These little reviews are hard because of the number of characters that are wending their way to the unknown. The plotting is superb. We have strong women, strong men, powerless women, and powerless men. We start with Bran having a dream that he is following a raven which has three eyes. When he awakens, he goes to court and finds that Tyrion has figured a way to get him on a horse, using the proper prosthetics. We return to John, who is fighting every day, teaching a group of ineffectual men to be soldiers (or should we say, cannon fodder). We meet a new character, Samwell Tarley, who has been disowned by his father who hopes he will die in battle. John sees in him a brother in arms (he is actually the opposite, a coward, afraid of heights, and so on). We are introduced to the joust where a knight is horribly killed. There is more intrigue involving Stark and the King. There is an exchange of war stories that shows what a lesser creature the king is. The scene ends as Tyrion and his mouth seem to be heading into another realm.
