Girls Gone Canon Cast - ASOIAF Episode 169 — AGOT Bran V

Episode Date: October 7, 2022

We're testing out Bran's new ride, the saddle designed by Tyrion. What starts as a pleasant little hunt in the woods goes awry when Bran is left ahorse and alone. ---- Eliana's twitter: https://twitter.com/arhythmetric Eliana's reddit account: https://www.reddit.com/user/glass_table_girl Eliana's blog: https://themanyfacedblog.wordpress.com/ Chloe's twitter: https://twitter.com/liesandarbor Chloe's blog: www.liesandarborgold.com Intro by Anton Langhage

Hello and welcome to Girls Gone Canon Reads A Song Of Ice And Fire Episode 169 Bran In A Game Of Thrones 5 I am one of your hosts, Chloe And I am another one of your hosts, Eliana Yes, 169 Nice Nice Nice

We're never gonna stop being who we are There's not a lot of 169-ing in this episode, for what it's worth. I guess fear is sexy, but there's definitely a lot of fear. It can be, right? Like, horror and shit. I don't watch horror. I don't know. Is horror sexy?

Is that? I think some people think it is. Also, I saw this hilarious meme of a person being like, you know, trying to seduce a creepy monster person, but also it was uh yeah i don't know i think some people find it sexy technically the vampire trope right that kind of fits into all that if you think about it yeah yeah i don't know i haven't found my stride with i think suspense suspense is kind of sexy this isn't a sexy chapter though it's not sexy again there's no 169 no we could we are so we'll talk about our

patreon bonus episodes in a second but we are like probably actually that's not that soon never mind because i was going to be like we did just recently do our 50th so 69 is on the horizon but now that i think about it that's actually 19 months from now so that's not that soon but now there's got to be a petition oh my god we have to do something sexy for our 69th patreon episode we owe it to the people we owe it to ourselves where can these sexy motherfucking people go get some sexy motherfucking content at and how do they do it what what is this content these bonus episodes you speak about What is this content? These bonus episodes you speak about?

Oh, yeah. That's the extra service. Yeah, if you... What's wrong with you? So much, so much. You can, of course, always subscribe to our Patreon if you so desire. If you would like more Girls Gone Canon,

where we have bonus episodes once a month for people in the Stranger tier and above that's five dollar and above tier speaking of sexy episodes we're in the middle of a series which we may or may not continue this month but we will eventually finish called mothers of the dragon or more sexily milfs of the dragon milfs milfs milfs milfs uh i love milfs the dragon in our first part this was the month before last we covered rainies and visenya right our wonderful warriors and then their children as well anise's reign down to reina and of course we paused after our favorite reina to do aliceanne our other other

favorite milf in part two last month and and that was less sexy, more sad, but still sexy. Yeah, I was like, that wasn't very sexy at all. It's one of those questions of can sad be sexy, just like can horror be sexy? I don't know. When can a man feel sexy, Eliana? In fact, that is the only time a man can feel sexy.

Definitely not while discussing Alysanne and her many dead children. So, if you want to check those out as aliana said head over to patreon.com slash girls gone canon or if you are craving more dragon more milfs and you are into house of the dragon that's airing now the adaptation of the dance based loosely around some of the plot given in fire and Blood here and there, you can head on for our hot D discussions. House of the Dragon on Fridays at 2pm ET. Our friend Maddie is hosting a discussion on our Discord where patrons in the Thunder tier and above, the $10 tier and above, have access to

those weekly discussions to chat with everybody else about their thoughts on the upcoming and past episode, as well as monthly brunch and happy hour, which we'll be announcing sometime in the next couple weeks, which is usually a Saturday or Sunday, midday our time event on our discord where we just chat, hang out, get to know each other and bullshit about I don't know the episode. Yeah, and actually, so thank you to everyone for giving us a break week last week. We released a bonus episode for His Dark Materials from 3 this weekend, and some of our patrons are also hosting a discussion on Sunday, October 9th at noon ET to talk about what they're excited to see in Season 3. Our friend Cassidy, I think, is hosting that. Cassidy is hosting that, and I can't wait to tune in on and off on it. Really

cool because it's coming out at NYCC. Some of you who are following His Dark Materials, you may know there was a podcast that really thought they were going to get a trailer at San Diego Comic Con. I don't know that podcast was wrong. But we did a whole fucking episode on it. We did a whole episode speculating about what we'd see. So we're really excited to finally compare the NYCC trailer with our trailer, what we had in our minds. What if they listen to our episode and they're like hmm, that was dumb and just don't do anything that we

thought. That's why you should never give it all away for free, Aliana. Absolutely. Never give it away for free. Absolutely. Patreon episode 69 coming in 19 months. To wrap up our housekeeping before we jump into the woods with bran or into our lightning round first we will be having a guest next week i'm very excited we're having our good friend manu or manuclear bomb from twitter if you know him there he is in

the not a cast asoiaf podcast you may know him from my brother my captain my podcast about lord of the rings and also he has another one called pod sans front the metal gear solid podcast and i think they're doing one of their like last wrap-up episodes right now amazing or they finish you know the game everything they were doing talking about it so you got got to check him out. We'll put some links below. He actually has been on before. And technically, it was a Patreon episode that we released for the public. He came on for Game of Thrones, season one, episode one, Winter is Coming and pilot episode discussion where we talked kind of about everything and anything we could get our hands on about

the pilot episode of Game of Thrones that has never seen the surface. Wow, I haven't thought about that. But yeah, I guess podcasts can end. I'm trying to internalize that idea of you being like, yeah, they're coming to an end of this. I'm like, what the shit? I think he might continue on. I think they might do other parts of the series. I think it might just be the game for now. I'm not sure. I have to might continue on. I think they might do other parts of the series.

I think it might just be the game for now. I'm not sure. I have to check it out. I haven't been listening to that one. I gotta tune in on their Rings of Power stuff that he's putting out. Yeah, I should tune into those. I'm inspired. I'm like, oh, I should try to actually read these books now that I'm watching Rings of Power.

Because I don't have positive opinions i'm sorry about the rings of power but you do and that's fine we're not gonna cover it probably uh but i will say uh yeah i don't know much of anything about metal gear solid other than that the creator was like snakes are really cool but they're wiggly so i put a solid in front of his name to call him snake that That's what I know about him. I know too much about Metal Gear but not enough to have a podcast. I'll leave that to Manu, that's for sure.

He can have the podcast. Yeah. Well, I look forward to having Manu on and we'll talk with him next week about Bran. Indeed. But a couple of you also sent in some thoughts and we think that they go better next episode. So we're going to just talk about it then.

Plus, you'll have more people to discuss your thoughts. The more, the merrier. Yeah, Manu's pretty smart. So he might even be smarter than us. I think he might be. He really might be. Don't tell him that. Don't tell him that.

Let's jump into what we missed, our lightning round between Bran IV and Bran V. Starting with Eddard V, Ned investigates Jon Arryn's final days. Jon IV. Jon and Sam make an alliance. We'll join our houses. Aww, cute. Eddard VI.

Ned continues his last investigation and works to figure out security for the upcoming tourney. Catlin 5. While sheltering at the crossroads, Catlin and Roderick find themselves capturing a little lion. Well, someone's lion, that's for sure. Sansa 2. Sports ball.

That's all I have to say about that one. Eddard 7. Barristan and Ned try to talk Robert out of participating in the melee at the tourney, which is probably good because Varys reveals that he was probably going to die in it. Tyrion 4. En route to the Eyrie, Catelyn and crew are felled upon by mountain clans. Tyrion saves Cat. Arya 3.

Arya learns to go unseen in King's Landing and overhears something that may just mean peril for their family. When she brings the info to Ned, he shrugs it off. Oh Ned. Oh Ned. Oh Ned. Oh dad. Eddard 8. Ned fights the small council on sending assassins to kill Daenerys and resigns in protest.

Catelyn 6. Catelyn's party ascends to the Eyrie. Eddard IX. Ned visits a brothel, realizing the secret Jon Arryn also learned, after he is struck down in a street fight by Jaime Lannister. Daenerys IV.

Invades Dothrak. Daenerys tries and fails to come to peace with her brother. That leads us to Bran 5, where Bran learns of his father being attacked by Jaime Lannister. He goes out riding with Robb and is attacked by Free Folk, but is saved by Theon, and they take one of the Free Folk captive. So the chapter opens with Bran thinking about how the snowflakes are melting on his face and his heart is fluttering in his chest

and excitement's building for his first ride on a horse since his fall and there's something about the language of how the snowflakes are described as kind of being like as they melt, feeling like rain on his face that makes me think a little bit about the turning of winter into spring showers

I love that, we talked a lot about this during Jon, right right his goodbye with rob with the snowflakes melting in his hair and this has those same those same very very sad tones right of goodbye of parting soon of growing up yeah of innocence melting across the ground it's very sad this is kind of brand's first battle right quote unquote he gets cut here you know he gets hurt he sheds blood in battle so to speak so this is a very coming of age chapter it really is though and i mean in general right brand's story is very much a coming of age story it is a coming of age story and you can also tell how sheltered these children

are, because Bran thinks he had never left Winterfell, and now he's determined to be as proud as any knight, right? Ever since then, never left his little town. He spurs his chestnut filly onward. He had named her Dancer. She was two years old, and Joseth had said she was smarter than any horse had a right to be, just like Tyrion told him to get. She was trained to respond to rain and voice and touch. So, first of all, a little reminiscent of the dragons, and

I think people have, like, used this line to discuss the possibility of Bran skin-changing a dragon or things like that. But besides all that, so spoiler because this is a reread podcast, and we assume you already know what happens. Dancer doesn't really make it. Big sad. But also, I thought I was mean. I thought that was my job. Well, I just wanted to like put that heads up as I lead into discussing the name, right? So people

don't put too much significance on it. I mean, there's some. It's interesting that the name Dancer, right? Because as you said, this is kind of Bran's first battle. And we see that dancing is often used within the story as a euphemism or a synonym for fighting and for warfare, right? Example, the dance of the dragons, right? But it's also sometimes used as a term to describe fighting and warfare

for those who don't actually usually get to access masculinity or fighting in that same traditional way. For example, Arya learning water dancing, right? And I do think it's interesting that Bran is still thinking in this context of trying to be a knight or wanting to feel like one slash able-bodied again yeah i love that he doesn't have to quite give up especially that this is the result of tyrian

in the last chapter they're trying out the saddle um lewin's big masterpiece after tyrian gave them the blueprint so there is definitely something in the water dancing just happening too ned just passes aria on her lesson in the last chapter true as he walks through the corridor before leaving or sorry chapter before last he sees her at it and he has his little pained memories of his sister suddenly it's good it's trauma so bran had only ridden dancer in the yard up until the last couple of weeks and had been led by joseph and hodor but he had been growing bolder each ride and they all head out now dion behind them with his longbow hoping to grab a deer yeah four guardsmen come with them maester lewin's bringing up the rear on a donkey it is very sweet it is so sweet that maester lewin comes on this i love him so much i miss him so

much brando would have preferred to go alone with rob but how mullen wouldn't let them and neither would lewin they were determined to be there in case anything went wrong maester lewin lewin's their protector he really is their protector yeah because who's gonna take care of them with everyone gone yeah and then who dies for them maester lewin well that's the thing is maester lewin like yes the maesters are gray little rats barbary we agree but like maester lewin he could be a little judgmental but he's caring yeah like he is truly caring it's interesting that we have such a varied view on maesters later because he is,

it's hard. The Starks get that fucking fairy tale, happy family prototype at the beginning that everything's perfect. All the people like Jory, why do we feel so bad about Jory? He's like in what five pages of the fucking book before he dies. But yet that's hurtful. Like,

you know, he was a good dude and same with lewin you can see that he's not like some of the other maesters we come to me like other maesters but i mean i'm not like other maesters also i mean rats aren't always bad like look at ratatouille like you yeah like me and and remi both of us ratatouille. For real. For real. Speaking of animals. I love Luin on the donkey for richer reasons, too, other than just cute. I'm not only about aesthetics.

We actually see this mirrored from Septon Marabald later, right? Who rides a donkey around helping people. Septon Barth did his great journey in Fire and Blood across all the way to King's Landing on a donkey. Arya rides one in a clash of kings. And it's interesting because she says, like, she's very held back by it. She thinks the whole time, like, if only I had a horse, like, get me off this fucking donkey. Pate also wants to go this way and ride one around and wander healing people with Rosie. wants to go this way and ride one around and wander healing people with Rosie.

He thinks about it several times about, you know, maybe I should just take that gold dragon from the alchemist and just go right off. He's just trying to get that ass. Oh my god. Outside of A Song of Ice and Fire and in the ancient world, they are usually ceremonial. Horses are usually war symbols, right? Cavalries mean war, but donkeys, when they come, they often would bring peace treaties. They would be holding people that do not mean harm. It was a way to see it's not a war horse. They have a climate advantage. They're

way more adaptable than horses. They can go longer without water, and they're kind of resistant to a lot of disease. And they're not dissimilar to mules, which makes me think of Maya Stone using the mules to cross up in the Errie, which was just a couple chapters ago. So I do feel like there's almost a connection there. Aren't mules actually hybrids between donkeys and horses? Or no, or is it ponies or something like that? The mule is a result of a donkey stallion mating with a female horse. There we go.

So they tend to have a donkey, head of a donkey, extremities of a horse is what a mule is. So you can see that mules, and Maya says like horses scare easily when she's climbing. She would rather take a mule. And so that's interesting because it's almost like the two sides, right?

Like the mule is the donkey's temperament with the horse's grace and stamina maybe. Yeah, and I think what? They're sterile. This comes up, this is kind of a fun thing in the Foundation series, but anyway, go on. There's also, as far as mythology goes, and as far as religion goes, the Messiah's donkey, right?

Jesus coming on a donkey, Jesus healing people, bringing the good word of the Lord. And in Jewish tradition, the Messiah's donkey referred to the donkey the Messiah would come to redeem the world at the end of days on. In modern Hebrew now, it means someone who does the dirty work on behalf of someone else, which Lewin definitely probably has had to do slash is doing slash will die doing. And the origin of that is from Zechariah 9.9. Your king is coming to you righteous Righteous and having salvation is he. Humble and mounted on a donkey.

On a colt. The foal of a donkey. Interesting. I mean, yeah, absolutely about Lewin doing the dirty work. We love Mr. Lewin. He is righteous. And what you're saying here, it is also interesting in the context of Bran, right? As something, having a story that-

A messiah. Yes, kind of goes towards a chosen sort of path jesus wept so they head out to the winter town a village where less than one in five houses are occupied until the cold begins to come and then they have what i don't know the christmas festival christmas market they they don't call it that but i'm just thinking because that's around the corner as of the time of recording this and that's when the town would come alive with farmers leaving their fields to take refuge. The few villagers that are out and about watch the darwels anxiously. One man even drops his wood. He's like, oh my gosh, and backs away in fear.

They bend the knee when they see the boys though, and Rob greets them with lordly nods. Bran's arc is really all about stories, right? We start with old Nan's stories that weave their way throughout his life until he becomes her stories. He becomes a player in those stories. This is great because it's almost obviously there's a little fear when they see dire wolves who are like the dragons of the north, right? Like this is if you grew up on dragon stone and dragons came back you'd go what the fuck i'm sure these villagers have heard stories of the winter kings of old with their dire wolves and just like the stories old nan spread of ah these ice spiders that'll eat you in the night suck out all your blood so with these wolves as we know as we will

know throughout the story though i do love that they bend the knee when they see them and um not that they bend the knee i don't like that action necessarily but i like that at least they don't they aren't like completely afraid they're like oh these boys aren't gonna fuck us up them and their doggos are okay because that's kind of scary like if someone came through my wood right now with like a giant dinosaur or a dog that's way way bigger than me and like i i know big dogs but way, way bigger than me or a scary dog. I don't know. Well, if it's not on a leash.

I wouldn't be happy. Yeah. If it's not on a leash, I'd be like, how well trained is your, is your wolf? I don't know you and your training. Right. Right. It is also like they're not, it's been a while and they're not used to just these Stark boys walking onto their untouched turf. And I'd love to see it come to its height. That's something that I wonder, we haven't really returned to Wintertown or talked much, much about it in the other arcs. Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, that people go to Wintertown and they reinforce it for the long night or whatever they do. I expect Wintertown, it feels like it's going to come back.

It feels important because it's like a communal place. It's a place where a lot of people can get together, mass together, and very good things could happen to that or very bad. Like it could also just get massacred. But I think we're going back sometime. And Bran will remember it, right? Because he remembers everything on this trip. You know, this is one of his first little spots later with the Littles. I mean, I just feel like he's starting to learn a lot about how the world works that he didn't necessarily understand before now. Absolutely. I really am curious about the one day when we come back here.

Okay, well, that wasn't part of it, Eliana. We're all curious about that one day when we come back here okay well that wasn't part of it eliana we're all curious about that one day i am curious what we're also curious about is bran's trip right he's feeling a little unsteady at first but eventually he starts to gain a little confidence and rhythm they pass the local ale house called the smoking log and theon calls out to some serving women standing outside the place one of the girls is sweet kyra he calls her who blushes and then he starts talking about fucking her but rob is like oh my god not in front of bran and bran pretends not to have heard but he can feel theon's eyes on him and imagines that he is smiling because theon was always smiling we have a description of as if the world were a secret joke that only he was clever enough to

understand. And while Rob loved Theon, Bran never really warmed up to him, which is, you know, probably smart. Yeah, you know, makes that break a lot easier. Gosh. I'd love to go to the smoking log. I love it. But also, wait a second.

The smoking log? George, don. But also, wait a second. The smoking log? George, don't burn down Winterfell. Oh, I was thinking, this is a terrible thought. I was like a turd on fire. I also thought about that. Then I thought about blunts. I mean, it could be any of these things. I would get trashed there, personally.

I would go drink a giant jug of ale. That sounds amazing. I think we have to do a dive bars of ice and fire episode personally and just quill and tankard this i mean we should just listicle it what is the one yeah the stinking eel yeah yeah yep i would go to all of these let's make a dive bar episode i'm so serious okay put it on the patreon list but not for 69 not sexy enough it's not sexy enough. No, for the drunk number. What's the drunk number?

I can't count past 10. So Theon's little girlfriend, Kyra, here, actually stays kind of recurring through a clash of kings, right? We get her up until mid-clash, Theon 5. She's his bed

warmer, is a way to put it and also Ramsey takes her from him in Theon 6 and then we open a dance with dragons and this is actually really this is part of what makes the transition to Reek out of nowhere like so chilling is that you open with Kyra she's one of the last bits in Theon's plot, and she's almost a throwaway to the mind. You wouldn't quite think of her, but then you open to Reek One when Kyra and Theon are running away, and he's reflecting on what was a trap, what ruined them. So it's very sad, and it's a first mention for Kyra as she shows up in the plot. Sweet Kyra. And it's also sad because of the way they interact in a clash of kings right like he's very hubris and mean and cruel to her and like i'm gonna fuck you now get

out in clash five then what happens to her is very devastating because she's like theon come on like you really liked me and we're gonna escape i know you're in there and he tries to get her out and they fail and then you have some of the dogs named maybe after her. Yes, very chilling, chilling. And I don't know, watching him here with these girls, there's also something interesting about Theon working out his traumas with his cock. He's a sex pest. We were discussing on House of the Dragon that you have Aegon II in House of the Dragon

in the show that they are turning into a sex pest. here Theon is a bit of a sex pest we always see him being kind of like a little crude towards the girlies looking for love in everyone inside everyone he's like are you in there it's me Theon and my dick hello down there and Rob is kind of not experienced as we come to learn. Not fully, right? We don't have his POV, but Catelyn does think maybe he has kissed someone. Maybe he's not. I really couldn't see it happening.

And we see his fumblings with Jane and how honorable he is, right? That he's like, I got to marry her. It makes you think he had to settle down with the first chick where Theon's out here just throwing his seed. He's jacking it at a wall. He's like, wall, you want it? Here it is. Like he's like all the kid characters on Big Mouth.

That's Theon. All of them. I have not watched that. But yeah, and I mean, part of it, as we've discussed, I think probably during his chapters is his way of exerting power, right? In a place where he doesn't necessarily have the same kinds of station as everyone else and using it and showing it by exerting that power over other people's bodies which is something that does come up in brand storyline

eventually absolutely rob is proud of how brand is riding and brand though he wants to go faster he's like yeah having a great time thanks thanks rob But I want to just trot, man. We're just walking. We're vibing. I don't want to vibe. I want to run. I want to soar. So he sends Dancer into a trot. His cloak is billowing behind him, the snow and wind rippling at his face. Dancer starts to gallop and chases after Rob. He catches up with Rob at the end of the wolf's wood, happily grinning. Rob is happy and joking too, but Bran kind of notices that something is bothering Rob beneath his smile. Bran asks if he heard the wolves howling the night before, and Rob said he did. That he thinks sometimes, I think they sense things. He pauses though, and he's like, I don't know how much I can really tell you until you're older.

And Bran's like, well, eight's not that much less than 15, and I'm the heir to Winterfell after you. I just think that eight is a lot younger than 15, but, you know, it's okay. Yeah, it's a lot. You don't know it when you're eight, though, is the problem. You just don't. Then when you're 15, you don't know that 15 is younger than 20. That's also true.

And then when you're 20, you don't know 20 is less than 30, and then you're 30, and you're like, oh, my God, I'm dying. Yeah, you're 30, and you're like, I want to be want to be 20 again like take me back to eight i want to be 20 want my fucking pudding cup i want my pencil bag i want my backpack i hate it here yeah but rob rob is a very gracious lovely older brother who says to brand so are, sadly and even a bit scared. I'd be scared if I were 15 and getting older too. Anyway. I hate this so much. It hurts so much. Oh my god. Rob, like,

sounds scared and sad. Bran's like, I'm the heir to Winterfell after you. And Rob's like, yeah, that is really fucked up right now because we're 15 and 8, buddy. Rob is thinking about, A, what's going to happen in his father's untimely death which is becoming more and more real by the moment he's

like he's putting the pieces together doing the math every piece of mail they get and who knows i mean it wouldn't surprise me if he's having wolf dreams you know like we see john and bran have and rick and have that possibly come true. Who knows what he's seeing, right? Then also he's thinking about what might happen then in his death because for Bran to become Lord, that means Rob's dead or gone or et cetera. And then of course, on top of that, he's thinking about who's going to protect Bran from all of this when he's gone and Bran's Lord. It's very

multi-layered. It is. It is. And as you said, right, is he also thinking about should I talk to Bran about these dreams I'm having? Is he having these dreams too? But interesting stuff. Puberty is hard. Puberty is even harder

when you're maybe also becoming a wolf and your parents are away and maybe they'll die. So, Rob says that he has to- Werewolf bar mitzvah! Actually, no. It would be his quinceañera. If you think about it. Direwolf bar mitzvah!

Men becoming wolves! Wolves becoming men! I'm just saying he's 15. So, Rob says that he has to tell Bran something that oh, a bird came from King's Landing. And Bran already starts feeling a sense of dread about the dark wings, dark words, which is what old Nan had always said. And turns out maybe that's kind of true of real life is what he's finding out because every message that they had gotten had been bad. Uncle Benjen is missing. Catelyn reaches out with the news that oh, I've taken the imp prisoner and he feels kind of bad about that because

you know, he kind of liked Tyrion and was like, that was a really nice thing of him to bring me this saddle design that I am using right now. This raven though that they get is even worse. Also, Bran thinking about Tyrion is like, hmm

that's an interesting last name, Lannister. Feel like it means something important for me. Unsure what, because it sends fingers creeping up his spine, but also his stomach is clenching. I love that imagery. I didn't really think

about it, but the fingers creeping up his spine is how Jaime grabbed him by the back of his shirt and tosses him. And then stomach clenched like as it happened something about his stomach was happening in that moment too so very interesting that he gets the exact feeling back and i never noticed all of this lannister repression you know i i see it but i just forgot about it and i have to say it does remind me of that vision in the last episode or chapter with the lion with the embers for eyes and how freaky cool it must have looked. And I gotta say, Ryan Condal would have adapted those visions. Yeah, I do think he would have.

He really would have. Ryan Condal, remake Game of Thrones. What? Don't put this in there. Or you can. Put it wherever you want. I mean, he was already in it, I guess, but he just didn't have enough power, you know? They should have just left him in charge for the last few seasons. They were afraid of his power, but I'm not. So Dark Wings, Dark Words.

This is actually the second mention of it in the entire series. Of course, it basically just means no news is good news, right? That's what it means. The first mention, though, I like how this chronology works. In Eddard V, the queen gets a raven. He's talking to Varys, and Varys tells him about the queen getting the raven about Jon Arryn's death. And he says, Ned goes, dark wings, dark words. It was a proverb old Nan had taught him as a boy. So he taught, he was taught by old Nan, just like Bran. That's where they learned it from. And Grand Maester Pycelle agrees and says, so the fishwives say, but we know it is not always so. When Maester Lewin's bird brought the word about your Bran, the message lifted every true heart in the castle did it not

so bran here gets dark wings dark words about his father's fall where the first time we get dark wings dark words it comes a little bit after uttered gets news of bran living they're just connected wings yes they are all connected wings now that i think about it, I wonder what that'll mean for Bran, right? Because his name, as people have discussed, might mean Little Raven. Just like Little Pigeon. Well, it doesn't mean Little Raven. He's got that connection to the birbs.

It just means Raven. Sorry. Rob delivers the bad news finally, that Jory Cassell will, with a Y, but not where you think. No, I'm joking. Huard are all dead at the hands of the Kingslayer. Bran is speechless. Jory had been captain of the guard before Bran was even born and had chased him across the rooftops, which is very nice of Jory. Seems very scary.

And he's like, why would anyone kill Jory? Agreed. But that isn't the worst of it i mean i think that part's pretty bad to be honest but this part obviously hits a little more personally which is that their father had been caught beneath the horse his leg was shattered he was on milk of the poppy and no word of when he would wake uh this is just like chloe by the way. For real. Rob promises Bran that whatever happens, he will not let this be forgotten. Theon thinks that Rob should call the banners of blood for blood. I did topple down a bunch of stairs this week and I'm okay. No worries, guys. Just some really bad bruising and spraining. I'm gonna live. But I do feel like Ned. I do feel like Ned i do feel like ned that my

leg shattered beneath me and just on milk of the poppy it's gonna be a long day a long day i feel you ned it doesn't get better for ned but hopefully it gets better for me right i mean i think i'm hoping it gets better for you dang dang i'm in my uh what my eddard eddard v of my life eddard you're in your tower of joy era i guess i'm really in my eddard 10 era yeah i'm entering my eddard 10 era everyone yeah so it's pointed out that when theon says blood for blood he's unsmiling this time which is great because he'd been smiling right up until now. Everything he says is always smiles, always these casual, easy, hoo-hoo, I know things. But here, he's serious as a fucking, he's just serious. He's very serious. He is a serious guy right now. And there's something about the way he's calling, you know, call the banners blood for blood and for him that means a lot right like his culture

the ironborn really embrace blood for blood when asha comes after he you know kills quote unquote bran and rickon she's like how could you be a fool they're children and he says they defied me and it was blood for blood besides two sons of eddard stark to pay for roderick and marin the words tumbled out heedlessly but theon knew at once that his father would approve i've laid my brother's ghost to rest and the last time theon saw his dad that's what his dad impressed upon him how dare you treat these people kindly just because you think they might like you a little bit and they've given you pretty clothes don't you remember what they took from us it really makes a lot of sense and i know we dug into this more during theon's chapters which if you haven't listened to them go check them out i really liked covering those chapters but

i miss him yeah him being unsmiling when he talks about the banners and exactly what you're saying right he's thinking about in the context of his own family and how they were at war because he's actually the only one amongst these three boys who really knows what the stakes of war mean right we don't know how the old guard like we don't know how old the guards that are with them are so we don't really know if they feel that way obviously maester lewin knows little but he's not talking because he's all the way back there with the donkey. But Theon's first brushes with the Stark family are, in fact, Ned Stark there as a demon at their home fighting his family and torching it. And also then Theon being torn from his family and being all alone without his pack, which is kind of what happens to Bran, if you think about it. his pack, which is kind of what happens to Bran, if you think about it. And yeah, rereading this part within Bran's chapters, there's also, I think, the unspoken fear that Rob has, maybe,

of his own father going through what Bran just went through, right? Oh, dad's in a coma, just like you were a few chapters ago, Bran uh and whether his father then will be paralyzed from the waist down like his brother is it's a lot for a 15 year old to realize that their whole life is about to be over i mean it really is though very in a few books it is about to be over i mean i literally like had an anxiety attack yesterday over the idea of three to six months of my leg healing right i was like oh my god Oh my god, my life's over. It's all over. So as an adult, if I had a breakdown, I'm like, damn, Rob, you're really holding it together right now. And maybe my psyche is a little more battered than his, but not right now. Kids, kids got a lot going on, you know, he's going through it too. So if Rob can do this, I can do this. I can do this. Brent should just teach Rob about repression, which is what he's clearly doing right now.

R-E-P-R-E-S-S. What's that? What's that? Bran says only the Lord can call the banners and Theon reminds him, well, if your father died, Rob would be the Lord. Bran screams, which again, I really want to point out that maybe George doesn't intend this,

but whenever I read Bran screaming, it's just a little kid screaming in my head. And I don't know if he realizes what that sounds like. Only the Lord can call the banners. That's like a call. That's a yell. Only the Lord can call the banners is a kid, right? Like there's a difference george i just want to make sure he knows because i don't know if bran would go from zero decibels to 12 decibels like that

uh maybe not in this context like that for he won't die i mean he might having been around a couple of children in the past few months they will just scream they just scream for no reason and they're like we're gonna scream now and even if you so funnily enough i've been loving these behind the scenes videos of the children of house of the dragon the actors uh they are hilarious but some of them are just like dancing around jumping screaming especially the actor for young luceres i just think that maybe george and i have different definitions of screens but i do love those where they're just shouting and running around and hitting each other with stuff that's young boys they're so cute oh the show is giving us some good

wholesome content until it can't anymore uh the children are literally still alive in real life they are still having a fun time in real life i hope my god there are episodes to wait no real life real life real life real life too much vr lately oh my gosh brand screams he won't die at him and robbery assures him but he's like you have to you know we have to be strong for the north I have to be strong for the north for you for Rickon for everyone yeah all of these people and I'm 15 but I will say that Bran screaming he won't die and like panic reacting is a parallel to Rob panic reacting last episode uh last chapter, when he's told, oh, I hear that your Uncle Benjen is missing. And he's like, no, he's not.

It's gonna be fine. It's a hard knee jerk reaction to all the life happening around them. It's hard. Even in the next thought, Bran thinks he was, I wish mother was back. He asks what Maester Luwin said about calling the banners, and Theon calls Maester Luwin timid as an old woman. Bran reminds Rob, father listened to Luwin's counsel, and Rob insists that he does too, that he listens to everyone. The joy Bran had felt at the ride was gone, melted away like snowflakes on his face.

Not so long ago, the thought of Rob calling the banners and riding off to war would have filled him with excitement. But now he felt only dread. That's war, kid. Yeah, that is the right feeling that you should be feeling. Well, you've grown up. My god, it took you only eight

years. I'm just kidding. He's an adult. I mean mean there are definitely people in you know who in analyzing the series are like he's eight years old they all mature way faster i'm like no that is the point that's why they make dumb decisions just because they're medieval does not mean their brains are developed oh um you just don't know anything about medievalism so i'm here to tell you that it was different back then for eight year olds. Anyways, so Bran is cold. Which is, you know, any-

Sorry. Leave it in. God damn it. I absolutely will. We're having fun. Look at all the fun we're having. Sometimes I'm like, am I sarcastic enough for everyone to understand? And I gauge it by if you understand or not.

Bran is cold and asks to go back. And Rob's like, no, we have to find our wolves first, which in my head, I'm like, okay, so just think, come here. They'll hear you. Don't worry about it, but they will. He asks, can you go a bit further? And Bran won't admit weakness because he's sick of being fussed over. And so he says yes and goes along

with it this reminds me a little bit of actually you talking to me and kind of confiding in me the other day of like you didn't want to feel like a burden for having fallen down the stairs yeah that's my very first thought no that is it though like i can't i don't know i already have like issues that my partner has to step up and do things for me that, like, maybe I'd rather be able to do for myself or my physical capacity. Like, my brain works so much faster than my body does. And so sometimes it's so frustrating because I can think so many things in a day. They aren't always ordered because of fucking ADHD. But, like, I can think so many things and do some of them. And, like, when I was a kid, I couldn't write as fast as the other kids because of fucking ADHD. But like, I can think so many things and do some of them.

And like, when I was a kid, I couldn't write as fast as the other kids because of my issues. So I would get a computer instead as like a special computer they save for me to use. And I learned to type and I can type faster than like anyone I know. I can type everything. I don't even have to look at the keyboard. I don't have to I can look you in the eye, talk to you and start typing be like, yeah, anyways, hold on one second. I'm writing this article or whatever. I can do that. But I can't run fast. I can't have any upper body strength or climb things easily. You know, like I just have like, there's so many limitations of my body that other people that are just everyday normal bodied people cannot do. And so the first

thought for me when I toppled down the stairs was not, holy shit, did I break my leg? It was, oh my god, my husband is going to have to take care of me for like years. And this is going to have after effects that I will have to go to a surgeon for the rest of my life to deal with. Like that was my first thought. Fuck the pain, like pains, whatever. I feel like fuck right now. But like, that was my first thought was how this is going to affect his life and our life and whatever happens. So I mean, that's for brand. This is just, you know, now after a few months of it, he's already thinking that way. He's like, I don't want to be fussed over. I don't want people to be upset with me. So I'm just gonna say yes, it's fine. I'll just deal with it. Because I'd rather be uncomfortable for 30 minutes than have it affect

the people around me for being disabled. Like that's really it. That's exactly Brant's mindset here. Absolutely. A, first of all, because you are you are a compassionate person. So you're like, oh, no, you're worried about the people around you. And Brant's worried about that. But he's also he's worried about, like he said also he's worried about like he said not wanting to admit weakness not wanting to admit his needs because people aren't taught to voice their needs especially when it comes to disability right and the world isn't made for that as we found out but they're like wow why didn't i think about making this saddle well as we discussed last time well you wouldn't you wouldn't have thought about that. Or, you know, funny enough, like, I was listening to and we'll talk about Dr. Harrison's Mia from

A Clash of Critics. And we'll talk about some of her like thought and scholarship throughout brand stuff. But she's pointing out like, yeah, they make Hodor carry a brand the whole time. Then when Hodor dies, they finally figure out, oh, we could put him in a wheelchair. That is interesting. Yeah, it's very interesting a wheelchair that is interesting yeah it's really very interesting yeah yeah so it's like uh where's the thought how will that manifest you know like what is a thought or transition behind that in the books and like dang you're just gonna make hodor do this the whole time but and to be fair i mean they have to flee so fast, right? Like, Lubin obviously does not come up with wheelchair designs in the next two books before he dies. But they could have probably started thinking about something.

I don't know. Maybe George was never planning that, right? Like, who knows? But- Well, Doran has one. Yeah, Doran, maybe. But I think it has to do with him not being home. I mean, to be fair, now he's been north of the wall,

or at least getting to the wall, then north of the wall for so long. It's what, 15 years? And... Sorry. Oh, we could have had a whole-ass Robin this time. Oh, God. But yeah, it's been that long. Like, they could have made two wheelchairs. But he hasn't been home to get one made.

Yeah. Maybe he can make one of the bones in the cave. That's very luxurious, an ivory wheelchair. It would have a really good grip on the snow, that's all I'm saying. Subtraction. Okay, so... They strike back into the wolf's wood under the cover of trees, and Bran looks around as if really seeing it for the first time.

The pine needles, the wet leaves, the animal musk, and cooking fires. He sees a black squirrel move through an oak, and admires an empress spider in her web. The others fall behind, and he no longer hears them, but ahead he hears a stream of water as he comes upon it, and tears sting out his eyes the memory of jory bringing them here to fish and he asked rob if he remembers bran hadn't caught anything but john gave bran his fish on the way back and he asked if they'll ever see john again and rob says he'll visit too just like benjen you'll see this is the first so a few times then never again why the fuck are we reading this series I'm like

I mean Benjen doesn't really come back so far I guess he used to throughout the years is my assumption so one to one he's only John's only gonna come back this many times no I'm just kidding let me believe though you know let me believe Benjen's alive

and that maybe he'll come back too or at least have a last scene at least get some closure and let me believe benjen's alive and that maybe he'll come back too or at least have a last scene at least get some closure and let me believe that john will come back from the dead because he's dead right now did you know that you guys what that john gave bran the fish is really sweet it speaks volumes of his character and same as the wolves though too right like he made sure his true-born brothers were taken care of first before he took a wolf or found a wolf yeah he's a very generous caring person but but actually though you know yeah and that's why he wants to help make sure that the free folk are taken care of but also interesting about the fish thing because as we've discussed fish

fisher king stuff like we said last time when we talked about it um it's very npc right so it's almost like you come upon the fisher king and you unlock with your secret phrase to bring the kingdom back and here john is doing a side quest and giving bran a fish is bran gonna turn around and reveal this dead kingdom to be alive and tap him and give him xp i don't know i don't know step one reveal john to be alive step two profit uh rob dismounts to lead his horse across the ford tying him to a tree and coming back for bran and dancer bran smiles at the spray of water on his face, feeling whole, strong, looking up at the trees and dreaming of climbing them. That's part of his Tully side right there too, right? The water

spraying on their face. And that Bran, like Rob goes in and leads him across and it's like knee high water. And he's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me come get you kid. Damn, you're going to catch a cold, Rob, doing stuff like that. They hear a howll summer is wailing and a second howl joins summer the wolves made a kill rob tells him to wait there that theon and the others will be here soon and goes to find them bran says he wants to go with rob but rob says it'll be faster if he goes alone again coming back to some of those fears bran has about his disability, right? Rob says, well, you'll just slow us down. Harsh. But yeah, I mean, I guess that's how he feels and he doesn't really think

about it, right? Like, he's a 15-year-old not thinking about the responsibility, not thinking about his brother's needs. And alone, the woods now feel like they are closing in on Bran. And the snow falls more heavily. He is suddenly conscious of how uncomfortable he is, and hears the leaves rustle. And then a group of men step out, and a woman.

They look ragged, and Bran greets them nervously, but he's also very aware that they don't look like farmers or foresters. He's also becoming very aware of his own station that he's dressed super richly. He's in new gray wool, silver buttons, and also this heavy silver pin that is fastening his outfit together. It just pulls the whole look together. And his boots and his gloves are fur trimmed too. Also, winter is here. Yes, it feels very cold, chilly. is here yes it feels very cold chilly and i guess these people walking in and him feeling like it's all cozy and doesn't help that i do like how he's described it reminds me of sansa in sansa 7 in a

storm of swords when she is all bundled up in all the eight million later layers yeah when she's like i feel like a baby bear uh that that's how i imagine it and he is very much trapped right in these clothing like this is trappings of power extremely he is fastened onto his horse which becomes more apparent as these four close in on him and he's also like stuffed uh not unlike the straw fighting things outside of you know in the yard at winterfeld they all fight the straw men that they fight you could feel the eeriness of the passage even before the free folk are watching him like before we know they're watching him the woods feel like they're closing in on bran

you know there's something else out there watching him his whole entire plot and i like that he's finally becoming aware like aware of class right class distinction he knows he's finally becoming aware of class, right? Class distinction. He knows he's wearing rich clothing. At his age, he's fully able to distinguish that my clothing is better and richer than these people that are coming across me in the woods. And also, they don't look like farmers. They don't look like the shop people I met. They don't look like the people from the town. So he's aware. That's good. from the town. So he's aware, that's good. And the way it's set up after this, Bran is kind of watching multiple things happen around the clearing. Even when Bran is immobilized, stuck in one spot, unable to move when the man has a knife to his neck, he is seeing, smelling, and hearing things that are happening behind his back and around him. And I'm guessing it's likely through summer, he can smell the blood and stench off of the men. He sees everything in very clear detail where Bran's storyline ends up going, and we see him become more and more aware of this later on. But for now, the four begin to close in towards him, and he tries to be brave, saying that his brother and his guard will be here any moment, which was a mistake. The guard was perhaps a poor choice of words, because now they realize that he is highborn, a lordling,

and closing on him even more, right? Now they're really paying attention to what he's wearing. One of the men he notices is wearing black rags that are so faded that now they're the colors blue and green, all sorts of other colors, where once upon a time, perhaps, it was a cloak of the Night's Watch. So Bran realizes that he must be a deserter, an oathbreaker. And then remembers his father's words that no man is more dangerous than a deserter of the Watch,

and that he would not flinch from any crime if he was that capable of breaking his vows. He also notices the other one is probably a deserter, so there's more than one. And we've been talking about this, right? The language hasn't quite come into the story yet, because it really, of course, comes to the forefront with that Bran chapter, but we're seeing these deserters as broken men. They're broken men, as they were described by Septon Meribald,

and surfacing in a chapter where now Bran's disability is becoming more part of that story of making him vulnerable, part of his plot. you're willing to do anything for a taste of freedom, right? For the power to live life on your own terms. And part of that means being willing to take anything from anyone to be able to do it, whether that's, you know, riches, clothes, food, or even people's bodies, right? We remember Septon Mirabal talking about how his broken men friends were just like a rapist and uh speaking of that being willing to take anything even one's body i kind of think that's a little bit of what happens with brand's storyline and what we see him doing to hodor yeah especially when you're pushed to your limit and you feel so trapped right like what else can you do but take they demand his silver pin and his horse telling him to slip down and be quick. But he's like, I can't. I really cannot. One of the free

folk, one of the woman, not Osha, says he may be telling the truth and points the straps. The other woman asks if he's some kind of cripple, and Bran gets angry, saying he's Brandon Stark of Winterfell, and if they don't leave him and dancer alone he'll see them dead oh good one brand uh yeah brand has not been taught diplomacy yet clearly uh but also he's eight years old and still screaming so i don't i don't hold them to high standards regarding all that but we see kind of a development from the last chapter where remember bran immediately reacts to when tyrian calls him a cripple and he goes i'm not a cripple so we see here he's still rejecting that idea he's still rejecting the idea of disability as

part of his life now and also rejecting it as part of his identity. He resorts his name in lieu of the concept of being disabled. And I do think it's interesting in terms of terminology. There's a movement in general for people go using person first language. So for example, saying things like person with dwarfism, etc. Right. But a lot of people in the disabled community actually prefer putting that first saying that they are a disabled person as opposed to a person with disability. Not everyone does. It's not a homogenous community, right, as is for everything. But I do find it interesting in terms of how they're using that to therefore assert that it is part of their identity and the reclamation of words like terms like cripple by some, because that is, right, part of how they navigate the world. It's part of their identity. And I think that there's a lot to discuss regarding disability and Brandt's story that we are going to build upon throughout his chapters.

And I want to leave a little bit more, like there's definitely some stuff that I would like to come back to more in next chapter. Because I don't want to blow my load all at once. You know, because that's when Bran's really processing the events from this chapter. Yeah, there's a lot in the next chapter that really shows you that he is very obstinate and does not want to let that define him. Right? He doesn't want to be defined by that.

And I do think there's a certain spectrum for disability where it's scary to let yourself become enveloped by it and to admit what you are where tyrian says you know don't let them take that from you that's yours it can be yours mold it use it uh wield it and brand's not there yet and that takes such a certain confidence and understanding of yourself your abilities and kind of a rectifying with yourself right of understanding that like it doesn't define me i can let it define me or i can define it and i think that's important and i think that's a big part of brand's arc that he will come to feel that way eventually i hope he can get some ownership over it and i think that warging and skin changing that's definitely a big part of it for him that gives him mastery over it yeah which is its own like interesting thing in and of itself which we will probably discuss more

in those chapters because again we're edging the other free for you but one of them says oh but think about what man's would give to have vengeance own blood to hostage and then the free folk man argues with this woman like who we end up learning is named osha and not in regards to the violations and says do you think that the white walkers care about hostages and i'm like well you know good thing that mance does end up getting his own person sharing benjen stark's own blood soon interestingly, he doesn't want him as a hostage. But also, if Joe Magician and some other people's theories are right, the White Walkers really might care about a hostage or someone with Stark blood.

Yeah, that very old, ancient bloodline that First Men blood might be important to them. Yeah. So the man that is nearest to Bran slashes at the strap on his leg and at first brand doesn't feel it so he doesn't realize but then he realizes he cut his leg as well and he sees blood coming down it again that first cut for brand's plot besides you know the whole fall that was probably a few that was me this morning or yesterday morning i like osha's entrance in all of this it kind of parallels egret's entrance in a clash of kings they are fiery they're introduced via the others with lore right they both bring some winter lore and neither of the protagonists involved with them bring themselves to kill her.

And she's also, they're both very clever, too. They kind of, I don't know, they both secure their way out of this. Like, they find a way to make sure, oh, I am not being one of the murdered ones today. And this entire chapter feels like a rehash on Bran's first chapter. But this time it's without Eddard and it's showing what they've learned from this lesson. Right? Rob is the lord now rob is asking this whole entire chapter when can a man be brave and he's struggling himself to become a man right and decide between his duty his honor being a lord of winterfell being respected revered loved but also he's looking to be you know get a little bit of fear he wants them to make sure they know that he is the Lord of Winterfell while

his father's away. And also he needs to uphold Winterfell in the exact state his father left it. Right. We all have those little nagging voices in our heads that come from some form of parent in our life that you'll never get out. And you might have to see a therapist about. For sure. For sure.

Definitely. Eliana said, smiling into the camera me too uh-huh yeah yeah but one or two of them maybe three uh i i really like what you're saying here though of uh how this is rob now having to put those lessons into action because when people are fighting you you definitely want them to feel fearful that is deaf important but also as you said right there's so many parallels to how things go with egret especially in terms of the osha stuff yeah rob finds that he can't look her in the eye and kill her too yeah she came to him for mercy and he grants it. Which is, I think, again, a big part of the Stark storyline, showing mercy.

And it kind of does pay off. Osha is a real one. She becomes fiercely loyal and fiercely protective of Rickon and Bran. Mm-hmm. Well, Rob arrives, though, just in time. It's still six against one, though, and they don't feel like much of a threat. They tell him to throw down his sword and horse, and they'll thank him kindly for the mount and the elk that his wolves had slain that's just hanging on the back of his horse rob whistles and out come the direwolves they're still half grown

but very easy to spot the differences i guess it's not that easy unless i don't know your zoo wall address but it's easy-ish especially when you're brin and you've learned the differences from lewin and farlin who's the kennel master. A dire wolf has a bigger head, longer legs and its snout and jaw are leaner, more pronounced more gaunt and terrible and dangerous a free folk man threatens to make wolfskin cloaks out of them

and that's enough to piss Rob off into action so he charges forward catches a man with a sword to the face whereas another man is trying to grab the reins of the horse, and it's chaos. And for a moment, almost succeeds until Grey Wind, shroom, comes in on him, attacking him into the stream, where the water turns red as both he and the wolf disappear under its surface. Reminds me of the new Star Wars series. What was the salt planet for the new Star Wars? Remember that one where there's like the little crystal foxes,

the cutest fuck. Oh yeah. Everywhere you step on the salt, it's like crystally, but it turns red. That makes me think of that. Yeah. I forgot what it was.

I just imagine that going red. I don't, I just don't care. And so I like the Star War. It's just those three, they were for fun. Actually, two of them were for fun. One of them, we just don't know what it was for. We don't know what it was for.

And that's how I feel on The Rise of Skywalker. So anyways, it made me think of that, though. I can imagine in my mind the water splashing up and then all of a sudden it comes down and it's just red. My side note for The Rise skywalker and fantasy stuff is when i see people sometimes the first time when i saw them using the acronym for the rings of power which is t-r-o-p i was like what what is this the rise of pie walker it took me like a long time to try and figure out

oh god uh or like tlj i don't know why but it just makes me think of something justice i don't know What's going on? Oh, God. Or like TLJ. I don't know why, but it just makes me think of something justice. I don't know why I never think of The Last Jedi. I'm like something, something justice. I can see that. Fire and blood. So Rob matches blows with Osha up next, who's carrying a long spear with a steel-headed serpent atop it.

Ooh, I wonder if that's the stone snake's spear. I don't know. I'm just thinking about it. I'm like, whose spear is this? Where did she get this sick-ass spear with a snake on it? Rob beats each thrust with his own sword, turning her aside. She loses her balance and Rob rides her down. Summer darts in at another of the six,

closing his jaws on the other woman's calf, avoiding her knife and slamming her backwards to tear at her stomach. Goodbye. The sixth man then runs, but not very far because Grey Wind emerges, bounding after

him, going for his throat. The last man slashes at Bran's chest strap, grabbing him, and suddenly Bran is falling, sprawled on the ground legs tangled below him and stiff which is

that last man that's his name we find out is his steel is at Bran's throat threatening to cut Bran's throat and then Rob reins his horse in the fury suddenly going out of his eyes and his sword arm drops Summer was ravaging Halley pulling glistening blue snakes from her reigns his horse in, the fury suddenly going out of his eyes and his sword arm drops.

Summer was ravaging Hallie, pulling glistening blue snakes from her belly. Her eyes were wide and staring. Bran could not tell whether she was alive or dead. Yo, okay, but the language here is really interesting. Blue intestines

are being pulled from her blue snakes in her belly and her eyes are wide and staring. And he can't tell if she's dead or alive. That is interesting. I know it's not her eyes, but why is her blood blue? Because it should have oxygen now. It should be red, baby. Very red.

Could she have turned that fast? Could those be because i only say this because bran could not tell whether she was alive or dead and because they're that close to the wall and they're out in the snows in the winter as it's beginning to get heavier really makes me think it's like supposed to be like uh-huh is she dead is she alive we don't know i don't know. Is she turning? What if her intestines are blue, though? Yeah, they are, but

until you hit oxygen, right? I don't know. It might not have to be. It's like your veins. If they're housing blood in them. I just don't know. I've only seen intestines on TV. Like the walking dead. But the animals were dead for a while.

I don't know. I have no intentions of seeing my intestines. I just don't know if she can turn. Hold on, we're looking this up. I just don't know if she can turn yet because I think it seems like the magic of the wall means that you have to have turned on the other side first before,

or else you can't be zombified yet until, you know, everything probably falls apart. Okay, but so apparently many times at autopsy, if there's a change in color of the stomach and the intestinal mucosa, the forensic pathologist can suspect a particular nature of poisoning. Oh, if it turns purple or blue. So I'm not saying she was poisoned. But I am saying it would be interesting if that's showing that it's about to take effect on her. It doesn't mean that she's turned yet. But because he says dead or alive, what if she's in the middle of it? What if that's part of the first of it that's taking her maybe maybe i don't

know i'm just fucking speculating eliana let me have tinfoil there's just something interesting there that's all it's yeah it is interesting and but i do think that when you called out of the language of whether she was alive or dead that's supposed to deaf remind us of earlier and also of the the the night's Watchmen in Jon's chapter. Yeah, I mean, look at flowers. Look at Paul, what happens, too. Yeah, but they're north of the wall. You know, like, one second he's there and then...

Yeah, but I mean, that doesn't mean much. We don't see... I don't know. I don't think that means much anymore. I think the magic is coming south. I think that's the point of point eventually dire wolf south of the wall eliana yeah things are leaking through yeah i just don't know if she is yet i don't know just don't kill my vibe why are you doing this why can't you just be like it's an interesting tinfoil it's an interesting tinfoil okay okay i'll take out all the parts where i question you no you can leave all the parts where you're being mean to me and I think everyone likes it

it's flirting right your wife leaves you for a week then she's mean to you about your theories now we have a wedge between us a wedge between us hand looms let them grow together as sisters

let Chloe find it in her heart to forgive. Spool of black, spool of green. Oh my god, hand in the loom. Osha's on her knees, crawling for her spear, and Grey Wind moves towards her. He's like, no, ah, bitch.

The last man, grey and stubbly, shouts for the wolves to be called off, or Bran dies. Rob calls them back, but Summer stays where he is, his eyes on Bran and the man holding him, growling. His muzzle's wet with blood and his eyes burn.

Blood and sweat leak from the big man holding Bran and Bran realizes that, oh, this man is just as scared as Bran is. Stiv commands Osha to kill the wolves and take the sword, but she tells him to kill them himself and that she won't be going near them. Stiv feels at a loss,

pressing the knife deeper. A trickle of blood comes from Bran, and then he asks Rob's name. He tells Rob that if he loves his brother, he will do as Stiv says and get down from the horse and kill the wolves. And he goes, goes you do it the wolves or the boy there's something with rob here him hesitating right like what's the right decision so it reminds you of the dragons and how important the dragons once were and still are now they've reawakened for house targaryen and you know those big choices of what is the legacy of our house? What do I do in this situation? How do I kill these people while the knife's pointed at the people I love's back and head, right? And it's such a hard position he's being put in because he's already kind of blaming himself he wasn't there to protect Bran already, let alone now and let alone later in the future.

It's a big theme for him in this chapter, and it kind of directly connects to Theon, what Theon chooses to do next, and he takes it out on Theon, and he's kind of stuck between that duty and that honor, and that Theon here is like, he does kind of, yeah, it was a bold choice, and it could have been a bad choice.

He assessed the risk, and he's like, Bran dying would be worse than Bran dying from my arrow. Like, I would rather kill the shit out of Bran on accident than let this guy do it on purpose. And he's gonna do it. This guy's gonna do it, Theon thinks. And he makes that choice to save Bran, but also the wolves, right? The wolf, that line here, you do it. The wolves are the boy.

Look at Eddard. In Eddard 3 three cersei says the same question the wolf or the girl punish them rob hesitates like his father but his father kills the wolf and rob uh gets ready to take them out in a tactical way and then gets stopped because theon Theon fixes it. Yeah. Thanks, Theon. But it is like so, it does suck, right? Like he really does take it out on Theon in a second and that's something that's consistent about Rob's

character, right? It shows us how he deals with these things. He externalizes the blame a lot. It's the exact same thing he does to Edmure when, you know, it was his fault or like, how could they have known it was going to happen, you know, with the Riverlands. But like, he externalizes that blame a lot. and the wolves on a person. I guess this is kind of what you're saying and I'm still processing it.

But is Bran going to have to choose between the wolves and someone else at some point? I feel like each of these characters has that moment. Right? Choose between you, between your family, between the wolves. Wolves are their family. And someone else are saving someone.

Whatever, Eliana. When they die, no longer are they. Oh my god. Yeah, Ned's not part of this family anymore. Okay, well look, here you are. Here you are, choosing between wolves and someone else. You're killing Summer just as much as I am.

Well, like Bran, I'm exclaiming NO! About it, and the man tells him to shut his mouth, twisting his arm behind his back harder when a loath rum comes from behind them and still chokes as a razor tip broadhead arrow explodes out of his chest it's big and red painted in blood he sways collapses face down in the stream and brand watches the man's life swirl into the water real totally ours there's been a lot of water connections especially right there that they're just blood sacrificing people to that pond right

there that they once fished in they're feeding the fish fish feed fish feed but also it reminds me a little of the language in brienne's chapters right i george just really likes that where it's like oh and suddenly something was sticking out of the chest or suddenly something was sticking out of his mouth right like when they kill biter yes yes and i will say that there's like a there's something about the arrow there are other times i think this kind of arrow is used or similar arrows are used that this is like a hardcore arrow this broadhead it punches through armor like it is kind of like heavy duty it is like okay theon that was a real risk that you just took so it's a good thing that he's such a good marksman yeah it it is uh it is a risk

and meanwhile osha who's the remaining one half of the free folk throws her spear down and she begs her mercy the guard finally conveniently arrives after their entire job of guarding is technically over and then they see the bloody scene. Joseph scrambles for a bush, heaving. And Lewin seems shocked as well. He immediately checks on Bran, examining his wound. And Theon stands by a tree. He's smiling.

But Rob is less happy. He says that Bran could have died upset, saying that he ought to chain Theon up for all of this and let Bran take some shots at him, asking, what if you had missed the shot? And I'm just like, yeah, but he didn't. Though I will say, Rob's like, well, where was the guard? And they were like, well, we were waiting for Luin, and then Theon saw a turkey and had to chase after it. So that part I am like, I am like, bro, Theon, you fucked up a little there.

I think Rob fucked up. You know, if you want to make sure that someone is constantly with Bran, he should have stayed and waited. He's the older brother. He should have been commanding the guard, too. And should not have let... Why would you have let little Lord Bran be all alone? Also not, you know, he was kind of the one urging them forward even more, right? Until the guard was left behind.

Like, the guard is there for a reason and i think that's another thing like a lot of this is rob making the wrong call because he's 15 years old and that's what 15 year olds do make the wrong call also regarding that turkey george forgot that this turkey is in his story no he's like legitimately he's legitimately like sad things like you'll notice there are no new world things there There's no turkeys. And everyone's like, no, George, I know that there's a turkey. I've seen it. Yeah, there's corn too. Maybe.

Anyways, so Rob says nothing and instead turns to Lewin to ask how his brother fares. And Lewin says he'll be fine and that two of the Free Folk men had worn the blacks of the watch. Deserters, Rob calls them. Fools to come so close to Winterfell. One of the guard, Quent, asks if they should bury them. Rob says they wouldn't have buried us. He suggests hacking off their heads and setting them to the wall. And of course, what to do about Osha? She begs for her life and that she would serve House Stark for all her days. He asks what he should do with an oath breaker but osha swore no oaths women aren't welcome to the crows theon suggests to

give her to the wolves but rob asks for her name osha also looks over at summer then who i guess is still eating that free folk woman uh and seems to have acquired a taste for human flesh at this moment. Ooh, so does that really make any of this fair? Interesting, interesting. Lewin suggests questioning Osha, and Rob commands Wayne to bind her hands and bring her to Winterfell, and to live or die by the truths she gives them. Yeah, Osha is granted mercy. This is Rob's first mercy. And's smart in my opinion she's very clever we see she knows a ton of shit about the white walkers right the others everything

that's going on she knows some lore she's a good person to keep around and she's good with her spirit as we saw there in the wolf's wood uh and definitely john hours that he's like oh god what do i do okay i'm taking you back home figure it out figure it out indeed indeed and you know speaking of rob's first i think this actually might be rob's first people he's ever killed probably right which is why he's kind of relieved that not having to kill Osha in this moment. Yeah, because killing in battle is much different, right? Killing in battle is way different than having to then go and behead someone who's there in front of you, not fighting back. Executing, yes.

Definitely, definitely. He's like, I know we've learned this lesson and that we also started the book with this lesson but I'm not ready to implement that right now yeah and I mean you were talking earlier about the parallels to Ygritte before but that's definitely what comes up here right because they're like oh Osha should be spirit she's a woman and she's like yeah I am I was never in the Night's Watch I'm not allowed

please I'm a woman I am nothing but a gentle woman who knows little of the ways of wrong hiding the spear behind her i don't even know what a spear is and well good for you she's like she said that they should keep me alive yeah she's a nice one she did suggest hostage but also to keep me alive and that's's something. That's interesting though. That bit of mercy right there being granted and keeping someone alive. Right. And saying,

please, for my one favor, this is the person that kept me alive. Spare them. Yeah. They're like, hmm, hostages are interesting ideas.

That's so true. So true. Free labor. What's that called? There must be a word for it. I'm sure it comes up later in the story it's just on the tip of my tongue to osha being spared because she's a woman with everything we're watching in house of the dragon right now and in fire and blood it reminds me that alicent was spared from having to take the blood oath in Fire and Blood of the Council of the Greens of, you know, anti-green for life. So she did not take that oath because of her being a woman.

So I thought about that when you brought up the old spared part. She does get spared herself, kind of, maybe because of that. Maybe. That is actually pretty interesting when we find out that the made-for-the-show Valyrian blood ritual, because we are a Spoilers All podcast, sorry, the Valyrian marriage ritual involves some blood oath-like things. Yeah, a marriage of blood. And fire. Yeah, but does that mean the Green Council, you know, they are also, are they a polycule? Oh my god. Wow, well this has been a great episode of Brand 5. If you're watching House of the Dragon, I hope you're having

a blast. We're having a blast. If you're not, I hope that was a little preview for what you're truly missing. The polycule of ice and fire. Exactly. And I hope you're still having a blast. I hope life is great. Hope you guys are doing good out there. We like ya. We do and we can't wait to come back next week with our

good friend Manu. Indeed, indeed. I'm very excited and we're gonna talk we're probably gonna get real emotional next chapter a lot of things are happening and this is the one that Manu picked so he must clearly want to get emotional with us but if you have emotions that you would like to share with us you can always tweet them at us dm them to us on social media at twitter.com slash girlsgonecanon, that's C-A-N-O-N, or you can shoot us an email at girlsgonecanon at gmail.com. Make sure you are following and subscribe to us on a podcast streaming platform near you, whether that is Spotify, Stitcher, iTunes, Google Play, Acast, iHeartRadio, Audible, you name it. google play acast iheart radio audible you name it yeah or you can always find us on patreon.com where we have all these episodes and more because patrons in the five dollar tier and above get

bonus patreon episodes once a month weekly patrons in the thunder tier ten dollars and above also get access to events like the house of the Dragon discussion, hosted by our friend Maddie, or to our monthly events, our Brunch and Happy Hour, or special events like the His Dark Materials trailer breakdown chat that's going to be happening this Sunday. As always,

I have been one of your hosts, XOXO Gossip Girl. Aren't you- Oh wait, Chloe, I'm so sorry. Yeah, aren't you oh wait Chloe I'm so sorry aren't you watching it right now again I'm re-watching it my best friend came to visit for Michigan and she is watching it for the first time

XOXO Chloe and I have been another one of your hosts XOXO Eliana oh my god we'll talk to you next week for brand 6 in a game of thrones with Manu

I guess I could have done glass table gossip girl that could work gg gossip girl gone canon ggc glass table gossip girl gone canon gggc gggc

gggc gggc no gt gg g c xoxo gossip girls gone canon goodbye you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you