A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones Spoiler-Filled Discussion

So, GRRM posted today in the blog that the upcoming anthology, Dangerous Women, will have (instead of a 4th Dunk & Egg story), a piece called The Princess and the Queen, which is:

http://grrm.livejournal.com/310198.html

 

Is it definitely Bolton? I mean, the murder is seen from Catelyn's POV and she would know Bolton, but doesn't describe the murderer as him. Could the 'Jamie Lannister...' bit not just be something Bolton instructed one of his men to say to Rob, or could the man not just have overheard Jamie telling Bolton to send his regards to Stark, when they parted ways at Harrenhall?

 

I take it you're talking about something that happened in the TV series. It sounds less and less appealing TBH.

 

^Me? No, I mean The Red Wedding from the third book.

 

The murderer is in armor, so Catelyn couldn't recognize him. But he's wearing a pink cloak, which is the Bolton color, and Roose had excused himself just before the fighting broke out, giving him time to put said armor on. It could be someone else, but I imagine Roose would have wanted to do the deed in person.

 

IMO it's as close as possible without explicitly saying it. Roose Bolton gets up and leaves before the massacre begins and then at the very end, a man in a pink cloak stabs Robb and says "Jaime Lanniser..." Now yes, because of the POV structure, it's not explicitly stated "And then Roose Bolton appeared!" but given everything that happened before and after, I think it's fairly reasonable to say Roose Bolton personally killed Robb Stark.

And yes, Deckerd, as Captaindemotion said, we're discussing the scene from the book, not the TV series. The TV series won't be on the Red Wedding til later this year.

 

^ I always assumed that Roose just got up because he knew the shit was about to hit the fan and he didn't want to get pierced by a stray arrow.

I take your point, Martin doesn't always spell things out the way some writers do and you're far from the first person I've seen saying that he personally killed Robb. I just would have expected some reference to Cat knowing his voice or recognising him in some other way to ensure that the reader knew that it was him and not just one of his men who did the deed itself.

Either way, of course, he's complicit as hell in the whole thing and is as guilty as the man who thrust the blade (assuming it's not him).

 

I don't think he wanted to ensure the reader knew, any more than he wanted to ensure the reader knew that the gravedigger on the Quiet Isle was Sandor Clegane, or that the Citadel novice Alleras was one of the Sand Snakes. They're Easter eggs for observant fans, to be made explicit when (if) necessary.

 

It'll become explicit in the TV series, because it's way harder to hide that stuff in the visual medium. We'll recognize Bolton's voice, and if the Gravedigger speaks we'll recognize HIS voice, etc.

 

In some cases they could still get away with it-- Michael McElhatton can disguise his voice for one line if they really care. But in others I doubt they'll even bother. The "Arstan Whitebeard" thing, for example.

 

^Is Ian McElhenny (Ser Barristan) back for the next series then? I know that Strong Belwas has been cast, but I wasn't sure about him.

 

Yep, his return was confirmed a few months back by WinterIsComing.net.

 

^Excellent! Thanks.

 

Strong Belwas hasn't been cast for season three.

 

It's a shame Michael Clarke Duncan died last year. I think he would have been perfect for that role.

 

I thought he had. Maybe I'm thinking of Grey Worm?

 

Grey Worm has been cast.

The one on the left plays Daario and the guy on the right plays Grey Worm.





You could see Ian McElhenny in the background of some the the Dany shots/pictures this year sporting a nice white beard.

I will hunt around and see if I can find an image.

Here is one - He is in the background with the actress that plays Missendei (spelling). I found it on Winter is Coming.

 

New season 3 photos up at Winteriscoming.net.

I really like this one of Stannis.

 

Weird, I'm not sure if it's the composition of the show but Stannis looks so much older in that picture.

 

Hopefully, both the writing and acting of Stannis improve in S3. In the books, he's one of the most memorable and entertaining characters. In the second season, he's... completely forgettable.