Post by SlyWren on Jul 1, 2017 16:55:21 GMT
Jul 1, 2017 12:37:07 GMT danl said:
I have the impression that the Smiling Knight was a bit of a folk hero. SAD may have taken his time because he wanted SK to submit, or at least to show that SAD was more chivalrous than SK, or to try to avoid creating a legend.Agreed--the Smiling Knight is the Southron version of the King Beyond the Wall.
He's even a type of the Night's King--knowing no fear, with a mix of Chivalry and cruelty.
I am sure the smiling knight was a folk hero. That was probably the hardest part of tracking the outlaws down. But does Ser Arthur Dayne look chivalrous if he is obviously the better fighter, and still takes a rather long time to end the fight?
Arthur sounds like a bit of a showboat in fights at times--not unlike Jon.
But given that Arthur was taking care of the small folk as part of his anti-brotherhood campaign--this fight is also sort of replacing the Smiling Knight with Arthur's ethic and protection. So--the fight could serve that purpose.
And for the reader--it's really seems like a reference to the ending of the Night's King. Even wondering if Wenda the Whit Fawn is a reference to the eNight's Queen.
I actually question the way Jaime remembers this story. Time and distance from the incident may have altered how he remembers the events. Possibly, Ser Arthur made a quick and easy end to the Smiling Knight. Maybe Jaime felt like their duel took long because he was in awe of every single sword stroke and he does seem to crush a bit on Ser Arthur as a warrior, when it was actually a few parries and then it was over.
We all idolize our heroes, no? And earlier in the same novel, we see Jaime's reaction to Arthur's shade. He measures almost everything against Arthur. So, awe would make some sense.