Trigger Warning

I like them in the sense that I like reading about this world and seeing what happens to the characters, that investment alone carried it a lot for me but there were quite a few long stretches where I just wanted the plot to get rolling again.

That's a pretty huge commitment for something that ultimately doesn't matter, he says it's his bastard and lots of lords have bastards. The reality is that it's just not that suspicious, it's only suspicious to the fanbase because they suspect R+L=J.

Flash cash.

GRRM signed off on the reproduction hammer being some monstrous block Grond thing, it's still fantasy and almost all the warfare and combat is less grounded than people like to make out. It can be fun to pick apart and discuss from a real world angle but ultimately realistic warfare and combat often does not a good fantasy story make.

I mean the Red Keep's a castle, there's really no realistic reason why it couldn't hold for months if well stocked and well garrisoned regardless of Tyrion's preparations for the outer walls, which I actually agree with. They should have been strong killzones but for whatever reason as written they were still running away before Stannis' men even landed in much force or scaled the walls so it didn't change much.

I just don't see it realistically but it's the way it's written so I accept it at least. Guys aren't gonna see a thousand men get immolated and go into an emotional berserker rage, they're gonna go fuck that I'm only really here for loot and because I followed whatever lord decided to follow Stannis and even if they do want revenge the average person's still gonna go about it rationally instead of charging head first into the jaws of death. Sieges generally take time even if the attacker has chosen to storm the fortifications, the average pleb would probably just be thinking they'll get their revenge down the road when a practical breach is made. This storming across the river beach landing, burning river saving Private Ryan assault is incredibly Hollywood and don't get me wrong it's a fun read, it just pushed my suspension of disbelief a little too far when I read it. At a very basic level why drop men off underneath the walls at all? They could have sailed the entire army to the North and blocked off the river removing the enemy fleet as a factor and thereby also not have a river standing between the men attacking and the rest of his army during the assault, the only reason this happens is because action scenes, even without the wildfire why would you choose to funnel your fleet into a river with a citadel and walls in shooting range on one side and then make that even worse by ferrying men across all whilst under that fire, it's dumb and I'm okay with that.

My favourite thing about the chain is that he focuses all the blacksmiths on it before Renly has even marched against Stannis, if it was Renly that marched up the Rose road it wouldn't have gained him a thing he just spends all his time politicking against Cersei. To be fair about the Blackwater though it's all a bit straining on the suspension of disbelief, he destroys the majority of an enemy fleet in one go with a monstrous fireball yet these men are so thirsty to die under the walls of a city that they cross a bridge of ships while the fleet burns around them? The walls aren't scaled and the gates aren't breached and thousands of enemy soldiers were just immolated and the garrison's abandoning the walls whilst the enemy struggle to cross over with no siege engines. Stannis men are basically terminators at the Blackwater until they aren't and Tyrion can't really do much when he's fighting the writing, striking a blow like that wildfire explosion would probably have the entire army return to their camps for days if not weeks. It's a fun read and exciting battle but I always felt it was a bit too contrived, a have you cake and eat it moment. Tyrion pulls off this crippling blow but he's still losing because... reasons. Even the men that do struggle across managing to push the defenders back whilst landing exposed to arrows under a wall and facing cavalry is too much.

Because the entire realm is being torn apart by war and this prison colony that's literally always asking for men is now still asking for men but just coming at it from a new angle.

Obviously Robb's ascent to the throne is the catalyst for it my point was that the resurgence of the King in the North may be seen as more of a return of the old dynasty whereas Robert is creating a new dynasty, Bran and Rickon are part of that continuation of the royal line claiming their rightful place whereas Renly and Stannis are just brothers of the man that claimed the crown of another dynasty and not part of the direct royal line, again the concept of princes of the blood isn't really about having royal ancestors it's part of being the direct male line. Viserys and Rhaegar were princes of the blood being the direct line of the monarchs of House Targaryen, Robert wasn't despite his Targaryen blood ties, again I doubt this is the reasoning and it's more likely GRRM didn't think of it but it's not that far fetched that it follows some real world precedents in that the idea of Renly and Stannis going by prince may be a bit taboo even if Robert did claim the crown since they were not descended from a king that sat the Iron Throne specifically through the male line which is the important caveat.

Perhaps because House Stark was the royal house of the North before the Targaryens came as far as that royal blood is concerned Bran and Rickon might as well have always been princes so it was probably more socially acceptable. Renly and Stannis on the other hand were the sons of the Lord of Storm's End with no direct male line to a previous monarch. Basically Bran and Rickon are direct descendants in the male line from the last King in the North and as such would be princes of the blood, whereas despite being the brothers of the new monarch Renly and Stannis lack that hereditary pedigree and wouldn't be princes of the blood, might be that it would be seen as tacky for them to just start going by princely titles especially when they're lords in their own right of their own respective branches of House Baratheon. Or more likely GRRM didn't think about it too much.

I don't particularly see why tournaments hold such stigma on this board, they're using their martial prowess to compete against other skilled fighters. You don't see people watching top tier martial artists compete in competitions in the real world but then say yeah but they're not fighting to death in a muddy field and beyond that the melee is excellent practice for real battles anyway, in that it is essentially a mock battle. Real world tournaments heavily involved knights performing mounted manoeuvres in formation and other general practice for warfare, the pageantry grew out of that. If someone can kick all kinds of arse at a tournament against other skilled fighters then they've earned their reputation for martial prowess.

The Unsullied aren't an army, they're particular type of slave soldier anyone can purchase to augment their own army and the Dothraki are a caricature of several cultures of parthian style warriors. I wouldn't put too much thought into it, basically style over substance. Robb's entire campaign in the West is basically one of raiding and if it comes to it knights can fight on foot as well as horseback, similarly Stannis and Renly are both instances of taking the cavalry to deal with an urgent threat, Off the top of my head the Battle of the Green Fork is a mix of cavalry and infantry, the contingents are even described as regards cavalry and infantry and for the others each army has a component of cavalry and infantry before they split up to go about whatever they intend to do, it's safe to assume some level of cavalry will have remained with the foot.

Well to be honest I've in the camp that GRRM never knew or thought of this anyway so it's gucci, if it doesn't flood it doesn't flood.

I would imagine more modern cities have much more complex flood protection than their medieval counterparts. Even a few hundred years back, could be wrong though I genuinely have no knowledge of this subject.

He perceived that Ned judged him as soon as he rode in, he didn't want to grovel and offer excuses he's too proud for that. In the eyes of the nobility he'd still be the Kingslayer that killed the man he was sworn to protect regardless so fuck it, be the Kingslayer. As far as the Wildfire, I'd just assume Jaime believed it was sufficient to kill those that know of the plot. He's not an alchemist.