Grimbold Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Why don't they just go around the Wall? Surely in the winter the sea is frozen. Maybe it's actual solid ice as so far as the wall goes, that is, above the wall the sea is increasingly frozen, but below it's limits it's just very cold. Perhaps the Others require the wall to actually come down so whatever allows them to bring winter and night with them isn't disrupted. In other words, the possibility of them bypassing the wall may exist, but the fact the barrier is standing just prevents them from bringing their freezing magic with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoamingRonin Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Why don't they just go around the Wall? Surely in the winter the sea is frozen. I think the Others can't survive without the cold. Perhaps this will be a possibility when winter takes over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rysler Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 "When dead men come hunting in the night, do you think it matters who sits the Iron Throne?" - Jeor Mormont Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimbold Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 "When dead men come hunting in the night, do you think it matters who sits the Iron Throne?" - Jeor Mormont Well apparently it does. Stannis is the only one that knows or apparently cares enough to do something about the Others matter. No other king or wannabe king is willing to do something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hulboy Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I agree that the ww are the real threat.jon Mance an stannis see the threat but they do need more support. Stannis is trying to rally the north but first he has to deal with the Boltons an Freys .if the ww could get around the wall I think it would have happened.i believe the wall will fall an all of westeros will be fighting for there lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimbold Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 People keep talking about Stannis rallying the North, but you're forgetting one thing (that i've already mentioned). He's rallying the North to support him in getting the throne. His allies don't know of his quest to fight the others, and i suspect that if they did, his whole project would lose credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghosts in winterfell Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Not at all, certainly not on this forum at least. If anything I'd say I'm in the minority(might be I'm even alone on this one) thinking that the Others are taken too seriously. They're a nuisance, a distraction at best and I refuse to believe that they will ever get past the Wall or will be of any importance to the people south of it. Also it's a personal opinion but if the focus of the books changes from the battle for the Iron Throne between various factions to a battle between the Others and humanity it would be a massive disappointment.You should be bracing hourself for disappointment, I'm afraid. A race of supernatural beings that has been building up their power for 8,000 years and can wield magic capable of raising armies of the dead is hardly a mere "nuisance" or "distraction". Given the number of times it's been said throughout the series that the Others are the real concern, not whoever sits on the IT, it seems that the conflict between the realms of men & the supposed ancient evil has always been the focus of the series, but most of the characters don't realize the seriousness of this threat because they've been so wrapped up in the Game. It seems that even GRRM has gotten himself sidetracked with the politics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zman1863 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 You should be bracing hourself for disappointment, I'm afraid. A race of supernatural beings that has been building up their power for 8,000 years and can wield magic capable of raising armies of the dead is hardly a mere "nuisance" or "distraction". Given the number of times it's been said throughout the series that the Others are the real concern, not whoever sits on the IT, it seems that the conflict between the realms of men & the supposed ancient evil has always been the focus of the series, but most of the characters don't realize the seriousness of this threat because they've been so wrapped up in the Game. It seems that even GRRM has gotten himself sidetracked with the politics. I agree with much of this. The structure and themes of the series indicate that the Others are not a red herring. The series can be broken broadly into three sections. The threat of the Others in the far north, the conflict for the Iron Throne and Dany's rise in the east. The three threads are bound to converge. Otherwise, ASOIAF is not really one story, but a jumble of parallel stories. I do see a potential problem in the Others having been off stage for the vast majority of the saga. While I see the Others playing a major role, I could see it coming off as rushed or changing the feel of the series. The three major plot threads will converge, but by the end of ADWD we are only getting hints that this is starting to happen. If there really are only two books left, the coming together of the threads might be jarring compared to the pace of the series up until now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelittledragonthatcould Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 ... Given the number of times it's been said throughout the series that the Others are the real concern, not whoever sits on the IT, it seems that the conflict between the realms of men & the supposed ancient evil has always been the focus of the series, The series is almost 2/3rds done, and the vast majority of it has been about who sits the Iron Throne. Even if it takes a backseat in the last 2 books to the War with the others, it has still been the major concern of the series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire and Blood! Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 You should be bracing hourself for disappointment, I'm afraid. A race of supernatural beings that has been building up their power for 8,000 years and can wield magic capable of raising armies of the dead is hardly a mere "nuisance" or "distraction". Given the number of times it's been said throughout the series that the Others are the real concern, not whoever sits on the IT, it seems that the conflict between the realms of men & the supposed ancient evil has always been the focus of the series, but most of the characters don't realize the seriousness of this threat because they've been so wrapped up in the Game. It seems that even GRRM has gotten himself sidetracked with the politics. For all the talk about them I can't bring myself to see the Others as a real threat. I mean how many have we ever seen in one place? Six, seven? Is there any evidence that this supernatural race numbers more than a few hundred beings? And I don't see them as very hard to kill either, when attacked with normal weapons they don't actually allow themselves to be hit so it's safe to assume they can be killed by conventional means. Sure their steel-shattering swords are a big advantage but I don't see how it can save them against overwhelming numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My friend Alayne Arya mad Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I agree that this has been downplayed intentionally, but GRRM warned us VERY early with 3 simple words.Winter is coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleath56 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I expect this series to turn into a medieval 'The Walking Dead' very shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoIaF Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I agree that this has been downplayed intentionally, but GRRM warned us VERY early with 3 simple words.Winter is coming.:agree: I like that - Winter if coming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingelheim Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Totally agree. They are the antagonist of the series, and we have two books left which will be full of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cade Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I believe we need to take the Others a lot more seriously. I'd take them more seriously if GRRM hadn't said the ending will be "bittersweet." They'll kill some popular characters, sure, but I no longer have any fear that they'll win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnief Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I agree that this has been downplayed intentionally, but GRRM warned us VERY early with 3 simple words.Winter is coming. Exactly. Ice demons need snow to be after all. But the next book's title, proclaims winter winds, and not just winter in the North. And let's not forget the very first chapter in the series was about them. The Others will inevitably break through the Wall and once they do, the problem will spread like wildfire through out the North, and be headed South in no time. Twenty bucks says, the Lannisters, will ignore all the reports that arrive from Northern settlements that the White Walkers are very real and very much on the move, even when those reports start trickling in from the Riverlands and the Vale as well, and literally will not believe the problem is real until it's at their freaking front door. The gods alone only know how many will die, and how much will be destroyed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronn Urgandy Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I agree with much of this. The structure and themes of the series indicate that the Others are not a red herring. The series can be broken broadly into three sections. The threat of the Others in the far north, the conflict for the Iron Throne and Dany's rise in the east. The three threads are bound to converge. Otherwise, ASOIAF is not really one story, but a jumble of parallel stories. I do see a potential problem in the Others having been off stage for the vast majority of the saga. While I see the Others playing a major role, I could see it coming off as rushed or changing the feel of the series. The three major plot threads will converge, but by the end of ADWD we are only getting hints that this is starting to happen. If there really are only two books left, the coming together of the threads might be jarring compared to the pace of the series up until now. Hmm, the Dragon has three heads. Nobody said they'd work together... Sorry, carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turin Turambar1 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I think the Others can't survive without the cold. Perhaps this will be a possibility when winter takes over. And winter has come at the end of ADWD :devil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronn Urgandy Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Westeros is fucked though. Fire has wrecked half the world, Ice will do the other half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleath56 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I wonder, how far will the Others go if they advance unmolested? Until the Neck? Can they even survive in Dorne?I see Essos as being the ultimate safehaven in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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