#dornish plot

[c-m-li]

Rereading A Song of Ice and Fire and trying to keep track of the Sand Snakes for the Dornish plot and I just -

There are so many.

Oberyn Martell, you whore!

[makerkenzie]

A Song of Finger-Pointing and Hole-Digging

Casting blame isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’m not above indulging in the occasional fit of finger-pointing. Blame is one of the lenses through which we learn from experience. Laying blame in the right direction helps us decide who’s trustworthy, and thus helps us make wiser decisions in the future.

Therefore: I’m so critical of the Martell-Sands’ campaign of “justice” because they are so adept at learning all the wrong things from their tragedies.

From Oberyn’s death at Gregor Clegane’s hands, the Sand Snakes could or should have learned any of the following:

1. Seeking vengeance carries the risk of getting more of us killed.

2. Daddy died because he behaved recklessly.

3. At least Daddy focused on the people with proximate responsibility for Aunt Elia’s death rather than go after innocents.

Instead what they learned was:

1. Daddy died in King’s Landing so we need to kill more people. 

Right? From the pot of molten gold on Viserys’s head, Prince Doran could have learned:

1. Maybe Viserys wouldn’t have been a good king after all. 

2. Don’t fuck around with the Dothraki.

3. Viserys decided to fuck around with the Dothraki rather than call on his allies in Dorne to bring him and his sister back home. 

Instead he learned:

1. Shit happens because the gods smash our plans awry.

When they learn of Quentyn’s death, the Sand Snakes will probably conclude that wicked Daenerys murdered their cousin, so they need to wage war on her. Which can’t possibly go horribly wrong in any way. 

From Elia’s death, they could have learned:

1. War is a flaming hot mess that’s not under anyone’s control and innocent people will be raped and killed.

2. Being married into the royal family isn’t always a good thing. 

Instead they learned:

1. The Lannisters are evil and we must destroy them. 

From Viserys’s death combined with Elia’s death, they could have learned:

1. The Targaryens, especially, are a chancy lot at best.

No, instead they’re all like:

1. We need to marry into the Targaryens, again, and wage war on the evil Lannisters.

This will end in tears.

[hermajestythebomb]

It actually has been bad for a while

Let's be honest, it's been going downhill since season 5.

What they did to the Dornish storyline was unforgibable; not only was the rich and complex plot from the books was cut short, it made twisted parodies of themselves some of the books most interesting characters; the Sandsnakes. Doran, who is a political genious inthe books, deserved better as did Ellaria who is a PACIFIST in the books.

Killing Ser Barristan was unnecesary, it was poorly done and it removed an interesting character from it's development, book Barristan plays a large role.

I never liked Stannis but I admit the show did him dirty, almost as dirty as it did our girl. Book Stannis loves Shireen, book Stannis isn't that much of a fanatic.

Giving Jayne Pool's story to Sansa was also innecesary, book Sansa has a good story; why not follow that? Sansa had an interesting setting in the Vale; was it really necesary for us to watch her being raped by Ramsay when it doesn't happen in the books?

You know what was also innecesary? Killing the Tyrells, in such a fashion. The Tyrells could have provided an interesting development. But they killed them, like they killed the High Sparrow, because they couldn't really think of a good way to end their stories.

Euron Greyjoy could have been the greatest villain ever to grace television; instead we get Fratboy Jack Sparrow.

I remained for love to our girl, because I loved the interactions between The Mother of Dragons and her people, I kept watching for these great characters I had grown to love so much. And they did Jaime dirty too.

I will not watch the finale and I invite you to do the same.

[makerkenzie]

A Song of Mischief and Shit-Stirring: She likes the dragon.

In Arianne’s first chapter in TWOW, she gets three signs that her family’s project of hitching their wagon to the new dragon is a bad idea. One by one, she disregards them.

First, she’s dining with the Tolands of Ghost Hill. Whoa there: Ghost Hill? Think that may be foreshadowing something? Anyway, the Toland ladies seem fine. Brilliant? No. Perfect? No. But they seem to have their heads screwed on straight, and a princess needs friends like that. The first sign is this one, from Lady Toland’s younger daughter:

It was then that pasty, pudgy Teora raised her eyes from the creamcakes on her plate.  

"It is dragons."         

"Dragons?"  said her mother.  "Teora, don't be mad."     

"I'm not.  They're coming."     

"How could you possibly know that?" her sister asked, with a note of scorn in her voice.  "One of your little dreams?"     

Teora gave a tiny nod, chin trembling.  "They were dancing.  In my dream.  And everywhere the dragons danced the people died."

We know what dancing dragons portend. The Targaryens are in conflict, and there are fields full of bodies on both sides. 

Second, a little later at the same meal:

"From the days of Aegon's Conquest.  He did not conquer here.  Elsewhere he burned his foes, him and his sisters, but here we melted away before them, leaving only stone and sand for them to burn.  And round and round the dragons went, snapping at their tails for want of any other food, till they were tied in knots."     

"Our forebears played their part in that," Lady Nymella said proudly.  "Bold deeds were done, and brave men died.  All of it was written down by the maesters who served us.  We have books, if my princess would like to know more."     

"Some other time, perhaps," said Arianne.

This is the one that I keep thinking about since reading Fire & Blood Vol. 1. Dorne resisted the Targaryen conquest, and they resisted very effectively, long after all the other kingdoms bent the knee. They kept their independence by refusing to fight on the Targaryens’ terms. 

This, here! This is why I’m so critical of the Martells’ plot to punish the Lannisters by empowering the Targaryens. It’s not that I think so little of the Martells. It’s because they could do so much better than this. Princess Meria would be disgusted if she saw what Doran and Oberyn have been doing since Robert’s Rebellion. This shit is not what “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” looks like. They’ve forgotten where they came from.

Anyway. The most revealing sign is later that evening:

Arianne played a game of cyvasse with Ser Daemon, and another one with Garibald Shells, and somehow managed to lose both.  Ser Garibald was kind enough to say that she played a gallant game, but Daemon mocked her.  "You have other pieces beside the dragon, princess.  Try moving them sometime." 

    "I like the dragon."  She wanted to slap the smile off his face.  Or kiss it off, perhaps.  The man was as smug as he was comely.  Of all the knights in Dorne, why did my father chose this one to be my shield?  He knows our history.  "It is just a game.  Tell me of Prince Viserys."     

"The Beggar King?"  Ser Daemon seemed surprised.     

"Everyone says that Prince Rhaegar was beautiful.  Was Viserys beautiful as well?"     

"I suppose.  He was Targaryen.  I never saw the man."     

The secret pact that Prince Doran had made all those years called for Arianne to be wed to Prince Viserys, not Quentyn to Daenerys.  It had all come undone on the Dothraki sea, when he was murdered.  Crowned with a pot of molten gold.  "He was killed by a Dothraki khal," said Arianne.  "The dragon queen's own husband."     

"So I've heard.  What of it?"         

"Just... why did Daenerys let it happen?  Viserys was her brother.  All that remained of her own blood."     

"The Dothraki are a savage folk.  Who can know why they kill?  Perhaps Viserys wiped his arse with the wrong hand."     

Perhaps, thought Arianne, or perhaps Daenerys realized that once her brother was crowned and wed to me, she would be doomed to spend the rest of her life sleeping in a tent and smelling like a horse.  "She is the Mad King's daughter," the princess said.  "How do we do know -- "     

"We cannot know," Ser Daemon said.  "We can only hope."

She’s literally losing the game because she’s over-invested in the dragon piece. Then it’s time to talk about Viserys. This is a problem the Martells have had for decades: they vastly overestimate their family’s importance to the Targaryens. Arianne figures Dany let her husband kill her brother because Dany was jealous of Arianne’s betrothal to Viserys. Never once does it cross her mind that Dany let her husband melt her brother’s brains because he was garbage. 

No, Dany was not jealous of any arrangement involving Arianne. Dany knew nothing about the arrangement because Viserys never mentioned it to her. 

Rhaegar deserted Elia and their children. Aerys used them as hostages rather than get them out of harm’s way. Viserys did not care about the offer to wed Arianne. The Targaryens will not go to bat for the Martells. The the last time the Targaryens cared for the Martells was when Doran and Oberyn’s mother was buddies with Princess Rhaella. The rest of the family don’t give a fuck. 

Arianne gets this much in one chapter: 1. The Targaryens bring death and destruction wherever they go. 2. The Martells do not need the Targaryens. 3. The Targaryens do not care about the Martells. 

Then in Arianne’s second chapter, Daemon Sand tells her straight out: don’t go any farther with these people.

“Your brother is not at Storm’s End, we know that now,” Ser Daemon said, as soon as they were behind closed doors.  “If Daenerys Targaryen has dragons, they are half a world away, and of no use to Dorne. There is nothing for us at Storm’s End, princess. If Prince Doran meant to send you into the middle of a battle, he would have given you three hundred knights, not three.”

Do not be so certain of that, ser. He sent my brother off to Slaver’s Bay with five knights and a maester.   “I need to speak with Connington.”   Arianne undid the interlocked sun and spear that clasped her cloak, and let the rain-soaked garment slip from her shoulders to puddle on the floor. “And I want to see this dragon prince of his. If he is truly Elia’s son…”

“Whoever’s son he is, if Connington challenges Mace Tyrell in open battle he may soon be a captive, or a corpse.”

“Tyrell is not a man to fear. My uncle Oberyn– “

” –is dead, princess. And ten thousand men is equal to the whole strength of the Golden Company.”

“Lord Connington knows his own strength, surely. If he means to risk battle, he must believe that he can win it.”

“And how many men have died in battles they believed that they could win?”  Ser Daemon asked her.  “Refuse them, princess. I mistrust these sellswords. Do not go to Storm’s End.”

Arianne’s reason for plowing on is understandable, and sympathetic: she wants her daddy to be proud of her. Quentyn wanted their daddy to be proud of him when he tried to get acquainted with the (literal) dragons. I suspect this one will go about as well for Arianne.

[makerkenzie]

The Prince of Chronic Lateness

One little thing that keeps popping up in Arianne and Areo Hotah’s chapters is that Doran always takes longer than he says he will. The complaint isn’t that he takes longer than they think he should, it’s that he says something will happen in X amount of time, and it alllllways ends up taking much longer.

The problem isn’t the absolute amount of time he takes to get going. We know he has impaired mobility and chronic pain, so sure, things take longer when he’s involved. The problem is over-promising and under-delivering. It suggests a lack of accountability. I don’t think GRRM is trying to tell us Doran likes to keep people waiting. I think the issue is more that he won’t be honest with himself about his limitations. He won’t be honest with himself, so he can’t be honest with his family and his people.

The small over-promising foreshadows more serious under-delivering. When he can’t even keep to his own timetable, his big plans for hitching his wagon to the dragon...probably won’t work out.

[minervacasterly]

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