H Wadsey Longfellow

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.

I agree with #1 and #3. I could see Arya and Gendry getting together and upsetting Jon though. Jon may harbor secret love for Arya.

I do wonder to what degree those islands will be affected by the long winter.

The information fed to Westeros about these culture may be inaccurate. Dany may stop at the islands on her way to Westeros and discover cannibalism among the island folk. We just don't know more than sailor's tales. The good people of Naath may be not all that good. Making love all day long would lead to unwanted babies. Do they sacrifice to the butterflies for protection?

Clegane duel. The Hound is either dead or found contentment away from violence.

I want to personally thank the owners of this web site for creating a place where Martin's readers can gather to discuss the story we all love. I know it is veering off the forum but it is nice to have a place of calm in the middle of the social storm our world is experiencing right now. George Martin uses social unrest to show the power of the people. It is unfathomable when you think about Cersei's humiliation. This is the queen mother for god's sake. The High Sparrow knows how to use the power of many people to push his will along. The Harpy knows how to use terrorism to create fear and disorder. The street people of Kings Landing are not organized but the numbers they had was enough to put fear in the hearts of King Joffrey and Sansa Stark. The Eyrie will bring riot to Petyr's door teps if he isn't careful. All that grain stored in place because he is speculating carries its own high risk from spoilage. The North is not a place where large public demonstrations will work because it has no cities. The next big riot will happen in places like KL and Oldtown. What do you feel will contribute to the social unrest which could lead to a larger mass riot in the capital city? I would think the spread of Greyscale will be worsened by something like a riot. Will the fear of contracting the disease discourage public demonstrations?

I believe Daenerys will win but not through playing the game. She is the ideal ruler to bring order back to Westeros. It has been proven that no other house can hold the kingdom together as well as the Targaryens. The Baratheons and their alllies have had their chances and failed. The Blackfyres will get their chance through Aegon and they too will fail.

Assume the rebellion never happened. Can you name suitable marriage matches for Prince Viserys and Princess Daenerys of House Targaryen for each of the "what if" situations below? A. Aerys chose Viserys to succeed. Who will the young prince and princess marry? B. Aerys chose Rhaegar to succeed. Find suitable matches for Viserys and Daenerys. My opinion, Aerys would be open to foreign engagements. I do not, however, believe he would consider a Dothraki for his beautiful daughter. I am also skeptical if he would consider a slaver like Hizdahr Zo Loraq. Older son is already tied to the Martells. He won't accept Arrianne for Viserys, too many Martells in the royal household. Robert allowed too many Lannisters in his household and look what happened. Aerys will not allow something like that. He would rather build political alliances rather than marry them together. The dragons are gone and there is no longer any need to preserve the blood. He and Rhaella were not happy together. They will surely want happiness for the children. He should also consider the now strong alliance of Baratheon, Stark, and Tully. A strong alliance for the Targaryens is obviously needed. He has the Martells because of Elia. Adding the Tyrells would make his family more secure.

Jorah has moved on. He has other things on his mind now. There is no purpose in this visit. Lynesse is not interested in fighting slavery. I would not think she has any interest in the politics of the 7 kingdoms. It is Tyrion who still holds feelings for his old love.

All of that is good. I would also offer and make good on it to keep Jamie out of the KG. That will make him available to succeed Tywin. I would not hold Jamie hostage after Tywin does his bit to serve his king. I will even offer Tywin's second son future lordship over a substantial portion of Riverlands after making sure all of the Tullys are dead.

The parallels go much deeper than that. Bran is told to forget his dreams of knighthood. He is told to stay on that north side of the wall. Daenerys is made to lose her dreams of motherhood and family. Qaithe is also telling her to go eastward. The slaves want her to stay with them. If Bran stays in the north, Daenerys will stay in the east to maintain the symmetry.

"The things I do for love" "for love is the bane of honor, the death of duty" Love is very harmful and those who have crucial roles to play are better off not having romance and family attachments. Loving and having outside loyalties can interfere with ethical decision making.

The NK lived long ago. Before the Targaryens came to Westeros. He was said to be the thirteenth man to hold the office of commander at the wall. That places his time near the early days of the wall. He came from the Stark family. He saw the pale woman and fell in love. They ruled the wall and were both accused of offering human sacrifices to the white walkers. I think the Starks protected the NK because he was family. He and his corpse bride lie frozen beneath the Winterfell castle. In other words, their bodies are preserved.

Brienne doesn't have skills needed to become queen. She is a fighting woman and does not possess skills in politics. Nor does she have skills in administration. Power and the position of queen are among the things valued by Cersei. So this newcomer will take those things from her. Brienne has not shown any desire nor ability to run a household, much less a kingdom.

The sparrows want more than minor reforms. They want a better life for the small folk and a way to curb the power of the nobility. They went directly to the top because the power of the nobility come from the monarch in feudalism. Weakening Cersei and Tommen is the first step to weakening the nobility. The sparrow wants the church to run Westeros. Like Khomeini ran Iran after giving the shah the boot. Aegon will be just a stepping stool for the sparrows. They don't want to separate the church and the state. They want the church to be in charge. Aegon would be foolish to work with the sparrows. I'm not saying he won't. He might do it if he gets desperate.