Lord Varys

@Veltigar It is very difficult to assess the KL situation on the basis of that. Especially since we don't know anything on Haldon's source on the army marching against Storm's End. But if Varys is the source then it is most likely very good information. The question as to who is going to lead the army is completely open. We don't know what is going to happen in KL in the wake of Kevan's death, but we do know that the plan was to have Cersei's trial three days later. Whether that's going to happen as planned is an open question, too, as is what's going to happen directly thereafter. Say, for instance, what's going to happen if Ser Robert Strong's true identity/status is revealed to a larger public in the wake of that. How will people in the city react to that? There is also no reason to believe Margaery's trial is going to postponed indefinitely (assuming Mace is going to continue with that now that Kevan's gone and can no longer push him) All they need is four septons and three septas, after all. Regardless of all that it is reasonable to assume that Mace will not sent his entire strength against the Golden Company. He'll keep half his strength or more in the capital to ensure that he can keep the Faith Militant and the remaining Lannister loyalists in check and the peace in the city. I'm inclined to assume Mace will remain in KL because he is now completely in control of Tommen's government and may enjoy sitting on the Iron Throne and all but that is by no means certain. He might also decide to win glory by smashing the Golden Company. Tarly commanding the army alone or alongside Mace is also an option. However, I don't think it likely that Tarly is a secret Golden Company ally or Targaryen loyalist. If that was the case then a battle could easily be avoided completely simply by Tarly either arresting Mace or murdering Mace and then opening the gates to the approaching Aegon. I think we'll see the Golden Company fighting and crushing the Tyrell troops whoever is going to command them. After all, Jon Connington is now a seasoned and experienced commander and the Golden Company is made up of professional soldiers who know how to fight and what to do. Their lines won't break easily (unlike those of the Tyrell levies) and they will continue to fight even if things seem confusing or dangerous for a time. Finally, the Golden Company has elephants. Neither knights nor peasants in Westeros seem to have any experience in fighting against war elephants. A general question: How likely do you guys think is the possibility that Arianne is going to meet Nymeria, Myrcella, and her party at Storm's End. We learned in that chapter that they took the Boneway and crossed the Stormlands so the chances that they walked right into the clutches of the Golden Company are pretty big, actually. And thanks to Kevan not mentioning any of that to Mace of Cersei (that Myrcella was coming with Nymeria to KL) the Tyrells have no clue about that at all. I don't expect the Dornish to commit to Aegon's cause prior to the Golden Company showing their mettle against the Tyrell. Arianne will play wait and see until she is sure that they can win if they combine their forces. And if Dorne then declares for Aegon publicly during the victory celebration after this battle the effect of that could ripple through the entire Realm. Many disgruntled lords everywhere might decide to throw in their lot with this Targaryen pretender rather than suffer this clearly fake Baratheon boy king. Not just in the Reach but also in the Riverlands, the Crownlands, and possibly even the West and the Vale. A Targaryen restoration means hope and tastes like the good old days, whereas Cersei's brood is not exactly popular and well-liked.

Hm. If we go with the assumption that the Dondarrions have a drop of Targaryen blood this could explain how and why Beric rose. And perhaps a fire wight with a workable 'fire magic package' in his system can pass it on - if Catelyn hasn't any Targaryen blood of her own which is not completely impossible (for instance, due to Tully closeness to the Iron Throne either Aerea or Rhalla could have married into House Tully back during the reign of Jaehaerys I). If this is the reason why this stuff works then Jon Snow's chances of being dead and becoming revived by Melisandre - and this being a first proof about his heritage - have just gotten much better!

Check TWoIaF. In recent times there were unidentified connections (of the blood tie sort) between House Tarth and House Targaryen. We don't know through whom but we do know that Selwyn and Brienne embody the main branch of House Tarth and thus presumably the Tarths affected by this. My personal take on this whole thing is that Dunk married Dunk's elder sister, Princess Daella, Egg's former betrothed, and had at least one daughter with her who eventually married into House Tarth - becoming the mother of Lord Selwyn and Brienne's grandmother. Thus we would slay two birds with one stone - the Targaryen connections thing would be explained as well as the pretty strong hint that Brienne is descended from Dunk, too. The other option would be that both a daughter of Dunk and a Targaryen married into House Tarth independent of each other. While possible this would be rather convoluted whereas a Dunk-Daella match should have potential for a great D&E story as well as for a constellation that sets the ground for an overall interesting development.

Actually, I've no reason to believe that either Brienne or Jaime are dead. What Brienne will do in the future will completely hinge on the question what task/mission Catelyn gives her. She has returned into her service, after all. And since she already lured Jaime into a trap we can assume she is willing to serve her again. Considering that Brienne actually has Targaryen blood I'd not be surprised if she and Jaime both eventually ended up in Aegon's Kingsguard.

Shadrich has no clear way to get himself and Sansa out of the Vale. He cannot go through the mountains as the passes are already closed (and it would be utterly stupid to take that road without a strong escort anyway). This would leave only a way by ship, and he is hundreds of leagues away from the coast. Even if he could reach a port he would also have to chance upon a ready ship - which could be possible if he works with Varys/Illyrio - but he cannot possibly hope to get her from the Gates to a port without being caught days before he arrives there. It just doesn't make any sense logistically. Now, if the gang goes to Gulltown or closer to the coast in future chapters things might change and real opportunities for such a thing may arise. But right now they are effectively impossible. Not that I believe Shadrich wants to abduct Sansa. I really hope those whole abduction plot lines are over now. On Littlefinger's motivation regarding Sansa: We should note that Petyr already wanted to marry Sansa once - back after Ned was disgraced (Cersei remembers that in ADwD). I don't think he has lost that wish/desire. While Sansa is still Alayne, his daughter, he may be able to keep his desire in check but I really don't see him actually giving Sansa Stark's hand away in marriage. Especially not to Harrold Hardyng. That would be my main reason for the assumption that he may have 'other plans' for Harry. I'm also not inclined to believe he wants to have sex with Sansa prior to their marriage. That would spoil the fun as he cannot want her to deliver his bastard - if he actually cares about fathering a dynasty. With a character like him that's far from clear. He may actually only care becoming a great man himself not necessarily the father of a dynasty, although that would be the usual mindset of a nobleman. And he is very aware of his own heritage. Surprise guests: I doubt that Sandor or Brienne/Jaime will show up in the Vale. It seems as if major stuff is going to happen in the Riverlands (which is why I think Brynden Tully is not going to pay the Vale a visit, either), and I see Jaime/Brienne returning to/be drawn into events in KL rather than someplace else. And Sandor should be drawn to KL, too, when he learns about the abomination his brother has become.

Any unpublished stuff could also be marked 'preliminary information' or something like that. Any unpublished manuscript is preliminary and should be subject to change until it is published to correct mistakes and make it better (and that's usually what is done). Somebody should rework Harrold Hardyng in any case as the article blatantly states Harry would rule the Vale as 'Harrold Arryn' when we don't really know that. It may be the case, and Harry's personal arms certainly indicate that he sees himself as an Arryn.

Well, it did until it didn't. Sigh...

Okay, then I guess I imagined it. Or it was 'regency wars' or 'regent war' or something like that. Have you found the comment where George talks about the word count of Gyldayn's account on the Regency?

Regent Wars: If my memory serves me correctly - which actually could be the case - then George himself used that term on his NAB when he mentioned how many worlds he had written on the Regency of Aegon III. That would be in the commentary section on an entry on either TPatQ, TRP, TWoIaF, or something else related. Whether this is an appropriate term at all I do not know. Ran/Linda do not paint the Regency era as a series of wars although it very well could have been. There were campaigns against the Stepstones and the Ironborn, the battle in the Red Keep itself following the arrest of Thaddeus Rowan, and the fighting in the Vale that killed Corwyn Corbray. Whether this had anything to do with the regents and their parties fighting each other or a general uprising/unrest due to the fact that the central authority was weak I cannot possibly say. Battle of the Kingsroad: Well, TWoIaF makes it clear that Borros the Illiterate (or rather Borros the Moron) lost that battle because he dismissed the threat posed by women and children. 40,000 men in total would also surprise me as we know from both TPatQ and TWoIaF that there was fighting in the Riverlands from the beginning of the Dance which should be an indication that the Riverlords were pretty spent by then. The fact that Elmo Tully stayed at home with the Tully levies until Second Tumbleton could be a hint that there were some untapped resources but it should not have been that much. There has to be a reason, though, why Borros had not all Stormlanders at his back. Either there was previously fighting in the Stormlands or Borros let a good portion of his strength back in the city to hold it against other Black forces. But with both the Tully and the Stark army this would seem unlikely to me.

Not doing wiki stuff at all, or only when I'm feeling up to it, but I'd recommend that this theory thing proposed above is expanded in hindsight of TWoIaF. There will be tons of hard facts to be included eventually, but there will also be theories mentioned, weighed, and dismissed by Maester Yandel, and the wiki should, I think, correctly reflect those things, perhaps also including commentaries how the broader community (i.e. the consensus of the readers - if such a thing exists on the particular topic) judge the proposed theories on various phenomena, developments, and so forth.

For the record: I've reached out to the German dubbing guys to get 'Only Cat', Doran/Oberyn's mother, and Tanda Stokeworth back into the show in the German version. Asha is in there, too, so hopefully this will work. On Lysa: I really missed Sheepshit. It would be great for both Littlefinger's and Lysa's back story to go there, and have the wedding there, to illustrate how much Littlefinger resents his origin. That really shows in his talks with Sansa while there are 'at home'... And there was really no need to rush into AFfC territory.

Thanks, didn't realize that the site was still on.

Thought somebody looking into this thread could no the answer: Does amoka permit that his portraits are used on the net in an ASoIaF context? I've written an on line review of TPatQ and would like to add the portraits of Aegon II and Rhaenyra. But I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do that...

I have to admit it: I really cried in this episode, first when they introduced Stannis' family, and then when Shireen sang Patchface's songs. This was priceless. But I'm also quite pissed with how they ruined (again!) Loras' and Littlefinger's character. Why did he have to act on Cersei's orders? In the book he did everything on his own accord to ensure that Sansa stays in the city. That element still remains in the show, but to make Sansa clever Loras has to become an idiot. And to make Loras Tyrell heir to Highgarden is soo wrong.

Mel is changed, she is not dead. I doubt that the Red Priests use this fire ritual to change their priests. Neither Red Priest we have met as of yet, has died himself (Thoros, Benerro, Moqorro, the fat one at Braavos, and so on). Mel's chapter seems to indicate to me that whatever magical fire/heat burns within her, burns within a living women. She has been changed, not resurrected. Mel remembers her past as Melony, if I'm not mistaken, and it seems that she (has been forced to drink) drunken fire to change. Mel is no longer an ordinary human being, that much is true, but I do not doubt that she has died and been resurrected the same way Beric and Cat were. We know from Thoros that the reviving fire kiss actually is part of a funeral ritual, and the fact that it can resurrect people, is a huge surprise to him. This makes me think it only works that way since fire magic is on the rise again (i.e. since the return of the dragons into the world).

Well, I really laughed throughout the whole 'Jeyne-thing'. Can anybody imagine Robb Stark, the King in the North, would fall for a common camp follower nurse? Love does not overcome class distinctions in Westeros. How can they possibly integrate Davos and him being uncomfortable about being a noble of sorts, and intend to make this girl a queen? It really is too ridiculous to rant about it... I also missed Renly's peach, but Stannis, Davos, and especially Mel really were awesome this week. It's a change that Stannis is actually privy to the whole shadow thing, but I don't mind. Stannis did know later on when he charged Davos to help Mel to kill Ser Cortnay.

Actually, I thought Loras asking Cat if Robb had already attacked Lord Tywin strongly indicated that TV Renly also made the strategic decision to let the Lannisters and Starks weaken each other before he made his move. I'm really happy with TV Renly by the way. He showed confidence in himself in public. He makes decisions as he sees fit and is not pushed around by Loras and Margaery. And they also gave us a glimpse why his men loved him. Of course, we knew from last season that he would not be book Renly. The one thing I found irritating is that he is supposed to be this closeted about his relationship with Renly. Margaery revealing that she knew was a great scene in itself, but book Renly would not have cared about his bannermen knowing about his sexual preferences. And the Tyrells most certainly knew everything about it, that's why they sent Loras as Renly's squire to Storm's End in the first place. But I really liked the fact that Renly was not able to consummate his marriage. Both Loras and Margaery are very aware of the fact that Highgarden expects that Mace's grandson will sit on the Iron Throne. Margaery's character is also not really distorted. Yes, she is older, and yes, she shows her intelligence/capabilities as a plotter early no, but so what? We only get innocent book Margaery because we are never in her head, nor privy to any personal conversation between the Tyrells or Margaery and Renly. That Sansa does not see through Margaery in ASoS does not mean that Margaery is a nice and innocent girl. Oh, and by the way, I can't see that 'adult Margaery' can be interpreted as a sign that they will drop Lady Olenna in the series. It's unthinkable that they would even consider omitting like the Queen of Thorns from the series. She would be far to great fun on screen! And I also really like the reason why Tyrion is going to send Littlefinger to Renly. Tyrion and Cat did not 'bond' all that much during their trip to the Vale, so it would have been rather difficult to establish why Catelyn would trust that any Lannister would exchange Jaime for her daughters. But if Littlefinger is going to deliver an official offer from the Hand of the King she will not only consider it... But I really hope we will not going to see all that negotiation stuff for Margaery's hand after Renly's death. The Tyrells saving the day at the Blackwater should be as much a surprise in the series as it was in the books.

Oh, and I really have to compliment Conleth for this episode. He really can be menacing without being becoming all that explicit. That's how Petyr should be as well. Littlefinger does not make threats. He, ah, say that he would appreciate to be left out of Tyrion's intrigues. That's how he threats. And Varys, well, Varys never actually threats anyone at all. He just makes conversation. They really got that one right, I have to admit it. The only thing they have to repair eventually is Varys's disguise stuff. But as of yet there is no real use for it, I guess.

In my opinion, this episode shows us why it was a huge mistake to downplay Selyse: Truly, why is Stannis even married if this woman did not give him an heir? And Shireen can't be cut. Stannis may not be dead at the end of ADwD, but he is supposed to be dead. Shireen will be declared Queen. So what's going to happen in the TV series if they ever reach that point? They have to give us Shireen back. The girl is as 'important' as Tommen and Myrcella. She may have little/no screen time, but her existence is important politically. As to the sex scene: I don't mind it, nor do I mind the setting. Stannis Baratheon cannot be as 'opposed' to sex as his appearance makes us believe. But I do not believe that Mel could seduce Stannis by promising him a son. Nor do I believe that he longed this desperately for a son. If he did, he would have sex with Selyse on a regular basis. As king Stannis would be able to legitimize his bastard son by Mel, true, but would he do this? If Stannis never got an child from Selyse, would he not rather put his wife aside, divorce her, and take Melisandre as his new queen? I think he would, so this does not make any sense at all. There is a love story between Stannis and Mel. But this only begins after the Blackwater. Before that, Stannis saw Mel only as means to an end (i.e. the Iron Throne). She was his red falcon. Afterwards, she really started to comfort him. And the line in ADwD strongly indicates that Stannis spends his nights with Melisandre on a regular basis. Apparently you can have sex with that woman and not making (shadow) babies ;-). But even then, Stannis is never under her thumb/in her thrall. He outright threatened to kill her in ASoS during the Edric Storm business. He would have done it, if they had ended up sacrificing him without the promised results... The better thing would have been to play the religious/royal card. Promising Stannis that by laying with her the Lord of Light would give him what he wanted (i.e. the Iron Throne and justice). Also, with Selyse as devoted follower of Melisandre we would have gotten a rather interesting dynamic here. As I see it, it's quite likely that Selyse encouraged Stannis to have sex with Melisandre because it's 'God's will'. Making all of Stannis's followers R'hllorians (and Matthos Seaworth the only talking face of them) lead to that stupid dialogue about religion and atheism between Stannis and his son. Davos only said that Stannis was his god to Axell Florent if I'm not mistaken, because he was afraid that they would consider still a follower of the Seven. But Matthos never would 'report' Davos to Mel/Stannis, so this whole stuff seemed quite out of place to me. They also gave the first chance away to have Salladhor Saan tell us about the original Azor Ahai and Nissa Nissa. Telling this story is one of the main purposes of Salladhor Saan in the books, so I really think they missed an opportunity here. As to Littlefinger and Ros: Completely pointless. Spying and whores and customers alike further makes Littlefinger a moron. The man does not care about sex. He only cares about money, influence, and power. Sure, owning brothels and spying on customers can give him leverage over them, but he would not do this personally. The man is head of the royal treasury. He has work to do. As for Ros, I simply do not care. I don't see where she is going from here nor do I care. I just found this scene a waste of time. We already knew Littlefinger is an ass, so what was the point? I also don't like the Joffrey-Cersei-change. Joff is not that much older in the series, and since adulthood starts at the age of 18, not 16, Joffrey should be as far from being a man grown in the series as he was in the books. The Regent rules, the king does not. Considering Cersei's personality she would not back down this easily, nor should series-Joffrey have the cunning to circumvent his mother. Giving Slynt an order is not the same thing than diverging from the script in public. Cersei and the council had real difficulties to countermand Joff's order of executing Ned, but the whole thing makes Cersei a stupid, whining mother. But it's somewhat coherent with Joff's character. He would do this, and it's not that unbelievable that he would have heard talk about Robert's various affairs and his bastard brothers. Killing them is the right thing to do after Stannis sent out his letters. The rest, Pyke, Asha, Balon, and the captain's daughter, the Kingsroad, Arya, Gendry, Jaqen, Hot Pie and especially Lommy ('I'd yield!') were really great. Not sure about the Jon scene in the end, though. Hundreds of NW men slept around Craster's Keep that night. Would Craster risk to slip out to deliver a boy to the Others? I don't think so...

I'd be really surprised if Roose Bolton would be assassinated by his freak son. That man is too cold and too calculating to fail to see that coming. But it's really funny how he now is about to go down the same path Vargo Hoat went down. A path he analyzed with such merciless clarity in ASoS during his supper with Jaime. Hoat bet on the wrong horse (Stannis), and he, Bolton, also bet on the wrong horse (Tywin). I'm pretty sure that Tywin's death is going to make the consolidation of Bolton power in the North much more difficult. Without Tywin - or rather the specter of Tywin looming as unyielding as Casterly Rock down in King's Landing - I doubt that most of the Northern lords will subject to Bolton authority. Stannis is still out there as an alternative, and without the mean old lion of Casterly Rock even a small Stark boy could become a powerful force and figurehead against traitorous usurpers from the Dreadfort. Roose most certainly is not able to keep his involvement in the Red Wedding a secret. Maybe people don't know that he murdered Robb Stark personally, but they have to know that he had something to do with the whole affair. And the Bolton reputation has to be as bad as the Frey reputation down in the south after this betrayal.

If Varys believed in this whole prophecy, and if this was the reason why he apparently is still working for the Targaryens after 15 years, it would make no sense at all if he let the promised prince die. Varys once mentioned Rhaenys - but not Aegon - as example for a child suffering senselessly, and I'd not be surprised if he was still pissed off about himself for not foreseeing that whoever Tywin had charged with killing Aerys' male heir would also kill the girl.

Not that likely. Continuing the cause of a Stark King would always mean trouble with King's Landing, irrelevant if a Lannister, Baratheon, or Targaryen rules there. And King Rickon would be a small boy, unable to press his claim or to work as a successful figurehead (and neither would Bran the Broken, by the way). Rickon in White Harbor would likely motivate Lord Wylis to reinstate him as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North as it would prevent the Boltons from becoming the rulers in the North, but the whole seceding thing did not work in the first place. And I don't see it happening again without a strong grown-up Stark male leading it. Sansa, too, is not going to make a move for Robb's crown, she likely is going to try to become the first Ruling Lady of Winterfell.

Ran, well, right now our picture of Aerys I is that of an eccentric bookish scholar uninterested in the tedious business of ruling (except to decide whether captured Blackfyres should be executed) who was either asexual, gay, or sterile. He was not, however, rumored to be mad. Refusing to sleep with one's wife and preferring a scholar's life over a King's is not really mad, not necessarily eccentric, it's just consequential life-style. And this trained monkey stuff thing does not seem like the type of stuff a man uninterested in the day-to-day life of a King would do. It is way to elaborate, and really seems to be something only a man would do who interacted with his subjects on a regular basis. Aerys I did neither. He tended to forget his crown somewhere between his scrolls, and also did not care if his wardrobe was no longer in a decent shape. I heavily doubt that he would present a trained ape to his court, calling him 'Aegon' or something like that, and making fun about the fact that his queen prayed for a son every night when they already had their Prince of Dragonstone right there. He really seems to be more the type of an absentminded professor turned King than a slightly mad, yet calculating guy. Of Daeron's four sons, only Rhaegel is supposed to be mad, and even he outshines Maekar somewhat. If Aerys had been less genial, and madder, Maekar really should have been able to find his spot in the sun. I totally see him only calling on Bloodraven for completely insignificant things, like, to order him to make him new glasses, or ask him where the heck he has left his crown this time (likely, while actually wearing it for one time). Prince Rhaegel would be a better candidate, but he never ascended the Iron Throne. And I really somewhat think that this behavior really would be more fitting during the early phase of the Targaryen rule, as the Westerosi nobility likely really needed to 'learn' that the Targaryens were so much above them that there would be next to never a marriage between a Crown Prince and a subject's daughter. Edit: Mummer's Dragon could be someone playing to be a Targaryen. But it also could be someone being a Targaryen while 'playing' (consciously or not) to be someone else. Say, Jon Snow could be 'playing' to be Ned Stark's son, while he actually is Rhaegar Targaryen's. Young Griff could be Aegon VI while believing (i.e. playing) to be Jon Connington's son. It is most likely that Young Griff, although he most likely was prepared for his future properly, was not told from a very early age that he was Aegon VI, King of Westeros. Doing that likely would have made it much more likely that this secret would be revealed. Jon also was told nothing of his heritage. Either way, I'm not convinced that Mummer's Dragon has to be sign a that an Aegon VI appearing would have to be a fake. And it really could still refer to Jon Snow as well, although he most likely is not going to Meereen.

On the Targaryen King: Well, that most likely must have been one of meaner guys, most likely one of the older Kings. For some reason I could see Aenys I doing such a thing, as in his time the Targaryens were not yet fully established as an incest dynasty. But I'm not sure that Jaehaerys was already old enough to be married when Aenys died. Maegor did not have a son, Jaehaerys seems to be above such arrogant nonsense, Viserys I had Rhaenyra, and I'm not sure that he was the type for such a thing, nor is it likely that he would make such a fuss about a son for whom he did not intend to succeed him. Aegon II, perhaps? Unlikely, as I'm pretty sure that this would have been a wise decision during war (I would be really surprised if his children were not used as bargaining chips to buy the loyalties of his followers). Aegon III also does not seem the type for this, especially as he died when all his children were not of age. Daeron I and Baelor also would not do such a thing for obvious reason, as would Viserys II. So the usual suspect would be Aegon IV - that is, if his son would have not been already married during Baelor's reign. This whole thing would only be funny if the existing Prince of Dragonstone was presently unwed. Daeron II is also an unlikely candidate, as is Aerys I for obvious reasons (no issue). Maekar might be possible, if he developed some sense of humor in his later years, especially as he had four sons, and three of them were married and had children of their own, but I still don't see him doing that. Aegon V would be, well, interesting, actually. Egg developing some eccentricities in his later years would be fun, and this whole thing could actually be some kind of gag aimed both at the practice of the nobles to broker a Targaryen match and at their own habit of incestuous marriages. Egg himself most likely married his own sister, and if he did not change his mind on that topic later in life, Jaehaerys II most likely also was married to one of his sisters. At least I don't see Aerys marrying Rhaella if the Targaryens had change of mind on the incest tradition under Aegon V. Thus this is not likely. Jaehaerys II also is not likely the instigator of this joke, as Aerys was already married when he ascended the Iron Throne. Aerys II of course would be the main suspect for such a thing. Rhaegar was unmarried, and it was difficult to find a suitable bride for him, and there can't be a doubt that many nobles (including Tywin) tried to take advantage of that situation. Sending Steffon to the Free Cities to finally find someone can also be seen as a sign that Aerys finally wanted to see this thing settled. But we should think that Axell Florent and Davos should know that said King was Aerys, and I'm also pretty sure that Axell would not have been that eager to refer to a joke pulled off by Aerys Targaryen, as Aerys was no friend of Stannis (on the other hand, Axell Florent is not really a smart guy). To conclude this thing: I've no idea who this King might be. I really could think it might be Aenys I, but mostly because I really want him to have done something worth mentioning ;-). Any other ideas?

Dammit, I really would love to read the conversation between Davos and Lord Wyman right now. The Aegon thing is interesting, and likely really a setup for the Young Griff situation. I don't know what to make of it. Both a fake or a real Aegon VI could only become Daenerys Prince Consort right now. He has no army we are aware of. And apparently even Doran Martell does not know anything about his existence (else he likely would have sent Arianne to him, not Quentyn to Daenerys), which makes it extremely unlikely that there is plotting in Dorne in his favor. Sure, a male Targaryen and Rhaegar's eldest son would technically come before Daenerys, but she has the dragons now, and she is the Unburnt and the Mother of Dragons. Young Griff is just a boy with no accomplishments. It would be pretty much impossible for him to get her out of the way. And a new civil strife between Targaryens would ruin everything for them, once and for all. But I'm pretty sure that no one would be able to win much or anything with a fake Aegon VI. Him being a fake could be revealed, and that is not the way Varys works, if I'm not mistaken. I really fear for Stannis, though. Davos actually might abandon him. The whole talk about him wanting to see his wife and younger children again, the fact that he always wanted to travel east, and the fact that he apparently remembers Daenerys' name, and even mentioned it in the inn, could be very strong signs in a certain direction. Especially as we know that there are these damned chapters set in the Rainwood in ADwD. Is Davos going to take (parts of) Lord Wyman's fleet and going east for Slaver's Bay? Somehow this sounds and feels pretty convincing right now, but it would also be heartbreakingly sad. Stannis needs Davos. But GRRM really could pull such a thing off, right under our noses, making Stannis most stalwart servant switching camps. And Davos would be huge asset at Daenerys' court. If that is what is going to happen, Davos might really become one of the most interesting characters of the entire series. He most certainly is not going to die the way Cersei believed he died. I not even believed that Lord Manderly ever presented the real Davos for the Onion Knight. It would be rather irritating if Davos would spend that much time at White Harbor, as speed most likely is everything right now, especially if Lord Wyman does not really intend to submit to the Lannisters. But even if that is not the case, it is evident that Lord Wyman is up to something, and the real deal here might be the Targaryens' return. White Harbor is a harbor city, and just because no one in KL or only a few people Oldtown did listen to the story about the dragons, does not mean that the people in Gulltown (remember Littlefinger indicating most interesting news when he returns from there) or White Harbor were equally deaf. Especially Lord Wyman, as he apparently did hire huge amounts of men and was building a fleet 'rivaling the size of the Royal Fleet'. To man such a fleet, he needs experienced sailors, and sailors talk. Actively backing Roose Bolton seems to be totally out of question (and character) for the Manderlys in my mind (and if they intended to do that, they would already openly have declared for them). They might end up submitting to the Boltons if they had no other choice, but right now there are still a lot of options. Especially as Lord Tywin is dead. As soon as the news about Cersei's colorful way of ruling arrive in the North, most of the Lords who more or less reluctantly joined with Roose and the Freys because they feared the ultimate repercussions of Lord Tywin, most likely are going to change their minds. Especially if this coincides with victories of Stannis and/or the Ironborn. If the Boltons are unable to pacify the North, no one is going to accept them as Wardens.