Why does Mance Rayder attempt to rescue Arya (Jeyne Poole)?

[Grip]

Lets remember that Mance is a NW deserter and Jon is the current LC. We know the traditional punishment for deserting. So is it possible that one of the reasons for why Mance wants to help save Arya is because he thinks this might possibly sway Jon from handing out punishment? Not saying its the most important reason for the rescue, but it might be part of it.

Edit: Dont know how such a situation would be handled, someone like Bonifer Hasty would probably thank Mance for the rescue and then strike off his head for deserting. Doubt Jon would do the same thing though.

[Jasta11]

About the Hound, didn't he say he wanted to ransom Arya back? They were making a beeline for The Twins, and then for Riverrun if I recall correctly.

Now, the question is, why didn't he ransom her to the much richer Lannisters, but he was probably just tired of Joffrey and his ilk. Maybe he also feared the Ned Stark treatment; he was a deserter and a traitor after all. Joffrey could easily have taken Arya then have his head chopped off out of spite.

[Pod The Impaler]

Syrio, because that's what a dedicated teacher does. There have been real life examples.

Jaqen, because she had saved his life first. That's huge debt to owe, and the Faceless Men take life especially serious.

Mance, because at that point Melisandre owned him. And Mel sent Mance, because she needed Lord Snow on her side.

And let's also consider that if the Boltons lose "Arya", their claim to Winterfell is lost too.

Why would Mance do it? (Well, assuming he was not forced by the obedience ruby.)

He grudgingly respects Jon Snow, for one. As well, doing so helps him meet his objective - getting the wildlings to safety south of the Wall. That's easier done if Stannis' war goes well, and if the Starks & other northmen owe Mance a debt.

[Jay92]

I am not sure if this has ever been discussed before but shouldn't Mance have seen the real Arya when he came to the feast during Robert arrival? I believe he played during the feast and I am guessing he saw both Arya and Jenye Poole. He played during the wedding and feast so he must have seen Arya and realized that it is not her. Can anyone clarify this?

[TallTyrion]

I am not sure if this has ever been discussed before but shouldn't Mance have seen the real Arya when he came to the feast during Robert arrival? I believe he played during the feast and I am guessing he saw both Arya and Jenye Poole. He played during the wedding and feast so he must have seen Arya and realized that it is not her. Can anyone clarify this?

He would have seen Arya when he visited. Mance says something about looking on the faces of the Stark children to Jon. Jeyne was most likely at the feast as well. However, since we don't know his motivation for going to Winterfell we can't be sure what he was looking for. If his motivation had something to do with the kids then he would have made a point of remembering their faces but if he had some other goal then the second born daughter may not have been worth making note of.

[eggs]

Boy, you'd stand on the sidelines and like, watch a little girl be murdered? Thats a shame.

Anywhos, Mance is under Mels control.

[Good Guy Garlan]

Well, first off, because Arya is awesome and everyone should love her, if they don't already

As for Mance, he does have an ulterior motive and he mentions it quite openly when Mel sends him off to get "Arya" aka Alys Karstark:

“I will need horses. Half a dozen good ones. And this is nothing I can do alone. Some of the spearwives penned up at Mole’s Town should serve. Women would be best for this. The girl’s more like to trust them, and they will help me carry off a certain ploy I have in mind.”

Whether this plot is Mance's own or Mel's as well, I don't know.

My crackpot was that he wanted fake Arya on the clutches of his spearwives to exchange for his son, but that plan failed when the spearwives were killed and the Umbers found Theon and Jeyne. But even though it doesn't make sense if Mance remembers how the real Arya looks like from his visit to Winterfell and it makes even less sense if he thought Arya was already on her way to Castle Black on a dying horse. So the whole thing really ends up being kind of convoluted :frown5: