Welcome back to A Read of Ice and Fire! Please join me as I read and react, for the very first time, to George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.
Today’s entry is Part 38 of A Storm of Swords, in which we cover Chapter 63 (“Davos”).
Previous entries are located in the Index. The only spoilers in the post itself will be for the actual chapters covered and for the chapters previous to them. As for the comments, please note that the Powers That Be have provided you a lovely spoiler thread here on Tor.com. Any spoileriffic discussion should go there, where I won’t see it. Non-spoiler comments go below, in the comments to the post itself.
And now, the post!
Chapter 62: Davos
What Happens
Davos watches Melisandre lead Stannis and others in the daily worship service, and observes that Stannis does not say the responses with the rest, and that there are fewer attendees than before. He prays to the Mother to keep his son Devan safe from Melisandre’s “demon god.” Ser Andrew Estermont comes to get him, and Davos goes with him, remembering how Melisandre had told him it takes years of training and discipline to see visions in the fire. Some of his cohorts had argued for killing her, to keep her from seeing their plans, but Davos is sure that will not work, and hopes merely to escape her notice.
Andrew and Davos go to Maester Pylos’s chambers, where Edric is having lessons. Pylos tells Edric that he is to go with them, and reminds Edric that Davos speaks with the king’s voice. Davos admires Pylos’s courage, risking this along with the rest of them. Edric balks at first when Davos tells him he is going on a ship, and insists on seeing first Shireen and then Stannis, but Davos shows him his mutilated fingers, and asks if Edric truly wants to make his uncle angry. They bring Edric to where the boat awaits, and Davos wishes him well. Edric is confused but polite, and goes.
Davos returns to the keep, not sure he will ever leave it again. He goes to the tablemap chamber and waits for Stannis. He hears Stannis talking to Melisandre as they approach the room, Melisandre assuring Stannis that “three is three,” and that she saw someone die and his mother wail. Stannis is skeptical, but Davos jumps in to confirm that Joffrey is dead, possibly poisoned by the Imp. Stannis reminisces about the time Joffrey slit open a pregnant cat, and opines that whoever killed him “served the kingdom well.” Melisandre again urges Stannis to let her wake the dragons by sacrificing “the boy.” Stannis makes her swear that there is no other way, and Melisandre replies that if he fails the world fails, swearing that if he gives her the boy, she will give him his kingdom.
Davos cuts in to say that he can’t, as Edric is gone. He thinks from Melisandre’s expression that she had not seen it beforehand. Stannis at first thinks Davos meant that Sallador Saan kidnapped the boy for ransom, but Melisandre interjects that this is Davos’s doing. Stannis says he had hoped for Davos’s loyalty, and Davos replies that he kept his oath: to protect the king’s people, of which Edric Storm was one. Stannis says “If I must sacrifice one child to the flames to save a million from the dark…” Melisandre tells Davos he has doomed Edric Storm along with everyone else. Davos answers that “a king protects his people, or he is no king at all.”
Angrily, Stannis asks if he is to learn a king’s duty from an onion smuggler. Davos kneels and says Stannis can take his head, but begs him to hear him out first. Stannis advises him to speak quickly.
Davos fumbled inside his cloak and drew out the crinkled sheet of parchment. It seemed a thin and flimsy thing, yet it was all the shield he had. “A King’s Hand should be able to read and write. Maester Pylos has been teaching me.” He smoothed the letter flat upon his knee and began to read by the light of the magic sword.
Commentary
Okay, so, maybe it’s a tad weird of me, but I totally choked up at the last passage of this chapter. And I can’t really explain it, but maybe it’s because there’s something about Davos learning to read and write and then immediately using it in service of his people, and, it’s beautiful or something, look, I have no idea. I have feelings about the importance of literacy, okay?
So, is the letter Davos is reading something he wrote himself, or is it one of the ones he found during his reading lessons with Pylos? The only one of those we’ve seen mentioned is the letter about the wildlings’ incursion up north, but while that is definitely important info for Stannis to have generally, I’m not seeing how it would be relevant to justifying Davos’s decision to spirit Edric off the island. So maybe this is something else?
Either way, damn, Davos. You have got some seriously righteous balls to do what you did here. I am admiring the shit out of him right now. I am a Davos fangirl, officially, y’all. Even though his stubborn embrace of principles warns me I probably really really shouldn’t get attached to him, because we’ve all seen what not being a duplicitous bastard gets you in this story.
But hey, at least the assholes sometimes get it too, right? Thank you, Stannis, for reconfirming with that delightful cat-mutilation story my perfect justification in celebrating Joffrey’s death, because wooooowww. That kid really was a textbook example of a budding psychopath, wasn’t he? Yeesh.
Funny how Edric is basically the opposite of Joffrey in every way. In fact, pretty much every one of Robert’s (actual) progeny we’ve come across have been shockingly decent people. Granted, that’s only two people I can recall off the bat (Edric and Gendry), and there’s an argument to be made there about nature vs. nurture (I would opine that being raised as a bastard might suck in a lot of ways but definitely has the potential to build a good character; see also: Jon Snow), but still. The case for incest: not supported by the offspring!
(Not even the Targaryens; Dany may be a genetic fluke of awesome, but Viserys most definitely upheld the general trend of suckiness. Which is part of my suddenly-emergent theory that the character of Dany is at least in part an homage to Cleopatra.)
That said, poor Tommen. I would speculate whether he might turn out to be a better boy king than, well, every other boy king we’ve come across so far, but at his age he’s going to be nothing more than a figurehead pawn for years to come. His “kingship,” assuming it ever even gets off the ground, is not going to be about him, but rather about the epic You Are Not The Boss Of Me fight between Cersei and Tywin I am predicting so hard right now. Because that’ll end well, oh yeah.
In any case, I certainly hope against hope that (a) Edric really did get away and (b) Davos doesn’t get executed for it. If I actually get one or both of these wishes I will be rather astonished.
I suppose it’s worth noting my instinctive and absolute rejection of the notion that Melisandre might actually be right in her assertion that Davos’s actions have doomed the world, even despite the fact that so far pretty much everything else she’s predicted has come to pass. But it is just not in my constitutional makeup to even consider it; everything about her, from the fanaticism to the near-blithe embrace of assassination and ritual murder in order to accomplish her ends is a big fat red NO for me.
I can certainly see why the notion of “sacrificing one to save millions” might seem compelling to Stannis, or to anyone who is forced by circumstance to have to consider the bigger picture, but I’m with Davos on this one: a seeming good achieved by evil means is no good at all.
So, yeah: any king who would countenance such a thing is not a king worth following; and any god that would demand it is not a god worth worshipping.
In my not-so-humble opinion, of course.
And lastly:
[Stannis:] “Weddings have become more perilous than battles, it would seem.”
I KNOW, RIGHT?
And that’s it for now, kids. Have a lovely week, and I’ll see you next Thursday!
This is where I joined Team Davos.
Once again very good insights. Davos is like Ned, but sneakier. I think he kind of represents the author’s voice of “It’s good to be honorable, but don’t assume everyone else is and be willing to pay the price.”
Ned would have confronted openly far sooner and would not have been orchestrating a conspiracy behind the scenes to see the right thing done.
I love Davos for his balls, his loyalty, and his moral compass. If only there were a couple more like him in Westeros.
Now I want a Team Davos t-shirt.
I started off (first couple books) thinking Davos was kind of boring, but I’ve come around to liking him more and more. It hasn’t hurt that, in the by-and-large wonderfully cast HBO show, the actor cast as Davos is doing a particularly outstanding job with it, IMO….
Viserys is not the only Targaryen. There have been many through the centuries, and some of them have been repulsive(wait til you learn more about Baelor!). There have also been good ones, like Aegon of the Dunk and Egg novels.
I’m not arguing for incest mind you, I’m just stating that at the time of Aegon’s Invasion 300 years ago, Targaryens had a very good reason to be concerned for the strength their bloodline.
There was an interesting comment on inbreeding in a comment threads aways back, that referred to lab mice, that stated that IF you controlled for bad traits, incest to bring out the good traits CAN work, but that you must be diligent to prevent bad traits from perpetuating, which OBVS no one did, in re the Targaryens.
In addition, Davos is awesome, now if he’d only find a king worthy of his awesomeness.
I don’t completely agree the Cleopatra reference other than being the product of generations of inbreeding. The real-life Cleopatra reminds me far more of Cersei – crazy, cunning, but not quite as bright as her rivals. She arranged the death of several of her siblings then tried to use her looks to make herself Empress.
Much is made of ASOIAF as a dark and cynical deconstruction of high fantasy, but there was always more to it than that. The story only works because it’s not all darkness; it would not have the following that it does if we did not see a core of humanity in nearly all of the characters.
In his typically modest and understated fashion, Davos just performed the single bravest and most noble act in the entire series to date. It’s not as flashy as other acts, but:
I still think that survival in this world is less about what principles you have and more about how willing you are to act on the principles you value most highly when they’re brought into conflict with principles you value, only less so.
I come back to Ned. He values both the preservation of peace and order in the realm at large and the preservation of mercy for the individual. When executing the Night Watchman, he showed us that his priority between the two was the realm. When he later tried to give Cersei mercy at the expense of his responsbility to the realm, he died. He hesitated to act on his most valued principle, and it cost him.
Davos is not, I think, hesitating to act on his most valued principles, even when they conflict with his other principles. That bodes well for him, I think.
I too was moved by Davos learning to read, here and in his previous chapter. A life-worn sailor quietly pursuing a new skill which will open worlds to him and aid his current stuggles. Reminded me slightly of Arya’s sword-lessons in AGoT
Loved seeing Davos thwart Mel. She looks exactly like War Incarnate in “Good Omens” and is similarly effective, but thankfully she’s less invincible.
@6: Of course, it’s kind of hard to screen for bad traits when the key criteria regarding which offspring is most valuable for the future of the bloodine are “male” and “popped out first” as opposed criteria such as “least psychotic” and “no hip displasia.”
@9, garrettc
Excellent thought. I would not have seen that. Thanks.
Also, in response to what a lot of people feel is the neverending suck of these novels, having listened to GRRM talk about the stories, I feel he’s a softie at heart, and that an epic happy ending is lurking in these books somewhere.
Here is where Davos evolved from a cool, admirable minor character into one of the absolute best people in the series. The man was an illiterate smuggler from the poorest area in King’s Landing, who when elevated to an undreamed of level of power and wealth struggled to learn to read. (Roll over for text:) He now finally presents the plea for help that you condemned him for ignorning previously, willing to die if it may help Stannis and the realm. His willingness to risk execution by standing for what is right, against the wishes of the man he swore himself to, is a mark of true courage. Onion Knight FTW!!!!!!!!!
@13 I read somewhere that GRRM said the series would be “bittersweet” when it was all over. Take from that what you will…
@11, I don’t know if you read the excerpt posted here on Tor, but SPOILER male primogenture wasn’t that important to Targaryens.
END SPOILER
Not that that invalidates your point, but it is an interesting tidbit the books imply but don’t make explicit.
@15, Well I’m sure characters I love will die, but I take exception to people who think that because Robb Stark died, GRRM intends to end the books with the White Walkers winning.
@6, Stannis is the lord Davos chose; Davos is the subject Stannis chose.
Maybe the White Walkers are the real good guys in this story.
I don’t even know that the White Walkers are the point of the story…it’s not like they have been up to this point. For a “Big Bad”, they don’t do much.
@16: Thanks for the info. Though, as you say, “least psychotic” would still have probably been a boon to their selection process.
But, really, I was just happy to make a hip displasia joke. As you can imagine, I don’t get many chances.
@18, I know that. Doesn’t mean I don’t think Davos can do better.
@11 – the lesson from the dog world, though, is that beyond a certain point, it doesn’t matter how ‘selective’ you are about breeding; a lack of genetic diversity will destroy you. There’s some indications that attempts to breed out hip dysplasia have led to a spike in cancer rates.
@17 Supposedly (according to the wiki) that changed immediately after (and because of) that incident. So in more recent times, @11 is entirely correct.
@14, pretty sure that’s a spoiler. Leigh doesn’t know what’s in the letter he’s reading.
They say that when a Targeryan is born, the gods flip a coin to decide if they will be mad or great, and Dany and her brother are good examples of that.
Also, you should never start rooting for a character in ASOIF, something horrible is bound to happen to them. GRRM hates the ones we love :(
I sometimes feel like the darkness of these stories is overstated a bit. Yes, terrible things happen, like Ned’s death and the Red Wedding, but it isn’t a wall-to-wall slaughterfest. I have certainly read books with higher body counts, or books where the main characters die at the end for seemingly no reason at all. Looking at only the first book, yeah Ned dies, but we also have triumphant moments after that. And then in this book, Red Wedding noooo, but then after that, Joffrey dies and Davos is awesome!
Many of the characters who die would be goners in other fantasy series as well–Jeor Mormont and Ygritte? The crusty old mentor and the love interest? That type of character dies pretty often.
I mean, seriously, aside from Ned and Cat, who else has died that we all loved so much?
Robb, I didn’t love him, I just blindly accepted that he was the natural heir as our “hero”, and was bitten for it.
Joff, no tears there.
Balon Greyjoy, did we love him? Beric Dondarrion*, Lommy Greenhands, Maester Cressen, what about them?
Yes we lost Jory, Septa Mordane, Ser Rodrick, Lady and Grey Wind, they were all awesome, but did we know them well enough to love them.
Drogo, ok, some of us loved him.
Renly, he was pretty cool.
Outside of that, I can’t imagine who all these loved dead people are?
@Dragonriding Moogle(love your name), I’ve said that a few times. I’m a fan of Sara Douglass, and I feel what she puts her characters through is WORSE, and you’re never concerned who’s gonna live or die, you know that all the good guys are gonna live.
*I know Beric’s not DEAD dead, but he’s died, it counts. I’m sure Thoros was real broken up about it the first time.
@29 – That character’s parentage is not stated explicitly until FFC.
@27,28: I agree. This series is definitely grittier than most fantasy books I read, but unlike what most people seem to say, GRRM doesn’t randomly kill of characters just because you love them. He kills them because their deaths move the story along. We couldn’t have had a War of 5 Kings if Ned hadn’t died. Dany wouldn’t have become Khaleesi if Drogo hadn’t died. (Roll over for spoiler:) Jon couldn’t have become LC if the Old Bear hadn’t died. And so on. All the major deaths in the series have a point.
@32: *white (grr!)
When I ran out of ASoIF books to read, I picked up the Malazan series.
After the second book and the Chain of Dogs sequence I realized that GRRM really is a reasonable guy. I mean, the story goes on, and the Starks go on… but we’re a long way from that ancient world genocide feeling here.
A pro-tip for the Red Names: If you want a mod to fix something, flagging your own comments is probably the best way. The mod may not be monitoring the thread, but they get flag notices immediately.
Chapter 63:Davos–Nice simile of cinders/voices to start. A worship service for R’hllor. Thinking back to the last time we saw these, I recall Stannis wanting more proof of Mel. And now Jof is dead–do they know that yet and if so, are they about to sacrifice the boy?
Not clear if they know yet–but Davos seems to be saving the boy.
Now they know. Davos knew before–that’s why he sent the boy away. Mel saw the confirmation in her flames.
I wonder what Davos is reading–something he found. Something important. Maybe something about the sword?
I don’t think this will be the end of Davos in any case. I’m growing to like his chapters more all the time.
To be fair to Myrcella and Tommen, based off what little we’ve seen of them, they have turned out reasonably better than Joffrey did, so I’m more willing to blame nurture (or likely lack thereof) rather than nature.
@37 I think that actually indicates it was nature with Joffrey, since he was raised identically to his younger sibs.
@38: Not necessarily. Joffrey was raised with the expectation he would be king. He was groomed and trained. Also, Tommen is a lot younger than Joffrey was.
But yeah, the more I think about it, I do think it was nature with Joff.
Does anyone remember the scene at Winterfell when Tommen was so bundled up with armor and padding he could hardly move? It reminded me of that scene in A Christmas Story where Ralphie’s younger brother was so bundled up for winter he couldn’t move.
Davos was not being more sneaky than Ned, he was being more principled. Some people have touched on this, and I would like to add the contrast on how they deal with their respective monarchs. Ned hesitated to bring stuff to his king and failed to take personal responsibility for the bastard kids he feared his king would kill. He equivocated and compromised his principles many times and died for it.
Going strictly by duty (with pragmatism not entering the equation) Ned should have:
– NOT given Cersei a chance to flee
– NOT asked Littlefinger to bribe the Watch
– NOT refrained from disturbing Robert on his deathbed
– NOT given in and agreed to confess due to a vague threat to his daughter.
If he was worried about what Robert would do to his fake kids, he should have put them on the ship he hired to send the girls home and shipped them back to Winterfell, where he could keep them safe from Robert’s wrath and prevent the Lannisters from using them to claim the throne. Blowing off Renly’s urgings to take them into question just because he didn’t want to disturb Robert’s final hours was not “honorable” or “moral”. Robert’s the king and he’s supposed to be living for his people. He spent 14 years fucking off and indulging himself and battering Cersei to turn her against him, then a few hours of uproar while he dies is the price he has to pay for that.
Davos was willing to stop his king when his king was on the verge of a moral error. That is the difference between him and Ned.
The books are full of people getting caught up by their own pragmatism after rejecting the moral course of action. Look at Lord Mormont. Jon Snow’s reaction to Craster was all “WTF? This guy’s a scumbag who rapes girls and murders babies! We don’t need friends like that.” And Mormont starts poo-pooing this moral stuff as less important than the practical fact of staying on Craster’s good side, because his house is a safe haven for the Night’s Watch. And then he dies there. *Nelsonlaugh* And from what Craster’s widows tell Sam, the babies grow up to be Others, so Mormont has allowed the Watch’s Main Enemy a recruiting source in exchange for an ally against the lesser enemy! That’s like giving Al Quaeda weapons and money to help us stop shoplifters. Epic Fail, pragmatism.
Davos and Stannis make a good team because they reinforce each other’s morality and principles. People might scoff at Stannis, saying he’d have committed the evil actions without Davos there to advise against it, but it was Stannis who recognized Davos’ worth and raised him up so he’d be in a position to stop Melisandre from taking advantage of Stannis’ dedication to duty.
And speaking of the Red Woman, maybe if Leigh put aside her dogmatic, knee-jerk prejudice against religion for just one second, she might realize that a Fire God whose priestess has actual, fire-themed powers, might just be the perfect ally against the Frozen Zombie Winterapocalypse?
@40, In all fairness to Leigh, disliking Melisandre at this point is hardly just the consequence of a knee-jerk prejudice. Human sacrifice, assassinations, and disturbing imagery do not a good impression make.
As for Thoros. . . well, he’s a lot better but the jury is reasonably still out on him for Leigh as well
@39: True, but unfortunately, he had (well past obviously) taken all the wrong lessons to heart, and the worst Cersei can say about him is that he’s ‘difficult’…
@41: Not to mention shadow babies and resurrection at the low, low cost of your memories…
@40: I wouldn’t put the whole blame on Ned, however. The difference between Stannis and Robert is that Stannis is actually willing to listen to advice as long as it’s given to him in a reasonable manner. Robert, on the other hand, is much more prone to getting angry and leaving the room if Ned contradicts him, and or just ignoring the problem completely. Of course, the fact that Ned himself is liable to lose his temper doesn’t make communication any easier. I think Stannis is the best king for Davos to serve, not because I believe greatly in Stannis’ ruling abilities, but because he’s the one king who would be willing to listen to Davos’ advice, even if it’s not to his liking. Compared with that, Robert, Joffrey, Renly, and even Robb at times, don’t always listen to their advisors and pay the price as a result.
@43 Nessa
Robert, on the other hand, is much more prone to getting angry and leaving the room if Ned contradicts him, and or just ignoring the problem completely.
Well, at least that part wouldn’t have been an issue in that particular case, I guess…
GarrettC@9
Actually, Ned had no choice in the matter. Fundamentally ingrained law and custom since the last Long Night decree that Night’s Watch deserters can’t be spared, as that story about a Ryswell who had captured and delivered his own son, whom he loved, back to NW for execution amply illustrates.
There is zero grounds for comparison with Cersei’s kids, though I agree that Ned could and should have combined mercy with practicality there.
And yes, Davos is a great example of a good man, who is also observant, careful and effective. As opposed to poor Ned.
Think back to aGoT and aCoK: did they putter off in the last fifth of the book (there’s about 20 chapters left)? Just an observation, since it seems to me many posting already have their Feast pants on and Leigh still doesn’t even have a pretty clear and reliable answer on what valar morghulis means :)
Also think stopping at the end of Feast for a state of Leigh on ASoIaF is probably a good idea. Hopefully the Red Wedding rage will have simmered a bit by then.
A lot of people get on Stannis’ case due to Melisandre, which is understandable, but of the candidates so far for King of Westeros, Stannis is the best.
1. Balon Greyjoy-Absolutely not, is there an argument.
2. Renly Baratheon-He knew enough to marry the girl with the biggest army, but his Kingship would have ended up like Roberts, with the Tyrells playing the part of the Lannisters. Stannis would never let such a strong faction form in Kings Landing.
3. Robb Stark-We all love Robb, but he would have divided the Kingdom into three very untenable nation-states and plunged Westeros into a hundred years of war to sort it out.
4. Joffrey-See Balon Greyjoy
Given the choices, Stannis is by far the best.
Following that line of thinking, while we know it could never happen, i’m curious what a Littlefinger led kingtom would look like…
Again – sorry for the late posting. Funeral was Thursday and we spent the weekend with good friends at an island off the coast of Maine.
Not much to say that hasn’t been said, other than I’m liking Davos more on this read blog than in my own reads through the book. The measured approach brings out his subtle strengths more than the usual breakneck speed read through.
Re who should have been king out of the current pool – I’d vote for Robb Stark over Stannis in a heartbeat and probably Daenaerys as well.
Re: Melissandre predicting that Davos has doomed the world.
Note that this is not something Melly saw in the flames, but her interpretation of stuff that she saw in the flames earlier.
It’s clear that there is something magical going on with what she sees in the flames, but this dooming thing is just conjecture. She figured that she had to kill a boy, and when she couldn’t, she figured, right, that’s it, we’re goners.
I think that that is an important difference.
@6
Note that Stannis did elevate Davos from smuggler to knight to Hand, so he was able to see the grit and good in him.
Also, as a thought experiment replace Stannis with any other would-be king or any other leader in general in this series. Is Davos still alive at this stage? I thought not.
@51 philbert
Davos +
a) Robb = dead (severe case of Red Wedding)
b) Renly = alive (cf. Mace Tyrell)
c) Daenerys = alive (cf. Ser Jora, Ser Barristan)
d) Balon = Schrödinger’s Davos (might have pissed off Balon enough to be killed but could just as well only have been kicked to the proverbial curb). Balon never had a Hand so it’s hard to say.
e) Joffrey = dito. Evidence of handling Hands (pun intended) is inconclusive due to both Hands being Lannisters.
Judged only by the character of his royal employers and discounting outside interference I’d see him being alive in 3 out of 5 cases (Robb, Renly, Dany) and “who the hell knows” in the remaining 2…
@52
d) If Balon were king, Davos would be both dead and alive at the same time? Quantum Magic?
(sorry to have missed last week…out of communication last week at Boy Scout Summer Camp)
Rather, he would be in a box.
Davos being simultaneously dead and alive might suit Balon’s religious sensibilities.
What is dead may never die
“a seeming good achieved by evil means is no good at all.”
Thank you. Just – THANK YOU.
Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person left who feels this way, and it is soooo very disheartening.
So was the cat the reason, as Cersei said, Robert once hit Joffrey hard?
@59: Yes, she mentions it in SOS Tyrion VI – though Cersei, being Cersei, only refers to it as ‘some mischief with a cat’.
“Sacrificing One to save Millions” is only valid when the ‘one’ being sacrificed is the one saying it. Odd how seldom that happens.