Big Roles with Bigger Questions

[One-eyed Misbehavin]

I thought about some of the more minor (and obviously) main characters in the series and began to think about which ones really do intrigue me the most. Feel free to point me elsewhere but I thought it would be nice to speculate on some non-essential, cool, or completely necessary plot lines moving forward. I will go back and "infer"  (speculate) all of these at some point. Feel free to ignore my list, but I was going to make a few examples 

Lady Stoneheart 

Euron

Marwyn 

Ramsay and Roose

Sand Snakes

Doran.... Doesn't seem as dumb as the forum suggests 

Bran (had to)

Davos... Post Rickon rescue/alliance/deal

Manderly are his wounds bad?

Victarion and that thing where his hand used to be

The BWB post Stoneheart (is that seriously gonna last)

LF and exactly what kinda power he has

Jamie

Brienne

Howland Reed 

Houses Dayne,Hightower,Reed

 

[KendrikDmer84]

My first go, as it's been awhile since I re read. I'll have to come back and fill in more later.

Lady Stoneheart: I think once she hears that all her kids but Robb are alive will either die outright or pass the Flame to one of her kids in need of it.

 

Euron: I think he'll resist the King in the North (and any other king). He'll try to keep the Iron Isles free. Unless any other king decides to leave them be, Euron will likely die, Theon or Asha will ascend and, realizing it's ultimately a better idea, one or both will marry someone handed to them from a bannerman. A Karstark, an Umber, a Manderley, maybe even Meera Reed.

Marwyn (future fill in)

Ramsay and Roose (future fill in)

Sand Snakes: I think some will die. I think Sarella is Alleras at the Citadel. She'll forge her chain, become a maester and THEN reveal herself. Maybe she'll stay in Oldtown to change the fact that women are barred from the Citadel. Or maybe she'll serve House Martell as their maester.

Doran: (future)

Bran: Finishes learning and helps Jon and company defeat the Others. After that, he might stick around, but I wouldn't be surprised if he goes North of the Wall (if it's still standing) or to the Neck and live peacefully as the 3 eyed crow until needed again.

Davos: I don't think he'll survive the war with the Others. I like him, he can fight, but like Ned, his honor and sense of duty may well lead to his death.

Manderly (future)

Victarion and that thing where his hand used to be: Not sure about his "hand" but I don't see him surviving either. Wouldn't be surprised if the dragons fry him.

The BWB post Stoneheart (is that seriously gonna last): (future)

LF and exactly what kinda power he has: Part of me thinks he's too stubborn to die. He'll talk his way out of everything, even if he just disappears back to the Fingers. But I wouldnt mind someone cutting him down. 

Jamie: Likely dies. Possibly protecting Cersei, though he may be the valonqar, even unwittingly. If he ends up killing her unintentionally, he may kill himself.

Brienne: Wed to Tormund and growing a family

Howland Reed: I'd like to see him appear in the future books. I'd like to hear his version of the Tower of Joy. He may be part of unlocking the truth of Jon's parentage. (I still think he's Ned's)

Houses Dayne,Hightower,Reed (future)

Had fun with this! Good way to wade into conversations. Thanks for the brain food. 

[chrisdaw]

Stoneheart shows Arya what life without the capacity for love looks like. Arya decides a life without love is worth nothing and a leader without the capacity for mercy is dangerous, she destroys Stoneheart and turns the corner in her own arc away from the dark path she is currently set on.

Euron is not a non-essential. He will ally with Dany to get a child on her to sacrifice, but in that he will fail. He will then turn to Arianne to get a child on her sacrifice, he will succeed, and by his horn and sacrifice he will successfully second life Drogon. He will have also caught greyscale from Arianne.

Drogon with Euron having second lifed him will cease to exist as a dragon and become the stone beast, part dragon, part man, part kraken and part stone. It will breathe greyscale and won't breathe fire. It will turn further and further to stone as the greyscale blood takes effect.

Eventually the stone beast will lose the ability to fly and become completely waterborne, fight a leviathan and then sink into the ocean. At the bottom of the ocean the stone beast will break apart, and Euron will re-emerge as a humanoid. The stone beast either becomes one of those big mazes of history, or Euron finds himself in one at the bottom of the ocean, and he takes it for his keep. Within his keep he will hold the essence of the stone beast which was once the dragon's essence, it will be a black oily stone.

Like the Others, Euron will be able to exert control over people and things that either die and he reanimates or that catch the greyscale of the stone beast. Where the Others are ice, Euron and his army will be stone, where the Others are blue Euron's eyes and the like will be green.

The ocean will run dry.

Euron will basically be in competition with the Others for the souls of humans on Westeros. Many people will join him willingly, seeing it as a choice between what Euron offers or the Others. He will become their god. His price for offering them stone immortality and the ward against the Others will be their children. He will force people to procreate and he will sacrifice their children, and with the black oily stone join them to animals to create sphinxes, magical hybrid creatures under his command.

Westeros will eventually flee the Others into the Narrow Sea, and when they are bunkered in there with their guard up towards the west where they expect the Others to attack from, Euron will rise at the head of his army of darkness from the east and attack them in the rear.

Cersei seems to feature in this on Euron's side though I'm not sure the extent of her role, or if she comes to be enslaved or an always willing participant/leader. Jaime seems to be leading forces against Euron.

Eventually the dothraki will cross the dried narrow sea and smash into Euron's rear, and Dany will die and second life the black oily stone at the heart of Euron's maze, and when she does she will emerge as a proper big fire breathing dragon and melt Euron's keep. If that's what fatally does for Euron or someone else does it I'm not sure. But when either Euron dies or Dany second lifes the black oily stone, everyone who had the greyscale and was under Euron's command will be cured of the greyscale and his command.

Marwyn don't know.

Ramsay or Stannis will kill Roose and Jon will take Winterfell and kill Ramsay, Ghost will kill his dogs.

Lady Nym may be defeated by Arya in one on one combat, so that Arya may take her face and infiltrate Aegon's council.

Doran seems set to survive to see Dany (perhaps with Tyrion) toast his lands and Arianne die. Point being he never should have went looking for revenge.

Bran rejects Bloodraven's willingness and plan to make heinous sacrifices to save the realm from the Others and forges a new path with only honest fighting sacrifices. He or/as Summer destroys Bloodraven.

Through time meddling Bran will accidentally fuck things up royally, perhaps planting the seeds of Euron's plans in Euron's head.

Jaime will be defeated by the North and brought before a weirwood for judgement. Bran will have come to understand the meaning of "the things I do for love" through treenet viewing and himself with Meera, and be unable to bring himself to sentence Jaime to death. He will through the tree spare Jaime.

Davos will become Jon's hand. He will his fingerbones and then the black oily stone for either Jon or Dany. He might end up as Hand at the very end of the series.

Manderly provide Jon ships for his conquest south.

Victarion I am really unsure, but he seems to have a long way to go, probably fighting either Garlan or Loras at some stage and maybe getting that Valyrian steel axe.

The BWB can end either two ways. Their slaughter, or their pardons for bending the knee and accepting the rule of their IT. It will be the second so it will be a question of how it comes to be. I think Jaime/Tyrion/Sansa will reinstate Edmure and that will be what sees them rejoin the king's peace.

LF is fodder for Sansa when she has her awakening.

Jaime be part of Stoneheart's fall. He will become Dany's prisoner and sentenced to death for killing Aerys. The people and particularly Lancel as part of the Faith will rise up to save him and throw Dany out of King's Landing. In the aftermath Jaime will take control of the city, and will be offered the role of king permanently by High Septon Lancel, he will refuse. He will take part in Sansa's trial by Seven to defend her against Cersei's allegation she murdered Joff, he will kill five of the kg in the trial. He will help Tyrion/Sansa defeat Cersei for the crown in a grand council. He will become Tyrion's Hand and LC of the KG. He and Tyrion will fight and Tyrion will dismiss him. When Jon marches south of Tyrion's throne Tyrion will urgently recall Jaime to bring and lead forces into battle on his behalf, Jaime will answer the call but be defeated.

Eventually king Tyrion, queen Sansa, High Septon Lancel and Jaime will end up in KL, defeated without hope to win the war, with Jon bearing down on them. Tyrion will order something terrible and Lancel will never ally the Faith with Jon's northern/wildling/R'hllor/Dany army. Jaime will kill Lancel and Sansa will poison Tyrion. When Jon arrives to do justice Jaime will confess to murdering Tyrion to prevent Jon from taking Sansa's head. Probably here he gets to take the black.

Beds and impregnates Brienne somewhere along the way.

He dies heroically either fighting the Others or Euron's army, holding them off long enough for Dany/Jon to wake the dragon. I'm not sure who he fights though, lately I lean towards Euron's army as that is where I think Cersei is.

Brienne becomes the first ever female knight, fights on Sansa's behalf in her trial, gets pregnant by Jaime and so is dismissed from the KG in disgrace, becomes a stay at home mum, a sacrifice she makes for her child.

Reed seems to exist solely for letting R+L=J out of the bag. Probably he tells and convinces Dany of it.

Edric and Darkstar will do epic swordly things. Hightowers will fall to Euron and provide him some more magically understanding and power.

[Curled Finger]

Oooooooh  juicy one, @One-eyed Misbehavin.   I will give Marwyn a shot since he seems to have been avoided.    Of course, it's all just speculation until we get the facts.    

Marwyn takes off in a hurry to catch a fast boat to Dany last we saw.    He is an archmaester specializing in the higher mysteries.  He leaves a burning glass candle in his haste to board a boat.  What's on that boat?  Maester Aemon's body pickled in rum?  Some priceless or at least ancient writing from the library at The Wall?  Gilly and Mance's son?  A bunch of life and love worshipping Summer Islanders who befriended Sam?

Marwyn specifically mentions Aemon to Sam, intimating that he should have become an archmaester, not abandoned to The Wall to live in obscurity.    He blames the Citadel for this.   Marwyn seems to further intimate that the Citadel is not the palace of learning it should be.   Sam is left with Alleras, a gifted scholar and archer, Pate, who could be a dangerous assassin and Leo Tyrell, who is a jerk with some history with Sam.   And a burning glass candle, presumably so that Alleras or Pate or even Leo can keep an eye on something or one.   In that Marwyn was already aware of Sam and his tale it's not unlikely that he's watching the reception area at the Citadel.  Marwyn's haste to board the ship appears to have been a quick decision prompted by Sam's tale.   I think he's headed to Dany and will find himself smack in the middle of Slavers Bay during the battle of fire.   A maester would be a nice addition to Dany's counsel.   A magician could possibly teach her how to control her dragons.    Maybe.   

Qyburn and Miri Maz Dur studied with Marwyn.   It's safe to assume that Marwyn knows some about surgery, healing, blood magic and necromancy.   I say he's going to bring Aemon back and heal Barristan Selmy (what? you would rather Grey Worm is mortally wounded and brought back?)  along the lines of Ser Robert Strong and create an entire nation of catatonic half dead zombies for Dany to take to Westeros.   

[Nevets]

Many of these everyone is interested in:

Jon's survival - How and what next?

Jaime/Brienne/Lady Stoneheart - Who survives, who dies, what next?

Arya - How, why, and when does she leave the FM.  (I do not believe for a second she becomes a trained assassin.)  Does Jeyne Poole play a part?

Sansa - How, why, and when does she take out LF and become a real player?  Does she go North?

Davos - I think he is our POV for Hardhome, and winds up in the Far North.  Even if he gets Rickon, I don't think he makes it south of the Wall anytime soon.

Battle of Winterfell - Who wins?,, who dies?  I think Wyman won't make it, nor did he expect to.  With (f)Arya gone, I think Roose and/or Ramsay make a run for the Dreadfort.

Howland Reed, Benjen Stark, Ashara Dayne, Richard Lonmouth (aka Lem Lemoncloak, I think).  Some or all of these will appear to give us information of Rhaegar/Lyanna/Tower of Joy.

 

Others mentioned in the thread:

Euron.  I can't get interested in the Ironborn, but I have to admit that Euron is being set up as the next Big Bad.  I think he may gain control of a dragon and be one side of Dance 2.0.

Sand Snakes - Sarella is the only I'm remotely interested in, and that's because of her proximity to Sam.

Marwyn - Could be an interesting mentor to Dany if he can reach her in time.  To be honest, though, I cannot get interested in Dany, Tyrion, etc. until they reach at least the Free Cities.  Until then, they are so separate they don't really matter.

That's it for now.