The Maester’s Path: Step four

Wow, this looks like a handful. The best place to start would be to get some letters from the house names under the shields I suppose.

Looks like Mormont, Redwyne, Stark, Lannister, Bracken, and Targaryen are the “key” words.

what do we think of the symbols under the weather symbols (and at the bottom of the pages)? numbers? for temperature maybe or for dates?

I presume you have to get the phases of the moon in the correct order.

By the way The pages turn over as well.

Lord of Fangs,

Don’t forget to flip the pages over :)

Lord of Fangs,

And when you turn the pages there’s Hightower, Tully, Florent, Baratheon, Martell, and a blue with a gold squiggle that I don’t recognize.

trying to figure out how they’re supposed to go in there…

geographically? if so, North > South or South > North or East > West or West > East?

Probably the 12 pages are the 12 months of the year, I’ll try looking at the weather of each page…

Katja:
Lord of Fangs,

And when you turn the pages there’s Hightower, Tully, Florent, Baratheon, Martell, and a blue with a gold squiggle that I don’t recognize.

Where is Martell?

I have:

Baratheon (stag) – Mormont (bear)
Stark (direwolf) – Frey (twin towers)
Florent (fox) – Bracken (horse)
Tully (fish) – Redwyne (grapes)
Lannister (lion) – Greyjoy? (squid?)
Targaryen (dragon) – Tyrell (rose)

My first inclination was to get the lunar cycle correct. After I saw comments about translating I looked at the symbols in each house name and tried to compare them to either the figures at the bottom of the page (page numbers?) or the figures under the weather symbols (dates or temps, presumably). Could the heraldry and text just be a distraction?

Since this one is about touch, I was trying to match up the torn edges of the pages… But to no avail.

Look The symbol at the bottom of the page. The first scribling that looks kind of like a fishing hook is on all pages. So this probably symbolises “page”. the other symbols of the 6 pages can be found amongst the other symbols on top of the pages beneath the moon-phase thingeys. Its probably a calender. if u figure out the calendar you can sort the pages after that

Lina,

Oops, my mistake. I meant to say Tyrell. And I think I was wrong about Hightower, it’s Frey in stead.

I tend to agree that (definitely) the text and (probably) the sigils are distractions. We should focus on the symbols.

Would love it if someone actually had the patience to translate though! A quick look confirms that the letters definitely match the house names… Same symbol in the place if R in Stark and Frey for example.

How do u decipher them? maybe i can help

My thinking is this-

The symbols on the bottom of the pages are the page numbers.

The symbols under the suns/moons are the temps.

I think use the temps to figure out which symbols are higher in value than the others, to figure out the order of the page numbers below?

That’s what I’m trying. Seems the most straight forward.

Wow, great puzzle! You don’t need the text to solve it, though I’m sure it helps. And the house that’s on top of the book (the first page) gives a clue about what’s in the reward… ;)

I think I figured the “order” based on moon phases, but can go both ways, and start at any point. Fox -> Horse -> Kraken -> Lion -> Fish -> Grapes -> Bear -> Stag -> Rose -> Dragon -> Twin Towers -> Direwolf -> Fox again. That way one moon phase links with the next perfectly.

The one with the horse says “Always support the bottom” in the third line methinks XD

you can sort of try to figure out the numbers by looking at when the first decimal changes in relation to the weather getting warmer and colder. i tried to use that to figure out the numbers at the bottom of the page and tried placing the pages inside the book according to the order (either with the lowest page number first or last), but it didn’t work. probably they need to be flipped correctly as well, but i don’t know how to decide the correct flipping order ^^

So we don’t think which side of the page is ‘right side up’ is relevant? The moon phases would appear to indicate that (so if the Moon is 3/4 full at the end of one row, it should be full on the flipside; if it isn’t, that means the page needs to be spun round). However since the pages are non-continuous (they are ‘loose’) that doesn’t help in arranging them in an order. If it’s irrelevant what side the pages are on, that means the phases of the moon are no help at all ;-)

You tell the flipped side by looking at the moon phase. When the one on the far right must flow into the flipped sides far left.

I tried deciphering it by house names and there is a problem.
Florent isn’t Florent. From what I made up so far its Yrester. Because fox is Florent, isn’t it? Or am I missing something?

I count 10 symbols for 10 numeric digits. Assuming the symbols below the weather represent temperature, it is just a matter of putting the symbols in numeric order and then putting the pages with those symbols at the bottom in order. For example that 1 rainy day on the Greyjoy page was probably colder than the sunny days, thus the Pi shaped symbol is numerically greater than the T (with line over it) symbol. Put the symbols in order and then use the page numbers to put the pages in order.
Maybe someone who doesn’t need to go to work right now can do this? :)

Pedro José Molina Fernández:
I think I figured the “order” based on moon phases, but can go both ways, and start at any point. Fox -> Horse -> Kraken -> Lion -> Fish -> Grapes -> Bear -> Stag -> Rose -> Dragon -> Twin Towers -> Direwolf -> Fox again. That way one moon phase links with the next perfectly.

Doesn’t work, at least for me.

Izmaglica,

am I crazy or is there something wrong with the letters under the fox?

Pedro José Molina Fernández:
I think I figured the “order” based on moon phases, but can go both ways, and start at any point. Fox -> Horse -> Kraken -> Lion -> Fish -> Grapes -> Bear -> Stag -> Rose -> Dragon -> Twin Towers -> Direwolf -> Fox again. That way one moon phase links with the next perfectly.

…puting it in that order doesn’t work…

The summer is still holding. – beginning of the page with fox.

Saso Alauf,

the Florent name under the fox seems to be messed up, but everything else is ok, so i suppose that it’s just some kind of mistake or whatever.

Frey Transaltion so far….

THREE CATTLE WERE FOUND DEAD WHERE THEY STOOD THESE LAST DAYS, AND A WOOD CUTTER WENT OUT BEFORE THE SNOWS NIGH UNTO A MOON AGO AND HAS NOT YET RETURNED….

More to come :)

Saso Alauf,

Yeah, something doesn’t fit there.

ah i did now. you have to flip the pages over correctly, so that the moon phase makes sense

Lannister begins with : ” Summer’s start ” so it’s June !

Saso Alauf,

yes. people keep saying it’s florent, but it doesn’t have the wreath around the fox head. the word beneath it seems to be “prester” but prester’s sigil is an ox on ermine, not a fox, so i dunno.

Delekhan: Just need to flip couple of the pages (look at the moon phases to see which ones).

Yep, I had to flip the Baratheon and the Stark page I think.

Nicolas Winter:
Lannister begins with : ” Summer’s start ” so it’s June !

Seasons last years in the ASOIF, the start of summer doesn’t mean it’s June.

first part of the text on mormont page is: “I SMILE TO THINK OF A BOY WHO BEGAN THIS JOURNAL. THE SUN IS STRONG AND WARMING”
So this must be somewhere in the summer

I’ve translated the Tully page. Here it is (continued from a previous page):

“brings word from the great tourney at Harrenhal of scandal among the high lords. It is all the smallfolk can talk about, it seems, for all it is none of their concern. The young make too much of such foolishness; it will soon blow over. Gentle breezes are easterly and southerly in turn and very mild. Fields are greening,”

I’ve almost got the entire key. The Florent banner seems to be wrong though. The markings says Prester. I’ll continue with the Redwyne translation now.

Since I went through the trouble of translating the whole Frey page, I might as well share it:

three cattle were found dead where they stood these last days, and a woodcutter went out before the snows nigh unto a moon ago and has not yet returned. ravens raise spirits high with their news of bold deeds and exploits at a tourney at king’s landing, though not as high as sign of season’s change would

*ugh* I didn’t realize I had to actually PLACE them in the book… I was just lining them up in the right order and being like WTF WHY ISN’T ANYTHING HAPPENING. ahh well, got it now! thanks for the help, folks! :)

About the reward:

Uhm.. Kinda boring, to be honest. Theres hundreds of other scenes that would be more exiting to see. And Emilia only plays one note here. Compare it to Iain who gives a more varied but still quite subtle delivery. Not that this says much at all about Emilia in this role, but i comment on what we get.

I don’t get it! The order is from left to right and not from top to bottom, right?
So how do the two lines fit in?
First line: Targaryen, Florent (it’s the fox, isn’t it?), Frey (or Stark?)
Second line: Tully, Lannister, Mormont (or Baratheon?)

?

1. Bear
2. Lion
3. Fish
4. Tower
5. Fox
6. Dragon

Start to put the Bear down, End with the Dragon

Sawyer:
I don’t get it! The order is from left to right and not from top to bottom, right?
So how do the two lines fit in?
First line: Targaryen, Florent (it’s the fox, isn’t it?), Frey (or Stark?)
Second line: Tully, Lannister, Mormont (or Baratheon?)

?

You have to place them in the book at the left.

I have no problem cheating for this one. Thanx Eric. Nice clip.

Here’s how I figured it out:
Took a screen shot of them all laying there.
Flipped them all over, and took another screen shot.

Draged them into photoshop and put each page on a layer of its own.
lined them all up by weather and moons.

Eric Jones: Mormont, Lannister, Tully, Frey, Florent, Targaryen

That did it. Thanks for posting!

Void,

I can’t believe you’re the only one who noticed that so far :)

burth,

Thanks, worked :)

I first tried to figure it out with the different states of the moons, but I was only able to find out the front and backsides of the pages and not in which order they were arranged.

The reward is pretty nice, although Emilia seems a little bit “stiff”…dunno how to say it in another way… the way she stands there…. The actor playing Ser Jorah seems to fit for the role and he delivers his lines good. And there are background noises!

Anyways back to learning for my Math exam, yeahhh…..

Thank you, guys. :)
I had not realize at all that there is a “book”.

Reward Shmeward!!!

The more I see the more worried I get that I’ve been ranting on to my mates about a show that actually might end up being a bit dull.
I’m still gonna suck it all up, wipe my chin and beg for seconds but I just have the fear.
Don’t mean to naysay ‘cus the whole experience up ’til now has been awesome – Thanks Winter & HBO – but ……what if ….it’s not all that great?????
The fear.

bargarhar,

Really? I thought that one was mostly random, while this one was very logical. You had to do some thinking about the numbers and you could determine the correct flippings from the moon phases.

Stark translation:
…do. Snow in drifts is high as a grown man’s hip in places. The seven are merciful at last, tempering the bone-breaking cold, and even sending some days of good strong sun. Clouds are soft and round, but pass by quickly bringing their snow elsewhere. Two sacks of grain lost to rats. Ravens fly out today to ask if sign of winter’s end is…

This one is really hard for people who are used to °C instead of °F…

Stefan Langmann,

Yeah, I thought so too. I guess it wasn’t my computer lagging. ;p

Still, I can’t wait to see more of Jorah. He’s one of my favourite characters, and from what little we’ve seen I like the actor in the role.

Armgate. :)

Yes, I agree with previous commenters that Dany (and to a lesser extent Jorah) look a bit stiff. She really is just standing there and not delivering much in the way of emotion. This isn’t the first time I have watched a clip from the series and had similar worries. Specifically I remember seeing some pretty painful deliveries from Sansa.

I’m not going to worry, since these are just a few moments out of 10 hours, but it does make me furrow my brow a bit.

Upper three cards:

Redwyne: Yeare end radish on the table. And yet there is no white raven – this is no true spring. Still, the touch of spring in winter is a kindness not to be refused. We are blessed with rain and sun in good mix. Rain enough to fill a flask two knuckles deep. Aurochs sighted by the river in fine fettle, and fish in plenty. Two crocks of mustard
Tully: brings word from the great tourney at Harrenhal of scandal among the high lords. It is all the smallfolk can talk about, it seems, for all it is none of their concern. The young make too much of such foolishness; it will soon blow over. Gentle breezes are easterly and southerly in turn and very mild. Fields are greening.
Frey: Three cattle were found dead where they stood these last days, and a woodcutter went out before the snows nigh unto a moon ago and has not yet returned. Ravens raise spirits high with their news of bold deeds and exploits at a tourney at King’s Landing, though not as high as sign of season’s change would
Stark: do. Snow in drifts as high as a grown man’s hip in places. The Seven are merciful at last, tempering the bone-breaking cold, and even sending some days of good strong sun. Clouds are soft and round, but pass by quickly bringing their snow elsewhere. Two sacks of grain lost to rats. Ravens fly out today to ask if sign of winter’s end is.
Prester: The summer is still holding well and thus far no ravens bring sign of winter. A welcome respite after the ill spring and its lists of the dead and dying. The days are hot, save when a scrap of cloud comes to shield us, but none are fat with rain. Fields grow browner by the hour. Many a farmer has come for help, sun-addled and red from carting pails from the river too long.
Bracken: I would let them suffer if my master did not teach to always support the bottom. Stores of sourleaf will soon be exhausted unless a fashion for hats comes to pass. Our animals are wiser, and rest in the heat of the day, stalking prey or foraging only at dusk and dawn. Skies bluer than blue, but all long to see flocks of thunderclouds.

Steve C.: Void,

I can’t believe you’re the only one who noticed that so far :)

*golf claps* Now THAT is attention to detail!

astb

Great clip, definitely feel like I’m getting jaded by all the recent material though, just isn’t as exciting as it would’ve been a month ago. I may have to force myself to not watch anything until the premiere… (yea right…)

I never really noticed how much they changed up Dany’s appearance as the story progresses. In the first scenes from the wedding she is very pale and just a little “softer”, and in these later clips she is pretty tan and just less dainty looking.

Lannister translation:
…summer’s start. I have seen hotter days, but not many. The sun beats us dry and reminds me of other droughts in years no others live to recall. The Old sentinel’s needles have all gone brown. Soon it will be firewood, not that any care to light a fire. Few clouds pass by, and those few no more than torn scraps of wool.

Tywin’s Bastard,

I think it’s more than a natural sense of awkwardness though. People can go for awkward and still look realistic doing it. To me it’s more like she’s not acting with her whole body. Her lines are decently delivered, but her rigidity kind of makes it feel like someone reciting their lines without thinking about what the character would be doing and how they would be moving/not moving.

This is a short clip though, and as with all the others we’ve seen, any complaints we may or may not have will hopefully turn out not to be indicative of the larger whole in terms of how the actor works.

Thanks for everyone who put up the solution. I don’t have a lot of time right now to fiddle with the puzzle, but I also don’t want to have to wait until tonight to watch the reward. ;)

The scene wasn’t my favorite (I think the Needle scene still is), but I was glad to see Dany and Ser Jorah. I agree about it feeling awkward, but I wonder if the situation is supposed to be a bit awkward in context? Maybe they’re going to play up Jorah’s attraction to Dany from the beginning of the show? I still have an immense amount of faith that Emilia is going to be fantastic.

I do still wish, however, that the Dothraki styling were different. I don’t like the grassy-type clothes. :( Really wanted painted vests and horsehair leggings.

Bottom three:

Mormont: I smile to think of the slip of a boy who began this journal. The sun is strong and warming to all but I – cold has settled into my bones and will not leave it again. For all the summer has been long and winter is coming any day, at my age I fear I will not live to see another white raven. Perhaps just as well, for who yearns for the years
Baratheon: of hard winter sure to follow a ten-year summer? A fortnight of cloud and rain – the thunderclouds that visit are angry, hurling spears of lightning that come loud and close, and rain enough that the river rises from its bed. Lightning struck in the wood and lit a fire. Rain soon ended it, but now an oak spanning
Greyjoy: The air does not stir. Milk sours quickly, and tempers. Unrest and bloodshed in Lannisport, or so the ravens bring. It leaves me fearful, as I had thought the days of war ended. I hope it will come to a quick end, but fear the last time I said as much, my prophecy was unsound. This time I have no prediction.
Lannister: Summer’s start. I have seen hotter days, but not many. The sun beats us dry and reminds me of other droughts in years no others live to recall. The old sentinel’s needles have all gone brown. Soon it will be firewood, not that any care to light a fire. Few clouds pass by, and those few no more that torn scraps of wool.
Targaryen: Brings nothing but wind, cutting north wind, howling ceaseless these weeks. But spring holds true, and we will see summer. Fields of wheat and barley are well in for those hale few left to eat it, and a good rain to grow on. Perhaps luck will turn now that the sickness has passed us. The days are middling
Tyrell: warm, mist in the morning that does not last. Squirrels fattening, dogs losing their winter coats. But even one green as I knows that never has a spring been so mournful. Ravens bring word of the worst kind, and more every day. The sickness fells one in two in Oldtown. Likewise from King’s Landing and Lannisport, highborn and low are…

Solved it. Very fun. I’m not the kind to give solutions, but here is a HINT:

1) The cycles of the moon will indicate which direction the page should be turned. The first page (the page you see as it lies on the table) moons should lead smoothly into the second page moons. If you get an odd jump, like going from a full moon to a new moon, or the pattern suddenly jumps backward, the page order is wrong.

2) The symbols at the bottom page represent the page numbers, and the third row of symbols in the table represent the temperature on a given day. Everything here is essentially a number. Use the weather pictures to get an idea of what symbols are larger than the others to get a rough ordering. I think there are 12 symbols, but you only care about the 5 or 6 that show up in the last two digits of the page numbers. With that, you can order the pages. Remember, “higher” numbers go later in the book and should be entered first.

Loved the reward, btw. Not the best one we’ve gotten, but I really enjoyed it.

Lannister:
Summer’s start. I have seen hotter days, but not many. The sun beats us dry and reminds me of other droughts in years no others like to recall. The old sentinel’s needles have all gone brown. Soon it will be firewood, not that any dare to light a fire. Few clouds pass by, and those few no more than torn scraps of wool.

Alex Dothrak,

Actually, they’re neither centigrade nor fahrenheit, because I’m not sure if either are canon. They’re just on a sliding scale from low to high.

Katja,

Perhaps it was one of the books “donated” at the end of AFfC?

in regards to farenheit: that was a cheap one, you guys! altho i do understand that hbo is american and you simply haven’t yet learned the correct way of marking up temperature.

Winter Is Coming,

LOL, HBO is spying the fandom, it’s the only logical reason :D

Winter Is Coming,

Yeah, this line reminded me to always support my bottom so I won’t trip.
Anyways, this one was easily the best puzzle in the Maester’s Path series. Completely unlike the second one, here everything was perfectly logical. I, for one, solved it by decoding the journal and noticing the moon phases, but I love the fact that others solved it by comparing temperatures. This is how you make a good puzzle.
Now I wonder whether they will keep the code as an alphabet for the Common Tongue? I invested a bit in learning those ;) so it would be nice if the puzzle was the first lesson of Westerosi 101.
As for the reward, it was okay. I suppose I have to take a break with the GoT stuff as it doesn’t stir much emotion now. Or maybe I was just exhausted from the great chore of translating the journal :D

Hopefully they will make a version available for Droid users as well…

Eric: Would someone please explain the “always support the bottom” references I so often see?

It dates back to the first step of The Maesters Path. On the back of the map Winter got as part of his Scent Box the words Always Support the Bottom could be seen (but only very faintly). Initially it was thought that this might be a clue but no other map had any wording on the back.

It turned out to be just an imprint from a box or something but the words were then adopted as the House Motto for this website.

Steve C and his team then added it into the text on this latest task for us to find.

Jessica Chirico: 21, 2011 at 3:45 pm | Permalink
Regarding the award, did anyone notice what appeared to be a bruise on the side of Dany’s face? I hope I’m not the only one who sees this.

I noticed it- a slight bruise. I would imagine it goes along with her telling Jorah she doesn’t want to see Viserys on the Iron Throne. He’s the only one who I remember beating her…

And I didn’t realize they actually put “always support the bottom” into the translation! I saw some comments but I thought people were just joking around. That is awesome!! I love that they pay attention to us. :)

Can someone provide a solution for the lazy ones? ^_^

With the awkwardness. This isn’t the first scene we’ve seen where actors and dialogue have been a bit stiff. If I thin slice this, I can come to a safe conclusion, that acting isn’t gonna be 100% great. If the scene itself was supposed to be awkward, Emelia might have been fumbling with a trinket, or avoiding eye contact, not standing there like a manikin. Maybe that’s something one picks up with experience, to which she has none. (I’m not saying she’s gonna be bad, I think we can expect that this first season is gonna have some ups and downs for her, some home runs and others strikeouts, and some of the other cast as well, as do many first seasons in TV series.)

The first time I watched the clip I thought it was stiff, but after watching it a couple more times I really don’t think it’s that bad.</b

It is funny that so many of of the clips and footage they have shown the dialogue has been straight from them books. I am wondering if the whole series is going to be full of this or if they are just releasing ones that have dialogue from the book to please the fans of the books and let them know how much they are respecting the source material.

Via Ran on Twitter, the Horse Gates being built (Horse Statues to be added in Post)
http://ow.ly/4j2GI

GaR,

where did you read that you need 5 novices for the 5th challenge?

A poster on IMDB who has apparently seen the first 8 Episodes says on

Peter Dinklage

I had the priviledge of seeing a preview of the first few episodes of GOT. I predict Peter Dinkledge is going to be the main award winner from this cast.He is brilliant in this role and while the rest of the cast is superb in every way,he stands above them all (no pun intended). Tyrion needs to clear some mantle space for a golden globe as best supporting actor. Emmy too.

and Lena Heady

I’ve seen episodes 1-8. I thought she was fantastic. She handles the subplots and machinations adeptly. An impressive actress. You never really know what she is going to do next and to non-readers, your head is going to spin!

Knurk,

Steve C on Twitter:

@WiC_HearMeRoar One more link to go! Now is the time to start getting those novices, because that’s the only way to get to the Citadel :)

GaR,

That’s stupid, but I just got 5 novices in 2 minutes by creating fake-accounts with fake-emailadresses and that works just fine. Although I really loved this puzzle, I will not inflict this horrible website on to my friends.

Knurk,

I was considering that course of action.

It will depend on whether it’ll let me log in and complete steps 2 & 4.

good thing they assumed we’d all be super nerds and translate each page even if we didn’t need to. it would have been embarrasing if the text on those pages had just been gibberish. somebody at the company doing this is saying right now “see…i told you those WIC geeks would translate the pages. aren’t you glad you didn’t just put mumbo jumbo on there like Bob wanted.”

congrats guys. not on the puzzle but on the uber nerdy translations. i only regret i got here too late to help. it would be nice to get them all compiled in one post … ahem, hint hint Winter.

I can’t get the third puzzle to work for me at all, so I’m guessing I can’t complete the “Citadel” thing even with the novices. Kind of sucks. ):

Tywin’s Bastard:
Steve Hugh Westenra,

That kind of awkward acting is generally making the blatantly awkward come across, rather than someone being slightly awkward and doing his best not no show it. Being subtle can be very hard and even ruin it for some viewers. I’m not at all saying that it’s definitely that way, I’m just saying that I feel that there’s too little information to go on in context, how the characters act in other situations etc. It’s fine to disagree with that.

I’m not so sure it’s subtlety. It does seem to me like she just forgot she should be thinking about her body at all because she was, perhaps, concentrating on the lines so much. I don’t mean that she should actively be doing anything even, but it’s the wooden way that she’s standing which comes off as false to me. The pose and body language that she’s using (or not using, I guess) would work for me if it were a scene where she was paralyzed with fear maybe, but it doesn’t convey awkward to me, just awkward acting.
I think you’re right that we’ll need to see more to make any conclusive judgments (which will also still be subjective, mind you) one way or the other. For all I know she could be much, much stronger in every other scene.
There are bound to be moments when there are scenes/lines that don’t quite flow or that come off as cheesy or bad or whatever. With such a massive cast and such a long series (compared to a movie), it’s inevitable that this will happen, and especially, I think, with the less experienced actors (e.g. Sansa in that one line and Dany in this scene).

All of the texts, thanks to those who helped.

208
Targaryen
…brings nothing but wind, cutting north wind, howling ceaseless these weeks. But spring holds true, and we will see summer. Fields of wheat and barley are well in for those hale few left to eat it, and a good rain to grow it. Perhaps luck will turn now that the sickness has passed us. The bays are middling…

Tyrell
…warm, mist in the morning that does not last. Squirrels fattening, dogs losing their winter coats. But even one green as I knows that never has a spring been so mournful. Ravens bring word of the worst kind, and more every day. The sickness fells one in two in Oldtown. Likewise from King’s Landing and Lannisport, highborn and low are…

211
Prester
The summer is still holding well and thus far no ravens bring sign of winter. A welcome respite after the ill spring and its lists of the dead and dying. The days are hot, save when a scrap of cloud comes to shield us, but none are fat with rain. Fields grow browner by the hour. Many a farmer has come for help, sun-addled and red from carting pails from the river too long.

Bracken
I would let them suffer if my master did not teach to always support the bottom. Stores of sourleaf will soon be exhausted unless a fashion for hats comes to pass. Our animals are wiser, and rest in the heat of the day, stalking prey or foraging only at dusk and dawn. Skies bluer than blue, but all long to see flocks of thunderclouds.

254
Frey
Three cattle were found dead where they stood these last days, and a woodcutter went out before the snows nigh unto a moon ago and has not yet returned. Ravens raise spirits high with their news of bold deeds and exploits at a tourney at King’s Landing, though not as high as sign of season’s change would…

Stark
…do. Snow in drifts as high as a grown man’s hip in places. The Seven are merciful at last, tempering the bone-breaking cold, and even sending some days of good strong sun. Clouds are soft and round, but pass by quickly bringing their snow elsewhere. Two sacks of grain lost to rats. Ravens fly out today to ask if sign of winter’s end is…

271
Tully
…brings word from the great tourney at Harrenhal of scandal among the high lords. It is all the smallfolk can talk about, it seems, for all it is none of their concern. The young make too much of such foolishness; it will soon blow over. Gentle breezes are easterly and southerly in turn and very mild. Fields are greening…

Redwyne
…yeare end radish on the table. And yet there is no white raven – this is no true spring. Still, the touch of spring in winter is a kindness not to be refused. We are blessed with rain and sun in good mix. Rain enough to fill a flask two knuckles deep. Aurochs sighted by the river in fine fettle, and fish in plenty. Two crocks of mustard…

278
Lannister
…summer’s start. I have seen hotter days, but not many. The sun beats us dry and reminds me of other droughts in years no others live to recall. The Old sentinel’s needles have all gone brown. Soon it will be firewood, not that any care to light a fire. Few clouds pass by, and those few no more than torn scraps of wool.

Greyjoy
…the air does not stir. Milk sours quickly, and tempers. Unrest and bloodshed in Lannisport, or so the ravens bring. It leaves me fearful, as I had thought the days of war ended. I Hope it will come to a quick end, but fear the last time I said as much, my prophecy was unsound. This time I have no prediction.

287
Mormont
I smile to think of the slip of a boy who began this journal. The sun is strong and warming to all but I – cold has settled into my bones and will not leave it again. For all the summer has been long and winter is coming any day, at my age I fear I will not live to see another white raven. Perhaps just as well, for who yearns for the years…

Baratheon
…of hard winter sure to follow a ten-year summer? A fortnight of cloud and rain – the thunderclouds that visit are angry, hurling spears of lightning that come loud and close, and rain enough that the river rises from its bed. Lightning struck in the wood and lit a fire. Rain soon ended it, but now an oak spanning…

Steve Hugh Westenra,

We all interpret things differently. Note that she’s that way with her arms in several other clips we’ve seen. As I said in another post, my take is that she’s acting the timid girl that’s always been pushed around by her brother, that’s very rarely felt safe or at home anywhere. At the time of that scene she’s barely begun her growth as a person (it’s just before the middle of the book and I actually passed the chapter last night on my reread) so I can imagine that she’ll loosen up more towards the end of the season.

It’s just my opinion but if she just forgot about her arms that often I just don’t see her getting the role in the first place as it would be bad acting. I don’t think HBO shows have trouble attracting plenty of talent, especially for major roles, plus that I can find reason for it in the character, so I think it’s on purpose.

I guess we’ll see in 4 weeks, although we might still disagree on the quality on the result. :) I have no problem with the Sansa line either, even though I’m not entirely sure it’s not cut just for the trailer. We’ve heard plenty of lines being altered in many ways compared to the full delivery during all these previews (the Maester’s Challenge previews aside, since they seem to be the ones we can be quite sure of being shown as intended for the show).

Winter Is Coming: Haven’t had the time to do the puzzle yet, but they worked “Always support the bottom” in there? That is the most epic thing ever.

We are officially famous. It feels like … justice.

GaR,

Unfortunately it wasn’t. ): It just wouldn’t load when I tried to play. All there was was a black screen.

Tywin's Bastard,

No worries! I definitely didn’t mean to make it sound as if you were flat out wrong and only my opinion counted. ;p

My main problem with the Sansa line was the delivery of it, and I’m not sure how much editing would make it seem better. That said, I think it would be a hard line to deliver anyway and still make it sound decent, so I’m not basing my opinion of the actress on it.

If Emilia was intending to act that way on purpose then I would still call it a bad move, as it looks bad (to me, that is, and a few of the other commenters on here). It would just shift the blame of the badness to her judgment of how the pose would come off on camera instead of her inexperience.
In what little we have seen of her so far (in other videos) her character has spent a lot of time standing around or sitting, but it seemed to fit those moments more.
I agree with you though that we’ll have to wait and see! This certainly isn’t an unwavering opinion– it was just one very short clip!

At risk of getting flamed here (although, given how generally polite people on this site are anyway, I find that unlikely), I will say that part of it may be the character and not Emilia. I’ve never been a huge Dany fan, and mostly because I’ve never felt like she’s had much of a personality. She’s defined moreso by what’s going on around her and what her role in the story is (victim, then queen) than by her own personality traits. I think even Emilia’s description of the character (enthusiastic and charismatic though it is) is indicative of this fact. It’s all about the fact that she’s “this strong person” who “just gets stronger and stronger.” I’m not sure there’s much else there at this point, although I’m hoping and expecting that in ADwD Dany will start to develop more as a human being.

ishmael: I gather that the numbers on the bottom of the pages are years, can anyone relate them with what the texts describe?tourney in harrenhal 271 (tully’s page) and so onwhich was the year of the false spring?

208
The Great Spring Sickness, 209 is the when the worst of this happens but I suppose it could have started in 208.

211
Events of The Sworn Sword (Dunk and Egg II) take place, don’t think there is anything in the text that connects to that story, though Egg does start wearing a hat later.

254
The Bold deeds at a Tourney at Kings Landing could refer to Ser Barristan Selmy being knighted at 16, though he got the name “the Bold” when he entered a Tourney aged 10 in 247.

271
The Great Tourney at Harrenhal

278
Not sure what the unrest and bloodshed in Lannisport refer to, could be Tywin wiping out the Raines (not sure when that happened)

287
Nothing in the text to link to events.

Numerical Symbols Key (as I could figure it – it worked in solving the puzle)

The cross or plus with the curl going up and in on it = 0
The P with two dashes = 1
The scyth looking on one = 2
The P with one dash = 3
The scyth with an extra sorter line on top = 4
The P = 5
The T with a line on top = 6
The cross or plus = 7
The Pi looking symbol = 8
The vertical dash = 9

As far as Dany is concerned

Sure It might not be the best idea to be stiff like that, sceen wise,

But lets not forget that she is supposed to be Annoyingly mousy/shy/insecure. Only after her brother gets his crown does she really start to have some balls (Pardon my language).

I’d say she convey’s that pretty well.

The next task should be very interesting. Gonna put a guess in for the ‘taste’ challenge: wines with/without poison? Mixing’ things?

Either that, or maybe Westerosi pizza recipes! …mmm!

Lurker finally coming out of the shadows because of need of novices!
Anyone willing to support my bottom?
http://itsh.bo/ebYuxM

To be honest, watching this reward is the first time I have been worried about the quality of the series. I really hope the ‘out of context’ excuses are valid b/c that scene was just not up to par with what I expect and with what I have been told to expect from the promo’s.

I agree with you all. The scene would have been much better if Dany was waving her arms about and like sorta pacing back and forth and doing that eyebrow thing Leonard Nimoy does. That would be very abused-by-her-incest-desiring-brother-future-Queen-esque.

Dany is meek in the beginning, then slowly comes into her own through taming Khal Drogo, finding herself partially responsible for his death and then undeath, taking over as leader of a people, and then growing and growing over the course of books until she is a warrior princess marching across the world with a nutless army, freeing slaves left and right. Yeah she’s not meek at all in the latter books, but if you go back to the beginning she is extremely withdrawn. It isn’t until after she realizes that her brother is a douchebag that she begins to show any sign of independence and bravery.

Franny Bee,

yes! the inspirational story of a group of people from different worlds, differents ways, different lives, all bound together by their love of ASOIAF. As they awaited the coming of their love on the big screen, (XD) terror arose as they saw problems and changes, and canon seemed as it might crumble away like a handful of hot Dornish sand. Yet as desperate as the situation looked to be, there was hope. Hope found in the magical gathering place of Lord Wyck, and the amazing peoples and 24 hour support of House Gatewatch. Through the marvelous story woven through “Always Support The Bottom”, people will learn the techniques and tips to help any group get through their own personal canon-explosion as more and more books are brought to new mediums. However, if you follow Twilight, there is no hope for you, your bottom is done.

This puzzle is the best yet. Including an easter egg phrase that the fans created only 3-4 weeks ago is very impressive. Even more impressive is all the references to key historical events from the books.

I did not go so far as to translate all the page/year numbers. I was able to solve it without, and I knew you guys would come through for me. However, I believe Johan Sporre is a few digits off (unless the showrunners have altered the timeline history along with the ages of the characters. Very possible, considering Eddard is around 10 years older than the books.)

From the Hedge Knight stories is the spring sickness of 209 and the drought of 211. The reference to Barristan the Bold’s knighting (year 253) and the freaking Tourney at Harrenhall! (year 281) If I’m right, then the unrest/bloodshed in Lannisport is from Greyjoy’s Rebellion in the year 289, and the last page (the 10th year of summer) would be from year 298, the year of the events of AGoT.

Forgot to add a reference for all the dates: http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Years_after_Aegon's_Landing

Also wanted to say, “Well done” to the marketing/development team on this one. Somebody(s) did their effing homework on this one and deserves a bonus! Always support the bottom!

This was a fun one! Nice reward too.
At the risk of sounding ungrateful to the great folks at HBO who have provided us with so many treats over the last few weeks, is there any chance we might get a sneak listen to the themsong before premier night?
Its one of the ony elements of the show that we still have no clue about and it would help us get an idea of where they will be going musically with the series.
Curiously hoping!

purplejilly,

She was definitely a virgin. Drogo is her first time, it’s clear in the book.

Always Support The Bottom! HBO knew we’d end up translating the code even if it has little to do with solving the puzzle. hmmm now i need some novices…

For those that cannot wait to see the “new” trailer, Stevethepirate has uploaded a cam-recording here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP0FimrP_U4

Quality sucks, ofcourse, but still cool to see.

sjwenings,

That looks awesome! Cersei looks hot. And what’s that quick scene with Drogo at the end??

I’m actually glad it’s in low-res… I don’t think I want to see any more trailers, at this point, so low-res feels like like I’m not really seeing it. :)

I want to see the show!

zep243,

Thanks, I’m not especially familiar with the timeline so I couldn’t proof the numbers given above. Your years make more sense (and also fit the puzzle).

So for anyone wondering:
209: Targaryen and Tyrell
211: Prester and Bracken
253: Frey and Stark
281: Tully and Redwyne
289: Lannister and Greyjoy
298: Mormont and Baratheon

Hate to double post but can’t edit the previous post for some reason.

Anyway I hate how Heady seems to be playing Cersei. While it’s probably more realistic in that she seems less insane and evil, it just isn’t the Cersei in the books. Even in that trailer she doesn’t seem to capture the ‘fire’ that the role requires. I could fully be wrong but the acting seems closer to what I expect of Melisandre (in that detached cold sense) rather than Cersei.

To be truth, I’ve gotten that stiff vibe from all the 4 videos they’ve showed us so far. I didn”t say anything with the 1st one because everybody seemed so happy to see Jon and Arya that I didn’t want to look as if I was flaming the series for the sake of it.

The second reward gave me the same sensation. If anything it looked worse. Everything seemed badly directed, all the actors looked stiff, everything was artificial, like a theater play.

Third reward was a bit better, but Dinklage didn’t look to me either. Again, stiff and artificial.

Now, that everybody complaints about the 4th rewards I dare to speak out. I don’t like what I’ve seen of Emilia Clarke acting so far, and I don’t like her better here. She ‘s been my main concern along with LenaHeadley and I’m sad to say this, Dinklage, but now, I’m not sure anymore that their acting is what’s worrying me. Maybe is the direction and that’s a more serious problem, because to tell the truth I’ve also gotten that too theatrical stiff vibe from other scenes: the one in Pentos with Ilyrio, the dothraki wedding (seems too coreographical), the fight between Jaime and Ned, etc.
Oh, and Emilia’s wig still gives me nighmares…
I’m really sorry to say so but from what I’ve seen so far, it looks as if the series is not going to be good at all. I’m a little scared that it is not going to be a gigantic failure :-((

Off-Topic
A slide show from an unseen set of GoT. Could be a fake and it shows nothing spectacular, but it might be a part from the Horse Gate of Vaes Dothrak.

Topic:
hiija,

I am not going to judge the series until I have at least seen 3 episodes. But I would not worry. “It´s not TV, it´s HBO.” ;-)

hiija,

I really really believe that the main problem we have at the moment is that we have seen too many video clips too many times. If you saw everything in context on TV for the first time, it would be great…but they’ve already shown us practically everything…I’m just waiting for Bran to fly out of a window as the next MP reward video…15 videos in a day kinda takes the magic away…the promotion started very good, but they over-did it…

Johan Sporre,

Yeah, looks good. I was the one who posted the numbers originally and my order for 7, 8 and 9 was a guess, all I knew was that the Pi-shaped symbol had to be one larger than the T-shaped symbol, while the vertical line could be either above them (9, as I guessed) or below them (7, as appears to be the right answer).
Since the vertical line didn’t appear in the page numbers it was of no importance, but after translating the text it makes more sense.

Steve Hugh Westenra,

Don’t worry, I never took it as that. I just wanted to make it clear that I wasn’t telling you how it is. :)

As for the editing, I mean that I’m not 100% sure that we heard it as she said it. They’ve cut out parts of sentences, changed the pace etc in lines before. As said I don’t really have a problem with it as it was though, which I guess is just lucky for me. There can certainly be other things that I’ll get hung up on.

Yes, we’ll see whether it’s by choice or if it’s something that stands out in this scene. As said, it doesn’t come across as strange in a bad way for me as I can justify it through the character in my mind.

And you won’t be criticized by me for liking a character less than others, I would assume that all people have bigger and lesser favorites, or even downright dislike for some. Personally I think I like Dany and Sansa more than Arya, which is probably uncommon, although it doesn’t mean anything negative about Arya, just positive about the other two. As for Dany’s personality, I think it’s pretty fitting that she is as she is. First she hasn’t had room to develop a personality in Viserys’ cold shadow and then she has a ton of responsibility thrown upon her. I still enjoy those things, how she learns the different parts of becoming a woman and a ruler, how she balances her good heart with having to be strong etc more than stubborn Arya.

KG,

Cersei is the most irrational character in the series except for possibly Ned, but even Ned can act logically. In Book 1 , she’s pretty much the antagonist and not really in any way a sympathetic character. She is in no way a cold person. This along with her interview last week seems to show how unfamiliar she is with the character. She doesn’t need to be insane 24/7 but she definitely needs some sort of energy to her. Lloyd has impressed me infinitely more with his role than Heady has.

hiija,

I thought I was the only one! I feel the same way and am terrified that I will end up not liking the series, having loved (most of) the books so much.

while arya, littlefinger, bran, jon, ned, robb, jaime, even catelyn and cersei seem ok, even wonderful in *some* of the scenes I have seen, it pains me to say that dinklage – who is otherwise a terrific actor – just does not feel like tyrion, not just recently, but from the very first talking scene we saw him, asking jon, “what do you see”. i’d been quelling my fears, but from what I have seen so far, this hasn’t improved.

and yes, dany’s wig gives me nightmares also (though i like emilia clarke far better than tamzin merchant).

i just get the feeling they had more fun making the series and talking about it, then getting the scenes right.

rather than a theatre play, it feels like a clip from a game (eg riven) where they show “real actors” before the game begins.

I really really really hope that I am wrong :(

I liked this challenge, more than one way to solve it and I liked reading the text once translated :)

While Dany did seem a bit awkward in that scene, it doesn’t bother me too much- I think she’s supposed to- she’s considering, possibly for the first time, what Viserys would really be like as king, and probably worrying that she shouldn’t be thinking that, and certainly shouldn’t be telling Ser Jorah, but wants to be honest and share her worries- she’s becoming more independent, but she’s not there yet at this stage.

At any rate, it could look very different in the finished product, so I’ll happily wait (not very long!) and see :)

I still need novices, please! http://itsh.bo/gJhFM3

Always support the bottom! (so cool to see that in the text :-D)

Steve the Pirate,

I still think Cersei is gonna be evil-psycho on the show. Lena isn’t showing all her cards… yet. ;)

Jarmel,

I see what you mean. And especially since there will be more pressure on the other main characters to intrigue the audience after Sean Bean leaves the series.
I have to say though, I found the Dany chapters much less interesting than the rest of the story, but by comparison it was such a small part of the book and so it didn’t ruin the books for me or anything.
Just like with the novels I expect that people will have their favourite characters (about whom they feel very passionate) and their least favourite.

hiija,

Even if you aren’t impressed with the acting/directing so far, I still wouldn’t worry. The director changes nearly every episode and most of these scenes (I assume) will have been from the first two.

Tywin’s Bastard,

I think with Dany (in the books), one of the reasons I’m expecting that she will develop and change a lot more in ADwD is that she starts off the books as a 13 year old girl. It makes a big difference, I think (when combined with what she’s been through, unlike, say Arya or Sansa at the beginning of GoT, who haven’t really seen any hardship yet and both have very strong, independent and identifiable personalities). I think what would make Dany interesting to me would be to see her actually start to fail, or to become a flawed leader/ruler. It seems as though much of what has helped her along has been the guidance she receives from other people and their decision-making. Once she accepts more and more bad advice I feel like we may see her begin to develop more of a personality. I can buy the way she is in the earlier books if it goes (generally) in a direction something like that, but if she just gets stronger and stronger and becomes Queen of Everything Evar and never does anything bad then there will be some serious “wtfs” from me, haha.
Like you, I don’t think one has to hate the other characters simply because one really likes another (e.g. Sansa and Arya). Interestingly, the first time I read GoT I hated Sansa and loved Arya, but with the later books and then having gone back and reread GoT, Sansa seems more interesting. I like both now (although I found Sansa’s later chapters much more interesting than Arya’s just because more seemed to be happening in them).

Cersei is going to go slowly batshit crazy over the next few years (assuming/hoping we get several seasons of the show) and it’ll be a pleasure to watch. The evil and crazy is in there, no doubt, but not coming out of the gate as very aggressive and bitchy is, I think, a better choice for a TV show. I was wary of Headey when she was cast, but I think now she’ll be great.

Steve the Pirate:
Cersei is going to go slowly batshit crazy over the next few years (assuming/hoping we get several seasons of the show) and it’ll be a pleasure to watch. The evil and crazy is in there, no doubt, but not coming out of the gate as very aggressive and bitchy is, I think, a better choice for a TV show. I was wary of Headey when she was cast, but I think now she’ll be great.

This.

KG,

I completely agree with you. To me, first-book-Cersei was always relatively calm and passive aggressive.

KG: of Cersei as a raging, frothing madwoman comes from. She’s filled with rage, yes – but she is, most of the time, the poster child for passive-aggressive behavior.
You can be hostile without resorting

You’re joking. She watched the Hand’s Tower burn for the hell of it. She has high levels of paranoia judging by how she takes everything as a slight such as Bronn naming his kid Tyrion. Even excluding AFFC due to grief related events, she was a sadistic bitch even when she was a kid due to what she did to Tyrion as a baby(messing with his penis if I remember correctly). Also her other childhood flashbacks about visiting that prophecy lady(can’t remember name) didn’t paint her in the best light. How about irrationally wanting both the direwolves dead even though everybody except her and Joffrey agreed that it was an accident. Then there is the whole aspect of her just being a horrible parent in general due to the inability to scold her children or admit that they made a blunder. Then there is the whole killing Robert ordeal which I’ll admit is complicated since he did beat her(not heavily but still) however murder does seem a little extreme. The Red Viper didn’t make his comment about her due to nothing.

@Steve Hugh Westenra

Certain actors have to carry their parts. Arya, Jon, Dany, Tyrion, Cersei, Jaime, and Bran all because they really are the only major actor in certain sections and most of the action in certain sections revolve around them. Cersei, Jaime, and Bran aren’t critical until later but are indeed critical. That is part of the problem with a large ensemble cast is one bad actor can wreck a good storyline and thus a good amount of time is wasted on stuff that the audience has no attachment to. Movies avoid that due to their pacing unlike TV series. So if I’m appearing overly critical it’s because of the importance of her role. If it was some redshirt I wouldn’t blink.

Honestly I know it’ll probably be fine in context, but I’m really hoping this has good acting. Which I’ve seen from a few (Jaime, Jon, Viserys, Arya, and Tyrion which is very good due to how critical those roles are). Not just directing, writing, music or art direction(which are all crucial though). I’m sure it’ll all work out though. Mostly pre-launch jitters.

Jarmel,

I don’t think you’re wrong to criticize (I wasn’t particularly impressed with her acting in this scene either, and even if I had thought it was good, that’s still your opinion, to which you are entitled).
You do have a point, which I think is important. I just think that, for my part at least, if I compare it with my feelings toward the book, my love of the rest of the different sections was enough to make me love the whole, and even though I wasn’t a Dany fan, I really liked Jorah and Viserys (yes, I was sad when he died in the books, which has to be the most unpopular opinion in the whole fandom, haha). Because there are so many different branches of the story (moreso after the first book/season really), I do see what you mean, but it also has the consequence of allowing someone who may not be that invested, say, in Bran or Bran’s storyline to still love the show and enjoy Arya or Dany or Jon. In a way, having so many threads to follow may help support weaker performances, since those individuals, though important, won’t have to carry the entire series.

Jarmel: KG, She killed off Robert just because she hated him.

ROFL!

Steve Hugh Westenra: Jarmel, I don’t think you’re wrong to criticize (I wasn’t particularly impressed with her acting in this scene either, and even if I had thought it was good, that’s still your opinion, to which you are entitled).You do have a point, which I think is important. I just think that, for my part at least, if I compare it with my feelings toward the book, my love of the rest of the different sections was enough to make me love the whole, and even though I wasn’t a Dany fan, I really liked Jorah and Viserys (yes, I was sad when he died in the books, which has to be the most unpopular opinion in the whole fandom, haha). Because there are so many different branches of the story (moreso after the first book/season really), I do see what you mean, but it also has the consequence of allowing someone who may not be that invested, say, in Bran or Bran’s storyline to still love the show and enjoy Arya or Dany or Jon. In a way, having so many threads to follow may help support weaker performances, since those individuals, though important, won’t have to carry the entire series.

Ugh, got cut off editing my comment.

Valid points. Certain characters though we’re supposed to root for such as Dany and Jon and if they pull stinkers, which leads to audience hating or worse not caring about those characters, then I think it could change the entire feel of the series(which in of itself isn’t necessarily bad). I have a feeling by the 2nd or 3rd episode we’ll know who the weak link is(hopefully not more than one if that). Also weak acting by itself can still benefit from great chemistry in that say NCW might be a bad actor by himself (which I highly highly doubt as he’s been absolutely fantastic so far)but with other actors might be great. I do wonder how Merchant handled the role though, although I prefer the looks of our current Dany despite how absolutely shallow that sounded.

@sjwenings
Well she had reasons to hate him but it did mostly boil down to the fact that she wanted him dead, nothing else really. It was more Ned that was threating her position and having Joffrey on the throne was an added bonus really.

BTW, I know this may not having anything to do with what we’ve talked about so far but can anyone tell me the age difference between Cersei and Tyrion?

Jarmel:
KG,

Did you miss all the irrational, mostly due to emotions, stuff she did in the first book or just read the first three sentences of my comment?She was crazy in the first book, similar to Viserys in a ways, obviously not as crazy as she later gets, when she suffers a near complete mental break.She’s without a doubt the villain of the first book.She killed the direwolves off because they hurt and shamed her dear Joffrey, even though they weren’t really a threat.She killed off Robert just because she hated him. Again just bad parenting in general because she loves her children too much.She’s a very emotional character.

I think you might be misinterpreting Cersei’s intentions for her actions in the first book. I’m re-reading now, so I may have it a bit fresher in my mind than yourself.
Cersei didn’t want the direwolves killed because they hurt Joffrey. She wanted them killed because she wanted to hurt the Starks yes, she said it was because Joffrey was hurt, but that was merely an opportunity she seized upon in order to get a point over her political rivals.
As we’re not privy to events in the royal household prior to the start of the books (for the most part), this might also be an attempt to “probe the waters”, and see how much power she had over Robert now that Ned was hand.

Cersei didn’t kill off Robert because she hated him. Yes, she hated him, though I prefer to use another word, like reviled or despised. She killed him off primarily to protect her own political position, and secure that of Joffrey’s. She knew ned was snooping around about Joff’s parenatge, and that he’d work it out eventually. Once Ned told Robert, the cat would have been out of the bag, and her life and that of her kids’ would be over. With Robert on the throne, there was no chance of discrediting Ned – Robert would have always heard him out, particularly about this. The killing of Robert, followed by the immediate discrediting of Ned was a finely calculated series of events, that went exactly as planned.

Book one Cersei is not a raving lunatic. Sure, if there was a Cersei POV in book 1, she might be thinking slightly crazy, but she’s highly functional, largely has her thoughts and emotions under control, and feels secure in her position.
Cersei is certainly narcissistic, probably has some persecutory thoughts, and may have some minor delusions, but she is not thought disordered until later in the story.

Maybe they’ll read the comments and make changes accordingly :)

GoT “Inside the Series” is now on HBO Canada on Demand.

Not sure if this is old news or not – I checked yesterday and there was nothing there. Can’t complain about 27 mins of unbroken footage on TV!!! Even seeing “Game of Thrones” on the onDemand list was a thrill.

This is really happening everyone!

Venio Hiberna.

If Cersei had been protective of her kids, she would have backed down from the succession issue when it got (dangerously) hot in there. High-tailed it back to daddy/CR, for the sake of blondies 1, 2 & 3.

Instead, it’s Cersei first, kids second. (even rats don’t want their children dead, but they WILL step on their kids’ heads to reach the best morsels). Cersei’s drug is power, whether it exists in reality or only in her mind. Funny how that power just ‘fades away’ when Tywin decides it does, though.

And even once her kids are ALL dead, she still won’t see herself as the ‘problem’ or even as a contributing factor in their denouement. She is one of the few characters that is irreparable, regardless of circumstance, imho. Which is also why I think Jaime will end that bitch.

Can’t wait X)

Franny Bee,

I don’t know if I see the quest for power solely for her. I think that she sees it as a huge positive thing for her children to make sure they inherit the throne. From her thoughts in AFFC I think she comes off as a mother that wants what’s best for her children and will do anything to protect them, and she thinks that only she can do it.

By backing down as you say she would do them a great injustice because the accusations would be seen as true by everyone in the realm and they would be labelled as abominations. How could that be doing her children any good? I can’t imagine anyone doing that to their children, unless that person puts herself above them. Ergo I see your argument in the opposite way.

Tywin's Bastard,

As a mother, I could handle people thinking my kids are abominations, so long as they aren’t awaiting execution! But granted, holding onto the ‘power’ & keeping up appearances keeps the kids more safe than conducting a suspicious, guilty-looking ‘slinking away’.

Still her sense of entitlement/Narcissism is going to get them all snuffed. Her pride will keep her from ever changing.

That’s one mommy who doesn’t deserve brekkie in bed!

And don’t get me STARTED on Catelyn, lol. Knowing what befell the last future Queen/princess of Westeros (Elia and her children), would you be so thrilled to make your daughter the next future Queen?

I wouldn’t.

Regimes can change, and the princess always gets… yeah. :(

steve the pirate uploaded a new (at least for me) trailer he videod from HBO. New scenes like Catelyn defending Bran and a very short glimpse of Bron’s duel on the Eyrie!! check it out… link

Franny Bee,

Yes, that was what I was thinking. By having them stay the claims can be refuted as the accusers just trying to usurp the throne. I wouldn’t put it past lord Tywin to take very drastic actions against the children either if the accusations gained weight.

I fully agree that she’s sending them down a very bad path (although that was perhaps inevitable given the foundations). I just think that she does it much because she thinks it’s the right way to protect them and give them all that they deserve, i.e. I think her pride includes her children rather than her using the children for her personal pride.

As for Catelyn and Sansa, there was a bad example with the Targaryens but you could probably find a lot more princesses/queens that lived good lives with wealth and power. The Starks were faring quite badly under Aerys tyrrany without being royalty so it’s not just the king and his family that are threatened through their power.

MetalgoddessAMB,

I disagree. By running she’s pretty much saying that they are true and everyone would believe the accusations. By painting her children to be abominations and treachery to the throne everyone would demand that they die and I would definitely think Renly and especially Stannis would go to war on them on that account. Ned’s words would mean nothing. By staying she retains a lot of supporters and can dismiss the accusations as lies from potential usurpers whom they also subsequently beat because she has more than the Lannisters to fight with and there’s still a Lannister/Baratheon on the throne as far as we know.

And if they ran to Casterly Rock, thus giving weight to the accusations, I’m certainly not too sure Tywin would take mercy.

Tywin’s Bastard:
Franny Bee,
As for Catelyn and Sansa, there was a bad example with the Targaryens but you could probably find a lot more princesses/queens that lived good lives with wealth and power. The Starks were faring quite badly under Aerys tyrrany without being royalty so it’s not just the king and his family that are threatened through their power.

I think it’s also reasonable to say that Catelyn never expected what happened to happen, and probably just thought she was giving Sansa an opportunity to enter the world she had always dreamed of. Also, when you consider that Robert was Ned’s best friend and the fact that Joffrey’s treachery probably wasn’t common knowledge when he came to Winterfell, you can’t expect Catelyn to know she was sending Sansa to horror.

MetalgoddessAMB,

Stannis is extremely hard on his honor so I can’t imagine him giving any pardons. He makes Eddard look like a softy, and Ned was about to kill someone for selling poachers to slavery.

I expect Stannis to be the king as well, given the fate of Renly. As for Tywin, killing the children could perhaps save the Lannisters a war. As abominations to the realm they are hardly of any use to him. Either that or claim the accusations are false and go to war to put Joffrey back on the throne, but I don’t see that happening since people would believe Stannis if Cersei fled.

Tywin’s Bastard,

Yes, but if she makes no claim to the throne, hands it over to Stannis and leaves quietly, then how has she besmirched Stannis’ honor? There wouldn’t need to be a war for the throne, because the throne has already gone to the rightful heir. As far as the children go, they’re only abominations to the realm, if they’re ruling the realm. If they’re not, then who really cares if they are born of incest if they’re only going to go back and be the lords of Casterly Rock? remember-The realm is no stranger to incest, as the Targaryen’s used the practice in their rule and people put up with it for hundreds of years. I suspect Stannis would want to put her on trial, maybe for murder. Because of her station she would get a trial though. There’s many ways to speculate what Tywin would do, give her up, protect her, go to war, there’s a bunch of interesting scenarios for sure. But I think the children would be safe. I think Stannis would honor the deal Ned made about the children.

MetalgoddessAMB,

I don’t think that Stannis’ personal honor has to be slighted in order for him to take action. Davos actually saved Stannis’ life and still lost the ends of his fingers for smuggling.

I just have to chime in here again and say that the fact the phrase “Always Support the Bottom” was worked in to this weeks’ Maester’s Path challenge was a really amazing thing, and it made me feel ‘included’ again. So this totally makes up for me not being able to get a scent box, and feeling disenfranchised by HBO’s marketing start with the boxes. I am now franchised instead (lol). I think they have some really clever people there, and it was great that they went out of their way to make the loyal fans feel ‘special’. It worked! Thanks HBO!

Jarmel,

in terms of her madness, Cersei was still relativly sane in the first book. Personally the more i see Lena Heady the more i’m happy with her interpretation, she might not know everything about Cersei but there’s a fire behind her eyes and the hatred in her eyes whenever she’s with Robert is amazing.

There’s a new trailer where they show another one of her lines where she’s scolding Robert and she delivers it perfectly.

Winter Is Coming,

This is according to the yes facebook page, but I’m afraid this is not official yet. It’s only been mentioned in response to a question someone posted.

MetalgoddessAMB,

I don’t think you’ve understood just how much of a taboo incest is in Westeros. “Abomination” isn’t just a nasty thing to be, it means it’s actually abhorrent in the eyes of gods and men. The text says as much. The Westerlands wouldn’t stand to be ruled by such, and I can’t see Tywin tolerating it. I suspect he’d put them to death out of hand, and to hell with what Cersei thinks.

But there’d be Stannis to deal with. The dude is so in love with his own honour he makes Ned look like a common whore. Cersei committed treason against Stannis’s brother, the King. Yeah, Ned promised her and her children safe conduct over the Narrow Sea, but once Stannis takes the throne, all bets are off. If they did head to Braavos or wherever, he might let them be, but I cannot imagine him tolerating them in his Kingdom, and especially not as future lords of one his major vassal territories.

GaR,

Just as a point, the Targaryens were all about incest – much like the ancient Egyptians. Brothers and Sisters married in order to keep the bloodlines pure. So it’s not entirely true to say that it was universally despised.

Not that I think that the kiddos would have lasted long if Mama Cersei had run off to CR with them. Just saying. ;)

OT:
Besides the US and Canada it looks like we Central Europeans will get the first 15 mins as well on the 4th of april! Here is the schedule for the day on HBo Hungary and they have the “prolouge” at 22:00. I checked on the croatian HBO site and they have it as well, but at 21:55! The dear neighbours get to watch it five minutes earlier, that’s unfair! :) Though seriously, I can’t complain.

McSherrie,

The Targaryens were the exceptions that proved the rule. Y’know, “they answered to neither gods nor men” or whatever.

The language regarding children born of incest is pretty strong. “Abomination” is pretty unambiguous, and I seem to recall descriptions like “universally reviled.”

KG,

I always thought Tyrion was the Targaryen indiscretion (I figured that out myself, but not R+L=J). His obsession with dragons, eating his bacon ultra burnt, silver/gold hair, crazy eye colour.

Cersei and Jaime seem more like stereotypical Lannisters in comparison. Well, Jaime, anyway. Somewhat.

Franny Bee:
GoT “Inside the Series” is now on HBO Canada on Demand.

Not sure if this is old news or not – I checked yesterday and there was nothing there. Can’t complain about 27 mins of unbroken footage on TV!!! Even seeing “Game of Thrones” on the onDemand list was a thrill.

This is really happening everyone!

Venio Hiberna.

Is it viewable now ?

Impressions ?

Matthias Hinkelmann,

THANK YOU!!!!!

Not everyone knows the animals for each house…