What in ASOIAF did you feel was CONTRIVED?

[Arkantos]

It's not just Dany though-the Lysenni are described as pale, the people of Qarth are called the Milk Men and Daario is also described as pale. There are also Dornishmen who are supposed to be fair-skinned. I've fairly given up on GRRM's biology/genetics.

What's wrong with fair-skinned Dornishmen?

[Winter's Knight]

What's wrong with fair-skinned Dornishmen?

Unless they spend all their time at high altitudes, the hot sun and dry winds of the Dornish desert ought to do a number on their pale skins. Yet, I don't remember even Aerys Oakheart having trouble with dry, cracking skin or sunburns. :P

[Tookie Clothespin]

Or in the sense of something being tacky and underdeveloped, like the sand snakes?

this? in the case of the Jon and Ygritte romance - i'm not so clear on. (TBH, i didn't know that a lot of people thought their romance was contrived. :worried: )

[Arkantos]

Unless they spend all their time at high altitudes, the hot sun and dry winds of the Dornish desert ought to do a number on their pale skins. Yet, I don't remember even Aerys Oakheart having trouble with dry, cracking skin or sunburns. :P

I suppose it depends where they live, northern Indians are often quite pale and I'm sure there are some cooler & more fertile areas of Dorne suitable for good farming and fair skin. There are pale Egyptians/Middle Easterners too.

As for Arys, I assume he spent a lot of time in the shade.

GRRM doesn't say these paler people live in the desert does he? In which case, that's a tad silly.

[Winter's Knight]

I suppose it depends where they live, northern Indians are often quite pale and I'm sure there are some cooler & more fertile areas of Dorne suitable for good farming and fair skin. There are pale Egyptians/Middle Easterners too.

As for Arys, I assume he spent a lot of time in the shade.

GRRM doesn't say these paler people live in the desert does he? In which case, that's a tad silly.

Qarth is in the deaert tough-at the end of the Red Waste in fact. :P

[Arkantos]

Qarth is in the desert though-at the end of the Red Waste in fact. :P

To be fair, those people get carried around in palanquins by slaves and the city is well developed so there's a lot of shade from tall buildings.

They don't strike me as the kind of people to spend a lot of time in the sun when they've got legions of slaves at their disposal.

[Dr. Pepper]

Now that I think about it, it is sort of contrived that sunburn isn't a larger issue. I can't find anything about hats and whatnot for Viserys and Dany in the Dothraki Sea with Drogo's khalasar. In the Red Waste, they always rode at night. She was also wearing the lions pelt Drogo gave her, and covered her head with it. Once she reached Qarth, she didn't go unshaded very often. Same with Slaver's Bay. When she's wandering the Dothraki Sea after flying off from Meereen, she tries to make a hat because the sun is pounding on her head, but there doesn't seem to be a direct mention of sunburn. I can't even find one for Jorah or Selmy. Doreah was blonde/blue and fair skinned and the only skin calamity she experiences was dehydration issues before she died.

Maybe I'm misremembering, but doesn't Egg deal with sunburn?

[danm_999]

Maybe I'm misremembering, but doesn't Egg deal with sunburn?

Dunk describes him as becoming brown as a Dornishmen, so he definitely gets tanned, but sunburn doesn't seem to be addressed.

[niamh]

con·trived

/kənˈtrīvd/

Adjective

• Deliberately created rather than arising naturally or spontaneously.
  
• Giving a sense of artificiality.
  

Some people seem to need reminding.

[Pod The Impaler]

Unless they spend all their time at high altitudes, the hot sun and dry winds of the Dornish desert ought to do a number on their pale skins. Yet, I don't remember even Aerys Oakheart having trouble with dry, cracking skin or sunburns. :P

Actually, sunburn effects are often worse (faster) when you're at high altitude. Air temperature doesn't cause sunburn, exposure to solar radiation does.

[Horza]

The major song and dance numbers. I understand the Middle Ages was a festive time with lots of partying and wenches, but enough with the acrobats and kids standing on each other's shoulders under heavy coats pretending to be adults, it really detracted from Blackwater and the Red Wedding.

The bits, usually right in the middle of the action where Martin would drag us away to bratty Fred Savage and his put-upon grampa reading him the story. That kid, what a little jerk, he had a Nintendo and everything. I wasn't allowed to have a console in my house.

Also, it's highly unlikely that Bran, even with his lively mind and all that spare time would have mastered the physics of time travel, much less had the tools to build a device into his harness with Hodor's assistance.

[The Marquis de Leech]

Jon Snow's election as Lord Commander. Ygritte conveniently dying. Pretty much anything Jon Snow-related.

[King of the Road]

'Contrived' doesn't necessarily mean something bad. Jon and Ygritte is clichéd and unlikely, but it's a typically romantic storyline that you just can't help but enjoy. This is how I feel about other romances, like Jorah and Daenerys, Sandor and Sansa, or even Robb and Talisa from the TV series.

[Winter's Knight]

Jon Snow's election as Lord Commander.

Oh yeah, I still don't fully understand how that happened.

[Cruella]

Jon Snow as Lord Commander. yeah, let's pick young and unexperienced guy just as Others are truly coming.

Catelyn having to go to KL herself. Ok, maybe...

Catelyn bumping into Tyrion. Imagine you travel from Seattle to Miami. Another person travels in other direction. You bump into each other in a bar, by accident.

That Jon couldn't go to KL (that Ned's reasons were convincing to anyone, that is), that Jon couldn't stay with one of Ned's bannerman as man-in-arms and had to go to the Wall right away. That Jon wasn't taken to see the Wall for himself before he actually signed up - that's what loving parent would organize. Or that uncle never really explain the Watch to him. The Wall is not so far off! Their uncle is there, why not let kids visit? On that note, that Ned didn't do more to help the Watch. Surely there could be something. He's only one of like five most powerful men in the realm.

Dany cheating masters in Astapor. Seriously, in a whole history of ancient city no slave master of Unsullied thought: hey, what if somebody buys lots and lots of Unsullied and turns them on us, to avoid payment, and so nobody else can buy any unsullied? How 'bout we teach Unsullied not to ever attack US, just in case, you know?

[chrisdaw]

The part where the hot chick field medic was skulking around the battlefield by herself generally not getting raped only to capture the heart of the brave handsome king with her gender role destroying independent charm.

[Winter's Knight]

The part where the hot chick field medic was skulking around the battlefield by herself generally not getting raped only to capture the heart of the brave handsome king with her gender role destroying independent charm.

The books you must read. That only happened in the show.

[straits]

Wait till he complains about Ros.

[Myrish Swamp Thing]

Balon's plan for the North

[Scipio Africanus]

Jon Snow as Lord Commander. yeah, let's pick young and unexperienced guy just as Others are truly coming.

Then you and mr. Bolton's leech didn't pay too much attention to the storyline? Ser Piggy rigged the election with his lobbying, while Mormont's Raven (Brynden Rivers) influenced the voting. That there were so few good candidates is entirely not surprising. Mallister and Pyke were senior rangers, but they'd never vote for each other. Slynt was a total newcomer and not populair outside the Bowenians and other sycophants. Jon Snow was at least from the loins of the lord of Winterfell. He would've been LC anyway some day, just like Old Bear was grooming him to be.

The sad fact was that most of the senior rangers were dead by then anyway. If Qhorin had still been alive for example he'd have been chosen. The only other really good candidate was Dolorous Edd, but he already said he'd refuse to serve...

Catelyn having to go to KL herself

The nature of her departure was highly sensitive and could potentially start a war, you don't casually talk of it over ravenmail which you know others will read.

Catelyn bumping into Tyrion

There weren't a lot of main roads in Westeros. This isn't America post WWII when the freeway system got built. There was one major road everyone used from going north to south and vice versa. And bumping into each other in an inn sitting on a crossroad section of that main road it is hardly surprising people bump into each other there. There weren't many inns along the roads anyway, at least not major ones.

That Jon couldn't go to KL (that Ned's reasons were convincing to anyone, that is), that Jon couldn't stay with one of Ned's bannerman as man-in-arms and had to go to the Wall right away.

"Hi Bob howya been? Oh yeah I brought Jon along you remember him? What you mean you think it's inappropriate to parade my bastard in front of Cercei? Oh don't be such a square. I'll tell you a little secret, he isn't actually my bastard. Lyanna, you remember her? Ok alright stop your yelling, let me finish. Lyanna was actually pregnant when I found her at the ToJ. Yeah I know quite a shocker huh? Sorry bout that. Who the a-hole father was? Now this is kind of funny. Oh you already guessed it, the dragon who "raped" Lyanna couple hundred times. Yeah about that it wasn't actually rape according to Lyanna. Funny huh? Hey Bob, where are you going with that warhammer? Bob...calm down Bob. Bob I'm not kidding relax. Bob...put down the hammer Bob..."

That Jon wasn't taken to see the Wall for himself before he actually signed up - that's what loving parent would organize.

I don't recall seeing a lot of school trips taken to the Wall. What Tyrion did was quite exceptional. The Wall was a black box of Westeros society, you came there to be forgotten largely.

Jon knew he'd never inherit anything, so he sought to gain reknown somehow. They'd been filling his head for years with the Ranger's so called heroic exploits, so he figured, like uncle Ben Stark did, that there was some glory to be found there.

Cat made it immediately known that Jon wasn't welcome while Eddard was gone, and Eddard couldn't take Jon along to KL. At the Wall, Jon's identity would be less of an issue, and since he'd have to take his vows, couldn't claim anything anyway. In other words, in Eddard's minid Jon would be safe, especially with uncle Ben looking out for him.

On that note, that Ned didn't do more to help the Watch

You know this how?

The NW was functioning normally when Eddard was lord. Sure, they didn't have the numbers they used to have. But noblemen were still sending their sons to the Wall (Tarly, Royce), and there was still a lot of experience left at the Wall.

Things started going south when a lot of senior rangers ended up in bodybags, and the Iron throne stopped supporting the Wall.

The Wall isn't just the North's responsibility, its the entire realm's responsibility by the time of the Iron throne.