BlackLightning

The short answer is no. The longer answer is that I resent this question because it is insincere and pretty ignorant

Good point In any case, I think that Visenya's main, overruling motivation was that the Targaryen dynasty was in terrible danger. Aegon was barely legal and did not have what it takes to get rid of the Faith Militant and prevent the rest of the realm from falling apart. Aenys had gotten close to letting everything his father built get destroyed and Visenya and Maegor both did a pretty good job in supporting him. Aenys, however, overruled them every chance he could yet was far too weak and ineffectual to do anything outside of that. Moreover, as previously stated, Aegon and Rhaena could not be trusted to take command and lead effectively. Maegor had proven himself and had all the trappings of power.

Not unless something catastrophically important happens. Bran using greenseer magic to interfere in Jaime's execution definitely falls within that category. As does: the fall of the Wall (which will likely cause a massive earthquake) a sudden sharp drop in temperature and the disappearance of the Sun (i.e. the Long Night's beginning) the sound of the Horn of Winter being blown (which, given its magic properties, will be heard). Even so, Stoneheart will be forced to recognize that the accomplishing of her goals would be easier with Jaime's help than without it. For one, Jaime knows the itinerary set for Edmure's prison escort. Two, Jaime can get them close to the Twins. Three, Jaime can get do more than get them close to Riverrun...he can get them inside. And by the way, doesn't Jaime have King Tommen's seal with him as well? Jaime also can confirm that the Arya at Winterfell is a pretender whose placement there was arranged by Littlefinger of all people. I don't think Stoneheart is some mindless killing machine. She's still Catelyn. And Jaime knows too much to be killed right away. She probably will still kill him though. But not until after she's been able to take him for everything he's worth.

What you're not understanding is that that those hundreds of pages left over from Dance (~250 pages max) had not been edited and were not ready for release. These weren't clean-cut leftovers. He still writing those pages when the editors forced him to release Dance as is. Why? Not because that they had a deadline to meet but because those new pages just wouldn't have fit within the book and the book-binding standards in 2011 were very different than the ones of present-day 2023. You're also assuming that he started working on Winds immediately after Dance came out and that's not true. What's more likely is that he took a lot of time off and - as his attention was super divided at the time - was writing very slowly. He's clearly suffered from writer's block (another Meereenese Knot perhaps?) and he has rewritten a bunch of material. Winds was supposed to come out in 2016 but something really big happened (we'll find out about it soon I'm sure) and he ended up completely retooling the story. I don't think he started really taking things really seriously until the show finished. He stopped giving updates for years -- and he had gotten pretty pissy about it whenever someone asked him about it -- only to start giving updates now. He's given us more updates in the last year than we had in the previous seven years. So in a way, he's written more than 800ish pages in the 12 years since Dance came out. Just a lot of those were scrapped or revised. In fact, he is comfortable enough to tell us that... a little over two-thirds of the book is finished he is trying to figure out whether or not Casterly Rock is going to appear at the end of The Winds of Winter or if we are going to have to wait until A Dream of Spring That's huge. Especially considering that he stopped giving active updates for years. And just because it hypothetically took him to 10 years to write 900 pages, doesn't meant that it will take him 5 years to write 500. The pace will vary. For example, GRRM said that the very first Bran chapter wrote itself in his own head but that it took him close to a year to write that one chapter where Quentyn finally meets Dany. So cheer up! We're going to get The Winds of Winter.

Why on Earth would he want that. It would be better for everyone to think that he is a Targaryen prince than it would be for only 75% of people to think that. Because why allow people who think he is Rhaegar's son the opportunity to have their belief shaken by people who believe that he is a Blackfyre. And people within the Golden Company are loud. In any case, such back-and-forth doubts really only serves to hurt Aegon No doubt. However, the only problem here is that -- outside of the Small Council, Margaery, the Merryweathers, Cersei and Cersei's children -- we don't know anything about the supporters or associates of the old Lannister-Baratheon-Tyrell regime. From what I have been reading, no one in the city really likes the Lannisters or the pseudo-Baratheon kings. They like the Tyrells but...meh I don't know. I 100% agree with you. I actually am beginning to think that the people of KL will betray Cersei and open the city gates for Aegon...only for Connington to decide to sack and/or burn the city...which would then trigger the wildfire caches. That being said, I'm not sure if it's going to be the worst scenes of cruelty in the entire series. How can it be when most of the people being slaughtered or raped have only appeared once or twice on page? We still have Euron to contend with.

I'm confused. Can you explain what you are trying to say here I don't think Dany will make it to Westeros in Winds I think that she'll make landfall at the very beginning of Dream

Varys lied to Ned Stark In any case, Varys doesn't even have to lie. He can just be wrong. I thought that the problem with Pyrrhus was that he won but, in the end, he failed because his previous victory nearly destroyed him and he was unable to accomplish anything else. I don't think it will be a case of Aegon not having enough support to secure his crown. I think Aegon's main problem will be the total lack of preparation on his part and that of his inner circle. Seriously, none of the people on Team Aegon are prepared to lead the 7K through what is guaranteed to be worst winter in living memory...and that's not even taking the Others into account. I don't feel like Illyrio and Varys really thought through this: not only was this Wot5K an absolute nightmare, but it isn't even over. Even if the Others never come and Daenerys never finds out the truth and gets mad, how are they going to keep everyone fed and warm? Team Aegon is (and sadly, will continue to be) so focused on destroying House Targaryen's enemies that they will not be prepared to reign and govern. Especially if Jon Connington and/or the Sand Snakes end up orchestrating mass executions and setting King's Landing ablaze with wildfire.

My mistake I should've said a strong and centralized monarchy that serves as an ultimate authority with a constitution, a pseudo-parliament of lords and a judicial system (primarily staffed and worked by commoners) as a check on its power

The following battles are non-negotiable. They must be included not only for the sake of plot and character arcs but for the sake of dragon action (which this show depends on) The Sack of Duskendale The Battle of Rook's Rest The Battle of the Gullet and the Sack of Driftmark The Battle of the Honeywine The Battle of the Red Fork The Ironman Invasion of the West Rhaenyra's Conquest of King's Landing The Fishfeed/The Butcher's Ball The Sack of Bitterbridge The First and Second Battle of Tumbleton Aegon's Conquest on Dragonstone The Battle Above the Gods' Eye The Riots of King's Landing, the Destruction of the Dragonpit and the Baratheon Reconquest of the city The Battle of the Kingsroad The Red Fork, the Fishfeed and the Butcher's Ball can be combined into one big battle. There's a lot of room for expansion as well. Rhaenyra can lead armies into more battles Rhaena can be given something to do with Morning in the Vale Jacaerys' time on the show can be extended with his accompanying of the northmen for a while Laenor can make a big comeback on behalf of Rhaenyra at the end of the war Both Addam and Alyn can make big splashes with their own dragons (yes, there's no reason why they can't just create a dragon for TV for the sake of Addam) Alys River's son by Aemond can be aged up and given a dragon to make him, his mother and their forces the last remnant that needs to be put down...as well as Aegon's first test I'd like this show to continue past the Regency period and take us right into the Blackfyre Rebellions and the beginning of House Targaryen's failed attempts to bring back dragons.

The Iron Throne? No The Seven Kingdoms? Yes. But I feel like that the boundaries and divisions between the Seven Kingdoms will be minimized and blurred to the point where all of Westeros becomes just one gigantic kingdom. What I mean by that is that I believe that Westeros will go from a feudal decentralized monarchy to a more traditional, absolutist monarchy with a strong bureaucracy, a constitution and the early rumblings of a Parliamentary system

Westerosi nobility (particularly the more powerful lords) are more powerful and have more rights/privileges than their real-life counterparts in Britain, Scotland and France

Oh yeah definitely Chronologically, Daenerys' last chapter should take place at the same time (if not before) The Queensguard POV chapter With that logic, Daenerys can make back to Meereen in time for the Volantene fleet.

I agree. I really do. It was the right thing to do. That being said, it is still a violation of Jon's oath. And the fact that he had sent Mance Rayder of all people (thereby making Jon complicit in Mance Rayder's fake execution) makes it look even worse

Not everything Sending wildlings after the daughter-in-law of the Warden of the North is pretty egregious Agreed And it'll happen towards the end of the book. If it's not Jon Connington, then it's more likely to be Euron as part of some crazy blood sacrifice. This is true. But Dany slaughtering close to a million innocent people? The only way I see that happening is if she had a very good reason for doing so. Genocidal pyromania is not a facet of Dany's story in my opinion.

It's an interesting theory @King Benedict Justman I I would readily embrace it and incorporate it into my own headcanon. But I don't think we have enough time for that. And I definitely don't think we have enough POVs on hand for that kind of story. Lady Stoneheart isn't brain dead. If she was brain dead, she wouldn't be able to recognize Oathkeeper as the repurposed Stark ancestral blade nor would she specific make a point on stealing back Robb's crown. Lady Stoneheart is looking for Arya in the Riverlands because that's where she was last seen. I do think Lady Stoneheart has plans to go North but not without the real Arya.

Do we all think that Bran was going to play a role in the Battle of Winterfell? Yeah I do think that in the coming books, there won't be too much for people to eat. Copious descriptions of all different types of food will gave way to characters being overcome with joy to eat old, raw turnips. But I think GRRM did a lot of internal character development in these books. They are light on action and plot movement but heavy on worldbuilding and character. At this point, he's probably given up on that. We'll probably get a 100 chapters (not including the prologue and epilogue) in this book.

Apart from the battles, I feel like Arianne's storyline with travelling through the Stormlands and meeting Aegon and JonCon and Daenerys' storyline with the Dothraki (at least up to a point; maybe three more chapters) should have been included. Both of their POV chapters are very much in line with the theme of dancing with dragons. As far as Stannis and the Greyjoy siblings are concerned, I feel like their stories ended a lot more conclusively than that of the Meereenese group. Granted, I do think that the Theon sample chapter should've been included (and placed after the Jon Snow chapter). But overall, I feel like they are in a good spot. In my opinion, it's more appropriate to have the "Battle of Ice" take place in The Winds of Winter than in a book so named A Dance with Dragons. Although you can resolve the Battle of Ice with less chapters than you could with the Battle of Fire, it's probably for the best that the Battle of Ice was moved out. The only reason why it would be good for the Battle of Ice to be placed in A Dance with Dragons is if Stannis ended up surviving the battle and seized control of Winterfell. Technically, the dragons did dance. I presume that they were supposed to continue dancing (and maybe gain riders) while the Battle of Meereen raged. I think people would have been a lot kinder about the whole Qunetyn thing if the Battle of Meereen was fought and finished. I agree though; the Battle of Meereen should've been included. Granted, I'm not sure that the Meereenese story was set to conclude there. The only way I see the Meereen story concluding is when Daenerys feels comfortable leaving the city.

I agree. In the Western world, we mandate it so that our children are put through 12+ years of a pretty well-rounded education. It's not perfect but it's pretty comprehensive. When they finish their education, why don't we instantly give them jobs? Why must they still continue to prove themselves. I think GRRM is trying to use this whole Aegon plotline to make and prove a point about good kings/leaders and the education system by in large. Bran, by the end of the day, will be the perfect candidate for kingship and GRRM has to show us why. Aegon may be a means to that end. Forget the Others. Do you seriously believe that he is seriously prepared to contend with not only widespread famine but one of the absolute worst winters that the Seven Kingdoms will experience? Secondly, why do you trust Varys so much?

Is it bad that I think that sort of subscribe to this theory? Bran has already been sorely tempted to do so. Is there any type of porn that specifically targets straight women? Or women in general?

Yes Aegon, regardless of whether he is the real deal or not, is completely unprepared to rule Westeros. Especially now. What's worse is that the people who are propping him up are either just as clueless as he is, or they are completely twisted. Aegon does share too many similarities with Joffrey but, basically, I see Aegon as a more inorganic, incompetent version of Robb...and Robb was a military genius.

So, what you're saying is that the "salt wife, rock wife" stuff isn't polygamy because polygamy is illegal on the Iron Islands. But sexual slavery is legal. And the Iron Throne just...tolerates such an arrangement

LOL yes, it is There are two different wives that you can have in Ironborn culture and the children from both types of wives are legitimate and trueborn.

I'm with Craving Peaches, @frenin But forget about Aerys for a moment... As knights of the Kingsguard, they should have immediately sought out Rhaella and Viserys. But they didn't. Not only did they not leave, but they all insisted that they were holding true to their vows...knowing full well that Rhaella, Viserys and Daenerys were on Dragonstone. It's pretty clear evidence that Jon (and Lyanna) were members of the royal family.

Sorry I disagree. Jon is legitimate. Polygamy is illegal (are we really even sure that this is the case?) but its illegality is determined by the will of Targaryen royalty. Not the High Septon, not the Book of the Seven-Pointed Star, not individual lords but by the Targaryens. The faith's military and judicial arms were dismantled by the Targaryens who proceeded to make polygamy illegal as a compromise. It can just as easily be made legal again. If a thirteen-year-old dwarf second son of the Lord of Casterly Rock can find a septon to marry him and if said marriage was annulled (you can't annul an illegal marriage...illegal marriages don't exist), then the almost-thirty-year-old Crown Prince of the Seven Kingdoms can do the same thing too. Even if Rhaegar couldn't find a septon to officiate the marriage (unlikely), the marriage can be officiated by way of a Valyrian ceremony, by the red priests of R'hllor or even by a worshipper of the old gods. Actually no, it wouldn't Don't forget that we still have the Blackfyres, the Sand Snakes, the Twincest kids, Mance Rayder, all of the wildlings, and Ramsay Bolton. Even "Alayne Stone" is playing into the stereotype and she's not even a real bastard. If Jon is a bastard, he'd be the exception rather than the rule in the eyes of Westeros.

Agreed. Obara, Nymeria and Tyene are trash. And as for Elia...well, she hasn't done anything yet, but she is bad news and I don't like her either. Obara is an unconventionally conventional threat while Tyene is basically a GRRM amalgamation of the killer doll (i.e. Chucky, Annabelle, etc.) and the killer nun. But Nymeria is scary simply because she will be in a pretty significant position of power. No one in King's Landing will dare challenge and offend her because doing so would push Dorne over the edge. And with everything going on with Stannis, Catelyn, Euron, Aegon and now Kevan/Pycelle, that would be the last thing that they need. Unfortunately, all attempts to please Nymeria or steer clear of her won't matter as she'll probably kill them all anyways. Tyene is a standout character to be honest. It is rare enough to have a female character is a full-blown creep. It is even rarer for the creepiness of said female character to not have anything to do with sex. Like the fact that Tyene is creepy has absolutely nothing to do with her sex and sexuality is very refreshing to say the least.