Show Notes for AGOT, Tyrion I

Hello and welcome to the Not A Cast, the one true chapter-by-chapter podcast going through A Song of Ice and Fire one chapter a week. I’m one of your hosts Jeff better known as BryndenBFish. 

And I’m your other host, Emmett better known as PoorQuentyn. 

Welcome to our ninth episode of the Not A Cast entitled: “Quality Family Time: An Analysis of A Game of Thrones, Tyrion I,” where Tyrion slaps. Yeah he does. 

Spoiler warning: All published books - 5 novels, 3 Dunk and Egg novellas, histories, interviews, and TWOW sample chapters, as well as Game of Thrones the TV show, anything and everything!

Thanks to everyone who’s been listening to us! Hope you all enjoyed last week’s episode on Bran II and our special ADWD is better than ASOS episode. Again, to get more of those types of episodes, subscribe to our patreon at patreon.com/notacastasoiaf and receive more rewards! Like listening to this episode a day or a few days early as some of you fine ladies and gents got to for this episode.

So! Thought we might do something a little different. Usually, we read twitter, tumblr, e mail or reddit messages or tweets, but here we thought we might highlight some of the reviews we’ve gotten on iTunes. We deeply appreciate all the iTunes reviews. From what the smart people have told us, more reviews lead to more people finding us and joining in our fun. So, if so led, write us a review! Emmett, why don’t you kick us off!

iTunes reviews

Nikkibolo: “I love this podcast!! So happy I heard about you through Radio Westeros. Keep up the great work!” (Remember to thank Radio Westeros for the shout!)

BKhoosiers423: “Jeff is wrong less than I thought.”

Siren9: “Every week, I shush my children and curl up to a chalice of win and listen to BBF and PQ discussing ASOIAF. Can’t wait for 6+ years of this chapter by chapter re-read. PS- if you don’t enjoy listening to this podcast, you’re ugly.

BronnDotCom (AKA Matt from the Davos Fingers Podcast): As Herb Brooks says in the film “Miracle”: All-Star teams fail because they rely solely on the individual’s talent. The Soviets win, because they take that talent and use it inside a system that’s designed for the betterment of the team.” And that’s precisely what makes this podcast so special.

Juicebin: Title: “Soy Boys”. Body: “Very feminine hosts.” One star.

Jeff Synopsis

Tyrion Lannister is reading a book written one hundred years ago by a maester about the scientific nature of the seasons while wolves howl around him. Snoring nearby is the Winterfell maester Chayle. It’s close to dawn, and Tyrion isn’t much for sleeping. As we find out later, Tyrion rarely sleeps more than a few hours a night. Tyrion wakes the maester, tells him to keep his books safe as some of them are very rare -- with one (Engines of War) being the only complete copy that Tyrion knows of. 

Tyrion leaves the library and encounters Sandor Clegane and his nephew Prince Joffrey. Tyrion tells Joff to go call on Lord and Lady Stark to give them his comfort. Joffrey scoffs. Tyrion slaps him. Joff states that he will tell his mother Cersei. Tyrion slaps him again and repeats his order to Joffrey that he should visit the Stark parents and tell them he’s praying for them. Joffrey meekly retreats presumably to do Tyrion’s bidding. Sandor Clegane tells Tyrion that Joff will remember that.

I pray he does, Tyrion replies.

Tyrion heads off to join Jaime, Cersei and the other two Lannister -cough- Baratheon children at the Winterfell guest house. We get a side of the Lannisters we hadn’t seen previously: them in their natural and unnatural state. Tyrion and Jaime are close while Tyrion and Cersei have a cold relationship. Meanwhile, Tyrion’s relationship with the other two children -- Tommen and Myrcella -- is warm. 

Tyrion orders breakfast and reports that Bran is still alive. He catches a quick glimpse between Jaime and Cersei, and he begins to suspect they played a role in the boy’s fall. Still, even though Bran is alive, his back and legs are broken. He’ll never walk again even if he survives. Seemingly, the direwolves and their howling gives strength to Bran as when the window was shut at the howling, Bran grew weaker and then regained his strength when the window was opened to the howling of wolves again.

The twins hope to leave soon, but Tyrion reports that he plans to go to the Night’s Watch and piss off the Wall. The dwarf thinks that Robert will command Ned and everyone else to march south for King’s Landing soon. But Tyrion is interested whether Bran will wake up and what he will say.

Tyrion my sweet brother, Jaime says, There are times when you give me cause to wonder whose side you are on.

To which Tyrion replies:

Why, Jaime, my sweet brother. You would me. You know how much I love my family.

And that is AGOT, Tyrion I.

Emmett Details

• Like Arya I, it's more of a character introduction than it is plot-driven 
• Tyrion is immediately different from every other POV so far in multiple respects 
  • Neither parent nor young child, Tyrion is an adult in his prime
  • He is one of the Lannisters, whom we just saw at their worst 
  • He is quick witted and sardonic, unlike our strained and serious/childish POVs previously 
  • He has several cues that position him as analogous to us, the reader 
  • He is a dwarf 
• Family dynamics uber alles here, with both Joff and Tyrion’s big siblings, because the internal (dys)functioning of House Lannister and specifically Tyrion’s role within it takes center stage throughout the series 
• The escalation of Joff’s obnoxiousness continues, albeit undercut with his childishness 
• Sandor Clegane fails at intersectionality 
• Tommen and Myrcella: tiny doomed angels 

Structure

How does Tyrion’s status as GRRM’s special fave come through? 

Likes/Dislikes

Likes: Tyrion’s dialogue and observational skills make him a lot of fun to read

Dislikes: again like Arya I, not much happens

Like: Tyrion is a treat for dialogue and action. Slapping Joffrey (despite problematic) is fun. His banter and seeming “modernity” is a great contrast in a medieval-ish setting. Tyrion figuring out that Jaime and Cersei had a hand in Bran’s fall is super too.

Dislike: Very minor, but some of the writing of this chapter is wonky:

E.G. “Something about the howling of a wolf took a man right out of his here” “The man did have a temper.”

Groundwork

Tyrion v. Joffrey, Tyrion v. Jaime and Cersei, Tyrion v. Sandor…

Fav Tyrion v Jaime foreshadowing: During all the terrible, long years of his childhood, only Jaime had ever shown him the smallest measure of affection or respect, and for that, Tyrion was willing to forgive him most anything.

The Tysha deception is going to be one of those things that Tyrion won’t forgive Jaime

Is the book Tyrion’s reading a nod to him attacking Winterfell in the original outline? 

I think so! Also, this line from the letter:

Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he's at it.

Lines up nicely with Jaime’s line of:

Tyrion my sweet brother, there are times when you give me cause to wonder whose side you are on.

Burning the Winterfell library in Catelyn III made more poignant given all the rare books in the library

Jaime’s fate or foreshadowing of him losing a hand? “Even if the boy does live, he will be a cripple. Worse than a cripple. A grotesque. Give me a good clean death.” 

Character Discussion

Tyrion and Penny not-foreshadowing originally but maybe something GRRM decided to revisit while writing ADWD: “Tyrion wondered what it would be like to have a twin, and decided that he would rather not know. Bad enough to face himself in a looking glass every day. Another him was a thought too dreadful to contemplate.”

Conclusion

• Thanks for listening!
• Rate and review us on itunes, google play, etc
• Patreon/advertise/where we can find our work/social media
• Follow us on social media (Make sure to mention @NotACastASOIAF and our e mail: NotACastASOIAF@gmail.com
• Join us next week for our first POV chapter from our second chapter from the POV of Jon Snow where we’ll discuss a totally non-controversial subject: Catelyn Stark’s treatment of Jon Snow!
• Sign off