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.

1. Jaime, Brienne, and Ser Cleos make it to Maidenpool, passing miles and miles of destroyed farms and villages along the way. Half of Maidenpool’s town was burned and is left abandoned, but the castle still stands. Of course Jaime bursts out in song. Brienne, and even his cousin, tells him to be quiet; Maidenpool is sword to Riverrun and they don’t need him alerting them with his bantering. They’re just passing through to get to Duskendale.

2. Lady Joanna was Jaime and Cersei’s mother. Once she caught them sexually fooling around when they were little. Horrified, she separated them into different bedrooms on far ends of the castle and made them swear never to do that again or she’d tell their father. That seems a bit harsh, if you ask me. I can’t help but wonder if she thought of Aerys Targaryen when this happened. Young kids play and explore themselves all the time. It doesn’t have to mean anything; they’re learning. However, they did develop strong feelings for each other anyway. A bit of a Targaryen trait. Maybe Joanna feared her husband would think they weren’t his. King Aerys wanted her bad; that’s no secret. He publicly announced it at a tourney once.

3. Jaime would love to marry Cersei. The rumors are going around about them so it wouldn’t be a shocker. Interesting he muses over Joffrey marrying Myrcella. It’s like he wants to be a Targaryen.

4. I really like how he decides he wants to return Sansa, and Arya if they can find her, not out of the goodness of his heart but because it amuses him how no one would expect him to keep his word. At this point Jaime still doesn’t seem to care about anything, other than his sister and brother.

5. They are attacked from behind. Brienne is a beast. They charge the archers in the fields, who break away and run off. Brienne asks how he knew they’d run and he says archers always run when they’re in danger of being plowed down by knights on horses. Seemed gutsy; I would have thought they’d shoot the horses down for sure. Ser Cleos had disappeared on his spooked horse so they have to go find him. Turns out he died; the horse dragged his head along the ground till it became mush. Lovely. He seemed an expendable character, lol. Jaime wants his possessions with seemingly no feelings for his cousin. He has too many cousins, he tells Brienne when she stares at him in shock.

6. Brienne keeps telling him she will not arm him so he takes Ser Cleos’ sword and they fight, Jaime still in chains around his hands. He is arrogant and thinks he can win. She reminds him she will not harm him. She swore a vow. They fight on until he loses strength, realizing she’s better than him. She keeps telling him to yield but he is too stubborn. They put up a pretty good fight.

7. Suddenly they have an audience. Armed men surround them in the forest. Lol, Jaime says he was just chastising his wife and one of the men says it looks like she was the one chastising him. One of them is Rorge; it’s the Brave Companions, uh oh. They aren’t the same men who shot arrows at them from before. Brienne says she has a hundred stags, thinking she can buy their way out of this. They joke about raping her and how ugly she is, of course. It’s Rorge. Even Jaime doesn’t think she deserves to get raped by these men.

8. They know who Jaime is, despite how awful he looks. A man named Urswyck leads the party. He calls himself the Faithful. Somehow I doubt that. Jaime thinks they still belong to his father, but they belong to Bolton now, which is worse. It is just like Tywin to call his soldiers dogs. Jaime says Brienne is highborn and should make them a good ransom. He doesn’t like the look in Urswyck’s eyes, though. Urswyck chuckles when Jaime asks them to cut his chains off, and Jaime’s surprised his father would give Vargo Hoat Harrenhal. He doesn’t realize what’s going on here till it’s too late. They tell him they belong to Bolton now and seize them.

9. Brienne tries to tell them they were set free by Catelyn Stark and he’s under her protection, but they take her too. Jaime feels sorry for Brienne, who is sure to have a rough night. He whispers to her that she’s going to get raped and to not fight it. It’s really nice of him to lie for her. He didn’t have to do that. Moments ago he was trying to kill her and now he’s trying to save her maidenhood, lol. He tells Urswyck to take them to King’s Landing instead for a bigger ransom pay and to leave Brienne unspoiled, because Tarth is rich and her father would pay him handsomely in sapphires, but only if she’s unharmed.

10. Vargo Hoat is sacking a sept, omg, lol. These mummers just don’t give a flying fuck. Brienne tries to treat with him but he wants her silenced. Luckily Urswyck believed Jaime and says to be easy on her; she’s worth a lot. I forgot Vargo Hoat has a coin necklace, coins from every land he’s ever fought in. Makes him seem more fearsome instead of ridiculous. This man is greedy and likely to switch sides like the sellsword he is. Jaime now tries to treat with him. Vargo says he will have his father’s money, so he must send him a “message.”

11. They hold him down. Jaime thinks they mean to scare him and he vows not to scream, but he does anyway. I forgot it doesn’t say what they did at the end of this chapter, but it is so shocking. The show did a pretty good job with this scene, I thought, and is one I could never forget. It changes everything for Jaime Lannister.

1. Well Rickard Karstark has really done it this time. He killed Tion Frey and Willem Lannister, cousins to Jaime, Cersei, and Tyrion. They were Robb’s prisoners. Actually, Karstark required eight men to kill two unarmed squires. They killed two of Edmure’s men as well, trying to get into the tower.

2. Rickard Karstark says it wasn’t murder, it was vengeance. Robb says Tion Frey did not kill Torrhen Karstark. Willem Lannister did not kill Eddard Karstark. His sons died honorably in the Whispering Wood. This is just plain murder. Karstark says blood pays for blood. But they were only kids. Karstark says Catelyn is just as guilty of this as he is. Um...no. Don’t blame others for your own actions.

3. Wow...this man does not respect Robb. He mocks him and says he will scold him, then forgive him, because that’s what Robb did with Cat. The Greatjon deals him a hard blow, which he deserves, but Robb says to leave him be. Greatjon Umber wants nothing more than to kill Rickard Karstark. Right on!

4. Brynden Tully arrives late. Robb tells Greatjon to hang the other seven that helped Karstark and keep him in the hall till he returns. It is badass how Robb tells the watcher to watch the other six hang before he is hung last. Watching but not doing anything is just as guilty.

5. Once they are alone the Blackfish announces all the Karstark men are gone. Of course. They apparently stole away in the night. Rickard Karstark swore to his men that he would marry his daughter to the man who finds the kingslayer and kills him. That’s not good at all for Catelyn. Or Robb, since he wants him alive and in chains at Riverrun. Three hundred Karstark men are now lost to him as well. It is just blow after blow for Robb.

6. Edmure suggests they keep this secret in Riverrun, do not let Lord Tywin know his nephews are dead. He may have Sansa killed. But the Blackfish and Robb both would rather he tell the truth. There’s no fixing this; Tywin will find out somehow anyway. Robb says he owes him the truth, and justice. Robb has no choice but to kill Karstark. I forgot Karstark has another son, the heir to Karhold, who is still alive. Right now he’s Tywin’s captive, Harrion Karstark. Robb seems sure Harrion will hate Robb for killing his father but the Blackfish says he might not; he might forgive him for making him the new lord of Karhold.

7. Robb had hoped Lysa would at least open the Bloody Gate to let his men through to Gulltown to sail up to White Harbor so they could take Moat Cailin from the north, but Lysa will not get involved for anyone.

8. Robb despairs. He wonders why anyone would want to be king. He can’t even tell friend from foe anymore. Tion and Willem were his enemies and Karstark was his friend; now he must kill his friend for his enemies’ deaths. It’s an overall fucked up situation. The Blackfish says Tywin won’t even thank him for it. Robb says Rickard Karstark killed more than just Tion and Willem, he killed Robb’s honor. He must die for it. Interesting Edmure is against this. Honestly, at this point it doesn’t even matter; Robb is fucked either way. But it’s better to be honorable, even to your enemies, than dishonorable, right before you die.

9. I forgot the execution takes place in front of the heart tree. Rickard tells Robb he respects him at least for being man enough to execute him himself, but nothing else. Karstark says how loyal he’s always been to House Stark, they are kin, but Robb says it didn’t stop him from betraying his king. Apparently the Karstarks can be traced back to Karlon Stark a thousand years ago when he dispatched a rebel lord in the north. He received lands and a castle for that, the castle being called Karl’s Hold, but centuries later it became known as Karhold, and all Starks on that line became Karstarks. I wonder where they got their sunburst sigil.

10. Karstark’s last words are eerie, “Kill me, and be cursed. You are no king of mine.” Though Robb kills him with one blow, it takes three hacks to sever the head. Lovely. Robb shakes and looks at the heart tree. I wonder what he’s thinking.

11. Cat visits her father afterward. The maester says it won’t be long now. Just die already, Hoster! She’s doing needlework when Queen Jeyne comes in to speak with her. Even though she’s a queen she definitely doesn’t act like one, so timid. This girl feels bad for Robb and says he should use a headsman if taking lives is so hard for him. Ugh...she doesn’t get it. I like how Cat explains to Jeyne her husband taught their sons that killing should never be easy. The poor girl wants to help Robb somehow but doesn’t know what to do for him. She asks Cat for advise. Cat wishes someone would give her advise, too. She says to be patient; sometimes the best thing you can do for someone you care about is nothing. Be there for him when he needs it. She adds he also needs an heir, lol. Jeyne gives too much information when saying they try for a baby everyday, sometimes multiple times a day, lol. She says she prays to the Mother that she’ll be pregnant and Cat says she’ll pray too, to both new and old gods. :)

18. Tyrion asks why doesn’t Tywin send Sansa back to her mother instead; that will gain favor with the Starks, maybe Robb would bend the knee. Tywin makes a point: if Sansa is in Riverrun they’ll only marry her off to a river lord or a northerner, strengthening their alliances against the south. Nor can Sansa be allowed to marry a Tyrell, strengthening the north to Highgarden. He needs Sansa to be married to a Lannister, and soon. Ser Kevan reminds Tyrion that he can claim Winterfell if he marries Sansa, if something were to happen to Robb. Tywin says this is the best reward he can give him, other than Casterly Rock. He goes on to say he tried finding a suitor for him in several places in the past but got rejections back from every one. Sansa is his best option. If he won’t marry her he’ll marry him off to another girl, like Lollys, lol. Tyrion says hell no, basically. He would rather marry a girl who wants him in her bed. Tywin points out no whore wants him for free either. It’s interesting the analogy they use of having a “garden” to plant seeds. Tywin says he’ll never have Casterly Rock but if he’s lucky he’ll win Winterfell.

19. It’s only now Tywin tells Tyrion that Robb Stark married Jeyne Westerling. Ser Kevan gives us more information on Jeyne’s ancestry. Apparently her mother, being a Spicer, is lowborn, her grandmother being some maegi from the east. Interesting, I forgot that. The Spicers may be lowborn, but they’re rich. The Westerlings are highborn, but the Crag’s mines ran dry years ago, turning it to ruins. Sounds like they needed the money, and it sounds like Gawen Westerling was in love. The Westerlings have more honor than sense, says Kevan.

20. Tyrion is surprised Robb would break a sworn vow but Tywin says he’s 16 and fell in love. Tyrion says Robb would have been kinder to leave Jeyne with a bastard than marry her into this lost cause. The Westerlings stand to lose everything. Nobody doublecrosses Tywin Lannister. If they do, he extinguishes the entire bloodline. He did it to the Reynes of Castamere, turning it into a gloomy song, and the Tarbecks of Tarbeck Hall. Tyrion says the Westerlings are fools to forget what happened to the Reynes and Tarbecks. It’s chilling how Tywin says the greatest fools are ofttimes more clever than those who laugh at them. I wonder what he means by that here.

finished.

1. Tyrion attends a king’s council meeting and Tywin sits where the king should, because you know Joff can’t stand council meetings. Pycelle is back, but is seated as far away from Tyrion as he can, lol. Lords Tyrell, Redwyne, and Rowan are also there, even the High Septon. I don’t remember the High Septon being involved in a council meeting before. There are more new members now than old, so Tyrion needs to rethink his game strategy. Though they congratulate Tyrion on his chain he can tell they’re uncomfortable around him, which might not entirely be because of his face. His Uncle Kevan is the warmest, saying Lancel speaks very highly of him. :) Ha! Tyrion hopes he does; he has quite a bit to say about him if he didn’t. Apparently Cersei visits Lancel a lot, supposedly hoping he recovers from his wounds. More likely she hopes he will die.

2. Gods, Cersei wants to start the meeting discussing wedding arrangements but Tywin would rather talk about the war. Varys informs good news that Lord Tarly defeated Robett Glover outside Duskendale. Ser Helman Tallhart is dead but Glover leads a small group of survivors back to Harrenhal for safety. Little does he know Gregor Clegane and his men are waiting for him to finish them off.

3. Littlefinger says Robb has never lost a battle and this defeat of theirs had nothing to do with him. According to Tywin, Ser Daven, son of Ser Stafford, is reforming his late father’s army in Lannisport and when he does he’ll join Ser Forley Prester at the Golden Tooth. When Robb and his men go to take back the north they will attack Riverrun. Robb is fucked. Lord Tyrell boasts what he would do in Robb’s position, attack Moat Cailin, but Tyrion recalls Robb won more battles in one year than Lord Tyrell won in 20. He apparently botched up a bunch of commanding posts in the past, so he’s nothing but hot air.

4. Ser Kevan brings up the fact that Balon Greyjoy styles himself a king too and that he wrote to King’s Landing offering terms of alliance. Tywin agrees that Lannisport, Fair Isle, and even Highgarden are vulnerable to Balon’s longships if they provoke him. Balon wants them to accept him as king of the Iron Islands and the North, in return for his swords and ships. Lords Redwyne and Tyrell think they should let him finish conquering the north, since they think there’s nothing of value up there, and let them finish Stannis down here.

5. As for Lysa Arryn in the Eyrie, Tyrell and Redwyne think she’s just a woman who wants no part of war, so let her be. Ha! Tyrion says she did try to kill him, though. Nor has she sworn fealty to Joff yet. I forgot that. Tyrion petitions to let him sort Lady Lysa out. The only thing he’d love to do more is strangle Cersei, lol. Omg, Lord Tyrell smiles and says maybe he should leave fighting to fighters. He adds that better men than him have failed to storm the Vale, his death is not worth trying to get to her. Before Tyrion can lash out, Tywin says that won’t be necessary since Littlefinger has a “key” to the Vale he wants him to use. Ugh, Littlefinger says his key is between his legs...what a perv. He tells the council he plans to woo and marry Lady Lysa and therefore rule the Vale without a drop of blood being spilled. The others doubt Lysa would give up the Vale that easily but Littlefinger is confident in his plan. He says Lysa would marry the Lord of Harrenhal, knowing it’s a good match. Tyrell and Redwyne are doubtful still but Lord Rowan thinks it’s a good plan. Ser Kevan approves of it too. Anything Kevan says was already approved by Tywin, so Tyrion realizes this plan has already been approved by him. His father’s just making everyone think they have a say in this.

6. Tyrion just has to be a pain in his father’s side. He asks who will be master of coin if Littlefinger is in the Vale. Apparently they had planned this out in advance, too. Tywin says Tyrion will be the new master of coin, which surprises me. He did say he would reward Tyrion somehow, so I guess this is it.

7. Tywin says if Lysa marries Petyr and swears fealty to Joffrey then he’ll restore Robert Arryn as Warden of the East. That’ll certainly be bait to get her to say yes, if nothing else.

8. Lord Redwyne says his and Balon Greyjoy’s fleets combined will be enough to assault Dragonstone and finish Stannis, but Tywin says they’ll do nothing. Balon’s already fighting the Starks for them. He proposes to wait and see if another opportunity presents itself, one where Joffrey won’t need to give up half his country for an alliance. Tyrion knows his father knows something he’s not telling anybody and wonders what other options he’s considering.

9. Now they discuss the wedding arrangements. It’s going to be an exceptionally big wedding. Pycelle announces that 300 Dornishmen are marching to King’s Landing for the wedding. Lord Tyrell is not happy about this. The Reach and Dorne have never gotten along. It didn’t help when the Red Viper crippled Mace Tyrell’s son, Willas. Tywin welcomes Prince Doran, who rules over Dorne. His son is to marry Princess Myrcella, not to mention Doran has a spot on council, so of course the Martells will attend. Lords Tyrell, Redwyne, and Rowan aren’t thrilled. Mace Tyrell says he has no quarrel with Doran; it’s his brother he hates.

10. Next they discuss who gets what lands and property after the war is done. Varys keeps a list of numbers: 47 lesser lordlings and 619 knights died in the Battle of Blackwater Bay, and all of their property needs dishing out. Highgarden gets the most, of course. Ser Garlan, Mace’s second eldest son, wins everything the Florents owned in particular.

11. Varys goes on down the list, reporting world news, eventually getting to the part where a three-headed dragon supposedly hatched in Qarth and is the talk of the city. Tywin doesn’t care, making me think he doesn’t believe it. Because if it IS true you’d think everyone in the room would be freaking out.

12. I wonder why Tywin is so upset his nephew, Tyrek, is still missing. Did he love him like a son?

13. Some of the gold cloaks who deserted the battle came back, looking for service again. Cersei wants them all put to death for endangering her son’s life, their king. That’s a bit harsh. Most of them were fresh recruits who hadn’t had enough time to learn discipline. Varys eloquently tells her perhaps instead of killing them they could send them to the Wall. He starts to report the disturbing letters from Castle Black but Mace interrupts. Tywin is barbaric, saying he will make a lesson of them by breaking their knees so they can never again run away. Wtf man... That’s worse than Cersei’s suggestion! Tyrion suggests breaking the knees of the men who killed Ser Jacelyn, but agrees with Varys they should send the rest to the Wall; they could really use the men up there. Urg, Tywin says if the Wall fails then wildlings will flood the north, giving the Starks and Greyjoys another enemy to contend with. Since they don’t wish to be part of the Seven Kingdoms anymore, why should they help them? He even says Mance Rayder could prove a useful ally. *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)[At that point I kind of wished Tywin was killed by a white walker instead of Tyrion... (hide spoiler)]

14. The meeting is over and Tywin gathers his family for a private conversation. Tyrion asks whose idea was it to make him master of coin. Tywin says it was Littlefinger’s and asks if he doesn’t feel capable of the task. Tyrion says he fears a trap; he doesn’t trust Petyr Baelish and neither should they. Cersei defends Littlefinger but Tyrion says he sold her Ned Stark, what makes her think he won’t sell her out next. Ser Kevan seems to take his words seriously but asks why would he want to sell them out. Tyrion says because the man is cunning and can snatch gold out of the air with a snap of his finger, which makes him a dangerous man. Cersei bickers with him until Tywin shouts at them to shut up. Ser Kevan says he’d rather Petyr Baelish rule the Eyrie than any of Lysa’s suitors in the Vale. He calls them dangerous men, too, and says Petyr may be cunning but he is of low birth and can’t fight besides.

15. Ser Kevan also announces Littlefinger informed him there is a Tyrell plot to spirit Sansa off to Highgarden to marry Willas. That dickhead. *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)[You know Dontos told Littlefinger... (hide spoiler)] Tyrion says it’s interesting how Littlefinger brought him word and not the master of secrets. Right! Cersei says Sansa’s her hostage and doesn’t care if she offends Mace Tyrell for keeping her here. Tyrion thinks she’s a fool. He tells her if she offends Lord Tyrell she offends all of the Reach. They can’t afford to do that.

16. Tywin says they can fix this problem through marriage. Cersei is outraged he means to marry her off again but Ser Kevan tells her it’ll help lay to rest the talk of incest going around. Tywin says she needs to birth more children, like she’s a fucking cow. On this I somewhat sympathize for her, but not much. She doesn’t seem to get that this is her duty. She flips out, vows she will never marry again, but Tywin says she will if she wants a say in who her husband will be. She eventually sits and begrudgingly agrees to it. Tywin is such an ass; he is so blunt, can’t even sugarcoat it. He even calls it “breeding” like she’s a dog. He does hint, however, that her husband might just die early so she won’t have to deal with him for the rest of her life. I guess that’s a plus, lol. Tyrion, of course, is loving this. Tywin suggests Willas Tyrell, to strengthen their alliance even further. Ha! Tyrion can’t resist: “That would be the cripple.” He pities poor Willas, though. Cersei has leave to go so she can compose herself. Tyrion worries Jaime will be so outraged that he will kill Willas in order to be with Cersei again but doesn’t know how to bring that up with their father.

17. Tyrion had his laughs, and now he’s going to get it as well. Tywin thinks it’s past time Tyrion was wed. At first Tyrion thinks it won’t be so bad having his own castle, lands, and family well away from his father and Cersei, but remembers Shae won’t like this at all. Oh who cares what that silly girl thinks. She is naive and a golddigger. I’m surprised Tyrion figures out, without being told, his father has Sansa in mind. He sees how cruel it is of Tywin to make Sansa marry a Lannister after everything Joffrey did to her. Tywin asks if he plans to mistreat her, then says her happiness is not his concern, nor should it be Tyrion’s. Wtf... He says an alliance with the north would greatly help them keep the kingdoms together. True. Tyrion says she’s just a girl, but Tywin says she’s flowered so that makes her a woman. He needs to consummate the marriage. After that, he can wait a while later to have kids if he wishes. It’s official, Tywin is the sort of man who thinks women are property, not people. Granted, many characters in this series think that way, but still. I wonder if he cared for his wife’s happiness when she married him.

more...

So sorry! I've been super busy over the holidays and I've fallen behind a little. I'll try to catch up with everything hopefully by next week.

1. Obviously Sam is alive since he now gets his very first POV, finally. I liked Sam from the beginning so I was stoked when I found out the first time he now has his own chapters. But he has it hard right now, been running for days, trying to keep up with his brothers, but he’s just not fit and he’s really slowing down. You can tell how hard it is for him to keep going, and the weather is not making it any easier.

2. So we find out that out of 300 men on the Fist only 50 made it out alive, including Grenn, Dolorous Edd, and Mormont. But they have to keep moving; the Others are still picking them off one by one in the rear.

3. Despite all the layers of clothes he has on, Sam still feels cold to the bone. From personal experience I know it is bad to shed tears out in the freezing weather. It freezes your face and makes it that much harder not to cry in pain. Poor Sam is in so much pain, so cold, and now his feet are numb, which is not good. I’ll bet he shed 50 pounds on his journey back to the Wall. In a way it’s a good thing he’s so fat; it helps keep him warm and affords him to keep going without food.

4. It was smart of Mormont to have a ring of torchbearers along the outer edge of the column. Sam longs to be one of the torchbearers so he can be close to the fire. Apparently he had a torch in the beginning but he dropped it in the snow and snuffed the fire out so they don’t trust him with another one, awe.

5. Sam slips on ice and falls. He is too tired to get up so he stays down, thinking this is the end. He’s glad at least he wasn’t the first to die. And no one can say he didn’t do his duty. I like this: “No one can say I forswore myself. I’m fat and I’m weak and I’m craven, but I did my duty.” :) His duty was to send off ravens to Castle Black and the Shadow Tower to tell the men on the Wall they were attacked and he did. He sent the birds off with the letters.

6. Very interesting Mormont’s raven croaked “Sorry” three times to Sam when Mormont threatened him if he failed to send off the ravens. When they heard the three blasts Chett was so scared he ran off rather than try to kill Sam, we find out. Sam never found out Chett’s plan to mutiny, apparently. It was smart of Sam to write the letters in advance, in case it happens he wouldn’t need to write while terrified, he would just pull them out already premade and send them off. Clever.

7. Sam was with the men from the Shadow Tower when the Others advanced on the Fist. They threw arrows at them; there were hundreds, how terrifying! Of course the arrows did nothing to stop them. Mormont told them to use fire! Idiots. Sam is commanded to protect the birds. He tried to write more letters about how the battle was going but could still hear his brothers shouts on the wall. Among the wights are dead wildlings and a fucking huge bear wight. Sounds just horrible.

8. Poor Sam keeps beating himself up over being fat and weak. He wants to ride a horse but those precious few they have are to carry food, supplies, and the wounded. Sam is neither.

9. Now Grenn urges him to get up. He won’t leave him alone. Someone tells Grenn to leave him; don’t waste his energy saving others if they won’t get up. But Grenn is too stubborn to leave him, awe. Grenn tries to help carry Sam, then resorts to kicking him, lol. Poor Sam just wants to rest, and maybe die a little, lol, awe. Good old Small Paul from the Prologue helps Grenn pick Sam up, because he’s so big and strong he can carry a nearly 300 pound boy. I really like Small Paul! I forgot all about him my first reading. Now Sam begs for them to just let him die in the snow, but they won’t let that happen. Small Paul still wants Mormont’s raven but forgot the food back at the Fist, so now he wants one of Sam’s ravens, even though they’re not his to give away. Sam had set them all loose anyway, when the horn blasted for them to retreat.

10. They couldn’t retreat easily when they lost because so many wights were coming up the pass, blocking their escape route. Mormont readies a wedge so they could plow through them to get out. Suddenly the wight bear comes up from the pass and kills Thoren Smallwood. I never liked him much but I have to admit he died bravely. Among the wedge was Sam, still horsed. That’s why there were so many dead horses; they used them to trample over the wights. It was either that or die. As soon as Sam reaches the forest some desperate brother flings Sam off his horse and steals it to get away, asshole. He loses consciousness till they are miles away. Mormont led the column from there.

11. After a while Grenn realizes they’ve fallen so behind they’re alone now. Small Paul can’t carry Sam anymore so he lets him down and apologizes. Grenn has a burning torch but they are in the rear now, easy prey for wights. They’re not actually alone, though. A white walker on a wight horse emerges from the trees, how frightening. Its armor ripples and shifts in the wind and as it walks toward them it makes no prints in the snow. Grenn thrusts the torch at it, telling it to stay back or burn, but the Other swiftly pulls out its pale blue sword and slashes at his torch, snuffing the fire out. They’re fucked. Brave Small Paul charges at it with an axe. The difference between wights and white walkers is that wights are slow and clumsy but white walkers are fast and smart. The Other thrusts its sword into Small Paul, killing him, awe. But when the big man falls his body takes the Other’s sword with it, giving Sam just enough time to stab it with the obsidian blade Jon gave him earlier. The white walker screams and melts into a puddle. It had pale blue blood inside its body, interesting. It dissolves completely in less than a minute, leaving behind the obsidian blade where it stood only a moment ago. Grenn goes to pick it up promptly but drops it, saying it’s cold. Sam laughs, half crazed, realizing now why they call it dragonglass.

12. Grenn picks up the blade once it’s not so cold anymore and helps Sam get up. Sam wants him to keep the blade because he’s not craven like him. I like what Grenn says to that: “So craven you killed an Other.” Then he points in the east and says dawn arrived. That means the Others will leave them alone now that it’s not nighttime. If they hurry they can still catch up to Mormont and the others. This time Sam puts in conscious effort and they get moving again.

I think you're right; there are probably a lot more inns along the Trident. This one probably is bigger than most, though, since it is apparently a historical spot for the Seven Kingdoms, where Torrhen Stark knelt.

1. Arya and Gendry are following a road that happens to be going south and Arya is pretty sure they’re going the wrong way, because of the moss. Hot Pie decided to stay with Sherna at the Kneeling Man inn, abandoning Arya, so Gendry is all she has left. He is pretty sure they’re just turning around a bend and tries to assure her they’re still going the right way, but she’s not convinced.

2. Awe, Hot Pie isn’t cut out for all the rain, saddlesores, and fighting. He’d rather stay and bake bread. He hopes she’ll return one day after the war is over, almost forgetting she is a lady now. :) It was kind of Arya to apologize for hitting him in the beginning. They really did become friends in the end. Lol how Sharna calls both the 15-year-old boy and Hot Pie ‘boy’ and how it’ll get confusing. She already misses him, but she has Harwin now to keep her company.

3. She keeps Harwin up to speed on what happened to her since they departed King’s Landing but some of the things she keeps to herself, like killing the stable boy and the guard at Harrenhal, and about Jaqen H’ghar and the iron coin. It would feel like telling her father these things; apparently there are some things she wouldn’t want him to know.

4. Only six of the 20 Winterfell men are alive that her father sent to go with Beric Dondarrion, and those are scattered. According to Harwin, Tywin hoped Gregor’s antics in the riverlands would lure Lord Eddard Stark out to deal with him himself, so they could capture him to swap him for Tyrion. Jaime didn’t know his father’s plans so when he attacked Ned in the streets he pretty much made it so Ned couldn’t go west. Because of his bad leg, Ned sent Lord Beric to go in his stead. Lucky. In a way, Jaime Lannister helped! Gregor Clegane trapped them instead and killed most of their men, scattering the others. Some gathered together and harried Clegane’s rear but eventually found out King Robert and Ned Stark were killed and Joffrey is king now. That made them go from chasing outlaws to becoming outlaws. However, Lord Beric rallied them together anyways to carry on their mission, and for every man they lost, two more joined their cause, cool. These are men, women, and children from all sorts of backgrounds, helping to restore peace back to the smallfolk.

5. This group has all sorts of friends in the riverlands so every night they stay at inns and houses for free, not needing to camp out. At one village they find out the kingslayer “escaped” Riverrun and everyone wants to find him. They discuss over a fire what they’d do with him if they catch him. Lord Beric will want to hold a trial first; he always does, apparently.

6. Finally the sun peeks out among the clouds and Arya now knows they’re going the wrong way. They’re going south; the sun’s in the wrong position. Now the men admit they’re not taking her to Riverrun. What a drag. *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)[However, turns out this is a blessing in disguise, because of the Red Wedding. (hide spoiler)] She is angry but Tom promises no harm will come to her; she’s in good hands. Greenbeard, the Tyroshi, says they’re taking her to Lord Beric, who will very much want to meet her. Greenbeard says it may be Lord Beric will end up sending her back to her mother in Riverrun after all, who knows. Tom vouches for Lord Beric being a good man who will make the right call. For being outlaws, they seem good people, like Robinhood’s merry men.

7. When Anguy calls her their captive, Arya surprises them by trying to escape. They chase her down and catch her, though. Harwin, of all of them, is the one who succeeds. Arya thinks it’s not right. He of all people should be helping her. Harwin compliments her riding skills and compares her to Lady Lyanna. I like that a lot. :) But I don’t like how frank Harwin says Lord Eddard is dead and he belongs to Lord Beric now. It’s reality, though. Who else is he going to serve? Lord Eddard himself put him under the command of Beric Dondarrion. Harwin says they don’t wish Robb ill will, but they don’t serve him, they serve the smallfolk now. That really sucks they tricked her like that. She thinks she could’ve stayed with Hot Pie and taken the sailboat up to Riverrun, but she thought they were taking her TO Riverrun. She trusted Harwin. Defeated, she sullenly promises not to run away again...for now. *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)[In the end it’s better this way. She would have gone to the Red Wedding with her family and died like the rest of them, or given back to Cersei in King’s Landing. (hide spoiler)]

1. Queen Cersei is gifting a new dress to Sansa for the wedding. The seamstress assures she’ll be very beautiful in it, now that she’s a woman. Sansa’s growing out of her old clothes so she could use some new clothing. Lol, Sansa politely tells the woman to tell Cersei she is grateful and that she is too kind. In response the seamstress says she’s most generous. Bull shit, she just doesn’t want Sansa to look horrible and out of place at the wedding.

2. Margaery has been a kind friend to Sansa, and all her ladies too. She really could use some friends; they got rid of Jeyne Poole. Three of Margaery’s cousins are closer to her age and are particularly close to Sansa. Somehow I forgot about all this.

3. One of the cousins seems to have a crush on Joffrey and offers sincere condolences for Sansa losing him to Margaery. Ha, Sansa couldn’t be happier, especially when she escapes King’s Landing. They giggle and daydream about marrying handsome men like in the songs and Sansa realizes they’re only girls. She has grown up quite a bit, not so naive anymore, and can probably see herself in these girls.

4. Sansa prefers Margaery’s company more. They go hawking together and talk about Willas, the brother she is to marry in secret. Margaery’s already calling her sister, awe. Margaery is the sister Sansa always wanted; she’d hoped Arya would be more like her. I wonder if she thinks Arya is dead or alive somewhere? Sansa would never let her sister marry Joffrey, cries, and begs her not to marry him. Margaery is kind, thanks her for her concern, but is pretty certain Joff will never hurt her. Her father is on council and her brother is a member of the kingsguard in order to protect her. Sansa thinks she is very brave but still has her doubts. Joffrey has other kingsguard to do his bidding, the gold cloaks and the red cloaks too. Joff might restrain himself for a year, maybe, but sooner or later his evil nature will come out and there might be war between Lannister and Tyrell. Sansa tells herself Margaery is older and wiser and her father must know what he’s doing. Erm, the Queen of Thorns just said in her last chapter her son is an idiot, lol.

5. Very interesting Ser Dontos does not want Sansa to marry Willas Tyrell. He wants her to promise she’ll stay with the plan. *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)[Gods, if only they had left sooner to Highgarden things might have gone very different for her. I wonder if Littlefinger was responsible for encouraging Tywin to marry Sansa off to Tyrion in order to force her to stay in King’s Landing a little longer. (hide spoiler)] That man keeps wanting her to kiss him, gross. Good for her for slipping away from him! Dontos says Willas will never love her, how would he know that? This man is desperate and I know why now. She leaves him in the godswood and stops going altogether.

6. Ser Dontos told her the Tyrells only want her so they can have Winterfell, but Robb is still alive so Winterfell will go to him. Willas already has Highgarden; he doesn’t need Winterfell too. Just their alliance, maybe. His accusation makes no sense to her.

7. It is very sweet how she imagines her children will look like her little brothers and sometimes Arya, too. And how she’ll name them Eddard, Brandon, and Rickon. Lol, she will teach them to hate Lannisters. It’s also sweet of her to make a note to light a candle to the Mother to watch over Margaery as she becomes Joffrey’s wife. And one to the Warrior for Ser Loras as well.

8. It makes me sad to read how much Sansa’s looking forward to marrying Willas. It seems nothing ever goes right for her.

Whew! I've had a busy Christmas, sorry for responding late.

Your point 4, you're right, I hadn't noticed Ygritte doesn't seem to push him at all. I think she sends many hints but won't make the first move. I don't think it's because he's a crow so it must be hard for him, more like she wants the man to make the first move.

Your point 14, yes, Jarl was with Val. I forgot how much better he is to Jon versus Styr and Rattleshirt.

1. Tormund shows Jon the giants and mammoths that have the rear and Jon tries to count them all. There are hundreds of them, all coming down the Milkwater. His horse and even Ghost shies away from them, they are so intimidating. This is Jon’s first encounter with them; they’re nothing like he pictured from Old Nan’s stories. In this world, giants are about 14 feet tall and are really hairy, more bear-like than human. They use their noses more than their eyes. They wear no clothes because they’re already covered in wooly hair, and carry clubs, no swords.

2. Apparently Tormund speaks the Old Tongue, that’s what giants speak, as well as the First Men. It is a harsh language, I imagine it must resemble Scandinavian. According to Tormund, giants have no kings. I like when Tormund tells Jon he must be itching to kneel to someone. Tormund says he told the giant he just spoke to a friendly insult and the giant did the same thing back, asking if Jon was his daughter, lol. He’d never seen a man with no beard before. Cute.

3. Jon’s new cloak is made out of sheepskins and is heavy, to keep the warmth in I’m sure. Jon keeps his black cloak under his saddle, though.

4. Seems Tormund enjoys embellishing his stories, and he has a lot it seems. Jon particularly wants to know why Tormund is called the Horn-blower; he is called many things but that one intrigues Jon. He doesn’t give a story for that one, though, not yet anyway. Apparently the Horn of Winter was blown once by a man named Joramun who woke giants from the earth. I can’t remember much of this folklore, but I’d love to learn more about it. Jon is curious about this horn Mance is searching for.

5. Ha! Tormund tells Jon Ygritte wants him bad. Jon can tell, and half the wildlings can too, lol. Jon blushes and tries to hide it but Tormund is so funny, he won’t stop embarrassing Jon. Ygritte follows Jon almost everywhere he goes in Tormund’s war band. I’ll bet it’s way better following Tormund than Rattleshirt. It’s cute how she cuddles up with him every night, until he has Ghost sleep with him. I think it’s interesting how knights and their ladies might share a bed but keep a sword between them for honor’s sake. Tormund pries Jon about why he won’t fuck her. He can’t give the reason it’s against the Night’s Watch code, so he uses other lame reasons. Then Jon says if he had a child by her it’d be a bastard, and we know how very against fathering bastards he is. Tormund challenges Jon, asking are bastards weaker than other children? Jon admits they aren’t. Then Tormund says once the seed is planted it’s not the man’s place to say what a woman should do with it. Jon once again spits out with revulsion that he’ll never father a bastard. It’s incredibly important to him; I remember he vehemently said the same thing to his Uncle Benjen in the beginning of the series. It must be important to the story if it keeps coming up. It would be ironic if he ends up fathering a bastard despite how against he is about it. I guess condoms don’t exist yet.

6. Tormund asks why did Jon steal Ygritte then if he didn’t want to fuck her and Jon’s response is he didn’t steal her. It’s kind of funny, their cultural differences. To the wildlings, stealing a girl from her tribe is romantic and the proper way to bed a girl. It sounds horrible at first, but that’s where we get our honeymoon from. And most wildling women are turned on by how clever and strong the man is, so it’s not rape. Jon is taken aback; he never considered it stealing. He asked her to yield and she was his prisoner...turns out she was turned on by this and now she wants him bad. Lol, Tormund asks if Jon is sure they never castrated him. :) He says if a man never uses his member it shrinks until it disappears.

7. After this amusing conversation Jon can tell why the Seven Kingdoms think wildlings are like animals. They have no decency, or honor. Despite this, Jon likes Tormund anyway. He also likes Longspear and Ygritte, then forces himself not to think of her. Awe. :) Can I just say how funny I think this situation is? Usually it’s the girl trying to hold on to her virginity and the guy who pushes her to give it up for him. Here Jon is the maid, lol. He struggles with his honor and it forces the topic of why it’s so important to Jon not to father a bastard. He still very much hates being one and would never put his children through that. His culture frowns upon it so there’s no surprise he feels that way. But to the free folk it’s no big deal at all. There are pros and cons for both cultures. In Dungeons and Dragons terms, the Seven Kingdoms are Lawful and the free folk are Chaotic. But there are equal good and bad people on both sides.

8. I forgot how Harma Dogshead got her name. She hates dogs so she kills one every day to keep a fresh head on her banner. Jon had only met Varamyr once so far, aka Sixskins, a warg who commands a snow bear, three wolves, a shadowcat, and something else (or maybe the sixth skin is himself?). As soon as Jon meets him he gets a very bad feeling about him, same with Ghost. Ha! He’s seen lots of things but so far hasn’t seen any snarks or grumpkins. Half these wildlings have never seen the Wall or speak the Common Tongue, but Mance knows the Old Tongue too. Though he doesn’t look like a king, Mance is definitely king material because he has united so many different clans all together for one purpose: attack the Seven Kingdoms.

9. So far Jon has no leads as to what this secret weapon Mance is looking for, or if he already has it and no one is saying anything. He hasn’t even seen Mance since their first meeting, interesting. He’s a busy guy, I guess.

10. Awe, Jon still thinks Bran and Rickon are at Winterfell. It’s been a while since he could receive any news. The column moves so damn slow. There’s so many people and their beasts of burden and belongings to carry. Jon hopes Jarman Buckwell or Thoren Smallwood’s groups made it safely back to the Fist to inform Mormont what’s coming. He’s sure the Old Bear will attack, no matter the numbers, and win. The free folk have no discipline.

11. Lol, Ghost always comes back to Jon, and so does Ygritte. She’s 19 years old, three years older than him, but shorter. She prefers a short bow and reminds Jon of Arya a little.

12. Tormund’s war band finishes singing ‘The Last of the Giants’ when out of nowhere that fucking eagle swoops down and attacks Jon from the sky, zomg! He falls off his horse and is bleeding in the mud while Ygritte defends him from the feathered fucker. The bird flies off and at first Jon thinks he lost an eye but Ygritte says it’s only blood. Rattleshirt comes riding up and claims the eagle, saying he’s here for the crow. Tormund gets in the way, saying he’ll have to kill him first, but Rattleshirt says he’s only here to deliver Jon to Mance, who wants him. Tormund gives him permission to go then. Jon’s face is bleeding like hell but he can see hate in the bird’s eyes.

13. Ygritte insists on coming with Jon and they gallop to where Mance is. The closer they get the colder it seems. I’ll bet that’s because of the Others. They’re at the Fist and Jon sees a raven sitting in a tree, quorking at him. Jon expected arrows to fly at them but there’s nothing, not even sound. At the bottom of the incline he sees dead horses in the snow. The wildlings scavenge what they can and Jon is told to go up to where Mance is.

14. Up top there are dead horses strewn across the ground everywhere and he has never seen so much pink snow. How horrible for Jon! There are a bunch of ravens eating the dead. Mance is with Jarl, Harma Dogshead, Styr, and Varamyr. He is very angry. He commands Jon to tell him the truth now or lose an eye. Poor Jon is at a loss of words. He is horrified and worried sick for Sam and Mormont, I’m sure. Mance commands him to tell him how many were there in total and Jon says the truth now, 300. He must not balk. Jon feels craven, but he is doing what he’s told, like Qhorin told him to do. Harma Dogshead says there are more dead horses to the east of the Fist, half buried in snow. A massacre happened here.

15. Mance commands him to say who led this party but Jon delays; he thinks he’s being sneaky going for his sword but Mance calls him out, saying he’ll give him over to Rattleshirt if he tries anything because he’s losing patience with him very fast. Ygritte urges him to answer. He’s not doing a good job looking like a turncloak right now. Jon feels he can’t play a turncloak without becoming one, but finally answers it was the Old Bear. Mance says he might have lost five of his own to every crow he killed and still come out the victor, but the undead are another matter. Now he knows why the undead left them alone for so long; they went after the crows instead. He orders his men to prepare for an attack from the Others; it’s clear they know fire is a good way to kill them.

16. Rattleshirt still wants to kill Jon, so sure he’s no turncloak, and Ygritte defends him, lol. She says he is too a turncloak; they have sex every night under his sheepskin cloak. This makes some of the free folk laugh and Mance asks if it’s true. Jon has no choice but to go along with it so he says yes. He hopes his father will forgive him, awe. Mance believes him and commands the two to go with Styr and Jarl in the morning to climb over the Wall and prove himself by helping them raid from the south.

17. Apparently Mormont is still alive because they never found his body. Mance hopes to get to the Wall before Mormont does; that’ll make it that much easier getting through the gates. Styr and Rattleshirt are left with Jon and stare at him with hatred but Jarl doesn’t seem so bad. I forgot Jon pulls his sword on Rattleshirt, telling him to back off or he’ll kill him. Rattleshirt goes to attack but stops when Ghost shows up. Perfect timing.

18. I really, really wish the show had kept this scene because it is so priceless. As they descend the Fist Jon tells Ygritte he never asked her to lie for him, but she says she never lied. She just left out the part of when they fuck. “Find another place for Ghost to sleep tonight, Jon Snow. It’s like Mance said. Deeds is truer than words.” Haha! She just blackmailed him into having sex. If he still refuses she’ll know he’s no turncloak. He’ll have to prove himself...under his sheepskin cloak. ;)

1. Interesting how Catelyn can tell Robb is back by the dogs barking and going crazy because of Grey Wind, who goes everywhere with Robb. Cat is so perceptive! I hadn’t noticed this my first reading.

2. Edmure hasn’t once seen her since the first time he came back from fighting to yell at her, but Cat is sure Robb will see her. I’m sure he will, lol. Not one person in this castle is glad she set Jaime free.

3. Man, her father is really clinging onto life! He could die at any moment but is dragging it out for so long. It’s clear he wants to make amends with this Tansy he keeps muttering about.

4. So Cat knows Ser Robin failed to catch Jaime and came back on foot instead of ship, because it sunk. At least the man didn’t die. He seemed like a good man. Lol, it lightens her spirits. I’m not sure why this should cheer her up seeing as Edmure made it out to look like he escaped instead of it being a trade. Maybe she hopes Jaime and Brienne will swear to Tywin he didn’t escape, he was let go?

5. Gods, hours after the argument with her brother she saw a quarrel outside and one knight threw the direwolf banner in the mud and trampled over it on his horse and left. Someone is unhappy with the Starks. Cat isn’t allowed to know what happened but she knows whatever it is it came from Edmure’s army. About 40 men left and never came back. She thought she saw some were Freys but couldn’t be sure.

6. Robb came back with another triumph. He has never lost a single battle. Cat hopes he will forgive her; Sansa and Arya are his sisters and he loves them too. She is summoned to the Great Hall and now she dreads it. There is a crowded audience, how stressful. She feels like someone is missing from his party, though, but can’t recall who. Robb is charismatic as ever and she seems very proud of him. The lords of the riverlands shout “The king of the trident!” He is loved in both kingdoms. But everyone shushes when they see Cat come in. All she cares about is her son’s forgiveness, damn anyone else’s opinion.

7. Cat sees some new faces beside Robb on the dais. Knights and ladies with seashells for their sigil, she can’t recall the house but knows it’s lesser in nobility.

8. It is kind of funny how Cat is afraid of Robb being angry with her but his look is not anger, it is apprehension, lol. She must be looking like that to him as well! Ser Brynden is warm with her as ever, giving her a big hug. Their conversation is rather awkward between Robb and Cat. Robb knows she let Jaime go for his sisters. He does not disdain her, but Lord Rickard Karstark tells her she robbed him of his vengeance. Cat calmly reminds Lord Rickard his sons are dead, there’s nothing they can do to bring them back, but her daughters still have a chance at coming home alive. Lord Rickard yells at her but the Greatjon tells him to leave off, it’s a mother’s folly, lol, wow dude... I’m not sure who I’m more offended by. Robb tells Lord Rickard off, saying no man is allowed to call his mother a traitor. Robb is softer to his mother, telling her he personally would rather Jaime be back in Riverrun in chains, but knows what she did was out of love. He says he learned love is not always wise, but we follow our hearts anyway, hinting at something.

9. Lord Rickard is mourning his two dead sons, I get that, but he really ought not to blame it on Cat. He is really harsh to her apology. She wants to make amends but he throws it in her face and leaves without being dismissed. Robb apologizes on his behalf and tells his mother he forgives her. Whew. She knows she hasn’t lost this son. *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)[Oh the bitter irony! She thinks Bran and Rickon are dead, but soon it will be Robb who is dead and Bran and Rickon the ones who still breathe life. A complete 180 degree switch. (hide spoiler)]

10. Robb dismisses the meeting so it is only her, him, his uncles, and the six strangers beside him. Now she realizes who is missing: his direwolf. Very odd. Lady Mormont and the Greatjon are warm with her as they depart but everyone else is cool with her, though respectful.

11. Robb introduces these people to Cat as members from House Westerling from the Crag. They certainly are devoted to King Robb of the North! They were sworn to the Lannisters until Robb wedded one. He married Jeyne Westerling, the oldest daughter, and her younger brother is his new squire, Rollam Westerling. It’s funny how the first thought that comes to Catelyn’s mind is he’s still a child, and then he’s promised to a Frey. This is a big deal. Robb has insulted House Frey. That’s why the Freys are so pissed. Why should they swear fealty to a king who breaks his oath? Granted, there are way too many Freys, but Robb married out of love, so that’s why Robb can’t be wroth with his mother. They both fucked up and aren’t ashamed of it.

12. Catelyn is horrified, of course, but finds she can’t be angry with him. She welcomes Lady Jeyne, acknowledging her as a new daughter, awe. :) The poor girl is terrified. Technically she’s a queen now. Cat thinks she’s very pretty and can see how she stole Robb’s heart. Lol, Cat also notices she has good hips, good for bearing children.

13. Robb is so warm with Rollam, his new squire and brother-in-law. :) I forgot how warm hearted and easy going he is, especially since he never gets his own chapters. In a lot of ways he seems to resemble a Tully more than a Stark. Ned was rumored to have loved Ashara Dayne but he never married her. Lord Eddard Stark never broke a vow, remember? ;) But Robb did. Yes, it was out of love, but there are going to be major consequences for this.

14. Apparently Lord Gawen Westerling, Robb’s father-in-law, is being held ransom at Seagard by Jason Mallister. Robb of course is going to free him now, but he doesn’t expect the man to come over to his side; they wed without his consent. The Crag isn’t very strong, so Tywin Lannister can easily crush him. Jeyne is risking a lot by marrying Robb. Cat gingerly reminds Robb that he lost the Freys too. He gained 50 knights from the Crag but lost 1,000 mounted knights and 3,000 foot soldiers from the Twins. Ouch. I hope she was worth it! Catelyn thinks he’s being stupid but also knows he’s young and fell in love. Lecturing him won’t serve.

15. The story goes when Robb overtook the Crag he had been shot in the arm by an arrow. It festered so Jeyne nursed him back to health. When he learned about Theon’s treachery and his little brothers Jeyne “comforted” him. Being an honorable man, he married her the next day.

16. I like how humble Robb is here. He says he made a botch of everything except the battles. He admits he should have held onto Theon like she suggested, then they wouldn’t have lost Winterfell and the boys. If Ser Stevron were still alive Robb is certain he could have made amends, but Ser Ryman, the new heir of the Twins, is stupid and Black Walder even threatened to have Jeyne killed so he can marry a Frey girl. Robb almost had that man killed were it not for Jeyne telling him to be merciful. Oh I see, Olyvar Frey, Robb’s other squire, left with Ser Ryman when they went back home.

17. Robb had hoped Walder Frey could marry off several daughters to other lords in the North who aren’t opposed to it. But Catelyn reminds him how stubborn Walder Frey is. He wanted to be grandfather to a king, and now Robb mucked that up. And what’s worse, Robb married a girl from a lesser house; that is incredibly insulting. According to Robb, the Westerlings are an ancient house, descending from the First Men. I forgot King Maegor the Cruel wed a Jeyne Westerling. All of that doesn’t matter to Lord Frey, though.

18. Before he goes into a council meeting with the Blackfish, Cat asks where Grey Wind is. Robb says outside. He apparently gets furious sometimes and scares Jeyne and her mother. Cat is dismayed. She says Grey Wind is a part of him. To fear Grey Wind is to fear him. How wise she is!!! Robb says despite what everyone calls him, he is not a wolf. Oh dear, it’s like he’s shunning his Stark heritage. He basically calls Grey Wind rabid. Grey Wind particularly hates Ser Rolph, Jeyne’s uncle. Cat gets shivers and tells Robb to send Ser Rolph away at once. Robb says he’s a good man but Cat begs him to send Ser Rolph off to do his bidding anywhere but near him. Heed Grey Wind’s nose. If he doesn’t like someone, heed it. Cat reminds him these wolves are special. The old gods sent them to “us,” she says. Cat says there were five but Robb corrects her; there were six, one for Jon too. Ah, I see. Robb lost faith in their wolves when Bran and Rickon died. Where were their wolves then? That really sucks they don’t know what actually happened! Robb agrees to send Ser Rolph on some errand but only to appease her.

19. At the council meeting, Ser Brynden Tully scolds Edmure for his folly on the Fords. Edmure doesn’t understand what he did wrong. His uncle tells him he was commanded to hold Riverrun, that’s all. Edmure still doesn’t get it. Robb says the reason they stayed so long in the west was so they could lure Lord Tywin to them. They were patient enough, living off his land as they waited to trap him in the west. With Tywin up here, Stannis could have defeated Joffrey, Cersei, and the Imp and they could make peace then. I sincerely doubt Stannis would let Robb remain a king. Robb scolds Edmure for doing anything more than what was commanded of him, to hold Riverrun, never mind they never told him their plan. He needs to follow his king’s orders. But because Edmure kept Tywin in the east, the southern lords reached him from Bitterbridge with the news Stannis is attacking King’s Landing. Once again Edmure fucks up.

20. Ha! Cat wonders why Robb couldn’t have fallen in love with Margaery Tyrell instead. Maybe Grey Wind would like the smell of her better. :)

21. Edmure looks grief stricken and offers to lead the van in the next battle. Robb says the next battle they’ll face is Lord Tywin’s entire host along with all of Highgarden beside him. Maybe the Freys, too, if they can’t make amends with them.

22. But Catelyn says first they need to get back Winterfell from Theon and avenge his brothers, otherwise he’s not meant to be king of the North if he can’t even defend his own land. That is so harsh and Robb is surprised. Robb says last he heard Ser Rodrik was gaining a host to retake Winterfell. He hasn’t heard back from him in a long time but hopes it went well. Besides, the ironmen hold Moat Cailin. No army has ever successfully taken Moat Cailin from the south. Maybe if they had the Freys back on their side they might stand a chance. Robb is prepared to give Walder Frey anything he requires and Cat says he’ll require a someone. I wonder why they don’t try to go through the swamplands? I’m sure Greywater Watch will welcome them and aid their journey up north. Once the crannogmen see these are northmen returning and mean no harm I see no reason why they wouldn’t help. No one ever thinks to ask for their aid, it seems. I get it’s very hard to locate the moving castle, but they should encounter some crannogmen who can send off for Lord Reed.

Your point 6, I'm wondering how many inns are along the Trident? This may be the only one in the area, or maybe it happened to be ironic they went to the same one. Either way, I thought it was very interesting.

Your point 10, I didn't think she smiled because there were riders coming, she flipped out when she heard them, thinking they'll kill her or take her back to Harrenhal. I think she smiled because she realized how funny her request was for someone to tell her how to operate the boat first, which was pretty funny I have to admit.

1. Arya is picking vegetables with Hot Pie out of a dead man’s garden when they hear singing. At first she is petrified it’s the Mummers but quickly realizes they don’t sing. They hide in the burned down cottage, hoping these people will pass them by unnoticed.

2. Unfortunately, they hear a horse wicker and there’s more than one man on the road. One of them is named Archer, who gets ready to loose some arrows over the wall when Arya pops out, shouting at them to stop. There are three men all together; her odds of taking them down with her sword is skim. They are so ragged they look like Robin Hood’s men to me, lol.

3. The singer calls her a boy and tells her to drop her sword if she doesn’t want to get hurt. She tells him she’s a girl and he apologizes politely. :) Gendry and Hot Pie come out from hiding too, to support her. She tells them to keep moving and she won’t kill them. The singer says he’ll take her to an inn and get her something to eat if she leaves the sword be. Arya keeps an eye on Archer. Gendry looks formidable all on his own, and he’s suspicious of them like Arya is, as they should be of strangers. They introduce themselves. The singer is Tom of Sevenstreams, or Tom o’ Seven. Lem is the man who looks like a soldier, and Anguy, or Archer, is their archer. Gendry just calls himself the Bull and Hot Pie as Hot Pie, lol. Arya says they can call her Squab.

4. Arya asks how they know they escaped Lord Bolton’s kitchens when Tom says she’s still wearing the Bolton sigil. Arya forgot to take that off. She asks who they are and Archer says they’re king’s men. She asks which king, a good question, and Lem answers King Robert, odd. Gendry says he’s dead though. Arya thinks they’re outlaws, not king’s men, based off what they’re wearing. Hot Pie gullibly asks how far to Riverrun they are, that’s where they’re going. Arya could kill him right now; the fat boy can’t keep his mouth shut sometimes. Tom says it’s a long ways away and once again invites to take them to that nearby inn for some food and shelter. Both Arya and Gendry are suspicious.

5. Tom says he buried Old Pate, the man who owned this cottage, and many more this past year; he doesn’t want to bury her as well. He swears by it. Archer shows his awesome archery skills. Arya wishes she had a bow like his and the mad skills he has. She also realizes she has no chance against Archer, so she lowers her sword and says they’ll come with them to see this inn. I have a feeling I know which inn it is, too!

6. They all head to the inn. Tom asks if any of them sing and Arya says singing is stupid, lol. She says she could hear them a long way off and could have killed them. Hot Pie says he knows the bear song so they sing together lustily, lol. That must’ve been incredibly annoying for Arya. However, even she can’t deny Hot Pie actually has a nice singing voice, and the singing makes the journey seem shorter.

7. They get to the inn that also has a boat anchored by the river. Yep, it’s the very one Brienne, Jaime, and Ser Cleos were at! Who knows, if they had stayed they might have run into Arya, oh the bitter irony! Arya wants to steal it and sail the rest of the way to Riverrun but Gendry is practical and says none of them know how to sail; they could easily founder.

8. There are no horses in the stables but fresh manure. Arya says one of them should watch the horses but Tom overhears. He says they’ll be safe here. Gendry offers to stay outside anyway while the other two eat.

9. The man’s wife is named Sharna and her husband is simply called Husband. That’s the man who spoke with Brienne and the other two. Sharna is quite bossy, calling it her inn. Arya politely offers to trade Sharna her cabbages and carrots for some of her rabbit soup.

10. Wow, Hot Pie is horrible at lying. He keeps forgetting to call Arya Squab. He’s having a great time, though, enjoying rabbit soup and ale. He’s back in his element.

11. Now we know Husband had meant for Brienne, Jaime, and Ser Cleos to get captured and brought back. Brienne was being smart. All Arya knows, though, is that they’re all outlaws. They discuss some girl named Fern being pregnant and needing to give birth, debating who the father is, Tom or Anguy.

12. Hot Pie scolds the 15-year-old boy with the crossbow for making bad bread. :) Husband says he’s no baker and would like to see him do better. Hot Pie says he could and talks nonstop about how to perfect bread. So cute.

13. Tom offers an IOU for three golden dragons for their three horses, wth... Arya says they’re no king’s men; they’re robbers. That’s bold. Arya realizes they’re going to take their horses anyways so she offers the horses for the skiff and instructions on how to use it. They all think this is hilarious, and even Arya starts to smile, when Gendry runs in screaming “Riders!” Arya and Hot Pie freak out but Sharna tells them to calm down; they’re with king’s men now so they’ll protect them if it comes to that.

14. Arya goes for her sword when Lem squeezes her wrist till she drops it. Awe, Arya feels like it’s happening all over again, like it did with Gregor Clegane, Chiswyck, and the others. They’re going to turn her into a mouse again. Out of desperation, she smashes Lem’s face with her ale tankard crushing his nose, damn! She tries to run away but Lem still holds her down and Tom keeps Gendry from helping her up.

15. A group of about a dozen men come filing in, looking well worn but welcome. One of them is Harwin, Hullen’s son, the horse master at Winterfell. He’d gone out with Beric Dondarrion when Ned Stark ordered them to stop the Mountain from terrorizing the riverlands. Arya is so happy to see him. :) She scrambles out of Lem’s hold and cries out to him, hoping he’ll remember her. All he sees is a boy wearing the Bolton sigil. Awe. Arya says she was Bolton’s cupbearer at Harrenhal, but she ran away with Gendry and Hot Pie. She says he used to lead her pony for her when she was little and now recognition hits his face. Harwin tells Lem to let go of her; this is Arya Stark. What an emotional ending!

Your point 8, sometimes I wonder if Shae knows something we don't know and that's why she's not concerned about being beaten or killed. Hint hint to later chapters in this book.

1. Tyrion pays Varys a visit in the master of whisperers’ chambers. They are small, snug, and plain. He’d been going through each room looking for hidden passages before Varys shows up, but couldn’t find any. Lol at when Varys asks if Tyrion’s angry with him because he abandoned him after the battle Tyrion says it makes him feel like he’s part of the family. :)

2. Apparently Tywin has let Pycelle back on council. Well of course, the man is a Lannister supporter. The Conclave in Oldtown were looking for another Grand Maester but I guess Pycelle is back in business. Varys says Ser Boros Blount is also restored into office. Cersei tried stripping him of his white cloak but her father put it back on him. In consolation, Ser Boros hates Cersei almost as much as Tyrion does. Now Ser Boros is loyal to their father. After all, a kingsguard serves for life (except for Jaime).

3. Varys remarks Bronn’s very interested in Ser Mandon Moore lately. According to Varys, Ser Mandon was brought to King’s Landing by Lord Arryn and Robert made him a kingsguard, but neither liked him. Ser Mandon had no friends or admirers, but Ser Barristan Selmy said once the man had only his sword for a friend and no life but duty, which ironically is what they look for in a kingsguard, absolute loyalty to their king. Varys tests Tyrion by saying Ser Mandon died bravely protecting his king’s own blood. Tyrion does not say what he’s thinking, though. That’s too dangerous.

4. Tyrion wants Varys to fetch Shae; he intends to say his goodbyes before he sends her away. He doesn’t want his father to hang her. Every time they pass by each other in the hallways they have to pretend not to care about each other because Tyrion is constantly being watched. Varys says the Kettleblacks frequently report to Cersei what Tyrion does. There’s no chance Tyrion can pay more than what they’re getting from Cersei. It’s even rumored Ser Osmund is fucking the queen. Tyrion can’t top that, lol. According to Varys, lots of people would gladly inform on Tyrion since he’s not well loved in the city. Janos Slynt’s sons in particular would love to avenge their father. No surprise Littlefinger would tell on him. Varys even admits Tywin has him spying on Tyrion as well. Well, Varys hasn’t betrayed Shae yet, so that’s a good sign.

5. Apparently the only secret passage leading in and out of Maegor’s Holdfast does not lead to any other hidden walkways. There is no safe way to get Shae into his new chambers without them being seen. Tyrion suggests he bring Shae here then, Varys’s very room. Wow, lol. Kinky!

6. While coming back from sprucing up, Tyrion chats with Ser Loras, all in white now. Ser Loras is only 17, but there were other kingsguard who started out younger. Tyrion asks why didn’t he want to marry and Loras says he has brothers to carry on the Tyrell name. Tyrion asks what of love. I find Loras’s answer intriguing: “When the sun has set, no candle can replace it.” He is talking about someone who died, or left him for good, and I’m truly thinking that person was Renly. Tyrion calls his own past love a song. How poetic.

7. LOL! Varys disguises himself as a plump woman and Tyrion says for a moment he thought Varys accidentally brought him Lollys. When he turns from Shae to talk to Varys, the eunuch disappeared. He couldn’t have run off that easily. Tyrion is sure there are hidden tunnels somewhere in this room.

8. They have quick sex, as they do. Afterward, he tries to tell her it’s too dangerous for her here but she eludes the topic by saying she likes his scar; it makes him look strong and fierce, and he could never be ugly to her. She gets paid to say these things, though. She’s an excellent whore. Ugh, all she cares about are her silks and jewels, and that manse. She wants to know if she can have them back. She really doesn’t get how dangerous it is for her. She’s young and stupid.

9. Apparently Shae told Lady Tanda about Symon the singer and now he sings for Lollys to calm her down whenever the baby kicks. Poor girl, she doesn’t want to go to the wedding feast but Shae does. Tyrion doesn’t feel comfortable about this singer; one word and Shae will hang. She really wants to go to the wedding. Tyrion is falling in love with her and curses himself, awe.

10. Once again he searches for those hidden doors. Finally Shae says the secret door is under the heavy stone bed that Varys uses a counterweight spell to lift. Tyrion is happy to have figured it out. That can’t have been the way Varys exited moments ago. You’d think Tyrion would notice if the bed magically lifted off the floor, lol.

11. Urg, when they get ready to leave she sweet talks him, calling him her giant of Lannister. She says she would be his lady but knows she can’t, and she likes being his whore; she knows he’ll keep her safe. He promises he will and curses himself; he was supposed to send her away, not hold on to her! Manipulative bitch.

12. Tyrion sends Pod to get Bronn who’d been visiting Chataya’s establishment, enjoying Alayaya and Marei in the same bed. He says it’s good to be a knight. This annoys Tyrion. If he had visited Chataya’s even once Alayaya would be killed, and Bronn is fucking her. I don’t see why he should care. He never touched the girl. Yet he sent her gifts as an apology. Instead of complaining about that, though, Tyrion tells Bronn to find Symon Silver Tongue before someone else does. That man is filling Shae’s head with doves and dancing bears, not helping her want to leave. He must be dealt with.

Your point 3, I think Brienne offered so much because she wanted to make sure they had those horses, and they didn't need their skiff anymore since they were going to travel on horseback from here on out. She probably received a lot more than 3 dragons from Catelyn as well, so giving 3 dragons away probably wasn't a big deal to her.

Your point 8, I think it was only after Tywin left that Aerys went through so many Hands. After Tywin left the position became a curse.

1. Brienne, Jaime, and Ser Cleos Frey find an inn along the riverfront. The name of it is ironic, “Kneeling man,” named after Torrhen Stark, the last King in the North, who knelt to King Aegon the Conqueror on this very spot. Jaime finds it amusing and I couldn’t help but smile. I forgot the King Who Knelt offered his submission in the riverlands.

2. As soon as Jaime knocks on the door a boy opens it with a crossbow pointed at him. He asks whose side he’s on but Jaime only says the crossbow is a coward’s weapon. He should have told that to Joffrey! Brienne assures the boy they mean no harm and they have coin to pay for food and drink.

3. The man who works here isn’t the original owner. That guy was found dead, killed by somebody. He runs the inn now, for his “family.” The boy isn’t even his; he took him in when the boy lost his mother to the Mummers. They pay for food and share news. The man doesn’t know Stannis lost the battle and says he has a magic sword. He doesn’t recommend using the kingsroad; wolves and lions both prey on the weak. Brienne says they’ll be sailing toward Maidenpool and ride by way of Duskendale and Rosby, the safer route. Why on earth did she have to say that out loud? The man says there are outlaws along that route, too.

4. They discuss Beric Dondarrion, the lightning lord. It’s said he attacks as quick as lightning and cannot die. Thoros of Myr travels with him. The man recommends they avoid the river and travel on land, but stay off the main road. As it happens, there are three horses in the stable outside. The man says they’re not for sale but Brienne offers three gold dragons and their skiff, an excellent bargain for him. Weird how he insists they stay the night. Brienne insists they ride tonight. Instead of going south he suggests they go southeast. Brienne thanks him and they depart. Something seems fishy about this.

5. Jaime is happy to be on a horse again, even though his mount is old and can only see out of one eye, lol. They find the crossroads the man told them about, but instead of going southeast Brienne goes south. Jaime is impressed; it’s what he would do. Ser Cleos asks why they aren’t going the way the innkeep suggested and Brienne reminds him he was no innkeep; the road he suggested leads into the forest where it’s way too easy to fall into a trap. Jaime decides she’s strong and clever.

6. They take turns keeping watch at night in a grove. Jaime asks Brienne if she has siblings, apparently not. She was practically her father’s son. She ignores his jests and Jaime thinks it’s strange how she reminds him of Tyrion. It’s because of this he apologizes for offending her and this time uses her actual name, not wench. She tells him his crimes are past forgiveness, kingslayer. Wow, how unfair. They argue about oaths. She asks why he joined the kingsguard if loyalty meant nothing to him and it’s difficult for him to explain. It was for love, though he doesn’t tell her any of this. Cersei was at court since she was 12 and he wanted to be with her. I forgot this part, but it makes perfect sense now. I forgot Lord Tywin meant for him to marry Lysa Tully and it was Cersei who told him to join the kingsguard so he can be with her instead. Wow...Cersei made him choose between Casterly Rock or her. Ha! When Tywin found out Aerys made Jaime a white cloak he left King’s Landing, abandoning his position as Hand, and took Cersei with him. They simply switched places.

7. Brienne acknowledges Aerys was a bad king, but he was still his king, and Jaime should have protected him. Knowing what I know now, I don’t blame Jaime for it anymore. He calls her a kingslayer too; he heard she killed Renly. She says what really happened but he understandably doesn’t believe her. He makes fun of her and goes too far again. He seems determined to piss her off. I forgot Ser Arthur Dayne knighted him. He says don’t blame him for not being born a man, since she wants to be a knight so bad. She stalks off rather than hit him.

8. Jaime dreams of Aerys Targaryen that night. He’s in his golden armor, not white like so many people forget, and gets ready to kill him. He remembers how easy it was to kill this crazy fucker. He killed Rossart first, the last Hand before Aerys died. The two lords that entered first asked who Jaime means to be the next king and I’m surprised Jaime considered putting Viserys or little Aegon on the throne, just to outrage Robert and Ned. Instead he lets Lord Crakehall decide for him and sits on the Iron Throne. He waits to see who would claim the throne first and Ned Stark arrives. Jaime thinks Ned had no right to judge him either. Then the dead start attacking him with green flames all around. Every time he kills one two more pop up, interesting.

Your point 7, you're right, I think Edric and Gendry are very different too. I think it's because Edric knows he's Robert's son and Gendry doesn't. Edric lived with his noble family on his mother's side and Gendry lived like a pauper. Edric is cute, but also arrogant in my opinion, whereas Gendry is more humble and distrusting. I think Melisandre operates with some form of magic that discovered Davos had a knife and he meant to use it on her, or perhaps someone else from the ship told on him?

1. Davos is coming up on Dragonstone and notices smoke coming from the mountain. Either Dragonmont is restless today or Melisandre is burning someone. I can’t recall, is Dragonmont a volcano? Davos thought of Melisandre a lot on his voyage back to Dragonstone. Seems anytime he sees the color red he thinks of her. Davos hates this woman with a passion and I don’t blame him. She practices blood magic, evil stuff. He feels she broke Stannis and will ride him to power.

2. The captain of this ship is named Khorane Sathmantes, Lyseni, and Davos likes him a lot. Apparently the island of Lys is famous for its inhabitants’ pale blue eyes. I wonder if Whitebeard is part Lyseni. Khorane was very generous, letting the onion knight sleep in the captain’s cabin and giving him his clothes to wear. He even gave him food to eat, but Davos couldn’t handle that stuff. Davos is weak and sometimes coughs up bloody phlegm. He hopes he didn’t survive so long at sea only to die of the flux.

3. Khorane tells Davos of Stannis’s defeat, how the Lannisters flanked them from the south and his bannermen turned on him. Davos did warn Stannis that might happen. He hears of “Renly’s shade” too. He’d seen so many weird things in his life that the idea of ghosts doesn’t surprise him. Khorane says the Lyseni rescued any man who wore the Florent sigil, who were the only ones from Renly’s group who remained loyal. He also says Lord Florent is Stannis’s new Hand now. Maybe Stannis thinks Davos is dead.

4. They enter the harbor, much more empty now, and practically all the ships that are moored are Lyseni. Khorane says Stannis sees no one anymore, but Salladhor Saan would like to see him.

5. I love this Salladhor Saan. The way he speaks is so warm and bubbly, lol. He can scarcely believe Davos is alive. It reminds Davos of Patchface who nearly died from a shipwreck and survived, only it made him crazy. Davos wonders if he’s gone mad too. Salladhor lavishes him in his captain’s cabin with food and furnishings. Apparently the chair Davos sits on was made for Illyrio Mopatis, because he’s so huge. The whole ship is Pentosi, actually. Salladhor earned this ship as reward for helping Stannis instead of taking gold. Lord Florent also made Salladhor Lord of Blackwater Bay, so now he pretty much owns the bay.

6. Salladhor says a few ships up river did not burn, yet they could not escape either with the chain. Two sunk themselves on purpose so they couldn’t be taken by the Lannisters. The other two are pirating all along the river. Salladhor says his son’s ships did not make it, but Devan, the son who is squire to Stannis, made it out alive. Davos is relieved and wants to see him. His wife and younger children live on Cape Wrath, wherever that is. Salladhor is very kind to give him a new ship. He says Stannis has no ships but Salladhor Saan has many. Sounds like he wants Davos to smuggle for him again. Davos thanks him but says his duty is to his king. Salladhor warns the king is different now. He sees no one but Melisandre and he has no gold to give.

7. Davos is convinced they lost the battle because of Melisandre, to punish Stannis for not taking her with them. I think that’s a stretch, but there’s no denying she has Stannis wrapped around her finger. Sounds like Dragonstone has just as many hidden shafts as the Red Keep does. Salladhor says to be careful of accusing her out loud because she has many followers with knives. Davos is serious; he means to kill her. Now Salladhor says while they were at King’s Landing, burning, Melisandre had been doing some burning of her own. Davos is not surprised. She calls these unbelievers “servants of the dark.” My God it sounds like the Spanish Inquisition! Davos tells Salladhor the Mother herself spit him back up out of the sea just for this purpose. He had seven sons and he let Melisandre burn the Mother’s statue, so now he has only three sons. He even tells Salladhor how Melisandre birthed a shadow demon that killed innocent people. Salladhor agrees someone should kill her, but not Davos. He urges him to stay and get better. Davos once again tries to go away but now his Lyseni friend gets angry, saying he will be the one to sail to his wife and explain why her husband and four sons are dead. If he’s going to go, then go.

8. Davos goes to the castle on foot. The place is practically deserted. The gatehouse guard at first doesn’t believe Davos is alive but Davos convinces him and he lets him in round back. Davos doesn’t recognize any of these guards. They belong to House Florent. But instead of taking him to the Stone Drum where his bedchambers are, they escort him to Aegon’s Garden where they tell him to wait here and they leave. Odd.

9. Inside the gardens are Princess Shireen and Patchface, playing together. This makes Davos smile, but a boy emerges out of the bushes he doesn’t know and bowls him over. The boy is quite bossy, does not apologize, and looks like a Baratheon. He announces he’s Edric Storm, King Robert’s son. He doesn’t seem humble at all for being a bastard. Apparently King Robert taught him how to fight and would visit him every year. He even gifted Edric a small warhammer, awe. King Robert loved his bastards more than his legit children, granted they weren’t actually his. I like how Edric tells Davos his uncle shouldn’t have cut off any of his fingers. Even though he was a smuggler, he smuggled his uncle fish and onions that saved his life. The boy is right, I think. It was a little harsh. Davos decides Edric is very much like Robert, and Renly too. He doesn’t feel good about that with Stannis around, though.

10. Just then, Ser Axel Florent and his guards come down to arrest Davos. Ser Axel was the castellan at Dragonstone for 15 years and had always been kind to Davos, until now. Somehow they found out Davos means to kill Melisandre. Salladhor Saan did warn him this might happen.

Plus I'm pretty sure you have to have at least some Valyrian blood in you in order to ride a dragon.

*SPECULATION ON MEERA REED* (view spoiler)[It's still possible, but I'm like you, leaning towards nope for that theory. It would be pretty special if Jon actually had a full-blooded sibling, and their ages match up, and Howland Reed was the only other person with Ned Stark when Lyanna died, but it could be coincidence. (hide spoiler)]

Especially since I don't think Jon is naturally good at lying. He would need to mix the truth in it to be convincing.

Your point 1, I loved Bran from his very first chapter. :) It's what got me hooked to the books in the first place!

1. Bran is Summer again, scaling a ridge. Summer hears human words in his head about being the prince of the green, and of the wolfswood. He feels like a prince too. He sees a pack of regular wolves running around below him and calls them his little cousins, cute. He misses his own pack, all scattered across the continent now. Even though they’re all separated he can feel Shaggydog is nearest, though they separated many hunts ago. He can sometimes sense the others, all except Lady, who is dead. Interesting he calls Ghost “...the white who has no voice.” I guess that’s another term for the silent wolf.

2. Summer checks out the kill the wolf pack took down and attacks them for it; he’s way bigger. He is theirs now and goes to eat when he hears “Hodor,” which only he can hear, not the others. The name doesn’t stop and Bran is being pulled out of Summer, pretty cool. Bran doesn’t want to let go but Hodor keeps calling him back.

3. Bran is back in his body which is in an ancient watchtower Bran named “Tumbledown Tower.” Meera had found the way into the vault so they are hiding now. Jojen tells Bran he was gone too long again. Meera has gone off to catch more frogs for dinner. Bran is tired of frogs, he wanted that deer, awe.

4. Bran is suppose to practice controlling Summer when he’s in him but forgets easily and once again didn’t mark any trees like Jojen told him to do. I like these practice exercises. :) Bran means to do them but once he’s Summer they no longer seem important. Jojen reminds him to remember himself or the wolf will consume him. Maybe it’s harder for Bran because Bran hates that he’s a cripple and loves how powerful he is as Summer.

5. Meera returns with food. Okay, it’s in this chapter that says she has green eyes, like her brother. *SPECULATION ON MEERA REED* (view spoiler)[It would be quite a stretch being Jon’s twin if their mother had dark grey eyes and father had purple if she has green eyes. But George Martin did say in an interview once that he accidentally switched eye colors on a few characters as typos. (hide spoiler)] She is short for being 16, flat-chested, and is graceful as she walks. She is also very cheerful, unlike Jojen who is solemn all the time, and polite. Nothing ever makes her angry or fearful except her brother, interesting. They do seem to argue a lot. She says it’s safe here but Jojen says they’re not meant to be here; they need to keep moving. Meera wants to get horses first and Jojen snaps they have no horses. She wants to buy them off some hunter but Jojen says word will spread that they haven’t died in the ruins and people will come looking for them. They can’t be seen.

6. Interesting Bran wonders why they listen to Jojen so much when he can’t tell a wolf from a direwolf. Seems he resents Jojen’s bossing them around too. Bran says they should steal horses like Meera suggested and go to the Last Hearth where the Umbers live or down to White Harbor instead. But not even Meera is for that, though she does smile at him.

7. I forgot Hodor took a sword from the crypts too, but it’s so old it’s rusty and dull from disuse. I wonder which lord or king he took it from.

8. Jojen wants to take Bran to a teacher who will better instruct him how to “fly.” Bran says he’s a good teacher, but Jojen says obviously not good enough when Bran keeps forgetting to mark a tree. He’s afraid the boy bends to the wolf more than the wolf bends to the boy. Bran promises he’ll try harder and says he’s only nine. Imagine how much harder it must be for Rickon, who is only four! Jojen says they don’t have a lot of time to practice and winter is coming. Seems Bran is afraid of meeting this three-eyed-crow; he’d rather have Jojen teach him, but Jojen reminds that he’s not a greenseer, he can only receive green dreams. He is no warg. He cannot teach what he does not understand.

9. Now Meera says though he’s just a boy he is also their prince and it’s up to him what they do. Stay here and they’ll be safe until the war is over, but he will not learn much. Or move further north and they risk being taken, but he has the chance to learn his full potential. Bran appreciates being listened to. They are his servants, after all. It’s his choice. Bran wonders what his father would do, awe. He weighs his options and realizes he’s crying. He doesn’t want to be Bran the Broken; he wants to fly. He tells them they’ll go find the crow. :)

Your point 6, I want to know what he read too!

Your point 10, I often wondered why Daenerys let him kiss her, and for so long. It wasn't like it was a peck. I think you're right, she just didn't want to hurt him.

1. Daenerys and her khalasar are on board their three ships, sailing to Pentos. Dany can’t remember ever being so happy as she is right now, awe, I think that’s saying something, though her khalasar call it the poison water. I like that she calls her bloodriders brave, because they would never cross the ocean were it not for her. This must be absolutely terrifying for them, and now they know how she felt when she first rode out with them to Vaes Dothrak. Dany isn’t afraid of the ocean, or of the squalls, because she is Stormborn. I forgot she sailed a lot growing up, to get from city to city, running from Robert Baratheon’s hired knives. She loves sailing because it makes her feel free. :)

2. Though Viserys was an asshole, she still misses him. He wasn’t all bad all the time. This is true in real life. Not one person is all good or all bad. We all live in some shade of grey.

3. I forgot much of Captain Groleo from my first reading. He is Pentoshi and his master is Illyrio Mopatis, no surprise there. At first Groleo was very nervous about carrying three dragons on board, I can only imagine how he feels about carrying a group of Dothraki as well, but now he enjoys the dragons. Lol about the rats. The whole crew now call them “their” dragons, awe. They all love to watch them fly. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how dangerous they can be.

4. The dragons are described beautifully. In particular I’m intrigued by Rhaegal’s colors, which remind me of the children of the forest for some reason. I also think it’s interesting how Viserion and Rhaegal are often together, whereas Drogon is usually off hunting alone. *SPECULATION ON WHO IS THE THIRD DRAGONRIDER* (view spoiler)[I’m seriously warming up to Meera, who is rumored to be Jon’s twin sister, as the third dragonrider. She is very in tune with the children and I can see her riding Rhaegal while Jon rides white Viserion. It would be ironic if they fall in love before finding out they’re siblings, Targ style. :) (hide spoiler)] Drogon is always eating and Dany hopes to be able to ride him within a year or two. Interesting they are lighter than they look. Jon says the same thing about his bastard Valyrian sword.

5. Even the three ships resemble the dragons they are named after. Meraxes and Vhagar are smaller than Balerion, but faster. Together they tow Balerion when wind is not available to them because they have oars.

6. Drogon is the first to breathe fire, first to fly, and first to kill. He’s also the biggest. When Dany asks Ser Jorah how big can they get up to he says it’s rumored they can grow so large they could snatch giant krakens out of the sea. I wonder if that means something, since krakens are the sigil for House Greyjoy.

7. Whitebeard *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)[who is actually Barristan Selmy (hide spoiler)] says Balerion was 200 years old when he died in battle and was so big he could swallow an aurochs whole. Dragons never stop growing so long as they have food and freedom. The Targaryen dragons were kept inside the Dragonpit so they usually didn’t get outrageously huge. He says it’s in ruins now. I like when Jorah says he saw huge men who were born in hovels and dwarfs who dwell in castles, Whitebeard replies, “Men are men. Dragons are dragons.” Ser Jorah doesn’t like Whitebeard much. Whitebeard has seen the dragon skulls in the Red Keep so he knows a thing or two about dragons. He also knew the last Targaryen king.

8. Dany asks Whitebeard about her father. She has only ever heard good things about him. Whitebeard tries to hide his feelings but Dany can tell he doesn’t think much good of him, though he lies and says Aerys was often pleasant.

9. She asks about Rhaegar as well. Whitebeard seems to prefer Rhaegar over her father. He says no man truly knew him, though he had plenty of friends, one being Ser Arthur Dayne. Dany enjoys hearing about him and his famous sword called Dawn. He also says there were plenty others who were just as good in battle and in tournaments as Rhaegar, knocking him off his pedestal Ser Jorah created for him in Dany’s mind. He offends Ser Jorah by mentioning his second wife who ruined him after they got married. Rhaegar was always bookish, smart, and reclusive when all of a sudden he decided he needed to become a knight, which is queer. Ser Willem Darry was the master-at-arms at King’s Landing, I forgot that. Whitebeard is very courteous, but it seems he is hiding something from her.

10. Strong Belwas is so cute. He informs everyone on deck he’s hungry and he’s going to eat now. Like anyone cares, lol. Whitebeard will accompany him on this mission.

11. Ser Jorah quietly warns her against Whitebeard. He’s too old to be a squire and too well spoken to serve a eunuch. Dany agrees it is very strange, but the man saved her life and pledges to protect her from those who would harm her. And it’s not like Ser Jorah isn’t keeping secrets from her too, but she doesn’t know that yet.

12. I feel for Daenerys when she thinks of Westeros and longs to see it. It is her home country, yet she has not seen it since she was a newborn. Something tells me that when she gets there it’s not going to be anything she expected.

13. That night Dany shows Ser Jorah a new command she taught her dragons. They breathe fire at the word Dracarys, which means dragonfire in Valyrian. Pretty cool. Apparently they’ll breathe fire whenever anyone uses the word because Jorah nearly gets caught on fire when he repeats the word, lol.

14. Jorah once again strongly urges Dany to be wary of Whitebeard, Strong Belwas, and Illyrio Mopatis. Dany rolls her eyes. He also says though Robert is dead his son rules in his place and dutiful sons pay their father’s debts. Joffrey isn’t dutiful, though, lol. According to Jorah, Illyrio was not born wealthy, and rich men rarely get wealthy by kindness. Jorah says Illyrio is a dangerous and clever man. I still don’t know whose side Illyrio is on, but I’m leaning towards Jorah on this man, not the other two. She disagrees, but knows he means well.

15. I really like that Dany says a queen who trusts no one is as foolish as a queen who trusts everyone. Cersei is a queen who trusts no one. :)

16. Ser Jorah shares his plan to help Daenerys win back her throne. He proposes they do not go to Pentos as Illyrio wants/expects, and instead go to Slaver’s Bay. Dany’s first instinct is that this is not a good idea. Jorah says she can buy herself an army of Unsullied, slaves trained in the art of war, and are very loyal.

17. Ser Jorah tells Dany the story of the Three Thousand of Qohor, which I’d forgotten about. Four hundred years ago a khalasar of 50,000 men led by Khal Temmo tried to overtake the free city of Qohor. All of their sellswords fled but 3,000 Unsullied stayed and fought bravely to protect this city that bought them. There were 600 Unsullied left by the end, but they killed 12,000 Dothraki before Qohor was raided. As the remaining Dothraki entered the city they each stopped to cut off their braids and gave it to the Unsullied. To this day Qohor is guarded by Unsullied warriors who hang a lock of human hair on the tips of their spears. Dany is impressed by this and is persuaded when Jorah suggests they go to Pentos on foot with an army of Unsullied at their backs. I admit, it would make a statement to Illyrio.

18. Ser Jorah suggests they sell Illyrio’s goods to pay for these Unsullied, because slaves are cheaper than tiger skins, apparently. He says Illyrio is so rich he won’t mind, lol, wtf Jorah. This sounds unethical. Dany doesn’t like the idea of stealing from Illyrio either, but it’s not like he is the most trustworthy man in existence. Jorah says if Illyrio is truly her friend he will not begrudge her three shipments of his trade goods. It would be as if he gifted her an army.

19. Dany excitedly goes to put on some clothes to tell Captain Groleo to turn around and sail for Slaver’s Bay when Jorah steals a kiss from her, holding her tightly. Well then... She doesn’t push him away, though she knows in her mind they should not be doing this. It doesn’t help she’s buck naked. Jorah finally confesses his love for her, and not in an appropriate way, checking out the boobies. He also hints at wanting to be one of her dragonriders, if she accepts him as one of her husbands. I don’t think that’s how it goes... A dragonrider must have at least some Valyrian blood in order to ride one, otherwise they are dragon food. I don’t think Ser Jorah has an ounce of Valyrian blood in him. My opinion of Ser Jorah dropped a little in this chapter.

Your point 10, I remembered it because it was so damn cute. :)

1. Jon is escorted into the valley filled with wildlings to speak with Mance Rayder, the King-beyond-the-Wall. I can’t imagine how he must be feeling, walking in a den of lions, probably. I’ll bet never in his wildest dreams he thought to be in this position. To him they are all enemies and he is all by himself now, well, besides Ghost.

2. I like when he flexes his fingers on his burnt hand, out of habit. His signature gesture. Makes him more badass, to me. :)

3. Longspear Ryk gave the helm he won off Qhorin to Ygritte when it didn’t fit him. I forgot that. He and Ygritte are Jon’s guards. Jon is surprised whenever they talk back to Rattleshirt, who is supposed to be their leader. They certainly are a free folk. Lol, wtf, Rattleshirt threatens to open Jon’s belly and sew a weasel inside. Oh, the endless possibilities to torture someone.

4. Ygritte assures Jon that Mance will take him. She says in their hearts all crows want to fly free. He asks when he’s free will they let him go. She says sure, and they’d be free to kill him. Sounds like a dog eat dog world. I wonder what Jon thinks of her hand on his leg, lol.

5. Sounds like Jon struggles with his own self-image. In his heart he’s still a man of the Night’s Watch, but he also can’t keep the fact that he killed Qhorin Halfhand, and is now walking amongst wildings, out of his mind.

6. They meet up with eight outriders led by the Weeper, another famous wildling raider. He wants to know who this new person is. Rattleshirt introduces him, pompously saying Jon was afraid he’d take his bones too so he turned his cloak, lol. Lonspear Ryk adds he killed Qhorin Halfhand, a crow they all knew well. Another calls Jon a warg. Weeper says he does have a wolfish look to him and leads them further into the valley.

7. Ghost grabs the attention of a lot of dogs and they swarm him, but Ghost doesn’t care. Nice. Longspear says they don’t like him and Jon replies they’re not the same species, indicating Jon’s not like them either. He keeps that last part to himself, though.

8. The description of the encampment is wonderful. These people live primitive lives and there is a kind of beauty to it, I think. At this point Jon has a bad opinion of them. To him they are simply the enemy, coming to kill his brothers and his father’s people in the North. But he also sees women dancing and children playing.

9. They make camp in an open space near some trees while Rattleshirt, Ygritte, and Longspear continue on with Jon to Mance’s camp. They may have numbers but they have no discipline, thinks Jon. Ned Stark once said discipline beats numbers 9 out of 10 times. But what about that 1 out of 10? Mance’s camp is three times the size of all the others and his tent is made of white snow bear furs, the top out of giant antlers. Sounds intimidating.

10. There are six people in the tent when they enter. One sings and plays the lute, oddly pleasant to find in a wilding encampment, especially since he’s Mance. Jon finds it strange to hear a Dornish song way up north. Jon thinks one of the two who argue over a map must be Mance because they look like true warriors, much more dangerous than Rattleshirt is, by far. I like that he can tell that just by looking at them. Rattleshirt’s bone-armor may make him intimidating but underneath that he’s just a normal man. Jon calls the earless one Your Grace and wonders if he should bow. The snowy-bearded one laughs at this and I smiled. He tells Jon to turn around; Mance is the singer.

11. Mance apparently knows exactly who Jon is, even before Ygritte can explain. This stuns Jon.

12. “All men must die...” we’ll hear this again, but I forgot it’s in The Dornishman’s Wife.

13. I like that Mance is sad to know Qhorin died. Though he was his enemy, they were still brothers on the Wall. He introduces the rest of the people in the tent. The earless man is Styr, Magnar of Thenn. Magnar is just a title meaning ‘lord’ in the Old Tongue, which the First Men spoke. Styr doesn’t seem to like Jon much. The snowy-bearded one is Tormund Giantsbane, one of my favorite characters, lol. He is big, jolly, funny, and likes Jon a lot. I forgot he is fond of wargs too. The pregnant woman is Dalla, carrying Mance’s child. The pretty blonde is Val, her sister, and the dark one beside Val is Val’s current boyfriend, Jarl. These make up Mance’s “court.”

14. According to Rattleshirt there were five in Jon’s group; three are dead and one escaped up in the mountains. That’s good. I forgot which one escaped. Mance asks Jon what his business is up here. Jon tells the truth for the most part, except for the 300 brothers who marched north with him. Tormund doesn’t like Craster and wants him dead. I already like Tormund just for that. :)

15. Mance and Jon are alone now so they can talk in private. Jon keeps calling him Your Grace, which I find amusing. Jon must have been starving because he eats every morsel on that hen. Apparently they have no trained ravens up here. Mance now tells Jon how he knows him. Twice Mance visited Winterfell. Once was when Jon was young. He and Robb were playing in the snow and dumped it all on Fat Tom. Mance was still a crow then and promised not to tell. :) Jon laughs, remembering. So cute. The second time was when King Robert came to Winterfell to make Ned Hand, but this time as a wildling. Apparently there’s more commerce between the black brothers and free folk than people think. He scaled the Wall himself and pretended to belong with Robert’s company. It was easy to fit in, especially since he posed as a musician. He feasted in the same hall as them. This reminds Jon of Bael the Bard that Ygritte told him about. Interesting Mance says he was inspired by Bael but did not steal any of Jon’s sisters, lol. Mance seems humble about his music. He never made his own material, only sang what others have done. I like this Mance a lot.

16. He tells Jon the laws of hospitality are as old as the First Men, and sacred. Which brings him to Jon being his guest. Mance asks why he’s really here. Jon has to be careful, even though he’s protected by guest right. He says he’ll tell his story if Mance tells his first. Mance humors him. He says wildling blood IS the blood of the First Men, the same as the Starks. He left the Watch because once on a ranging he was attacked by a shadowcat and was healed by a wildling woman. She mended his black cloak with red silk from Asshai that she got from a shipwreck. It was her greatest treasure, and she was very kind to give it to him. But when he returned to the Shadow Tower they told him to get rid of the cloak for a brand new black one. Instead he ran away.

17. Jon tells Mance the reason he left the Watch is because he’s a bastard. He uses the example of the feast in his father’s hall, how he was seated in the back, hinting he was treated like dirt. This works for Mance because he says he’s going to need a new cloak. I think it’s interesting Jon gives this excuse because he really was angry about being a bastard throughout most of GoT. The most convincing lies are the ones based off truth.