James Fenimore Cooper XXII

Excellent observation. Aerys preferred Viserys to Rhaegar and made the younger son heir to the throne. He would not go for this match with Cersei. That would make the Lannisters too powerful. Tywin would want to build peace with the Greyjoys to assure the security of Lannisport. Cersei to one of the younger Greyjoys.

Stannis is a heartless guy. He might do that if he gets the chance. I hope it doesn't happen though.

Robb thought he could beat the Lannisters. He could be wrong. At its worse, it was a poor judgment call.

I am assuming you mean Aegon I, the conqueror. He chose the Tyrells to rule the Reach on his behalf. He took it on faith that a house he elevated to great house status would remain loyal forever. This is basically Aegon delegating the management of the lands to his sworn noblemen. The Tyrells manage the lands and the people who live off the lands on behalf of Aegon. They take their cut and pay what is due the Targaryens in the form of taxes to the crown.

The lords and ladies of Westeros value bloodline and they base their right to rule over others by virtue of their nobility. What could be more noble than the Targaryens who descend from a long line of Valyrian Dragonlords. The dragons made it possible to conquer the small, quarrelsome little kingdoms and build one united land. Three hundred years of unbroken and largely stable rule built the Targaryen legacy and established their right to rule over their land. The Targaryens in large part allowed these lords to continue to run things as they had been but made them answerable to one monarch. The laws became more uniform (like making the tradition of the first night illegal) and more consistent across the land instead of depending on the whims of the regional lord. House Targaryen had the advantage of starting strong. Aegon and his sisters didn't need to be propped up by another noble house. None of the houses they're about to rule had a political leverage on them. They gave up polygamy and accepted the Faith but that is not the same thing as having to depend on what should be a vassal house in order to get your reign off the ground. Robert started off weak and he had to be supported by Jon Arryn and the Lannisters. It didn't help that Robert was bad at ruling (despite what the TV show tried to portray) and turned a surplus into a considerable debt to the creditors (Iron Bank and the Lannisters). This and Robert's dependence on the Lannisters caused an end to the short reign of the Baratheons. While there have been unskilled Targaryen rulers of the past, they did not come into power until the dynasty had been firmly established. Robert and Stannis are not and would not make good rulers. At no point during the Targaryen rule did the kingdom ever got as bad as it is now. We can debate the reign of each monarch of the last three hundred years and judge each of them. But it is correct to say that despite their flaws, House Targaryen did a good job of ruling Westeros. The worst of the dragon monarchs, Aegon IV, caused the Blackfyre rebellions but it never got as bad as the War of the Five kings. There were always capable Targaryen administrators like Brynden Rivers to handle the situation.

I do not think so. Quaithe came with two other emissaries to meet Dany outside of Qarth.

Poor Gilly! Yeah wolvess do not respect fences if there is something edible on the other side. At least Ghost didn't. Tyrion is a lion. The wolves recognized a superior predator. Or just GM creating drama.

I came across this good quality channel on You Tube called Civilization Ex. This is one of his best episodes and covers the start of the Battle of Fire. Be warned, as this may contains spoilers from the next book. I was surprised with the speech because it was that good. And riding the Silver into battle was a good move.

Daenerys Targaryen's dragons are the Lightbringer. One sword is not enough to fight the WWs. A weapon capable of mass destruction is needed to get rid of the wights and the Others.

Roose Bolton believes his future sons with Walda will be murdered by Ramsay. Walda is far from stupid. The Freys are keen observers and they know how to play games. It won't take long for this woman to figure what kind of a man his stepson is. What can Lady Bolton do to keep her future sons (assuming she will have one or two, because the Freys are fertile) safe from Ramsay? What are her best (but realistic) options? I like Fat Walda. It would not upset me to have her son with Roose inherit the north.

I agree that it can be done. Through many different ways it can be done. Establishing a freehold where all of the highborn families compete for supremacy will work but it's not the preferred method to me. It uses up resources and capital when these families constantly fight for supremacy. Resources and capital that could better be used. Otoh, I don't think that world is quite ready for democracy. Each region should have its own governor who answers to the monarch, which is Dany. A representative form of government where each region will send an official to take up residence in the capital could work and serve as liaisons.

Missandei. The kid is smart for her age. I am interested in what the peaceful people of Na'ath were like.

Yup, I concur.

I'm a Dany fan and anything that will help her sounds good to me. Gilly should serve Dany. She can be the Dragon's third maid, to replace Doreah.

Robb's team had problems from the start. He's the biggest problem. The people who make up the team had each their own agendas. Catelyn wanted to get her daughters back and gave up the war's most valuable POW to get them back. Roose was working against Robb. Robb screwed over his most valuable ally, Walder Frey. Robb followed his heart instead of his head. He chose to break his oath for the love of Jeyne Westerling. I can't really blame Walder and the Freys for getting upset. Catelyn knew the value of the Kingslayer and still she lets him go. This undermined Robb's authority and lost them bargaining power. I would argue that it's not for lack of political skills but rather a lack of self-discipline and too much selfishness on the parts of Robb and Cat.