Lord Lannister

Maybe. I tend to think the whole Penny arc is superfluous. Perhaps if she manages to get Tyrion giving a damn about the world again it'll be worth it.

She's one who appreciates the mundane things. She'd have no reason to want to open herself up to one of his mocking japes over something that may have meant a great deal to her but didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

Penny would think a fancy new saddle for her pig is grand.

Still using this message board to promote your YouTube channel I see.

In theory it seals two houses together, in practice a house is going to do what is in their interest even if their grandchild, niece or cousin happens to be a member of an opponents house.

Robb had Jaime, he was a threat and he proved he could win. Instead of declaring himself king he was in a perfect position to negotiate with Tywin for peace on his terms given the threat of Stannis and Renly.

It could be something as simple as keeping a hold of House Stark's seat of power.

Guess you have to draw the line somewhere.

Had Viserys stayed in Pentos, he probably would've ended up with the Golden Company in (f)Aegon's place. Unlike Aegon, there's no question about the legitimacy of his birth or claim. Illyrio was always planning a Targaryen restoration with Aegon, but once Viserys and Dany came into his hands, they became more important pieces. Once Viserys got himself killed and Dany went off to Mereen never to be seen again, he brought out Aegon again.

Well there is Melisandre's vision that the 3ER and Bran are the Greath Others champions. So seems to be people are being deceived across the board be it by others or themselves. Maybe there's a big revelation coming that will twist everything but right now the zombie apocalypse that's coming seems rather... two dimensional, so it saddens me that it's going to take over the story inevitably.

Well I'd hope Martin is more clever than to have some global warming parallel be the driving force of his incessantly evil villains. I read to escape the crap in this world mostly. I'd also really hope they're more complicated than mindless monsters that are just awakened and attack randomly Egyptian mummy style. But can't discount that either. Honestly, given the Long Night supposedly happened well before there were Targaryens in Westeros, I'm not sure what relevance Rhaegar and Lyanna having a kid would have to them. But why not blame this on them too? But I'm more convinced they're just mindless dicks. No way of spinning laughing as you slaughter a helpless person.

A+J=T

I've only read the first three chapters so far, and as enjoyable as it is, it seems this isn't going to be much new material but a rehashing of stories we've already heard.

It's never specifically stated how he does it, but it's obvious he has some magically ability related to the Lord of Light to draw upon. Honestly, I prefer it that way. The more you try explaining magic the more silly it becomes.

Harren knew he was hated. Building a fortress that's impregnable in a centrally located area to project power does make sense. I'm honestly surprised the name stuck over three hundred years.