84 replies to this topic

[Selyse's Moustache Rides]

What scene or passage packs the most powerful emotional punch for you? I'm sure a lot of people will say ToJ, RW, Oberyn vs. Gregor. For me, it's this little bit of rare catharsis:


The Tickler backed away. Arya could smell his fear. The shortsword in his hand suddenly seemed
almost a toy against the long blade the Hound was holding, and he wasn't armored either. He moved
swiftly, light on his feet, never taking his eyes off Sandor Clegane. it was the easiest thing in the world for
Arya to step up behind him and stab him.
"Is there gold hidden in the village?" she shouted as she drove the blade up through his back. "Is there
silver? Gems?" She stabbed twice more. "Is there food? Where is Lord Beric?" She was on top of him
by then, still stabbing. "Where did he go? How many men were with him? How many knights? How
many bowmen? How many, how many, how many, how many, how many, how many? is there gold in
the village?"
Her hands were red and sticky when Sandor dragged her off him. "Enough," was all he said. He was
bleeding like a butchered pig himself, and dragging one leg when he walked.

I was so looking forward to seeing this in the series, now that's been screwed.

Edited by DireHiker, 10 July 2012 - 10:02 PM.

[Mr Motte]

Nothing compared to "Not my hair. Ned loves my hair." for me. That was just too much.

[Selyse's Moustache Rides]

As an epilogue, the scene where the cold, un-caring Hound is sobbing as he confesses his sins to Arya before attempting to goad her into killing him is gut-wrenching on a re-read.

[Lady Faceless]

"Where was I? I should have been with him."

Argh; all my Theon feels.

[Jolene Brown]

"Jaime," Brienne whispered, so softly he thought he was dreaming it.  "Jaime, what are you doing?"

"Dying," he whispered back.

"No," she said, "No, you must live."

[ckal]

I loved the Lysa/Sansa/Petyr scene at the end of ASOS.

Cat having Ned's bones returned to her.

Reek's chapters.

Jaime's reminiscent chapter of Aerys burning and murdering Brandon and Rickard Stark.

Cat's final scene.

Arya's POV during Ned's beheading.

Edited by ckal, 10 July 2012 - 10:45 PM.

[Selyse's Moustache Rides]

ckal, on 10 July 2012 - 10:27 PM, said:

I loved the Lysa/Sansa/Petyr scene at the end of ASOS.

o my gods, that was great comedy. "only one?"......."only cat"........shove

[The Lord's Kiss]

Ned's death. Even though I had it spoiled I still held out hope that he would be sent to the Wall. Nope.
The Battle of Blackwater.. it's one of the few times I felt like I've actually seen an entire full-scale battle play out in my head. It was wondrous. I could smell that bridge of burning ships.
The Red Wedding, need I say more?
Something Jaimes thinks in A Feast for Crows really stuck with me for some reason, it went, "He found himself wondering what his father would do to feed the realm, before he remembered that Tywin Lannister was dead." It's after the snows have started to blanket the riverlands and winter has finally started to show itself. I just thought that line was so powerful because it showed how Westeros was going to keep moving on without Tywin and winter was still going to keep coming, even though there was no one to take his place.
And A Dance with Dragons, when Jon Snow gives Janos Slynt a bad haircut, and when he gets backstabbed. That shit still rankles me.

[Selyse's Moustache Rides]

ckal, on 10 July 2012 - 10:27 PM, said:

Arya's POV during Ned's beheading.

That scene was handled quite adeptly. I especially like how at the moment of Ned's death, the reader is seeing Arya as Yoren shields her from its sight. GRRM could have been cheap and given us the grisly details, but instead opted to show the emotional impact. Great scene. Manly tears.

[ckal]

I agree with you. The fact that we have Arya's thoughts, yoren's voice, and the reaction of the crowd filling us in instead of directly seeing it or being described, I felt it was that much more powerful.

[Monica21]

Septon Meribald's story of war got to me:

"For some, that one taste is enough to break them. Others go on for years, until they lose count of all the battles they have fought in, but even a man who has survived a hundred fights can break in his hundred-and-first. Brothers watch their brothers die, fathers lose their sons, friends see their friends trying to hold their entrails in after they've been gutted by an axe."

"How old were you when they marched you off to war?"

"Why, no older than your boy," Meribald replied. "Too young for such, in truth, but my brothers were all going and I would not be left behind. Willam said I could be his squire, though Will was no knight, only a potboy armed with a kitchen knife he'd stolen from the inn. He died upon the Stepstones and never struck a blow. It was fever than did for him, and for my brother Robin. Owen died from a mace that split his head apart, and his friend Jon Pox was hanged for rape."

"The War of Ninepenny Kings?" asked Hyle Hunt.

"So they called it, though I never saw a king, nor earned a penny. It was a war, though. That it was."

Edited by Monica21, 10 July 2012 - 11:12 PM.

[Mikken's Mark]

I can't remember the exact passage, and my books are not sitting next to me. I'm lazy.

On topic though. the scene when the Hound and Arya are traveling and they come across the mortally wounded soldier.  The Hound offers him wine and mercy he says  as he taps his dagger.  I don't know why, but that struck me as very powerful.

[Maid of Evenfall]

Sansa building Winterfell in the snow.  Such a powerful, emotional scene. Til Littlefinger's creeping ruins it.

Jaime losing his hand. I absolutely LOVE the way that scene is written.  There's no drawing it out, no beating around the bush, just the arakh glinting down and Jaime screaming.

"Rhaegar fought valiantly. Rhaegar fought nobly. Rhaegar fought honorably.  And Rhaegar died."  

"Ser Jaime?’ Even in soiled pink satin and torn lace, Brienne looked more like a man in a gown than a proper woman. "I am grateful, but…you were well away. Why come back?"
A dozen quips came to mind, each crueler than the one before, but Jaime only shrugged. "I dreamed of you," he said.

Catelyn's RW chapter.  

Aemon's blind white eyes came open. "Egg?" he said, as the rain streamed down his cheeks.  "Egg, I dreamed I was old."  

[Anvilbreaker]

I always liked the scene where Syrio tells arya to run. I liked him as a character, but I hope he died, because that makes that such a moving scene. for him to willingly die for a girl he has only known for a little while, over a conflict that does't concern him was really cool

[Dragons and Direwolves]

The parts about Rhaegar. "Perhaps it was not in Rhaegar to be happy" "You make him sound so sour" "Not sour no, but there was a melancholy to Prince Rhaeger, he was born in grief my queen..." I love that part about Summerhall and his High Harp and how it spoke of the doom of those he loved.

[House Stargaryen]

1) Maester Aemon's death...very powerful

2) Robert mentioning Lyanna throughout AGOT ( you can see that he was madly in love with her. When Robert says, "She was taken from me          and seven kingdoms could not fill the hole).

3) Jon deciding to hack off Janos Slynts' head and when Jon gets stabbed. (seriously i still cant believe this wtf!)

4) All of Neds' fever dreams especially his conversation with the Kingsguard at the TOG.

In no particular order..

[LordofWinter]

Jaime Lannister. "I dreamed of you"
I stood up when he ACTUALLY JUMPED IN THE BEAR PIT! I really didn't think he would, especially not one handed. I remember thinking "this mother f***er isn't actually going to jump in there is he? Use a crossbow or something." but then I died of laughter when in the pit he thinks about how dumb of a plan it was. Then she saves him and Jaime Lannister is redeemed and gets the best badass/key line. "I dreamed of you"......ladies and gentlemen I present to you Goldenfist!

Edited by LordofWinter, 11 July 2012 - 01:47 AM.

[LordofWinter]

Oh yea, and Arya and the Hound in the Inn. I knew about the RW and Ned's beheading so those didn't really effect me so. But the second that Inn scene started My stomach was spinning the whole way through. Perfectly written, perfectly set up. Just flat out amazing.

[Gandalf the Grey]

Trial by combat, Oberyn and the Mountain. I could barely breath, it was so intense.

I was introduced to asoiaf originally by the TV series. The two jousting scenes were intense. Especially the second one. It seemed like the 'Knight of the Flowers' was just a prancing ladies' man, who was surely about to die horribly. Yet I also knew that after the last jousting scene, him dying would be a bit too predictable.


(Also cracked up in the next scene when the pretty boy turned out to be gay )

[fish321]

I'll freely admit that I have a tendancy to cheer on the "good guy" or "hero" whatever you choose to call it and in this series I always really like the simple shows of allegience by the north to the Starks. Between Manderly's speech about the north remembers, his daughters fierce declaration for Starks and against Freys, the little Mormount girl with the only one king in the north and his name is Stark and the northmen marching with Stannis who explain they are marching because the bastard has Neds girl I usually come pretty close to grabbing a sword, a wolf and running off to find some snow and a Frey to fight.

In fact if the North really does start doing some ass kicking in the last books I may armor up and start looking up Frey and Bolton in the phone book.

But thats getting off topic. For some reason their show of loyalty towards the Starks moves me. Maybe its because it seems more personal, "Ned's girl", makes it seem like these people are Ned's buddies and their going get their friends kid back not the westeros typical "sigh I guess we will have to go get our lieges runt back". Maybe its because they seem to deserve the loyalty they are given. Regardless those are the scenes that give me goosebumps