AGOT 16 – Eddard III

When it was over, he said, “Choose four men and have them take the body north. Bury her at Winterfell.” – “All that way?” Jory said, astonished. – “All that way,” Ned affirmed. “The Lannister woman shall never have this skin.”

AGOT 16 – EDDARD III (GRRM)

POV character
Eddard Stark 3

Chapter (AGOT)
17 / 73

Chapter (ASOIAF)
17 / 344

Summary

Arya was found after 4 days and Eddards biggest fear is, that she was found by the Lannisters but his steward tells him that it was in fact Jory, the Stark’s captain of guards. Sadly the guards brought her directly to the king and Eddard rushes to save her. He finds the king in a crowded room and thinks that this may not be good as he would have preferred to settle the affair in private.

Arya is crying and Ned demands to know why she was not brought to him. Cersei snaps back, but Robert apologizes and says he did not intend to scare the girl and only wanted to be done with the business quickly. The queen confronts Arya that Mycah and her beat Joffrey with clubs and Nymeria, the wolf, bite in his arm. Arya denies that and says Nymeria only protected her, but Joffrey repeats the false story.

The king orders both of them tell their story and reminds them that lying to a king is a crime. Arya has to start. Renly starts to laugh, when Arya admits that she thrown “Lion’s Tooth” into the Trident and is escorted outside by Barristan. After Joffrey told his (very different) story, Sansa is called as witness. She says that she can not remember, much to Arya’s anger.

Robert wants to close the case and tells Ned to disciple his daughter as he will see to his son, but queen Cersei insists on a punishment, at least for the wolf. To Robert’s not very well hidden delight, Nymeria was not found with Arya. Cersei promises a big bounty if somebody brings her the skin. And in addition she reminds Robert, that there is still a wolf in the camp. Robert orders to kill him, although Ned, Arya and Sansa argue against it.

Robert orders the king’s justice Payne to do it, although Ned demands that he does it himself. It seems that Ned and Robert’s relationship is severely damaged in this moment. Eddard decides that he will execute the king’s order himself, a move that even deepens Cersei’s mistrust.

After Lady is dead he orders his men to send the corpse back to Winterfell and bury her properly in the north. In this way Cersei Lannister will not get the skin (as she demanded). At his way back he meets Sandor Clegane who found Mycah, rode him down and killed him without mercy.

Thoughts

• Eddard chapters are always on the shorter side of this, strange. Is it because Eddard is such a “dry” man that GRRM does not write any unnecessary descriptions?
• As we know the whole scene out of Sansa’s description we know that Joffrey is lying. This helps the reader to (at least) put Sansa in the “more reliable” narrator corner (at least for the moment).
• What had happened if Sansa told the truth? A very nice what if. I assume Cersei would have brought Robert to break up with Ned, who would have gone back to the north.
• Get her a dog, she’ll be happier for it.
  I think this is the quote for all Sansa/Sandor shippers. I think you read to much into a throwaway line.
• “She is of the north. She deserves better than a butcher.”
  A badass-line here by Ned. For all of Stark-fans and northern loyalists out there. And that he denies Cersei the skin by giving Lady a honor guard is awesome as well.

Cephas, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons – Link

AGOT 15 – Sansa I

It was a glorious day, a magical day. The air was warm and heavy with the scent of flowers, and the woods here had a gentle beauty that Sansa had never seen in the north. Prince Joffrey’s mount was a blood bay courser, swift as the wind, and he rode it with reckless abandon, so fast that Sansa was hard-pressed to keep up on her mare. It was a day for adventures.

AGOT 15 – SANSA I (GRRM)

POV character
Sansa Stark 1

Chapter (AGOT)
16 / 73

Chapter (ASOIAF)
16 / 344

Summary

The Stark sisters are invited to ride with the queen and the princess. Sansa is looking forward to that, because her betrothed, Prince Joffrey, might also be there. She is looking for Arya and tells her to dress up. Arya refuses and says that she will ride up the river to look for rubies that were once on Rhaegars armour, when Robert killed him.

Sansa contemplates how different she and her sister are – the whole journey down the swamp-covered “Neck”, Arya had adventures while Sansa hated it. Sansa tries to convince Arya, but her sister does not want to come and leaves Sansa. When returning she witnesses a scene with three men, that arrived. The council sent a honor guard consisting of Ser Barristan Selmy (Lord commander of the kingsguard), Lord Renly Baratheon (the king’s brother) and Ser Ilyn Paine (the king’s justice). She is so afraid of the last one that she bumps into Sandor Clegane. In the end prince Joffrey calms her.

The queen postpones the day with Sansa and her daughter and asks Joffrey to entertain her. Sansa is overjoyed as she thinks a day with the prince is even better. She still is full of fantasies about gallant princess and their mighty deeds. In the end the prince proposes to take a ride – alone, without his “Dog” (the Hound) and her wolf.

They follow the river, explore caves and track a shadowcat. They dine and afterwards Joffrey heads to the old battlegound. There they find a girl and an older boy sparring with wooden swords – Arya and the butcher’s son Mycah. Joffrey is angry that the boy fought with a “sword” and fought with noble lady. Joffrey threatens Mycah and Arya hits him with her wooden stick so hard, that it breaks.

Mycah manages to flee, but Joffrey now starts to fight Arya, while Sansa is shouting to stop it. When Joffrey cornes Arya, the wolf Nymeria interferes and bites the prince into the sword arm. Arya tells him to stop and afterwards hurls Joffrey’s sword “Lion’s Tooth” into the river. When Arya and Nymeria are gone, Sansa wants to take care of Joffrey, but he denies it, showing pure hate in his eyes.

Thoughts

• The whole existence of the Inn at the crossroads and its significance always gave me the feeling how vast the country is, it is THE Inn (not the only one, but the most important one) – everybody knows it, it is one of the main stops if you travel and around is is nothing.
• She had bruises on her arms and shoulders too, dark purple welts and faded green-and-yellow splotches, Sansa had seen them when her sister undressed for sleep.
  Nicely hidden reference to Aryas training with Needle.
• Arya is described as having the “Stark-face” – the only one except Jon (do we know how Rickon looks?). Whatever. Eddard has somehow a soft spot for his little tomboy – it is said because she reminds him of his sister. BUT, what if it is also because she is the only of his (real) children that has the Stark features.
• Barristan and Renly show a good camaraderie here – mocking each other. This is really nice. Still, I am wondering (as always) why Barristan was not on his King’s side until now.
• Book vs. series:
  • This (I think) is exactly the scene why my Joffrey always resembles Draco Malfoy/Tom Felton. It is so similar to how Draco is injured by Buckbeak and everything afterwards and how the hippogriff should have been executed.

Frederick Bligh Bond, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons – Link

AGOT 12 – Eddard II

“What do you say, Ned? Just you and me, two vagabond knights on the kingsroad, our swords at our sides and the gods know what in front of us, and maybe a farmer’s daughter or a tavern wench to warm our beds tonight.” – “Would that we could,” Ned said, “but we have duties now, my liege . . .

AGOT 12 – EDDARD II (GRRM)

POV character
Eddard Stark 2

Chapter (AGOT)
13 / 73

Chapter (ASOIAF)
13 / 344

Summary

Robert wakes Eddard before dawn to discuss matters of state outside of the camp. They ride for a while until they start to talk. Robert muses on leaving everything behind and they talk about his favorite topic: women. When Robert asks about Jon Snow’s mother – Wylla as Ned once told him – Eddard blocks and changes the topic.

Robert brings up a letter that was sent by his master of whisperers – Varys. The letter contains information that was sent from Ser Jorah Mormont: Daenary Targaryen has married a Dothraki horselord of Essos. They consider what to do about that, Ned (as always) is the voice of reason, but Robert (as always) is vengeful against all Targaryen blood. Ned remembers how Robert did not frown upon the murder of innocent children, a thing that nearly brought them apart.

They talk about how Robert wanted to send assassins to the Targaryens, but Jon Arryn stopped him from doing so, and now it is too late. Robert thinks that Khal Drogo might be a threat, but Ned assures him, that the horde will stay on the other side of the sea. Ned pushes Robert to name a Warden of the east, and if he does not want to name Robin Arryn, his suggestion is the king’s own brother Stannis.

The king is silent and Ned guesses right, that Robert already gave the honor to Jamie Lannister. Ned is against that, as Jaime will once be Warden of West and East combined – too much power in his opinion. But Robert insists and does not believe Ned’s concerns, as Ned thinks the “Kingslayer” is not trustworthy at all. He tells Robert how he found Jaime sitting on the throne that belonged to Robert, with the killed king beside him. But Robert only laughs and assuages Eddard before challenging him for a race. Eddard hesitates and wonders what he is even doing here before following his king.

Thoughts

• I love how these early Eddard chapters are more or less Robert-chapters. Robert (as I already wrote) is such a great character – Eddard himself is always a bit stiff and bland. But still it is clear how those two became friends – the combo “the straight man and the bon vivant” always works.
• “The barrows of the First Men.”
  Strangely these are never mentioned again.
• I (again) totally forgot, that we learn so soon, that Jorah is an informant to Varys.
• And Rhaegar . . . how many times do you think he raped your sister? How many hundreds of times?
  This quote indicates how long Rhaegar and Lyanna were together. It never occured to anybody that there could be more to that relationship and why Rheagar was not at his wife’s side?
• Some pox-ridden Pentoshi cheesemonger had her brother and her walled up on his estate with pointyhatted eunuchs all around them,
  Unsullied already in chapter 13(!) never saw that before.
• How could Jaime ever be an effective Warden of the East – I always thought you need at least the power of a House behind that – Jaime has no House.
• Jaime is an Oathbreaker – something that Ned despises. It is as easy as that. In combination with his surname that alone explains Ned’s distaste.
• Is it clear WHY Robert was named the head of the rebellion? Was it because Lyanna was his betrothed? Or only because of the Trident? Because it was mainly Ned’s family that suffered, and Jon Arryn who raised the banners…
• Book vs. show:
  • Nothing special regarding the difference here

Popular Science Monthly Volume 16, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons – Link