Page 434: Hope Springs Eternal!

Tyrion: Curious how nice Jorah is actually being to Tyrion. Shackling him makes perfect sense since Tyrion is so slippery, but other than that he actually affords him several courtesies. I forgot how much I missed Jorah's wise, calm, melancholy attitude. Despite his follies, he's still a comforting presence. What I still don't get is what he hopes to gain by bringing Tyrion to Dany. What value does he suppose Tyrion has for Dany? Merely for being a Lannister? Perhaps as a hostage or to win some sort of favor for the bounty on his head? Clearly Jorah wants to get back in Dany's good graces, but I don't see how Tyrion is any sort of a tool for that. Clearly though, this works out great for Tyrion. We return once again to just being along for the ride with his adventures.

Jon: I'm not a big fan of how easily Melisandre was able to co-opt Ghost. I know how powerful she is, though really, I'm really wondering how the power structure of these novels works. Jon and Bran are wargs, Bran's power goes even further. Jojen has green dreams. All these powers are sourced to the old golds in the north and the Children of the Trees. Melisandre's power is totally different, because you have to be born with it and she was trained, or is it an extension of the same thing? I'd really like to know. Some sort of grand unifying theory would be great. I don't like her attempts to seduce Jon to her sway, though, I do think she has become a more interesting character of late.

Davos: Best chapter of the book by far! Well, plot-wise, it's the best chapter. I'm so glad that Manderly was just playing the Freys and that he even has Robett Glover hanging around, who also wants to help Stannis. "My son Wendel came to the Twins a guest. He ate Lord Waslder's bread and salt, and hung his sword upon the wall to feast with friends. And they murdered him. Murdered, I say, and may the Freys choke upon their fables...the north remembers, and the mummer's farce is almost done." Did anyone not get a shiver up their spine when they read that? So badass, and so what I've been waiting for for thousands of pages. And on top of that, he's even still loyal to the Starks as kings. Nothing gives me tingles like the tiny bits and pieces of loyalty that are sprinkled throughout this series. "Roose Boltin lies about his part in the Red Wedding, and his bastard lies about the fall of Winterfell." Finally, all the secrets of the Red Wedding and of Winterfell's fall are out and known to at least one person. Now my only worry is that if Manderly leaves White Harbor, he'll be in serious jeopardy. I love that Manderly is willing to bend the knee to get even Rickon back to serve as the Lord of Winterfell again. ANY other character in this novel, it seems, would have used that as his own pretext for a power grab, but his loyalty to the Starks means he'll bargain for Rickon's safe return. Warm fuzzies! Warm fuzzies everywhere! And damn Martin for getting me excited and making me hopeful again when I know he's just going to ruin it later!

Daenerys: At least she was smart enough to listen to her counselors and not let disease into the city, which was precisely her enemy's plan. Judging from the end of this chapter, I think we're meant to assume that she's decided to marry Hizdahr. I guess we'll see how that goes. I hope Jorah and Tyrion get there soon. And when are they going to do something with the dragons?

Melisandre: This is one I was actually really looking forward to. It did not disappoint. Her motivations have always been somewhat vague but interesting. I think it's interesting that she thinks Stannis is Azor Azai, but a different red priest thinks it's Dany. I wondered how her magic works, and we get to see a glimpse into just how difficult it is for her to make sense of what she sees. Who is the girl in grey? Jeyne? Asha? Why do her powers work so much better near the Wall where the old gods are? Is it just because of dragons, or because of the old gods? And holy crap, Mance is still alive? There's a news story that didn't make Sportscenter. This really does change quite a bit up there, lots of new questions that require answering. One of the most interesting I think is that she seems to have made contact with the last Greenseer and saw Bran and Summer in the background as well. How does that work? They did magic hack into her connection? Are the old gods really the enemy of R'holr? It'd be cool if all the gods were someone interconnected. I really hope we get another chapter from her. I've never really trusted her, and neither has Jon up to now. Her motivations are vague.

Reek (Theon): Simply put: I hope those two Freys are dead. Eventually I want them all dead, let Walder see his massive family slowly shrink around him, when he of all people assumed the most that his line would survive. I like that we get to see the interplay between Roose and Ramsay, so we can see just how much discord there is between them. Roose really is a cold, calculating bastard. I can see why he and Tywin were well-matched to strike a deal. But Ramsay has little guile, and seems kind of stupid for all his "bravery."  I hope Roose's comment about the Starks being done and this being squabbling over spoils proves false. So much good can still happen. Now we just have to wait and see what plans Roose has for Theon.

And with this post, I'm all caught up to where I am in the story. I'm less than halfway through it, but almost to the halfway point. I've just finished moving across the country, so now that I'm settled in, I imagine the reading will go much more quickly. Please feel free to make comments when you wish, so long as they are spoiler-free up to the appropriate page number.