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 20 of A Dance With Dragons, in which we cover Chapter 33 (“Tyrion”) and Chapter 34 (“Bran”).
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 33: Tyrion
What Happens
Aboard the Selaesori Qhoran outbound from Volantis, Tyrion is careful to keep his mocking thoughts about R’hllor, the devoutness of the crew, and the ugliness of the ship to himself. He sees the dwarf girl Penny abovedecks for the first time since they’d sailed and tries to speak with her, but she retreats quickly. Tyrion doesn’t blame her for hating him. He sits with the red priest Moqorro that evening and asks what he sees in the flames. Moqorro tells him:
“Dragons old and young, true and false, bright and dark. And you. A small man with a big shadow, snarling in the midst of all.”
Tyrion suspects him of false flattery, and asks how long before they arrive in Meereen. Moqorro asks if he is so eager to meet “the world’s deliverer”, and Tyrion deflects the question with a jest. He goes to his cabin with Jorah, and opines that Penny needs a friend, but can’t stand him. Jorah replies that Tyrion was the one who insisted she come along, and that she is therefore Tyrion’s problem, and leaves; Tyrion reflects sourly that he would have exiled Jorah too if he could.
After days of being bored out of his mind, Tyrion runs into Penny again in the galley. He tries to make nice at first, but then she asks him why he wouldn’t just joust with them like the king wanted. Tyrion answers that they would have laughed at him, but she answers that her brother said making people laugh was an honorable thing. He tells her he is sorry for what happened to his brother, but this makes her angry. She tells him about a dwarf juggler they’d known who also got beheaded for the price on Tyrion’s head, and says both their blood is on his hands. Tyrion snaps back that he has blood on his hands, including that of kin and kings, but that he is not to blame for what happened to her brother. She throws a cup of wine in his face and leaves.
After a bad storm that left Tyrion strangely exhilarated, he runs into Penny again, and she apologizes to him for her accusation. They talk about her life before, and she laments what she will do now that she has no performing partner. Tyrion suspects with horror that she is hinting that he should join her, and instead tells her that Daenerys is a kind and generous queen who will surely give Penny a place in her court. They spend a lot of time together after that; one night she asks if he will “tilt” with her; he refuses brusquely, and only later wonders if she meant something different.
He sits with Moqorro again, and is dismayed to learn that they are very close to the coast of Valyria. He tells himself he does not believe the stories that anyone who lays eyes on its shores is doomed, though he remembers how his uncle Gerion had set out to land on Valyria years ago and hasn’t been seen since. Moqorro says the captain doesn’t like it either, but this is the shortest way to Daenerys, and he commanded it, for others are seeking her. Tyrion thinks about mentioning Young Griff but decides against it.
“Have you seen these others in your fires?” he asked, warily.
“Only their shadows,” Moqorro said. “One most of all. A tall and twisted thing with one black eye and ten long arms, sailing on a sea of blood.”
Commentary
Aw, man, I’d hoped we were gonna get to Meereen in this chapter. Oh well.
And, eek. That vision is symbolically Euron-via-Victarion or I’ll eat my unlaundered socks. I had actually forgotten about him for a while, but yeah, he’s heading for Daenerys too.
And. Well. That’s going to be a super-special meeting, isn’t it. I can’t decide if I should rub my hands in glee or cringe in anticipation. Probably both. Let’s just say, I do not anticipate Victarion “Husband Of The Year” Greyjoy making the most stellar of first impressions on Dany. I shudder to imagine what his version of wooing might be; Emily Post would have an apoplectic fit at the very notion.
Of course, it’s not like I think Dany’s going to be all that thrilled to see Jorah again either, seeing as how when a ruler-type person tells a minion-type person “get out mah face and stay out,” they generally expect the command to stick. I’m very curious at this point to see how Jorah intends to get himself an audience with her.
Speaking of receptions, not sure what to make of Moqorro’s vision of Tyrion snarling at dragons. Hopefully it’s just symbolic of him in general, because God knows Tyrion’s life can certainly be summed up as “giving the finger to every big mean thing that tries to take a chunk out of him”, but it might be less symbolic and more literal, which is… worrying. Perhaps he’s going to try to be Dany’s dragon-whisperer? He might; he’s obsessed with the things, after all, and is also, you know, batshit crazy on some level. So, well, um. Yikes?
Not to mention how he might have just a weensy bit of a death wish:
Tyrion found himself musing on how easy it would be to slip over the gunwale and drop down into that darkness. One very small splash, and the pathetic little tale that was his life would soon be done. But what if there is a hell and my father’s waiting for me?
Okay, (a) that is hella sad-making, and (b) also makes me want to slap him a little, because, dude. Your life has not exactly been an episode of The Joy of Painting, no, but one thing it definitely is NOT is “little”. No one who’s been right hand to a king and killed their own father gets to claim their lives are insignificant. “Shitty”, sure. But “little”? No.
Re: Valyria: damn. That makes what happened to Pompeii sound like a minor oopsie with fire. Let’s not go there, ever, mmkay?
“Is that where my sister found you? In Braavos?”
“Your sister?” The girl looked lost.
“Queen Cersei.”
Penny shook her head. “She never… it was a man who came to us, in Pentos. Osmund. No, Oswald. Something like that. Oppo met with him, not me.”
I have the weirdest feeling that this might be significant in some way, but I can’t put my finger on how. Am I supposed to know who Osmund/Oswald is?
…Oh wait, Osmund Kettleblack, okay. Who I think was Cersei’s minion back in the day. Assuming this actually was the same Osmund, of course, which it might not be—for all I know “Osmund” is the Westeros equivalent of “John,” though I sort of doubt it.
But assuming it is, I… don’t really know what I’m supposed to conclude, other than that Cersei sure went to an awful lot of trouble to hire dwarf performers for the feast, if she sent her lackey all the way to Pentos to find some. Which means she… really didn’t like Tyrion, I guess. Which… yeah, I think we all knew that. So I’m probably missing something here.
As to Penny in general, I suppose it’s a matter of opinion whether she is truly as pathetic as Tyrion considers her. On the one hand, I’m kind of with Tyrion in cringing at the way she (and others of her ilk) plays along with the tall folks’ ridicule and mockery of little folk, confirming (in Tyrion’s eyes) every last indignity and stereotype he’s been fighting his whole life. On the other hand, at least Penny and the other dwarf mummers have found a way to profit from what this world (and, honestly, the real world as well) views as their disadvantages. And certainly she seems to be a lot more at peace with her life and herself than Tyrion is, or ever has been.
But on the gripping hand, the rebel in me, well, rebels against the notion of playing by the rules of the privileged group—of accepting the inferior role to which others have assigned you without your say-so—just because that’s easier than not doing so.
Because, you know, fuck those people.
…I’m beginning to have a little more insight into why I identify with Tyrion Lannister as a character so strongly.
And, lastly:
[Moqorro’s] iron staff was as tall as he was and crowned with a dragon’s head; when he stamped its butt upon the deck, the dragon’s maw spat crackling green flame.
Oooh, shiny. Well, now I know what I want for Christmas.
Also, I want you to know that it hurts my heart every time Martin forces me to type a word that has a “q” not followed by “u” in it. That’s just wrong, man.
Chapter 34: Bran
What Happens
Months go by under the hill, and Bran learns from the three-eyed crow, who the children of the forest (aka those who sing the song of earth) call the last greenseer, and who tells Bran himself that he was called Brynden when he was alive. One of the singers, Leaf, explains that “most of him has gone into the tree,” and he has lived beyond a mortal lifespan that way. Jojen, who has recovered but seems sad now, tells him that the trees remember “the secrets of the old gods” and will do so long after he and Meera are gone, but Bran will do the same. Bran says maybe they could be greenseers too, but Jojen tells him the ability is vanishingly rare, and that his part in the tale is done.
The singers make Bran a throne of his own, and Brynden teaches him to walk in the skin of ravens as well as Summer. He senses other presences in the birds, and Brynden tells him that they are remnants of the souls of singers who rode them long ago. Jojen tells him that the singers believe that they are the old gods, that they join the godhood and become part of the trees once they die. Alarmed, Bran asks if they are going to kill him, and Meera chides Jojen not to scare him. Jojen replies that Bran is not the one who needs to be afraid. Leaf tells Bran about her people, and how they are dwindling, their day done, just like the giants and the unicorns and the mammoths, and Bran thinks that men would not take their racial demise nearly so calmly.
When Meera and Jojen go exploring, Bran goes with them as Hodor. Hodor no longer fights Bran when he takes over, but instead hides in what Bran thinks of as a “pit” deep inside himself where even Bran cannot reach. Bran silently promises Hodor that he will always give it back. No one knows that he is being Hodor, and he uses the stableboy to explore the caves, finding at one point a cavern full of nearly-dead singers enthroned like Brynden. Bran thinks that one day he will be like them, and it fills him with dread. He tries to convince himself that being a greenseer will be just as good as being a knight. Jojen grows more withdrawn, and Meera is angry that he will not even try to sidestep the fate he saw in his greendreams. She cries, and Bran thinks of using Hodor to hug her, but she runs away before he can decide.
After two months, Brynden tells him it is time, and the singers give him a paste of weirwood seeds to eat, which taste bitter at first but better and better as he goes. Brynden tells him to slip his skin, but this time to go into the trees instead of Summer or the ravens. Bran does, and suddenly finds himself in the godswood of Winterfell, looking at his father. He whispers, and his father looks up, and Bran flees back to the cave. Leaf tells him his father is dead, and Brynden explains that time is different for trees, and they see the past and the present all at once. Bran protests that his father heard him, but Brynden assures him he will never be able to truly speak to those in the past that way. He also promises that in time, Bran will be able to see far beyond the trees themselves. Bran goes to bed, but finds himself back in the godswood again, looking at a younger Eddard Stark. He tries to talk to him again, but realizes his father only hears the rustling of leaves. Then he sees glimpses of other people in the grove: a girl and a boy play fighting, a pregnant woman praying for a son to avenge her, and many others, further and further into the past.
Then, as he watched, a bearded man forced a captive down onto his knees before the heart tree. A white-haired woman stepped toward them through a drift of dark red leaves, a bronze sickle in her hand.
“No,” said Bran, “no, don’t,” but they could not hear him, no more than his father had. The woman grabbed the captive by the hair, hooked the sickle round his throat, and slashed. And through the mist of centuries the broken boy could only watch as the man’s feet drummed against the earth… but as his life flowed out of him in a red tide, Brandon Stark could taste the blood.
Commentary
Well, that was all both very beautiful and very disturbing.
But at least now I know, finally, what the hell “greenseeing” really is. The term is nearly laughably literal, in retrospect, but that’s why it’s kind of awesome too.
However, while being able to actually see history through the eyes of trees is super cool and all, I am profoundly uneasy about the situation that seems to be required of Bran to do it. I mean, yes, he can’t walk and all, but that doesn’t mean I’m on board with sticking him in a chair in a cave and letting the local flora poke holes in him forever. In fact the whole thing reminded me rather sharply of the landfill scene in Labyrinth, to the point where I wanted to yell at Bran, “They just want you to be trapped down there with them! Get out! It’s all junk!”
I mean, obviously greenseeing is a better perk than just having teddy bears stuck to your head, but still. This chapter had a vibe, and that vibe is Creepy. At least to me.
And almost every day they ate blood stew, thickened with barley and onions and chunks of meat. Jojen thought it might be squirrel meat, and Meera said that it was rat. Bran did not care. It was meat and it was good. The stewing made it tender.
Oh, Good, Mystery Meat. That is NOT HELPING with the Creepy vibe, people!
Although Bran himself provided some of that Creepy, because ohhhh, Bran, that is so not cool, what you’re doing with Hodor. I warned you about this! Didn’t I say? I DID totally say, and you didn’t listen, and now look what you’ve done! I mean, what would we have thought of Sarah, huh, if she’d found some way to use her friend Ludo as just some giant puppet?
…wait.
Anyway, the whole thing bodes very ill for poor Hodor’s future bodily autonomy, is what I’m saying. Because, look, I see where this is going: sooner or later it’s going to occur to Bran that he could totally walk again, and do knight things and basically whatever he wants (including maybe “things” with Meera EEEEEEEK), using Hodor’s body on a permanent basis. And that is, in a word, Bad.
Poor Hodor. And poor Bran, for the slippery ethical slope he is sliding on. Stay good, Bran! Don’t go there!
“It was the singers who taught the First Men to send messages by raven… but in those days, the birds would speak the words. The trees remember, but men forget, and so now they write the messages on parchment and tie them round the feet of birds who have never shared their skin.”
Heh. I like that.
As to the children-slash-singers-slash-inexplicably-lacking-snappy-nicknames-until-now people, I’ve been having fun comparing them to vaguely Tolkien-y elves, but really, in this chapter they come across more like analogies to pre-homo sapiens humans, like Neanderthals and such—an impression no doubt reinforced by the reference to mammoths. Which also has strong associations (at least in my mind) to the end of the last Ice Age, which I believe is considered to be one of the major factors in the extinction of mammoths in the real world. Which, you know, given that I hear Winter Is Coming in this world, is an interesting juxtaposition.
I’m not completely sure what the significance of that last bit was, with presumably-Bran’s-earliest-ancestors slitting the throat of that guy, but again, anything involving people drinking blood, even if via tree (you know, like you do), is automatically also located in Creepytown. So, kudos for sticking with a theme, I guess.
And last:
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies,” said Jojen. “The man who never reads lives only one.”
I feel like this is from somewhere else, like I’ve seen it before, but whether it is or it is original to Mr. Martin, it’s a pretty awesome quote. I therefore shall solemnly steal it for my own use. Yay!
And that’s all for now, peoples! Have a lovely weekend, and I’ll see you next week!
The letter “Q” without an “U” is common in the Romanization of languages like Arabic, which represents a phoneme called the voiceless uvular stop, which does not occur in English. (Iraq and Qatar, for example.)
Great post this week! Last week when you said you were holding off on the Tyrion chapter because you thought he’d make it to Dany, I wanted to reply “Ah, Leigh, you sweet summer child,” but I didn’t want to be spoilery :) But now the time has past!
I also get a huge creepy vibe from Bran’s latest chapters, but not sure if it will end badly. I do however think Bran is going to the “dark side” with his Hodoring. How can you be that awful Bran? When you know Hodor isn’t happy! Sigh, but then I try to remember Bran is like 9 or something and it makes sense.
Hey auntie Leigh, I have read and (enjoyed in the process) all this series about ASOIAF, also I’ve read the books.
You have done a hell of a job with these posts, doing something so nice to read.
I have a few comments I would like to share, hopefully you would read them too.
In this Bran chapter, you do not mention the words young Eddard was saying to the three “let them grow together as brothers…” There is a point missed, because all these goes backward to the promise Ned made to his dying sister in a bed of blood (book I). You know, all that stuff where the honorable Eddard Stark being the bastard’s father, but promising Lyanna not to tell anyone about a secret as her last wish in (again) that bed of blood. After that promise, Ned went to Starfall to give back Dawn (Arthur Dayne’s sword) to Lady Ashara, while carrying a newborn named after Jon Arryn, but being “his” bastard so, Snow for lastname. [Roll over for possible spoilers/dots not yet connected]
The CotF remind me more of Arthur Machen-ish “scary fairies” than they do any creature created by Tolkien or prehumen hominids. (Incidentally, The World of Ice and Fire gives the Ibbenese a description quite consistent with that of Neanderthals, and the “Brindled Men” of Sothoryos a description akin to that of Homo erectus.)
Tyrion’s “they’ll laugh at me” comment reminded me of Tywin’s obsession that no-one laugh at him. Another way Tyrion is his father’s son without realizing it.
I strongly suspect that “Jon” is the Westeros equivalent of “John”.
(Because somebody had to say it. :D)
Re: Penny’s comment about Osmund/Oswald: Dontos called the dude who rowed him and Sansa out to the ship after the Purple wedding “Oswell,” so I think we are meant to wonder whether it was Osmond (on Cercei’s behalf) or Oswell (on LF’s behalf). A clue intended to sow confusion rather than clarify anything ;-)
The Kettleblacks true loyalties have been revealed a really long time ago. I don’t blame you for not recalling them, though.
As always, thanks for our weekly ‘fix’ of Leighdom. I believe Jorah thinks delivering Tyrion LANNISTER to Dany will prove his loyalty beyond any doubt and win back his position in her good graces.
I found Bran’s chapter to be creepy and fascinating. I am less disturbed by Bran’s borrowing of Hodor’s body than many people. Bran is good-hearted and his skinchanging saved all of their lives outside the cave. I have never gotten the sense Bran wanted to be Hodor, only to borrow his body briefly – as a child, this might seem an extension of having Hodor ‘be his legs’ or carry Bran’s body around.
Now that Bran is ‘enlightened’ with the weirwood paste, he should be able to explore via other creatures. (Hmmm. It would be helpful to skinchange a boar and run it into the cave for dinner.)
The cave is odd, to be sure. Giant bats? Bones? Other ancient greenseers? Blood stew and mystery meat? One-on-one lessons with Brendan The Tree for a couple of months? Wow. Oh, well, at least they have fresh water and some magical way of keeping the wights out. Truly, the North produces resilient children.
@6 Reddit has a thread on the origins of ASOIF names and it is fascinating. For example, Aemon = hidden one, Aerys = strife, Varys = versatile.
I think it is in Martin’s character to not only make the reader eventually empathize with obvious antagonists, but to also despise perceived protagonists. Because you know… “screw the readers.”
It would not surprise me at all if the “children” et al. are also sometimes a little bit “cannibally” (but you know, meat is meat right?) and the “island of cannibals” Rickon set sail too way back when is actually full of little “Bran-lings” or forrest children… but “good” cannibal forrest children.
The underlying theme I have gotten from the characters up to this point is that “there is no advantage to morality, nor disadvantage to selfishness and greed. We are all protagonists in our own minds. Whether we live by a strict code or standard or believe that the ends will justify the means of accomplishment, in the end, we will all die. Whether for honor, or for power, we will sacrifice that which we thought we never would for whatever drives us. And then we will die. (and hopefully not come back as zombies… or at least come back as “good” zombies… fricken A)…”
I’m just waiting for Martin to write a “wight” or “others” POV so I can identify with undead problems… (brown-eyed wights being discriminated by the blue-eyed ones, or how they hate being cold and trapped in the flippin frozen tundra but all the “humans” made a big wall and a “all your heat are belong to us” sign). Dolorous Ed had it right the whole time.
I remember being struck in this Bran chapter with an eerie sense that (roll over for possible spoilers) Bran has unwittingly consumed JoJen in that last bowl of paste stuff that finally sets off his true greenseer abilities. JJ is nowhere to be found now, and has been resigned to and lamenting his “fate” for a long time now, but we’re not told what that “fate” is exactly. The fact that JJ has some powers through prophetic dreams might mean his blood has some capacity to “awaken” certain powers for Bran. Anyway, this is all speculation, but I definitely got this vibe here.
Re: 12, I don’t mind the moderator editing that, but I would say that it can’t be a spoiler if it’s something that hasn’t been confirmed either way in the text.
The stuff about Penny is interesting. The thing is, Tyrion sees her as “lesser” than he is because of how she plays into her dwarfism, yet he doesn’t stop for a second to think about how privileged he really is. He was always so hard on himself for being a dwarf, and for good reason too since all of the other nobles looked down on him for it, so he really truly tried to rebel against the dwarf stereotype. But what allowed him to do so was the Lannister family name. Despite being a dwarf he was more privileged than 99% of the people in Westeros. Still, even though that’s the case, it seems like Penny is much more at ease with the fact that she is a Dwarf than Tyrion is.
“Light our fire and protect us from the dark, blah blah, light our way and keep us toasty warm, the night is dark and full of terrors, save us from the scary things, and blah blah some more.”
Tyrion Lannister, I would like to present you with the 2nd runner-up for line-of-the book award.
I chuckled when I first read it and laughed hard when I heard Roy Doltrice say it.
Regarding rat/squirrel, I read an account from the American Civil War (Vicksburg, I believe) where people had to eat rats and found the taste to be rather like squirrel, which they were used to eating.
This Bran chapter is among my ASOIAF favorites. Melancholy, macabre and oh so lyrical. I heart subterranean biomes and their inhabitants, was saddened on a first-read by the prospect of Hodor and Meera spending the rest of their lives there even if Jojen “Puddleglum” Reed was resigned to having ended his one-way mission, and still wonder why Summer, who would visit them; didn’t just partake of their blood stew and cave fish instead of squirmy wight meat? (Wight meat — the other white meat :-P)
The narrative once calls the Three-eyed Crow “the whisperer in darkness” — another Lovecraftian reference? Har har.
“Your (great-)uncle may have been named after me. Some still are.” Nicely tangible-yet-subtle evidence that this man was famous a fairly long time ago.
UNspoiled pointed out that the flavor of the paste Bran ate — unpleasant at first, then becoming like everything he loves best — is reminiscent of the scent of incense that Arya experienced soon after entering the House of Black and White. Neat.
@10: Oooh, where? I’m afraid to go wandering Reddit. TV Tropes says House Bolton has its own Subreddit.
@12: It’s a popular theory. And, as usual, one which never occurred to me until others pointed it out.
I hadn’t come up with it either. Also, I only read DwD once, shortly after it came out (although when my husband read it a few months ago I would browse it) so there’s a lot of stuff I’d forgotten about which I am rediscovering.
No mention of how we learned the identity the Three-Eyed Crow? At this point, it should be known exactly who he is.
@13CT12, Also off limits for this discussion are fan theories and speculation. We read this to get Leigh’s fresh perspective, untainted by supposition as well as spoilers.
How long do the ravens possessed by dead Children live? Can the dead possess a new raven when the old one dies?
For some reason I wasn’t able to post on the new site while at work yesterday. Bummer, man!
loved the Bob Ross reference in Leigh’s tease to the jump page. Wonder how many people here are old enough to have gotten it…
Hah, I got it, although I don’t consider myself that old.
There is a fairly humorous Epic Rap Battle of History that features Bob Ross vs. Pablo Picasso which I was just listening to a few days ago (ERB is my workout music, haha).
I don’t think Neanderthals are pre-homo sapiens. It’s believed that h. neanderthalensis and homo sapiens share a common ancestor and that they overlapped.
I’m kind of thinking this greenseeing thing is a pretty raw deal. I mean, yeah, it’s cool seeing history through trees and crap, but if you can’t do anything with it or even tell anybody because you’re stuck in a tree? But I guess Old Brynden Tree Face gave Bran the dreams, so. I’m waiting for the reveal that maybe Bran will figure out how to make people understand the tree rustlings, as in this chapter his dad seems to hear the leaves immediately after he tries to speak. Or maybe he’ll be able to figure out how to make ravens talk again while he’s in there skins? I just want something that will make this fate worthwhile.
Leigh wrote:
Well there is that remarkably similar aphorism about how the coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave man only one. I think it’s from The Music Man, though he probably stole it from Brave Heart.
It surprised me that Leigh had nothing to say about the ship name. “Selaesori Qhoran” translates into “Fragrant Steward” which reminds me of a certain warning prophecy Daenerys got.
@23 – Yeah, I’m missing a post, too. Except I can’t remember what I wrote, so it couldn’t have been very interesting, and now I’m retroactively relieved I didn’t make as big a fool of myself as I’m sure I originally would have.
@26/28: Whether he repurposed an existing quote or not, I think that the concept of living other lives through reading is something that is very inline with GRRM’s views. I remember at a convention he was telling a story from his childhood when the teacher would read to the class and become very excited about it, telling the children they were visiting Africa today or something. He recounted at least one other child mocking the teacher: “We’re not going to Africa, we’re reading a stupid book!” If I recall the point of the story, though, GRRM by contrast was very onboard with the different worlds reading could take you to.
Actually, now I also seem to recall seeing an interview online that he gave where he also gave the analogy that as a poor child, in books he could visit the moon, etc.
It’s interesting to compare Bran’s “tree trip” here with Melisandre’s “fire gaze” in her earlier chapter. She sees the future, while he can look into the past. Both chapters are directed more to the reader than the characters, with hidden information that only we can piece together. I’m more intrigued by the future, but a story as developed as this one makes me want to know the past too.
Perhaps the key to defeating the Others lies in the past. I’ve always figured GRRM would end the story with Bran, for symmetry if nothing else (after the prologue, Bran’s chapter opened A Game Of Thrones). But chapters like this one make me sad for his fate. Regardless of how powerful he may become, being stuck as a tree in a dark cave sounds quite horrible.
And yes, his forays into Hodor’s mind are uncomfortable to say the least. It comes dangerously close to mind rape. The worst part of this is that Bran knows it’s wrong, so the excuse that he’s too young doesn’t fly anymore. And the Varamyr Sixskins prologue told us what can happen when a “host” fights back. It wasn’t pretty.
For the Tyrion chapter, Penny and Moqorro took center stage. I’ve read criticisms of Penny, but I think she was necessary to bring Tyrion out of his funk. Moqorro is a cooler version of Melisandre. He doesn’t try to interpret his visions like she does, so he seems more accurate.
@6 Lol, you beat me to it. I had the same idea when I read Leigh’s comment. Robert is a pretty popular name too.
Hard to predict Dany’s reaction to Victarion, given her current taste in men.
@15: That line always makes me grin, too.
From Kyle:
“Awww, dwarf romance on the open ocean. Tyrion, you dog. Don’t take advantage of Penny, now.” *wags finger*
“Am I the only one whose heart broke a little when Meera started crying and Bran couldn’t crawl to her? *sigh* Goddamn you, Jaime Lannister.”
I really wanted Leigh to dive a bit deeper into Bran’s visions. A very tall young knight….
Oh my Seven, you didn’t make the connection… Holy fuck, that pisses me off so much. I mean, I’d understand if you hadn’t read Dunk & Egg, but… UGH! OMG, please, for my sanity’s sake, read TWoIaF, and MAKE THE FUCKING CONNECTION!
And you won’t even try to guess who that Arya-like girl was or what about young Ned was praying, what kind of forgiveness?