Jaehaerys Tyrell

Euron and Victarion both need to be locked up, but Theon and Aeron could certainly benefit from some therapy, although not necessarily family therapy. The Baratheons, Martells, Starks and Tullys are good examples of families that could benefit from some family therapy, given their “reasonable” issues

I loved the excerpt and it has me really excited for the book. I always like learning about the houses' genealogies so Lord Alaric's Mormont wife was a fun titbit and has me looking forward to other reveals about which houses had marriage alliances during various events. It changed some assumptions I had about Westeros - I had thought, from studying the Stark family tree, that Blackwoods and Royces were always a prominent feature in the Stark genealogies, but it looks like this is a tradition begun with Lord Alaric's children. Jonquil Darke also seems like an intriguing character that I hope we'll hear more from.

Daenerys considers herself a follower of the Faith of the Seven but pays it no mind, likely because of her upbringing. I think she will be willing to believe, or pretend it believe, in whichever religion can further her goals the most.

There are examples of women throughout history who have disguised themselves as men to get ahead in life. I think it perfectly possible that Varys is a woman, although my primary reason for disbelieving it is his story of how he was castrated, which I find to be believable. Or to throw some tinfoil out there - Illyrio + Varys = Aegon

It’s very odd that Jon Arryn promoted Petyr Baelish upon Lysa’s request with the knowledge that she’d been pregnant with his child. Does anybody have an explanation for this?

OP probably means Alicent Hightower

Penny - no major role at the end, I imagine she’ll aid in Tyrion’s growth before leaving the plot. Idk if she’ll die. Shireen - burned, either as a sacrifice by Mel or because of a greyscale outbreak at the Wall. Gilly - lives happily ever after, probably/maybe with Sam Hizdahr - dead, not sure by whose hand Bowen - executed, by someone

As some have pointed out, many bloodlines in our world have ruled for a thousand years. In most places a dynasty owns multiple castles and changes name when passing through a female line, but in Westeros, where it is common for a family to possess a single castle and for female-line heirs to adopt the surname of the traditional ruling family, I find it quite plausible that hundreds of houses could exist for thousands of years. A good example could be the Scottish nobility, where female-line heirs adopt the surname of their clan.

Will you be posting the results of the poll?

If GRRM is aiming for realism, then Slaver’s Bay must be so much more than just slavery, with its own rich history and culture and genetic makeup. To destroy the bay’s city states would be genocide, and would be an evil thing to do.

Edmure is still unmarried and without heirs, if anything happened to him Riverrun passes to Catelyn and her children by her husband. However, this is more an added bonus, I don’t particularly get the impression from the series that a younger daughter is considered a lesser marriage than her elder sister - Lysa is still a Tully and the daughter of the Lord of Riverrun. edit - I see a couple of people answered before me, but I’ll further support my view of younger daughters - men in Westeros don’t usually marry women for their inheritance, and a younger daughter is of just as noble a bloodline as an elder sister, and brings the same alliances, so I don’t see why a nobleman would care about her birth order

The strongest candidate would be a Gargalen, as Doran was fostered there as a boy and we see many nobles serving as pages and cupbearers at the castles of their mother’s families. We also see a whole bunch of nobles serving at the castles of non-relatives though so really we have nothing to go on until GRRM tells us.

I wouldn’t have parented like Randyll, so I don’t think Samwell would’ve turned out the same. If I did consider him too weak-willed I’d send him to the Citadel.

It depends on the opinions of the lords and ladies of the realm as to who they’d consider the true heir, and they’ll have different opinions like people on this forum do. I’d consider Jon, as a legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen, to be the true heir to the throne. But one could argue Daenerys is the true heir, because Queen Rhaella crowned Viserys III on Dragonstone and he named Daenerys his heir. Those who support the Baratheon Rebellion may consider Gendry the heir, as the legitimate Baratheon line is extinct. Cersei also has a claim, not only through conquest but also through proximity, in which case Jaime could put forward a claim as her eldest brother. There may even be a claim for Brienne’s father Lord Selwyn Tarth as House Tarth has recent ties to House Baratheon and House Targaryen and so they *might* be the legitimate heirs to both House Targaryen (after Jon and Daenerys) and to House Baratheon. So long story short, there is no “true heir,” just claims. Jon has the best claim to me, but if I was a lord I might not believe the evidence and so consider the true heir to be Daenerys, and even then I might consider her too brutal and choose to support another claimant even if I believe their claim weaker.