What's west of Westeros?

[LadyArwen]

In this episode, Arya tells Lady Crane that she's not interested in going to Pentos, and is instead going to see what's "west of Westeros", which "nobody knows". 

This could very easily have been a bit of filler/fluff to make it sound like Arya maybe had a plan, but could this be something that eventually gets fleshed out? I can't really see Book!Arya living happily ever after in Westeros after this is all said and done, so perhaps she just sails off into the sunset a la Frodo Baggins. 

[Warsaw]

Don't think so, no. I think it was just a filler.

Besides, if you sail west of Westeros enough you'll probably just get to Essos or another continent. I fail to see how that would be relevant to the plot.

[Adam Targaryen]

If we are to knit tinfoil hats here, I actually thought about the fact that she said "Noone knows". Arya has been training to become noone. The FM are noone. Could it not be of some relevance?

[gregg22]

How disappointing it will be for her when she gets there and realizes it's just Essos, because the world is round. 

[King Louis II (KLII)]

1 hour ago, Adam Targaryen said:

If we are to knit tinfoil hats here, I actually thought about the fact that she said "Noone knows". Arya has been training to become noone. The FM are noone. Could it not be of some relevance?

If I learned something from Episode 6 is to not have great expectations...  

[CrypticWeirwood]

24 minutes ago, gregg22 said:

How disappointing it will be for her when she gets there and realizes it's just Essos, because the world is round. 

Why would she think it were anything but?

[Vastet]

Because it clearly isn't common knowledge that worlds are round in this story. Much like it wasn't common knowledge through real history. Some civilisations figured it out amazingly early, but others were fairly recent as the timeline of our species goes.

Quite likely Valyria had figured it out, but they're long gone.

Assuming the world is round. This is fantasy. Technically it doesn't have to be round.

[Tchzaelous]

1 hour ago, gregg22 said:

How disappointing it will be for her when she gets there and realizes it's just Essos, because the world is round. 

 

4 minutes ago, Vastet said:

Assuming the world is round. This is fantasy. Technically it doesn't have to be round.

Exactly, I'm pretty sure Planetos has 7 sides.

[Leto Atreides]

Essos.

[lightningbolton]

9 hours ago, LadyArwen said:

In this episode, Arya tells Lady Crane that she's not interested in going to Pentos, and is instead going to see what's "west of Westeros", which "nobody knows". 

This could very easily have been a bit of filler/fluff to make it sound like Arya maybe had a plan, but could this be something that eventually gets fleshed out? I can't really see Book!Arya living happily ever after in Westeros after this is all said and done, so perhaps she just sails off into the sunset a la Frodo Baggins. 

Hermit Turtle?

[Alex7s]

7 hours ago, gregg22 said:

How disappointing it will be for her when she gets there and realizes it's just Essos, because the world is round. 

lmao

Back to essos. back to this FM mess 

[grufolo]

I also think this was a carefully placed dialogue with hints at Danaerys prophecies (to travel west you must first fo East ... when the sun rises in the West and sets in the East....)

Another hint at the fact that the lands beyond the current maps may come into play one day.

[Rhollo]

6 hours ago, Vastet said:

Because it clearly isn't common knowledge that worlds are round in this story. Much like it wasn't common knowledge through real history. Some civilisations figured it out amazingly early, but others were fairly recent as the timeline of our species goes.

Quite likely Valyria had figured it out, but they're long gone.

Assuming the world is round. This is fantasy. Technically it doesn't have to be round.

I am pretty sure every civilization in history comparable to Westerosi or the Free Cities had a pretty good idea about the shape of the earth.

Astronomy is a quite common field of study for measters, it would be very odd if they hadn't figured that out by now. And IIRC, Luwin in Winterfell was particularly into it.

So whatever the shape of this world is, Arya is most likely educated on it, even if it is not "common knowledge".

[Laguna]

Martin promised a bittersweet ending. Maybe every main character is dead in the end, except for Arya and Tyrion. She's flying west on one of the dragons, Tyrion has his own winery (double forshadowing in last Sunday's episode).

Edit: Like Frodo and Sam 

[No One of Importance]

During the Kingsmoot in the books, one of the candidates talks about leading the Ironborn to the rich lands west of the sunset sea. I took it as a nod to viking exploration of North America. 

[legba11]

It was an odd line, but I've grown accustomed to just throwing things like that away on the show.  I think they wrote it because it sounded k3wl.  There is no way they are introducing a new continent into the show this late in the game.  Arya's story for this season might be done at this point and there are only 13 episodes left after that.

[grufolo]

1 hour ago, No One of Importance said:

During the Kingsmoot in the books, one of the candidates talks about leading the Ironborn to the rich lands west of the sunset sea. I took it as a nod to viking exploration of North America. 

Those references are hardly a fortuitous chance. They are put there for a reason.

[No One of Importance]

18 minutes ago, grufolo said:

Those references are hardly a fortuitous chance. They are put there for a reason.

Well, of course.  It's a written work, so everything is put there for a reason.

[Vastet]

I am pretty sure every civilization in history comparable to Westerosi or the Free Cities had a pretty good idea about the shape of the earth.

You're mistaken.

Astronomy is a quite common field of study for measters, it would be very odd if they hadn't figured that out by now. And IIRC, Luwin in Winterfell was particularly into it.

Neither Arya nor Crane were Maesters. The vast majority of the population aren't Maesters. Your argument has no relevance.

So whatever the shape of this world is, Arya is most likely educated on it, even if it is not "common knowledge".

Dialogue proves you wrong.

[grufolo]

4 minutes ago, Vastet said:

Dialogue proves you wrong.

At this stage dialogue proves nothing... they know not, as 1491 A.D. people would not know what lied west of Portugal even if they knew the world was round