Bend the Knee: A Song of Ice and Fire Podcast

Merrett Frey is approaching the ruins of Oldstones with the ransom for his half-brother's (Stevron Frey's) grandson Petyr Pimple. He is considering all the ill luck throughout his life, starting as a squire, where in a battle against the Kingswood Brotherhood he got hit on the head so hard he was unable to ever truly fight again, which left him unable to reach knighthood. His fatherhas always mocked him as "Merrett Muttonhead", and all he was good for during the Red Wedding was to drink the Greatjon under the table. 
Merrett recollects how his father ordered the massacre of the Starks at Edmure Tully’s wedding, but it was Lame Lothar and Roose Bolton who had masterminded the whole affair. He considers how things at the Twins will turn worse for him when his father dies, as Ryman stands to inherit, and his sons Edwyn and Black Walder after him. Merrett feels that if he could accomplish this task, maybe his luck would change for the better, considering that Petyr is Ser Ryman’s son. However, he has failed at everything in his life, including his role in keeping the Greatjon too drunk to fight. The man killed or maimed four men, and it took eight to finally get him in chains. 
When he reaches the site of King Tristifer’s sepulcher, he finds the outlaws who captured Petyr. They surround him and take the gold he carried for the ransom. Merrett demands to see Beric Dondarrion, but Lem and Tom inform him that the Lightning Lord was needed elsewhere. They lead him to the tree from which Petyr Pimple is hanging, and then Lem ties a noose around Merrett’s neck. Sick with fear after they have lied about the ransom and now mean to hang him, Merrett pleads that he had nothing to do with the Red Wedding, and that they have no witness. However, Tom Sevenstrings steps aside to reveal a woman with grey skin and a hideous scar across her neck, a woman Merrett knows to be dead, having seen his brothers slit her throat and dump her naked body in the river. Her eyes are terrible to behold: they see him, and they hate him. Lem tells him that she can’t speak, but she nods when Lem asks if Merrett was involved. Merrett opens his mouth to plead, but the noose chokes off his words.
Jimmy: https://www.youtube.com/@ChattingWithNutts
Matt's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/supergainsbros
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At the Eyrie, Sansa awakens to find it snowing outside. She wanders outside and begins to sculpt a snow castle, slowly forming it into a replica of Winterfell. Littlefinger finds her in the garden and helps her finish the castle. He tells her she is even more beautiful than her mother was at her age, and then proceeds to kiss her. Sansa is shocked by Lord Baelish’s action, but for half a heartbeat she yields. She tries to make him stop and then young Robertapproaches interrupting them. Robert begins to destroy the snow castle with his ragged doll. Sansa reacts by grabbing the doll which causes it to tear in half. This in turn causes her cousin to begin shaking violently. Maester Colemon is called to bring the boy for a leeching, in an attempt to cure the fit. 
Sansa is brought before her aunt, but Lysa is not concerned about her son’s seizure, but rather Sansa kissing Petyr. Lysa accuses her of trying to seduce her husband, just like her mother had tried to "steal" Petyr from her. Lady Arryn then relates the story of how one night when they had all gotten drunk, Catelyn spurned Littlefinger, and Lysa had gone to his bed afterward to comfort him, even though he had called her Cat. Lysa continues to rant about how her father took their baby away from them, and then grabs Sansa and drags her before the Moon Door while calling for Marillion. Lysa pushes her closer and closer to the edge, until Littlefinger arrives and tells his new wife to release her. 
Lysa, bordering on insanity, reveals how she had persuaded Jon Arryn to get Littlefinger his first post, and how she had done as he said when Petyr told her to put the Tears of Lys in her husband’s wine. He also had her write the letter to her sister falsely naming the Lannisters as Jon Arryn’s murderers. Petyr promises never to leave her side again, and as she falls into his arms, he tells her he has only ever loved one woman... Cat. He then shoves her out the Moon Door. He calls for the guards, accusing Marillion of killing his wife…
Jimmy: https://www.youtube.com/@ChattingWithNutts
Matt's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/supergainsbros
The reread will continue! Join the discussion: https://www.facebook.com/BendtheKneePodcast/
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Jon practices swords in the yard with Iron Emmett, another brother of the Night's Watch. Emmett hits Jon hard and Jon is knocked into thoughts of Winterfell and his boyhood rivalry with Robb. Part of him always wanted to become Lord of Winterfell and resented that it was impossible for him. These feelings come up so strong that he beats Emmett mercilessly and has to be pulled off him. Jon goes to the bathhouse, and overhears Ser Alliserand Bowen Marsh mentioning that Lord Tywin sent a letter backing Janos Slynt’s rise to Lord Commander. They show it to Othell Yarwyck, seeking to have the First Builder withdraw and back Slynt. Jon is disturbed by the prospect of Slynt becoming Lord Commander, and goes off through the gate beyond the Wall. He is torn between his duties to the Watch, and the chance Stannis has given him to become Jon Stark, Lord of Winterfell. As he is considering that he has always wanted this, his thoughts change to a hunger for food. No, not food but prey - deer or elk. When he looks up, Ghostcomes padding over. He is overjoyed to see his old friend. 
Jon looks at the direwolf’s red eyes. Recalling what Melisandre said about there being no old gods, only the Lord of Light and the Other, Jon realizes that while Ghost's eyes are red, they are not like Melisandre’s. He has a weirwood’s eyes and belongs to the old gods. His mind made up, he attends the voting council for the first time. He is greeted with shouts of disapproval from Slynt and Thorne, learning that his name has been put forth as Lord Commander. Seeking to end the voting, Ser Alliser mentions that Othell Yarwyck has something to say, but the First Builder abandons their plotting, and withdraws in favor of Jon. When Sam and Clydas go to fetch the voting kettle, a large raven flies out and lands on Jon’s shoulder, cawing, "Snow. Snow." The Black Brothers are amazed when they realize the bird is Mormont's raven. Jon Snow wins the vote in a landslide victory and is named the 998th Lord Commander, but he must soon confront Stannis with the news.
Jimmy: https://www.youtube.com/@ChattingWithNutts
Matt's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/supergainsbros
The reread will continue! Join the discussion: https://www.facebook.com/BendtheKneePodcast/
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Ser Jimmy is out sick this week but it let Ser Matt finish a script he has been working on about Skagos in the Winds of Winter!
For this episode of Bend the Knee, we’re diving into one of the most mysterious and potentially important locations in all of A Song of Ice and Fire: Skagos. Known as the land of cannibals, unicorns, giant-blooded warriors, and ancient First Men traditions, Skagos has lingered on the edges of the story for years. But with Rickon Stark hidden there, Davos Seaworth sailing to retrieve him, and George R.R. Martin continuing to keep its secrets hidden, we explore why Skagos may be far more than just a remote island. Could it hold the future of House Stark? Why is Rickon’s storyline so different from the HBO adaptation? Could Benjen Stark still be alive and hiding among the stoneborn? And what role might dragonglass, ancient magic, and the old powers of the North play in the coming war against the Others? Join us as we break down the lore, the theories, and why Skagos may become one of the most important locations in The Winds of Winter.
Jimmy: https://www.youtube.com/@ChattingWithNutts
Matt's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/supergainsbros
The reread will continue! Join the discussion: https://www.facebook.com/BendtheKneePodcast/
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King Stannis has brought several of the black brothers before him to make known his anger about them taking too long to select a new Lord Commander. Stannis sees through Janos Slynt’s fawning, having known the man as a bribe-taker in King's Landing. The king makes it clear that after they finally vote in a new Lord Commander, he plans to take all the castles along the Wall, except for the three currently occupied by the Watch, to garrison his forces. He also plans to either take or be granted the Gift, stating that he intends to help the Watch guard the Wall. He commands the builders to deliver reports on the conditions of the abandoned castles, and informs the men gathered that nightfires will be lit before the gates of all the castles. When Melisandre mentions the impending war, Maester Aemon is aware that she speaks of the prophesied War for the Dawn. After the others have left, Aemon asks to see the fabled sword Lightbringer through Sam’s eyes. Sam describes the sword as glowing, yet there are no flames.
Stannis questions Sam about dragonglass, making it known that there are great deposits of obsidian beneath Dragonstone, and that he intends to have it mined and brought to the Wall. The king asks Sam to show him the Black Gate, as he intends to make the Nightfort his seat, and Sam agrees although he is not sure if the gate will open for a man not of the black. When they leave, Maester Aemon asks Sam if he felt any heat emanating from the sword, and he realizes that he did not. Aemon speaks of the choosing, subtly implying that Sam could do something to help speed the process. Determined to put aside the bickering between the two leading candidates, Sam speaks with both Cotter Pyke and Ser Denys Mallister individually. Both are aware they will not be elected and agree that Slynt would be a bad choice. So Sam asks them if they would step aside if the right candidate were to be named. Playing one off the other, using their dislike for each other, Sam sets it up so that each man will lend his support to Jon that night.
Jimmy: https://www.youtube.com/@ChattingWithNutts
Matt's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/supergainsbros
The reread will continue! Join the discussion: https://www.facebook.com/BendtheKneePodcast/
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If you'd like to support the show, gain access to additional WESTEROS content, or LISTEN LIVE then hit us up at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bendtheknee
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