#She goes to Braavos…..and then spends months on end talking to people and hearing their stories

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

I think one of the reasons why the theory that Arya will go away at the end of the story because she’s too far gone to assimilate back into society is so unconvincing is because she literally spends the latest two books (AFFC and ADWD) doing that very thing! Like her training hasn’t been about her being a reclusive murderous hermit. She literally spends the two books talking to people, making friends, integrating into new cultures. She’s around people all the damn time! And even if we bring up her ACOK and ASOS arcs which were rather dark in nature, she’s still around people interacting with them, still being a part of society (even if she’s quite low on the totem pole in those books).

Arya is a character who feels so strongly and whose arc is often dictated by how she interacts with the people around her. So to take that away from her is not only a bad understanding of her character arc (not to be condescending or anything), but it’s also not very satisfying as far as character/narrative progression goes. Because if the narrative has proven so far that even in her darkest moments, Arya can laugh and love and be such a passionate member of society, how then does it make sense for her to go away and be on her own?? How does that make sense when AFFC and ADWD prove that she still loves being around people?

#I cannot think of a single instance where Arya going away because she’s too far gone #And can’t do ✨ society ✨ anymore makes sense from a character development point of view #Had her story arc been her gradually choosing to not be around people anymore then ok maybe yeah #If she spent ADWD waxing about how she just wants to live in a cave because ✨ society sucks ✨ #Then sure whatever #But her arc has been about her surrounding herself with people even when her identity and safety are taken away from her??! #She goes to Braavos…..and then spends months on end talking to people and hearing their stories #And she says she loves it! #Or did people conveniently forget that part when she says she loves spending time listening to people’s experiences? #She constantly thinks about how she loves her family and home #So how does it make sense to have her go away on her own when her arc has been the opposite?? #Someone pls explain idgi #looking at you Reddit btw #y’all continue to just suck donkey balls #arya stark #asoiaf #my rant I gues…

[renlyisright]

Season 6 Episode 8: Assassins Bleed

Pieces are moving towards the last two episodes of the season. A bit of a retrospective: I don’t know if it can be said by reading these posts, but in hindsight the least exciting times in the show were in the midpoint (3-7?) episodes of the third season and also somewhere around there in the fifth season too. The slowness of the third season can be explained with most main characters having little to do (Tyrion wasn’t a Hand anymore, Davos was locked up, Sansa continued being a captive, Arya, Jaime, too… now that I think about it these people spend a lot of time as each other’s captives. Anyway, that was the time when many people’s motives and dealings were still kept secret (like Varys, Littlefinger, what was Tywin planning and so on), so in hindsight having the not-point of view characters running the show made the point-of-view ones passive (especially in King’s Landing).

Then the fifth season, coming up after the climax-filled fourth season, had most of those motives clear as a day, and while there was the excitement of “what now”, that mellowed a couple of episodes in, and a lot of the season was set-up, with for example Stannis’ battle of Winterfell serving as a warm-up for Sansa’s and Jon’s try.

Now these seasons five and six feel like one book in two seasons. The climaxes are in this season. It’s like the seasons three and four, except that I know that by the end of the sixth season the show has long passed the books and has changed a lot. For example, Stannis is not dead in the books.

To which I say “Ha! Maybe he should be!” Sure, people can say that he is a much more three-dimensional character in the books and it’s a pity how the show dealt with him, to which I say that sorry, I can’t hear you all the way here to my blog named Renly Is Right.

Back to the regularly scheduled program: Arya currently has only one acquaintance in Braavos that doesn’t want her dead, so she goes to her. The actress is still playing Cersei and getting applauses. Following Arya’s tip she has added a revenge speech in the end. It’s still much more eloquent than Cersei’s actual speech at the time but art is art. As Cersei she announces revenge on those who have wronged her, Sansa and Tyrion.

The real Cersei in King’s Landing hasn’t achieved those revenges yet. Actually, she hasn’t achieved much of anything lately, if locking up Margaery and Loras doesn’t count. But I feel like she is finally getting to do something. At least she is so done that she picks a fight with the Sparrows.

The Mountain kills one of them as an example, but of course the High Sparrow is one step ahead. After these two seasons, I’m ready to see a time when he is not. He has run the show long enough. If Cersei manages to fix a problem of her own creation she would get some points.

Sidenote that Pycelle is still where he has always been, whispering to the king. One true constant.

I do like that the High Sparrow is both an outsider to the court and poor, and has been able to get the poors’ point of view into the high and noble’s court politics. When people like Cersei or Olenna speak of the people they rule, they make it clear why the High Sparrow is able to get so much traction from the people. Nobody really cares about them. A couple of months more and they would gladly storm the Red Keep if the High Sparrow asked for it. But I don’t enjoy watching people being tortured, no matter who they are, and so the whole imprison-starve-and-humiliate-people-for-many-many-episodes routine he’s been doing hasn’t been much fun. I’m ready to move on to something else.

Speaking of moving on to something else, the Sons of Harpy business on Meereen seems to finally be over, thanks to some religious preaching. What is the lesson here? If you are a ruler, make sure that religion is on your side. Varys is not that positive, he must have heard news from King’s Landing of how pacts with fanatics could end. I may not like the Lord of Light, like, at all, but his supporters are solid enough folk. Melisandre should learn to say “no”, though. Except that that would likely kill her, considering her age.

One of the Lord of Light’s priests is Thoros of Myr, whom we finally see again. Next to him is his life supported leader of the Brotherhood, Beric Dondarrion. Beric doesn’t seem to have lost any more parts since we last saw him, and they were hunting the same people the Hound was, the ones who attacked the settlement. So the Brotherhood on the whole has not turned into brigands, and Beric wants to keep their brand good.

He also seems to want to go North. Cold winds are rising there. More talk of how the Lord of Light wants these people alive for some reason. He also wants the Hound there. The word “chosen” isn’t mentioned, but “for some reason” is many times.

...Don’t tell me that the Lord of Light sent those Brotherhood men to kill the settlers just so the Hound would come back to civilization. “The night is dark and full of terrors”, they said. That would beat even what he did to the Baratheons (I have mentioned a lot of how he was a dick to Stannis but it was Shireen who was burned to death). What next, he’ll kill the firstborns of King’s Landing to get the king to listen?

Varys leaves Meereen. :( Hopefully not for long. He says he has important business to do. Getting a fleet? Two are coming on this direction, one of them Yara and Theon’s lot, the other the slave lords, so they are fine on that part.

Especially as Daenerys is back, with Drogon. The dragon could quickly burn all the ships, with a bit of a restraint they can have few to sail with. Westeros is so close aaah. The answer to my “will she leave the Slaver’s bay in very good or very bad position” might actually be “very good”. Or not. While I think that this plotline has gone on for long enough, I don’t wish to abandon these people to be fought over by more masters after Daenerys leaves.

The siege of Riverrun is over just as quickly as it started. But it lasted long enough for Brienne and Pod to pay a visit. Some nice reunions, but politics make sure almost nobody gets what they want here. Brienne wanted the Tully army for Sansa, she didn’t get it. Blackfish wanted his home back and/or die gloriously in battle, he didn’t get it. Edmure… well Edmure wanted to survive, that happened, at least for now. He may be allowed to rule Riverrun as Frey’s bannerman, but more likely one of the Freys get it, like apparently happened before Blackfish’s rebellion. There’s enough Freys to hold every castle in Riverlands.

Jaime gets exactly what he wants. Quick end to the siege, everybody home before winter, he gets back to Cersei. His speech to Edmure was chilling, and I don’t doubt that he was completely serious. “The things we do for love”, good grief. He and Cersei are still very messed up, but after all that “I don���t care of anybody except Cersei”, he lets Brienne get away, to help Sansa whom Cersei wants dead.

A word about Edmure Tully. Before he was seen in the show, I had read about him in the first two books. For some reason I imagined him with glasses, and a bit nerdy. I have no idea where that came from, but I have a somewhat cartoony imagination when I read. But at least I can be a proper book-first-reader in this case and say that the show version of the character is nowhere close to how I imagined him.

Arya is stitched back together. Apparently the main characters have some defenses from wounds that would kill any other. It was several stabs to the stomach. I don’t remember any other wounds as grievous as this one which would allow the wounded to do what Arya does later in this episode. Ned used the walking stick to the end after his leg was hurt, the Hound didn’t have pleasant weeks after fighting Brienne, Jaime lost his hand and spent the next episode almost dying, and the Mountain is more machine than man.

But the actress is apparently good at stitching people up. She has hurt the other actress who called the Faceless Men on her. That was not enough, as the name had already been promised and the Faceless can’t just change it to a different name like a man did back in Harrenhal. So the girl finds them and kills the actress.

And then it’s on. Some Assassin’s Creed track playing on the background and I’m right at home.

Now I want Assassin’s Creed: Braavos. And I haven’t yet got Total War: Westeros. Or speaking of dream games, Assassin’s Creed: Gondor Civil War. That has been my wish ever since I heard that there was going to be AC-style game in Middle-Earth (then it turned out to be Shadows of Mordor, which was fun, but come on, think of climbing Minas Tirith!)

Anyway, Arya is running for her life. She sneaks through a sauna. Braavos has saunas? I like this place more now. And she’s back in her hiding place, with Needle. But what chances does she have, with already bleeding wounds? She was smacked around by her every time they fought before-

She puts out the light, and they are both in darkness. Clever girl. Have some of your own medicine, girl with no name.

I like it when people win by being clever. On the other hand, I also like it when people who are too clever for their own good (Oberyn, and hopefully Littlefinger soon) get theirs. As in everything, a healthy mix is good.

Interesting that both fights to the death (Blackfish and the girl) were not shown, but in Blackfish’s case he was only in four, five episodes total and did not “deserve” a big last stand like for example Barristan did. Besides, Riverrun had already surrendered, Blackfish killing regular Lannister soldiers just for his own ego wouldn’t have been enjoyable to watch.

And in this case any sounds that followed the light going out would have ruined the moment. Better this way. Arya confronts the Faceless Man and says that she is going home. She doesn’t kill the man even though she must know that he was the one who gave the order. Maybe what she learnt here was that she does not have to kill everybody who has wronged her.

But yes, come back home, Arya Stark of Winterfell, so I can continue asking “Will she meet Nymeria again now? Or now? What about now?”

Goodbye to the Faceless Man for now, but now I remembered my fan theory that Syrio Forel (Arya’s swordmaster from Braavos), and Jaqon H’ghar from Harrenhal are the same, as in they are both this Faceless Man’s faces. There hasn’t been any confirmation of that, so I think that theory is dead.

Ooor is it? Or has it just... changed it face?

#game of thrones #renly is right #faceless men