Here's Looking At You, Kid

You're not the lord commander of the Night's Watch. A man in such a position has bigger responsibilities than to run off and take care of a sister. That's harsh to hear but it's reality. Not every person is cut out for command and Jon clearly is not.

Dragons would not bond with the mentally ill. I think that is one of the keys to dragon bonding, mental and emotional strength. I believe the loss of the dragons affected some of the Targaryens in negative ways. They may be drawn to bond with the dragons just as the dragons were drawn to bond with the Targaryens. The dragons gave them super immune systems. Who is to say this connection with the dragons didn't also give them immunity from other forms of illness. The Valyrians could not have kept their empire together for thousands of years if they had a high incidence of mental illness. They could not have done it. This madness, however small the percentage is, is a recent phenomenon. The deaths of the male Targaryens most likely got rid of the bad genes.

Probably because Daenerys has a lot of fans and this is her family that you're criticizing. Aren't you also defensive when it comes to the Starks? I think so.

Rhaella is not Lysa. Aerys was. But his reaction is actually just an exaggeration of parents who have lost many of their children. He meant to make little Viserys his heir and wanted to keep him safe. But I like the idea of fostering him off to the Tyrells or the Martells. I just want to keep him away from Oberyn. Oberyn is not exactly healthy either. And Doran has OCD like symptoms. I'm not saying they're mad. A lot of people walking around today have OCD but we accept it. Those "madness" that they refer to would probably be accepted today.

Obnoxious, stupid, entitled, and bitterly frustrated is how Sansa can be described too. But sure. I agree for the most part that Viserys was not mentally ill. But he was depressed and desperate. His emotions ran high and his anger had no outlet. It was inexcusable to beat his sister the way he did. She was the only good thing, the best thing, in his life. But I guess an average man like me can understand that and he's a king.

Winterfell and the entirety of the north will be destroyed. However, since the north has a smaller population than the south, then it cannot be called tragic if only the north were to fall. About half of us here could care less about the north. George Martin wants to keep the story on the bitter side so the white walkers will make it to the south. At least Casterly Rock, King's Landing, The Twins, and the riverlands will fall to them. Sunspear is too far to the south and will be spared from the white walkers but it will be inundated with refugees. Dorne and the southern part of the Reach will suffer indirectly from the refugees.

Sam will forge a chain or die trying. He loves to eat. Poison is the main weapon of the political arm of the citadel. A boy who can't resist food is easy to poison.

Quentyn and Daenerys have very, very little in common. Daenerys is the main character in the story. Quentyn is just a plot device within her plot. And yes, anybody can end up dead. But there is nothing at all to say Daenerys has a higher probability of ending up dead any more than, say, Jon Snow. Jon is already dead. The faceless men will be chasing Arya's tail. Quentyn got charbecued because he took a gamble and lost. He wanted so badly to please dear dad and it led him to dabble with dragons. This also should serve as a warning to would-be dragon thieves. It's not enough to have a drop of Valyrian blood to bond with a dragon. Quentyn had Targaryen in his lineage and he ended up on the wrong end of a blowtorch.

Robin Arryn might surprise you. He knows what's going on. They want him dead and he knows it. It'd be great if he turned the tables on L-F and Sansa. He kills them before they kill him. Barristan is a maybe. Too many horns on the battle field will create confusion for his army. Sansa is a maybe. It all depends on Robin Arryn. Bowen should be safe. At least from the crows. My selection: Samwell Tarly, Mago, Ramsay, Wayman, Stannis.

That's fan fiction.

Rhaenyra would face a lawsuit in the climate of today. Parents are accountable for their children. Medieval times, it's boys being boys. Oh well. George doesn't have children. But compare this to the mass murderer Arya Stark. Is this any less believable? Think about it.

They had her hostage. That's my guess.

Was there any bloodless way to resolve the succession crisis? This question is applicable to the succession crisis that fell on the Baratheons. More so. At least both contenders were Targaryens in the Dance. The Baratheons fought among themselves and the throne ended up with Joffrey Lannister. The only tragedy from the Dance is the death of many dragons. The people fighting on both sides are casualties that happened again in the Baratheon succession crisis. It's the dragons who lost in the Dance. Succession crisis on a smaller, local scale will continue to happen. Doran is not so secure in his rule. Some in Dorne want him gone. Euron doesn't have support of the Harlaws. Theon, Vic, and Asha are threats to his rule. Roose Bolton and Stannis fight in the north. The Freys are eagerly waiting for their patriarch to pass on so they can take his place. I foresee the same crisis within the Stark clan. The Kingsmoot looks civil and democratic on the surface but there was a lot of blood underneath. As long as human nature is what it is the answer is "no".

Two bastards get caught being dishonest and doing something inappropriate. Jon can't hide his crimes. His agents got caught and sang loudly (and painfully, I might add). Jon is now known as the lord commander who deceived the watch and the north. Public knowledge is Mance Rayder got executed. In reality, he got away with his crimes of oath breaking, treason, and attack on the people he is bound by oaths to protect. Stannis is also to blame. No question there. If he knows the Others are coming and he seems to buy it, the responsible action to take is to stay at the wall and defend it. I will have to read those chapters again but it seems to me Stannis was not in on the lie with regards to Rattleshirt and Mance Rayder.

Rhaegar is not special. Rhaegar was born from tragedy and he died in tragedy. Aerion and Egg played with fire magic and got their hands bit. Lives were lost because they thought themselves capable. Maybe Rhaegar was trying to do the same thing at the tower. It's worth looking under those cairns for petrified dragon eggs.