Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Ser Harwin Strong
Cardboard statues of the characters in A Song of Ice and Fire.
This is a post about THE KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS. If you haven't finished reading .. We gave you fair warning.
Let us begin by saying we believe GRRM very purposefully writes in such a way that different members of his audience will pick up different bits of information. Even fans who pick up the same hints will interpret those hints differently. We think he loves doing this to us. The following are the 'hints' my husband and I picked up and they lead us to believe that Ser Maynard Plumm is really Bloodraven. Sure he could just be a spy for Bloodraven but the following are some of the reasons we think it is Brynden Rivers himself.
1. They meet Ser Maynard at the weirwood stumps (nudge, nudge) where he throws our suspicions on Ser Glendon, ah, Ball and away from himself. We all start wondering about this Glendon guy.
2. Egg asks if he's kin to Lord Viserys Plumm and he says "distantly, though I doubt that his lordship would admit to it" (cuz maybe there is no such person as Maynard Plumm).
3. His description could be irrelevant if the moonstone brooch he wears is the source of his glamour. Although they are both described as tall, thin, and having long light colored hair for what it's worth.
4. Plumm knows all about the Blackfyre Rebellion and Butterwells part in it.
5. Here are some quotes concerning this .....
-- Dunk: We'd all be bastards sons of old King Aegon if half these tales were true. Plumm: And who's to say we're not.
-- Dunk says they are going to Winterfell and Plumm replies (ironically?) "too cold up there for me".
6. Plumm does not respond to treasonous talk (as if just observing).
7. When he does speak up he discusses Bloodravens strategies and knows the royal family as well as Egg.
8. When discussing the Fiddler with Dunk and the Cat Plumm seems to know full well who the Fiddler is and what he is up to. We think he is both warning Dunk and testing his honor when he tells him to take his stuff and leave. He seems to specifically want "the boy" out of there.
9. Dunk asks Plumm "how would you know my destiny? Did you have a dream, like the Fiddler? What do you know of Egg?" Thinking Plumm is Bloodraven these questions have added meaning for us.
10. Plumm's responses of "I know that eggs do well to stay out of frying pans," and "Whitewalls is not a healthy place for the boy." seem like a lot of caring about some hedge knight and his squire.
11. Even this small statement seems significant ... Ser Maynard asks Dunk who will win the dragon egg and Dunk says he doesn't know. Plumm says "Venture a guess, ser. You have two eyes." makes us laugh because Rivers has only one eye.
12. Ser Maynard comes to help Dunk after he is injured at the well. When Dunk first sees him 'all he could make out was a hooded shape and a single pale white eye.' This description just seems way to significant to mean anything else than a comparison to the pale one-eyed Bloodraven.
13. Maynard then goes from meer spy to participant by leaving Ser Alyn down in the well and he says "save him now to execute him later?" that would not be a spy's decision but rather Bloodraven's.
14. While leaning on Plumm for support Dunk thinks 'This close, there was something queer about the cast of Ser Maynard's features. The longer Dunk looked, the less he seemed to see.' We don't think this is bloodloss, we think it's a glamour.
15. When discussing Butterwell and his fear and his concern over how much Bloodraven knows about this conspiracy .. Plumms answer is 'quite a lot' and he chuckles.
16. And then classic hiding a secret identity when the question is "who are you?" and the answer is "a friend." "One who has been watching you and wondering at your presence ..." with all that is going on, with all the many players to watch, he must know who Egg is to have such interest in this hedge knight and his squire. He's got Daemon Blackfyre to watch and he's concerned with Dunk and Egg?
17. As far as we remember Ser Maynard Plumm is completely absent from the rest of the story. He just disappears and Bloodraven appears the next morning.
So with the above in mind, try reading The Mystery Knight again and see if it isn't funnier and filled with hidden meaning as you realize just how many 'mystery knights' there are in this story. We leave you with this from the end of the story .....
Bloodraven says, "Lord Butterbutt would have me believe that Prince Maekar sent you here, to sniff out this rebellion in the guise of a mystery knight. Is that the truth of it?"
Dunk went to one knee. "No, m'lord. I mean, yes, m'lord. That's what Egg told him. Aegon, I mean. Prince Aegon. So that part's true. It isn't what you'd call the true truth, though."
Oh, GRRM ... will you ever tell us "the true truth?"
Dusty & Amie
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