Master thread on what the Show means for the book plot

[SeanF]

55 minutes ago, StarkTullies said:

I'm biased because I think Daario is the most annoying character in the series (not worst by any means, but most annoying), and I think it speaks very poorly of Dany's judgment that she finds him so irresistible.  But I think he's more than just a jerk, seeing as how his first act in the story was decapitating his two partners' heads.  Sure they were terrible... but he killed them because he likes killing, not because they were terrible or because he was "enchanted by Dany's beauty".  His advice to hold "red wedding" events to kill all the noble class is also diabolical.

Dany herself thinks of Daario as a monster:

That said, I really appreciate Dany here for her self-reflection and fighting her inner demons.  Which is another reason why when she stops resisting Daario, I think it is another step toward her embracing her "monstrous" side.  I guess it is hard for me to grasp why George Martin created such an insipidly annoying (in my opinion) character, if Daario doesn't serve a symbolic purpose other than being Dany's booty call.

You're right.  I looked up the House of the Undying prophecies, and I misremembered.  I blurred the image of Mirri burning with the image of the "old crones" bowing down to her in front of the Mother of Mountains as one event, but the crones bowing down to her doesn't mention a fire.  So I don't think she will burn the khals.  Jhago and Mago, definitely (and for the record, I feel no sorrow for them and would hold no contempt toward Dany for killing them).

As far as the Others go, I do think they hate all of humanity (in the same way that humanity hates all of the Others... for the few who believe they exist), but I think that is more about the bias of war and always hating the "other side".  I think I read somewhere that George Martin named them "Others" to demonstrate the misunderstanding and villainizing of other cultures... though I couldn't tell you where that came from.  We'll see where the story goes, but if they are fully annihilated, I think it will be realized afterward that it was a terrible mistake to do so.  Again, so far the Others don't seem any worse than Tywin Lannister's Bloody Mummers.

What I like about Osten Ard is one can still sympathise with the Norns, even though they are antagonists.  Even among their number, there are those who are sick of endless war against humans

I think Martin’s views on what women find desirable are …a bit odd.  He sees Dany/Drogo as a deep romance.  I see it as a barely pubescent girl persuading herself she’s in love with her master, as an alternative to killing herself.  The idea of a 13 year old being taught to perform “bed tricks” is horrid.

So, I think we’re meant to see Daario as being dashing and attractive, even if he is violent.  Like Darkstar, and Khal Drogo.

I think Martin views Daenerys' love life as being a tale of a young woman becoming confident with her sexuality.  And yet, I think there's something of a whipped dog about her.  I could imagine her persuading herself that a man who abused her was just showing her how much he loves her (something i've encountered in real life, even among successful professionals).  All the more so, in a world where even royal women are taught that they are inferior to their menfolk.

Edited December 23, 2022 by SeanF