What are some popular theories in the fandom that you can't see happening?

[Kierria]

On 6/26/2020 at 3:08 PM, Pontius Pilate said:

Whether Robert and Ned were guilty of anything is up for debate.  A lot of the readers think their families were plotting against Aerys.  I am one of them.  Aerys spared the lives of Dontos and Brandon's squire.  So I do not think he would have done anything against the younger members of those families if Robert and Eddard had done into exile.  And no, it is not insane for Aerys to be the ruler.  This is their system, not ours.  If Brandon had been half-crazed, yes, he would still have become the Lord of Winterfell.  Sweet Robin is not exactly right upstairs but it does not change the fact that he is the heir of Jon Arryn and entitled according to their laws to govern the Vale.  Robert was bankrupting the realm and nobody told him to step down.  The fact is, Aerys had the right to rule the Seven Kingdoms.  And for the most part the kingdom prospered under his reign.  The reason does not matter.  Maybe he got lucky and appointed the right people in his council.  Luck might have also played a part in having an awesome Kingsguard.   It doesn't matter.  The realm prospered under his rule.  The realm suffered under the Baratheons, Starks, and Lannisters.  The realm was better off under Aerys.  

Aerys was mad but was at least willing to listen to advice.  Barristan asked to have the Hollard boy saved and Aerys listened.  So who spoke up for Brandon's squire, I wonder.  Varys?  I can see why.  The lad was a squire and had no choice except to follow that Brandon Stark to the Red Keep.

On 6/26/2020 at 3:08 PM, Pontius Pilate said:

Daenerys is not a pawn.  She took advantage of her time with the Dothraki to advance herself.  She chose her own way instead of following their custom.  Daenerys chooses her own way.  I like that about her.  Westeros would be lucky to have her on the throne.  

Perhaps.  That is the reason why the War of the Five Kings is so devastating.  None of the parties can win outright and so it continued.  The red wedding finally put the nail in the coffin of the Starks and that at least took care of one problem.  The Iron Born continues to be a problem though.  Doran and the Martells are itching for a fight.  Etc.

Indeed she is not a pawn.  She would be very good at cyvasse.

[Kierria]

11 hours ago, Big P said:

And I think the majority would choose to unite and be one kingdom.  Don't forget, the majority are non-nobles.  The common people.  They cheered for Aegon the Conqueror and they will cheer for his descendant, the young Queen Daenerys too.   The Great Lords may not want unity because it demotes them to lord status but their voices should not drown out the majority, which are the common people. 

We have seen the inabilities of the leaders in Westeros to get things done.  Tommen is not of an age and his regent is not sound at all.  The Martells are hung up on vengeance even knowing it will lead to war.  The maesters have one finger plugging their anus with the other feeling for treasures in their nostrils.  Jon Snow, the lord commander, betrayed his job and triggered a fight with the warden of the north.  The people of Westeros will be sending messengers to Daenerys and begging for her help.  How the Lannisters and the Starks feel about a Targaryen restoration will not matter.  It is time of the direwolf and the lion to become extinct.

[kissdbyfire]

2 hours ago, Codeman Lambert said:

Aerys was mad but was at least willing to listen to advice. 

Erhm... no. He only listened to the arse licking self-serving idiots he surrounded himself with, and even that not always. 

2 hours ago, Codeman Lambert said:

Barristan asked to have the Hollard boy saved and Aerys listened.

Again, no. 

TWoIaF, Aerys II

“When Darklyn and his family were presented to him in chains, Aerys demanded their deaths—and not only Darklyn’s immediate kin but his uncles and aunts and even distant kinsmen in Duskendale. Even his good-kin, the Hollards, were attainted and destroyed. Only Ser Symon’s young nephew, Dontos Hollard, was spared—and only then because Ser Barristan begged that mercy as a boon, and the king he had saved could not refuse him.”

[SeanF]

On 6/25/2020 at 11:19 PM, Son of Man said:

@BalerionTheCat

Robert and Ned could have gone into exile.  War was very avoidable. 

The worst kind of war is where the two sides are evenly matched.  It will last longer and consume more resources.  A war in which one side can quickly win saves a lot of lives and resources.  So Dany coming over with her dragons will mean less bloodshed because only a few families will be willing to fight.  She has the right attitude and aptitude for leadership.  Those lords who meet her will be impressed.  I do not expect every lord will accept her but most of them will after that first meeting.  The Starks have put all of their eggs on the Baratheon basket.  They will be one of the trouble makers but they can be dealt with. 

I think that it would be unreasonable to expect Robert and Ned to go into exile.  They were entitled to fight and kill Aerys II and Rhaegar out of self-defence.

What was unreasonable was Robert claiming the throne.  That was basically signing the death warrants of the rest of the royal family.

[SeanF]

On topic, I don't believe that Daenerys is the daughter of Rhaegar and Rhaella.

[BalerionTheCat]

3 hours ago, SeanF said:

On topic, I don't believe that Daenerys is the daughter of Rhaegar and Rhaella.

Then, who is she the daughter of? The baby switch with Lyanna's is absurd. If only for the timeline.

ETA: Sorry I read Aerys and Rhaella. Of course not Rhaegar and his mother. Anyways, he was long gone from KL.

[SeanF]

1 hour ago, BalerionTheCat said:

Then, who is she the daughter of? The baby switch with Lyanna's is absurd. If only for the timeline.

ETA: Sorry I read Aerys and Rhaella. Of course not Rhaegar and his mother. Anyways, he was long gone from KL.

it was a crackpot theory that was at one point quite popular.

[BalerionTheCat]

4 hours ago, SeanF said:

it was a crackpot theory that was at one point quite popular.

I know some (most?) hate Rhaegar. But I can't believe this "crackpot" (I knew of it of course) was at any time popular. It is just Rhaegar blind hate.

[Big P]

On 6/27/2020 at 8:40 PM, Kierria S said:

We have seen the inabilities of the leaders in Westeros to get things done.  Tommen is not of an age and his regent is not sound at all.  The Martells are hung up on vengeance even knowing it will lead to war.  The maesters have one finger plugging their anus with the other feeling for treasures in their nostrils.  Jon Snow, the lord commander, betrayed his job and triggered a fight with the warden of the north.  The people of Westeros will be sending messengers to Daenerys and begging for her help.  How the Lannisters and the Starks feel about a Targaryen restoration will not matter.  It is time of the direwolf and the lion to become extinct.

It is inevitable.  They will have to send somebody to Vaes Dothrak and ask help from Dany.  I want time enough to give the dragons time to get bigger.

[Roswell]

On 6/27/2020 at 5:57 AM, BalerionTheCat said:

Bloody glorious. War at nearly each generation. Their own feuds, madness, insanity as often as not.

No.  The conqueror was a burglar and murderer. He came into their houses and said: "gimme all you have or I'll kill you all". Houses some had built maybe 10 millennia ago. It was not a choice. Then he pretend the people were his, to do as he wanted. As much as the slavers his fathers were.

Their reign prevented more bloodshed.  Harren the Black would have conquered most of the other kingdoms were it not for the Targaryens.  The kingdoms were constantly at war.  The great houses were paying for their wars with the lives of the peasants.  So absolutely the Targaryens deserve credit for maintaining peace for most of their reign. 

The conqueror did what all the great houses did.  Made war in order to advance a goal.  What do you think the lords do?  They fought battles, killed people, and regularly steal part of each peasant's produce.  The Targaryens hold the moral high ground over the great houses. 

[Rose of Red Lake]

On 7/5/2020 at 1:37 PM, Roswell said:

The conqueror did what all the great houses did.  Made war in order to advance a goal.  What do you think the lords do?  They fought battles, killed people, and regularly steal part of each peasant's produce.  The Targaryens hold the moral high ground over the great houses. 

So Aegon did what the lords were doing, but also didnt do what the lords were doing? Huh?

 

[The Fattest Leech]

On 6/27/2020 at 5:57 AM, BalerionTheCat said:

Bloody glorious. War at nearly each generation. Their own feuds, madness, insanity as often as not.

No.  The conqueror was a burglar and murderer. He came into their houses and said: "gimme all you have or I'll kill you all". Houses some had built maybe 10 millennia ago. It was not a choice. Then he pretend the people were his, to do as he wanted. As much as the slavers his fathers were.

Bumping for good fortune.

[Targknight]

1). Jon Snow is a Targaryen, because it will be too Lord Of The Rings.George avoids those kind of things.

2). Daenerys won’t become the Mad Queen.

3).  Aegon isn’t fake Aegon.

4). Arya Stark won’t be killed, or crippled. 

5). Roose Bolton is a Vampire.

6). Stannis surviving

 

 

 

[Targknight]

On 7/5/2020 at 4:37 PM, Roswell said:

Their reign prevented more bloodshed.  Harren the Black would have conquered most of the other kingdoms were it not for the Targaryens.  The kingdoms were constantly at war.  The great houses were paying for their wars with the lives of the peasants.  So absolutely the Targaryens deserve credit for maintaining peace for most of their reign. 

The conqueror did what all the great houses did.  Made war in order to advance a goal.  What do you think the lords do?  They fought battles, killed people, and regularly steal part of each peasant's produce.  The Targaryens hold the moral high ground over the great houses. 

Targaryens kept the Ironborn in line.

Spoiler

Now Euron Greyjoy is going to burn the Seven Kinddoms to the ground. The Hightowers, The Faith, and the Maesters are really going to regret getting rid of the Targaryens.

 

[Targknight]

On 6/27/2020 at 5:01 AM, Hodor the Articulate said:

Here's a controversial one: Westeros splitting back into petty kingdoms.

I think the message of the series has been unity, and having Westeros divided is antithetical to that.

The Seven Kingdoms are going to have their own rulers. 

[Loose Bolt]

44 minutes ago, sexyprinceviserys said:

The Seven Kingdoms are going to have their own rulers. 

I assume that if Dany and her dragons died then there would not be anybody who would be both popular and strong enough to keep 7 Kingdoms united. So either Dany is victorious and unites Westeros or there will be many petty and very hostile kingdoms.

[The Lord of the Crossing]

On 7/5/2020 at 4:37 PM, Roswell said:

Their reign prevented more bloodshed.  Harren the Black would have conquered most of the other kingdoms were it not for the Targaryens.  The kingdoms were constantly at war.  The great houses were paying for their wars with the lives of the peasants.  So absolutely the Targaryens deserve credit for maintaining peace for most of their reign. 

The conqueror did what all the great houses did.  Made war in order to advance a goal.  What do you think the lords do?  They fought battles, killed people, and regularly steal part of each peasant's produce.  The Targaryens hold the moral high ground over the great houses. 

The Targaryens brought needed stability to Westeros.  One only needs to see what happened less than 20 years after their departure to witness how Westeros has fallen back into squabbling little people.   The Baratheons and their Stark allies came up very short. 

[Targknight]

9 hours ago, Loose Bolt said:

I assume that if Dany and her dragons died then there would not be anybody who would be both popular and strong enough to keep 7 Kingdoms united. So either Dany is victorious and unites Westeros or there will be many petty and very hostile kingdoms.

I think Danny is going to lose all her dragons.

[BlackLightning]

On 6/17/2020 at 10:57 PM, QhorinQuarterhand said:

I like your #3. None of the King Jon clues specifically hint at or require him to be King of Westeros. Considering his entire storyline has only ever been and felt like Winterfell/Stark/North/Ice, it is much more likely that Jon will be King of the North, King of Winter, King Beyond The Wall or a new Northern King title post Long Night 2.0.

Though I'm not convinced he will be King of anything. 

I think that's going to change in A Dream of Spring.

While Jon is a Stark, he is also a Targaryen.

On 6/17/2020 at 11:04 PM, QhorinQuarterhand said:

My #1 is: Any theory that only became popular because of the show. 

True. I can cosign this.

On 6/18/2020 at 2:33 PM, BalerionTheCat said:

Yes, she cares. She always believes it. She even shows it by going to the diseased. But it doesn't help. The plague was the consequence of her abandon of Astapor. She feels bad. But she intents to reclaim the 7K anyway. If she was really caring she would have stayed at Astaport, to build a system without slavery. Her desertion generated the plague. And she is willing to repeat the experience with Meereen. And probably bring destruction to Westeros even if fAegon is at this stage a decent king.  Bring Red priests against the Faith. Bring dothrakis, sell-swords, ironborns (the brute or the monster?), living all for rampage and slavery.

 

She acknowledges that leaving Astapor was a mistake. She is not willing to repeat the experience with Meereen.

I think that she has learned enough to know that she can't leave Meereen like she left Astapor.

 

[BlackLightning]

On 6/27/2020 at 4:47 PM, Rose of Red Lake said:

Unity for unity's sake is pretty stupid. People don't try to resolve wars between countries by saying, oh my gosh we need one single world government to end it! Ever heard of alliances?

You can still have separate countries - what matters is that they aren't going to war with each other and work together to achieve common objectives. And as the Targaryen dynasty illustrates, just uniting them didn't end the fighting.

 Diplomacy and respect for other people's sovereignty is important.

I agree.

I think that while the reformation of Westeros and the beginning of its healing process as a continent and a nation is going to be the ending, I do think that they need a much better reason than a hokey "We are the world, we are the children..." moment. I also think that the last few chapters of A Dream of Spring (or whatever) need to revolve around this healing process. Like the book can't end once madness of war ends; it has to end at the beginning of peaceful reconstruction. That said, I do think it is possible that Westeros does split back up into seven kingdoms.