ChillyPolly

(Un)Jaime and (Un)Brienne don't need to stay together. They can go their separate ways on their separate missions. The Undead are driven by their missions, but they lose their humanity, becoming warped versions of their former selves. UnBrienne's undead mission is "take the sword and kill the kingslayer" but also "find Sansa" (who is reputedly a kingslayer). Brienne is the last person the readers expect to be coming after Sansa with homicidal intent ... but it's been set up. So after she slew Jaime, she kissed him, and he rose. Now he's got his own undead missions: (1) do glorious deeds to fill the white book and become AA weilding a flaming sword in his new creepy animated golden hand; and (2) strangle Lancel, Kettleback, Moonboy, and finally Cersei, with his new creepy animated golden hand. Next we see of him will probably be at kings landing, when he returns through Cersei's eyes ... but will not be the same.

Ah yes. Him too. Add him to the list. Still betting on Brienne/UnBrienne to show up.

I don't agree. I think Brienne's arc is converging on Sansa, and may well do so at the tournament. Remember, Brienne is one of the few people who knows that Sansa loves lemon-cakes, and Sansa has just advertised her love of lemon-cakes all over the Vale. I think Brienne (UnBrienne?) will appear at the tournament, and we see her through Sansa's eyes [as a him?]. The readers will share Sansa's ignorance, and find out about this Mystery Knight only as Sansa finds out.

What I got out of it. [1] Setup Setup Setup. Nothing really happens in this chapter. It's all setup for whatever is going to happen next, presumably with the coming tournament to serve as the setting. No wonder GRRM and his editor decided to bump it. [2] "Lemon-gate" continues: We now learn that those lemons do not grow in the Vale. When they run out, they have to be imported .... all the way from Dorne. Not even from somewhere closer like Pentos, or the Stormlands. Note that the Vale is about 200 miles SOUTH of Braavos. [3] Stark Girls Love Lemon Cakes. Arya & Sansa's love for lemon cakes keeps getting mentioned. Even Sweetrobin's love of lemoncakes is secondary to Sansa's. Is this symbolic in some way? [4] Tournament: the Jousting is "invitation only" but not the melee. This is an opportunity for some unexpected character to appear. But who? Note that three of the best tournament warriors in Westeros are currently missing in action: Brienne, Sandor and Jaime. [5] Sweetrobin's Burning Ears: How does he know what Harry is saying behind his back? Did a little bird tell him? Is Robin a bird-warg? Does this explain the flapping he does when he goes in his fits?

Again, this is a discussion for another thread. I'll try to find one. And again, you are assuming the chapters are in chronological order when the author warned us otherwise.

He DID have some fast boat! And those who claim the timeline is still impossible in spite of this are generally treating fanmade timelines as canon fact, and ignoring the author's warning that chapters are not necessarily presented in chronological order. But instead of arguing the issue, someone should track down a good discussion of the issue and provide a link to it.

That's a rather weak thread. There's some more vigorous discussion in this thread starting at post #38 (second page). http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/61463-the-dragon-rider-adwd-spoilers/ Dunno who first came up with the theory. It is listed (but not described) in this old thread cataloging "conspiracy theories" from 2010, so apparently it predates the release of ADWD,: http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/42126-how-big-a-conspiracist-are-you-a-poll/page-2#entry2069734

Nobody has listed the "Quentyn is Alive / Tatters is Dead" Theory As far as I know, the idea was first proposed here: http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/61113-did-quentyn-succeed-spoilers/ A better development of the theory is here: http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/61463-the-dragon-rider-adwd-spoilers/ Some further discussion here includes some discussion, pro and con, from released chapters of Book 6: http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/113671-quentyn-martell-adwd-spoilers/ This is not to be confused another theory about the Quentyn sent by Doran being a changeling, and that the real Quentyn is alive even though the Quentyn we know is or may be dead. If I find that theory, I'll edit this post to add a link.

Since no-one's been able to shoot it down, I'm going to recommend my mistaken identity theory about Sansa, Sandor, Brienne, and the New Hound: http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/122171-sansa-her-quirky-perception-memory-the-new-hound/

I agree with your first statement, but not (as applied here) your second. Brienne and Jaime were together WHEN LAST SEEN. But, obviously, neither of were yet "missing" at the time. Since then, Jaime is explicitly noted in the text as having gone missing for a period of weeks or months. He has been missing for a much longer period than he had planned to be absent from his camp. Something is wrong. Brienne is never noted as missing. We don't know what's up with her, but that's as expected as her POV seems to have ceased. We don't know what happened between her hanging and her encounter with Jaime either. For all we know she could be hanging out with Illifer the Penniless, who has not been seen for an even longer time than Brienne. But if "missing" merely means "whereabouts unknown", then her whereabouts are indeed unknown, and we can add Ser Illifer the Penniless to the list, along with his pal Ser Creighton.

Well, the criteria should obviously not be "not seen by readers since Jaime's last chapter in ADWD" because that is too broad. All I am saying is that there are specific reasons to regard Jaime as "missing" that do not apply to Brienne.

Well, a narrow list might include those characters specifically noted as missing by other characters, but whose whereabouts are also unknown to readers.

Jaime is explicitly noted in the text to have gone missing. Brienne is not noted as having gone missing, but then again, nobody is looking for her.

I consider Edric Storm to be missing, because I doubt that Sallador the Money-Hungry Traitor delivered him safely to the Free Cities. I consider Tatters to be "missing" until he shows up again, for reasons of my own.

If we don't narrow the criteria (what exactly we mean by "missing") the list will get unwieldy fast. We can list every character in the series on the grounds that we have not heard from any of them for 3.5 years.

Fair enough. But where is the Dragon of Wintefell?

Sheepstealer as well.

Jaime Lannister