What’s a popular theory you fervently hope doesn’t come true?

[sifth]

17 hours ago, Angel Eyes said:

Well, it does serve a purpose: subverting expectations for the plucky underdog hero (a prince yes, but completely average in looks, fighting ability) sent to woo a princess/queen. Turns out his journey is unpleasant from the outset (the first line of his POV is "Adventure stank"), he wasted time getting there so he's too late to stop her marrying someone else, he has nothing to persuade her otherwise, and gets roasted by trying to fulfill a sunk-cost fallacy.

Even if you subvert expectations, you still need to do it in a satisfying way. 

[Takiedevushkikakzvezdy]

25 minutes ago, sifth said:

Even if you subvert expectations, you still need to do it in a satisfying way. 

Otherwise you get Dany having a Starbucks at Winterfell.

[Nevets]

23 hours ago, Angel Eyes said:

Well, I'm no fan of this one to be perfectly honest with you. I think it serves to show how broken Sansa is, what with the whole "No one will marry me for love" and making up good memories with someone who tried to rape/kill you (not to mention belittles you almost every time you're in the same room).

I'm not sure what Sandor was doing in Sansa's room during the Blackwater.  Given his drunken state, I don't know that he does either, but I don't think he had any intent to harm her or make her do anything against her will.  I think his offer to take her with him was genuine but I don't know what he had in mind after that, or what his intentions were.

Sandor's attitude toward Sansa is ... complicated.  He does belittle her, but I think he intends it to make her stronger and more aware of the world around her.  I think he regards as a sort of a sister, but I can also see the possibility of him regarding her as a potential lover.  As I said, it's complicated.

[Bloodwyn]

R+L=J

Mostly because it will undermine Ned Stark as a character - it will remove the only "flaw" Ned had and will make him some "lawful good hero martyr who did no bad things and suffered for other peoples sins". Perfect good character with no flaws or wrong doings. GRRM doesn't write that, atleast in ASOIAF. Plus I really love Ned and Jon shared connections, so I would be really disappointed if Ned is not his biological father.

[Craving Peaches]

People have said this already but A + J = T. If one of the Lannister alternate parentage theories has to be true, make it A + J = J + C. It is much better if Tyrion, who Tywin despised, is the real Lannister and his father's only son, while Jaime and Cersei, his 'perfect' heir and daughter, are bastards. There is also more foreshadowing, such as Cersei's weird fascination with Wildfire, Jaime and Cersei acting like Targaryens, Jaime's prophetic dreams and Genna saying that Tyrion was Tywin's son. Tyrion and Jaime could even bond over both having killed their fathers!

[The Bard of Banefort]

On 8/1/2022 at 5:09 PM, Nevets said:

I'm not sure what Sandor was doing in Sansa's room during the Blackwater.  Given his drunken state, I don't know that he does either, but I don't think he had any intent to harm her or make her do anything against her will.  I think his offer to take her with him was genuine but I don't know what he had in mind after that, or what his intentions were.

Sandor's attitude toward Sansa is ... complicated.  He does belittle her, but I think he intends it to make her stronger and more aware of the world around her.  I think he regards as a sort of a sister, but I can also see the possibility of him regarding her as a potential lover.  As I said, it's complicated.

According to the app, he was “working up the courage to take him with her.” So when he told Arya “I meant to take her too,” that’s what he meant—physically take her with him.   (That was always how I interpreted it, personally, but this confirmed it for me). I think Sandor resents how Sansa makes him feel vulnerable—which would explain why he became angry once she closed her eyes after he offered to take her with him—but still finds himself inexplicably drawn to her. 

I had never thought we’d get a real relationship between them—although I always found some kind of clandestine affair likely—but then TWOIAF and FnB came out, and they were filled with stories of highborn women who had been married/betrothed multiple times who then married unconventional men of much lower birth in order to escape the marriage pawn game (hell, the first instance of this was Alys Karstark in ADWD). So now I don’t find it all that unlikely, especially since George seems to be getting more romantic with age.

As far as age goes, Sansa was supposed to be 18 by now, and if Mercy is any indication, GRRM is just writing the characters as if the 5-year-gap was never dropped.

[EggBlue]

it's funny how I used to think (more or less still do) that RLJ is a popular theory! yet , half of the people in this thread seem to dislike it! one thing is for sure , RLJ , like SanSan , age tolerances , etc. has not aged well at all . one more reason for George to be quick about writing his books!

[The Bard of Banefort]

3 hours ago, EggBlue said:

it's funny how I used to think (more or less still do) that RLJ is a popular theory! yet , half of the people in this thread seem to dislike it! one thing is for sure , RLJ , like SanSan , age tolerances , etc. has not aged well at all . one more reason for George to be quick about writing his books!

You know how they make mods for video games? Someone should make a mod for the e-books that adds several years onto the characters’ ages. And since it wouldn’t be official, it wouldn’t matter if the timeline didn’t work out perfectly.

[sifth]

On 8/10/2022 at 2:45 PM, Bloodwyn said:

R+L=J

Mostly because it will undermine Ned Stark as a character - it will remove the only "flaw" Ned had and will make him some "lawful good hero martyr who did no bad things and suffered for other peoples sins". Perfect good character with no flaws or wrong doings. GRRM doesn't write that, atleast in ASOIAF. Plus I really love Ned and Jon shared connections, so I would be really disappointed if Ned is not his biological father.

Ned got all of his men, along with himself killed. I’d call that a rather big flaw.

[Maia]

The Others being stopped at Winterfell. If they don't make it to the God's Eye at least there was no reason to bother with them at all, IMHO.

The long winter ending as soon as the Other situation is resolved instead of continuing for years. You want Scrouging of the Shire? That should be it.

King Bran. I know, I know, it was GRRM's original plan. It should have gone the way of Jon-Arya-Tyrion love triangle and supervillain Jaime after the second book at the latest.

Dany going insane. That's some "Dark Phoenix/women can't handle teh power/bigots throughout WoIaF/FaB are vindicated" bullshit. May have been GRRM's plan, but see above.

Ned having had a romantic relationship with Ashara Dayne.

Time travel.

 

 

 

[Takiedevushkikakzvezdy]

1 minute ago, Maia said:

The Others being stopped at Winterfell. If they don't make it to the God's Eye at least there was no reason to bother with them at all, IMHO.

That's how it was portrayed on the show, but I don't think it's a popular theory, necessarily.

[Khloey]

Never had a problem with RLJ theory, it makes sense, but I do hope it's not a great tragic love story at least not on rhaegar's part. That character always sounded weird to me, all that nonsens about the perfect prince. If he only did it in relation to the TPTWP prophecy with a kinda messiah complex, I would find it more plausible.

Lyanna on the other end could be the teenage girl who's been lead to run away and looses control over her fate.

I don't like the idea of Tyrion being a secret Targ as well, there's too much secret Targs in theories, we already have Jon, that's enough.

Don't like the SanSan either, never understood that shipping.

I'd prefer if we don't get a Jon/Dany love story, or any Jon love story, he had Ygritte and chose the NW over her. As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather pick Jon/Satin over any ship ^^

[TheLastWolf]

14 hours ago, Khloey said:

As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather pick Jon/Satin over any ship ^^

There's even fanart lol

[Craving Peaches]

18 hours ago, Khloey said:

I don't like the idea of Tyrion being a secret Targ as well, there's too much secret Targs in theories, we already have Jon, that's enough.

I agree. I hope it's not written so that Jon has to 'choose' one side or the other though, e.g. he's forced to choose between being a Targaryen and rejecting the Stark side or being a Stark and rejecting the Targaryen side. I think that the overall message will be about balance of the ice and fire sides and Jon should embody this balance.

The more hidden characters there are, the more the value of each hidden character diminishes.

[Maia]

On 8/12/2022 at 3:41 PM, Takiedevushkikakzvezdy said:

That's how it was portrayed on the show, but I don't think it's a popular theory, necessarily.

The theory existed well before it's show implementation and was popular among the readers who wanted Jon to become King in the North and prove that  independent North could stop the Others in their tracks by itself, needing no degenerate southeners, who have been only holding it back for the last 3 centuries . Wordplay on Winter -fell -(here) was cited in support, as well as various mysteries associated with the castle.