Always a fan, never a Stan

charles: erik don't do the thing

Arthur continues to be the most compelling foil to Tom as he consistently seems okay with ripping his brother away from sanity and happiness to further the family business. Meanwhile Grace gets shot, I’d be worried about her but she’s not a person so much as the symbolic representation of Tommy’s desire to be “established” while still doing what he does.

I find the Russians delightful and hope Polly gets herself some this season tho.  

One thing I’ve always found unique about Game of Thrones is where GRRM chose to start his story. Too late to be about Robert’s Rebellion but to early for Winter and the Wars To Come. It has lead to some great story telling and misdirection and also allows for a nuance to both our villains and heroes by showing us, truly, the horror behind their origin story.  Batman’s parents dying in an Alley is horrifying, but we didn’t follow them for a whole season just to see their head cut off in the penultimate episode because of the mistakes of their children. Our heroes are nuanced and so are the villains. You may hate them, but you understand and empathize with how they got that way in this cruel world and it makes both the reading and viewing experiences better.  These stories don’t rely on flashbacks to carry the weight of out the emotional tone of the story, we were there when mistakes were made, lessons were learned and tragedies befell these characters.  The show has not always done as well as the books in fleshing out all of the characters, which is not surprising, but it’s dedication to it’s core cast remains strong,Which is why, after this season Finale, Cersei Lannister is the best person to be the final human villain of Game of Thrones. 

The benefit of where we started our story means that now, as we near our third act and Cersei sits the Iron Throne, we know just as much about her as we do our heroes. She is not just some cardboard evil queen cut-out whose actions we are supposed to accept with small hints at a back story.  She is a fully-fleshed out character, formed through her frustrations at her role as a woman, the influence of her father, her incestuous relationship with her brother and her love and loss of her children who were doomed before they were ever born. We’ve hated her and rooted for her and we’ve watched as life or her own actions slowly ripped off any constraints that held her back from fully giving into the worst parts of her nature. Cersei, who wanted Rheagar but got Robert, who couldn’t live up to a dead girl, who didn’t understand why her brother got a sword and she didn’t, who was sold off to Robert for “The Family” and saw her daughter shipped off to Dorne in the same way. Cersei and her self-destructive, reckless nature, her firm belief that she was smarter than anyone when really she just would do things others wouldn’t, her love of her children and her ruthlessness in search of power. We know her intimately and her self-destruction/evilness is earned and not something that exists to create a foil for Dany.

The other reason Cersei will be a great final (human) villain for the show is the dynamic that she consistently brings out in her adversaries as well as the neat thematic parallels she offers. Cersei plays the game of thrones and she does it in a way that often brings out the worst in her opponents, either due to under-estimation of her or anger at her methods. 

Tyrion’s political acumen may help in rallying troops to his side but we also know that the only real leverage he had over Cersei was her children, AND his hatred for her is personal.  Tyrion’s biggest failing is that his desire for respect ,combined w/years of anger at those who belittled him, clash at inopportune times, whether it’s taking a moment to berate Theon for calling him Imp, or his enraged speech during his trial and demand for combat. When faced with power or opportunity to lash out at those he resents/hates, he does so and he enjoys it. We cheered when he slapped Joffery cause the kid deserved it, but Tyrion’s joy in punishing those who have wronged him or are undeserving can get in the way of his better judgement. No matter what happens, Tyrion knows that  Cersei loved her children, still thinks he killed her first born, sent her second to Dorne where she died, and has no one to hold her back and no future or home to leverage.  He intimately knows what Cersei is capable of and will not underestimate her, but will knowing this lead him to encourage Dany to be more “FIRE AND BLOOD” than he should and what consequences could emerge if Tyrion abandons his detached political acumen for family issues and leftover vengeance?. Lannister vs Lannister, one with Dragons, one with WildFire and Jaimie, potentially caught in the middle, makes for a pretty epic confrontation that will be exciting to watch. .

Cersei facing off against Dany makes for an interesting parallel. Both are daughters of powerful and cruel men. Cersei strove to be like her father while Dany’s best decisions come when she is reminded to move away from her paternal-like instincts. Cersei is the exact type of villain that will challenge Dany’s tentative grasp on diplomacy and empathy. If she loses Tyrion as a voice of reason and is encouraged to destruction by the Tyrell’s and Martell’s she could end up destroying not just the throne, but any chance at good will she could have gotten from the rest of the realm. 

Jamie also becomes an emotional player in this game as he has just seen the aftermath of his sister’s unchecked rage. Jamie destroyed his honor to save King’s Landing, saw his freeing of his brother end in his father’s death and failed to bring his daughter home safely.  This season his proclamations that Cersei is all that matters seem to be little more than an attempt to hide from all that he has experienced.  Now his sister, the last part of his armor of denial, has done what he could not abide in a king. What does Jamie do? Does he finally and fully break with Cersei? Does he try to reason with her or does he go down in flames by her side? Does he kill her before Tyrion or Dany get there only to see Dany’s dragons ignite leftover Wildfire?  Does he walk away from it all, shed his identity as a Lannister while his brother and sister (both of whom care more about that identity than he does) fight to be Tywin’s lasting legacy, for good or for ill? Does he move up North to be a fighter in the real war that’s coming?

Today I signed up to be a member on Film School Rejects. The cost is $3.00 a month and provides me with access to certain articles and other opportunities.  I decided to do it for 2 reasons. 1. I like Neil Miller’s writing on Game of Thrones and I know some of those articles will be members only and 2. I think, if we want to support independent on-line writing we should pay the people who provide it. Tip Jars are great but they feel more like my generosity than me rightfully paying for what I consume. 

Meereen:

Dany listened to Tyrion and honestly, if she’s going to succeed he’s the one she’ll need to listen to.  Jorah and Barriston are gone. Daario seems to be toeing the line in being terrified of her and egging her on and Greyworm and Missendei both trust her too much. What remains to be seen is how she how well she will listen when it comes to ruling and whether Tyrion will be able to be as objective as he needs to be when they get to Westeros and he’s dealing with siblings and others who he views have wronged him. Tyrion has always held curdled feeling of hatred towards people even as he tries to earn their respect and prove himself. Tyrion did well as Hand of the King but he was working against his sister and the King as much as he was working to save himself and prove himself. What happens when he can work with his Queen and against those who have wronged him. Can Tyrion supress the Lannister (Targ?) tendency to crush your enemies when given the chance?

Also, Dany has control of her dragons now. I’ve already heard/read several people say something like, we’ve seen this happen, the Dragon’s swoop in to save the day. I don’t think they’re swooping in to save the day when it’s obvious they are a major part of the plan. In other words, get used to the Dragons, they aren’t going anywhere and are going to be utilized like this A LOT. Also, there’s a difference between Drogon just “showing up” at the pit and Dany, utilizing her connection with him, integrating him into the battle plan. 

One final though: Meereen showed that good rules listen to good advisors. I don’t think Dany really needed to turn to look at Tyrion but I think it’s important to notice that both Yara and Dany let their advisors talk, reigned them in when they got off topic (seriously, Tyrion, you gonna spend time needling everyone who called you Imp?) and trusted them.  They worked as a team..unlike what happened in the North where everyone gave into their worst impulses and arrogance.

The North:

Instead of advisors working together we saw arrogance, secrets and lies. Sansa, at first confident in her brother and loyalty of the North to Starks started to feel panicked that once again she was going to lose and let that fear and feelings of doubt lead her to not only reach out to Littlefinger but to do so secretly.  I’m one that believes that she didn’t know for sure if the Vale was coming but that she still should have told Jon. At the very least, if Jon doesn’t listen you have the high ground if he runs in anyway. But my desire to have Sansa keep clean hands is not the same as saying her behavior didn’t make sense. Sansa is guarded and distrustful and I think Jon’s willingness to listen to Davos bothered her because she didn’t know him. She wanted to do this with only people SHE knew. Her desire to control the situation, plus the added emotional element for how personal it was for her led to really bad decision  making.  Meanwhile, Jon’s reluctance to ever fully take up the responsibility of being a leader caused him to ignore Sansa’s warning and lead his army to certain death.  Sansa’s refusal to tell Jon about the Vale would have cost lives for sure, but Jon’s refusal to stick to the plan led to even more casualties. Jon is brave and a fantastic warrior, but he wants to be free to do what he thinks is right at all times, and sometimes, that is not what a leader does. Jon really is a “saviour” in the truest sense of the word. He’s moved to action if he thinks he can help someone whether it be the Wildlings or Rickon. I do wonder if it slightly bothered Sansa that what happened to her at Ramsey’s hands wasn’t enough to urge him to pick up a sword. 

Sansa’s dispatching of Ramsey was slightly uncomfortable to watch but again, it makes sense for her character. I also tend to think that hanging is a pretty gross way to kill people involving spectacle and humiliation though. Ramsey was beat by the Vale arriving, yes but also by his own over-confidence that he had thought out the entire scenario. He sacrificed Karstark and Umber men (conveniently decimating the armies of the two biggest Northern Houses), didn’t prepare Winterfell for a siege and starved his dogs to the point that they were no longer his loyal pets. Even his shooting Wun-Wun through the eye showed his indulgent tendency to make things as emotionally painful as possible even if not the smartest battle strategy (something Roose often criticized him off).  I’m interested to see how the finale resolves what happened as this was a win that was also a loss. Sansa and Jon’s trust may be broken, Littlefinger will be coming for his due, and Mel an Davos are on a collision course. Even if things are resolved well I think it’s safe to say the North is fucked. Their armies are decimated, Littlefinger has the Vale and is unlikely to be moved by existential threats like the The Others compared to his own personal gain (yes we know they’re real but let’s not forget this show started with our titular hero cutting off the head of a Night’s Watch deserter desperately trying to warn of their arrival). Does this mean we have an eventual Lannister-Stark alliance as they are they next closest in the Riverlands. If Dany lands in Dorne and aligns herself with the Sand Snakes and Tyrell’s we could have some fun dynamics there.

I have conceptualized the Game of Thrones story arc structure for many of it’s characters into 4 parts: The first is their base desire, which encompasses a simplified version of what they want and how that manifests itself in their motivations/identity, the second is the action or moment that signifies that this base desire can create conflict for them as they move through this world and work to survive/achieve success, the third is composed of 3 tests where characters are faced with a choice that exemplifies this conflict and has significant consequences for their story going forward, and the fourth is the final resolution of the decisions they have made and how well they have done at integrating/learning from their desire. I don’t believe we can necessarily change who we truly are and initial dreams/desires are strong and cannot just be pushed away. When people talk about character growth, they don’t mean that people change their inherent nature, it’s just that they learn how to channel it or, hopefully, align their actions with it in a way that leads to something good. Since we have not reached the end of the story I can only talk about what I think has come to pass (the first 2 parts and 2 of the t3 challenges for each person) and I make my predictions for their ultimate end.  

Jon Snow’s base desire seems to be a pretty simple one. Born a bastard but included in his father’s family to a higher extent than is typical he is  still on the outside looking in, in fundamental ways. He spends most of his childhood with his nose pressed firmly up against the glass with someone (usually Catelyn) there to remind him who he was. Ned’s decision to keep him close kept him isolated from the common folk and, since he didn’t know his mother, he has no other identity/ancestry to look towards other than the one that would always be out of reach.  Jon wasn’t just a bastard or low-born imagining what it would be like to be a lord, he got front row seats, learned many of the lessons but had no chance of advancement.  Not being able to follow his father in any concrete way he latched onto Ned’s honor as the one thing he could have to prove he was a Stark. The Night’s Watch, with the presence of his Uncle Benjen making in an honorable venture that was not beneath a Stark and the opportunity for Jon to carve his own place, not hamstrung by his surname, became an esccape he could feel good about. Jon’s major tension is between true belonging, where he feels loved and comfortable, and symbolic belonging related to being a part of something larger in society. This plays itself about through mimicking Ned’s honor or idolizing the duty and vows of the Night’s watch while working to balance his inherent sense of moral justice and empathy with his self-centered pursuit of legitimacy fueled by feelings of isolation

Some of the best Jon chapters/scenes are early on, when Jon has the scales ripped from his eyes about who makes up a large portion of the Night’s Watch and how, no matter how poor and isolated he felt, he still was in a much better position than many of his fellow brothers. His outsider looking in position was again reinforced by Throne’s scorn of him as a bastard and it’s no shock that he gravitated toward Sam as another person who seemed locked out of highborn status by something outside of his control (his father & personality). Jon, able to identify with the feelings of inferiority and being left out was able to use this empathy to bond and work with his brothers while still developing relationships  with many of the other, higher-born members (with the exception of Thorne who continued to serve as the human reminder for Jon’s framing of his sense of belonging being linked to his birth as a bastard).  

However, no matter how much he started to find his place in the Night’s Watch it chaffed against his initial concept of what it would mean to belong, which focused on respect, dignity and honor, trappings of success that are idolized in the songs sang in his father’s Great Hall. His singular focus on what respect looked like and his tendency to focus on those that looked down on him, prevented him from realizing the honor bestowed on him to be the Lord Commander Mormont’s steward until Sam pointed it out to him. Even as the LC showered Jon with the fatherly love, guidance and opportunity that he desired from Ned (he gave him his ancestral sword for Christ’s sake) Jon still spent a lot of time looking out, away from the Night’s Watch either back home or North of the Wall waiting for Benjen.  

Jon’s thirst to prove himself and his willingness to ride into the action served him well in gaining respect in the Night’s Watch but this trait, intersected with his focus back home, got the better of him when he learned of Ned’s death and Robb’s mobilization of the North. This was the first sign to the reader’s and Jon that he needed to to be aware of how his desire to be a Stark, his impulsivity, and his self-centeredness, could come into direct conflict with his new role as a Night’s Watch Brother. It was a warning and the reminder that it wasn’t his honor that brought him back but that of his friends, those that came from common birth or were cowards, that took their vow more seriously than he did, that helped ground him. It’s easy to see the Stark name as synonymous with honor and any sign one of Ned’s children is acting “Stark-like” is often cheered but honor can be a thin line away from moral rigidness and superiority (see Stannis’s character and even Ned’s condescension to Jaime).  Jon needed to learn that his desire to belong could lead him to run towards the first place he wanted and away from the new place he had found,  and that this conflict of the Night’s Watch not being his first choice was not his alone.  Jon always desired to be more but often that “more” meant being a Stark, his love and admiration for his family made the Stark name the perfect gold ring of acceptance he could never achieve but would die trying to get close to. He left to find a new place and to avoid seeing Robb grow up as the Lord, but when the battle call rose, Jon was eager to answer it. His allegiance to his family or other places he feels bonded to blinding him to reality and the concerns of others continues to pop up throughout the series, sometimes for good and sometimes to get him in trouble.

Jon’s first test for the conflict between true belonging and symbolic belonging comes after going North of the Wall and being sent off with The Halfhand. Much like Commander Mormont, this is a man for whom Jon has a lot of respect and who seems to see something in him and is not constrained by Lord and Lady hierarchy and succession in how he embraces him. Jon says good-bye to many father figures in the first two books, Ned, Benjen, Lord Mormont and then, finally, he says good-bye to the Halfhand by killing him.  Jon’s first act ends with him literally cutting down and losing yet another honorable, legendary man that offered him guidance and promise but no long lasting relationship.  This also sends him into the camp of the Wildlings and into the sphere of both Mance Rayder and many free-spirited and independent women like Ygritte and Val. Here Jon gets tempted by the opposite of the life he has always tried to fit into. A life where belonging is earned by being a good warrior and honor is expressed by a refusal to live in the confines of the feudal system and it’s high families . His name means nothing to them and could only be meaningful if he  proves it with actions, not circumstances of birth. He doesn’t need lifelong service and vows of chastity to have honor and purpose, he has it by his deeds.  Jon is often wistful and sad during his time with Mance and Ygritte, knowing they won’t succeed and survive in the world south of the Wall but also feeling a connection with their world view and the opportunity it represents. Jon is able to connect and bond with the Wildlings but does not let this blind him to the bigger picture overall, and it ends with him leaving behind both Ygritte and his taste of true freedom.  His ability to recognize the reality of the situation and not just center his base desire was important.  But this was a much easier choice than his next one as he knew Mance was a threat to friends and family that he cared about and he still assigned his true concept of belonging to the symbolism of honor, the Night’s Watch, and the North. Jon’s decision here is bittersweet because it is right but his basic human connection to the Wildlings, much like his brotherly love for Robb, leads to later error, especially in the show. 

Jon’s second test is different in the book and in the show but in both instances he fails.  In the book and in the show, after being promoted to Lord Commander he turns down an offer to legitimize him. He instead turns his focus to the issues related to both the Wildlings and The Others but in both mediums Jon is ultimately brought down by his lack of awareness of his tendency to be driven by the emotional ties of belonging.  In the books, it’s much more straight forward. He forsakes his vow to March on Winterfell to save the family member he has always liked best, his wild sister Arya.  It’s important in the book that it’s Arya that brings him to this point. This wasn’t about honor and sense of duty. This was about going to war to save someone he loved and be damned about the consequences and the Night Watches order. The first time he rode off to save his family he was not nearly as connected to the Night’s Watch but he should have learned then that his devotion to his family and his love for them was his weak spot that would drive him to shun his responsibilities and fracture relationships with others if he wasn’t careful.  Jon has shown that it’s easy to follow his concept of honor when it aligns with his heart but was unable to do so when the two were in direct contrast and he ends up stabbed for it.  In the show, Jon’s error is more a pragmatic failure of leadership but is tinged with a similar human feeling of connection with the Wildings and their humanity. Jon's actions in the show were right from both a human and a logistical point of view (army of the dead, yo), but his tendency to try to make his actions fit into his vow “guard the realms of men” and to assume that his leadership role will be respected even as it was clear he was losing allies showed his tendency to treat his own emotions, desires, and beliefs as obviously right and more serious than other’s equally legitimate issues/concerns (seriously, stop condescending to Olly, they murdered his family). Jon pretends to be driven by pure realism but it’s obvious to all that he has a connection and respect for the Wildlings that isn’t shared by others. Both are very Stark like traits. We know that the one thing that will allow Ned to put aside his honor is his love for his family and that they tend to stick to their guns and assume their obvious righteousness will be enough for people to follow them.  Both times, Jon paid the price for shutting out the reality of the world and situation around him (and discounting the true, legitimate emotions/concerns of others). BookJon makes a more grievous and obvious error but showJon still manages to fumble the ball at a an important time. Jon, instead, spent more time focusing on how HE was failing and not saving the Wildlings then doing the hard work of leading. Playing the leader who is right but unappreciated and against insurmountable odds may feel morally good but does not always advance your cause in positive ways( Hi Bernie! j/k).

Jon is back in the show and is being reluctantly pulled  into the fight, again mostly due to his love for his family but this time his heart is not in it. He’s tired of caring/fighting/leading because he is still struggling from the reality check that even after doing everything he thought was right and that Ned would do and embracing all his Starkness (I’ll ring your head like a bell), Olly still stuck a knife in his heart. He has not learned how to lead authentically and how to recognize and embrace his strongest asset  He has little skill or interest in the politics and remains most comfortable with the wildlings. This is partially because Jon is an empathetic leader who can find good in many people, especially those he views as outcasts and also because, like his sister Arya and (probably) his mother, he has little respect for the rigid order of the current system even as he tried to succeed within it. 

We don’t know what Jon will do when he rises in the book, but a good guess is that some way or another he will take up arms and ride south of the wall, even if he still has his eye on the Others. 

So we have two challenges, one he passes, with great loss that factors into his second, which he fails.  When does the third arrive? My guess is that it comes sometime after he finds out his true parentage. Jon finally gets the ultimate moment of symbolic belonging in that he will be shown as a true descendant from not just the Stark line, but the Targaryean dynasty as well.  It will automatically create an identity for him that others will be more than willing to embrace and legitimize. Look at how quickly book readers and show watchers look at R+L=J and think this means Jon is both important, and now, somehow, destined to rule. Never mind that we’ve seen that at his best, Jon wears this crown much less comfortably than he does general or warrior and, at worst, he seems unable to rule in the rigid systems that vows and successions demand. I have always felt that while Jon’s parentage is important for how it challenges everything we think we know about Robert’s Rebellion, Game of Thrones, and whether these great families matter, it doesn’t really indicate where Jon ends up. Jon’s final test will be, once learning of his identity and finishing the fight, whether he chases his childhood belief that belonging was connected to a legitimate name, granted to him naturally (not by Stannis) or where he truly feels he belongs and can do the most good. His structure in the story of being the one to most actively take The Other’s rise and threat seriously and his easy allegiance with the Wildlings lead me to believe he will either reject the information about his true surname and stay a Snow or refuse to rule and pass it on to someone else. Hero’s journeys can be about rejecting something as much they are about achieving something and I think Jon’s final test will be whether he has it in him to reject the pull of a famous name, a hero’s title of The Prince That Was Promised, or whether he goes where he has always felt most comfortable.