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Does Ser Pounce have a role to play or is he just fluff?


Archmaester Drew

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If you want a somewhat serious answer:



I think you have to look at Ser Pounce in the context of the cat motif throughout the books. Cats do seem to be connected to the Lannister lions and I think you can also think of the contrast between cats and hounds in the books.



Joffrey had The Hound to protect him for quite awhile and the purple wedding takes place only after The Hound leaves Joffrey's service. It's hard to imagine that Tommen's cat plays a similar protective role, but maybe the cat is a symbolic talisman and we will know Tommen is at risk if something happens to the cat. Joffrey used to shoot cats with his crossbow, so he didn't seem to value whatever qualities Tommen sees in them. (Similarly, Bronn tells Tyrion that Joffrey killed a baby fawn that Tommen was keeping as a pet so he could have a jerkin made from its pelt. Tommen gets another fawn, according to Bronn. So both the Baratheon and Lannister sigils may be covered in these similar incidents.)



Arya engaged in a "catch and release" process of catching the feral cats of King's Landing as part of her waterdancer training. There was one old tom cat that she had trouble catching but she finally got ahold of him and he gave her a bad scratch and then got away. Arya is compared to a mouse, among her many changing identities. Maybe Tommen's cat association and Arya's mouse identity will foreshadow an interaction yet to come. Of course, Sansa is a little bird - not a happy camper around cats that pounce.



Right after the chapter with Arya catching cats, we find Catelyn (sometimes called Cat) capturing Tyrion, who is wearing a notable shadowcat cloak. The cloak seems to give Tyrion luck or skill or quick wits or something as he copes with his confinement and trial at the Eyrie. Maybe Tyrion is to Catelyn Stark as the stray tom cat is to Arya - Catelyn certainly believed that the dagger that cut her hand belonged to Tyrion.



I agree that Ser Pounce (as well as the fawn) seems to establish Tommen as an innocent and nurturing child, in contrast to Joffrey. But I think there's more to it. Little kittens grow to become big cats . . .



It would be interesting to see a thread devoted to pets - maybe there already is one. I was listening to the audio of ASOS today, and realized that Lord Commander Mormont keeps a raven while Jon Snow keeps a CRAVEN (Samwell Tarley). I think GRRM's use of puns and wordplay is deft and deliberate and I look forward to puzzling out the relationship between Sam and the raven as I listen to the books again.


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If you want a somewhat serious answer:

I think you have to look at Ser Pounce in the context of the cat motif throughout the books. Cats do seem to be connected to the Lannister lions and I think you can also think of the contrast between cats and hounds in the books.

Joffrey had The Hound to protect him for quite awhile and the purple wedding takes place only after The Hound leaves Joffrey's service. It's hard to imagine that Tommen's cat plays a similar protective role, but maybe the cat is a symbolic talisman and we will know Tommen is at risk if something happens to the cat. Joffrey used to shoot cats with his crossbow, so he didn't seem to value whatever qualities Tommen sees in them. (Similarly, Bronn tells Tyrion that Joffrey killed a baby fawn that Tommen was keeping as a pet so he could have a jerkin made from its pelt. Tommen gets another fawn, according to Bronn. So both the Baratheon and Lannister sigils may be covered in these similar incidents.)

Arya engaged in a "catch and release" process of catching the feral cats of King's Landing as part of her waterdancer training. There was one old tom cat that she had trouble catching but she finally got ahold of him and he gave her a bad scratch and then got away. Arya is compared to a mouse, among her many changing identities. Maybe Tommen's cat association and Arya's mouse identity will foreshadow an interaction yet to come. Of course, Sansa is a little bird - not a happy camper around cats that pounce.

Right after the chapter with Arya catching cats, we find Catelyn (sometimes called Cat) capturing Tyrion, who is wearing a notable shadowcat cloak. The cloak seems to give Tyrion luck or skill or quick wits or something as he copes with his confinement and trial at the Eyrie. Maybe Tyrion is to Catelyn Stark as the stray tom cat is to Arya - Catelyn certainly believed that the dagger that cut her hand belonged to Tyrion.

I agree that Ser Pounce (as well as the fawn) seems to establish Tommen as an innocent and nurturing child, in contrast to Joffrey. But I think there's more to it. Little kittens grow to become big cats . . .

It would be interesting to see a thread devoted to pets - maybe there already is one. I was listening to the audio of ASOS today, and realized that Lord Commander Mormont keeps a raven while Jon Snow keeps a CRAVEN (Samwell Tarley). I think GRRM's use of puns and wordplay is deft and deliberate and I look forward to puzzling out the relationship between Sam and the raven as I listen to the books again.

Thread this, could be fun [emoji2]
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I like to think they parallel the royal children. So assuming Ser Pounce is the oldest, ie. Joffery...

He dead

If he's the oldest, Ser Pounce is Aegon and Lady Whiskers is Dany, taking the Throne from him. We know nothing about Boots yet, like the Kingdom knows nothing about a third Targaryen.

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Ser Pounce's greater role is the fact that he is a parallel to Belarion. As a kitten, Belarion belonged to the young Princess Rhaenys, and she was killed in the Sack of King's Landing. So like Rhaenys, Tommen has kittens; he is going to die (most likely horribly).


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Ser Pounce is in fact a Tiger.

I mean, one from Volantis.

No, not one of the militaristic leaders there, and actual tiger, the ones burning bright in the forest of the night.

It will be Tommen's mount in the final battle against Rickon the Night's King - riding Shaggydog - on the Trident, after the death of the last Targaryen falling from the stairs of the Great Sept of Baelor during their unfortunate wedding day.

We will still have details of the wedding meals, though, because seven of the twelve new POV in Winds will be cooks from the royal cousine.

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So, since Ser Pounce is a Targaryen and Margaery gave them to Tommen, she must be a secret Targaryen loyalist. Unless she actually planned for Lady Whiskers to kill him. But if SP is actually R'HLLOR, then was Margaery being warged by Mel? And where does Pretty the Pig come into it?


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