by Daenerys Targaryen, Beric fights valiantly in the Battle of Winterfell. Inside the castle, he throws his flaming sword at a Wight who has its clutches on Arya. Though Beric creates a diversion for Arya and Sandor, he is repeatedly stabbed by a horde of Wights. He falls in the Great Hall, and Melisandre proclaims he has served his purpose to the Lord. At the end of his Game of Thrones journey, Beric saves Arya, letting her kill the Night King and win the Great War.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, tells the sprawling story of warring families in Westeros. This includes the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens. Along with human conflicts, Westeros is also threatened by the re-emergence of dragons, and an undead enemy from beyond the Wall.
