Chapter 26: Jon AKA Every Hero Needs a Sidekick Named Sam

This chapter opens up with Jon helping some of the other recruits to improve their fighting skills in the practice yard. Jon is not only showing leadership skills but also showing he has taken the advice given to him by the blacksmith to heart.

The training is interrupted by the arrival of a new recruit Sam Tarley. Sam is clearly out of shape weighing in at 20 stone which converts to 280 lbs. Sam is given an initial sparring partner of Halder who was raised in a stone quarry and trained to be a stone mason. Needless to say it is a very one sided affair with Sam on the ground yielding and cowering.

Ser Alliser orders Sam up and when he hesitates he has Halder strike him with the flat of the blade. This goes on for a bit until Jon steps forward and defends Sam who at this point is unable to get up.

This prompts Ser Alliser to have Jon square off against three foes. Fortunately Pyp and Grenn decide they will help Jon and even the odds. Jon’s side wins and Alliser calls an end to the days training.

Afterwards Sam thanks Jon and the others but flat out admits he is a coward. Jon tries to be encouraging telling Sam he will do better the next day, but Sam assures Jon he won’t as he never gets better.

After this scene we then get a glimpse as to what life is like at Castle Black and some of the various tasks they assign the new recruits. While doing his chores Jon thinks of the words Tyrion said to him “Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it ,” Jon realizes that there is an unusual sort of honest courage with Sam in admitting he cowardice.

This leads Jon to catch up with him afterwards and to have a chat with him to understand him better. It is here we learn that Sam is the son of Lord Randyll Tarly who defeated Robert’s forces at the battle of Ashford.

Being the oldest son Sam was expected to follow in his father's footsteps but was never able to. His father tried nearly everything he could to get Sam to man up. Over a dozen masters of arms tried and failed to make Sam into a soilder. Randyll even hired warlocks from Qarth who bathed Sam in bulls blood in a ritual attempt to free Sam of his cowardice. Even this didn’t work and when a second son was born Sam was largely ignored in favor of this younger brother.

Eventually while skinning a deer (A reference to Randyll’s victory against the Baratheon forces in the rebellion) Sam is told he will take the black as his father can’t allow the family blade, titles and lands to fall to someone in his view is incapable of bringing honor and glory to the house name.

This notion is reinforced with the threat that should Sam not take the black he will suffer a fatal accident while out hunting.

John then shares a dream that he frequently has. In this dream Jon is looking for family members in an abandoned Winterfell. Specifically he mentions looking for Ned, Arya, Robb and Bran in both the rookery, which is empty as well as the stables, which he finds full of bones.

The bones in the stables foreshadows death for those who have or will ride out for the south. Specifically Ned and Robb who both seem to have gone south seeking justice.

I think the empty rookerie signifies a loss of communication or at the least foreshadow being unable to communicate via conventional methods. Most likely this is for the other two Starks Jon mentions looking for, Bran and Arya.

Lastly Jon mentions feeling compelled to go down into the crypts below Winterfell. He even gets scared and yells out “I don’t belong.” before waking up. Now a lot of people point to this passage as supporting evidence of R+L=J theory. Afterall Lyanna Stark is buried down in the crypts. Personally I think they may be on the right track but they have overlooked the fact that Brandon Stark, Ned’s older brother, is also buried down in the crypts as well.

Jon ends up convincing the other recruits to take it easy on Sam in the training yard and all agree to not go at him with full force with the exception of one recruit. Rast flat out says if he is told to fight Sam he says “I’m going to slice me off a rasher of bacon.”

This prompts a late night visit to Rast while he is sleeping. Jon and some of the other recruits hold his arms and legs while Ghost grabs on to Rast by the neck with his jaws. Jon then reminds Rast that should something happen to Sam the rest know where he sleeps.

The following day the recruits take it easy on Sam and when ordered to attack they only strike him lightly, much to the disgust of Ser Alliser Thorne.

The chapter ends with Sam thanking Jon for helping him out and for being a friend, Jon tells Sam they are not friends, but brothers.

Game of Thrones: Chapter 13: Tyrion AKA "A Mind Needs Books"

This chapter we join Tyrion who is accompanying Jon Snow, Benjen Stark and a few others north to The Wall. We get an idea of the landscape and how it changes heading north from Winterfell.

Tyrion notices Jon is put off a bit by a few of the other recruits and Yoren a member of the Night’s Watch who is not only filthy, but his hair and beard is also infested with lice. A couple of the recruits are also smelly and joining the watch to avoid the punishment for the crime of rape.

Yoren

The two converse for a bit and Jon asks  why Tyrion reads so much and Tyrion replies with one of my favorite lines from all the books.

“My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind… and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”  

Tyrion also mentions that he used to dream of owning a dragon of his own when he was younger. Some people who have proposed that Tyrion is actually a Targaryen point to this as some bit of evidence. But the context he uses it in is more of how a boy pretends to be a great hero or how a kid today might dream of becoming a great athlete and not to be taken as Daenerys having dragon dreams in her prior chapter.

So for everyone that thinks this is a clue that Tyrion is somehow a secret Targaryen I think your way off on this one.

As the chapter goes on Tyrion points out to Jon what most everyone thinks of the Night’s Watch and how it’s where essentially all the misfits and scum of Westeros ends up being sent to if they fail in the Seven Kingdoms. He does it in a pretty condescending way and Jon gets upset.

Before Tyrion can apologize and smoothe things over with Jon he is pounced upon by Ghost. Fortunately that is the end of it and Jon helps Tyrion back to his feat he realizes that Tyrion was just being brutally honest with him.

Tyrion admires the fact that Jon can take a hard truth for what it is and they share a joke, and one they continue to share back at the camp.

The chapter ends with Tyrion going to bed, but noticing Jon staring into a fire which is something Tyrion said he did as a boy dreaming about dragons.

Interesting note is that Tyrion misjudges Jon’s age by two years. He makes that same mistake again when he meets young Griff in A Dance With Dragons.

This is also the first chapter we see an implied connection between Jon and Ghost that goes beyond just normal interactions that people have with pets. Ghost seems to sense on a deeper than normal level that Tyrion was upsetting Jon, yet he also seemed to know that Tyrion wasn't a threat. While Ghost reacted he didn't over react and tear apart the dwarf with his jaws.

Chapter 5: Jon

This is the first chapter from the point of view of Jon Snow and it starts off with Jon getting drunk at the welcoming feast for the royal family. Jon, who is only 14 years old, being a bastard is not seated with the Starks as it might be an offense to the nobles. Instead he is sitting with some squires and feeding his direwolf Ghost under the table.

The nobles and royal family apparently make a big procession entering into the hall and the scene does serve to give a bit of an idea on who is who.

There really isn’t a lot in this chapter in regards to the overall story with the exception of a conversation between Benjen and Jon, where Jon states he wants to join the NIght’s Watch.

Benjen tells Jon he needs to live a little more before joining and Jon, after a brief exchange with his uncle leaves. Outside he bumps into Tyrion Lannister and we get a quick exchange which also helps set up the relationship between Tyrion and his father.

Tyrion:“Never forget who you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it and it can never be used to hurt you.”

Jon: “What do you know about being a bastard”

Tyrion: “All dwarfs are bastards in their father’s eyes.”

Jon: “You are your mother’s trueborn son of Lannister.”

Tyrion: “Am I? Do tell my lord father. My mother died birthing me and he’s never been sure.”

At the end of the chapter we learn that Jon doesn't know who his mother is. So there seems to be a similar theme between Jon and Tyrion of not knowing their mothers, but for different reasons.

The whole chapter really sets up this conversation and brings the parentage and future of Jon Snow into the forefront of a reader's mind. But are we missing subtle clues here?

Lets take a look at his interaction with his uncle.  

Benjen Stark smiles warmly at Jon on the way into the hall. When Jon says he want’s to join the Night’s Watch he encourages Jon to live a little. Jon is a virgin and Benjen lets him know he would be giving up women for a life of service on The Wall. Benjen is also aware that Jon is really drunk and this most likely isn’t the best time for him to be making a BIG life decision. Benjen also points out that if Jon joins the Night’s Watch he will also be giving up any hope of having a family of his own. Jon states he doesn't care about that.

But the following exchange is also noteworthy.

Benjen: “You might if you knew what it meant. If you knew what the oath would cost you, you might be less eager to pay the price son.”

Jon: “I’m not your son!”

Benjen: “More’s the pity. Comeback to me after you've fathered a couple of bastards of your own, and we’ll see how you feel.”

“More’s the pity.” seems an odd thing for Benjen to say. Why should he care if Jon is his son or not? Even if it’s a figure of speech as using the word “son” could be used by an elder towards a youth in trying to provide guidance.

Certainly Benjen needs to get men for the Night's Watch. Ned even stated in a prior chapter that they are very short on men, but why would he be trying to dissuade Jon? Yes Jon is his nephew, and sure Jon is young and at the time drunk, but shouldn’t Benjen be recruiting everyone he can for the Wall? Is he just looking out for his nephew and not wanting him to toss his life away at the Wall or is there more to it?

Speaking of which why wasn’t Benjen trying to talk to Robert and getting some support for the watch from the crown? Surely he could easily get more support and men from the King. Perhaps he simply opted not to bring it up noticing the mood both his brother and the Queen were in. Jon certainly noticed they were not in good spirits. So perhaps he simply just wanted to escape the situation.

Regardless I think it’s more than coincidence.