Him of Many Faces

Whoa, I have missed this theory.

What's that one theory that makes you roll your eyes whenever you see it discussed? What makes you go "I can't believe people are still discussing that, it's been debunked to death"? For me, it would be any of the A+ B = C theories regarding parentage.

This seems like a very reasonable prediction but yikes for what this would mean for the chances of Winds of Winter getting published in the 2020s.

I don't think noodles are adopted into Westerosi cuisine.

I think George writes fantastic sex scenes and I have never understood why the fandom likes to bicker about them. Fat pink mast is too cringy? I'd like to hear a more poetic description of a penis that's about to enter a vagina the first time.

Alicent and all Hightowers have Valyrian look about them. It's never told anywhere what the inheritable Hightower characteristics are but since the two Hightowers who are described in the story (Lynesse and Alerie) can be considered Valyrian-looking, my headcanon considers all Hightowers to have blonde-to silver hair and some shade of blue or violet eyes. I also think this is why Jahaerys confused young Alicent with his daughter. I wish Gyldayn weren't so mysterious about the Hightowers.

I think characters from Fire and Blood should not be considered in this answer because that's Gyldayn's biased BS. Before getting to read Cersei's POV, the answer would be Lysa, but after experiencing Cersei's thought process, the answer is Cersei and no one comes close.

Is it?

This is a very smart prediction and it would fit in with the likable characters dying too soon cliche Game of Thrones got famous for in its early seasons.

Game of Thrones - we must stop fighting amongst ourselves and unite against the common enemy from the north House of Dragon - we must stop fighting amongst ourselves and unite against the common enemy that is prophesized to eventually come from the north. Both shows essentially tell the same story, only GoT told it in a more complex way with much more characters while HotD recycles the same plot with smaller cast, more dragons, less breasts and worse characters due to bad pacing and timejumps. Also HotD is not a story with its own purpose and meaning but content to give HBO (and George) a chance to compete with the other cinematic universes that are so popular nowadays. Rhaenys killing smallfolk during Aegon's crowing is on par with GoT's later season idiotic writing (Arya's bleeding aerobics in Braavos, Bad Pussy etc) so HotD is already at best as enjoyable as the final seasons of GoT - well made scenes and spectacle, but no cohesion in the narrative and occasional insults to the viewer's intelligence. Of course there's a chance season 2 will be a big improvement since they won't have to jump in time or invent "shocking" scenes since the material has plenty of them. I still remain skeptical.

So.. Blood and Cheese will be season 2, episode 1 I think.

I think Targaryen conquest of Westeros is inspired by Norman conquest of England. Aegon is like William the Conqueror, Harren the Black is like Harald Hardrada (also viking-ironborn similarities) and Argilac is like Harold Godwinson (both last kings of an ancient house). And of course GRRM being GRRM he mixed up things a bit like not making Aegon a bastard like William and instead created Orys Baratheon. Definitely not a colonization, not even cultural.

Fire & Blood does not need to exist. The main series gives enough insight to the Targaryen and Westerosi history already. Fire & Blood just adds details. For example we know from Feast about Maegor and his fights against the Faith and its military orders. We know from Tyrion II in AGoT about Aegon's conquest. And so on. Are details necessary, especially if the details are not definite but vague and dubious like presented by maester Gyldayn? It was a fun book to read but definitely not on bar with the 5 ASOIAF novels and 3 Dunk & Egg novellas.

Jon's middle POV characters in Dance are tedious on the nth re-read. Aeron Greyjoy can get on my nerves with his endless mantra about a godly man sitting on the Seastone Chair. The long descriptions of everything when Bran is inside Summer in Clash and Storm make me roll my eyes as well. My least favorite chapter is Davos III in Clash. Too much of the chapter feels like reading the names of every single boat in Westeros (after reading Fevre Dream I get GRRM's fixation with ships though). Action is never that great to read and GRRM is much more excellent with witty dialogue. I think Davos himself s the least interesting POV character since he has no agenda, he just gets imprisoned and acts like a moral compass to Stannis.

Weird how the fandom has so little love for Tyrion. Maybe that's why D&D made him a saint. Personally I read him as a wicked but not inherently evil character. He has just as much good in him than bad. And I really love his chapters in Dance when he is fully chaotic, it's some of the best writing in ASOIAF.