It was all going so well for Tyrion. Now he has a bad day. They're shipping Myrcella off to Dorne via the free city of Braavos because by being under the protection of a free city she'll be safer from Stannis. I can't help thinking that something might go wrong, there. If all goes well Myrcella will be betrothed and the co-operation of the Dornish will be secured. I hope it's worth it.
Anyway the royal parade from the docks to the castle doesn't go well. The crowd get agitated because they've been starving since the Lannisters were in charge. Joffrey's parentage is called into question, dung is thrown, Joff tells the Hound to get violent, and things turn nasty. The king escapes the crowd but not a good telling off and a kicking from Tyrion. Somehow Tyrion escapes a slapping from Cersei over this. Then they notice Sansa is missing! If she gets killed by the crowd the balance of hostages will be out of whack and it'll be curtains for Jaime. Luckily the Hound (also missing, presumed dead) finds her and rescues her (he must *really* like her -- I wonder if he will eventually turn on Joffrey). She's mainly upset about seeing someone's arm get chopped off.
No-one seems to care about Lady Tanda's daugter Lollys who is also missing, but she eventually does get found alive having had an unpleasant evening.
Rioting continues. There's only so much the city watch can do: their new recruits aren't of high quality and head of the watch Ser Jacelyn Bywater has fun telling Tyrion just how unpopular he is with the commoners. Tyrion is understandably a bit hurt, seeing as he's the only Lannister who has done anything to help them.
By the way, Littlefinger hasn't been seen since he went off to organise a marriage between Joffrey and a Tyrell at Bitterbridge. Tyrion wins his own chapter with this thought: "If I was Mace Tyrell, I would sooner have Joffrey's head on a pike than his cock in my daughter." Oh, and Tyrion is paying Cersei's new men (led by some chap called Kettleblack) more than Cersei is.
Overall things aren't looking good for the Lannisters. They need to get the war over with soon before they are ousted in a bloody revolution. But not too soon becuase they don't have any ships and Tyrion's Chain Thing is not finished yet, whatever that is.
Another thought: everyone in the castle seems to still be eating pretty well. Presumably enough gold can solve supply problems, but it's got to be costly. I know they are wealthy but this war is expensive. Will they run out of money? Does GRRM model the economics as much as he does the military strategy?
