Your Unpopular ASOIAF Opinions/Hot Takes

[Alester Florent]

The head sent to Dorne was really that of Gregor Clegane.

We know Cersei likes to have fun with names. She named her first son after a notorious bastard and dared anyone to notice. And it's surely not a coincidence that her new sworn sword shares a name with Rhaenyra's favourite/lover. In fact, Robert Strong is basically her ideal man: he has no ideas of his own, does exactly what he's told and can't answer back. If only Robert Baratheon had been so compliant.

So whose head is it under Robert Strong's helmet, if not Gregor's? It's right there, hidden in plain sight. It's Robert's. This is Cersei's final revenge.

[The Bard of Banefort]

On 8/16/2023 at 6:58 AM, SeanF said:

Benioff said "themes are for 8th grade book reports", but there were thematic changes to the novels that altered the plot of the show.

1. Benioff and Weiss are (to put it mildly) unenthusiastic about people who seek to change  the political status quo in either continent.  Aristocracy is good.  in the East, people like Hizdahr are the voice of reason.

2. Almost all the upper classes are atheists/agnostics, and not just Stannis, as in the books.  None of them cared, when Cersei massacred the country's religious leaders, and destroyed its holiest place.  In the books, religion matters to a lot of characters.  Dany is a pantheist, not an atheist.  Jon cares enough about his religion to refuse Winterfell, if it means destroying the Godswood.  Most characters pray.

3.  On another thread, I called it A Child's Guide to Macchiavelli's Prince.  You get ahead by trusting no one, and betraying all at the  drop of a hat, and you can do all those things without suffering any consequences.  Cersei does that, in the books, and her rule collapses within months.  Whereas, people in Meereen are prepared to fight for Dany's government, even in her absence, and people are willing to march through snow, because they respected Ned Stark.  Both leaders inspired loyalty, among their followers.

4. Following on, the Lannisters and Littlefinger are people to admire and emulate.  The Starks grew up, when they became like them.  By contrast, "honour is stupid".  Ned and Jon were, in the end, a pair of stupid saps, who didn't know how to play The Game.

5.  Winning the Game of Thrones was more important than saving the Continent.  In the end, the Others were made into Monster of the Week.

 

One very insightful analysis of D&D I saw noted that the two took everything from the books at face-value. Renly would be the best king because he says he would. Margaery is a conniving vixen and Sansa is a pea-brained idiot because Cersei thinks they are. Ygritte tells Jon that he knows nothing, so therefore he’s a dolt. Tywin presents himself as a level-headed rationalist, so that’s what he is. Tyrion thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room. Varys claims to care about the good of the realm. The Hound lives for violence. Robb is a lovestruck fool. And on and on. It’s like it never occurred to them that the characters were full of shit.

[The Bard of Banefort]

My first unpopular opinion is that as much as I like this forum, it does not lend itself well to unpopular opinion threads. You have to keep skipping ahead by five pages to find the next new opinion.

Tyrion should have had a few good friends besides his brother and occasionally Uncle Kevan. Even if he was discriminated against, someone that wealthy, funny, and close to power—and who also loves to party—would have attracted some companions to carouse Flea Bottom with.

Littlefinger is an absurd character whose survival does more to break the story’s sense of realism than dragons or ice zombies.

Stannis and Dany may each have a strong sense of duty, but they also want power for its own sake, even if they refuse to admit it.

The Iron Islands should have more women than just Asha, Asha’s mother, and Asha’s aunt. This is a much bigger oversight than having too many women die in childbirth. 

The Faceless Men don’t make any sense.

Jorah is over-hated.

I think a lot of people misread the Hound, both to his benefit and detriment. He mentions Mycah’s death, Ned’s beheading, and Sansa’s abuse so often because he knows he should have acted differently; the mantras about how all knights are killers is just projection to assuage his own budding guilt. When he breaks down in his last scene with Arya, that’s him finally accepting that it doesn’t matter if he was following orders or if anyone in his position would have done the same thing—he still screwed up. People get so focused on the language he uses that they miss the bigger picture. At the same time, his stint at Quiet Isle Rehab is just one part of the path towards atonement. If he sat out the rest of the series on an island while people he cares about are in harm’s way, that would just be a reversion to selfishness.

[Lord of Raventree Hall]

1 hour ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

My first unpopular opinion is that as much as I like this forum, it does not lend itself well to unpopular opinion threads. You have to keep skipping ahead by five pages to find the next new opinion.

Tyrion should have had a few good friends besides his brother and occasionally Uncle Kevan. Even if he was discriminated against, someone that wealthy, funny, and close to power—and who also loves to party—would have attracted some companions to carouse Flea Bottom with.

Littlefinger is an absurd character whose survival does more to break the story’s sense of realism than dragons or ice zombies.

Stannis and Dany may each have a strong sense of duty, but they also want power for its own sake, even if they refuse to admit it.

The Iron Islands should have more women than just Asha, Asha’s mother, and Asha’s aunt. This is a much bigger oversight than having too many women die in childbirth. 

The Faceless Men don’t make any sense.

Jorah is over-hated.

I think a lot of people misread the Hound, both to his benefit and detriment. He mentions Mycah’s death, Ned’s beheading, and Sansa’s abuse so often because he knows he should have acted differently; the mantras about how all knights are killers is just projection to assuage his own budding guilt. When he breaks down in his last scene with Arya, that’s him finally accepting that it doesn’t matter if he was following orders or if anyone in his position would have done the same thing—he still screwed up. People get so focused on the language he uses that they miss the bigger picture. At the same time, his stint at Quiet Isle Rehab is just one part of the path towards atonement. If he sat out the rest of the series on an island while people he cares about are in harm’s way, that would just be a reversion to selfishness.

I basically agree with all your unpopular opinions, haha. One I wonder about though, the LIttlefinger breaking the story, I jsut want to know why you think so (I don't disagree, just want to hear you explain it basically lol). 

Here, so you don't have to go a long way, I guess I'll list some opinions I have that seem to unpopular based on other threads. 

1. Catelyn is a good mother. Catelyn didn't do anything wrong basically in the entire book (she made the best decisions with the information she had). Catelyn releasing Jaime Lannister....actually didn't do that much bad to the Stark's cause. Rickard Karstark was a loose cannon ready to blow long before Catelyn did this, and Robb's breaking of his marriage vow to the Freys was a far larger reason for anything that went wrong. 

2. Tywin's excuses for his evil actions are just as lame as Cersei's reasons. Desire for power and control (whether that be familial or personal) are not good reasons to do horrible things to other people, and it's weird that people think they are. 

3. Tywin is not as pragmatic as he appears. He makes decisions based soley on emotions repeatedly, but he WANTS to be seen as pragmatic. I think GRRM's writing points heavily to this being the case. Examples : Having Tyrion's wife raped, when he made his father's mistress walk naked through Lannisport, when he slept with Shae, when he ordered the Mountain to murder and rape Elia Martell (yes, I know, I have no proof. I think he did it). 

4. The Meereenese arc is great and I want more of it. 

5. Quentyn Martell was an excellent addition to the books. 

6. Okay, this one might actually be popular, but I still just want to say it again. Stannis is entitled and has one of the least sad backstories of any character in these books, yet he acts like he is the saddest sad boy in all of Westeros. Then he murders his brother, and then talks about how sad he is that Robert laughed at him (You know, Robert should have just made a shadow baby to murder him, since that is apparantly how brothers should act according to Stannis). My favorite juxtapostion with Stannis is like him being like : "Everything is so unfair to me," meanwhile in the background Lord Sunglass is burning to death because Stannis sentenced him to death for having the wrong faith. 

7. Cersei does love her children. She is an extreme narcissist, and she is undoubtedly evil, but she loves Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella. This doesn't mean I think she is a good mother, she is terrible, but I believe her love for them is genuine. 

8. Tyrion's relationship with Shae is abusive. He is controlling, demeaning, and ultimately ignores anything Shae wants/desires and just treats her more like a talking object than an actual human being with her own things she wants. 

9. Arya's scene where she kills Raff is disturbing. Not because I think Raff is a good person who should be spared, but because Arya likes killing him too much. It's....unnerving. She acts/talks like a serial killer. I hope Arya can...turn away from this...darker side of herself. 

10. Both AFfC and ADwD keep the same quality of material as the first 3 books. They are great books. I admit I wish GRRM had cleaned up just one thing in AFFC. I wanted just one PoV from the Iron Islands, and just one POV from Dorne. However, outside of that, I thought they were up to the same quality as the first 3 books (Oh and I guess I would switch Areo Hotah's one chapter in ADwD to Arianne as well, however I'm fine with both Victorian and Asha as PoVs in ADwD, and was happy with Aeron's disappearance). 

11. Renly Baratheon would have been the best King of the potential options. 

12. Petyr Baelish is overhyped by certain ...semi fan-boys in this forum. He isn't as smart as they want to pretend he is. 

[SaffronLady]

49 minutes ago, Lord of Raventree Hall said:

11. Renly Baratheon would have been the best King of the potential options.

The best king of the Seven Kingdoms, or the best king without the North and Iron Islands?

I do wonder how Renly plans to keep Dorne in his realm if he won. It won't be the first time an army from the Reach disappeared in Dorne, after all.

[SeanF]

49 minutes ago, SaffronLady said:

The best king of the Seven Kingdoms, or the best king without the North and Iron Islands?

I do wonder how Renly plans to keep Dorne in his realm if he won. It won't be the first time an army from the Reach disappeared in Dorne, after all.

Renly has no appeal to me, because he lacks any ethics.

[Alester Florent]

2 hours ago, SeanF said:

Renly has no appeal to me, because he lacks any ethics.

The reason Renly doesn't appear on any of the hero/villain wikis is that none of them have a category worthy of his virtue and majesty.

[The Bard of Banefort]

Re: Littlefinger, he has an ungodly amount of plot armor that includes everyone else acting out of character around him. Arya may have plot armor, but at least the other characters act like real people around her. Petyr is a little shit who mocks people straight to their faces and openly betrays his supposed allies, yet is still somehow not considered a danger as late as AFFC, after he was made Lord of Harrenhal, Lord Paramount of the Riverlands, consort to the Lady of the Vale, AND Lord Protector of the Vale. Him putting a knife to Ned Stark's throat in front of the whole court somehow doesn't get out, he randomly produces a bastard daughter the same age as Sansa and betroths her to Robert Arryn's heir in the matter of a few weeks without anyone in King's Landing hearing about it, and don't even get me started on Tyrion not chopping his head off the second he became Hand. Apparently he was too important to get rid of . . .  because no one else in Westeros (or Essos) has any understanding of economics, I guess? Who manages the finances for Casterly Rock then? Who’s in charge in Oldtown?

And what has it all been for? Littlefinger has survived against all reason, and his main purpose for two books now has been to abduct and molest a teenage girl. (Even Joffrey's murder was more Olenna than him —she's the one who put the poison in the chalice, she really didn’t need his help). Why is this guy still alive?

[Alester Florent]

1 hour ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

Re: Littlefinger, he has an ungodly amount of plot armor that includes everyone else acting out of character around him. Arya may have plot armor, but at least the other characters act like real people around her. Petyr is a little shit who mocks people straight to their faces and openly betrays his supposed allies, yet is still somehow not considered a danger as late as AFFC, after he was made Lord of Harrenhal, Lord Paramount of the Riverlands, consort to the Lady of the Vale, AND Lord Protector of the Vale. Him putting a knife to Ned Stark's throat in front of the whole court somehow doesn't get out, he randomly produces a bastard daughter the same age as Sansa and betroths her to Robert Arryn's heir in the matter of a few weeks without anyone in King's Landing hearing about it, and don't even get me started on Tyrion not chopping his head off the second he became Hand. Apparently he was too important to get rid of . . .  because no one else in Westeros (or Essos) has any understanding of economics, I guess? Who manages the finances for Casterly Rock then? Who’s in charge in Oldtown?

If I remember rightly, and I may not, Tyrion believed he needed Littlefinger to set up his plan to free Jaime, by opening talks with Cat. That got him out of the city, and by the time he got back Tyrion was no longer in charge. He also appears an invaluable asset for the BOKL regime, as he stopped Ned Stark's coup, brokered an alliance with the Tyrells which won the war against Stannis, and is best suited to bring the Vale back into the fold. Tyrion is alive to the danger but nobody seems to listen to him.

I can also believe that the story of LF holding a knife to Ned's throat didn't get out, because it was a confused scuffle where the gold cloaks will have been blocking the views of most courtiers, LF probably immediately handed him over to them, and I imagine Janos Slynt was happy to take the credit for apprehending Ned. For most of those who were present at the event, witnessed it sufficiently clearly to be sure of it, and survived the experience (bearing in mind that Ned's supporters were all killed, and Renly presumably took many of the Baratheon loyalists with him) they may not have thought much of it, as it was just loyal Lord Baelish assisting in apprehending a traitor, not enough to make a point of mentioning it to Sansa. Anything that reaches the ears of Cat or Renly or the Vale lords he could dismiss as mere gossip, and challenge them to produce a reliable witness, so while the conversation might be uncomfortable he's probably confident of his ability to blag his way out of it. Sansa is the main danger, but she's something of a pariah, isolated from KL gossip networks. Still, there's time for her to find out yet.

I don't think Sansa is betrothed to Sweetrobin? LF's plan is to betroth her to Harry, and that hasn't been accomplished yet.

There may also be an element of show-contamination in our perceptions of LF. Book-LF is witty, yes, and we know he's a shit, but the whole mocking people to their faces thing I suspect may have been a show insertion. It's been a while since I've read the books, but I seem to recall thinking when the show came out - and seeing others comment - that LF was much more obviously slimy and creepy and smug and condescending on the screen than he had been on the page. GRRM himself has said that LF has reached the position he has because he's "friendly and helpful" and therefore people trust him.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Alester Florent

[The Bard of Banefort]

1 hour ago, Alester Florent said:

If I remember rightly, and I may not, Tyrion believed he needed Littlefinger to set up his plan to free Jaime, by opening talks with Cat. That got him out of the city, and by the time he got back Tyrion was no longer in charge. He also appears an invaluable asset for the BOKL regime, as he stopped Ned Stark's coup, brokered an alliance with the Tyrells which won the war against Stannis, and is best suited to bring the Vale back into the fold. Tyrion is alive to the danger but nobody seems to listen to him.

I can also believe that the story of LF holding a knife to Ned's throat didn't get out, because it was a confused scuffle where the gold cloaks will have been blocking the views of most courtiers, LF probably immediately handed him over to them, and I imagine Janos Slynt was happy to take the credit for apprehending Ned. For most of those who were present at the event, witnessed it sufficiently clearly to be sure of it, and survived the experience (bearing in mind that Ned's supporters were all killed, and Renly presumably took many of the Baratheon loyalists with him) they may not have thought much of it, as it was just loyal Lord Baelish assisting in apprehending a traitor, not enough to make a point of mentioning it to Sansa. Anything that reaches the ears of Cat or Renly or the Vale lords he could dismiss as mere gossip, and challenge them to produce a reliable witness, so while the conversation might be uncomfortable he's probably confident of his ability to blag his way out of it. Sansa is the main danger, but she's something of a pariah, isolated from KL gossip networks. Still, there's time for her to find out yet.

I don't think Sansa is betrothed to Sweetrobin? LF's plan is to betroth her to Harry, and that hasn't been accomplished yet.

There may also be an element of show-contamination in our perceptions of LF. Book-LF is witty, yes, and we know he's a shit, but the whole mocking people to their faces thing I suspect may have been a show insertion. It's been a while since I've read the books, but I seem to recall thinking when the show came out - and seeing others comment - that LF was much more obviously slimy and creepy and smug and condescending on the screen than he had been on the page. GRRM himself has said that LF has reached the position he has because he's "friendly and helpful" and therefore people trust him.

Sweetrobin is the Lord of the Vale; Harry is his heir. LF volunteered to negotiate the marriage pact with the Tyrells after Renly died. Up until then, Tyrion just let him walk free for basically no reason.

If you go back through AGOT, LF is openly smug and slimy, and both Tyrion and Jaime remark on how untrustworthy he is. Tyrion tells Catelyn that LF openly brags at court about deflowering her and Lysa (while Jon Arryn was Hand, mind you) but is then surprised when LF says as much in ACOK. Jaime tells Cersei in AGOT that Littlefinger is too ambitious to be trusted as Hand, only to then consider appointing him Tommen’s Hand in AFFC because he’s too lowborn to trouble anyone.

Brienne hears about Sansa saving Dontos in ACOK, and he was just a lowly, drunken knight. Joffrey has her beaten in front of the court because he wants word of it to get back to Robb. All those goldcloaks saw the Master of Coin turn on the Hand, but none of them ever mentioned it to anyone else? Nothing about this character makes any sense. The most convincing theory I’ve heard is that GRRM probably planned on killing LF off in ACOK and then changed his mind.

Edited November 30, 2023 by The Bard of Banefort

[Lord of Raventree Hall]

18 hours ago, SaffronLady said:

The best king of the Seven Kingdoms, or the best king without the North and Iron Islands?

I do wonder how Renly plans to keep Dorne in his realm if he won. It won't be the first time an army from the Reach disappeared in Dorne, after all.

Best King period. I think if Renly took King's Landing (likely if Melisandre doesn't exist or shadow baby went astray), he could have made an alliance with Robb where he is the over king (or whatever he called it). In this scenario, probably Tywin marches on King's Landing still...but loses, to Renly's vastly superior army. Or maybe Tywin just abandons King's Landing? Somehow I could see him doing this. But I'm going to go with he does go to King's Landing and loses. If Balon still stupidly invades the North at this pont (with Renly now holding King's Landing, the Reach, the Stormlands, the Crownlands (Stannis dies in Renly's attack in front of Storm's End), and possibly having an alliance with the North and the Riverlands....the Iron Islands invading the North would be incredibly stupid even more than it already was. I'm not saying Balon wouldn't do it. He's an idiot, just that I don't think he is a serious threat. Renly takes what is left of Stannis's fleet and the Arbor's fleet and just goes and crushes the Iron Islanders to seal his peace with Robb as overlord of the 7 Kingdoms. And finally, he can offer Shireen as wife to Robert Arryn, stroking Lysa's pride and getting the Vale into the fold. 

I actually think it was one of his mistakes, he should have been more throurough in getting Dorne behind him. He just kind of counted on them choosing him over the Lannisters...which is kind of fair (Dorne does hate the Lannisters)...but he should have offered something. 

Edited November 30, 2023 by Lord of Raventree Hall

[Lord of Raventree Hall]

12 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

Re: Littlefinger, he has an ungodly amount of plot armor that includes everyone else acting out of character around him. Arya may have plot armor, but at least the other characters act like real people around her. Petyr is a little shit who mocks people straight to their faces and openly betrays his supposed allies, yet is still somehow not considered a danger as late as AFFC, after he was made Lord of Harrenhal, Lord Paramount of the Riverlands, consort to the Lady of the Vale, AND Lord Protector of the Vale. Him putting a knife to Ned Stark's throat in front of the whole court somehow doesn't get out, he randomly produces a bastard daughter the same age as Sansa and betroths her to Robert Arryn's heir in the matter of a few weeks without anyone in King's Landing hearing about it, and don't even get me started on Tyrion not chopping his head off the second he became Hand. Apparently he was too important to get rid of . . .  because no one else in Westeros (or Essos) has any understanding of economics, I guess? Who manages the finances for Casterly Rock then? Who’s in charge in Oldtown?

And what has it all been for? Littlefinger has survived against all reason, and his main purpose for two books now has been to abduct and molest a teenage girl. (Even Joffrey's murder was more Olenna than him —she's the one who put the poison in the chalice, she really didn’t need his help). Why is this guy still alive?

I love your passionate hatred for this man, as I believe him to be the only true psycopath in these books, i.e., I also hate him with a passion. I really want Sansa to have a great line when she has him killed. 

I actually think you didn't cover the least realistic part (for now) of his rise. Like, how he got all the Vale lords on his side just makes no sense. However! I think it is possible they are playing with him, particularly Nestor Royce, who now has Baelish completely in his power. You know how Baelish gets Lyn Corbray to fake being his enemy, I think it is quite possible that Nestor is the exact opposite. Faking being his friend as the Lords Declarent prepare to remove him from power. BUT for now, I think that is the most unrealistic part. He is literally a nobody, and if there is anything Westeros Nobility are all agreed on..it's hating on people who are nobodies...even like hundreds of years after they become large houses (like the Freys for example).  

I do think Baelish was a great villain, but I am ready for his time to end. And to any fanboys...Baelish is a pathetic obsessed paedofile-esq turd with 0 real redeeming qualities. He, much like Stannis, acts like he is so aggrieved..when in fact he isn't basically at all. He got to be raised by Hoster Tully somehow despite being from no where, then managed to get position after position essentially just because Lysa was in love with him, and is essentially a horrible human being who deserves none of this. If ever a man deserved to die poor and alone, it is Petyr Baelish. 

[Aejohn the Conqueroo]

On 9/6/2023 at 4:58 PM, Takiedevushkikakzvezdy said:

Melisandre's shadowbaby definitely seems like a deus ex machina to me. 

Deus ex vagina

[kissdbyfire]

2 minutes ago, Aejohn the Conqueroo said:

Deus ex vagina

Fuck, now there's coffee all over my phone b/c it flew right out of my nose, thank you very much! 

[Aejohn the Conqueroo]

24 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

Fuck, now there's coffee all over my phone b/c it flew right out of my nose, thank you very much! 

Sorry about that. I really tried not to post that, but in the end I couldn't help myself.

[kissdbyfire]

22 minutes ago, Aejohn the Conqueroo said:

Sorry about that. I really tried not to post that, but in the end I couldn't help myself.

No apology necessary, the excellent laugh I had more than made it worth it!
And been there, sometimes it is impossible to resist.

 

[Takiedevushkikakzvezdy]

On 11/30/2023 at 8:21 PM, kissdbyfire said:

Fuck, now there's coffee all over my phone b/c it flew right out of my nose, thank you very much! 

I just hope that your phone is water-resistant.

[Aldarion]

Daenaerys sections are the most boring parts of the books, in large part because everything around her is so shallowly built.

[Raven Princling]

Idk how unpopular these are, but I will avoid saying opinions I have already stated in other threads: 

1: Cersei should have had a flock of ladies around her in court same way Margaery does.  Same goes for Winterfell. Ned should have had more guests or even wards from noble Northern houses than just Theon who is a captive. Same could be said for Catelyn I guess. Starks ruled north for centuries and were Wardens of the North after conquest. They are basically the heart of the North and should have had a court of their own (a lesser one than King's Landing of course, but still).

2: Oldtown and Hightowers should have been introduced earlier.

3: Feast is actually a really good book and is my favorite in the series. I do not understand why so many people think the quality dropped with it and Dance. 

4: The hatred for Catelyn is ridiculous. People who criticize her behavior because of Jon do not realize that many women in her position would react the same way or worse in modern times, let alone in medieval times. She ignored him, gave him cold looks and said something bad in the middle of grief where she was not thinking rationally. She never abused him or anything.  I am not saying she was right or that Jon deserved it, I am simply saying that her behavior was natural (human-like) given the circumstances. She did make mistakes, but people acting like she started the war (and some claim she even planned it lmao) and is the sole reason for North's downfall are way off imo. 

5: This has been said many times before, but I wish Tyrion would have tried to get Littlefinger and failed after becoming Hand. Heck, it would have made way more sense if Tyrion tried to chop his head off, failed somehow and Littlefinger fled to Vale to get with Lysa.

6: Roose is a complete idiot for keeping Ramsay alive and letting him run around killing and torturing people. He should have killed him years ago and, if needed, made new bastards or something. Ramsay will doom his entire House (not that I feel bad).

7: Robert was a terrible King and the only character that genuinely annoyed me in the first book. 

8: Tyrion, Cersei and others in King's Landing should have mentioned Jon Arryn and Lysa way more. Jon was Robert's hand for years, but the characters barely mention how they were at court. They should have remembered and thought of them more.

9: If Young Griff makes a good king, I do not care if he is Blackfyre. They are basically Targaryens without marriage certificate anyway.

10: Tywin is not that good of a politician. He was too quick to resort to violence which caused his enemies to pounce on his children the moment he died. He is also a shit father not only to Tyrion, but Jaime and Cersei as well. 

11: Jon is not named as heir in Robb's will. The chapter purposefully makes you think it is Jon and uses him as a red herring.

Edited December 3, 2023 by Raven Princling
grammar and things

[Aldarion]

13 hours ago, Raven Princling said:

Idk how unpopular these are, but I will avoid saying opinions I have already stated in other threads: 

1: Cersei should have had a flock of ladies around her in court same way Margaery does.  Same goes for Winterfell. Ned should have had more guests or even wards from noble Northern houses than just Theon who is a captive. Same could be said for Catelyn I guess. Starks ruled north for centuries and were Wardens of the North after conquest. They are basically the heart of the North and should have had a court of their own (a lesser one than King's Landing of course, but still).

2: Oldtown and Hightowers should have been introduced earlier.

3: Feast is actually a really good book and is my favorite in the series. I do not understand why so many people think the quality dropped with it and Dance. 

4: The hatred for Catelyn is ridiculous. People who criticize her behavior because of Jon do not realize that many women in her position would react the same way or worse in modern times, let alone in medieval times. She ignored him, gave him cold looks and said something bad in the middle of grief where she was not thinking rationally. She never abused him or anything.  I am not saying she was right or that Jon deserved it, I am simply saying that her behavior was natural (human-like) given the circumstances. She did make mistakes, but people acting like she started the war (and some claim she even planned it lmao) and is the sole reason for North's downfall are way off imo. 

5: This has been said many times before, but I wish Tyrion would have tried to get Littlefinger and failed after becoming Hand. Heck, it would have made way more sense if Tyrion tried to chop his head off, failed somehow and Littlefinger fled to Vale to get with Lysa.

6: Roose is a complete idiot for keeping Ramsay alive and letting him run around killing and torturing people. He should have killed him years ago and, if needed, made new bastards or something. Ramsay will doom his entire House (not that I feel bad).

7: Robert was a terrible King and the only character that genuinely annoyed me in the first book. 

8: Tyrion, Cersei and others in King's Landing should have mentioned Jon Arryn and Lysa way more. Jon was Robert's hand for years, but the characters barely mention how they were at court. They should have remembered and thought of them more.

9: If Young Griff makes a good king, I do not care if he is Blackfyre. They are basically Targaryens without marriage certificate anyway.

10: Tywin is not that good of a politician. He was too quick to resort to violence which caused his enemies to pounce on his children the moment he died. He is also a shit father not only to Tyrion, but Jaime and Cersei as well. 

11: Jon is not named as heir in Robb's will. The chapter purposefully makes you think it is Jon and uses him as a red herring.

You know, I basically agree with everything here. Either I'm a weirdo or these opinions are not actually unpopular.