Bowen 747

Those pesky Starks if the decision came up for discussion years ago. Viserys would have done so if he had come into power.

Lannisters. Starks, Greyjoy, Martell will all have fights within the family. George needs to thin out the number of characters and reduce the numbers. This is more true for the Starks as there are too many of them still alive. I am thinking it will be a fight between Sansa and Rickon. Manderly and the north will stand behind Rickon while Sansa will be backed by her new husband, be it LF or Harry.

Jon has already betrayed the entire of Westeros. He misused his command to carry out vendetta against the former political enemies of the Starks. He betrayed the watch by allowing Mance Rayder to go free and unpunished.

Very true. Jon and Arya are the worst of the Starks and their wolves are still kicking. It could be that the wolves die when the Starks betray the North. Which Robb did when he executed Rickard Karstark and hooked up with Jeyne Westerling. He put the North in danger by betraying a key ally in Walder Frey. The Starks are not honorable. They are savages. But they are expected to act in such a way as to serve the North. When they don't, it is a betrayal of the wolves who are creatures of the North. Sansa supported/backed Joffrey's lie and betrayed the Northern lad. Little Mycah's death is partly her fault. By this reasoning, Ghost is the next to die because Jon betrayed the North, the Watch, and Westeros.

Young Griff arrived first, so it is he who will face the most opposition. This opposition will most come from the usual rotten apples: Lannister, Stannis, Littlefinger, Euron, etc. He means to claim the throne while providing very little proof, so yeah, there will be plenty of opposition. I assume he will overcome them somehow or die trying. Daenerys will arrive in the last few chapters of the last volume. By then, Westeros will be covered by ice. It will be dark and creatures of the Others will be terrorizing the remainder of the living. What is left of the dark Stark brood will either be in direwolf form or serving the Others.

The Harpy is a female. Reznak is just loyal to the old ways even though he adapted to the winds of change. Skahaz was already opposing the Harpy before the arrival of the Liberation Force. I would rank Skahaz higher on the loyalty list. Meereen is a large city by the standards of Westeros. There had to have been a few, a very small number I grant you, who would have wanted to end some of the city's evil ways and stop the Harpy. Skahaz and the Kandaqs are probably such.

Belwas is a gifted fighter. He is effective in the fighting pits as well as outside of it. The fight with Oznak impressed me. A warrior who can dodge a moving horse and time the lance to block it in time is a gifted one. He will put many a proud western knight in the dust before his story ends. And crap on their sigils to boot.

Alternate universe. The plot needed Dragonstone to have poor soil and so it has.

Water magic could have its own method to bring back the dead but the thing you get back is just a wet wight. The drowning thing is a near-death experience. It's not the same as bringing back the dead.

The weirwoods require human sacrifice. The dominant Andal culture and its Seven faith do not approve of human sacrifice.

One person on her Hit List will fight back and send her soul to the wolf.

Roose has unusual eyes but there are other folk who have strange physical features. The long face of the Starks for example. It's a peculiarity and nothing magical. A man who doesn't age will have aroused suspicion long ago. That is all the excuse the Starks needed to attack him and burn his castle down.

The wildlings will not be placated if Bowen Marsh becomes Lord Commander but they will not hang around to do anything about it. The wildlings will leave the wall. Bowen will call for an immediate election and he will be voted to replace Jon Snow.

The Golden Company, whose history of supporting the Blackfyres, threw their support to Aegon. He is a Blackfyre.

Strong women make up the ranks of the main characters. The women pushed the plot in many ways; but I wish to avoid going too far back in history as that will make this post unnecessarily long. Suffice to say that we begin with Lyanna Stark and the two (or three) possible men who loved her. I shall then proceed to the most recent examples. Lyanna Stark was loved possibly by one or all of these men. Brandon, Rhaegar, and Arthur. It goes without saying that any romantic combination was forbidden and would lead to problems for many people. The least disruptive to the social system was Rhaegar. Targaryen princes were no strangers to having lovers on the side and even having bastards. Brandon sleeping with his sister would expose the Starks to social criticism and their haughty sense of their own honor would have been wounded. But it is a romantic affair with Arthur which best fits the theme of a woman's love causing a man to forsake his duty. Arya Stark is very much loved by Lord Commander Jon Snow. It is that love for Arya which pushed Jon to discard ethics as well as his vows in an effort to take her away from her husband. This tragedy unfolding was obvious to the reader because the love interest was across the Narrow Sea. Jon's betrayal was all for nothing it seems. The Lord Commander bent ethics, laws, and morals because of the love he holds for Arya. Daenerys Targaryen was loved by Khal Drogo. She not only earned his love but his respect with her sharp intelligence. It helped that she is very beautiful and sensual. This marriage would have made problems for Khal Drogo had he not died. Because you see, the Princess would eventually mature into a woman and her moral values would not allow her to let the khalasar continue selling slaves. She would have found a means to steer the Khal and the khalasar towards a different direction. The khalasar was going to disband whichever way the story took. Ser Jorah is in love with her. Might the big Andal do something of questionable morality in order to help his young Queen? I think so.