Day 4 : Game of Thrones - Stormborn - Review

SPOILERS AHEAD

This was an awesome episode. One helluva roller coaster ride from start to finish. Not a dull moment in sight. So following the same spirit, let’s get into it!

We start with Cersei, who is not doing too great. She has called on his Lords to court in King’s Landing. She goes on about how the Targaryen Cow is at the shores of her empire with an army of Dothrakis and Unsullied. She tells them to lay down their allegiance to House Tyrell and Martell and join forces with her to rid the Seven Kingdoms of the foreign incursion. She blames Olleana Tyrell for bringing the savages and eunuchs to the west and putting all of her people and bannermen at risk. A good sales pitch. But then in Kings Landing, no alliances are made by the virtue of a rousing speech. It all comes down to some backstabbing and coercion, which is handsomely supplied by Jaime. I hope Sam’s father is not as big a prick as he seems. Oh and also, Qyburn apparently has been pretty busy himself.

We then go to the next main power centers in Westeros – Dragonstone. We see the whole Targaryen camp surrounding the Stannis’ map/table. Immediately you will notice one thing. It is all women. Every person of power in that room is a woman with a bone to pick with Cersei, and they all just want to get on with it and have the Lannister’s head served on a plate. But Daenerys’, to my surprise frankly, is the voice of reason here. She deftly handles out orders to her liege’s which becomes quiet evident was Tyrion’s plan all along. Also the plan itself reminds a lot of the strategy the erstwhile King in the North, Robb Stark used against Tywin Lannister, and with much success. Hope it works out the same for Dany. Also Melissandre, the red priestess, shows up at Dragonstone. No surprises there, this was always expected and hinted at in the trailer. Oh and also, Greyworm and Missandei finally put the will-they/won’t-they question to rest. Now all that remains is the real question, HOW did they?

Then we go on to the citadel, and get a proper look at the extent of Jorah Mormont’s illness. It does not look good. The Archmaester estimates he doesn’t have more than six months when he loses his mind to Greyscale. Samwell Tarly, a brother from Night’s Watch, knowing Jorah is the son of his first Lord Commander promises to help him. Even though he is told not to. The treatment is just too risky, painful and messy. The citadel doesn’t do messy. But hey, when has that ever stopped our Sam. You, little rebel you.

Jon Snow receives two letters. Samwell Tarly has written to him telling him how the castle at Dragonstone is built on top of a mountain of dragonglass, the only known thing known to be able to kill the White Walkers. Tyrion Lannisterhas written to him to come to Dragonstone to join forces. They both need each other. But for their own reasons. Jon and Tyrion know and trust each other. Sansa, being a good student of the Game, knows not to trust anyone. But Jon convinces her and then Northern Lords of the dire situation they are in. They need more able bodied men, and they need the dragonglass. And to get both of these, they need to join forces with the Dragon Queen.

Our favorite little assassin, Arya Stark, is still on her way to King’s Landing. She ends up in a tavern on the way, lo and behold who does she meet, lil pudgy Hot Pie. He still makes great pies, but then our girl is not too bad at pies now either. Btw, does becoming an assassin make you extra sarcastic as well? Well, good fun nonetheless. This is here where she learns of Jon Snow becoming the King in the North and the demise of House Bolton. She makes a change in her plans and turns around. And right there waiting for her is a wolf pack, and a big direwolf at the head of it. She/we recognizes the big wolf immediately. It is Nymeria, Arya’s direwolf. Now is all grown and has her own wolf pack. Those of us who have read the books, always knew of her surviving the wars and the fact that she and her pack were preying on Lannister strongholds up North during Robb’s rebellion. Arya asks Nymeria to come along with her on her journey ahead. The wolf merely turns around and the pack spares her life. Arya smiles and says, ‘That’s not you.’ Which I don’t take to mean that the wolf was not Nymeria. I think it just means that Nymeria is like Arya, she is not the kind to do what others ask of them. It should come to her in, of her own accord.

Then we see that Ellaria Sand, Yara and Theon are on board the Iron Fleet, their way to Dorne as instructed by Daenerys. Yara and Ellaria do get a bit cozy, as suggested in the trailers. But before anything happens, boom comes the sound. Euron’s back, baby. He and his ships are pounding away at Yara’s fleet. Everything up in fire and smoke and glorious chaos. Something that every GOT fan rejoices in. More blood, more torn limbs, please. A few severed heads and thrusted spears later, Euron finally collects his gifts for Cersei and goes on his way. Oh and btw, the ships were bare of any Dothraki horde, or Unsullied. It was mainly manned by the Iron Islanders, whose cowardice was best displayed by Theon Greyjoy for all to see. Frigging Reek!

And so it was, another amazing action packed episode of the Thrones. There wasn’t a dull moment in the episode. Loved it a lot. I guess the creators did listen the fans. Less of Bran, more of everyone else!

x

Day 23 : JON SNOW LIVES - Book & Show Theory

Snow breathes again. Hoohah!
I've been waiting so long to write this. Damn.

I'd read the books and it ended with Snow lying in a pool of his own blood. I'd completed the TV show and even that ended with him laying in a pool of his own blood stabbed my his brothers of the Night's Watch. Ever since then no matter where I go, or who I meet, I have been blabbering on about how he will come back. No matter they asked for it or now.

There were all these hints and clues all over the books that predict how even after all those multiple stabs to gut, Jon Snow will still come out alive. It becomes more obvious in show. I mean there is no other character throughout the series that has ever had anything substantial to do with the White Walkers. Nobody has fought with them. Nobody has killed one (in the books, only Samwell Tarley is actually shown killing one though). Nobody else has been so adamant lecturing everyone how the wights are our real enemies. No one. They can't just built such a huge story arc dependent one character only to kill them of just like that. Makes no sense, they would just have to redo the exposure with somebody else, which at this late juncture would just confuse the audience.

The last few of minutes of the episodes is jam packed with little information and nuance. Which I am sure we would be analyzing very closely throughout the week. Ghost was awake when Melisandre enters the room, how come he just suddenly dozed off when she started the ritual. Throughout the last episode and this one, the Ghost's eyes were blood red, angry (and glowing?). But at the very end of the episode he sits up, he feels a lot more docile and eyes weren't that vivid. Jon Snow woke up only after the direwolf let out a cry.

Me thinks - Jon Snow is a Warg.
Me thinks - he went into Ghost's skin due to shock of getting stabbed and was stuck there not knowing how to come back to his own body.

It took Bran a long while to figure out how to come and go into Hodor's body. And he had help. Jon Snow hasn't even yet realized he is a skinchanger. As per her own admission, Melisandre's magic was weak when it comes to bringing back someone from death. But her magic in someway helped Jon to enter his own body again. Or well, she just gave him a new haircut, one that we can see on him for the rest of the season at the least. We will soon know.

Another theory that I believe in is of Jon being the real Azor A'hai. Stannis Baratheon was strong and just and very kingly. But he never really seemed like the kind of character that sticks till the very end. Plus his sword never really pulsed heat like the legendary Lightbringer was supposed to. All it used to was glow. While we all know Jon Snow's Longclaw is already made of ancient Valyrian steel, and has already shattered a White Walker to smithereens. His sword can easily be the Lightbringer they talk about in the legends.

There are still a lot that is unknown. Mainly regarding what has changed in Snow. Is he still going to be the babe in the woods we know, or is his personality itself going to have a reboot. If you remember during Arya's escape from the Brotherhood Without Banners we saw Beric Dondarrion brought back to life. He was clearly not stronger than The Hound, but he still fought fearlessly only because he had Thoros of Myr to bring him back from the dead using his magic. Beric says every time he is brought back, he looses some of his soul (umm Horcruxes in Westeros?) It would be interesting to see if the Night's King theory holds up at all. Or by some twist of fate he goes and joins them. Nah.

I still believe in R + L = J (it was no coincidence Lyanna showed up in Bran's dream).
I still believe in Three-headed Dragon (remember Daenery's hallucination in the House of  Undying).
And I still believe Jon Snow has a lot more role to play in the Game of Thrones.

There are a whole lot things that can happen between now and winter. Them bring back Jon Snow to life this early in the season can only mean there is another big battle to fought this season. And it is going to awesome!

Plus, for a culture where kinslaying is one of the big sins you can do. It seems almost every big player in Westeros has killed atleast one blood relative. Euron. Ramsay. Bad boy.

Plus, The Mountain is a badass,

Plus, the dragons came this close to eat Tyrion's head off.

Plus, Davos, the Wildlings, the Red Priestess all are at Castle Black.

As for us, we will all be waiting impatiently for the next episode.
This is going to be a tough week ahead for us Northerners.

Day 7 : A Dance With Dragons Part 1 : Dreams and Dust - Book Review

Ever since the Feast. I was so thirsty for some well deserved action. That book was devoid of any such events. I've written all about it on my A Feast For Crows review. This is not about that, this is about the Dance.

Mr Martin did mention earlier that Feast and Dance took a long while to complete because the earlier manuscripts of the books were huge and him and his editors were at their wits end to scale it down to make them a little more feasible to print. Hence he had partitioned them into geographical regions instead of chronologically. All events in Feast happen in the South and in Dorne. In Dance the events happen in the North and the Lands of First Men and Slaver's Bay. Hence you will see a lot of conflict and actual excitement as compared to the palace intrigues and vanity of Westeros.

And most importantly Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister are back. Hooyah.

Jon Snow since being chosen the Lord Commander has begun to realize how badly prepared the realm is against the real enemies. His empathy with the wildlings and Ned-Stark-ish honor is earning a lot of bad blood from the Crows. The Nights Watch has now become a sort of inn keeper to first Stannis and his Red Preistess, then the wildlings, then the people of Mole's Town. And he hardly has enough resources to feed the lot of them. The cold, the Others, and his hard rule is building up tension within his men. And what little friends he has he intends to disperse to other Castles along the Wall to man them as good as the Watch could against the Wights and Walkers.

The Imp after fleeing from the King's Landing for slaying his own father, now finds himself overflowing with guilt and in the undercarriage of strange ships. The Spider has arranged for his travel towards the Slavers Bay. Where he has advised Tyrion to team up with the Targaryen princess and help her win the Iron Throne. Tyrion as we know only does things his way, and finds himself in quite a messy situation. Albeit with the return of another favorite character. And introductions of many more characters that shed more light to the claim of the Targaryen heirs to the Throne and what came about to keep them alive long enough to try sitting on it.

There were many other POV chapters as well -

Daenerys finds herself stuck ruling a city where half the population hates her guts, while the other half is getting killed off ones the sun sets. She now also has amassed quite an array of counsels, many whose advise and prowess helps her keeping her rule. But the one thing that helped her so far is lost to her cause. The dragons. They grow faster and stronger and wilder than she had expected and cannot be controlled anymore.

Bran Stark, has now traveled farther north than any of his brother ever has. He has met the greenseer and is learning a lot about his role in the Wars, present and the ones yet to come. Jojen isn't too well though.

Davos Seaworth, is as trustworthy loyal to Stannis as ever but personally keeps losing anything that he holds dear. But his simple ideals and manner helps Stannis a lot in the end.

Reek, well. He is not doing too well. And by the looks of it, he is going to remain that way for a long time yet.

Asha wanted to be queen. The Ironborn thought otherwise.

Victarion Greyjoy, Balon's younger brother who is elected as the Iron King instead of her has taken all of the might of the Ironmen to the towards the West. He means to sit on the Iron Throne. There's a bad idea if there ever was one.

The Dorne, this is the kingdom that the Red Viper (he was so cool!) was loved and revered by all. His death by the hands of the Lannisters has angered many here. Most importantly the Sand Snakes, his bastard girls. They are all angry, and are plotting with their cousin, the daughter of Doran Martell, to tumble the Lannister's rule. Well. They try to.

Areo Hotah, he doesn't talk much or do much. Except sharpening his longaxe or cleaving heads of his enemies with them. But he listens all.

Barristan the Bold, he is also the same. He listens to all. But also is one of the most loyal and true adviser to the Mother of Dragons.

Jamie Lannister, is busy running along the Tully lands trying to bring it back to the Iron Throne's rule. He is a very smart guy. Not Tyrion smart. But a very good commander indeed. Pity his hand got chopped off, would've made a good ruler.

Cersei Lannister, the woman of Rock is pretty handful isn't she. She has finally got what she has always wanted. To be the one who calls the shots, and she is blowing it real bad. Everything that Tywin ever worked for and achieved, she has already destroyed in just a matter of months. And to come of it, her younger son sitting on the Throne is not even half as vile as Joff.

Varamyr Sixskins, a character introduced and killed off in the prologue itself. But presents a very interesting theory for the Jon Snow is alive theory.

This book has been a breeze. So many things were happening that the pages were just flying through. Loved this one. And even the backstory that were plugged into it has been enlightening and not tedious as in Feast. Already into Part 2. Excited!

~ ~ ~

P.S. Rickon, Osha is MIA. Where in the seven hells are they?

Day 2 : Why I still believe Jon Snow is not dead (book proof)

Valar morghulis.

I know I've written about this before, reasoning why I would not yet mourn Jon Snow. I simply won't believe his part in the Game is done yet. Every epic has their own set of prophecies and theories. ASOIAF's R+L=J , The Three-Headed Dragon theories don't hold up with the Lord Commander out of commission. This guy just has to be alive. Has to.

With this wishful thinking always on the back of my mind, I've been reading G R R Martin's epic books to find some more insight into what the author might be planning of one of his most favorite characters. Reread the first three books, and scoured the internet for every single obscure name or legend in it wondering this could be the hint we've been looking for. Do remember, these books have been around for nearly two decades now so almost every single noun in this book has a wiki page of over a thousand words defining it. So snooping for hints isn't an easy task in these books.

And now, reaching the 5th book of the series. Enters this guy -

This seemingly bad-ass wildling goes by the name of Varamyr. He was one of the wargs in cahoots with the King-Beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder. He and Orell were of same troop who were assigned with the task of scouting for Crows during the raid of the Wall. Orell's animal was an eagle which proved to be very adept at getting info on the Wall's defenses. Orell gets killed by Melisandre for that little nuisance. The below excerpt is from the prologue of A Dance with Dragons, just a dozen pages into the book you can find Varamyr discussing of Orell's opinion about Jon Snow. 

Read this - 

Jon Snow is a warg!

Just like his half brother Bran, Lord Snow can sense his direwolf Ghost's feelings and senses, and also when sleeping can travel into the beast's skin to be its conscious. Unlike Bran though, Jon hasn't yet knowingly changed his skin or realized the do's and don'ts of the whole concept of  skinchanging. Bran had greenseer Jojen to help him, Jon doesn't. So he, and us the reader, don't yet know the extent of his prowess or lack of it.

But as Varamyr states above - The gift is strong with this one.

In one other tense incident in the book, Jon Snow is facing off with a impertinent Janos Slynt. We get to know that the Bastard of Winterfell knows that a lot of his brothers are talking behind his back and how most of them think the bond between him and Ghost is very strange indeed. But Jon is still not ready to admit this to himself. The responsibilities of leading the Night's Watch and that of preparing of the inevitable stand off with the Others takes most of his time to think of anything else. He as lot on his plate. So all us readers can do now is wait till he realizes his truth soon.

Now that the books and the series are supposedly on the same point in time. As there are only two more books in the offing and a lot possible battles and storylines to be explored, we can be sure that the next book could have a lot of exciting news ahead. The next book is going to be be out in the second half of the year.

Here's to hoping to all of the seven gods that the last of the books don't make us wait this long. And here's to hoping Mr Martin manages to stay hearty and healthy till all the writing is done.

Day 1 : A Feast For Crows - Book Review

Finally made it through this damn book. I'd read a lot of posts online that this one is a tough nut to crack and would take some effort to get through. The second half of the book is well worth it though.

So let's see, here's where we all stand now in Westeros -
(spoilers! duh.)

Sam travels to Oldtown.
Snow wins the Wall.
Stannis is stuck in Storm's End.
Melissandre is still the b-word as ever.
Cersei makes a mess of things, via her only likeable/alive son.
Tommen is happy stamping his royal seals on every paper his mother places in front of him.
His wife Margaery is pretending to be a mini-Cersei, failing miserable at it.
Ser Loras has become a Kingsguard, trying to be close to his sister. So very Lannisterseque.
Jaime is minus a limb, but still more a righteous Knight than most.
High Sparrow brings forth the kinghts of the Seven Gods.
Arya is trying to 'see' the ways of the Many-Faced God.
Sansa trying the master the Game under Littlefinger's tutelage.
Petyr kisses her every chance he gets (that, surprisingly, really creeps me out for some reason)
Brienne scouring Westeros to find the Stark girls.
Asha tries to grab at the Seastone Chair, only to be humiliated.
Iron Islanders wreck havoc throughout the coasts of Westeros.
 Ellaria Sand and Sand Snakes try to avenge the death of the Red Viper.
Alayne tries to stage a coup with the Lannister ward in Dorne as a pawn.
Myrcella by the way is not so pretty anymore.
Arys is was introduced and snuffed out within the span of a dozen pages.
Darkstar fled the sands fearing Doran's rage, but mostly Hotah's axe.
Stoneheart is angry.
Edmure Tully and Blackfish are as honorably stoic as ever.
Freys are as craven and deceitful as ever.
Mountain is MIA
Hound is MIA.
Bran is MIA.
Bronn is MIA.
Theon is MIA.
Tyrion is MIA.
Varys is MIA.
Danerys is MIA.
Barristan is MIA.

The book is tedious in a lot of ways. Mostly because it spends a lot of time with the intrigues of King's Landing. Be it the Seastone Chair of the Iron Men or the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, you soon begin to miss the dragons and the battles of Westeros. But with that yearning, also comes the dread of losing another beloved character. Even passing mentions of the Red Wedding in this book made me sad. Damn you Martin, you friggin' genius!

Day 63 : Why I Will Not Mourn Jon Snow.

This morning the internet is filled with a lot of hue and cry over last night's death of Jon Snow, Bastard of Winterfell and the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.

(If you have no clue what I am talking about, stop reading. Leave. Just leave)

I can understand where all that is coming from, honestly I do. Lord Snow is a very relatable character. Honorable and naive to a fault. And though it is a popular belief that He Knows Nothing, every time when faced against great odds he always comes through, every single time. And come on, he dueled with and killed a White Walker single handedly. Who else living in all of Westeros can say that. (Sam Tarly's was a fluke, doesn't count.)

That I think is the main reason why I just won't mourn Eddard Stark's bastard yet. The ASIOF and GOT both need a hero, someone we can all root for. Jon Snow has been playing that role for a while now. And as is the tradition of the Andals, the honorable men are always to be first beaten down, weakened, slaughtered, but always find a way back to power (or life). Come back with a bang and bring havoc to those that wronged them (remember Lady Stoneheart?).

There are a bunch of theories out there about what is really going to happen in the coming months and years in Westeros and Essos. Some of which G R R Martin has secretly hinted at being true. And a lot many of which involve Jon Snow. True, this mutiny happens in the books as well, maybe not exactly for the reasons as it does in the show. But yes, Jon does get stabbed by a lot many of his sworn bothers. And yes, all of them do so saying "For the Watch". In the book as it is in the show, Snow is there dying. No doubt about that. But he is not shown to be dead yet.

(And in the show... um, have you noticed Jon Snow's eyes when he lies there? The pupils dilate. Who's to say whether it was by plan or not. Who's to say that is not a hint that he's been transported into Ghost? After all he is rumored to be a warg isn't he?)

But most of all, the reason I WILL NOT mourn Jon Snow is one very specific theory about the final outcome of the Song Of Ice and Fire. - The Three Headed Dragon.

We all know there are at present three dragons in Westeros - Drogon, Rhaegal, Viserion

Did you know there are supposedly three other Targaryen at present in Westeros. Yes, Daenerys Stormborn is not the only one. Guess who?

Candidate 1:

Tyrion Lannister - Dwarf. Imp. Father Slayer. Remember that part where his father says when Tyrion shoots him in the gut for the second time? "You are no son of mine." Agreed anyone can see it as a hate spouted off of on a spoilt child shooting arrows at his father. Perfectly understandable. 

But did you know that, in the book Tyrion has one green eye (Lannister trait) and one black (Like Daenery's). Also Tyrion's hair is said to be more of a platinum blonde than the usual Lannister golden. Rumor has it. Tywin Lanninster's wifey Joanna had something with the Mad Kind, of which Tyrion was born. The outcome of the mating of the Lion and the Dragon was supposed to be ill-fated, hence the birth of the malformed infant and the death of the mother. Hearsay? Maybe. But you gotta agree, he'd be a brilliant ruler.

Candidate 2:

Jon Snow - Bastard. Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Wields the Longclaw. Rumored to be wargs with his pet direwolf 'Ghost'. As mentioned before are a lot of theories floating around about the parentage of Jon Snow. Most popular being "R + L = J". 

All along Jon's lifetime and our history with the books and the show it is been repeatedly mentioned that Jon's the son of Ned Stark, born of a woman he'd had a thing with when he was off warring with long time pal Robert Baratheon. And it is also been said repeatedly, even after his demise, that how much of a honorable man Lord Eddard Stark really is. So I sort call bullshit on the theory that this big mighty honorable man let it all go for a bit of action some damp lonely night, allegedly with Ashara Dayne. I just can't fathom Daddy Stark doing that. But how about him taking the fall for somebody else? Somebody he thought he'd be able to protect if he took the blame for fathering this child? Somebody whose protection was his solemn oath to somebody he loved dearly.

Remember Lyanna Stark princess of Winterfell? Remember her last words to Ned Stark? "Promise me, Ned". What does she want Ned to promise her? How about her child with Rhaegar Targaryen. A son. Jon Snow. A child born with the blood of the First Men and of the Dragon. The last of child of the d     ragon lineage, a dynasty that Robert had sworn to kill off no matter what. So avoid a nasty argument with his bro, Ned just takes the baby boy back to Winterfell and raises him as his own child. Now that's something like what an honorable man like Ned Stark would do.

Tentative Candidate 3:

Aegon Targaryen. There is a character from the books that has not so far showed up in the show. A child with Elia Martell. Another of Rhaegar's. So this one has the Dornish and Dragon blood running in his veins. And supposedly has a bigger claim to the Iron Throne than his aunt Daenery's.

By now we all know, the really war that is coming is not for sitting on the Iron Throne, but for survival against the Others and the White Walkers. To that effect throughout the story there has been two main Prophecies mentioned - Azor Ahai and the Prince that was Promised.

Now with all that information injected into you.

Let me paint you picture about the final battle scene of the ASOIAF/GOT.

We’re at a famous historical spot in Westeros, Moat Catlin. The same spot where the Children of the Forest camped to keep the First Men at bay. 

To the north there is the largest army ever seen in all of Westeros and Essos and Asshai and the Seven Seas. The army of the dead men, and wights, and polar bears, and giants, and ice spiders, and other ghostly cold ghouls of the Old Nan’s stories. The vanguard is a battalion of White Walkers in their special armor and weapons of ice. And their Leader King, maybe the Night King. He strong, ruthless, and commands the most deadly host ever seen.

This is a very intimidating sight.

Opposing them, to the south, is an army of all of the Andals joined together as one.  The Greyjoys, and Boltons, and Lannisters, and the Baratheons, and the Mormonts, and the Arryn, and the Khals and the Face Less Men, and Meerenese, and the Children of the Forest, and the wildlings. And the Targaryen.The leaders of each of the large houses are at the vanguard. Including three Dragons. Mounted by three Targaryens.

The Mother of Dragons rides on Drogon. Tyrion Lannister riding Rhaegar. Young Aegon on Viserion. The leader of them all Jon Snow. Brought back to life by Lord of Fire. Riding his dire wolf, Ghost, with flaming red eyes. His sword of Valyrian steel, Longclaw, is now the flaming Lightbringer. His whole body radiates heat. He is Azor Ahai. Young Aegon is the Prince that was Promised.

Together they shall all wage a glorious war against the Darkness...

Now tell me. Don't you think something like that would turn up in the final chapters of ASOIAF?!

(Ooh mama. Bring it on!)