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Hanging plotlines that you've forgotten about


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This is a thread to discuss the lesser-known hanging threads. Chekhov's water pistols, as it were. So not Howland or the will or the hairnet, but smaller plot lines that haven't yet been resolved and that might pick up again, only for you to go, "Wait, who? ... Oh. OH!"



I got the idea from the Greywater Watch thread, when someone suggested that Elvis Kyle Condon and his men might have gone into hiding in the Neck.



When Roose meets up with Robb and Catelyn for the wedding, he says that he's left 600 men at the ford, led by Kyle Condon and Ronnel Stout. The force is made up of men from the White Knife, the mountains, Hornwoods, Cerwyns and guys from the rills (i.e. Ryswells). Roose brought mostly Karstark and his own men to the wedding. The force of men that he left has a composition of men who would in all likelihood be extremely loyal to Robb, which explains their absence (whereas the Karstarks hostile-ish at this point and Roose's men are obviously behind him).



ETA: If you follow the idea that Roose deliberately left forces loyal to Robb behind while bringing eventual anti-Robb forces to the Red Wedding, then it really throws the anti-Stark allegiance of Lady Dustin into question. The force that Roose leaves behind is made up partly of men from the rills (House Ryswell) and co-led by Ronnel Stout, who is sworn to House Dustin.



This force of 600 men is not seen or heard from after this; Roose doesn't even go back to reabsorb them or wipe them out. They're just dropped. Now obviously it's not a huge force, but 600 fighting northmen seems like quite a hanging thread in the scheme of things, especially when every big chunk of forces can help.



I'm wondering if we'll see these guys again (perhaps in the Neck, as the inspiration for this thread suggested) or if they're just a complete narrative dead end.


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One thing that's potentially fascinating but often forgotten about is the Isle of Faces. What's up with it? What are the green men? Will it come back into play? Did Rhaegar and Lyanna get married there, and if so, how does that impact the current story?



Possibly related, what ever happened to Shella Whent? It could be that she was killed and GRRM just forgot to make it official. However, I think it's possible that she's hiding out somewhere and knows something important about the Isle of Faces and/or Harrenhal.


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Yeah, the missing Lady Whent is an odd one. There's also the fact that the Tullys are part-Whent themselves (and by extension, so are the Tully-Starks), and yet this isn't mentioned with regards to Harrenhal. Unless Catelyn's mother was stupidly down the succession line, but then why would someone as important as Hoster marry her? I also still wonder why the Tullys didn't go to the Harrenhal tournament when it was their own family/in-laws hosting it, but that's for another thread. :P


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Personally I think Roose pulled a "Drop Site Massacre" in which he took the Loyalist forces far away from Robb and had them all killed.

Can you explain? You think Roose killed all 600 men off-page and lied to Robb about it? Possible, I guess, but he never says that's what he did afterward or makes reference to it. And as I said in my edit, there were men in that group who were loyal to Barbrey Dustin. Were they killed too? Did the Dustin/Ryswell men help kill the others? I think it's left open-ended enough that I'm not sure what really happened is ever actually conveyed, which makes me think something more could come of it.

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An other one from the appendix:

Why the Hightowers are giving refuge in Old Town to the current Lord Florent when Bright Waters is under Garlan Tyrell s siege?

His sister is married to either Lord Leyton or his heir Baelor. I find that an interesting situation as well.

Robin Ryger and Desmond Grell's arrival on the Wall is something that intrigues me also.

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An other one from the appendix:

Why the Hightowers are giving refuge in Old Town to the current Lord Florent when Bright Waters is under Garlan Tyrell s siege?

Hightowers in general are flying under the radar and i really think these guys are gonna pop up and viciously.

Count me in for Isle of Faces. Sometimes i forget about it but it has to be a thing.

Oh yeah! House Darry. What are those guys doing?

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His sister is married to either Lord Leyton or his heir Baelor. I find that an interesting situation as well.

Robin Ryger and Desmond Grell's arrival on the Wall is something that intrigues me also.

Yes, Alekyne Florent's sister Rhea is married to Leyton.

Speaking of weird-ass family ties ... Alester Florent was Sam's maternal grandfather, Randyll Tarly is on the side of the family that's besieging his in-laws and Sam and Jon are both distant-ish cousins to Shireen Baratheon, albeit on different sides (Florent for Sam, Targaryen for Jon). Jon and Shireen are third cousins. Sam and Shireen are second cousins.

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Yes, Alekyne Florent's sister Rhea is married to Leyton.

Speaking of weird-ass family ties ... Alester Florent was Sam's maternal grandfather, Randyll Tarly is on the side of the family that's besieging his in-laws and Sam and Jon are both distant-ish cousins to Shireen Baratheon, albeit on different sides (Florent for Sam, Targaryen for Jon). Jon and Shireen are third cousins. Sam and Shireen are second cousins.

so stannis is kind off Sams uncle? ... Strange it wasnt brought up in their meetings.
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so stannis is kind off Sams uncle? ... Strange it wasnt brought up in their meetings.

No, they'd be cousins-in-law. And yes it's weird that Melisandre burns Sam's grandfather/Randyll's father-in-law alive and neither of them bat an eyelash.

Rosby inheritance and the ward of Rosby is another matter mostly fogotten and surfaces up a lot.

Yes! The Rosby inheritance.

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Not really a plot but at some point we should discuss how thoroughly inter-married the Reach is. The Florents are everyone's least favorite uncles and somehow the Fossoways have managed a marriage to half the region despite being simple knights.

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Not really a plot but at some point we should discuss how thoroughly inter-married the Reach is. The Florents are everyone's least favorite uncles and somehow the Fossoways have managed a marriage to half the region despite being simple knights.

Some knightly houses are as powerful as lords. A typical example is House Templeton of the Vale.

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Can you explain? You think Roose killed all 600 men off-page and lied to Robb about it? Possible, I guess, but he never says that's what he did afterward or makes reference to it. And as I said in my edit, there were men in that group who were loyal to Barbrey Dustin. Were they killed too? Did the Dustin/Ryswell men help kill the others? I think it's left open-ended enough that I'm not sure what really happened is ever actually conveyed, which makes me think something more could come of it.

Considering Roose lied about what happened at Winterfell and the fact that Robb never learned about Manderly's/Boltons fighting in the Wolfwoods its entirely likely that Roose would have done something to remove as many Loyalists as he could.IIRC Robb's messages got intercepted or something didn't they which is why he never learned that Ramsey kidnapped lady hornwood or any of that.

They could be alive but if they aren't mentioned again we have to assume Roose had them killed

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I had forgotten all about the Weeper. In the prologue we hear he's gathering the survivors at the Milkwater for another attack on the Shadow Tower, and then he kills Jon's rangers and leaves their heads near the Castle Black gate, and Mance believes that if the wildlings turn to him it'll go badly for the Wall.



I wonder what will happen with him.


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