- Talk Stannis' relationship to his turncloak lords and how it contrasts with his relationship to Davos

- Explore Davos' self-image and how it leads him to both tell Stannis the truth and shape that truth into euphemisms

- Watch as Stannis slowly realize that his conscience is calling him a hypocrite

- Praise George's complex characterization of Stannis and his worldview

- Debate the great question of our time: Did Stannis give the order for Renly's death, or did Melisandre act on her own?

Next week: we are joined by Matt aka Joe Magician for the third in our FOUR part series on ACOK, Davos II!

- Talk D&D

- Introduce (and say farewell) to Cortnay Penrose 

- Loudly boo the arrogant hypocrites who have joined Stannis

- Praise George's brilliantly written dialogue

- Discuss how Davos' perspective changes the scene

- Debate Cortnay Penrose: hero or villain?

Next week: Stannis and Davos get deep into politics, philosophy, and personal baggage in the second part of our three-part look at ACOK, Davos II!

- Talk about GRRM's worldview vs Tolkien's.

- Get into the Pureborn and what boredom and wealth do to the Pureborn (and people)

- Demonstrate that Xaro is a total POS

- Talk about the rise of magic and what that means

- Roll our eyes at Quaithe and Jorah

- Answer the question as to what would have happened if Dany went to Asshai

Next week: Myrcella goes to Dorne, and a minor plot-point but the city erupts in riot in ACOK, Tyrion IX!

- Analyze the Petyr Baelish backstory

- Evaluate Catelyn's mental state as she returns to the Riverland

- Answer whether Starks can commit war crimes too (they can)

- Get deep on Brienne and how her brokenness doesn't make her unique, only more human

- Do some war shit by taking a look at Edmure's plan

- Take a close look at Edmure and Catelyn's relationship and their relationship to their father

- Answer the question as to what happened to Ned's bones after Riverrun

Next week: we go to a magic show with Dany where Quaithe says some cryptic shit in ACOK, Daenerys III!

- Praise George's writing of an army in motion

- Talk about the transitional, small-scale nature of the second of three wishes

- Frame this chapter (laden with animal imagery) as the food chain, a hierarchy driven by hunger and pain

- Discuss Arya's conflicted loyalties between identities and conceptions of justice

- Dig into the conundrum Arya faces regarding whether Weese was a worthy target

Next week: we return to Riverrun for Catelyn V, in which Brienne swears her sword to Catelyn, Edmure prepares to give battle to Tywin at the Fords, and Ned's bones pass on through. 

- Praise George's in medias res structure for the chapter

- Watch Theon's opposing identities come into conflict

- Roll our eyes at the selfish violent ways he tries to resolve that conflict

- Raise a glass for Dagmer Cleftjaw, the only person who loves Theon

- Dig into the layers of folly in Theon's plan to take Winterfell

Next week: we haunt Harrenhal once more in Arya VIII, in which Tywin marches west and Arya whispers a second name to Jaqen H'ghar...only to regret it far too late. We will be joined for this episode by returning guest Michal from Vassals of Kingsgrave!

- Talk about how we evaluate combined reading orders of Feastdance and whether the battles should have been in ADWD

- Get in depth on Varys and the small council as detectives in noir fiction

- Get in on Joffrey and Littlefinger's scheme to marry that little shit to Margaery Tyrell 

- Look at all the foreshadowing!

- What was Littlefinger up to in ACOK. The NotACast iTeam investigates!

Next week: we sail back to the North for Theon III, in which our “hero” commits a bunch of war crimes and then comes up with a crazy plan to take Winterfell with a handful of his Ironborn bros. Thank the gods this will never work, right? Right?!

- Talk about why Robert didn't have sworn men around him

- Get into the philosophy and metaphysics of the shadowbaby and its impact on the narrative

- Talk about how the shadowbaby attack didn't just kill Renly. It nearly got Brienne killed and very much got Robar Royce and Emmon Cuy killed 

- The impact of Renly's death on the characters surrounding him: Catelyn, Margaery, Loras, Stannis

- Will Brienne kill Stannis?

- Was Renly's death justified?

Next week: we interrupt our regular chapter-by-chapter flow to bring you an episode all about *sigh* Renly Baratheon. This will be our Patreon episode for the month, but we’ll also be doing it live for all to see on Monday 4/20 at 830 PM EST! 

Check out our friends we referenced at the start of the podcast!

Learned Hands Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/958693

Planetos Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/planetos-podcast