Vicki’s Comments (group member since Jul 17, 2015)

Vicki’s comments from the A Song of Ice and Fire - A Chapter a day group.

I laughed at your first comment about Littlefinger! I don't understand how some people still think he is a good guy, especially after my second reading so far.

1. Ned's daughters still haven't left King's Landing yet...no more than Cersei and her kids, though. They're supposed to leave at midday.

2. Arya seems happy to be going back home, though Sansa still seems depressed about it.

3. I like Septa Mordane here when she tells Sansa her father knows best and she ought not to question his decisions. Even when Sansa runs off she respects Ned's judgment, even though he doesn't keep her gods.

4. Pycelle comes out and announces Robert is officially dead. Ned mentions Robert would not have wanted to rest in death, but love and laugh, and enjoy a righteous battle. :)

5. I just noticed that Littlefinger smiles a lot at nothing in particular, something Theon Greyjoy does a lot right now in the book, and we know what happens to Theon... I'm starting to wonder if Littlefinger is a foil character to Theon, in future books. *SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler)[Littlefinger was humiliated as a child by Brandon Stark as Theon will be humiliated by Ramsay Snow. But where Theon learns to grow up, remember his name, will he be stark contrast to Littlefinger in that he'll help the Stark children whereas Petyr Baelish is most definitely trying to ruin the Starks? (hide spoiler)] Or am I once again thinking too far into this? lol

6. Unlike Robert, Renly Baratheon abandons Ned when he could really use his help the most. This made me lose some respect for Renly. Ran off with Loras without warning him first.

7. Ser Barriston reads aloud to the council Robert's will. Ned feels bad for the deceit, and doesn't trust that Selmy will easily abandon Joffrey in favor of Stannis as Robert's heir, being honor-bound. This seems like a red flag, to me, that Ned doesn't even trust Ser Barriston at this point...another honor-bound man. Ned is trying to "play the game" until Stannis gets to King's Landing.

8. Before they can do much talking, Joffrey summons them all to the throne room. He's of course proclaiming to be king. Interesting that the last time Ned came toward the Iron Throne he had to force Jaime off the throne and wonders how hard Joffrey will be. Five of seven kingsguard are behind Joffrey, besides Ser Barriston and Jaime.

9. Interesting Cersei wears so much green. Lannister colors are red and gold, and her mother was Tywin's first cousin, also a Lannister by maiden name. She must really love her eye color!

10. Behind them stood twenty Lannister guards, but all along the walls of the room stood the City Guard Petyr had promised Ned. They outnumber Lannistermen five to one. Ned feels secure.

11. Littlefinger has "kindly" helped Ned walk tot he Iron Throne room. Ned rests against him for support. Ugh.

12. Joffrey wants his councilors to swear fealty to him now. That's why Renly ran off, I bet. He knew this would happen.

13. Still don't understand why Ned told Varys to give Robert's will to Cersei. She rips it into pieces. Loved Selmy's response to this: "Those were the king's words!" Do you think she gives a shit?

14. Now Cersei gives him her advice - to bend the knee; and she promises he can go back to Winterfell and live out his days in peace, more or less. But Ned is too confident, and honorable, to do that.

15. They way Joffrey screams "Liar!" sounds like he's heard the rumor that he's not the true heir before...almost. Myrcella sounds genuinely perplexed.

16. Cersei orders Ser Barriston to seize Ned; he hesitates, confused no doubt, but Stark guards block him. Cersei orders the kingsguard and Lannisters to support Selmy, who's probably still lost.

17. I smirked when Joffrey screams for them to kill them all! Wtf you idiot... Everyone ignore the ignorant 12-year-old please.

18. Ned too confidently calls the City Guard to seize Cersei and her kids but instead Janos Slynt, the commander of the City Watch, slaughters all of Stark's guards...betrayal! As Ned watches in disbelief, Littlefinger takes Ned's knife and holds it up to his neck, saying, "I did warn you not to trust me, you know." You fucker! Makes you wonder whatever made Ned decide to trust Littlefinger in the first place. For the love of Catelyn? Certainly not!

*SPOILER FOR A DANCE WITH DRAGONS* (view spoiler)[Still, I don't think the way they handled his death was honorable, at all. It was a dirty trick they did there. But regardless whether what Jon did was wrong or justified, I think it doesn't matter in the end, because I don't think he is fated to be a Brother of the Night's Watch. He is more important than that, and I hope that after this ultimate battle is done he won't try to stay on the Wall for the rest of his life. In the vows it says his watch will not end until "his death," well, he's dead now! It has officially ended for him, I think. He is now free to do other things like pursue Ramsay Bolton, rescue "Arya," run Winterfell until one of his siblings takes the throne, and be a hero. Although I respect the Night's Watch, I think living a life like that is hard, and I think Jon has mentioned several times in his thoughts that he truly desires to be lord of Winterfell and have a family, etc. It's his bastard status that keeps him from pursuing that. (hide spoiler)]

*SPOILER FOR A DANCE WITH DRAGONS* (view spoiler)[That thought has crossed my mind a few times, but I don't know how valid Jon will take it if his "dead" brother tells him he's actually a prince! And even then, how is everyone else supposed to believe him? Though I think it would be pretty cool if Bran can help explain it to Jon, I still favor the idea that Howland Reed is the one to tell Jon the truth. I can just picture Jon running down into the crypts after a particularly scary bad dream to light a candle for Ned, and the candle blows out and he is frightened, then Bran in his head tells him not to be afraid of the dark. And then he senses his mom's presence beside Ned's stone statue. Spooky! But that would be something, wouldn't it? (hide spoiler)]

*SPECULATION ON THE ENDING OF THE SERIES* (view spoiler)[Just because Ghost is Jon's other half, and if GRRM's story is anything like LOTR, the ring had sucked up a lot of Frodo's personality, I think Jon will have a similar defeat in that. Also, if he turns out to ride a dragon, he'll have a very close bond with it, I'm sure, and it may be difficult bonding with two powerful animals. And it might also be harder for Ghost to avoid being killed by the wights than a dragon. And if Jon is truly a Targaryen, it might make sense that his "Stark" feature drops off. Also, Ghost will have served his purpose when Jon is revived. Other than that, I don't have any reasons to suspect this. If that makes sense at all...lol. It's all just a bad feeling, though. Maybe it won't come to that! (hide spoiler)]

I'm really curious about the weirwood grove above the Wall. If it is so rare to find 9, in a semi-circle might I add, why are they there? Sounds like a very old and significant sacred place, moreso than most other places in this world.

1. Love how Jon acts like he had no part in Sam's graduation. :) Surprised Sam didn't catch on, though he is pretty excited to think of anything other than his good fortune.

2. Sam is going to help Maester Aemon with the birds and letters. He is really happy about this, bouncing about.

3. The Night's Watch has a sept and a Septon Cellador, who apparently is almost always drunk, lol.

4. Bowen Marsh is the Lord Steward, the leader of the steward order. Othel Yarwyck is the First Builder, and Ser Jaremy Rykkar is filling in for Benjen Stark of the rangers. They are the senior members of the three orders.

5. I had forgotten they do this in a sept, makes more sense then why they take the ones who worship the old gods out back... because the ones who worship the new gods, or who don't care, will say their vows here. I wondered about that.

6. The first thing Mormont says is "You came to us outlaws..." lol. That's true for the vast majority. But he stresses that their past doesn't matter; because they're all one house on the Wall. He also stresses they join it for the realm, and nothing else.

7. The penalty for desertion is death. *SPOILER FOR A DANCE WITH DRAGONS* (view spoiler)[But Jon wasn't going to desert them in the fifth book! (hide spoiler)] He tells them that if they don't wish to join they are free to leave and no one will think less of that person, but most of them kinda can't, can they? It's either take the black or die. Or lose a hand or a cock...

8. Interesting: "The gods of the sept had nothing to do with him; the blood of the First Men flowed in the veins of the Starks." *SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler)[But if Jon is part Targaryen, the Targayen's worship the Seven, don't they? And even if he isn't, his mother could have worshipped the Seven. The point is, Jon's not full Stark. It's interesting that he so fully rejects these gods when he doesn't even know the other half of his family tree. (hide spoiler)]

9. I just love how Sam wants to take his vows in front of "this heart tree." :) It surprises Jon, too. "The Seven have never answered my prayers. Perhaps the old gods will." I hope they do, Sam!

10. I love the scene where Jon can scarcely believe his ears. He's being sent to the stewards with Sam and Dareon, not the rangers as he was so sure he belonged in. He sees Ser Alliser's evil satisfied look and knows he was somehow involved. What a hateful man to take pleasure in something like this!

11. I wonder how often they "graduate" their recruits, whether it is twice a year or what. Wonder how all that works.

12. Ser Alliser has never looked so happy, according to Jon.

13. Jon stayed with the stewards, to be instructed by Bowen Marsh. He even feels sick. While Sam is exalted to be helping Maester Aemon, Bowen tells Jon the Lord Commander has personally requested him. Jon is livid by this, going as far as asking if they take him for a servant. "No. We took you for a man of Night's Watch...but perhaps we were wrong in that." Says Maester Aemon. Nicely put, Maester!

14. Didn't realize Jon came so close to walking out, angry about this. It's funny because in Jon's last chapter he was just telling Maester Aemon that the realm, and the Wall, has need of all types of people, including stewards, yet now he's insulted because he's told to be one of them. Bit of a hypocrite, there!

15. Very interesting: "Jon's rage was such that he would have smashed it [the Wall] all in an instant, and the world be damned." Doesn't sound like he's Lord Eddard Stark's son there! *SPECULATION OF JON'S TRUE HERITAGE* (view spoiler)[Sounds a little bit like a raving lunatic Targaryen! (hide spoiler)]

16. Also interesting: "I'm a better swordsman and a better rider than any of you," Jon blazed back. "It's not fair!"

-I don't recall Jon being much associated with fire as often as he is with the cold.

17. I just LOVE how it's Sam's turn to show wisdom here. He's the one who explains to Jon how this is a blessing in disguise. They're breeding him to be the next Lord Commander! Sam isn't stupid. And I love how Jon is taken aback; this thought clearly never crossed his mind until now. Jon realizes Sam's right; Ned would make sure Robb always attended his audiences at Winterfell. I don't think Jon ever thought he'd rise high enough to ever become Lord Commander, only a ranger. "I never asked for this," he said stubbornly. Isn't that exactly what Ned said?

18. Suddenly Jon's ashamed. Awe. :) Even Sam managed to accept his fate on the Wall like a man, though he is scared as piss. Jon realizes he was acting childish. He even mans up and tells Sam he's right; he was acting the boy.

19. There are three iron bars inside the tunnel of the Wall, large gates evenly spread out, to protect it. They are underneath 700 feet of ice! Jon can sense the massive weight above him, pressing down. The Wall also has old magics; I'm wondering if Jon feels that, as well. That might explain why he felt immediate relief when they emerged on the other side. I didn't think Jon to be claustrophobic. This will also be their first time north of the Wall, ever. Or maybe it's the Far North itself that he feels more welcoming to him than the Wall -- feeling relief at leaving that giant man-made thing behind to convene with nature?

20. Bowen Marsh's horse is nervous around Ghost, like most animals, and Bowen asks if he means to take "that beast?" It's good he's with them, I think. A direwolf can protect them on their journey.

21. Jon compares the haunted forest to the wolfswood back home. Looks about the same, though it has a very different feel. He figures it's the unknown that makes it seem more ominous.

22. There are nine weirwoods in this godswood, all in a circle, too. Jon's heard of two or three weirwoods growing together, but "a grove of nine was unheard of." Spooky!

23. Surprised Bowen says it's a sacred place, and they will not defile it. He doesn't strike me as a religious person.

24. "They're watching us," says Sam. "The old gods." Jon agrees that they are. Once again, inanimate objects are "watching." (1. The ancient stone-statues of the Starks in the crypts at Winterfell. 2. The dragon skulls in the Red Keep. 3. The faces of the weirwood trees.) Very ominous!

25. Here is the very famous vow taken by the Night's Watch. It's only Jon and Sam saying them up here, in front of the old gods. Lots of people break it down and analyze it, *SPOILER FOR A DANCE WITH DRAGONS* (view spoiler)[especially in regards to what Jon did, or did not do, in DwD. Whether or not it was treason to go down to Winterfell and dispatch of Ramsay Snow for personally threatening his life. Does that warrant his underhanded murder? (hide spoiler)] trying to decipher what it means, exactly. For instance, what does it mean, "...the horn that wakes the sleepers..."? We will hear these vows several times throughout the series. It means something big, obviously. But what does it mean, specifically, to be Night's Watch? Notice it says, "...the shield that guards the realms of men." Sounds universal, not restricted only to the North, or even to the realm of Westeros. How can you protect the realms, ALL realms, if you're restricted to the Wall???

26. Just as they get ready to start back, Ghost emerges between two weirwood trees. "White fur and red eyes, Jon realized, disquieted. Like the trees..." Now Jon notices this correlation.

27. The chapter ends with Ghost bringing to them a hand in his mouth. Fun cliffhanger!

Have to type all of this up in a short amount of time...

1. AGAIN Ned has a dream of the crypts and of Lyanna. With pale blue roses. She tells him, "Promise me, Ned." Obviously this is important, sets us up to want to know what that promise is, and of why the crypts in Winterfell are so mysterious.

2. Maegor's Holdfast is a castle-within-a-castle inside the Red Keep. Three kingsguard stand watch, and it reminds Ned of the Tower of Joy, interesting. He's having a lot of flashbacks lately. The king's bedchambers are here. This is where he's summoned. The king is dying.

3. Pycelle, Renly, and the queen are there, among other servants. Renly seems restless and Cersei doesn't look tired at all, though her hair is tousled from sleep, odd.

4. Now it's Ned's turn to visit Robert in bed, though Robert appears beyond healing. The boar tore him up. He'd apparently been very drunk and insisted on killing it on his own...of course...It had tore him from groin to nipple, fuck. Ned is clearly upset. The look and stench is terrible. Even Robert knows he's doomed. Killed the boar in the end, though.

5. Robert tells them all to leave so he can speak with Ned alone. Cersei pleads to stay, but Robert yells at her again, which makes me feel a little sad for her...but this seems too coincidental...as just last night Ned was telling Cersei Robert will try to kill her and her kids when he finds out, so it seems very suspicious at this point that he would ironically be killed so soon after.

6. Pycelle seems genuinely upset.

7. Robert suddenly now has a change of heart and doesn't want Daenerys killed, says that Ned was right all along. :) Robert's last redemption. He thinks the gods sent the boar to punish him. He realizes Ned was the only one who gave him honest council, everyone else he says was useless. That's kind of sweet. :)

8. Ned writes out Robert's will and testament upon request of the king. He wants Ned to be the Regent until Joffrey comes of age, and it's heartbreaking how Ned wants to so very badly tell him that Joff's not his' -- but he can't because he's dying and it'll break his friend's heart to give him so much bad news and he has so little time left on this earth... this whole situation is just shitty all around.

9. The part in the will that Robert says "My son Joffrey" Ned writes in "my heir" instead, just to be safe, though he feels guilty. Ned doesn't often use deceit, but he knows it's for the good of the realm.

10. I like that Robert calls Ned out on saying the realm needs him...ha! Robert says he's as bad as Aerys, but Ned tells him not so bad. Robert's finally seeing sense, but it's a little too late. I like that he tells Ned he'll do well, though he'll hate it. :)

11. Also like that Robert really wants them all to eat the damned boar for dinner, lol. But then he says, "Promise me, Ned." And it reminds Ned of Lyanna all over agin. So sad.

12. They call in the servants again but Cersei is gone. Ned is relieved because he thinks she's run off with her kids already. :(

13. I think Robert is handling his death bravely, stark contrast to Viserys just the previous chapter ago. I'd be so scared of dying...

14. He tells Ned he'll give Lyanna his love...and tells him to take are of his children for him...so very sad...Ned once again is conflicted. He wants to tell him but he just can't hurt his friend in his last moments. He can't lie, but when he thinks of all his bastards, Ned promises -- OMG THE FEELS!!! He'll take care of them as if they were his own... gah!

15. I like that Renly stood in wonder at his brother, that the king's entrails were dangling out of him but he still slew the board. Ned thinks Renly looks like a young Robert.

16. Selmy feels he failed the king but Ned says, "Even the truest knight cannot protect a king against himself." Very true.

17. Varys mentions he wonders who offered that wine to the king before he attacked the boar. Good question! It's interesting the eunuch would suggest the wine was tampered with as poison is commonly a woman's weapon, as well as an eunuch's. Varys nondirectly suggests Robert's squire may have done it -- giving his king the wine. And his squire is a Lannister...hmm. Lancel Lannister is son of Ser Kevan Lannister, Tywin's brother.

18. I like that Ned doubted Varys had ever been innocent, even in his youth, lol.

19. Interesting Renly privately urges Ned to strike now; take Joffrey as hostage so Cersei can't work her magic on anyone with him, and the other kids as well. Make Joffrey Ned's ward. Ned doesn't like this one bit. It's deviant, and Robert's not even dead yet. Renly seems very threatened by Cersei, as Ned should too. He says the Lannisters are not merciful. Ned's honor is making him a sitting duck. :( Poor Ned! Not sure if he should take Renly's advise or not.

20. Ned has a servant send a letter to Dragonstone, to Stannis.

21. Ned is full of grief. He knows soon the world will hear of Cersei and her bastard childre, and may think of Ned as betraying his friendship with the king and disinheriting his sons, but he knows his gods know better. Ned is telling Stannis in the letter that the king is dead and he is the rightful heir, and wants him to come to King's Landing at once to stop the Lannisters from taking the throne before he does.

22. It's so sad...Ned is looking forward to going home. He is sure Stannis will choose another Hand and free Ned to go back to Winterfell. :( Strange he doesn't think of Jon, now, though...

23. Oh no, why did he ask for Littlefinger? When he tells Littlefinger the truth, Petyr doesn't look shocked. Of course. He shows his true colors; he suggests Ned keeps Joffrey on the throne. He says Stannis will raise war with the Lannisters -- which the realm doesn't need. Instead, he proposes Ned use his regency to train Joffrey to be a good king -- they have four years to do it -- but if he's hopeless by the time he turns 16, then reveal his secret and dispose of him, after they've gotten rid of Stannis, who is too unyielding to make a good king. It is dirty and dishonorable, though. He must know Ned would never do it. Then he says put Renly on the throne if Joffrey doesn't work out. Ned calls it treason. Littlefinger calls it wisdom. Though I can understand not wanting war to break out. In this situation, honor will get a lot of people killed, from the war. Is honor really worth it? Stannis is the rightful heir...after Robert, the Usurper... Does Ned still believe the Targaryen's must not rule? *SPECULATION ON WHO SHOULD BE KING* (view spoiler)[And what of Jon, if R+L=J is true? (hide spoiler)]

24. Ned called Littlefinger here because he wants him to secure the City Guard, in case Cersei Lannister tries to fight for regency. Littlefinger assures Cersei has lots of enemies at court who would love to help him, but Ned wants to secure the gold cloaks, who are 2,000 strong. Littlefinger says they will follow the man who pays them, who would be Petyr. (I would worry about this logic, since the Lannisters are the richest family in Westeros...). Littlefinger calls Ned out and says he'll bribe them to fight for him, not because it's honorable, but for the gold. That's depressing. He'll need 6,000 gold to secure them, too.

1. Love the introduction to this chapter, how gory it is! That they would make her eat a raw heart of a stallion in front of the old crones, Drogo, and his bloodriders. Apparently the taste makes her want to gag.

2. It's said if she can eat the whole heart and keep it down her son will grow up to be a strong leader, the "stallion that mounts the world." How do they know it's going to be a boy? Magic? What if it was a girl instead? Drogo's daughter could still grow to be incredibly powerful, in my head. If she doesn't keep it all down the child could come out stillborn, weak, deformed, or female...wtf.

3. She couldn't even use steel to break the heart up to chew better. She had to do that with her teeth and nails. Steel isn't permitted in Vaes Dothrak. And heart is all muscle.

4. I like that they all say "the prince is riding!" at once. :) "A boy! A boy! A strong boy!" *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A GAME OF THRONES* (view spoiler)[This makes it all the more sad, though, in the end. (hide spoiler)]

5. I like that the Dothraki believed the stars were horses made of fire, "a great herd that galloped across the sky by night."

6. The oldest crone looks into the future and proclaims she sees Dany's son riding like the wind, with a khalasar that covers the earth, men without number, and his enemies will tremble before him, and he is the prince the stallion that mounts the world. *SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler)[This kind of sounds like the Dothraki version of the Prince that was Promised or Azor Ahai. (hide spoiler)]

7. Here she proclaims he shall be called Rhaego, a mix between Rhaegar and Drogo. :) I wonder what Viserys thinks of that. She didn't know Rhaegar but heard only good things about him, and their father. Why wouldn't she name him after Aerys instead? Curious. Perhaps Ser Jorah confirmed that Rhaegar was a good man, and her father...not so much. Seems like a foretelling. I wonder if Drogo has a say in his son's name.

8. All the old crones had been a khaleesi once. When their husband died, they were sent to Vaes Dothrak to reign beside their Mother. Even the mightiest khal bowed to them, with their wisdom. That is pretty cool, though! They honor their wives in this way. :) So it's not totally sexist, if you're a khaleesi. Dany shivers at the idea of her becoming one of these old crones one day.

9. A khalakka is a prince, and khal is king in Dothraki. Who are Khal Ogo and Khal Jommo then? Are they allies? It isn't specifically mentioned, I don't think.

10. Drogo asks Dany why Rhaego on their procession down the godsway -- so he doesn't get to pick the name ahead of time, then. She tells him she heard her brother Rhaegar was a fierce warrior and the last of the dragons. He smiles and says it's a good name. :)

11. I like that he is her sun-and-stars and she is his "moon of my life."

12. Forgot about their lake, called the "Womb of the World." They believe thousands of years ago the first man emerged from this lake riding horseback. She goes in here now for the cleaning -- get all that stallion blood off her, lol.

13. Weird how when she gets out Drogo takes her right in front of everyone. She's probably used to this by now, but it's still awkward reading, to me.

14. The procession enters Drogo's tent where a huge feast awaits. This is a very big tent, then. There are halls in it, too.

15. Curdled fermented mares milk sounds gross! But Dothraki are getting drunk off of it, and there are half-naked female dancers again...but weapons are not allowed here, so there will be no bloodshed.

16. So khals Ogo and Jommo sit to Drogo's right and left, in high honor; below them sit all their bloodriders, and below them are Jommo's four wives. Where does Dany sit? With Jommo's wives?

17. Dany's looking for Viserys but he's missing. Ser Jorah is in the center of the tent, a place of respect to him being an esteemed knight who's good with the sword, though not in high honor like the khals. She invites him to sit with her. :)

18. They make a large emphasis in this chapter that no one can carry weapons in Vaes Dothrak and it's forbidden to make bloodshed, but Dany remarks she hears men can still die here. She's worried Viserys's many trips to the markets for wine will get him killed by one of the Usurper's dogs. She says Ser Jorah should've been with him to keep him safe. I think Jorah doesn't care if Viserys gets himself killed; his true allegiance is with Dany. Apparently, he'd caught Viserys trying to steal her dragon eggs earlier, that's why. He'd hoped to sell them for all the sellswords and ships he can get his hands on. Daenerys is shocked. Really? You didn't see this coming at all? This emphasizes my question about how in the hell did Illyrio ever manage to find three of these dragon eggs if they're so ungodly rare?

19. Daenerys was going to give them to her brother if he'd just asked...omg...she is way too nice to him; I don't care if he is her king at this point. Though she says he's all she has left of her family. I guess this shows that no matter how much you hate your family, you'll never stop loving them anyway. Ser Jorah reminds her she belongs to Drogo now -- he is her new family, and she's carrying his son. Ser Jorah explains the stallion who mounts the world is the khal of khals, promised in ancient prophesy. He will unite the Dothraki into a single khalasar and ride to the ends of the earth. All the people will be his herd. It's ironic now, she sees, to name him Rhaego -- "A name to make the Usurper's blood run cold." *MY SPECULATION ON WINDS OF WINTER* (view spoiler)[I am wondering if, when the Dothraki find Dany at the end of Dance with Dragons, they'll take her to the crones in Vaes Dothrak, and the crones will see a prophesy that they should accept Daenerys's dragon as their stallion that mounts the world, and because of this, all the Dothraki will unanimously follow Dany "to the ends of the world." That would be pretty badass, I think! (hide spoiler)]

20. Just then, Viserys storms in, very drunk, and makes a worst public display possible. He has the gall to bring a longsword into the tent with him and threatens Dany's life right in front of Drogo and everyone. Apparently there were 5,000 men jam-packed in the halls. Well, Drogo did just insult him by telling him to sit with the lowliest of the low...

21. It's interesting that Viserys is both weeping and laughing, threatening to tear out the baby and take her back home with him. He's gone postal -- and he's drunk. Lost all common sense, what little he had.

22. I like that Dany speaks in Dothraki to translate all Viserys said so Doreah wouldn't have to -- for fear the Khal would bind her and drag her behind his horse up the Mother of Mountains.

23. This part is so sad...even though I hate how Viserys treats her, and overall how stupid he is, I had nightmares about this scene the first time I read it. The poor guy...all he wanted was to be king, well...really, he just wanted to be back in Westeros again and live life how it was before most of his family were slaughtered. He'd been shit on most of his life, it's no wonder he's the way he is. And now he will pay dearly for disrespecting Drogo so, especially in Vaes Dothrak. It tears at her, seeing his sad smile.

24. "...The man who had been her brother..." Even Daenerys disowns him at this point, though moments ago she was just telling Ser Jorah he was all she had left of family. She still grieves for her brother he once was, though. That's why she doesn't stop Drogo. And even if she tried, I don't think she could change his mind; Viserys crossed the line this time.

25. Dany refuses to look away, despite Ser Jorah's begging. She watches as Viserys shows everyone there how cowards face death -- by kicking and screaming -- and begs Dany in the end, "...sweet sister..." of course, now you decide to be nice. So sad.

26. The way Viserys dies -- gold poured over his head -- and how no blood was spilled, I thought was nicely written. Very traumatic. And LOVE what Dany tells herself afterwards: "He was no dragon. Fire cannot kill a dragon."

27. This is from The World of Ice and Fire: The funny thing is, Mad King Aerys wanted to make Viserys his heir, as he was convinced near the last few years of his life that Rhaegar was conspiring to kill him for the Throne. Viserys was Aerys's favored child, he wouldn't even let his son's mother near him, and both were not true dragons.

--Viserys's life was writ in tragedy from the very beginning, so it's hard for me to truly hate him. I pitied him, more than anything.

You know, I noticed Ned did not mention Jon when he was wondering what kinds of things he would do to protect his children, but I didn't read too far into it, the significance. From what I got in my second reading so far, Ned loves Jon just as much as he loves his children, so it DOES seem incredibly strange he doesn't add Jon in there...unless of course... but that is speculation.

1. Pycelle tells Ned that Tywin is pissed that Ned sent Lord Beric and a band of men to kill Ser Gregor. Ned seems almost glad that Tywin is pissed. He says Lord Beric rides beneath the king's own banner. If Robert didn't want certain things to happen in his name then maybe he shouldn't have gone hunting! And I laughed at this: "The only thing His Grace enjoys more than hunting is making war on lords who defy him."

2. Ned may want to be more careful what he says around Pycelle, though. I have the feeling Pycelle is a blabbermouth. :) In fact, he's sure Cersei made sure to have Pycelle tell Ned about her father's letter. How underhanded...

3. I love that Ned wants to tell Sansa, once she's older, "how she made it all come clear for him." That Joffrey is a bastard born of incest! Still want to marry him, Sansa? Not one bit like Robert, the seed is strong, every bit a Lannister. No Baratheon in him or his little brother and sister whatsoever. Feels great to say this! Ned now knows what killed Jon Arryn -- he dug too deep and had to die before he could tell Robert. But he still doesn't know who specifically poisoned him, though. Though it is starting to look strongly like a Lannister at the moment.

4. Had forgotten Robert was originally looking for a white hart but some wolves killed it before he could get to it, so then he goes after that monstrous boar deep in the forest. Most of the party came back after that, not interested in hunting boar, I guess, including Joffrey and the Royces.

5. Littlefinger and Ned talk about how the Hound is going to be upset that somebody else will get to kill his brother, and is not likely to thank Ned for this, even after he gets to inherit all his brother's lands and incomes. *SPOILER FOR A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)[I really hope Sandor isn't dead! It'd be GREAT to watch the Hound defeat Cersei's champion in book 6! (hide spoiler)]

6. Littlefinger asks about the genealogical book, joking aboutit being a sleeping potion, and Ned decides there's something about Littlefinger's japes thatirk him. He's too clever and always with a mocking smile. Good, Ned, now you're learning!

7. Though Littlefinger helped hide Cat and with Ned's inquiries, he ran off too easily when Jaime showed up. And Varys was even worse...he knew too much but did so little, despite professing his loyalty to Ned. And Pycelle would do anything Cersei commanded him.

8. Ned dreads telling Robert the truth, but he knows he has to do it. Well, it's not like Robert loved his wife or Joffrey anyway...but Ned knows what he will do when he finds out, and because of this Ned is a good person...he doesn't want Cersei and the kids killed.

9. Interesting Ned had dreamt of Rhaegar's children. They were wrapped up in red cloaks, Lannister cloaks, clever, to hide all the blood. And his mind stutters on "the boy..." is he still thinking about little Aegon? :) Ned does not want this to happen to Cersei's children. They're still children; it's not their fault. I just love Ned for this! He knows mercy.

10. Ned's afraid Robert will kill them all, all who were responsible for killing Jon Arryn, I assume. Ned also realizes why they [the Lannisters] tried to have Bran killed -- he must've stumbled on some part of the truth.

11. Even though the heart tree in this godswood is a faceless oak, Ned still felt the presence of his gods. :) *SPOILER FOR A DANCE WITH DRAGONS* (view spoiler)[Would this mean that Bran can see everything in this godswood too? Was there a tree near the Tower of Joy? lol (hide spoiler)]

12. Interesting that Ned would be so courteous of the queen, perhaps so as not to anger his gods. He wants them both to know he does not mean her children any harm. Such a merciful man...so sad! :(

13. I find this interesting: "It had been a long time since Ned Stark had seen her beauty, but he saw it now." Odd...maybe he only saw cruelty, but now that she's probably scared, he can see that she's beautiful. It still doesn't matter to me, though, she's still ugly as sin on the inside... I don't see how GRRM can ever get me to change my mind about her.

14. I'd forgotten how kind he is to her, touching her bruised cheek, too. Asking if Robert had hit her before. He certainly would never hit Catelyn, I am sure of that, no matter how much she could've angered him. And I'm surprised Cersei's being so open and honest with him now. Though she shies away and looks defiantly at him, she seems less hateful now.

15. It's actually pretty sweet her description of Jaime and herself...until she tells Ned how whole she feels when he's in her -- how awkward! That jarred me a little. Just a little inappropriate, Cersei, lol. Maybe she wanted to make Ned uncomfortable, for all I know.

16. This is VERY interesting: "If it came to that, the life of some child I did not know, against Robb and Sansa and Arya and Bran and Rickon, what would I do? Even more so, what would Catelyn do, if it were Jon's life, against the children of her body? He did not know. He prayed he never would."

- Does this mean would Cat/Ned/Cersei would kill another child in order to save their own? Tough decisions! Maybe Ned now understands why Cersei tried to have Bran killed...that's deep.

-- Another thought just now popped in my head: I wonder if Ned had really hoped Catelyn and Jon's relationship would improve over the years, that she would come to accept him as her own. How much does it hurt him that she hates him so much? I bet he wishes he could tell her where he came from...but he just can't, for whatever reasons he has.

17. Sounds strange to say that Grand Maester Malleon "recorded the last mating between stag and lion..." like human beings are animals.

18. I like this: "No matter how far back Ned searched in the brittle yellowed pages, always he found the gold yielding before the coal." Gold yields to coal...Hmm...Nice analogy. Reminds me of some other phrase I read in another book series: "Fire tempers gold."

19. Very interesting: "Her eyes burned, green fire in the dusk..." Foreshadow, possibly? :)

20. Here Cersei explains why she hates Robert so much: On their wedding night Robert had called her Lyanna during the consummation. Odd of Cersei, who so obviously loves her brother Jaime, to be offended so. *SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler)[I recall in a later book, 5 I think?, where Cersei recalls wanting to be married to Rhaegar. And she gets Robert instead. So how is this very different? They both wanted someone who didn't want them. Well, aside from Jaime... (hide spoiler)]

21. When Ned hears his sister's name he thinks of pale blue roses. Is there ever a time where he thinks of Lyanna and doesn't think of blue roses? The references of blue roses to Lyanna is repeated multiple times that it must mean something important.

22. It's weird how they're both touching each other...Ned for her cheek; Cersei his good leg. They didn't strike me as two people who would ever want to touch each other. Though for her it almost seems sexual...then his face, then hair...wtf? Keep your hands to yourself, woman! OMG she IS hitting on him... And there goes my respect for her all over again.

23. Then he brings up honor and she presumes to speak of his bastard. She asks who Jon's mother was, too, now. In her inquisition she sounds a lot like Tyrion in that regard. Very verbally vicious; not necessarily for the truth for her, though. Tyrion always seeks the truth. Cersei just wants to hurt him. She's calling Ned a hypocrite, no better than her, Jaime, or Robert. Apparently Ashara Dayne threw herself into the sea. Why, though? Still a mystery to me!

24. Ned says he's not like them because he doesn't kill children. Nice! But he's no more Mr. Nice Ned -- she's pissed him off -- and he warns her only once to get her kids and family out of Westeros, because when Robert finds out he'll certainly want them all dead. :( Myrcella and Tommen, too? Basically, he's exiling them. "A sweeter cup than your father served Rhaegar's children." Indeed! They should be financially set for life based off her father's gold, but they'll always be on the run from Robert's wrath -- much like Viserys and Daenerys, actually.

25. VERY interesting (what Ned says to Cersei in regards to why he didn't take the Iron Throne for himself): "I have made more mistakes than you can possibly imagine," Ned said, "but that was not one of them." Hmm! Wonder what mistakes he's talking about?

26. This is where Cersei very famously says: "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." Strange, though -- Ned's not trying to play the game. He never wanted it. It's always the ones who don't want power that should have it.

27. I think this scene is necessary because it shows you exactly how Cersei plays, or, more accurately, fights. She listens to you talk. She twists your words and events around so it compliments her way of thinking. And she makes threats, and people die. Ned, on the other hand, was only trying to be merciful. He doesn't quite know what he's dealing with. *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A GAME OF THRONES* (view spoiler)[And he may have just gotten Robert Baratheon killed. (hide spoiler)]

*SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler)[I cannot wait to read the part where Sansa is so happy to learn that Arya is alive and well! I know in her heart she doesn't truly hate her sister -- at least, not so much she wants her dead, that's just the childish anger talking. I think she is also upset at the thought that Arya might be dead, which is what most people think. Maybe she even feels a little guilt over hating her so much. I don't think Sansa is a bad person at all, basically. And Arya is my second favorite character, behind Jon! The way those two interact just melted my heart so much...I absolutely cannot abide Arya to die before she gets reunited with him at least one more time! (hide spoiler)]

I read in the news somewhere that George Martin says his story is going to have a bittersweet ending, like Lord of the Rings, where even though evil is vanquished and the good prevail, the characters are just too messed up emotionally in the end to truly be living in a "happily ever after" which I like, because it's realistic. *SPECULATION ON THE ENDING OF THE SERIES* (view spoiler)[Like for instance, I have a very bad feeling Ghost is going to die at some point near the end and Jon is going to be very depressed without him, even if he ends up riding a dragon and has a special bond with it. Ghost was his first animal companion and if Ghost dies I know he will be emotionally wrecked. (hide spoiler)]

See, even the first time I read about Sansa, I don't think I ever hated her. A friend of mine is reading the books too and she tells me she just hates Sansa, and I try to tell her she is only an 11 year old girl, though... but she points out Dany is only 14 but she's so much more mature, and I counter that argument, saying Sansa was never forced into exile and made to suffer through so much culture change. Right now Sansa has been living relatively under a rock, seeing the world with a filter that people like Cersei and Septa Mordane have put there for her. We really can't blame Sansa too much for her childish behavior, even when she is constantly being difficult with Arya. Sansa is going to have to either grow up really fast, or she will become a tool of the enemy.

Now, of all the Stark children, Sansa is near the bottom of the heap for me (Rickon is my least favorite), but I don't hate her at all. And I really like that she feels sorry for her half-brother. It almost makes me wonder if there is hope that the two will ever grow closer. Sansa is a lot like her mother in a lot of ways, but when it comes to Jon, I don't believe she ever yells at him or tells him he doesn't belong and needs to go away like her mother did. Plus, I see Cat as a strong character, and I don't quite get this feeling of Sansa yet, but I hope she will!

1. It's amazing what kinds of things Sansa and Jeyne Poole think are direly important, like for her father to reject Ser Loras, for instance. She sees Gregor as the monster and Ser Loras as the true hero come to vanquish him like in one of Old Nan's stories. It totally reminds me of all the times I was younger and would giggle with my friends about the cute boys in school, make fun of the ugly ones, and the mean ones were absolutely terrifying to me -- so I can't say I don't know why they're talking like this. It's just childish fantasy. I just shake my head because they have so much to learn...

2. Haha at Petyr Baelish calling Sansa as wise as she is beautiful and bowed to her, making her wonder if he was mocking her or not.

3. Big frown at Petyr caressing her cheek! Though he does tell the truth when he says, "Life is not a song, sweetling. You may learn that one day to your sorrow."

4. Interesting that Sansa doesn't want to talk about Petyr Baelish to Jeyne, lol. He makes her feel uneasy.

5. Sounds like Jeyne has the hots for Lord Beric! Sansa supposes he's handsome, too, but apparently he's old. I didn't think he was old...he's only 22. He's certainly not as old as Ser Barriston, and that man is badass!

6. That's sad Sansa thinks Lord Beric would never look at someone so far down the social rung like Jeyne, though it would be unkind to say so, so Sansa changes topic. Awe. The societal hierarchy in this world is so rigid.

7. "Everyone knew that dreams were prophetic." Well if that's true...But Sansa had lied about it being a dream anyway, just as she lied about Mycah attacking Joffrey first.

8. I'm sorry, but Robert is more worthy of being king than Joffrey...which is saying something.

9. Sansa is in such denial about Joffrey...she thinks he only likes to kill animals, never people...just you wait, Sansa!

10. Sansa also thought the Night's Watch was gallant, like their Uncle Benjen. I think this is sweet; so she still has a bit of that Northern pride in regards to the Wall. When she sees Yoren she's disappointed. She feels sorry for Jon, even, haha! Though they've never been close, I'm sure she would much rather have Jon living with her in King's Landing over Arya at this point!

11. Didn't know Ned had asked all the Houses if anyone would want to do their families honor by joining the Night's Watch, but none stepped forward. I just thought Ned told Yoren to go straight for the dungeons. I like that a lot about Ned. He puts in a good word for the Night's Watch.

12. I am curious about the two freeriders from the Dornish Marches who came to pledge their swords to the King's service, but stupid Jeyne had to interrupt what Sansa was saying.

13. Both girls would rather eat lemoncakes and talk about songs than listen to the news.

14. Lord Beric and his men rode out that morning waving three banners: Baratheon's stag, Stark's Direwolf, and Dondarion's lightning bolt. Cool. I want to learn more about the Dondarion House!

15. Alyn carries the Direwolf banner. So he's gone with them, too? Sansa thinks he's cuter than Jory ever was, and he's going to be a knight one day. I really can't recall much of Alyn at the moment...

16. When Sansa asks Septa Mordane if Lord Beric would put Gregor's head on his own gate or bring it to the king first, Septa Mordane is horrified and says that's not an appropriate topic for ladies to talk over breakfast and she swears she's getting as bad as Arya lately. Interesting.

17. Arya and Sansa are so cute together...in that childish banter. "You have juice on your face, Your Grace," Arya said. Love it!

18. Sansa thinks she's done nothing wrong, but she provoked her sister into throwing the orange. And she keeps lying about Mycah attacking the prince. Hopefully she learns to grow up, and tell the truth.

19. Sansa's flipping out over a stained dress, omg...lol. How innocent she is at this point.

20. I forgot all about Sansa feeling as if Lady were still with her. So sad. :( *SPOILER FOR STARK CHILDREN AND THEIR DIREWOLVES* (view spoiler)[I'm wondering if she could one day warg another animal, since she's still a warg and all, though I think she would be hard-pressed finding another direwolf... (hide spoiler)] This almost seems like a bad omen. Lady is warning her in her dreams, even through death. "The dream faded, and Lady was dead again."

21. When they are both brought to Ned, Sansa is anxious to have the first word. She rambles on and on how it's Arya's fault, and all Arya does is apologize to both her father and sister, lol. This startles Sansa. Poor Arya's making a sincere effort to make up for what she's done and all Sansa can say is how she'll only ruin it...Arya's really trying to make up with her sister, no doubt because of what her father said to her in an earlier chapter. But Sansa's being difficult, granted she's upset about the dress -- a dress from the queen, a woman Sansa hates for killing Lady...

22. But Ned really called them here to tell them he's sending them back home, and they're both upset about this, lol. I love this: "At last we've found something you agree on."

23. When Sansa promises she'll be as good and gracious as the queen her father's mouth twitches strangely. Ha! Ned hates the queen.

24. The only reason Arya wants to stay is because of Syrio, awe. :) She wants to take him home with them.

25. This is so sad...how Sansa really wants to marry Joff and have his babies. And how Ned gently tells her he'll find her a match with a high lord who's worthy of her. "This match with Joffrey was a terrible mistake. That boy is no Prince Aemon, you must believe me." Awe! :(

26. LOL: "I don't want someone brave and gentle, I want him." Listen to yourself, girl!

27. LOVE how Sansa is the one who makes Ned finally piece it all together. "He's not the least bit like that old drunken king." And, "Gods, out of the mouth of babes..." He even has the genealogy book in his lap, too.

28. I like that Ned agrees to take Syrio with them if the dancing instructor wants to go.

29. Sansa is so caught up in her grief over having to go back home she's crying uncontrollably. And Septa Mordane's reprimanding her. What's really odd is that Arya's the one being nice to Sansa now, telling her it won't be so bad; it'll be an adventure, and they'll be back with their brothers again. At the mention of Hodor Sansa yells at Arya, calling her stupid, hairy, and ugly, just like Hodor, and storms into her own room, barring the door behind her. How rude! I really commend Arya for being more patient with her sister!

1. Interesting that even though Robert changed the throne room's decorations from dragon skulls to hunting tapestries with blues and greens and browns, Ned still feels the room is colored red as in blood.

2. It's really cool how Aegon the Conqueror took every blade of those who bent the knee to him and melted them all into a great chair. He famously said, "A king should never sit easy." It's said Balerion's breath melted it together. It does sound really hideous.

3. Pycelle seems to be uneasy around Varys.

4. I like that Ned "never trusted what a man told him from his knees." :)

5. Townsfolk have come to King's Landing for help; their towns were slaughtered, not raided, and the men who did it didn't take anything, just destroyed it all. They're saying it's Lannisters. They came to King's Landing with three Riverrun knights: a Darry, a Vance, and a Piper, for the king's justice, but the king is off hunting with half the court... Most don't even know what their king looks like. Ned is disturbed by this (since back in the North he makes a point to invite everyone in his lands to sup with him).

6. Ugh...Littlefinger suggests they were well-mounted brigands who stole the war-horses first before they destroyed their villages. Sounds highly far-fetched, to me! Seems like he is bending over backwards to challenge the validity that these were Lannister men.

7. Apparently this "army" rode with no banners and wore no sigils, but a villager says the leader was giant-sized and his voice was like stones breaking: The Mountain, in other words. Gregor Clegane is one of Tywin Lannister's bannermen.

8. When one of the knights calls Gregor Twyin's mad dog, Pycelle leaps out over this, saying he's insulting the queen's father. Interesting.

9. Ned sees Sansa and Septa Mordane walk in on this and doesn't want his daughter to see this, but he knows they couldn't have known ahead of time what they were going to walk in on. Usually it's just petty petitions.

10. The Lannisters and Tullys were fighting at the Golden Tooth, a place halfway between Casterly Rock and Riverrun. They did not expect a small village to be utterly destroyed.

11. Ned realizes what Tywin's doing...Edmure has scattered his swordsmen to all the towns and villages along the border so no one gets slaughtered quite so easily again, so now Riverrun is not so defended. His army is scattered. He's weakened himself. Ned thinks of Edmure as gallant, but unwise.

12. Old Lord Hoster made them come to King's Landing to ask for the king's permission to strike back before attacking off on their own, since Lannister attacked them underhandedly and broke the king's peace. Tywin would say he never did that. Sneaky asshole. Sounds like Hoster is not so stupid.

13. Interesting Ned thinks Tywin is as much fox as lion when his mother was a Marbrand, and that sigil is a burning tree. By fox, though, he probably simply meant he is clever, so maybe I'm looking too literally into it.

14. Tywin hoped Edmure would attack him back and then he'd tell the king Edmure attacked him first, denying he'd sent Ser Gregor, as Gregor wore no banners and attacked at night. Sneaky, dirty tricks.

15. Once again, Pycelle speaks up saying these villagers should petition to Tywin Lannister if they feel it was Gregor who'd done it; not the king's concern. Ned counters saying everything's the king's concern in his own country. Everything they do they do in the king's name. At this Pycelle urges they should wait until the king gets back, then. Why is he stalling?

16. Ned says that'll take days, then sees Robar Royce and commands him to find the king and tell him what's happening. Why are the Royce's hunting with the king in King's Landing? Are all the knights still in King's Landing from the tourney? For some reason I thought that was months ago.

17. I like this: "Vengeance?" Ned said. "I thought we were speaking of justice. Burning CLegane's fields and slaughtering his people will not restore the king's peace, only your injured pride."

--An eye for an eye will not help, basically.

18. Ned says in the North they hold the belief that the judge should swing the sword, but he admits he is unable to do it...gesturing to his injured leg. Ser Loras is all too eager to do it for him, practically jumping up and down, too. Weird. Though he's only 16 and probably wants the glory for his house and has never been in a real war before, so I suppose this makes sense. It's just he seems desperate, almost, lol. Like he knows something Ned doesn't.

19. Instead, Ned names four seasoned knights, Beric Dondarion and Thoros of Myr are two of them, and tells them each to gather twenty men, and he'll add twenty of his own men, making 100, to go to Gregor's keep and make him answer for his crimes. Lord Beric will lead them. Ned, as Hand, publicly denounces Gregor of his knighthood, stripping him of his lands, rank, title, incomes and holdings, and sentence him to death. Nice!

20. I laughed at Ser Loras... "Lord Eddard, what of me?" Apparently Ned says he seeks vengeance, not justice. But why would this slight Ser Loras? I'm confused. He seems so disappointed. But Ned says of him, "I daresay he will outgrow the disappointment."

21. Afterward, Varys tells Ned he's bold to hold Ser Loras back. He said a man who has Lannisters for enemies would be wise to have the Tyrells as allies. I wonder why the Tyrells hate the Lannisters so much? What did they do to the lord of the Reach?

22. Varys asks why didn't he send Ser Ilyn Payne, the king's justice, and Ned says the Payne's are bannermen to Tywin. Varys says he hopes Ser Ilyn will outgrow his disappointment as well. "He does so love his work." Uh oh! Was that a threat?

*SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler)[I love to hate Cersei, lol. I absolutely hate her character, and I praise George Martin for making me feel such strong feelings against her. She pisses me off just too much for me to say I "like" her. The only part of Cersei I respect is her love for her children and her mother's instincts to want to protect them. Though how she goes about protecting them I disagree with entirely. She also purposely had her children with the man she loves, even if it is her twin, and comes up with all kinds of excuses for why it shouldn't be wrong, since the Targaryens traditionally married brother to sister for centuries. It's her unwillingness to humble herself that seriously unhinges me, and her confidence in the use of her cunt to get what she wants is just...insulting to all women out there, I think. I agree, her walk of shame was a start, and I was glad that she finally cracked halfway through. But there's still so many other things she's done that she hasn't confessed to yet, and I have a feeling that she will cause Young Griff and Dany and Jon and Margaery and all other characters who are genuinely trying to do good for the realm a lot of trouble still. I admit it, reading about her walk of shame was guilty pleasure. I really want to see her suffer. I don't really want her to die; I just want to see her be totally and completely humiliated for the rest of her life. lol. (hide spoiler)]

lol! I think somewhere in the beginning of our discussions Dani said not to swear on here so I try not to, but I completely agree with you. Lysa can go fuck herself.

I've heard that one of the criticisms of GRRM's world is that women get a bad rep in his books. However, I knew very early on in my readings that sexism was very common even in our own feudal history, so it doesn't totally make me outraged when I read about women getting raped, beaten, or screwed over in some way or other because that's just the harsh world they live in. One thing I really like about George, is how MANY female characters in his book series still manage to prevail, and like you said -- can get away with what they want despite being a woman, despite all of that sexism. But it isn't just hating on women. There's cripples, homosexuals, bastards, the poor, etc. who get just as much abuse, yet they also can prevail. Sure, there's quite a bit of what I would call "unnecessary sex scenes" in the show, like the sexy-Melissandre scenes was really weird...but I'm not here to criticize the show. I'm talking about the book series. Every sex scene in the book, at least, I felt was real and moved the story along. There's a bunch of people I want to recommend the book series to but they say they've seen or heard of the show and they're not interested in reading about women getting treated that way, sorry. It's annoying.

And about your point about Petyr Baelish...*SPOILERS ABOUT PETYR* (view spoiler)[I have to agree with you. Petyr definitely loved Catelyn when they were younger, but now I think she has humiliated him so much that he is not solely angry with the Starks but also with her. I agree with you, I think Littlefinger loves only Littlefinger, and he probably wants to watch the whole world burn. Sometimes I wonder if he has any feelings whatsoever for Sansa, any part of him that may have carried over from his childhood feelings for Cat, but I am starting to doubt it the more I reread about him in A Game of Thrones. I think he is using Sansa. (hide spoiler)]

*SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler)[I had forgotten Cersei was told she'd outlast her children! It seems Myrcella is in trouble in Dorne, and Tommen is still so young and naive...so many people want his seat... That prophesy really does sound like it will come true. I just know that Jaime will be the last person she will think to kill her, just as Aerys Targaryen did not suspect Jaime would do it. I also forgot the witch lady's name, too. I REALLY need to reread the other books now, since I hadn't taken my time to read it all the first time. (hide spoiler)]

You have a lot of good points made! I hadn't noticed the significance of Bronn only calling Tyrion dwarf, not anything else. I think Mord doesn't accompany them because he doesn't feel like getting killed on the highroad with the rest of them. And I didn't think much about Bronn being compared so closely to Jaime as a swordsman. I took it as a polite compliment, but now that I think of it, Tyrion doesn't really do that. He is very honest, so for him to say that it must be true! And also about the Lannister's "Hear me roar" words, that is true, they so very little bring that up. Even "A Lannister always pays his debts" seems to only be mentioned by Tyrion, I believe. Maybe Tywin later on. But I don't recall Jaime or Cersei saying that. For being a proud House, that does seem odd they don't flaunt their House words more often.

1. No one else accompanies Tyrion through the highroad except Bronn, and they are both commanded never to return. A definite death sentence. Seems Bronn ostracized himself as well.

2. Bronn mentions two can travel faster than 10, which is true. Tyrion, however, seems to be a lot more pessimistic about surviving the trip -- if he's going to die, he wants to die comfortable.

3. Bronn killed his sellsword companion, Chiggen, when he was hit by an arrow in the belly, but that doesn't sound cold-blooded, that sounds like mercy to me. A stomach wound I hear is excruciating. He also says they were never friends, they just traveled together. And he says he's not Tyrion's friend, either, just because he fought for him. Bronn's primary goal is getting gold and survival. It's why he came along with Catelyn in the first place, says Tyrion. Friendship has so little to do with it. It's business.

4. Bronn finds Tyrion's wit and bold tongue entertaining. He doesn't seem to take offense easily, like so many others do.

5. Even though in the beginning Bronn reprimanded Tyrion about starting fires, he now takes the knife and flint from him and does it himself, lol. For saying they're not friends, he seems to be pretty nice to him...then again, he does want his money. Not being nice could cost him the gold he seeks.

6. Tyrion says it here he has no doubt Bronn would betray him the moment someone else offers him more than Tyrion can, which is fortunate that Tyrion Lannister is very rich. :) *SPOILER FOR A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)[Unfortunately, Tywin is a Lannister too, and an ass. I bet Tyrion didn't think this far that his own father would buy Bronn from him! Or Shea, either. (hide spoiler)] Seems right now Tyrion doesn't think he needs true friends, but that is exactly what he's going to need. You can't buy friendship and loyalty, Tyrion. He'll need friends with more honor.

7. A Lannister always pays his debts. Even Mord seemed shocked Tyrion kept his word and gave him a bag of gold for his help. *SPECULATION ON CERSEI AND JAIME* (view spoiler)[I'm thinking this saying is a foreshadowing of Cersei getting what she deserves -- paying her debt back, in blood. Perhaps Jaime will be the one to do it, too. Fitting. He's a kingslayer because he rid the realm of an awful king, and he'd be a kinslayer for ridding the realm of an awful queen. (hide spoiler)] This kind of thing is what makes rich men so powerful, which can be very dangerous.

8. I laughed at Tyrion telling Bronn he wants to ask some questions about a certain dagger when they get out of here. I'm sure this has sparked his interest, as it nearly had him killed!

9. Bronn didn't know if Tyrion was lying or not, and Tyrion asks if he looks like a liar to him, lol. I assume with all of his bluntness Tyrion always tells the truth, no matter how painful it is.

10. Forgot Tyrion talks about the whore here...his wife and first love. Very sad story...

11. But if she was a whore, how did she break her maidenhead? Oh right, she was paid double for being a virgin. See, this is where things get sticky. Did she really want to be a whore if she's never done it before?

12. This story goes to show that even Tyrion can experience love and be a gentleman. It's so sad his father does what he does to him, and Jaime too. Jaime has always been nice to him, so for him to be in on it with his father was pretty low. They've been married for only two weeks but it was the happiest moment of his life. I think that's why he keeps going for whores. He's psychologically damaged, doesn't think he can ever get anything better than that. No one will ever want him unless he pays them, and it's a very good thing then that he is a Lannister, or he'd really be in trouble!

13. I want to know if the whore was laughing or crying when she was servicing Tywin's guards in front of Tyrion. Tywin is a monster here, it seems. Very heartless. Completely unnecessary. Why go so far out of the way to bully your 13-year-old son?

14. Wow! Did not remember this: Tyrion tells Bronn he may get the chance to kill the man that humiliated Tyrion that day. It's great when Tyrion adds: "A Lannister always pays his debts." And I laughed at, "Wake me if we're about to die."

15. Instead of sounding threatening, Tyrion invites the clansmen to their fire and offers some of their meat. :) A plea for rules of hospitality, I see. Except they say that's their goat they're eating on their land.

16. I like that Tyrion refers to himself as "Tyrion son of Tywin, of the Clan Lannister, the Lions of the Rock." Clan Lannister! And that he offers to pay for the goat they ate is very accommodating of him. Then again, he doesn't want to die -- he likes living. They say there's nothing he has that he can give to them but their lives -- then asks how he'd like to die. It seems only Shagga and I laughed at Tyrion's response here. No one else seemed to think it was funny. Tyrion offers them gold, then, if they help him safely through the mountains. They don't believe his father would pay them, though.

17. Now he insults them, of course, saying at least he has the courage to face his enemies, instead, they hide behind rocks and quiver with fear every time a knight of the Vale walks by. And their weapons are basically shit, too...ballsy!

18. By a stroke of luck, the leader asks if they gave them their lives, what would he give them in return? Tyrion says he'll give them the Vale -- but how would he do that, exactly? That would start a war between Lannister and Arryn, the west and the east. Does Tyrion really think his father would win it for them? Not without dragons! ;)

I agree with you I really, really liked Jon's analogy with the maester's chains. I didn't quite appreciate it as much my first read, but after rereading it a second time I do. :)

1. Who is Gueren? It sounds a lot like Yoren...is it a nickname Ser Alliser gave him that I don't understand, or is it a typo?

2. I think Ser Alliser tries to make it seem worse than it really is, the recruits. He's so negative, but obviously they're not all that terrible if the Lord Commander thinks they're ready to become Sworn Brothers. He has nicknames for all of them...lol, and he is so incredibly pessimistic it becomes funny. It's almost like he rehearses it.

3. Poor Jon, still holding on to hope his uncle is still alive, at this time. Wonder where that confidence went, when he said he'd go find him.

4. It's good to see Jon getting along well with his friends. Mr. Popular now. :)

5. Bowen Marsh!!! Urgh!!! 'nough said.

6. The builders job sounded so impressive, back when they were still adding to the Wall. I wonder when the last time they added to it was...and who commanded it. What were the turning events that made them decide to stop there?

7. Jon could not enjoy his feast for passing the recruiting stage because Sam wasn't there, awe! Poor Sam. Jon is perceptive -- he knows without them, Sam will be bullied again. And probably worse, just to get at Jon in an indirect manner.

8. The sight of the kingsroad fills Jon with a vast longing. Not just for Winterfell, apparently, but there were all these other places named that he would never see. Here it sounds as if he wants to explore the world! I sure hope he does see the world. I hope his fate isn't tied to the Wall for all eternity. There has to be some times in a Sworn Brother's life where he can get south of the Wall, like Yoren, to check out all these other wonders.

9. Jon realizes he can still leave at any time, up until he takes his vows. Still have regrets, Jon?

10. He tells himself he is not welcome to Winterfell because of Catelyn Stark, who isn't even there right now, and his brothers are only half-brothers so he has no place there if he did go back. Awe Jon! He's feeling sorry for himself. And to top it all off he thinks of his mother, "Even his own mother had not had a place for him." :( I'm sure that's not the way of it! I'm sure she loved you with all her heart... He feels unwanted. And perhaps that's the real reason he decided to join the Wall in the first place, be an outcast like the rest of them. He's wondering who she was, and what she was like...so sad. The voice in his head is bullying him, lol, calling his mom a whore. He thinks it must have been bad -- why else would Lord Eddard refuse to speak of her?

11. He had his chance to leave but he doesn't take it. I wonder what might've happened if Jon did choose to go home at this time. *SPOILER FOR A CLASH OF KINGS* (view spoiler)[No doubt he'd fix the whole Theon problem real quick. (hide spoiler)] But that's not our story. Jon is fated to the Wall.

12. Maester Aemon lives below the rookery. He has two stewards, both described as very ugly, and the rumored reason why they're there is because Aemon is blind so he wouldn't care, lol, so mean. Jon decides to pay Aemon a visit in the night. Maester Aemon sleeps with his chains, too. He always wears it. Jon confides in him. :)

13. I'm not liking Chett much; he puts words in Maester Aemon's mouth. When Chett declares Ser Alliser should keep training Sam until he is ready or he dies Jon spits, "That's stupid." Seems unlike him to say things like this on a common occurrence, so this must've really angered him.

14. I especially love Jon here. :) Jon always seems to know the right words to say to convince people into doing something they weren't inclined on doing before. Jon talks about the Maester's chains, how each link is made of different metal, and uses it as an analogy that the realm needs all sorts of people. Very clever. I like that he made Maester Aemon smile at this. I LOVE this part: "You can't hammer tin into iron, no matter how hard you beat it, but that doesn't mean tin is useless. Why shouldn't Sam be a steward?" Jon is such a good friend! Even better since he didn't tell Sam he'd put in a good word with the maester beforehand, either.

15. Found this highly interesting: "Animals seem to like him. Ghost took to him straight off." *SPECULATION ON SAMWELL TARLY* (view spoiler)[Is it possible Sam could be a warg, too? I mean, he adopted the old gods as his new religion, practically... However, somewhere it says that wargs can sense other wargs straight away, no matter how skilled they are. Jon would've probably been able to notice something about Sam, then. Dunno. (hide spoiler)] Just thought it was rather peculiar that he says this.

16. Maester Aemon says this of Jon: "Your mind is as deft as your blade, it would seem." :)

You know, I haven't thought about the fact that Catelyn is a lady and wouldn't know much about fighting, but despite this she can still tell what's going on just by observing. You are right. Cat is very perceptive!

1. Alyssa's Tears is the name of the great waterfall in the Vale, it tumbles down the Giant's Lance and I believe it is the tallest waterfall in Westeros, if not the world. It sounds so beautiful!

2. Alyssa was an Arryn, been dead for 6,000 years now. The Arryns were Andals and worshipped the Seven. Didn't realize they've been around that long. It's pretty amazing how not a single drop of the falls has ever touched the valley floor far below, it's so high up. The elevation sickness must be terrific.

3. Interesting to note Catelyn says her father would not have given the defense of Riverrun over to Edmure, her brother, unless he was very sick. Why? We will find out in future chapters!

4. Cat wants to go to Winterfell straight away, right as soon as the trial by combat is over, to be with her sons again. And because he's tired of her sister's stupidity, I imagine.

5. Like this: "Lysa's policies varied with her moods, and her moods changed hourly." What hellhole to be in, living under the same roof as her! How did Jon Arryn stay sane for so long? She even pisses off their Uncle Brynden! He's had it up to here with her. He plans to go back to Riverrun to help protect it from the Lannisters, because he's still a Tully, and he refuses to hide in the Vale. I really like the Blackfish. :)

6. Interesting to note they have tried for eons to get a weirwood to grow in the Eyrie's godswood, but no matter how much soil they cart up they could never get a weirwood to take root. Perhaps it's just the altitude. Instead, their godswood is full of shrubs. This is where they're going to combat, too.

7. It's so nice to see everyone enjoying themselves just as they're about to watch a trial by combat! It's like entertainment to them...sort of reminds me of Hunger Games. Brynden calls this "the fool's festival." Small wonder.

8. Lysa's two favored suitors couldn't be further from what she'd want. One is rumored to be gay, another really, really old.

9. Catelyn doesn't want Tyrion harmed because he's worth more alive than dead at this point. She knows a war is about to start over this, and it will go very badly if he's dead, and if he lives, he goes free, so they lose their advantage of having a hostage on the playfield. Lysa just wants to see the bad man fly...ugh. More like he's the scapegoat.

10. I strongly dislike when men say women understand little of something. In this case, whether the knight or sellsword prevails. They are all so sure the knight will win, but Cat saaw Bronn fighting... Who knows little in the arts of fighting, gentlemen?

11. I like how once again, Cat warns her Tyrion is her prisoner.

12. Cat admits she believes the Lannisters murdered Lord Arryn, but isn't sure if Tyrion did it any more or less than his brother or sister. And Cat knows Lysa's mentioned Cersei in the letter -- now she seems to have totally forgotten about her, and blames Tyrion all too eagerly. Suspicious!

13. Catelyn can tell Robert will never be strong enough to rule without discipline, and he can't get that with his mother hanging around him. Even Cat knows he needs to get away from her. Apparently, Lord Jon wanted to send his son to Dragonstone for fostering. That would be with Stannis and his daughter! Cat was sure it was Casterly Rock he was rumored to go to, not Dragonstone, and that it was arranged only after Jon Arryn's passing. But she doesn't know Lord Jon had already made plans with Stannis. (Of course, Lysa would not want either to happen...)

14. Ser Vardis Egen wears Arryn colors and even the sigil, heavily armored like a good knight. Whereas Bronn wears light armor. The better to move around, my dear. What's worse, Lysa makes the knight fight with Lord Jon's sword, to avenge him by. This only makes the knight more uncomfortable, with a sword he's never used before.

15. Seems odd Lord Hunter thinks Bronn's quick movements are cowardly while Ser Rodrik states what he's doing is actually pretty smart. Ser Rodrik being a master-at-arms, so he'd know these things. This confirms Cat's initial thinking.

16. Cat flashbacks to Brandon Stark and Petyr Baelish's fight. Poor Petyr had asked for a favor to wear but she ignored him and gave one to Brandon instead. Ouch. I wonder how long and well she knew her betrothed at this time, if he'd be a dick about it...like James Potter to Severus Snape, lol. *SPECULATION ON PETYR BAELISH* (view spoiler)[Except I don't think Petyr is going to redeem himself in the end, lol (hide spoiler)].

17. The only reason Littlefinger is alive is because Cat begged Brandon not to kill him, because he's like a brother to her, ugh. Poor Petyr refused to yield, despite Branding urging him to yield, that's nice of him at least. Cat is surprised she'd forgotten the look of Petyr's eyes as he got hurt. Interesting she's thinking about it now. Even Edmure was Brandon's quire during the duel...ouch. Their lord father banished him back to the fingers, where he'd been born. How much Littlefinger has grown since then...

18. Bronn fights dirty, not like a knight, but in the end it's wit, street smarts, that saves him.

19. It's kind of funny that the stone statue of Alyssa Arryn helped Bronn win.

20. It's truly sad how little Robert Arryn understands what's going on. Though I suppose many 6-year-olds might not understand.

21. The Arryn House words: "As high as honor." Tyrion reminds Lysa this, in case she forgets and tries to kill or imprison him again. As much as she is furious, at least she is smart enough to let him go, despite her son's tantrum. *SPOILER FOR A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)[And because we know she knows he's innocent -- Tyrion had really meant for her to remember to be honorable in that regard, as well. This woman has so little honor... (hide spoiler)] But instead of being kind and letting Tyrion go home via Gulltown like Catelyn plans to do, she makes him go back the way they came -- another death sentence, Catelyn realizes. She can see Tyrion's internal rage, but he bows anyways and thanks her. Lysa is insufferable.

Because this was such a short chapter I thought I wouldn't need a lot of time to take notes, but it turns out I have a lot of notes for this, so bear with me!

1. OMG how did I miss this my first reading?!? I completely forgot all about this! Probably because these were new names and the first time I was reading this it was all I could do to remember the main characters, lol. Anyway... Ned's dreaming about the time he went with six friends of his (probably all from the North it sounds) to rescue Lyanna, probably because his life is at stake right now at King's Landing. He's recalling the promise he made her. The six people are: Martyn Cassel, Jory's father; Theo Wull; Ethan Glover; Ser Mark Ryswell; Howland Reed; and Lord Dustin. *SPOILER FOR A DANCE WITH DRAGONS* (view spoiler)[I wonder why Lord Dustin is mentioned last in this list, after Howland Reed, the only survivor. We hear a bit more about the Dustins in DwD, which is disturbing because the girl (I forgot her name) is angry that Ned never bothered to bring back her lord's bones, yet he did so for his sister, brother, and father. He even brings Ser Arthur Dayne's sword back to his family in Starfall. Makes me wonder if hte other families were mad at Ned too. They don't know what happened, and I'm sure Ned kept it vague, to throw off suspicion, and Lord Reed must have made a similar promise not to say anything either. And we know how aloof he is. I also heard a theory that Jon has a secret twin sister, Meera, whom Lord Reed decided to raise as his own just as Ned raised Jon as his', to throw off suspicion that they are twins of Lyanna and Rhaegar. This doesn't seem to add up, to me, but it would be pretty cool if Jon had a full-blooded sibling! :) They say Meera is born the same year as Jon and Robb. If Howland Reed fathered her, he had to have done it shortly before he left to go down south with Ned (but this is believable because Catelyn was pregnant with Ned's firstborn son, making Meera perhaps a little older than Jon in actuality). It would be interesting to note what Meera has to say, if she thinks he's her father or what. Jojen might know, through his dreams, but if he sees it I do not know if he would feel it's right to tell Meera, who knows. Just thought I'd share that! (hide spoiler)] They were seven facing three knights in white armor -- Aerys's kingsguard. Strange they would follow Rhaegar and not their actual king, unless Aerys is dead at this point, which I can't remember for sure what happened first, and even more strange they would be strategically placed all the way down here instead of assisting Rhaegar at the Trident, so something very important is in the Tower of Joy that Rhaegar wants protected. It's also very strange Rhaegar would want his father's kingsguard to protect Lyanna over his own wife and kids back at King's Landing, unless there were other kingsguard there besides Jaime, but I don't think so.

2. Of the three kingsguard that were guarding the Tower of Joy one was the very famous Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning -- interesting he had a sad smile on his face. I think he liked Ned; something about Ashara Dayne dancing with Ned once at Harrenhal, I think. Ser Oswell Whent is another. The Whents lived at Harrenhal, as I recall. And the third is fierce Ser Gerold Hightower, Lord Commander of the kingsguard at the time. Three badasses, in other words.

3. Ned tells them they weren't at the Trident and they say they'd have surely killed the Usurper if they were there. He also says they weren't there when Jaime slew their king in King's Landing, and again they say if they were there the king would still be alive and Jaime would be rotting in hell. And when Ned lifted the siege of Storm's End the Tyrells and Redwynes bent the knee, and the kingsguard say if they were there they wouldn't bend the knee so easily, hinting they'd keep fighting until death. And lastly they also state that they didn't set sail to Dragonstone with the queen and prince Viserys with Ser Willem Darry because the kingsguard does not flee. They say they swore a vow. -- The point is, things could have gone a lot worse for Ned and Robert if these three men weren't here, standing guard, while the war raged on around them. There obviously is something very important here that Rhaegar charged them to protect with their lives. And these three men are infamous warriors. I doubt it's simply to keep Lyanna safe at this point. If that was all, I don't think the kingsguard would prevent Ned from at least seeing her. They are protecting Ned and his band of friends from the truth, I think. What that truth is a lot of fans have a particular theory in mind, but so far it hasn't been confirmed by George Martin yet, so it's really frustrating not knowing!!! We can only guess.

4. Ser Arthur Dayne's greatsword is called Dawn and it shines alive with light. I wonder if there's magic behind it. Valyrian steel is often described as a dark metal.

5. Then, as they're fighting -- Ned hears Lyanna screaming for him. He sees blue roses swirling like a storm in the sky, "...as blue as the eyes of death." Interesting! Reminds me of the Others. Again, he promises her something but we don't get to hear what that promise is! Oh the frustration!

6. And now Ned wakes up out of his dream.

7. The king wants to speak with him as soon as he is awake, but Ned is too weak right now -- curious, it says: "The dream had left him weak as a kitten." I would think his leg left him weak, but it says his dream did it. The past is really beginning to weigh on his mind.

8. I like when Ned says, "I hope you wake him from a sound sleep." lol

9. Alyn tells him Jaime fled to Casterly Rock and his daughters have been by his bedside all six days and seven nights. Alyn says he's worried about Arya. She hasn't spoken at all since they brought Ned back to the keep. He says he's never seen such anger in a girl. Poor Arya! The fact that Ned says nothing about this makes me think that Ned knows this is nothing new.

10. Apparently Jory's father was buried in the south, so Jory will have to be buried beside his grandfather in Winterfell instead. :( When they left the Tower of Joy, Ned tore the tower down and used its bloody stones to build eight cairns upon the ridge. Five for his dead, and three for the kingsguard he'd slain. Ned thinks it's a bad omen he dreamed of this now, after so many years. He's afraid for his daughters.

11. Ned is surprised that Cersei came to visit him with her husband. I am too, lol. This can't be good. Cersei basically says he's lucky to be alive, and I laughed when Robert promptly told her to be quiet. I can imagine the conversation they had together before they showed up at the Hand's Tower... I'm liking Robert once again now that he's come to see how Ned's doing. :)

12. I'm pretty sure Ned did not actually command his wife to capture Tyrion, if she ever found him, and take him to the Eyrie. He's just covering for her, like a loyal husband. If she's in trouble with the king, Ned will be there to take the fall. I love that about him. :)

13. Cersei is such a bitch...she does not care two shits for Tyrion, yet she's using him as an excuse to attack the Stark family. It's interesting to note she is described as "cold with anger."

14. And already I'm disliking Robert again, yelling at Ned, who's still bed-ridden, just woke up from a six day slumber... You can tell he's really stuck under the Lannister's thumb, blaming Ned for abducting Tyrion and killing men who were sent to kill his own men in public...it's messed up. And Robert wants him to make his amends with Jaime, gods...Jaime should be apologizing to him! He basically committed murder in cold blood.

15. OMG I want to strangle Cersei! Twisting the situation around so it looks like Ned is the bad guy and the Lannisters are innocent. I hope she suffers long and cruelly. I really do. Death is too good for her. *SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler)[I hope Jaime is the valonqar and kills her -- it would be sweet justice. (hide spoiler)]

16. Oh no...and now Ned tells Robert about his bastard daughter Barra, right in front of Cersei. That can't be good. Littlefinger warned him she had Robert's twin bastards killed once. He even brings up Mya Stone from the Vale, his first bastard whom he loved dearly. Cersei wears a mask on her face, betraying nothing. Oh dear... Robert, however, is flushed. He damns the girl and says he thought she had more sense. Did the name Barra anger him?

17. Robert's reasoning of justice, that Ned killed five of Jaime's men and Jaime three of his', makes things even more messed up. Ned's men were defending themselves! Oh this makes me so mad! Jaime should be made to pay for that! His little brother is in no real danger of Catelyn, as far as he knows, anyway. This is all Littlefinger's fault. That man is playing them all and they don't know it. Pitting lion against wolf.

18. It pisses me off how Cersei insults her husband. She is a terrible wife...saying he should be in skirts and she in mail. Bitch, you would be just as bad as Mad King Aerys! *NOT SURE IF THIS IS A SPOILER, BUT JUST IN CASE...READ AT YOUR OWN RISK* (view spoiler)[For all we know, you could be his bastard daughter...Aerys did lust after their mother. (hide spoiler)]

19. However, Robert beating his wife is totally unacceptable as well... neither seem fit to rule. How awkward of them to have done all that in front of Ned, who can't go anywhere.

20. But I commend Robert for admitting it was not kingly to hit his wife, no matter how much she may deserve it. You don't hit ladies, in my book. I like this: "How do you fight someone if you can't hit them?" He's talking about Cersei at first, but then thinks of Rhaegar. The man still haunts him, even to this day. And I LOVE this: "He has Lyanna now, and I have her." Ha! It is bittersweet, though. I understand how he feels he was robbed.

21. Robert's given Ned back his title as Hand, so he can go hunting... gods, this is going to go very bad for both of them...I see now, Robert won't listen to his council; he really wants Ned to rule the kingdom for him, because he obviously can't.

I laughed at your comment about the Moon Door! I hadn't thought of that...what was going on in the person's mind who came up with the concept of building it. But I suppose it makes sense, a cheap and easy way to get rid of someone in the Eyrie.

And I agree with you about Bronn; I know he's primarily helping Tyrion for the money, but I also want to believe he does it because he likes Tyrion.

1. Poor Tyrion is locked up in the sky cells. I bet this is his first time being in so much filth in his entire life! *SPOILER FOR A DANCE WITH DRAGONS* (view spoiler)[And it won't be the last! In comparison to how they treat slaves in Slaver's Bay and all that sickness, the sky cells and Mord might be a tad bit better. (hide spoiler)] Even now he is being funny. I like that about Tyrion; he always seems to find humor in the worst situations.

2. Mord sounds hideous! His interactions with Tyrion are kind of funny, though, but Mord takes it to the extreme with flinging his food out the cell. Even Tyrion can't find any humor in that! Is he trying to kill him?

3. Eww, apparently when prisoners fall to their deaths from the sky cells they land on Sky, the waycastle beneath the Eyrie. Makes me wonder what a horrible job it would be for the person who has to go out and clean Sky's walls from the bits of human blood and guts. Nasty. The first time I read this I forgot the waycastle underneath them was called Sky, and when I read this passage I thought the prisoners simply plummeted through the sky, all the way down to the valley floor, but no, they land on Sky. Eww.

4. Even though Tyrion gets the sun and fresh air and a nice view, the sky cells are horrible and he'd trade it all to be in a normal dungeon. These cells are designed to entice you to want to plummet to your death, because the floors are on a slant toward the open wall and you are treated so terribly by the gaolers. An effective way of clearing out cells without having to kill any of the prisoners yourself. It really does sound frightening!

5. I like the analogy of a honeycomb and Tyrion is a bee with his wings torn off.

6. Tyrion has a hard time keeping his mouth shut, one of his few character flaws. Though he is often funny, there are times you should stay quiet, else you get yourself into deeper trouble. At least he knows he has that problem.

7. I keep thinking of Bran's dream and of him falling out of that tower when Robert Arryn tells his mother he wants to see "the bad man fly." Seems ironic Tyrion is face to face with something similar to Bran when Tyrion is accused of attempting his murder. If he "flies" he too was innocent.

8. They would have thrown him out the Moon Door for sure until Catelyn Stark stops them, reminding them whose prisoner he belongs to. Nice. :) She would not have him harmed, but this seems to be the way Lysa does things. Ugh. I hate her.

9. Tyrion notes that whoever killed Jon Arryn had been clever with how they did it, whereas whoever conspired to kill Bran while unconscious did a messy job of it, so it couldn't be the same person.

10. I like this: "Tyrion Lannister hated being used."

11. Also like this: "His mouth had gotten him into this cell; it could damn well get him out."

12. For some reason I like Mord, even though he beats Tyrion up. I like how simple he is, and this, "...he had the look of a man who had often been tricked." Awe. And the way he talks, it's so cute it's hard to keep hating him, lol.

13. I like that Tyrion is glad the singer is there to hear him confess -- it will carry all over the continent really fast this way.

14. Lysa is so sure the sky cells broke Tyrion into confessing. Her arrogance is so annoying to me. It's like the Spanish Inquisition with her; torture them until they tell you what you want to hear. The sky cells are psychological. I also like that Catelyn says he doesn't look broken to her. Cat is perceptive, unlike her sister, who seems deranged.

15. I find it interesting the throne Lysa sits on is made of weirwood. I wonder if it is sacrilege to the old gods to cut down their weirwood trees and make it into furnishings. Or even if the gods can still see them through the wood, doubt it, though. If it no longer has roots, and no face, then probably not. But the Arryns are Andals; they worshipped the new gods. Wonder if it was made on purpose.

16. Tyrion's "confessions" aren't as funny as they are in the show, but he makes his point; he didn't do it! But when Lysa commands he be taken to the sky cells again he shouts is this how justice is done in the Vale? Have they no honor? I bet that gets Cat's attention. I wonder if she is feeling guilty now, bringing him here.

17. I love that Tyrion states specifically how justice should be done. Hold a trial for the accused, listen to him speak. Get the evidence first. Don't torture him! Lysa is no better than her sickly son, intellectually speaking. When she wants something, it's her way or the highway! So narrow-minded. Unwilling to listen to Tyrion's side of things. What, is she afraid he's right? Or does she just want him to be the scapegoat, like I think she is doing?

18. The Moon Door is made out of weirwood too, forgot about that.

19. Pennon = a small triangular flag, according to my dictionary. Had to look this up. It's described of the torches blowing in the wind.

20. I like that Catelyn tells her sister she thinks it unwise to use the Moon Door. Lysa's trying to be intimidating again. Cat can see through this, I think. Cat doesn't want him killed, at least not yet; she just wants the truth, I think, even if it means Tyrion's innocent. I think she's wise enough to seek the truth and accept it, unlike Lysa. *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A GAME OF THRONES* (view spoiler)[And I hope that one day Cat will formally apologize to him for all of this. (hide spoiler)]

21. Gods...Lysa says her son Robert will be the judge...we all know he's the last person in the Eyrie who should be judge, except maybe Lysa. There may as well be no trial then. And I love this: "How many men had the snot-nosed little wretch sent through that door already?" The answer to that may well be disheartening, as Lysa ultimately has rule over Robert, it's her to blame, really. I'm surprised none of their bannermen has done anything about this yet.

22. When Tyrion demands a trial by combat everyone laughs. No doubt they all think Tyrion meant he'd fight in his own trial, explains why so manyh men beg Lysa to let them serve as Robert's champion. Ugh, they boast the gods favor the man with the surest sword to be the one who is innocent. Wtf kind of logic is that? Right now I'm not too sure about the Andal gods...the Seven, as they are called. What if the man who wins is actually guilty? Then you've killed an innocent man and let a guilty one go free. Smart logic there.

23. I laughed when Tyrion felt it disheartening to see so many men eager to kill him, lol.

24. I respect Ser Vardis Egen for declining, as he thinks it's shameful for him to kill a dwarf and call it justice. :) He'd rather fight a man more his size and skill. That is honorable.

25. Tyrion tries to name Jaime his champion but Lysa won't let him because he's too far away and she's impatient. Wants the whole thing done on the morrow. Ugh. I'm glad Bronn steps in at the last second. :)