152 replies to this topic

[JimWolf]

For me it started with the Arya chapter beforehand.  As soon as she arrived and the next chapter began I knew it would either be an incredible reunion or some horrible disaster.  So yes, I felt mounting tension throughout the entire chapter.  When the climax came I was dumbfounded. I had to read the end a second time. Did that actually just happen? What just happened?  It's an incredible piece of writing.

[timjo3]

I was shocked by the red wedding and had to take a moment to sort through how I felt about it.  In the end, I determined that I kind of felt losing Robb was a loss because it removes a threat from the Lannisters.  I was looking forward to a big confrontation there and perhaps Robb going north and taking care of the ironborn.  I also determined that I wasn't at all upset about losing Cat.  She had become so whiny!

[ckal]

OK well I have a question. Did I miss something or where did all of those crows come from that cut up Cat's face? That seemed so random to me.

And it's sad knowing that Cat and Robb were so close to seeing Arya and knowing that she is not dead, but never find out in the end.

Also, I wonder what Robb did with the letter he had all his lords put their seal on naming his heir?

[JimWolf]

The ten crows were the nails on her own hands.  She lost it and clawed her own face.

[ckal]

Jimwolf-

Ohh I see, thanks. That's pretty nuts. I guess I missed that but was it even explained in that scene?

[K.C.]

Hour of the Wolf, on 01 May 2012 - 11:18 PM, said:

Grey Wind losing his mind was a big hint that something bad was going to happen with the Freys.  Plus, we already knew Roose would be a traitor from Brienne.  There is no way anyone could have connected the dots from the house of the undying.  I've also heard that those prophesies don't even line up with the red wedding.  Rob discussing who would be his heir was not good mojo either.

Agreed about the House of the Undying. I did pick up on the man with a wolf's head and crown foreshadowing Robb's death somehow, but it's vague enough not to be obvious. I'm curious to see how they handle the House of the Undying on the TV series.

Grey Wind was the big ruh-roh for me. And by the end, you definitely know something's up.

[Rickbarry]

I was shocked that they would actually shed blood.  Walder Frey seemed more like the type that would ransom Robb and Catelyn instead of outright killing them.  When they killed the Dacey Mormont I knew no one was getting out alive.  When he emerged from beneath the tables only to be butchered in front of his mother...wow.

[mozzie7]

I didn't pick up foreshadowing.
When came to that chapter I was like aww What a beauttiful day for a wedding
I realized what was going on when the song started. I didn't want to read anymore but I couldn't stop until the end of the chapter.
I dind't pick the book up again the entire day.

[Stanmore]

I'd always suspected that Robb would be one of the first of the Stark children to die, just because we never got a PoV for him. I was also pretty wary of the Freys, and I felt sure that they were plotting something.


Still, even with my suspicions and the foreshadowing in the text I was still shocked by the way things went down. I never expected such a blood bath, and what happening to Cat was particularly disturbing.

[Eaglewood]

I read it back in 2002. I'm a pretty fast reader, so I was flying through the book. The only thing I picked up before that specific chapter was the weird mood/foreboding in Cat's chapter before, when Robb and Cat talk about the death of the Mudd Kings and he makes Jon his heir. That sent up some bat signals. When Grey Wind was locked up at the Twins that set them up worse. Still, up until the moment that the one Frey pushed the Mormont girl away I didn't think anything on that scale was going to happen. I totally missed other hints (i.e. House of the Undying). On my re-reads it is all so very, very, very obvious. Sigh.

[Sharpes]

My experience with the RW the first time was via the audiobooks, read by Roy Dotrice, while driving down the coast on a wintery night. His voice really gave it a great atmosphere and the way his tempo increased as the violence was sprung really gave it that sense of being in the moment. Although I thought Cat's chapters were boring and I never really cared much for Robb (lack of a PoV), it was still shocking, if expected.

[phantomofthekingsguard]

I thought the Red Wedding was amazing.  Totally devastating, but such brilliant writing.

The signs were there - from when Grey Wind was so agitated as the Freys appeared, the way he wouldn't go into the castle.  And afterwards I realised the din of the music had been because the 'musicians' were actually soliders.

I thought Cat's plea for Robb was heart-wrenching, as was the moment she realised all was lost and started thinking about Ned and all their dead children.  I didn't get the part where her face was raked by the crows, so thank to OPs for sorting that bit out    I also found it really sad as she wished they'd wouldn't cut her hair, because Ned loved her hair.

Added to this was the fact that Arya was finally within reach of her mother, only to lose her once and for all.  I found that saddest of all.  She'd been through so much, and finally had the chance to be safe, to be a young girl free from such concerns as having to kill to survive (maybe), then to lose it like that...
I also loved the Hound, the way he wouldn't leave her behind, even though she'd lost all value in terms of ransom as her family were dead.  I really hope that scene gets put into the tv series.

I had to put the book down for a while after reading the RW.  Just couldn't seem to face any more after that.

[lydiapurple]

I had spoiled the red wedding for myself before reading it, but thought the events leading up to it were all the more frightening. The hard rain, Grey Wind, the distortion created by the loud drums and free flowing alchohol. It was really scary! : *(
The injustice done to them makes me so mad. Catelyn was so brave up until the very end : (

[phantomofthekingsguard]

lydiapurple, on 22 May 2012 - 03:18 PM, said:

I had spoiled the red wedding for myself before reading it, but thought the events leading up to it were all the more frightening. The hard rain, Grey Wind, the distortion created by the loud drums and free flowing alchohol. It was really scary! : *(
The injustice done to them makes me so mad. Catelyn was so brave up until the very end : (

I did this too, spoiled it for myself.  I didn't really think it would have that great an impact, as I was pretty sure what was going to happen.  How wrong was I?!?
You're right, it's the build up, the way the tension mounts, and things get more ominous (poor Robb, having to eat that awful food and pretend to enjoy it).
Catlyn's last thoughts, about all her (uspposedly) dead children, and them cutting her hair were so upsetting.

[Shitmouth the Wise]

I just remember reading the phrase 'Red Wedding' and knowing it was a significant event.  Name implies that characters die, of course.  

Spoiler

For most of SoS I'd hoped it was the Joffrey/Margaery wedding, but nope...

[Jolene Brown]

I also was spoiled for it, but still found it incredible reading.  In a way, it almost enhanced the experience of reading the books for me, because there were so many hints and knowing that something was coming (I had thought it happened at Robb's own wedding until the part in ASOS where he married Jeyne) made the atmosphere more intense.  I loved how Catelyn kept asking about the Freys they were close to - Perwyn, Olyvar, Alesander - and was told they were "away."  And that moment where she touches Edwyn Frey's arm and feels the iron underneath his silken sleeve was so chilling.  I love that she slaps him so hard she breaks his lip, even knowing obviously that it won't do any good.

[kkae]

The Red Wedding was one of the last chapters I read sometime in morning hours after reading through the night. I was very tired and couldn't really think clearly what is going to happen or what is even happening. So the Red Wedding came as a complete surprise for me. I didn't see it coming but nor was it a shock of any sorts. I remember reading the last line of Catelyns chapter twice and thinking "Oh, I guess she is dead then too."

[KingInThe North]

I was shocked with the outcome of the Red Weddind but there were hints that something ill was going to happen such as Catelyn and Grey Wind.

[jons nissa]

i didn't notice anything leading up to it but the minute cat said (paraphrasing) "whew. we've shared bread." i thought uh oh. i didn't know what to expect next but i didn't expect it to be good.

[Free Man]

Just read the chapter where Robb and Catelyn are slain.
No matter how spiteful Walder Frey is, I have no idea what he hopes to accomplish by the deed.. Surely everyone from the north and from Riverrun will now want his head on a spike. He obliterated his entire family by killing them in my opinion, but lets wait and see... (not something I would have wanted to read in the book, but lets see what the writer wanted to accomplish). One thing - I did not quite understand what happened to Arya? The chapter ended, and I do not quite understand what the hound did - hit her unconscious or?