A Song of Ice and Fire - A Chapter a day discussion

1-They are in Brandon’s Gift and I was surprised they walked so much the first time. Ygritte takes a towerhouse for a castle, and thinks people was dumb to leave it. Of course, this is all new to her. She thinks Jon lies when he says Winterfell has towers three times taller. She asks how they can built them, without giants and Jon tells her in Oldtown there is a tower higher than the Wall, which I forgot. Jon thinks about taking her to Winterfell, and although what he thinks is sweet, he remembers Winterfell is not his to show. How sad he’ll be when he finds out about what happened.

2-Ygritte asked him if he would like to live in that tower after. Jon remembers how Ned wanted lords to live in the Gift, and thought the Watch would accept if the taxes were pay to them, but they couldn’t ask people to move whit the winter coming. I forgot this as well. He told Ygritte no one was there because of the riders, who stole the wives. Interesting she replied men stole daughters, not wives, maybe she doesn’t know? Ygritte also said they stole the world, and for the wildlings they did. She would rather be stolen by a strong man than be given to a weak one by her father. Jon asked her what if he is cruel and beats her, and she answers she would kill him while he slept. I think Jon had the perspective of the realm, I don’t think a lot of women would kill their husbands even if they are cruel, because that’s not how they are raised. Jon realized there is a wall between them, he could tell when they talked about this kind of things.

3-Ygritte told Jon Mance would show them men can’t own land or sea, and he replied Mance won’t win, and all of them would die, but didn’t include himself. Ygritte told him he was one of them now, and she swore he was, so he better show it. Maybe she kissed him out of nowhere like that because she could tell he forgot about the Watch and all when he was with her. She told him they belonged to each other, and if they die so be it, but they would live first. I remember that quite well, I don’t recall if it was in the show. Jon wonders if she’ll betray him if he tells her he is still a man of the Watch. I think she would have tried to change his mind, but I’m not sure.

4-The Thenns didn’t trust Jon. Styr asked him often about Castle Black, and Jon lied and pretended not to know wherever he could. He never told them Castle Black had no defenses but for the Wall, and was pretty much falling to pieces. He wonders if any of those 200 men returned, and we don’t know either. If they didn’t, there were no rangers at Castle Black, and Styr would slaughter all, even the kids. He doesn’t seem like a man who would consider keep the kids alive.

5-Jon also feared for Ygritte, he couldn’t take her to Castle Black, but maybe Styr would kill her if he goes, because she was with him. Each day was harder to think about leaving, he was getting close with Jarl’s men who talked about their girls and lives in general. He did not want their friendship, any more than he wanted Ygritte’s love. Jon felt alone without Ghost, even when he was with Ygritte. I think that says a lot. He couldn’t sense the wolf, and wondered where he was, if he made it to Castle Black.

6-One of the man called Lerm said there was a storm coming and they needed shelter. In the village they saw a fire and an old man with a horse. Jon thinks Styr will kill him, and he’ll have to just stand there without doing anything. He didn’t like the idea, and I think he liked it less when Styr asked him to do it.

7-Jon and Ygritte were looking at a holdfast in an island, it was Queenscrown, where Bran was. How close they were! I can’t remember well if Bran knows later Jon was there. Ygritte said the Thenns heard shouting, but it seems Jon didn’t and said it was just the storm. He doesn’t seem to be scared of storms. Jon knows about the causeway as well, he heard Old Nan telling the story as well! He told Ygritte about good Queen Alysanne staying in the holdfast one night, and she said if the queen was good she would have torn the Wall down. Jon thinks he wouldn’t, it stand to protect the realm from the Other and wildlings, like her. Of course for Ygritte is a totally different point of view.

8-Styr told Jon to kill the man, and Jon thinks how unfair it is, that man should be free to make a fire on that side of the Wall withouth any danger. The man didn’t talk at any point, maybe because he assumed he would die whatever he says. Jon hesitates, even knowing the Thenns would kill him anyway. Ygritte told him it was the same he did with Orell, but it wasn’t. I really liked Jon didn’t kill that man, even knowing he was probably doing to die if he refused. Styr said he saw a crow and a crow’s wife, and it seems that really struck Ygritte, the way she snapped and kill the man. I guess there was no bigger insult to her.

9-Then a wolf attacked them, an grey one and we know is Summer. Interesting Jon thinks it was Grey Wind, I am pretty sure he doesn’t know about Bran and Rickon being “dead”. Jon then starts killing men, and then rode with the horse. Later he noticed he had an arrow in his right tight, and after taking it out, which sounded really painful, he thinks maybe it was one of Ygritte’s arrows, for the color of the feathers. Maybe she was aiming at the horse like Jon thinks, it would make sense. At that point I’m sure she knew what Jon intended to do. Jon rides home, but he feels hollow. I really do think after reading this chapter again, Jon didn’t love her. I don’t think he would have left her knowing she might die, to go back. In my opinion, they were way too different and would never agree in a lot of things. But the fact that he left makes me think he didn’t love her. He did care about her, but there’s a huge difference.