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[Book spoilers] Turnips and other things that don't add up


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This is no true critique. But as we always go into the smallest details, we can do it here too. :)

Plot twists and characters aside, there were a few things that went wrong in the latest episode.

Turnips. It takes more strenght to bring them along than their nutritional value could ever compensate. No expedition, especially heading North, would waste space and strenght to take sacks of turnips with.

"You have perfected the art of tearing paper", said Tyrion. He ever witnessed Cersei tearing up Robert's will. It felt like he was apologizing to the viewers "Yes, we've been there, done that".

"My mother was a lady", said Arya. Catelyn is very much alive and well at this point. RW are long ahead.

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"My mother was a lady", said Arya. Catelyn is very much alive and well at this point. RW are long ahead.

Lol, nice spotting. I dont know if it makes any sense anyway since in the books the same conversation/s happen at different points but still before the RW.

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"My mother was a lady", said Arya. Catelyn is very much alive and well at this point. RW are long ahead.

That line stuck out to me a whole lot. It could have been a simple editing mishap but I think it was probably a very subtle use of foreshadowing. I wish I had the memory to recall the other instances of subtle foreshadowing in last season.

"You have perfected the art of tearing paper", said Tyrion. He ever witnessed Cersei tearing up Robert's will. It felt like he was apologizing to the viewers "Yes, we've been there, done that".

I think it's possible and likely that Tyrion would have been told what happened to lead to Ned's imprisonment. We know he knows at least the basics when he questions Slynt so it's not far-fetched that he'd know that Robert's will indicated he wanted Ned to be Protector of the Realm as regent. But Tyrion's line is also probably used to say to the audience, "Hey, remember, we've seen this action before." Throughout the episode Cersei makes a lot out of how she sees a piece of paper to be meaningless.

As far as turnips go...no idea. Turnips are typical fare in the books. But it's interesting to know that they hold little nutritional value.

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Why was Jon Snow sharpening Longclaw?

That's how you maintain a weapon. He probably oiled it as well. Sharpening it doesn't mean it was used recently at all. If you want to take it to mean that though, it was a gift and maybe not in use.
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That's how you maintain a weapon. He probably oiled it as well. Sharpening it doesn't mean it was used recently at all. If you want to take it to mean that though, it was a gift and maybe not in use.

I think he was more referring to the fact that Longclaw is made of Valyrian steel, which doesn't need to be sharpened cause it's magical.

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I think he was more referring to the fact that Longclaw is made of Valyrian steel, which doesn't need to be sharpened cause it's magical.

Ah, that makes sense. Although, I don't ever remember reading that valyrian steel can't use sharpening

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"My mother was a lady", said Arya. Catelyn is very much alive and well at this point. RW are long ahead.

I interpreted this as Arya seeing her lady mother and sister as part of a former life. Like in the books where she at times remembers things from before Ned's imprisonment and she thinks that it's as if those things happened to another person, to Arya Stark, not Arry the orphan boy.

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I interpreted this as Arya seeing her lady mother and sister as part of a former life. Like in the books where she at times remembers things from before Ned's imprisonment and she thinks that it's as if those things happened to another person, to Arya Stark, not Arry the orphan boy.

Not even sure if it goes that far - I think it was just more memory of than distancing from, "my mother was a lady and I wasn't".

Tyrion I'm sure would have found out all about what happened in the court when Ned was betrayed - Cersei would love to brag about ripping up Roberts,,,anything.

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I thought Valyrian Steel just held an edge really well, you could always make it sharper though. And sword sharpening is a ritual that the NW (and most people who have good cause to have a sharp sword e.g. sellswords) seem to do all the time, Yoren: "I sharpened my blade before breakfast".

Turnips are a good source of vitamin C and other vitamins. I imagine they catch game along the way for their actual nutrition, and use vegetables they bring along for vitamins. Can't really grow turnips on the move.

Just watched Arya's bit again, the conversation goes: "You're a highborn then, you're a lady!" "No! I mean yes. My mother was a lady, and my sister, but-" "You were a lord's daughter and you lived in a castle." I think it's pretty clear they are talking about Arya's life before, unless they are foreshadowing Sansa dying too...

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Maybe the point of Arya saying her mother was a 'lady'; is the fact that Cat is now considered a 'Queen Mother' to her son King Robb. Just my opinion.

But Catelyn's not considered a queen, at least in the books. Nobody calls her that and she even says straight out to Brienne "My son may be a king, but I am no queen".

Arya doesn't know this at this point anyway. It's most likely a mistake.

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Turnips are a good source of vitamin C and other vitamins. I imagine they catch game along the way for their actual nutrition, and use vegetables they bring along for vitamins. Can't really grow turnips on the move..

No true expedition going North would ever dream of taking turnips. To get your daily amount of Vitamin C, one person would have to eat around 700 grams of turnips. And they have no significat amount of other vitamins. (we are talking about roots, not greens). Dried (or raw) beans or even dried (or raw) meats would serve better on that count.

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The turnips are pretty nitpicky. Doesn't GRRM call them "Neeps", anyway? Or is that something else, you think?

Arya saying: "my mother was a lady" definitely not a mistake or intentional. It's a kid who's living an adventure far removed from her former life, and who hasn't seen her mother in many months or longer.

My nitpicks:

Jon doesn't know shit about sharpening a sword, if he's nicked it. WTF Jon. you go lengthwise down the blade unless you want a gougey wave in the edge instead of that nick you got. Bah. He's never used it on another sword anyway.

and oh yeah, don't the NW have pickets who would catch Craster running outside with a miracle baby? Lax attitude on a ranging, boys. Hated that scene. Where was Ghost, huh?

Stannis should be perma-grindin his teeth.

Janos Slynt should have third-person self-referenced at least thrice in his sitdown with Tyrion.

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The problem with sharpening these Valyrian swords is their age isn't it? You're going to wear down the blade everytime you sharpen it and if they can get nicked that's even more of it ground away and these swords are hundreds of years old. Anyone with knowledge of the life span of a sword being sharpened on a regular basis?

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No true expedition going North would ever dream of taking turnips. To get your daily amount of Vitamin C, one person would have to eat around 700 grams of turnips. And they have no significat amount of other vitamins. (we are talking about roots, not greens). Dried (or raw) beans or even dried (or raw) meats would serve better on that count.

I don't think in Westeros they exactly know which vitamins they need from which food groups. They probably give as many shits about nutritional value as Walder Frey gives about guest right.

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I don't think in Westeros they exactly know which vitamins they need from which food groups. They probably give as many shits about nutritional value as Walder Frey gives about guest right.

Agree. And turnips were a staple food of Medieval Europe (probably one of the reasons their average life span was mid-20s, crap nutrition). But this is not to take away from the original poster's observations on the series---he's right, you wouldn't take turnips North as a food staple, if you had today's knowledge about food values. You'd take dried apples, dried meats, dried citrus fruits, greens and aged cheeses. But Westeros doesn't seem to have today's insight, does it? I think it takes nothing away from the original poster--he's right, nutrition-wise. But it also takes nothing away from follow-up posts that Westeros, ignorant of today's knowledge about nutritional values, would haul turnips along with them on their trip North.

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