Colonel Green

I don't think the Hound showing up is likely either from a practical perspective or a larger story one. Sansa has too much story left to play out with Littlefinger, and the Hound's presence would abruptly terminate that because he knows too much about LF's past actions. It would also be a huge leap from where we last saw him that would be extremely difficult to justify. No, that doesn't follow at all. Jon's last chapter takes place after the stuff going on with Sansa, and the tourney is stated to be beginning the following day in TWOW Alayne I. Having Jon be resurrected, leave the Wall, travel south, etc. all before Sansa's next chapter (indeed, had this been in ADWD like it was supposed to be, all before Sansa's first chapter) is unworkable. And the Eyrie is not something you would naturally pass by on your way south. It's cut off from the rest of Westeros. The only way he could ever get there is if he deliberately traveled there by sea.

The timing is impossible on both of those. This chapter was meant to be in ADWD, where Brienne and Jon were elsewhere, and it would require enormous offscreen narrative leaps to put them there. Also, the tourney is invitation-only, and you can't easily get into the Vale, so it wouldn't be on anybody's way normally.

There's been considerable debate ever since ASOS came out whether the second half of the prophecy was fulfilled in the snow castle scene or not. I'm confident that Sansa will eventually bring Littlefinger down, either way, but whether that was what it referred to isn't really a settled issue.

The land route out of the Vale (the High Road) is impassable at this point. It's noted in Brienne's storyline as well. But you can travel by sea, as was the case during the Dance of the Dragons. Moreover, Littlefinger is clearly planning to make more moves in the near future, so he doesn't conceive himself to be stuck in the Vale.

The plan to ally with the Tyrells is hashed out in great detail in ACOK, and that goes off without a hitch, to name one. I expect there'll be some curveballs thrown in here that will probably serve to accelerate the action (the common speculation of Shadrich revealing Sansa's identity ahead of schedule in a failed abduction attempt, for instance).

That sort of symbolic interpretation has never made much sense to me, particularly since there aren't seven clear main characters. Cersei was certainly an important part of Sansa's arc, but I see no reason at all to consider her integral to it going forward. GRRM said pretty much all there was to be said about their dynamic by the end of ACOK; they barely interact at all for the rest of the time they're both in KL. The person who "ran the game of thrones" over Sansa was one Petyr Baelish, the man she's interacting with. Cersei's going to be dealing with the Tyrells, Martells, the Faith, probably Aegon VI, maybe Daenerys, and eventually her brother Jaime coming to choke the life out of her. I'd say the odds are pretty good she and Sansa never meet again.

You ignore the possibility that some of those characters will also go north (at least in Tyrion's case, that's all but guaranteed eventually). Some of them, like Cersei, are highly unlikely to ever see Sansa again anyway.

It's entirely possible Robert Arryn will die. As to "foreshadowing", "maid" in that context is most likely just be used to mean "young girl". It's not like the Ghost of High Heart was getting visions of her hymen. Which isn't to say she definitely will marry, either, but I don't think you can use that instance of a word usage as guaranteeing she won't.

I'd say it's more likely Littlefinger would continue what he's doing: watch his enemies tear each other to pieces. Aegon's landing doesn't radically alter the game in that respect, it just accelerates the Lannisters' decline further.

Even assuming that the castle made of snow is a future prophecy and points northward (plausible), it's an unsubstantiated leap that that means she's leaving now, or that she'll be kidnapped/escape. She has no desire to do the latter, and the obstacles to the former are all but insurmountable -- moreover, I don't see how it makes story sense. Littlefinger is the main antagonist/mentor in Sansa's story; she will not be separated from him anytime soon.

Yes, but my point being, they accord with the ordinary customs of heraldry in keeping their own house at 2/4.

Just a further note on the heraldry issue, quartering has come up before in the series. Note that, for instance, when Little Walder and Big Walder Frey are fostered at Winterfell, their personal arms are described. They too have quartered their shields to incorporate the other houses they're descended from, but in both cases they have the arms of House Frey occupying 2/4. Little Walder is 2/4 Frey 1/4 Crakehall and 1/4 Darry, while Big Walder is 2/4 Frey, 1/4 Blackwood, and 1/4 Paege.

Because that's not how it works. He'd be entitled to, at most, 1/4 of the shield with an Arryn sigil. GRRM's knowledge of medieval information isn't always consistent, but he knows a lot about heraldry, and Harry's shield is a big faux pas. Because a single dude shagging some peasants doesn't affect his prestige much, if at all? Many nobles do it, without evident problem. Sansa is one of the most important characters in the story, so being important to her story would be enough on its own (in theory, all of the other Starks would have problems with him too, if they met him, though it's debatable if that will ever happen). This series is ultimately the story of the character development of its major characters; Sansa has, I believe, the fifth-most chapters of any living character. GRRM has meticulously set up Baelish's role in her story, to the extent that he's a perfect mix of issues relating to both of Sansa's parents.

But it would have materially altered the story, as GRRM said. It has altered what he was going to tell, though he's sticking to the essentials. The point being, if Sansa's disguise was meant to hold up for five years, it would by that point have become pretty accepted. Harry's circumstances are very different from the ordinary Westerosi noble. He's your stereotypical poor relation, not even (as far as we know) in line to inherit the Hardyng lands, but with an immediate blood claim that would make him one of the most powerful people on the continent if Robert dies. He's quite literally hovering between being a near-nobody and being one of the 8-10 most important people in Westeros. Moreover, there's huge symbolism in his arms; turning half his shield into the Arryn crest, when his Arryn descent is only his grandmother, is pretty bold. I don't think this makes Harry a terrible person or anything, but I think it does make him the sort who'd be unlikely to get hung up on a commoner mistress when exactly the sort of match he'd have been wanting all his life presented itself. He wasn't the Tyrells' catspaw; they were his. He set up the whole thing. Baelish's history with the Starks and Tullys makes him incredibly important to Sansa's story, and it's something none of the other villains in the story have. He's her central foe, as well as her mentor. This is a relationship that I expect will take a lot longer to play out.

It's worth remembering, this was originally supposed to pick up five years later. For most people, Alayne would simply be an established fact by now. I suspect that speculations about her origins would more likely focus on whether her mother was really a Braavosi gentlewoman. Probably some people would imagine her to be of much lower birth. Harry is very clearly painted as hungry for status (e.g., his shield crest, which would be virtually an affront to Lord Arryn by the normal rules of heraldry). I very much doubt he'd be so hung up on Saffron as to be huffy with one of the most eligible noble maidens in Westeros; indeed, that sort of match would be the sort of thing he'd be desperate for. Moreover, the amount of work Baelish put in to arrange the betrothal (buying up debts, etc.) would be unnecessary if he was just going to tell Waynwood his secret. I really don't agree there. The end of ASOS established him as one of the most important villains of the series, and we weren't originally supposed to see him again until five years later; I can't imagine he was ever meant to die almost immediately after such a reveal.

The Old Gods don't seem to have physical manifestations in the popular consciousness, so I think that's probably the reason.

Balon was killed in ASOS, which clears the way for a new Ironborn king.

There's no way the Targaryens forgot they had suits of Valyrian steel armour lying around. And Aeron is able to identify its nature on sight, so I can't imagine people in the Red Keep couldn't.

My guess is that everyone in the Hewett family treated her like crap (hence, her desire for revenge on them), and when Euron showed up she really wanted to believe this was her fairy tale deliverance, because of how appealing the idea of being loved is. It seems like she has compassionate qualities too, since she's being quite nice to Aeron, who it should be pretty obvious to her that Euron doesn't like him.

They were pretty much at the limit of what could be published, so there wasn't much else to do, unless GRRM could be convinced to remove or majorly edit down the earlier chapters.

No, Shiera liked Bloodraven and Bittersteel was an asshole about it. The stuff about bathing in blood, etc. are just ridiculous rumours.

That doesn't make much sense, though; it's not like the Redwynes are aware that the Iron Fleet went to Meereen.

That theory never really made sense to me, for a bunch of reasons. Theon could never win a Kingsmoot, and if for some reason he actually posed a threat, Euron would just have him killed. Things worked out for Falia about as well as I imagined. Well, she can always treasure those memories of her legitimate female relations being raped and turned into naked servants.

People have speculated when this was read in the past that the descriptions of Elia Sand's character were meant to foreshadow some sort of impulsive tryst with fAegon, which, having read it, I could certainly see. Pleasant enough chapter, though it's not going to assuage the concerns of many people that the plot is moving too slowly.

Not when they're the heroes.  The villains have much better luck on that score, at least as long as GRRM wants them to rise.   I have no idea how far along this plot is going to go, mind you.