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.

Chapter 24: Bran

This chapter opens with Bran bitterly watching his little brother Rickon playing in the yard with the direwolves from the window in his room. He is being kept company by Old Nan who has been tasked with being his caregiver.

Prior to his fall Bran used to enjoy Old Nan’s stories but now he is somewhat bitter and lashing out a bit at her. Nan has been at Winterfell for as long as anyone living can recall. What family she had has either been killed in fighting wars or has long since moved away. The only exception being Hodor the simple minded giant of a man, who works in the stables.

In addition to being bitter at the loss of use of his legs, Bran is also dealing with feelings of abandonment. Prior to falling his dreams of riding to the capital with his father and becoming a knight seemed to be coming true. Now not only is that dream an impossibility, but many of the people who he cares about had to march south without him.

His mother, father, sisters, half brother Jon,  Jory, Rodrick, Varyon Poole, Hullen, Harwin, fat Tom along with a good number of house guards are all just gone upon his awakening. In fact the only family remaining to him is his younger brother Rickon and his elder brother Robb. Even Robb seems very much changed as Bran notes in the following passage..

Only Robb and baby Rickon were still here, and Robb was changed. He was Robb the Lord now, or trying to be. He wore a real sword and never smiled. His days were spent drilling the guard and practicing his swordplay, making the yard ring with the sound of steel as Bran watched forlornly from his window. At night he closeted himself with Maester Luwin, talking or going over account books. Sometimes he would ride out with Hallis Mollen and be gone for days at a time, visiting distant holdfasts. Whenever he was away more than a day, Rickon would cry and ask Bran if Robb was ever coming back. Even when he was home at Winterfell, Robb the Lord seemed to have more time for Hallis Mollen and Theon Greyjoy than he ever did for his brothers.

I think this is an important section as it shows the change in Robbs mentality and could also be Robb showing early signs of having insight and making preparations should things come to armed conflict.

At the very least Robb is clearly getting familiar with the various nobles and bannermen of the North as well as potentially strategizing with Maester Luwin. While nothing in the books states this specifically, it seems likely that Robb is at the least taking a good look at the board and where all the pieces are in the North so to be able to react to any moves that are made.

Nan, much to Bran’s annoyance keeps offering to tell Bran stories. We also learn that Old Nan is so old that she may be a bit senile as she apparently confuses everyone she’s known named Brandon over the many years thinking they are all one and the same.

Bran tells Nan that his favorite story isn’t the one of Bran the Builder, as she thought, and he tells her he likes the scary stories. So Old Nan begins to tell Bran of The Others.  and of the Long Night. I’ll break this down further a bit later on in this blog.

But to say the least the reader gets an idea of what the Others are and how long they have been in Westeros, as well as an idea of what the Long Night was and we also get a partial tale of a character whom Old Nan refers to as “the last hero.”, Bran is very interested in the story, but unfortunately it is interrupted by Maester Luwin and Hodor who have come to take Bran to the main hall as Tyrion Lannister and some men of the Night’s Watch have come calling.

Hodor carrie Bran with ease and when they enter Bran can sense the tension, in the room. He notices Robb is wearing armor and also notes that there are a dozen Stark house guardsmen present as well. Bran also notes that Robb has his blade unsheathed resting across his knees. This is a plain and outward display of hostility. Under normal circumstances a guest would never be greeted this way. As Robb suspects the Lannisters tried to kill Bran he is making is anger clear and Tyrion is perceptive enough to realize his hostility is directed towards him.  

Robb extends an offer of hospitality to the men of the NIght’s Watch but not to Tyrion and his retainers. Tyrion points this out, as well as the fact that Robb seems to be lacking the decency that his half brother Jon possesses.

Before anything can escalate things turn to Tyrion’s reason for calling on Winterfell and his business with Bran. Tyrion tries to get some information from him but Robb wanting the Lannister party out curtly tells him that Bran isn’t present to discuss his fall.

Maester Luwin does comment that Bran can’t recall anything regarding the accident.

Tyrion then presents plans for a modified saddle to Maester Luwin that should enable Bran to ride a horse. Something Bran thought he would never be able to do again. Luwin looking over the plans realizes that it should work. After providing some advice on what sort of mount they should use as well as the type of training that may be needed Robb, suspicious of Tyrion’s motives asks why he would help.

Tyrion replies with the following:

“Your brother Jon asked it of me. And I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things.” Tyrion Lannister placed a hand over his heart and grinned.

At that moment the Rikon and the Direwolves enter the hall. The Direwolves all snap at Tyrion, and Bran yells out “No” as the Lannister men begin to draw swords to protect him. Bran, Robb and Rickon call off the wolves who all come to heel at the sides of the Stark brothers.

Fortunately Tyrion isn’t harmed and even Robb seems surprised noting the Direwolves have never acted in such a way before.

Tyrion decides this is a good time to take his leave, but Maester Luwin asks him to wait a moment and quickly confers with Robb. Robb puts away his blade and does offer the hospitality of Winterfell to Tyrion if he wishes it noting the kindness he has done for his brother Bran.

Tyrion wanting none of what he calls Robbs false courtesies and opts to stay at the inn just outside of the walls of Winterfell. But before he and the other Lannister men leave he does mention to Yoren that they will be continuing the journey south come daybreak and he can meet up with them on the road.

Robb then offers the Night’s Watchmen to dine with him that that night. Hodor takes Bran back to his room where he has another dream.

This time he is climbing the broken tower and it goes to a great height. Bran notices the gargoyles who he thought may have once been lions, but were now grotesque and frightening with glowing red watchful eyes.  

He hears them whispering to one another and tells himself that he will be safe if he doesn’t listen. Unfortunately the gargoyles break away from the stone perches and begin climbing towards Bran. Bran panics and awakens repeating the words “I didn’t hear”  noticing a large shadowy figure in his room.

Thankfully it’s Hodor and Bran is safe. Hodor helps him get ready for dinner and they get an update on Jon and how he has been an annoyance to Ser Alliser Thorne.

When Robb asks how his uncle Benjen is the tone of conversation goes grim. But Yoren and the others tell him that Benjen went out to look for Weymar Royce who never returned at the request of Lord Commander Mormont and has not returned. Yoren relates that he thinks Benjen is dead and Robb gets angry at this news insisting his uncle isn’t dead.

One of the brothers comments that nobody knows the lands of the Haunted Forest better than Benjen, which reminds Bran of how the story Old Nan was beginning to tell him ended.

Bran says that the Children of the Forest will help out his uncle.This gets a laugh from Theon and a lecture from Maester Luwin who tells Bran that the Children have been gone for a thousand years and all that remains are the carved faces in the trees. Yoren points out that while Luwin may be right about how things are south of the wall, on the other side things aren’t always so certain.

The chapter ends with Robb tucking Bran into bed and promising him to find him a horse and together they will go on an adventure to the wall to visit Jon Snow. This is a really hard thing for Robb and Bran can hear him sobbing in the darkness, and reaches out to hold his hand.

While this chapter is from the POV of Bran there really is a lot in here about his older brother Robb. While at the beginning Robb seems to be showing some wisdom and foresight in getting things in order and keeping in touch with his bannermen should events lead to war, he also shows an amazing level of foolishness when Tyrion arrived in Winterfell.

His outward and obvious hostility towards a guest should be more than enough to tip off someone as smart and observant as Tyrion. In addition the following exchange is also tipping his hand and showing that House Stark is clearly angry with House Lannister.

The dwarf turned to look at him. “So it is true, the boy lives. I could scarce believe it. You Starks are hard to kill.” “You Lannisters had best remember that,” Robb said, lowering his sword.

This shows Robbs inexperience in dealing with others and politics in general. It is also surprising that Maester Luwin didn’t advise Robb to use a bit of guile with dealing with Tyrion. Clearly he had time to call a dozen men to the audience hall as well as decide to greet them with a drawn blade.

Perhaps Robb would feel it dishonorable to be deceitful, or at the least not direct when dealing with Tyrion. Regardless Robb chose to deal with Tyrion in this way, perhaps to do nothing more than send a message.

It’s also quite possible that Robb’s open hostility towards Tyrion caused the direwolves to come at Tyrion in the way they did. Greywind may have picked up the emotion via an empathic link and thus the others followed his lead. Even Robb was surprised in how they acted and claimed they had never acted as such before.

Regardless this is an example of Robb believing he is doing the right thing and not being able to repair the damage that is done by his actions. This is also a reoccurring theme with Robb as we shall see in future events. Robbs deeds end up defining him and how others come to view him. His words, simply aren’t enough for him to repair any damage that his hasty and ill conceived actions inflict.

One final thought on Old Nan’s tale about the Long Night and the Others. Clearly to some people like Tyrion who laughed at the notion of anything truly supernatural beyond the wall this tale would be nothing more than folklore, a legend with no basis in reality or fact.

In addition the way Nan tells it, it rings of a tale that has grown over the years in the telling. But being that this is the first real mention of the Others since we saw them killing Weymar in the Prologue let's try to separate some of the fact from the exaggerations of the tale and see what clues our author has left for us.

One thing we do get is a time frame. Nan states the Long Night occurs prior to the arrival of the Andals, but it’s after the First Men and the Children of the Forest have finished their conflicts. So sometime after the Pact, but before the arrival of the Andals who brought better weapons.

Now these were the days before the Andals came, and long before the women fled across the narrow sea from the cities of the Rhoyne, and the hundred kingdoms of those times were the kingdoms of the First Men, who had taken those lands from the children of the forest. Yet here and there in the fastness of the woods, the children still lived in their wooden cities and hollow hills, and the faces in the trees kept watch.

So at this point the Children of the Forest apparently still lived throughout some of the lands of Westeros and the Old Gods were the only Gods as the Seven wouldn’t be worshiped in Westeros until at least after the arrival of the Andals.

This also means that the Long Night happened well before the arrival of the Targaryens and the dragons they rode. So we can rule out the Others being defeated by riders instructing their mounts to rein down dragonfire upon them.

Nan also provides a description of the Others as well.

They were cold things, dead things, that hated iron and fire and the touch of the sun, and every creature with hot blood in its veins. They swept over holdfasts and cities and kingdoms, felled heroes and armies by the score, riding pale dead horses, and leading hosts of the slain.

Let's compare this to what Will in the Night's Watch noticed in the Prologue.

He turned his head, glimpsed a white shadow in the darkness. It was cold. Shivering... A shadow emerged from the dark of the wood. It stood in front of Royce. Tall, it was, and gaunt and hard as old bones, with flesh pale as milk. Its armor seemed to change color as it moved; here it was white as new-fallen snow, there black as shadow, everywhere dappled with the deep grey-green of the trees. The patterns ran like moonlight on water with every step it took.

So the description of the Others seems to be accurate; pale, gaunt and cold seems to either radiate from them or at the least accompanies them.

They hunted the maids through the frozen forests, and fed their dead servants on the flesh of human children.

In later chapters we can revisit this when we encounter the character Craster. But the “Dead Servants” certainly rings true as they did animate the corpse of Weymar Royce at the end of the prologue.

Lastly she begins to relate the tale of “The Last Hero”

So as cold and death filled the earth, the last hero determined to seek out the children, in the hopes that their ancient magics could win back what the armies of men had lost. He set out into the dead lands with a sword, a horse, a dog and a dozen companions. For years he searched until he despaired of ever finding the children of the forest in their secret cities. One by one his friends died, and his horse, and finally even his dog, and his sword froze so hard the blade snapped when he tried to use it. And the Others smelled the hot blood in him and came silent on his trail, stalking him with packs of pale white spiders big as hounds--

It’s at this point the tale is interrupted by Hodor and Maester Luwin.

Wait… The Others ride giant Ice Spiders?

Lets hope this is something that got added in as the tale grew in the telling. I mean it makes Brandon the Builder’s plan of making a giant wall out of ice to defend the realms of men a pretty bad one if the Others can just ride giant ice spiders over it.

Now I honestly have no idea if a spider can climb up an ice wall, but considering this is a fantasy story featuring dragons I’m gonna go with maybe. So perhaps they were all killed off after the first Long Night, or perhaps they are simply not able to survive in warmer climates?? Or maybe the Others are going to unleash the ice spider horde in one of the later books.Hard to say either way if they are real, or if they are something that was added in.

The tale of “The Last Hero” seems to foreshadow Brans adventures as we shall see going into future chapters. But for now let's keep in mind who the Last Hero took with him on his journey to find the Children of the Forest.

“He set out into the dead lands with a sword, a horse, a dog and a dozen companions.” It won’t be some time before Bran leaves Winterfell but for now it’s a pretty safe assumption that Summer will be filling in for the Dog the last hero took with him. But for now lets leave this here and pick up on the next chapter.

Chapter 22: Arya AKA The Southpaw Wolf

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This chapter opens with Arya at dinner with her family and the house guards. Ned is arriving late and Arya can tell that he has been arguing with the other members of the council. While at dinner word of the tournament to celebrate the appointment of Ned as Hand of the King gets out. While Ned is not too pleased about it Sansa is excited and desperately wants to go. Initially her father doesn’t wish it, but Septa Mordane reminds Ned that as the other members of the court will be present, and as it is being held to honor Ned it would be wrong if the members of his house didn’t attend.

Ned agrees, much to Sansa’s delight, while Arya claims she doesn’t want to go. Sansa takes this opportunity to tell Arya that she won’t be missed if she doesn’t attend. So we see that there have been some bickering and some hard feelings between the two sisters from the events on the road to King’s Landing.

At this point Ned is sick of the two fighting and tells them enough is enough and that he wants them to behave and act like sisters, or else he will change his mind about. Both are quite after that.

Ned leaves and Arya is left feeling quite alone, even though she is among family and friends. Oddly this doesn’t doesn’t bother her. She likes listening to the men chat, tell tales and discussing the upcoming tourney. She also reflects that when they were back home in Winterfell that Ned would invite one of the men to dine with them every night as a way of getting to know them. So her enjoyment of good company really started back at home.

We also see that Arya quite hasn’t come to terms with what happened with Mycah on the road. She seems to be at odds with why nobody did anything about the whole situation and becomes upset. Rather than allowing anyone to see her cry she decides to leave. When Septa Mordane doesn’t excuse her from the table Arya flees to the only place in King’s Landing where she feels safe. Her bedroom.

Once there she closes and bolts the door, and then begins to cry. Arya also takes out her sword that Jon gave her and wishes that she was able to run away. While in her room we learn that not only her sister, Sansa blamed her for what happened, but also Sansa’s friend Jeyne Poole. This entire experience has left her dealing with feelings of guilt, sorrow, anger, frustration, loneliness, betrayal, sadness, and a sense of loss for both her friend Mycah as well as her direwolf Nymeria.

Neither Fat Tom nor Septa Mordane are able to convince Arya to open her door, and after a bit her father Ned knocks. This time she opens up. When her father comes in he notices she has her blade Needle in her hands. When he inspects the blade he realizes it was forged by his own blacksmith back in Winterfell. Arya doesn’t tell Ned who gave him the sword but  when he asks her what she was doing with it she confides in him that she was trying to learn swordplay and asked Mycah to help her learn. This ultimately lead to the incident with Joffrey and Arya admits she feels the  whole thing was her fault. She also tells her dad how much she hates the Lannisters and despises Joffrey and her sister for being a liars.

Ned takes the time here to explain to her that the blame rests squarely with the Hound and Cersei for the death of her friend. He also takes the time to sort out that Sansa has to take Joffrey’s side as they will one day be husband and wife.

Ned also lets Arya know he let her get away with lying about what happened to Nymeria. Arya at first thinks Jory told her father the truth about her direwolf, but Ned does let her know that he puzzled it out on his own and that Jory is a decent guy and kept his word. Here Arya reveals that she had to throw rocks at Nymeria to get her to run off, as she knew her wolf would be put down for what had happened.

Ned also delivers a pretty significant line in the book here:

“It was right,” her father said. “And even the lie was … not without honor.”

Ned then takes the time to explain the situation and that as times are getting tough and since King’s Landing is a far more dangerous place than Winterfell that they have to pull together for each other as a family. Arya promises her father that she will do better and at breakfast the next day seems to have taken her promise and her father's words to heart when she apologizes to Septa Mordane.

Ned allowed Arya to keep her blade Needle, and a few days after their discussion Arya is sent to the Small Hall and is introduced to her dancing master, Syrio Forel.

Syrio throws Arya a practice sword made of wood and Arya drops it. He tells her that tomorrow she will catch it. Syrio then begins to instruct Arya not in formal dancing but in what he calls the Braavos dance, the water dance with an emphasis on swift and sudden movements as opposed to the type of fighting done by the knights of Westeros that has a more of a focus on hacking and slashing.The chapter ends with Arya and Syrio practicing for hours until she is sore and bruised.

So an number of things to review in this chapter, first we will note that Ned can see that in certain circumstances deceptive acts like lying can be considered honorable. This is one of the reasons for support of the R+L=J theory.

In this situation it seems Ned is finding it an honorable act of deception in order to protect an innocent or a loved one. This is one of the themes that seem to constantly follow Ned in the tale, but the question does arise is how far can a deception be taken before it’s no longer honorable?

Another thing that Syrio noted is that Arya is left handed. Syrio even states it will give her an advantage against her opponents. I actually looked around to see if this is true and it turns out it is.

Apparently left handed people for whatever reason seem to enjoy an advantage in sports. Phil Mickelsn, Rafael Nadal and Oscar de la Hoya are all lefties and dominated in their sports. Author Rick Smits of the book “The Puzzle of Left-Handedness” believes that southpaw athletes have an advantage as they are fewer in number and thus right handed athletes are thrown off by them.  Inversely as there are so many more right handed athletes the left handed competitors are just used to facing off against them.

So Arya being left handed may be throwing off the game of an opponent as they are more than likely not used to squaring off against someone who attacks from the other side, while she will not be disadvantaged as she will be used to facing right handed foes.

Aside from the sporting world there are a number of unusual things in regards to left handed people. One is that they may be more prone to negative emotions and this can lead to issues with processing them.. This certainly seems to be the case with Arya in this chapter as she was still struggling with what happened until her father spoke with her and helped her sort it out by assuring her that things weren’t her fault.

Some studies have even suggested that lefties are more talented in spatial awareness, mathematics, while the right handed counterparts seem more talented verbally.

This appears to be true of both Arya and her right handed sister Sansa. Sansa seems to be more courtly in her speech, while Arya is superior to her when it comes to numbers.

From Chapter 7 we have the following passage:

It hurt that the one thing Arya could do better than her sister was ride a horse. Well, that and manage a household. Sansa had never had much of a head for figures. If she did marry Prince Joff, Arya hoped for his sake that he had a good steward.

Finally we have Arya’s new instructor Syrio, who was the First Sword to the Sea Lord of Braavos. Essentially the First Sword is the champion and protector of the Sea Lord in a similar way to how the King’s Guard works for King Robert. Syrio held that title for nine years. Now we don’t know if Syrio failed, quit or if the Sealord he served died of old age.

But that he held the position for nine years is significant. and he should be considered one of the more elite swordsmen alive. His training of Arya is really the start of her character evolution into what she will become.

“The steel must be part of your arm,” the bald man told her. “Can you drop part of your arm? No. Nine years Syrio Forel was first sword to the Sealord of Braavos, he knows these things. Listen to him, boy.”

It was the third time he had called her “boy.” “I’m a girl,” Arya objected. “Boy, girl,” Syrio Forel said. “You are a sword, that is all.”

Ironically it seems that Syrio is trying to instil to Arya that gender is irrelevant when the steel comes out. Boy, girl, man, or woman it doesn’t matter anyone can kill you.

Syrio calling Arya “boy” may have not only a purpose for her training but also a literary purpose as well.

In her training he is trying to get her to forget the gender bias that exists in Westeros and also get her to understand that she is a sword and should focus on her craft. Taunting also can help focus her mind as an upset or angry foe may be prone to making mistakes that can be taken advantage of..

From the literary perspective it may be a subtle clue foreshadowing Arya traveling back North as well as the guards of the castle not recognizing her when she accidentally makes her way out of the Red Keep. But these are thing for future chapters and future blog posts.

Game of Thrones: Chapter 21: Tyrion AKA Dinner and Drinks with the Night's Watch Lord Commander Mormont

This chapter opens with Tyrion dining with Lord Commander Mormont and some of the other members of the Night’s Watch. As the conversation goes on Tyrion amuses the other diners with his wit. The only exception being Ser Alliser Thorne who seems to be without humor. This leads Tyrion to making Alliser the butt of some of his jokes and eventually Alliser leaves angry, much to the amusement of the other members of the Night’s Watch.


We also learn from Ser Jaremy Rykker that after Tywin Lannister took King’s Landing during Robert's Rebellion that those who fought on the side of the Mad King were offered a choice. They could either join the Night’s Watch or be executed. Both he and Ser Alliser opted to take the black.

Oddly enough Tyrion is caught off guard when Maester Aemon says the following:

“Oh, I think that Lord Tyrion is quite a large man,” Maester Aemon said from the far end of the table. He spoke softly, yet the high officers of the Night’s Watch all fell quiet, the better to hear what the ancient had to say. “I think he is a giant come among us, here at the end of the world.”

Is this a bit of foreshadowing for Tyrion and things to come? Perhaps. But as we shall see in later chapters it won’t be the last time that Tyrion is referred to as a giant. In Jon’s first chapter we get the following passage:

“Some woman, no doubt. Most of them are.” He favored Jon with a rueful grin. “Remember this, boy. All dwarfs may be bastards, yet not all bastards need be dwarfs.” And with that he turned and sauntered back into the feast, whistling a tune. When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.

So there seems to be some foreshadowing of greatness for Tyrion, not only from Maester Aemon but also with a literal shadow. Lets keep in mind the author likes to hide things in plain sight as well as indulges in little ironies. I suspect Maester Aemon being blind but seeing Tyrion for what his potential truly is may be another fancy that the author enjoyed placing for the readers to either pick up on or as a clue that could be missed..


After dinner Tyrion and Lord Commander Mormont share a drink. As Tyrion is leaving the next day Mormont says that in addition to Tyrion’s own guards three men of the Night’s Watch will see him safely to Winterfell.

When Tyrion asks how he can repay his kindness Mormont asks him to speak to his father, his sister and brother about the needs of the Night’s Watch, and here we get some information on exactly how undermanned the watch really is.

That's a whole lot of wall to keep watch over...

They have less than 1,000 men which break down as follows:

• 600 at Castle Black
• 200 at the Shadow Tower
• Less than 200 at Eastwatch by the Sea 
• One third of them are fighting men. So roughly 333 men at arms.

The Wall itself is 100 Leagues long. This breaks down to about 345 ¼ miles in length. So that is less than one man at arms to man per mile of wall. Given if every member of the watch mans the walls it does give them three men per mile or as Tyrion points out three and a third men per mile.

If they are evenly spaced out, that breaks down to being one man roughly every 1,822 feet, which is slightly more than six football fields away from one another, with only a third of those men being a capable warrior.

We also learn that Benjen Stark went out to find Ser Waymar Royce still hasn't returned. You may recall Weymar from the Prologue.

So we can see that Mormont does consider status and background of his brothers as well as potential further resources as his situation seems to be quite desperate. Clearly he is attempting to balance the potential for political or monetary gain against the wiser decision of putting the more experienced Ranger in command.

This is the sort of thing can be encountered frequently in life. Often someone will be offered a position, a job, given some sort of benefit on the basis of an association. As the saying goes “Sometimes it’s who you know”. This often happens even when another person would be the wiser choice. Or in buying favors in political arenas.

He gives in to the fact Weymar has a rank in status being a knight over giving command to one of the more experienced members of the watch. Now given there is no way Mormont could have predicted what was to happen out on the patrol, but even still he let the desperation of the Night’s Watch situation and the perception of deserved honorific weigh in on his decision to assign a leader for the patrol.


This is not to say that Weymar was inept as a leader. Truly he made some logical deductions as well as was dutiful in seeing his task done.

Consider the following passage from the Prologue:

“Are they dead?” Royce asked softly. “What proof have we?” “Will saw them,” Gared said. “If he says they are dead, that’s proof enough for me.” Will had known they would drag him into the quarrel sooner or later. He wished it had been later rather than sooner. “My mother told me that dead men sing no songs,” he put in. “My wet nurse said the same thing, Will,” Royce replied.

OK so Royce is kind of a dick about it but lets look below the surface. He is being thorough. Further he makes the decision to go and find out just exactly what killed them. After dismissing Gared’s suggestion that the wildlings died of the elements.

“If Gared said it was the cold …” Will began. “Have you drawn any watches this past week, Will?” “Yes, m’lord.” There never was a week when he did not draw a dozen bloody watches. What was the man driving at? “And how did you find the Wall?” “Weeping,” Will said, frowning. He saw it clear enough, now that the lordling had pointed it out. “They couldn’t have froze. Not if the Wall was weeping. It wasn’t cold enough.” Royce nodded.

So Royce is certainly capable, but not experienced. Gren who is going off his experiences and also more than likely trusting a ‘gut feeling’. Now we can rule out Gren being a coward as Mormont spoke highly of him.

“Gared was near as old as I am and longer on the Wall,” he went on, “yet it would seem he forswore himself and fled. I should never have believed it, not of him, but Lord Eddard sent me his head from Winterfell.”

So for Mormont to not put Gared in charge of this with his decades of experience in favor of an unseasoned knight means one of two things. He did it out of sheer desperation in hopes that Weymar’s family would send more men and money, or he severely underestimated what was waiting for them beyond the wall. Perhaps both. But Mormont does state Ser Royce demanded command of his first ranging and Mormont granted it as he didn’t wish to offend Weymar’s father.

Mormont also relates that he has concerns about who his successor will be as Lord Commander, as he doesn’t think any really have the skills nor the ability to lead the watch. He also relates how far the Night’s Watch has fallen and laments that years gone by they would be building the wall higher, and now they are barely managing to keep alive. Tyrion promises that he will take word of the Lord Commander’s concerns and needs to the king, his father and his brother.

In addition to all this we learn that Maester Aemon and the other maesters of the citadel all agree that the days of summer are growing shorter and that the winter will be coming soon to Westeros.

Mormont continues stating that the fisherman near Eastwatch have spotted the white walkers upon the shores, and also relates to Tyrion that Denys Mallister has reported that the wildlings in the mountains are fleeing south past the Shadow Tower from something. Mormont fears that the Long Night is coming and realizes that the watch is not prepared for it.  

Tyrion decides to retire for the evening and once outside instead of going to his chamber he instead decides to take the elevator to the top of the wall to have one last look before heading back to the south on the morrow.

On the way up the elevator he gets a really good look at Castle Black and does see how truly bad off it is. Towers are leaning, courtyards are littered with rubble from fallen walls, and there clearly aren’t enough men to maintain it all.

Once atop the wall Tyrion encounters Jon and Ghost who has been repeatedly given guard duty from Ser Alliser Thorne. Tyrion joins Jon for his walk and learns that Jon has been helping the other recruits. Grenn has improved and is holding his own, and a boy named Pyp even asked for help and we learn that Ser Thorne may not be doing a great job showing the new recruits how to fight as Pyp was never shown the proper way to hold a sword..

Tyrion offers to take a message to Winterfell for Jon. Jon asks Tyrion to help his brother Bran in anyway he can. Tyrion after telling Jon he’s not a maester or healer will do what he can, but isn’t sure what he truly can do. Jon says that the words Tyrion gave Jon were of great help and asks him to give his brother his words. 

Jon then extends his hand and thanks Tyrion as a friend. Tyrion accepts and is genuinely touched by Jon’s sincerity, and the two shake hands.

The chapter ends with the two of them looking out beyond the wall and Jon stating that should his uncle not come back that he and Ghost will go out and bring him back. Tyrion believes Jon means what he says, but as he knows Benjen vanished while looking for Weymar he wonders who will go looking for Jon when he doesn’t return.

There is a bit of irony in direct contrast to the rest of the tale in that the two black sheep of the families are able to become friends, while the others are seemingly getting caught up in power struggles and petty acts of revenge.
This also serves to show how Jon is evolving and is taking up more of a leadership and mentor role with the other recruits of the Nights Watch. This also serves to show that he really does listen to people who have experience and take good advice to heart. These will serve Jon well in the up coming chapters.

Game of Thrones: Chapter 19: Jon AKA Not Just a Bastard, but also kind of a Dick

This chapter is really our first look at life for Jon Snow as a new recruit to the NIght’s Watch. It opens with Jon training in the practice yard against a fellow new recruit Grenn. It’s pretty clear that Jon is far superior to Grenn as he strikes him cleanly a few times and ends up disarming him with a hit to his wrist.

Overseeing the training of the new recruits is Ser Alliser Thorne, the master at arms of Castle Black. Alliser takes a hard approach to training. He is verbally abusive giving nicknames to the trainees and insulting them when they fail.

Ser Alliser Thorne: “The bastard hamstrung you, opened your empty skull, and cut off your hand. Or would have if these blades had an edge. It’s fortunate for you the watch needs stable boys as well as rangers.”

Grenn has been given the nickname the Aurochs and Jon has been given the name Lord Snow, which much to his dismay has caught on with the other recruits. Jon is also being trained with about twenty other recruits, but hasn’t made friends with any of them as of yet. After the practice he finds himself walking back to the armory alone. Some of the other recruits are Jeren, Todder AKA Toad, Daeron, Pyp, and Halder. Jon has defeated them all in the yard and figured out their weaknesses in spite of most of them being two to three years older than he is.

As Jon is removing his armor back in the armory he notices how cold it really is at the Wall and briefly laments how nice it was back at Winterfell. This is only a minor passage but worth noting since it was also part of Bran’s dream sequence in his previous chapter, just as he had visions of the circumstances of his sisters, mother and father were all experiencing at the time. This is noteworthy as a few passages later Jon has a brief vision or an image in his mind of his uncle Benjen lying dead in the snow.

He thinks back to just three days after he arrived and noted his uncle Benjen didn’t pay him mind and is more focused on his duties as the First Ranger. Benjen even explained to Jon that at the Wall you have to earn everything, and since Jon is just a new recruit he’s not all that important at this point. Benjen even says he is nothing but a boy until he proves himself to be a man of the Night’s Watch, and further lets him know that family ties will not buy him any favors.

Jon even recalls one day he saw Benjen off at dawn before he went out ranging beyond the wall. Benjen reminded Jon that he has to prove himself he does tell Jon they will talk when he gets back.

Needless to say nether the Wall nor the Night’s Watch is what Jon expected and he is also feeling a bit homesick, missing his half sisters and brothers.

As Jon is musing over his new life his pondering is interrupted by Grenn, Toad and two others who are unhappy in how badly they have been getting beaten by Jon in the practice yard. A fight starts, where Jon seems to be giving as good as he is taking even though he is outnumbered four to one. Before any real harm can be done the fight gets broken up by Donal Noye the one armed blacksmith.

Donal dismisses the others to receive attention and to return to their quarters but instructs Jon to remain behind. He sits Jon down and explains a few things to him that Jon really hasn’t considered.

First he tells Jon to get over being disappointed.  He signed up and it’s too late to go back now. Noye also talks to Jon about his attitude. He tells him he is acting like he is better than everyone else and that he is not only bullying the boys in the yard but he is humiliating them as well and that is nothing for him to be proud of.

Jon is taken aback by the notion that he’s a bully. In his view he is easily superior and he does admit internally that besting people older than he is a source of pride. He also keeps in mind that he is younger than the other recruits he defeats in practice.

Noye points out to Jon that those he beats are scared of him, and most likely never held a weapon before arriving at the wall, unlike Jon who was trained by the master at arms Ser Rodrik Cassel. That realization does seem to bring Jon down to earth a bit.

We also learn a bit about Donal Noye. He was a blacksmith who forged Robert Baratheon’s great war hammer, and lost his arm during the siege of Storm's End during the rebellion. Donal then came to the wall in his thirties as his life as he knew it was over.

This is a sort of juxtapose with Jon as Donal is someone who has lived life, fought in wars, and really had a chance before coming to the wall to start a new life as a member of the Night’s Watch. Jon by comparison never did those things. He was raised and trained in Winterfell  and then went to the Wall without any other life experiences to speak of prior.

This is also something that Jon’s uncle Benjen warned him about and even tried to convince Jon to live life a bit before deciding to commit to the Night’s Watch. Jon has a bit of angst and some regrets that he never thought he would have when he was back at Winterfell.

As much as Jon doesn’t like the notion that the other recruits are now his brothers Donal reminds him that his commitment is for life and that Jon better be careful or else the other recruits might try to kill him in his sleep.

Essentially Donal’s advice is that regardless of how Jon may think or feel about the other members of the watch, he has to live with them and get along. Should he keep going down the road he seems to be set on he will find a lot more enemies than friends. Noye sends Jon off to go and think on his situation.

While looking up at the wall Tyrion strikes up a conversation with Jon. Tyrion asks if Jon wants to know what is on the other side and while he does wish to know what is beyond the wall Jon pretends he doesn’t as he has learned it’s not a good idea to let others know what your desires are. Unfortunately we are never given a good reason as to why.

Perhaps it’s due to being a new recruit and he fears Ser Alliser will use whatever he learns in training against him. He could also be a bit paranoid at being manipulated by the other members on the wall who might use such information for their own ends. Regardless Jon keeps quiet his true desire to go ranging beyond the wall.

Tyrion notices that Jon doesn’t like the nickname he has been given of Lord Snow and offers the following advice:

Tyrion: “Would you rather be  called the Imp? Let them see that their words can cut you, and you’ll never be free of the mockery. If they want to give you a name, take it, make it your own. Then they can’t hurt you with it anymore.”

The two go for a walk to the common hall and on the way they discuss that Ghost is being kept in separate stables from the horses and also the notable conditions of disrepair the castle has fallen into.

Castle Black apparently used to house 5,000 fighting men along with the mounts and servants. But now it’s home to roughly 500 men and they can’t keep up the repairs. We learn that there are nineteen castles/strongholds along the wall but only three of them are manned. Eastwatch by the sea, the Shadow Tower by the mountains and Castle Black in the middle. All the others are deserted.

That's a lot of empty castles!

Tyrion also mentions that Benjen has been gone too long and Jon recalls his vision of his uncle lying dead in the snow. We also learn that Benjen went out to find Ser Waymar Royce who was killed off in the Prologue by the Others.

When they sit down in the common hall they get mutton stew, but before they can eat Ser Alliser Thorne tells Jon that Lord Commander Mormont wishes to see him. Jon initially assumes it’s bad news about his uncle, but after Tyrion threatens Alliser he does reveal that the Lord Commander has news from Winterfell concerning Jon’s brother.

Assuming the worst Jon runs off to Lord Jeor Mormont. Mormont gives Jon the letter and he learns that Bran has awoken and will live. Jon is so delighted by this news that he runs back to the common hall and shares the news with Tyrion.

Jon at this point even apologizes to Grenn for the wound he inflicted and offers to help him get better.

Alliser Thorne decides to get a barb in by suggesting that Jon will have a harder time teaching Grenn to fight than he would teaching a wolf to juggle. Jon taking Tyrion's advice makes a joke of the situation and accepts the challenge claiming he would like to see his direwolf Ghost learn how to juggle.  

This gets a laugh from Tyrion, the trainees and even the cooks. Ser Alliser however is not amused at being made the butt of Jon's joke and tells him he has made a very grievous error.

This is the start of Jon’s evolution and also starts to bring in elements of him becoming into a leader. As we saw in prior chapters Jon is perceptive when it comes to others. He noticed the fear that had terrorized Gared the deserter in Brans first chapter, and also noted it wasn’t fear of punishment that Ned was about to deliver. Further he also noticed the sullen mood of both Ned and Queen Cersei at the dinner in Winterfell. Lastly he has also been able to break down individual tactics and fighting styles of his fellow recruits, suggesting a keen eye to detail that he has been able to meet with application of tactics.

By making a joke at Ser Alliser Thorne’s expense while offering to help his fellow recruits get better Jon is unifying people who all are dealing with the same problem.

Another thing that we shall see is that Jon seems to be taking to heart good advice provided to him by those around him that he trusts. He replied to Ser Alliser “Lord Snow” remark with a joke of his own, taking Tyrions advice, and is offering to help the other recruits to become better and face the challenges taking to heart the advice of Donal Noye.  

This also shows another quality of a good leader. The ability to think and adapt quickly. Thinking on one's feet is vital in a battle and being able to make quick adjustments on the fly can mean the difference between life and death.

One final thing I’d like to mention here is the “vision” that Jon has of his uncle Benjen lying dead in the snow. It’s interesting that Jon gets this vision and not Bran who until now has certainly had the most vivid dreams and visions with some sustenance.

But here is the question that I hope to  answer as things move forward. Are these “visions” prophecy or are they merely relating things that are happening or happened recently?

If it’s prophecy then one has to ask if it’s set in stone, or if it’s a prediction that may or may not come to pass depending on the actions of the person receiving the vision. .

Most all of Bran’s coma dream vision was of things that were happening at that point in time. Rob training, the maester practicing astronomy, Hodor moving an anvil, his mom traveling on a boat, his sister's troubles on the way to King's Landing, etc.

In fact very little of it seemed to actually be prophetic in nature and a lot of it were more like updates on current events. So we have to wonder about the nature of Jon’s vision. Is it a premonition or is it just a flash of insight of things that have occurred?

For now lets consider this, the visions that Bran received up to this point regarding his family members and people who he knows well have been pretty accurate. So we have no reason to believe that the vision Jon has of his uncle Benjen is any less accurate.

Visions, prophecy, dreams, premonitions and the significance and meanings behind them are all recurring themes through out the books and a topic we will visit time and again.

Now I fully realize that you can never be fully certain a character is dead in A Song of Ice and Fire unless it's confirmed on page and even then it's not 100% certain. But it's a pretty good bet that Benjen Stark has somehow met his end somewhere beyond the wall.