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| The Red Viper and The Mountain, by ~Jyvblamo via deviantART |
This chapter is really packed, but it comes to one of those heartbreaking conclusions that GRRM has become so famous for.
So many of us just assumed that Tyrion was going to come out on top yet again, because so much of this situation mirrored what happened while he was in the Vale. His champion then, Bronn, was similarly lightly armored and relying on his speed and intelligence just as much as his strength and skill to win the day, as Oberyn does here.
But as Brendan says, Oberyn's pride is his undoing; if he had resisted the urge to force Gregor to confess, if he had been satisfied with just taking him down and foregone the grandstanding, maybe he'd still be alive. Sadly, not only is Oberyn dead, but we're not even necessarily sure that Gregor also died. It seems very Martin-esque to have the good guy die and the bad guy live, doesn't it? Guess we'll find out.
This is, in my opinion, the best chapter in the entire series. I don't think I've ever felt as tense while reading than I did while Oberyn was fighting Gregor, and I think I was just as upset when Oberyn died as I was during the red wedding. I had to put the book down afterwards just so I could get my body to relax.
ReplyDeleteOberyn in probably in my top 5 favorite characters from ASOIAF, and part of the reason the Martells are by far my favorite family. V jvfu gur obbxf jrer whfg nobhg uvf qnhtugref. The first time I read this chapter I was so certain Oberyn was going to win, but instead everything goes to shit. All I hoped was that the spear was going to be poisoned with something that would give Gregor a long, slow, painful death.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great chapter. Shae's confession against Tyrion is truly heartbreaking. You can count me in the camp of being a huge fan of The Red Viper, but it's mostly because he's Dornish. And of course Uvf njrfbzr qnhtugref.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, and it's nice to be back on the actual website here. I've been listening to the show from iTunes since for awhile it would take a couple days for the show to end up on here, lol.
Anyways, big news for A Song of Ice and Fire. The new Dunk and Egg book, which was supposed to be out here soon, has been pushed back until all four of them are in one book. To replace is latter this year is the whole Civil War between the Targaryens called, Dance of the Dragon, which was about 70 years before Egg was born.
It should be a lot of fun.