Nevets

At her age? I don't know any (civilized) country that imprisons 12-year-olds for that long. In the US she might be held until 21. Considering the circumstances, I doubt it would be anywhere that long. Insurance Guy is mostly the fault of the FM, and Dareon, considering his abandonment of Sam and the others, followed by his arrogant and hedonistic attitude about it, is hardly an especially sympathetic victim. Five years max, if that.

You forgot to mention that she is only 11 years old. Most societies consider children that age incapable of fully appreciating the consequences of their actions. Consequently, they aren't held fully responsible for crimes and are treated leniently, with a focus on rehabilitation if possible. While Arya has mental issues, they are mostly the result of post-traumatic stress from the war, instead of something deep rooted like psychopathy. As such, she should be readily treatable. Her compromised mental status during her crimes could get her leniency as well.

Escape or aiding an escape. Not sure how it's handled. He's also guilty of aiding or conspiracy to aid a fugitive (Sansa).

The old man was killed on Faceless Men orders. No Faceless Men, no Arya killing old guy. I already suggested getting away from them. And while I'm not happy about Dareon, one murder does not a pattern make. She could potentially become bad and dangerous; she's not there yet and has a ways to go to get there.

AGOT took about a year. ACOK was about 8-9 months, and ASOS about 3 months. The first three are just under two years. ADWD is about 8-9 months for a total of about 2 years 8 months. Also, I think Arya tells the Waif she's 11, and Jon thinks to himself that she's 11 when he hears of Ramsay's marriage.

Getting away from the Faceless Men would definitely be an improvement. She's been OK in a normal environment, until she meets someone she wants dead, and then . . . <sigh>. She needs a safe, caring environment, with at least a modicum of supervision, preferably by people aware of her problems. By the way, for what it's worth, she was 9 at the beginning of the story. She's 11 now, probably pushing 12. Still too young for what she's doing, though young enough to change. And puberty is coming. Oh, goody!

So? He's an eight-year-old spoiled brat. "Horrid" goes with the terrain. There is hope though; he seems to be improving under Sansa's influence.

I think Sansa killing Sweetrobin would anger many fans, especially those who like Sansa. It is contrary to her nature, and she has no discernible reason to do so; most Sansa fans like her because she is basically a nice person. Killing Robert would destroy that. I'm not sure how controversial her using sex would be. She is nearly 14, and kids in Westeros grow up much faster than our own world. In her preview chapter Arya uses sex to her advantage, and that's gotten limited comment. And she's even younger than Sansa, albeit more of a reckless hellion.

I assume you are referring to the Ghost of High Heart, who referred to Arya having a dark heart. She also mentioned gorging on grief, which Arya certainly has. Her killings have mostly been necessary for her own well-being, and none were innocent bystanders. Even Dareon had hurt people she cared about, and committed a capital offense in the process. His arrogant and hedonistic attitude didn't help. The insurance broker was on orders. She was led to believe he was a fraudster and feared the consequences of not going along. The book suggests that Arya's actions are largely the result of the environment she's been in lately. When she is in a normal, safe, caring environment she does pretty well. Unfortunately, right now, she's not.

Arya is not insane, as the term is supposed to be used, but she is hardly in good mental health either. She clearly has issues; normal children do not kill people who aren't a threat to them or anyone else. Come to think on it, they generally don't kill those who are a threat either, not that that is relevant here. Fortunately, I think her problems are mainly the result of recent experiences and her current environment. Simply being in a normal environment should help. Having a mentor like Brienne or Jon would be useful as well, but knowing GRRM I wouldn't count on it. I would be quite shocked and disappointed if she began to kill innocents or even became a real assassin. And by innocents I mean people Arya has no reason to believe are wrongdoers. Dareon doesn't qualify; desertion is a capital offense where she comes from.

There is a long-standing practice in America, and most other Western countries, of leniency towards children, especially young ones. Given Arya's young age and exposure to horrific wartime violence, not to mention the Faceless Men's malign influence, I would expect a period of confinement, with a focus on treatment and rehabilitation the goal. Actually, I suspect simply being in a safe, caring environment would be a great help. Dareon is really the only difficult case under the circumstances. The insurance broker is really the responsibility of the FM, and Raff is pretty understandable given her experiences. Her killings in Westeros we're mostly for her own safety. As a practical matter, she is not really a serious threat to public safety.

That Raff got killed doesn't bother me at all. That Arya is the one that killed him bothers me a great deal. That sort of thing is not good for a child to be doing. I'm hoping she veers off the path she's on before it's too late; I think she will.

I think Arya is already on thin ice as it is. They seem to be slow-walking her training, which seems more suited for spying or other undercover work than assassination in any event. I think they intend to push her out, and get a promise of future assistance as the price of leaving without consequence. She would make a lousy assassin anyway; too much of a moral compass. She would probably make a good spy or undercover operative though, and as a scion of a great house in Westeros, well placed to help.

They met in Braavos. She was Cat of the canals at the time. She helped him out with some troublemakers. He doesn't know she's Arya.

To be fair, Maester Colemon didn't want Robert getting any more sweetsleep at all. Of course, he also wanted Robert to go down from the Eyrie unconscious, slung over the back of a mule like a sack of potatoes. A fine idea for Robert Arryn the boy. A dreadful one for Robert Lord of the Eyrie. He would never live it down. So Sansa convinced the Maester to allow it, immediate needs overriding long term ones. Baelish may well be interested in keeping Robert weak and pliant, but Sansa's not.

It's not a textual fact that she is purposely poisoning him, which is what I meant. She is trying to make him stronger, not weaker. Poisoning defeats the purpose.

She doesn't seem to have much interest in remarriage and doesn't like Harry all that much either. Given that, plus her existing marriage to Tyrion, I doubt this plot is going to get far. And she's probably smart enough to figure out that she might get more help for the North by asking as the head of House Stark than as Harry's wife. When, after the end of AGOT, did she act in self interest over loyalty to family? I remember no such occasion. And at this point, as far as she knows, her family consists of one person - her. Everyone else is dead or long missing.

Umm - what relevance does the Trident have as to Sansa's current or future treatment of Sweetrobin? Even if you accept that she behaved dishonorably at the Trident (I don't, but that's another story), that doesn't mean she's poisoning Sweetrobin. And it's not as though anybody covered themselves in glory in that episode. The Trident was two years of story time, and four books ago. Sansa is not only older, but far less sheltered and a lot wiser. As I've said before, it isn't in Sansa's nature to harm anyone, much less an innocent child. Plus she has no real interest in the Vale. The North is her area of interest, and I don't see Sweetrobin as an obstacle there.

Whatever else is going on, Sansa isn't deliberately poisoning Sweetrobin. She has yet to deliberately harm anyone, and I don't see her starting with Robert Arryn. Plus, she has no reason to do so. She knows little about sweet sleep, and what she does know indicates some benefit for Sweetrobin. Also, she is trying to make him stronger, not weaker. As for Littlefinger's comment about Sweetrobin dying, everybody expects him to die soon. Jaime said he "wouldn't live long enough to breed" and it's not homicide he's thinking of. The boy is in very poor health. Sansa isn't particularly ambitious, and I expect any ambition she does get to be directed toward events in the North, her homeland. Sweetrobin isn't any kind of obstacle there and could potentially be helpful.

I think Ramsay wrote the Pink Letter. Stannis and Mance don't make sense, and Ramsay has ample motive for the demands he makes. Of course he wants FArya back. She's his hostage against the Northerners. Without her safety to worry about, there's nothing stopping them from tearing him into itsy bitsy pieces. Her absence probably isn't known yet, but it will be, and he needs her back. If Jon says she's fake, Ramsay can accuse him of lying. The letter establishes Jon as Ramsay's enemy, giving him motive. And while they would be happy to use anything Jon might say against the Boltons, the Northerners would probably assume he was lying simply to protect his sister from Ramsay. I doubt Ramsay is too worried about what Jon might say, but the letter would suggest that keeping quiet would be best. I think Ramsay has all the info he needs, especially if he has beaten Stannis (or thinks he has). That would give him prisoners from Stannis's camp, who would know Arya is on her way to the Wall, with a headstart, and Stannis's interest in Val and the baby. The people he demands would be valuable prisoners for the Crown, and if not delivered (and I doubt he thinks they will be), it gives him an excuse to attack the Watch. He needs an excuse because the Boltons can't hold the North if they attack the Watch unprovoked.

Being "aged" points away from him being Howland. Howland was Ned's age, and Ned was in his mid-30's, which isn't old even by Westeros standards. I'm not certain she is all that bad at subterfuge. She was discreet enough to ask about Sansa by description, and not by name. And if it came to it, Shadrich could be sneaky, while Brienne could be more obvious, and draw attention away from Sahdrich. Plus the fact that she is female would help to reassure Sansa. And Shadrich (or Howland) would need all the help he could get in that department.

I'm also very skeptical that he is Howland Reed. If he is, his actions make no sense. He is clearly coming from KL, but the only reason for Howland to be in KL would be to help Sansa. But Sansa has no reason to trust him, and he has no way to protect her if he does somehow get her out of KL. And Howland would have dealt with Brienne differently. Announcing hisi interest in the reward means either that he gets himself an unwanted companion he has to shake off, or drives off a potentially useful ally. Brienne is well-armed, well-equipped, probably competent (we know she is), and female - all very useful. And that's not even including the fact that she knows Sansa's mother, which we know but he doesn't. Plus, he has useful activities he can be doing in the Neck, like helping Norther stragglers get home. Shadrich is Shadrich, and his presence in the Vale is probably meant to distract us from more real threats to Sansa.

I expect they will eventually get dispersed. Once there's no fighting and no one left worth killing, I expect most will go home to what's left or congregate around castles. They're farmers and artisans, not soldiers.

Darry could have been the glue holding things together, and his death caused it to fall apart. Viserys was probably less than stable even then.

Possible, but given the constantly repeated connection between Dorne and lemons, someone Dornish seems more likely.