Moments that made you sad

[Rynn]

For some reason this excerpt in AFFC made me really sad:

"In her final years on Pyke, Lady Alannys could not sleep. She would wander the halls at night with a candle, looking for her sons. "Maron?" she would call shrilly. "Rodrik, where are you? Theon, my baby, come to Mother.""

I just feel so sorry for the poor woman.

[Tyrionsnose]

Finding out Bran is crippled, and any mention of his wanting to be a knight.

Tywin's lesson to Tyrion about Tysha.

Joffery having Sansa stripped and beaten.

Tyrion losing his nose.

Shae betraying Tyrion at his trial.

Ygritte dying and her final words.

Finding out Grey Wind's head got attatched to Robb's body and crowned.

Pod hanging.

Bran and Jon coming so close near the Queen's Tower.

Flashbacks or mention of Rickard burning and Brandon being strangled.

And obviously Ned's children having to watch him being beheaded. (Although, IIRC Yoren shielded Arya's eyes, but she was still present)

Oh, and anytime I start a new chapter and it says, "Sansa"

[East of the Wood]

"It should have been you". And basically anytime Jon hears that a member of his family has died. When Maester Aemon dies without having spoken/seen Dany.

That's along with the usual scenes.

[marwyn]

There's many moments in the series that made me sad. THis is even more so when re-reading it, cause you know all that is going to happen and you can feel the significance of what's been said.

For me personally, sometimes the reflective, quiet "sad moments" get to me even more than the big shockers such as Ned's death or the red wedding. The quote about Jaime is one such moment, that really got to me - and I think it really says something about Jaime and how he's growing as a character.

Another moment I found really sad was Aemon's death in Braavos. All his life he's been waiting for this prophecy to happen, only to hear about Dany on his deathbed when he's sick, old, and nobody will believe him anymore. I thought that was really sad too

[Sensuki Dorjan]

When Arya remembers having to throw rocks at Nymeria to make her run away. I couldn't imagine throwing rocks at one of my pets, it would just tear me up.

[Smashing Praise]

For some reason this excerpt in AFFC made me really sad:

"In her final years on Pyke, Lady Alannys could not sleep. She would wander the halls at night with a candle, looking for her sons. "Maron?" she would call shrilly. "Rodrik, where are you? Theon, my baby, come to Mother.""

I just feel so sorry for the poor woman.

This, a thousand times this, and Cressen's POV.

[Elrick]

Red Wedding was more shocking than saddening.

Lady's death was also pretty sad.

I would say that the Red Wedding enraged me so to speak and also made me quite depressed. I hated the thought of Walder Frey getting away with it like some here have entailed. That made more depressed after some thought about the whole thing.

[Tall Tyrion Lannister!]

I would say that the Red Wedding enraged me so to speak and also made me quite depressed. I hated the thought of Walder Frey getting away with it like some here have entailed. That made more depressed after some thought about the whole thing.

I thought that the fallout chapters,especially Arya's were sadder. Red Wedding was a more "WTF is happening" type thing.

[Allyn]

Rise and eat and run with us.

Arya as Nymeria recognizing her mother's smell and knowing she has to find her and then fending off her brothers and sisters so they don't eat her. But that line kills me every time--the fierce but innocent wolf not understanding why her mother won't come back to her.

I'm crying on my first post!

[themadking]

Does anyone have any mercy for Cersei? I think that her character, while evil and malicious, is actually pitiable? She is driven to paranoia and insanity because of Maggy's prophecy, which drives her to go to great lengths to ensure that Margaery Tyrell (who she thinks is the younger and more beautiful queen who will take from her all that she holds dear) never becomes queen and to ensure the safety of Tommen and Myrcella (and formerly Joffrey). She is also tortured by horrible memories of Robert, who has a horrible husband who loved Lyanna, and by memories of Rhaegar, her former love who was killed by her husband. Not to mention her father who clearly was not the most nurturing, and her unhealthy relationship with Jaime. And anyone who sells out their own body like she has clearly is not mentally healthy.

[Brother Wolf]

Bran and Jon coming so close near the Queen's Tower.

This.

[Noroldis]

The Red Wedding itself was absolutely shocking for me... but what really saddened me afterward was that Arya was just outside the Twins, about to be reunited with her family after months of struggling toward that goal. When I reread that part of Storm, I can't help but imagine how much retrieving her younger daughter would have cheered Catelyn and finally lifted her from the gloomy, depressive mood she'd basically been in since hearing of Bran and Rickon's (supposed) deaths.

Speaking of which, another sad moment is Catelyn going mad after Robb's death because she believes all her offspring slain when in fact her other four children are all alive.

[Noroldis]

Does anyone have any mercy for Cersei? I think that her character, while evil and malicious, is actually pitiable?

Sorry, I can't muster any pity for that murderous bitch. Lady, Robert's bastards, the High Septon... None of them deserved to die, and for having them killed Cersei herself does deserve to die. It'll really be poetic justice if the new High Septon, who gained his position because she had its previous holder murdered, has her executed.

[Sivin]

I'm a sucker for last-stands and epic defiance, so I'm a fan of the Red-Wedding.

But, anyone feel anything for Theon? Talk about a kid who's lost in the world. I personally love his quote of (I don't know if I've got this perfectly right) "They were golden chains, but they chafed all the same".

[themadking]

Something that makes me sad is when Brienne is at Maidenpool for the second time, at the docks looking for a place to sleep for the night and she sees the ship The Titan's Daughter casting off. If she had arrived twenty minutes earlier, she would have potentially spoken with the crew and gained information about Arya, who rode the Titan's daughter from Saltpans to Braavos.

And of course the Red Wedding, with Catelyn scratching her own face off, or when she hears the news of Bran and Rickon's death, or when Bran and Rickon await the raven carrying news of Eddard Stark's death, and Arya being so close to her mom and Robb at the Twins but then having to turn away.

[MountainThatRides]

Sam's relationship with Lord Randyll, Maester Aemon's tragic tale, the story of the Hound and the Mountain. What happened to Ned Stark's father and brother. What happened to Elia of Dorne and her children.

The existence of many of the smallfolk throughout the series. Craster's daughters/wives, not to mention his sons.

Like Europe in the historical middle ages, Westeros is a brutal place. Most of the people inhabiting the world have sad, sad stories, whether they're peasants or high lords.

There are a lot of sad moments in the story, and a lot of funny ones. Not too many hopeful ones. The overall tone is a bittersweet one. Rhaegar (and the Tower of Joy) is a prime example of this.

[Morrigan]

Cressen's prologue is absolutely heart-breaking. Poor old man. :(

I just finished re-reading ACoK, and Dany's vision in the House of the Undying Ones with the feast of dead men with the wolf head sewn on a king's headless body just depressed the hell out of me. Same when Arya overhears the Frey men grumbling treacherously at Lord Bolton in Harrenhal. Surprising how the Red Wedding still shocked us so deeply when it was so heavily foreshadowed, but of course, on a first read you tend to not pay that much attention to these kinds of details. On re-reads it just makes the scenes depressing because you know what they mean this time around.

Minor, but cool and memorable characters dying always make me sad. Maester Cressen, Maester Luwin, Ser Rodrik Cassel, Syrio Forel (probably dead), the Red Viper, the Old Bear, Maester Aemon, Yoren... so unfair. :( Even poor lady Hornwood, she got little screen time but her fate is truly horrific. Ramsay Bolton cannot die too soon. :angry:

All the deaths mentioned so far are very sad of course, but to me, the most depressing parts are what the deaths represent in the bigger picture:

- When the girls leave Winterfell, it will be the last time they ever see their mother. Likewise, when Catelyn leaves Winterfell for King's Landing, it will be the last time she will ever see Bran and Rickon.

- Ned's last act in life is to confess being a traitor. Unless the Starks ever rise again in power and somehow clear his name, he will be remembered in history as being the man who betrayed his king (a king who loved him very much and deeply trusted him) and who caused the start of the war, whereas he was the most loyal and truest friend Robert ever had (more than he really deserved).

- Arya coming so, so, so close to finally being reunited with her mother. Gah! At least she was spared from the massacre, guess there's that silver lining.

- Catelyn's last living thought was the realization that all her sons are dead (and her daughters missing or dead too). No wonder unCat is so insane with vengeance.

I wonder if Lady Stoneheart will ever, per chance, meet with her children again. And what would be her reaction (and theirs)...

[GreatswordIce]

Eddards death is number 1, i couldnt believe it.

[Anaxagoras]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here so please be gentle! :D

A couple moments spring to mind for me while reading this thread:

-Arya throwing rocks at Nymeria to get her to leave and save the dire-wolf's life. It's so disheartening considering that Nymeria had no idea what was going on and why her master was chasing her off, even if it was for her own sake.

-Ned's killing of Lady. As a dog lover, I think any harm coming to the wolves always hit close to home for me.

-The Red Wedding. The first time I read that part a few years ago, I was on a plane to Las Vegas, I remember getting physically upset and kept cursing rather loudly while reading that chapter, unfortunately to the chagrin of the old lady sitting next to me wondering why I am cursing at a book! I reread that chapter 3 times, making sure I wasn't reading it wrong; each time just sunk it in more so.

-Arya "sparing" the Hound from death. It was kind of bittersweet for me, because I always went from such extremes of hating the Hound to somewhat liking him/feeling pity for him. Not sure what will come of him or if he really died, but that scene always stuck with me.

[Rynn]

I'm a sucker for last-stands and epic defiance, so I'm a fan of the Red-Wedding.

But, anyone feel anything for Theon? Talk about a kid who's lost in the world. I personally love his quote of (I don't know if I've got this perfectly right) "They were golden chains, but they chafed all the same".

Theon is one of my favourite characters. He is a total douchebag most of the time, yes, but I can't help but feel sympathetic towards him. He's more of a bastard than Jon is. He's too much a Wolf to be a Kraken and too much of a Kraken to be a Wolf, it seems, leaving him eternally drifting in the middle, belonging no where. I'd really like to see how his character develops because of this. Will he go more of an Eddard Stark path (More of him taking note of Neds values that becoming another Ned, which will never happen, but will the Boltons teach him some humility to see the truth in Ned?) or a Balon Greyjoy path? (even though I don't think Theon will ever have the capacity to be as cruel or as hard as Balon).