bippukt

If only GRRM kept to the usual 2 years between books...but I guess that the plot has thickened so much that it will probably take him a long time to clear up the mess :(

@Gordias - Thank you for posting such thoughts. If only I could type that much :D I don't think Dany's path is going to be that easy. And as many people have pointed out, it is unlikely that she will reach Westeros before the end of TWoW. For that reason, and others that you and I mentioned, I think she will go to Volantis. How, though? Maybe through the roads of the old Valyrian empire? It would be such a shame for there to be so much discussion of Valyria etc without us even getting a glimpse of it. And who better to walk into the Empire than someone who has the blood of the old dragonlords? Its all speculation, of course, and that's what is great about this series. There are so many plot-lines and characters that almost anything is possible. I think that it has become more and more probable with each book that Dany may not sit the Iron Throne. But she will rule somewhere, of that I am sure. And she will play a stellar part in the fight against the Others. You only have to watch the series to realize just how much more prominence they give to her role as compared to the books. Surely they are not doing that for nothing. As for the dragons, they might cause some trouble in the beginning. But ultimately, a way will be found to make them obedient. At least as obedient as a dragon can be.

I meant that she could have simply sacked the slaver cities and moved on to Pentos/Westeros. But instead she has been freeing slaves. She has spent a lot of time and effort on making sure that the freed are not enslaved again. It is possible that GRRM intends Dany to move along this 'breaker of chains' story. She could go to Volantis where slaves are ready to rebel. If the slavers are decisively defeated outside Meereen, a lot of cities could be rid of slaves. It is possible that Dany arrives in Westeros with a unique army of Unsullied, Dothraki, freed slaves and Dragons! I am already drooling :) BTW, I agree that Dany has already seen a lot of bad. Losing her brother, her husband and her son, not to mention the loss of her other family, is huge IMO.

Dany may or may not sit on the iron throne. The slaves meant nothing to her, and look what she has done for them; or at least tried to do. With the counsel of the likes of Barristan and Tyrion and perhaps the support or guidance of Victarion and the maester from the Citadel, I don't see her going down the dark path. She will play a pivotal role against the Others. After that, she might die, sit the Iron Throne, return to the East where she spent most of her life and where a lot of people call her mother, or even lead the first settlement into the ruins of the old Valyrian Empire. But GRRM has NOT set her up to be a villain.

Precisely. This series is as much about characters as about the events. What people like Doran think and how they come to decisions is fascinating. It is also one thing that makes this imaginary world so "real". True. Most people are not main characters with a good chance to sit on the Iron Throne and so don't need several chapters devoted to them. Although I will concede that GRRM could have moved the Dany story faster or more interesting in book five.