Chapter 34 - The Watcher - The game of thrones is beginning again

The Mountain is dead...or so we're told by Ser Balon Swann and Cersei.  They have sent his skull in a little box to Dorne to offer vengeance for the murder of Elia and her two children.  The skull is big enough and the Mountain was quite unique, but we've seen that he is not the only creature out there of his size.  Beyond the Wall, giants are much more common.  Is it possible that this former maester in King's Landing had access to a giant's skull that he could pass off as Ser Gregor's?

During the feash, the Sand Snakes are not pleased with Prince Doran's willingess to offer fealty to King Tommen.  They think he is weak, but I'm beginning to realize that the Prince is possibly one of the best players of the game of thrones that we've seen.  It was nice to hear the phrase used again since there hasn't been as much of that type of intrigue since the first book.  It's returning now and it's going to get interesting very soon.  Doran has been waiting for years for this time to come.  I suspect that he has know of Aegon's survival since it occurred.

Tomorrow, they leave for the Water Gardens where Ser Balon is meet Princess Myrcella again and then take her back to her brother along with Doran's son Trystane.  I don't doubt Doran's sources for a second and I completely believe that Cersei cooked up a scheme to have Trystane murdered.  I can't even begin to imagine what would be her reasoning, but we've seen that Cersei is not the best at playing the game of thrones.  Hopefully Ser Balon will believe Myrcella's story about how she lost her ear.  I had completely forgotten that she had been injured in the fight.

So, Prince Doran has a better plan in mind and he will send two of the Sand Snakes to King's Landing to continue his plans.  Once they have left, he speaks to Arianne about the arrival of an army which must be Aegon's army.  He acts like he doesn't know that it's Aegon and not Dany, but I think he does know who it is.  Though he may be expecting Aegon to go to Dany and then return together, so that could be a surprise to him.  Regardless, he has no intention of submitting to the Iron Throne.  I liked that his story about the Water Gardens involved a Targaryen named Daenerys.  How fitting that a Daenerys taught him how to rule and that his hopes are partially based in the return of the new Daenerys.

One more thing...it was cool to get Hotah as a point of view!  He's so BA!