SeanF

I don't think it's tinfoily at all. The show dropped hints of resentment on the part of Tyrion towards Jon and Daenerys. Book Tyrion is vicious towards women who reject him. If the tale ends with Tyrion persuading Jon, or someone else, to kill Daenerys, it will likely be out of jealousy.

I don't think Arianne is just a prize for Aegon. I think the price for Dorne's support for Aegon will be co-rulership.

Yes, Tyrion does have a real problem with women who turn him down.

@Lord VarysThe more I think about it, the more I suspectTyrion is Iago to Jon and Dany.

Dany's dream at Astapor suggests that the final defeat of the Others will be on the Trident.

Jon Con is the obvious candidate for someone who burns KL.

Agreed. Trying to make sense of the last two Seasons is like applying lipstick to a pig.

And being good at war is pretty much the litmus test for any medieval ruler. Being an intellectual as well is good, but secondary. When the Ironborn raid, or the Dornish declare independence, or the lords revolt, Bran the Broken and Tyrion are not going to be much use.

The problem with ruling for Dany and Jon, is that every choice you make (or refrain from making) hurts or offends someone. Which is true to life. It would be dishonest to have the world's problems being fixed by a God-king.

I suppose Bran may be evil

That's the problem with Bran as King as I see it. We are left with "magic did it". Or he has God-like powers as the Three Eyed Raven. I can see any or all of Daenerys, Jon, Aegon & Arianne, Stannis, plausibly sitting the Iron Throne, but Bran?

It's not just that Bran has no qualifications for kingship, but also that elective monarchy is generally a bad idea. Elective monarchies either become hereditary in practice, or they decline into oligarchies.

I suppose one has to admire their honesty in a way. They plainly didn't have a clue.

After reading about D & D at the Austin Film Festival, I'd now say "Not a lot". I think that TWOW and ADOS will only bear the vaguest relation to Seasons 6 to 8.

Every woman in the Sarantine Mosaic seemed desperate for sex with Crispinus.

I've no doubt that Daenerys' reputation will be terrible by the time she reaches Westeros. Murderer of her brother and husband;. Instigator of slave revolts and religious conflict in the East (people may disapprove of slavery, but nobles will sympathise with Eastern nobles who flee across the Narrow Sea). Her sex life is already being used to trash her reputation in ADWD. She will indeed be viewed as a whore. And, she'll be leading an army of Dothraki, Unsullied, Ironborn, and sellswords. So, I think the show got right just how unpopular she will be among the lords and ladies of Westeros. I'm sure Sansa would be disgusted by her.

She might be receiving genuine visions from Qaithe. Dany is so surrounded by magic and the supernatural that it's impossible to tell what's magic, and what's madness. Likewise, her hallucinations at the end. Are they caused by sunstroke and poisoning, or are they a sign of mental illness?

Master Kraznys had it coming.

I doubt if he is truly her nephew, but I expect that she will be widely condemned for his and Arianne's deaths. And, you're right, she'll be blamed for the death of Viserys. Add to that, slave revolts, religious wars being conducted in her name, and her reputation will be terrifying. Arianne's death is foreshadowed by "Nymeria burned as bright as any man, and so shall I" IMHO.

By Season 8, none of the characters in the show bear much relation to their book counterparts, so I'd expect there to be very big differences between the show ending and the book ending. Tyrion is Richard III in the books. Martin has already described him as "the villain" out of the main POV characters. In Season 8, he's a saintly pacifist, spouting D & D's absurd political views, and retconning previous episodes. He's also had a lobotomy. Dany is a genocidal maniac, rather than the anti-heroine of the books. People start plotting against her, despite the fact that they'll lose to Cersei if they kill her. I presume that Tyrion will persuade Jon to kill her in the books, but Tyrion's motives will be far murkier. Jon Snow is a waste of space. Cersei stares out of the window. I'm sure her final chapters in the books will be far more interesting. Cunning spymaster Varys is an idiot, who shouts treason at the top of his voice. It turns out Jaime never cared about the people of Kings Landing, making his backstory and redemption arc pointless. Arya becomes Elissa Farman. Martin won't tell that story twice. Euron is a poor man's Jack Sparrow, rather than the sinister wizard of the books. Sam won't be Grand Maester and Bronn won't be Master of Coin, in the books. Sansa takes over Jeyne Poole's story. I expect most of her story will be in the Vale in the books. The "rightful heir" story is a garbled version of the conflict between Dany and FAegon. Kings Landing will burn, in that fight, before the war against the Others.

I should add "a dark turn" ought not to mean "go batshit crazy."

Under Heaven is really really good.

A fair review, IMHO. I think it's clear that Miri is far better qualified than Simon, to rule. Simon was very foolish to try and turn her into being just Queen Consort, at the start of their reign, and she was right to push back against this.

That's my impression

The selection at their flagship store in Piccadilly is awesome. Very naughtily, they sell books several days before publication date.