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.