H Wadsey Longfellow

It worked for three centuries. Under Targaryen rule. Robert's fam didn't even last two decades and they messed up Westeros.

Arya will be checking people off her list. That is not going to improve her mental health. I believe Arya will die while checking off the names. Picture a really good scene at The Twins. A dead Arya surrounded by some of Walder's dead boys.

Jon failed at the wall because he has serious character defects which make him unsuitable for leadership. Martin could put him on the throne and then have him wreck the kingdom like he messed up the night's watch. That is one sure way to increase the misery of a long winter. I think Jon could do alright with the free folk as a village chief. He might have done alright as a ranger with the watch.

Abel got into Winterfell with this trick. He had to be good at this.

I am a big fan of Dany. I will have to say Jon's fans are the most wishful thinking.

I don't buy into R + L = J. Jon does not look anything like a Targaryen because he is not. Let us pretend it is for the sake of this topic. Well, Aegon looks the part. He might have Blackfyre in his possession. Yes. He will have a much easier time convincing people to think he is a Targaryen. The only person who does not have to prove anything is Daenerys. The dragons prove her identity. Now, about those three lies. They are all about Azor Ahai. Stannis being Azor Ahai is the first lie. Daenerys is Azor Ahai. Aegon is a Blackfyre and therefore only semi-Targaryen. He comes from a legitimized bastard line. Aegon will present himself as the prince who was promised, Azor Ahai. This lie will again be slain. Jon will pretend to be Azor Ahai. Probably goaded to do so by Mellisandre. This will again be proven wrong.

That and also because large, standing armies complete with horses will be hard to supply and finance. Most hands are needed to bring in the harvest and provide food. Horses require a lot of care. War horses are very expensive to acquire and maintain. Not even the Lannisters would be so foolish as to maintain a large cavalry on speed dial.

Hell

Westeros is not going to be in any condition to make that kind of change. And it is questionable whether that is even progress. The whole continent is about to experience an Ice Age. Conditions are not right for a complicated system. Now, thanks to the incompetence of the Baratheons, the Lannisters, and lord commander Jon Snow, the human population is not going to be able to stop the White Walkers from advancing to the South. Aegon I and V realized that the only way to improve the lives of the majority, which are the smallfolk, is to regulate the Great Lords. Unfortunately, these "great" lords will need convincing. You need to have superior power in order to do that. It is not as hard as the emancipation of slaves in the east but it is close to that level of resistance. Large, standing armies are not possible. Agriculture and animal husbandry are not so efficient as to allow thousands of idle hands that need to be supplied and fed. The Targaryen family was and will be a blessing to the people of Westeros. They and their mighty dragons united the quarrelsome "great" lords and made possible long periods of peace. The Baratheons and their Stark friend, as well as their toady Jon Arryn, got their chance. And badly blew it. The realm has held together for 300 years under Targaryen rule. The Baratheons could not even keep it together for 20!!!!!!!!! The Wall has held for 8000 years or more, Jon could not even manage a couple of years. These are the types of people you will get if you ask for a Great Council. Maybe they won't all be like this but a few on that council will be more interested in advancing his/her family's interest instead of the long-term greater good. The leader that Westeros needs is right now fighting hard to emancipate the enslaved majority in the east.

That part of the palace burned down. So thankfully that terrible door is gone. The Undying too went up in flames.

The people of Westeros have not forgotten the Targaryens. Many will be excited to behold the magnificent dragons. Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons will be instant celebrities. Most of the noble families will want a return of Targaryen rule. The Baratheons have been proven incapable of managing Westeros. The kingdom that has held together for 300 years broke apart under their watch. Robert died but not before bankrupting the kingdom. The Baratheon brothers fought and caused the deaths of thousands because they could not decide who would get the throne. Robert's best friend, the Hand, made a public admission to treason and got executed in front of the whole city. The crowd was hating on Ned after his admission. His son then calls a rebellion that, once again, killed thousands upon thousands of people. What's beyond the pale, Robb had the nerve to declare the north independent. The bastard son of said Hand brings Wildlings through for the purpose of attacking the Warden of the North and thereby betrayed the Nights Watch. Balon and his children starts causing problems in the north. The much disliked Boltons finally rid the north of the ironborn. I wonder how long they will be disliked if only Roose could control Ramsay. Jaime, the most dishonorable man to ever wear the white cloak is the damn lord commander of the Kingsguard. The silent Martells are plotting revenge and are working to snare Aegon Blackfyre in their conspiracy against the Lannisters. Stannis is wasting lives and soldiers in the north. Westeros has never been in this bad of shape. The people will be ready for a return to Targaryen rule. The Unsullied are good for public relation because everybody knows they will not rape and steal. The Dothraki will raise some eyebrows but everybody knows they are not interested in making a permanent home in Westeros because they are a nomadic people. The only resistance will come from the Lannisters and Petyr Baelish. Cersei, Jaime, Petyr, and Sansa could burn for all I care. The north will be ice zombies by then and their Other masters will resist too but some kind of treaty can be made where they get to keep everything on the north side of Moat Cailin.

Not to mention that Cole would be tapping well above his station. Jealousy? No. What he would feel at that moment is excitement and anticipation. He's looking at paradise by the dashboard lights. The boy is on base. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C11MzbEcHlw

I guess this is a sensitive topic right now to those of us who live in the bigger U.S. cities.

Realism would force GRRM to accept some science. The whole planet cannot go completely cold and dark. The skies may go overcast and cloudy in the south lands but it will not be the darkness of the northern latitudes.

You are so right about Cat. All her compassion is lost. Humanity encompass both the good and the bad. Death removes much of that humanity. Oxygen deprivation due to not breathing damages the brain. The intellect no longer function properly. Resurrection brings the life back but does not correct for the damage to the body. Cat is operating on feelings and emotions now. The same will happen to Jon. He will come back angry. It will not matter if Bowen Marsh had the right justification. I don't believe it will even matter to Jon how awfully bad it is to attack the Boltons. He will attack them anyway. With an army of wights.