Wouter

Sure, but you don't think the Stonemen - and Connington getting infected - are going to play a role in the books (where there is also Val's dramatic reaction to Shireen) beyond Connington dying from it at some point? Anyway, I think Jorah will take over the part of Connington that relates to Greyscale. Whatever him being infected is going to do in the books, will (I think) be taken by Jorah in the show.

Edd was involved anyway, who was among those who grabbed Slynt. Having Alliser first block him, then think better of it and step aside was a nice touch.

Jon and Dany have long been acknowledged (on the book forums) as the two main candidates for the "saviour" role. By having two such figures, Martin isn't making things too transparent for us! Both, as well as other like Bran, likely have their roles to play against the Others.

The previously.tv unsullied, who are among the most attentiveTV watchers on the planet, like Jon's storyline this season (including his interactions with Stannis) and the execution scene of Slynt went over really well. I also thought this was a very good scene, and actually quite close to the books. Jon gets contrasted positively to Dany (Mossador), Theon (Cassel) and even Robb (Karstark) to some extent. He is the only one who gained followers/respect with the move. Arguably, Jon is the star of the season.

The woman in the foreground that the camera lingered on in Winterfell, is Ramsay's sadistic GF and "henchwoman" Myranda. She is already jealous of Sansa, in a way that seems to indicate book-Myranda (Royce) in the Vale may turn on Sansa in the future. In the show, it is a given that Myranda (whatever her surname happens to be) will attempt to take it out on Sansa. Sophie Turner's "traumatic scene" likely has to do with her, possibly Ramsay turns on her and expects Sansa to join in the "fun". As for LF, I'm not sure he really has no idea who and what Ramsay is. He has not been telling the truth to the Boltons, but the act of delivering Sansa to them does indicate, on the other hand, that he underestimates them anyway. I hope the show will deliver some kind of reasoning of what Sansa is hoping to accomplish to undermine the Boltons, because as of yet her and LF's motivations are murky. I don't think there will be a flux-equivalent. Nor do I think Jorah will take the Connington-role as a whole - but he may well get infected with Greyscale (as Connington was) and carry it to Westeros, much later. Greyscale has been build up to such an extent that it is going to play a role, and it's not going to replace the bloody flux (which Dany and Tyrion would not succumb too, anyway).

I disagree. I doubt the Vale will be "pointless" in the books, and just like Jaime isn't going to Dorne anytime soon in the books I doubt Sansa will go north before she gets involved in (f)Aegon's and Dany's wars in the south. The show will get to the same ending, but the road may differ greatly from now on.

The Red Priestess seemed to take notice of Tyrion, much in the same way as Moqorro did in the books.

I agree that it looks like Brienne will have to choose between revenge on Stannis or saving Sansa. If so, I'll think she'll choose for Sansa. She may not even meet with Stannis in that case, as Sansa may be fleeing to the south (to the Riverlands or back to the Vale), rather than to Stannis. After all, in the books she is there and I still suspect Sansa in Winterfell will be similar to Jaime in Dorne. Looks like Tyrion and Jorah will meet the Stone men on their journey. Greyscale has been mentioned a lot, lately. I expect Jorah to take this part of Connington's role from the books. Loved the scenes on the Wall. Jon/Stannis/Davos and Jon/Alliser/Slynt, great stuff. It's obvious that Myranda will get involved in the Ramsay/Sansa thing. Which makes me wonder if Myranda Royce will turn on Sansa in the books, as I doubt the name and the jealousy in both characters is a coincidence.

It does not exclude her. But we have to realise, the invasion of the Others is near. To lead a besieged castle or a desperate defense in the field, you need men like Stannis or Jon Snow, and equivalents. There will not be much politicking to do once the north enters its most desperate hour. And while there are politics in the north, too, Jon Snow has this angle covered already. By now, Sansa knows the political situation in the Vale by heart and she also personally knows many of the key players in Highgarden, Casterly rock and King's Landing. Her knowledge of northern nobles may start to be outdated as the political and military situation changes quickly. She certainly lacks the personal bonds with people like the Manderlys, compared to her contacts with Robin, Harry, LF, Tyrion, Cersei, Margaery etc. I want to stress again that Sansa is sitting on a pile of food. This is important. Multiple regions are in danger of starving. Another potentially huge contribution to the Stark cause would be to convince Dany to go support the Wall/the north, which may be an issue depending on how Dany's storyline will turn out (where will she land, which are the goals? If she concentrates on the Iron Throne, someone will have to convince her to turn north). The snow castle was a very nice scene, but it is not a 100% guarantee that she will return north in the near future. One would hope the remaining Starks would all reunite at Winterfell at some point, but I would expect that only in the aftermath of both the Dance v2.0 and the long night 2.0.

The Vale has food. I think this will be very important once winter is fully present and the Others attack. We also have to consider that the wall will likely be breached, and probably much of the north will be overrun (though maybe not Winterfell, with its handy central heating system). I think that leading a heroic resistance is right up Jon's (and possibly Stannis') ally, with Rickon possibly acting in a figurehead capacity. I don't see much use for Sansa in such a situation; politicking down south, getting potential allies to act (like with the food of the Vale - very handy if a Stark could exert some control over that) and befriending potential enemies (within reason, of course) is what I would expect her to be doing. Sansa has "southern" skills, IMO. As much as she misses Winterfell, she may be better suited to, say, Highgarden than to the harsh north.

I doubt Sansa's future lies in the north. As we know, the Vale has virtually been sealed off from the outside world, other than by boat (or dragon). Winterfell is in the midst of snowstorms right now and Sansa isn't near it. Nobody in the north (except Bran and Bloodraven, possibly) know where she is. And a campaign by Vale arms, into the north, isn't going to start while the winter has the land in its grip. LF's plans are longterm, IMO, and thus will not come to fruition due to events like Dance of Dragons v2.0 and invasion of the others. I think Stannis will win the battle for Winterfell and take the castle, but he has been dismissive of "lady Lannister" and as we saw with Jeyne Poole, if he got either Stark sister he is likely to make a marriage for her (allthough ironically, since he recognises the marriage to Tyrion he might not do so for Sansa). I don't think Sansa would have much use for her court experience and LF tutelage in Stannis' court, so I think she will remain in southern lands. Since she is in the Vale, which is also the breadbasket of westeros now (important! civil war + winter = hunger), I guess her story will develop there until Dany lands and she may be swept up in the "Dance". Tyrion also has some loose ends in the Vale, not just the clans but also LF and Sansa herself, I think there will be a confrontation of sorts if Sansa hasn't yet turned on LF. I could also see Sansa being the first Stark to deal with Dany; if there is any situation where Sansa's diplomatic skills can be put to good use it's in that arena. Dany is hostile to the Starks but can generally be reasoned with, and Sansa might be well placed to deflect the initial hostility and forge an alliance of sorts. It will be interesting to see, in relation to the books, if Sansa would return south at the end of S5, or end up with Stannis. Based on what I wrote above, I think it more likely that the journey north will turn out to be a side-step with her returning to the south (river lands of Vale) in late S5 or early S6. If she doesn't, I may have to revise my book predictions as it seems unlikely to me the character arc would diverge so much from the books.

That's a nice catch! Like almost everybody, I read it in the way it was meant to be understood (Marillion went mad and murdered Lysa), but in isolation that sentence speaks perfectly about "father" too (he did go mad when he kissed "Alayne", in a way). And it's true that Lysa showed Marillion too much favour, but he wasn't the one who went mad.

Source? AFAIK we know next to nothing about Highgarden, but I see no reason to doubt it is a "real castle". Will they ride out in full strength? I don't think Garlan told us his strategy. Anyway, if they do ride out in full strength the trade-off is that the Ironborn will be able to attack a lot of places without punishment (as this big army can only be in one place at a time), but they are extremely unlikely to be "massacred". A massed Reach army, with plenty of well-armoured knights (the Reach being the heigth of medieval chivalry with knight galore), would make short work of an Ironborn force on land, and if the ironborn stay on their ships they can hardly massacre a large army. And it's not because Rodric left Winterfell undefended that Willas and/or Garlan are going to be making the same mistake. It should even serve as a warning to always defend your main castle well, no matter how much you need troops elsewhere. As I wrote earlier, I very much doubt Euron is near the Reach, as of late ADWD. Moqorro indicated that Euron was following Victarion, when he described his vision of a tentacled squid with a red eye in a sea of blood (paraphrasing). Euron's goal is in Slaver's Bay, not in the Reach. He is not interested in the Seastone chair, only in the dragons and the Iron Throne. They could turn back. But they know what happened the last time they left their own seas/lands. They may want to stay.

1)Aegon is going to be a significant player anyway, by getting the support of Arianne (and associated Dornish armies). With the help of the Dornish, he can defeat the Tyrell army that was sent to deal with him, especially if they don't realise in time that the Dornish have joined him. 2)Even if the battles go poorly for the Tyrells, they are unlikely to lose their main castle to Ironborn invaders - a siege or assault on a well-manned castle isn't their specialty 3)If the Ironborn take Oldtown, Sam may not be able to leave. He would be better off with the Redwynes clearing the seas and lifting the blockade around Oldtown. 4)Since the Redwyne fleet is moving to the western shore in order to fight the Ironborn, the east will be wide open even if they win. And wooden ships are perfect targets for dragons anyway, not much of an obstacle. 5) Meta-reason: Theon and Asha are still in the books for a reason, and a replay of the kingsmoot with this most unlikely pair seems a good reason for that. IMO Euron will f*ck it up to such a degree that the remaining Ironborn will be desperate for any reason to get rid of his kingship. 6) The Tyrells would be neutralised as threat to Aegon anyway should Margaery die for any reason, and the following things are potentially threatening her at the end of ADWD: -Cersei ordering "ser robert" to kill her -Varys ordering his "little birds" to kill her, or doing it himself -The Faith condemning her. Conviction looks unlikely at the moment, and the Tyrell army would stop any execution, but who knows what a fanatical Sparrow or a particularly pious knight might do The same is true if Tommen dies or if Cersei would grab him and run out of KL to Casterly Rock with him. As long as the end result is no queen Margaery, the way for Aegon is wide open.

I agree that Euron anticipates the reaction of the Tyrells and the Redwynes, but I'm not sure this means the confrontation between Ironborn and Tyrells+Redwyne fleet will end well for the Ironborn. After all, Euron sent the best part of his fleet away (Victarion with the dedicated warships of the Iron Fleet) while the Redwyne fleet will come at full force. If they can trap the Ironborn longships, Garlan has his opportunity to destroy them. I doubt Euron is even present with the Ironborn in and near the Reach, as I suspect he is following Victarion in some way. If he is absent (in that case because his real goal are the dragons and he doesn't care much about the Ironborn as such - they only would have been a way to secure the Iron Fleet for his plans), then I think disaster will strike the Ironborn (not that I mind!). And once disaster strikes, they will have so much second thoughts about their king that any excuse for a new King's moot (looking at Theon and Asha) will do.

"grey lips smiling sadly" = Greyjoy - almost literally. It would go for any Greyjoy, including Victarion, and since he is actually coming to Dany and suspected to have died in his cabin (and revived R'Hlorr style)... Regarding Victarion and the defenders of Meereen, while it would be in-character for the ironmen in general and Vic in particular to just cut through everyone, he may yet turn out to make a distinction between those he thinks follow "his" dragon queen and those who don't. He seemed to have the idea that Dany would marry him willingly (not that he would accept a no, but I got the impression he doesn't expect one), and then her followers would also be his.

Nice observation. "grey lips smiling sadly" always screamed "Greyjoy", but combine this with Moqorro giving him the fiery hand and the suggestion that Victarion is now something akin to Melisandre or Beric is there. Considering the condition Jon was in at the end of ADWD, and the proximity of Melisandre, he might undergo a similar process in TWOW (it would be handy to have his own internal heating source anyway, considering the circumstances at and around the Wall). The "black tentacles" Moqorro was talking about may be Euron's rather than Moqorro's, though.

No it will most likely be protected by a serious Tyrell army, in addition to the Goldcloaks and the few Lannister guards present.

What would be the motive to do so? Right now, the Tyrells are the boss at KL. They control Tommen and his small council, and Tommen is fond of Margaery. Why would they give that up to cower at Aegon's feet instead? Especially while Aegon is planning to marry Dany (and failing that, I'd think Arianne has a way better chance than Margaery to marry him)? If Tommen dies (say, by Varys' hand), then the Tyrells have reason to drop the Lannister/Barathen pretense, but not before that, unless it is a last-ditch effort to get Aegon's favour if Connington and the GC look like winning in spite of Highgarden's best efforts.

Not the Highgarden forces. Part of the Highgarden forces did, they very likely did not sent everything (which would mean they lose de-facto control over KL!).

Young Darry is dead, too. The only (half) Darries left are the Frey offspring like Amerei Frey. The Lannisters did the same thing to the Darrys as to the Starks, only more succesfull in killing them all off and then taking their lands for themselves (were it not for Lancel refusing at the last moment). I don't think there is a Darry connection for the tapestries. Lord Darry hid tapestries from Robert that Tyrion found, but I don't think those ended up at KL later. They may still be at castle Darry now, if Gregor and co didn't burn or loot them.

Timmay; Raymun Darry is dead, killed by Gregor and/or his men when they took Darry castle and, true to form, put everyone in it to the sword.

Nobody really came up with a convincing theory for the tapestries - people have formed theories based on the tapestries being Targaryen ones (to proclaim allegiance for Aegon and/or Dany) or depicting a lineage of Baratheons (to "prove" Tommen is a Lannister and not the rightful king). However, from the text it actually seems more likely the tapestries are just scenes that Robert happened to like. Theories that start from this POV propose that LF may have only been testing Cersei to see if she still considered LF her friend (in which case, she would agree to send them) or that he used the tapestries to smuggle something out of KL (but what?).

It seems unlikely the Storm lords have much love for Aegon and Connington at this time - some of the reports on the readings mentioned that the captive ladies and lords (who remained in the captured castles) were not happy with Connington. The way he treats his own family in Griffin's Roost may be an indication of this; he certainly hasn't been making any friends there.

I think it is actually more likely to be Tarly rather than Mace himself - assuming Mace will want to stay close to Margaery and oversee her protection (and Tyrell interests in the small council) himself. Tarly is then the logical replacement to command the army sent to the south. I would expect Red Ronnet to be part of the force going south.