"Wow, I Never Noticed That."

[FittleLinger]

Holy shit!!!

Don't get excited on this, far fetched is doing it a favor.

[Viking]

Wouldn't Rhaegar stand out with his Targ features?

Thats why it so funny that this theory will not die. Mance is a guy with brown hair brown eyes and is said to be unremarkable looking. Cersei claims that Rhaegar made Jaime look as plain as a stable boy and Jaime is considered one of the most handsome men in Westeros.

Yes, this is the best easy quick argument against my hypothesis. Mance is described as having brown eyes and greying brown hair. Rhaegar has grey-white targaryen hair and purple targaryen eyes. The hair can easily be explained by hair dye like Sansa uses, which is hard to get, so his grey hair is appearing below, which people take for aging. He might have stopped dying once he decided to move south. The eyes, however, are a substantial obstacle. The only other character to change eye colour is Jaqen H'Gar. I'm basically left suggesting that Rhaegar got some FM knowledge and skills. Otherwise the FM ability to change faces seems, so far in the books at least, merely a clever twist and detail rather than a plot point.

I'm basically suggesting that Martin makes a point of changing eye colour and hair colour elsewhere in his books as foreshadowing it's use by other characters given how important hair and eye colour are in the story. Either Martin makes him Rhaegar or he doesn't (or he hasn't). I'm just saying that he fits and he seems to be set up to be Rhaegar.

[Minstral]

I never noticed how odd ravens act in the story, or how Mormont saying "DIE" before the battle of the Fist could have some sort of power behind it until Theon's sample chapter from TWOW. The two ravens croaking "Theon" and "Tree" slapped me too hard for me to really describe.

[A Crow Come Over]

I never noticed how odd ravens act in the story, or how Mormont saying "DIE" before the battle of the Fist could have some sort of power behind it until Theon's sample chapter from TWOW. The two ravens croaking "Theon" and "Tree" slapped me too hard for me to really describe.

There's theories out there (strong ones) suggesting that Mormont's Raven (mayhaps ALL Ravens) is being warged by Bloodraven/Bran.

[Minstral]

There's theories out there (strong ones) suggesting that Mormont's Raven (mayhaps ALL Ravens) is being warged by Bloodraven/Bran.

That's what I'm referring to. There being two birds instead of one just made me connect the dots with Bran being the newest edition to the exclusive Greenseer club.

[Batman]

I am straight, thank you very much. Nowhere did my post imply wanting you.

You got that it was a joke right? What you just said went without saying.

[Robert Sand]

Well as a man who just finished reading the books for the first time i obviously have to admit my mind has been blown, then reconstructed just to be blown again multiple times as a consequence of reading this thread. It would be a shameful display to mention all the things i missed but at least i can say i did catch on a few stuff. Patchface for example, to me it was clear after reading his story that he got some kind of prophetic powers, wich obviously i only came to understand as i continued to read the books. Bran's or BR warging the trees and ravens was easy to spot as well, so easy i supposed it was meant to be that way at first sight.

I agree with most of the common theories, but it's certainly exciting to hear of the new and rare ones too, it puts my mind to work. I frequently found myself coming up with crazy suppositions in my mind as well while reading certain chapters.

[Edd fetch me the boo box]

Frey Twin Towers and a Bridge = Double Crossing.

[EricEmpire94]

Something I didn't notice when reading the books (but which was pointed out to me) are the parallels between the Lightbringer story and the births of Dany/Jon/Tyrion. Azor Ahai forged Lightbringer on his 3rd attempt, but had to kill Nissa Nissa to do so. Dany, Jon & Tyrion are all 3rd children who killed their mothers in childbirth.

I REALLY like this speculation. But either I'm an idiot or I'm not remembering something but does this go with R+L=J? Because if then, who were Lyanna's first two children...?

[Eira Seren]

And why would Varys help Ned by explicitly (as opposed to vaguely) pointing him in the right direction when it came to Arryn's killer? He said what he did knowing it was true, but also knowing that Ned, and you apparently, would incorrectly assume that it was Ser Hugh, who as it turns out had fuck all to do with Arryn's death. It's also possible that Varys does know that Baelish took Sansa and simply chose not to act on it.

my husband (reading over my shoulder) has astutely noted that it is quite possible that all along varys was leading ned in the direction of his death. probably intentionally. maybe ned stark becoming hand was not good for the realm, and would have shifted the balance of power in directions that would lead to the wrong people dying. ned's death and the war have actually weeded out quite a few people who would be detrimental to the realm. in other words, ned's death was for 'the greater good'. this is his take.

[Harle The Handsome]

Melisandre mentions a bag of finger bones when expressing the difficulties in maintaining Mance's glamour as Rattle Shirt. Not sure if it means anything though.

To paraphrase Stannis, I fear I shall go to my grave wondering about that.

They were at an abadonned village near a frozen lake where no livestock or other food sources could be found. Coldhands darts off to deal with some stragglers that might threaten them, and later comes back that he somehow found a living sow in the middle of a frozen and thoroughly depleted wasteland.

Yeah that's kind of suspecious dude.

Later on Bran gets some human meat from the CotF. They tell him it was weirwood paste but it tasted differently from the paste Meera cooked up earlier on their journey, and it had a substance which looked suspeciously like blood.

Brandon the Cannibal he will be known.

Last year I read something about how the Jewish prohibition against eating pork was probably based on the similarity between the smell of roasted pig and burnt flesh of humans. Otherwise that would have gone right over my head on my re-read.

I am still dubious about the weirwood cannibal paste theory, since weirwood sap is said to have the same dark red color as blood.

[rmholt]

I completely missed the Oberyn poisoned Tywin thing and Taena Merryweather being one of Oberyn's spies. Also Oberyn's daughter Sarella, I didn't connect the dots.

I dont think Oberyn poisoned Tywin. For one thing one of the sand snakes recognized the poison used on Gregor. Tywin didnt have any symptoms! This is another theory with absolutely no evidence from the book! He rotted in an unusual fashion but QYBURN had the body first. Also it might be symbolic.

The Sarella thing was a smack head for me.

[rmholt]

GRRM uses a lot of parallels. That doesnt mean they are connected

[rmholt]

OH, that's what he/she was going for.

I thought he/she was trying to say that it was a inconsistency and an error on GRRM's part. haha

Ghost has howled once - when he saw Mance Rayder in the Frostfangs

[rmholt]

I think the Others have crossed the Wall, this is why Jon felt cold, he dies and is reborn as the guy who defends the Wall with the equivalent of the real Lightbringer. Some of this is from his dream of being armored in ice (maybe the special ice that makes the Others' swords) defending the wall with a red sword.

How they got across the Wall - I sort of blame Mel.

Another thing I thought was real: Dawn is dragonsteel as it was made from a meteorite.

We know Benjen is coming back. I like to think he is the Stark at Winterfell. Those deeper crypts are intriguing. Rickon might have explored them with the Walders. The entry to the crypts is where Bran fell.

The missing swords - WE know where they went. The people speculating about awakening ghosts do not. So they imagine ghosts.

When I read about the raven following The Hound and Arya it occurred to me that there are some ravens keeping track of events on their own perhaps talking to Bloodraven. Brynden talks about not being able to communicate or affect events - it took him ten years to get Bran to him and never talked to him except obliquely in dreams. None of the ravens talked to him directly. I think Bran is better at it and may be able to time travel in the trees and talk to people like Theon.

[Dr. Pepper]

The thing is that I'm the only guy who goes on about how Mance Rayder is actually Rhaegar.

Will this ever die?

GRRM has confirmed Rhaegar is dead. The books have confirmed Rhaegar is dead. The app has confirmed Rhaegar is dead. The app and the books have confirmed that Mance was raised at the wall. If you are so intent on connecting Mance with a Targaryen, look at Bloodraven. There's actually some evidence for that connection.

If I'm right I'm gonna gloat like a mo-fo. Don't want to start a debate, just remember me when he turns out to be Rhaegar.

If you are right, I will personally mail you $1000. If you are right AND you never mention this theory again, I will up it to $5,000.

[FittleLinger]

fits and he seems to be set up to be Rhaegar.

Fits and seems to be set up? Oh my god.

I REALLY like this speculation. But either I'm an idiot or I'm not remembering something but does this go with R+L=J? Because if then, who were Lyanna's first two children...?

He's Rhaegar's third child, Rhaenys and Aegon being the first two.

my husband (reading over my shoulder) has astutely noted that it is quite possible that all along varys was leading ned in the direction of his death. probably intentionally. maybe ned stark becoming hand was not good for the realm, and would have shifted the balance of power in directions that would lead to the wrong people dying. ned's death and the war have actually weeded out quite a few people who would be detrimental to the realm. in other words, ned's death was for 'the greater good'. this is his take.

But those assumptions are based on trusting Varys is really acting for the good of the realm. Or should I have just said based on trusting Varys and stopped? :)

[Helyn Snow]

This is something I've thought about at some length - I've re-read the passage a few times to try and iron out where I stand on the whole issue.

Bastard daughter was what I first concluded when I read it, but became convinced of the abortion through Catelyn's interpretation.

Some of it could go either way, and it very much reads as though it's designed to, but when Cat asks if 'Tansy' lives, he responds quickly with "Dead" - which works much better in the abortion scenario.

For a while, the frequent mention of "blood" had me thinking abortion - but it's possible that Tansy's mother was still "innocent".

For me, I think I end up settling on abortion - " be a good wife, and the gods will bless you" makes much more sense directed at Lysa just before her marriage. But it's very close.

But I think that his response that Tansy is dead gives the impression he is talking about a person and not the medication he used to abort Lysa's baby - maybe he was under the impression that the baby perished in the Battle Of The Bells. And at some point Cat even concludes that Tansy might be Hoster's nickname for Lysa, which would be extremely insensitive if that was the plant used to abort her baby. To sum up I think Cat did accidentally discover (or re-inforced) the abortion, but Hoster was talking about something/someone completely different. Also, I think between losing his own bastard daughter and aborting his daughter's bastard baby, he would regret the former over the latter IMO anyway.

But, saying that, I could be completely wrong and Tansy at the Peach might be a huge red herring from GRRM - A literal red herring, or to be more apt, red trout (... don't all laugh at once...)

I

[EricEmpire94]

He's Rhaegar's third child, Rhaenys and Aegon being the first two.

Oh! Okay third child by Rhaegar, I completely overlooked that thanks.

[A Crow Come Over]

I dont think Oberyn poisoned Tywin. For one thing one of the sand snakes recognized the poison used on Gregor. Tywin didnt have any symptoms! This is another theory with absolutely no evidence from the book! He rotted in an unusual fashion but QYBURN had the body first. Also it might be symbolic.

The Sarella thing was a smack head for me.

It's pretty obvious; http://boiledleather.com/post/24196234491/tywin-lannister-dead-man-shitting

The only thing that I find odd about the theory is that Doran seemingly had no idea what Oberyn was up to (or is feigning ignorance)