olga foroga (fjords) wrote in songofice, @ 2011-03-13 14:18:00 |
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A CLASH OF KINGS: Three things I need to get off my chest about this:
o1. Jaqen H'ghar: totally one of those mysterious Faceless Men, amirite or amirite? I was surprised when I mentioned it to my housemate and she hadn't thought of it before, because it seemed so obvious. My jaw basically crashed through the floor when he changed his face and everything is awesome forever. I loved picturing a spinoff AU in which Arya travels across the seas with Jaqen and adopts his badass skills. The coin he left her is like Chekhov's gun, man; we have to see that magnificent bastard again.
o2. walburga encouraged some Theon/Robb/Jon meta, so that idea stuck while I was reading and I blathered at ammonites about this. Because oh my gosh, Theon. What an idiot. I waffle between "HOW INEPT AND SHORT-SIGHTED CAN YOU BE" & feeling sorry for him, because goodness, he's really just a huge bundle of father issues (and we all know how much I love father issues!). I find it so interesting how him, Robb, and Jon are all to varying degrees Ned's grown sons, and each of them holds him in such high regard and is trying so hard to follow in his footsteps. It's telling that Theon's like "FUCK NED STARK, HE'S NOTHING TO ME, HAHAHAHAHA WINTERFELL IS MINE" but ... at the same time, he holds Eddard's values so dear to his heart. The whole "if you're going to execute someone, you have to wield the sword yourself" moral. Even when he's actively trying to shame Ned's memory (fucking a whore in his bed!), he's still living his life thinking "WWESD: What would Eddard Stark do?" Oh. Just, oh.
o3. The battle of the Blackwater. omg omg omg omg FINALLY LEARNING WHAT THE CHAIN IS ALL ABOUT, and the wildfire, and Sandor's defection, and Tyrion fighting and just oh my god action movie climax
A STORM OF SWORDS: THIS BOOK. THIS BOOK. I am going to be largely incoherent, sorry:
o1. Beric Dondarrion = awesome. I'm also starting to suspect that he's Rh'hlehorlror's (oh god how do you spell it) Chosen One, because Stannis so obviously isn't. Shut up, Melisandre, shut up shut up shut upppppp.
o2. SANDOR CLEGANE, MARRY ME. New favourite. Felt so vindicated/exultant when he actually is turning out to be... I don't know, a strange sort of noble and broken. Because jesus h. christ my heart shattered for him during that whole chapter with Dondarrion & his merry men -- they were putting him on trial for things he hadn't done, and he just spat witty comebacks back at them the whole time and held onto his pride and won the battle even though they used his worst fear against him, which is so unbelievably unfair. He ended up burned even more! That moment with him rolling around on the floor, just straight-up sobbing! MY HEART MY HEART MY HEART. This whole book is showing him becoming his own man: a drunkard with anger issues, yeah, but he's not Joffrey's dog anymore.
o3. DANY IS FREEING SLAVES EVERYWHERE FUCK YEAH CONTINUE BEING QUEEN OF MY HEART although poor jorah ;_;
o4. ARSTAN IS SER BARRISTAN SELMY omg I'd wondered where he'd gotten up to for two books!
o5. Is it possible for Jamie to get any greater? I love that he was kept from us for the first two books, and so by the time we get his POV, it's -- surprising, how much depth he has, though also not at all surprising. Getting to hear his side of the story re: Aerys and the Kingslaying is amazing amazing amazing. Aerys' various atrocities makes my stomach twist and churn and sicken. And once again, it is so unfair that due to the dumb dumb feudal system, so many characters are like, "Yeah, Aerys was fucking insane and horrible and deserved to be killed and taken off the throne, but YOU shouldn't have done it!" Double standards much? And he saved King's Landing. HE SAVED KING'S LANDING AND NO ONE KNOWS. He averted the wildfire self-destruct of the whole city and hasn't told anyone. lkjadøflgaldkfjg
Also, Jamie/Brienne omg. He's becoming less shallow and a better man and just ahhhh. Although he was already a pretty decent man, all things told -- I'm wondering how Cersei's kids would've grown up if he had been allowed to hold them, to be a father figure and a role model. Because I think he is a good role model. (But seeing him comparing himself to Loras, that "Oh my god I'm seeing me as I used to be, I'm talking to me" moment was fabulous.)
o6. Kevan Lannister's impassioned speech to Tyrion re: how and why Tywin had to become so fierce and indomitable and pitiless because their father wasn't hard enough, and do you understand the shit he had to go through to rule this realm for 20 years without any thanks, save for the envy and mistrust of the king, and yes he loves his brother, why do you ask: AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING oh my god I love brothers.
o7. WEDDINGS.
One of my housemates is evil, evil, evil and early on into the book sauntered in and went, "Julie. I remembered a terrible thing a friend did to me! So now I'm going to do the same to you. Just remember this: Red weddings are good weddings."
me: ...................................... WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN
me: SO MANY PEOPLE ARE GETTING MARRIED, AUGUSTINE
me: SO MANY PEOPLE!!!!
Augustine: >:]
Which meant that I was completely on edge throughout Sansa's wedding (to no avail!), and then the Tully/Frey wedding (WHAT THE FUCK, WALDER, I HATE YOU, OH MY GOD I CAN'T EVEN, THEY KILLED ROBB AND CATELYN I was in tears and just completely in dull shock and disbelief afterwards, holy shit twists) annnnd then Joffrey/Margaery's wedding (DING DONG THE BRAT IS DEAD I was expecting something bad to happen but not THAT). Oh my god.