Rereading Tyrion

[brashcandy]

ETA

@Winterfellian

He gets Winterfell and you get the Wall. And your father… he must have good reasons for packing you off to the Night’s Watch…”

I really like this observation. Some possible foreshadowing of Tywin offering Tyrion the Wall, also through an uncle, and I wonder if there is more meaning to "He gets Winterfell" knowing Tyrion is the unrecognized heir to the Rock.

Tywin also offered him Winterfell via the Sansa marriage.

[Lummel]

For all of you (a special welcome of course to those who've been with us since Learning to Lead) who are glad to see this reread can you please remember to thank Butterbumps! who single handedly saw off some interloppers and staked our claim to this here reread :laugh: ! So thank you Butterbumps! Naturally though I am starting to think about the next possible one too because rereading like this as a group really works as a way of exploring and finding new meanings in the books. Rereading Tyrion in AGOT, and reading chapters that I hadn't looked at in years, after ADWD meant that details that I had overlooked, or just absorbed stand out in a different way. If you are joining us or thinking of doing so you will get most out of it by rereading the chapters yourself.

Natalie_s and Brashcandy have both mentioned this idea of Tyrion as an outsider. One aspect of that is that here he is a young nobleman with no wife, no lands and no job. He's not the High Sheriff of Lannisport, he's not the Lord Steward of the rivers, weirs and bridges of the Westerlands in fact he has no position in the political life of Westeros save being a senior Lannister. This means he has the leisure to go to the Wall. He is in effect a tourist in the north. He's an outsider in part because he is unattached.

Off the topic of Tyrion I thought the rare description of the North interesting. All those watchtowers within three days journey of the heart of Stark power at Winterfell suggest a troubled and warlike past. The land is stark, appears empty and has those sweet summer snows. In ADWD when Tyrion travels through Andalos he can relate it to familiar stories from the Seven Pointed Star - no such associations for Tyrion here. The north of Westeros is possibly more foreign than Andalos to Tyrion, certainly less culturally resonant.

Although on the otherhand GRRM is easing us into the world still and he's drip feeding us the most important information. The change of the seasons is a big deal in Westeros and revealed in this chapter something that will take books to be further explored the devastating destructive power of dragons.

Did you notice this: "Tyrion felt sorry for the boy", that's Tyrion the sympathetic, like Tagganaro says GRRM is pulling out the sympathy stops for Tyrion, but then look how he expresses his sympathy: "The Night's Watch is a midden heap for all the misfits of the realm...Those are your new brothers, Jon Snow, how do you like them? Sullen peasants, debtors, poachers, rapers, thieves , and bastards like you..." he puts it across with so much sympathy! Interestingly despite describing the watch as a midden heap for misfits and despite his own self-description as a grotesque he doesn't seem to think that the watch is a place for him. Maybe as in Tyrion I the mouth works before the mind?

Before the reread I had forgotten that business of dreaming about watching his father and sister burn. After ADWD there is something extra disturbing about how matter of fact he is about it. Like Winterfellian says Tyrion then reverses the old quote from Tolstoy's Anna Karenina of all happy families being alike but all unhappy families diffierent in their own way - no, for Tyrion all unhappy families must have the same dynamic, surely you too, Jon Snow, dreamt of watching your nearest kin burn. However despite this, it's family first. He reads because "I must do my part for the honor of my House".

[Natalie_S]

Stark vs Lannister and Tyrion's Projection

We have a Stark and a Lannister travelling North under the shadow of their families' conflict. The hard pace Benjen warns Tyrion about is probably just normal for him and might even be required given the recent troubles with rangers returning. This is the Kings Road and Benjen is used to ranging beyond the Wall. His notion of an easy pace on a road is likely quite different from someone who only travels on roads. Tyrion takes this hard pace to be personally directed at him.

[...]

The tension is such that when Benjen offers him a bearskin to keep warm Tyrion accepts it as an act of petty revenge.

Well, he has a good reason to believe that the hard pace is meant to discourage him: Benjen told him ("“You will not like the ride, I promise you that,”), which sounds more like a threaten than a warning.

I personally think that's more to the bearskin than a petty revenge.

I see it as another proof of the point that Tyrion makes many times during this chapter: the importance of accepting hard truths and occasionally swallow the pride.

2 times here he accepts a offer of help despite his pride: the first time when he accepts Benjen's bearskin and the second time when he begs Jon to call back Ghost.

I think this fits in the general theme of "accepting hard truths": Tyrion knows that he needs the bearskin to be warm because he's not used to the low temperatures of the North, even if it comes from an individual he doesn't like.

He underlines the difference between the "honourable" Starks, that (in his opinion) would freeze rather than acknowledge that they need an adversary's help, and the oppurtunist Lannisters, that accept what they need and are ready to renounce to pride if it's convenient at that moment.

The ruthlessness of the Lannister was already shown by Jaime, and Tyrion embodies it in his own way.

Tyrion Lannister felt the anger coiling inside him, and crushed it out with a will. It was not the first time in his life he had been humiliated, and it would not be the last. Perhaps he even deserved this. “I should be very grateful for your kind assistance, Jon,” he said mildly.

Twice in this chapter his physical weakness makes him accept help.

I think that's the way of the author to show how Tyrion accepts the truth of his weakness and deals with it (even if many times later he won't follow his own advice).

We also learn the reason why Tyrion's moral compass points to Casterly Rock:

"Had I been born a peasant, they might have left me out to die, or sold me to some slaver’s grotesquerie. Alas, I was born a Lannister of Casterly Rock, and the grotesqueries are all the poorer. Things are expected of me. [...] I must do my part for the honor of my House, wouldn’t you agree? Yet how?"

Tyrion feels that he has to deserve his being part of House Lannister, because that's the only thing that determined the difference between life and death (or a fate worse than death in his opinion).

If it wasn't for the fame of House Lannister he would have been (or so he believes) killed as a baby, so he has to honour his chance to grow and live.

Tyrion stood in that dank cellar for a long time, staring at Balerion’s huge, empty-eyed skull until his torch burned low, trying to grasp the size of the living animal, to imagine how it must have looked when it spread its great black wings and swept across the skies, breathing fire.

That's one of my favourite images of the series.

If I was an artist, I would draw that. :)

[Julian Rayne]

Did you notice this: "Tyrion felt sorry for the boy", that's Tyrion the sympathetic, like Tagganaro says GRRM is pulling out the sympathy stops for Tyrion, but then look how he expresses his sympathy: "The Night's Watch is a midden heap for all the misfits of the realm...Those are your new brothers, Jon Snow, how do you like them? Sullen peasants, debtors, poachers, rapers, thieves , and bastards like you..." he puts it across with so much sympathy! Interestingly despite describing the watch as a midden heap for misfits and despite his own self-description as a grotesque he doesn't seem to think that the watch is a place for him. Maybe as in Tyrion I the mouth works before the mind?

I think what he did was for the best for Jon actually. Candy coating the truth wouldn't be nearly as effective as a sharp shock. Jon's been relatively pampered up to this point, especially in comparison to what he's about to face. If Tyrion's basic message to Jon was "face the truth", then this was the best way to go about it.

Although he probably derived some sadistic pleasure out of it. There's a character in an Asimov story (I think it was called C-Chute) who liked to "puncture people to show that they were air bladders" or something of the sort. I get a similar vibe from Tyrion, especially as both characters had inferiority complexes stemming from physical shortcomings.

[Woman of War]

Actually at this stage of the story Tyrion seems rather lost at what to do with his life. I do not see any indication of ambitions towards being the heir to anything, towards ruling or demanding any claims.

Somewhere else I had discussed already that I have no real idea of what Tyrion did all day long. Actually I am lost at what all those young noblemen do if they are not forced or willing ro take up serious responsibilities.

But in Tyrion's case training as a knight, molesting the smallfolk and hanging around with the boys did not happen so very much. He seems to have been a loner, mostly within his books. He may not have any childhood friends, having never been able to play the boys' games, probably being mocked for being scholarly. Tyrion is presented as craving for knowledge and I wonder what else he did to enlarge his horizon. Was the trip to the wall the first step of realising his dreams of travelling? Did he only spend his days mind-travelling before? Reorganizing the skewers of Casterly Rock cannot have filled his hours. Ant that whoring business has been grossly exaggerated by the movies. I guess the little man mostly felt the need of compulsive bragging here to make up for his self esteem issues.

You see, I am trying to get a grasp at everyday Tyrion, a young man of, at the beginning, 23 to 24 years, the age of a post grad student of today. How would he spend his days? Did he live at KL or at Casterly Rock? And how come he was part of the royal trip to Winterfell, being disliked by Cersei and Robert?

Edit: I am sorry for jumping in here so belatedly but I did not see the thread before. I can only hope that I will find the time to contribute.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

When the wind blew from the north, long plumes of ice crystals flew from the high peaks like banners.

That is a very interesting picture. Tyrion rides straight north, into the wind, against the ice. Or maybe Ice as in the title? There are two possibilites for ice banners, the Stark host with their white field, or the army of the Others itself, who are closely linked to ice as of the prologue. It's contrasted with Tyrion putting a torch into the maw of a Targaryen dragon two pages later. Right where it would be naturally. Ice and Fire, Starks and Targaryens, Others and dragons. It's pretty much the first time the duality is invoked in the book, and it's a Tyrion chapter. And he rides against the Ice.

Tyrion traveled with two of his own men, as befit a Lannister. Benjen Starks had only his bastard nephew

What does that make Benjen Stark? He has no servants, no followers to take care of his needs. The Starks carry their weight themselves, the Lannisters consider that unfitting for a Great House and Tyrion is very much on board. Still, it is swept under the rug, and hardly matters against all the sympathy stops GRRM has pulled. But it's the first sign for Lannister superiority in Tyrions own mind.

Tyrion was never much use in making a camp or breaking one. Too small, too hobbled, too in-the-way.

And here is the second one. Everybody helps, but Tyrion absents himself. It's cast very sympathetic, him being unable to help being a dwarf, but is this the truth? Building a fire, cooking, these are services he could theoretically provide. Later that chapter he corrects his serving mans cooking, proving he could help if he choose to.

There were nineteen skulls. The oldest was more than three thousand years old;

That are the dragon skulls of the Targaryen throne room. It's hardly related to Tyrion himself, I just found it intersting that the Targs claimed dragonskulls predating the rise of Valyria, much less the Conquest, to decorate their throne room.

That chapter cast Tyrion in a very, very sympathetic light, associating him with the "good" Starks, sharing his wealth, being witty without hurting anybody, preparing Jon for the hard life he will lead better than his father and uncle together. But there are hints for a superiority complex hidden as well, deep down where it will hurt nobody. In fact, Tyrion helps as long as it doesn't inconvienences him. Sharing pepper, wine and advice costs him nothing while it means a lot to those he shares with.

[Natalie_S]

Did you notice this: "Tyrion felt sorry for the boy", that's Tyrion the sympathetic, like Tagganaro says GRRM is pulling out the sympathy stops for Tyrion, but then look how he expresses his sympathy: "The Night's Watch is a midden heap for all the misfits of the realm...Those are your new brothers, Jon Snow, how do you like them? Sullen peasants, debtors, poachers, rapers, thieves , and bastards like you..." he puts it across with so much sympathy! Interestingly despite describing the watch as a midden heap for misfits and despite his own self-description as a grotesque he doesn't seem to think that the watch is a place for him. Maybe as in Tyrion I the mouth works before the mind?

Absolutely!

He feels that he got too far only when it's too late:

Suddenly, absurdly, Tyrion felt guilty. He took a step forward, intending to give the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder or mutter some word of apology.

I think it's also interesting that he thinks it's "absurd" to feel guilty.

I guess that no one ever sugar coated a hard truth for Tyrion (he thinks of himself as grotesque, misshapen etc and we see that Tywin tells it to his face), so he doesn't understand (rationally) why it shouldn't be ok to do it.

I think we also see this in his relationship to Penny: he comforts her and doesn't know why he wants to do it and even feels guilty for tell her something reassuring that he doesn't really believe.

[Lummel]

...Edit: I am sorry for jumping in here so belatedly but I did not see the thread before. I can only hope that I will find the time to contribute.

We only just started last Friday and this is going to be a fairly long reread so you are still right at the beginning :)

Yes it is interesting looking through all your comments on this, certainly the first time I read through and really the first few times I read Tyrion in AGOT, it's the sympathetic side that shone through. But when you look there is the entitled, arrogant Tyrion the Lannister side there too in plain view.

[Woman of War]

No doubt Tyrion is an arrogant nobility brat with a definite sense of entitlement, his very ugly side. We get it presented here via his very well written POV's. And it comes over as especially annoying in a character who is actually very aware in theory of society's imbalance. There a sense of having part in Lannister (or any nobilty) privileges comes together with a feeling of being an outsider who takes himself the freedom to be above of some rules, unfortunately throwing out of the window some rules of common sense along with rules of nobility hypocrisy.

[Fire Eater]

He’d thrust the torch into the mouth of one of the larger skulls and made the shadows leap and dance on the wall behind him.

This shadows of the skulls are said to leap and dance as if they were alive. This foreshadows Dany's dragons hatching.

The Lannisters never declined, graciously or otherwise. The Lannisters took what was offered.

The Lannisters take advantage of any opportunity that is presented to them as with Tyrion's proposal of Joffrey marrying Margaery, and Tywin with Robb marrying Jeyne instead of a Frey.

Tyrion sees Jon looking into the fire like he did when he was little, and Tyrion takes it that Jon may be imagining Catelyn in the fire. This could foreshadow Catelyn becoming resurrected by fire.

[Blisscraft]

IT - Like your focus on the first sentence. It sets the tone for what's to come in world GRRM.

First, Tryion realizes, "the North went on forever," is like a child asking, "Are we there yet?" There is something more childlike in Tyrion than his physical size. Tyrion concludes after observing the changing landscape that in spite of his familiarity with maps, "the map was one thing. The land quite another." The north is not what it seems. This includes Tryion's miscalculation as to how cold and quiet it is, as opposed to the King's party moving south and taking the "tumult" wit them.

Tyrion's memories about the dragon skull in the cellar at KL is fascinating. It appeals to the child in the man as much as to a child. The idea that there were huge, powerful monsters that could vanquish all foes is a constant desire for children. It's one of the reasons children love dinosaurs: the size, the power; the real awe inspiring magnitude of what a child may imagine such a beast is capable of and how in some fantasy the child could harness and ride such power.

As a child, Tyrion desires such power, size and vision. Tryion thinks about riding on the dragon's back, "to look down over the world." (Tyrion tells his family in the prior chapter the desire to "piss off" the top of the Wall is another example). Tyrion desires to broaden his view.

Jon finds Tyrion reading, his back against a "grotesquely ancient oak." Interesting that Tyrion seeks shelter against something "grotesque." (That word was associated with Tyrion in the first chapter when he speaks "for the grotesques," in response to Jaime and his desire for a good clead death). Jon asks Tyrion, "Why do you read so much?" Tyrion's explanation as to why says a lot about how Tyrion wants others to see him. First, Tyrion explains he knows how others see him, basically as one of the "grotesques." Second, he reveals some pride as to his invention of a saddle so that he can ride a horse, rather than a pony (like a child). Next, his "high" birth (that doesn't give him any physical height, but does give him some status) keeps him out of the "grotesqueries," but limits his opportunities because he is not made for knighthood. He is made for something less, yet more valuable than knighthood. Tyrion declares, "My mind is my weapon." The mind as a weapon seems reserved for the outcasts, the small, the vulnerable. To survive as an outcast, you must be quicker, brighter, and take different risks. Like the boy Jack, in the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, quick wits will create success.

That being said, Tyrion seems to be trying very hard to exhibit self reliance to Jon Snow. That's one of the reasons he confronts Jon with, "I know your secret." However, Tyrion's sharp weapon, his mind, cuts Jon to the quick. Tyrion is trying to establish some sort of kinship with Jon. Sadly, it backfires (so to speak). Tyrion's "hard truths" about Jon's family and his new "brothers," hurts Jon. Tyrion has enough of a conscience to feel "absurdly" guilty. But, his attempt to physically make contact with Jon to apologize is twarted by Ghost. Tyrion is knocked down by something bigger and stronger than himself and his physical limitations prevent him standing up on his own. Tyrion must as for help. Asking for help seems to hurt Tryion almost as much as his fall.

Compare Tryion asking Jon for help to Benjen's offer of the bearskin to Tryion. Tyrion needs Jon to help him and once he asks Jon nicely, Jon does. By letting down his weapon (Tyrion's mind), Jon will take Tyrion's hand and and assist him and thereby both begin to establish a relationship which Tyrion and Jon seem to want. As for Benjen, Tyrion takes the bearskin from Benjen when it's offered, as a "small revenge." Tyrion doesn't want to create any kinship with Benjen. He wants to maintain a clear separation. Jon makes one more offer to help Tyrion as they head back to camp. Jon offers to help Tyrion "over a thick tangle of roots." At this point, the desired relationship with Jon is established, so now Tyrion, his mind sharp and his pride, once again, intact, declines Jon's help and "make his own way, as he had all his life." Tyrion wouldn't tolerate Jon's self pity when they first met at WF, but he will certainly indulge in his own. Maybe that's why Tryion's eyes are mismatched. He views himself way and others another.

[Foxhound]

A travelogue in the second chapter?! Time to bail on this re-read.. :leaving:

Tyrion in this chapter experiences both sides of being a Lannister. There's the power and wealth, which has enabled him a much better life than a dwarf usually gets in Westeros. It has allowed him the leisure to go off to see the wall with the two servants that "befit" a Lannister. But there's also the mistrust Benjen shows him because of his name. We also see how the Lannister way of thinking has problems in the North just as the Stark way does in the South. He sees slights against him that probably don't exist in the hard riding, and thinks he gets "revenge" on Benjen and "teaches him a lesson" by accepting the warm coat. The idea that Benjen saw he was poorly dressed for the weather and genuinely offered it doesn't occur to him.

I like the idea that Tyrion is interpreting Jon's life through his own experiences and making assumptions based on that. But we can also add it as another example to Tyrion saying things out loud he really shouldn't. In a nice conversation about books and dragons he casually mentions how he imagined burning his family! Now Jon won't end up holding this against Tyrion, and his opinion isn't really that important anyway, but it's another sign for the future.

Some parallels I noticed:

• Tyrion's comments on how Ned must have had his reasons for sending Jon to the Wall. The Old Bear says a similar thing to Jon, though with a very different meaning.
  
• There are similarities between Ghost knocking over Tyrion and Grey Wind attacking the Greatjon. You have tense situations resolved in two steps: first violently by a direwolf, then peacefully through humour. You wouldn't expect good relationships to develop from them but they do.
  
• Tyrion started fires and stared at them for hours, imagining the future he wanted. Jon ends the chapter staring into a fire and thinking. That's a reoccurring image in the series, but I didn't know it started in the first book with Tyrion.
  

[Winter's Knight]

Did you notice this: "Tyrion felt sorry for the boy", that's Tyrion the sympathetic, like Tagganaro says GRRM is pulling out the sympathy stops for Tyrion, but then look how he expresses his sympathy: "The Night's Watch is a midden heap for all the misfits of the realm...Those are your new brothers, Jon Snow, how do you like them? Sullen peasants, debtors, poachers, rapers, thieves , and bastards like you..." he puts it across with so much sympathy! Interestingly despite describing the watch as a midden heap for misfits and despite his own self-description as a grotesque he doesn't seem to think that the watch is a place for him. Maybe as in Tyrion I the mouth works before the mind?

Here we see an example of "othering" that seems to be so vital to both Cersei and Tyrion. Whilst he recognises that both he and Jon are outcasts, he sees himself as less of one than Jon. Rather similar to how Cersei sees herself as more deserving than other women. They have both internalised their society's value system and while both do show occasional bursts of sympathy-Cersei with Sansa, Tyrion with Jon and later Bran-both wind up trying to distance themselves from other victims.

Ahem, I may have over-shot the discussion.. :leaving:

Although he probably derived some sadistic pleasure out of it. There's a character in an Asimov story (I think it was called C-Chute) who liked to "puncture people to show that they were air bladders" or something of the sort. I get a similar vibe from Tyrion, especially as both characters had inferiority complexes stemming from physical shortcomings.

The sardonic guy who sympathised with the Chloros?

Fun fact: "The C-Chute" is one of the few Asimov stories that has a non-human intelligent species. The only other one I can remember had to do with a mollusc that emitted a death-field.

[Julian Rayne]

@Winter's Knight: That's the one. For the life of me I can't remember his name.

[Winter's Knight]

@Winter's Knight: That's the one. For the life of me I can't remember his name.

Stuart of the artificial hands.

I like how in the end, it's the everyday man who just wants to go home that saves the day.

[Lyanna Stark]

(I'm sorry if this doesn't follow the re-read exactly, Mea Culpa and I'll have to write a hundred Ave Marias to Lummel later).

Just a short comment playing off the Tyrion as a hothead comment I think Lummel made. It seems all the Lannister siblings (Jaime, Cersei and Tyrion) are pretty hotheaded, while Tywin comes across as cold as ice. Someone else mentioned the slapping Tyrion does in this chapter, and we also see Cersei slapping Tyrion and Jaime hitting Red Ronnet later on. It made me think: I wonder if Joanna had a temper? Or is Tywin's just really well harnessed? Or is it just an effect of Lannister arrogance that they can get away with it? This is a definite similarity between Tyrion - Cersei - Jaime.

[Woman of War]

Here we see an example of "othering" that seems to be so vital to both Cersei and Tyrion. Whilst he recognises that both he and Jon are outcasts, he sees himself as less of one than Jon. Rather similar to how Cersei sees herself as more deserving than other women. They have both internalised their society's value system and while both do show occasional bursts of sympathy-Cersei with Sansa, Tyrion with Jon and later Bran-both wind up trying to distance themselves from other victims.

Ahem, I may have over-shot the discussion.. :leaving:

maybe not overshot, only I think the example Jon is not quite correct. I believe exactly with Jon Tyrion is not trying to distance himself as being not "as much victim as the other", he is trying to bond and to find common ground.

Though we might see some of this later, far later in the books when Tyrion tries to keep his head over water by refusing the role of victim (and thus getting arrogant towards other victims) it is a little hard to discuss this in chronological order, I will come back to it.

So a little off topic here: Tyrion annoys his surroundings and sometimes us readers with refusing to be the proper, the good victim, the Uncle Tom dwarf. He bites back, he gets nasty and mean, he turns from being bullied into the bully (if there were any material about his childhood: something like this may have been his only self defense with other kids). In short: this literary character does not fit the trope handicapped victim. Nor does he fit the fairy tale trope of Rumpelstilzchen or Alberich, who are meant to be genuinely evil (though Alberich can be seen in a different way as well) So he refuses our solidarity, he brushes us readers the wrong way, we do not know what to make of his character and this is what Martin intended. The moment we start to pity Tyrion, the character lashes out at us well meaning readers.

And part of Tyrion's refusal to be like all the other victims is the intellectual pride he takes from really or allegedly "seeing through" a situation, from "understanding how the system works", in short from understanding his victimizers better than they understand themselves and the feeling of superiority that goes along with it. He is absolutely great in looking down on people from below. This may not won him many childhood friends but he survived, the lonely nerdy boy in the schoolyard corner.

And a boy or young man of highest nobility as victim of bullying - there are two opposed systems of values in conflict with each other in Westerosi society, no appropriate pattern of behavior exists for an individual caught up in between.

[Julian Rayne]

Just a short comment playing off the Tyrion as a hothead comment I think Lummel made. It seems all the Lannister siblings (Jaime, Cersei and Tyrion) are pretty hotheaded, while Tywin comes across as cold as ice. Someone else mentioned the slapping Tyrion does in this chapter, and we also see Cersei slapping Tyrion and Jaime hitting Red Ronnet later on. It made me think: I wonder if Joanna had a temper? Or is Tywin's just really well harnessed? Or is it just an effect of Lannister arrogance that they can get away with it? This is a definite similarity between Tyrion - Cersei - Jaime.

Tywin grew up with a weak father. He had to earn his position of inspiring fear.

His children grew up with the power of their House already established. It's understandable that they'd tend more towards arrogance and less towards self-discipline.

[lilenadheas]

I would say all three Lannister siblings' simultaneous advice/othering are reactions to their failure to live up to societal value so highly valued by their father. Tyrion, Cersei and Jaime have all failed in their "roles", and seem to find it cathartic to give advice freely to younger versions of themselves. Tyrion tries to harden Jon against the prejudice he himself cannot ignore, just as Cersei warns Sansa of what her future will be like and Jaime attempts to make Brienne see the knighthood through his own skewed lens.

Love the reread so far :bowdown:

[LordBloodraven]

I would say all three Lannister siblings' simultaneous advice/othering are reactions to their failure to live up to societal value so highly valued by their father. Tyrion, Cersei and Jaime have all failed in their "roles", and seem to find it cathartic to give advice freely to younger versions of themselves. Tyrion tries to harden Jon against the prejudice he himself cannot ignore, just as Cersei warns Sansa of what her future will be like and Jaime attempts to make Brienne see the knighthood through his own skewed lens.

Love the reread so far :bowdown:

Nice point and so true. Tywin's shadows is still upon them but so far only Jaime has shown abilities to define a path for himself