Sandor Clegane v. 9

[den_lange_sommer_31]

Dream analyzing is a hobby of mine, reading quite a bit about messages sent from your inner subconscious through dreams since i was 15, however i must say everything is open to one's own interpretation. I also feel GRRM writes everything to mean something, thus why i decided to tackle this dream since it's not really a prophecy but more so just a "dream"..

Dream 1 : She dreamt of Joffery dying, but as he clawed at his throat and the blood ran down across his fingers she saw with horror that it was her brother Robb.

My interpretation - I feel like this dream is simply Sansa still grieving her brother, Joffery choking is feel is a projection of herself rather than the event of his death. Choking in ones dream signifies something in your life that is hard to swallow. (Since I have yet to read ASOS I dont know how she reacts to his death, so its possible she feels she's choking the feelings down, instead of outwardly grieving the loss of her brother)

Dream 2 - She dreamed of her wedding night too, of Tyrion's eyes devouring her as she undressed.

My interpretation - Since we dont know how she felt in her “dream” wedding night its hard to take in which category “Wedding” falls into. I can only assume because Devouring follows I can assume she was feeling anxiety and generally was uncomfortable. Which then could be taken as a fear of commitment.

But what I really find stands out about this “Tyrion's eyes devouring her as she undressed” Dreams of being devoured are about feeling over-whelmed or bring over-powered by another's will. While Undressing reflects a desire for intimacy, sexuality, and exposure. There are a few meanings to “undressing” in ones dream, I narrowed it to two.

Comfortable – There is an honesty, truthfulness, confidence with your sexuality and an enjoyment to being “naked”, openness to those around you.

Uncomfortable – Not quite ready for intimacy and revealing your true feelings. Uncomfortableness while undressing during a dream can subconsciously help you vent and release shame & negativity about your body and sexuality.

We know Sansa and Tyrion's relationship is one in which that forced. So I think Devouring + The uncomfortable undressing describes her feelings on their relationship perfectly without my added insight.

Dream 3 - Only then he was bigger than Tyrion had any right to be, and when he climbed into the bed his face was scarred only on side. I'll have a song from you” he rasped,

My interpretation :

The last dream was interesting, Sansa's subconsciously projecting the Hound onto "husband" Tyrion. Dreaming of a “husband” can symbolize a provider/protector. The Hound did play a large part in offering protection during her stay at KL, dreaming of a “husband” also has a few different meanings depending on your marital status.

Married : If you are a married woman, then this can represent your idealized husband verses the day – day reality, with its expectations, and demands of your actual husband.

Unmarried : If the woman is unmarried, this may be considered your hope/fantasy or “dream” of what your future husband will be.

Either way, her projecting him onto Tyrion shows she has deeper feelings toward him that she hasn’t come to terms with. The fact that Tyrion turns into the Hound whilst climbing into the bed also means a great deal, and I feel reveals some interesting insight. Beds signify comfort, relaxation, rejuvenation, sexuality, intimacy and privacy.

A bed is considered the safest place in the world, the place you allow yourself to be most vulnerable. When you dream of a bed the veil is the thinnest between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Now to lift the veil of a “Shipper” and look through “Non-Shippers” eyes -

Scarred face jumps out, and if you take the connection away from the Hound, scars in dreams simply mean memories of emotional/physical trauma from your past, (scars are known to remind a person to learn from ones mistakes.) The fact that its from a memory of BBB “I'll have a song from you” endorses the trauma aspect. It's possible Sansa is connecting her old self with her new self, learning from her mistakes as Sansa Stark and trying to avoid as such with her new persona/new life.

But I have to agree with DaughterOfThe9Moons above, it is strange that when Sansa awakes she seems to be calm and collected. Not at all symptoms of nightmares.

Sansa is broken, probably experiencing PTSD, from the beatings at KL, the deaths of her siblings/family, and being alone. There’s a lot going on and its all bottled up inside with no one she can communicate with besides the blind dog. (Which I also think is symbolic btw)

The dream is interesting none the less.

[den_lange_sommer_31]

Whoa, sorry for the massive post guys... :ack:

somehow didnt realize the length..

[Trinuviel]

B. Let him play the hero, like we know he can. ;)

And I actually think that the early books gave a lot of hints in that respect - the knight that was no knight as well as the repreated mentions of Florian the Fool and Jonquil. I really want to hear that song, because I've noticed that Martin often has used songs as subtle foreshadowings.

I am re-reading SoS, where there is the hilarious rendition of The Bear and the Maiden Fair at KIng's Landing, and a couple of chapters later we Jorah (sigil: Bear and described physically as bear-like) kissing Dany.

The of course there's the Rains of Castamere thing.

That's why I think that Sandor and Sansa's story is far from over, because Martin has repeatedly referenced the Florian and Jonquil song (and Sandor asked for that one in KL before he left *hint hint*). I find it extremely significant that that song is mentioned so often, but that we never have been introduced to how the story it tells actually goes! I'm thinking that Martin is saving the best for last.

[Trinuviel]

To all those comparing Jane Eyre to Sansa and Sandor, Anne is so much better than Charlotte. That is all.

Sorry, I quite liked The Tenant at Wildfell Hall, but she was nowhere as stylistically adept as Charlotte and Emily. I actually found Anne Brönte's first book very grating.

In my opinion Charlotte was the most accomplished writer of the Brönte sisters, Villette is subtle masterpiece!

[brashcandy]

Whoa, sorry for the massive post guys... :ack:

somehow didnt realize the length..

I liked your dream interpretation, Dee_Licious, except that it's virtually impossible for me to see it from a non-shipping perspective, so kudos on trying to be impartial! :lol:

I've always seen it as her subconscious actually inserting the person she would rather have in her bed, but she obviously still fears the Hound - so the dream is a kind of terrifying fantasy. The last time she saw him he was in her bed asking for a song, so it isn't surprising that she would have this dream. What makes it mean more is that at first she thinks it's Tyrion - so the sexual aspect of undressing for a husband is there, and then he transforms into the Hound, meaning that on an unconscious level there is some aspect of desire between the two that Sansa is aware of, and may secretly want - hence the unkiss.

[Trinuviel]

I also have to say that while admire the brilliant stylistic embedding of narratives within narratives in Wuthering Heights I absolute abhor most of the characters. Heathcliff is a sociopath and Catherine a spoilt, selfish bitch! I have never understood the people who read is as a romance - I certainly experienced it as a subversion of the tropes of literary romance.

For laughs I would recommend, Lost in a Good Book, the second book in Jasper fforde's Thursday Next series, which is a brilliant example of literary self-awareness and just lots of fun: Especially the scene where the heorine Thursday attempts to hold a group councelling with the characters of Wuthering Heights - everybody hates Heathcliff except Catherine and then the session is interrupted by a ninja attack :rofl:

The first book in the series is The Eyre Affair. And later books introduces us to a badass Miss Havisham, juristfiction agent with license to kill and a penchant for racing vintage automobiles! Another book has Hamlet acting as a side-kick while continually worring about why people find him indecisive. I can promis lots and lots of fun in the company of Jasper fforde.

[den_lange_sommer_31]

I liked your dream interpretation, Dee_Licious, except that it's virtually impossible for me to see it from a non-shipping perspective, so kudos on trying to be impartial! :lol:

I've always seen it as her subconscious actually inserting the person she would rather have in her bed, but she obviously still fears the Hound - so the dream is a kind of terrifying fantasy. The last time she saw him he was in her bed asking for a song, so it isn't surprising that she would have this dream. What makes it mean more is that at first she thinks it's Tyrion - so the sexual aspect of undressing for a husband is there, and then he transforms into the Hound, meaning that on an unconscious level there is some aspect of desire between the two that Sansa is aware of, and may secretly want - hence the unkiss.

Lol! i tried my best to be non-shipper-esk but all i saw was the "shipper" aspect of the dream myself.. probably because i am bias.

I agree, i think she is timid toward having feelings for Sandor, but yet feels comfortable and safe with him all the same. Their relationship is one of an understanding, both treat each other without all the "bullshit". So i agree with the terrifying fantasy. Though she doesn't sound all that terrified and that confuses me as to why its considered a nightmare.

( OT : I only just now found out GRRM wrote the episode with the Battle of the Blackwater, which probably means it will be most true to the book. I am so glad that was the one episode per season he chose to take control of, since its probably one of the best parts of aCoK i want it completely identical to the book ;) )

[brashcandy]

( OT : I only just now found out GRRM wrote the episode with the Battle of the Blackwater, which probably means it will be most true to the book. I am so glad that was the one episode per season he chose to take control of, since its probably one of the best parts of aCoK i want it completely identical to the book ;) )

I know :) It will be very interesting to see how the actors portray that scene, and what parts are emphasized. Will we see Sansa huddling beneath his cloak for instance after he leaves... will we see her fantasy on the unkiss or will that come later? So many questions!

[Candor]

Speaking of dreams!

I had a strange one last night involving the Eyrie. Well it might not be strange, but I shall explain it. The vibe I got was that what we were discussing yesterday, the crackpot about Rickon coming to the Vale had come to pass, and that it had gone down a bad road, and LF had decided to get rid of Rickon (I don't know if he succeeded in that). Sansa either found out he was going to, or that he already had, and the last thing holding her back was gone, and she saw LF for what he really was, how he was willing to let go of her family like that. So she confronts him, and at first she's put on an acting face.

He is standing near the centre of the room, and appears to be looking over the equipment for the Moon Door winch, and tsking about how the frost is affecting the metal. She goes up to him, and he says as much, but she changes the subject.

Sansa pretends to be feeling all normal, like any other day, except she claims to LF that she's "not sure about the Harry thing" and "a bit scared of being married again" to "someone she doesn't really know or care for yet." and she says something like she might feel lonely after the marriage because Harry is new to her (or something, I don't remember exact words, lol)

And LF just has this smirk. Like, a partially scary, knowing smirk. He pats her on the shoulder and draws her into an embrace, and says "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, sweetling, I think it will work out. You can go home then, to Winterfell. Isn't that what you wanted? Besides, I'll be there. Come, give your father a kiss." :ack:

She leans halfway in as if she's going to, but then she speaks instead, and her tone of voice got all serious. "Are you sure there isn't something you wanted to tell me, Father? About my claim? Are you sure I'm really it?"

He steps back from her, looking wary, and he says "Your brothers and your sister are dead. Who else would there be?"

"I seem to remember hearing that, miraculously, my littlest brother Rickon came here. But where is he, Father? Can't you be both our father? Oh, that's right. Only me."

And she shoved him at the MD, and it was all going so so slow. He grabbed her by the sleeve of her dress, and she went forward like she was going to fall, and I was panicked watching it, and then a gloved hand tore LF's hand way, and he fell out the MD. The person yanked Sansa back by the shoulders, and she stood there, frozen with fear for a moment, and all I heard was, "I might not be there to catch you next time, little bird."

:drunk: I abruptly woke up.

[Candor]

I know :) It will be very interesting to see how the actors portray that scene, and what parts are emphasized. Will we see Sansa huddling beneath his cloak for instance after he leaves... will we see her fantasy on the unkiss or will that come later? So many questions!

OH M GOD, I was so glad to hear that George RR will be doing that episode. I truly hope they keep everything how it is in the books, and don't pull another trick like LF telling Sansa how the Hound got burned --------> or I will be :bang:

[den_lange_sommer_31]

I recently watched a video of one of the creators saying "The Hound and Sansa's relationship is shown throughout the series" or something along those lines. So *Fingers Crossed* everything is as it should be and no one steals Sandor's scenes.. i dont want to see like Tyrion or LF stealing "their" moments. or Bronn... lol

[Candor]

I recently watched a video of one of the creators saying "The Hound and Sansa's relationship is shown throughout the series" or something along those lines. So *Fingers Crossed* everything is as it should be and no one steals Sandor's scenes.. i dont want to see like Tyrion or LF stealing "their" moments. or Bronn... lol

SERIOUSLY!

I'm hoping anyway. An Aside: I really like Sophie and Rory as their actors.

[den_lange_sommer_31]

Me too, i think they portray the characters very well. I've always liked Rory McCann so i have full faith that he will deliver a great Sandor Clegane (I think he proved as much in the first season. When he barely had any scenes, and his major part in the book was axed. Which to me was the part that drew me into / sympathized with Sandor Clegane, LF didn't do it for me, even though i already loved The Hound, if i was watching it as a "viewer" he didn't do it for me)

Sophie is great too, in the beginning she pulled off the "God Sansa is so annoying" bit and then by the end you really feel for the girl.

The casting is perfect for all the characters. I am truly upset at the recast of Gregor though, that guy was brilliant.

[Candor]

Me too, i think they portray the characters very well. I've always liked Rory McCann so i have full faith that he will deliver a great Sandor Clegane (I think he proved as much in the first season. When he barely had any scenes, and his major part in the book was axed. Which to me was the part that drew me into / sympathized with Sandor Clegane, LF didn't do it for me, even though i already loved The Hound, if i was watching it as a "viewer" he didn't do it for me)

Sophie is great too, in the beginning she pulled off the "God Sansa is so annoying" bit and then by the end you really feel for the girl.

The casting is perfect for all the characters. I am truly upset at the recast of Gregor though, that guy was brilliant.

I actually really like Aidan Gillen in it, too though, even though he stole that part GRR. I think the only actor I was not fond of was Gethin Anthony... NOT for his acting, he was good at it, but just he didn't look like Renly at all, and Renly's looks, to me, were important to his character.

She truly did. Both her and Maisie, are wonderful. Looking forward to the future seasons with the girls in it!

[DaughterOfThe9Moons]

Dream analyzing is a hobby of mine, reading quite a bit about messages sent from your inner subconscious through dreams since i was 15, however i must say everything is open to one's own interpretation. I also feel GRRM writes everything to mean something, thus why i decided to tackle this dream since it's not really a prophecy but more so just a "dream"..

Dream 1 : She dreamt of Joffery dying, but as he clawed at his throat and the blood ran down across his fingers she saw with horror that it was her brother Robb.

My interpretation - I feel like this dream is simply Sansa still grieving her brother, Joffery choking is feel is a projection of herself rather than the event of his death. Choking in ones dream signifies something in your life that is hard to swallow. (Since I have yet to read ASOS I dont know how she reacts to his death, so its possible she feels she's choking the feelings down, instead of outwardly grieving the loss of her brother)

Dream 2 - She dreamed of her wedding night too, of Tyrion's eyes devouring her as she undressed.

My interpretation - Since we dont know how she felt in her “dream” wedding night its hard to take in which category “Wedding” falls into. I can only assume because Devouring follows I can assume she was feeling anxiety and generally was uncomfortable. Which then could be taken as a fear of commitment.

But what I really find stands out about this “Tyrion's eyes devouring her as she undressed” Dreams of being devoured are about feeling over-whelmed or bring over-powered by another's will. While Undressing reflects a desire for intimacy, sexuality, and exposure. There are a few meanings to “undressing” in ones dream, I narrowed it to two.

Comfortable – There is an honesty, truthfulness, confidence with your sexuality and an enjoyment to being “naked”, openness to those around you.

Uncomfortable – Not quite ready for intimacy and revealing your true feelings. Uncomfortableness while undressing during a dream can subconsciously help you vent and release shame & negativity about your body and sexuality.

We know Sansa and Tyrion's relationship is one in which that forced. So I think Devouring + The uncomfortable undressing describes her feelings on their relationship perfectly without my added insight.

Dream 3 - Only then he was bigger than Tyrion had any right to be, and when he climbed into the bed his face was scarred only on side. I'll have a song from you” he rasped,

My interpretation :

The last dream was interesting, Sansa's subconsciously projecting the Hound onto "husband" Tyrion. Dreaming of a “husband” can symbolize a provider/protector. The Hound did play a large part in offering protection during her stay at KL, dreaming of a “husband” also has a few different meanings depending on your marital status.

Married : If you are a married woman, then this can represent your idealized husband verses the day – day reality, with its expectations, and demands of your actual husband.

Unmarried : If the woman is unmarried, this may be considered your hope/fantasy or “dream” of what your future husband will be.

Either way, her projecting him onto Tyrion shows she has deeper feelings toward him that she hasn’t come to terms with. The fact that Tyrion turns into the Hound whilst climbing into the bed also means a great deal, and I feel reveals some interesting insight. Beds signify comfort, relaxation, rejuvenation, sexuality, intimacy and privacy.

A bed is considered the safest place in the world, the place you allow yourself to be most vulnerable. When you dream of a bed the veil is the thinnest between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Now to lift the veil of a “Shipper” and look through “Non-Shippers” eyes -

Scarred face jumps out, and if you take the connection away from the Hound, scars in dreams simply mean memories of emotional/physical trauma from your past, (scars are known to remind a person to learn from ones mistakes.) The fact that its from a memory of BBB “I'll have a song from you” endorses the trauma aspect. It's possible Sansa is connecting her old self with her new self, learning from her mistakes as Sansa Stark and trying to avoid as such with her new persona/new life.

But I have to agree with DaughterOfThe9Moons above, it is strange that when Sansa awakes she seems to be calm and collected. Not at all symptoms of nightmares.

Sansa is broken, probably experiencing PTSD, from the beatings at KL, the deaths of her siblings/family, and being alone. There’s a lot going on and its all bottled up inside with no one she can communicate with besides the blind dog. (Which I also think is symbolic btw)

The dream is interesting none the less.

Thanks for the detailed analysis! I found this really insightful actually. I have noticed through re-reading the Sansa chapters that whenever she thinks of the hound she hardly ever associates these thoughts with feelings or reactions to the thoughts, they're merely statements. (eg "I wish the Hound was here." or "The Hound would have laughed at that." etc) Even though quite a few of them seem to imply that she wishes for his company, there is basically never any reference to her feelings regarding him as a companion/man rather than as a protector. This gives me a kind of hope though in that, surely if she was horrified/disgusted by the idea of him as a man then that would be shown in her chapters. I think GRRM has deliberately kept her thoughts on the matter vague/out of the spotlight because Sansa DOES want more from him than simply his protection albeit unconsciously.... and also, he's just contrary like that :D

ETA: Urgh, the format of my post was wrong.

Also, I agree that the blind dog is symbolic in that it played a role as her protector at the fingers. I think it symbolises Sansa's affection/need for the Hound in her life as he was her major protector. When she says "I wish that you were Lady." that kind of confirms it for me as I fully subscribe to the theory that Sandor is a replacement for Lady and the blind dog is standing in as a replacement for him. Also, apologies for my lack of eloquence, I hope my ideas came across kind of.

[den_lange_sommer_31]

I actually really like Aidan Gillen in it, too though, even though he stole that part GRR. I think the only actor I was not fond of was Gethin Anthony... NOT for his acting, he was good at it, but just he didn't look like Renly at all, and Renly's looks, to me, were important to his character.

She truly did. Both her and Maisie, are wonderful. Looking forward to the future seasons with the girls in it!

Oh no i didn't mean that i didn't like Aidan Gillen, i just meant that if i watched that episode before reading the book i probably wouldn't of been drawn into Sandor as much, only because i liked his telling of the story. it had more meaning, and a better insight to why he despises knights, it was a good peek into his character. Aidan Gillen is the perfect LF, (And very attractive as him, i've loved him since Queer As Folk so i am glad he's LF, guy is a very talented actor, he was great in The Wire)

I thought Renly's looks weren't to terrible, he definitely looks more like the Renly i thought of in S2 judging by the small bits we saw of him. That haircut was terrible in S1.

Maisie is Arya, no doubt, its like they ripped her from the pages and threw her onto the screen. Hats off to both girls, not having much acting experience prior to GOT, Bran as well.

[den_lange_sommer_31]

@DaughterOfThe9Moons

I truly enjoyed analyzing Sansa's dream. I haven't actually read ASOS so i don't know much about how her character acts throughout the book, i have only read footnotes of each character/events of each book. But from what i have read Sansa sounds much like a zombie of herself, nothing really "connects" you know? i think The Hound serves as one of the few strings holding Sansa to herself. I definitely think she has feelings for Sandor way past the point of "protectional value" though and i feel GRRM is subtly stringing it through the tiny holes of her chapters. The unkiss i find interesting, and i've read on here that GRRM has said all of Sansa's memory issues will serve some kind of importance in the future.

Maybe in connection of Bran's dream of Arya, Sansa, the hound, possibly Jamie, and Gregor.

[Candor]

Oh no i didn't mean that i didn't like Aidan Gillen, i just meant that if i watched that episode before reading the book i probably wouldn't of been drawn into Sandor as much, only because i liked his telling of the story. it had more meaning, and a better insight to why he despises knights, it was a good peek into his character. Aidan Gillen is the perfect LF, (And very attractive as him, i've loved him since Queer As Folk so i am glad he's LF, guy is a very talented actor, he was great in The Wire)

I thought Renly's looks weren't to terrible, he definitely looks more like the Renly i thought of in S2 judging by the small bits we saw of him. That haircut was terrible in S1.

Maisie is Arya, no doubt, its like they ripped her from the pages and threw her onto the screen. Hats off to both girls, not having much acting experience prior to GOT, Bran as well.

Aidan is very attractive, and he's very well suited for the role. I actually was very pleased to find he was playing LF, as he was quite similar to how I'd imagined that character out of the novel. I need to watch the Wire, gah!

YES! I was watching the promo or whatnot, and I had to stop it to bask in the relief that he grew his hair out, and a little beardling, too! The way I read Renly in the books was essentially masculine looking, longish black hair, with a sort of flamboyant, cheeky, charismatic personality. I will say it again. I think Gethin is a fine actor, but in S1 I just wasn't feeling how they made him look. Season 2's hair is a vast improvement!

Exactly that. Maisie is dead on what I pictured Arya to be, so I was stoked over that casting. Sansa as well. Even Bran is very much Bran to me. I will say even though all the Stark kids minus Arya were supposed to have the reddish hair like their mother, I always pictured them (except Sansa) having more brown hair, and I always thought of Jon Snow with black hair. Why? Who knows, that's just how I read it! :lol:

Lena Headey is sort of my dream Cersei, Nikolaj is a very well suited Jaime, and Peter steals the show as Tyrion - adore him.

@DaughterOfThe9Moons

I truly enjoyed analyzing Sansa's dream. I haven't actually read ASOS so i don't know much about how her character acts throughout the book, i have only read footnotes of each character/events of each book. But from what i have read Sansa sounds much like a zombie of herself, nothing really "connects" you know? i think The Hound serves as one of the few strings holding Sansa to herself. I definitely think she has feelings for Sandor way past the point of "protectional value" though and i feel GRRM is subtly stringing it through the tiny holes of her chapters. The unkiss i find interesting, and i've read on here that GRRM has said all of Sansa's memory issues will serve some kind of importance in the future.

Maybe in connection of Bran's dream of Arya, Sansa, the hound, possibly Jamie, and Gregor.

She does act very zombie-esque. I'm sort of biased because she reminds me of me when I was younger and going through some rough personal times. Sansa tends to keep to herself through the books so that no one has a reason to hurt her - it's a self-preservation thing and I'm well versed in it... kind of was hard to read the chapters actually, just because of my own investment in the story. She starts to lose her identity very much after a certain event - wont' spoil it - and I agree that Sandor is likely a big part of her maintaining a connection to her true self.

It could be. There are honestly a few things it could turn out to mean, but all we know for sure is there will be some payoff to her memory problems later. personally, my top things are that there is an attraction there like there seems to be, or I think the memory thing might pay off in terms of her latent warg abilities, which I think we'll maybe see more of in Book 6. It seems like both her and Arya were latecomers to the warg thing, and coincidentally, they, unlike their brothers, have been without a wolf, so that would seem to be why they're taking so long to flesh out those abilities or even discover them.

[den_lange_sommer_31]

I did the same thing, i pictured Arya and Jon to look identical to Eddard. Bran, Rickon, and Robb to have dark brown/auburn hair, with only Sansa looking the true Tully like her mom. Don't know why, but i did too. Apparently we aren't the only ones to picture such ;) , HBO casted pretty much exactly as i envisioned most of the Stark children and characters. minus Stannis who i saw very Jason Statham-esk. If there is a better actor than Peter Dinklage to play Tyrion i would shout blasphemy, Peter is perfect no one can convince me otherwise. I am so glad he is getting recognition for his acting abilities, he deserves all of it.

I agree, whatever the memory issue was written for. it is to involve Sandor somehow, and if it doesn't than why go through all the trouble to plant seeds? That's why i can't believe he is actually dead (It's not just self denial! lol) there is no reason to detail the GD, its almost pointless to have Brienne notice him if it wasn't important / mean something.

I wonder how many prophecies we will see come true? i know a few have already, and i often wonder how long GRRM plans on dragging them along (Were any of them answered in aDwD? i am okay with spoilers). With 2 books remaining, i don't think i can play the is it/ is it not what i think it is game for the next 10 years lmao.

[Candor]

I did the same thing, i pictured Arya and Jon to look identical to Eddard. Bran, Rickon, and Robb to have dark brown/auburn hair, with only Sansa looking the true Tully like her mom. Don't know why, but i did too. Apparently we aren't the only ones to picture such ;) , HBO casted pretty much exactly as i envisioned most of the Stark children and characters. minus Stannis who i saw very Jason Statham-esk. If there is a better actor than Peter Dinklage to play Tyrion i would shout blasphemy, Peter is perfect no one can convince me otherwise. I am so glad he is getting recognition for his acting abilities, he deserves all of it.

I agree, whatever the memory issue was written for. it is to involve Sandor somehow, and if it doesn't than why go through all the trouble to plant seeds? That's why i can't believe he is actually dead (It's not just self denial! lol) there is no reason to detail the GD, its almost pointless to have Brienne notice him if it wasn't important / mean something.

I wonder how many prophecies we will see come true? i know a few have already, and i often wonder how long GRRM plans on dragging them along (Were any of them answered in aDwD? i am okay with spoilers). With 2 books remaining, i don't think i can play the is it/ is it not what i think it is game for the next 10 years lmao.

I think I always pictured Stannis like this: http://www.documentingreality.com/forum/attachments/f185/72197d1248055367-joaquin-phoenix-joaquin_phoenix.jpg , only a little rougher looking (not as handsome)

Renly... can't find the best image for him, but: http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lbyi8pbHES1qbnha5o1_500.jpg But older, longer (straighter) hair, perhaps a bit less lanky.

Hold on for a bit. I'm gonna look up prophesies from the Citadel because I can't keep track of all of them, :P and I will report back!