James Steller

That’s a very well put answer. I particularly like the point you made about how Gondor’s greatest defensive centres are now basically useless. Minas Tirith, Osgiliath, Cair Andros, they’re all meant to defend against enemies who have been replaced by the ocean. Plus if we’re going by Denethor’s reign, the Gondorians won’t be in a position to fortify the northern border before invasions begin. One benefit to this would be the fact that Denethor would no longer be affected by the Palantir. I assume it wouldn’t work anymore, given that they’re no longer in Middle Earth, but that also means Sauron isn’t corrupting Denethor anymore. That could either lead to Denethor making a mental and spiritual recovery (or a complete breakdown as he tries to fathom what happened). By contrast, Faramir suffers because he isn’t benefiting from the sort of favouritism which Tolkien bequeathed him in his world. We don’t really know the capabilities of Gondor’s military. They’d benefit from no longer having to fight Nazgul, but Daenerys’ dragons are still going to be devastating.

But the Gondorians have basically lost their long lives by the time of Denethor. It’s arguably Gondor at their weakest. Plus I don’t think they’re any taller than many other people in Westeros. So many of the main characters are over six feet tall, and the Mountain would dwarf everyone, even Aragorn.

That really depends on which era of Gondor we’re talking about. I’m sure they’d be shocked by the dragon-riding Targaryens too.

Well, regardless of anything else, the people of Anorien will be pleased with their new coastline.

I wasn’t claiming that Varys or Illyrio inherited Blackfyre. And I’m confident that after Bittersteel died, there was this unspoken rule set in place that only the heir to House Blackfyre could wield the sword. That sounds even less likely than what I hypothesized. You’re implying that the Targaryens had Blackfyre at the time of Robert’s Rebellion? Why didn’t Rhaegar use it against him in battle? And if he did, why wouldn’t Robert claim it for his own? And even if Aerys didn’t trust his son with Blackfyre, why wouldn’t Tywin immediately claim it for himself during the loot? or alternatively, wouldn’t he be pissed that he never found it? Why would nobody bring up the fact that the great sword Blackfyre was lost so recently?

I feel like we would have known that a long time ago if such was the case. I’m confident that the Golden Company still has the sword, and we’ll see fAegon wield it before the end.

It goes beyond the Dance. Blackfyre’s inexplicable recovery post-Conquest is just as weird to me. Why would the Dornish ever return that sword to House Targaryen after murdering Daeron under a flag of truce? (Assuming that account is accurate anyway).

Except Aegon II, Viserys son of Aerys, and Aerion

This isn’t a defence of incest, to be clear. I'm just curious about this notion that Valyrians must keep the bloodline pure (especially considering that it’s the bond to dragons that Valyrians wanted to preserve). But while I can see why Targaryens would depend on incest in order to preserve that dragon bond. But what about in Old Valyria, where there were dozens of dragon-riding families to choose from?

Would it? We know Balon’s prowess, but I don’t recall if Arys was actually any good.

For one thing, I don’t think it could ever make sense for Arya to return from Braavos so quickly to meet up with Davos, who really had no reason to be in Barrowton for Ramsay’s wedding. The Dorne note doesn’t make sense: why do the Mountain’s teeth matter? I also don’t like the idea of Kevan going back to Casterly Rock and settling down for winter. Admittedly, I wouldn’t mind Brienne facing off against the Hound, but it wouldn’t make sense in the context of what happened in ASOS.

As much as I have issues with AFFC, I’m glad it changed from this outline.

It feels a bit like the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt to me, and not just because of the 300 year reign of incest or the last descendant being a young and beautiful queen. Egypt did have an influx of Macedonians, hence the Valyrian houses in the Crownlands. But Alexander and Ptolemy didn’t impose their own values onto the Egyptians. In fact, Ptolemy and his family adopted Egyptian customs to endear themselves to their subjects. That was partly how they managed to endure for so long. Aegon the Conqueror is obviously a combination of Alexander and Ptolemy in this case, with the incest being an abnormality instead of customary to Westeros, but the parallels are still there as far as I can see.

True, and I’ll retract that, then. Though since we’re talking about that, I hate the way Tyrion reacts to Masha Heddle’s fate, as if she deserved it. I do mostly blame Rhaegar, you’re right. He strikes me as some kind of cultist and egomaniac. To have him be 100% correct about this prophecy would poison my entire experience with ASOIAF. And I wouldn’t blame the lords for wanting to dethrone Aerys. He was clearly unfit to rule. But I don’t think Rhaegar was much better if he was willing to desert his family and let who knows how many people die because of Lyanna.

I feel like either I’m misreading your tone or you are making a strange assumption about me. I have no vendetta against Catelyn, I was simply pointing out that she arrested Tyrion and brought him to the Vale. I’m of the opinion that Lyanna and Rhaegar are reprehensible people if they eloped. They were happy to hide away and let everyone think that Rhaegar abducted Lyanna. They were apparently content to sit back as war erupted across the Seven Kingdoms, killing countless people. And for what? For their love? To produce the third head? I really dislike the notion that their actions will be justified by their child saving humanity from the Others. I sincerely hope that GRRM won’t try to claim that starting a huge war (and indirectly causing an even bigger one as a result) is justified by the end result. That puts a nasty taste in my mouth. I’d rather the Others win than accept that notion.

“No soul knows his trouble High upon his throne, Loved by few and judged by many he bears that weight alone” Least Favourite POV Tyrion in AGOT (not because it’s boring or uninteresting, he just isn’t very likeable, especially the way he wants to take revenge on the entire Vale for something Catelyn did) Daenerys in ACOK It’s hard to pick a least favourite for ASOS, because even Daenerys’ story perks up in this book, but I’m still going with her Brienne in AFFC (except for her interactions with Meribald and the Brotherhood) Bran and Daenerys in ADWD Most Hated Characters Tywin Lannister Brynden “Bloodraven” Rivers (he’s technically in the main series, so he counts) Cersei Lannister Joffrey Baratheon Rhaegar Targaryen Lyanna Stark (assuming she was complicit in her “abduction”) Robert Baratheon

For the most part, I was very impressed with FAB. I like how it was a sort of historical text, just like how The Silmarillion is a sort of religious text. I liked the expansions on previous material (Princess and the Queen, Rogue Prince). It was great to let a deep dive on the reign of Jaehaerys. I also liked how people who’d previously been footnotes in TWOIAF (Rogar Baratheon, Unwin Peake, Rhaena Targaryen) became fully fleshed out into characters that we liked or disliked. It’s because of FAB that Aegon III has become one of my all time favourite GRRM characters. The downside is, predictably, that there wasn’t more material. Aegon the Conqueror remained undeveloped, for example. But really, my appetite for such material about GRRM’s universe could probably fill a series of books in its own right. I hope he doesn’t commit to just two FAB books, because there is so damn much left to explore as it is.

Balin: ”it’s not a show! IT’S AN ABOMINATION!”

A time jump between TWOW and ADOS makes more sense.

I know what you meant, but picturing thousands of orcs reading Vogue before wiping their arses with the pages is a hilarious mental image.

The Manderlys, presumably? Plus the North would have been trading with the southern regions for centuries. Otherwise what’s the benefit of House Frey’s bridge?

That was always one of my least favourite parts of LOTR. Aragorn in particular is annoying when he talks and acts like he expected everything to fall into place exactly as it does. There’s very little suspense or worry with his arc. He can just confidently tell Eomer that they’ll meet again, though all the hosts of Mordor stand between them. It’s one thing for a Tolkien character to curse someone in a vague way (“the vengeance of the House of Hador will find you yet!”) but when his characters just randomly become omniscient prophets, it undermines the sense of drama and urgency. Which was his point, I know, he was subverting a classic genre, but I’m just saying.

You mean the scene where Skylar was having a breakdown while trying to act like things were normal after her husband had raped her? and yes, that’s what happened. Walt absolutely was raping her, they hint at it when we see him in bed with her before the pool scene. That look of terror she has while he’s monologuing at her between kisses… it’s disgusting. I might be the only person who loathed and detested Walter White from season 2 onward, but I don’t care. He was the sort of monster that deserved a truly heinous comeuppance. Skylar was only detestable to me when she started supporting Walt against Hank and Marie.

The fact that you’re one of those Skylar haters says all I need to know.

Ramsay’s time is up. He’s not some genius strategist, nor is he even a deadly warrior. He is a psychopath who just got really lucky. If it wasn’t for Theon, he’d have rotted in Winterfell’s dungeons. I’ll grant him some low cunning, but he benefitted from treachery to get the advantage. Nothing more. He has served his purpose, and now there’s a new psychopath to present an even greater threat. If GRRM has any sense, he won’t prolong Ramsay’s demise.