Only 2,000 available to fight?

[Challenger1978]

38 minutes ago, Frey Pie said:

Anyone thinking the ironborn might show up? Theons going to help Asha take the throne, which likely means she wins. Could Theon sway some men into joining hin in helping Jon and Sansa? He kinda owes them...be an excellent way of redemption 

I've had a feeling that might happen but i just can't see the Iron born wanting to help the Starks though. Then you have Euron and his plotline.

[Tagganaro]

37 minutes ago, Frey Pie said:

I also detest the thought of Jon and Sansa needing LFs help in retaking the north....especially if it means slaughtering the northern lords. Jon and Sansa should both want to kill LF

I don't like it either, but I'm tolerating it because I don't believe LF is long for this world, and Jon/Sansa will eventually turn on him.

As far as the numbers go, yeah, it's clear the show has lowered them significantly.  Which makes perfect sense from a TV cost/scale perspective.  Also keep in mind that the show needs to hammer home how weak the Night's Watch is and how defunct the Wall has become as a result.  We need a situation where the Starks have a limited amount of troops available to them so that it can lead into Jon and Sansa going off on recruitment trips to other Northern Lords (i.e. Manderly and Mormont).

[Frey Pie]

1 hour ago, TickTak7 said:

They need him. Or, more specifically, his troops. 

Use him, take his troops, secure Winterfell, then kill him. 

Exactly, his troops. Whatever happens in the books, and I can see Sansa brining Vale troops North with her, the Vale won't be Littlefingers troops. To see Bronze Yohn reduced to that...does he not have any of his own men? Who is he lord to then?

 

I'd prefer the kill him, sway SweetRobin to your side, give Bronze the army and voila! Alliance without the nauseating LF 

[Frey Pie]

1 hour ago, Challenger1978 said:

I've had a feeling that might happen but i just can't see the Iron born wanting to help the Starks though. Then you have Euron and his plotline.

I feel Euron may be taking Victarions plotline as well as some of his own e.g. he loses the Kingsmoot  (otherwise why bring back Theon?) and he's sent (or goes himself) to find and manage an alliance with Dany, planning to marry her and usurp the throne. Meanwhile Theon convinces Asha to help the North, meaning we have a Vale, North, Ironborn alliance

I would also hate though to have Ramsay and his 20 good men so good in battle that it takes that much might to bring them down....so perhaps Theon and Asha will be sent to Dany. Someone has to go, otherwise we have too many Krakens spoiling the broth so to speak

[Felguy]

I think you are overlooking something crucial. 

 

100.000 wildlings gathered to attack the wall. Failed the first wave (battle of season 4 that was).  Then came stannis,  only took a small amount of Wildlings,  mainly the ones who he needed. 

 

The rest? Scattered again North of the wall. Then at Hardhome the only people who made it are the ones who came on the boats, who Jon let through the gates. That wasn't even close to 100.000

 

 

[Illiterati]

15 hours ago, Prince of the North said:

I don't understand what you're saying here?  Do you mean that the Vale forces can't be assembled in such a short time?  If so, I agree.  Maybe Littlefinger goes ahead and meets with Sansa somehow (never mind how he would know where to find her, etc.)?  

Exactly!  The Vale army most likely wouldn't need to save the wildling army if it were, say, 10,000 strong

What I mean is this.....If LF meets Sansa next week, that means that either they have joined forces already by loading everyone on C-130s, so no surprise cavalry charge is in store, or LF had Scotty beam him up to CB while the Vale forces were being gathered.and prepared to march.  If that would be the case, what would LF's angle be in not pledging his forces, but waiting until the moment of collapse to come in and save the day?  I'm not saying he wouldn't do that, but what would he gain from it?

LF has stated that they need to march on CB to protect Sansa from an impending Bolton attack.  If he sent the pink letter, which I suspect is show reality (I'm measuring that he put Umber up to depositing Rickon and Osha, I don't think SmallJon is a strategist...I think we'll learn LF knows more than we thought he knew about the goings-on in both places), then he knows it's more likely that Snow marches on Winterfell than it is that Bolton marches on CB.

And to answer my own query, I think what he has to gain from it is power, which is his perennial goal.

[tormund's beard]

lf has build an underground maglev train from the vale to the crypts of winterfell travel time is no issue for batfinger.