Am I The Only One Around Here Who V.2

[Joy Hill]

Surely not.

Am I the only one around here who would love a Google map of Planetos ?

[RhaenysBee]

MaYbe? Maybe not? I don't know.

 

am I the only one around here who is sick of the generic black leather costumes every single character is wearing? (Have I asked this before?)

[Raisin' Bran]

Maybe you are. I do not watch the show these days and do not have an opinion. Though, when night comes, all banners are black.

 

Am I the only one around here who feels ambivalent about the Targ incest issue, and is a little disconcerted by the ambivalence?

[RhaenysBee]

I'm not sure what you mean by that. 

 

Am I the only one around here who doesn't think Kit Harington is good looking? 

[Raisin' Bran]

43 minutes ago, RhaenysB said:

I'm not sure what you mean by that. 

 

Am I the only one around here who doesn't think Kit Harington is good looking? 

Basically that I have gotten over the idea that the Targs married brother to sister and that was "normal" for them. But the fact that I have gotten over the incest is really weird to me and makes me wonder if I am becoming too desensitized.

Kit Harington portrays a character that is supposed to be "long-faced" and look like Ned, who is considered quite plain in the traditional sense. But there are obviously many people who think Kit is attractive, I personally can see it both ways, depending on what you look for.

AITOOAH who upon completely reading the series to date, stops reading and thinks, Now what?

[RhaenysBee]

Probably not. Upon reading the entire series my first thought is, Okay, so I will never know how this ends, thanks. 

 

Am I the only around here who is amazed that there are many show only fans out there who are of the opinion that the plot has significantly improved since season 1? 

[Lady Blizzardborn]

I know and have heard from no one who only watches the show who thinks the plot has improved since the first season. So you may be the only one on that.

 

AITOOAHW is getting a bit annoyed at the "Aegon must be fake/can't possibly be real" crowd acting like his being fake is a confirmed fact, when really the only person who knows for sure is the author?

[Queen of Procrastination]

No you're not the only one. I'm not fully convinced that he's fake. The people who say that he's fake make some good arguments, but so do those who say he's real.

@RhaenysB: Well I guess some people who thought Season 6 was the best Season think that the plot has improved... so yes I'm a amazed by the idea that the plot has imrpoved as well. 

Am I the only one around here who wasn't super annoyed by Penny? She wasn't one of my favourite charcacters, but I didn't find her that annoying either. 

[Raisin' Bran]

@Lady Blizzardborn Since I finished ADWD the first time, I have been almost continuously drifting back and forth from being convinced that Aegon was a fake. At this point in time. I am currently of the opinion that he may just be the real deal but not entirely there.

As such I will, rather than writing fAegon, write ?Aegon. And in general I do get a bit annoyed by people who assume something is fact and act like it is without actual textual proof. Lannister kids as Targ bastards, comes to mind (mostly Tyrion).

But what gets me most is when people develop theories based on the assumption that other theories (sometimes already tinfoil theories) are true.

@Lady of Whisperers Penny is hardly my favorite, or in my top 20, but she did serve a purpose, and she did grow up a bit over the course of ADwD.

AITOOAHW feels sick and sorry for Sam when he describes the smell of Bannen's body burning outside Craster's Keep?

[RhaenysBee]

I don't remember that scene. Probably not. 

Agree about FAegon. I actually think there's a legit chance he is real. 

Am I the only one around here who has some seriously ambivalent feelings about Aegon's being real? A part of me would be very happy that a child of Rhaegar and Elia lived and maybe this could mean that Tyrian isn't the third head of the dragon which would also make me very happy. Another part of me would be annoyed because it is really bad storytelling and plot. But then it would give me queer satisfaction to know that d&d aren't the only people who make terrible plot decisions. 

[Lady Blizzardborn]

21 hours ago, RhaenysB said:

I don't remember that scene. Probably not. 

Agree about FAegon. I actually think there's a legit chance he is real. 

Am I the only one around here who has some seriously ambivalent feelings about Aegon's being real? A part of me would be very happy that a child of Rhaegar and Elia lived and maybe this could mean that Tyrian isn't the third head of the dragon which would also make me very happy. Another part of me would be annoyed because it is really bad storytelling and plot. But then it would give me queer satisfaction to know that d&d aren't the only people who make terrible plot decisions. 

I'm sure you're not the only one. But...

Aegon can be real and still not a head of the dragon. Tyrion can be a head of the dragon and not remotely a Targaryen.

Aegon being real would be neither bad storytelling, nor bad plot. There's foreshadowing and post-shadowing, and the drama factor could end up being much higher. Consider the following plot possibilities:

1) Aegon is real, but develops the Targ madness, and a broken-hearted Varys is forced to kill the boy on whom all his dreams and hopes rested. 

2) Dany is certain Aegon is fake and kills him, only to learn that he really was her nephew and supposedly her last living relative, so now she's alone in the world (again) and a kinslayer--admittedly this would make her a lot less trigger-happy when she finds out about Jon.

3) Dany isn't sure about Aegon but agrees to work with him now and settle the throne thing later because another Blackfyre pretender has cropped up and has the nerve to have claimed one of the dragons. Blackfyre kills Aegon, and Dany kills the Blackfyre to avenge the nephew she feels she failed to protect. Extra special, triple drama if the Blackfyre she has to kill is her beloved Daario.

4) Aegon is real, but Arianne decides against him. She spends the rest of her days pacing the halls of Sunspear and muttering "I could have been queen." Okay that one's not as juicy, but I would find it funny.

 

AITTOAHW is having a lot of headaches lately? Not ASOIAF-related, but I was wondering if there's an epidemic I didn't know about or something.

[Little Scribe of Naath]

I had a bad one yesterday, so you're not alone....but that may have been due to less/irregular sleep.

 

AITOOAH who believed the Septa Lemore = Ashara Dayne theory for a while, but doesn't now (after rereading and coming across some other theories for her identity on this site?)

[Raisin' Bran]

You are not alone. I felt that Ashara being Lemore was a pretty sure bet before, but now think that it is not that likely. Mostly from discussion on the forum.

Am I the only one around here who thinks Harrenhal is actually cursed and thinks that the characters are being "anti-superstitious"?

[Lady Blizzardborn]

No, I don't think so, RB. I lean that way myself. It's amusing in a series where they know there are things like dragons, bloodmagic, and warlocks in Qarth, for people to dismiss something as low-key and simple as a curse. 

 

AITOOAHW would like to have joined the story in Dorne just a bit earlier? Would have been nice to see Myrcella's arrival, Oberyn and Doran's last meeting, the moment when Arianne knew Arys was putty in her hands, and the arrest of the Sand Snakes. 

[Queen of Procrastination]

No, no no you're are not alone. I love Dorne in the books and Arianne is one of my favourites. I would have loved to see this. 

Am I the only one around here who doesn't get all the hype surrounding the Kingsmoot scene? I don't think it's a bad scene, I just don't hype it. Maybe it's because I'm not such a big fan of the Ironborn storyline. I like Asha's and Theon's chapters though.

[Count Balerion]

The Kingsmmot chapter is probably, for me, the most enjoyable of the Ironborn chapters in FFC, but that's not saying an awful lot. I prefer Theon and Asha in DWD. I've probably reread the Theon chapters of DWD more often than any other part of the novel(s), which is partly why I was so horribly disappointed at what Sansa-in-Winterfell turned into in the show.

With (F)Aegon, I'm wary because the "Aegon" plot twist annoyed me, seemingly coming out of nowhere (although I wonder about Illyrio and Varys's conversation in AGOT), and he seemed like a distraction. So the temptation is to say he's fake because he's annoying. To avoid falling into that trap, I'm going to be non-committal on that until/unless GRRM reveals whether he was "real" or not.

Am I ... who didn't hate Dany's wheel speech on the show? Of course, sometimes when watching one isn't really paying attention, and then afterwards one says "what?" This may happen on a rewatch.

[Joey Crows]

You're not. The wheel speech was actually pretty solid and represented her underlying thoughts unsaid in the books.

AITOOHW who wants to see Euron sail to Meereen and totally succeed in allying with Dany and binding the dragons to his will? He's the great anti-hero in a world filled with grey characters. He is without a doubt a terrible man, but he has a plan and is ruth less and weirdly smart enough/worldly enough to make it happen.

[Annara Snow]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're the only one. Euron is not an anti-hero, he's a 100% villain. A supervillain, in fact.

@Joey Crows @Count Balerion How does Dany's wheel speech make sense? She lists names of various Westerosi houses and says she's going to "break the wheel"? What does it mean? She's going to abolish feudal order and hereditary monarchy and institute elective democracy?! That's obviously not the case. She's a Targaryen who believes in that same hereditary monarchy and feudal order and is trying to become Queen of Westeros as heir to her father. So that would then be her "wheel" turning once more.

AITOOAH who was always sure Aegon was fake - because the only 'evidence' of him being real is Varys' baby switch story, which is totally implausible and makes no sense?

[RhaenysBee]

Probably not, though the baby switch is hinted at. No. Let me correct that. A baby switch is hinted at. Which could be aegon. Or Jon. Or just a red herring. Either way I don't think there's solid and exclusive evidence for aegon being real or fake. It's just a big question mark and real or fake he is, a bad storyline. - in my opinion

 

am I the only one around here who thinks we tend to overrate the writing of the books and at the end of the series (IF they end) there will be lots of this doesn't make sense/how is this possible/but there's no evidence moments? 

[Lady Blizzardborn]

9 hours ago, Annara Snow said:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're the only one. Euron is not an anti-hero, he's a 100% villain. A supervillain, in fact.

@Joey Crows @Count Balerion How does Dany's wheel speech make sense? She lists names of various Westerosi houses and says she's going to "break the wheel"? What does it mean? She's going to abolish feudal order and hereditary monarchy and institute elective democracy?! That's obviously not the case. She's a Targaryen who believes in that same hereditary monarchy and feudal order and is trying to become Queen of Westeros as heir to her father. So that would then be her "wheel" turning once more.

AITOOAH who was always sure Aegon was fake - because the only 'evidence' of him being real is Varys' baby switch story, which is totally implausible and makes no sense?

The wheel speech makes sense because at the moment the various houses are squabbling and taking turns being on top. When you break the wheel, there's no more squabbling; one house/person is in charge. She's putting a stop to the cycle/wheel of violence and constantly shifting administration, not to feudalism or monarchy. 

If you completely discount the extremely obvious plant way back in Eddard's POV in the first book, and the successful baby switch Jon pulled off at the Wall with way fewer resources than Varys had, and the fact that more evidence might be coming up in future books because this is an unfinished series...then yeah there's no reason to think Aegon might be real. The baby-switch story is in fact entirely plausible, and makes a lot of sense. 

8 hours ago, RhaenysB said:

<snip

am I the only one around here who thinks we tend to overrate the writing of the books and at the end of the series (IF they end) there will be lots of this doesn't make sense/how is this possible/but there's no evidence moments? 

No, probably not. But the second part is not necessarily a given with the first. Just because we don't like what the author may do with some of the storylines doesn't mean the writing itself has been overrated. There won't be any surprises that lack evidence...it may be subtle evidence that didn't smack us in the face on the first read, but there will be evidence for every single thing. Whether things make sense, however depends on each reader's POV and thought processes. What makes sense to reader A doesn't have to make sense to reader B.

 

AITOOAHW kind of hopes that Cersei doesn't blow up KL, because it would be a shame to waste all that wildfire when there's an army of fire-weak wights headed south?