Random Thoughts About ASOIAF

[Phylum of Alexandria]

On 8/11/2022 at 6:48 PM, The Bard of Banefort said:

My problem with Sansa reminding Sandor of his sister is that he never mentions her, to either Sansa or Arya (he does talk about his brother, father, and grandfather). Usually he brings up things that are on his mind, like how he talks about Sansa constantly around Arya. I think the attraction is based on how age is this weird abstract concept in ASOIAF, where the characters seem older than they are depending on the scene. I think him telling her about Gregor was just happenstance—the dam broke and she happened to be with him when it did—but that her reaction (trying to console him instead of being horrified) lit a spark. 

Yeah, the most generous interpretation of the dynamic is that Sandor wasn't necessarily drawn to Sansa; he was just around her by the happenstance of guarding her betrothed. Maybe he gave similar cynical rants to other idealistic children (like, say, Myrcella) while he was drunk; or maybe Sansa's idealism stood out. We'll probably never know. But it was Sansa's consolation of him in his moment of vulnerability that really made her stand out, and it was that act that started a new dynamic between them.

[Craving Peaches]

Will we ever see winter peaches? They are only mentioned in one Bran chapter, said to taste cool and sweet. I am really curious...

Edited August 27, 2022 by Craving Peaches

[EggBlue]

I thought I was done with Game of Throne analysis video essays ... but the video below just made me laugh so much .he describes GoT as "a masterpiece and a complete disaster" which I fully agree with.

alas, @Ran thinks Rant and Rave thread is not needed anymore so I'm posting this here . by the way Ran I tagged you to say with HOTD we need Rant and Rave thread more than ever ! a lot of people may have revisited GoT before starting HOTD!

 

 

[Phylum of Alexandria]

8 hours ago, EggBlue said:

I thought I was done with Game of Throne analysis video essays ... but the video below just made me laugh so much .he describes GoT as "a masterpiece and a complete disaster" which I fully agree with.

I'm on board with half of that take...the later half! This guy is way too kind on the early show.

I do agree that GoT got worse with every passing season, but there were some huge red flags even in Season 1 concerning D&D's judgment, and by Season 4 (apparently his favorite), some absolutely asinine decisions.

Aside from GRRM's dialogue, the show's main overall strengths were: 1) replicating the spectacle of the books' biggest moments and 2) utilizing on-screen chemistry between its cast members. Maybe that's what this person is responding so enthusiastically to in his praise for the early seasons. But in terms of creating compelling characterizations, plot dynamics, and themes (i.e., actual storytelling), the show was poor from the start.

 

Edited August 28, 2022 by Phylum of Alexandria

[Loose Bolt]

I suspect that real creators of the wall were WW who made that for same reason than Children used Hammers of Water. Or their idea was to stop First Men going too far to north and original purpose of Night Watch was to be a border guards whose job was to make sure than humans stay out of land controlled by Others. Besides Night's King was last commander of NW who was still loyal to original purpose of NW. 

[The Bard of Banefort]

On 8/28/2022 at 5:13 AM, EggBlue said:

I thought I was done with Game of Throne analysis video essays ... but the video below just made me laugh so much .he describes GoT as "a masterpiece and a complete disaster" which I fully agree with.

alas, @Ran thinks Rant and Rave thread is not needed anymore so I'm posting this here . by the way Ran I tagged you to say with HOTD we need Rant and Rave thread more than ever ! a lot of people may have revisited GoT before starting HOTD!

 

 

Perhaps we should start a Rant and Rave thread for HOTD then 

[SeanF]

On 8/25/2022 at 11:17 AM, The Bard of Banefort said:

I was reading about St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre yesterday, and I found it somewhat similar to the Red Wedding, even if it was more impulsive and less meticulously planned (i.e. slaughtering a rival faction that had arrived to celebrate a conciliatory wedding). 

It was intended as a surgical strike against a handful of Protestant leaders.  And it turned into a bloodbath.

That’s possibly true of the Red Wedding.  

[EggBlue]

6 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

Perhaps we should start a Rant and Rave thread for HOTD then 

too soon Bard . too soon 

[The Bard of Banefort]

6 hours ago, EggBlue said:

too soon Bard . too soon 

Give it time, my friend 

Edited August 31, 2022 by The Bard of Banefort

[Jaenara Belarys]

On 8/30/2022 at 9:12 PM, The Bard of Banefort said:

Perhaps we should start a Rant and Rave thread for HOTD then 

I submitted one, but I don't know if the mods approved it or not. 

[The Bard of Banefort]

I thought of another instance where mercy (probably) worked out: Egg had Glendon Ball pardoned at the end of The Mystery Knight. There’s a lot of foreshadowing that Glendon will be one of Egg’s kingsguard, so that was probably a wise choice.

[Daeron the Daring]

28 minutes ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

I thought of another instance where mercy (probably) worked out: Egg had Glendon Ball pardoned at the end of The Mystery Knight. There’s a lot of foreshadowing that Glendon will be one of Egg’s kingsguard, so that was probably a wise choice.

Hm, not sure if he'd ever be accepted as Ser Quentyn Ball's son, tho, which would raise many issues in this situation.

Not to mention that Egg becomes a king in his thirties (33 or 34 maybe), making Glendon almost 40 by that time.

Edited September 4, 2022 by Daeron the Daring

[The Bard of Banefort]

46 minutes ago, Daeron the Daring said:

Hm, not sure if he'd ever be accepted as Ser Quentyn Ball's son, tho, which would raise many issues in this situation.

Not to mention that Egg becomes a king in his thirties (33 or 34 maybe), making Glendon almost 40 by that time.

ASOIAF tends to portray older warriors as “wiser and more skilled,” so I don’t think that’s too big of an issue. But Egg could also recommend him to his uncle or father at some point during their reigns.

Don’t know about the name. Maybe Glendon will decide to take his own name like Dunk did, and not the name of the dipshit who forced his wife to join the silent sisters so that he could live out his dream of being a bodyguard.

[The Bard of Banefort]

In retrospect, I think either house Greyjoy or Baratheon should have had different house colors to differentiate them better, and so each of the Great Houses had their own unique look. Maybe black and silver for the Greyjoys, or black and orange for the Baratheons.

[zajaz]

You know, now that I think about it, I must wonder: Why wasn't Gael betrothed to either Viserys or Daemon? Gael was born around the year 80 (Viserys was born in 77, Daemon in 81, and Aemma in 82), so looking at the ages, it seems Gael could have been a suitable bride for either of Baelon's sons... so why wasn't she? Was it because she was 'simple minded'? If so, it seems quite strange a bard was able to seduce her just like that; you would think she would have been better protected, seeing as she was Alysanne's comfort child and constant shadow.

[Lady Misery]

On 9/10/2022 at 7:44 PM, zajaz said:

You know, now that I think about it, I must wonder: Why wasn't Gael betrothed to either Viserys or Daemon? Gael was born around the year 80 (Viserys was born in 77, Daemon in 81, and Aemma in 82), so looking at the ages, it seems Gael could have been a suitable bride for either of Baelon's sons... so why wasn't she? Was it because she was 'simple minded'? If so, it seems quite strange a bard was able to seduce her just like that; you would think she would have been better protected, seeing as she was Alysanne's comfort child and constant shadow.

I think she wasn't simple minded at all. Rather she wasn't married off to anyone because Alysanne was so attached to her; she did not want to give her up. And as to why she was not better guarded, well she either managed to slip her guards or her parents simply grew complacent due to her being so meek and shy, that they figured she wasn't going to misbehave in the first place. 

[The Bard of Banefort]

I only just learned that Maekar was apparently king for twelve years? For some reason, I thought he was only king for two or three years like Jaehaerys II. And this means he also kept Bloodraven around for all that time. Egg got married before Aerys died, so I guess this means that either a) GRRM plans on writing about Maekar's court extensively or b) Dunk and Egg will be going on a lot of missions on behalf of Maekar during this time. (If George planned on skipping most of this period, I assume he'd just have Aerys live longer).

[EggBlue]

ha! I always assumed Maekar wasn't king for a long time. why didn't he name Egg his successor in his lifetime?:/

[The Bard of Banefort]

18 hours ago, EggBlue said:

ha! I always assumed Maekar wasn't king for a long time. why didn't he name Egg his successor in his lifetime?:/

Aerion only died a year before Maekar, and he had a son. Tradition would say that baby Maegor was next in line.

[Lady Misery]

There seems to be an aweful lot of unnecessarily fancy helmets. Both Robert and Renly had ones with antlers, Bluetooth the Ironborn has ravenwings on his, Flement Brax has a horsehead shaped one with a two feet long horn, Gendry has his bull one with horns and so does some Prester knight. Protrusions of any sort on a helmet are a bad idea for a variety of reasons, so it seems really strange that there are so many, particularly since some of the mentioned ones were worn into actual battle and not just a tourney. Not that they make a wjhole lot more sense in the later either.