Nathan Stark

What does Sansa want that Harry the heir could possibly give her? The North? She has a better path to that through Sweetrobin, or if we're being honest, she could just plain reveal her identity to the Vale. Marriage? Maybe, but we know she doesn't think much of Hardyng, and there's the problem of the marriage to Tyrion. Sansa is more likely to kill Sweetrobin unintentionally by overdosing him on sweetsleep than diliberately commiting coldblooded murder. Nothing in her pov chapters has ever indicated a desire to commit murder of the sort you are implying. If Sweetrobin does die, and I doubt he will, it'll have much more to do with Littlefinger, it will further traumatize Sansa, and would likely begin whatever progression of events leading to Sansa breaking away from Littlefinger. I doubt Harry has the intelligence or the courage required to make an ask of Sansa that requires her to murder Sweetrobin.

More and more, I am coming to the conclusion that Sweetrobin will survive the series outright. He just checks all the classic GRRM boxes for "unexpected survivor." He is in the category of "cripples, bastards and broken things," and I think George likes to have the traditionally "weak" or "fragile" characters, like Bran or Sweetrobin be the people who persevere due to some overlooked inner strength. What I'm saying is, Sweetrobin will live just to keep being a pain in the ass. As to Sansa, contradictory things can be true. I believe she is slowly poisoning Sweetrobin, and deep, deep down she knows that he is being poisoned. I don't believe she wants him to die, and she appears to sincerely think that what she is doing will benefit him in the end. That said, Sansa has a real failing in her tendency for denial. It's too painful to contemplate that Sweetrobin is dying, so she deludes herself that he's just fine. It's even more painful to admit that he's dying because she is poisoning him, so she tells herself that actually the sweetsleep is helping him get better, somehow. It gets even more complicated when you consider that, in small doses, the drug is fairly helpful to Sweetrobin. He wouldn't have gotten down the Eyrie without it. Sansa is a complex character capable of having conflicting desires and motivations, which is why posts that boil her down to "stupid bitch who betrayed her family and is killing Sweetrobin for power because reasons" so often miss the point. Sansa has a choice to make in the future; does she keep poisoning Sweetrobin, knowing what she knows about Littlefinger's intentions for him, or does she choose to stop giving him sweetsleep? Given her internal thoughts about the child, I find it hard to believe she would choose the former, however tempting the alternative might seem.

With regards to King Stannis, this quote from an interview George R. R. Martin gave always bears repeating: At the end of A Storm of Swords, Stannis, who has been convinced by Davos to help the Nights Watch, admits to Jon that he intends to earn the right to the Iron Throne by saving the realm, rather than demanding it bend to him. That is character growth. Before, Stannis was rightfully angry at being usurped in the line of succession not only by Roberts illigitimate bastards, but also by his own younger brother, who never had any legal claim to the throne. Perhaps he was in denial at that point about wanting the throne, but I suspect Stannis is telling the truth when he says he doesn't want it. Stannis wants the love and respect of his brothers, but as they are both dead, the Iron Throne just becomes a stand in for all the acknowlegement and respect that has been denied to him. It will never fill the aching need to be loved by Robert and Renly, and I think he knows that, deep down. Stannis would not be the first person to lose sight of his own sense of justice and personal values in his blind pursuit of the throne. Better men and women did the similar things as Stannis in the game of thrones. However, it takes a certain type of courage to chose, as Stannis did, to earn the right to rule by fighting to protect his would be kingdom. That alone makes him a worthier person to sit the Iron Throne than any of the other claimants taking part in the War of the Five Kings. Doesn't mean he'll win, though.

That's what you're doing with Tywin. He was all of the things you accuse Tyrion of being, as well as a monumental hypocrite, since he happily paid Shae for her services, and most likely others prostitutes on the down low. Your comments about rape in this series reminds me of comments made by right-wing politicians in my own country to the effect of "just lay back and enjoy it if you get raped." I assure you George R. R. Martin didn't add these details about Tywin's life and career in order to sing his praises. You are entirely missing the point that Tywin was meant to be a villian just as much as Tyrion is.

Yup. The OP's assuming the Lannisters are just the named characters in text. There are really a lot more of them than those that appear in the books. House Lannister is a fecund bunch. It's very unlikely the House falls and goes extinct.

It's rare that we get any kind of thread analyzing Danaerys Taryaryen's story and narrative like this, so I'm sold. I think the author of the blog is correct in calling Dany a Shakespearean tragic hero. I have always understood the infamous House with the Red Door to symbolize Dany's desperate desire for family, safety, love, etc. In a sense, she has conflated Westeros with home, and the Iron Throne with the Red Door. But we know that the Iron Throne does not bestow happiness upon the people who sit it, except for people like Joffrey. Dany is in for a very unpleasant surprise when she returns to Westeros to find that her reputation has preceded her and the people of Westeros like their fake King Aegon, thank you. The tragedy of Danaerys Targaryen is that she will ultimately let her worst impulses drive her actions. And it will lead to her downfall.

Dany is one of the protagonists. She is not the main protagonist. Jon, Arya, and Tyrion all have more total pov chapters. You have to do a lot of re-writing of the story we have been given so far to make this the more straightforward story you're arguing for.

I don't think GRRM wants us to take the AA story literally. It serves as worldbuilding, and as a way to give hints about the Long Night, which the myth is based on. But George has said that we won't see figures like the Nights King in the books, and the same is true for Azor Ahai imo.

C'mon guys. This sniping at each other is pretty counterproductive. No need to namecall or come within Godwin's Law. It's fiction. Let's enjoy the characters and discuss the proposal at issue. Is Dany Azor Ahai come again? I think not, because Azor Ahai was never a person that existed. Azor Ahai is a part of a monomyth, and is a similar figure to the Last Hero, another mythical figure that never existed. These figures are not here to be reborn as literal people. They are more or less archetypes. Dany might share similar traits to the mythical figure, as does Jon, but neither of them are literally Azor Ahai.

And the best dragons. Nobody has dragons like D.T. does, believe me!

D.T.- My dragons are fantastic, ok? They're so full of life and vigor, it's unbelievable. Totally amazing! Nobody has better dragons than I do, believe me! They have the best life, the best vigor! They are full of the best fire, ok? They have fire and fury, and, frankly, power!

It is a pretty iffy look on Lyanna's part, if it was an elopement. Though I do wonder how much we should be judging a hormonal 16 year old here. They don't have the greatest track record in the series to date on matters of physical relations. The more pressing issue here is Rheagar Targaryen. Like, how old was he? In his 30's? Late 20's? Either way, old enough to have been married, have one child and another on the way. So unless he was acting with Elia's full knowlege and consent, he was a pretty shitty husband and father, all so he could do the nasty with a teenager. Either way, Lyanna is the party with the lesser amount of power in this situation.