145 replies to this topic

[Stewmazza]

Having spoken to George Martin himself, the line she says is:

"Cat please, I'm about to shit myself!"

Works contextually and would get her attention. Boom!

[Son of Jon Snarkgaryen]

One word sure to get any woman's attention, stonehearted undead zombie or not:

spoiler -->  ladies who are concerned about being offended, don't look, you've been warned!

Spoiler

Brienne, in an accusing tone to Lady Stoneheart:

Spoiler

"Cunt!"

Because somebody had to.   

[Slacker]

My guess would be still be a violent "Stannis" (possibly Renly) or a loud, accusing "oathbreaker"... and yes, some say "why would UnCat care about any vows Cat made?".. well, if that's the case then by the same logic why should she care about any vows or oaths made to Cat? If UnCat remembers the oaths and vows made to her (Cat) and hate those who broke them then, if she is not a complete hypocrite (and cunt), she would care about the vows and oaths she made herself and wouldn't break them...

Spoiler

If UnCat had hung Brienne then she'd would've been an oathbreaker herself and, since she and her comrades are o so honorable (note the sarcasm), UnCat should've been thrown upon the funeral pier right after

[Chris_from_Warrenton]

Kanyin Snow, on 28 September 2011 - 10:42 PM, said:

My vote would be "Stannis" if Uncat is there since she made Cat swear never to stand in the way of her revenge against him...

I am doing a re-read of Book 2, and I just caught that as well.  Before Brienne agrees to enter Cat's service, she make's Cat promise to never impeed her oath to avenge Renly by killing Stannis.  

This is potentially highly significant.   This goes back to the very moment that bound Brienne to Cat and vice versa.  They both swore oaths to each other - it was not a totally one sided relationship.  

Given this, I am now thinking that Brienne's word was "Stannis" or "promise" - something connected to this moment.

[Sun]

Chris_from_Warrenton, on 24 December 2011 - 04:44 PM, said:

I am doing a re-read of Book 2, and I just caught that as well.  Before Brienne agrees to enter Cat's service, she make's Cat promise to never impeed her oath to avenge Renly by killing Stannis.  

This is potentially highly significant.   This goes back to the very moment that bound Brienne to Cat and vice versa.  They both swore oaths to each other - it was not a totally one sided relationship.  

Given this, I am now thinking that Brienne's word was "Stannis" or "promise" - something connected to this moment.

Ooh, I'd completely forgotten about that. It certainly adds an interesting twist to the situation.
I need to have a rethink about how that would factor into Breinne's last word, and what effect, if any, it is likely to have on Lady Stoneheart's ultimatum of sword or rope.

[Jamie Lannister]

Isn't this just really, really obvious? There was only ONE way she was getting out of that noose. Stoneheart wasn't even around, as far as we know.

[Im no Ser]

sarah.jenice, on 12 December 2011 - 04:37 PM, said:

Also, I just noticed in a Feast reread that Tom O'Sevens is now inside Riverrun. Is he going to be taking out a bunch of Freys and Lannisters from the inside? Did I miss him departing from the Brotherhood or is he on a mission?

He's hanging around Riverrun as a BwB spy.  Edwyn Frey's instincts are sound when he says it's almost as if the BwB knew when his father would be travelling lightly guarded - but it's Tom, not Black Walder who leaked it.  That's why Tom's disappointed when Jamie says he'll be leaving - Jamie is his #1 target.  Until he's caught the Freys at Riverrun will be dropping like flies.

[Riffraff]

i like to think the word was "family" since in that is the only thing more important to a tully above duty and honor and could catch uncats attention. sword just seems too obvious

[Always_En_Garde]

I'd be shocked to my core if it wasn't "Arya."

Why?

• Brienne is now aware that it was not Sansa accompanying Clegane.
  
• Catelyn knows that Sansa is alive, but believes Arya long dead - which is why it  would get her undead attention long enough for further explanation.

[boojam]

Gray Ghost, on 28 September 2011 - 05:53 PM, said:

Has anyone suggested yet that the last word might be "Lysa"? .... As to catch the attention of Uncat -- as anyone that has read the books knows that it would (if Uncat was present).

I am thinking the last thing that goes through a person's brain when they are about to die, is "how can I prevent dying?".  So if this is the case, and Brienne has already decided that she will not go against the oath she gave Jaime (George R.R. Martin would not make this so clear if there wasn't going to be a sharp twist in the "one word" scenario -- and not just a simple "OK, I'll do it" from Brienne).  By giving the name Lysa, she can then be given time to explain that Cat's daughter(s) are alive, and that she knows where at least one of them is located.

Just a thought.. I'm new here.  Thanks for reading!

This may be covering old ground.
Do we know if Cat knows Sansa is alive?
We know that Jamie knows , for sure (my only surmise) that Sansa is alive.
Is it not him who sends Brienne on the mission?
If Cat did not know that, that in itself would be of ultimate importance to her, such as she is.
Then that enigmatic encounter between Jamie and Brienne in ADWD where Sansa's name figures in the narrative again.
It would be too much to speculate that Brienne knows also that Arya is alive, but between Arya's adventures with the Hound, there are enough Arya spottings, Gentry know does he not? that that could also stay Cat's hand.
Seems Brienne has to say something that relates to Sansa and Arya.
Just saying.

Edited by boojam, 01 January 2012 - 08:10 AM.

[Nausicaä]

Always_En_Garde, on 01 January 2012 - 07:04 AM, said:

I'd be shocked to my core if it wasn't "Arya."

Why?

• Brienne is now aware that it was not Sansa accompanying Clegane.
  
• Catelyn knows that Sansa is alive, but believes Arya long dead - which is why it  would get her undead attention long enough for further explanation.

Catelyn doesn't believe Arya long dead, she has exactly the same amount of information about her as Brienne, since Arya was travelling with BWB who now work under Catelyn, was kidnapped from them by the Hound and was last seen alive with the Hound at the exact same inn that Brienne fought the outlaws and was captured at, the BWB's inn.

[Buried Treasure]

Cat doesn't believe Arya to be long dead, but she does think that she is probably dead as the BwB suspect she was killed in the raid on Saltpans.

I don't know what the word was, but I am becoming ever more convinced it somehow relates to Sandor and QI. I think the knowledge of Arya being with Sandor, coupled with her witnessing Lem turn into the new Hound whilst in a fever has allowed her to work out that Sandor lives.

Edited by Buried Treasure, 01 January 2012 - 12:27 PM.

[Kate Poem]

Maybe - maybe Brienne, for Podrick's sake, cried "I agree! I'll kill Jaime!"
But... it was one word... I don't know.

[Always_En_Garde]

When Robb tells her that Arya is (presumably) dead, Catelyn does not argue at all with him. Not even a "Don't say that."

You can hope someone is alive while acknowledging they're likely dead.

[Howling Mad]

Rockroi, on 29 April 2012 - 09:27 PM, said:

I have no place else to post this, but Iust watche dthe show (The Ghost in Harrenhal) and in that episode Brienne swears herself to Cat.  She does so in the moments after Renly is dead.

Which leads me to this:

What iof the one word Brienne said wasn't "Sword" or "Sansa" or "Jaime.

What if the one word was "Stannis"?

Think about it: when Brienne swore her loyalty it was so that she could, ultimately, slay Stannis who slew Renly.  Well, if Cat strings up Brienne ... isn't it natural for Brienne to remind Cat of her oath?

And what if Brienne is going to get Jaime to go North and kill Stannis?

Rokroi nailed it:

(Brienne says) “No, but you have courage. Not battle courage perhaps but . . . I don’t know . . . a kind of woman’s courage. And I think, when the time comes, you will not try and hold me back. Promise me that. That you will not hold me back from Stannis.”

Catelyn could still hear Stannis saying that Robb’s turn too would come in time. It was like a cold breath on the back of her neck. “When the time comes, I will not hold you back.”

The tall girl knelt awkwardly, unsheathed Renly’s longsword, and laid it at her feet. “Then I am yours, my lady. Your liege man, or . . . whatever you would have me be. I will shield your back and keep your counsel and give my life for yours, if need be. I swear it by the old gods and the new.”

“And I vow that you shall always have a place by my hearth and meat and mead at my table, and pledge to ask no service of you that might bring you into dishonor. I swear it by the old gods and the new. Arise.” As she clasped the other woman’s hands between her own, Catelyn could not help but smile. How many times did I watch Ned accept a man’s oath of service? She wondered what he would think if he could see her now.

[Howlin' Howland Reed]

I. Love. It.

I've always just assumed that the word was sword, or maybe Arya, and that was that. Stannis, however... I want this to be true!

[Budj]

Howling4Reed, on 29 April 2012 - 10:59 PM, said:

Rokroi nailed it:

(Brienne says) “No, but you have courage. Not battle courage perhaps but . . . I don’t know . . . a kind of woman’s courage. And I think, when the time comes, you will not try and hold me back. Promise me that. That you will not hold me back from Stannis.”

Catelyn could still hear Stannis saying that Robb’s turn too would come in time. It was like a cold breath on the back of her neck. “When the time comes, I will not hold you back.”

The tall girl knelt awkwardly, unsheathed Renly’s longsword, and laid it at her feet. “Then I am yours, my lady. Your liege man, or . . . whatever you would have me be. I will shield your back and keep your counsel and give my life for yours, if need be. I swear it by the old gods and the new.”

“And I vow that you shall always have a place by my hearth and meat and mead at my table, and pledge to ask no service of you that might bring you into dishonor. I swear it by the old gods and the new. Arise.” As she clasped the other woman’s hands between her own, Catelyn could not help but smile. How many times did I watch Ned accept a man’s oath of service? She wondered what he would think if he could see her now.

I agree.  It makes sense that it was something related to Stannis to remind Cat of her oath too.  The next question is why does Brienne fetch Jamie?  Replacement trial?  Or is she pulling him off his KG duties so Cat can "remind him" that his oath to her trumps the KG?  I would prefer the latter...

[Groat]

Budj, on 30 April 2012 - 09:01 AM, said:

The next question is why does Brienne fetch Jamie?  

Why indeed? If Brienne was spared because of the promise Cat made while living, then wouldn't Brienne be allowed to start going straight for Stannis? There are only 2 things Brienne could of said, either the word "sword" or something else. Allow me to explain.

Sword is the oh so obvious choice because Brienne was freed and she only had 2 options, die or say sword. Considering Brienne's character, if she did say sword, she is either going to get Jaime to kill him (which would be kind of lame) or she is getting Jaime for his trial with the BWB (Brienne had her trial, but Jaime would still get his). I like to think she is getting Jaime for a trial, BWB keeps Pod and Ser Hyle captives with the threat of execution if Brienne doesn't return, and early on in TWOW Brienne of Tarth wins a trial by combat in the name of Jaime's honor. Again this is what I am hoping for, but that doesn't happen all too often.

The only other thing Brienne could have said was something other than the word sword. What I mean by that is Brienne died unless she said sword. Anything else she yelled (Arya, Hound, Father, Saphires, Ice) would have resulted in her death regardless. The whole point of her yelling something, whatever it was, could have been to give Uncat a moment respite from her hatefull vengance (the word Ice brings back memories of Ned, her kids, and Uncat suddenly has no desire to remain in this world hanging Freys). Uncat then gives Brienne the gift of fire, and Brienne is now Unbrienne, and she is stealing Jaime away for the gods only know what.

[NyMeria Queen of Winter]

So I'm new and I haven't read every word posted on this topic..but I'm diving in head first! What word could possibly save her? Only one that I can think of, and that's a name near and dear to her heart... "Arya". Forget sword and yield or kingmaker. What did Cat ever care for any of those ideas? Please remember, she faced treason by releasing Jamie Lanister for one reason alone; a mothers love. She believed all of her sons dead except Robb. Her only reason for her actions rested in Sansa and Arya. House Stark, a direwolf, one for each "Stark" child... Ned's lineage as well as her own and the only hope she had left in this world after the Red Wedding and Robbs murder (as well as her own). What else could sway her vigilante sense of justice? Brienne had only one card left to play; her own sense of honor and loyalty would leave her with just one option: she didn't have evidence of Sansa still living, but Arya was another story. For those that believe she said "sword" consider that her nifty new sword was laid before Stoneheart and Brienne named it Oathkeeper while Stoneheart claimed it was Oathbreaker. What power would sword hold after that exchange? Arya was/is the missing link, the one piece of the puzzle that was missing. What mother could turn her back on that? And btw, the idea that cat was not mentioned as being "present" at the hanging therefoR "Arya" isn't viable is just silly. She passed judgement, she gave the oRdeR. Ned ALWAYS carried out the execution himself, what would make anyone think that his wife would not have the same code of ethics? Just because it doesn't say she was present does not mean she wasn't. 

[Stop Rhaegar HAMMERTIME!]

She said the same thing she had been saying for hours "burn them all"! ........I mean Jaime!