These last hundred pages felt like a pause in many ways. Nothing earth shattering was revealed, just new plots and the introduction of a new character to focus on. But there was a lot of plot exposition, and a lot of small moments for characters to think and reflect. In other words, a heavy dose of both plot and character exposition that was actually kind of nice. Like most avid readers, I find that too much plot is like too many potato chips: Tastes oh so good but it's really empty calories. Character exploration is the meat and potatoes of this series, and Martin, thus far, has been very good at providing me ample sustenance just when I find myself growing hungry.
Jon: It's a sad irony that as Jon ticks off his raisons d'etre, we all know that his reasons are either dead, burned or have fled into the wild. Nothing that he left is how he left it, but even memories can keep him grounded. It's hard to say that any secrets he gave away were really all that valuable, but eventually I fear that the value in his hiding among the wildings might fall to the value of the secrets and actions he must undertake in order to win their trust. It's interesting to see that the Others are a pox on both their houses. For some reason I thought that Mance would have some control over them. I really do fear for Jon beyond the wall. Not for his physical well-being, but for the many temptations that lie around him. These people are strange, but he is attracted to their fellowship, and of course, there's Ygritte. Now he's headed towards the wall with all speed, but I find it difficult to believe that he'll change sides again so soon. Samwell is there to provide the viewpoint of the Night's Watch, and if Jon swapped sides again, Sam would be irrelevant. From a storytelling perspective, I have to believe he stays with the wildings for some time, but I cringe at the thought of what he'll be made to do.
Sansa: Well that's oddly kind of Cersei to offer to have a nice new dress made. And look at Sansa all grown up, looking down at the Tyrell girls with derision for their girlish naivete. I can't quite write that without smirking, because yes, Sansa has been forced, literally at the point of a sword at times, to mature and defog her sunny view on life. She even pities them. Yet, she's still hard on Arya and wishes for a sister more to her liking. And for that matter, we learn in Tyrion's scene that they know of the Tyrell plot to spirit her away to Highgarden. I can't help but wonder if that came as a result of her blabbing the plan to Ser Dontos, who clearly wants Sansa to run away with him, not the Tyrells. Yet again it appears that the thing that would serve her best is undone because she can't keep her fat yap shut. It's disturbing to have Sansa as the wise young women juxtaposed against poor naive Margery who really thinks Ser Loras can protect her against a king as cruel as Joffrey. On reflection though, I've been too hard on Sansa's dreaming for a perfect marriage. Clearly Robb suffers from the same delusions, and his marriage might very well wreck the entire northern kingdom. It's a sin of youth as much as anything, and these are just kids. It's easy to forget.
Arya: I have to give her credit, she's extremely quick to admit her mistakes when she makes them. Unfortunately, she seems to make so many. I don't trust Dondarrion, or the men who follow him, but it does seem like she's in a far better off place than she was in either the wild or at Harrenhall. Clearly Harwin is better than Roose Bolton. The dreams of the old woman in the forest were almost like a throwaway paragraph, but we can't so easily dismiss them. The shadow with the burning heart killing a golden stag? Sounds like Melisandre is after someone, and the only real stags close at hand are Stannis and Edric Storm. The coming Davos chapters could be interesting. I'm not sure what the other dreams mean though. A man without a face on a swaying bridge with a drowned crow on his shoulder? We've come across several characters with damaged faces, like the Bloody Mummer with no nose, Tyrion's wreck, and now even Jon's torn face. I don't have enough information to hazard a guess. It would seem that Roose Bolton's army did a fair bit of damage to Clegane and the rest of the Lannister men sent after him. I kind of wish Syrio would miraculously reappear, but that seems unlikely. Arya collects very interesting people about her, and I've yet to see another character in the whole series develop relationships as interesting as hers were with Syrio, Jaqen, and now Gendry. Maybe another Braavosi will drop in on her for fun. I really like the scene with her and Gendry in the forge though. I kind of hope they get together, but that seems highly unlikely, so I'm going to assume he dies, maybe dies saving her? No one would ever okay a marriage between them even if they knew of his parentage, and while that might yet be revealed, the only people who know are in King's Landing. It's nice to see her in a place of peace for a time, even if she is technically a hostage.
Samwell: Ah, another nice addition to the cast. I'm glad we'll get the Night's Watch point of view from him. I didn't realize the Other would have such numbers, or that undead animals would run around with them. I was right about dragonglass being their Achilles Heel. That was pretty sweet. Nice to see that they have a natural weakness, or else fighting them would be too dauntless a task, though even with this weapon it remains daunting. Everyone needs their kryptonite. Now I just hope that Sam makes it back to someone important enough to tell this secret to. I don't expect Samwise...I mean Samwell, to become a knight or anything, but I'm glad he found a measure of courage and got his moment. Hang on just a little longer Sam!
Tyrion: Oh look, the exposition fairy has dropped by to grace us with a little gift. Well, I guess it has been awhile, so pray, lead on you dispenser of intrigue and narrative! Seriously, Tyrion is obsessed with not being the Hand anymore. Has there been a chapter since he was injured where there isn't a noticeable observance of Tywin having the chain with the linking hands? This time I think it was the first sentence of the chapter. The marriage plots bring a lot of interesting possibilities, and dangers. Tyrion/Sansa and Cersei/Anyone both present huge conflicts, and unsavory results, and now Robb's marriage seems even dumber than before. Bran and Rickon could yet be saviors of a sort, merely by publicly being known to exist. And Littlefinger's plot is weird. He's boasted far and wide about being with the Tully girls, but Catelyn denies it (and I believe her). I don't know as much about Lysa. Could he be the "young stripling" that Hoster referred to in his delirium? And could he have fathered a child by her that Hoster did away with for being a bastard when she was supposed to be with Jon Arryn? The balance of power will swing wildly of she actually decides to marry him, and in her emotionally fragile state, who knows what she'll try to do. I think Tyrion will make an interesting CFO of Westeros Inc. Remember that Littlefinger hatched a hell of a lot of plots from his position, and it will put him and Varys in very close quarters as far as scheming goes. I expect that Littlefinger will have left him with a mess, perhaps to lay the blame at his feet, but I also suspect that Tyrion has some tricks up his sleeves yet.
Catelyn: More and more Catelyn seems to be nothing but a lens from which to view Robb's views with a motherly filter. I'd so much rather be in Robb's head at the moment. It must be extremely complicated and interesting, with lots of little conflicts to resolve. He was placed in a no-win situation, and made a reasoned choice with it, and now suffers for it probably as his father would have. Also he has to deal with the mess he made when he got married by betraying the Freys. His alliance dwindles by the day, it would seem, and trouble looms in the north. I think we're missing a huge chunk of the story and possibly a really interesting character with him. Also, I hate that he's been separated from Grey Wind.
Jaime: He grows an ever more perplexing character the more we see of him. He pledges to return Sansa and Arya for the sake of sheer amusement, and perhaps a tiny bit because he's so damned sick of people laying his one big broken oath at his feet. No one trusts him, even when he actually seems a somewhat trustworthy guy at times. Honor does matter to him a bit, but not a lot. I don't think he gives much of a crap about the larger story at play. He has no thirst for power. He just loves battle and Cersei. He's pretty bitter about all the insults he must suffer for slaying Aerys, which I think gall him all the more because no one even liked Aerys. But he feels pity for Brienne, and even endeavors to help her by making the others think that she's too valuable to rape. That was a kindness. And I think he even harbors a sort of professional, albeit grudging, respect for her. Judging from the end of this chapter though, I'd say he lost at least one of his hands it Hoat's reputation has any truth to it. That actually kind of saddens me. I'm...beginning to...sort of...like him. Not like him in the sense that I want to hang out and have a beer with him, but like him in the sense that he's really quite complicated, a very interesting character, and I don't at all have a handle on him. Even his name suggests that we should like him, it means "I like" in French. It'll take a lot more for me to start rooting for him in any serious way, but more and more I'm not seeing the Lannisters as a monolithic evil.
In closing, I don't normally single out individual sentences for appreciation, but I absolutely loved this line that Martin wrote while Jaime was dueling with Brienne: "Time slept when swords woke." Beautiful, fitting, the metaphor balances perfectly, it's just a splendid little sentence.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Page 202: Small Progress, Bright Future
Daenerys: I was this close to organizing an intervention for Dany. I was worried that she was unaware that she was a character in a novel, and thus at some point, eventually, she'd have to become more immediately relevant, rather than as a far off boogey woman for some future date. I'm relatively patient, but when a character tells me she has me penciled in for sometime in the third book, I start to get a little frustrated. Anyway, there's some interesting stuff to play with now for her. I'm going to call Ser Jorah as the third person to betray her, the one who betrays her for love. It could be that it's a character we already have, or one we haven't met yet, or that more evidence will pop up in the future to point me in a different direction, but he's at the top of my list. I appreciate how loyal he is to her, but, I might appreciate it more if it was a chaste loyalty. I feel like the two of them don't really work as a couple in a lot of ways. Oh well, we'll see what comes of it.
Bran: I fear him losing himself in the wild. The draw of the wild, the draw of battle, and of freedom, are themes in this series, but it seems like they're vaulting to the forefront in this novel in particular, with Jon in the free north, Robb, Jaime and others in constant battle (even Tyrion talks about being lost in battle lust), etc. He might have been safer if he wasn't lusting after a whole body, but with so little to return to, in his mind, why bother. Bran, at the moment, is the ultimate example of wish fulfillment. He doesn't need to worry about having legs to run with Summer, not when he can run as Summer. Up to this point, we've seen lots of examples of what happens when people cross their fantasies with reality, but for Bran, his fantasy is everything he wants and more. Now we see the dangers of what happens when living in a fantasy can have a dangerously powerful draw. This is going to be a long, long journey for Bran. If he makes it to the Wall before the end of the book I'll be surprised. I hope he finds his Yoda.
Davos: I expect Davos to find Stannis a broken man under Melisandre's control. Well, that is, if he ever actually gets in contact with Stannis. I can't tell if Salla squealed on him (50/50 there), or if Melisandre really did divine that Davos planned to kill her. Either way, he'll have to get out of prison if his point of view is to matter.
Jaime: Okay, apparently I was wrong about him being sympathetic to Brienne, though I still think she fascinates him in some way. And wow, at 15 he gave up his inheritance to an extremely powerful family to love a monogamous life with his sister as a secret lover? This guy had issues from a young age. Also, I get why Brienne hates Jaime so much, and will only call him Kingslayer. After losing her own king, she doesn't take too kindly to murderers of kings, especially ones who swore an oath to protect that king. It occurs to me that we really have zero details on why Ned, Robert and the gang rose up against the Targaryens. Was it because the King was just crazy and cruel? It's not like the Targaryens were ever particularly nice people, but with the dragons gone (and what happened there?) they were certainly vulnerable. If we don't get the answers here, and heck, even if we do, I think a novel detailing the rebellion and overthrown of the Targaryens would be damned sweet. Jaime is hard to figure out in general. After killing the king, he might have sat in the throne, but he basically shows total disinterest in the idea of actually taking it. I know what most of the characters of the novel really want, but I have no idea what Jaime Lannister wants.
Tyrion: Okay, did Loras Tyrell love Renly then? It certainly looks that way. Earlier I thought it was just devotion for a cause, but this explains a couple of curious reactions that Renly and Loras had in the past to certain actions. Shae will be a major thorn in Tyrion's side in the future, I just can't figure out what it'll be yet. I want to believe that she actually feels for Tyrion mutually, but, she's maneuvering him into a dangerous position, and she's being greedy and pouty as well. My instincts tell me she's a golddigger, but for Tyrion's sake, I want her to be genuine. And for his sake, I want her sent away. Tyrion seems to have lost all influence, power and traction with the battle over and him ousted from his position. Where does he go from here? Where does he want to go? And with all that he's lost, why does Varys still help him? Clearly at least one person still thinks he's valuable.
Arya: Okay, obviously you don't want to go with them because it's some kind of trap. Duh. But then, this isn't the first totally foolish thing you've done, and I doubt it'll be the last. On that note, throwing yourself into Harwin's arms? Haven't we established over the previous couple chapters that you can't trust anyone? And you were mad at Hot Pie for giving away too much information. You were home free! I guess if Harwin takes you to whoever, you'll end up back in the wild, which keeps hope alive for a reunion with Nymeria, but geez. I guess it's nice to remind us that she's still a kid though, and that was a child's mistake. You see just how fragile she is inside, and foolish, despite her outward demeanor.
Catelyn: Robb's back, which brings a lost element back into play. And why, by the way, aren't you heading north to recapture your home and clean up the mess that's developing up there? By the way, someone owes you a huge "I told you so" regarding Theon. I don't see anyone, so, I told you so! The wording of his forgiveness statement to Catelyn leads me to believe he has a young lass of his own...and so he does! Well that was phenomenally stupid (of Robb, not the novel). I really do like this Catelyn better. She's so much more forthright when Robb is around, probably because she's a task oriented person and she feels like she can actually solve or help with his problems, but not her own. She always suffers the most when she's idle (See: Bran). You notice by the way that the Greatjon named her release of Jaime Lannister a 'woman's folly' from a 'mother's weakness.' Way to be the voice of paternalism. Clearly Robb has a lot to learn, and that's all the more reason to keep her close. If Tywin Lannister has a huge army heading north, that's all the more reason to make nice with the Freys, retake Moat Cailin, and defend the north! I hope we see more of Robb, only because he's squarely in the middle of the larger plot, the macro-Westeros plot that feels somewhat neglected as of late.
Bran: I fear him losing himself in the wild. The draw of the wild, the draw of battle, and of freedom, are themes in this series, but it seems like they're vaulting to the forefront in this novel in particular, with Jon in the free north, Robb, Jaime and others in constant battle (even Tyrion talks about being lost in battle lust), etc. He might have been safer if he wasn't lusting after a whole body, but with so little to return to, in his mind, why bother. Bran, at the moment, is the ultimate example of wish fulfillment. He doesn't need to worry about having legs to run with Summer, not when he can run as Summer. Up to this point, we've seen lots of examples of what happens when people cross their fantasies with reality, but for Bran, his fantasy is everything he wants and more. Now we see the dangers of what happens when living in a fantasy can have a dangerously powerful draw. This is going to be a long, long journey for Bran. If he makes it to the Wall before the end of the book I'll be surprised. I hope he finds his Yoda.
Davos: I expect Davos to find Stannis a broken man under Melisandre's control. Well, that is, if he ever actually gets in contact with Stannis. I can't tell if Salla squealed on him (50/50 there), or if Melisandre really did divine that Davos planned to kill her. Either way, he'll have to get out of prison if his point of view is to matter.
Jaime: Okay, apparently I was wrong about him being sympathetic to Brienne, though I still think she fascinates him in some way. And wow, at 15 he gave up his inheritance to an extremely powerful family to love a monogamous life with his sister as a secret lover? This guy had issues from a young age. Also, I get why Brienne hates Jaime so much, and will only call him Kingslayer. After losing her own king, she doesn't take too kindly to murderers of kings, especially ones who swore an oath to protect that king. It occurs to me that we really have zero details on why Ned, Robert and the gang rose up against the Targaryens. Was it because the King was just crazy and cruel? It's not like the Targaryens were ever particularly nice people, but with the dragons gone (and what happened there?) they were certainly vulnerable. If we don't get the answers here, and heck, even if we do, I think a novel detailing the rebellion and overthrown of the Targaryens would be damned sweet. Jaime is hard to figure out in general. After killing the king, he might have sat in the throne, but he basically shows total disinterest in the idea of actually taking it. I know what most of the characters of the novel really want, but I have no idea what Jaime Lannister wants.
Tyrion: Okay, did Loras Tyrell love Renly then? It certainly looks that way. Earlier I thought it was just devotion for a cause, but this explains a couple of curious reactions that Renly and Loras had in the past to certain actions. Shae will be a major thorn in Tyrion's side in the future, I just can't figure out what it'll be yet. I want to believe that she actually feels for Tyrion mutually, but, she's maneuvering him into a dangerous position, and she's being greedy and pouty as well. My instincts tell me she's a golddigger, but for Tyrion's sake, I want her to be genuine. And for his sake, I want her sent away. Tyrion seems to have lost all influence, power and traction with the battle over and him ousted from his position. Where does he go from here? Where does he want to go? And with all that he's lost, why does Varys still help him? Clearly at least one person still thinks he's valuable.
Arya: Okay, obviously you don't want to go with them because it's some kind of trap. Duh. But then, this isn't the first totally foolish thing you've done, and I doubt it'll be the last. On that note, throwing yourself into Harwin's arms? Haven't we established over the previous couple chapters that you can't trust anyone? And you were mad at Hot Pie for giving away too much information. You were home free! I guess if Harwin takes you to whoever, you'll end up back in the wild, which keeps hope alive for a reunion with Nymeria, but geez. I guess it's nice to remind us that she's still a kid though, and that was a child's mistake. You see just how fragile she is inside, and foolish, despite her outward demeanor.
Catelyn: Robb's back, which brings a lost element back into play. And why, by the way, aren't you heading north to recapture your home and clean up the mess that's developing up there? By the way, someone owes you a huge "I told you so" regarding Theon. I don't see anyone, so, I told you so! The wording of his forgiveness statement to Catelyn leads me to believe he has a young lass of his own...and so he does! Well that was phenomenally stupid (of Robb, not the novel). I really do like this Catelyn better. She's so much more forthright when Robb is around, probably because she's a task oriented person and she feels like she can actually solve or help with his problems, but not her own. She always suffers the most when she's idle (See: Bran). You notice by the way that the Greatjon named her release of Jaime Lannister a 'woman's folly' from a 'mother's weakness.' Way to be the voice of paternalism. Clearly Robb has a lot to learn, and that's all the more reason to keep her close. If Tywin Lannister has a huge army heading north, that's all the more reason to make nice with the Freys, retake Moat Cailin, and defend the north! I hope we see more of Robb, only because he's squarely in the middle of the larger plot, the macro-Westeros plot that feels somewhat neglected as of late.
Page 105: Storm Clouds Gather
Here begins my account of Book III: A Storm of Swords.
I know, I said I was going to wait, and that lasted a couple hours before I rushed off to open the next book. For so long what put me off opening these books the most was their sheer size. They make quite an impressive tower when stacked up. It's funny, people talk about Lord of the Rings being one of the mammoth undertakings of fantasy epics, but Lord of the Rings might as well be The Hobbit when set next to A Song of Ice and Fire. I can read LOTR in a couple of days. I can read all the Harry Potter books in a week. I can read something like Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books all in a couple of hours. This series is going to take me more like a month. I have to say though, I can't ever remember being more invested in a series of books before, and I've never felt such a wide range of emotions in response to a set of characters and events before. The series, thus far, is a fantastic mixture of being plot and character driven. It wouldn't work as just a plot driven story, as it moves too slowly for you to care unless you honestly care about the characters, and that doesn't happen without attention and exploration.
Prologue: Well it's certainly off to an energetic start. Hopefully the Others don't kill all of them. At the very least I'd like Mormont and a couple of Jon's friends to survive.
Jaime: First off, this is an interested character to choose to delve into more deeply. I feel like we're delving as deeply into the Lannisters as we are into the Starks, and they're certainly a lot more twisted, and more complicated. I'm not sure how intentional some of this was, but Jaime's first scene has a lot of interesting metaphorical imagery to it. He shaves his head and pours river water over it, almost like he's changing identities and ceremonially baptizing himself. Does this foreshadow some sort of change to his personality, or is he the same douchebag he was always portrayed as? It's interesting that he's actually monogamous with Cersei (Cersei doesn't seem to share that compunction). He also gives Tyrion his due for being cunning and clever. I'm wondering why he saves Brienne from drowning, or at least, why he doesn't attack her when he has the chance. Perhaps for self-serving motives, or perhaps she fascinates him. Brienne might jump up into my list of female characters worth giving more analysis to. She was deeply in love with Renly, but she's basically She-Ra when it comes to mowing down bad guys and doing the rough and tumble. I like that she's thus both vulnerable and tough. Is the hanging of women who gave "comfort" to the enemy a common theme in history? I only remember it being a facet of post-Nazi Germany when women were beaten or had their heads shaved for a public shaming for having been with Nazi soldiers during the occupation. Surprisingly, I look forward to Jaime's development.
Catelyn: There seem to be a lot of Tully family secrets, and really, lots of family secrets for everyone. I figured Tansy must have been Lysa's dead baby, and so she was. I think it was incredibly stupid of Catelyn to send Jaime to King's Landing for Sansa and Arya, but not because the trade is a bad idea. She did it without enough information. If she had waited, she would have found out that Tywin was back in charge, not Tyrion, and that Arya wasn't even there. And she found out only hours later how bad a decision it truly was. I don't fault her her emotions, but I do fault her for at least ensuring that her emotionally wrought plan would actually succeed.
Arya: Smart but stupid. Smart to keep moving constantly, to double back, to cross rivers, and do all the other things she is doing to confuse pursuit, but stupid that she doesn't even know what way is up. Moss on the sides of the trees? Oy, are they in trouble. Apparently Nymeria is still alive, and she's having the wolf dreams as well. It's sad that Sansa doesn't have Lady around, though frankly, I question whether or not Lady would ever have survived all that's happened if she had survived the trip to King's Landing. I'd like to see all the Stark kids keep in touch via these new powers. It'd solve a lot of problems (and for that reason, probably won't happen).
Tyrion: Wow, that was pretty harsh. Poor Tyrion, he works his butt off for the defense of the city, and it seems like Cersei does everything she can to ruin the city's defense. Then, in a moment of foolish courage, he rushes off into a melee and gets himself greatly injured, losing all the progress he had made, and losing all the credit for the work he did to Cersei. On top of that, he gets a major smack down from his father. I wonder though, are those the words that Tyrion needed to hear in order to declare a mental separation from his family? Lannister loyalty exists, but apparently it's an insular club, and Tyrion just found himself booted from it (plus, you know, fratricide). Seriously, why can't someone just give Tyrion a hug? For all that they underestimate him though, I hope they learn their lesson the hard way when Tyrion turns his talents towards making them pay. He's not a man to forget insults.
Davos: Hey look at that, you're alive! And what's that? You've decided to consider being a worthwhile character and not just a plot device? Oh, you want to kill Melisandre cause you blame her for what happened to your children. I guess you're still undecided on that plot device thing then, eh? Either way I wish you the best of luck. You seem like you'd be a really cool character if you ever got the chance.
Sansa: Nice that she's finally learning caution...and yet she's fawning over the Knight of Flowers like a panting ten year old at a Justin Bieber concert. You know what's interesting here is less the fact that Sansa is a fangirl, it's that she totally misses the fact that Loras Tyrell is just as upset, if not greatly more so, over Renly death than his sister would be. She only knew him for ten minutes, because of an arranged marriage. Loras pledged himself to Renly, and I think we knew from the moment Renly died and Loras went a little mad that it wasn't an idle pledge. Sansa totally misses that though. I don't think she understands that aspect of knighthood. I have to say, I love the idea of her being spirited away to Highgarden for a couple reasons. 1. Her character development is flatlining in King's Landing, and I very much want her to be relevant. She tends to depress me a bit, but, I really like the Tyrells, though I have to say I really felt for her when they asked her for details about Joffrey. They were putting her in an incredibly difficult situation, but I'm glad that she fessed up. 2. The biggest reason I hope she goes to Highgarden is the Queen of Thorns. The woman is a hoot, and she's the absolute perfect mentor for Sansa to help wash away the stars from her eyes. Also, Highgarden really is the perfect place for Sansa to thrive, since by all accounts it's a real life manifestation of all the royal court gallantry crap that she's always wanted. She deserves a little vacation.
Jon: It was easier than I would have thought to get Jon into Mance Rayder's host. I worry a bit about the wiles of the free folk, but Jon is too well grounded for that, I hope. It's be cool if he could get in touch with Bran again. One of the things I like about Jon getting in touch with the free folk, is that like Bran getting involved with the Reeds, they seem to know a lot more about magic than anyone else Jon could have talked to, so it might help to better develop his abilities.
I know, I said I was going to wait, and that lasted a couple hours before I rushed off to open the next book. For so long what put me off opening these books the most was their sheer size. They make quite an impressive tower when stacked up. It's funny, people talk about Lord of the Rings being one of the mammoth undertakings of fantasy epics, but Lord of the Rings might as well be The Hobbit when set next to A Song of Ice and Fire. I can read LOTR in a couple of days. I can read all the Harry Potter books in a week. I can read something like Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books all in a couple of hours. This series is going to take me more like a month. I have to say though, I can't ever remember being more invested in a series of books before, and I've never felt such a wide range of emotions in response to a set of characters and events before. The series, thus far, is a fantastic mixture of being plot and character driven. It wouldn't work as just a plot driven story, as it moves too slowly for you to care unless you honestly care about the characters, and that doesn't happen without attention and exploration.
Prologue: Well it's certainly off to an energetic start. Hopefully the Others don't kill all of them. At the very least I'd like Mormont and a couple of Jon's friends to survive.
Jaime: First off, this is an interested character to choose to delve into more deeply. I feel like we're delving as deeply into the Lannisters as we are into the Starks, and they're certainly a lot more twisted, and more complicated. I'm not sure how intentional some of this was, but Jaime's first scene has a lot of interesting metaphorical imagery to it. He shaves his head and pours river water over it, almost like he's changing identities and ceremonially baptizing himself. Does this foreshadow some sort of change to his personality, or is he the same douchebag he was always portrayed as? It's interesting that he's actually monogamous with Cersei (Cersei doesn't seem to share that compunction). He also gives Tyrion his due for being cunning and clever. I'm wondering why he saves Brienne from drowning, or at least, why he doesn't attack her when he has the chance. Perhaps for self-serving motives, or perhaps she fascinates him. Brienne might jump up into my list of female characters worth giving more analysis to. She was deeply in love with Renly, but she's basically She-Ra when it comes to mowing down bad guys and doing the rough and tumble. I like that she's thus both vulnerable and tough. Is the hanging of women who gave "comfort" to the enemy a common theme in history? I only remember it being a facet of post-Nazi Germany when women were beaten or had their heads shaved for a public shaming for having been with Nazi soldiers during the occupation. Surprisingly, I look forward to Jaime's development.
Catelyn: There seem to be a lot of Tully family secrets, and really, lots of family secrets for everyone. I figured Tansy must have been Lysa's dead baby, and so she was. I think it was incredibly stupid of Catelyn to send Jaime to King's Landing for Sansa and Arya, but not because the trade is a bad idea. She did it without enough information. If she had waited, she would have found out that Tywin was back in charge, not Tyrion, and that Arya wasn't even there. And she found out only hours later how bad a decision it truly was. I don't fault her her emotions, but I do fault her for at least ensuring that her emotionally wrought plan would actually succeed.
Arya: Smart but stupid. Smart to keep moving constantly, to double back, to cross rivers, and do all the other things she is doing to confuse pursuit, but stupid that she doesn't even know what way is up. Moss on the sides of the trees? Oy, are they in trouble. Apparently Nymeria is still alive, and she's having the wolf dreams as well. It's sad that Sansa doesn't have Lady around, though frankly, I question whether or not Lady would ever have survived all that's happened if she had survived the trip to King's Landing. I'd like to see all the Stark kids keep in touch via these new powers. It'd solve a lot of problems (and for that reason, probably won't happen).
Tyrion: Wow, that was pretty harsh. Poor Tyrion, he works his butt off for the defense of the city, and it seems like Cersei does everything she can to ruin the city's defense. Then, in a moment of foolish courage, he rushes off into a melee and gets himself greatly injured, losing all the progress he had made, and losing all the credit for the work he did to Cersei. On top of that, he gets a major smack down from his father. I wonder though, are those the words that Tyrion needed to hear in order to declare a mental separation from his family? Lannister loyalty exists, but apparently it's an insular club, and Tyrion just found himself booted from it (plus, you know, fratricide). Seriously, why can't someone just give Tyrion a hug? For all that they underestimate him though, I hope they learn their lesson the hard way when Tyrion turns his talents towards making them pay. He's not a man to forget insults.
Davos: Hey look at that, you're alive! And what's that? You've decided to consider being a worthwhile character and not just a plot device? Oh, you want to kill Melisandre cause you blame her for what happened to your children. I guess you're still undecided on that plot device thing then, eh? Either way I wish you the best of luck. You seem like you'd be a really cool character if you ever got the chance.
Sansa: Nice that she's finally learning caution...and yet she's fawning over the Knight of Flowers like a panting ten year old at a Justin Bieber concert. You know what's interesting here is less the fact that Sansa is a fangirl, it's that she totally misses the fact that Loras Tyrell is just as upset, if not greatly more so, over Renly death than his sister would be. She only knew him for ten minutes, because of an arranged marriage. Loras pledged himself to Renly, and I think we knew from the moment Renly died and Loras went a little mad that it wasn't an idle pledge. Sansa totally misses that though. I don't think she understands that aspect of knighthood. I have to say, I love the idea of her being spirited away to Highgarden for a couple reasons. 1. Her character development is flatlining in King's Landing, and I very much want her to be relevant. She tends to depress me a bit, but, I really like the Tyrells, though I have to say I really felt for her when they asked her for details about Joffrey. They were putting her in an incredibly difficult situation, but I'm glad that she fessed up. 2. The biggest reason I hope she goes to Highgarden is the Queen of Thorns. The woman is a hoot, and she's the absolute perfect mentor for Sansa to help wash away the stars from her eyes. Also, Highgarden really is the perfect place for Sansa to thrive, since by all accounts it's a real life manifestation of all the royal court gallantry crap that she's always wanted. She deserves a little vacation.
Jon: It was easier than I would have thought to get Jon into Mance Rayder's host. I worry a bit about the wiles of the free folk, but Jon is too well grounded for that, I hope. It's be cool if he could get in touch with Bran again. One of the things I like about Jon getting in touch with the free folk, is that like Bran getting involved with the Reeds, they seem to know a lot more about magic than anyone else Jon could have talked to, so it might help to better develop his abilities.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Interlude: The Women of Westeros
Before I launch into the third book, I thought a nice breather to stop and look at an element of the novels thus far would be both interesting, and a good palate cleanser. I spoke recently with a friend of mine who is also working her way through the books for the first time about some of our thoughts, and we got around to talking about some of the gender issues in the novels. Now, really, feminists need not apply. There's zero debate over the fact that this is a male dominated world, and that cruelty to women is both casual and explicit. Some of that I attribute to the fact that this is more of a medieval setting, and the status of women reflects that. It does seem pretty harsh though at times. I think in a way, it serves to flesh out a wide variance in the behavior of both men and women. Look at all the characters we value and those we don't: Almost without fail, we're made to dislike almost every character who is cruel to women. Likewise, we're made to like almost all the characters who are kind and more liberal in their treatment of women (which makes Jaime Lannister an interesting gray area). And then there are the actual women. My friend protested that Martin just can't write women, and I'll admit, they come across as far more flawed and at times uneven than I might like, but I'm not sure how fair the criticism is as a whole. If you look at the main female characters of the novel; Cersei, Sansa, Arya, Dany and Catelyn, you get five characters wholly unlike each other in personality, dreams, temperament and actions. I think the criticism might be that they are weak or weepy, but I question that as well.
Say what you will about how evil Cersei is, but she's no pushover. She's cunning like Tyrion, and fiercely protective of her family (or at least, the parts of it she cares about). Her only emotional weakness comes for her lover, and her son. Are we at a point where women have to be portrayed as unfeeling parents in order to deliver the message of strength? I think of all the women in the novels, she's the most masculine. She says as much when she was growing up as Jaime's other half, and couldn't understand why he got armor and was allowed to run off to fight while she had to stay behind as a women, as chattel, as a negotiating piece for royal bloodlines. She rejects the status of women, the status forced upon her. She contrives to deny her husband a blood heir, and in the end kills him off. In part because she wants power, but also in part because he's a symbol of her shackles of womanhood, and she rejects them. Like I said, say what you will about how evil she is, but she's not a damsel in distress, and she's not weak.
Sansa is the vision of the out-of-touch maiden in distress. She has not yet, but she has the greatest potential for growth in the novels into something more. There might yet be a big payoff there. Is there any character in the novel, at this point, that you want to see mature and grow into something better as much as Sansa? She's a ball of potential waiting to be molded, and I think her status as the personification of the weak, stupid, useless woman is only there to give us contrast for the change that is to come. Plus she serves as a mirror to reflect how not weak many other female characters are in contrast.
Of course I'm talking about Arya. She's not weak, or really that weepy, any more so than a ten year old should be. And I fear she's headed down a pretty dark path that normally in a book like this might be reserved for a man. I feel like she's designed for us to identify with her more, and care about her more, than most of the other women. But at the same time, I don't even think we have as much insight into her internal thoughts as we do about Cersei. I get Cersei. I don't really get what makes Arya tick yet, but there's something going on in there that could be really interesting to explore. In some ways she's a young Cersei by rejecting the feminine labels applied to her, but without the ruthlessness of a Lannister.
Daenerys. I don't know what to do with her yet. Child bride, widowed young, pregnant, mother, child lost, now the mythical Mother of Dragons, she's become myth and legend before she even had a chance to become a person. Tortured and cowed in her youth by her brother, now very much comfortable with the reins of command. She's had to mature very quickly, but while I feel like we have a good idea of what she was, I don't feel like we have a good idea of what she is. So I can't really comment on how she fits into the female sphere, as for the moment, she's pretty blah. I suspect that's only because her part comes later, but Martin needed to string us along, making her lack of a real fleshed out character a product more of storytelling problems than of Martin's actual disinterest in her.
Catelyn is a little more difficult to parse out. She seems to go in waves from strong to weak, but all of it's justified. She started out as a strong Tully in the barren north, very much on the cusp of fully identifying as a Stark woman. When Bran falls she collapses, but she sucks it up, she braves the wild, takes prisoners, puts herself in dangerous situations bravely, for her family. She only begins to crumble later when her husband dies, she thinks her sons are dead, she thinks both her daughters captured, her home in flames, and her father dying. That's everything but the kitchen sink, and the kitchen sink's name is Robb, but he's soundly rejected her counsel and sent her away a half dozen times. If she rose above all that, so quickly, and was the vision of a brave women, I'd reject it. Why? Her mirror, for the moment, is Davos. When he's on the island thinking about having lost all his sons, he's a broken man. This isn't a feeling that's restricted by gender, it's a feeling that comes with humanity. If Catelyn were to immediately transcend it, I'd call her humanity into question, as I would any character of any gender. Sometimes women aren't being stereotypically weak because they are women, but because they're human.
I think the problem is that Martin wasn't writing ideal women, any more than he was writing ideal men. I think it's incredibly strange that we've fallen into a pattern of putting women into binaries: strong/weak, feminine/masculine, hard/emotional, etc. The feminist lens seems to break women down this way, and I don't think it's fair to the characters, because women are just as complex as men, and sometimes more so, especially in these novels where the cares and concerns of men and women are so clearly placed into separate spheres. It's the rush to judge women as either weak or strong that causes this I think. But these are incredibly complex women, who are sometimes strong, and sometimes weak, sometimes emotional, and sometimes hard. And really, they're no different from any of the men in that respect. Also we have to remember that this a long series, and if any one character at any one time seems to be in a tailspin, there's no reason to think they'll stay that way. One thing that Martin doesn't do (for the most part) is give us static characters. They're all constantly evolving and reacting.
Anyway, up next is my first post on A Storm of Swords. Feel free to comment about your thoughts on the women. I'm wondering how much of our reactions to the women are defined by our own personalities, and our own preconceived notions. Where I find a character strong, someone else might say weak, and I think the reasons why are going to say a while more about us as readers and people than they will about the characters themselves.
Page 969: The End of All Things
Well, I've completed "A Clash of Kings," and I have to say: I'm emotionally drained. I'm curious to see where it goes, so I'd like to rush over and start reading the next one, but I'm not sure if I can. Sure I have books to read for school, so there's the "more important things I should be doing" argument. But I'm not sure if I just need a week or so to get over everything. Maybe I need a little mourning period. I'll probably start reading later tonight, but really, that was emotional turmoil at its literary finest.
Theon: Looks like someone does feel guilty! You know for all the talk about him not being a craven, he admitted to being afraid in the fight at the Whispering Wood, and he took Winterfell by scaling the walls and attacking in the middle of the night. When he couldn't find Bran and Rickon, he attacked and killed a miller's family lest the people think he failed. When I first read it I assumed that he set them free and killed the other two kids as a replacement, so I was sort of willing to give him a tiny bit of credit for mercy (cruel though it may have been) but nope, he proves he's even worse than I thought. He's clearly unraveling here, and for a variety of reasons. I've talked before about how these books like to present different philosophies on governance, and Theon is the only one yet that I've seen in true conflict. He was raised in the kind, just, and honorable system of Eddard Stark, but he comes from the harsh, fear inspiring system of the Greyjoys. What will he choose? He willingly chooses the northern way of Eddard Stark, but he's frustrated when the people don't instantly love him, and it's part of what unravels him so quickly. I think this illuminates one of the key differences: You can fear anyone with sufficient cause. Trade one tyrant for another, they don't matter. But you can't replace one beloved leader for another, because they aren't interchangeable, and their loyalty must be earned.
Sansa: Even with war at the gates Sansa still talks of true knights and chivalry. Part of me just can't figure out how she could be so willfully blind to the world around her, but I think part of the problem is tied to what I've said before about how all the Stark kids are being forced to confront the realities of their fantasies, and when it comes down to it, Sansa has the furthest to go from fantasy to truth. So her road is naturally more difficult. At first I was mad at her. I was mad because her childish, immature stupidity helped to doom not only her family, but the realm. I was mad at how vapid she was. I kept waiting for her to grow up, toughen up. But I realized that this isn't fair to her. I expect all the Stark kids to be strong because of the stereotype, so she feels like a let down. Now I pity her. She's beyond lost. She has no concept of what the war means, of just how cruel Cersei and Joffrey are. She really, truly does not understand the danger she is in. And part of me hopes she never does. Some people just can't handle the real world, and I think she's one of them. We see the governing philosophy binary again between her and Cersei. It's obvious which side is which. I don't know what to expect out of her, but it's not much. Her storyline depresses me. I have to ask though, what is up with Sandor Clegane? Did he have a family that was killed, perhaps a daughter, that causes him to be super bitter and cruel, yet have a soft spot for a girl Sansa's age? It can't just be because she's Joffrey's pet. He's still fixated on her even after Joffrey does away with her.
Davos: "I'm a deep water sailor just come from Hong Kong, wayyyy, heyyy, blow the man down! Give me some time to blowwww the man down!" So long buddy (unless you aren't really dead, in which case thanks for the extremely detailed naval battle. You and Tolkien should have tea).
Tyrion: I have to say, he shows himself to be fierce, cunning, brave, and actually skilled in battle. Of all the men and women in the novel who get credited as great warriors, Tyrion is far and away the most unsung. With a few more men, and true command of the city's defense, I really think he could have won even without Tywin saving the day. I suppose he can live with one more deformity, but he's the last character that deserved it. He's suffered enough. And will now suffer much more.
Daernerys: Neat that one of the Sorrow Men showed up! Otherwise, is it really wise to return to Pentos? I guess we'll see, after all, we need to get you to Westeros somehow don't we? So, you know, your character can actually do something!
Arya: "Her fingers were sticky with blood, and the smell was making her mare skittish. It's no matter, she thought, swinging up into the saddle. The rain will wash them clean again." Oh, Arya. The rain can't wash them clean. Now you've started down a path you can't turn away from. I'm not sure that's a bad thing, but rest assured, the rain won't wash it away.
Theon (again): Theon gets two entries where normally I'd just combine it into one. That's because my hatred for him cannot be contained in a single paragraph. Ser Rodrik has it; Theon is pathologically full of himself. Even for a douche he's particularly craven. He'd rather die with no honor, the murderer and threatener of small, defenseless children, old men , women and cripples, than take the black and go north, than to simply surrender and save his men. He had friends in the north, but sacrificed it by stabbing them in the back, and for what? His father's love? His throne? For power? Instead he dies friendless and alone, reviled by the only ones who actually did love him. For nothing. It seems like a lot in this book, people are given one last chance to save themselves before something bad befalls them, and almost without pause, they run headlong over the cliff. Poor Ser Rodrik. Poor Beth Cassel. The fool! Winterfell burns, and for nothing! Of all the things worse than Theon taking Winterfell, worse than Ned dying, Winterfell being burned by a traitorous northman was not one of my guesses, and it was the last thing I wanted. Assuming he's really dead (since we never saw the body), a quick death at Dreadfort hands was far too easy for him. Now what safety is there left in the world? What places of peace and comfort? All that's left are bands of Stark rebels in the wild.
Jon: I know we've seen more evidence elsewhere that the old powers are waking, but there's a certain finality in hearing it from the Night's Watch. It's a terrible thing that Jon had to do, but it had to be done. I still have hope that he'll meet Benjen in Rayder's host. I worry that his pride and honor will eat him with guilt, but hopefully he serves a greater purpose.
Bran: It seems he's made his peace with, and mastered control of the "third eye." I wonder what else it can do other than simply let him see through Summer's eyes. It would seem that it allows him to enter the dreams of others, or to speak through the weirwoods. Lots more to come from him I hope. Bran's words about Winterfell, as with himself, are fleeting, not dead, but broken. It seems he has hope, but what use is hope?
Seems like almost everything I cared about is gone. Let Daernerys come. Let it all burn.
More about Jon Snow's mother after the jump.
Theon: Looks like someone does feel guilty! You know for all the talk about him not being a craven, he admitted to being afraid in the fight at the Whispering Wood, and he took Winterfell by scaling the walls and attacking in the middle of the night. When he couldn't find Bran and Rickon, he attacked and killed a miller's family lest the people think he failed. When I first read it I assumed that he set them free and killed the other two kids as a replacement, so I was sort of willing to give him a tiny bit of credit for mercy (cruel though it may have been) but nope, he proves he's even worse than I thought. He's clearly unraveling here, and for a variety of reasons. I've talked before about how these books like to present different philosophies on governance, and Theon is the only one yet that I've seen in true conflict. He was raised in the kind, just, and honorable system of Eddard Stark, but he comes from the harsh, fear inspiring system of the Greyjoys. What will he choose? He willingly chooses the northern way of Eddard Stark, but he's frustrated when the people don't instantly love him, and it's part of what unravels him so quickly. I think this illuminates one of the key differences: You can fear anyone with sufficient cause. Trade one tyrant for another, they don't matter. But you can't replace one beloved leader for another, because they aren't interchangeable, and their loyalty must be earned.
Sansa: Even with war at the gates Sansa still talks of true knights and chivalry. Part of me just can't figure out how she could be so willfully blind to the world around her, but I think part of the problem is tied to what I've said before about how all the Stark kids are being forced to confront the realities of their fantasies, and when it comes down to it, Sansa has the furthest to go from fantasy to truth. So her road is naturally more difficult. At first I was mad at her. I was mad because her childish, immature stupidity helped to doom not only her family, but the realm. I was mad at how vapid she was. I kept waiting for her to grow up, toughen up. But I realized that this isn't fair to her. I expect all the Stark kids to be strong because of the stereotype, so she feels like a let down. Now I pity her. She's beyond lost. She has no concept of what the war means, of just how cruel Cersei and Joffrey are. She really, truly does not understand the danger she is in. And part of me hopes she never does. Some people just can't handle the real world, and I think she's one of them. We see the governing philosophy binary again between her and Cersei. It's obvious which side is which. I don't know what to expect out of her, but it's not much. Her storyline depresses me. I have to ask though, what is up with Sandor Clegane? Did he have a family that was killed, perhaps a daughter, that causes him to be super bitter and cruel, yet have a soft spot for a girl Sansa's age? It can't just be because she's Joffrey's pet. He's still fixated on her even after Joffrey does away with her.
Davos: "I'm a deep water sailor just come from Hong Kong, wayyyy, heyyy, blow the man down! Give me some time to blowwww the man down!" So long buddy (unless you aren't really dead, in which case thanks for the extremely detailed naval battle. You and Tolkien should have tea).
Tyrion: I have to say, he shows himself to be fierce, cunning, brave, and actually skilled in battle. Of all the men and women in the novel who get credited as great warriors, Tyrion is far and away the most unsung. With a few more men, and true command of the city's defense, I really think he could have won even without Tywin saving the day. I suppose he can live with one more deformity, but he's the last character that deserved it. He's suffered enough. And will now suffer much more.
Daernerys: Neat that one of the Sorrow Men showed up! Otherwise, is it really wise to return to Pentos? I guess we'll see, after all, we need to get you to Westeros somehow don't we? So, you know, your character can actually do something!
Arya: "Her fingers were sticky with blood, and the smell was making her mare skittish. It's no matter, she thought, swinging up into the saddle. The rain will wash them clean again." Oh, Arya. The rain can't wash them clean. Now you've started down a path you can't turn away from. I'm not sure that's a bad thing, but rest assured, the rain won't wash it away.
Theon (again): Theon gets two entries where normally I'd just combine it into one. That's because my hatred for him cannot be contained in a single paragraph. Ser Rodrik has it; Theon is pathologically full of himself. Even for a douche he's particularly craven. He'd rather die with no honor, the murderer and threatener of small, defenseless children, old men , women and cripples, than take the black and go north, than to simply surrender and save his men. He had friends in the north, but sacrificed it by stabbing them in the back, and for what? His father's love? His throne? For power? Instead he dies friendless and alone, reviled by the only ones who actually did love him. For nothing. It seems like a lot in this book, people are given one last chance to save themselves before something bad befalls them, and almost without pause, they run headlong over the cliff. Poor Ser Rodrik. Poor Beth Cassel. The fool! Winterfell burns, and for nothing! Of all the things worse than Theon taking Winterfell, worse than Ned dying, Winterfell being burned by a traitorous northman was not one of my guesses, and it was the last thing I wanted. Assuming he's really dead (since we never saw the body), a quick death at Dreadfort hands was far too easy for him. Now what safety is there left in the world? What places of peace and comfort? All that's left are bands of Stark rebels in the wild.
Jon: I know we've seen more evidence elsewhere that the old powers are waking, but there's a certain finality in hearing it from the Night's Watch. It's a terrible thing that Jon had to do, but it had to be done. I still have hope that he'll meet Benjen in Rayder's host. I worry that his pride and honor will eat him with guilt, but hopefully he serves a greater purpose.
Bran: It seems he's made his peace with, and mastered control of the "third eye." I wonder what else it can do other than simply let him see through Summer's eyes. It would seem that it allows him to enter the dreams of others, or to speak through the weirwoods. Lots more to come from him I hope. Bran's words about Winterfell, as with himself, are fleeting, not dead, but broken. It seems he has hope, but what use is hope?
Seems like almost everything I cared about is gone. Let Daernerys come. Let it all burn.
More about Jon Snow's mother after the jump.
Page 800: The Eye of the Storm
More and more, reading this novel is feeling like an exercise in self-torture.
Tyrion: Even Tyrion is somewhat sad that Winterfell has fallen to Theon. I think he feels the draw of the north, and the wild. Even as he shuns it afterward, he knows that something evil has befallen a special place. I like all the little pieces about how magic is returning, like how the wildfire spells worked better than they used to because the dragons are back. I see big payoffs down the road for anyone who wants to see more magic.It's funny to see Cersei miss so completely with Alayaya, but man, more credit to Tyrion. The woman that Cersei holds really means nothing to him, but he still seeks to protect her. Any other non-Stark male in the book would have thrown her to the dogs. Yet he feels the fear that Cersei wanted to put in him, as it very well could have been Shae. He fears where his love will lead him.
Theon: I'm going to save my scathing comments for Theon for my final post, since it's really just one long rant about how much I hate him. Don't get me wrong by the way, I think Theon is an interesting character. He's a self-important narcissist with an entitlement complex who craves power, yet for however much he might reject the upbringing he received at Winterfell, Stark honor seeped into his bones in a way he never would have admitted openly. But he never really understood how it worked. I'll go into this more later, but the Greyjoys rule from fear and terror, and the Starks from love and justice. The problem there is that you can conquer a castle of people who feared the previous ruler and have them fear you too, but you can't conquer the castle whose people loved the old ruler and expect them to automatically love you too, even if you practice the same justice and honor. You have to earn it, and this is what he doesn't get, because he wants it handed to him, just as he wanted the Greyjoy command handed to him when he returned home. He thinks things should come easy to him, like power, and love, and sex. When it doesn't, his world collapses, similar to Sansa but her denial shields her, and Theon had a meltdown. And because of his character, and his backstabbing douchebaggery, I hate him ever so much worse than most of the Lannisters. We expect them to be evil.
Jon: So he lets the wilding girl go. This novel has given us equal parts ill-effects and positive effects from mercy. Either she'll rat him out, or like Arya with Jaqen, she'll actually come back to help Jon in some way. It's nice that it's never predictable, but I hate that it has me questioning whether or not characters should be merciful. Does Bran really have enough power and control now to speak to Jon in his dreams far beyond the wall? He seems to be advancing quickly. Jon's story is quickly becoming my favorite, as it has all the elements from the other stories I like, but I tire of the clash of kings. His story is simpler, but no less intriguing.
Sansa: I feel like her clock is ticking. I would say that she knows fears that Arya doesn't, but her denial runs so damned deep that I don't actually think she's as afraid as Arya, and she's certainly not as afraid as she should be given who surrounds her.
Catelyn: I can't believe they'd unceremoniously do away with Bran like that, so I'm going to just assume that that's misdirection and Bran is fine. But I know how she feels. I want so many things to come to pass as well. She's lost so much, yet she's in a position of relative safety. I'm left to believe that really, it wasn't Jaime or Tyrion that tried to kill Bran, or even Cersei. Was it Littlefinger? If Cersei really thinks she has nothing to lose, and thinks that Sansa and Arya are her last two children left, she might do anything. She might kill Jaime, she might set him free, she might ride to the walls of King's Landing with her sword to his neck. I know I talk a lot about what characters have lost, only because they have so much taken away from them, but has anyone lost as much as Catelyn? Ned, her sons, her daughters, her father, her home in danger, her adopted home sacked, what's left for her? I feel like she could be so strong, but how strong can anyone be amidst that much loss. I fear for her more than any, especially after seeing her sister collapse so completely when Jon Arryn died.
Tyrion: Even Tyrion is somewhat sad that Winterfell has fallen to Theon. I think he feels the draw of the north, and the wild. Even as he shuns it afterward, he knows that something evil has befallen a special place. I like all the little pieces about how magic is returning, like how the wildfire spells worked better than they used to because the dragons are back. I see big payoffs down the road for anyone who wants to see more magic.It's funny to see Cersei miss so completely with Alayaya, but man, more credit to Tyrion. The woman that Cersei holds really means nothing to him, but he still seeks to protect her. Any other non-Stark male in the book would have thrown her to the dogs. Yet he feels the fear that Cersei wanted to put in him, as it very well could have been Shae. He fears where his love will lead him.
Theon: I'm going to save my scathing comments for Theon for my final post, since it's really just one long rant about how much I hate him. Don't get me wrong by the way, I think Theon is an interesting character. He's a self-important narcissist with an entitlement complex who craves power, yet for however much he might reject the upbringing he received at Winterfell, Stark honor seeped into his bones in a way he never would have admitted openly. But he never really understood how it worked. I'll go into this more later, but the Greyjoys rule from fear and terror, and the Starks from love and justice. The problem there is that you can conquer a castle of people who feared the previous ruler and have them fear you too, but you can't conquer the castle whose people loved the old ruler and expect them to automatically love you too, even if you practice the same justice and honor. You have to earn it, and this is what he doesn't get, because he wants it handed to him, just as he wanted the Greyjoy command handed to him when he returned home. He thinks things should come easy to him, like power, and love, and sex. When it doesn't, his world collapses, similar to Sansa but her denial shields her, and Theon had a meltdown. And because of his character, and his backstabbing douchebaggery, I hate him ever so much worse than most of the Lannisters. We expect them to be evil.
Jon: So he lets the wilding girl go. This novel has given us equal parts ill-effects and positive effects from mercy. Either she'll rat him out, or like Arya with Jaqen, she'll actually come back to help Jon in some way. It's nice that it's never predictable, but I hate that it has me questioning whether or not characters should be merciful. Does Bran really have enough power and control now to speak to Jon in his dreams far beyond the wall? He seems to be advancing quickly. Jon's story is quickly becoming my favorite, as it has all the elements from the other stories I like, but I tire of the clash of kings. His story is simpler, but no less intriguing.
Sansa: I feel like her clock is ticking. I would say that she knows fears that Arya doesn't, but her denial runs so damned deep that I don't actually think she's as afraid as Arya, and she's certainly not as afraid as she should be given who surrounds her.
Catelyn: I can't believe they'd unceremoniously do away with Bran like that, so I'm going to just assume that that's misdirection and Bran is fine. But I know how she feels. I want so many things to come to pass as well. She's lost so much, yet she's in a position of relative safety. I'm left to believe that really, it wasn't Jaime or Tyrion that tried to kill Bran, or even Cersei. Was it Littlefinger? If Cersei really thinks she has nothing to lose, and thinks that Sansa and Arya are her last two children left, she might do anything. She might kill Jaime, she might set him free, she might ride to the walls of King's Landing with her sword to his neck. I know I talk a lot about what characters have lost, only because they have so much taken away from them, but has anyone lost as much as Catelyn? Ned, her sons, her daughters, her father, her home in danger, her adopted home sacked, what's left for her? I feel like she could be so strong, but how strong can anyone be amidst that much loss. I fear for her more than any, especially after seeing her sister collapse so completely when Jon Arryn died.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Page 697: Things Fall Apart
I mean...geez. You know on the one hand the pace of these books is infuriating, because it feels like nothing ever happens. The book is like snow; it never really feels like a lot, but it accumulates by a multitude, and pretty soon you find yourself buried, in the cold, trying to outrun the avalanche. I've never read a book before where everything was happening while no one was doing anything. Why is it that nothing to make me happy can ever happen? Even the good things that happen always end with a twist to where I'm not even sure if they were good, I'm just confused. The plot is like a hydra: ever plot thread that dies spawns two offspring.
Anyway, Tyrion: I think Tyrion has a vested interest in keeping the peace, and I think he genuinely wants peace but doesn't want the throne for himself, though he's learning hard lessons about the fickle nature of popular opnion. But I think his personal interest in being the King's Hand is twofold: 1. Much as a reader might like him for his complexity, he's a Lannister, and he likes being in the center of power with minions to order about and plots to unravel and create. 2. I think his hope for his own success, and his desire for the hearts and minds of the people is less about stability than it is about using the people's love as a surrogate for his father's, which he never got. Sadly, I think the people are even less forthcoming with it than his father. His reaction to finding out how the people hated him (after all he had done for them), his constant moves to dampen Joffrey's cruelty and his own mercy to Sansa and others, it's not just for stability, he wants adoration. It's why Shae makes him so nervous, because he wants to genuinely believe that she really loves him, but due to both self-protection and a lack of self-esteem, refuses to believe that she could love him (and frankly, I fear that she's a gold digger, so maybe he's right). It was foolish of him to run ahead and visit Shae without first visiting Chataya's. A foolish impatience that is somewhat unlike him, but perhaps unsurprising given the riot. The scene where she balks at working in the kitchens is most of what leads me to believe she's really just a gold digger. I like that Tyrion has a soft side to him, but it's sad to see all the emotionally sympathetic characters so plainly taken advantage of. Varys' story is freaky, and perfectly timed. The introduction of magic into the story is moving along briskly...and it's very unsettling. Also, why thus far has it all involved genitalia of some sort?
Davos: Why Davos, we almost forgot you existed. It's almost as if your character only existed as a camera for Stannis' actions, and that your reactions exist only to point out how crazy Stannis is becoming under Melisandre's influence. Sad too, because lord knows this book could use more wise voices of reason, and yours is wasted with Stannis except as a literary device. So much promise wasted. Ho hum.
So the Stannis storyline. You know when the Emmy Committee gets together to decide the award for most effed up plot turn, it'll take them about as long as it takes to pop the top of their Pepsi cans to vote for Stannis, shove the damn award into his hand and run screaming from his sight. Melisandre of course will win best supporting actor. I don't yet know what to do with all this. Does Stannis even know what Melisandre is doing? He certainly seems ill at ease about Renly's death, and he knows that Melisandre is going to execute Ser Cortnay, but perhaps he protested a little too much to Davos about being asleep when Renly died. Part of me wonder if the Shadow Stannis is somehow controlled by Stannis in his dreams, and is Melisandre's manifestations of his dreams. Neat how the walls have special spells about them. I'm with Davos though on Melisandre's shadow prophesies. Thus far, they've all either been circular self-fulfilling prophesies or contrivances. "I have to murder Ser Cortnay because in my dream I was murdering Ser Cortnay." But really, the big nugget of the whole thing was Melisandre giving birth in the boat to the Shadow Stannis. I'm not even going to guess what that was, I'm just going to put the book down, and slowly walk away, and be sure that there's enough light in my room to wash away any shadows. I'm not even sure I want that one explained.
One interesting note about Stannis. Stannis reiterated again the difference in ruling style between himself and Renly. Renly was much beloved, and would would have commanded the respect of the people because of their affection. Stannis says he would command their respect out of fear. These philosophies of rule are reflected in Joffrey, who would rather Sansa fear than love him, and Tyrion, who spends most of his time trying to make the people love rather than despise the crown. It seems like for every person who we would have as a king, we have a governing philosophy very clearly delineated for them.
Bran: Oh, it's on Theon. It's on like donkey kong. I still want to have some faith in Osha, despite her running to Theon's side. I want to believe that she'll help spirit Bran out of Winterfell in the dark of night, preferably with Summer at their side. If that hope fails, then all I have left is the hope that I'll see Theon's head on a pike before all is said and done. I knew that craven little punk would slink into the castle to attack boys and women while they slept. Is that how you'll win renown? I'm disgusted.
Arya: Okay I'll be completely honest here. I'm not 100% sure what just happened at Harrenhal. Did Roose Bolton cut a deal with the Bloody Mummers to sneak his 100 men into the castle to take it from within? If so, then Jaqen and Arya weren't part of the plan, but rather a coincidence, but the way they were received made it seem like the prisoners were waiting for something to happen. Was Jaqen only hanging around to repay his debt to Arya? And seriously, what the hell is he? He reminds me of the face dancers from Dune. There's something other worldly to him. He seems to have a sixth sense like Syrio had, or like Jojen tries to help Bran unlock. Also, why does Arya keep making friends with strange Braavosi with odd yet helpful abilities? Syrio taught her to fight and then died (or did he?) to help her escape, and now Jaqen helps to overthrow a whole castle and repay a debt to her, then inexplicably invites her across the sea to learn mystic arts? Seems like whenever someone with power gets near a Stark, his spidey senses go off. I'm not surprised that Arya didn't reveal herself even if the Direwolf banner now flies over Harrenhal. Still too many unknowns. But I want to believe that this means she's closer to escaping and moving on.
Also, perhaps this is just because I'm reading it after seeing the movie, but am I the only one who pictures Gru from Despicable Me whenever I try to picture Tyrion? Lovable little dwarf who tries to be mean but deep down has a soft spot? Anyone? No? Fine.
Seriously, I can't even guess what comes next. I felt like I had a read on things a hundred pages ago, and now, who knows?
Anyway, Tyrion: I think Tyrion has a vested interest in keeping the peace, and I think he genuinely wants peace but doesn't want the throne for himself, though he's learning hard lessons about the fickle nature of popular opnion. But I think his personal interest in being the King's Hand is twofold: 1. Much as a reader might like him for his complexity, he's a Lannister, and he likes being in the center of power with minions to order about and plots to unravel and create. 2. I think his hope for his own success, and his desire for the hearts and minds of the people is less about stability than it is about using the people's love as a surrogate for his father's, which he never got. Sadly, I think the people are even less forthcoming with it than his father. His reaction to finding out how the people hated him (after all he had done for them), his constant moves to dampen Joffrey's cruelty and his own mercy to Sansa and others, it's not just for stability, he wants adoration. It's why Shae makes him so nervous, because he wants to genuinely believe that she really loves him, but due to both self-protection and a lack of self-esteem, refuses to believe that she could love him (and frankly, I fear that she's a gold digger, so maybe he's right). It was foolish of him to run ahead and visit Shae without first visiting Chataya's. A foolish impatience that is somewhat unlike him, but perhaps unsurprising given the riot. The scene where she balks at working in the kitchens is most of what leads me to believe she's really just a gold digger. I like that Tyrion has a soft side to him, but it's sad to see all the emotionally sympathetic characters so plainly taken advantage of. Varys' story is freaky, and perfectly timed. The introduction of magic into the story is moving along briskly...and it's very unsettling. Also, why thus far has it all involved genitalia of some sort?
Davos: Why Davos, we almost forgot you existed. It's almost as if your character only existed as a camera for Stannis' actions, and that your reactions exist only to point out how crazy Stannis is becoming under Melisandre's influence. Sad too, because lord knows this book could use more wise voices of reason, and yours is wasted with Stannis except as a literary device. So much promise wasted. Ho hum.
So the Stannis storyline. You know when the Emmy Committee gets together to decide the award for most effed up plot turn, it'll take them about as long as it takes to pop the top of their Pepsi cans to vote for Stannis, shove the damn award into his hand and run screaming from his sight. Melisandre of course will win best supporting actor. I don't yet know what to do with all this. Does Stannis even know what Melisandre is doing? He certainly seems ill at ease about Renly's death, and he knows that Melisandre is going to execute Ser Cortnay, but perhaps he protested a little too much to Davos about being asleep when Renly died. Part of me wonder if the Shadow Stannis is somehow controlled by Stannis in his dreams, and is Melisandre's manifestations of his dreams. Neat how the walls have special spells about them. I'm with Davos though on Melisandre's shadow prophesies. Thus far, they've all either been circular self-fulfilling prophesies or contrivances. "I have to murder Ser Cortnay because in my dream I was murdering Ser Cortnay." But really, the big nugget of the whole thing was Melisandre giving birth in the boat to the Shadow Stannis. I'm not even going to guess what that was, I'm just going to put the book down, and slowly walk away, and be sure that there's enough light in my room to wash away any shadows. I'm not even sure I want that one explained.
One interesting note about Stannis. Stannis reiterated again the difference in ruling style between himself and Renly. Renly was much beloved, and would would have commanded the respect of the people because of their affection. Stannis says he would command their respect out of fear. These philosophies of rule are reflected in Joffrey, who would rather Sansa fear than love him, and Tyrion, who spends most of his time trying to make the people love rather than despise the crown. It seems like for every person who we would have as a king, we have a governing philosophy very clearly delineated for them.
Bran: Oh, it's on Theon. It's on like donkey kong. I still want to have some faith in Osha, despite her running to Theon's side. I want to believe that she'll help spirit Bran out of Winterfell in the dark of night, preferably with Summer at their side. If that hope fails, then all I have left is the hope that I'll see Theon's head on a pike before all is said and done. I knew that craven little punk would slink into the castle to attack boys and women while they slept. Is that how you'll win renown? I'm disgusted.
Arya: Okay I'll be completely honest here. I'm not 100% sure what just happened at Harrenhal. Did Roose Bolton cut a deal with the Bloody Mummers to sneak his 100 men into the castle to take it from within? If so, then Jaqen and Arya weren't part of the plan, but rather a coincidence, but the way they were received made it seem like the prisoners were waiting for something to happen. Was Jaqen only hanging around to repay his debt to Arya? And seriously, what the hell is he? He reminds me of the face dancers from Dune. There's something other worldly to him. He seems to have a sixth sense like Syrio had, or like Jojen tries to help Bran unlock. Also, why does Arya keep making friends with strange Braavosi with odd yet helpful abilities? Syrio taught her to fight and then died (or did he?) to help her escape, and now Jaqen helps to overthrow a whole castle and repay a debt to her, then inexplicably invites her across the sea to learn mystic arts? Seems like whenever someone with power gets near a Stark, his spidey senses go off. I'm not surprised that Arya didn't reveal herself even if the Direwolf banner now flies over Harrenhal. Still too many unknowns. But I want to believe that this means she's closer to escaping and moving on.
Also, perhaps this is just because I'm reading it after seeing the movie, but am I the only one who pictures Gru from Despicable Me whenever I try to picture Tyrion? Lovable little dwarf who tries to be mean but deep down has a soft spot? Anyone? No? Fine.
Seriously, I can't even guess what comes next. I felt like I had a read on things a hundred pages ago, and now, who knows?
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Page 586: My Bloodlust Rises
Before I start, Turgonwarflame asked in the comments section how I felt about Robb becoming king, and I thought I'd bump that up to being the introduction to this post. So, how do I feel about Robb becoming king in the north? I don't really have very many feelings on the matter. Martin deliberately removed us from Robb's point of view, choosing only to deal with it via hearsay from other characters. That's sad in a way, because I really think that Robb could be an interesting character to deal with during this time period. His father just died, his mother is around, everyone is looking to him, Jon is off to the north, how does he feel about everything that is going on? How does he feel about being a boy who was playing with blunted swords the year before, but now leads an army of thousands? Why does he feel he needs to send his mother away, so the lords will listen to him more? In general though, he's still a kid, albeit a very mature, very smart kid. He's making mistakes, and I think when all the local lords declare you king, you go along with it. He wasn't going to turn down the crown, but I think the lords of the north are doing it as a naked power grab, and because they see in Robb someone they can manipulate, rather than for any genuine love they have for the boy.
Still, Robb has great potential. I hope they return to his story line in the third book. On to today's findings:
Catelyn: She plays well the voice of reason. I think some people would look at Catelyn and only see a timid woman who shrinks from combat, as she tries to advise seemingly everyone around her not to fight. But that's a ridiculously limited analysis. She doesn't want no one to fight, she just wants to make sure they're killing the right people; Lannisters. Furthermore, every time she opens her mouth to tell one of the men that they're being foolish for whatever it is they're doing, she's almost always right. In that sense, I don't think she makes women look weak, I think she makes men look stupid. You go girl. I think my favorite scene with her so far in the entire series was the scene in the sept near Storm's End the night before the Battle That Never Happened. All of the Starks have had this moments, where they stop and collect their thoughts, put things in perspective, and seek guidance. I think it's what sets them apart, as a family, from everyone else who are too busy with the present to see the past or the future. And okay, what the heck is up with the shadow assassin? This is the first real overt piece of magic we've seen in the series thus far. Sure there's the dead waking, and Khal Drogo being saved from death that resulted in his being infantilized, but Stannis sending a murderous projection of himself to slay his brother? We've reached a new level. I can only guess that it's the effects of the witch he keeps with him, and it's supposed to be the magic of Asshai. I wonder what else is to come so far as magic goes, but I think Stannis just got promoted a half dozen levels on my list of people to watch.This was a big section of the book for Catelyn. I think it's interesting that she's taken Brienne into her service. They are both strong women, but in different ways.
Sansa: Okay, maybe I was a little harsh on Sansa in the past. She's certainly having her dreams and fantasies broken down (perhaps even more systematically than Arya), and she's certainly suffering. Maybe she isn't toiling away as a scrubbing maid, but I think she's far more susceptible to humiliation than Arya is because of her greater femininity. But then, the effects of being beaten aren't really limited by gender. As I said above, it's odd to only hear tidings of Robb via others, through rumors, whispers, ravens and stories. Sansa might not be openly defiant, but she's not as stupid as I was accusing her of before. She's learning. We're seeing someone go from completely naive to someone who is learning the hard way that lying is the only way to get through. So she learns deceit in a trial by fire. She's still pinning her hopes on being rescued...but perhaps no more than Arya is. Also, this book has left me extremely cautious of ever giving anyone credit for doing anything nice, but way to go Tyrion in rescuing her from Joffrey's torment. I don't know what he hopes to gain out of it later, maybe nothing. He says he intends to send her away when the conditions are right, and I'm inclined to believe him, but, you never know.
Jon: Dun dun dun! The plot thickens! No way of really guessing what that buried mess was, but I have a couple of guesses. Either they have a traitor, someone who left his cloak behind and ran off into the woods to join some other group, or perhaps the clothes are Ben Stark's, and he's hiding amongst the locals or perhaps even with Mance Rayder's people. I'm starting to wonder when we'll return to the plot of guessing who Jon's mother is supposed to be. I'm also trying to figure out if, as a reader, I'm supposed to be able to guess who it might be based on the information I have so far. We were led to believe that it was some random girl from when Eddard first went off to war fifteen years ago. An important girl, mind you, but no one we'd know. I just don't see, from the female characters at hand, who it could be. Martin could really screw with us and make it Cersei, but that's beyond my ability to suspend disbelief. Unless Cersei got him drunk, I don't see it. That only leaves Catelyn's sister, Lysa. She's nutty as an acorn now, but before she married Jon...and then there's the comment from Catelyn's father about Lysa and a "young stripling" and that Lysa's husband was much too old to satisfy her needs, and Jon Snow/Jon Arryn (though that connection would be bizarre, unless he really is Erryn's heir, and not Ned's, but he took the Black, so it's irrelevant). The whole thing makes my head hurt.
Bran: Alright, it's pretty clear that Jojen's dream is about Theon attacking Winterfell. The concept of green dreams is odd to me. How many of these are self-fulfilling prophesies? Either way, they've already shown to be metaphorical rather than literally true, which means anything can happen...though it does seem likely that the flood is still going to kill Mikken and the others, only through swords rather than drowning. I really want to see Bran step up and become a more active player in his surroundings. I know he's still young, but he has so much potential. Of all the terrible things that have happened, the sack of Winterfell, should it come to pass, would probably be a gut-punch only rivaled by Ned being killed. It's like a home away from home for me. I feel safe hanging out with Bran in the godswood. Of all the tumult and chaos in the world around the characters, Winterfell is my one safe place, untouched by war, a place of youthful innocence...now watch Martin pull a Whedon on me and destroy my last realm of joy and safety.
Tyrion: What's Littlefinger up to? Tyrion just consented to giving him a pretty big grant of authority. What happens now?
Theon: Perhaps he has a tiny bit of Stark in him. Enough to feel guilty. I would say he's caught between two worlds, but no, he's still a Greyjoy. It's like he grew up a Protestant but was fostered by a Catholic family just long enough to feel a little guilty about his sins, but not guilty enough to not do them. I'm already seeing him take Winterfell via subterfuge by exploiting the friendships he made there. I hope that Bran and Maester Luwin and the others are wise enough not to let them in, especially with the warning from Jojen, but I fear none of that will happen. I only hope that when Theon's time comes, one of the Starks is the one to pull the trigger. These books are giving me a lust for revenge like I've never known, and I demand to be sated! Also, if Theon does anything with Eddard's bones that Catelyn is sending north, I'll kill him myself.
Arya: I like that they identify so strong with wolves. For a moment when she feels back in control, like a real, free person again, she associates that with being a wolf again. Kind of interesting since wolves are hunters, and hunt in packs, and are loyal.
Like Arya, I'm starting to gather my own catechism of people I'd like to see die a horrible death. Joffrey and Cersei are at the top of it right now, but other names are bubbling to the top (yeah Theon, I'm looking at you!). In the first book, I hoped that bad things would never happen. In the second, I pray that I get to see these people die horrible deaths for their crimes. Maybe my hopes are dying a little, but my desire for retribution is alive and well.
Still, Robb has great potential. I hope they return to his story line in the third book. On to today's findings:
Catelyn: She plays well the voice of reason. I think some people would look at Catelyn and only see a timid woman who shrinks from combat, as she tries to advise seemingly everyone around her not to fight. But that's a ridiculously limited analysis. She doesn't want no one to fight, she just wants to make sure they're killing the right people; Lannisters. Furthermore, every time she opens her mouth to tell one of the men that they're being foolish for whatever it is they're doing, she's almost always right. In that sense, I don't think she makes women look weak, I think she makes men look stupid. You go girl. I think my favorite scene with her so far in the entire series was the scene in the sept near Storm's End the night before the Battle That Never Happened. All of the Starks have had this moments, where they stop and collect their thoughts, put things in perspective, and seek guidance. I think it's what sets them apart, as a family, from everyone else who are too busy with the present to see the past or the future. And okay, what the heck is up with the shadow assassin? This is the first real overt piece of magic we've seen in the series thus far. Sure there's the dead waking, and Khal Drogo being saved from death that resulted in his being infantilized, but Stannis sending a murderous projection of himself to slay his brother? We've reached a new level. I can only guess that it's the effects of the witch he keeps with him, and it's supposed to be the magic of Asshai. I wonder what else is to come so far as magic goes, but I think Stannis just got promoted a half dozen levels on my list of people to watch.This was a big section of the book for Catelyn. I think it's interesting that she's taken Brienne into her service. They are both strong women, but in different ways.
Sansa: Okay, maybe I was a little harsh on Sansa in the past. She's certainly having her dreams and fantasies broken down (perhaps even more systematically than Arya), and she's certainly suffering. Maybe she isn't toiling away as a scrubbing maid, but I think she's far more susceptible to humiliation than Arya is because of her greater femininity. But then, the effects of being beaten aren't really limited by gender. As I said above, it's odd to only hear tidings of Robb via others, through rumors, whispers, ravens and stories. Sansa might not be openly defiant, but she's not as stupid as I was accusing her of before. She's learning. We're seeing someone go from completely naive to someone who is learning the hard way that lying is the only way to get through. So she learns deceit in a trial by fire. She's still pinning her hopes on being rescued...but perhaps no more than Arya is. Also, this book has left me extremely cautious of ever giving anyone credit for doing anything nice, but way to go Tyrion in rescuing her from Joffrey's torment. I don't know what he hopes to gain out of it later, maybe nothing. He says he intends to send her away when the conditions are right, and I'm inclined to believe him, but, you never know.
Jon: Dun dun dun! The plot thickens! No way of really guessing what that buried mess was, but I have a couple of guesses. Either they have a traitor, someone who left his cloak behind and ran off into the woods to join some other group, or perhaps the clothes are Ben Stark's, and he's hiding amongst the locals or perhaps even with Mance Rayder's people. I'm starting to wonder when we'll return to the plot of guessing who Jon's mother is supposed to be. I'm also trying to figure out if, as a reader, I'm supposed to be able to guess who it might be based on the information I have so far. We were led to believe that it was some random girl from when Eddard first went off to war fifteen years ago. An important girl, mind you, but no one we'd know. I just don't see, from the female characters at hand, who it could be. Martin could really screw with us and make it Cersei, but that's beyond my ability to suspend disbelief. Unless Cersei got him drunk, I don't see it. That only leaves Catelyn's sister, Lysa. She's nutty as an acorn now, but before she married Jon...and then there's the comment from Catelyn's father about Lysa and a "young stripling" and that Lysa's husband was much too old to satisfy her needs, and Jon Snow/Jon Arryn (though that connection would be bizarre, unless he really is Erryn's heir, and not Ned's, but he took the Black, so it's irrelevant). The whole thing makes my head hurt.
Bran: Alright, it's pretty clear that Jojen's dream is about Theon attacking Winterfell. The concept of green dreams is odd to me. How many of these are self-fulfilling prophesies? Either way, they've already shown to be metaphorical rather than literally true, which means anything can happen...though it does seem likely that the flood is still going to kill Mikken and the others, only through swords rather than drowning. I really want to see Bran step up and become a more active player in his surroundings. I know he's still young, but he has so much potential. Of all the terrible things that have happened, the sack of Winterfell, should it come to pass, would probably be a gut-punch only rivaled by Ned being killed. It's like a home away from home for me. I feel safe hanging out with Bran in the godswood. Of all the tumult and chaos in the world around the characters, Winterfell is my one safe place, untouched by war, a place of youthful innocence...now watch Martin pull a Whedon on me and destroy my last realm of joy and safety.
Tyrion: What's Littlefinger up to? Tyrion just consented to giving him a pretty big grant of authority. What happens now?
Theon: Perhaps he has a tiny bit of Stark in him. Enough to feel guilty. I would say he's caught between two worlds, but no, he's still a Greyjoy. It's like he grew up a Protestant but was fostered by a Catholic family just long enough to feel a little guilty about his sins, but not guilty enough to not do them. I'm already seeing him take Winterfell via subterfuge by exploiting the friendships he made there. I hope that Bran and Maester Luwin and the others are wise enough not to let them in, especially with the warning from Jojen, but I fear none of that will happen. I only hope that when Theon's time comes, one of the Starks is the one to pull the trigger. These books are giving me a lust for revenge like I've never known, and I demand to be sated! Also, if Theon does anything with Eddard's bones that Catelyn is sending north, I'll kill him myself.
Arya: I like that they identify so strong with wolves. For a moment when she feels back in control, like a real, free person again, she associates that with being a wolf again. Kind of interesting since wolves are hunters, and hunt in packs, and are loyal.
Like Arya, I'm starting to gather my own catechism of people I'd like to see die a horrible death. Joffrey and Cersei are at the top of it right now, but other names are bubbling to the top (yeah Theon, I'm looking at you!). In the first book, I hoped that bad things would never happen. In the second, I pray that I get to see these people die horrible deaths for their crimes. Maybe my hopes are dying a little, but my desire for retribution is alive and well.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Page 471: Character Reflections
Looks like pretty much every army is on the move. Seems like of any point in the book so far, this is the most confused, in the sense that there are so many balls in the air, and it's a time when so few people have any reckoning of what anyone else is doing. Yet, everything that happens will affect every character. There's going to be a point in a couple hundred pages when all this is revealed, and it's going to rock everyone to their core.
Theon: You know Theon, I never really liked you. You always seemed cold and distant, a kraken in wolf's clothing. I think Theon spent all his time in Winterfell playing the good little hostage for just such an occasion, where someone more trusting (read: Robb) would send him home believing him to be a friend. Ironically, now that he's back with the Greyjoys, they think he's too Starkized to be one of them. I guess it's true what they say; you can't go home again. I love that his sister is basically a female version of him, and how taken aback he is by this. She's also supplanted him as the heir apparent. I give him minor redeeming marks for wanting to work with Robb to attack the Lannisters, but he'll play a role in the sack of the north, and my loyalties are pretty firmly with the Starks right now. You're on my list Theon.
Tyrion: Perhaps the personality trait hammered into us the most with regards with Tyrion is that he means everything he says (especially the lies). It's ironic that the character who revels the most in lies, intrigue, and backstabbing plots is also the one who, in a way, is perhaps the most trustworthy. I loved his use of the canary trap to root out Maester Pycelle as Catelyn's agent. Clever of Martin to write it, and it's just the sort of thing that Tyrion would do. I think it's also clear that he's in love with Shae, despite his reservations regarding her. I think it's possible that she loves him too. The scene a couple chapters back when he referred to her as only a physical comfort when he knew she wanted more from him was just his way of putting distance between them as a form of self-preservation. He's vulnerable when it comes to love, and doesn't want to get hurt again. It's why he keeps her so far from the Court, and tries to from his heart as well. I think Martin has a little bit of Whedon in him, which is why I think this has to mean Shae will die, specifically to hurt Tyrion, but I hope not. I actually want him to be happy. He's clearly in his element mixed up in the plotting at King's Landing, but where is it leading to? Does he really just love the game that much, or does he have an objective to reach?
Arya: I like that she's willing to admit her weaknesses. She knows she's no Syrio, and perhaps like all of the Starks, she has dreams, but unlike them, she knows how far she is from achieving them. Robb wants to play King, Sansa wants to play court lady, Bran wants to be a knight, Arya perhaps just wants to be Eddard Stark reborn, only the girl version. Everyone but Arya is still living out or holding on to some version of that fantasy, but Arya is the only one to admit in plain terms just how stark her reality is. Perhaps in that sense, she's the most Stark-like. The north is a cold, harsh place, and there's little room for fantasies when reality is so full of cold, hard lessons.Her new nightly catechism is pretty morbid. She's learned fast to hold a grudge to the point of religiosity. But I think she's suffered more physical and emotional torment than any other character. The business with Jaqen is interesting. She's clearly ambivalent about ordering a man's death (not about him dying, per se, but the Stark honor makes her want to do it herself). I'm okay with her wanting to kill someone, so long as it's with just cause, and clearly she thinks she has that (and I agree). I think she she orders the first death though, she feels like the guy really dug his own grave. She was considering some form of mercy until he told the story about the inn. It's sad to see her grown so hard, and I hope she has a chance to escape back to her family soon so the brightness of her spirit that I liked so much in the beginning can survive what she's dealing with now.
Dany: I think she's the most straightforward of all the characters and all the story lines. In that sense, she's kind of the most boring to me. I feel like all Martin is doing with her is marking time until she eventually makes her way back to Westeros with her dragons to engage in mayhem and revenge. Get on with it, or don't, but she's not really doing anything.
Bran: I like his new companions, the Reeds. I think Jojen's dream is supposed to be a prophesy of the impending attack, either from the Greyjoys or from the north, but telling Bran that it's best not to be in Winterfell wasn't idle talk. My initial impression of the Reeds is that they are Children of the Forest, and that their swamp city is a redoubt of the old ways. Unless this is a strong hint with misdirection, it seems to be implied pretty heavily that the Reeds are special in some way, and that their attachment to Bran implies that he is special as well. Jojen comes right out and tells him to look with his third eye, and that he's sharing bodies with the wolves, with Summer (as I think the other kids are as well, just not as actively). It's how the wolves match their temperaments so perfectly. It was sad to see that, when confronted with many of his hopes and dreams about magic in the world, he actually turns away from them and gives up. But I have to believe that this isn't nearly the end of it.
I feel like the last hundred pages were a bit of a digression to delve into the characters' feelings and conditions. Nothing major was revealed other than the Greyjoy invasion and Robert's real killers (which we already sort of knew). But it wasn't about plot exposition, it was about giving us a chance to see the characters reflect on all that has happened to them thus far, and to try and make sense of it. By watching them try to piece together the events, a lot is revealed about who they really are.
Theon: You know Theon, I never really liked you. You always seemed cold and distant, a kraken in wolf's clothing. I think Theon spent all his time in Winterfell playing the good little hostage for just such an occasion, where someone more trusting (read: Robb) would send him home believing him to be a friend. Ironically, now that he's back with the Greyjoys, they think he's too Starkized to be one of them. I guess it's true what they say; you can't go home again. I love that his sister is basically a female version of him, and how taken aback he is by this. She's also supplanted him as the heir apparent. I give him minor redeeming marks for wanting to work with Robb to attack the Lannisters, but he'll play a role in the sack of the north, and my loyalties are pretty firmly with the Starks right now. You're on my list Theon.
Tyrion: Perhaps the personality trait hammered into us the most with regards with Tyrion is that he means everything he says (especially the lies). It's ironic that the character who revels the most in lies, intrigue, and backstabbing plots is also the one who, in a way, is perhaps the most trustworthy. I loved his use of the canary trap to root out Maester Pycelle as Catelyn's agent. Clever of Martin to write it, and it's just the sort of thing that Tyrion would do. I think it's also clear that he's in love with Shae, despite his reservations regarding her. I think it's possible that she loves him too. The scene a couple chapters back when he referred to her as only a physical comfort when he knew she wanted more from him was just his way of putting distance between them as a form of self-preservation. He's vulnerable when it comes to love, and doesn't want to get hurt again. It's why he keeps her so far from the Court, and tries to from his heart as well. I think Martin has a little bit of Whedon in him, which is why I think this has to mean Shae will die, specifically to hurt Tyrion, but I hope not. I actually want him to be happy. He's clearly in his element mixed up in the plotting at King's Landing, but where is it leading to? Does he really just love the game that much, or does he have an objective to reach?
Arya: I like that she's willing to admit her weaknesses. She knows she's no Syrio, and perhaps like all of the Starks, she has dreams, but unlike them, she knows how far she is from achieving them. Robb wants to play King, Sansa wants to play court lady, Bran wants to be a knight, Arya perhaps just wants to be Eddard Stark reborn, only the girl version. Everyone but Arya is still living out or holding on to some version of that fantasy, but Arya is the only one to admit in plain terms just how stark her reality is. Perhaps in that sense, she's the most Stark-like. The north is a cold, harsh place, and there's little room for fantasies when reality is so full of cold, hard lessons.Her new nightly catechism is pretty morbid. She's learned fast to hold a grudge to the point of religiosity. But I think she's suffered more physical and emotional torment than any other character. The business with Jaqen is interesting. She's clearly ambivalent about ordering a man's death (not about him dying, per se, but the Stark honor makes her want to do it herself). I'm okay with her wanting to kill someone, so long as it's with just cause, and clearly she thinks she has that (and I agree). I think she she orders the first death though, she feels like the guy really dug his own grave. She was considering some form of mercy until he told the story about the inn. It's sad to see her grown so hard, and I hope she has a chance to escape back to her family soon so the brightness of her spirit that I liked so much in the beginning can survive what she's dealing with now.
Dany: I think she's the most straightforward of all the characters and all the story lines. In that sense, she's kind of the most boring to me. I feel like all Martin is doing with her is marking time until she eventually makes her way back to Westeros with her dragons to engage in mayhem and revenge. Get on with it, or don't, but she's not really doing anything.
Bran: I like his new companions, the Reeds. I think Jojen's dream is supposed to be a prophesy of the impending attack, either from the Greyjoys or from the north, but telling Bran that it's best not to be in Winterfell wasn't idle talk. My initial impression of the Reeds is that they are Children of the Forest, and that their swamp city is a redoubt of the old ways. Unless this is a strong hint with misdirection, it seems to be implied pretty heavily that the Reeds are special in some way, and that their attachment to Bran implies that he is special as well. Jojen comes right out and tells him to look with his third eye, and that he's sharing bodies with the wolves, with Summer (as I think the other kids are as well, just not as actively). It's how the wolves match their temperaments so perfectly. It was sad to see that, when confronted with many of his hopes and dreams about magic in the world, he actually turns away from them and gives up. But I have to believe that this isn't nearly the end of it.
I feel like the last hundred pages were a bit of a digression to delve into the characters' feelings and conditions. Nothing major was revealed other than the Greyjoy invasion and Robert's real killers (which we already sort of knew). But it wasn't about plot exposition, it was about giving us a chance to see the characters reflect on all that has happened to them thus far, and to try and make sense of it. By watching them try to piece together the events, a lot is revealed about who they really are.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Page 377: Crossroads
Doesn't seem like a whole lot has really changed in the last couple hundred pages, but lots of gears are turning (the gears of war!) and a great many plot threads are pushing their way towards big payoffs.
Tyrion: It's still very difficult to root out his motives. He has no love for "King" Joffrey, that's for sure. Every effort he makes seems to be both to secure his own safety, and that of King's Landing, but also to lessen the damage Joffrey does on a daily basis to make himself less loved by the people. Cersei harangues him for trying to send Tommen and Myrcella away, and as much as those moves are common power plays in Westeros, I think he's also doing it because he likes or loves his niece and nephew, and honestly wants them out of harm's way when the fighting comes to the capital. His interactions with Varys are some of the most interesting in the book, as well as his interactions with Littlefinger. Whereas anything involving the Starks is always artless, it's always wheels within wheels with Tyrion. You can count on the Stark kids to act out of both naivete and honor, and you can count on Tyrion to act out of guile and mysterious deception. Also, I like that we get to see Tyrion's intelligence at work with training the tower guards to use wildfire. Cersei was playing queen by inspecting the battlements, but Tyrion was heightening the chances for victory by actually training the men to use their biggest advantage, and he was quite clever in doing so. It really emphasizes how well his mind works, how clever he is, and how limited the thinking of the more martial characters can be.
Sansa: Oh Sansa, just when I want to like you, you do a half dozen stupid things that make me dislike you all over again. She is literally a damsel imprisoned in a tower waiting for a knight to come to her rescue. Can she be any more a manifestation of the useless damsel in distress? For heaven's sake, she chose her own personal gods because their statues were prettier and because the septs have crystals rather than the gods of her father. And after all she's seen she still blames Arya for Lady's death? Come on, she knew that Joffrey lied about the whole thing, and she knows that he's a monster, and still only begrudgingly misses her sister? Much as I despise the Hound (Clegane) and Joffrey, I can't help but think "you're right!" whenever they call her stupid to her face. I want so very much to find something likable in her, but every ounce of strength she shows is paired with five moments of frail weakness. Is she really going to be set free by the knight she uncharacteristically saved? Somehow I doubt it. I'm positive that someone knows about it; at the very least Varys does. We'll have to wait and see.
Arya: First off, I wonder if we're supposed to think that Yoren was killed by the same axe that Arya threw into the wagon to free the hardened criminals. That seems like an unkindness more suitable to Sansa, but while Arya is far less trusting than Sansa, she is as fiercely noble as all the Starks, and clearly saw it as the right thing to do that she not let them burn to death. However, the novels seem to take a special, sickening pleasure in turning Stark kindness into bitter lessons of the reality of human nature. It's a Stark contrast. Anyway, with Catelyn traveling south, it seems a possibility that Catelyn could happen upon Arya and take her north? Or that Arya could at some point meet up with Reny's army, but somehow I think these things unlikely. I'm still rooting for Arya to come into contact with Nymeria in the wild, and I think the wolf bands that are shadowing them are led by Nymeria. Maybe that'll be the deus ex machina that gets Arya out of the current jam of the week that she's in.
Bran: Ah Bran, my little ray of sunshine and hope. It would seem his plot has nothing going for it. Every chapter since his fall has been "Bran hung out in the castle and met with someone, then he was miserable, then he had a dream..." One and/or two things have to happen with Bran to make his plot thread even worth keeping. 1. It's clear by now that he's literally sharing Summer's mind at points. It's not just a dream. Something has to happen with this power to increase Bran's functionality in the greater plot. 2. Someone attacks Winterfell and we see it through Bran's eyes. I want so much for Bran to have his moment. His yearning to be whole leaps off the pages and clutches at my heart. His dreams excite me even as they scare him.
Catelyn: In hindsight; duh. I should have known that Robb would send her south to Renly Baratheon. The biggest plot hole in the novel was not having any eyes and ears on Renly except for spies and rumors. Catelyn was the perfect vehicle for that. I have no idea where she'll go now that Stannis has attacked Storm's End, but she'll either follow or head north. Either way we get some interesting material out of her. I'm glad Martin decided to delve a little bit into her feelings in her chapter. We see that yes, Catelyn is a strong woman, in part because she just is, and in part because she's rising to the occasion, but she still grieves for Eddard, and deep inside just wants to cry and be comforted. What I love about that is Martin's refusal to put Catelyn in the "strong woman" or "weak woman" camp. Sansa is clearly portrayed as weak and frail. Arya is portrayed as heedlessly brave. Catelyn juxtaposes weak and strong all by herself, and proves that we can be both. I think it was in the first novel that one of the kids asked Eddard or another character if it was possible to be brave and scared at the same time. The reply was that it was impossible to be brave without being afraid, for overcoming fear is what makes bravery. Thus, even a couple paragraphs of Catelyn's continued mourning for Eddard shows us just how brave she is. You go girl.
Not much to tell about Jon, just that like all the other Starks, we're having to see him struggle with the justness that Eddard raised him with versus the cold reality around him. His inability to save the weak and helpless is eating away at him. I hope he doesn't lose that completely, but I think he'll be better served by realizing he can't save everyone.
A couple of random observations: I like the scene where Bran is sitting in his father's chair in the dining hall at Winterfell, and all the local lords are enjoying the feast while Bran contrasts that dinner with the one they had when Robert was still king. Just by comparing the two scenes we see just how drastically the situation has changed. Arya lost, Sansa captured, Robb king, Eddard dead, Catelyn in the south, Jon at the Wall, four kings where once was one, and the entire realm at war. And closer to home, Bran is crippled and half the household guard they grew up with is dead. Bran's entire reality has been rocked to its foundations, and I think he survives by clinging to long held notions of knighthood as a life raft. So much lost, so much gone, and so little available for him to do to cope.
Brienne the Blue is an interesting, possible throw-away character. She's the one woman in the novel thus far actually honored in some way for her martial spirit. The only other warrior women we saw was a women who is rumored to bed with bears, and is thus a joke. Brienne on the other hand is now part of Renly's kingsguard, despite her low birth and poor looks. In that, she's a singular character, but she's also a grown-up version of what Arya thinks (or really does) want in her heart of hearts; to be one of the boys.
And finally, what is going on above the Wall with Mance Rayder? Is he really gathering up all his people for a ride south beyond the Wall? It's certainly made to look that way. All of Westereos is set up as a house of cards right now. If anyone moves, the whole thing comes crashing down. Renly moves north and is attacked by Stannis. If Robb attacks Harrenhall, he'll be smashed by Casterly Rock. Yet while he's in the south, the Greyjoys make to move on someone, even while the Others and the wildings in the north are planning something. It seems the intended pairings are actually pretty well matched. Looking at the four kings, Stannis vs. Renly is brother king vs. brother king, both Baratheon's falling for their brother's fallen crown. In King's Landing, you have the Usurper King Joffrey with no obvious enemies (now that Renly is occupied) except for a dragon toting princess across the sea who is newly empowered and craving a return home to unseat the descendant (supposedly) of the man who killed her brother. And in the King of the North, Robb, you have either the Greyjoys coming back to avenge their defeat by Eddard years ago, or the wildings of the north come down to the northern kingdom. None of these pairings are random they're all rooted in history and seem very appropriate. One of my bigger unanswered questions is what the relationship is between Mance Rayder and the Others? Could he merely be gathering his forces to defend against them? Or do they have some sort of agreement and he really is riding beyond the Wall? Time will tell I suppose.
Up next is a Theon chapter. Should be interesting.
Tyrion: It's still very difficult to root out his motives. He has no love for "King" Joffrey, that's for sure. Every effort he makes seems to be both to secure his own safety, and that of King's Landing, but also to lessen the damage Joffrey does on a daily basis to make himself less loved by the people. Cersei harangues him for trying to send Tommen and Myrcella away, and as much as those moves are common power plays in Westeros, I think he's also doing it because he likes or loves his niece and nephew, and honestly wants them out of harm's way when the fighting comes to the capital. His interactions with Varys are some of the most interesting in the book, as well as his interactions with Littlefinger. Whereas anything involving the Starks is always artless, it's always wheels within wheels with Tyrion. You can count on the Stark kids to act out of both naivete and honor, and you can count on Tyrion to act out of guile and mysterious deception. Also, I like that we get to see Tyrion's intelligence at work with training the tower guards to use wildfire. Cersei was playing queen by inspecting the battlements, but Tyrion was heightening the chances for victory by actually training the men to use their biggest advantage, and he was quite clever in doing so. It really emphasizes how well his mind works, how clever he is, and how limited the thinking of the more martial characters can be.
Sansa: Oh Sansa, just when I want to like you, you do a half dozen stupid things that make me dislike you all over again. She is literally a damsel imprisoned in a tower waiting for a knight to come to her rescue. Can she be any more a manifestation of the useless damsel in distress? For heaven's sake, she chose her own personal gods because their statues were prettier and because the septs have crystals rather than the gods of her father. And after all she's seen she still blames Arya for Lady's death? Come on, she knew that Joffrey lied about the whole thing, and she knows that he's a monster, and still only begrudgingly misses her sister? Much as I despise the Hound (Clegane) and Joffrey, I can't help but think "you're right!" whenever they call her stupid to her face. I want so very much to find something likable in her, but every ounce of strength she shows is paired with five moments of frail weakness. Is she really going to be set free by the knight she uncharacteristically saved? Somehow I doubt it. I'm positive that someone knows about it; at the very least Varys does. We'll have to wait and see.
Arya: First off, I wonder if we're supposed to think that Yoren was killed by the same axe that Arya threw into the wagon to free the hardened criminals. That seems like an unkindness more suitable to Sansa, but while Arya is far less trusting than Sansa, she is as fiercely noble as all the Starks, and clearly saw it as the right thing to do that she not let them burn to death. However, the novels seem to take a special, sickening pleasure in turning Stark kindness into bitter lessons of the reality of human nature. It's a Stark contrast. Anyway, with Catelyn traveling south, it seems a possibility that Catelyn could happen upon Arya and take her north? Or that Arya could at some point meet up with Reny's army, but somehow I think these things unlikely. I'm still rooting for Arya to come into contact with Nymeria in the wild, and I think the wolf bands that are shadowing them are led by Nymeria. Maybe that'll be the deus ex machina that gets Arya out of the current jam of the week that she's in.
Bran: Ah Bran, my little ray of sunshine and hope. It would seem his plot has nothing going for it. Every chapter since his fall has been "Bran hung out in the castle and met with someone, then he was miserable, then he had a dream..." One and/or two things have to happen with Bran to make his plot thread even worth keeping. 1. It's clear by now that he's literally sharing Summer's mind at points. It's not just a dream. Something has to happen with this power to increase Bran's functionality in the greater plot. 2. Someone attacks Winterfell and we see it through Bran's eyes. I want so much for Bran to have his moment. His yearning to be whole leaps off the pages and clutches at my heart. His dreams excite me even as they scare him.
Catelyn: In hindsight; duh. I should have known that Robb would send her south to Renly Baratheon. The biggest plot hole in the novel was not having any eyes and ears on Renly except for spies and rumors. Catelyn was the perfect vehicle for that. I have no idea where she'll go now that Stannis has attacked Storm's End, but she'll either follow or head north. Either way we get some interesting material out of her. I'm glad Martin decided to delve a little bit into her feelings in her chapter. We see that yes, Catelyn is a strong woman, in part because she just is, and in part because she's rising to the occasion, but she still grieves for Eddard, and deep inside just wants to cry and be comforted. What I love about that is Martin's refusal to put Catelyn in the "strong woman" or "weak woman" camp. Sansa is clearly portrayed as weak and frail. Arya is portrayed as heedlessly brave. Catelyn juxtaposes weak and strong all by herself, and proves that we can be both. I think it was in the first novel that one of the kids asked Eddard or another character if it was possible to be brave and scared at the same time. The reply was that it was impossible to be brave without being afraid, for overcoming fear is what makes bravery. Thus, even a couple paragraphs of Catelyn's continued mourning for Eddard shows us just how brave she is. You go girl.
Not much to tell about Jon, just that like all the other Starks, we're having to see him struggle with the justness that Eddard raised him with versus the cold reality around him. His inability to save the weak and helpless is eating away at him. I hope he doesn't lose that completely, but I think he'll be better served by realizing he can't save everyone.
A couple of random observations: I like the scene where Bran is sitting in his father's chair in the dining hall at Winterfell, and all the local lords are enjoying the feast while Bran contrasts that dinner with the one they had when Robert was still king. Just by comparing the two scenes we see just how drastically the situation has changed. Arya lost, Sansa captured, Robb king, Eddard dead, Catelyn in the south, Jon at the Wall, four kings where once was one, and the entire realm at war. And closer to home, Bran is crippled and half the household guard they grew up with is dead. Bran's entire reality has been rocked to its foundations, and I think he survives by clinging to long held notions of knighthood as a life raft. So much lost, so much gone, and so little available for him to do to cope.
Brienne the Blue is an interesting, possible throw-away character. She's the one woman in the novel thus far actually honored in some way for her martial spirit. The only other warrior women we saw was a women who is rumored to bed with bears, and is thus a joke. Brienne on the other hand is now part of Renly's kingsguard, despite her low birth and poor looks. In that, she's a singular character, but she's also a grown-up version of what Arya thinks (or really does) want in her heart of hearts; to be one of the boys.
And finally, what is going on above the Wall with Mance Rayder? Is he really gathering up all his people for a ride south beyond the Wall? It's certainly made to look that way. All of Westereos is set up as a house of cards right now. If anyone moves, the whole thing comes crashing down. Renly moves north and is attacked by Stannis. If Robb attacks Harrenhall, he'll be smashed by Casterly Rock. Yet while he's in the south, the Greyjoys make to move on someone, even while the Others and the wildings in the north are planning something. It seems the intended pairings are actually pretty well matched. Looking at the four kings, Stannis vs. Renly is brother king vs. brother king, both Baratheon's falling for their brother's fallen crown. In King's Landing, you have the Usurper King Joffrey with no obvious enemies (now that Renly is occupied) except for a dragon toting princess across the sea who is newly empowered and craving a return home to unseat the descendant (supposedly) of the man who killed her brother. And in the King of the North, Robb, you have either the Greyjoys coming back to avenge their defeat by Eddard years ago, or the wildings of the north come down to the northern kingdom. None of these pairings are random they're all rooted in history and seem very appropriate. One of my bigger unanswered questions is what the relationship is between Mance Rayder and the Others? Could he merely be gathering his forces to defend against them? Or do they have some sort of agreement and he really is riding beyond the Wall? Time will tell I suppose.
Up next is a Theon chapter. Should be interesting.
Playing Catchup
Okay everyone, I'm starting this blog a bit late in the game, but the point of this blog will be to chronicle my journey through A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of books by noted fantasy author George R. R. Martin. I've already finished "A Game of Thrones," and I'm a good 200 pages into "A Clash of Kings," but after I catch up to where I am now, I'll spend the rest of my journey through this series sharing my thoughts, concerns, reactions and predictions as I read.
Of course, expect every post to be utterly rife with spoilers.
Now for the plot lines:
Arya: She's currently heading north with Yoren and the gang. I like that between her training with Syrio and her time on the road, she's getting to face the reality of the rough and tumble existence she's always craved. She wanted to be like the boys, and now she's living their lifestyle in the wild. Seems to me that this is the perfect opportunity for her to be reunited with Nymeria, and I really do hope it's a nice reunion, and not one where Nymeria tries to kill her. Given the rumors about wolf packs, it seems a perfect time. I also think that there's something going on with Arya and Bran as far as a deeper connection with the wolves. Magic seems to be slowly returning in many ways, and I don't think their dreams are just idle things.
Sansa: In many ways two sides of the same coin, Sansa always loved Court intrigue when she was in King's Landing, and like Arya she now faces the cold reality of what she wanted for herself. It's pretty depressing watching her kowtow before Joffrey and Cersei, and I have no doubt that Joffrey will reject Robb's peace proposal and keep Sansa close to him. I'm sort of dreading an attempt by Joffrey to rape her in the coming chapters. Hopefully he'll do what every king apparently does and visit a whorehouse instead. I'm hoping that she's the one to end Joffrey. It seems like out of all the characters, she's the one who had to grow up the fastest, even more so than Robb, who was at least groomed for his role. It was also a knife in my heart when they confirmed that Cersei only acted the way she did because of what Sansa told her. Dammit Sansa.
Not much to report about Robb yet, except his plan to march on Golden Tooth seems to leave quite a bit of land undefended between Riverrun and Winterfell, which leads me to...
Theon: Interesting to see him take up prominence as a main character. We're seeing a bigger development of what we only got hints at earlier. Namely, that despite his time in Winterfell, he's certainly no Stark. He's cunning, and I think a little underhanded. He seems to have a lot more in common with the Southrons than the northern men in that respect. I fear that his father's plan will be to invade the north and take an underdefended Winterfell to exact revenge on Eddard for what he and Robert did to the Greyjoy's during the rebellion. It'll be sad to see Robb rushing north to fight a battle against Theon. I hope it doesn't happen.
Davos: Hard to see where this one is going. Davos is there to give us a view into what Stannis is doing (which makes me wonder if we'll get a view into Renly's attempts at kinghood), but I think Stannis is the more interesting character for his rejection of the old gods for the new one god. The religious angle has been somewhat underplayed to date, but I think it will be more important in the future for a variety of reasons. The most important is that GoT and ACoK seem to be slowly ramping up the use and observance of the supernatural. We saw The Others in the very first pages of the first book, but there has been dark magic with Khal Drogo, attacks from the undead, a strange connection between the Starks and the direwolves, Bran's miraculous recovery and his vision during it (which I'm placing a lot of importance on), and his subsequent dreams, to say nothing of his personal fixation on the Children of the Forest. This leads me to believe the religious conflict is going to play an increasing role.
Catelyn: I think in the end she'll return to Winterfell, only because I think the Greyjoy's are going to attack there and someone more important than Maester Luwin needs to be there when it happens. Plus, there's a kingdom to be run with only nine year old Bran to see to the day to day hearings, which is no good. I'd like her to stay with Robb, since he's surrounded by men out to coerce him, and we've already seen him make a serious mistake in sending away Theon.
Tyrion: Maybe the most interesting character in the novel. I don't know what to make of him. He has a vicious streak, he can be cold, by God he's calculating, and a Lannister at heart, but there's also love in him, and kindness. His desire to be loved, both by his father (who he hates and loves) and by Shae (who he loves but refuses to believe could love him back) sets him apart from his cold-hearted family members who care far less about love than they do about power. At the moment, he's my anti-hero. I think both he and Varys walk a grey line between good and evil, and are capable of doing either so long as it serves their hidden motives. Varys proclaims that the stability of Westeros is his goal, but with it in pieces, how will he put it back together? And what is Tyrion's real goal? He seems genuinely interested in curving Joffrey's madness and Cersei's silly power plays, and he's not just in it for the money and hookers, or even just for raw power. He's a bitter man who holds serious grudges, and wouldn't blink at killing someone who pissed him off, but he's also the man that gave Bran a design for a saddle so he could ride, and this AFTER being attacked by dire wolves. Plus he showed affection for Tommen and Myrcella. And then there's the moments he had with Jon on the journey to the Wall that left Jon with a good impression of him. Tyrion, in his own way, gave Jon some sage wisdom in a time of great conflict. He seems to make easy friends for those who are willing to give him the chance, and wishes bloody deaths on those who don't. I think his journey will be the most interesting, and bears the most risk to a reader as far as potential for dismay versus hope for good.
I don't know what to make of Dany yet, so I'll leave this a little sparse. I think she's going to hang out in her city for awhile and let the dragons grow, but I'm positive she's coming back to the Seven Kingdoms at some point. Probably with Dothraki hordes and dragons, rather than just the latter. Someone I was talking about the novel with referred to them as being the Rohirrim of the novel, and I guess someone going for the cheap allusion to LOTR might think so, but to me, they're the Golden Horde of Ghengis Khan.
Jon: I think this finishes off the characters, but I'll be back with regular updates in case I missed anyone. While I think Tyrion is the most interesting character, I think Jon is the one everyone has a soft spot in their hearts for (well, most especially with Ned gone). I was shocked when he left his sword behind and went south. It clearly felt like the wrong move as a reader, because I felt how important the Wall was, and even I knew it was his place to be there. It was one of the few happy moments when his "brothers" came down to bring him back, and Mormont accepted him back without too much reproach. I also like that they've finally crossed the wall to look for Benjen, who I really hope they find alive, and not as a blue-eyed wraith. That seems far too easy though, and Benjen would likely provide far too much speed for plot exposition given the pace that Martin likes, so for that reason, I think he'll be dead, but I hope he's alive. Also, while I think that in many ways Tyrion's story is the most interesting, I think Jon's, for the moment, is the one that would best make a stand alone novel. His plot seems to be largely self-contained, and they've stressed multiple times how the Wall is immune to the care of the world's conflicts. I expect that to change though. I think Jon's story will end up the focal point for events in the future.
Well, now you're caught up to where I am. I'll probably update every few chapters, or after anything particularly pushes my buttons.
Here's to the journey!
Of course, expect every post to be utterly rife with spoilers.
Now for the plot lines:
Arya: She's currently heading north with Yoren and the gang. I like that between her training with Syrio and her time on the road, she's getting to face the reality of the rough and tumble existence she's always craved. She wanted to be like the boys, and now she's living their lifestyle in the wild. Seems to me that this is the perfect opportunity for her to be reunited with Nymeria, and I really do hope it's a nice reunion, and not one where Nymeria tries to kill her. Given the rumors about wolf packs, it seems a perfect time. I also think that there's something going on with Arya and Bran as far as a deeper connection with the wolves. Magic seems to be slowly returning in many ways, and I don't think their dreams are just idle things.
Sansa: In many ways two sides of the same coin, Sansa always loved Court intrigue when she was in King's Landing, and like Arya she now faces the cold reality of what she wanted for herself. It's pretty depressing watching her kowtow before Joffrey and Cersei, and I have no doubt that Joffrey will reject Robb's peace proposal and keep Sansa close to him. I'm sort of dreading an attempt by Joffrey to rape her in the coming chapters. Hopefully he'll do what every king apparently does and visit a whorehouse instead. I'm hoping that she's the one to end Joffrey. It seems like out of all the characters, she's the one who had to grow up the fastest, even more so than Robb, who was at least groomed for his role. It was also a knife in my heart when they confirmed that Cersei only acted the way she did because of what Sansa told her. Dammit Sansa.
Not much to report about Robb yet, except his plan to march on Golden Tooth seems to leave quite a bit of land undefended between Riverrun and Winterfell, which leads me to...
Theon: Interesting to see him take up prominence as a main character. We're seeing a bigger development of what we only got hints at earlier. Namely, that despite his time in Winterfell, he's certainly no Stark. He's cunning, and I think a little underhanded. He seems to have a lot more in common with the Southrons than the northern men in that respect. I fear that his father's plan will be to invade the north and take an underdefended Winterfell to exact revenge on Eddard for what he and Robert did to the Greyjoy's during the rebellion. It'll be sad to see Robb rushing north to fight a battle against Theon. I hope it doesn't happen.
Davos: Hard to see where this one is going. Davos is there to give us a view into what Stannis is doing (which makes me wonder if we'll get a view into Renly's attempts at kinghood), but I think Stannis is the more interesting character for his rejection of the old gods for the new one god. The religious angle has been somewhat underplayed to date, but I think it will be more important in the future for a variety of reasons. The most important is that GoT and ACoK seem to be slowly ramping up the use and observance of the supernatural. We saw The Others in the very first pages of the first book, but there has been dark magic with Khal Drogo, attacks from the undead, a strange connection between the Starks and the direwolves, Bran's miraculous recovery and his vision during it (which I'm placing a lot of importance on), and his subsequent dreams, to say nothing of his personal fixation on the Children of the Forest. This leads me to believe the religious conflict is going to play an increasing role.
Catelyn: I think in the end she'll return to Winterfell, only because I think the Greyjoy's are going to attack there and someone more important than Maester Luwin needs to be there when it happens. Plus, there's a kingdom to be run with only nine year old Bran to see to the day to day hearings, which is no good. I'd like her to stay with Robb, since he's surrounded by men out to coerce him, and we've already seen him make a serious mistake in sending away Theon.
Tyrion: Maybe the most interesting character in the novel. I don't know what to make of him. He has a vicious streak, he can be cold, by God he's calculating, and a Lannister at heart, but there's also love in him, and kindness. His desire to be loved, both by his father (who he hates and loves) and by Shae (who he loves but refuses to believe could love him back) sets him apart from his cold-hearted family members who care far less about love than they do about power. At the moment, he's my anti-hero. I think both he and Varys walk a grey line between good and evil, and are capable of doing either so long as it serves their hidden motives. Varys proclaims that the stability of Westeros is his goal, but with it in pieces, how will he put it back together? And what is Tyrion's real goal? He seems genuinely interested in curving Joffrey's madness and Cersei's silly power plays, and he's not just in it for the money and hookers, or even just for raw power. He's a bitter man who holds serious grudges, and wouldn't blink at killing someone who pissed him off, but he's also the man that gave Bran a design for a saddle so he could ride, and this AFTER being attacked by dire wolves. Plus he showed affection for Tommen and Myrcella. And then there's the moments he had with Jon on the journey to the Wall that left Jon with a good impression of him. Tyrion, in his own way, gave Jon some sage wisdom in a time of great conflict. He seems to make easy friends for those who are willing to give him the chance, and wishes bloody deaths on those who don't. I think his journey will be the most interesting, and bears the most risk to a reader as far as potential for dismay versus hope for good.
I don't know what to make of Dany yet, so I'll leave this a little sparse. I think she's going to hang out in her city for awhile and let the dragons grow, but I'm positive she's coming back to the Seven Kingdoms at some point. Probably with Dothraki hordes and dragons, rather than just the latter. Someone I was talking about the novel with referred to them as being the Rohirrim of the novel, and I guess someone going for the cheap allusion to LOTR might think so, but to me, they're the Golden Horde of Ghengis Khan.
Jon: I think this finishes off the characters, but I'll be back with regular updates in case I missed anyone. While I think Tyrion is the most interesting character, I think Jon is the one everyone has a soft spot in their hearts for (well, most especially with Ned gone). I was shocked when he left his sword behind and went south. It clearly felt like the wrong move as a reader, because I felt how important the Wall was, and even I knew it was his place to be there. It was one of the few happy moments when his "brothers" came down to bring him back, and Mormont accepted him back without too much reproach. I also like that they've finally crossed the wall to look for Benjen, who I really hope they find alive, and not as a blue-eyed wraith. That seems far too easy though, and Benjen would likely provide far too much speed for plot exposition given the pace that Martin likes, so for that reason, I think he'll be dead, but I hope he's alive. Also, while I think that in many ways Tyrion's story is the most interesting, I think Jon's, for the moment, is the one that would best make a stand alone novel. His plot seems to be largely self-contained, and they've stressed multiple times how the Wall is immune to the care of the world's conflicts. I expect that to change though. I think Jon's story will end up the focal point for events in the future.
Well, now you're caught up to where I am. I'll probably update every few chapters, or after anything particularly pushes my buttons.
Here's to the journey!
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