[TWOW Spoilers] NEW Chapter Discussion - "Mercy"

[Ella Darklyn]

There is no evidence that it is Aegon IV, other than the fact he had many mistresses. It could just as easily have been Aerion Brightflame during his exile from Westeros.

Actually that's mentioned in AFFC, Chapter 34. From Aegon IV's wiki: 'Among Aegon's other bastards was the daughter he fathered on Bellegere Otherys, who became the next Black Pearl of Braavos after her mother. Her daughter and granddaughter have both been Black Pearls too.^[8]'

^{And http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Bellegere_Otherys}

[shiola]

I read it too fast to even pick up on her playing Sansa in the play. Her being detached from that is very saddening and scary. Interesting how she can be detached from that, but still can't become No One, truly.

[Ser Arthyr Dracenstein]

When I worked out Mercy was Arya and thinking of her rape-to-come, I thought it might still be training for her. As a female Faceless Man, she might have to pose as a whore sometime, so this 'rape' would be to take her maidenhead and to start her sex training.

[Moondancer]

Ran,

That's my thinking as well - when I read "to be raped and murdered" I immediately thought those weren't her thoughts, or memories.

[The Holy Goat]

Awesome chapter, but all of them are. Loved that she finally got to off Raff the Sweetling who was just as despicably amusing as always, and I loved all the references in this chapter. Arya still has wolfdreams and Bran is watching her, Harys Swyft has reached Braavos, Cersei seem to be in a position of power, a play has been made seemingly by some relative of Syrio Forel, the play "reenacts" Tyrion's actions, she is playing Sansa, etc.

Was very worried at the first mention of her being raped though. Not because I actually thought Martin would go through with it, but because she was so uncaring about it, and that made me wonder what the Faceless Men truly makes their apprentices go through. Then SHe mention wigs, and I was like "Mummery!".

Also loved how she turned back into Arya at the end, was worried about how much she had forgotten from her old life, or rather how much she had tried to forget and tried to tell herself that she forgot.

Has no idea where it's all going though.

Also, I liked the guard who was with Raff. Was it Shitmouth I wonder? He was never as bad as the others I seem to recall. Didn't swear enough though, and seemed rather ignorant to what Clegane was up to.

[King of the Road]

Thats what I'm thinking. I hope an escape to Westeros is in order.

Hope so, good chapter and it's the perfect opportunity to move the plot along nicely.

[Konradsmith]

Ran, how long ago did you first read this chapter?

[TheCrannogDweller]

Ran,

Can you confirm or deny the wiki claim that Aegon IV was the Dragon prince from whom the current Black Pearl is descended?

Oh and Tywin in Lys... a city famous for its bed slaves.

And the unsuccessful trip Steffon Baratheon took there on Aerys' order. Perhaps the two travel parties were connected somehow?

[shiola]

Arya was clearly playing Shae, not Sansa... Silly folks.

I loved how each of the mummers asking for Mercy's help represented Arya's siblings.

Daena - sewing - Sansa

Stranger - bloody paste - Bran

Izembaro - crown/king - Robb

Bobono - child sized - Rickon

Good catch!

[kingkiller]

I'm gunna go against the tide here and say she was playing Shae not Sansa. If the play was about Robert's death and Tyrion as a villain I don't even think Cat would be in it, yet there's a part that mentions Mercy having to fix "Lady Stork's gown" I think the other chick Wendeyne or whoever is playing Sansa, and Arya is playing Shae who we do know was murdered.

Also Arya only has a few lines. Sansa would HAVE to have more than a few lines in a play about Tyrion.

[Estelindis]

Brilliantly written chapter. Serious kudos to GRRM. I felt super-uncomfortable about the sexualization of Arya, sad about the various ways in which her current situation reminds her of her family, very curious and interested about the Tyrion-based play, and possessed of a cold satisfaction that she got revenge on Raff.

I had wanted a Sansa chapter, but I felt that Arya was probably the most likely. However, Sansa was still present, in a way, if that's who Arya was playing. Could maybe have been Shae, I suppose, but I think Sansa is the more poignant possibility. What would Shae mean to Arya? On the other hand, this play is supposed to flatter the current regime in King's Landing, so why would they portray a Stark as an innocent damsel? Shae might be presented solely as Sansa's maid, not as a whore.

[herr witz]

Tywin loved whores, but kept it a secret and was self loathing about it, and took it out on poor Tyrion :bawl:

[Forfax]

I wonder if the Lannister envoys will run into the delegation led by Justin Massey that Stannis sent. So either Arya will head to the Wall or to KL.

[shiola]

Tywin loved whores, but kept it a secret and was self loathing about it, and took it out on poor Tyrion :bawl:

He took it out on Tysha just as much.

[Ran]

Konradsmith,

:hat:

TheCrannogDweller,

Yes, the Black Pearl was among Aegon IV's many mistresses.

kingkiller,

Lady Stork is the name of the actress, or at least what they call her, and she seems to be playing Cersei.

[Lord Varys]

Ran,

I had the impression throughout that Mercy must be a new face. The tone of the chapter is completely different, there is no remnant of Arya in there up until the point she recognizes Raff.

On the queen thing:

It makes little to no sense to assume that Ser Harys went to the docks and took a ship when he took his leave off Ser Kevan in the Epilogue. Kevan suggests that Harys hire some of the Mountain's men that came with Red Ronnet Connington to the city. That alone should take more time than it would take to discover the bodies of Kevan and Pycelle. Not to speak of the fact that the last words between Kevan and his father-in-law did not exactly look like a farewell you'd expect when a man travels abroad.

Even more so, the whole thing is clearly set after Cersei's walk of shame - which the older Lannister guardsman may have actually witnessed! Both the older guy and Raff would have heard about it. They would not speak of Cersei the way they did, nor would they consider 'the queen' the person who sent Ser Harys. The Lord Regent and the Hand of the King sent the Master of Coin to Braavos, if the Epilogue is any indication. One should expect that it was delayed for days or even weeks after the corpses of the Lord Regent and Grand Maester of Realm were discovered. At least, until the a new Regent was appointed and/or until after the trial of the queen(s). It's also possible that Mace Tyrell jumped on the chance to get the last Lannister crony on the council out of the city by insisting that he'd go at once. But then the Hand (i.e. Mace) would want Swyft's head upon his return, and the idea of exile in Braavos the men are entertaining would have a much more serious undertone.

[Colonel Green]

and Arya is playing Shae who we do know was murdered.

Shae's murder was covered up by Cersei (not wanting the circumstances to get out), so that wouldn't be public knowledge.

More generally, Arya playing Shae (who she's never met) doesn't have any real literary/tragic value, whereas Arya playing Sansa does.

[Pod The Rod]

On what actually occurs in the chapter, I think people are reading a little too much into the last couple of paragraphs. I don't think they mean she's leaving Braavos immediately.

Read Arya's wiki entry- she's already racked up about fifty false identities. She knows she's going to have to discard this one soon, and she's sad because she likes this identity, she's grown attached to it, just as she did Cat of the Canals. And THAT shows, again, that FM training is simply not working on her. A good FM is supposed to be able to discard their identities easily, at whim. They're not supposed to care about any of the faces they adopt, those are simply tools. Arya's insistence on developing attachments and friendships, with Brusco and Co as Cat of the Canals, with Daena and the Snapper and Izembaro here, and with Gendry and Hot Pie before them, is the anchor of her personality that is eventually going to drag her back to Westeros, in one way or another.

[Red Onion Knight]

love that its being stated as fact

I'm fully expecting Robert Strong to fall to pieces inside his armour 'cause Qyburn can't stitch for s**t ^_^

[Asshat by the Shadow]

Also, nice kill. She goes straight after the femoral artery.

Neat as fuck

Made me think of the show (I don't remember exactly how it happened in aCoK) when Yoren threatened the gold cloak with piercing his femoral artery ("they always forget about down below"). And then Arya kills Raff the same way he killed Lommy Greenhands. Amazing writing by George to recall us back to that moment before dealing the final blow. "You'll need to carry me." "Think so?" Just perfect.