Dilay Aydoğdu haha I wouldn’t go THAT far.... ASOS is the best imo, but I do think Feast gets a bad rap. Mainly due to the lack of POV from the main characters. However it has some essential plot points that will hugely impact the conflicts that are brewing in King’s Landing, the Riverlands, the Citadel/Iron Fleet, and the Stormlands campaign
Hamza Changazi I mostly agree. I think the themes that GRRM is trying to get at are hidden beneath the greater story. Passages like this and the pre-Stoneheart Brotherhood chapters (and really all Arya chapters in books 2 & 3) show what the cost of feudal warfare is. I do think, however, that he undermined himself by having almost every POV character be high-born
@@tylernelson4901 That could be the point though, no? Anyone who is low born, despite their skills, are almost always cemented at the lowest level of the social hierarchy (there are exceptions of course, Varys, Littlefinger etc.) , so they aren't able to affect what happens in any significant way. The silence from the common people of Westeros is itself adding to GRRM's commentary on feudal society IMO.
When Meribald was finished a profound silence fell upon their little band. Brienne could hear the wind rustling through a clump of pussywillows, and farther off the faint cry of a loon. She could hear Dog panting softly as he loped along beside the septon and his donkey, tongue lolling from his mouth. The quiet stretched and stretched, until finally she said, "How old were you when they marched you off to war?" "Why, no older than your boy," Meribald replied. "Too young for such, in truth, but my brothers were all going, and I would not be left behind. Willam said I could be his squire, though Will was no knight, only a potboy armed with a kitchen knife he'd stolen from the inn. He died upon the Stepstones, and never struck a blow. It was fever did for him, and for my brother Robin. Owen died from a mace that split his head apart, and his friend Jon Pox was hanged for rape." "The War of the Ninepenny Kings?" asked Hyle Hunt. "So they called it, though I never saw a king, nor earned a penny. It was a war, though. That it was."
In my view, a cleganebowl makes no sense with Sandor's arc, with his, let not say redemption, but progression, deconstruction of the raging fierce vengeful hateful terrifying warrior-killer into a sad, broken, semi-helpless damaged human sensitive creature that accepts his wound and tries to make peace with his ghosts. The Mountain wouldn't be his to kill because revenge is hollow, same non-sense as these wars Meribald's talking about are, and I think Sandor is starting to come to terms with that. It makes for great writing.
I don't think he'll go looking for the fight but it will come for him. His character has never wanted to do these bad things but had to, he was a dog not a man who did as he was bid. Now he is a man that will fight for those who can't defend themselves.
I saw one theory of CleganeBowl that was that Sandor would be the Faith’s champion in Cersei’s trial against Robert Strong. I still would prefer there to be no CleganeBowl at all, but if there was one, I suppose this would be the best way
Its stuff like this that makes me enjoy ASOIAF over LOTR. The realism, that haunting relation to our own world despite it being medieval. Not all good is rewarded and not all bad faces retribution. Tolkien's prose is out of this world as is his world building. But Martin's dialogue and his presentation of his world is just far more gripping.
They could've easily given this speech to "Septim Ray" (Ian McShane) when he met Sandor & the Brotherhood in season 6. The show-only monologue they gave him was ok but nowhere near as good as this, another wasted opportunity by Dumb & Dumber 😞
I love this speech, as well as the follow-up dialogue where the the group learns Meribald was a veteran of the War of the Ninepenny Kings. A Feast for Crows was an incredibly underrated novel!
Yes indeed, sadly not all people can open their eyes to authors who paint us a picture of war in order to show us it's terror. It's beautifully sad. It really is
Every time I come back to to this I'm wondering where his backstory is. Didn't realize it wasn't part of the monologue. The way he was so heart-stricken that he didn't have a horse so wasn't technically a knight. So good. Love Septon Maribald
A lot of people say that GRRM is cynical and pessimistic about people, and don’t get me wrong he definitely is. But I think it’s important to recognize that he isn’t saying that people are inherently violent, treacherous, self serving and cruel but rather that the inescapable systems of social and economic organization we are born in to force us to become Violent, self serving, Treacherous and cruel.
I would say Martin is a humanist through amd through. Hes not cynical, all his characters are full of love are lost love. Martin doesn't suggest everything is bad, he suggest thst light matters even more when the world is dark
there is so much sympathy in his writing, he does not write grimmdark, he writes all the shades of gray there are of what drives good men to do evil and how someone who has done terrible things might seek and find redemption and how one might find mercy or cammeradery in the most unlikely of places. one of the most facinating question of morality moments in my eyes was jaime concoring river run, honoring his vow to cat by trying to avoid bloodshed and using his absolutly terrible reputation to do so. He wanted to spare them, but there was no way of convincing anyone of that so he played the monster they saw him as . . . Another is on Mels one pov chapter . . . she erned her bad rep so much but still, in an so easely missed moment we see not only that she thinks she has good intentions but a glimps at unexpected humanity. She kept Davoses son close, much to both of their displeasure, but her motivation is to keep him safe. Despite Davos openly dislike for her, despite him being a threat to her influence over stannis and trying to hinder her at every step on the way, she feels deep sympathy for his loss of his other sons and want to spare him another heartbreak. She does not do it openly to manipulate him, she does not pose with it "look at what good of a person I am" no, it is almost an after though, something oh so easely to miss and all the more meaningful for it. She did not do it to gain anything, just caus she felt it was the right thing to do!
@@alicenthightowerapologista9392 he is both in a way, aknowlaging just how much darkness sleeps in the human nature but also, that trying to be better and doing better will never be meaningless, even if one can not be forgiven. Just as most people have the potential to go bad, there is just as much potential to turn to the light instead no matter how fare down one went a terrible path. He is a realist with so much sympathy in his heart . . .
@@SingingSealRianathis is not only lost on a lot of readers, but feels nearly absent from much of the show, particularly when Benniof and Weiss are fully in control. Much of Martin's writing is deeply infused with tragedy, particularly in regards to the small folk who are afterthoughts in the show or sometimes outright unsympathetic monsters and morons in their portrayal.
Feel like it's more he critiques systems others have set up, and while his critique is spot on, he offers no actual solutions or right way to do something, atleast according to him.
SPOILERS AHEAD This monologue in itself shows how Martin is a genius writer. We read all the 3 first books, excited about the War of The Five Kings, amazed, involved in all that, cheering, but in the end; it was just a war. Robb Stark is dead, Balon Greyjoy is dead, Joffrey is dead, Tywin is dead, Renly is dead, thousands burned at Blackwater, House Stark is "extinct", Riverrun is given to the Freys and Winterfell is burned. So, in the end, for what was all that for? For why was all that lives wasted? Just for a fuckin crown? And then beyond all that, Martin give us this. I love you George.
@Frank Castle Sure, Ned's killing was an injustice, but is it just to waste thousands of lives just for vengeance? We can't really assume that Joffrey would have been mad king v2. Sure he was an awful child, but we don't know that his rein would be that bad. Hell, even if he was mad king v2, letting him rule is better than a war. A bad ruler is easier to recover from than a devastating war. @Metsarebuff22 saying it was "Just for a fuckin crown" is reductive, but at its core its correct. All this war, all this death, is caused by Highborns wants and whims and power hungry aspirations.
@Frank Castle Exactly. The Lannister's stole the throne with their incest bastards, killed Ned when he backed the RIGHTFUL king & organised the murder of thousands of Northmen under the banner of peace & guest right. Any regime that has Tywin, Cersei & Joff running things is going to be oppressive, you can't negotiate peace with them in good faith because they'll just keep doing what they want. There can be no justice as long as they're in charge.
Fully agreed. Martin himself was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and strongly opposed it. The ASOIAF books deconstruct the myth of "Just War" or a "justified War". War is war, it is cruel and disgusting. It's like his famous question when talking about Lord of the Rings: "Did Aragorn kill all the baby orcs in their little baby craddles ?" Those kinds of books never go into those kinds of details and it is refreshing to read one that does.
@@dc4296 While Martin IS a pacifist, he does acknowledge that SOME wars are justified. He's gone on record as believing WW2 was a necessary war in reaction to Hitler's conquest of Europe. One of the things I love about ASOIAF is that very few conflicts are ever truly black and white, Good vs. Evil, rather everything is shades of gray, including having reasons FOR and AGAINST war.
„The war of the Ninepenny Kings.“ „So they called it, though i never saw a king nor earned a penny. It was a war though. That it was. I love that monologue so much.
The greatest speech in the entirety of the series and I will always hate that this was avoid while "Bad pussy"and sixty goddamn speeches about Dany's long list of titles are in GOT.
They could've absolutly put this in the show. Could've used flashbacks to deliver it in 10-15 minutes of an episode. But no, bAd PuSSy and 'FinGER IN THE BUMM' were recorded and put in the show.
The Riverlands chapters are art. I love Septon Meribald’s oranges and the lady of Acorn Hill’s doting on Arya. The mean so much in the midst of the desolation caused by the war.
This speech encapsulates Sandor Clegane perfectly. The Hound, the broken man. Routed at the Blackwater, abandoning his king, living out the rest of his days as a fugitive, drowning his sorrows with cheap wine. I so desperately want the gravedigger on the Quiet Isle to be Sandor. Even if we'll never know for sure, it makes me feel better even just believing that it is him. The hope that the Hound, the snarling beast fuelled by hatred and angst, is no more. The hope that Sandor Clegane, a man that had been driven by rage and insecurity for almost the entirety of his life, has finally found peace and contentment. That hope alone is enough. George R. R. Martin is a genius for writing this speech, and for creating such relatable characters. He really can make you care about his creations.
John O'Phelan even though clegane bowl would be cool, I feel the best ending for the character is to remain on the island and a monk, forever at peace with himself and the world never to fight again. he has transcended all that petty fighting and vengeance
Some A. Hole in the books she would get crushed. In the show she would catch his sword with her left hand and punch through his plate armor and through his chest with her right.
Some A. Hole this could have some plausibility.. I mean the Stoneheart brotherhood fraction has the helmet. Breiene is captured by the brotherhood.. So maybe throughout some further investment she becomes the 4th hound. And had a fight with the mountain then the mountain will die, but after killing brienne by Jamie. Jamie is the little brother that must be the cause of Cersies demise. She must die by cause of Janie..
When Meribald was finished a profound silence fell upon their little band. Brienne could hear the wind rustling through a clump of pussywillows, and farther off the faint cry of a loon. She could hear Dog panting softly as he loped along beside the septon and his donkey, tongue lolling from his mouth. The quiet stretched and stretched, until finally she said, "How old were you when they marched you off to war?" "Why, no older than your boy," Meribald replied. "Too young for such, in truth, but my brothers were all going, and I would not be left behind. Willam said I could be his squire, though Will was no knight, only a potboy armed with a kitchen knife he'd stolen from the inn. He died upon the Stepstones, and never struck a blow. It was fever did for him, and for my brother Robin. Owen died from a mace that split his head apart, and his friend Jon Pox was hanged for rape." "The War of the Ninepenny Kings?" asked Hyle Hunt. "So they called it, though I never saw a king, nor earned a penny. It was a war, though. That it was."
and people claim he glorefies voilance . . . It does not matter where you are, who you are, when you are, war is always the same. It makes monsters out of all of us and we can only ever lose. it does not matter on which side one is on, it does not matter what the named cause of the war is, all it every does is cause pain and leave broken people behind. There is no just war, there is no good or evil and the soldiers are just as much its victims as any civilian casualty. There is no glory, it only ever is a tragedy for everyone involved. I never encountered someone who handled the topic better, then grrm. with so much profound understanding of the human nature, how the brain comes up with excuses to be able to handle the abuse, how moral is lost to survival, how terrible things can not move one anylonger for your mind would break under it otherwise. So much carefuly tampered rage at the senseless devastation and abuse of power, but also so much endless sympathy for the flawed human nature. . . I am german, so since my place of birth was on the wrong side of history pretty much all of the time, most of my school lessons where in some way invested into learning how devastating war is, what drives people to do terrible things and how we get tricked and trick ourselfs into seeing someone as an enemy, to justify those terrible things, even if it does not make any sense in the slightest. An still so so many small tales of people not going along with it on either side and doing the right thing no matter the consequences! In the end we are all people and grrm nails that! the utter pointlessness and horror, but also the hope in that one can always turn around, that trying to be better is never pointless and mercy and good can be found in the most unlikely of places!
By far, the most powerful, meaningful and eloquent speech in the ASOIAF books. I loved so much the way Septon Meribald had devoted himself (alongside his wolf-hunting dog) to others. This content shines through the real human essence and most basic behaviour.
I don't get people who dislike AFFC and tell people they don't need to read most of it when its basically a manifesto for the stories themes and motifs. All this war, pillaging and death and what did it accomplish? Whats left? A bunch of corpses. A Feast For Crows.
I was in the military and this hit me hard the first time I read it, I've seen the broken men, I've been the broken man. I wish this would've been included in the show at least as a way to tell the younger people getting ready to go off to war today that it's not a game it's not a great epic adventure. This passage in my opinion is GRRM's greatest work.
@@christiancristof491 They actually did preserve the anti-war message of the scene but it was a completely different, much shorter, and way less effective monologue than this.
Your speeches are disappearing! Somebody do something to return them. I listen to them far too often for this to happen. Hope you can get them reuploaded.
it is the core of what grrm tries to tell with the series. in a way brienne is the most importend character for her arc is it that leads her through the aftermaths of the sensless voilance, but this speach is all of that spelled out with a clarity!
Septon Meribald and Qhorin Halfhand are some of my absolute favorite characters in the books. It goes to show that while big battles and stunning intrigue is fantastic, the reason we read these books is for the human aspect in all these characters.
Finally someone appreciates the Halfhand. Him and Jon’s final moments in that cave where he tells him he must turn his cloak is one of my favorite chapters in the series. It’s so underrated
this fragment reeks off emotions surrounding WWI and the toll it had on Western European societies... I think GRRM is more influenced by history than we're used to admit
thats his whole thing though. he does not write grimdark, he writes realistic, with all the psychological consequences and trauma things we find epic in fiction would logically come. The incest, the othering, how women are lost in history and we often do not even know their names, while in the present there are so many strong and prevelent ones proving their actions are just as impactful as the mens. It is not just WWI or even WWII it is all of human history, the problems with slavery and how to combat it. How easy it is for people to think themselfs as superior and what terrible crimes they manage to excuse that way. How we can never truely know what happend for historyis always written with a bias. Humanities endless potential for cruelty, but also how good can be found in the unlikliest of places and how trying to be and do better is never meaningless, even if one can not make the past undone and can never be forgiven . . .
I think I like how asoiaf is kind of juxtaposing the epic drama of the noble courts and honorable chivalry and just says it all doesn’t matter the justification for the conflict it’s almost certainly not the common folks problems. Yet the bear the brunt of the chaos and devastation. Peace is almost always preferable to starting a war over a cheating wife and a cycled king.
Readers seem to generally prefer books like AGOT and ASOS, but there is a BIG reason why legitimately respected novel critics have AFFC rated as one of GRRM's absolute best works of fiction. The writing is so technically proficient and if you really try to get yourself into the mood of it all, the text can be quite harrowing.
From reading this monologue I was convinced Martin must have been in Vietnam. Turns out he wasn’t, but he captures what it’s like to be in combat very well. You go off thinking you’re fighting for your country (or lord in this case), but once you step onto the battlefield you and everyone else are really just fighting to stay alive. It definitely breaks you down. Even if your body is unharmed, your spirit will never be the same.
This is a great reading. Thought so when I read it and you do it great justice. Do you know the name of the piece playing in the background as this is being read?
Shireen Baratheon Is sacrificed and burned alive, in her father's desperate attempt to win the war and save the kingdom. Myrcella Baratheon collapsed in her father's arms, after being poisoned by dornishmen, being used as an objet of revenge against her family. Tommen Baratheon falls out of the window, after realizing that he never made a decision for himself and that his weakness caused the deaths of all those who support him. Just like Varys said once ``why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when the high lords play the game of thrones?"
All those things haven’t happened in the books man… I mean Myrcella was scarred by another guy but she wasn’t killed and it wasn’t for revenge. Tommen is really really young in the books and can barely think for himself. He’s not even 10 if I remember right. The books are just superior because they don’t treat the war as something epic. Maybe you get chills or some excitement while reading an action scene but no matter what, you’re also gonna see the aftermath… the cost of violence is something you inflict upon yourself as well as others.
This speech written by grrm applies to rhager crawling away after the trident to the quiet isle..all because he lost his lyanna..kings meant no more than a haunch of spoiled meat..so he crawls away
If you're a fan of my ASOIAF content, check out my new book, NOTES FROM THE CITADEL: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQRG5QWP :)
A lot of people complain about the long winded-ness of AFFC, but it has some of the most epic monologues of the entire book series.
@Luís You're a man of culture my dude, it is the best book.
Dilay Aydoğdu haha I wouldn’t go THAT far.... ASOS is the best imo, but I do think Feast gets a bad rap. Mainly due to the lack of POV from the main characters. However it has some essential plot points that will hugely impact the conflicts that are brewing in King’s Landing, the Riverlands, the Citadel/Iron Fleet, and the Stormlands campaign
Right?!?!?! Its my favorite in the series
I agree!! People love to hate on it but it has some of my favourite chapters in the seriea.
AFFC is so good in re-reads, legit my favourite book now
This passage, more than any other, fully encapsulates the themes of ASoIF, and what Martin tried to get across with his novels.
Hamza Changazi I mostly agree. I think the themes that GRRM is trying to get at are hidden beneath the greater story. Passages like this and the pre-Stoneheart Brotherhood chapters (and really all Arya chapters in books 2 & 3) show what the cost of feudal warfare is. I do think, however, that he undermined himself by having almost every POV character be high-born
@@tylernelson4901 That could be the point though, no? Anyone who is low born, despite their skills, are almost always cemented at the lowest level of the social hierarchy (there are exceptions of course, Varys, Littlefinger etc.) , so they aren't able to affect what happens in any significant way. The silence from the common people of Westeros is itself adding to GRRM's commentary on feudal society IMO.
@@shwarmaramen5853 Davos! Straight outta Fleabottom to Hand of The King without playing bs political games 😀
"Tried"...?
@@shwarmaramen5853 really good comment
When Meribald was finished a profound silence fell upon their little band. Brienne could hear the wind rustling through a clump of pussywillows, and farther off the faint cry of a loon. She could hear Dog panting softly as he loped along beside the septon and his donkey, tongue lolling from his mouth. The quiet stretched and stretched, until finally she said, "How old were you when they marched you off to war?"
"Why, no older than your boy," Meribald replied. "Too young for such, in truth, but my brothers were all going, and I would not be left behind. Willam said I could be his squire, though Will was no knight, only a potboy armed with a kitchen knife he'd stolen from the inn. He died upon the Stepstones, and never struck a blow. It was fever did for him, and for my brother Robin. Owen died from a mace that split his head apart, and his friend Jon Pox was hanged for rape."
"The War of the Ninepenny Kings?" asked Hyle Hunt.
"So they called it, though I never saw a king, nor earned a penny. It was a war, though. That it was."
Damn this chapter hit me so hard.
I hope there never is a CleganeBowl in the books. I feel like it would take some of the weight away from this amazing speech
In my view, a cleganebowl makes no sense with Sandor's arc, with his, let not say redemption, but progression, deconstruction of the raging fierce vengeful hateful terrifying warrior-killer into a sad, broken, semi-helpless damaged human sensitive creature that accepts his wound and tries to make peace with his ghosts. The Mountain wouldn't be his to kill because revenge is hollow, same non-sense as these wars Meribald's talking about are, and I think Sandor is starting to come to terms with that. It makes for great writing.
I don't think he'll go looking for the fight but it will come for him. His character has never wanted to do these bad things but had to, he was a dog not a man who did as he was bid. Now he is a man that will fight for those who can't defend themselves.
I hope if it happens it will be to save people from Robert Strong and not for a long wanted moment of revenge knowing he won’t survive.
@@isabelmorala5285 the whole point of Sandors arc was getting over his need for revenge
I saw one theory of CleganeBowl that was that Sandor would be the Faith’s champion in Cersei’s trial against Robert Strong. I still would prefer there to be no CleganeBowl at all, but if there was one, I suppose this would be the best way
"Push me to the edge, all my friends are dead" - Septon Meribald
David Impastato when does he say that?
David Impastato in which chapter?
David Impastato that’s my favorite quote from the book ❤️
James Steigerwald Yea but when does he say it?
On the real should've never lied
This was the best chapter in AFFC. Hands down.
Definitely one of the best but there's so many good ones. I personally love the one where Jaime frees Riverrun with his speech to Edmure Tully.
Sorry but what chapter is this?
@@carlosalbertogarrido2432 Brienne V
Its stuff like this that makes me enjoy ASOIAF over LOTR. The realism, that haunting relation to our own world despite it being medieval. Not all good is rewarded and not all bad faces retribution.
Tolkien's prose is out of this world as is his world building. But Martin's dialogue and his presentation of his world is just far more gripping.
Read the Children of Hurin and youll see otherwise
You're full of shit
My favorite passage in all of A Feast for Crows.
It always bring tears to my eyes
I always loved this passage, along with Ser Davos and the Lord of Sisterton duelling with words. "No more than I was". Absolute genius.
So glad these videos have been reuploaded :)
this really gripped me when I read it in feast, exquisite writing
I've never heard PTSD described so eloquently.
AFFC is my favorite book of the series
That moment when the speech ends....and you suddenly realize...your cheeks are wet...and you've forgotten to breathe.
This is so sad and beautiful
When you hear this speech you must question what is a crown's worth?
What happened to your complete chapter readings like Davos at Storm's End? Any way to still access them?
Just the pointless of it all hits you like a brick after this.
Why did they cut this monologue? Nipple time vs. One of the most realistic accounts of what war really means... guess which one wins out?
They could've easily given this speech to "Septim Ray" (Ian McShane) when he met Sandor & the Brotherhood in season 6. The show-only monologue they gave him was ok but nowhere near as good as this, another wasted opportunity by Dumb & Dumber 😞
Because by the end of the show it was all about dumb spectacle and the 'game of thrones'. The showrunners clearly didn't understand the real meaning
It saddens me a little that the show runners didn't credit their audience with patience that they would listen to this.
The whole Brienne arc is so badass. I can't believe they cut it out. It's the section of the book that best encapsulates the books' anti-war message.
@@Carlos-ln8fd I wanted my Nimble Dick. I loved that Character!
@@Carlos-ln8fd that reminds me of Dunk and egg stories
I heard HBO is notorious for being cheap,they should have given us the battle of whispering woods..not to mention the characters they left out
They actually put the speech in the history and lore special feature on the blu ray,you can watch each one on TH-cam 1-7
I love this speech, as well as the follow-up dialogue where the the group learns Meribald was a veteran of the War of the Ninepenny Kings. A Feast for Crows was an incredibly underrated novel!
“Hyle: The War of the Ninepenny Kings?
Meribald: So they called it, though I never saw a king, nor earned a penny. It was a war, though. That it was.”
I love it too the whole riverlands arc
100% agree. After watching the more recent GOT seasons makes me appreciate AFFC so much.
Yes indeed, sadly not all people can open their eyes to authors who paint us a picture of war in order to show us it's terror.
It's beautifully sad. It really is
Every time I come back to to this I'm wondering where his backstory is. Didn't realize it wasn't part of the monologue. The way he was so heart-stricken that he didn't have a horse so wasn't technically a knight. So good. Love Septon Maribald
A lot of people say that GRRM is cynical and pessimistic about people, and don’t get me wrong he definitely is. But I think it’s important to recognize that he isn’t saying that people are inherently violent, treacherous, self serving and cruel but rather that the inescapable systems of social and economic organization we are born in to force us to become Violent, self serving, Treacherous and cruel.
I would say Martin is a humanist through amd through. Hes not cynical, all his characters are full of love are lost love.
Martin doesn't suggest everything is bad, he suggest thst light matters even more when the world is dark
there is so much sympathy in his writing, he does not write grimmdark, he writes all the shades of gray there are of what drives good men to do evil and how someone who has done terrible things might seek and find redemption and how one might find mercy or cammeradery in the most unlikely of places.
one of the most facinating question of morality moments in my eyes was jaime concoring river run, honoring his vow to cat by trying to avoid bloodshed and using his absolutly terrible reputation to do so. He wanted to spare them, but there was no way of convincing anyone of that so he played the monster they saw him as . . .
Another is on Mels one pov chapter . . . she erned her bad rep so much but still, in an so easely missed moment we see not only that she thinks she has good intentions but a glimps at unexpected humanity. She kept Davoses son close, much to both of their displeasure, but her motivation is to keep him safe. Despite Davos openly dislike for her, despite him being a threat to her influence over stannis and trying to hinder her at every step on the way, she feels deep sympathy for his loss of his other sons and want to spare him another heartbreak. She does not do it openly to manipulate him, she does not pose with it "look at what good of a person I am" no, it is almost an after though, something oh so easely to miss and all the more meaningful for it. She did not do it to gain anything, just caus she felt it was the right thing to do!
@@alicenthightowerapologista9392 he is both in a way, aknowlaging just how much darkness sleeps in the human nature but also, that trying to be better and doing better will never be meaningless, even if one can not be forgiven. Just as most people have the potential to go bad, there is just as much potential to turn to the light instead no matter how fare down one went a terrible path. He is a realist with so much sympathy in his heart . . .
@@SingingSealRianathis is not only lost on a lot of readers, but feels nearly absent from much of the show, particularly when Benniof and Weiss are fully in control. Much of Martin's writing is deeply infused with tragedy, particularly in regards to the small folk who are afterthoughts in the show or sometimes outright unsympathetic monsters and morons in their portrayal.
Feel like it's more he critiques systems others have set up, and while his critique is spot on, he offers no actual solutions or right way to do something, atleast according to him.
SPOILERS AHEAD
This monologue in itself shows how Martin is a genius writer. We read all the 3 first books, excited about the War of The Five Kings, amazed, involved in all that, cheering, but in the end; it was just a war. Robb Stark is dead, Balon Greyjoy is dead, Joffrey is dead, Tywin is dead, Renly is dead, thousands burned at Blackwater, House Stark is "extinct", Riverrun is given to the Freys and Winterfell is burned. So, in the end, for what was all that for? For why was all that lives wasted? Just for a fuckin crown?
And then beyond all that, Martin give us this.
I love you George.
It's also in the title of the book. At the end all the men who fought in the war didn't become heroes, just food for crows.
@Frank Castle Sure, Ned's killing was an injustice, but is it just to waste thousands of lives just for vengeance?
We can't really assume that Joffrey would have been mad king v2. Sure he was an awful child, but we don't know that his rein would be that bad. Hell, even if he was mad king v2, letting him rule is better than a war. A bad ruler is easier to recover from than a devastating war.
@Metsarebuff22 saying it was "Just for a fuckin crown" is reductive, but at its core its correct. All this war, all this death, is caused by Highborns wants and whims and power hungry aspirations.
@Frank Castle Exactly. The Lannister's stole the throne with their incest bastards, killed Ned when he backed the RIGHTFUL king & organised the murder of thousands of Northmen under the banner of peace & guest right. Any regime that has Tywin, Cersei & Joff running things is going to be oppressive, you can't negotiate peace with them in good faith because they'll just keep doing what they want. There can be no justice as long as they're in charge.
Fully agreed.
Martin himself was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and strongly opposed it. The ASOIAF books deconstruct the myth of "Just War" or a "justified War". War is war, it is cruel and disgusting. It's like his famous question when talking about Lord of the Rings: "Did Aragorn kill all the baby orcs in their little baby craddles ?" Those kinds of books never go into those kinds of details and it is refreshing to read one that does.
@@dc4296 While Martin IS a pacifist, he does acknowledge that SOME wars are justified. He's gone on record as believing WW2 was a necessary war in reaction to Hitler's conquest of Europe. One of the things I love about ASOIAF is that very few conflicts are ever truly black and white, Good vs. Evil, rather everything is shades of gray, including having reasons FOR and AGAINST war.
„The war of the Ninepenny Kings.“
„So they called it, though i never saw a king nor earned a penny. It was a war though. That it was.
I love that monologue so much.
Meribald is one of the most criminally underrated minor characters in fiction history.
Fuck war.
This should have way more thumbs up
The greatest speech in the entirety of the series and I will always hate that this was avoid while "Bad pussy"and sixty goddamn speeches about Dany's long list of titles are in GOT.
They could've absolutly put this in the show. Could've used flashbacks to deliver it in 10-15 minutes of an episode. But no, bAd PuSSy and 'FinGER IN THE BUMM' were recorded and put in the show.
The Riverlands chapters are art. I love Septon Meribald’s oranges and the lady of Acorn Hill’s doting on Arya. The mean so much in the midst of the desolation caused by the war.
This speech encapsulates Sandor Clegane perfectly. The Hound, the broken man. Routed at the Blackwater, abandoning his king, living out the rest of his days as a fugitive, drowning his sorrows with cheap wine.
I so desperately want the gravedigger on the Quiet Isle to be Sandor. Even if we'll never know for sure, it makes me feel better even just believing that it is him. The hope that the Hound, the snarling beast fuelled by hatred and angst, is no more. The hope that Sandor Clegane, a man that had been driven by rage and insecurity for almost the entirety of his life, has finally found peace and contentment. That hope alone is enough.
George R. R. Martin is a genius for writing this speech, and for creating such relatable characters. He really can make you care about his creations.
John O'Phelan even though clegane bowl would be cool, I feel the best ending for the character is to remain on the island and a monk, forever at peace with himself and the world never to fight again. he has transcended all that petty fighting and vengeance
kwadwo baidoo Dude, Brienne with the Hound's helmet is going to fight the mountain. Mark my words.
Some A. Hole in the books she would get crushed. In the show she would catch his sword with her left hand and punch through his plate armor and through his chest with her right.
This is sadly true
Some A. Hole this could have some plausibility.. I mean the Stoneheart brotherhood fraction has the helmet. Breiene is captured by the brotherhood.. So maybe throughout some further investment she becomes the 4th hound. And had a fight with the mountain then the mountain will die, but after killing brienne by Jamie. Jamie is the little brother that must be the cause of Cersies demise. She must die by cause of Janie..
When Meribald was finished a profound silence fell upon their little band. Brienne could hear the wind rustling through a clump of pussywillows, and farther off the faint cry of a loon. She could hear Dog panting softly as he loped along beside the septon and his donkey, tongue lolling from his mouth. The quiet stretched and stretched, until finally she said, "How old were you when they marched you off to war?"
"Why, no older than your boy," Meribald replied. "Too young for such, in truth, but my brothers were all going, and I would not be left behind. Willam said I could be his squire, though Will was no knight, only a potboy armed with a kitchen knife he'd stolen from the inn. He died upon the Stepstones, and never struck a blow. It was fever did for him, and for my brother Robin. Owen died from a mace that split his head apart, and his friend Jon Pox was hanged for rape."
"The War of the Ninepenny Kings?" asked Hyle Hunt.
"So they called it, though I never saw a king, nor earned a penny. It was a war, though. That it was."
The best speech of war ....I am Syrian and that speech bites deep in my soul
and people claim he glorefies voilance . . .
It does not matter where you are, who you are, when you are, war is always the same. It makes monsters out of all of us and we can only ever lose. it does not matter on which side one is on, it does not matter what the named cause of the war is, all it every does is cause pain and leave broken people behind. There is no just war, there is no good or evil and the soldiers are just as much its victims as any civilian casualty. There is no glory, it only ever is a tragedy for everyone involved.
I never encountered someone who handled the topic better, then grrm. with so much profound understanding of the human nature, how the brain comes up with excuses to be able to handle the abuse, how moral is lost to survival, how terrible things can not move one anylonger for your mind would break under it otherwise. So much carefuly tampered rage at the senseless devastation and abuse of power, but also so much endless sympathy for the flawed human nature. . .
I am german, so since my place of birth was on the wrong side of history pretty much all of the time, most of my school lessons where in some way invested into learning how devastating war is, what drives people to do terrible things and how we get tricked and trick ourselfs into seeing someone as an enemy, to justify those terrible things, even if it does not make any sense in the slightest. An still so so many small tales of people not going along with it on either side and doing the right thing no matter the consequences! In the end we are all people and grrm nails that! the utter pointlessness and horror, but also the hope in that one can always turn around, that trying to be better is never pointless and mercy and good can be found in the most unlikely of places!
Bruh... (manly tears)
i hope your ok and your country recovers
May God bless you with peace.
By far, the most powerful, meaningful and eloquent speech in the ASOIAF books. I loved so much the way Septon Meribald had devoted himself (alongside his wolf-hunting dog) to others.
This content shines through the real human essence and most basic behaviour.
This monolog would fit perfectly in All Quiet On The Western Front.
I don't get people who dislike AFFC and tell people they don't need to read most of it when its basically a manifesto for the stories themes and motifs. All this war, pillaging and death and what did it accomplish? Whats left? A bunch of corpses. A Feast For Crows.
Wow... This completely changed how I view battle. I used to think it was glorious and epic. It's made me reconsider my career choice as a military man
I was in the military and this hit me hard the first time I read it, I've seen the broken men, I've been the broken man. I wish this would've been included in the show at least as a way to tell the younger people getting ready to go off to war today that it's not a game it's not a great epic adventure. This passage in my opinion is GRRM's greatest work.
TEDWARDS18 The message the screenwriters want to send is that you gotta love dragons and war.
@@christiancristof491 They actually did preserve the anti-war message of the scene but it was a completely different, much shorter, and way less effective monologue than this.
Vietnam did a number of George.
To be fair, it did a number on Robert Jordan too
There is some deep irony in this
Your speeches are disappearing! Somebody do something to return them. I listen to them far too often for this to happen. Hope you can get them reuploaded.
These aren't his. These are reuploads of the original poster's.
@@robertlaurensnrgaard5178 what happened to the original channel?
The best speech in the series
DarkKing009 indeed it is
it is the core of what grrm tries to tell with the series. in a way brienne is the most importend character for her arc is it that leads her through the aftermaths of the sensless voilance, but this speach is all of that spelled out with a clarity!
Honestly AFFC is my fav cause of the post war stuff
Same
This hit me so hard when I read it. Just so hard now I'm hearing it. Realness.
The Mediocre Maester so your Hard thinking about this?
I glossed over it the first time I read it. It was a Brieene chapter, I did not care. That was then, this is now.
this must be what it's like for most recruits in mount n blade
Why the hell was the original deleted?
Septon Meribald and Qhorin Halfhand are some of my absolute favorite characters in the books. It goes to show that while big battles and stunning intrigue is fantastic, the reason we read these books is for the human aspect in all these characters.
Finally someone appreciates the Halfhand. Him and Jon’s final moments in that cave where he tells him he must turn his cloak is one of my favorite chapters in the series. It’s so underrated
@@jaimelannister1797 agreed. halfhand is amazing.
@@jaimelannister1797 "We... Are the watchers... On the wall!" - Qhorin Halfhand
this fragment reeks off emotions surrounding WWI and the toll it had on Western European societies... I think GRRM is more influenced by history than we're used to admit
thats his whole thing though. he does not write grimdark, he writes realistic, with all the psychological consequences and trauma things we find epic in fiction would logically come. The incest, the othering, how women are lost in history and we often do not even know their names, while in the present there are so many strong and prevelent ones proving their actions are just as impactful as the mens. It is not just WWI or even WWII it is all of human history, the problems with slavery and how to combat it. How easy it is for people to think themselfs as superior and what terrible crimes they manage to excuse that way. How we can never truely know what happend for historyis always written with a bias. Humanities endless potential for cruelty, but also how good can be found in the unlikliest of places and how trying to be and do better is never meaningless, even if one can not make the past undone and can never be forgiven . . .
A Feast for Crows is so perfect don't get me started
This photo of Sandor is amazing. Where can I find it.
I think I like how asoiaf is kind of juxtaposing the epic drama of the noble courts and honorable chivalry and just says it all doesn’t matter the justification for the conflict it’s almost certainly not the common folks problems. Yet the bear the brunt of the chaos and devastation. Peace is almost always preferable to starting a war over a cheating wife and a cycled king.
Do u even know what honor is..a horse
james taylor just Read that xD
Readers seem to generally prefer books like AGOT and ASOS, but there is a BIG reason why legitimately respected novel critics have AFFC rated as one of GRRM's absolute best works of fiction. The writing is so technically proficient and if you really try to get yourself into the mood of it all, the text can be quite harrowing.
page 420 in the books(my version at least) Brienne V
I thought this is one of the best chapters in the whole book to be honest. Nobody cares about the average person then this ...
*Blackwater Flashback Intensified*
From reading this monologue I was convinced Martin must have been in Vietnam. Turns out he wasn’t, but he captures what it’s like to be in combat very well. You go off thinking you’re fighting for your country (or lord in this case), but once you step onto the battlefield you and everyone else are really just fighting to stay alive. It definitely breaks you down. Even if your body is unharmed, your spirit will never be the same.
This is a great reading. Thought so when I read it and you do it great justice. Do you know the name of the piece playing in the background as this is being read?
I believe it is "cold" by Jorge Mendez
Sir this is macdonalds
What's the name of the song in the background of this video
Grrm better not fridge Meribald. He especially better not fridge Dog.
One of the best parts of my favourite ASoIaF book.
This makes me feel like a piece of shit! I'm far from deserving....there truly is no country for old men
I like how he frickin nails it and completely misjudged Sandor at the same time. Totally right and totally wrong in the same speech lol
I enjoy all of your readings, but this is by far my favorite. Thank you ser
I think meribald and jon snow would like Each other
WHATS the name name of this soundtrack, please?
Unforgettable, even after all these years 🤙🏾
Yepp
This was so beautiful
Sean Bean
The gradual fall into depravity is reoccurring in this story causes and groups that were once more or less righteous becoming deluded and cruel
The Brotherhood Without Banners is a perfect example for this!
God i love roy dotrice his version but this, this is beyond excellent
i think the D&D replaced this guy with Swarengen
Your readings have truly made me feel glad for the asoiaf I knew and my own head canon as my hopes for any resolutions to the story are dashed.
Man, what a wonderful video! Please keep doing this work.
I'm not crying, my eyes are just a little sweaty today.
Eddard would have known their names!
The Brocken men speech pretty much describes the us army
great work
Pretty sure this speech was "replaced" in the show with the Ed Sheeran scene. What a waste!
Shireen Baratheon Is sacrificed and burned alive, in her father's desperate attempt to win the war and save the kingdom. Myrcella Baratheon collapsed in her father's arms, after being poisoned by dornishmen, being used as an objet of revenge against her family. Tommen Baratheon falls out of the window, after realizing that he never made a decision for himself and that his weakness caused the deaths of all those who support him.
Just like Varys said once ``why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when the high lords play the game of thrones?"
All those things haven’t happened in the books man… I mean Myrcella was scarred by another guy but she wasn’t killed and it wasn’t for revenge. Tommen is really really young in the books and can barely think for himself. He’s not even 10 if I remember right.
The books are just superior because they don’t treat the war as something epic. Maybe you get chills or some excitement while reading an action scene but no matter what, you’re also gonna see the aftermath… the cost of violence is something you inflict upon yourself as well as others.
Getting real sworn sword vibes here
who reads this???
svaldez737 valkyrist
svaldez737 duh
Sudan Stowell brought me here
This speech written by grrm applies to rhager crawling away after the trident to the quiet isle..all because he lost his lyanna..kings meant no more than a haunch of spoiled meat..so he crawls away
Rhaegar’s dead. Robert crushed his chest with his hammer. His body was burned, as was tradition for the family of House Targaryen.
Painting of the Hound is incorrect. The left side of his face is burned, not the right.
Asoiaf is petty highschool drama except each rumor kills 10,000 peasants on average
Brienne's chapters in the riverlands are peak ASOIAF
Man upload red wedding read again
This shizz makes me cry