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.