100% True! You Are Right. I Should Not Have Placed The Exclamation Point Between 'heat' And For I Absolutely

100% true! You are right. I should not have placed the exclamation point between 'heat' and 🌶️ for I absolutely meant capsaicin heat.

(still hard to imagine south and southeast asian diets without chiles tho)

Well I would give a medieval peasant some spaghetti.

Alliser Thorne's Return

I know there's not much love for Allister ('cause he's got no chill and a rivalry with a teenager), but something I'm really intrigued by is his potential reaction to Bowen Marsh's mutiny...

And I really hope he (begrudgingly) "takes Jon's side".

I've been looking at The Adaptation and how wasteful it was with its characters (as was its wont). But then I got to thinking how interesting the execution of Bowen Marsh and the conspirators would be if it was Alliser performing it. The returning master-at-arms can, like his friend Glendon Hewett at Eastwatch in the absence of Cotter Pyke, take command of the castle.

He then learns of Marsh's detention/ascension to command, the means by which this came about, and his reasoning for doing what he did. And what does Alliser think of that?

Well, he's a man who continued to support the Mad King through all of Robert's Rebellion, up to and through the Sack of King's Landing, by which point his cause was obviously doomed. But better that than betray his superior. And so he condemns Marsh, potentially (if he reasoning were articulated out-loud for the POV) comparing Marsh to Jaime Lannister, and thus drawing parallels between Jaime's betrayal of Aerys with Bowen's betrayal of Jon.

And so he executes them, before moving on to deal with the Lord Commander's corpse and perhaps organise a new election. What happens after that is dependent too much on other plots to really imagine in a vacuum, but that one scene - the set piece of Alliser and Bowen, united in dissatisfaction but divided in willingness to enact change - would be fun to me.

This is the kind of Mormont shebear I would be had I been born on Bear Island.

I felt like you guys will appreciate this

Forget all about Six Maidens in the Pool.

me and the girlies discussing motifs and themes

It is a kids show tho. It is. Why do you feel like kids can't be exposed to sad or intense feelings? Violence, death of loved ones, anger and sorrow are just *things of the world* and children experience them too. Art is a great way to process negative experiences, come to new understandings and elaborate on feelings. Shows like this are also awesome conversation starters with kids who were lucky enough not to live through traumatic shit (yet). Eventually, we all deal with things we aren't prepared for. This show is fun, has a well constructed plot, and is full of adventure and moments of genuine levity. Also, it's beautiful to look at. And just as important, itis rich with charismatic, interesting and complex character who try (and sometimes fail) 'to do the right thing', who struggle to understand what 'the right thing' is in each given circumstance, who love each other and demonstrate and emphasize their love and its importance. What's for a kid not to enjoy? It's a kid's show that I, as the mother to a kid who watches it, greatly appreciate.

*hastily shoves the two torture scenes, multiple assassinations, a cannibalism motif that's increasingly not being just a motif, and political / moral intrigue plotlines off to the side* haha noo The Dragon Prince is for kids i swear—

Yess! It is gut wrenching when they say goodbye. I wanted so much more.

Having Arya from Sam's point of view in feast is so fun and refreshing. We are finally getting a point of view on her. She is so quintessentially Arya in this chapter too.

She is kind and helpful to someone who was being bullied because she stand up for people and because he is part of the brother of the night watch. She gives him food freely, helps him out and gives him tips to survive in Braavos just because of that while also intimidating two older and bigger boys.

(also the mental image of this teeny tiny little girl going up against two of them and making them back off is really awesome).

But it's also frustrating. I wanted them to talk more so much. That's the lost little sister of his best friend and neither of them knows this.