Nevets

I think they were saying that Littlefinger caused Ned's death, which they regard as more serious than anything done to Jeyne. Littlefinger was certainly responsible for Ned's arrest. It's widely speculated by readers that he arranged Ned's execution as well but this isn't proven. In any case, I don't know how Sansa would find out about that even if it is true.

Lots of things wrong here. Sansa was not cruel to Jon. She did treat him a bit differently, in a snobbish sort of way, but no more than that. Jon has occasional thoughts about her, and they're never unfavorable. Sansa had every reason to believe Jeyne would be taken care of and would not come to harm. I strongly suspect she will not be happy when she finds out otherwise. The whip marks on Jeyne's back are a Chekhov's Gun if I ever saw one, and all clues lead to Littlefinger, and hence Sansa. I have a hard time imagining her killing Sweetrobin willingly or deliberately. By accident, maybe. But she's neither ambitious enough nor venal enough to do it on purpose. I got the impression that she was horrified at Joffrey's death. Admittedly, some of that may have been the realization of her own role, but while she didn't like him, I don't think she wanted him murdered. Yes, there are certain parallels between Sansa and Cersei. You can do that with lots of characters though. And trying to force commonalities isn't helpful and leads to bad conclusions.

Benjen is also the Hooded Man as well. Counting his own, that gives him four identities, all at least semi-serious.

Sansa doesn't trust Littlefinger and never did, from the moment she met him. So I don't see her becoming Cersei 2.0, especially considering how she regards Cersei. She might become a bit more ruthless and pragmatic, but considering where she is now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Given that she is disinclined to hurting people, I don't see her going too far.

Given how much she knows, Myranda Royce will be essential to get on Sansa's side. Harrold Hardyng is I think a red herring, and a redshirt. He's doomed. In order to take on LF she is going to need to get Yohn Royce on her side. He's the big pooh-bah in the Vale. She gets him, others will follow. How she gets to him I don't know. I think she eventually ends up going North. She will need to get the Manderlys on her side if she does. I believe Wylis, son of Wyman and father of Wylla, is in charge. Wylla is a well-known Stark fan, so Sansa might start with her. If she can get Yohn Royce and Wylis Manderly on her side, she has it made. If they oppose her, she's toast, but I don't see that happening. Mya Stone, Sandor, and Brienne are useful as friends and protectors, but not much good politically. It's also quite possible she could run into Arya and Jeyne Poole, especially if those two head for White Harbor. I don't see any real likelihood of Sansa getting involved with the Riverlands. She's spent no time there, and shown no interest. The North is home; that's probably where she'll head when she's ready to leave the Vale.

A shout-out to some of the young people: Meera Reed - She's the one holding their little band together. She's keeping them alive and making the big decisions. She did allow Bran to decide on their goal, but the rest has been up to her. She's brave, smart, loyal, a great outdoorsman, and more important for Bran's success than she gets credit for. Podrick Payne - He's loyal and persistent. He still wants to be with Tyrion despite feeling abandoned, and he managed to follow Brienne halfway across the Crownlands in the hopes that she would lead him to Sansa, and therefore Tyrion. The kid doesn't know the meaning of quit. That doggedness will serve him well in future. Jeyne Poole - She's still standing and sane, despite suffering physical and sexual abuse the likes of which I don't want to contemplate. And she's only 13 or so. She may not be strong, but she is certainly resilient. I think she'll hang around and make things interesting. Littlefinger, look out!

Martin put Dunk's shield in Tarth for a reason. The logical conclusion is that he is establishing a connection between Dunk and Tarth. It doesn't have to be Dunk himself; it could be a descendant who inherited it. Given Brienne's size and the Dunk/Tarth connection, concluding that she's a descendant of his is hardly unreasonable.

The problem is, times were good. The realm was at peace and there appears to have been wide prosperity as well. Any rebellion is going to have difficulty succeeding because no one wants a change in those circumstances. You will need overwhelming force and someone solid to be leader. Doran had neither. Once Robert dies and Ned is arrested, the political climate is more favorable. But then his plans were upended by Viserys's demise. If Dorne comes to harm it will most likely be due to the actions of the Sand Snakes, who still seem out for revenge, with innocents possibly in the line of fire. Another possibility is if Quentyn's mission becomes known.

The problem here is that if you look hard enough, are selective enough, and do lots of squinting, you can probably find commonalities between almost any pair of characters if you really want to. But there are huge differences as well Tywin's father was a weak ruler whose vassals didn't take him seriously and ran roughshod over him. Rickard Stark was someone even Roose was afraid of, but still generally beloved. Tywin is therefore probably more of a hard-ass than he might ordinarily be. Ned is taken seriously, but also loved by his vassals. They're even willing to fight, kill, and die for his young daughter, sight unseen. Hard to imagine that for Tywin, even if he had a young daughter. Tywin took up all the oxygen politically in his region. There is nobody to take his place, even temporarily. And he had no real succession plan. None of his kids was groomed, or even trained, to take over. The Manderlys have taken over temporarily, but want a Stark to take over. Ned's kids love one another and generally get along and currently miss one another greatly. They are also basically good people and solid citizens. The Lannisters, not so much. Even the best of them is a worse person than the worst Stark. There is much dislike and distrust, and constant plotting against one another. The Starks have nothing worse than sibling rivalry.

Catelyn releasing Jaime as part of an illusory prisoner exchange. Robb sending Theon as envoy to his own (known to be untrustworthy) father. Stannis and Renly unable to do anything but hurl insults when they should be joining forces. Arianne trying to set up Myrcella as queen. Blood would have flowed if she'd not been stopped.

Most dead characters fall into one of two categories. The first is those who had to die for the story to work. Their death had a major effect on the story or a character, or created a hole that needed filled. The second is those characters who it is difficult to imagine playing a useful part now. My candidates for the character he regrets killing off are: Janos Slynt; Oberyn Martell; Quentyn Martell; Kevan Lannister; Pycelle. Janos - Every hero needs a formidable antagonist. Janos was essentially the leader of the opposition. He was popular, and didn't agree with Jon on much of anything. No one left has that gravitas. Martin may be wishing he had someone able to give Jon a hard time. Quentyn - Quentyn could be useful as an ally and source of information. Maybe even try to get married after leaving Meereen. Oberyn - He was a useful source of chaos. It may be that Martin is finding the Sand Snakes aren't as useful for this as Oberyn was. Kevan and Pycelle - Their absence has yet to play out. It may be that their departure leaves too big a hole in KL and Martin is having trouble filling it. It may also be that he wants someone powerful in the Westlands, and with Kevan gone, there isn't one.

I suspect that the Houses along the Green Fork are vassals to the Freys. If so, they would be under Frey authority, and unable to build a bridge without permission, which they would not get. Also, any bridge would have to be large enough to handle the expected traffic. That would be large indeed. It would require a significant outlay of money upfront, and I doubt anyone has that kind of money lying around, and modern finance doesn't exist. Plus, it would piss off the Freys, and I doubt anyone wants to do that. We also have no real idea what the terrain is like. It may be unsuitable for a bridge or for the heavily-used roads that would need to be built to lead to it. With the Freys on everybody's shit list, these obstacles could potentially be overcome, if the Crown or collected River Lords are sufficiently interested

Of course he was evil and self-serving. I never suggested otherwise. It's just that before the Blackwater it was more advantageous to stick with Robb than to betray him. That way he keeps his options open.

I give credit where credit is due. I just don't believe Cersei deserves much credit. Her venality has been accompanied by astonishingly good luck. Until now. For what it's worth, I think Margaery is the younger more beautiful [queen]. Cersei believes she's the one, and is attacking her to try and prevent the prophecy from coming true. Margaery will therefore take her down in self-defense, therefore fulfilling the prophecy. It's self-fulfilling. Margaery has already taken Joffrey and Tommen from her, through assassination and affection, respectively. Her children and her power are, I believe, what she holds dearest.

I think Lysa was the instigating factor. She didn't want her son being shipped off to Stannis, and Littlefinger offered a solution. Her message to Catelyn, actually Littlefinger's, ensured Ned would be Hand. I don't know exactly why he wanted Ned, but he apparently did. There's also the romantic connection to consider. As for Cersei, it's clear on re-read that she is genuinely puzzled by Ned's accusation in the godswood.

She didn't beat Jon Arryn or Tyrion. Arryn was killed by Littlefinger with help from Lysa. Cersei had nothing to do with it. Tyrion was also Littlefinger's doing. He was framed quite nicely. Even without it, he might have been suspected in Joffrey's murder. In any event, Tyrion is still around and could yet cause her trouble. Robert she got lucky with on timing. With Ned she got unexpected help, both from Littlefinger and from Ned making serious mistakes and underestimating her venality and depravity. She's not nearly as good a plotter as she (and apparently you) thinks she is. Between the Sand Snakes and Aegon, not to mention possibly Euron and Daenerys, she's going to have her hands full.

By the time of the Red Wedding Roose had every reason to abandon Robb and none to support him. The Freys had abandoned him, thanks to his marriage. Stannis lost at the Blackwater, leaving the Lannisters free to go after Robb, and with the Freys gone, he hasn't a chance. And he's lost his own castle (thank you, Theon). The SS Robb Stark is sinking fast; time to jump ship and join the winning side. By the way, Robb didn't have his wife with him. He left her back at Riverrun, and she's still alive even now. And Arya and the Hound won't change things. Arya is too young to be useful, and the Freys already cancelled the betrothal. Sandor is one man; the fight is going to be too big for him to make a difference. Once he'd lost Winterfell and Stannis lost the Blackwater, Robb was doomed. If only one had happened, Roose might have stayed aboard. But both? Forget it.

Jaime is not going to become hand. There is no one I can think of that is likely to sit on the IT that would even consider him. He's effectively lost interest in helping Cersei out of her current predicament, so I don't see Cersei as a possibility to appoint him. In any case, any rule she has is likely to be short and messy. I am 100% certain Jaime dies before the end and will be surprised if he survives the next book. I think it is entirely possible he could do something heroic, but I suspect his public legacy will still be as a villain. I do not think Brienne has any shot at being a Kingsguard, much less commander. Westeros is too patriarchal and conservative for that to even be a possibility. Nobody would accept it. Arya did not actually reject her father's suggestion of being a lady and marrying a king. She said it was Sansa (which at the time it was). She did say she didn't want to be a lady, though. Given how Martin treats his characters, that practically guarantees she'll become a lady. And marry a king and rule his castle.

Tywin is not going to tolerate Cersei being sidelined. Littlefinger isn't going to tolerate Stannis being named King, and Stannis won't accept anything less. Stannis and Tywin are already gathering troops. Stannis will certainly reveal the incest, which would force Ned to either take action or ignore it. If he ignores it, it's going to be difficult to use later, if Joffrey gets out of hand. Ned would probably be forced to side with either Tywin or Stannis. Neither is good, and fighting will break out. As for Sansa and Arya, Ned made plans to get them out. The problem was, events overtook his plans and forced action before he was ready.

As a candidate for The Little Mermaid, might I suggest Wylla Manderly? Her family's emblem is a merman, and she's its youngest member, so she is an actual little mermaid. I realize she's a minor character, but one that is well-remembered and well-liked by readers for her staunch support for the Starks. I think it would be interesting if she and Arya were to meet. As for Arya, I suspect her time with the Faceless Men may be coming to an end. She will probably be on thin ice with them after the events of the preview chapter. I think she may be placed with a courtesan, more to learn about exerting influence and power as a female than anything else. The Faceless Men could be intending to use her as an agent in Westeros. Why would Massey try to buy Arya's virginity? As far as he knows, Jeyne Poole is Arya Stark. I suspect the fake and real Aryas will meet, and Arya will take her identity back as a result.

I think her being a Targaryen princess had everything to do with her survival. It may be that feeding Mirri Maz Duur to the flames helped, but I remain convinced that if she were not Targaryen she would not have survived, and certainly wouldn't have hatched three dragons. As for whether she is the rightful ruler of Westeros, that remains to be determined. The fire did not declare a monarch, rightful or not.

It is also worth noting that, by the time of Arryn's death, Hoster was already in poor health and bedridden, though the severity of the illness was a closely kept secret. This would have made it impossible for Hoster to take on the duties of the Hand, even if Robert were to offer it to him.

We know way too little to be able to say how he would have done. We also don't really know enough about the time between the end of the rebellion and Jon Arryn's death. Jon Arryn was a very capable hand, so I doubt Hoster would have done better. Jon's main problem was in not preventing expenses being higher than income. If Hoster were Hand, Littlefinger would likely have remained in the Vale. Not sure if that is good or bad. I'm skeptical of the idea that Littlefinger was stealing on a grand scale; he can do very nicely perfectly legally. So his absence might have made things worse. Also, what you might expect doesn't happen. By all indications, Ned had the North eating out of his hand, so success in running the kingdom should have been expected. We saw how that turned out. He was way out of his depth. Hoster could be too. By the way, I don't see any reason for him to be appointed after Arryn's death. Robert had no ties to him, and no other reason to select him, like notable success in the Riverlands.

Roose had to hide his activities for fear of what Rickard, and probably Ned later, would do to him. Tysha appears to have been a one-off directly related to the marriage with Tyrion. And Mycah was killed because his killer was falsely told he had attacked Joffrey. So, one lord who acts in secret, and is still regarded as savage and looked down on, and two victims who were targeted for their specific actions, albeit unfairly or excessively. I'm not seeing a pattern of widespread misbehavior here. In any event, claiming that this type of thing regularly happens down south, even if true, which I doubt, hardly justifies its occurrence in the North. Bowen does have legitimate worries, even if they are a bit overwrought.

We've seen this occur during the war. I'm not aware of it happening much in peacetime. Certainly not openly. Gregor in the Riverlands was an aberration that Ned was happy to squash. And there were plenty of others even angrier. Also, remember the good farmland in the Gift that Bran told the Reeds was abandoned due to constant raids.