Brienne, Gender and the Squishers, Part 1

[@TREYtheExplainer]

Finally the Squisher King is getting the attention he deserves. Not gonna lie, Brienne’s Nimble Dick story arc is one of my favs in Asoiaf. “He was a Crabb!” 😔✊🏻

[@samflower3891]

Im sorry Nimble Dicks deaths is so surprisingly impactful it meant almost as much as Ned's death in a way

[@IronGuy.]

Ok the TREY the Explainer & Preston Jacobs crossover is what the world really needs in these troubling times

[@IronGuy.]

The Accuracies and Inaccuracies of Maester Yandel?

[@jerrywhoomst1116]

Surprised to see you here, didn't know you were a preston fan.

[@samflower3891]

And the Crabbs always fascinated me ngl

[@erroneous2345]

Preston: "Well the title is already sensational, let's go all out on the title card too."

[@Setsunako6587]

It's the intro for me 👩🏾‍🎤 😝🤟🏾!!

[@e22ddie46]

It's the new rogue prince song. Calling it now.

[@nessielou459]

It’s the speed boat for me 🤣

[@stupidusername3333]

I think the cruel feelings that Loras claimed Renly had for Brienne were more about Loras just resented her. George RR Martin brought that up when someone in an interview mentioned that Renly mocked Brienne behind her back; he said something like how it wasn't Renly's words, but Loras' and said we can't always trust the words characters put in other people's mouths.

[@davidbodor1762]

Makes sense. Brienne did beat him pretty badly. It could be a - 'You embarrassed me in front of my crush' - situation. He may have also picked up on Brienne's admiration/love for Renly, and that could provoke some jealousy or protectiveness.

[@crazychameleon123]

@@davidbodor1762 also he though Brienne betrayed and murdered Renly for a long period of time. That would cloud your perception.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Yeah, I suspect the same, loras is projecting. Renly probably did not have the highest opinion of her ever and might have said in a different context something that with a lot of ill will could have been interpreted as such, ans well loras had that ill will. From what we see, renly respected her

[@oexnorth]

I actually really enjoyed the Briennes story. It pulled me in and made me feel the environment.

[@willnash7907]

I did too but I got to read it on a bus trips through the snowy alps in the dark and cloudy evening so I probably have no good standard. One of my fav memories.

[@BecketTheHymnist]

They grew on me the second time around. I have to admit the first time around I was not amused until close to the end with the big reveal. I found the Iron Island plot and it's relation to Daenerys much more interesting.

[@dirrdevil]

D&D omitting a book plotline is a badge of honor to said plotline. It automatically registers as more important in my mind when they disregard one because it must mean there is something interesting going on between the lines those two didn't pick up on. I honestly didn't mind Brienne's meandering. I assumed she wouldn't find Sansa, but would get into interesting hijinx nonetheless, and I wasn't sure if she'd eventually turn toward the Vale. It wasn't always the most exciting story, but I loved that septon's speech about the broken man and liked learning more about the Riverlands.

[@atro-city]

"Shut up book, or I'll honor you again" -D&D each season

[@Kay-kg6ny]

@@atro-city this comment is amazing, the way I cackled out loud--

[@annedavis3340]

The number of times i've done re-reads of JUST the Brienne storyline! It's just great, so so much nuance and clues for stuff going on around her. It's my favorite

[@anamakesthings]

The "omg same" goes beyond on this one. I was about to reply on how i've been listening to her audiobook chapters to put me to sleep for years. And then I saw your username. To which I say, nice to meet you, fellow Brienne enthusiast, i'm Ana David

[@annedavis3340]

@@anamakesthings for real, if George packaged JUST the Jaime/Brienne/chapters that mention them, in one book, and entitled it "A Tale of Two Kingslayers" I would buy every copy in the world I wish Roy Dotrice had been more consistent with pronouncing her name. Sometimes she's Bry-een and sometimes she's Bree-ehn and sometimes she's Bre-anne In the same paragraph PICK Still sad he's not with us anymore Also, it was a complete absolute pleasure "meeting" you, I hope to see you around again

[@TheOakleysworld]

Brienne is such an underrated character. Her storyline is so tragic and yet she is easily one of the toughest characters in the asoiaf universe. The fact she is able to survive in this world as a gender-non-conforming woman. All the odds against her, and she is still able to fight for what's right and try to bring some justice to the world.

[@MrTCHOSS]

You're kidding right? She lives in a world where every man is killed, castrated and every woman has plot armor to make them invincible.

[@TheOakleysworld]

@@MrTCHOSS This doesn't sound like a very serious reply, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Every man is killed? Definitely hyperbole, so I won't respond to that. Plenty of women and children are also presumably killed, raped, tortured, etc. due to the ongoing wars. Castrated? I think that's just one main character, Theon. And the 'woman-hood' of many female characters is destroyed in not too different fashion. Dany is very explicitly raped and her entire story is about how her agency is completely taken away from her. She is just a puppet for the men around her. Cersei was similarly 'sold' to King Robert as a wife. And was raped and abused by him for her whole adult life. I could go on with many examples. Your view seems to be a very misogynistic one. Try rereading the chapters of female characters in asoiaf. George has some really good insights into what being a woman in a patriarchal society may be like.

[@MrTCHOSS]

I was joking. I was making fun of how the HBO showrunners adopted George's story. No, I agree with you that the books are much deeper and nuanced. I love Arya, Sansa in the books and hate them in the show, lol.

[@TheOakleysworld]

@@MrTCHOSS Ah okay, cool. No problem. I'm autistic, and this is the internet - so its very difficult to tell jokes and stuff.

[@davidbodor1762]

@@TheOakleysworld Nah, it just wasn't a very good "joke", not your fault at all for not getting it.

[@jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901]

Brienne reminds me of the Roald Dahl quote "If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."

[@god47398]

yeah but briennes not actually ugly, shes just handsome. as in she looks more like a man than a woman, long hair or short hair. her teeth are crooked, but everything else is as generically masculine as can be, square jaw, huge blue eyes, fat lips, freckles, broad shoulders and significant height, at at around 6'3. shes only called ugly in her rebellion against gender roles and unfemininity.

[@jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901]

@@god47398 IDK I find lots of guys atttractive and she doesn't sound attractive

[@jennbeebs8220]

@@jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901 Brienne sounds like she would look like a taller Robert Redford when he was younger.

[@SingingSealRiana]

@@god47398 . . . she is not handsome either, crooked teeth, strawy hair, . . . . she is not traditionaly attractiv, neither in a female nor male way, but it does not make her ugly. She has pretty eyes though, the few people who actualy care to look agree on.

[@Kay-kg6ny]

Ironically Roald Dahl himself was kind of a monster, or at least a miserable asshole at the bare minimum.

[@playc.holder6432]

God I loved AFFC; Jaime and Briennes journeys especially. Really felt like the realm was fleshed out and given some character more so than other books in the series.

[@chyawanprash]

I especially loved the gradual decline in Jaime and Cersei's relationship, Cersei still trying to manipulate him and Jaime finally seeing her for the monster she is

[@mickey4125]

And poor Nimble Dick :(

[@workingclassclassicalguita730]

@@chyawanprash i think Cersei is supposed to be Marie Antionette. The tv show made her way to competent. I can understand why, though, that actress was magnificent

[@johnnygreenface4195]

@@workingclassclassicalguita730 well, you feel at least a little bad for Marie. I dont really feel bad for cersei

[@justinhatguy]

lol the random cleos Fray getting shot in the background around the middle

[@e22ddie46]

Cleos frey the wise. Wiser and better negotiator than a maester.

[@lalywindland5764]

@@e22ddie46 He was a decent fellow of Lannister & Frey descent, which is rare. He was killed and left a widow and little children behind.

[@armandogutierrez473]

Haha that's actually his role in the books too

[@Louis-ey7kw]

@@lalywindland5764 I agree with Genna. He should be entombed within the Hall of Heroes at Casterly Rock. Seven save him.

[@j946atFIVEFOUR88AA]

I love Brienne’s affc chapters. “ No choice and no chance” is one of my favorite lines of the books

[@clantoriador8397]

Brienne and Jamie as the inverse of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. Always liked these chapters.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Brienne is one of maybe 5 characters who are genuinly beautyful on the inside, I love how whatwvwr you go wkth outside or inside who is the beauty or beast changes with them

[@sophiepap2462]

1:15 stopped to comment: am I the only one who considers the adventures of Brienne in Feast for Crows essential, especially her meeting with septon Meribald and his speech about war and broken men one of the best moments of the books?

[@victorswamp1547]

That speech would really have benefited from being trimmed down. The last few lines ("...that it was...") were good, but the rest was this bizarre ornithology rant which didn't really say much about anything.

[@Samaru163]

I don't feel that the trade of Jaime for the Stark girls was shot down completely because of sexism. It also had strategic reasons for being rejected: Jamie is an outstanding fighter who killed many of Robb's best men trying to cut his way towards Robb in the Battle of the Whispering Woods. To let him go back to the Lannisters means giving them back their strongest fighter. Also, there was no reassurance that Sansa or Arya were alive to the Starks, so for all Robb and his commanders knew, they would be trading Jamie for ghosts. Regardless, Brienne is one of my favourite characters in the books, and I loved her Feast for Crows story. So I'm interested in seeing the rest of this.

[@e22ddie46]

Doesn't cat explicitly ask robb and he says he can't make a trade for two girls?

[@tentaclepawn1548]

@@e22ddie46 Yeah, and also they do know Sansa is alive as they received a letter from her; it's only Arya that's an unknown.

[@alanpennie8013]

I think Robb was correct. Arya and Sansa only became politically important after his death.

[@idek7438]

And to be fair the political importance of Jaime Lannister versus Sansa and Arya is pretty clear. Still kinda shitty to be so mercenary with your own sisters' life lol but I get where Robb is coming from

[@pg1448]

I think it's mostly political. Jaime as Tywins eldest son and a capable fighter is much more valuable to the Lannister cause than Arya and Sansa are to the Starks. You could argue that this stems from a sexist society in wich sons come before daughters in succession and in wich military and political leadership is mostly a male domain. But then again I would not interpret this as some conscious attempt to oppress women but more as a natural, almost inevitable outcome in a feudalistic medieval world in wich most conflicts are still solved through violence and women just are not equal to men on a medieval battelfield.

[@PainCausingSamurai]

Bears can have a *very* strong, musky smell, to the point where it can act as a warning if you're hiking in the woods.

[@matthewkemp594]

Yeah, bears stink. Particularly during mating season. Being within a mile or so of a bear in heat is somewhat akin to punching your own scent glands with a fist made of armpit and used athletic socks.

[@k0rppi259]

Black bears emit slightly musky odor when they are in heat, but in general bears are mostly odorless. Human definitely can't smell them across large distances.

[@duganrocks100]

I don't know who to believe here

[@k0rppi259]

@@duganrocks100 Google it to check facts, that's what I did.

[@numanbuyuk940]

Holy... This intro is lit.

[@distractionsonly6419]

Wait, Stoneheart spent time in the river as a corpse and now is all squishy . I get it

[@firespur]

ohhhh makes sense

[@terrinils3165]

Squishers could just be resurrected dead people in the sea.

[@jordankristoff5406]

Bruh

[@BLooDCoMPleX]

I feel like this will be my favorite series you've done yet. Brienne and Jaime chapters have always been my favorite, and this sort of analysis highlights why the writing is so good and on point during these chapters.

[@michaelhenry3234]

You didn't really plainly state this, but it was absolutely intentional that Jaime and Brienne's story in ASOS ended on a bad note. Jaime calls himself Kingslayer again and Brienne a "wench" in that scene. Thematically, that's a statement.

[@Evelynne1]

I like the bit in the middle of the video talking about female versus male terms, I honestly never thought about that before. Thanks!

[@ThereIsNoLord]

Hussy being the plural of housewife is a new one to me.

[@Max-nq4in]

@@ThereIsNoLord It's not the plural, it's a derivative term. Comes from "huswif" which used to mean "housewoman".

[@mokarokas-1727]

@@ThereIsNoLord - It if helps to understand the term, it probably went like this: housewife to housy to hussy.

[@Sipu97]

That is a thing that I as a woman have only realised in the recent years. There are all these derogatory terms of women but not of men... and it sure tells of something.

[@alexs_toy_barn]

there's lots of sword related dick jokes and direct sword=dick references in the story too, like Longclaw, the Sword of the Morning, and when jeoffry makes sansa kiss his new sword at the blackwater

[@PointlessRhetoric]

Brianne's chapter with biter is one of the best in the series in my opinion.

[@e22ddie46]

No chance and no choice.

[@PointlessRhetoric]

@@cybele_mullejz the atmosphere of the storm the rocky muddy ground and her bargaining with herself to give in and die super super powerful writing. She's such a good character without even the subtext I was literally on an adrenaline high when I went through that chapter the first time.

[@juanfernandez5522]

funfact "esposa" in spanish is the same word for "wife" and "handcuff". I've never found someone making that connection, but it's fun nonetheless that getting a "wife" could be translated to getting "handcuffs".

[@gholamdapantaloonsniffer8218]

Surely you know the saying "you've been cuffed" when speaking of marriage?

[@williamcobbett4943]

The ol' ball and chain

[@baitbait65]

Regarding the oaths, I feel like you could read it as the oath being non-consensual because of the skewed power dynamic between (in this case) the knights and their family/ king/noble lord. The oath is consesual when it's given freely and agreed upon between Jamie and Brienne. I'm probably wrong about half of this (am I allowed to say that?)

[@db7213]

An oath sworn under duress isn't morally binding, and it's not like the Westerosi doesn't know that (for example, "Vows said at swordpoint are not held to be valid" -- awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Marriage ), but apparently they become selectively stupid when the king make them swear an oath. It is their stupidity that upholds the feudal system, not that they make promises and keep them.

[@sarahk6944]

I'm thinking that at this point we should send Preston over to help out our George get these books done

[@sergoldenhandthejust1495]

Dumb

[@lurksnitchtongue8986]

Please no or we're going to get references to Dany as a cis gender woman signaling as a patriarch

[@Noeton]

Yes and no. While I love the guy, lately he's becoming a little too of a modern leftist with all this cis made up gender bullshit.

[@marinuswillett6147]

To be honest, even if Brianne's story is just world-building filler, I don't see why that should be a problem. I love world-building filler.

[@damianwilson7526]

Not even watched the video yet, but just off the description... I didn't know people disliked the Brienne chapters. They weren't ground breaking plot shifters sure, but they were some of my favourites in Feast

[@johnschwartz1641]

Septon Meribald (and Dog) is my favorite character in the series.

[@demonxkiller1]

The chapter where the Septon tells the story about when he was fighting in one of the wars was awesome.

[@OurHourglass]

Right? The whole bear pit thing is like the most memorable thing on the whole book.

[@davidrich27]

@@OurHourglass Pretty sure the Bear Pit is in ASOS, not AFFC.

[@alecatnight1540]

glidus: expertly edited audio and video preston: same mic as 2017 probably, now w explosion effects and MONSTER TRUCKS king shit

[@knightofberenike9633]

Graphics vs Aesthetics in a nutshell

[@theophrastusbombastus1359]

Who's glidus?

[@Sipu97]

I find it sometimes hard to understand Glidus's speech, I don't know if it's his accent or speed or what.

[@Glidus]

@@Sipu97 it's because i'm drunk, i don't have an accent

[@gianmarcozoffoli9891]

@@Glidus king! If you guys like preston you should def watch glidus

[@caitfitz8029]

I love Brienne and was really invested in her story. It always bothered me how many book fans seemed to dismiss it as soon as we get chapters from her point of view, as it turned out she was just a mere woman or something. The climax of the quest brought me to tears, one of the most intense fights in the entire series, and so cathartic. Great work as always Preston

[@rubencarva]

Yes, bears are known to smell horrible, be killing, near unstopable machine, and look hella cute with those cute ears that you just want to pet them

[@YggdrasilAudio]

Hm, not only are Jaime and Brienne mirrored character-wise, I distinctly remember this being portrayed visually too, with them being tied on opposite sides of a tree in ASoS.

[@lalywindland5764]

Yes. They are also usually tied back to back on the same horse, united like Siamese twins, when Jaime is too sick to ride alone. Once they tie them face to face, in jest, while Jaime drifts in and out of consciousness, like two parts of a whole brought together. Jaime and Cersei are a rare type of twins, polar twins, made from the same maternal egg that split in two halves, each half fertilized by two different sperm, this is why they are mirror images of each other, despite being dizygotic twins. Despite not being related with Brienne genetically (if Dunk and his ancestor Lady Rohanne Webber did not have kids together), he is bound to her by fate. She reminds him of his dreams of being a great knight and she is what he feels he should have become, a true knight.

[@Lemogen11]

Your analysis of the series is second to none. Will never not drop everything to watch these videos

[@HxH2011DRA]

"Do bears even smell particularly bad?" *YES*

[@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin]

I've been around black bears - didn't smell anything. Thankfully, I have never encountered a grizzly.

[@HxH2011DRA]

@@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin ah so THAT'S how you can say that XD, fair enough

[@TheNietzscheanRight]

Bears smell like a strong musk, but its not really "bad" persay. I think the idea that bears smell awful is taken from bear meat, which does in fact have quite a smell to it before (and sometimes after) its cooked There is a reason its most often stewed and alot of people won't even eat it.

[@HxH2011DRA]

@@TheNietzscheanRight don't even get me started on bear meat 😭😭😭

[@alexandergangaware429]

@@HxH2011DRA Depends on what season you get it in. Don't eat bear killed in early spring, they have mostly been eating skunk-cabbage, and it shows in the taste. BBQ sauce can't hurt, too

[@bentn13]

I think the thematically messed up final chapter of Jamie and Brienne makes a lot of sense in terms of them being two people who have gained so much of feudalism basically deciding you maintain it and bring it a “better” meaning. “We’ll do oaths but better, we’ll do insults but make them fine!” Basically suffering under the delusion that because of their status they can alone reform structures. (This is without the future context, all about how they are in this moment of choice)

[@Dragonshade64]

Also, isn't part of the whole bath scene that the oath of the Kingsguard has multiple different parts that all conflict with eachother? with the whole protect the king, obey the king, respect one's father protect the smallfolk and so on. the oath in the final chapter seems a lot simpler, find and protect Sansa. a combination of actions that will go together most of the time. The rest of the Brienne story can then go into why such an apparently simple oath is quite difficult as women in Westerosi society have very little means to protect themselves let alone others and those who do have the power have little interest in changing the system to do so (i.e. Cersei).

[@bentn13]

@@Dragonshade64 I think the part where "oaths" are an issue is also the part of the "why" are you doing it, oaths give you an easy why, but they also give you an excuse to never really think of the why, or of what that why is a part of, making it easier for Brienne, and Jamie, to never really reflect on how they're changing, who they've become, what they actually want, and what will actually change the world they want to change. It's like a "we've been through a fuck ton, let's make our lives simple for a hot second". When it comes to the second part, I think that's part of why the oath shouldn't be successful. Sansa's story is a lot about how she learns how to take care of herself by using her empathy, and creating care between her and others. It's becoming over time less about how she "needs others to survive" and more about learning to "thrive with others". A lot of her story still revolves around using and being used, but she did learn that she can't really be alone. And when it comes to "not changing the system", there's also a side of intersectional analysis. Cersei can make use of the system as it is. She has the privilege of being the most powerful woman in all westeros within the current system. The analysis is, where do people hold interest/have privilege in the current system, and where are they discriminated/don't have privilege in it. Not only does the second have to outweigh the first to start to want to change the system, but the second has to outweigh the risk of losing the first when you've changed the system.

[@bartoszmarkiewicz6766]

Nice, finally someone talking about Brienne's story.

[@mistermaestersirthomas9164]

YT's Alisa Patience did

[@Jooooger]

I think George's feelings about the status quo and traditional structures are more complex than "patriarchy bad" or "oaths bad". Why else put the story of Queen Alysanne and the Lord's Right to the First Night? Alysanne performs a good deed, one that will save thousands of children and prevent thousands of rapes. However, because she does not fully understand the context in which this cruel structure was formed and its utility she will end up directly causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Remember, George may be a pacifist hippie, but he's no fool. He takes true revolution and its consequences deadly serious with no easy answers.

[@arnekrug939]

With all the gender symbolism etc. I was actually trying to remember wether any traditional male behaviour is ever portrayed positively in the books.

[@Jooooger]

​@@arnekrug939 Sure it is. I mean, just using the bear symbolism, you can get more information on George's ideas on maleness. In both Jaime and Arya's chapters the bear at Harrenhal isn't seen as evil or something to be destroyed. They feel bad for it. It's just a big, brave brute doing what it was designed to do. It's maleness in its basest form. Compare this to the old dancing bear at Joffrey's wedding. It's now overly tame and trained. It's described as old, sad, and unimpressive. George realizes that completely taming man makes him pathetic. There needs to be a middle ground. The sensitive fighter, or the warrior bard. In ASOIAF the quintessential archetype of this is Rhaegar who is repeatedly contrasted with Robert (Robert as bear is shown to the reader repeatedly). Another good example is Mance Rayder. Cunning, brave, strong, intelligent. All "traditionally male" traits that are shown as necessary. I think this middle ground idea is more apparent in Dying of the Light though. The Kavalar's highly masculine culture of duels, honor, and loyalty is contrasted with Dirk who is a more emotional, sentimental type, but also a bit of a coward. In that story it wasn't until Dirk stopped running and combined his emotions and intellect with "traditional male qualities" like bravery, strength, and the will to fight one's own battles that he became truly self-actualized and worthy in the end. George's vision of the ideal male or person in general is one who is thoughtful, sentimental, and in tune with his/her emotions, but ALSO brave, willing to fight for what is right, and physically and mentally competent.

[@arnekrug939]

@@Jooooger Thanks for the overview, it has been some time since I read the books. Edit: Fixed spelling

[@casey9439]

this is a great comment. so true

[@jessp8238]

I don’t think Alyssane abolished that law to help the small folk. She just stream lined the process of child sacrifice, and made it more discreet by moving it to Craster’s keep.

[@stephencreme4617]

The Robb decision was not sexist, but geared toward military concerns: the other army’s top 5 generals vs two non-combatants that cannot assist his army in any way.

[@Meggiesoarsrex]

I am ridiculously excited for the next one. This is so good.

[@denverbrown8904]

I have been a member of your channel for five years Mr. Jacobs. I was a fervent member of the thousand worlds book club. I am interested mostly in your work on aSoIaF and the thousand worlds universe but I check out some of your other work occasionally. When I saw this video in my channels feed today it genuinely got me excited which is not easy to do. Thank you for your continued work, it reeks of excellence. When I graduate university next year you will have one more patron I assure you.

[@AhavaMath]

I was surprised after I read the book that people hadn't liked Brienne's chapters. I was so into them. I remember when I was reading them and I yelled out while reading "oh, no, he died!" and my brother who hadn't read the books but was watching the show wanted to know who it was who had died. I hesitated, and then said "Nimble Dick." My brother was laughing for at least twenty minutes.

[@FaustianBargainBin]

Brienne's chapters were legit some of my favourite in the whole series, I don't engage with the fan community that much so the revelation that people think they're boring filler is shocking to me lmao

[@technicallyfootsies9998]

"No chance, and no choice" Is one of the best lines in all of asoiaf, love the Brienne part of Feast

[@Black_pearl_adrift]

One of the things I love about these theory videos is that it engages in a lot of thematic analysis. Rather than just plot, there is an exploration of what the author means beyond the literal

[@Sipu97]

"We should wonder if the real problem is really Brienne not having a sword or if the real problem is that big fierce bear." This was great, the interpretation that the bear represents all that is wrong in patriarchy was so good.

[@e22ddie46]

And I love how much it will annoy his sexist fans lol. I'm hoping we get another intro where he highlights the insults thrown at him. I immediately thought of the "liberal cuck" line from I think the purple wedding video.

[@saisreenivasp1709]

Brienne meeting Jaime is one hell of a cliffhanger.

[@Jord73]

Preston, you keep getting better and better. I find it truly admirable how you keep pushing your own boundaries. Hats off! You are an inspiration to many of us, I’m sure.

[@pieceofgosa]

"No chance & no choice" and the "Broken Man" speech are my two favourite moments in all 5 books.

[@vortigern7021]

We all know the point of the brienne story was just to introduce dog.

[@demonxkiller1]

The best character.

[@demonxkiller1]

@Jim Bob's Arcade Jon Snow can't even compare to Dog.

[@abrarhasan3592]

*Dog

[@jamiepaxton420]

Dog = Azor Ahai confirmed!!

[@Lifelover992011]

Best character and he has the best line ever associated with him: "Pod evidently did not know what to make of a dog namend Dog."

[@maidmargaery156]

Ooh there's also the maiden fair/bear parallel with Dany and Jorah (thrice her age lol). I wonder what the implications are for his arc, given the recurring theme of everyone who isn't an able-bodied cisgender man needing to fight off bears/the patriarchy.

[@mitch9347]

If you like that, check out Tormund x Mormont.

[@allarfckingdeem]

Just judging by the videos intro. I guess Preston is trying to convince us, that the squishers will invade Westeros with Speedboats and Monstertrucks to try establish the Burgerking as the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.

[@e22ddie46]

They're already here man. They just are in hiding. Like you allar deem

[@froggywoggy473]

Who gave Jaime his dream to go rescue Brienne? Who with dream-sending capabilities would even know what's going on or care about Brienne surviving? Bloodraven? Quaithe?

[@stupidusername3333]

Bran

[@lowethiderman]

Can't it just be his conscience? While the sending of dreams does exist in this universe, that doesn't have to be the explanation of everything and as far as I can remember there isn't anything supporting something like that in the text. Everything doesn't have to fit into a grand massive supernatural conspiracy; sometimes a character just feels bad and wants to grow and be better.

[@froggywoggy473]

@@lowethiderman this is how I feel about Sam's story for sure, and Jaime is definitely growing as a character, but it seems to be very specific that he's given a vision of exactly what's about to happen to Brienne

[@e22ddie46]

@@lowethiderman well having a dream where she is begging for a sword in a fight, and this is one where he's sleeping on a weirwood right?

[@hamletfisherman5740]

Brienne’s story is probably my favourite in the books. She goes on to find a girl in a huge wide world, her quest is almost futile and it makes sense that she wanders. She’d be extremely lucky to find her first try, like she does in the show (goes straight for Lisa Tully). I like how realistic it is, that life and adventures aren’t like you expect. It also makes me think of playing a game like Dark Souls. You explore and you have no idea what will come next, but you proceed one step at a time. And it both cases, the world is dangerous.

[@Glidus]

never heard of this "Preston Jacobs" fellow but his intros seem pretty wacky! might give his videos a watch :)

[@stevensitz5528]

Lol

[@lasttoparty7570]

"Protecting people doesn't require oaths." "Protecting (...) a child (...) is a good thing, but that would have been a good thing regardless of the oath." I've had these same thoughts about Ned and the Promise. Protecting Jon is the right thing to do, Lyanna making Ned swear it should be irrelevant, so I wonder if she really said "protect the baby", or if "Promise Me" was something different than we expect.

[@alanpennie8013]

I thought the standard fan theory was that Ned promised Lyanna not to tell anyone about Jon's parentage. Which is plausible but lacking hard evidence.

[@lasttoparty7570]

I've heard more from fans theorising that Ned promised Lyanna to protect Jon from Robert, so I think that's the current standard theory - it even made it into the show. I think some version of "never tell anyone about Jon's parentage" happened, but maybe for different reasons.

[@alanpennie8013]

@@lasttoparty7570 Certainly the two theories are compatible. If Ned tells no one Robert won't learn that Jon is a Targaryen.

[@twisteddiana]

I did not expect your analysis of Brienne's gender bending nature and how it affects her interactions with other characters to be so excellent. I think this is my new favorite Preston video.

[@shinjinobrave]

Brienne's story has the only two scenes from the whole series that ever made me cry!

[@mrevilducky]

My gods this channel is incredible

[@daniell1483]

Finally! Glad to see Brienne's story getting the Preston work. Edit: The scene where Jaime gives Brienne Oathkeepr always struck me as a type of backpedaling. Sure, Jaimie and Brienne have a personal relationship, but they go back to calling each other derogatory names (wench and Kingslayer respectively). Also, the tone here seemed bitter; Brienne and Jamie have a low-key falling out in the scene. While there was a measure of respect grown between the two, their relationship takes an obvious nosedive here. Brianne thought Jamie was abandoning his oath to protect Sansa, Jaimie seemed hurt by her lack of faith in him before very formally dismissing Brianne, showing he felt hurt from the exchange and just wanted his space (I assume). He still cared for her, but it seemed obvious to me that that there was a wedge between. Their parting felt bittersweet to me. Is that just me?

[@BattyButtercup]

It's likely that the scene is set to foreshadow what will eventually become of Jaime, Brienne, and Sansa (possibly Arya as well). In a traditional tale, Jaime's gifting armour and Oathkeeper to Brienne is an act of Courtly Love™ and Chivalry™: Jaime, the beautiful highborn, gives Brienne his Favour, a token of hope for her success and their eventual reunion. Oathkeeper becomes a symbol of Jaime himself, acting to aid Brienne's quest in his stead, and a visual reminder to Brienne of Jaime's faith in her. Obviously, ASoIAF is NOT a traditional tale and so the romantic, optimistic symbolism of it all comes across as both ominous and willfully naïve: in attempting to act within their cultural expectations, even with a token effort of subversion, even AFTER their journey emphatically disproved their successfully fitting within them, Jaime's act rings hollow: the two have already become self-aware of how their society's gendered systems fail them, repeatedly, and to their profound detriment. Attempting to simply "swap" their roles, as if Jaime was again in his childhood of trading clothes (and thus roles) with Cersei, is unfeasible because no one else in their society will recognise this "swap" and, if they did, they would ridicule it. Jaime's "subversive" act is half-hearted because, rather than acting knightly together, he has simply traded their gendered roles, Jaime becoming the "Lady" to Brienne's "Sir Knight", and hoping it serves as a Solution to the sexism to which they are victims. Exchanging gendered roles is to misgender them both, depriving Brienne of her need to be recognised as knight AND woman, thus foreshadowing that neither has truly shaken off the trappings and Traps of their gendered society. So. Like. Jaime is trying to re-centre their story as a "Hero's Journey" with BRIENNE as "Hero" but their POV chapters are structured according to the "Heroine's Journey" and so what would be a mark of a story half-told in the former is really just another red herring in the FIRST ACT of the latter. To clarify to any unfamiliar with what stories following The Heroine's Journey are structured like, have some examples: both the latest Voltron series and Star Wars trilogy were SET UP to follow the Heroine's Journey, only to be backpedal in their Third Act, sabotaging their narratives in the process; The Hunger Games trilogy, Tangled, and Steven Universe are COMPLETED Heroine's Journeys, while the Kingdom Hearts series is one ongoing. Overall, ASoIAF is NOT structured according to The Heroine's Journey but some of its POV characters' arcs DO follow it, at times intersecting with each other's while at different points in the Journeys of each individual, with some Journeys abruptly aborted via Character Death (etc).

[@lalywindland5764]

You are right. However, after she leaves, he thinks of her often, even prays to the Father above to help her, when standing vigil over his own father's corpse. I loved how he hit Red Ronnet Connington with his golden hand when he called her "wench" and demanded he should call her "Lady Brienne", although he used to call her that, too. Ah, and when Jaime gave Brienne Oathkeeper, she appeared in a blue gown he had ordered made especially for her, in which she looked good. I think this shows that sometimes attractiveness or lack of it do depend on fashion choices. He wanted to show her that she could be attractive in the right feminine attire, if she chose to. Well, he used to wear Cersei's gowns as a child, in jest, so he learned something, lol. He also encouraged her masculine interests by gifting her with a magnificent sword, armour, gold, etc. Here, the sword is not a phallic symbol, it symbolizes protection. He gave her everything he could to help and protect her on her quest. Also, when she appeared at Pennytree, wounded and tired, he dropped everything and went to help her, even though he was no match for the Hound, as Brienne lied she ran into the Hound holding Sansa and the only way to save Sansa was for him to come alone. They both repress their sexual attraction for one another, as it would be a forbidden relationship. When she was wounded and delirious with fever, she called his name repeatedly for help, even though she saw Renly close by (actually Gendry, who looks like his uncle and had saved her from Biter). She subconsciously knew that Jaime cared enough for her to come save her, not Renly or another. Brienne also had an older brother, Galladon, who drowned when he was 8 and she was 4 y.o, and she regreted that eversince, maybe Pod reminds her of her brother she could not save. She didn't remember her mother who died when she was very young, and began to see Catelyn as a mother figure, so sad! I hope Brienne and Jaime survive Stoneheart without too much damage!

[@stupidusername3333]

I don't think it's a falling out, necessarily. They don't hold any bitterness towards each other after this interaction and they even go on to think about each other fondly (Jaime frequently hopes she's okay and Brienne keeps wishing he was with her). I honestly just think they're misunderstanding is the result of two people feeling things they don't know how to explain and haven't had the relationship experience for the fundamentals

[@alanpennie8013]

@@lalywindland5764 After all she knew Jaime had rescued her once already at great risk to himself. It makes her betrayal of him all the more bitter.

[@lalywindland5764]

@@alanpennie8013 She hasn't betrayed him YET. When she agreed to bring him to Stoneheart, she was being hanged AND witnessing 10 y.o innocent Podrick being hanged in front of her. My guess is that she will save Jaime somehow, she is smart and resourceful, like when she climbed on an island and threw rocks at the boats chasing them, when Catelyn let them leave Riverrun's dungeons.But it is ironic in the books that bad girl Cersei only cheated on him, while good girl Brienne is leading him into deathly danger.

[@Frandelicious1337]

Maybe the point was that some oaths are worth keeping while others are not, depending on a number of factors. Yes, Brienne could have gone in a quest to rescue an innocent girl just for the innocent girl herself (that Brienne never met), but why would she do that? She could probably save many more innocent people doing something else. She did that because she felt her oath to Catelyn was still honorable and worthwhile under the circumstances (contrary to Jaime's situation with Aeris). I don't think GRRM is trying to make an absolute statement about oaths being good or bad on their own.

[@BlackCanary87]

I think it's more of an exploration of morality vs. ethics. To put it simply, morality is about following rules you have been told, while ethics is a system that helps you think through choices yourself. Jaime is treating oaths like morals, and, unable to reconcile their contradictions, says the whole thing is stupid.

[@EleanoRa99]

The Brienne plot is my favourite thing about AFFC 😊

[@Ζήνων-ζ1ι]

Definitely best intro.

[@froggywoggy473]

Purple Wedding is close

[@blubblubwhat]

@@froggywoggy473 purple wedding was grat also with the detail pictured in the graphics, my altime favrid was ,,times are changing,, theme song for a intro. amazing!

[@darkblade3897]

I'm busy right now but I absolutely cannot wait to watch this video later. Already gave it a like, I know it's gonna be fire

[@fuchsgaehnen]

17:50 it is clumsy in GRRM's part, but bears actually smell, a lot, so it might be likely that they'd be the go-to animal for bad body smell. It was however a "smellier society" than ours, but bear smell in the woods might be pretty noticeable for people living in much closer contact to nature.

[@jamespinto1884]

🤟🏻 Brienne and the Squishers! 🤟🏻 it is still the most metal storyline in the books.

[@TheTheValer]

Despite the fact that it is an accurate term for the world of westeros, I feel that the word patriarchy is loaded and fails to get across the point of the story. Like you said, Jamie is in the bear pit too. This story isn't a metaphor for how men oppress women for their own selfish gain, it's a story of how society and gender expectations oppress us all.

[@BlackCanary87]

That's literally what patriarchy means, in the social studies sense. Some people prefer the word kyriarchy because of the same thing you brought up, but it's a lot less common.

[@e22ddie46]

The one down vote is from shag well

[@carlolson932]

"Do bears even smell particularily bad?" Yes.

[@PhilospherDjPsychologist24]

I think Catelyn's woman's courage is about her tenacity and ability to take everything with composure and focus

[@gazza7693]

The chapter where she meets Lord Randyll Tarly really made me empathize with not only Brienne but really all women who live in feudal societies, no matter what she says or what deeds she does or whatever he only see's her as a stupid girl in armor, even telling her to go get raped to learn some kind of lesson. This kind of prejudice was done well because Lord Tarly is implacable in his opinion, he would only see Brienne as an equal if she magically grew a cock and became a man. We as readers know she is a loyal, badass warrior but some people like Lord Tarly she meets cannot see anything but a stupid girl in armor. Other female characters in the books have similar obstacles they need to overcome but Brienne has an occupation that so many men in her society do not want her to have. PS: Her story arc and characterization in the final GOT season was horrendously bad and seemed like a different character entirely

[@kjhakfha]

My experience with the Brienne chapters would always be the same: turn the page and see it was a Brienne chapter “urgh not a Brienne chapter”. Finish the chapter “wow that was a great chapter!” Read on through the book, get to the next Brienne chapter “urgh not another Brienne chapter”. Finish the chapter, “wow that was a great chapter!” This process would repeat for every Brienne chapter where they’ve ended up being some of my favourites in the series yet I’m always disappointed when I see the next chapter is Brienne 😅

[@lordodysseus]

That opening is the most American thing on this entire channel. Rock music, monster trucks, explosions, and a flying boat.

[@EdgedShadow]

I appreciated the Brienne chapters alot more on a second readthrough. Now they're some of my favourites.

[@theletterm5425]

I've watched the video twice now and I'm really curious to hear where Preston sees the Brienne story going. A lot of fans say they really like the Brienne AFFC storyline for its themes and emotional moments but as it stands it is rather pointless for the overall plot. Brienne meets some characters who will influence other storylines like the High Sparrow, Ser Shadrich, Randyll Tarly and the gravedigger but otherwise everything except her last two chapters don't really lead to anything. I've always wondered why George chose to write a story about Brienne looking for Sansa when we as reader already know this information. If he had kept Sansa's location a secret then Brienne's story would at least have some intrigue to it, but the way it’s written we just know from the start that her quest is doomed to fail. So I'm looking forward to Preston's thoughts on the matter. Obviously he's thought about this quite a bit and I'm sure he'll come up with a good explanation for why George decided to write Brienne's story the way he did.

[@EyeOfEld]

I always assumed the three boys were Ned, Stannis, and Renly, the old goat was Jon Arryn, the bear was Robert, and the maid was Cersei.

[@hopedixon2133]

Whoa...just had a thought based on your interpretation. If Jon Arryn is an old goat, does that mean Mya Stone calling herself "half goat, half mountain" means that she is half Arryn? We are meant to believe that Mya's mother was lowborn...but we honestly don't know either way. And the only other Mya that I could find in the stories was Mya Rivers, sister to Bloodraven, and daughter to two highborns, Aegon IV and Melissa Blackwood. I would gather that Mya Stone's mother was an Arryn...or maybe a Royce since she may be an agent of the cadet branch of House Royce...old Nestor and Myranda. It would be interesting if Jon Arryn as Hand of the King had been considering convincing Robert to "wipe the taint of bastardry" from Mya Stone, and declare her an heir to the Iron Throne backed by the Vale/Stormlands/North/Riverlands/probably Crownlands alliance that still existed, and boosted by possible Ironborn support from Theon in Winterfell, and a promise of sacking the Westerlands, which would be a fine prize. I could even see Robert allowing some more autonomy for them if they asked, who knows. So that leaves Lannisters to ally with Dorne (laugh...no way), and the Reach, and maybe the Crownlands but I am not sure either way on them. So if Jon Arryn could prove the children were bastards, remove Lannister influence, and bring in Mya Stone married to somebody...maybe Renly. It's her uncle, he's a Baratheon, looks like Robert, apparently likeable...it could work and bring Arryn or Royce blood on the Throne. Although Renly seems to try to charm Robert with Margaery Tyrell, and Renly of course marries her instead. So, he may have been open to marrying Mya Stone if she was from two highborns, Renly doesn't care, he just would be more than happy to be King I think. Just some thoughts I had about the direction Jon Arryn may have been going for the whole Lannister situation. We will never know for sure.

[@SanskarWagley]

will we get an explanation of how Brienne is descended from Dunk?

[@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin]

Yes, its important

[@assassinscreedwalkthroughs7314]

Dear Preston Jacobs Do you think Brienne will be the "beautiful and younger queen" who will displace Cersei in Jamie's eyes? Since Jamie thinks of her as his "queen" of love and beauty.

[@nathhje]

Ah, a series about gender and two of my favourite characters? Count me in. No idea yet where this going, but am already very invested. (Hopefully it will make me forget Brienne turning into a snivelling little girl after Jaime left her *shiver*)

[@divine1448]

Just yesterday I thought: "what were those brienne chapters about?" Then BAM, PJ VIDEO

[@mistermaestersirthomas9164]

You should wonder about the science of peaches, mole rats, and bees; it will help Preston. Also that all humans have four women in our lives.

[@yhurimach]

Wait, wait, wait. I'm a native portuguese speaker. "Esposa" isn't derogatory, it just means "wife".

[@Jenvick]

It may not be funny, but this story has people's attention now. They should actually be taught the lesson GRMM is trying to give us. Thank you for bringing it to the ftont.

[@keelobrown4991]

That title made me raise my whole unibrow

[@Daland9]

Never heard the chess metaphor for agency. Works really well

[@ijmbvck]

I don't get Brienne's story the first time. She was looking for someone we all knew she was never going to find. So it felt kind of pointless. Really interested in what Preston hes to say.

[@darhaha3391]

I hope u also do a Davos series. It's pretty well known at this point that Westeros, at least to some level is modeled after England (the UK), I also think the island of Skagos is meant to represent Scotland. Skagos has unicorns, unicorns are the official state animal of Scotland (sounds insane but it's true), and the Westerosi mainlanders' low opinion of the Skagosi mirrors the famously low opinion the English had of the Scots during the Dark ages and medieval times. And the two names just sound similar too. I really hope we learn a lot about the Skagosi and House Magnar in particular in the two future books. And I also think any Davos/Rickon/Skagos theory should take the Scotland connection into account.

[@gholamdapantaloonsniffer8218]

Or the Faraoe Islands? They are near the UK aren't they??

[@davidm9218]

Love how the shadow used to kill Renly is Stannis outline in the video

[@rebeccachambers1846]

This... Was... Great... We all have our favourite Preston Vids and Series we come back to again and again. There are also ones that we appreciate but, for some of us, they don't hit the spot. This is waaaaay up there for me. Brilliant analysis.

[@Enward834]

The not so subtle "rainbow gaurd" how did i never pick up on this?

[@peterhowie1212]

Hmmm I wonder who the high born ladies that Catelyn has brought into her services over the years? That is a line that I paid no attention to when I read the book but now seems odd.

[@cdhill17]

Probably just some random daughters of northern lords

[@hopedixon2133]

You're right...it is odd. And all I am going to be thinking about for the rest of the day. As that other person said, possibly Northern lords' daughters or even from the Vale or Riverlands is possible I gather. But it may be consequential. George loves to slip in tiny, one-line important details with other seemingly more paramount shit going on to distract us. The Northern daughters may have been obviously to charm Robb or even Jon. Jon would become a lord possibly or at least a noble with a line if "the dream of Spring" between the Northern houses and the Watch to resettle the Gift with men with strong ties to the ruling strong houses like Stark, Bolton, Umber, Karstark, and Flint. Jon would be a perfect candidate; he would never oppose the Starks, his overlords, because they are family as well. So we should probably look to the daughters of these houses who may have known about the Dream of Spring. If Jon knows of it, other Northern lords probably would know of it as well, and may have children in mind for Stark marriages/alliances. I certainly wish to know more about the Flint lineage, since we have Arya Flint being a probable source of skinchanging genetics for the Starks, so it would make sense if that happened again. We also have brave Dany Flint, another woman who probably had special genes and powers. I am certainly no Preston Jacobs, but if I notice anything, I will let you know dude.

[@peterhowie1212]

@@hopedixon2133 haha I don't think it's that important. We just never hear about female wards at Winterfell.

[@hopedixon2133]

@@peterhowie1212 LISTEN...the fact that Catelyn Stark brings it up in conversation, yet does NOT return to ponder these women/girls tells me that George does not want us to know. Catelyn is a reflective person, who will even linger on painful memories like Ashara Dayne and Jon Snow. She is a logical and shrewd woman, and honestly doesn't get the credit she deserves...she understood risk far better than Robb or Edmure or Brandon, and her dumb decisions like kidnapping Tyrion Lannister may have been someone else messing with her mind, because that decision still puzzles me. Who cares that she was dressing down in an inn...she had specifically stayed there with her father as a child as a highborn obviously. She could say she was visiting House Whent just south at Harrenhal...her mother's ancestral home. It didn't have to be suspicious, and was risky to take Tyrion, yet she does...at great cost crossing the Vale to reach the Eyrie. And for what? She could have just told Tyrion to fuck off in a highborn way, and let him think what he wants. Well...Tyrion does fall into the company of Bronn...conveniently a sellsword who is more than willing to take gold from a rich man. And Bronn probably works for Varys...so is that who wanted all this conflict between the Starks and Lannisters? Varys seems to want peace until Aegon is ready and seemingly old enough for kingship...at least that's what he tells Illyrio Mopatis. Sometimes I wonder if they are really allies...or if Varys is double crossing him. But anyways, sorry got way off topic, my point was that Catelyn Stark would absolutely reflect upon her old female wards, and the fact that she does not, is telling in my opinion. Lol

[@bentn13]

I will say, the inclusion of the bear reference in Jon's conversation with Ygritte makes sense because he grew up in a world with the bear and the maiden fair, so it shows how he sees her

[@whitediamond133]

I love Brienne because no matter how awful the world was to her she still has a soft spot for women and children even protecting them while being alone.

[@wedoliveinasocietydowenot]

Especially when she herself is a woman (and some can say even a child as she still is only a teen, if I remember correctly) and faces many of the same problems herself. Yet she still strives on. Gosh, I love her so darn much.

[@johnwhelan9663]

A huge number of parallels show Brienne is being set up as a doppleganger for Sandor -- an undead Hound. Similarly, several other curious parallels show Pod Payne is being set up as a doppleganger for Ned Dayne (who I guess therefore will be Sandor's future companion). Brienne's POV ceased with her hanging ... from now on she be seen through the eyes of other characters (such as Sansa) who will think she is Sandor; just as when Sandor and Ned appear incognito, readers will think they are Brienne and Pod. Already Brienne was (per Jaime) "the Hound with teats except she has no teats". Then she got half her face ripped off; suffered injuries to her shield arm & upper thigh, burn marks on her neck (in her case from the rope); and seemed to age 10 years (making Sandor and Brienne the same apparent age, 29). Her transformation will be complete when she takes up the Hound helm, starts riding Stranger, and Stranger bites her ear off. Meanwhile Sandor, out of sight of the reader, is undergoing a transformation and rebirth of his own on the Quiet Isle, which includes the Elder Brother using his reputedly miraculous healing skills on his re-injured face. That Brienne has become undead was foreshadowed by her dream of being menaced by a sorcerer associated with the enslavement and animation of the dead; and also of Jaime's wierwood dream of being trapped with Brienne in an underworld. Per GRRM in an SSM, Red Wights are no longer fully human, but are driven by their oaths. Brienne swore repeatedly ("I swore it 3 times") that she would take her king's sword and kill his slayer. Her dying scream, the word "sword" echoes this yet again, as it represents Stoneheart's ultimatum that she "take the sword and kill the kingslayer". Catelyn (when alive) swore to Brienne that she would not keep her from her oath; hence as a Red Wight, UnCat will be driven to give Brienne the kiss of fire so she can fulfill her own oaths, in distorted, twisted hell-zombie fashion. Brienne, the new undead Hound, will become a hunter and slayer of Kingslayers: Jaime, Stannis, and god knows who else. After she slays Jaime she will give him the kiss of fire. Her lips were made for kissing after all. Her final target will be Sansa, who she has already sworn to hunt (originally for other more-humane purposes), and is a reputed Kingslayer. When she comes for Sansa, Sansa will think that Sandor has come to avenge the death of Joffrey. GRRM is very progressive, but in this case, I do not think he is so much spinning an ultra-progressive gender-bending narrative, as he is playing elaborate identity fake-out games.

[@mistermaestersirthomas9164]

Why not both?

[@johnwhelan9663]

@@mistermaestersirthomas9164 Could be both I guess. But I'm not sure that twisted hell-zombies are the sort of representation that ultraprogressive gender-benders appreciate. But GRRM has left us so so long waiting for the other shoe to drop that Brienne has become a progressive icon of sorts. So even if I assume my guess is correct, I wonder if GRRM would have the courage to stick to his original plan.

[@mistermaestersirthomas9164]

@@johnwhelan9663 well i was referring more to the last two points, I doubt there's gonna be many more fire wights to come from living named people.

[@johnwhelan9663]

@@mistermaestersirthomas9164 And yet, GRRM told a French newspaper that TWOW would contain about 13 POVs. It is hard to make room in this for Brienne and Jaime. If they are already dead -- or undead -- their POVs have ceased, as did Catelyn's.

[@carmenstandop9289]

So glad that you are doing something on Brienne . Love her character and her great (or so) grandfather´s .

[@Cl0ckcl0ck]

Brienne is symbolic for the journey that doesn't go anywhere. It's autobiographical.

[@jonathansebag8768]

Why in the world does it take a youtube video to make me appreciate Brienne’s AFfC story EIGHT YEARS after reading it? How could I miss the mirrored gender attributes of Jaime and Brienne? Great video, man

[@davidbodor1762]

This is one of my favorite analysis, everyone always glosses over Brienne, but her story is amazing

[@malirabbit6228]

I’ve missed your GoT content , Preston Jacobs. Live long and prosper, y’all ! Stay safe.

[@Ironsmiler]

The Brienne chapters in AFFC are superb imo. The one with Nimble Dick heading to The Whispers is my favourite chapter from the entire series thus far.

[@NukeMarine]

Preston, if you ever get a chance, review the best order to read (or likely re-read) AFfC and ADwD chapters given they're essential one large book covering similar points of time in the story. The most popular is the Boiled Leather order, though The Ball of Beasts order is also entertaining, but I'm sure subscribers would be interested in your take.

[@virgovirtuoso]

I GET SO FUCKING HYPE WHEN I SEE YOU PRESTON. I always try and rewatch most if not all the preceding videos to catch myself up and give you the extra watch time.

[@Kilthan2050]

While I agree with your analysis so far, I absolutely despise the phrases “the patriarchy” and “toxic masculinity” Yes, I’m a guy, a conservative, yada yada. I’m also a stay-at-home dad. My wife is the bread winner. I spend my days teaching my daughter, doing home maker things like laundry, dishes, making meals, and so forth. Those terms are used with out any real or consistent meaning to them. I’m not saying you’re doing that here, or that GRRM does it. His criticism of standard medieval societies is pretty spot on (I studied history in college). I just hear those terms and i do a full body eye roll. I enjoy videos, don’t take my annoyance at some words as complaints about your quality. It’s just a grumpy dad complaining.

[@alkentarch7083]

Why do you water down your words when they really have weight? Preston is so far up his own ass with his liberal takes on ASOIF that I've unsubscribed years ago. The straw that broke the camel's back was him repeatedly stating that he is a feminist, which to me is synonymous for "guy who didn't do research or ignores raw data". Being for gender equality does in no way justify being a male feminist, no matter how you want to look at it. I've checked back if he's changed but I guess it only got worse. He'll be doing fine enough without me as s viewer. I certainly do without his ramblings.

[@pg1448]

Fully agree, it's a feminist interpretation of ASOIAF and comes with the typical bias of viewing traditional societies as heavily male-centric and beneficial towards men, although that is a very one-sided interpretation of history as men easily suffered as much as women in those societies. It also implies that the gendered issues can be traced back to some inherent flaw of maleness or at least something men are collectively responsible for. That's why the term toxic masculinity is rejected by many men, it treats men as inherently deficient beings that need to be cured of their innate toxicity. Feminism is a movement that claims to strive for gender equality, but it only ever seeks to blame virtually all of societal ills on the masculine.

[@Kilthan2050]

@@pg1448 in medieval societies, it sucked to be anybody that wasn’t noble and rich. Peasant men got look forward to a life hard labor or dying in a battle against someone he never met for a noble he probably never met. Yes, Noble’s daughter has it rough because the only agency she has is in what sort of mother to be. She still has food, shelter, water, clothing. Is the hierarchy of needs. Peasants were lucky to have all of their basic needs met, food, water, shelter, etc. The problem that Preston (and GRRM) have in their criticisms of medieval life (that most modern people make when comparing people and societies in the past to the present) is that they judge the past by the standards of today. In Westeros, much like our past, societies couldn’t AFFORD to let women fight in battle in large numbers. When most kids aren’t going to live to see their fifth birthday, you have to make more kids. And you can’t do that if your women are running off to get stabbed with swords instead of dicks. And calling that sexist ignores the reality of the world they lived in. Ma and Pa dirt farmer both had to work from sun up to sun down to survive. Their kids had to start working as early as possible to survive. Was having to stay in the kitchen to cook better than forcing the earth to produce food in an age before modern tech? Its hard to say. Further, i think GRRM might need to go back and reread the Bible. The book of Judges tells the story of Deborah. God had chosen a man to lead the armies of Israel against the philistines. The man refused, so God said, “Fine, I’ll pick a woman to do it instead.” And he chose Deborah, who routed the philistines, causing their commander to flee in terror. The commander found the tent of an acquaintance of his. His friend wasn’t in, but his wife was. He demanded food and shelter. She dutifully did so, and gave him a blanket to “hide” under. As soon a she was covered up, the woman grabbed a hammer and a tent peg and drove the peg down through the commander’s skull. Those women are heroes in the Bible despite being non-traditional women. Traditional societies could respect and honor non-traditional women. And that story was kept on the Bible despite the council of Nicea (sp?), a group of old white christian men in power, picking what to keep in the Bible. They also Kept Esther, the story of a woman who used her traditional role as a wife to convince a king to do the right thing. Its almost like traditional societies knew women would come along who didn’t fit the mold and kept around examples of it. I can also say that feminist tactic of disparaging being a homemaker is insulting. It isn’t easy work, it never has been. Hell, my grandmother worked and essentially raised six kids on her own because her husband was an asshole. She’s five feet of concrete who loves nothing more than cooking for her family, but can turn around and cow anyone into submission (its even funnier when your realize that, at 6’, im one of the shortest men in my family).

[@Karamazov9]

This is a great example of your own toxic masculinity

[@Kilthan2050]

@@Karamazov9 this 3 years old, fine, i’d rather be toxicly masculine then whatever it is male feminists are trying to be.

[@Goblinhugger]

Preston... You're the best and you always brighten my day with your choices in your content. Never stop being a giant, rad nerd.