May
7
jadedwulf
Posts tagged Catelyn Stark
“catelyn was obligated to love jon, he was basically her stepson-“
(via gendrybaratheonn)
catelyn is so over everyone’s shit and i’m living for it
(via asoiafwomen)
“
And then… Catelyn. Where to begin? In many ways, the writers have so simplified the setting, and so altered some of Catelyn’s basic motivations, that we probably should not have been surprised by the scene with Talisa. She’s not really the same character any longer, reduced mainly to the trope of protective mother and losing some of the qualities that complicated and made her one of the most realistically-depicted, fully-fleshed out characters in a series bursting with memorable characters. But for those who harbored some hope that this season would at least hew close to the novel when it came to Catelyn, would veer away from some of the infelicitous changes and bring back the Catelyn they know and love… that isn’t happening. In that scene with Talisa, Catelyn reveals a few things. Among them: she made a votive figure for Jon Snow (a figure that she says only a mother can make for her children), that she prayed for his death, then for his life in return for promises to love him and even see Ned legitimize him and give him the Stark name, that she failed to live to those promises, that she thinks those broken promises may be the reason all this tragedy has befallen her family.
Looked at in complete isolation, it’s a finely wrought acting moment. Looking at it in terms of character, however… you can see, perhaps, how the writers thought this might make her more sympathetic. Who hasn’t wished ill on someone? Who hasn’t been able to live up to a promise? But the scene so fundamentally betrays the character and her relationship to the setting she’s in that it’s hard to see it as anything but a very poor choice by the writers. The whole point of Catelyn Stark refusing to do anything more but tolerate Jon Snow’s presence—and that unwillingly—is that she is not his mother, and in Westeros she does not have a social or moral obligation to be his mother. She is not his step-mother, he is not her step-son—that’s not how things work in the Seven Kingdoms. Might a young Catelyn have prayed for the gods to contrive to send Jon away? Sure. Might she even have prayed for his death? I’m dubious, but in a moment of weakness even the god-fearing might do as much, so lets say it might happen. Would she regret having done so? Absolutely. But would she at any moment have considered herself a mother to Jon and responsible for him in some way? Never. Would she have put the inheritance of her own children at risk by urging Ned to legitimize Jon? Never, ever. The writers have made a fundamental change to her character. She’s still recognizably Catelyn Stark, one supposes, but it’s one who deviates sharply.
And it’s a deviation that both diminishes her, and leaves me baffled. If they were going to make a point of Jon Snow’s bastardy and his uneasy relationship with Catelyn in this episode, why in the world did they fail to use Jon’s real explanation to Mance Rayder for why he wanted to join him? Turning, as it does (and does so memorably), on Jon’s place in the world as a bastard. It seems a baffling missed opportunity, but then the story of Catelyn Stark on Game of Thrones is the story of missed opportunities. Catelyn Stark is bar none my favorite character in A Song of Ice and Fire, and it’s rather gutting to not be able to say that about the TV show’s version. Through no fault of Michelle Fairley’s own, I have to add—the blame rests squarely on the writers. I could write at greater length about all this regarding Catelyn… but I just can’t muster the energy; the disappointment is still too sharp. Year after year, I’m hopeful they’ll recover the Catelyn that s such an exceptional character, and year after year it’s a matter for unhappy rumination on the ways the writers have chosen to undermine the character.
In the end, it remains a solid episode, “character assassination” of Catelyn aside. It’s not perfect, it’s still slow, but I do think it’s safe to say that after these first two episodes, the pace does indeed start to pick up, and there’ll be much, much more to say.
”http://www.westeros.org/GoT/Episodes/Entry/Dark_Wings_Dark_Words/Book_Spoilers/#Analysis (via amplifyme)
My comment on this went:
You are the only reviewer I have read yet to note that it’s Catelyn who B&W have made fixate on Jon at a point where, in the books she never did, but simultaneously made Jon NOT fixate on his own bastardy at a point where, in the books, he actually did. It was an extremely poor choice to play Catelyn has having wanted to have been Jon’s mother. I would go so far as to call it unfeminist. A well-written, well-acted poor choice.
(via thenorthdismembers)
(via naathibutterfly)
Apr
7
ugh i can’t believe i have school tomorrow
if only catelyn had loved jon snow
(via swampkhaleesi)
Apr
1
This is the exact moment that I said, “Fuck this show.” out loud, in front of my boyfriend.
(via tumblrofthrones)
Jan
31
Ah, valar morghulis / valar dohaeris, the two sides of the coin of the Faceless Men. I agree, the concept of “all men must die / all men must serve” is one of the more interesting repeated themes in ASOIAF. “Valar morghulis” was first spoken to Arya by Jaqen H’ghar in ACOK, and though we didn’t get a translation until ASOS (and Arya didn’t until AFFC), she nevertheless subconsciously understood its meaning, adding it to the end of her nightly kill list. At the end of ASOS Arya learned “Valar dohaeris”, the response, though again we didn’t receive a translation until AFFC. (I occasionally wonder about the early days of the ASOIAF fandom, what it was like for them to speculate for five years about the meaning of those words.)
Besides the High Valyrian words themselves, the concept of valar morghulis itself comes up in all kinds of places, such as the song “The Dornishman’s Wife” and Ygritte’s words to Jon Snow. (“And if we die, we die. All men must die, Jon Snow. But first we’ll live.”) In both those cases the idea given is that death is inescapable, no matter what — so it’s best to live while you can, take pleasure in the moment. Missandei expresses a similar sentiment, when Dany warns her that she may die in her service; “valar morghulis”, she replies — since everyone dies, it’s better to live in a dangerous situation as a free woman than live in safety as a slave.
But valar dohaeris is not quite the opposite of “all men must die”. It doesn’t translate to “all men must live”, but rather that they must all serve — must work for others, whether for other humans or as an instrument of the gods. This most likely comes from the origin of the Faceless Men among the slaves of Old Valyria; the first Faceless Man believed he was an instrument of the Many-Faced god of death, and freed the slaves from their bondage with the gift of death. (It may also be a literary reference to the Biblical curse of Adam: that humanity must toil to produce food until the day they die.)
In practice, valar dohaeris is given as a response by a Braavosi to any Faceless Man — and they will do their best to serve, and only beg that the assassin remember their name in return (for a Faceless Man is not allowed to kill someone he knows). As for other references within the books, it’s less obvious than for valar morghulis, but the feudalistic nature of Westerosi society does have everyone serving someone, and the characters are often motivated by their duty. A more subtle reference may be the game of thrones itself, in which everyone is a player or a piece. Even the principle of the game, “you win or you die”, may express the dualistic nature of valar dohaeris / valar morghulis.
Now, many characters exemplify these themes. But in my opinion, one of the best ways to look at it is through the Stark sisters, Sansa and Arya (two sides of the same coin). Both girls, on their paths through the story, encounter people who act as examples, as teachers to them. (Interestingly, some of these are the same people.) Sansa’s teachers show her the ways of valar dohaeris — of service, of duty, and of the game. (Ned Stark, Sandor Clegane, Cersei Lannister, Dontos Hollard, Tyrion Lannister, Margaery and Olenna Tyrell, Petyr Baelish, etc.) Whereas Arya’s teachers demonstrate valar morghulis — that all men must die. (Ned Stark, Syrio Forel, Yoren, Jaqen H’ghar, Beric Dondarrion, Sandor Clegane, the Kindly Man and the Waif, and others.)
Another fascinating aspect of this dualism is that their mother, Catelyn Tully Stark, can be seen as the coin that the girls are the two sides of. (See also.) Catelyn, in life, was the perfect exemplifier of valar dohaeris, of duty and service. But as Lady Stoneheart, she has become valar morghulis incarnate, a dead woman granting death as justice. It should be interesting to see how these aspects of the coin interact if ever they meet each other once again…
(via headtrip-honey)
Jan
24
Dead Men Talking: Rest in peace Catelyn, we hardly knew ye
Finally watched “Fire & Blood” with commentary by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alan Taylor and you know what? Fuck them - specifically for the King in the North scene.
Catelyn’s part in the book:
“Lord Eddard was your liege, but I…
(via naathibutterfly)
← Older posts
Page 1 of 4
