#22: Mance Rayder
I am my own champion, my own fool, and my own harpist.
-Mance Rayder
Immediately after I watched the prologue scene that started off the Game of Thrones series I wanted to know as much about the northern side of the wall as possible. Is it always winter there? Does anybody live there? How far north does it go? What the hell are those blue-eyed skeletons?
And then I started to read the books and before long the Night's Watch is ****ing camping out on hills miles north of the wall and Jon Snow and a guy with one-and-a-half hands are trying to meet up with the King Beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder. "Finally I'll get some answers!" I said out loud.
And Mance kind of delivered. I like his character for a few reasons, the main one being that he's just an all-around likeable guy. He's charming, kind, just, and an amazing bard. He's equally comfortable hanging out with giants as he is hanging out in Rattleshirt's glamor body.
The other main reason I like Mance so much isn't so much anything that he does or says, but that Martin made him into a kind of expository character, having him explain a bunch of stuff about the north to us, the reader. I appreciate that, George, but I'm glad that there are still a bunch of things we don't know about it, as well.
In summary, Mance Rayder is a man I aspire to be like. Only, like, wearing less human skin for warmth. That part kind of sucks.
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"SMOKEDOG42O taught me how to feel love, but fetus taught me how to make love." - Pablo Escobar