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.

I wanted to put, well maybe not spoilers, but theorizing, in a separate part where people may not want to see it. The subject here is the topic of who Jon Snow's real mother is. I tried to take a stab at it from the point of view of who Ned could have possibly gotten together with, and Lysa Tully was the only logical choice based on the options available. But it was suggested to me, using only the first book as a reference (credit to Will and Shani), that Ned wasn't actually his real father; it was Lyanna, and he's the rape child of Lyanna and Rhaegar Targaryen. I'll admit that I might have fuzzed over the details of Ned's Lyanna flashbacks a little bit, and now I'm going to have to go back and read his chapters, but a lot of it makes sense to me. The thing is, even when Ned admitted it, it sounded so incredibly unlike him that I kind of doubted it. But everyone always talked about how much Jon looked just like Ned, especially Catelyn. But that could just as easily be Lyanna I suppose.

Alright, with that theory proposed to me, a half dozen things jumped out at me that make sense as support.
1. Jon going off to join the Night's Watch - If we assume that Jon really is the heir of the Targaryen line, he's constantly in danger. Not only would his enemies want him dead, but even Ned's most loyal friend, Robert, would have demanded him killed instantly on the spot. Maybe that's why Ned never even told Catelyn, and instead let her live with that constant emotional thorn in her side. But on the wall, and beyond, Jon is a lot safer. It keeps him away from any real chance of discovering his heritage and getting himself in trouble (well, despite the fact that the Wall itself is pretty dangerous). Also, I think Benjen knows. Or at least, it would be a lot tidier in a lot of ways if he did. Benjen pushed Jon to take the Black, and Ned consented when the others weren't really sure if he would. It wasn't just so Jon could win renown where he might not at home. I think they both wanted to protect him, for Lyanna. That leads me to:

2. Benjen in still alive - With Ned gone, there are really only three ways that Jon can find out who his mother is: A. She's alive and she finds him. B. Someone knows the secret and tells him. C. There's a supernatural explanation. I don't think she's alive. I think we would have heard from her. And who else could know? Everyone at Winterfell is dead now. Either there's a person we've never seen before that's introduced, or the only character left from that timeline that could know, and that's Benjen. I think Jon will have to find him beyond the Wall, and they'll bond, and Jon will learn the truth. The third explanation leads me to:

3. Dragon powers! - Let's say Ben really is dead, if he is, well, first of all, that sucks, and it was a pretty unceremonious, lame way to off him. Second, if he is, then Jon has to find out on his own, and if he is a Targaryen, that means he will have some power over dragons. Daernerys is on her way, eventually, to Westeros with some dragons that at the moment, only she has some natural control over, the same way that the Stark kids are Wolf Whisperers. Giving Jon the Targaryen power as well is a pretty damned tidy way to clean up a lot of loose ends. It gives them a way to defeat the dragons, it gives them a way to fix the whole problem of usurper versus stolen kingdoms and rights of heredity, as technically Jon would supersede Dany, even as a bastard. And also because he's not even that much of a bastard, since both his bloodlines are insanely strong. And, was Rhaegar even married?

Now that the idea has been put in my head, I think the possibilities are just too numerous for Martin to not go that route (surely it must have already been decided when he was writing the first book, because too many clues are there).