Page 738: All Bets Are Off

I'm guessing this is the, or at least one of, the big events that people were waiting for me to get to. Still plenty of book left, but yeah, I saw this coming, I just never thought it'd be this big.

Samwell: I think of all the characters of the novel, Sam is the one with the smallest level of appreciation for his own abilities. He's a bit of a badass. Yeah he cries a lot, and whines, and wants to give up, and in one case he did give up, but in all that time, he's survived what most others haven't, and if you say that's because he ran away, well, of all the characters in the book, who has killed the most Abominable Snow Zombies? That'd be Sam with two. And I doubt Sam will be the last character to wet himself upon seeing an ASZ wander through the doorway. As far as his escape goes. Are we supposed to believe that his escape was some sort of trap from the ASZs? If so, I'm in the other direction. I think he was rescued by Bran's Yoda, the three-eyed crow. He heard Sam's prayer because he's linked into the weirwood wi-fi network and came to his rescue, hence all the crows and the fact that he was riding an elk. Though I thought I remember other wildings riding elks as well, so, maybe it's just a common beyond the Wall mode of transportation. Anyway, that's who I think saved him, and I hope that means Sam will meet up with Bran and the Reeds at some point.

Arya: Does Sandor actually feel a little guilty about Mycah? And why did he name his horse for the one god that no one ever speaks of, the god of death? I figured he was heading north to sell Arya back to Robb and Catelyn, and actually Robb might be wise to take Sandor into his service. He's certainly very good at what he does.

Jon: Well that was a pretty rude awakening. At least I was given almost a thousand pages to let what happens sink in. Jon just got a whole lot of bad information all at once. It's too bad that some of it was false, as that might affect his actions.

Catelyn: Lots of potential danger at the Twins. I don't trust anyway, and I especially don't trust the tepid but not quite icy welcome that they are getting from the Freys. I also would have thought by now that they shouldn't be so quick to trust to old traditions. That bread and salt thing is sooo three kings ago.

Arya: I like that Clegane is street smart and savvy in general. You see maybe why he never wanted to become a knight, and why he actually might scorn knights a fair bit. Also, these last three or four chapters have all be insanely fast, and short. It's interesting how Martin actually increases the pace through how he forms the chapters themselves, rather than just through the content.

Catelyn: Holy crap!

Okay, it must have been some sort of alliance between Roose Bolton, the Freys and maybe the Lannisters. I thought Robb was dead for sure, probably soon, but I figured in the battle for Moat Caitlin, not treachery, but of course treachery. Of course! But Catelyn, and everyone else, that I never saw coming. The succession of the northern crown doesn't matter at all now, that seems like misdirection on Martin's part, and it was cleverly done. By doing that, he made us think that maybe Robb might die, but that there'd be something left to fight for. But with the northern army slaughtered and all of Robb's lords dead, and many of their sons, picking up the pieces in the north might be impossible. Seriously, where do you go from there? The whole thing about "Jaime Lannister sends his regards" was odd. Why try to make them think that Jaime was responsible? And if that was Tywin's way of saying this was payback for Jaime being captured, that's pretty delusional considering what they did to Ned, and Sansa. Plus I don't think it's his style. Jaime is actually more like a Stark than a Lannister in that he, more than the others, seems to relish the idea of killing his own, rather than ordering someone to do it. The Boltons. The Boltons. I hope they're exterminated, and Theon with them. And damn, the Starks just can't catch a break. Well I'll say this, I'm really not as interested in seeing Robb's point of view anymore. In many ways this totally resets everything. The main plot doesn't have any more obvious hero figures. Jon's plot is a side plot for the moment, and both Tyrion and Jaime are anti-heroes at best. It isn't so much that there's nothing left to hope for, it's that I don't even know what I want now, that's how drastically things have been altered. Watching them pick up the pieces from this, if that's even possible, is going to be interesting. I have to imagine that Joffrey is next, and that when he dies, a major power struggle will ensue.

Arya: Poor Arya. Alone of the Stark orphans she actually made it back home. Well, when your home is burnt to the ground, your family is pretty much your home, and hers was ripped away as soon as she got there. More and more the Wilding horde appears to me as a biblical flood to purify all the sins that have taken place over the previous year. Arya probably isn't dead, just knocked out by Clegane, but I can't see why. Clearly with the north in disarray and all the Starks with any power now dead, Clegane is never going to get any money for Arya. So what will this unlikely duo do now, and how long will they stay together?

Tyrion: That's some messed up info there. I thought Renly at the Blackwater was some sort of vision, but now I think he was an intentional false plant to make Stannis' followers think he was there so they'd change sides. If that's so, then what Tywin suggests is to fake an Arya since no one knows where she is. Is there any low that Tywin and Cersei will not stoop to? This is stretching my imaginative boundaries on just how evil they can be as characters.

Davos: Wow, some particularly cruel revelations there about the Starks. Catelyn thrown naked into the river, Grey Wind killed and his head mounted on Robb's body. There's certainly nothing sacred in these books, but I think I like that in a way. Nothing should be off limits, and clearly, nothing is. I'll say this though, Joffrey is in trouble, and if he dies, crap is really going to hit the fan. With the Tyrells and the Martells feuding, and with Tommen in Sunspear, if Joffrey dies it will create a huge crisis with the heir in a position to be held hostage. Plus, there's still Stannis. With Robb and Catelyn dead, I have to think we'll be seeing some interesting stuff regarding Sansa, and frankly, I'd like to see her finally get out of King's Landing, even if it's with Tyrion, and I don't really care where they go.

Well, we really have a bit of a sticky wicket here don't we? Clearly what has been broken absolutely cannot be put back together again. What exists now is a world that I don't have any vested interest in protecting. I only care about specific characters and what they might do, and how the world will be rebuilt when all these forces finally align to settle the issue. All bets are off.