Quoth the raven,

Jon Snow will be brought back to some twisted form of life by the white walkers.  Twisted in mind because of his single minded thoughts of Arya.  I don't think any of the house of the north will support Jon.  His support will mainly come from the wights and the white walkers because he will become one of them.  That will grant him an army of the undead which will be hard to stop. 

On 3/6/2024 at 9:21 PM, Kierria said:

A Game of Thrones began with a Bran chapter and ended with Daenerys and the birth of her Dragons.  I think it is also the way the story will end. 

It seems that is indeed the structure of the series of novels.  Bran is the prince of darkness who will bring misery and suffering to the people while Dany brings back the light and the hope. 

On 3/26/2024 at 11:03 PM, Moiraine Sedai said:

Real life lions are much larger and stronger than wolves. The direwolf is bigger, stronger than a normal wolf. The fight will be closer to fair but it seems to me that a lion still holds the advantage. The battle will be interesting. 
 

The family symbols are the power rankings of the ruling class. The lions are stronger than the direwolves and won the feud. The direwolves are still breathing and may battle the lions one final time.

The krakens are second in strength only to the great Dragons. It needed the power of Balerion to destroy the wicked house of black Harren. 
 

The Frey towers are strongholds but may also indicate the power of that family in the great game of thrones. The Starks may try to assault the castle and fail.

GRRM will repeat the cycle and Euron will dominate the south in westeros.  His rule will end when Daenerys and her dragons come to Westeros.  Euron will kill many people before that happens though.  I am thinking poor Aegon and Arianne will be among the casualties of the Iron born invasion. 

The symbolism goes deeper.  If we take the direwolves for example.  They are pack animals and we see that nature in the Starks.  It is the Starks' pack nature which will bring the darkest tragedies to Westeros.  Arya and Jon will no longer have the ability to discern right from wrong. They will start a campaign of revenge and seek to murder entire families as they lose the ability to separate the guilty from the innocent.

On 4/5/2020 at 1:03 PM, Bowen Marsh said:

Azor Ahai is an Eastern legend.  This AA was a leader of  people during the long night.  He was never in the west.  Mellisandre will fail in her mission to sell him to the north of Westeros.  I saw a movie called At Play in the Fields of the Lord.  It is about protestant christian missionaries attempting to bring Jesus to an isolated tribe in the Amazon.  A wiser man is the Catholic priest who said "Christ will never be accepted here. A pale man from a desert country where it never rains".  Totally different setting from the rainforest.  The tribe could never understand.  Will never understand.  I think it's the same case with Mellisandre and the followers of the Old Gods.  AA comes from a far away land with different realities.  A handful of other heroes will use those candles in westeros if they are really swords.  It won't be AA.  AA will face her battles in the east and will not arrive in westeros until after the end of winter.  

The wildings will run her out of the North if she tried to sell them that story.  Jon is not AA.  He's the Night's King reborn. 

Jon didn't set out to weaken the watch but that was what he was doing.  Jon had to choose between the watch and Arya.  He chose Arya even when he knew it would weaken the watch and risk the safety of everybody in Westeros.  He was just somebody who should have never been chosen to lead.  There was no time to formally charge Jon with treason because he was ready to lead the wildlings out.

On 12/29/2023 at 3:02 AM, The Lord of the Crossing said:

Walder Frey honored his deal with Robb Stark. Robb did not.  Robb was not even going to beg forgiveness until he needed the Freys.  Robb received what he deserved. 

The Starks are too prideful for that.  Walder should have milked the advantage for all it was worth and required more from Robb. 

On 12/23/2023 at 12:03 PM, SaffronLady said:

Old Walder is a classic example of "living too long makes you evil". If he could already pull off the Red Wedding, he would pull off an even more heinous stunt if he keeps on living.

Walder has no history of trouble-making.  It is the Starks who have that unpleasant reputation.  Remember what Brandon Stark did before the rebellion.  He made threats to harm the ruling family.  It is also beginning to look like, per Barbrey Dustin's words, that the Starks were part of a devious secret plan to remove the Targaryens from power.  Cat's reaction to what happened to her son is what started the war of the five kings.  I know it is mostly Jaime's fault but Cat should have known better than kidnapping Tyrion. 

On 10/25/2022 at 10:32 AM, Only 89 selfies today said:

From our favorite author himself.  Listen to what George said about Dany's Unsullied soldiers.  This should put away all doubts as to how well they will do in Westeros.  The Unsullied will be superb in battle.  They will be better with the addition of the Dothraki.  Dany will have the advantage in battle in Westeros.  

The arguments that The Unsullied are ineffective soldiers do not hold water.  

 

 

The Unsullied will be fighting a Westeros army made up of laborers and farmers who occasionally play at soldiering.  Don't expect much fight from Westeros.  It will be much easier to just start another field of fire and barbecue the Stark forces and their wildling friends rather than going through the trouble of meeting them in open battle. 

The head of the Frey family might surprise us and outlive the Starks. 

Protecting the wall was not what Jon was doing in his last chapters of life.  He was undermining the wall.  He wasn't doing this on purpose but he chose to risk them all for the sake of finding his sister.  He wasn't plotting against the wall.  Jon is not smart enough for that.  What he was doing to get Arya was causing problems for the Watch. 

Skahaz is indeed loyal.  His loyalty opens the way for Daenerys to leave Meereen in capable hands so she can claim her father's kingdom that is now hers.

Harrenhal was also a huge chunk of stone and mortar.  It burned and melted like wax.  Three dragons would make short work of Casterly Rock.  I would love to see the dragons bake the Lannister scum, however, Jaime already had a vision of ice wights attacking the castle.  Lord One-Hand will freeze in his castle as the poor outside his walls.

On 9/21/2023 at 5:55 AM, Equilibrium said:

I've been thinking about extent of Tywin's involvement in Elia's death over the years and I've come to no definitive conclusion so I would like to hear out the reasoning of fine folks here, since we will likely never have the answer spelled out.

We have Tywin explicitly go over the matter with Tyrion in ASOS Tyrion VI and we can take him at his word because he probably doesn't care about Tyrion's opinion enough to lie to him. On the other hand I think Tywin could have viewed Elia marrying Rhaegar as a slight to his family's honor by taking Cersei's place and he does have a history of using sexualized violence as punishment. If we take that view which was my initial hunch, we still have the dilemma whether Tywin did give THAT command or said nothing knowing the Mountain would make a mess of it if left to his own devices.

Counter to that could be an attitude that Tywin is too rational to be like that as he would see clearly that 1) Elia wasn't culpable in her marriage, her mother and Aerys are 2) losing her children would be more than enough of the punishment for any perceived slight 3) it's a dicey political move with no real practical benefit and real drawbacks, banking on the both Martells and Robert not doing anything drastic over it, which was far from given as we know how Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark can be.

Tywin is as responsible for what happened to Elia and the children as Jon Snow is for the crimes committed by Mance and the wildling women.  Both commanders unleashed savage criminals. 

On 8/11/2023 at 5:19 AM, Darrow of Lykos said:

It seems like every time the Targaryens interacted with the North, the North, and the Starks suffered.

forcing Torrhen to kneel or face dragon genocide like Dorne.

forcing Torrhen to marry his daughter to an Arryn, and she is murdered by an Arryn afterwards

Alaric Stark’s brother being killed as a result of Jaehaerys sending rebellious knights and militants to the Wall (less egregious)

Alysanne stealing farmable land from the Northern Lords, and giving it to the NW who naturally let it fall into disrepair 

Never helping the North when winter comes

Never helping the North when the Wildlings attacked.

Taking taxes from the North

Then you have the events of Robert’s Rebellion

 

In terms of positives we have

Ending the Right of Night (though the only named example is carried out by a Southern Lord of possibly Valyrian origin)

Roads

Possible stabilization of trade.

No dragon genocide 

The Targaryens were tolerant of the Starks.  The North is poor and revenues from taxes were most likely paltry.  Aegon removed Black Harren and saved Westeros from Ironborn domination.  The Starks should be thankful.

Dany's fires serve many purposes.  The first fire cremated Drogo and punished the witch.  Witch's blood added to Khal Drogo's and the stallion's made the magic more powerful.  The second fire will cremate Aegon and execute Euron.  The blood of Pyat Pree will provide the magic.  Burning the Silence will take the part of the Stallion.  More dragons eggs will hatch.  Jon Snow, Mellissandre,  and Ghost will burn in the third fire.  More dragons will hatch.  Mellissandre will try to fool the people to accept Jon Snow as Azor Ahai.  She and Jon will be roasted for this crime. 

I doubt mathematical expressions and equations are relevant but one number is special.  The number 3 is specifically connected to the story's protagonists, Daenerys Targaryen. 

5 hours ago, Lady Stonehearts Simp said:

As we are all no doubt aware, Jon, I believe in ADWD, forces Sam & Gilly to take Mance’s baby with them to the Citadel, and leave Gilly’s behind at the Wall. He does so, knowing that Melisandre was looking to burn king’s blood, and with Mance’s child out of reach will keep that from happening.

Its been awhile since I’ve read ADWD, but I believe that, however cruel this was, he did it knowing that no harm will come to Gilly’s child. As he has no king’s blood so there is no point of burning him, as far as Jon thinks, for Melisandre.

 

Do you think that deception, may be the catalyst for Shireen’s burning? Mel will go for Mance’s child, but find out that Jon switched them, so she’ll be forced to go to Shireen.

There is a big problem with the plan.  Gilly's child is in danger.  What if the witch sacrifices the boy without asking Jon first?  This decision once again proves Jon's biased and emotional way of making decisions.  He liked Mance and didn't like Craster.  Therefore he valued one life more than the other.  Based on how he felt about their fathers.  Jon had no business commanding and even less ruling the Watch. 

On 6/1/2023 at 10:44 AM, csuszka1948 said:

Yes, I agree with your main point.

The reason why Dany is much more sympathetic in my eyes than other noble leaders (other than Jon and arguably Stannis at times) is that she is not fighting a war and destroying countless people to sit her ass on a Throne or take vengeance and achieve 'independence' (a concept nobles care much more about than smallfolk).

It's interesting how much of a dislike the community had for Dany after the release of ADWD, though.

I would risk a bet that those who did were fans of Jon Snow.  Their boy, you see, failed and was killed by his own men.  Daenerys will succeed in Meereen and then onto to Westeros to save what's left and rule from her father's throne. 

The story will enter it's next act when Daenerys finally realizes she is Azor Ahai.  Five books have proven the Starks, Lannisters, Baratheons, and Greyjoys lacking the competence to rule Westeros and lead the people through the shadow and then back into the light.  Only Daenerys can do that. 

On 5/31/2023 at 11:04 AM, Aerodimas said:

The last book was going to be named a time for wolves, i doubt that all the starks will die.

 

Rickon will not.  Jon, Arya, and Bran will die but their spirits will find new homes in the wolves.  Bran's will flit from wolf to wood.  I might add to this main topic.  Bran is a weirwood.  Part tree, part boy, part wolf.  And he freely moves from one to the other. 

On 5/31/2023 at 11:04 AM, Aerodimas said:

BTW Sansa no longer has a direwolf.

Sansa is the one to die for sure.  The red shirt. 

Daenerys is the more pragmatic.  She tried to compromise with the slave masters to buy peace in Meereen even when she disliked them.  That's pragmatism and it is what a very smart, caring ruler does for her subjects.  Give peace a try and if the Harpy fails to carry their end then it will be time to rain fire on their Ghiscari asses.  Daenerys made a good command call when she chose to risk Belwas instead of Ser Barristan against Oznak.  She knew which man had more value to her objectives. 

Jon was too emotional and let his feelings for Arya carry him into the most terrible decisions a lord commander can do.  There is no pragmatism, no smarts, in Jon Snow.  He was a good friend to the young recruits but beyond that he had little in the way of leadership qualities.  Jon is a lone operator who doesn't fit in.  He, like Ghost, are outcasts.  Ghost was found away from the other wolves. 

On 6/5/2023 at 4:23 PM, Corvo the Crow said:

Title. This is very short I doubt that I could find too many supporting evidence for it, nor do I have the time to make such a search, so here it goes.

Brandon the Broken, a Stark, is going to be wed to a tree, just as Brynden Bloodraven is wed to one

Could Night's King, who was most likely a bastard brother to Brandon the Breaker, and has given his soul and... SEED to a corpse queen have married to a tree like Bran?

To be clear, I think that she was indeed a White Walker, an Other and that I don't buy into theories such as White Walkers are actualy weirwood younglings who are able to roam around, but she may have been a tree in the sense that she was a greenseer and all the blood sacrifices going on reminds, well, the blood sacrifices such as this:

 

 

Spirits of the dead Starks were absorbed into the Weirwoods and their memories recorded.  The tree network absorb the memories of the humans.  The Starks had pacts with the Others and the trees.  They kill and feed human blood to the trees.  They give human babies to the Others.  In exchange for warging and skin changing abilities.  The corpse queen was the rare human female, must have been a daughter of House Stark, who was turned into an Other.  Two Stark daughters remain, Sansa and Arya.  One of the girls will get turned into an Other and wed Jon Snow. 

On 5/24/2023 at 5:26 AM, Tyrosh Lannister said:

If I were Dany I'd be creeped out if some masked dark magician whom I don't know  placed her fingers on me 

Our Princess Dany is a brave girl.  That's one reason why I'm her fan. 

That kind of touch is some kind of intimate.  Like she knows Dany.  And she would know of prophecies and Dany's significance if she is Shiera or Ellissa.  Dany doesn't know it yet but she is Azor Ahai.  Quaithe has no way to convince because it would sound like a lie.  But something in Asshai is the proof to convince Dany.