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Merging Story Lines


Curled Finger

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Imagine one of the brotherhood with a hatchet trying to cut through his chains, he gets halfway done and the Greatjon tells him to back off. He breaks the chains himself and all the guards just soil their pants as he literally becomes his sigil. I wish the Greatjon never left the show, that would be a visual I would kill to see. 

Tom O'Sevens being at Riverun makes me think that the Brotherhood without Banners will lead the liberation. It will bring together the prisoners, Lady Stoneheart, Jamie, and Brienne. They will force Jamie to help them pull off the Red Wedding to on Davens wedding, but when it comes down to it, those who survived the wedding will refuse. They will kill LS, probably Jamie and Brienne giving the final blow, and this will be something Jamie uses to bring the west into the fold with the North when he hears Aegon or Euron has taken the throne. 

Then we'll hopefully have Jon marching south with or without Stannnis. Sansa marching with the Knights of the Vale. Asha speeding back to the Iron Islands with Theon to try and usurp Euron. 

At least I hope. And when we hope in this series, it seldom comes to pass.

Then again my friend there is so much to happen we couldn't possibly guess at all of it.   That's a very nice tying together of POVs--and a Hulk move from the GreatJon would be so bitchen.   The North is sorely in need of heroes.  It's an interesting feat getting all the key players North to help.   

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You know I've been thinking right along those lines, too, that Barristan knows much more than we know about the Lyanna situation.  I hope we will get more information from him, though I'm unsure exactly how since Dany seemed to be the confidante.  Rickon's been hyped so heavily to figure in to the Winterfell story line.   It is something of a game changer to leave him hanging for the entire book.  As a Davos fan, I'm eager to have the adventure to and from Skaggos with him.  See what's really up with those mysterious Skaggosi.  See exactly where Davos takes Rickon, which I expect to be important.  Upthread dembones 10 brought a neat thing about Sam and the glass candles to light.  I get this itchy feeling that Sam will have an extremely interesting plot in Winds.  But, please Dulcinea, no prologues from any of these characters--those guys always end up dead and I'm not ready to let any of them go.    Give Mel a prologue, but not these guys!  

I agree with you. I hope the prologue is Jayne. I really hope Sam and Davos have great plots. They are awesome.[emoji1]

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The storylines are about to merge in the books. In the beginning of Winds there are many POVs combined in the same place, three in Meeren (Tyrion, Victarion, Barristan) and Dany will join them later, in the North we have Theon and Asha, with Davos may joining them later too. Arianne and Jon Connington will met in the Stormlands. George said we will have probably 13 POVs in the beginning, but we will finish with less than that. Some of them will die, but may be some will just will be dismissed and will just appear in the POV chapters of others characters. I think that is possible some current POV chapter that not appeared in the beginning be reintroduced in the middle or end of the book.

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The storylines are about to merge in the books. In the beginning of Winds there are many POVs combined in the same place, three in Meeren (Tyrion, Victarion, Barristan) and Dany will join them later, in the North we have Theon and Asha, with Davos may joining them later too. Arianne and Jon Connington will met in the Stormlands. George said we will have probably 13 POVs in the beginning, but we will finish with less than that. Some of them will die, but may be some will just will be dismissed and will just appear in the POV chapters of others characters. I think that is possible some current POV chapter that not appeared in the beginning be reintroduced in the middle or end of the book.

I think I came up with 19 (top of my head, sorry) active or at least plausible POVs to start with, so yes, this slashing to 13 is shocking.   I'm hoping against hope that story lines will finally integrate into the main 3 to 5 plots rather than the meandering we've had.   The longer it takes to get Winds the more bogged down I become in all the possibilities.  I think you are the first response I've had to where will Davos end up.  It's interesting you tie him to Asha and Theon and to be honest, it could make an awful lot of sense.  Any idea what he would do with these 2? What do you make of Jon's POV?   Mel's?   I used to be convinced Dany would merge with her cohorts in the East, but now I'm not so sure.   She's still got quite a bit of traveling west to fulfill Quaithe's prophesy and I may just be hung up on that this week.  Marwyn was in a rush to get to her, but where is he actually going?   Do you think the introduction of the glass candles will give us a more omniscient narrative of Dany and Jon?  Do you see Bran & Blood Raven giving the majority of updates on a bunch of the characters who lose their POVs?   I'm looking forward to the other POV's perspective where multiple POVs merge and wonder if there won't be some changing of POV within a group.  I'm really hoping for Victarion's opinions on Tyrion and Selmy--this will be a lot of fun if it is allowed to happen.   Certainly there will be death.  Ugh.   Lots of it no doubt.   The forerunners are Jon Con, Barristan and Brienne (or Jamie, depends on which topic you read).   I don't want to lose any of them, but I am willing to let go of Mel and maybe Cersei if properly disposed of.   Thanks for joining the conversation  Arrow.   Look forward to hearing more of your ideas about this.   

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I think I came up with 19 (top of my head, sorry) active or at least plausible POVs to start with, so yes, this slashing to 13 is shocking.   I'm hoping against hope that story lines will finally integrate into the main 3 to 5 plots rather than the meandering we've had.   The longer it takes to get Winds the more bogged down I become in all the possibilities.  I think you are the first response I've had to where will Davos end up.  It's interesting you tie him to Asha and Theon and to be honest, it could make an awful lot of sense.  Any idea what he would do with these 2? What do you make of Jon's POV?   Mel's?   I used to be convinced Dany would merge with her cohorts in the East, but now I'm not so sure.   She's still got quite a bit of traveling west to fulfill Quaithe's prophesy and I may just be hung up on that this week.  Marwyn was in a rush to get to her, but where is he actually going?   Do you think the introduction of the glass candles will give us a more omniscient narrative of Dany and Jon?  Do you see Bran & Blood Raven giving the majority of updates on a bunch of the characters who lose their POVs?   I'm looking forward to the other POV's perspective where multiple POVs merge and wonder if there won't be some changing of POV within a group.  I'm really hoping for Victarion's opinions on Tyrion and Selmy--this will be a lot of fun if it is allowed to happen.   Certainly there will be death.  Ugh.   Lots of it no doubt.   The forerunners are Jon Con, Barristan and Brienne (or Jamie, depends on which topic you read).   I don't want to lose any of them, but I am willing to let go of Mel and maybe Cersei if properly disposed of.   Thanks for joining the conversation  Arrow.   Look forward to hearing more of your ideas about this.   

 

We finished AFFC and ADWD with 20 surviving POVs. We have to have in mind that a number of chapters in the final of Dance were cut and put in Winds of Winter. The battles of the Ice and the Battle of Meeren, as well the things happening in the Stormlands were meant to be in the last book and if some of the POVs died, they would never be in the coming book. So I think we will see some POVs that will not last long covering the most immediate events and after the 'beginning' the number of POVs will change and some recurrent POVs will appear. We saw a POV be introduced in the middle of a book before, when Barristan become our eyes and ears in Meeren after Dany depart, so it can happen again.

It is difficult to say what POV will be drop. Theon was to be executed, but will it happens? Davos was going to Skagos, will we see POVs with him finding Rickon or just he appearing later with the boy? We have to wait to know. And how you said, we can witness some events trough magic without some POV in that place using Bran, Melissandre and others. 

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Ah, I see the quote feature has finally died for me!   Sir, that would be epic.   Further, I think we need it that way in order to savor all the drama.  I know GRRM will portray all of it in a way we will find pleasing, but it would be much like watching a game to switch from POV to POV in this manner.  The only drawback is having no eyes inside Winterfell which I hope is remedied.   I need to know what's going on in there.  Any idea who will give us that part of the Battle of Ice? 

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We finished AFFC and ADWD with 20 surviving POVs. We have to have in mind that a number of chapters in the final of Dance were cut and put in Winds of Winter. The battles of the Ice and the Battle of Meeren, as well the things happening in the Stormlands were mint to be in the last book and if some of the POVs died, they would never be in the coming book. So I think we will see some POVs that will not last long covering the most immediate events and after the 'beginning' the number of POVs will change and some recurrent POVs will appear. We saw a POV be introduced in the middle of a book before, when Barristan become our eyes and ears in Meeren after Dany depart, so it can happen again.

It is difficult to say what POV will be drop. Theon was to be executed, but will it happens? Davos was going to Skagos, will we see POVs with him finding Rickon or just he appearing later with the boy? We have to wait to know. And how you said, we can witness some events trough magic without some POV in that place using Bran, Melissandre and others. 

And the quote is suddenly working again.  Man this is weird.   Arrow, I think Barristan and Mel were both brought in late, along with Arienne, Jon Con and Vic, right?    I recall Aeron much earlier than these so pardon if this is off.   I've read folks surmise that because they are so late in coming their POVs are expendable.  I'm not so sure.   Jon Con is set up to die sooner or later, but I don't value Arienne over him, in fact I will go so far as to say I don't trust Arienne as far as I could throw her so I'm relying on Jon Con for a more accurate accounting of things on behalf of Aegon.  I loathe the idea of losing Barristan Selmy and Vic and won't even entertain the idea of losing Tyrion.   Not having that.   I think the POV is as important as the story.    Eventually we can let Cersei go because KL will cease to have value in the story and perhaps that's true for Barristan, but I like Selmy a lot more than I ever liked Cersei.  Am I biased in thinking KL's value to the overall story has run its course therefore Cersei is no longer valuable as a POV?     

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And the quote is suddenly working again.  Man this is weird.   Arrow, I think Barristan and Mel were both brought in late, along with Arienne, Jon Con and Vic, right?    I recall Aeron much earlier than these so pardon if this is off.   I've read folks surmise that because they are so late in coming their POVs are expendable.  I'm not so sure.   Jon Con is set up to die sooner or later, but I don't value Arienne over him, in fact I will go so far as to say I don't trust Arienne as far as I could throw her so I'm relying on Jon Con for a more accurate accounting of things on behalf of Aegon.  I loathe the idea of losing Barristan Selmy and Vic and won't even entertain the idea of losing Tyrion.   Not having that.   I think the POV is as important as the story.    Eventually we can let Cersei go because KL will cease to have value in the story and perhaps that's true for Barristan, but I like Selmy a lot more than I ever liked Cersei.  Am I biased in thinking KL's value to the overall story has run its course therefore Cersei is no longer valuable as a POV?     

Mel appeared in the middle of Dance and Barristan and Jon Con later. The others: Victarion, Cersei, Areo, Arianne, Sansa appeared later, but they had POVs in Feast. Aeron appeared only in AFFC, he would have a chapter in Dance, but George's editor pushed it to Winds. They are not expandable, George introduced Barristan necause he needed to cover what was happening in Meeren after Dany was gone and Jon Con to narrate what happened with the crew of the Shy Maid and how Aegon gained the control of the Golden Company and land in Westeros. And Aegon and the Golden Company will play a important part in the story, so the POV who cover them will be important. 

We may lose Victarion and Barristan as POVs, but may be they will still alive and we will not see the story through their eyes. Cersei still in King's Landing and we will see the aftermath of Kevan's death, her trial and Margaery's trial as well. It all depends if Aegon will take King's Landing.

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To sum up, we'll start Winds with quite a bunch of POV's, but some of them will die. The first two battles offer them a good chance. But there's much more in the pipeline. I wonder how many of them will reach the end of the book (unless it's split!)

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I would enjoy reading one long chapter for the Battles of Mereen and Ice with the POV changing a few times throughout. So Barristan spots Victarion across the battlefield, then at that moment we transfer into Vic's POV. 

With the Battle of Meereen, we have multiple POVs congregating in that area in different positions.  We have Barristan inside the city, Victarion arriving by sea, and Tyrion encamped outside the city perilously close to the Pale Mare. Given that, I envisage a series of chapters in which we see the battle through these three POVs - sort of like the Battle of the Blackwater in Clash, when we saw events through the POVs of Davos with Stannis's fleet, Tyrion on the battlements and involved in the fighting, and Sansa inside the Red Keep. 

The Battle of Ice is slightly different in that with Theon's escape from Winterfell, we do not have a POV character inside the castle; we have two outside it. How we view this battle will depend on how close to the action Theon and Asha get.

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To sum up, we'll start Winds with quite a bunch of POV's, but some of them will die. The first two battles offer them a good chance. But there's much more in the pipeline. I wonder how many of them will reach the end of the book (unless it's split!)

Love a Finger handle.   There are so many different ways this could go as I'm finding since initiating this conversation (seems like so long ago).    I'm sort of interested in an omniscient POV via the glass candles or Bran now and wonder if GRRM is willing to entertain this idea at all.   I think you're absolutely right on about so much being in the pipeline for all these characters.    I mean, we ponder and guess at what's coming and GRRM throws out promises of death and marriage--but I (and some others by the looks of it) do get caught up in what we want to happen.    I'm going through a letting go phase with the story and find myself really irritated by Mel these days.  That said, I do believe many characters will be spared by the merging of POVs and story lines.  Further, I'm hoping that most of the extraneous plots come to fruition so that the main body of the story really gets moving.   Give it a shot.   Who's likely to reach the end and how as you see it? 

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With the Battle of Meereen, we have multiple POVs congregating in that area in different positions.  We have Barristan inside the city, Victarion arriving by sea, and Tyrion encamped outside the city perilously close to the Pale Mare. Given that, I envisage a series of chapters in which we see the battle through these three POVs - sort of like the Battle of the Blackwater in Clash, when we saw events through the POVs of Davos with Stannis's fleet, Tyrion on the battlements and involved in the fighting, and Sansa inside the Red Keep. 

The Battle of Ice is slightly different in that with Theon's escape from Winterfell, we do not have a POV character inside the castle; we have two outside it. How we view this battle will depend on how close to the action Theon and Asha get.

I'm getting excited to read The Battle of Mereen to unfold from all these POVs.  Can't wait to see what Vic thinks about this most interesting land battle from his place off the mainland.  And his 1st glimpse of the dragons.  Not to mention whatever further strangeness Moqorro will add.    Poor Vic seems so hapless I just hope he survives to meet Tyrion or Barristan.   So very much happening here and I can't wait to see it unfold.   

Yes, we don't seem to have any eyes in Winterfell and that's lousy.   Still, echoes of that Pink Letter resonate..  Is it possible someone has infiltrated Winterfell?   I can't see Theon back in the mix there following his struggle to break free of Ramsay, but Asha could pull this off.  Or even Davos.  Though why Davos would head straight for Winterfell will require some explanation.  You have a good mind for these things, do you think we may get eyes inside?  If so, who do you see being able to pull it off?   If not how will we get resolution to the events unfolding inside Winterfell?   

Edit:  Quote died on me again--this was a copy & paste deal as original wouldn't save.  

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I'm getting excited to read The Battle of Mereen to unfold from all these POVs.  Can't wait to see what Vic thinks about this most interesting land battle from his place off the mainland.  And his 1st glimpse of the dragons.  Not to mention whatever further strangeness Moqorro will add.    Poor Vic seems so hapless I just hope he survives to meet Tyrion or Barristan.   So very much happening here and I can't wait to see it unfold.   

Yes, we don't seem to have any eyes in Winterfell and that's lousy.   Still, echoes of that Pink Letter resonate..  Is it possible someone has infiltrated Winterfell?   I can't see Theon back in the mix there following his struggle to break free of Ramsay, but Asha could pull this off.  Or even Davos.  Though why Davos would head straight for Winterfell will require some explanation.  You have a good mind for these things, do you think we may get eyes inside?  If so, who do you see being able to pull it off?   If not how will we get resolution to the events unfolding inside Winterfell?   

Edit:  Quote died on me again--this was a copy & paste deal as original wouldn't save.  

I'd love to see Vic's first steps on the battlefield through Tyrion or Barristan's eyes. Once they see the Ironborn slaughtering the same enemies as them I could just see one of them thinking "I never thought I'd be happy to see a Greyjoy." as Victarion cuts his way towards them.

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I'd love to see Vic's first steps on the battlefield through Tyrion or Barristan's eyes. Once they see the Ironborn slaughtering the same enemies as them I could just see one of them thinking "I never thought I'd be happy to see a Greyjoy." as Victarion cuts his way towards them.

That's classic and disturbing all at the same time.    By George you're giving me Greyjoy hype now.   

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I'm getting excited to read The Battle of Mereen to unfold from all these POVs.  Can't wait to see what Vic thinks about this most interesting land battle from his place off the mainland.  And his 1st glimpse of the dragons.  Not to mention whatever further strangeness Moqorro will add.    Poor Vic seems so hapless I just hope he survives to meet Tyrion or Barristan.   So very much happening here and I can't wait to see it unfold.   

Yes, we don't seem to have any eyes in Winterfell and that's lousy.   Still, echoes of that Pink Letter resonate..  Is it possible someone has infiltrated Winterfell?   I can't see Theon back in the mix there following his struggle to break free of Ramsay, but Asha could pull this off.  Or even Davos.  Though why Davos would head straight for Winterfell will require some explanation.  You have a good mind for these things, do you think we may get eyes inside?  If so, who do you see being able to pull it off?   If not how will we get resolution to the events unfolding inside Winterfell?   

Edit:  Quote died on me again--this was a copy & paste deal as original wouldn't save.  

Looking at the current POV character list, it is hard to figure out how any of them would end up inside Winterfell for the Battle of Ice. Davos is headed for (we think) Skagos to retrieve Rickon, but in the timeline I am not sure there will be long enough for him to do that and reach Winterfell before everything kicks off. When last we saw him, Davos was departing White Harbor and given that the Battle of Ice was originally meant to be included in Dance, I just don't think we will see enough Davos chapters before this battle gets underway. I don't think Stannis would trust Theon enough to send him back into Winterfell as some sort of undercover operative. Nor would any of the Northerners. I do wonder when he will confess to them that Bran and Rickon were not the boys he killed.

As for Asha, I think Stannis will be unwilling to use his prize hostage in any sort of operation.  If he was, then I am not sure how that would work.  I am trying the recall whether Asha is visually known to those inside Winterfell.  Perhaps if she went in incognito with Alysane Mormont? I don't expect this to happen, but if we are to get a POV in Winterfell for the battle, then someone is going to have to go in.  While I think there has been an infiltration into Winterfell (the Hooded Man is an indication of that), I don't believe it is a current POV character. That leaves us really with the doubtful addition of another POV character (one that can be conveniently killed off not long after, perhaps) or a Prologue character (but I am sure I recall reading that Jeyne Westerling would feature in the Prologue for Winds, and she was last seen leaving Riverrun in the direction of the Westerlands). Although it would be nice to see the Battle of Ice on both sides, it is looking more and more to me as if we will not be able to do so. And seeing it from one side is better than not seeing it at all, like many of Robb's battles. 

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Looking at the current POV character list, it is hard to figure out how any of them would end up inside Winterfell for the Battle of Ice. Davos is headed for (we think) Skagos to retrieve Rickon, but in the timeline I am not sure there will be long enough for him to do that and reach Winterfell before everything kicks off. When last we saw him, Davos was departing White Harbor and given that the Battle of Ice was originally meant to be included in Dance, I just don't think we will see enough Davos chapters before this battle gets underway. I don't think Stannis would trust Theon enough to send him back into Winterfell as some sort of undercover operative. Nor would any of the Northerners. I do wonder when he will confess to them that Bran and Rickon were not the boys he killed.

As for Asha, I think Stannis will be unwilling to use his prize hostage in any sort of operation.  If he was, then I am not sure how that would work.  I am trying the recall whether Asha is visually known to those inside Winterfell.  Perhaps if she went in incognito with Alysane Mormont? I don't expect this to happen, but if we are to get a POV in Winterfell for the battle, then someone is going to have to go in.  While I think there has been an infiltration into Winterfell (the Hooded Man is an indication of that), I don't believe it is a current POV character. That leaves us really with the doubtful addition of another POV character (one that can be conveniently killed off not long after, perhaps) or a Prologue character (but I am sure I recall reading that Jeyne Westerling would feature in the Prologue for Winds, and she was last seen leaving Riverrun in the direction of the Westerlands). Although it would be nice to see the Battle of Ice on both sides, it is looking more and more to me as if we will not be able to do so. And seeing it from one side is better than not seeing it at all, like many of Robb's battles. 

I don't have a timeline handy so pardon my assumptions if irrelevant. I'm recalling that Davos was sent off to Skagos easily 6 weeks prior to Manderly leaving for Barrowtown.  I imagine there had to be a little re-configuring to get all the guests to Winterfell, but well, I just assumed there was enough time between Davos' departure and Theon's escape for Davos to get Rickon and get to where ever he was supposed to take him.   (Although I never thought he would go to Winterfell at all-just throwing seeds in the wind--I guess he would head to Eastwatch or Last Hearth)  Now that you bring it up I do recall GRRM saying something to the effect that the battles will both be dealt with early on and I don't want to miss a moment of Davos' adventure.   

The only folks I know of who may be able to ID Asha are Ramsay and his boys from her prior rescue attempt.   And that seemed to happen so fast in the dead of night maybe no one got a good look.   It seemed to me that Asha was dying to get Stannis to give her something to do.  Without his usual councilors this Stannis at war is a more interesting creature than the man his advisers love to influence.   Though I do tend to agree with you that Asha is quite a prize and Stannis isn't likely to let her out of his sight.   Which brings it all back to the Hooded Man and potential connections to the BWB or not, but you know my persuasion here.   Whatever happens in this it would be a shame to miss all the unraveling of things happening inside Winterfell.    Maybe Bran will be able to see in.   

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I don't have a timeline handy so pardon my assumptions if irrelevant. I'm recalling that Davos was sent off to Skagos easily 6 weeks prior to Manderly leaving for Barrowtown.  I imagine there had to be a little re-configuring to get all the guests to Winterfell, but well, I just assumed there was enough time between Davos' departure and Theon's escape for Davos to get Rickon and get to where ever he was supposed to take him.   (Although I never thought he would go to Winterfell at all-just throwing seeds in the wind--I guess he would head to Eastwatch or Last Hearth)  Now that you bring it up I do recall GRRM saying something to the effect that the battles will both be dealt with early on and I don't want to miss a moment of Davos' adventure.   

The only folks I know of who may be able to ID Asha are Ramsay and his boys from her prior rescue attempt.   And that seemed to happen so fast in the dead of night maybe no one got a good look.   It seemed to me that Asha was dying to get Stannis to give her something to do.  Without his usual councilors this Stannis at war is a more interesting creature than the man his advisers love to influence.   Though I do tend to agree with you that Asha is quite a prize and Stannis isn't likely to let her out of his sight.   Which brings it all back to the Hooded Man and potential connections to the BWB or not, but you know my persuasion here.   Whatever happens in this it would be a shame to miss all the unraveling of things happening inside Winterfell.    Maybe Bran will be able to see in.   

While I agree that Davos certainly has a good head start on Wyman Manderly we have to, boring as it may be, take into consideration the weather and the practicality of travelling as autumn turns to winter. It may take Davos a long time to reach Skagos given the storms we have been told so much about - they may push him off course and delay his arrival. And even after he has convinced Rickon and Osha to come with him (we cannot know if they will instantly trust him) Davos then has to take them back to the Northern shore and travel overland to Winterfell.  Likely, they would be delayed given the snow storms we have seen at Castle Black and, more so, on Stannis's journey from Deepwood Motte to Winterfell. So I based my logic on that, dull as it may be!

With Asha, she seems very much to me as someone who has few options left. In The Wayward Bride chapter in Dance, she thinks:

Two of Galbart Glover's serving men brought forth the roast, but that strip of skin had taken Asha's appetite. My men have given up all hope of victory, she realized glumly. All they look for now is a good death. The wolves would give them that, she had no doubt. Soon or late, they will come to take this castle back.

And that was before she was captured by Stannis. I know she thinks of her men and their desire for a good death, but the hopelessness Asha feels in this and subsequent chapters suggests she feels the same way as they do. She has lost the bit of the North she had seized, but cannot return home as to do so would mean either death or marriage to Erik, the elderly husband Euron so graciously provided her with. She wants Qarl but cannot have him for more than a lover because he is so socially inferior. And so, I agree that she would be keen to get something to do. It would get her out of the rut she seems to have fallen into, and may provide her with the good death she seeks. It is hard for us to know how recognizable Asha is generally.  If she encountered some of the inhabitants of Winterfell before, then they may realize who she is as soon as she sets foot in the castle. But then, would she tell Stannis that?

So, yeah, I think we are back to the Hooded Man of Winterfell (who isn't a POV character) and hoping that Bran might be able to see something for us!

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While I agree that Davos certainly has a good head start on Wyman Manderly we have to, boring as it may be, take into consideration the weather and the practicality of travelling as autumn turns to winter. It may take Davos a long time to reach Skagos given the storms we have been told so much about - they may push him off course and delay his arrival. And even after he has convinced Rickon and Osha to come with him (we cannot know if they will instantly trust him) Davos then has to take them back to the Northern shore and travel overland to Winterfell.  Likely, they would be delayed given the snow storms we have seen at Castle Black and, more so, on Stannis's journey from Deepwood Motte to Winterfell. So I based my logic on that, dull as it may be!

With Asha, she seems very much to me as someone who has few options left. In The Wayward Bride chapter in Dance, she thinks:

Two of Galbart Glover's serving men brought forth the roast, but that strip of skin had taken Asha's appetite. My men have given up all hope of victory, she realized glumly. All they look for now is a good death. The wolves would give them that, she had no doubt. Soon or late, they will come to take this castle back.

And that was before she was captured by Stannis. I know she thinks of her men and their desire for a good death, but the hopelessness Asha feels in this and subsequent chapters suggests she feels the same way as they do. She has lost the bit of the North she had seized, but cannot return home as to do so would mean either death or marriage to Erik, the elderly husband Euron so graciously provided her with. She wants Qarl but cannot have him for more than a lover because he is so socially inferior. And so, I agree that she would be keen to get something to do. It would get her out of the rut she seems to have fallen into, and may provide her with the good death she seeks. It is hard for us to know how recognizable Asha is generally.  If she encountered some of the inhabitants of Winterfell before, then they may realize who she is as soon as she sets foot in the castle. But then, would she tell Stannis that?

So, yeah, I think we are back to the Hooded Man of Winterfell (who isn't a POV character) and hoping that Bran might be able to see something for us!

You did it again, suicide never once crossed my mind for Asha.  As you illustrate, she really hasn't got anything left.  I recently reread The Sacrifice and was stuck on Asha offering to be Stannis' man.   Egad, in the light you offer, she prefers service to Stannis over returning home.   I was so used to Asha being strong and decisive I completely missed her desolation in defeat.  Good thing my job doesn't require me to be empathetic or deductive.  

Your points are spot on as usual.   When I offered Davos up as a possible POV I was only going to the next POV in the area.   To that I can only offer that anything can happen.  Do you know how much time Davos actually had before our Theon chapter?   I wonder if it's possible Mel gets a peak in her flames from the ruby Mance is wearing--I don't know, it just seems like a big old gaping hole to me not to have anyone there.   On 2nd though NO.  I would rather have no one there than have to jump through the hoops of trying to figure out what she sees.    

I'm not opposed to seeing things through Bran's eyes and this is becoming more and more likely as the conversation goes.  This will no doubt give Bran the chance to really learn his new abilities and build that greenseeing muscle.   And work on his warg as well.  My only exception to fully embracing this is the adventures I want Bran & his gang to have beyond the cave and Blood Raven.   I guess we could get it all it's just a foggy concept right now.  

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