18.
Sansa II
It is good to see that Sansa is finally learning to
think more deeply before she acts, and that she no longer trusts Cersei to
behave fairly to her. However, she is still a hopeless romantic, so I felt very
sorry for Ser Dontos when she was obviously disappointed that he is her
possible savior. He, for his part, knows that he is not worthy and has led his
life poorly up to this point, but he is determined to repay her kindness to
him. I am not sure if he can actually follow through on his promise to take her
home, mainly because he is a drunkard. On the way back to her room she
encounters a very drunken Hound. For some reason that I have not managed to
work out yet, he is protective of her and even lies to prevent her being
punished. They seem to be developing an understanding of sorts, although I am
not sure if it will actually help Sansa in the long run.
19. Arya
V
I am glad that Arya and her little posse managed to
escape from the burning tower, but it seems like they have had little luck
since then. Abandoned by the adults and carrying the wounded Lommy, they are
slowly starving to death, reduced to eating bugs and worms. I really liked the
scene where Arya and Gendry walk towards the village and he makes it obvious
that he knows that she is a girl. She is so determined to shout him down, but
he is very matter of fact about what she obviously cannot do to prove her
manhood. He seems to be a pretty bright spark, although he is much better at
keeping his mouth shut than she is. When he wants to know why the Queen might
want her, she decides to trust him with the truth, which I actually think is a
wise decision. His stammering once he realizes that he has been urinating in
front of a highborn lady was a nice touch, although I think it soon moved to
teasing on his part. He is quickly becoming her big brother, and knowing his
ancestry makes it all feel like it is predestined in some way.
But then he goes and gets caught by Gregor Clegane’s
men, and that is a Very Bad Thing! At least, it turns out to be for Lommy,
although his constant whining about yielding was getting a bit annoying. As
Gendry had already said, he was going to die anyway, but this was still a
shocking act of cruelty. I am not looking forward to finding out what happens
in the long building where they have all the prisoners: I doubt that it
involves anything pleasant. I also want to know why Clegane is searching for Beric
Dondarrion.
20.
Tyrion V
Can someone please explain to me why anyone would
want thousands of jars of wildfire stored under their castle, even if they are
stored underwater?
Tyrion’s precaution of getting the guardsmen to practice
with empty pots first seems like a really good idea to me! I also agree that
Joffrey is not someone that you want to have access to wildfire: he seems to be
making enough trouble with normal weapons at his disposal. I particularly liked
his comment that the people rioting for food could eat the dead left by his
archers: if that approach does not rally the people to his cause, I doubt that
they can be persuaded at all!
The more we see of Tyrion working as the Hand, the
more I realize how totally ineffectual Cersei is. She has a hissy fit because
he has arranged for Myrcella to be sent to the Martells and has had the
audacity to see to more urgent business before attending to her summons. She
refuses to see the sense of what Tyrion is saying and instead is carried along
by her rage. I can understand that she does not want her daughter to be a
political pawn, but I am not sure what she does intend for her future. Tyrion
seems to genuinely love Myrcella and Tommen, so to accuse him of being rash
when it comes to her safety is more than a little harsh. Cersei is so determined
to be strong and control that she lets this weaken her, pushing away Tyrion’s
reflexive sympathy for her distress. She is too wrapped in self-pity and anger
to realize that she has revealed that Pycelle was in her pocket. As I think I
have said before she thinks that she is wonderfully cunning, so superior to
Tyrion and others, but she is actually about as subtle as a brick.
I liked the idea that Thoros of Myr’s flaming sword
is a trick done with wildfire: I do like it when science is mistaken for magic.
I did not like Tyrion being described as a ‘twisted little monkey demon.’ He is
the mighty Tyrion, and you should all respect his awesomeness!
21. Bran
III
So we FINALLY are getting somewhere with Bran’s third
eye.
The Reed children are certainly interesting,
especially the boy, Jojen, although knowing the day that you will die seems
more of a curse than an advantage to me. Their father was a staunch supporter
of Ned’s, and the only person still alive who was present when Ned reached
Lyanna in the Tower of Joy. I hope that some day he will reveal what Ned
promised her. I am somewhat disgusted by the way that everyone seems to sneer
at the Reeds just because they live in marshland and have learnt how to exploit
it. It seems that Jojen will be able to answer a lot of questions that I have
about the dire wolves. We also get real confirmation that Bran is indeed seeing
through Summer’s eyes in his dreams, and it seems that Jojen can break that
link.
22.
Catelyn II
Robb is starting to act more and more like the Lord
of Winterfell, which Catelyn finds difficult because her opinions are carrying
less weight with him. She is unhappy about her trip to see Renly, but it is a
sound strategy from Robb and she is the obvious person to send.
Renly’s army is certainly impressive, which suggests
that the south of Westeros is more fertile and populous than the north. I would
agree with Catelyn that I have no idea why Renly is wasting time with a
tourney, especially as this might maim or kill some of his knights, but I guess
there is some plan behind it. Tyrion mentions at some point that Renly is
giving the other armies time to wipe each other out, so that is probably it.
I am prepared to fall in love with the character of
Brienne of Tarth. We have met women on the battlefield before, such as Lady
Mormont, but Brienne is really beating men at their own game. She is despised,
as I would expect, because she is a woman who is not classically beautiful and
can do things better than most men. Unfortunately, she seems to be in love
Renly, which may lead to her undoing, but I do hope not.
It seems that Renly is overly optimistic about who
should be king. Although I agree with him that Stannis is way too rigid to be a
good king, there is one tiny problem: Stannis does not agree with either of us.
This and his actions in A Game of Thrones, make me think that Renly is
politically naive. In contrast, Stannis is a determined and experienced
general, so I doubt that the siege of Storm’s End will be easily driven off.
23. Jon
III
Craster seems like such a nice chap! However, he
seems to have found a way to survive in the wilds, which has to be admired,
even if he is a disgusting, incestuous murderer. I am not sure that I want to
know more about what happens to the baby boys, as I think it might give me
nightmares. I felt very sorry for his daughter / wives, although it does seem
like they could take advantage of him when he is asleep and free themselves.
However, I know that the victims of abuse like this are often brainwashed into
believing that their captor is actually their savior, so I understand why they
do not act.
Poor Sam, he apparently thinks that Jon is some sort
of god and can do anything: bless him! Jon feels genuinely sorry for Gilly, but
he is right to say that there is nothing he can do. I have a horrible suspicion
that Sam will try to do something though because he is such a sweetheart.
I am very intrigued by Mance Rayder, and you have to
respect a man who can turn the Wildlings into a cohesive unit. I think that the
Old Crow is being very rash in moving against this force, but we shall see. I
loved the little moment of Ghost and the rabbits: he is such a wonderful
character all by himself. Dolorous Ed continues to provide some great light
relief with his depressed sarcasm.
24.
Theon II
Theon continues to disappoint me and his attitude
towards women is truly appalling. However, the reveal about his sister Asha was
very funny, although it was a little gross to think of all the fondling that
had gone on: yikes! It seems like she is another seriously badass lady: her axe
throwing might even give Brienne something to worry about. Interestingly, Asha
does not seem to be treated with the same disdain as Brienne. This is possibly
due to the Iron Islanders being equal opportunity thieving bastards, but more
likely because she has been Lord Balon’s only living heir for the last ten
years. She makes Theon look very inferior and his petulant protestations that
he is the heir seem all the more pathetic in the light of her obvious
competence.
So, Lord Balon means to plunder the North East coast
whilst Robb is away? I wonder if he is related to Lord Frey at all: because
they both seem to have a weasel-like instinct for taking advantage of any
chance they can get.
25.
Tyrion VI
Oh Tyrion, you are naughty: fancy giving dear Cersei
something to give her tummy troubles! I have to admit that I did laugh at the
thought! It is certainly a cunning way to outwit her and allow him to do a few
things that she would disagree with. I loved how he handled Robb’s demands and
twisted it around to get rid of Cersei’s Lannister guards. His later
manipulations of Cersei via Varys were masterful, although I am not sure that
there is any plan to break Jaime free. I
may have said this before, but Tyrion could be a truly great King if he could
just get Joffrey’s head on a spike.
I was somewhat disappointed by his dismissal of Ser
Alliser Thorne, but the taking of Maester Pycelle made up for the
disappointment. There is nothing quite so satisfying as seeing a truly
repellent person being made to wet himself in terror. It seems that Pycelle has
been in the Lannister pocket for a considerable time, no wonder he has all
those nice gems in his maester’s chain. However, he did not administer the
poison to Jon Arryn, just made sure he died. I do hope that we solve that
mystery at some point, as it is starting to annoy me now!
