Sansa’s prose is so different from everyone else’s. She was written to be an innocent character and holds onto it as desperately as she can. She still appreciates the beauty of landscapes and dreams and isolation. Her whole story is a slow crawl through disillusionment.
That's such a great point. I think that's part of why we love her too. At this point, after all the horror of Kings Landing, the fact that Sansa is still capable of appreciating beauty, and of being kind to people who frankly don't deserve it is a strength, not a weakness. I think an interesting tension with her going forward is whether she will lose these traits as she becomes a more capable "player" under Petyr's tutelage. Now I'm thinking baout how you can see what you brought up throughout the book, like when she stops to contemplate and admire a pretty cloud formation with Shae and another serving woman right before Joffrey's wedding. I love it.
I think that's why it's even worse when she goes through tragic episodes. unlike how we are all pumped and excited when arya misfits and adventures, we are all dreading and scared to see what'll become sansa, due to her innocence and the way she thinks
@@thegrimmarcher202 Every child in this story is ignorant of how things work in the real world. Thats what being a child is. Maturity is a process that happens as one ages into adulthood. If you're projecting adult standards onto a child, the problem lies in your own narrow perception.
@@mschell8022 no, I agree with him. Sansa is much slower to grasp things and its not so much because she's a child, but because she's been sheltered her whole life. She was purposely written to be this way, the naive girl with Disney dreams. Arya, Bran, John snow, robb, and Joffrey are all naive, but in different ways with different responses to stimulus. Dont be so sensitive about it.
Makes me realize how much shit she went through in such a short time. One day, bran, rickon, robb, and arya are throwing snowballs at her. The next day, robb and their mom slain by the freys and boltons at the red wedding, father beheaded by failed abortion joffrey, arya is missing and presumed dead, and bran and rickon are presumed slain by theon greyjoy.
At that point, she was completely irrational and out of control. Petyr thankfully put her out of her misery, cuz I don't wanna see lysa arryn with a sword.
And Jon was 15 when he was stabbed, Arya was 11/12 when she joined the FM, Bran was 8/9 when he begin his training with BloodRaven, Rickon was 4/5 when he fled to Skaagos and Robb was 16 when the Red Wedding happened!
@@Luissv72 i was still hoping jon wouldn't get the same fate as in the show, doubtful yet the rule pf getting 3/4 of the votes and the indorsement of malister and pike made me optimistic, but here was our pal thinking it's a good idea to put plot points rather than saying at the end of book five or something like that The wayabouts tp these events will be damn interesting too so whatever I guess
@@sgauden02 you're right, I forgot years passed since the first book. Cat said "he wasn't 30 yet" on the first book, and that he was younger than her and Lysa, but time passed since then. Welp, Petyr would be creepy with any age, knowing that he is projecting Cat into Sansa, but this really doesn't help
This was the chapter that really made me like Sansa's POVs more than I already did. As if she wasn't an already intriguing character but this just made me love her even more from the imagery to the diction and the atmosphere everything about it is just all kinds of amazing!!! And of course the shocking fate of Lysa that left me speechless the first time I read it and still gives me the chills everytime I revisit it. Great work in this chapter man it's one of my all time favorites!!!!
Sansa's story is always so hard to read cause she really is the only one of the Starks who has no one who cares for her just for her own sake. It's always her looks, her family, what she represents, "the key in the north" and all that. Jon had the Free Folk, making some good friends there and finding love. He had Sam and Grenn and Pyp in the NW. He always had Ghost. Arya had Gendry, and Hotpie, and the lot (except when she's in Braavos, she's proper alone then, like Sansa). Rickon had Osha, who really loves him. Bran has Jojen and Meera and Hodor and Greywind. Robb had his mother, and his bannermen. But Sansa ... she was alone from the getgo. It's such a heartbreaking arc. The girl most different from all her siblings. Totally misunderstood by most people. A heart of gold, cause really it's Sansa's goodness/kindness that's her most inherent quality. You see this in so many ways. Lady dying signified so much. And as of right now, she's in so much danger stuck with the LF. Hopefully the books are moving toward a Stark reunion.
Sansa has a habit of running towards people who only want to use her, Joffrey, Cersei, Dontos/Littlefinger and pushing people away who want to treat her well, Tyrion or truly wanna help her, the Hound.
@@IngTomT lol. Sansa is about 11 - 12 years old when she arrives in Kings Landing. During her little life, her mother has created a world for her, filled with music, song, and the nobleness of knights and princes. Joffrey does not mistreat Sansa, until Ned is dead, and Ned's death was a betrayal, a surprise. Cersei is the Queen, and Sansa's future mother in law. Sansa's a child. She has no idea what the Lannisters/Baratheons are capable of. LF talks to her, educates her, promises to help her. Tyrion is forced upon her ... it isn't a marriage that she wants, that's true ... but then on their wedding night, he goes and frightens her to near death, fondling her breasts, and getting angry when she tells him that she'll never be able to desire sleeping with him. Do you know Tyrion in the books? He ain't no Peter Dinklage. Moreover, he's a murderer, raper, thief, conniver, with a viciousness that would rival Cersei's, and a desire for revenge for the way his family has treated him. The Hound? lol. He holds a knife to her throat, and commands her to sing. He has a reputation that any adult would be wary of, let alone a child. He's unpredictable, and of course, a killer to the nth degree. He'd just as well change his mind on the road, and rape her if he wishes, and who's to stop him? He's running away, and he's kingsguard ... that means he'll have a bounty on his head, which means he'll be a wanted man. Why in the world would a child like Sansa, whose father's been killed, whose best friend was taken from her without any explanation, whose sister is missing and may as well be dead, who's already a prisoner, but atleast, she has a chance in KL ... alone with someone like the Hound? Think well before you judge a child, for making "wrong" choices.
@@kdr3619 I don't want to judge her. You are right, she lives in a world filled with music, song, and the nobleness of knights and princes. She saw wat Joffrey was like at the incident on the trident (she could have seen it in Winterfell too in how he treated Robb) and Cersei too, when she took Lady from her. Tyrion is not a saint, true but he was the one who treated her best in Kings Landing and though he is flawed he has more honour than most. The Hound is scary, also true but he saved her life earlier and also treated Arya well enough and didn't abuse her. Sansa lives in a dream, she dreams of beauty and magic, she sees only with her eyes, sees what she wants to see, what matches her fantasy but she doesn't see the truth behind things only what's on the surface, she doesn't see with her heart and that's where her struggles come from. Not a judgement, just an observation.
@@IngTomT It's exactly because she's a child, that she makes decisions instinctively. As a child, she does see what's on the surface, because she believes in the good of everyone, and has no reference to crime, or deception, or lies. It's how she's been encouraged to live. The fact that her parents permit her to be betrothed to Joffrey, despite knowing how he treated Robb, or suspicious that he was a Lannister and not a Baratheon due to Lysa's letter, is the parents' fault, not the child's. They should have called off the engagement before they even left Winterfell, but Cat motivates her, and when Sansa shows her excitement, Cat doesn't correct her, doesn't intercede and tell her that it cannot be this way, cause Joff isn't what she thinks. The Hound might have saved her from getting raped ... but to Sansa, he only saved her because she's the prince's betrothed, and it's his DUTY as kingsguard to save the future queen of Westeros, not a choice. Furthermore, the Hound is ALSO the dude who ratted on her to Cersei, when Sansa first bled ... something Sansa DID not want anyone discovering. Why should she trust him? The Hound never hit her, but that's only cause Joffrey calls Trant for the job, and the one scene where the Hound is called to whack her, Tyrion enters to break it up. The Hound isn't stable. And you can see it in her mannerisms. The way he treats her. In none of their interactions does he even care to inspire a little bit of trust. He just fightens an already petrified child even further. Fruthermore, Sansa learned Joffrey was a monster when he had her father killed, she didn’t know he would ever have the Kingsguard abuse her until the moment it happened. Nobody knew that Joffrey would resolve quarrels brought to the king by having the llitigants fight to the death until it happened. Nobody knew Joffrey would threaten Sansa with a crossbow (that he’d been learning how to use by killing cats) and have her stripped in public until it happened. Nobody admitted Joffrey was getting off on Sansa’s humiliation. Up until that point, he acted like any spoiled aristocratic dick. He could be mean, but never vicious, and there were many times where he was sweet on her. He manipulated her, but then again, what does a 11 year old Sansa know of manipulation? As for Tyrion, the man is sick. He might have "more honor" than most, but if the "most" in question is Cersei and Jaime, and Tywin, and the Hound, and Joffrey, well that doesn't count for much does it? He's also a member of the same family who killed her father, mother, brother, and caused her sister to flee, and put Sansa in this position to begin with. In the books, he ponders over how his "penis" betrayed him after watching his first love getting gang raped by 50 men, and so joins in and rapes her too. He's a manic depressive, and a bitter drunk, who might flip at any moment, and just decide to have his way with her ... and who could stop him? After becoming his wife, she'd be his property to do with as he likes. He can't protect her. Most of all, from himself. Sansa might dream of beauty and magic as you state, but she's a child, who's been taught to dream that way. But she's waking up isn't she? She's growing stronger and wiser in the books, as she did in the show. She's on a trajectory which will see her crowned Lady/Queen of her home one day. She's learning from her mistakes, and taking cues from her experiences. Of all the characters in the show, Sansa's is the most relatable precisely because she has nothing and no one who actually cares or protects her, for her own sake. She's the "key to the north", and has to learn how to survive on her wits, and her eventual power and influence. She has no weapons, no magic, no dragons, no one to teach her such arts, or stand up in her defence ... and as of Winds of Winter, she's still only what ... 14/15 ? So consider this before stating that the reason for all her woes is primarily herself, or that she should have known better.
@@Clawbytes987Doubtless that's part of his plan, but is that his ultimate goal? I think he wants to sit on the throne so he can acheive a higher goal. I feel like he wouldn't want to the throne just for the power and glory
5 miscarriages would fuck with anyone. Any time we get some history with Lisa, it always accompanies how Cat was ‘so much better” in every way. I don’t like Lisa, but I do understand.
@@Stitchpuppy01apart from that she felt betrayed by her dad, detested her 70yo husband, whilst everyone kept telling her how lucky she was, as he was so noble and kind,her only surviving kid was sick, the man she (secretly) loved only used and manipulated her... And eventually killed her, once he no longer needed her. A very sad life indeed. No wonder she became so erratic and emotionally unstable. I definitely don't like her (it's almost impossible) but it's hard not to empathise.
Crazy how some fans of this series will never let go of her mistake of trusting Cersei. As if they would have done anything different if they were in her position. Its so easy to judge so harshly when you have a God's eye view as the reader. Sansa didn't have that and anyways, later she ABSOLUTELY realized her mistake. Sansa's entire arc is about her learning from her mistake as she grows up. Arya, Jon, Bran, Theon, etc all learn from their mistakes. Why aren't they held to the same rigid standard that Sansa is held to by fans? It does make sense to me.
It doesn't make sense to you because you can't see what the rest of us can clearly see, that she is a horrible character just like her mother. Sansa betraying her father is only one of the acts from this vile girl.
I know she was crazy but I kinda feel bad for Lysa. She was kinda being pushed around by many people when she was younger and Petyr was always her first and only love. It may have been bad love since she raped him that night, but in a way, she still loved Baelish very much. And when he said he loved Catelyn more than her, Lysa was extremely heartbroken, not even screaming in her final moments. In her mindset, she was probably thinking that even in death, her sister will always have the better life and outshine her. Tragic.
Yeah Lysa is a classic example of that old cliche that "hurt people hurt people." Littlefinger is really monstrous in this whole plot line too. He knows how fragile she is and he doesn't care, probably blames Lysa entirely for putting Sansa in danger even though the whole situation was instigated by him.
Except Littlefinger NEVER loved Lysa. He was using her the whole time. Also, I don't think Lysa truly LOVED Littlefinger, I think she was OBSESSED with him, which is NOT the same thing.
I absolutely agree. Lysa's whole life was truly sad. No wonder she became so erratic&emotionally unstable. And yes, her love for LF was toxic&obsessive, as damaged as she was she wasn't capable of healthy love (her love for her son was similar), but it WAS LOVE. She thought he was the only light of her life, and he ended up killing her when she was no longer useful to him. It's nearly impossible to like her, but I'm really sorry for her.
What’s worse is that Lysa probably thought Catelyn had the better life than her. She was able to have a very loving marriage with Ned and have genuinely good children for the most part. While Lysa had to marry a man who was twice her age and she mostly had stillborns and miscarriages. And when she has a son, he’s sickly and unwell most of the time. So Cat always had the better life.
Sansuh, here’s what going to happen. You’re gonna dye your hair and go by Alayne. Anyone asks, you’re my natural daughtuh. Don’t tell them you’re a Stark, and be careful when you wash your hair.
Despite everything I'm fairly sorry for lysa . It's sad to love someone who only pretends to love you and constantly takes advantage of you and your love
So true. I didn't dislike lysa. First what Catelyn has done to bring Tyrion to the vale was so wrong. Then a young girl kiss your man. Nooo noooo noooo. She was wrong to treat Sansa that way. But Sansa was wrong too.
@@sgauden02 basically she loved little finger when they were younger and got pregnant. But then hoster Tully not only forced her to abort, but also to marry the significantly older and mostly infertile Jon Arryn which caused her multiple miscarriages. Only little finger showed care for her so of course she's obsessed with him lol
@@fannityx6773 I wouldn't blame the kiss on Sansa, she definitely didn't want it. Apart from that, she was still half a child, and a frightened one at that. Tbf, it's always hard to see any faults in those we love and Lysa was extremely emotionally unstable besides. It would be unrealistic to expect any rational behaviour from her at that point.
Sansa reminiscing about her childhood at winterfell with her brothers and arya, building winterfell in the snow is so heartbreaking. Then lysa's final mental patient meltdown before being killed by petyr. Easily one of the top chapters. Oh, and fuck marillion.
The books are crawling with creeps to be sure 😂 Khal Drogo marrying Dany, Ser Jorah isolating and forcing himself on Dany and Petyr Baelish preying on Sansa like his name is “Ser Robert Kelly, the Lord protector of the Vale”. I get that the time period depicted was totally different to today’s societal norms but still.. A lot of these older male characters are creeps 😂
I wonder if Pyter really believes he took Cat's maiden head. I just assumed he was lying just for the hell of it. But listening to Lysa tell her story this time when she says that Pyter called her Cat and fell back asleep, the thought crept in my head that maybe he really believes it.
Woah... I thought Varys was the one who poisoned Jon Arryn (In Book 1 Varys and Mopatis talk about delaying the war and Mopatis says "if one hand can die, why not another? you have danced the dance before" he tells it to Varys...) So, not only did Littlefinger do it but he also sent letter to Starks and most likely dagger too and then framed Tyrion for it, causing all these wars and drama in past 3 books... (I highly doubt Joffrey was the one who hired assassin against Bran, like Tyrion and Jaime suspect. Well, tbh, in Sansa 6 we do see that Littlefinger prefers manipulation over dirtying his hands, "leading a horse to a water" as he calls it, did he lead Joffrey to that "water"?)... Wait, so Sansa is travelling with a man who's the real cause of her family's demise... daaamn that's cold... Why? did he do all that to become lord of Vale/Warden of the East? As he knew Lysa loves him, so he took the right chance to poison Jon Arryn (just when he started questioning about Robert's bastrads and Joffrey's heritage)? Or why else would he do it? Well, Littlefinger is probably about to outplay all lords of Vale... gonna be fun to see. Varys knew what poison was used, back in book 1, he told Ned about tear of Lys... Pycelle seemed to know too when Tyrion caught him. But here we clearly see it was Littlefinger telling Lysa to drop the poison and I doubt Varys and Littlefinger would work together on anything... So, how did Varys know the specific poison? Poor Petyr, that vile singer killed his lovely wife in cold blood. Your Lysa voice is perfect, at the same time I feel bad for her but irritated at her naivety, your voice did hit that irritated spot pretty well, and that's the goal with her character, so, well done...
You deserve an Emmy for your ability to do lysa the way you do and jump back to Peter or Sansa 😂 thank you for the love and energy you pour into this man !
Fun fact: this chapter is considered the best chapter by many AOSIAF fans, voted on many popular ASOIAF web-sites. Granted there are much more exciting chapters in the books, and much more popular characters than Sansa, but this one evokes Winterfell, the Starks, and the snow castle, the symbols that most fans resonate with. This is further proved by the last published book, where most fans agree that the Northern storyline is the strongest storyline.
I feel bad for Lysa but I also hate her in a way I don't hate any of the other dislikeable characters. She's not evil, but insane and within her rests a lot of power. The knights of the Vale could've changed the outcome of the war.
the idea of ur dad telling you ur lucky someone will have you bc you had sex before is wild. i love that we got hoster tully's side of things and all the guilt he felt in the end.
This is surely my most controversial series of choices in recording these. My reasoning was that I am not nearly skilled enough to make dozens of unique accents from the British isles or continental Europe, but I wanted most of the characters to sound distinct and unique. I also figured that because this series is so postmodern, there was room for making kind of weird, silly accent choices that weren't typical for this sort of genre. Eventually, it sort of became "my thing," and I don't see myself giving it up, despite....... quite a few complaints about Brienne lol
The voices can take a bit getting used to, that's true enough. But the characters aren't from the UK either, they are from Westeros - an entirely different continent, another world, another universe. Everyone just imagines British accents because it's a Medieval world, but it's not England, so just about any accent is really viable.
@@DavidReadsASoIaF I must say, the choice to give the Tyrells Southern accents at first shocked me, I thought; easy France. But fuck... Its grown on me so much.
Probably was too late in the show to pull it off.. but I think a flashback of the snowball fight with Sansa, Arya, and bran would’ve heartbreakingly sweet and effective
Yes, "ideally" the whipping boy would be a friend to the noble child, so the actually misbehaving child would feel bad about "making" another child being punished
Great job on the voice for Lysa. Perfect for her character. Not a fan of this particular chapter, even after many rereads (and my first listen) its one of my least favorite. Very contrived exposition dump! The scene would have so much better without Lysa's "...and then, this backstory! Then, this revelation!"
Poor Sansa, it’s safe to say that most of the people around her have really made her life so much more difficult So many deserve a happy ending but she most of all in my opinion
Lysa, imo, is a product of a shit environment. Lysa because of her guilt for young petyr back then, her desperate need for love, and her loveless marriage with jon arryn. Wish westeros had mental health care
Littlefinger let Lysa sob against his chest for a moment, then put his hands on her arms and kissed her lightly. “My sweet silly jealous wife,” he said, chuckling. “I’ve only loved one woman, I promise you.” Lysa Arryn smiled tremulously. “Only one? Oh, Petyr, do you swear it? Only one?” “Only Cat.” He gave her a short, sharp shove. Lysa stumbled backward, her feet slipping on the wet marble. And then she was gone. She never screamed. For the longest time there was no sound but the wind.
I don't see what everyone else sees in her POV. It's all so boring and slow. All descriptions and pretty words. My mind wanders endlessly as I sit through these quiet monologues.
@@Midnightsstan521 True, though there were some serious red flags that Sansa should have seen about Joffrey and Cersei. Sansa was hopelessly naive, more so than any of the other Stark children, despite being older than Arya, Bran, and Rickon. Even when the Stark Household was butchered by Lannister Guardsmen, and her best friend, Jeyne Poole was rightfully freaking out, Sansa still stuck to her imagined delusion that it would all somehow turn out okay, which it wasn't. Sansa still wanted to be the queen, and still wanted her idealized image of the world to exist, so she thought that if she just played along, then surely this it would all turn out fine in the end. But in the end, her beliefs were smashed when Joffrey had her father executed, and she finally saw him for what he truly was. Ironic how at the beginning, all she ever wanted to escape from Winterfell, her home, and to go to King's Landing. But now, she wants nothing more than to go home. Sansa even now admits that she was stupid.
Sansa’s prose is so different from everyone else’s. She was written to be an innocent character and holds onto it as desperately as she can. She still appreciates the beauty of landscapes and dreams and isolation. Her whole story is a slow crawl through disillusionment.
That's such a great point. I think that's part of why we love her too. At this point, after all the horror of Kings Landing, the fact that Sansa is still capable of appreciating beauty, and of being kind to people who frankly don't deserve it is a strength, not a weakness. I think an interesting tension with her going forward is whether she will lose these traits as she becomes a more capable "player" under Petyr's tutelage.
Now I'm thinking baout how you can see what you brought up throughout the book, like when she stops to contemplate and admire a pretty cloud formation with Shae and another serving woman right before Joffrey's wedding. I love it.
I think that's why it's even worse when she goes through tragic episodes.
unlike how we are all pumped and excited when arya misfits and adventures, we are all dreading and scared to see what'll become sansa, due to her innocence and the way she thinks
Yes but her ignorance as to how things work dose get on my nerves occasionally.
@@thegrimmarcher202 Every child in this story is ignorant of how things work in the real world. Thats what being a child is. Maturity is a process that happens as one ages into adulthood. If you're projecting adult standards onto a child, the problem lies in your own narrow perception.
@@mschell8022 no, I agree with him. Sansa is much slower to grasp things and its not so much because she's a child, but because she's been sheltered her whole life. She was purposely written to be this way, the naive girl with Disney dreams. Arya, Bran, John snow, robb, and Joffrey are all naive, but in different ways with different responses to stimulus. Dont be so sensitive about it.
I still can’t believe Lysa asked for a soundtrack to her attempted child murder
Not even Cersei, Lady Stoneheart, Ramsay or Euron are that insane!
Lmaooo
Don’t forget kinslaying. Can’t forget the kinslaying.
Tbf… it’s a good song
@@noahmclaughlin7921 huh??
Man little finger is such a Fucking creep in this chapter!! “Can I come into your castle” “I’ll be gentle” we get what you’re aiming at pervert 😭😭
YES I get so icky when they ingeract, it's just so inappropriate and creepy
Especially when you remember that at this point, Sansa is barely 13.
The scene of Sansa building Winterfell in the godswood makes my heart break. She’s seriously in my top 3 POV characters
She's probably my top 3 characters, period.
Makes me realize how much shit she went through in such a short time. One day, bran, rickon, robb, and arya are throwing snowballs at her. The next day, robb and their mom slain by the freys and boltons at the red wedding, father beheaded by failed abortion joffrey, arya is missing and presumed dead, and bran and rickon are presumed slain by theon greyjoy.
You really did a good job on Lysa's voice. She sounds truly insane and terrifying.
At that point, she was completely irrational and out of control. Petyr thankfully put her out of her misery, cuz I don't wanna see lysa arryn with a sword.
oof I just realized that Sansa is only 13, just a child.
And Jon was 15 when he was stabbed, Arya was 11/12 when she joined the FM, Bran was 8/9 when he begin his training with BloodRaven, Rickon was 4/5 when he fled to Skaagos and Robb was 16 when the Red Wedding happened!
@@PedroLucas-mg5je you probably shouldn't blare plot points from book 5 in a comment about a chapter from the 3rd book
@@Luissv72 i was still hoping jon wouldn't get the same fate as in the show, doubtful yet the rule pf getting 3/4 of the votes and the indorsement of malister and pike made me optimistic, but here was our pal thinking it's a good idea to put plot points rather than saying at the end of book five or something like that
The wayabouts tp these events will be damn interesting too so whatever I guess
@@Luissv72oh shut up.
@@PedroLucas-mg5je So what? Sansa isn't Arya. Sansa isn't Bran. Sansa isn't Rickon. Sansa isn't Robb. Sansa isn't Jon.
"let me inside your castle?"
"Please...be.."
"Gentle?"
... I... Uh... Ew, Petyr, ew!!
Especially when you consider that Sansa is barely 13.
@@sgauden02 and he's around 28 to 30 🤮
@@deactivated18 32 to be exact.
@@sgauden02 you're right, I forgot years passed since the first book. Cat said "he wasn't 30 yet" on the first book, and that he was younger than her and Lysa, but time passed since then. Welp, Petyr would be creepy with any age, knowing that he is projecting Cat into Sansa, but this really doesn't help
🤮😡
Goddamnit Littlefinger must you ruin one of the few happy moments sansa has had in this whole series?
Marillion that scoundrel, after everything Lysa did for him he kills her. May the father judge him harshly.
This was the chapter that really made me like Sansa's POVs more than I already did. As if she wasn't an already intriguing character but this just made me love her even more from the imagery to the diction and the atmosphere everything about it is just all kinds of amazing!!! And of course the shocking fate of Lysa that left me speechless the first time I read it and still gives me the chills everytime I revisit it. Great work in this chapter man it's one of my all time favorites!!!!
Sansa's story is always so hard to read cause she really is the only one of the Starks who has no one who cares for her just for her own sake. It's always her looks, her family, what she represents, "the key in the north" and all that. Jon had the Free Folk, making some good friends there and finding love. He had Sam and Grenn and Pyp in the NW. He always had Ghost. Arya had Gendry, and Hotpie, and the lot (except when she's in Braavos, she's proper alone then, like Sansa). Rickon had Osha, who really loves him. Bran has Jojen and Meera and Hodor and Greywind. Robb had his mother, and his bannermen.
But Sansa ... she was alone from the getgo. It's such a heartbreaking arc. The girl most different from all her siblings. Totally misunderstood by most people. A heart of gold, cause really it's Sansa's goodness/kindness that's her most inherent quality. You see this in so many ways. Lady dying signified so much. And as of right now, she's in so much danger stuck with the LF. Hopefully the books are moving toward a Stark reunion.
Sansa has a habit of running towards people who only want to use her, Joffrey, Cersei, Dontos/Littlefinger and pushing people away who want to treat her well, Tyrion or truly wanna help her, the Hound.
@@IngTomT lol. Sansa is about 11 - 12 years old when she arrives in Kings Landing. During her little life, her mother has created a world for her, filled with music, song, and the nobleness of knights and princes. Joffrey does not mistreat Sansa, until Ned is dead, and Ned's death was a betrayal, a surprise.
Cersei is the Queen, and Sansa's future mother in law. Sansa's a child. She has no idea what the Lannisters/Baratheons are capable of. LF talks to her, educates her, promises to help her. Tyrion is forced upon her ... it isn't a marriage that she wants, that's true ... but then on their wedding night, he goes and frightens her to near death, fondling her breasts, and getting angry when she tells him that she'll never be able to desire sleeping with him.
Do you know Tyrion in the books? He ain't no Peter Dinklage. Moreover, he's a murderer, raper, thief, conniver, with a viciousness that would rival Cersei's, and a desire for revenge for the way his family has treated him. The Hound?
lol.
He holds a knife to her throat, and commands her to sing. He has a reputation that any adult would be wary of, let alone a child. He's unpredictable, and of course, a killer to the nth degree. He'd just as well change his mind on the road, and rape her if he wishes, and who's to stop him? He's running away, and he's kingsguard ... that means he'll have a bounty on his head, which means he'll be a wanted man.
Why in the world would a child like Sansa, whose father's been killed, whose best friend was taken from her without any explanation, whose sister is missing and may as well be dead, who's already a prisoner, but atleast, she has a chance in KL ... alone with someone like the Hound?
Think well before you judge a child, for making "wrong" choices.
@@kdr3619 I don't want to judge her. You are right, she lives in a world filled with music, song, and the nobleness of knights and princes.
She saw wat Joffrey was like at the incident on the trident (she could have seen it in Winterfell too in how he treated Robb) and Cersei too, when she took Lady from her.
Tyrion is not a saint, true but he was the one who treated her best in Kings Landing and though he is flawed he has more honour than most.
The Hound is scary, also true but he saved her life earlier and also treated Arya well enough and didn't abuse her.
Sansa lives in a dream, she dreams of beauty and magic, she sees only with her eyes, sees what she wants to see, what matches her fantasy but she doesn't see the truth behind things only what's on the surface, she doesn't see with her heart and that's where her struggles come from.
Not a judgement, just an observation.
@@IngTomT It's exactly because she's a child, that she makes decisions instinctively. As a child, she does see what's on the surface, because she believes in the good of everyone, and has no reference to crime, or deception, or lies. It's how she's been encouraged to live. The fact that her parents permit her to be betrothed to Joffrey, despite knowing how he treated Robb, or suspicious that he was a Lannister and not a Baratheon due to Lysa's letter, is the parents' fault, not the child's. They should have called off the engagement before they even left Winterfell, but Cat motivates her, and when Sansa shows her excitement, Cat doesn't correct her, doesn't intercede and tell her that it cannot be this way, cause Joff isn't what she thinks.
The Hound might have saved her from getting raped ... but to Sansa, he only saved her because she's the prince's betrothed, and it's his DUTY as kingsguard to save the future queen of Westeros, not a choice. Furthermore, the Hound is ALSO the dude who ratted on her to Cersei, when Sansa first bled ... something Sansa DID not want anyone discovering.
Why should she trust him? The Hound never hit her, but that's only cause Joffrey calls Trant for the job, and the one scene where the Hound is called to whack her, Tyrion enters to break it up. The Hound isn't stable. And you can see it in her mannerisms. The way he treats her. In none of their interactions does he even care to inspire a little bit of trust. He just fightens an already petrified child even further. Fruthermore, Sansa learned Joffrey was a monster when he had her father killed, she didn’t know he would ever have the Kingsguard abuse her until the moment it happened. Nobody knew that Joffrey would resolve quarrels brought to the king by having the llitigants fight to the death until it happened. Nobody knew Joffrey would threaten Sansa with a crossbow (that he’d been learning how to use by killing cats) and have her stripped in public until it happened. Nobody admitted Joffrey was getting off on Sansa’s humiliation. Up until that point, he acted like any spoiled aristocratic dick. He could be mean, but never vicious, and there were many times where he was sweet on her. He manipulated her, but then again, what does a 11 year old Sansa know of manipulation?
As for Tyrion, the man is sick. He might have "more honor" than most, but if the "most" in question is Cersei and Jaime, and Tywin, and the Hound, and Joffrey, well that doesn't count for much does it? He's also a member of the same family who killed her father, mother, brother, and caused her sister to flee, and put Sansa in this position to begin with. In the books, he ponders over how his "penis" betrayed him after watching his first love getting gang raped by 50 men, and so joins in and rapes her too. He's a manic depressive, and a bitter drunk, who might flip at any moment, and just decide to have his way with her ... and who could stop him? After becoming his wife, she'd be his property to do with as he likes. He can't protect her. Most of all, from himself.
Sansa might dream of beauty and magic as you state, but she's a child, who's been taught to dream that way. But she's waking up isn't she? She's growing stronger and wiser in the books, as she did in the show. She's on a trajectory which will see her crowned Lady/Queen of her home one day. She's learning from her mistakes, and taking cues from her experiences. Of all the characters in the show, Sansa's is the most relatable precisely because she has nothing and no one who actually cares or protects her, for her own sake. She's the "key to the north", and has to learn how to survive on her wits, and her eventual power and influence. She has no weapons, no magic, no dragons, no one to teach her such arts, or stand up in her defence ... and as of Winds of Winter, she's still only what ... 14/15 ?
So consider this before stating that the reason for all her woes is primarily herself, or that she should have known better.
@@kdr3619 I think you missunderstand me
I remember reading this the first time, my brain was blown at the reveal. It was Lil Finger and Lysa all along!
Littlefinger and Lyssa perfectly voiced. Flawless.
Littlefinger is soooo creepy
@@Admiralmeriweather Just as he should be.
@@comradestannis yes!
Robert is perfect "here comes a giant" I imagine this 6ft man child.
Petyr is the best villain in any fiction imo.
And the fact that we still are not sure what his goals are is very interesting
The iron throne. He has the fingers,harrenhall, the vale and he wants Winterfell.
@@Clawbytes987Doubtless that's part of his plan, but is that his ultimate goal? I think he wants to sit on the throne so he can acheive a higher goal. I feel like he wouldn't want to the throne just for the power and glory
@@mymom5213 Source?
@@Clawbytes987 My source is that I made it the fuck up
@@mymom5213 That explains it.
i just had to say, i love hearing your cat in the background, really adds depth to the audiobook
Lol I love the cat too
I got a feeling you were glad to be done with Lysa’s character every time I hear you do her voice my own throat starts to get scratchy and sore.
David, I hope you finish reading and uploading the whole asoiaf series. You making my reading a lot easier and fun! Thank you!
Thanks for listening! I plan on recording all the way up through A Dream of Spring’s epilogue!
5 miscarriages would fuck with anyone. Any time we get some history with Lisa, it always accompanies how Cat was ‘so much better” in every way. I don’t like Lisa, but I do understand.
@@Stitchpuppy01apart from that she felt betrayed by her dad, detested her 70yo husband, whilst everyone kept telling her how lucky she was, as he was so noble and kind,her only surviving kid was sick, the man she (secretly) loved only used and manipulated her... And eventually killed her, once he no longer needed her. A very sad life indeed. No wonder she became so erratic and emotionally unstable. I definitely don't like her (it's almost impossible) but it's hard not to empathise.
Man. David really does give this scene depth.
You can breathe a sigh of relief, she's gone .
Crazy how some fans of this series will never let go of her mistake of trusting Cersei. As if they would have done anything different if they were in her position. Its so easy to judge so harshly when you have a God's eye view as the reader. Sansa didn't have that and anyways, later she ABSOLUTELY realized her mistake. Sansa's entire arc is about her learning from her mistake as she grows up. Arya, Jon, Bran, Theon, etc all learn from their mistakes. Why aren't they held to the same rigid standard that Sansa is held to by fans? It does make sense to me.
@@PedroLucas-mg5je Do you really think that kind of black and white, grudge-keeping way of thinking is rational?
It doesn't make sense to you because you can't see what the rest of us can clearly see, that she is a horrible character just like her mother. Sansa betraying her father is only one of the acts from this vile girl.
@@maddyg2320 You sound so completely dejected from reality its both an embrassement and a shame
@@mschell8022 .... Your reply obviously describes you, the irony 🤦♀️
@@maddyg2320 "No yOU!!" is about the most childish, boring reply you could possibly give
I know she was crazy but I kinda feel bad for Lysa. She was kinda being pushed around by many people when she was younger and Petyr was always her first and only love. It may have been bad love since she raped him that night, but in a way, she still loved Baelish very much. And when he said he loved Catelyn more than her, Lysa was extremely heartbroken, not even screaming in her final moments. In her mindset, she was probably thinking that even in death, her sister will always have the better life and outshine her. Tragic.
Yeah Lysa is a classic example of that old cliche that "hurt people hurt people." Littlefinger is really monstrous in this whole plot line too. He knows how fragile she is and he doesn't care, probably blames Lysa entirely for putting Sansa in danger even though the whole situation was instigated by him.
Except Littlefinger NEVER loved Lysa. He was using her the whole time. Also, I don't think Lysa truly LOVED Littlefinger, I think she was OBSESSED with him, which is NOT the same thing.
@@sgauden02 she used to love him. But that grew into obsession
I absolutely agree. Lysa's whole life was truly sad. No wonder she became so erratic&emotionally unstable. And yes, her love for LF was toxic&obsessive, as damaged as she was she wasn't capable of healthy love (her love for her son was similar), but it WAS LOVE. She thought he was the only light of her life, and he ended up killing her when she was no longer useful to him. It's nearly impossible to like her, but I'm really sorry for her.
What’s worse is that Lysa probably thought Catelyn had the better life than her. She was able to have a very loving marriage with Ned and have genuinely good children for the most part. While Lysa had to marry a man who was twice her age and she mostly had stillborns and miscarriages. And when she has a son, he’s sickly and unwell most of the time. So Cat always had the better life.
Great job on Lysa Arryn, fer serious
David is a good singer 😀
Oh man... What a fantastic reading.
Thank you
also the song was so amazing and haunting, i'm singing it over and over
This is the moment Littlefinger became Kid Named Finger
Sansuh, here’s what going to happen. You’re gonna dye your hair and go by Alayne. Anyone asks, you’re my natural daughtuh. Don’t tell them you’re a Stark, and be careful when you wash your hair.
@@DavidReadsASoIaF 🤣 "Lysuh... put your teats away Lysuh... I'm not having sex with you right now Lysuh!" - Kid Named Littlefinger
Man you really outdid yourself with this chapter. Great work!
Despite everything I'm fairly sorry for lysa . It's sad to love someone who only pretends to love you and constantly takes advantage of you and your love
That's why (and for another thousands of reasons) Stoneheart must give Petyr a Reek Treatment 2.0 before killing him!
I think Lysa was more OBSESSED with Littlefinger than in love with him.
So true. I didn't dislike lysa. First what Catelyn has done to bring Tyrion to the vale was so wrong. Then a young girl kiss your man. Nooo noooo noooo. She was wrong to treat Sansa that way. But Sansa was wrong too.
@@sgauden02 basically she loved little finger when they were younger and got pregnant. But then hoster Tully not only forced her to abort, but also to marry the significantly older and mostly infertile Jon Arryn which caused her multiple miscarriages. Only little finger showed care for her so of course she's obsessed with him lol
@@fannityx6773 I wouldn't blame the kiss on Sansa, she definitely didn't want it. Apart from that, she was still half a child, and a frightened one at that. Tbf, it's always hard to see any faults in those we love and Lysa was extremely emotionally unstable besides. It would be unrealistic to expect any rational behaviour from her at that point.
Oh my this chapter…your performance in this chapter really reached a new level. I love this channel❤.
Claudio's purrs are purrfect.
What a lover boy!
Such an amazing book.
Thank you !!!!!! This is helping me get through!!
42:38 WHAT 😲 even after watching the show i never realized that. Mother have mercy this changes my viewpoint on the war of the 5 kings a bit.
How is that possible? The show is a lot less subtle then the book. How could you possibly miss it?
@@herbertschulz4313 The show doesn't always mention everything.
@@comradestannis this was included though.
@@m4ckt4yl0r Oh, fair.
A man sees what he wants to see”
Sansa reminiscing about her childhood at winterfell with her brothers and arya, building winterfell in the snow is so heartbreaking. Then lysa's final mental patient meltdown before being killed by petyr. Easily one of the top chapters.
Oh, and fuck marillion.
Wonderful narration! I was immersed in the story the entire time! Bravo especially on your Lysa voice work.
What a perfecr chapter. Sansa and the snowcastle are wonderfull
Under appreciated banger episode from David. Legendary stuff.
Ugh! Petyr kissing a child, without her permission, as if she is a fully bloomed woman. "Let me warm you, Sansa." Creep!
Lol he's projecting Catelyn unto her daughter. He's a real freak
Sansa’s dreams are getting lighter, a peace more often than another problem, the old gods can protect her again ❤
Let's hope so.
The singer has killed my lady wife 🤣🤣🤣
I laughed out loud at that 😅
Hard to believe that Petyr could inspire this much thirst...
Well, book petyr is supposed to be hot right?
@@herbertschulz4313 is Petyr supposed to be hot? I never got that impression. He seems so smarmy...
He's not bad looking it seems, like people say he's pretty nice lookin but its mostly him being very charismatic. @@jamesmullen3068
Ngl he brings out the simp in me lol
19:23 boys i think i need some leeching as well
The books are crawling with creeps to be sure 😂
Khal Drogo marrying Dany, Ser Jorah isolating and forcing himself on Dany and Petyr Baelish preying on Sansa like his name is “Ser Robert Kelly, the Lord protector of the Vale”.
I get that the time period depicted was totally different to today’s societal norms but still..
A lot of these older male characters are creeps 😂
what about cersie? she litterly groomed lancel (a minor) and is one of the most vile charecters in the series
I wonder if Pyter really believes he took Cat's maiden head. I just assumed he was lying just for the hell of it. But listening to Lysa tell her story this time when she says that Pyter called her Cat and fell back asleep, the thought crept in my head that maybe he really believes it.
A psychiatrist would make a fortune for diagnosing Lysa.
He could write a book on the subject!
He'd need to go see Mr. Therapist
Kitty purring in the background is my jam
Woah... I thought Varys was the one who poisoned Jon Arryn (In Book 1 Varys and Mopatis talk about delaying the war and Mopatis says "if one hand can die, why not another? you have danced the dance before" he tells it to Varys...)
So, not only did Littlefinger do it but he also sent letter to Starks and most likely dagger too and then framed Tyrion for it, causing all these wars and drama in past 3 books... (I highly doubt Joffrey was the one who hired assassin against Bran, like Tyrion and Jaime suspect. Well, tbh, in Sansa 6 we do see that Littlefinger prefers manipulation over dirtying his hands, "leading a horse to a water" as he calls it, did he lead Joffrey to that "water"?)... Wait, so Sansa is travelling with a man who's the real cause of her family's demise... daaamn that's cold...
Why? did he do all that to become lord of Vale/Warden of the East? As he knew Lysa loves him, so he took the right chance to poison Jon Arryn (just when he started questioning about Robert's bastrads and Joffrey's heritage)? Or why else would he do it? Well, Littlefinger is probably about to outplay all lords of Vale... gonna be fun to see.
Varys knew what poison was used, back in book 1, he told Ned about tear of Lys... Pycelle seemed to know too when Tyrion caught him. But here we clearly see it was Littlefinger telling Lysa to drop the poison and I doubt Varys and Littlefinger would work together on anything... So, how did Varys know the specific poison?
Poor Petyr, that vile singer killed his lovely wife in cold blood.
Your Lysa voice is perfect, at the same time I feel bad for her but irritated at her naivety, your voice did hit that irritated spot pretty well, and that's the goal with her character, so, well done...
academy award for your performance as lysa
You deserve an Emmy for your ability to do lysa the way you do and jump back to Peter or Sansa 😂 thank you for the love and energy you pour into this man !
Hard to believe we're still going to be at the Erie two books later
what the fuck? it was lysa and petyr who killed jon arryn????????????????????????????????
Yup. They planned the Stark - Lannister conflict
Dammit Little Finger, just HAD to interrupt Sansa's beautiful prose with your creepiness!
I feel for Sansa she’s had quite a rough journey
The roughest of them all imo
Does Petyr actually believe he slept with Cat?
yes.. in my opinion lol
Seems so
I feel deep down he knows that lysa was the one who slept with him that day, not catelyn.
@@thesamejackalsniperthatkil117 but he wishes it would have been Cat
@@sophiaeressea5687 that's correct, which is why he lies to everyone, and especially himself that he slept with cat when that is not true at all.
Fun fact: this chapter is considered the best chapter by many AOSIAF fans, voted on many popular ASOIAF web-sites. Granted there are much more exciting chapters in the books, and much more popular characters than Sansa, but this one evokes Winterfell, the Starks, and the snow castle, the symbols that most fans resonate with. This is further proved by the last published book, where most fans agree that the Northern storyline is the strongest storyline.
Family,Duty,Honor. Looks like Lisa traded everything for her obsession with Littlefinger.
I feel bad for Lysa but I also hate her in a way I don't hate any of the other dislikeable characters. She's not evil, but insane and within her rests a lot of power. The knights of the Vale could've changed the outcome of the war.
the idea of ur dad telling you ur lucky someone will have you bc you had sex before is wild. i love that we got hoster tully's side of things and all the guilt he felt in the end.
Yup. So sad how toxic their situation got and how much Lysa hated her family because of it. If only hoster could say his last words to her
That's why I'll tell my daughters to remain virgins until marriage.
I didn't realise so many people in westeros sounded like they were from Texas or Boston 🤔😂
This is surely my most controversial series of choices in recording these. My reasoning was that I am not nearly skilled enough to make dozens of unique accents from the British isles or continental Europe, but I wanted most of the characters to sound distinct and unique. I also figured that because this series is so postmodern, there was room for making kind of weird, silly accent choices that weren't typical for this sort of genre. Eventually, it sort of became "my thing," and I don't see myself giving it up, despite....... quite a few complaints about Brienne lol
The voices can take a bit getting used to, that's true enough. But the characters aren't from the UK either, they are from Westeros - an entirely different continent, another world, another universe. Everyone just imagines British accents because it's a Medieval world, but it's not England, so just about any accent is really viable.
@@DavidReadsASoIaF I must say, the choice to give the Tyrells Southern accents at first shocked me, I thought; easy France. But fuck... Its grown on me so much.
Probably was too late in the show to pull it off.. but I think a flashback of the snowball fight with Sansa, Arya, and bran would’ve heartbreakingly sweet and effective
Littlefinger is almost as weird as jorah
Mann you were on MF point with that false and the Fair song I even can't lie. Good shit 👌🏿
Does Marillion have a Texas accent? No complaint, I am just wondering if I have recognised it or not.
Anyway, good job and many thanks :)
Man sansa's aunt is fucking crazy
More dulerous Ed!!
Both the stark Girls really like fricking up dolls in front of their young owners
Wtf is a whiipping boy ? So lil Robert acts up and some random kids gets a whipping ?
Yup
Yes, "ideally" the whipping boy would be a friend to the noble child, so the actually misbehaving child would feel bad about "making" another child being punished
I wonder what photo you'll use for the last chapter
no you wont
@@michellecerioni4903 not anymore
I've come to enjoy Sansa's chapters more than Dany's.
sansa is a far better charecter
A thrilling scene
32:25 that was meant to be “his brother”, not “my brother”
You'd think a Pick-me-girl and an Incel like Petyr and Lysa would be perfect for each other?
They are, It's just that petyr didn't love lysa.
Bruh, i've been rooting for Littlefinger this entire time until this chapter.
Great job on the voice for Lysa. Perfect for her character.
Not a fan of this particular chapter, even after many rereads (and my first listen) its one of my least favorite. Very contrived exposition dump! The scene would have so much better without Lysa's "...and then, this backstory! Then, this revelation!"
Poor Sansa, it’s safe to say that most of the people around her have really made her life so much more difficult
So many deserve a happy ending but she most of all in my opinion
She does indeed.
I couldn't stand Lysa's character.. glad Petyr got rid of her 😂
omg Lysa is a yandare
I Hate Lysa 😂
this is the moment Sweet Robin became the leech lord
One of the most horrific chapters, in a book full of horrific chapters.
Sadly, these books are full of sickos 😕
This chapter did one thing, got rid of the annoying voice he uses for Lysa
Aw. I feel kind of bad for Lady Lysa.
Lysa, imo, is a product of a shit environment. Lysa because of her guilt for young petyr back then, her desperate need for love, and her loveless marriage with jon arryn. Wish westeros had mental health care
And this art is just beautiful, but stupid peter had to make it ugly
I can imagine the song "snowfall" playing with this image
New mic jumpscare
So creepy..... on so many levels.....
Littlefinger let Lysa sob against his chest for a moment, then put his hands on her arms and kissed her lightly. “My sweet silly jealous wife,” he said, chuckling. “I’ve only loved one woman, I promise you.”
Lysa Arryn smiled tremulously. “Only one? Oh, Petyr, do you swear it? Only one?”
“Only Cat.” He gave her a short, sharp shove.
Lysa stumbled backward, her feet slipping on the wet marble. And then she was gone. She never screamed. For the longest time there was no sound but the wind.
Is there no chapter 81?
Just the epilogue! You can find all my chapter recordings arranged in order in playlists on my channel.
@@DavidReadsASoIaF oh kool that will help lol
I couldn't stand sansa in the show..... Shes so much more better portrayed in the books
I still think the tansy hoster was talking about Is the in-keep
40:47 no.
I don't see what everyone else sees in her POV. It's all so boring and slow. All descriptions and pretty words. My mind wanders endlessly as I sit through these quiet monologues.
Sansa was a snitch
She was a child not a thirty year old. She had no idea who Cersei truly was, how could she know?Why does everyone judge her like she’s an adult.
@@Midnightsstan521 True, though there were some serious red flags that Sansa should have seen about Joffrey and Cersei. Sansa was hopelessly naive, more so than any of the other Stark children, despite being older than Arya, Bran, and Rickon. Even when the Stark Household was butchered by Lannister Guardsmen, and her best friend, Jeyne Poole was rightfully freaking out, Sansa still stuck to her imagined delusion that it would all somehow turn out okay, which it wasn't.
Sansa still wanted to be the queen, and still wanted her idealized image of the world to exist, so she thought that if she just played along, then surely this it would all turn out fine in the end. But in the end, her beliefs were smashed when Joffrey had her father executed, and she finally saw him for what he truly was. Ironic how at the beginning, all she ever wanted to escape from Winterfell, her home, and to go to King's Landing. But now, she wants nothing more than to go home. Sansa even now admits that she was stupid.
@@sgauden02 Sansa was literally tricked and all the red flags are in hind-sight.
Really enjoy these. Only criticism is the female voices. They feel overdone and since it is a man doing them anyways they seem even weirder.
I have the same feeling. They sound alike and they sound whiney
Pay for a audiobook then