A Song of Ice and Fire - A Chapter a day discussion
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09/01/15 - Chapter 45: Eddard XII
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You know, I noticed Ned did not mention Jon when he was wondering what kinds of things he would do to protect his children, but I didn't read too far into it, the significance. From what I got in my second reading so far, Ned loves Jon just as much as he loves his children, so it DOES seem incredibly strange he doesn't add Jon in there...unless of course... but that is speculation. 1. Pycelle tells Ned that Tywin is pissed that Ned sent Lord Beric and a band of men to kill Ser Gregor. Ned seems almost glad that Tywin is pissed. He says Lord Beric rides beneath the king's own banner. If Robert didn't want certain things to happen in his name then maybe he shouldn't have gone hunting! And I laughed at this: "The only thing His Grace enjoys more than hunting is making war on lords who defy him."
2. Ned may want to be more careful what he says around Pycelle, though. I have the feeling Pycelle is a blabbermouth. :) In fact, he's sure Cersei made sure to have Pycelle tell Ned about her father's letter. How underhanded...
3. I love that Ned wants to tell Sansa, once she's older, "how she made it all come clear for him." That Joffrey is a bastard born of incest! Still want to marry him, Sansa? Not one bit like Robert, the seed is strong, every bit a Lannister. No Baratheon in him or his little brother and sister whatsoever. Feels great to say this! Ned now knows what killed Jon Arryn -- he dug too deep and had to die before he could tell Robert. But he still doesn't know who specifically poisoned him, though. Though it is starting to look strongly like a Lannister at the moment.
4. Had forgotten Robert was originally looking for a white hart but some wolves killed it before he could get to it, so then he goes after that monstrous boar deep in the forest. Most of the party came back after that, not interested in hunting boar, I guess, including Joffrey and the Royces.
5. Littlefinger and Ned talk about how the Hound is going to be upset that somebody else will get to kill his brother, and is not likely to thank Ned for this, even after he gets to inherit all his brother's lands and incomes. *SPOILER FOR A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)
6. Littlefinger asks about the genealogical book, joking aboutit being a sleeping potion, and Ned decides there's something about Littlefinger's japes thatirk him. He's too clever and always with a mocking smile. Good, Ned, now you're learning!
7. Though Littlefinger helped hide Cat and with Ned's inquiries, he ran off too easily when Jaime showed up. And Varys was even worse...he knew too much but did so little, despite professing his loyalty to Ned. And Pycelle would do anything Cersei commanded him.
8. Ned dreads telling Robert the truth, but he knows he has to do it. Well, it's not like Robert loved his wife or Joffrey anyway...but Ned knows what he will do when he finds out, and because of this Ned is a good person...he doesn't want Cersei and the kids killed.
9. Interesting Ned had dreamt of Rhaegar's children. They were wrapped up in red cloaks, Lannister cloaks, clever, to hide all the blood. And his mind stutters on "the boy..." is he still thinking about little Aegon? :) Ned does not want this to happen to Cersei's children. They're still children; it's not their fault. I just love Ned for this! He knows mercy.
10. Ned's afraid Robert will kill them all, all who were responsible for killing Jon Arryn, I assume. Ned also realizes why they [the Lannisters] tried to have Bran killed -- he must've stumbled on some part of the truth.
11. Even though the heart tree in this godswood is a faceless oak, Ned still felt the presence of his gods. :) *SPOILER FOR A DANCE WITH DRAGONS* (view spoiler)
12. Interesting that Ned would be so courteous of the queen, perhaps so as not to anger his gods. He wants them both to know he does not mean her children any harm. Such a merciful man...so sad! :(
13. I find this interesting: "It had been a long time since Ned Stark had seen her beauty, but he saw it now." Odd...maybe he only saw cruelty, but now that she's probably scared, he can see that she's beautiful. It still doesn't matter to me, though, she's still ugly as sin on the inside... I don't see how GRRM can ever get me to change my mind about her.
14. I'd forgotten how kind he is to her, touching her bruised cheek, too. Asking if Robert had hit her before. He certainly would never hit Catelyn, I am sure of that, no matter how much she could've angered him. And I'm surprised Cersei's being so open and honest with him now. Though she shies away and looks defiantly at him, she seems less hateful now.
15. It's actually pretty sweet her description of Jaime and herself...until she tells Ned how whole she feels when he's in her -- how awkward! That jarred me a little. Just a little inappropriate, Cersei, lol. Maybe she wanted to make Ned uncomfortable, for all I know.
16. This is VERY interesting: "If it came to that, the life of some child I did not know, against Robb and Sansa and Arya and Bran and Rickon, what would I do? Even more so, what would Catelyn do, if it were Jon's life, against the children of her body? He did not know. He prayed he never would."
- Does this mean would Cat/Ned/Cersei would kill another child in order to save their own? Tough decisions! Maybe Ned now understands why Cersei tried to have Bran killed...that's deep.
-- Another thought just now popped in my head: I wonder if Ned had really hoped Catelyn and Jon's relationship would improve over the years, that she would come to accept him as her own. How much does it hurt him that she hates him so much? I bet he wishes he could tell her where he came from...but he just can't, for whatever reasons he has.
17. Sounds strange to say that Grand Maester Malleon "recorded the last mating between stag and lion..." like human beings are animals.
18. I like this: "No matter how far back Ned searched in the brittle yellowed pages, always he found the gold yielding before the coal." Gold yields to coal...Hmm...Nice analogy. Reminds me of some other phrase I read in another book series: "Fire tempers gold."
19. Very interesting: "Her eyes burned, green fire in the dusk..." Foreshadow, possibly? :)
20. Here Cersei explains why she hates Robert so much: On their wedding night Robert had called her Lyanna during the consummation. Odd of Cersei, who so obviously loves her brother Jaime, to be offended so. *SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler)
21. When Ned hears his sister's name he thinks of pale blue roses. Is there ever a time where he thinks of Lyanna and doesn't think of blue roses? The references of blue roses to Lyanna is repeated multiple times that it must mean something important.
22. It's weird how they're both touching each other...Ned for her cheek; Cersei his good leg. They didn't strike me as two people who would ever want to touch each other. Though for her it almost seems sexual...then his face, then hair...wtf? Keep your hands to yourself, woman! OMG she IS hitting on him... And there goes my respect for her all over again.
23. Then he brings up honor and she presumes to speak of his bastard. She asks who Jon's mother was, too, now. In her inquisition she sounds a lot like Tyrion in that regard. Very verbally vicious; not necessarily for the truth for her, though. Tyrion always seeks the truth. Cersei just wants to hurt him. She's calling Ned a hypocrite, no better than her, Jaime, or Robert. Apparently Ashara Dayne threw herself into the sea. Why, though? Still a mystery to me!
24. Ned says he's not like them because he doesn't kill children. Nice! But he's no more Mr. Nice Ned -- she's pissed him off -- and he warns her only once to get her kids and family out of Westeros, because when Robert finds out he'll certainly want them all dead. :( Myrcella and Tommen, too? Basically, he's exiling them. "A sweeter cup than your father served Rhaegar's children." Indeed! They should be financially set for life based off her father's gold, but they'll always be on the run from Robert's wrath -- much like Viserys and Daenerys, actually.
25. VERY interesting (what Ned says to Cersei in regards to why he didn't take the Iron Throne for himself): "I have made more mistakes than you can possibly imagine," Ned said, "but that was not one of them." Hmm! Wonder what mistakes he's talking about?
26. This is where Cersei very famously says: "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." Strange, though -- Ned's not trying to play the game. He never wanted it. It's always the ones who don't want power that should have it.
27. I think this scene is necessary because it shows you exactly how Cersei plays, or, more accurately, fights. She listens to you talk. She twists your words and events around so it compliments her way of thinking. And she makes threats, and people die. Ned, on the other hand, was only trying to be merciful. He doesn't quite know what he's dealing with. *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A GAME OF THRONES* (view spoiler)
About your point 5 *SPOILER FOR A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)About your point 11 *SPOILER FOR A DANCE WITH DRAGONS* (view spoiler)
I didn't notice your point 15. It is very interesting!
. First off, Tywin is not happy about the Ned ordering Gregor's death situation, and he writes the Queen about it. Pycelle is the one who told Ned about the letter, and he knows Pycelle tells Cersei a lot of things. So he thinks what to answer carefully, since Pycelle will go out and tell her.
. In this chapter Ned confirms the Queen's children are not Robert's. Funny the thing that made him chain his thoughts were Sansa's words about Joffrey, how he was nothing like his drunken father.
. Littlefinger tells him more and more people are heading to Casterly Rock. Seems Tywin has a lot of bannerman, and the gold to pay freeriders and sellswords. The thing is, he is ready for war.
. Petyr also tells him Robert and the people who went hunting found the hart, but the wolves ate it, so Robert went after a board. Interesting. Joffrey went back, and the Hound is pissed Ned sent people after his brother. Petyr says it is because the Hound is the one who wants to kill him.
. As he is leaving, Littlefinger sees the book Ned is reading. At this point I know for sure Petyr knows what Ned found, even if he doesn't say anything about it.
. Arya and Sansa will go in three days.
. He remembered Rhaegar's children, and knows when Robert finds out, he will kill all Cersei's children. But he will tell the King anyway, it's his duty. Plus now he knows Bran did not fall.
. Ned sent off half his guard, and the best swords he had, to complete the task Beric has to do. He asks to be taken to the godswood, and to double the guard, even with the few men he has left in King's Landing.
. So, now Ned is sitting in the grass, and asks Fat Tom to deliver a letter. Cersei comes, and they have a really interesting talk, to say the least. He tells Cersei he knows why Jon Arryn is dead, Ned saw her face and she said this wasn't the first time Robert hit her, but the first in the face. I love how she did not flinch when he told he knew about her and Jaime, and doesn't even try to deny it. She asked him if he loves his children, and basically said they threw Bran out of the window because she loves hers just as much. When Ned thinks what he would do in case any of his five children were in danger, he doesn't mention Jon. Now we understand what Jon Arryn ment when he said "the seed is strong". Ned remembers what he read, everytime a Lannister and a Baratheon got children, all of them had black hair. Cersei had a woman cleansed her the one time she was about to have a kid with Robert. Being as proud as she is, she still remembers (who would forget anyways?) the first night she spent with Robert, he called her Lyanna. Maybe at that point she started to hate him.
. So, Ned tells her to flee, to go with all her children far away. She says he made a mistake the day he didn't sit in the throne after he told Jaime to get down. She also says, and I think this made it to the show: “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.” Such a good phrase!