Game of Owns: Back in Black | Watchers on the Wall | A Game of Thrones Community 2014

Sad to hear Kate will be leaving us. 🙁

A few comments and nitpicks:

Arya is about 11 at this point. She was 9 at the start of book 1, there’s been a couple of years since.

I agree with Micah (Mika? 😉 ) on the reasons Sandor can’t stand the mention of Mycah’s name, and I would add that I think he always tried not to remember the boy’s name: he’s never referred to him by name. In AGOT, he called him “her (Arya’s) little pet”, and in during the trial in the cave, he referred to him as “the butcher’s boy”. The reason why he didn’t want to remember or hear it mentioned is, I think, because he really does feel it was wrong, deep inside, and he must have had some doubts about the truthfulness of Joffrey’s story back then; but, he spent years killing people on orders/as part of his service/job with the Lannisters, and it’s not uncommon for people (whether it’s soldiers, mobsters, professional hitmen, or anyone who has to kill people for some reason) to try to depersonalize their intended victims, in order to be able to kill and not be tormented by it. When you learn someone’s name, when you think of their history, their family, they suddenly become real people to you, individuals, and it’s much more difficcult to kill them. (Unless, of course, you’re a psychopath and have no conscience or compassion, like the Mountain, Ramsay, the Bloody Mummers etc. – then you have no problems killing in the first place or may even be enjoying the heck out of it.)

You didn’t mention that the “IOU” note Sandor gave to the oarsmen is the same one he was given by the Brotherhood without Banners when they took all his gold. So, he was doing the same thing they did to him – except Beric was probably quite serious in his promise of compensation he’s never likely to get the chance to give to Sandor. (Lem Lemoncloak treated it more as a “FU” to Sandor.) I love how he swore to pay them “on knight’s honor”, which was just the kind of cynical joke he would make (while they wouldn’t know it was a joke) – technically not lying, since 1) he’s not a knight, and 2) as he points out afterwards, “knights have no honor”! I don’t see why Sandor would deserve an anti-own for this – he had to cross the river and he couldn’t pay since he has no gold whatsoever, that was the best option he had. It’s also really smart, because he also made it all the more difficult for the Brotherhood to cross any time soon – the oarsmen are sure not going to accept their promises of gold now, or Beric swearing on his knight’s honor, and we know they are short of gold to give.

“Magnar” means “Lord”, Styr is a name. He’s called “Styr, the Magnar of Thenn”.

Winterfell is not made only of stone, there are other materials as well – wood, thatch, iron… The stone itself does not burn, it’s only scorched, but it’s not like the castle is burned completely to the ground – it’s turned into ruins. Its structure and the damage done was described in the last chapter of A Clash of Kings. I didn’t remember the details, so I went back to the text for a completely accurate description:

“The sky was a pale grey, and smoke eddied all around them. They stood in the shadow of the First Keep, or what remained of it. One whole side of the building had torn loose and fallen away. Stone and shattered gargoyles lay strewn across the yard. They fell just where I did, Bran thought when he saw them. Some of the gargoyles had broken into so many pieces it made him wonder how he was alive at all. Nearby some crows were pecking at a body crushed beneath the tumbled stone, but he lay facedown and Bran could not say who he was.
The First Keep had not been used for many hundreds of years, but now it was more of a shell than ever. The floors had burned inside it, and all the beams. Where the wall had fallen away, they could see right into the rooms, even into the privy. Yet behind, the broken tower still stood, no more burned than before.”
“It took the rest of the morning to make a slow circuit of the castle. The great granite walls remained, blackened here and there by fire but otherwise untouched. But within, all was death and destruction. The doors of the Great Hall were charred and smoldering, and inside the rafters had given way and the whole roof had crashed down onto the floor. The green and yellow panes of the glass gardens were all in shards, the trees and fruits and flowers torn up or left exposed to die. Of the stables, made of wood and thatch, nothing remained but ashes, embers, and dead horses. Bran thought of his Dancer, and wanted to weep. There was a shallow steaming lake beneath the Library Tower, and hot water gushing from a crack in its side. The bridge between the Bell Tower and the rookery had collapsed into the yard below, and Maester Luwin’s turret was gone. They saw a dull red glow shining up through the narrow cellar windows beneath the Great Keep, and a second fire still burning in one of the storehouses.”
“The iron portcullis that closed the Hunter’s Gate had been warped so badly by heat it could not be raised more than a foot. They had to squeeze beneath its spikes, one by one.”
“At the edge of the wolfswood, Bran turned in his basket for one last glimpse of the castle that had been his life. Wisps of smoke still rose into the grey sky, but no more than might have risen from Winterfell’s chimneys on a cold autumn afternoon. Soot stains marked some of the arrow loops, and here and there a crack or a missing merlon could be seen in the curtain wall, but it seemed little enough from this distance. Beyond, the tops of the keeps and towers still stood as they had for hundreds of years, and it was hard to tell that the castle had been sacked and burned at all. The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I’m not dead either.”

7 Comments

TheTouchOfFrost says:

March 5, 2015 at 7:34 pm

I hit the sack
I’ve been too long I’m glad to be back…Hodor
Lollius Palicanus says:

March 6, 2015 at 4:15 am

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KATE!

My go at it in bad English and rhyme:

Now why ‘d you go, the real fans said,
So we must miss your laugh?
Was it the trolls who spoiled the love we gave?
There’s just one Kate to have.
The laugh rolls on, the storm moves forth,
But Kate will stay with us.
Eric, Micah, and Zack of course
We’ll recall you when we cuss.

Though Kate is gone, a Kate we’ll stay,
An honor to have met.
The best of luck, and do come back.
For GOO! Never forget.
The best of luck, and do come back,
No you we won’t forget.
spacechampion says:

March 6, 2015 at 11:10 am

Awww, will miss you Kate. Farewell!
Queenofthrones says:

March 6, 2015 at 12:45 pm

nooooooooo kate is the best dontleaveme
Hear Marko Roar says:

March 6, 2015 at 2:01 pm

Kate, we’re going to miss you. Sad to see you go.
Annara Snow says:

March 6, 2015 at 2:42 pm

Sad to hear Kate will be leaving us. 🙁

A few comments and nitpicks:

Arya is about 11 at this point. She was 9 at the start of book 1, there’s been a couple of years since.

I agree with Micah (Mika? 😉 ) on the reasons Sandor can’t stand the mention of Mycah’s name, and I would add that I think he always tried not to remember the boy’s name: he’s never referred to him by name. In AGOT, he called him “her (Arya’s) little pet”, and in during the trial in the cave, he referred to him as “the butcher’s boy”. The reason why he didn’t want to remember or hear it mentioned is, I think, because he really does feel it was wrong, deep inside, and he must have had some doubts about the truthfulness of Joffrey’s story back then; but, he spent years killing people on orders/as part of his service/job with the Lannisters, and it’s not uncommon for people (whether it’s soldiers, mobsters, professional hitmen, or anyone who has to kill people for some reason) to try to depersonalize their intended victims, in order to be able to kill and not be tormented by it. When you learn someone’s name, when you think of their history, their family, they suddenly become real people to you, individuals, and it’s much more difficcult to kill them. (Unless, of course, you’re a psychopath and have no conscience or compassion, like the Mountain, Ramsay, the Bloody Mummers etc. – then you have no problems killing in the first place or may even be enjoying the heck out of it.)

You didn’t mention that the “IOU” note Sandor gave to the oarsmen is the same one he was given by the Brotherhood without Banners when they took all his gold. So, he was doing the same thing they did to him – except Beric was probably quite serious in his promise of compensation he’s never likely to get the chance to give to Sandor. (Lem Lemoncloak treated it more as a “FU” to Sandor.) I love how he swore to pay them “on knight’s honor”, which was just the kind of cynical joke he would make (while they wouldn’t know it was a joke) – technically not lying, since 1) he’s not a knight, and 2) as he points out afterwards, “knights have no honor”! I don’t see why Sandor would deserve an anti-own for this – he had to cross the river and he couldn’t pay since he has no gold whatsoever, that was the best option he had. It’s also really smart, because he also made it all the more difficult for the Brotherhood to cross any time soon – the oarsmen are sure not going to accept their promises of gold now, or Beric swearing on his knight’s honor, and we know they are short of gold to give.

“Magnar” means “Lord”, Styr is a name. He’s called “Styr, the Magnar of Thenn”.

Winterfell is not made only of stone, there are other materials as well – wood, thatch, iron… The stone itself does not burn, it’s only scorched, but it’s not like the castle is burned completely to the ground – it’s turned into ruins. Its structure and the damage done was described in the last chapter of A Clash of Kings. I didn’t remember the details, so I went back to the text for a completely accurate description:

“The sky was a pale grey, and smoke eddied all around them. They stood in the shadow of the First Keep, or what remained of it. One whole side of the building had torn loose and fallen away. Stone and shattered gargoyles lay strewn across the yard. They fell just where I did, Bran thought when he saw them. Some of the gargoyles had broken into so many pieces it made him wonder how he was alive at all. Nearby some crows were pecking at a body crushed beneath the tumbled stone, but he lay facedown and Bran could not say who he was.
The First Keep had not been used for many hundreds of years, but now it was more of a shell than ever. The floors had burned inside it, and all the beams. Where the wall had fallen away, they could see right into the rooms, even into the privy. Yet behind, the broken tower still stood, no more burned than before.”
“It took the rest of the morning to make a slow circuit of the castle. The great granite walls remained, blackened here and there by fire but otherwise untouched. But within, all was death and destruction. The doors of the Great Hall were charred and smoldering, and inside the rafters had given way and the whole roof had crashed down onto the floor. The green and yellow panes of the glass gardens were all in shards, the trees and fruits and flowers torn up or left exposed to die. Of the stables, made of wood and thatch, nothing remained but ashes, embers, and dead horses. Bran thought of his Dancer, and wanted to weep. There was a shallow steaming lake beneath the Library Tower, and hot water gushing from a crack in its side. The bridge between the Bell Tower and the rookery had collapsed into the yard below, and Maester Luwin’s turret was gone. They saw a dull red glow shining up through the narrow cellar windows beneath the Great Keep, and a second fire still burning in one of the storehouses.”
“The iron portcullis that closed the Hunter’s Gate had been warped so badly by heat it could not be raised more than a foot. They had to squeeze beneath its spikes, one by one.”
“At the edge of the wolfswood, Bran turned in his basket for one last glimpse of the castle that had been his life. Wisps of smoke still rose into the grey sky, but no more than might have risen from Winterfell’s chimneys on a cold autumn afternoon. Soot stains marked some of the arrow loops, and here and there a crack or a missing merlon could be seen in the curtain wall, but it seemed little enough from this distance. Beyond, the tops of the keeps and towers still stood as they had for hundreds of years, and it was hard to tell that the castle had been sacked and burned at all. The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I’m not dead either.”
Nymeria Warrior Queen says:

March 8, 2015 at 10:40 pm

And how we loved, yes how we loved,
That laugh of Katestamere…

And still that laugh reigns o’er our hearts,
That laugh we’ll pine to hear.
Yes, still that laugh reigns o’er our hearts,
That laugh we’ll pine to hear.

Best of luck with everything, Kate.
Thanks for all your contributions!!!

Comments are closed.