Will the person on the Iron Throne in the end be a PoV character?

[Varys BrightBlackflayrme]

I think Gendry will. He has a claim, one of many sure, but he is a good compromise.

[TheBastardofBluegrass]

I think Gendry will. He has a claim, one of many sure, but he is a good compromise.

Gendry is still a bastard though, and as far as we know none of the main characters know he's Robert's son, doubtless many could see the obvious resemblance, that doesn't trump the fact his mother was lowborn.

We've been told time and time again the ending will be bitter sweet, A Song of Ice and Fire, does the ice have to melt for the fire to burn? Is the flame snuffed for the ice to spread? I take this to mean at some point Jon Snow dies for Dany to live.

[Fire Eater]

I think Gendry will. He has a claim, one of many sure, but he is a good compromise.

I think he is more likely to end up as Lord of Storm's End, given to him by a the one who sits the Iron Throne.

[Myrish Swamp Thing]

The chairman of the Kings Landing Institute for the Preservation of Historical Heritage

[Jon Icefyre]

Honestly since there has been no povs yet to sit on the Irone throne i'd like to see a POV sitting on the Irone Throne at the end if there is one that is (which is a really really big if). It would give us a perspective we haven't seen yet, GGRM has given us POV's from hands and queens and kgs that give us insight but no real POV that shows us first hand what it's like to be King of Wetseros. A King POV would really show us the thought process of someone sitting on the Irone Throne which is something that intrigues me very much. I would have loved to know what was going through Robert's head when he made Ned kill lady, or after Ned and Jamie fought. Robb Stark was only king of the north but I would have loved to pick his brain after some of the decisions he made like naming Jon his heir for example. I don't know if a POV will sit on the Irone Throne at the end or if there even will be an Irone Throne, but I would not be surprised at all if GRRM gives us at least one POV chapter of a king sitting on the Irone Throne to show us something we haven't seen before it's all said and done. Faegon perhaps?

[Lord Godric]

A King POV would really show us the thought process of someone sitting on the Irone Throne which is something that intrigues me very much. I would have loved to know what was going through Robert's head when he made Ned kill lady, or after Ned and Jamie fought. Robb Stark was only king of the north but I would have loved to pick his brain after some of the decisions he made like naming Jon his heir for example. I don't know if a POV will sit on the Irone Throne at the end or if there even will be an Irone Throne, but I would not be surprised at all if GRRM gives us at least one POV chapter of a king sitting on the Irone Throne to show us something we haven't seen before it's all said and done. Faegon perhaps?

I think that Martin will have the person sitting on the Iron Throne at the very end of the series a PoV character simply because of a comment of his:

There’s an unspoken assumption in [Tolkien’s] books that, well, Return of the King…Aragorn is king now, everything will be hunky dory. The land will prosper and it will be wonderful and the crops will be good and there will be justice for all and the enemies will be defeated. You never ever really get into the nitty gritty of Aragorn ruling, you know, what is his tax policy? How does he feel about crop rotation?

I don't expect Martin to leave the series with that same "hunky dory" feeling. I hope the ascension is settled a little bit before the end of the series and we actually get the chance to see the king/queen ruling. If we don't, Martin is doing exactly what he criticizes Tolkien for doing.

[Fire Eater]

I think that Martin will have the person sitting on the Iron Throne at the very end of the series a PoV character simply because of a comment of his: I don't expect Martin to leave the series with that same "hunky dory" feeling. I hope the ascension is settled a little bit before the end of the series and we actually get the chance to see the king/queen ruling. If we don't, Martin is doing exactly what he criticizes Tolkien for doing.

GRRM did say that his ending, like LOTR's, will be bittersweet.

[Lord Godric]

GRRM did say that his ending LOTR's, will be bittersweet.

But that's not in reference to Aragorn's ascension to the throne, like in the part I quoted. IIRC, he was referencing what happens in the Shire, which would make sense given the rest of Westeros.

[Draxus]

Well, yes and no. Daenerys will claim the Iron Throne. Of that, there is no doubt. You would have to be delusional to honestly think that Daenerys won't see her father's seat returned to her family. But her destiny is to absolve the Seven Kingdoms and return the land to the people as the culmination of her 'Freedom Arc'. So in the end, there will be no Iron Throne. At least not in the sense that it will still have power over the continent. A restored House Targaryen may occupy Kings Landing and Dragonstone and make their home there, but Dany is ending the Seven Kingdoms, no doubt.

[Blackfyre the Bold]

Either a Targaryen will sit on the Iron Throne or no one will sit on the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms will be independent once again.

[Jon Icefyre]

Well, yes and no. Daenerys will claim the Iron Throne. Of that, there is no doubt. You would have to be delusional to honestly think that Daenerys won't see her father's seat returned to her family. But her destiny is to absolve the Seven Kingdoms and return the land to the people as the culmination of her 'Freedom Arc'. So in the end, there will be no Iron Throne. At least not in the sense that it will still have power over the continent. A restored House Targaryen may occupy Kings Landing and Dragonstone and make their home there, but Dany is ending the Seven Kingdoms, no doubt.

I like that idea, Dany turning turning the seven kingdoms into the type of government that her ancerstral birth place(Valyrian Freehold) had without the slaves of course. But I don't think Westeros is part of her 'Freedom Arc'. The main problem she has with the lands across the Narrow sea is that they have slaves, so she is hell bent on freeing them of slavery. Westeros does not have slaves in that sense so I don't really see what she would feel the need to free them of. Remember Dany isn't some random foreign Jesus figure that's going to save Westeros from the hell they live in like she's doing beyond the narrow sea, Westeros is her family's brith place. The seven kingdoms was founded and formed by her family the legacy of House Targaryen is the seven kindoms of Westeros, so I don't really see Dany betraying her house's legacy by dissolving the empire her ancester Aegon l built/created. She would literally be destroying the legacy of House Targaryen by doing that. Her goal to reach Westeros is about restoring her house to it's former glory not making the kindgoms what they were before Aegon l.

[Fire Eater]

But that's not in reference to Aragorn's ascension to the throne, like in the part I quoted. IIRC, he was referencing what happens in the Shire, which would make sense given the rest of Westeros.

I wasn't disagreeing with you, I was referring to the "hunky dory" feeling being left in the ASOIAF series.

[Newstar]

Remember Dany isn't some random foreign Jesus figure

Hahaha, damn straight. Everyone knows the only random Jesus figure in this series is Jon.

I always figured the GRRM quote--"You never ever really get into the nitty gritty of Aragorn ruling, you know, what is his tax policy? How does he feel about crop rotation?"--was more of a reference to the leadership arcs for Jon and Dany in ADWD, since we do see them ruling (and making a hash of it, at least in Dany's case).

GRRM did say that his ending, like LOTR's, will be bittersweet.

GRRM keeps using that word. I do not think it means what he thinks it means. (Princess Bride references aside, I think GRRM's notion of "bittersweet" might be very different from the LOTR ending's version of "bittersweet." ASOIAF is a much, much darker work than LOTR. I think fans thinking that GRRM is going to write an ending that's bitter and sweet in the same proportions as the ending to LOTR are going to be in for a very rude awakening. Instead of equal parts bitter and sweet, it might be 90% bitter to 10% sweet.)

The seven kingdoms was founded and formed by her family the legacy of House Targaryen is the seven kindoms of Westeros, so I don't really see Dany betraying her house's legacy by dissolving the empire her ancester Aegon l built/created. She would literally be destroying the legacy of House Targaryen by doing that. Her goal to reach Westeros is about restoring her house to it's former glory not making the kindgoms what they were before Aegon l.

Agreed. If Westeros breaks into seven kingdoms again, it won't be because of Dany's conscious choice (I think she'd have to be dead or otherwise out of the picture, since I can't see her ever agreeing to that). Why would she unify Westeros through conquest (as it seems all but certain she will) only to destroy that unity? The slavery thing hardly fits, as Westeros doesn't have slaves in the same sense as in Essos.

[TalalOfDorne]

If the it does exist in the end then I dont think it will be a non pov

[therealbando]

It could be a nice end to the story, a new king being the POV, but I doubt that the IT will still exist in the end

Gendry is still a bastard though, and as far as we know none of the main characters know he's Robert's son, doubtless many could see the obvious resemblance, that doesn't trump the fact his mother was lowborn.

We've been told time and time again the ending will be bitter sweet, A Song of Ice and Fire, does the ice have to melt for the fire to burn? Is the flame snuffed for the ice to spread? I take this to mean at some point Jon Snow dies for Dany to live.

Stannis knows that he`s Roberts bastard, he visited him with Jon Arryn.

[StarkDragon]

I think it would be interesting if one of those swords on the Iron Throne would need to be taken out... (Dragon Steel or something)

That way GRRM can stay away from getting too democratic-yay monarch-nay, but still make the literal point that to save the kingdom they'd have to destroy the Iron Throne. (Which could be also a way of denouncing Targ dominance, rather than boo monarchy.)

Not likely to occur, but I find the idea poetically ironic.

[mcb]

GRRM did say that his ending, like LOTR's, will be bittersweet.

After all that shit that has went down already, and so high body count, "bittersweet" is the best we could hope for anyway.

[houseHB]

Why do you think Stannis has never had a POV

[Nothing]

My guess for the last POV chapter is Rickon, 65-years-old King-beyond-the-Wall, running his wild kingdom with his beloved Shireen and their son Davos, a fabled snowball-fighter; sometimes using advice of his three-eyed-crow brother. There also is his not-a-brother Jon Targaryen in charge on the Wall, the first undead Lord commander of the Night‘s Watch. The Winterfell is under the rule of the Young Wolf’s posthumous twins Brandon and Eddard, the Kings Who Knelt in front of Dany the Queen and her mummering dragons. Dany is the true ruler of the Frosty Throne (made from the swords surrendered by the Others) and Protector of the Realm, but most part of the Seven Kingdoms is actually ruled as a personal union of an old hag Sansa, lady of Casterly Rock, the Vale and the Riverlands. Her sweetheart Tyrion the Giant died as hero, when killing the Great Other with ridiculous name George Martin (despite it was female). Sansa didn´t spent a long time mourning for him, because she married soon again to Harold What’s-his-name and plenty of other honourable men later. She is currently known as the only lady, who could field an army out of her kilt. Her youngest children are also twins - Mordane, figure skater of the Frozen Gardens in Dorne, and Sandor, acolyte of House of Black & White, where the kindly old woman Arya is in charge. All Greyjoys are dead, because I don’t like them.

[Waylin Stark]

No, I really doubt it.

But it will be a secondary character, someone close to a POV person.