#entire thing ever again & he never thought about his bitterness towards robb & cat again. that would be crazy.

[atopvisenyashill]

idk if you have a robb fancast yet or not but if you have, pls tell me he isnt extremely white 🙏(im literally tryind to find one for him that isnt like that for so long😭😭😭)

i've been putting off the north for two reasons, first of all, i wanted like several fancasts ready so you can see like, the general look i'm going for when i imagine "northern coloring" but second....it's so hard to find starkling fancasts asldfjsald like trying to find people who are young enough is already difficult but then on top of that trying to find someone who fits the look you want AND isn't white.......

um so far all i got is kj apa as archie bc red hair & he was like 18-19ish when they first started filming alsdjflkaskl

[agentrouka-blog]

What do you think about Jon comparing cat to stannis with cold stare and hard mouth? He remembered that cat was displeased whenever he best Robb in a fight. Plus he remembered how Robb when young told him he is bastard and hence will not be Lord because his mother said so. Do you think he would bring out cat hostility in future with starks? Maybe he will still resent her but he also knew she was mother of starks so he won't be so bitter.

Hi anon!

I think much of his resentment toward Catelyn is rooted in the uncertainty of his place in Winterfell. Catelyn is the only one who openly emphasizes his status, which means all his anxiety has a focal point in her.

Ned brought him there and had him raised among his children, with the same education, same material wealth (a MASSIVE privilege he is not aware of until Bowen Marsh points it out), but absolutely no promise of permanence. Ned shares zero information about Jon’s mother (50% of Jon’s identity), he made no plans for Jon’s future, he never seems to have discussed all the painful realities of Jon’s situation with him, much as he avoids talking to Sansa about any of the awful things going on during their journey south. Jon clings to his identity as Ned’s son because it is literally the only “official” tie he has to his only home and family. But we have no scenes of them bonding, nothing like what the show suggested. Jon’s pack are his siblings. Jon’s entire future is in limbo.

Cat and her (not irrational) misgivings (that are proven true by how the world treats Jon, not by Jon himself) about her husband’s potentially usurping bastard are the rock that shatters the illusion Ned has built of everything being just fine and dandy. And it was always an illusion. She is ultimately only a symbol of the unfairness of his whole situation, for which she was never responsible. Ned checked out of that conflict and left it for Jon and Cat to fester between them. The real issue is Jon’s bastardy and his crippled identity (who was his mother?) and his uncertainty of his place in the world.

Jon’s arc, which always and again revolves around both belonging to the Starks and embracing a separate identity (a man of the Night’s Watch, a Snow), is going to lead to the real heart of that issue: his own mother, finding his own place. Understanding where he came from and why Ned acted as he did will ground him, even if it might open up new anger for Ned at first. Ultimately, understanding and forgiving Cat is going to be the healthiest thing he can do for himself.

He will be able to let go of his resentment of Cat proportionate to his own sense of self. Part of that is a decision like rejecting Stannis’ offer of Winterfell. He had a choice and he chose according to his own sense of honor and it revived him. (Proving wrong the shameful assumptions about bastards.) Having and making choices is a key theme there. Through choices, Jon can reveal himself for who he truly is. It makes him independent of outside judgment for his sense of self-worth. Cat’s fears cease to be relevant. Her spectre can fade away.

Lastly, his siblings embracing him once more will heal some of the emotional wounds. Sansa, Arya, Bran, they all turn to Jon in their hearts. Not in spite of Catelyn, but because of Jon. Because he is a member of their pack, just like Ghost is a member of the wolf pack. They can choose him without ever needing to reject any part of Catelyn.

Having that confirmed doesn’t require explicitly talking about Catelyn. She might come up again in his thoughts, like when contemplating the Vale, but I think this is a psychological journey that will stay in the background. His real issue was never with Cat herself. It was with the injustice of being denied an identity.