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3 heads of the dragon, and finishing the series in 2 books.


shadows and dust

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So my general question for this is: Can the 3 heads of the dragon just be symbolic of the 3 leaders who will be pivotal in the 3 world changing battles to come...  and not necessarily mean that the 3 will team up to conquer those battles together? That they are only related in the looser terms, Targ blood, and a general premise of the ‘good side’ against the ‘bad side’. That there will not be a Power Rangers or Captain Planet moment when they all combine. That when the 3 heads win their respective battles there will be peace, prosperity, and capable leaders to forge ahead in a less bleak future.

I ask for a couple reasons, just based on observations. 

Observation 1: As many have pointed out, there is simply not enough time/pages to wrap the story up in 2 books should Danny still need to do the many things on her assumed agenda. (Dothraki, Meereen, Volantis, Iron Born, Iron Throne, White Walkers, etc.) And in general, what is everyone else doing then if they need to wait for all these daring dos to unfold?

Observation 2: No matter how you spin it, Tyrion being a “dragon” is contrived. Any scenario that puts Jon Snow, Aegon, and Danny in the same room in the near future is contrived.

Observation 3: Aegon, real or not, makes more sense on the Iron Throne than Danny does. As far as character arcs go, Danny unrelenting in her quest for the Iron Throne shows no development. GRRM has certainly displayed a penchant for personal growth and development and for those growths (think Jamie) to lead people to actions they never would have imagined pursuing. It’s not too late for Danny to come of age. It took 2 books for Jamie. Danny has 2 left, and she was younger at the start.

 

 

So far as the books go, then, I see 3 heads of the dragon and I see 3 central conflicts in the book. Dragons: Danny, Jon, Aegon. Conflicts: Slavery, White Walkers, 7K Supremacy/Iron Throne. These might not be created equal, but they have been central themes throughout the book.

Allowing the 3 focal persons to resolve the 3 conflicts independently would smooth out the time line, keep things from coming across as too “plot”, and put together a reasonable path for the series finishing after TWOW and ADOS.

The purpose of TWOW, then, would be to cut/organize POV characters and set up the final three showdowns.

Danny can now spend TWOW traipsing about the grass desert, coming to terms with her change in desire from toppling 7K into toppling Slavery, and consolidating the strength and character POVs in Meereen to gear up for ADOS. Her story line in ADOS would be conquering Volantis, ending slavery, accepting that she will never sit the IT, and breaking the wheel or whatever she’d like to call it. The wheel now changing from 7 spokes into the chains and masters of a slave dominated society. After being overthrown, to not enslave the masters would be a break in what has become expected in a society of winners and slaves.

Aegon can spend TWOW getting onto the IT and can spend ADOS staying on it. I’d take his story line of uniting the Dorne POVs and KL POV and likely the Jamie/Brienne at some point. Aegon can take the throne from the Lannisters, or at least de-throne them. That allows Euron to continue his interesting arc. Euron and Aegon can rumble for the rule of Westeros in ADOS. Maybe Littlefinger gets the Vale to tip the balance in KL and gets Sansa on the throne with Aegon. Maybe they factor more into the Northern plotline, who knows.

Jon gets to settle up all the loose ends in the North in TWOW. If needed, he can wrangle in the Vale POVs too while he’s at it. Get a Stark in Winterfell (not Jon) and do some other stuff. By the time ADOS starts, the North power struggle is finished, leaving them ready for the final battle with the Night.

 

 

Anyway, in a world where the series ends over the next 2 books, that's a way I could see it playing out.

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Dany's TWOW arc could easily follow the show in terms of progression and still culminate with her ready to set sail to Westeros.  I for one believe Aegon is the 3rd head of the dragon, as Daemon Blackfyre was 100% Targaryen and I think Aegon is the last Blackfyre.  Whether they work together or not, remains to be seen.  But with TWOW having the battle of Mereen relatively early, that allows Selmy to set the stage for Dany to return with her new Dothraki Army and use her dragons to bring the slave cities under her quick control.  

We know Aegon is in Storm's End, so plenty of time for him to either establish his supremacy in Westeros or create a situation Dany can resolve when she makes land fall in ADOS.  I mean, once King's Landing is taken, where else does the story have to go but to the North and the Others?

Jon has all of book 6 to convince everyone he is Jesus and get the North united for the war against the Others.  How and when Dany and Aegon fit into this remains to be seen.  But the Targaryen's conquered Westeros with little to no actual combat compared to what they did with their Dragons.  Martin likes to repeat history, so I think that's where this is headed too.  For all we know, Bran will be able to break the land of always winter from the rest of the continent like the children broke the arm of Dorne.  We just don't know what direction it's headed, but I think  2 books is plenty of time to wrap it up.

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