Dear Readers,
Let me begin by apologizing for my month-long absence from the blog. From the online world, for the most part. Before, I was posting as close to regularly as I could manage, usually about one of my favourite book series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Then... nothing. What happened? Well, I went to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. It was a fun experience and whatnot, and then after a few days I was back. And that's when trouble started.
No, the trouble started before then, but it didn't really start affecting me until then. I can't go into the details because some of it deals with my work, and a lot of it deals with my personal life, but I can say that it was a difficult few weeks. There was no time for most of the things I'd been doing before, and not much heart either. I'm sorry.
I'm back now. All is well, or well enough for the time being. The most recent post for A Game of Thrones is up, and I've got a couple of one-off posts on the way for the more casual reader. I'll also find any comments left during the last month and answer them as soon as possible.
Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for reading.
‘Underbrush’ 4x6" conte
1 week ago
1 comment:
Glad to have you back mate. I'm starting to think there is something to this psychic business, because I literally just commented on this blog last night to ask why you were MIA and voila, I wake up in the morning and you've updated. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles.
ANYWAY. Catelyn. I'm inclined to think that she did the best she could, given that she's not exactly trained in negotiation - aggressive, diplomatic, or otherwise. What it comes down to is this is Robb's war. Yes, he's only fifteen but ultimately he's the one who decided to call the banners and march south, and he has to live with the consequences of his lack of foresight. I can even see the rationale in sending your mother in to negotiate (you don't want to give Walder Frey the impression he's your equal, and/or you don't want to risk your royal ass in a potential hostage situation) but the onus is on Robb to find a way across the Twins, not on Catelyn to drive a palatable bargain. In the end she didn't. The main sticking point, the part where she "gives away the farm," is obviously the betrothal, and try as I might I just can't think of any way she could have avoided that. That was the lynchpin, that was the thing that was holding the whole package together. Lord Walder knew he had the Starks by the balls, he knew they were pressed for time and had run out of other options. The best way to drive a good bargain is to withhold crucial information from the other side, but in this case all the cards are on the table. Everybody knows what's at stake.
/essay
also varys' repeated protestations that he only wants peace for the realm are ... i dunno, i'm sure he's sincere and all but i'm also sure he's not telling the whole truth, so any time he starts bleating about having the realm's best interests at heart i'm going to be giving him the side eye, here. the difference between him and littlefinger is, littlefinger is unpredictable. he enjoys wreaking havoc, chaos for the sake of chaos. littlefinger understands that randomness is an asset, and makes it so nobody is quite certain what he's up to or what he's after. Whereas Varys clearly has a plan - we just don't know what that plan is, and it probably requires advanced training in alchemy to understand anyway - i'm not so sure that littlefinger even has a plan. maybe he's just out to bring more entropy to the universe?
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