[ADwD Spoilers] Who is the main character?

[Candor]

I am unsure about Bran. I get the feeling that he is going to leave, but not very soon. In which case, Rickon (if in tact) would be "it."

Speculation as to a regent, given Rickon is still pretty much a baby, and can't rule on his own?

[ckongo]

My .02.

I considered Arya as the main character of ASOS, but like Bran, her story is somewhat isolated from everyone else's throughout the series. Occasionally she'll run into another character, but her presence doesn't have much impact on anyone else. To emphasize her isolation, almost everyone thinks she's dead.

Everyone's plot revolved around Eddard in a way in AGOT, even Dany when Ned tried to save her from afar. That's why he's the easy main character.

Tyrion's story alone in ACOK was massive, but he had an impact on Sansa's POVs and King's Landing as a whole. He had a great part in the Davos/Stannis plots as well in the battle of the blackwater.

Tyrion was very important in ASOS, so he may be the main character still. Jon's plots finally started to have something to do with the rest of Westeros once Stannis arrived at the wall.

Literally half of AFFC was between Cersei and Jamie chapters, but Cersei had more chapters and had the most impact on the south.

Jon is the main character of ADWD not just because he had a lot of chapters (as he did in previous books) but because his presence has a great impact in things in the north for once. Asha and Theon's POVs and the Stannis plot are intertwined with his.

[ARYa_Nym]

I am unsure about Bran. I get the feeling that he is going to leave, but not very soon. In which case, Rickon (if in tact) would be "it."

Speculation as to a regent, given Rickon is still pretty much a baby, and can't rule on his own?

One of the Northmen would be best imo. They will have the political knowledge and experience of the delicate situation in the North.

[Francis Buck]

I don't think Bran is ever leaving that cave (at least not in a human body, anyway).

I do think that Rickon's main purpose at this point is to serve as the one living Stark that everyone else can rally under. He doesn't have to actually rule all by himself (look at Tommen, or even Bran during ACoK), they just need him to be the heir to Winterfell.

And wouldn't Rickon be around seven or eight by now? Bran was only eight in the first book, so by now Rickon could have a somewhat well-developed personality once he pops up again (which I assume will be in the next book).

[Candor]

I don't think Bran is ever leaving that cave (at least not in a human body, anyway).

I do think that Rickon's main purpose at this point is to serve as the one living Stark that everyone else can rally under. He doesn't have to actually rule all by himself (look at Tommen, or even Bran during ACoK), they just need him to be the heir to Winterfell.

That being said, wouldn't Rickon be around seven or eight by now? Bran was only eight in the first book, so by now Rickon could have a somewhat well-developed personality once he pops up again (which I assume will be in the next book).

There is still something deeply unsettling about Bran's storyline to me. He may end up staying there, but I sort of hope not.

I hope so. It would be a lot better if we could see that, perhaps see him shaping up instead of being simply "wild" or feral like his wolf.

[The Lost Lord]

I actually think that all of the true-born Stark children are basically sleeper cells plot-wise. They're all being trained in different faculties, by arguably the very best "teachers" in those particular fields: Bran as a greenseer by the Children of the Forest, Arya as an assassin by the Faceless Men, and Sansa as a politician by Littlefinger. By the end of the series they'll all be adept in their respective "professions", and they will almost certainly become integral parts of the main storyline.

I very much agree with this. The whole reason Martin hoped to include a "five year gap" was to age up the Stark kiddies for plot purposes. He dispensed with the gap but said he's not changing his plans for them and said "if a 12 year old has to save the world, than so be it." So I think he clearly has very big plans for all three of them to come back in a major way.

That said, I still can't see any of the three surpassing the importance of Dany, Jon, or Tyrion. If Sansa ends up as queen of Westeros after Dany and Jon die heroic deaths defeating the Others, that won't make Sansa "the main character."

In addition to "main character" / "non-main character" classifications, I also believe much uncertainty exists about whether any of the Big 6 will end up in opposition to each other. For instance, Dany and Tyrion and the R'hllorites vs. the Starks and the Children/Old Gods. Or the fun scenario of Bloodraven/Bran, Littlefinger/Sansa, and Faceless Men/Arya coordinating to kill the dragons and remove Jon, Dany, and Tyrion from power. Or Bran and Arya both trying to warg the same dragon.

I see death in Arianne's future actually.

I do too, but not as quickly as you predict. I think she and Aegon will take King's Landing in the next book, but she'll be killed in the 2nd Dance of the Dragons that will begin with Dany's arrival.

[Candor]

I very much agree with this. The whole reason Martin hoped to include a "five year gap" was to age up the Stark kiddies for plot purposes. He dispensed with the gap but said he's not changing his plans for them and said "if a 12 year old has to save the world, than so be it." So I think he clearly has very big plans for all three of them to come back in a major way.

That said, I still can't see any of the three surpassing the importance of Dany, Jon, or Tyrion. If Sansa ends up as queen of Westeros after Dany and Jon die heroic deaths defeating the Others, that won't make Sansa "the main character."

In addition to "main character" / "non-main character" classifications, I also believe much uncertainty exists about whether any of the Big 6 will end up in opposition to each other. For instance, Dany and Tyrion and the R'hllorites vs. the Starks and the Children/Old Gods. Or the fun scenario of Bloodraven/Bran, Littlefinger/Sansa, and Faceless Men/Arya 1. coordinating to kill the dragons and remove Jon, Dany, and Tyrion from power. Or Bran and Arya both trying to warg the same dragon.

2. I do too, but not as quickly as you predict. I think she and Aegon will take King's Landing in the next book, but she'll be killed in the 2nd Dance of the Dragons that will begin with Dany's arrival.

1. Where did you come up with this idea? What would be the motivation on their part of trying to get rid of the dragons?

2. We will have to see.

[The Lost Lord]

1. Where did you come up with this idea? What would be the motivation on their part of trying to get rid of the dragons?

It's total BS theorizing on my part. But I find it hard to imagine Martin ending the series with the dragons alive -- they are too powerful and dangerous, and they permanently upset any concept of a balance of power. We would have to trust not only that Jon/Dany would not abuse these dragons but that none of their descendants will either.

The concept of a plot to kill dragons was very prominently introduced at the end of AFFC. So as I tried to imagine how the dragons could be taken out, I realized that the Stark kiddies are all now learning with powerful people who might want the dragons dead.

• (1) FM/Arya -- the Braavosi hate dragons, and Braavos/FM were founded by freedmen who had previously been enslaved by Valyrians with dragons.
  
• (2) LF/Sansa -- clearly, if Sansa is to take the throne, Dany and the dragons must go. And the dragons are a source of power beyond LF's control that he will seek to nullify. LF has bonus ties to Braavos that could help facilitate this plot.
  
• (3) Bloodraven/Bran -- this mainly assumes an ice/fire conflict where the forces of the Children/Old Gods/ice are opposed to R'hllor/Dany dragons -- or just a situation where Dany and the dragons have become such a threat to humanity that Bran must take them down for the good of Westeros. As Bran arranges the killing of Dany's dragon-riding husband Jon Targaryen in the final act, he might think back sadly to his very first chapter in the series, when Eddard told Bran he would have to swing the executioner's sword one day, and that no man is more dangerous than an oathbreaker.
  
• (4) Hey, we could even add Sam and the maesters to this plot, since the maesters are said to have killed the dragons before.
  
• (5) Or even Varys/Aegon, if one or both of them manage to survive the 2nd Dance of the Dragons, and perhaps Dorne based on how that conflict plays out (dragons have already barbecued one Dornish prince). Basically, lots of people will want the dragons dead.
  

[Candor]

Very interesting.

Of course, at least #3 would depend on whether Dany does take up with the R'hollor camp. What is the likelihood of this? Something tells me no.

2. LF - I still say there's something about his Braavos roots that is coming back into the story, mmhmm. This is very probable. And it fits his personality that he wouldn't like not being able to plot around dragons.

4. What will Archmaester Marwyn have to say about all this? ;)

1. For some reason I can see the FM going this way, but not Arya. I'm currently in a re-read of GoT and the part where Arya is escaping and whereas the first time with the dragon room frightened her, on her second go through she seemed almost content with them. Could be a negligible thing but that's my thoughts.

[ARYa_Nym]

I think that the dragons will die too. The dragons died with the successor of the first Dance of Dragons.

Comparatively one of the COTF said:

"The direwolves will outlast us all, but their time will come as well. In the world that men have made, there is no room for them, or us."

Magical creatures eventually have to go I guess.

I think Bloodraven is still loyal to his house. I think he's been warging Mormont's raven so he considers Jon to be king. Plus I think he wargs Rhaenys' cat to spy on KL. That cat doesn't like Lannisters.

[Gogossos]

I think the main character is a result of a combination of quantitative (number of chapters) and qualitative (how central is their story). Starting with the broad strokes, this is essentially a Targ vs Lannister vs Stark saga. Within that we have some individuals being more prominent than others (eg. Tyrion > Jamie, Dany > Viserys) bringing us to the 6 major characters of Dany, Tyrion, Jon, Arya, Sansa and Bran - all original POVs. In a normal tv series these will be the regulars. But who's the star? Arya is the only one with a POV in every book, so she becomes a candidate but her case is undermined by becoming largely reactionary to others' plots. Bran sparked the whole thing but he is no driver of the larger plot (yet). Sansa isn't the conductor of the orchestra either. If we break down Tyrion's story into a single sound bite it might be "he will be crucial for Dany objectives" but he is this close to being a star of the show due to his centrality in the first half of the series and his proximity to the next major strand of the series. Jon and Dany's arcs have always been independent of anyone else (yet they alter other people's arcs frequently enough) and have the potential to combine into something that will affect everyone. They are the stars, the main characters, even after discounting a romantic hook up which will obviously make such a huge difference

So the credits are along these lines:

Starring Jon and Dany. Also starring Arya, Bran, Sansa and Tyrion. With Cersei, Jaime, Littlefinger, Varys, Stannis, Theon. Special appearance by Ned, Cat, Tywin, Robert and Drogo.

[Grail King]

From reading and the show I think the Stark children are the main group, the death of the parent Direwolf (Ned,Cat and Robb) the pups learning and growing basically on their own (Bran,Rickon,Sansa,Arya, and Jon) Bran and Jon job is the others and the wall and with the help of Rickon and Northmen will solidify the Stark base in the North.

Sansa and Arya Political they and take care of enemies of the Starks and tie Vale and Riverrun to the North, it's about survival and family.

Dany and Tyrion are next.

Hopefully GRRM doesn't kill anymore Starks.

[Faint]

I don't think that Jon, Dany, and Tyrion are actually the three "main characters" so much as the three most popular characters.

I don't think this is a very sound theory. Daenerys is, in no way, one of the three most popular characters. She is actually one of the more polarizing figures within the series. If it was simply a matter of popularity, the three main characters would be Tyrion, Arya, and Jon, in that order.

I considered Arya as the main character of ASOS, but like Bran, her story is somewhat isolated from everyone else's throughout the series . . .

I've had discussions with others about this point and I simply feel that Arya's story is the most emblematic of the book and its themes.

[Francis Buck]

I don't think this is a very sound theory. Daenerys is, in no way, one of the three most popular characters. She is actually one of the more polarizing figures within the series. If it was simply a matter of popularity, the three main characters would be Tyrion, Arya, and Jon, in that order.

I've had discussions with others about this point and I simply feel that Arya's story is the most emblematic of the book and its themes.

I think Danaerys is more popular than you make her out to be. She may not be a lot of people's absolute favorite, but she has her own whole storyline and that involves the dragons and returning to Westeros, so it makes her interesting even if you don't like the character herself.

Either way, Jon and Tyrion are easily in the top three most popular, with Arya and Dany being an arguable third (I agree that Arya's probably more popular overall, but a lot of people still Dany, especially before ADwD).

[ríomhaire]

I've never been bothered by main characters in this series much. I like everyone's story and take them all equally as part of a whole. I took Ned's beheading as partly a middle finger the idea of a single main character seeing as he was what most people would have interpreted as the main character of the first book.

[3CityApache]

Just for the record: POV chapter's count in all five books (not including the least popular):

AGOT

1. Eddard Stark 15

2. Catelyn Stark 11

3. Daenerys Targaryen 10

4. Tyrion Lannister/Jon Snow 9

6. Brandon Stark 7

7. Sansa Stark 6

8. Arya Stark 5

ACOK

1. Tyrion Lannister 15

2. Arya Stark 10

3. Jon Snow/Sansa Stark 8

5. Catelyn Stark/Brandon Stark 7

7. Theon Greyjoy 6

8. Daenerys Targaryen 5

ASOS

1. Arya Stark 13

2. Jon Snow 12

3. Tyrion Lannister 11

4. Jaime Lannister 9

5. Catelyn Stark/Sansa Stark 7

7. Daenerys Targaryen/Davos Seaworth 6

9. Samwell Tarly 5

10. Brandon Stark 4

AFFC

1. Cersei Lannister 10

2. Brienne of Tarth 8

3. Jaime Lannister 7

4. Samwell Tarly 5

5. Arya Stark/Sansa Stark 3

ADWD

1. Jon Snow 13

2. Tyrion Lannister 12

3. Daenerys Targaryen 10

4. Theon Greyjoy 7

5. Davos Seaworth 4

6. Brandon Stark 3

[Kate Poem]

I think - maybe - main character of these books is Tyrion. If not, Tyrion is one of most important characters.

It seems he has more chapters than others, I am not sure.

I don't know.

[brut]

Tyrion is the main character. It is known.

[Ser Elfor the Landstander]

I consider Jon Snow the main character. His is the Song of Ice and Fire.

If we assume the Others are the main "enemy", then it's safe to conclude that the person most intent on stopping them is the main character (or hero) of the story.

Of course, by this logic Stannis or Melisandre could be considered main characters too...

But they aren't.

[The Lost Lord]

I think Danaerys is more popular than you make her out to be. She may not be a lot of people's absolute favorite, but she has her own whole storyline and that involves the dragons and returning to Westeros, so it makes her interesting even if you don't like the character herself. Either way, Jon and Tyrion are easily in the top three most popular, with Arya and Dany being an arguable third (I agree that Arya's probably more popular overall, but a lot of people still Dany, especially before ADwD).

Tower of the Hand's poll (before ADWD came out) shows (1) Tyrion, (2) Jon, (3) Arya, (4) Jaime, (5) Sandor, (6) Dany.