Girls Gone Canon Cast - ASOIAF Episode 170 — AGOT Bran VI featuring Manu

Episode Date: October 14, 2022

The Northern houses gather, filling Winterfell and the winter houses. Bran looks on, feeling an outsider in his own house as people whisper "Broken" behind his back and in front of him. Manu aka ManuclearBomb brings us some company amidst Bran's isolation. Where to find Manu:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/ManuclearBomb    My Brother, My Captain, My Podcast: https://mybromycapmypod.podbean.com/ ||  https://twitter.com/MyBroMyCapMyPod     -----Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/MyBroMyCapMyPod/posts    Podcast Sans Frontieres: https://podcastsansfrontieres.podbean.com/ || https://twitter.com/PodSansFront    NotACast: https://notacastasoiaf.podbean.com/ || https://twitter.com/NotACastASOIAF    -----Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NotACastASOIAF/posts  Links Mentioned:  - "Don't Look Away" by Noah: https://theshieldhall.wordpress.com/2022/05/19/dont-look-away/  --------- 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 170, Bran In A Game Of Thrones 6. I am one of your hosts, Chloe. And I am another one of your hosts, Eliana. And yes, we are here at Episode 170, but we are not here alone. I'm so excited for this. This is one of my favorite people. I feel like we talk about him.

We were just talking about this. I feel like we talk about him. We were just talking about this. I feel like we talk about this person, this really exciting, really brilliant person that we're about to introduce any moment to you. We talk about them all the time in some of their theories. And sometimes I think about their cats a lot. But it is none other than the fantastic Manu, Manuclear Bomb over at Twitter from the Metal Gear podcast, Pod Sands Front, Lord of the Rings podcast, My Bro, My Cat, My Pod, and of course, Not A Cast podcast,

A Song of Ice and Fire. Hi, Manu. Thank you for coming on for one of my favorite POVs in the story. Yeah. Hey, thank you for having me. I'm Manu, also known as Manuclear Bomb. Chloe gave you a rundown of my resume, so I won't repeat it right now. But I do like that each time she tries to say the Metal Gear podcast name, and it's a little bit different each time out. We do call it Podcast Sans Frontiers, which it's just bad SEO on our part to go with a French, Spanish, Italian title. It's like the number nine video game podcast in Italy.

I think just because it's like Podcast Sans Frontieres. Strange stuff. Are you branching out in other Italian podcast areas because of this? What are you going to do? I guess we can cover the Super Mario movie now. Oh my gosh, yeah, you can.

Italians everywhere up in rage at Manu's appropriation of chris pratt into this universe oh my gosh i just thought that chloe was translating it into english each time i was like yes yes that is what it might be in english well we thought it was clever because what it translates to is podcast without borders which is it's a play on a thing from the metal gear games but it's also like oh if we ever wanted to cover any other topic after Metal Gear, if we wanted to become a James Bond podcast or a Studio Ghibli podcast, you know, we wouldn't have to rename everything. But I think you guys alluded to once I got the cast at the Not A Cast podcast, I am kind of shutting down the Metal Gear podcast.

We have three or four episodes left to go. But we've also finished all the games that are there. So we would have either had to rebrand or die. So we are choosing podcast death. I love it though. I hope someday we get to choose death. We could choose it anytime. We could choose it now. That makes it really sexy, right?

That you could do it at any moment. That's so... Anytime, wow. You're so racy. That is exciting. I am excited that you got through everything though that you really wanted to cover that's really exciting does it feel are you sad are you happy how are you how is your temperature on this um i would say i'm pretty pretty happy i'm happy with the work we've done i'm happy that we covered it i mean it was five

video games and we took 70 ish episodes to do it, which is not I mean, that's taking our, you know, crazy, we took our good ass time with it. So I feel like I got everything I wanted to get out. It's a good springboard to talk about everything. We did an episode on David Bowie, I'm able to get my radical left wing politics out and basically every episode, the games are influenced by movies like James Bond and The Rock, which are some of my favorites. So I got to do a little love letter to a thing that's not like popular or like SEO driven at this moment. Metal Gear is pretty much a dead franchise. But hey, I got to put in my two cents on a thing that matters most to me,

which is kind of what I like to do with Not A Cast and A Song of Ice and Fire and Lord of the Rings with my brother, my captain, my podcast. That's so beautiful. Shut the fuck up. I'm so happy for you, dude. That's so good. It is, though. Don't you just want to do things you actually give a shit about? Isn't life better when you're living it?

That's so great. I'm so happy for you. Oh, thank you. It has been rewarding but i am a nuisance frontier i am very very happy that now i can be full-time back in westeros with emmet who some of you guys might have heard of and then also middle earth so i'm really straddling one foot in each of the big fantasy worlds that are going on yeah i'm glad you and my roommate are doing that

podcast together. I think you guys have had some really great wins. I know you just did some some Aria, you got some Tyrion on the horizon. I'm excited to hear you're in an exciting book right now. Oh, yeah. Yeah. What middle of Storm of Swords, and we're not too far away from the thing that everyone knows a Storm of Swords for. So it's really exciting to hop in. Like my first chapter was Sansa's wedding to Tyrion, which is, you know, a heavy ass chapter. Two chapters later, it's Jaime, the first chapter after he lost his arm.

In two weeks, it'll be Sam and the mutiny at Craster's Keep. So it's just like the hits keep on coming. It's just a great time to get like really back into the books, especially since like the general energy is high because of House of the Dragon. So I feel like everyone's juices are just flowing. You know, everyone's pumping on all cylinders.

We're all just pumping because that's definitely the analogy that I was going for. Firing on all cylinders. I think that is the analogy you were going for, apparently. I thought you were saying you were pumping the hot D. Well, I mean, some Ds need pumping to get hot. So, you know. Oh my God. Manu, I'm so fucking excited that you're here.

Thank you for coming on to talk Bran. We've had you on before. Actually, the episode is public. It was about the first episode of game of thrones winner is coming it was also a pilot discussion we got as many details as we could gather about that pilot and pointed out some of that and just talked a little bit about the meta production we'll link that below so you all can take a listen if you haven't but thanks to our patrons over at patreon.com slash girls gone canon they have unlocked that for everybody they have allowed

it to pass from the realm of patrons to the realm of public but you too could become one of those patrons and get some some special stuff Manu knows because he actually is a good friend of the podcast and a great patron of ours and so sweet to do so but Eliana what's going on at patreon what do you get out of patreon when you sign up besides the joy of supporting our podcast when you sign up in the stranger tier and above and the five dollar tier and above you get bonus episodes every single month just like the one that we recorded long long that was a long time ago no a long long long time ago with minute that was like what

that was back what before season eight of game of thrones so you're looking at like 20 oh my god i think it was 2018 yeah yeah it was 2018 so that's just like the first year that we started this podcast and look at us now just look at us look at all the fun we're having Just look at us. Look at all the fun we're having. It's your running joke, not mine. I know. I know.

That's why I'm so happy. I love it. I love it. I'm just glad every time it happens because that's how I feel like all the time. But things that I don't know, things that I'm not sure about how I feel yet, right? The stranger is obscuring it. We have yet to announce this month's patreon episode theme we have yet and we are so looking forward to doing so you should hear about it next week that is a threat and a promise that you will hear about it next week from us and we are so

excited to record it perform it put it out for those patrons but if there's something that you can surely look forward to in the meantime for that announcement, it is if you pledge to be in the Thunder Tier over at Patreon, which gives you access, Thunder Tier and above, $10 and up, lifetime access to Discord, and to Discord voice chats, which we have weekly events, House of the Dragon discussions, on Friday, 2pm. Slag off your fucking meeting.

Just fucking don't go. Or go and have two things going and listen to our great friend Maddie, who is hosting fun discussions. They're colorful. They're bright. Everybody is having a good time. There's some shitposting IRL. But there's also some really deep, insightful takes going on. So that's Fridays, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Eliana Standard Time, Eliana Time, depending on where you are in the time zone at this time. That said, there's also a monthly brunch and happy hour. This one is happening. This is, oh my god, the last Hot D Brunch. October 23rd, Sunday, 2 to 4 ET. It will be our final House of the Dragon themed brunch. Our Hollow D brunch, if you will, slash happy hour. So come

attend, grab a little drink of your choosing, and we'll chit chat about hot D and about life and hang out and chat. Yeah, we'll be the absolute hollowest of Ds, you know. Absolutely. Linga of the time. But if you

want more voice chats, something else that is happening towards the end of this year i assume we are doing voice chats so please do not hold me to this but i mean we'll likely be discussing when his dark materials that final season airs in december yeah and i've heard some whispers of some other great beloved series coming on maybe before that maybe after that for discussion weekly like i heard some telltale of maybe some people re-watching firefly some other shows that are coming up no promises yet on date but tba tba so lots of tuning on over at the discord but if you're looking for something quicker we do have something coming up tomorrow. If you're listening to this for the public, Friday, tomorrow, Saturday, 1015, we will be chatting with History of Westeros about Hot D, about the upcoming episode, spoilers all from Fire and Blood and the show and all sorts

of things I'm sure to come. But we'll be talking about Westeros once more, the Green Council. We will, we will. I'm excited to talk about it. It's, I mean, it's a pretty monumental part in this whole show and series. So catch us there. It seems like it'll be a bottle episode. So I'm excited. I'm feeling pretty excited about it. I think it could be an intense episode. And I can't think of anyone better to chat with than Aziz and Ashaya about it. Hope you all tune in. Yeah. Well, a couple of other people have also shared their thoughts with us.

Last week, we promised to discuss some emails and tweets of note because we put them this week and thought they would go better this week. For example, we got an email from our good friend Warren who says, I think it's interesting our good friend Warren, who says, I think it's interesting because to this point, so many people who could guide or support Bran and even indulge him are gone. His mom and dad, his half-brother slash cousin, and his sisters. And I find it interesting how ultimately he does find his way, but he still clings to those

childlike ideals. Like all the Stark siblings, he too finds his mentors a crow in a dream. The Reed siblings, Old Nan, Maester Luwin, even Osha to a degree, and all leave their mark and encourage him on his journey. At the moment, Rob is also a mentor, but he too has his struggles as he tries to fill Ned's large boots. It seems like the concept of kill the boy and let the man be born is a real struggle for the male Stark siblings. I'm interested as you continue your coverage to hear your thoughts on this thematic resonance. Which is not a

term that we have used that much as of late. We gotta bring that back. Yeah, season 8 called They Want Their Term Back. Thank you so much for this email, Warren. You know, Warren sent us a couple of other really cool things that i'm kind of holding on to i think there's a place for them and that place hasn't come yet so keep your ears peeled for that you might hear it in a future episode but that said

i think there's a lot of repression to talk about for brand of this chapter i'm really excited to jump into it in a bit because he has no tutelage and the tutelage he has is half-assed at best or blood raven i mean i don't know about you i always take wisdom and life guidance from burbs yeah i i don't i listen to people mostly that's or cats that is true that's better cats eat birds and sometimes they bring me dead birds. So I don't know what that means. They're protecting you. That's what that means.

I mean, I just know it clearly. They are protecting you. They are. Yeah. I'm right. I'm right. I'm right. I don't know.

I don't trust that Borb. He's doing his best. I actually was like revisiting the concept of the show. That one show. and that they made about this here or vice versa and the idea that like at the very last second blood raven's like yo are you ready to take all this data and knowledge of how to be the three-eyed crow within you and brand's like no and he's like too bad haha and he just like uploads it he's like uploading now thank god i have an unlimited Google Drive for this shit.

He trauma dumps all of Westerosi history on Bran. Yeah. Sometimes I wish I could do that on someone. Not Bran though. No, no, he doesn't deserve that. That's unfair. No, he doesn't. But I guess a lot of his story is how he ends up trauma dumping what's trauma dumped on him

onto other people. Maybe. So trauma dump onto others only what you want trauma dumped on him onto other people maybe so trauma dump onto others only what you want trauma dumped onto you is what you're saying yeah but i don't know if it's healthier for him to also follow like his other mentor figure right like ned who's like i will internalize all of it and speak nothing no that's true i think because as warren said it's something we see with all of the Stark siblings, especially the male ones.

I think it does apply to Sansa and Arya, too. I think they go through their own mentors. And we see maybe the spin on each one is, you know, Bran's at a very different age than, say, Jon. So how these mentors impress on him will likely be different because he's a child who has less solid formed views on the world. So he might go a little more extreme or lean into the Blood Raven stuff a little more because he hasn't built his own ideas about the

world beforehand, because he's just been forced into war and this crummy situation right from the get go. And I also think something we'll talk about today is the fact that when you are a person with disabilities, people sometimes just leave you behind or just like, hey, stay here so we can go out and do stuff. And by missing out on some of those experiences, he misses out on the chance to, you know, learn and grow as a person because he's left in castle or left in bed. Yeah, this is like a really critical time for him to be the air below the air. If Rob goes suddenly in war, it's Bran. And this is a very critical time that you think that you'd be training said heir. Hell, we see it this week in Hot D, right?

Rhaenyra teaching Jacaerys Valyrian. Finally, that's another topic. But teaching him high Valyrian, you know, I mean, you have to prepare them for rule. And Bran's very unprepared. And we're definitely going to talk about that and how that comes at a disadvantage for him. Yeah. I mean, in his defense, I'd be pretty fucking unprepared at eight years old too nine yeah absolutely absolutely hallelujah well we got another email which i think is a little different but interesting this one's spicy this is a great email it's kind of fun kind of spicy from our friend David who

said, well, basically they're counting down the POVs. They took note that there are nine left. So we have Aaron, Aria, Cersei, Dany, Epilogues, Jon, Khan, Mel, Tyrion, and Victarion left to cover. Not in that order, as they point out. They kind of went

through some logic. They thought it didn't make sense to cover the Epilogues before Arya and Cersei. So they have to come before the epilogues, they think. And their second thought is that Mel's chapter is a great connective bridge between Bran and Euron, or Arryn's chapters. So given how ingratiated Bran and Mel get in their magic, it made sense Euron would come through Arryn, Mel get in the magic, it made sense Euron would come through Arryn, followed by his brother, Crow's Eye Tormentee, Victarion, which led them to Bran, Mel, Arryn, Victarion, which, basically, alphabetical order, then they said left after that would be Arya, Cersei, Dany,

Epilogues, Jon-Con, and Tyrion. I think this is interesting because there's been some speculation in our Discord that we're saving certain chapters for last. And I don't know if that's true. I'm thinking maybe it is, maybe it isn't. And I don't want to send the press as a writing because we do have some clickbaiters at the Discord that are ready to take this and run with it. But what David continues to say is that he thinks JonCon should follow Victarion because of the warrior mentality and the trauma of past transgressions. And then he also thinks Cersei might follow Jon-Khan because they're trapped in reliving the what-if scenarios of Robert's Rebellion. They both have ghosts like Rhaegar and Tywin and others. He would like to see Arya follow Cersei because they bend and defy gender norms, proving to kind of possess astute ability to use whatever they had necessary to survive.

And then they think the epilogues will happen. So their final prediction, coming to all of it, and they have lots of thoughts about Dany and Tyrion as well and different ways they'll work in. Bran, Mal, Arryn, Victarion, Jon-Khan, Cersei, Arya, Epilogues, Tyrion, and Dany. Okay, that's their final thought. Interesting. I can neither confirm nor deny. I mean,

Minou, what do you think is the next POV? Well, just putting him on the spot. Yeah, I think David makes some interesting points i actually really like the connection with mal and aaron just because bran and euron seem to be you know headed on a crash course so kind of pairing all them together they're perhaps the most tied to some of the magical goings-on in the story right now so it kind of makes sense for me i kind of actually agree with the sentiment in the discord

that you guys are going to end big at least on one of the major characters and to that end i would say it's aria tyrian or danny just because those are three characters that a have been around as point of view characters since the first since the game of thrones and are also just kind of like fan favorites you, you got to save a big one for the last. So I always think that's a good one. And I know Eliana specifically has done some incredible writing about Daenerys. So it could be a great way to go out with like your whole thesis on Daenerys to end everything. But after Bran, the two that jumped to me are Tyrion and Arya. Tyrion because there's something that kind of seems right about Bran and

Tyrion, like Bran ruling as king and Tyrion as his hand. There is something that kind of clicks in my mind of those two going together in a way. And you guys kind of talked about some of this when you talked about Bran IV in Game of Thrones. And then the other one is Arya because just the other the last Stark sibling and that way you will have completed all of them including Robb Stark. I loved his point of view chapter. I'm glad you guys covered them. But yeah, I would think those are where the overlaps are. But the fun thing about how you guys have done this is even when it seems like two point of views are like next to each other and you wouldn't assume there's an obvious connection you guys find those connections or like you know it starts everyone thinking and i think it's just because all these characters come out of one man's forehead

and he's playing on very specific themes that kind of overlap and spill into other characters and some of these characters were probably created because he couldn't fit it into the original cast he had. So I will say Arya and Tyrion are my choices for the next chapter. But I'm just here for the ride. Who knows if I have information that I might be privy to that your listeners might not be. But if I was just completely just strong braining it, that's where I'd go. Okay, okay. That was a fascinating insinuation, Manu. What insinuation? Maybe it makes me, like, narcissistic, but I actually

like hearing all these very deep-seated theories. I'm like, interesting. Interesting. That's what you think of me? Hmm. For me, I think it's sadistic. I love seeing people straight. I don't know if it's a... I just, like, love seeing people, like, struggle to think about it. I'm sorry,

Jimmy. Manu, have you ever fallen for our false flags? I mean, many people have fallen for our false flags, and we have false flags planted everywhere, just to warn you. It was Jamie, Brienne, Kat, right? That one, I kinda had a figure. It's just like, I'm an

OTP Jamie and Brienne person, and I didn't think you two would disappoint me. You would not decouple the couple that matters. So I was pretty confident there. And I knew that Bran was coming up before you revealed Bran, where everyone was thinking Tyrion. But I think I could have bought into the Tyrion propaganda if I had not known from other things happening

in our corner of the podcast world of Westeros. Yeah, you stayed at my home for like a week. So you did unfortunately unearth some secrets. Yeah. I'm interested to see where we take the podcast after here. I can neither confirm nor deny the things I already know. So moving past that, thanks for your email, David. Manu, thanks for your ponderings. I will not tell you guys. Maybe I'll tell you. You'll find out, Manu.

You will find out. She better not tell you. We've joined our podcast houses. She better tell me. We'll join our houses. I guess, yeah. I don't know. Manu, last time you were here, we didn't get to do a lightning round so I would like to formally invite you

to do a lightning round with us for what we missed between Bran 5 as well as Bran 6. I'll start it off with Tyrion 5 Tyrion's held captive in the sky cells and he decides it's time to confess that he wants a fucking trial by combat

that's what he's confessing. Editor 10. Ned dreams of blood and blue roses, but wakes to another nightmare. Robert wants him to still be Hand of the King. Catlin 7. Tyrion wins his trial and is set free. The Lannisters begin to amass their host in the Westerlands. Jon 5.

Jon makes the next tryout cut for the Watch, but he takes a detour to ask Aemon for a favor for his good friend Sam Tarly. Tyrion 6. Tyrion and Bronn camp on the road and meet the Stonecrows. Eddard 11. Ned holds court while Robert is out and dispenses Lord Dondarrion to do the king's justice. Sansa 3. Eddard tells Sansa he'll be sending the girls home to Winterfell, which Sansa cannot have because she just got engaged to the absolute love of her life and he just started treating her like she existed this week. Eddard 12. Ned offers mercy to Cersei. Say yes to the dress.

Oh my god. No. Daenerys 5. Daenerys eats a horse heart. Viserys gets a crown. Eddard 13. Ned gets a promotion because his boss is on death's door. He tries to make

some big money moves, but it turns out he was making said money moves with the wrong money person. Womp womp. Womp womp. John 6. John finds out that he has been sorted into the stewards instead of the tough guy rangers, and he is not happy. Nevertheless,

he says his vows with Sam at a heart tree who convinces him that being the Lord Commander's steward actually means that he's being groomed to rule. Eddard 14. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Also womp womp.

Just a lot of sad shit happening here at this part of the book. Arya 4. Syrio, Ferell, and Arya feel something is off when lannister guard men come to collect her sirio fights them off and aria runs sansa 4 sansa is summoned from house to write letters in the queen's voice john 7 john saves the lord Commander from a white person. He used to be a person. Now he's that.

Oh, rip. Isn't that true of all of us? Yeah, we all do die, which leads me into Bran VI in a Game of Thrones where no one does die yet, but the banners have been called wars afoot, but Robb Stark is marching the wrong way the karstarks aren't though they are marching into winterfell with 3 000 horsemen 2 000 footmen what is this ck2 the game of thrones

mod oh my god a man is leading them with a large drum booming it into rhythm and bran watches through maester lewin's bronze far-eye glass lord rickard karstark is leading his sons harian Yeah, we're already meeting the sons who Lord Rickard is going to get big mad about losing later. I think of that Clickhole article, which one of my garbage sons are you? I don't think Lord Karstark's sons are garbage necessarily but it is just fun to meet them here we know what's going to happen to them death fucking death and i love the politics that start to play in this chapter little things like we're seeing his sons are named after northern names it seems right harry and we don't really have another name for in the story.

It's kind of cute. Alice, I guess, says that he goes by Harry with family. I'm like, oh, that's kind of sweet, kind of cute. Okay, northern Harry. But Eddard Stark, Eddard Karstark, Torrin the King who knelt, he's naming them for the true north or also for political plays, for advantages. I find that curious to see how he kind of fits into things, especially with his appearance, as we learn soon. Speaking of other things that are small things being set up, I thought those interesting Bran watching from afar through the bronze far eye, right?

Yes. Bran watching from afar. Looking through a different eye. Yeah, absolutely. right like yes watching from afar looking through a different eye yeah absolutely well old man says that the karstarks also have stark blood even if they don't quite look like starks they are big they are fierce they are covered in thick beards long hair and they wear skins and pelts of bears seals and wolves just wolves. Just all around, like, imagine hair. That's it. Yeah, just look in the mirror for that.

But it seems like the great houses north of Winterfell just seem to get more feral or, like, furry, perhaps, the further you go north. Oh, furry. The Karstarks and Umbers and Mountain Clans just seem like they're built different than the other houses in the north. You absolutely get the feeling, too, that there's something going on that feels like it's been going on for a couple of decades. And that the Starks participating in southern politics and starting to make these alliances with the south have almost watered them down in the eyes of the other lords who still practice a lot of the different rights that once built their lands, right? Like not necessarily are all of these rights okay. Like First Knight, not okay, Boltons. You should not keep practicing them.

But some of these things, there's some of that Great North, where manly, blah, blah, blah, masculinity that's still going on. But also, you can see why they're starting to get frustrated with the South imposing their politics and their laws upon them when they're a different land and a different people of a different culture and some of these internal frustrations of these lords feel like more than just the lannisters starting to attack right like they they seem to feel like they're losing parts of themselves a deeper war especially when you look at the way

their life is and how resources are much scarcer in the north and land is scarcer and fertile land is scarcer men are ready to just go out and die in the winter where the south it's not quite the same so of course they're hoping for a war right now war means possible profit or death a lot of death happens but what you're saying is interesting, right? That there could be sort of like an anxiety about their way of life disappearing because of the South. It just, I don't know, it just makes me think of actually something Manu, you were talking about earlier today in another chat about languages disappearing. I had to do some research into language death for one of the Metal Gear pods. And there's a chance that 50 to 90% of the world's languages spoken right now will disappear by the end of the century. And a lot of that is a result of colonialism, diaspora, the lack of revitalization efforts that are done into various

languages. I think 10% of languages right now have fewer than 10 speakers. So they're expected to go extinct in the very near future. There is a bit of cultures do transform, change, and just die out naturally over time. But when you have things like war, imperialism, colonialism, those things may die out quicker or unnaturally. And some of that goes with the Sothron ambitions where you are purposefully bringing in outside practices, languages, gods, and you see how that forces people out. It's something that Stannis very much imposes on the wildlings when he arrives in the North as well.

Yes, you know my feelings. Yes. We see that happen with the children of the forest, right? As of the discussions that are in this chapter, they're like, oh, those people are gone. We killed them all. And I'm like, uh. Or even the giants, right?

The giants also have their own culture and language and the belief that, oh, they're not real. Not there. And like Osha says, they're very real and they're very fucking there. Can't miss them. You cannot miss them. You just have to look. Yeah. It's not hard. They're very big open that eye open it another thing that this makes me think of this idea of like they might have stark blood but

they don't look stark is interestingly someone who does look stark but in regards to oh he has targaryen blood though he may not look targaryen john snow i've heard of him i like it no i like that he's so he's okay he's all right we've already covered him we don't know how to talk about him so go listen to our previous episodes if you have that bitch is dead oh my god i was at a wedding and i was talking to someone about like where the books left off because they've watched the whole show i was like oh, so as of where we left off in the books, Jon Snow said, what do you mean he's dead? He dies? I was like, no, this happened. You watched it. You watched it. Remember, he died in the show. Anyway.

To be our age, you know, we've lived for too long. Oh god. So, they're the last to arrive, the the carstarks the other lords have arrived already with their hosts bran yearns to see the winter houses that are bursting in the market square but rob forbids him to leave the castle saying that there are no more men left to guard him i'm glad i can finally use my accountancy degree from undergrad here in a song of ice and fire the karstarks are practicing lifo inventory last in first out their last to show up at winterfell but they're the first to leave rob's cause i feel like i'm just being attacked on this podcast with my day job why do you got to do this

to me this used to be my day job too oh god which you never want to practice lifo why the fuck would you practice last in first out we don't practice the Karstarks. We practice FIFO in this household. First in, first out. We give them a break. We talk about labor in this household. Manu. You wouldn't understand. I don't understand. I'm just like, mmm.

I'm too pretty to understand this anyways. That's true. You are very pretty. I don't need to know this. The winter houses are filling up when winter arrives. And we were told last chapter that this would happen in these towns. And I'm like, oh, okay. So winter has come early. All right.

Winter, in a very figurative sense, is now here for the Starks, as we see. And the winter is here. It is not yet a time for wolves. It's not that kind of winter is coming yet. It just sad times the winter of our discontent yeah which was not the best i read that i love steinbeck and that one let me down that is our second steinbeck reference isn't it wait what's the other one i had a mice of men one in oh yeah that's right you did you did that one was good i did put that in for you i forgot thank you mice and menu yeah mice and menu oh my god also you know i just know you love steinbeck so i was like that would be the perfect

i know i think about you uh thank you yeah we are all about the steinbeck here in Eliana's household. I'm loving seeing Wintertown fill up, and we're going to come back to it in a minute because we get a little more lively of a description. But Bran really wants to go, and Rob says no, and he's like, I'll take Summer. But it's too dangerous. One of Lord Bolton's men had knifed a Kerwin at the Smoking Log the other day. And he says their mother would skin him for a pelt if he let Bran go there. Oh my God, this feud starts right here. I totally forgot about this because in Clash, Clay Kerwin is slain by Bolton men

at the Battle of the Wintertown in front of the castle. And his corpse is then presented to Theon with an arrow in his eye. So just a great jump back from George on this. Yeah, and it's really introducing us to Bolton's savagery, and it's just literally words away from a comment about flaying. So we're already setting up their whole deal right here, and it's something that probably took me a reread to even notice.

It's like, oh, yeah, this asshole. We know all about this house right from the get-go, but it just doesn't really come into play, or George really long plays it to get to the red wedding i mean you know what they say when people show you who they are believe them believe them this is who the boltons are you're all just everyone is just like oh i don't know that maybe maybe it's not a red flag it's a pink flag and they therefore ignores that no that was a red flag it's's a pink flag. And it therefore ignores that. No, that was a red flag. It's just kind of a desaturated red.

It wasn't an actual flag. It was a piece of skin. So that was kind of a red flag in itself. It was. It was. A decaying one. What could it mean? Robb Stark.

What could it mean? Robb Stark's entire plot. Bran thinks, or rather knows, that this is because of the wolf's wood incident that he can't go out to town that rob won't trust him to go be alone he feels helpless more helpless than maybe even rickon he feels shame he was only a few years younger than rob okay double that a couple times there okay buddy like you're not he really is feeling that pressure he's nearly a man grown in his own eyes and should have been able to defend himself. A year ago, he would have been able to visit the town, climb its walls, wield a sword well enough to knock Prince Tommen down. But now he only watches the others play, peering through Luwin's lenses.

And now he could only watch, which he'll do with a thousand eyes and one. Maybe Luwin's lens is that one yeah i do like what you said about how he's comparing himself to rob though like hold your horses but he's also seeing these massive changes in rob ever since catlin specifically went south so seeing his brother all of a sudden seemed to blossom into a man that's a really strange way to say it but but to see him do it. And then he's like, well, I'm just sitting here and he kind of feels inert. He isn't making those same jumps. And this is also just a little bit of the reality for people with disabilities. It's just easier

and safer for everyone else. If you stayed at home, no one's really considering what might be best for brand, or they only think about it in the sense of his safety and not things he can learn or grow or what value it might be if he's out there you know amongst the people that's really well put they're not thinking about him and his well-being necessarily not again like as you said in that larger way I think only Maester Luwin really really I think puts a little more thought into that maybe after his eyes were opened after Tyrion showed up. I don't know. But it leads to therefore, as we see from Bran, feelings of guilt, feeling also like he's a burden. And it's because as we've discussed, people aren't really making the world more accessible for him. And it's doable, right? It absolutely is. And in doing so, it also is a really isolating feeling right he's

seeing all these people that are around together he already is isolated because his family's left and now he can't go out there and join and even when he's there right this is a different winter fell than the one where we saw where it was full of life and people at the beginning of the book now it's full of life and people, but he's alone in a crowd. Yeah, there's something about being disabled and the fact that like, especially right now in the escalation of war, as all of these people are joining, he is the least of their worries. He becomes a percentage and he becomes a number. In fact, there's, I'm not like a big nonfiction reader. I'm sure you guys have got that over the past four to five years. I'm not a big nonfiction reader, but there's a book by Kathy O'Neill called Weapons of Math Destruction, which basically shows, I mean, through the inherent, like, just universe that we live in, the way things were built and how it was easiest to make decisions, the way data filters and the way people get lost in the margins right and like right now there is so much going on at winterfell that the most that can happen as

we'll see soon is that lewin is like i made you this basket and we could carry you in it and that's how far i've gotten right now because i have to do 800 other things because resources are slim people that are resources are slim there's only so much time before all these banners leave and other men have bigger egos to fill than little bran stark i mean that's really the truth of how people looked at it and it's sad because it's like he's getting pulled in all these directions that people are saying to him you need to be rob's heir you need to be ready to be the lord now but also like don't worry about it bran you'll do better as you grow but no one's helping him no one's actually like nurturing that they're just saying you'll do better don't worry

about feeling inadequate and i know you feel inadequate right now we'll come back to that someday but then they all die and no one comes back to it and and he's all alone like how how is that supposed to it's a bummer how is that that supposed to happen, right? He got deprioritized. Yeah, bummer for me. Bummer for Bran, my son. Yeah. I'm here to represent Bran today. Getting a little upset. You're gonna get even more upset. Yeah, I know.

So instead of getting to go into town, he learns all the banners from Maester Luwin, which is also very great knowledge to have. He learns all the banners from Maester Luwin, which is also very great knowledge to have. The silver-mailed fist on Scarlet of House Glover, Lady Mormont's black bear on green, the flayed man, red on pink, of Lord Bolton, a bull moose for the Hornwoods, a battleaxe for the Serwins, Kerwins, I've said it eight different ways, I apologize, three sentinels for the Tallhearts, and House Umber, a roaring giant in shattered chains. Soon he learns their faces as well when they come to feast at Winterfell. The hall isn't big enough to seat all of them, so Rob rotates through them, hosting one at a time. Yeah, in light of King Bran from Season 8 from the show that the books are based on,

you come back to these chapters and you look at these and realize, ah, this is the ongoing political education of Bran Stark we just covered a Jaime chapter over at Not A Cast and Jaime when he's brought to Harrenhal and he sees Bolton banners and he's like well I recognize that one but I don't really know much about them you can see that like you know he wish he knew a little bit more about the heraldry and who might be around and what it could mean other than possibly they flayed people. But to that end, I do like that we get the phrases, the hideous flayed man of Bolton and the fearsome sigil of Umber. The only two that get adjectivified or adjectives on top of just the description of their sigils.

And they are perhaps the most important of Rob's bannermen. So they're already kind of pretending the roles both will play in the war to come. Do you think that they needed to know much more than the flea people? Probably not. But, you know, the flaying thing is convenient because once you know that, you can kind of assume the rest about them. But you can't do that with other houses. The Manderlys like seafood.

I don't think you can intuit a lot much more about their lifestyle. That's true. That's a great point of how it's teaching Bran. I mean, these are the people that he's going to have to know. He's going to have to rule. And Jaime, as you said, right? Clearly, he was not meant to rule. He does not give a fuck about any of that. Big himbo hours. But what's fun about this is it's also a nice seamless way that George kind of introduces us to a bunch of these houses and players because it is still book

one, right? It's world building seamlessly, seamlessly like built in. But also it reminds me then a little bit of podrick and tyrian when oberyn's arriving in king's landing and he's like who are these podrick to help him feel less nervous not unlike sansa too right on the road naming uh everyone and at the tourney yep at the tourney as well that. Yeah, it's a good part of their education is important because as we see above Rob is doing his part to feast the lords and rotate them through and spend equal time with each of them and learn what makes them tick. What makes them mad, what you know, provokes them and what doesn't what unprovokes them, you know, learn all these little things about them and Bran is learning it from afar so that he is primed and ready when it's his turn someday. And Bran is learning it from afar so that he is primed and ready when it's his turn someday. He is given a place of honor in this too, right?

So he gets to be there, right hand of Rob. But he feels them staring at him, which makes him uncomfortable. It does not make him feel very powerful, as if they're wondering why a crippled boy was placed above them at the dais. First of all, rude. Yeah, agree. Rude. He literally lives here. Yeah, you come to my house you want to buy a house the house of stark the house of goofy we still have to watch that yes menu come to our bonfire yeah the movie by ridley stark i will absolutely come by and watch it. My Ridley Stark.

Hallelujah, brother. So it's very rude. Second, you were just talking about, right, like Rob learning a lot about these different houses and learning to rule and even Bran as well, right? And it's part of why Bran is seated here is not just to disrespect everyone. And it's not just it's his house. I mean, it is because it is his house, right? Like literally he lives here. Next in line after Rob,

as we've established last chapter, Rob's kind of anxious about it. Like, oh shit, after me, it's an eight-year-old. It's a Bran, right? He's the heir after him. And so he's placed at the right hand of Rob so that Bran can witness and learn about leadership in the same way that Rob was taught these same things. And this happens just a few chapters after Jon has been named

to the stewards and is told by Sam, like, it's not an insult, you're being groomed for role. Next, Bran tells Luwin many times about how many knights and men there are outside. And Lewin tells him that there are actually very few knights. Well, actually, because to be a knight, you must stand a vigil in a sept. We don't have too many of those here in this place that we live, Bran. And then be anointed with the seven oils. Again, not a very popular custom here where we live in the north. And because we have few knights as we mostly worship the old gods and not the seven we have this line but those lords and their sons and sworn swords are no less fierce or loyal or honorable a man's worth is not marked by a sir before his name as i have told you a hundred times

before that line a man's worth is not marked by a sir before his name, is something that is going to be prominent as George explores what really is a knight through characters like Sir Gregor and Sir Jamie versus Sandor Clegane and Brienne of Tarth who do not have those sir titles. Yeah, like I am no sir, I am no man, first of all, second of all.

And then also third, I mean mean good isn't what you are it's what you do it's what you do and that's what knighthood is and that's what lewin is telling him but bran doesn't agree bran's like i want to joust motherfuckers into the ground on a horse all day long and like get favor from girls i don't even care about girls but i want their favor whatever that means poor brand because that's not what it's all about and he can still do good right like that's something ultimate about his plot like he's still gonna find a way to do good and to help people just in a different way yeah and it's it's also the case for a lot of the plots that intertwine so closely with Brands, right? Then he might learn from the people who hurt him, like the bad that they do is literally against him. Such as Jamie.

Yeah, or Theon. Yeah, some of the most controversial characters that some people can find redeeming qualities in one of them. Hey, those are two of my three favorite characters. I really like Jamie. He's not like a top three for me for sure, but like, I really like him. Chloe, as you all know, does not feel the same way, but I think- Love him, hate him. I'm going to outsource it to my therapist, you know? I thought you were about to quote Alfie Allen's sister. No, just Kendall Roy. therapist you know i thought you were about to quote uh alfie allen's sister no just kendall roy but yeah you can see lewin getting a little frustrated like oh my god brand there are other

jobs yeah because brand doesn't actually care like he's like i really don't care what it means to be a knight he's like i just want to know how many knights are there out there lewin you know it's like going to a football game with your pops or something. You're like, ah, what does it mean? So Luwin's like three or four hundred knights with three thousand who are not knights. And Bran remarks, Karstark is the last of the houses. Rob will feast him tonight. He asks, how long till they march?

And Luwin says, soon or not at all. Oh, shit. Wintertown is full, bursting. The North hasn't the resources to hold these people. Along the King's Road, others will join in, like the Barrow Knights, the Kranig Men, Lords Manderly, Flint. The fighting had already started in the Riverlands, and that was leagues away. I got a little chuckle out of this. Mr. Lewin's like, oh, we don't do nights five seconds later oh

yeah the barrow knights are filling the town no explanation whatsoever we don't talk about we don't talk about nights but even here at winterfell the heart of the north rob has to either march or send everyone home they cannot subsist all these men on the countryside and this is actually a place with a town and commerce on the road and in the open country they are like to eat the countryside even faster and then think about what happens once they get down to the riverlands which taiwan has been going scorched earth on so there'll be even less to sustain the troops yeah looking at like the dance of the dragons. Right and fire and blood especially. You realize that.

For the northerners that came south. There's no reason to go home. Unless they come home with some sort of money. Resource land. I mean most of them settled down south. Because there was nothing left for them. Right the remainder. I thought that was very interesting. The widows and the different relationships.

That had to be forged. And I think that's really going to come back into play especially after the long night because everything is going to be fucking scorched there's nothing to eat we have to start growing again what do you mean the long night was like a night it was like one really long night that's what i was told i'm so tired because the long night i'm very tired but uh absolutely i do think you know for what both of you are saying like i think that's the point like that's the point that we're supposed to get to one day in the winds of winter so bran returns luin's bronze tube why did it why is it written like this chloe and looked at him realizing his hair grown thin on top

it felt odd to look at him from hodor's back when he had spent his life looking up to him i loved the way this was written with those perspectives of looking up and looking down and bran with his loss of you know autonomy over body, being able to fly and how the bird lied to him. Fucking birds. The bird lied to him about flying. But he's often associated now in his dreams and in these visions of being high in the sky, looking down on everyone everywhere in Westeros. And not just Westeros, but also there's something about him watching Luin age, right? That suddenly now he's seeing it and he's seeing it from above like he's seeing this worldview of westeros through the ages suddenly and seeing the scope

of things and not just the scope of things but like the scope of life like beginning middle end like when you realize what some of it's about and then when it surprises you and it's not about any of that and it does like the whole thing where suddenly you realize what it's about again yada yada yada there's something really just sad and quaint about him looking down at lewin's balding head and him going huh i guess i never realized that's what it looked like from up here the world is different down there yeah he's now on hodor's back thanks to the wicker basket idea a crow's nest like on a ship for a crow's eye view and i even interesting i even like what have you told your boyfriend about this no i haven't i kind of came up with this as i was working on the notes uh my new original live here on girls gone canon

episode 170 brand six from the game heard it here first oh my god god. That's a clip. But also, I was liking what you mentioned earlier, Eliana, that perhaps Tyrion's visit actually triggered something and Maester Lune is like, let me think a little bit outside of the box on how I can help this boy kind of get around. And this basket might very much be a result of that. Yeah, it's definitely outside the box. Well, he's in the box, but...

What's in the box, first of all? he's in the box but basket what's in the box first of all i love this crow's eye shit that's fucking that's yeah damn that's goddamn manu fuck that's great that's great um get out of here no yeah my mind is blown to that that's really interesting but uh you know like we were were talking about ways to make things accessible for Bran and how Doran does seem to have a wheelchair. What is interesting is, to spoil the recent series, House of the Dragon, it's not that big of a spoiler. But it's a little bit of a spoiler. I assume you all know one day the series gets much older.

And for many people, as they get older i'm not gonna give away too much mobility becomes harder and they do not have a wheelchair for that man yet yeah that's all well no wheelchair craftsmen in the the north north right now either unfortunately he's a little too busy dancing with bones and shit but maybe later maybe when war settles down a little i like this idea i'm hoping that they haven't invented the wheel in the north it's just like they have to have guys like hodor just carry everyone and everything around oh my god it sure does feel that way were they like wow i can't believe the king got all the way here like what is that what is that on him oh my god how did he get here but you know what that's so silly because if you go back to Game of Thrones,

which this book series was actually adapted from, Daenerys says she's going to break the wheel, proving that the wheel does exist, so I need you to kind of get it together on your sources. But that's not the North. That's the point. We do see the book character Ra's take a wagon south once war comes to the North. The book character? Get the fuck away from me i love you

so bran is done watching everything below him he asks to go back to the keep but lewin says his brother doesn't have time to see him but he doesn't want to go see his brother he wants to go to godswood so down they go bouncing in his basket he prefers to ride dancer but dancer can't go everywhere and hodor does seem to like it though he thinks it's always hard to tell. The only tricky part was doors. Sometimes Hodor forgot he had Bran on his back, and that could be painful when he went through a door. Especially an oak and iron door, you know, which could serve him well. Or, you know, help he's doomed and damned to hell.

Or, you know, how he's doomed and damned to hell. Maybe Hodor's not forgetting, and maybe he's exacting these micro-revenges against Bran because he knows Bran's going to break his brain later and make him hold the door. So every time he passes through a doorway, he unintentionally, intentionally bops Bran's head against the doorway. So, you know, just a little payback against the boy that ruined him. I support you, Hodor.

Go on your revenge tour. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Yeah, I mean, same. That's all. I mean, Bran will live, as we know. As we know. For almost a fortnight, men are

coming and going from the castle, and armored Karstark men cross the moat when Bran finally emerges from the tower. Hodor smiles, walking along them, and the riders give them odd looks. Some even laugh. He refused to let it trouble him. Men will look at you, Maester Luwin had warned him the first time they strapped the wicker basket around Hodor's chest. They will look and they will talk and some will mock you. Let them mock, Bran thought. No one mocked him in his bedchamber, but he would not

live his life in his bed. Yeah, Bran understands he could hide in his room, but what life is that? And I like that these are ideas that Bran himself are thinking, let them mock. You know, it is no life to be in my bedchamber, as opposed to someone telling him that, because he could very easily, when something bad happens to you, it is very natural to perhaps just sulk and you know isolate yourself and stay in your room um we all kind of dealt with that a little bit with uh covet and everything so like that is you know a very natural reaction but to see this eight-year-old boy be like no i need to be out there that's actually kind of a big dub for him like the fact that he's not giving up his hope life is full of possibility as someone once said and i like that he's embracing that yeah it's like he's embracing what tyrian

told john yeah right and a little bit of what tyrian imparted in him when he gave him the saddle and it also reminds me a bit of what brienne's master at arms sir goodwin says men will always underestimate you and their pride will make them want to vanquish you quickly lest it be said a woman tried them sorely he's not a woman but he's perceived in a similar area as women in some parts of this story i would say right like there's very much a similar space that they're embodying in that people will underestimate him but as we'll talk about soon he is going to become his own version of a knight of the mind, right? Something to not be underestimated. Yeah, anyone who doesn't fit into that like able-bodied male warrior imagery is immediately marginalized in this system, whether it's women or cripples, bastards and broken things as the parlance of this world would have you believe. So I think the relationship between Brienne and Bran beyond just the commonalities of

their names is really poignant here. I haven't even noticed the commonalities between their names somehow until now. But there's also something else there that I think kind of speaks to what Bran's story might be in the future, right? No one mocked him in his bedchamber, but he would not live his life in bed, right? You could live a life where you feed off of the experiences of others, you get to be a witness, you get to watch everything, but what is that life without experiencing it next to the people you love, right?

He learns that from Bloodraven of a brother I loved, a brother I hated, a woman I loved, that from Bloodraven of a brother I loved, a brother I hated, a woman I loved. And yet Bloodraven has lived, he has lived that he has survived underneath the ground all this time, but is that living his life? And it's not. And I think that might encourage Bran at some point

to be like, I cannot stay underneath this hill where yes, I will be safe, but what life is that? very much as you know I'm a big person of this theme of this whole like is it living if you're just depressed staring at a wall dissociating for 10 years I don't think so I don't think that's actually living your life it's actually also kind of funny because I feel like in brand three the crow that's in his mind as he's having his fever dream is kind of mocking him a little bit. So he was mocked in his bedchamber, but, you know,

did that even happen? Who even knows? That's how it goes, isn't it? Wow. Especially when it's like a fucking figment of your mind. Fucker, I hate me. Dreams do mock me a lot. Yeah.

I hate me. I hate my bitch ass. That was a bad feeling. How could I do this to me? So instead of staying and feeling insecure, Bran whistles loudly and Summer bounds on in. The Karstark men and their horses are unsettled. Some of them are rearing and kicking. Yeah, big money move.

And Bran reminds Hodor to take them to the Godswood. Yeah, I love Summer as a great equalizer, something Grey Wind will also be later on with the Great John. It makes the Stark children formidable regardless. And it also plays up with the fact that the Stark sisters don't have their wolves anymore. And that allows them to be in a position to be kind of, you know, pushed around a little bit on the chessboard. Yeah. Yes.

Yes. It's not nice that you remind me that Sansa doesn't have a wolf anymore. I got a worse one coming. I know you do. And I'm not happy about it, and I don't want to talk about it. Thanks. Foreshadowing. Winterfell itself is now very crowded. We have the sound of swords, wagons, barking dogs.

It's all afoot. And the armory is open with Micken at his forge, and we have this line of, Bran had never seen as many strangers in all his years, not even when King Robert had come to visit father he tried not to flinch as Hodor ducked through a low door yeah I'm gonna have to make a whole entire google sheet about this one now Manu because I'm like

wait a second there are just too many times where Hodor's like boom boom boom I don't know, I don't know about that I do have to comment that Micken is like shirtless and sweaty, not to be a thirsty cunt on the podcast or anything, but I mean, you know what? Good for you, Micken. I know it's hot in there while you're forging. Bet you look good. Bet you got those muscles going. I bet you're kicking ass on those swords. Hell yeah.

I also wonder if this right here with the bustling, how it's described, I bet we'll see it again come the long night. I think we'll probably see right before the long night and all of the battles to come, Wintertown and everything bustling and full once more because everything's like burnt down and dead and cold right now, as you all might know. back to life right in the very end game of thrones whoever rules winterfell in the end as a queen uh will probably be ruling with what why are you laughing will probably be ruling like with you know filling it with people and happiness especially considering most of their siblings might be gone far away because of trauma so they'll have to surround themselves with a whole new family. Their people. It's serving their people. Big sigh.

Yeah. Yeah. That's what I'm thinking, guys. I mean, they'll have to, right? It's not just good at something you do. Families. Families, where you make it. Oh, my God.

Home's where you make it? Home is... Where the heart is. ...where I'm with you. Oh. That, too. Bran is too high above summer to touch him which is a relatable move he's all like brand would have liked to touch him i'm like me with all dogs and they walk all along the same to the only peaceful place left he asked hodor to leave him to soak and the leaves of the weirwood brush

against him and then there he just vibes i also like that this is an island of peace in a sea of chaos for bran which it very much that's what the gods would is to sansa and king's landing too as a place of silence and place where they can they can have silence and privacy in the gods would even if there is no like say heart tree in king's landing for sunset to really pray to just the fact that it is a place of solitude a place that's not paid attention to by others and that's a great place for them to go and i also want to call out that brad pulls himself out of the basket so i assume he's doing a pull-up which is very good for lats and biceps if you are doing some kind of upper back arm training pull-ups are

definitely a good way to go i must say that me when you have no upper body strength so me and eliana have been exchanging fitness tips of late manu's gone jimin so i'm trying to uh uh impart my knowledge manu is jimin oh my god my God. I can't really do a great pull-up, so good on Bran. Manu will not be telling me how to do one. He knows better. This is, he just knows better, I think. You know, Eliana's moldable. Me, not so much.

Me, not so much. Old dog, no new tricks. I need things to, like, help pull, you know, like the, what is this called? I've had someone, like, help pull down, what is this called? I've had someone like pull down, what are these? Those huge rubber bands to like help ease some of the weight for that in practicing with that. But one day maybe I have a coworker who, I don't think he ever got to it.

I don't remember. His goal was to be able to do a muscle up. And that's kind of what this sounds like, you pull up and then you like push yourself up thusly i've never been able to try that just because i don't think you guys care about my gym equipment so i'll just stop right there fascinating fascinating is it a wicker basket is your gym it's not a wicker i do not have a crow's nest at my gym no i do not we need to get you one we need to get you one you know there's a great parallel going on right of tyrian just having ascended the eerie in a basket as well yeah so for those of

you tyrian next chapter believers interesting interesting that is interesting actually yeah that they're right next to one another he's going to another nest the what what is it fucking called whatever that fucking nest is called in the eerie my god okay so we have this quote across the godswood beneath the windows of the guest house an underground hot spring fed three small ponds steam rose from the water day and night and the wall that loomed above was thick with moss hodor hated cold water and would fight like a treed wildcat when threatened with soap. But he would happily immerse himself in the hottest pool and sit for hours, giving a loud burp to echo the spring whenever a bubble rose from the murky green depths to break upon the surface. Summer lapped at the water and settled down at Bran's side. He rubbed the wolf under the jaw, and for a moment, boy and beast both felt at peace.

Take them back. This is so unfair. This is like the very last happiness. Like, Hodor just burping. I left this literally. I put this quote in here just because I thought it was so fucking pure. Just them at the godswood. Hodor burping out in the air

at the bubbles from the water in summer at Bran's side being sweet. I bet there's bubbles of water all over the beardy snout of summer up close. Woof. I just do like how Bran and Summer are kind of as one together. They're both at peace and you can kind of

see they're not quite, you know, mind melding yet that comes near the end of the clash of kings but rather you can start seeing that where brand ends and summer begins is starting to blur a little bit yeah especially the second part of this passage is something really interesting like you can see that brand's becoming one with the godswood and that summer is also kind of melding into that because these are gifts from the old gods. It really does seem, doesn't it? And the second part of the passage is the gods

were looking over him. The old gods, gods of the Starks and the first men and the children of the forest, his father's gods. He felt safe in their sight and the deep silence of the trees helped him think. Bran had been thinking a lot since his fall me thinking and dreaming and talking with the gods please make it so rob won't go away he prayed

softly he moved his hand through the cold water sending ripples across the pool please make him stay or if he has to go bring him home safe with mother and father and the girls and make it make it so rick and understands it's so great that you know bran feels one with the gods or just that the gods are looking over him now and he no longer has fear of the heart tree because i think very early on he's like yeah that tree kind of gives me some creeps but now he's like ah yes my good old friend tree i just really like that and i also like that he mentions that they're the gods of the children of the forest as well um just because the children of the forest kind of inhabit this like fantastical space in our mind as these kind of like nymphish or elvish kind of creatures but to them they also have gods that

they worship to or some manifestation of something beyond this mortal life yeah the space they're inhabiting in his plot so far is so significant to me it really feels like it's i don't know it's just like the children are mentioned every couple pages it feels like in brand's plot and he really seems to believe in them whether he thinks they're real or not and whether he believes Lewin or not something in him tells him to believe and there's something about the weirwood scene here too that like it mirrors him watching his father pray in a dance with dragons right where his father is begging the tree begging the old gods and saying when his hair was brown, no gray in it,

his head bowed, let them grow up close as brothers with only love between them, and let my lady wife find it in her heart to forgive. And here he's begging, please make him stay, or if he has to go, bring him home safe with mother and father and the girls and make it so Rickon understands. And none of these things happen for bran the gods do not they're not good in this manner because mother and father haven't come home yet and the girls haven't come home and rick and rick and doesn't get the chance to understand osha takes him to skagos when will all this be fixed for me george george i would like to have all this should be fixed right because that's hurtful in my opinion this actually is a little bit hurtful a little bit of an attack on me and my character so hmm there's something that you're saying that's interesting

in regard to like he believes that the children of the forest exist even though everyone else is like no they're just a fairy tale and it comes down to that idea of faith and i think we've discussed this idea of faith a couple of times and how it manifests in different characters and i think it's especially important when it comes to characters like melisandre and erin right faith even when blindly especially right and for brin he's seeking something to believe but you talk about how the gods are not good and that's especially true of the old gods right and how can they be good if the old gods are just seers like a brand like the children of the forest who are in a sense like kind of human in in the way as well right how can they be good when as you said earlier good is not

something that you are it is something that you do rickon had been a winter storm very adorable very dramatic as we talk about this child since he learned that rob was going off to war he's refusing to eat he's crying sobbing uh screaming no punching old nan oh my god she tries to sink him to sleep he's wild he's like fucking feral he's feral he's very feral love it oh my god punching old nan god uh rick is good at something that you do don't punch old nan the next day he disappeared and later they find him in the crypts interesting with a rusted sword from a dead king's hand. Shaggy Dog comes out of the shadows like a green-eyed demon.

Shaggy is as wild as Rickon, and he tears a chunk of flesh from Mickon's thigh. He also bites Gage on the arm. Robin, Grey Wind, and Farland have to subdue him, and they chain Shaggy Dog in the kennels. And then Rickon cries even more because of that. Oh, yeah, so many thoughts about this. Hearing you say the Winter Storm makes me wonder if he's going to be like when he comes back in the winds of spring and is leading a cannibal army on unicorn back,

if his fame in battle will earn him the nickname the winter storm like the laughing storm from the Duncan Egg stories I think that's right I mean he goes to Skagos that's where the winter storms are is Skagos that's literally that's it like I think that's his thing Manu that is a badass name by the way if someone was named

winter storm even if they were three years old I would not want to fuck with them I wouldn't fuck with Rickon. I mean, look at Nick and Gage. They didn't even fuck with him, and look what happened. I just wouldn't even be near him. I'd say no thank you. Move over, Winter Soldier.

The Winterstorm is here. That's just for me. Thank you. I appreciate that. But there's a lot of setup that's happening here. We get stuff with hiding in the crypts, which is setting up later when bran will go down there to find shaggy dog and rickon and that'll also be you know shortly after or shortly before they find out about dead ned and there's also the bit about the old iron sword from a dead king which i don't know if george knew he'd be using that as evidence in

barbary dustin's sherlock holmes um but it is you know all these little details are you can really see george's gardening technique here where he's just like making details that he can use however he sees fit like much further down the road and because of you two i now pay attention every time black and green are mentioned specifically in conject in conjunction with each other um because the black of shaggy dog's fur and the green eyes, which I think you guys had noted in a previous Bran episode already. Because of House of the Dragon and Fire and Blood, the blacks and the greens are going to be something that stick out to me. But also the similarity to the Lannisters because Jaime and Cersei are described as having green eyes. So what's haunting Bran?

You know, because he had that whole traumatic fall thing, you might have heard of it. He was pushed out by someone who definitely was not Jaime Lannister, because Jaime Lannister has never done anything wrong. But the Lannisters have green eyes. So it's weird that there's the shadow, a green eyed demon that's kind of haunting the crypts of Winterfell, because it kind of also haunts Bran a little bit. Y'all gotta see Chloe's face. I'm sorry that none of you can see Chloe's reactions to when Manu speaks about Jamie Lannister having done nothing wrong.

Definitely an interesting take. Excited to have diverse opinions on Girls Gone Canon every week. It brings me joy. Thanks, Manu. You're welcome. No, I do like that because... That was all like that because I do like it because it reminds me of the burning embers in the previous vision of the lions, the demon lion that they see. It just reminds you of the burning embers of their eyes in a way.

But the black and green does very much strongly remind me of the Blackwater, right? The black of night versus the Green of the Wildfire, which is strongly connected to Davos. And of course, Rickon's possible future with Davos. And when you bring the Black and Green into it, Eliana and I have briefly discussed before that there is a possibility, while I do think that Davos will leave Rickon on Skagos

to keep him out of the fighting for the time being, that bringing him back would just be doing an Edric storm disservice, right? He does not believe in that, but there's something Alan Velaryon about Bran becoming an unlikely king, right? Becoming a very unlikely king of Westeros and his long lost brother, Rickon,

who was spirited away to save his life in the middle of the war, a war where two sides were warring over disputed claims for the throne with his black and green puppy, is brought back by the oaken fist of the story, Davos, the seafarer of the story, brings him back home to King Bran, and there's a happy reunion. I don't know.

I just think it's connected. I think George's plots, his plans, his schemes. Yeah, absolutely. That was mind-blowing-blowing i remember when we discussed that never forget i'll never forget we love the dance we're gonna dance forever four more years of the dance god damn it oh my god lewin tried to get rob to stay at Winterfell. Bran too, but Rob says that he has to. Someone has to go hold the neck, whoa, and help the Tullys. But Bran doesn't understand why it has to be Rob.

He's like, how Mullen? Even Theon. Anyone could literally hold it for him, but Rob will not listen. My lord father would never have sent men off to die while he huddled like a craven between the walls of Winterfell, he said, all Rob the lord. Rob seemed half a stranger to Bran now, transformed, a lord in truth, though he had not yet seen his sixteenth name day. Even their father's bannermen seemed to sense it many tried to test him each in his own way i have a stranger uh half dad it's funny rob being like yeah my dad ned stark would never

send people to go fight in his stead and i'm just like staring at ned two chapters ago sending barak don darian and thoros and other people chasing after the mountain in this exact same like fighting scenario his own men too his winterfell men sending them away like interesting thought rob as i watch these people go off my father the inventor of the toaster strudel would not send men off to die for him but all the toaster strudels gone just gone dead the toaster strudel is fighting the war to be fair to ned he has a bad leg which you know brand can relate to that so there is that but i like it's always funny coming back to these a game of thrones chapters and when they're like oh he could have sent theon to do it and i do like that michael bluth him

like because you just know what kind of piece of shit he's going to be later on in the later books that he'll hopefully come back from. But it's still funny to think of Rob just, hey, Theon, you go hold the neck and thinking about what a disaster that could have been. Theon's going to do more than hold it.

Yeah, we let Theon near the neck once. Never again. Never again. Never again. His men ask for command of battle in each of their own ways. Roose Bolton and Robert Glover and Mage Mormont all kind of hint, you know, listen, you green boy, you need us. Mage Mormont even says he's young enough to be her grandson and that she won't take his commands, though she did offer her granddaughter to marry him. Lord Kerwin also brought a daughter with him, Janelle, in hopes of foisting her onto Robb. Lord Hornwood brought gifts instead of daughters,

venison, hunting horns. He asked for nothing in return except for a very certain holdfast that had been taken from his father, and hunting rights in a new area and leave to go damn the white knife yeah it's a big give or take that you see it's like some lords here are seeing what they can take or like how much rob can take himself like if they push him they try to be super weird with him like i assume ruse bolton is doing or you know what they can possibly give him like say a daughter you know he's, here, I have a lady, you're a man. You know what happens here. You guys can do a thing and this will help solidify, say, Lord Serwin's ties to the North and their power and station. So because Rob has taken on

this role as leader, as Lord of Winterfell, that also means other people are going to come for him in different ways whether for something or to try and get into his good graces it's interesting because you think like politics and how you're not allowed to take bribes and all this is is people just voicing bribes in his face and he's like i have to choose the most advantageous one for us to win the war ha ha ha ha ha ha uh it's a lot but he do well. He gives them all very cool courtesy and he ends up bending them to his will, each and every one of them-ish. Yeah, think of Donald Noy's comments about Stannis and Renly and Robert, who bends, who breaks, but in this case, it's Rob doing the

bending and not him actually bending or breaking himself. Yeah, that's great. It's very much Smith language because he's forging an alliance, right? It's not unlike forging a sword. You have to temper it. You have to heat it up as we see what happens with Glover. You have to heat it up and cool it and temper it and bend it and shape it until it's the perfect team of leaders. Yeah. You got to bop it, twist it, pull it. bend it and shape it until it's the perfect team of leaders yeah you gotta bop it twist it

pull it until it's the perfect team pass it but it actually does like remind me of something that you were actually saying earlier this episode in terms of how rob is learning and getting to know each of the men in his party right like each of the leaders and their force can tailor his approach to each one of them he's speed dating yes he is but he's doing it he's doing a fantastic job yeah lord umber the great john threatens to take his forces home if placed behind the hornwoods or kernwoods and rob tells him he can do so then and when we are done with the Lannisters, he promised, scratching Greywyn behind the ear, we will march back north, root you out of your keep, and hang you for an oathbreaker.

Cursing, the Great Jon flung a flagon of ale into the fire and bellowed that Rob was so green he must piss grass. I'm sure all 16-year-old boys have a deep voice like I do, so that's great. It was perfect. Can you add a couple cracks for the next part?

Please channel 16-year-old Manu. Oh my god. Hal Mullen moves to restrain him, but he's too fast and strong, unsheathing a giant, ugly greatsword. It makes no matter because Grey Wind is on him within moments, tearing off two of his fingers at Rob's quiet word. on him within moments, tearing off two of his fingers at Rob's quiet word. My lord father taught me that it was death to bear steel against your liege lord, Rob said, but doubtless you only meant to cut my meat. Bran's bowels went to water as the great john struggled to rise, sucking at the red stumps of fingers. But then, astonishingly, the huge man laughed. Your meat, he he roared is bloody tough and somehow after that

the great john became rob's right hand his staunchest champion loudly telling all and sundry that the boy lord was a stark after all and they damn well better bend their knees if they didn't fancy having them chewed off. Damn right. Sexy. Great John's basically demanding to lead or he's going to take his ball and go home. I really love that energy for him. And I also like that he has,

they describe his sword as being the biggest and ugliest one. I feel like there's a lot of personality that you get about the Great John just by knowing he has the biggest and ugliest sword you've ever seen and i also like the fact that you know great john after this becomes rob's like bestie like he's he's the guy he's the guy he wants beside him and i even like call out that line damn well better bend their knees um i don't know how common it is to bend your knees to your lord but that is a little hint at the coronation that's going to come for King Rob at the end of this book. Oh, wow. Yeah, actually, that really is what happens at the end of this book.

Absolutely. And there's something that's going on here with, you know, we're talking about the way that Rob is learning and tailoring his approaches to all the people that he that he rules. Right. And it gives us, again, insight into the northern culture right like we talk about knighthood and we act like the southern people are like much more or much less egalitarian right than than the northerners but here you're really contextualizing the hyper masculinity of northern culture and the way that respect is is one right it is It is fought for in this culture and it's done through physical power

and it sets the stage for why people whisper the way they do about Bran and how they would rather die than be disabled like Bran is later on. And yeah, I mean, it's not just the Lannisters who say stuff like that. It's not just Robert. Yeah, because the North is a brutal environment, right? Like they have to rise above, they have to meet it. Only the strong survive. They don't have tourneys here, they have melees, right? They have melees where they crunch your face in against the ice with weaponry. Like it's a little brutal.

It seems unnecessary. Like, it's a little brutal. Unnecessary. Unnecessary. And the Great John proves himself by bleeding for the cause immediately, right? He steps up. He bleeds for the cause. He allows his lord to remove fingers.

Wow. Wait a second. Does that remind you of anyone else we've talked about today? Maybe of Davos? And there's also an element of how the crows are arriving. Whether they're with him or against him, they're all surrounding Rob to see what happens. Whether they throw in with him or not. And this won the Great John over.

So the idea that the Great John is already saying, yeah, y'all better bend the knee. I mean, this is only going in one direction. They're literally about to kill the Lord of Winterfell. That's fucking war. They killed Lord Uttered. That's war. God damn it. I too would lose some fingers if itdard. That's war. God damn it.

I too would lose some fingers if it was Robb Stark's wolf. Not if it was Stannis, but... Robb Stark's wolf, yeah. I'd look at Grey Wind in the eye and be like, it's alright. Go for it. You can have him, bud. He real cute. He's fluffy. If Stannis was just fluffier,

maybe I'd say yes. Whoa, don't... Just because Stannis is losing hair doesn't mean that we can't pledge. So do you think this is a random thought? Because I also got a similar vibe. Do you think that Davos was gardened out of Greyjohn? He was a version of Greyjohn. That's interesting. Funny, because I actually, as we were reading this, it made me think that Rojar Baratheon might have been born out of the Great John in a couple ways too.

That's interesting too. Yeah, as far as losing the hand and the attitude and the blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But yeah, maybe. I don't know. I feel like Davos, he doesn't have quite the same elements, but he does have the honesty, right? The honesty in what he tells his king. I like that. I think that's good.

And you can see when George is kind of spinning the wheels, like, who am I going to have eyes on Stannis? Who am I going to have eyes on this king? It's like, well, I kind of have a proto character who's kind of besties with the king already and fiercely loyal. Maybe I can use some of his characterization or just some of the ideas I had in coming up with the Great John and move them over to Davos. Smuggle them over to Davos even. That night, Rob comes to Bran's bedchamber and he's pale and shaken and is like, holy shit,

I thought that I was going to get murdered by the Great John today. And that wasn't even the worst of it, he says. He's like, Bruce is horrible. He has the dread fort where they skin their enemies. And Bran's like, that's just what old Nan says, rep. Settle down. You're just believing in ghost stories now, brother. I do like how Bolton just never says a word.

He only looks. They're really setting up like the creepiness of Bruce Bolton here, even though we don't really get to meet him properly until a later Catlin chapter. Yeah, you don't get a real look at him. And I think that's very smart how George brings about him and infamy of his house and of his style and everything. I love that.

It's a great scene, right? Like the Lord's face. We hear that starting to crop up in Rob's story and now how he's trying to act like he knows what he's doing, right? No one knows what they're doing. That's a secret. That's a secret that the kids don't know, right?

Like it doesn't matter how much older you get when it comes to like leadership, et cetera, and all these things. No one knows what they're fucking doing, my opinion so rob mentions to brand that lord kirwin plans to bring his daughter south to cook for them and that theon says uh you're gonna find that girl in your bed at some point randomly and brand understands none of this yeah i found this a little funny because he later tells Osha that he totally gets fucking. He's seen horses and dogs do it.

So clearly he. It's exactly the same. But this also reminds me of Pia from the Jaime chapters. You know, she was sent to warm Jaime's bed. And, you know, Jaime being a truant noble knight did not take her and just made her, you know, gave her a job because he's a job creator. That's really what they know Jamie Lannister for. When they go, when he walks past them, people say behind their breasts, job creator.

This podcast is getting questionable as we continue on. Jamie Lannister, more like Jamie Bezos. Oh. I mean, it's also what actually happens to Rob is jane right like jane happens to him he ends up with jane in his bed out of grief so there's the idea of her as a honeypot right whether she obviously did not know that we learn or not like she's kind of a little bit of a honeypot and ends up in his bed and he does take that bait. But there is something about Bran's coming of age here and sexuality that's displayed throughout the entire chapter. Right. Like knowing what sex is and the action of it and seeing dogs fuck or horses fuck is one thing.

But understanding what sex is, is a very different thing. It's not dissimilar to being immersed in magic versus the stories of the children and then understanding who the children of the forest are and what happened to them. The songs being real versus later being real in a much different way. And he probably sees sex as very mechanical, methodical. He doesn't understand a deeper union of two bodies, much like making magic requires a little bit more of your soul than that. There's also something sticking out here about Bran kind of lacking any formal direction for the rest of his life, basically from a parent figure. And children with disabilities

developmentally require different attention for emotional health and development and physical development and education, right? Like sexually, preteens and teenagers with disabilities and healthcare needs are less likely to receive accurate info about sexuality, more likely to be victims of sexual assault than a person without a disability or special healthcare needs like four to six times the violence, and more likely to be assaulted by someone they know well. We have seen Bran be physically assaulted in the last chapter already. There is this notion that people with disabilities, whether physical or mental, are not sexual. They're infantilized by able-bodied people, sometimes out of ignorance, right? Rather than

just out of pure hate. They are seen as being dependent and childlike and thus not sexy, which is false, right? Because young people, old people, regardless of age and gender, are capable of being sexual beings and having consensual sexual interactions and desires. All humans need affection, intimacy, and companionship to thrive.

The reality is that disabled people have to diversify their experience to be able to have a more fulfilling sexual experience many times, which isn't unlike some of this accessibility that we've been talking about with the horse saddle, for example, or Lewin figuring out a way outside the box, like the basket. It's not dissimilar in sex terms, too. Sometimes you have to think outside of the box in order to gain that pleasure. And I don't know, the repression of this can be the exact opposite, right? Like hypersexuality due to the fear you wouldn't be wanted due to societal discomfort or also, I mean, unhealthy sexual relationships.

And most people have this like view of able-bodied that they just don't realize a lot of people have this kind of view that it's an eternal child, someone with a physical disability, especially, you just immediately erase them from your mind as being some sort of sexual being. And it's a demeaning view that kind of ignores the need to acknowledge a young person's sexuality and denies their full humanity. And some of the best support that a child can get to be able to handle these things mentally, emotionally, physically as they grow is to figure out puberty, right, without the use of their legs, for example, is getting personal boundaries and consent, having a trusted adult, and somebody nearby that will help listen to

what's happening to them and believe them no matter what and help support them. And Bran won't have this. He won't have any of this guidance. I mean, it's funny, I was talking with my roommate, you know, that man I live with, Emmett Porquinton, and he and I were talking about how like Tyrion would be probably the most sexual person with some sort of disability and disadvantage in life that can maybelates with some of his personal issues and boundaries. And we see through him, there's resentment, there's deep seated issues that he doesn't even understand he has. And Bran will have that same issue, right? Like, your sex organs and your performance do not dictate who you sexually are as a being

or what you can get passion from. And we also see that he doesn't learn consent necessarily we see you know in the middle of war but he's trying to get to the cave in the middle of northern war ice war he's trying to get to the cave get to the raven and in the middle of battle he's like thinking about what if i told mira i loved her that would be a cool idea um and it's not like a bad thing, but then you see him crossing the boundaries with Hodor. You see the lines of consent being erased with some of his new powers. He's never understood what those healthy boundaries mean in this manner. Yeah, it's like going back to what we were saying earlier about Jon and Bran and all these Stark sons having their mentor figures, but we can see the differences in where their age perhaps may affect what they've learned and where they are and what learnings are incomplete.

And Bran clearly would not have some of the knowledge about what it means to have consent, you know, that maybe Lord Eddard had already taught Rob and John because they are a little bit older and girls were definitely probably noticing them already. We have to see him like without that kind of guidance. And, you know, that is something that you rightfully point out. People with disabilities are often not treated as adults and not, you know, taught in the same ways and the same modes at the same time as able-bodied people are because we infantilize them because we think because they are disabled, they are incapable of being a fully formed human or an adult with, you know, thoughts, actions, desires,

all that kind of stuff. Absolutely. I think I think you've given like a fantastic breakdown on how this is affecting brand storyline now and what it'll mean for him later on and the the intricacies of when it happens at an age before someone is taught right like taught sexual education right or like, given that sort of rite of passage of getting that talk, because as you said, they're infantilized. And that also has a little bit to do with that emasculation that's happening in terms of his body when he can't fulfill certain quote-unquote duties. And it also, I think, overlaps really interestingly, therefore, with Tyrion's storyline, because Tyrion's storyline is very much about, it's very sexual, and there's this

essay from Charles Lambert called A Tender Spot in My Heart, Disability in a Song of Ice and Fire, that was originally published in i think i'm gonna have to remember the name of this uh collection of essays but it is called critic one of the terms here is critical quarterly in this essay lambert talks actually about the way that dwarfs are portrayed in lord of the rings menu i've heard i've heard of her um specifically how the dwarfs uh sexuality is sort of played for laughs right um lambert has this quote in this essay that i think is is really interesting and i mean theon's body as well when it comes to sexuality, but of dwarfs being this sort of like illegitimate body.

And Lambert quotes Bruno Bettelheim and says, in his psychoanalytic examination of classic storyline, dwarfs, these diminutive men, have different connotations in various fairy tales. Among the qualities he ascribes to them are their industriousness as minors in a potentially disruptive but emotionally unrealized sexuality. And also Lambert talks about how Gimli is combative, jealous of his reputation, constantly alert to potential offense, a brave fighter and worthy companion, but he is nonetheless denied romantic entanglement. His infatuation with Galadriel

embarrasses them both. He is a half-man in more ways than one. And Tyrion is someone who is looking for acceptance in a way, trying to reassert his masculinity, especially in book five through avenues of power, right? Exerting power over female bodies through his sexuality, right? So I think that's really interesting. And he's someone who also ends up by his own parents, by his own father, sexually abused. Even though, you know, the sexual abuse of Taisha, the rape of Taisha is even worse. But also you brought up how Bran ends up violating the boundaries of Hodor, right?

Hodor, who is also disabled, who is mentally disabled. And that speaks to how a lot of people who are disabled, both physically, but also especially mentally, are sexually abused a lot of the time as well. But it also makes me think of like, you know, people are, even nowadays, like this conversation doesn't happen that often in media. Like, I think that I in media like i think that i'm not like making fun by bringing this up but like i think one of my first uh

touch points on this was like when de grazie brought up jimmy having sexual relations and they're like how do we do this but jimmy obviously still had desire right jimmy was someone for whom that was like a big part of his personality before like how do we navigate this now i think we all want to be recognized as sexual beings or people who have desires and needs that need to be fulfilled in the tyrian chapter me and chloe's roommate are going to talk about um we get we get the scene where tyrian was going to tell shay about uh his betrothal to sansa and and shay's just like oh Oh my god. just wanted someone to just legitimately just want him and not want to share him with everyone else and he's just like no the only desire i get is when i pay for people to desire me and that you know leaves him stunted in his own way yeah there's no growth there and i hope that brand can overcome some of that hope we can get him some pause sex positive figures in his life for him to understand, to accept himself.

Cause it is, yeah, it's, it does feel dismal, you know, like it just is like a dismal feeling to, to feel like you're never going to be wanted in that. I mean,

I don't know that abandonment, those abandonment feelings of just being left behind for things. It's unfair. I would wait for you, Bran. I'm waiting for you right now. Right here. Look under your chair. It's Bran Stark and the wind's a winner.

Oh my god. I am waiting for that, actually. Someday I'm going to make the joke, but it's going to be real and all of us will literally have the book under our chair. I can't wait. I promise to you. Promise me, Eliana. Promises are also made in this chapter

and they are not fulfilled. Bran wishes that their father was here. They all do. And the worst part is no one actually knows where he is. Is he a prisoner? Has he escaped? Has he been killed? The rumors are flying everywhere that he

fled south with the wicked brother rently robert was dead at ned's hands the baratheon sieged king's landing not yet aria and sanza were murdered by the hound mother had killed the imp tywin was burning and slaughtering the riverlands that one's true that one's that's true yeah my my favorite uh rumor was the fact that ned stark was a hunted fugitive like dr richard kimball from the goaded movie you may know as the fugitive the fugitive which is my personal favorite movie of all time and you know i like the mix of truth and fiction here as you pointed out like taiwan is burning and slaughtering the riverlands but ari and sansa are not murdered by the hound in fact it is sandor cligain who comes to their aid over the next couple

of books and saves them from much worse fates i didn't kill my wife i don't care it's a lot like old nan stories yeah actually a little bit find the truth or mushroom oh yeah it's just it's just gossip it's all just gossip but like with time in between it Yeah, actually, a little bit. Find the truth. Or mushroom. Mushroom. It's just gossip. It's all just gossip, but with time in between it. XOXO. One wine-soaked man even claims Rhaegar returned from the dead. Hmm.

That's interesting. That's a very interesting one. Were you thinking of something, George? Like an Aegon early on or a daenerys thought marshalling an ancient host of heroes on dragonstone to reclaim his father's throne just a few books early almost true oh now i like to think that stannis dyed his hair blonde and is like no i'm stannis baratheon or sorry i'm reygar tarhaegar Targaryen. I've been Rhaegar Targaryen this whole time. Look at me. I'm the last dragon. Yadda yadda yadda.

I have rubies. Yadda yadda yadda. I'm Rhaegar. Oh my god. Nice try. You're his second son, Stannis. Just like Branul. Oh shit. Just like Branul. Branul.

So, that makes it all the worse when they get a letter from Sansa and King's Landing this week, which says that their father conspired a treason with the King's brothers and Robert is dead. Rob and mother must come to King's Landing to swear fealty and that father's life will be spared when she marries Joffrey. Rob is upset because he's like, there isn't even word of aria yeah brain reads between the lines a tiny bit right not a ton but he he feels something is off with the letter she lost her wolf he said weakly remembering the day when four of his father's guardsmen had returned from the south with lady's bones summer and gray wind and Shaggydog had begun to howl before they crossed the drawbridge, in voices drawn and desolate. Beneath the shadow of

the first keep there was an ancient lichyard, its headstones spotted with the pale lichen where old kings of winter had laid their faithful servants. It was there they buried lady, while her brothers stalked between the graves like restless shadows. She had gone south and only her bones had returned. If the others reanimate the dead at Winterfell, does it include the Lichyard? And does that mean we can possibly see a zombie skeleton Lady? I mean, it is Halloween season, so, you know, it is okay for me to say this. I will not be murdered for saying this on air. And then will that wolf eat you?

That's what he thinks. That's so cute that he thinks that. Will that wolf eat you? What if Lady does come back as a zombie, but she goes and kills the other zombies instead? She's like the uber dire wolf because you can't kill her. She's already dead, so she can just keep going, fighting. What if Sansa rules with a dead

direwolf by her side that would be creepy that would be pretty metal I don't know, whatever, all I can say is that that Lannister woman will never have that skin, you know what I mean never, motherfuckers damn, so fucked up

at least she got to come home, no one else does shit no bones about it Damn. So fucked up. At least she got to come home. No one else does. Shit. No bones about it. That's kind of true. That is true. I mean, Lady Stoneheart's bones might make it there one day. She's going to bring her ass up there herself. Yeah, probably. Maybe not. I don't know.

We'll see. We'll see. Who knows? Who knows? Hopefully Arya brings him home. Hopefully someone brings him home. Bring home their bones. Lay them to rest together Hopefully Arya brings him home. Hopefully someone brings him home. Bring home their bones. Lay them to rest together. No one brings her home. Get it? The Stark's grandfather, Rickard, and Uncle Brandon had gone south as well, and none returned.

Now Father, Arya, Sansa, Jory, Holin, Fat Tom, and the rest were gone, and Mother and Roderick, too. And now, Robb was leaving. Not to King's Landing, to swear fealty, but to Riverrun with a sword in his hand. And if Father was really a prisoner, that could mean his death. Haha, Bran was frightened. In the Godswood, Bran prays, asking them to watch over him, his men, Lady Mormont, and all the rest. Even Theonon he supposed he asks the gods to help them defeat the lannisters save father and bring them home lol theon i just like yeah i guess we'll save theon too i mean that's what's so bittersweet

is that even now you know he still would he'd. He'd say, yeah, I mean, I agree. Him and the leaves later to Theon murmuring his name. Forgiveness. Can you imagine? Yeah, I don't think I know this song. Oh, my God. The wind rustles through the leaves. It's the winds of winter.

Here they are. And a voice interrupts him. It's Osha asking, do you hear them child she stands at her irons beneath an ancient oak moving quiet as a cat and summer circles sniffing at her bran calls summer back and asks what she's doing who responds they are my gods too beyond the wall they are the only gods. You folks might not know, but Metal Gear Solid is a stealth-based action game. I'm very impressed with Osha moving in complete silence, even in chains.

That is European extreme level because for some reason, the hardest difficulty level in several Metal Gear games is called European extreme. Osha is probably just level in several Metal Gear games is called European Extreme. So Osha is probably just really good at Metal Gear Solid. Quiet as a cat. Not unlike Arya's lessons. Gage lets me have my prayers from time to time

when I feel the need, and I let him do as he likes under my skirt when he feels the need. It's nothing to me. I like the smell of flour on his hands and he's gentler than stiv it's an interesting line right i guess it speaks to survival yeah i mean she's got to do what she has to do to stay alive at winterfell as a prisoner not unlike sansa who sent this letter saying you know oh i marry joffrey and things will be great

when i marry him so come swear fealty. And it's not because it turns out maybe I'm a prisoner and I don't even realize it yet. But like, Osha knows she's a prisoner. She knows exactly the game. She knows what she has to do to stay alive. She's been a prisoner before. Yeah, there's obviously the power dynamic. Like, she's a prisoner, so she's essentially kind of getting raped here because, you know, she's a prisoner and

she can't really deny it. But she at least it seems she has a mature sense of her own sexuality and the way things are. And she's not able or she's, you know, kind of able to just take it in stride. I don't want to put it in any way where it's like, oh, this is empowering of her to take it. But she's just able to make it work with how she knows how men are. And I wonder if some of that just comes from having

a somewhat more open mind about sexuality that comes from being from the free folk as opposed to the kind of patriarchy that's more enforced in the Westerosi kingdoms proper. I know like on one hand on a meta level, it's George kind of playing it for shock value right i mean he's about that but also it's interesting that you know as we speak about bran and what he does and doesn't know about sexuality like this doesn't alarm him bran could do something about this but he doesn't because he

doesn't really understand i guess that's my assumption yeah she uses euphemism i mean it's not something that he would directly i mean the reason why he understands the horses and the dogs fucking is because it's blatant and they're humping one another and he's like you what are they doing what the fuck does that mean like it's not because he understands what it means yeah osha says that she'll leave him she'll'll leave Bran to himself, but Bran tells her to stay and he commands her to tell him about hearing the gods. And I do find this interesting, like I've noticed throughout this chapter and even the previous one, that Bran almost never says please to most people. And the wording here even makes it clear that he says that he commanded

her. He doesn't say please at all to Hodor right and even like has Hodor he like tells her go play in the pools right there's a lot of just commanding that he does not and I don't mean that in like a good way I mean that in a like learn your fucking manners Bran a little bratty

Bran is cancelled Bran is cancelled more like Branty I don't know uh i was going with that poor brand for brand that's all i had osha tells brand to open his ears and listen he calls it wind but she asks who sends the wind if not the gods there's a line here where brandon's thinking on osha's imprisonment it says micken had fixed iron manacles to her ankles with a heavy chain between them she could There's a line here where Bran is thinking on Osha's imprisonment. It says, And Bran noticing Osha's chains in the context of him really thinking about his body in this chapter,

it really shows how he kind of maybe envisions himself as a prisoner, right? Especially because the activities he thinks of in regards to Osha's chaining aren't really ones that she's necessarily interested in. They're the ones that he wants to do, like, as stated in these chapters, running, climbing, and mounting a horse. Osha says that the gods see Bran. They hear him, and they're talking back and they're sad she says his lord brother won't get any help from the old gods because he's going south where they have no

power since they were all cut down how can they watch rob without eyes yeah i love how the old gods are very naturalist naturalistic earthly religion almost pagan in nature it stands in contrast to how lewin described the knights who are anointed in oils and stand vigil and accept and something that's very man-made and ceremonious whereas this is all stuff that flows from nature yeah their rituals are much more to do with the world and the parts of it that feed them and nourish them and that they nourish in return yes absolutely so brand hadn't thought of that and now he despairs he tries to listen again thinking maybe he can hear the sadness now but nothing more the rustling grows louder until

oh it's not the wind it's hodor swinging uh naked and swinging his dick and stumbling out of the trees, grinning. He's also covered in thick brown hair. Again. A bear, a bear. All covered in hair. Interesting. Literally. Literally, though.

I like that George is like, let me be perfectly clear here. Hodor's got a huge fucking dick. There is no mincing words about it. I don't know why i presented it like obama would say it but um you know is it because you're from chicago i guess yeah you know one of the many things me and uh former president barack obama have in common are being from chicago uh i have to have you know that your podcast co-host emmet of not Nauticast Podcast S-Y-A-F. Literally when I told him what I was doing

this episode with you actually all day today too, he's like, oh, the one with Hodor's dick. That's all he could say all day. I'm glad you two are aligned about Hodor's big dick. All day he was just like, yeah, that thing's huge. Big ass dick. Love it. Love that for him.

I actually really love the way he is described as like having giant's blood in him. Osha actually says he has giant's blood in him or I'm the queen, which we do know he comes from Dunk's big ass line. So I want to say I want to say it's Mia from a clash of critics also talks about, you know, the way that Hodor's sexuality as well right when it's discussed in the context of disability etc like is played for laughs right and that his body becomes like a punch line in all of this yeah i mean he probably does have giant's blood in him but i also like the idea of queen osha i like the idea of her being a queen yeah that's it that's all

I actually do love this as an answer to like throughout the entire chapter us talking about Bran's sexuality and as a child how he'll be stunted in that but here you have Hodor who's out here cock out no shame just rocking out with his cock out hanging out

that's kind of nice right like everyone should just get fucking naked at the godswood this rocks that's good this is good he feels comfortable yeah let's go skinny dipping in that pool at the god see ya you know but it's probably a thing it's probably what sarah snow and jacaris valari and targaryen got up to now that i say it out loud i thought you were gonna say that's what net and catelyn do and i was like interesting that too that is an exhibitionist also at like 10 p.m you know like the hour of the owl not even like of the wolf like they go early they want everyone to see it as you said absolutely bran responds that well actually all the giants died maester lewin said so and osha's like lewin should go be on the wall he'd simply look around and see them she says her

older brother actually killed one and it was 10 foot tall and that one was stunted. And she talks about how they mate, that the woman can mate with men, but the men cannot mate with women because they murder the fuck out of women when they mate with them. They were known to grow up to 13 feet, hairy, ferocious, teeth, bearded. The woman would take the human men for lovers. The woman would take the human men for lovers. So I thought that was actually interesting, this story, because of that, like, way that the giants are described as this androgynous, like, I guess, race or like the ambiguity when it comes to giants and their gender and their sex, right? We don't really get much in terms of, like, gender roles. So maybe we could assume that it is a little more egalitarian. And it's interesting because if Hodor has Giants' blood and is maybe a descendant of Dunk, well, we know that Brienne

is a descendant of Dunk. And in the context of Brienne's storyline of how Brienne also and in the context of Brienne's storyline of how Brienne also straddles that line of people cannot tell if Brienne is a man or a woman but it also plays into that idea again, that concept of whether

the emasculation of disabled boys and men and how they end up going between the gender spheres as we see of the way that Laurie's clubfoot is also portrayed in House of the Dragon, which is actually based on books. Oh my god, literally based on the book. That's a great call-out.

Osha grins at Bran, saying he probably doesn't know what she's talking about with the whole sex thing, but he insists he does. He's seen the dog's mate in the yard, but talking about it does make him uncomfortable, as we kind of mentioned before. He then commands Hodor to go dress, disguising that whole entire bit on sex. And then Osha tells Bran that there are giants

and worse beyond the wall, that she tried to tell Rob and Greyjoy and the maester when they questioned her, but refused to listen. The cold winds are rising, and men go out from their fires and never come back. Or if they do, they're not men no more, but only whites with blue eyes and cold black hands. Sometimes blue intestines, Eliana. I like that she calls Theon that smiley boy Greyjoy.

Just another low-key Nagant Theon this chapter, but also his horse is going to be named Smiler, so there's a little thing there. And I was just thinking, and I don't know if this is actually anything, but of the Dany lines about to go north, you must journey south, and I'm trying to think about how the bigger battle is to the north,

but everyone in Winterfell is essentially heading south away from the war. I love that because you see it with Stannis too, right? That Stannis Lake chooses to go north in order to then go south. He realizes that is the key through what Melisandre sees even. So that's really interesting. This is kind of a shared thought across all three. Interesting. This is kind of explain exactly what there was or some details that help us understand the world better but in the moment would you know the mystery helps the tension

and the horror of john's white attack yeah it's like reinforcing what you just learned like showing you by the way that was real what she's saying is true yeah and also in the context of like within this, then Osha becomes something of a sort of refugee and it speaks to her situation with Gage. I don't know. Maybe it doesn't speak to it, but it is true that a lot of refugees, especially refugee women, are then forced to unwillingly participate in sex slavery, right or or sex work yeah so osha asks why bran thinks that she came south with the others not those others them the other others who are dead she goes on that oh you know that came beyond the wall he thinks he'll fight but he's just quotes another old black crow who flew down from the shadow tower. He's never tasted winter. I like that she refers to Vance as a brave, sweet, stubborn man.

Osha actually thinks on him with some real affection. Yeah, especially because we really get to look into him and see, we do see some of his shortcomings in some ways, but we also see him, I mean, I think he comes off as very heroic and a really great character to get behind as kind of an anti-hero and someone you actually kind of want to root for right you're like yeah this also it's my mentality as we've discussed tonight like yeah living you're right man so we should all live below the wall and have a life worth living instead of running and dying all the time against these zombies but i also like that she kind of implies she thinks he's kind of naive and dumb,

too. Like straight up, she says, he's never tasted winter, which just means bless your heart in Northerner, I think. I think that's what she's saying. She's saying bless your heart, basically about him. And I think that's a great way to look at some of those shortcomings, too. Like, obviously, he's very much willing to sacrifice for the cause as we find out with the switch later. And I mean, he didn't do much sacrificing, but you know, to do a little switcheroo, switch the babs, switch the bods, make it happen,

do some shit for Stannis just to secure his race. That also says a lot that she's not seeing that her culture, he is going to make some sacrifices to preserve their culture in the future, which is that's, that's something maybe she doesn't realize yet, and they haven't been pushed to that yet, as the assault on the wall is to come. Very true. Osha was born up there, though, like her mother,

and her mother, and her mother before, born of the free folk, and they remember. Yeah, I do like that we find out that OSHA is a multi-generation wildling, just as someone who my family, you know, they immigrated here and I'm first generation. And then, you know, talking to other people whose families have been here for hundreds or longer, I guess just hundreds of years, anyone's been here longer, they're probably indigenous. No, it is just kind of interesting because that is something is like, oh, are you first generation? Are you second generation? Did you, you know, were you born in India? That is something that anyone who's an immigrant or is part of the diaspora, these are the questions they kind of face. And that often puts into question their identity. Like, oh, are you really Indian? Are you American? And Osha, she's wildling through and through.

She's wildling through and through. Yeah, it is interesting also because she's talking about it, of course, in the context of Mance, who's suddenly leading them, right? They're letting this guy who just fucking came in lead them. And what does he truly know, I guess, of their culture is kind of what they're asking. And at the same time, it's also like, not that many people immigrate north of the wall when i think about it um so it's kind of funny but something else that stands out to me here is how osha describes it right she

in in west rose they'd be like son of or daughter of x x like dude right but she says from her mother and her mother and her mother before that, and it's matrilineally followed. I love that. I love that every direction on Westeros, like creeping into Westeros, points towards letting matrilineal be an option. We love to see it. You kind of wonder if Sansa will be queen in the north at the end, and if a bunch of wildlings are settled into the north, if they might be people who are more inclined to look to a woman in power. I mean, we already see wildling women leaders all over the place, whether it's Mother Mole or other people I'm not thinking of at the moment. But it could be a way to change the voting demographic, essentially, of the North is if you have a culture that embraces a matriarchy or at least view women as equals to men. Absolutely.

It says something. There's harm a dog's head. Yeah. Oh, my God. But I'm serious. She's my role model. And Dalla and Val are looked at equally. I mean, Val is trusted to do pretty big major missions, right,

to bring Tormund back. They are treated more equally in command and in politics. And I do think that's true. Like if you're changing the culture of your North by bringing in a whole amount of people that are going to have any sort of say or support in your reign, that will change things, hopefully for better.

The future is female in the North. Thank you. Sorry. I'm sorry. Oh my God. Girl boss, gatekeep, ghastly. Shut the neck at the neck, you know? Shut it down. Shut that shit down. boss gatekeep gasoline shut the neck at the neck you know shut it down shut that shit down grasp it at the neck hold the neck osha had tried to tell rob

about all of this the day before but umber had shoved her out of the way and out of the path i'll wear my irons and hold my tongue a A man who won't listen can't hear. Well, it's great that Bran is listening right now because Bran is now, I mean, he's kind of forced to, right? He's learning to listen to all different kinds of people and their counsel. Rob actually last chapter told him that he listens to everyone, but turns out that's not true. You liar. But I think it's important that bran is learning to listen to those outcasts yeah listening to the least listened to is still important they might still have something very important to say you know yes bran tells osha well you should tell him that like i can tell and she's like no Tell Rob, because he'll listen to you, little lord. So she tells him, say Rob is marching the wrong way.

Tell him he's going north, not south. But that night, Rob doesn't come to the big dinner like he thought he would. He takes his meal privately with his lord's bannermen. Bran has to play host to Lord Karstark's sons and friends. They're already seated when he's carried in, and he feels their eyes on him, every single stranger staring. Hal Mullen introduces him, and Bran welcomes them to Winterfell's fires,

offering them meat and mead and friendship and saying the words he had memorized. Karstark's heir, Harrian, bows, and his brothers after them, but Bran can hear them muttering in low voices down there. Sooner die than live like that. Broken inside as well as out. Too craven to take his own life.

Boo. Boo. Yeah, just hate. Pure hate for these kids. I'm glad they died, and I'm glad their father died too. I love you, Minou. Love you so much. I'm glad they died.

Fuck them. Fuck them. So I had one more thought earlier, and I definitely should have written it down but there was something that you were saying earlier Chloe about how with war coming and how a lot of this world isn't built for disabled people

and you know a lot of them are saying they would sooner die than live the way that brand is right now and I think those are some pretty bold words because the outcome of war, especially for many men who fight in it, is they come out of the war very much like Bran. They come out of the war injured. They come out of it disabled in some way. Yeah, broken. Yeah, but not just internally.

So everybody's got to learn about that and learn how to deal with that and be more supportive. I'm also reminded, and I think we brought this up in a previous episode about Brandon, I don't remember which one, but we're going to bring it up again. Noah's essay about masculinity and Westeros in the context of the others. If you haven't read it, go read that. It's great context, I think, for a lot of these stories and also for Bran, but it also makes me think of, again, this idea of this hyper-masculine society where violence is the currency. Violence is the way of life, And that's, I think, something that George has always kind of been interested in. He explores it a lot in the society that he built in Dying of the Light. And it speaks to the idea that one must contribute to society, that one is worth

nothing if you are not giving anything back, if your body is not giving something back to that society. And I don't think that's unique to Westeros. That's true of a lot of, I think, to that society. And I don't think that's unique to Westeros. That's true of a lot of, I think, places throughout our own world. And it kind of speaks to how maesters are seen as lesser than because they don't fit those same mores of masculinity, especially because they are desexualized with that celibacy. And I think Bran still doesn't understand that but he's internalized those societal narratives and uh without he feels that without being able to that the society therefore doesn't value these bodies that they cannot waste that they cannot use in things such as war and so brand therefore is considered useless or shameful and people would rather die in this honor-based society, right? This honor-based society where honor is based on, again, masculinity tied to violence, as opposed to being shameful to your body in that way.

yeah there's something about uh that feeling of being shameful right of not producing and i mean our society obviously has this too that if you're not producing then you're wasting yeah i think there we we know the cause of that it rhymes with capitalism i think which is what your favorite character jamie lannister loves. Thank you. With his jobs. Whoa, whoa, whoa. They're fighting. Wow, we're attacking the guests now today. I deserve that one. I can take that lump.

I've been thinking about it for like an hour. I'm sorry. She's like, how can I weave this in? How can I insult Manu about Jamie? Listen, I just want you to know that if you ever think that I might take something in my head and keep it in there and get really resentful and petty about it, you might be right. Just like Jamie did when the wolf judged the lion. He simmered on that for decades almost.

Actually, I would say maybe a little closer to his better half. Every slight real or imagined, I have a response to. Already here, Man already chloe's just here waiting she's like and your joy shall turn to ashes it will manu it will broken brand thought bitterly as he clutched his knife is that what he was now brand the broken yeah brand the broken that's that's a title that is something we saw used by the show and it's something i think about quite a bit because as an epitaph just like in a vacuum i i kind of like it like especially the way brand later contextualizes how when he's not dead you know just like me i'm

not dead either like he kind of uses it as armor in a way in some of his later chapters that i find like they brand the broken if that's his title at the end of a song of ice and fire i think there's a way that could make sense and feel right i think the way the throne show kind of just butchered brand story wholesale following a certain point essentially once he gets to the cave then it just runs into this just sounds kind of like ableism just because they were so indelicate with Bran's character in the show that he just kind of disappeared. And then he comes back as Dr. Bran Hatton. And I don't think he's going to be anything like whatever we saw from season seven and season eight. And so when they label him Ban the

Bran the Broken, when Tyrion says, who has a better story, it just feels kind of icky in a way that icky and maybe just not satisfying, even though I'm fully on board with the King brand idea. So I would like, if George is going to go with the brand, the broken moniker in the end game of Thrones, I would like to see the work he does to make it not make me kind of think twice about, do I really feel

great about this title yeah i think that a lot of it will come back around to tying in with tyrian right i think tyrian has a lot of work to do in his arc which won't necessarily be a redemptive arc i don't think but necessarily will be more of a repenting arc at the end probably where he starts to kind of repent for some of his things. And in thinking of that broken moniker, it does come back to what he said, you know? You have to use those words against them. So I don't necessarily hate it.

I hate the way the show used it, absolutely, because there was nothing to pay it off. There was just, they didn't do the work. They didn't do the work. I mean, they fucking took him out of a whole fucking season. They didn't do the work they didn't do the work they're obvious i mean they fucking took him out of a whole fucking season like he didn't they didn't do the fucking work they were fucking lazy bastards but i say that as a bastard i'm allowed to use that word and i know it's touchy these days bastard bastard bastard but brand like i i hope that george and i i have

faith in george that he will bring it around a little bit for that to be an earned title if that's what Bran chooses to use. But the fictional character Bran Stark needs to choose to use it and we need to see him choosing that. And again, I do think it'll wrap into some of the Tyrion stuff in the end in some aspects. Because broken is better than dead. Broken doesn't mean you're incapable. It just means that you have to heal

and then you can heal others we're all broken men yeah or broken people sorry and i think like they are right like that's why it makes sense when you bring up tyrian in that context like he's he's absolutely like what we see septon mirabalde describing as a as a broken man and like you all i think that going with the with the direction of brand the broken could definitely work within the books especially if they play it well they play it right and as you said that idea of like reclaiming it finding power in that narrative because it reminds me a little of this concept in Japanese pottery called kintsugi, which I'm probably not saying very great, but it's this idea of like, so you have a ceramic, right? Let's say it shatters, it breaks, like, especially like if it's a big clean break,

you repair that piece, not by gluing it back together, but they take gold, they take gold and put it in the cracks. And that's how you meld it together. Because you are emphasizing the uniqueness, you are emphasizing the cracks and the brokenness as part of the history and part the piece. And it really gives it like this new this new life. i think that's a really you know beautiful philosophy that they have when it comes to this and granted we're not we're not fucking vessels right like i'm not saying that but i think it could work but as you all said like it wasn't earned it didn't make sense in the show they didn't play brand's emotional beats correctly for something like that to all make sense and that's why in the most recent

season of the new i carly reboot you have carly venting about she's like literally screaming like and they made bran king bran so yeah that reminds me a lot of judaism right when it comes to like the gathering of the sparks to rebuild the vessel and of what some of Manu has talked about here we've chatted about his theories before but also over on his own podcast he's talked a little bit about the gnat being broken I mean that is a pure representation of splitting the nation in two not only for rulership but also of Bran of what happened to him and that it's going to take a while for these wounds between the parts of the country to heal. Yeah, I think there's definitely would be a little more resonance if my broken neck theory

comes to play where he actually ends up shattering the neck and separating the north from the southern kingdoms. Because then it's, you know, maybe not Bran the broken, but Bran the breaker, you know, that could possibly be a twist on it so you know instead of something that is done to him he becomes the actor he he regains agency in that motion yes i like that i like that a lot manu and learning to do that in a way that is productive right because he is kind of breaking right now like that's what he's doing to hodor wait wait are you saying we're watching breaking bran oh i was thinking break bones ah hey there you go i like that too so bran whispers to lewin who is next to him and he goes he doesn't want to be broken he wants to be

a knight and lewin says uh have you considered other professional paths, such as becoming a maester, often called the Knights of the Mind? And I don't know that I hear people say that very often, but he does say that Bran is clever and that there are no limits to what he could learn. I like the double meaning here because Luwin clearly just means fighting with knowledge, the same way Tyrion talked about how his mind needs a book like a sword needs a whetstone. But Bran may be an actual knight of the mind insofar that he will be fighting on the astral plane against Euron like he's Professor X, like he might literally do mind fighting, which I think is kind of a fun twist on that. And but you know, if you want to do like an au or alternate take on the story there is a way you could imagine that brand's journey forward was him becoming a maester perhaps him going to old town or learning under someone else because that's just another avenue that's afforded to him

it's just an option that he could have had and one that possibly a second son of a highborn lord with a disability the citadel might be a good place for him to go yeah it would have been a great escape for him had there been time and planning and you know his parents had been home to go well bran we're very secure we have a great line of tons of fucking kids that are definitely gonna live and keep us going and keep our line moving what if you went to the citadel it does remind me of sam and that same notion that like sam would have fucking loved at the time to just be sent there and no one let him instead so the opposite kind of situation it's just there's no one to let bran do that right now tyrian too too, right? Yeah, Tyrion as well. Exactly. Great thought. There's something about

being a mind knight, a knight of the mind, that can be taken as quite literally a psychic warrior. That is absolutely, like Manu said, what he's going to manifest his previous desires to be a knight into. Lewin is showing him the foundation, the building blocks for that, that you

can have bravery. A man can be brave even when he's not out there flinging swords around. And the worthiness in these intellectual pursuits. It makes him the Merlin to John's Arthur in a lot of ways in storytelling wise. And, you know, having him be a knight of the mind reminds me of some of these characters like Loki or Hermes, someone capable of really divine trickery and cosmic battle. these characters like loki or hermes someone capable of really divine trickery and cosmic battle like hermes seen as unlikely to be super mega strong or powerful but get sent to kill argos argos who sees with a hundred eyes and one maybe and uh interesting you know hermes exists as someone between worlds existing in a different plane guiding the dead down to hades down to the

underworld so it just makes you think, especially with the wings, right, for Hermes, those little wings carrying him around on his shoes. I think there is something to be said for Bran becoming a knight even only in his mind. That's really interesting. Bran wants to learn magic, though, and he doesn't really see a distinction, right? He's like like i just want to learn magic the crow said i was gonna fly luan sighs and he's like i could teach you many things but i cannot teach you magic which okay that's bullshit because there is a link for that motherfucker i like how he says i can teach you a thousand things and more but no one can teach you magic. So a thousand things, but not one.

And no one. Oh, there you go. Someone faceless to all of us right now. And maybe Arya could too. Maybe a crow can teach, not a man. He is no man. He is a borb. He's got a thousand things, but a bitch ain't one.

Okay, I'm sorry. Yep. Bran protests and says the children could the children of the forest could teach me magic bran is reminded of the promise and i love that the language here is promise that he made to osha and the godswood and tells lewin what she said lewin's like osha's full of tales just like old nan i'm like oh so it's true? And it's best not to trouble Rob with this. He has more to worry about than Snarks and Grumpkins. The Lannisters have Ned,

not the Children of the Forest. Yeah, Rob has bigger fish to fry. Or, I guess, save rather, since it's the Tullys who need his help. So, fish to die, more like. Yeah. He's going to a fish fry then you name for the red doesn't watch it happen it's a river he's already dead i mean the riverlands are becoming a fish fry right now without him there i'm just putting there's fire everywhere snap crackle pop baby let's go it's probably delicious

snap crackle pop wake up call to the world two days later Bran is a top dancer and he's saying goodbye in the yard to Robb Robb tells him he's lord of Winterfell now mounted on a gray stallion wearing chain mail and leathers sword and dagger a fur trimmed cloak across his shoulders bran had never felt so little or alone or scared he didn't know how to be a lord no one taught him rob tells him to listen to lewin's counsel take care of rickon rickon however had refused to say goodbye he was in his chambers red-eyed defiant no he screamed when asked to say goodbye no one ever comes back which is true he has a point oh that's sad that's real sad i i guess like oh but does that mean aria will come back but also does that mean ricken will not come back yeah yeah no one ever comes back

but it's untrue because the wolves will come again that is true I was told that I know it I've seen it I heard it my father my mother my mother her mother her mother before her they all told me

the wolves will fucking come again I honestly could believe that oh I thought you were saying that your mother was saying that they're going to come again because I was like, I can believe your mom. I can believe your mom telling us that the wolves will come again. She might. She sure might. She really might. So Rickon can't be a baby forever,

Rob says, and he promises that he'll bring home father. There's that promising. And mother would be home soon too. So his wheels, he wheels his courser around and off they all fuck in the words of chloe to quote chloe's uh phrasing they are ready to make their way south and manu please read these uncomfortably he remembered osha's words he's marching the wrong way he thought for an instant he wanted to gallop after him and shout a warning,

but when Robb vanished beneath the portcullis, the moment was gone. Beyond the castle walls, a roar of sound went up. The foot soldiers and townsfolk were cheering Robb as he rode past, brand new, cheering for Lord Stark, for the Lord of Winterfell on his great stallion, with his cloak streaming and Grey Wind racing beside him. They would never cheer for him that way, he realized with a dull ache. He might be the Lord of Winterfell while his brother and father were gone, but he was still Bran the Broken. He could not even get off his own horse, except to fall. When the distant cheers had faded to silence and the yard was empty at last,

Winterfell seemed deserted and dead. Bran looked around at the faces of those who remained, women and children and old men, and Hodor. The huge stable boy had a lost and frightened look to his face. Hodor, he said sadly. Hodor, Bran agreed, wondering what it meant. Damn, I feel that way like every day about life, don't y'all? Hodor, he said, wondering what it meant. Damn.

I like the line that they'll never cheer for me that way, which I'm not so sure. Maybe if he does become king and it is a king who ends up like starting a peace that reigns after the long night and the war of the five kings maybe they will cheer for bran in fact that could be a very emotional ending for him yeah maybe they will cheer for bran the broken i would love that i i don't know you know like in terms of like the bittersweetness because when we look at the reality of the way that people are being treated in this series right no one cheers for tyrian who saved the city that people are being treated in this series, right? No one cheers for Tyrion, who saved the city. People don't cheer for King Daeron,

even though he was probably right. I don't know. Yeah, and cheering is kind of what, like, the very anti thing you want. We shouldn't be cheering them for doing the bare minimum of

their public service god damn it like that's her job brand all my start propaganda aside finally chloe is so showing some even unbiased reporting oh my gosh yeah i also thought there was something in uh him talking about all he could do was fall off his horse considering Oh my gosh. of, I would say, leadership. But yes, according to them, no, but I agree, right? I think that's really meaningful, especially because that's happening soon in this book. Yeah, also that is,

like he mentioned, that's like, you know, that's the peak of masculinity in Westeros, is if you can brandish your sword, ride your horse, have a cock that fucks with, you know, you said cocked, fuck many women and spread your seed. That's like, that's a bare minimum. I mean, that's peak Westeros man, right?

Like that right there is what they look at in their society is like, ah, yes, yes. Sire children and ride your horse. But this is what peak performance looks like. Exactly. This is what the ideal body. But we're changing that in brand the broken's reign we are changing that shit yeah what do you think when you i'm sorry i didn't mean to shoot down like what you're saying but i'm just like i'm i'm being the cynic right now i'm was most most of all just

shocked that aliana does not believe falling off the horse is a good sign of leadership because she is the horse girl on the podcast so I assumed all power flows through how well you can ride a horse in her mind so she's really blowing my mind here but yeah I mean I don't think I have anything specifically to add beyond I don't approve of the Dothraki

horse driven model of authority I guess you don't think that we should choose leaders based on women handing out swords from lakes? That's perfect. To be fair, if we did make it a requirement for the U.S. president to have

to be able to ride a horse, I think we'd start skewing way younger on our U.S. presidents, which might be a good thing. Interesting. Finally. Holy shit. I thought we'd have to wait for them all to die first. I've solved the morass that is the American government. Just make them ride a horse and see who sticks. Actually, that's interesting about them being younger,

because now that I think about it, neither Chloe nor I are old enough to be president. Yeah, we're not old enough to be president. I am. And here I thought I was old. You could. I'm good for you, Manu. Thanks. I am. And here I thought I was old. You could. I'm good for you, Manu. Thanks.

I may. I mean, my politics are good. I just don't know if I have an actual chance at winning if I get four votes. I assume Emmett would vote for me and the three of us would be the other three votes. And you could vote for yourself. Can you ride a horse? I have ridden a horse.

All right, y'all. Manu is announcing his presidential run right here, right now on Girls Gone Canon. This is just like Veep for real, for real. Wow. Wow. My favorite show. Manu, thank you so much for coming on.

Do you have any final wrap-up brand thoughts before we close it up, close up shop? No, this is, it's kind of funny because Bran isn't like my favorite, favorite A Song of Ice and Fair character, but he has kind of become the character I'm very associated with. Before I was one half of the Nauticast podcast,

the two guest appearance I did there was Bran chapters. And then now here with uh you too i am once again doing a brand chapter so i guess i'm like a sell sword for brand podcast episodes like hire me i will come talk about brand so um i just really like him just because the first time through a song of ice and fire the part really, really kind of destroyed me and then hooked me was a Clash of Kings when I thought Theon did kill Bran. And then just for him to disappear for two thirds of the book. And I was still, I was like Catelyn.

I was distraught the entire end of the Clash of Kings. And then that last chapter, which you two know is my favorite chapter where Bran is resurgent, his third eye open, surviving in the crypts of Winterfell, and then his amazing last paragraph about he's not dead yet either and comparing himself to Winterfell. So I think like emotionally, he is a character that hits me closest to the heart as much as I do Jamie Lannister propaganda. I think Bran is the most emotionally affecting character for me in these books. I love that. And I totally agree.

I just think there's so much great emotional weight and he has such great connections with some of these other characters that we run into. I was rereading A Storm of Swords because, well, you know, for reasons. But when he is on the way north and then what is it, the wool or the little that he runs into who just like gives him, you know, a nice fire and gives him a little food for the night? And Bran's just thinking to himself, like, once I return to Winterfell, I'm going to, you know, pay him back a thousandfold. And I'm like, wow, what a good boy. I love you, Bran.

So proud of him. And when he sends sweets to old Nan and, you know, to everyone there at Winterfell and Luin just because he likes them. Send them the first dishes. And I love this boy, you guys. Yeah. I love this boy. And I love this boy. I love Manu. Thank you, Manu, for coming the hell on

and talking about Bran with us. Let us know where everyone can find you online as well as what's coming up for you. Like I said, I'm going to be winding down my Metal Gear Solid podcast, Podcast Sans Frontiers. We have about three to four more episodes to go live before that's done. If you have any interest in Metal Gear, I recommend it to you. If not, well, you should go play Metal Gear Solid. Otherwise, I am one half of a Lord of the Rings podcast known as My Brother, My Captain, My Podcast. I do with my wonderful co host Emily,

you can check us out. We're covering the films and the books as part of it like the Lord of the Rings films, the Peter Jackson ones. We've been covering the rings of power, which we have lots of thoughts on some positive, some not so positive. And yeah, you can also support that podcast at patreon.com slash my bro, my cat, my pod. And then the one I'm sure almost all your listeners are familiar with, me and some guy named Emmett do a podcast called Not A Cast, where we are doing a chapter by chapter reread. I don't know why I'm giving you guys the full details, but you can support us at patreon.com slash not a cast. So I have and find not a cast wherever you listen to this podcast, I assume. Yeah, I think we're on the same places. Make sure you follow, like, subscribe,

do all that good stuff for those gentlemen and lady. And yeah, I look forward to checking out your Rings of Power episodes actually when the season's done this week so I can fucking understand some of it. But I'm glad you're enjoying our fun takes i was gonna say we might not help you understand it because me and emily the last couple episodes are like let's just talk about whatever we want and then occasionally complain about the show yeah because to my understanding there is no understanding which

is great we love it do we i think two-thirds of us right now are like, do we? But Chloe's having a great time. And if she's happy, I'm happy. I love it because it's real pretty. Someone spent a lot of money on it, Bezos, and that's stupid. But I will say it's real pretty. None of it makes sense. And I like that in a show sometimes, just once in a while.

Just once in a while. I like my theories, too. I got big theories. I'll tell you all about them later. I promise the record yeah off the i have to catch up with the episodes so i'm gonna probably watch some of those yes get ready for friday behind well thanks again so much for coming on we can't wait to have you back in the future yes and if you want to keep up with any of our episodes or perhaps when manu returns one day if you ever return to the king oh oh oh oh there you go there you go well you can find us on twitter.com slash girls gone canon c-a-n-o-n also if you have an email that you would like us to consider

you can send us an email at girls gone canon at gmail.com yes and if you haven't already please subscribe to us on a podcast platform near you whether that platform is itunes google play stitcher acast spotify iheart radio pandora audible amazon podcasts we are on literally iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Acast, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Audible, Amazon Podcasts. We are on literally wherever you look, you're going to find us. So check it out there. And of course, somewhere that you can always find us is on patreon.com slash girlsgonecanon,

where again, patrons in the stranger tier and above, $5 and above get bonus episodes each month. And this month is yet to be determined, but the past two months we have been working on a series called milfs of the dragon i'm sorry mothers of the dragon also yes this series is wonderful the milfs that we cover you can hear all about it's all of the milfs of the dragon the milfs that have born these dragons in fire and blood and i'm having a blast with it or take advantage of a thunder tier pledge

over at patreon where you can get access to the discord to weekly events discussing house of the dragon or other shows as well as a monthly brunch slash happy hour again that is the thunder tier 10 bucks and up as always i have been one of your hosts chloe and i have been another one of your hosts eliana thanks so much everyone thank you manu thank you for announcing your presidential run oh my god 2024 vote manu no matter who oh my god, 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 you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you Thank you.