Which element of ASOIAF is the most over-analysed?

[Frejac]

For me, it's definitely AA, tPtwP, and the Last Hero.

While interested topics to look at, sometimes I feel the disection of these figures and who they are/will be in the current story is a bit much. Not every old story is there to come true again.

[Lady Tanalyth]

When I first started reading about asoiaf I noticed an abundance of battle threads and azor ahai/pwp threads. Prophecy threads in general actually. The valonqar comes up again and again and the theories seem to become more and more farfetched.

I've also noticed a lot of threads condemning the various female characters in the series. Catelyn, Cersei, and Daenerys seem to be the most popular but Sansa obviously gets her share of hate as well. I'm not the biggest fan of Cersei but I've wanted to defend her character numerous times since reading the series. Ditto for Catelyn and Dany.

As far as R=L=J I didn't arrive to the theory independently but ever since I read the evidence I basically accept it as a given at this point. More than anything I guess it's surprising to me that there are a fair few people who feel like the theory would basically ruin the series for them if this were to end up happening. Some people predicted this, sure, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. IMO that just means that the pieces fit because the clues were laid out properly. It's not like the story doesn't still have opportunities to surprise us regarding various events and characters.

I enjoy skimming and scanning through the heresy threads but I'd be lying if I said I kept up with them. Still I think there's a lot of interesting discussion going on there based on what I've read.

[NelyafinweMaitimo]

Anything Darkstar.

Anything that involves the word "secret."

Rethinking Sansa

Ashara Dayne

Character hate (whether Dany, Cat, Sansa, ect.)

[Lord Warhammer]

Septa Lemore/Secret Targs

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

R+L=J in my opinion.

Agreed, but only because so many people just can't accept that it's true. Most of the analysis, these days anyway, is people trying to look clever by debunking it.

[Dolorous Nedd]

That's ok, note that I didn't complain about it or say there was anything wrong with it. I just commented on it being the forum's main characteristic. If people weren't keen to analyse at length, as you say, they wouldn't come here. Some theories are now being discredited on here for being too obvious and that it'd almost be lazy to follow them through (R+L=J), but the fact is that it hasn't even occurred to a huge proportion of readers of ASOIAF. I know this because I saw the series discussed on a different forum and the idea was new to nearly everybody there who'd read it.

That is actually quite shocking. It seems so obvious, but I'm not sure I would have thought of it myself if I were in a vacuum. I still think (R+L=J) is a strong possibility BTW.

[Dolorous Nedd]

He said in an hour long interview that what 1 person in a 1000 would have picked up with hints, now a much higher proportion can because of these forums, and it adds a predictability element to the reading. I don't think he likes it in particular. He doesn't mind, but he avoids the forums so that it does not bias his writing in order to keep some element of 'surprise'.

The thing is none of the theories on here are certain to be correct. It shouldn't bother him that much if we stumble onto a few truths. I'm sure some of the theories will be way off.

[Magic 8 Ball]

Who'd beat who in a sword fight.

It's like kids arguing Mighty Mouse vs. Superman.

It's not like we have film to break down of what their fighting styles are.

"Gregor has surprisngly good defense for a big man, uses the shoulder roll, but his footwork is terrible and he's just asking to get caught with a hammer blow with his legs crossed. Amateur mistake."

[Light a wight tonight]

Azor Ahai gets analyzed to death.

But he keeps getting reborn.

[Dolorous Nedd]

Ahh so many who was the best warrior and too many what if so and so fought.

Who would win between five dwarf Arthur Daynes and two Gregor Cleganes.

Unquestionably the funniest post I have seen on this forum! It left me laughing off and on for the past half hour so I had to comment. :rofl:

[Wanderer]

Sansa.

R + L = J would get the vote if it didn't actually bear fruit. A great deal of info has been discovered that has huge implications to the story sod far. Still it feels drawn out. Rethinking Sansa threads feel sooooooo drawn out that it feel like fan fiction almost. Like looking at wood grain and placing significance in shapes that remind you of something... I know I shouldn't care but its almost annoying for some reason lol. She's just so damned foolish IMO!

No offense to those who enjoy her story!

[rivergirl]

Yesterday i saw an argument about what exactly was meant by the apostrophe in "Mummer's Dragon." Not about who the Mummer or the Dragon was... but about whether the apostrophe indicated possession, so it was a real dragon belonging to a mummer and the mummer was fake, or a dragon that was fake because it belonged to the mummer. It got down to the point of discussing the phrase "mummer's tears" and that they aren't tears of sadness, but they're still literally water coming out of someone's tearducts...

That's what the overanalysis has come to. GRRM and his debate-sparking apostrophes.

[Wanderer]

Lol that's priceless!

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

Yesterday i saw an argument about what exactly was meant by the apostrophe in "Mummer's Dragon." Not about who the Mummer or the Dragon was... but about whether the apostrophe indicated possession, so it was a real dragon belonging to a mummer and the mummer was fake, or a dragon that was fake because it belonged to the mummer. It got down to the point of discussing the phrase "mummer's tears" and that they aren't tears of sadness, but they're still literally water coming out of someone's tearducts...

That's what the overanalysis has come to. GRRM and his debate-sparking apostrophes.

Actually I think that's a fair analysis. Are we talking about a "mummer's dragon" as in a fake dragon, or a "mummer's dragon" as in a dragon belonging to a mummer?

I'm an editor for a living, so I know that punctuation can be a big damn deal. No joke, companies have lost millions of dollars simply for leaving stuff like commas out of contracts. Respect punctuation, kids!