I’m fascinated by the BWB and what role they will play in the series endgame. What happens if Tywin doesn’t send the obviously recognizable Mountain to do the raiding that causes their formation? Gregor’s stature is the final proof that Tywin is behind the attacks. Does Ned even form BWB with such an illustrious roster if he thinks the raiders are only regular knights under Tywin’s command? Certainly Loras doesn’t volunteer. Or is Tywin trying to draw out Ned with Gregor as the obvious clue?

Tywin is trying to draw out Ned. As as we learn in ASOS:

"It was a trap, milady. Lord Tywin sent his Mountain across the Red Fork with fire and sword, hoping to draw your lord father. He planned for Lord Eddard to come west himself to deal with Gregor Clegane. If he had he would have been killed, or taken prisoner and traded for the Imp, who was your lady mother’s captive at the time. Only the Kingslayer never knew Lord Tywin’s plan, and when he heard about his brother’s capture he attacked your father in the streets of King’s Landing.“

Since the point is to draw out Ned, Tywin was always going to use Gregor. Now, if Ned hadn’t been injured he would have come himself, but Beric probably would have been called on to be part of the expedition, because he was a prominent lord in the royal court who had recently distinguished himself in the tourney, and who wasn’t associated with Loras Tyrell.

So, I know you don’t like the second part of the Second Apocalypse, but have you read The Great Ordeal?

I didn’t know it was out yet. Might check it out in the bookshop.

Why don’t people talk more about “old” Nan being agent of blood raven sent to keep watch over the Starks? It’s pretty obvious, especially with how Blood Raven set up the whole Stag vs. Direwolf scene for the Starks to find. It’s almost as if it’s too obvious for the fandom to discuss.

Well, clearly there’s a conspiracy to silence people who are trying to tell the truth…

Considering Wonder Woman turns away from man’s world I think WWI is a better fit than WWII. You can’t romanticize it like you can crudely with WWII and turn it into” good” vs ”evil”, it was just a massive loss of life due to greed and nationalism run wild that in the end achieved nothing but causing scores of people to lose their lives over something that accomplished pretty much nothing. I could see a idealistic Diana leaving man’s world behind after that.

I had to ask around because I wasn’t clear what you mean about “Diana leaving man’s world behind after that.” And then I realized that yes, in the Synderverse, Wonder Woman went away, because no one knows who she is when she turns up in BVSDOJ. Which I think gets to what I don’t like about the Snyderverse, namely its aversion to hope and optimism and progress. (Thus, Snyder’s take on Superman)

The reason I was confused is that, in the comics, Diana doesn’t go away – she keeps fighting to make the world a better place, saves the world a whole bunch of times, etc. But in Snyderverse, Diana went away and we just got lucky that the world wasn’t destroyed between 1918 and now.

So is the narrative of the first Wonder Woman movie that she fails? That she was unable to change the world for the better and went home, defeated in her larger mission, only to show up now because ~~Darkseid~~ reasons?

(And of course, this still invites the question as to why Wonder Woman didn’t fight fascism, which is something I didn’t think I’d ever have to ask. Good lord, 2016…)

Was Baelor Breakspear’s defense of Dunk in the trial of seven purely motivated by the rules of chivalry and Baelor’s own idealism? Or do you think Baelor was, at least to some extent, being a wily politician out to court the favor of the smallfolk as well as do some damage control in the wake of Brightflame’s brutality? Having a Targaryen on each side plays better with the optics of an event that will be replayed and hashed over in every tavern and inn in the seven kingdoms. Big fan of the blog!

If Baelor doesn’t step forward, the trial never happens, and 99% of Westeros never hears about the incident, so no, I think Baelor stepped forward because it was the right thing to do.

How does narcissism play into Jaime never speaking of the wildfire? (Related: I understand why he did that for the sake of the story, but I don’t from a Watsonian perspective. Dude, that will clear your name! You think Tywin can’t manipulate singers and rumor?)

ohsorrowsnowleopard:

racefortheironthrone:

ohsorrowsnowleopard:

Jaime judges Ned for judging him?

Does that even make sense?

Jaime resents Ned for judging him, and thus threatening his identity, which is one reason why Jaime is so weird around Catelyn.

I don’t understand why Ned would judge him so? I mean, after all, the Targaryens destroyed his family, surely he should be somewhat grateful?

I suppose it’s harsh to be thwarted off that Lannister pedestal by a low cold Wolf.

As always, start with the text:

racefortheironthrone:

Because Jaime, quite a bit like Tyrion, has this anti-hero identity going on. The ignorant masses despise me because of the best thing I ever did, I’m so misunderstood, I’m also a bad boy because I sleep with my sister, but also I’m better than all of you and I don’t owe anyone an explanation, who are you to judge me, etc. etc.

As we see here:

“Do you think the noble Lord of Winterfell wanted to hear my feeble explanations? Such an honorable man. He only had to look at me to judge me guilty.” Jaime lurched to his feet, the water running cold down his chest. “By what right does the wolf judge the lion? By what right?”

His sword helped taint the throne you sit on, Ned thought, but he did not permit the words to pass his lips. “He swore a vow to protect his king’s life with his own. Then he opened that king’s throat with a sword.”
“Seven hells, someone had to kill Aerys!” Robert said, reining his mount to a sudden halt beside an ancient barrow. “If Jaime hadn’t done it, it would have been left for you or me.”
“We were not Sworn Brothers of the Kingsguard,” Ned said. The time had come for Robert to hear the whole truth, he decided then and there. “Do you remember the Trident, Your Grace?”

“I cannot answer for the gods, Your Grace … only for what I found when I rode into the throne room that day,” Ned said. “Aerys was dead on the floor, drowned in his own blood. His dragon skulls stared down from the walls. Lannister’s men were everywhere. Jaime wore the white cloak of the Kingsguard over his golden armor. I can see him still. Even his sword was gilded. He was seated on the Iron Throne, high above his knights, wearing a helm fashioned in the shape of a lion’s head. How he glittered!”

“…I was still mounted. I rode the length of the hall in silence, between the long rows of dragon skulls. It felt as though they were watching me, somehow. I stopped in front of the throne, looking up at him. His golden sword was across his legs, its edge red with a king’s blood. My men were filling the room behind me. Lannister’s men drew back. I never said a word. I looked at him seated there on the throne, and I waited. At last Jaime laughed and got up. He took off his helm, and he said to me, ‘Have no fear, Stark. I was only keeping it warm for our friend Robert. It’s not a very comfortable seat, I’m afraid.’“

“Boy or man, he had no right to that throne.”

Ned’s attitude towards Jaime is that:

As far as he knows, Jaime murdered an unarmed man for personal political advancement at the same time that his family was murdering children for the same goal. As Ned sees it, it was all part of the same immoral Lannister bid for power.
When Ned found him, Jaime appeared to have seized the Iron Throne and had to be intimidated into relinquishing it through threat of war, indicating a personal ambition for kingship and disloyalty to Robert’s reign. (Also, remember the Ur-Text had Jaime ascending to the Iron Throne by murder in ASOIAF)
Regardless of what Aerys had done, Jaime did not have the right to murder him, having sworn an oath to defend him. Ned and Robert, by contrast, had every right to execute Aerys for murder, attempted murder, and tyranny. By killing Aerys, Jaime prevented justice from being done (and subconsciously, Ned also feels prevented him from taking vengeance for his family and thus getting some closure on their murder) and tainted the rebellion and Robert’s rule, just like everything else the Lannisters did.

But again, all of this is the perceptions and mis-perceptions of a bunch of really messed-up teenagers. Ned doesn’t say anything to Jaime, so “he only had to look at me to judge me guilty” is Jaime’s interpretation leavened with a huge helping of self-hatred and guilt about everything Jaime didn’t do.

How does narcissism play into Jaime never speaking of the wildfire? (Related: I understand why he did that for the sake of the story, but I don’t from a Watsonian perspective. Dude, that will clear your name! You think Tywin can’t manipulate singers and rumor?)

ohsorrowsnowleopard:

racefortheironthrone:

Because Jaime, quite a bit like Tyrion, has this anti-hero identity going on. The ignorant masses despise me because of the best thing I ever did, I’m so misunderstood, I’m also a bad boy because I sleep with my sister, but also I’m better than all of you and I don’t owe anyone an explanation, who are you to judge me, etc. etc.

As we see here:

“Do you think the noble Lord of Winterfell wanted to hear my feeble explanations? Such an honorable man. He only had to look at me to judge me guilty.” Jaime lurched to his feet, the water running cold down his chest. “By what right does the wolf judge the lion? By what right?”

Jaime judges Ned for judging him?

Does that even make sense?

Jaime resents Ned for judging him, and thus threatening his identity, which is one reason why Jaime is so weird around Catelyn.

Maester Steve, Are dowries standard practice in Westeros and if so are they a only a custom of the nobility, knights, merchants and other rich folk? If so what would be a proper dowry for a marriage of Lords Paramount, great lords, lesser/petty lords and landed knights? IRL, say England in high middle ages, what would be an appropriate dowry for a Lord’s marriage? For example, I know Margaret of Anjou was vilified for bringing near nothing when she married Henry 6. Love the blog!

Thanks!

How standard dowries are in Westeros is unclear – in ASOIAF, we only have the case of Fat Walda and Roose, Lyonel Corbray and the merchant’s daughter, Myranda Royce’s potential engagement to Harry the Heir, and in WOIAF we only have Argilac Durrandon’s offer to Aegon, and Aegon IV’s payment to the Archon of Tyrosh. They seem to be used in cases where a match is being made that one party wants more than the other, and the first party is sweetening the deal to get the other side to sign on, or as a match between unequals (House Bolton being older, formerly royal, and somewhat more powerful than House Frey, Corbray marrying “into trade,” Myranda being already married and only recently belonging to a house with its own fiefdom).

If Westeros is anything like medieval Europe, however, they’re not just for the nobility. In a world where there isn’t a free market in land, marriages are how peasants can try to access economic security and social mobility, by merging neighboring farms into larger farms so that you can take advantage of economies of scale. Thus, poor peasants become middling peasants, and middling peasants can become rich peasants, and rich peasants become merchants.

A standard dowry would obviously vary by rank, but it would usually take the form of a regular yearly income or a one-time store of treasure if one’s family was flush with cash, or in the form of land if one’s family had huge tracts of…you get the idea.

Imagine I’m a minor feudal lord (RL or Westeros, either works really). I’m male, in good health and in my 20s-40s). My liege goes to war and calls the banners. I show up with my levies but say: “Yeah, I’m just terrible with a sword. I’ll gladly help where I can, but I’m not riding onto the battlefield myself. Sorry.” How am I treated and what are the consequences for my reputation? And would that have varied throughout geography and time?

Well, let’s start with in real life. Especially in the early Middle Ages, you would be widely seen as unmanly and not really living up to your obligations, especially if you were that blunt about it instead of saying instead that you couldn’t be there personally because you needed to guard against border raiders or to deal with bandits or you were ill or something. But by the 12th century, when the institution of scutage was developed, you’d just be paying your taxes as a good subject ought, so the social consequences change enormously over time.

In Westeros,look at how people think about Walder Frey as a coward and disloyal, etc. Unless there was some extenuating reason – no one else to look after the holdfast, for example – you would face a pretty sharp loss of face.

However, attitudes are different depending on other social norms. If you are a younger son like Leobald Tallhart, as long as your older brother is representing the family on the field and you’re needed to look after Torrhen’s Square, you’re not going to be treated the same way. If you’re the heir and your father is still of age, you might be left behind like Benfred Tallhart as opposed to being taken along like all of the Karstark lads, although Benfred forming the Wild Hares shows a certain impatience and a lesser but extant degree of social pressure.

How does narcissism play into Jaime never speaking of the wildfire? (Related: I understand why he did that for the sake of the story, but I don’t from a Watsonian perspective. Dude, that will clear your name! You think Tywin can’t manipulate singers and rumor?)

Because Jaime, quite a bit like Tyrion, has this anti-hero identity going on. The ignorant masses despise me because of the best thing I ever did, I’m so misunderstood, I’m also a bad boy because I sleep with my sister, but also I’m better than all of you and I don’t owe anyone an explanation, who are you to judge me, etc. etc.

As we see here:

“Do you think the noble Lord of Winterfell wanted to hear my feeble explanations? Such an honorable man. He only had to look at me to judge me guilty.” Jaime lurched to his feet, the water running cold down his chest. “By what right does the wolf judge the lion? By what right?”