Ceasefire between Cersei and Daenerys - Differences in the Books

[KingStoneheart]

I do believe that a large portion of what "generally" happened in the show will play out in the books in some way or another (in a significantly better and more well thought out way) and one of those things that I think will happen is some sort of "ceasefire" between Dany and Cersei after a while (so that Dany and her dragons can fight some zombies). I know many people in the fandom also feel that Cersei will kind of be an afterthought to the Long Night / War against the dead (many compare her to Saruman in LotR during the Scouring of the Shire) and so I'm wondering how people think this will play out in the Books?

Of course, we are A LONG way away from this moment happening, but still what sort of things do you think will lead up to Daenerys willingly sending her army North whilst she still knows Cersei is in the game - as that just seems like an insane move. I know in the show, they had a Wight Hunt but that is also a ridiculous plot that will not make the book, so what will be the persuading factor do we think?

Personally, I think something along the lines of the North plead for help, Dany rejects that to fight her war, eventually the Others break through the Wall and Dany's like "oh... they were right" and flies North. But by this point, King's Landing may have already been burned to the ground and Cersei could either be missing (en route back to Casterly Rock somehow) or already back there and hiding inside the impregnable rock (both impregnable by siege and wildfire). Because of this and her being trapped there, it makes it a lot easier to head North and leave her behind as an afterthought.

[StarkTullies]

I believe George Martin's general statement that the broad strokes will be similar for the main characters between book and show, but I don't know if the "main characters" only includes the Big Six, or includes other characters such as Davos, Jaime, Cersei, etc.

But I don't think there will be a ceasefire between Cersei and Dany, because I don't think Cersei will be anywhere near the Iron Throne once Dany arrives.  Dany's jealousy over "Aegon VI" (Jon Snow) in the show is a replacement for jealousy over "Aegon VI" (Young Griff) in the books, and I believe that King Aegon and Queen Arianne will be sitting the Iron Throne when Dany arrives in Westeros, and that Arianne will be the "younger more beautiful" who casts Cersei down, not Dany.

A ceasefire between Aegon and Dany?  That's possible... I'm more confident at predicting what won't happen than what will.  But late-season GOT was too simplified to tackle multiple plotlines at once: they had a ceasefire so they could focus on the White Walkers and then the Iron Throne, because the show runners couldn't handle them both at once.  George Martin won't simplify the story for us in that way.  I expect chaos will be coming from all ends, which is probably why it is so hard for George to finish these books; the books are complicated, and the show was not.

[SeanF]

On 12/10/2023 at 9:12 PM, KingStoneheart said:

I do believe that a large portion of what "generally" happened in the show will play out in the books in some way or another (in a significantly better and more well thought out way) and one of those things that I think will happen is some sort of "ceasefire" between Dany and Cersei after a while (so that Dany and her dragons can fight some zombies). I know many people in the fandom also feel that Cersei will kind of be an afterthought to the Long Night / War against the dead (many compare her to Saruman in LotR during the Scouring of the Shire) and so I'm wondering how people think this will play out in the Books?

Of course, we are A LONG way away from this moment happening, but still what sort of things do you think will lead up to Daenerys willingly sending her army North whilst she still knows Cersei is in the game - as that just seems like an insane move. I know in the show, they had a Wight Hunt but that is also a ridiculous plot that will not make the book, so what will be the persuading factor do we think?

Personally, I think something along the lines of the North plead for help, Dany rejects that to fight her war, eventually the Others break through the Wall and Dany's like "oh... they were right" and flies North. But by this point, King's Landing may have already been burned to the ground and Cersei could either be missing (en route back to Casterly Rock somehow) or already back there and hiding inside the impregnable rock (both impregnable by siege and wildfire). Because of this and her being trapped there, it makes it a lot easier to head North and leave her behind as an afterthought.

I think it's a reasonable assumption that Aegon will take Kings Landing with the Dornish and Golden Company.  Likely he weds Arianne, and they enjoy a honeymoon period.

But, I expect that Jon Connington and the Sands will be out for revenge.  That means that Tommen, Myrcella, and Margaery will be put to death, creating enemies in the West.

Euron will also be raiding the West, and who knows if he takes Kings Landing.

The North will be controlled by Stannis or Jon, and who knows who the Vale will side with?

By the time Dany arrives, I expect the Seen Kingdoms to be in a state of anarchy.

[House Cambodia]

I also won't be surprised if the show gets it half-right, albeit without the quality.

I can see Daenerys prioritising coming to Jon's aid and trying to stop The Others simply because it's the right decision, and she's a decent person. Furthermore, I can see Cercei promising to send troops from KL and not delivering. On the other hand, it would be quite tasty if the southern troops are tied up in a bitter civil war between Cercei and Aegon, but I suspect the timing is out and the battle for KL will be resolved before The Others get to Winterfell.

The big divergence from the show will be that Winterfell doesn't defeat the global existential threat of the Others with a quick poke from a kid. The combined army of the North and it's allies, dragons, Dothraki, Unsullied et al., should lose that battle and have to fall back towards KL, where Dany will have to confront Cercei or Aegon, which should be a proper dramatic encounter given the background of the confrontation.

[Angel Eyes]

On 4/15/2024 at 11:09 AM, House Cambodia said:

I also won't be surprised if the show gets it half-right, albeit without the quality.

I can see Daenerys prioritising coming to Jon's aid and trying to stop The Others simply because it's the right decision, and she's a decent person. Furthermore, I can see Cercei promising to send troops from KL and not delivering. On the other hand, it would be quite tasty if the southern troops are tied up in a bitter civil war between Cercei and Aegon, but I suspect the timing is out and the battle for KL will be resolved before The Others get to Winterfell.

The big divergence from the show will be that Winterfell doesn't defeat the global existential threat of the Others with a quick poke from a kid. The combined army of the North and it's allies, dragons, Dothraki, Unsullied et al., should lose that battle and have to fall back towards KL, where Dany will have to confront Cercei or Aegon, which should be a proper dramatic encounter given the background of the confrontation.

Not to mention a possible greyscale plague.

[House Cambodia]

2 hours ago, Angel Eyes said:

Not to mention a possible greyscale plague.

Oh yeah, JonCon to turn Cercei into Lady Stoneheart II.

[Angel Eyes]

1 hour ago, House Cambodia said:

Oh yeah, JonCon to turn Cercei into Lady Stoneheart II.

I think that some of Daenerys' actions may be Jon Connington's in the book. We know that greyscale causes great damage to the brain like the Stone Men, so Connington may either behave more viciously due to the greyscale affecting his mind or push for quicker (and therefore more ruthless) solutions before the greyscale takes over out of desperation.