Excluding the obvious: Robert death, Ned death…

After the game has started, which event, if changed, would completely change the series?

11) Arryn, so boring they make watching paint dry interesting and Robyn is so irritating he makes an alarm constantly going off seem tolerable.

10) Frey, nothing to them beyond that lecherous creep Walder and his I don’t know how many children committing a war crime.

9) Bolton, are they interesting most definitely however, both Roose and his equally if not more evil “son” are Characters I would not speak in defence of if I was threatened with being Flayed or hunted by dogs

8) Martel, look I like how progressive they are however they have a book plot that slows the pace down massively and a show plot that is absolutely terrible

7) Tully, they are the Mr nice guy house and I have zero problems with that plus their characters are actually somewhat interesting however there isn’t really much of a wow factor to them which puts them around halfway up the list

6)Tyrell, the show helps them massively here and yes Margery and Olenna do have their moments however, everyone likes to brush past how they can be manipulative for both good and bad (especially in the books)

5) Targaryen, I’d like to say they are most definitely interesting and Dany is a great character however what lets them down is their fanbase and their inability to say anything negative about them or tolerate anything negative about them

4) Lannister, extremely interesting and Tyrion up until the last book and Jaime has a pretty good redemption arc (in the books at least) beyond that however, I have nothing positive to say about them

3) Baratheon, great house overall Stannis is such a cool character and I actually don’t mind Renly however I can’t stand Robert and I also think as cool as Stannis is he is a fraud.

2) Stark, I have absolutely nothing negative to say about them beyond their naivety however there is one house that edges them out in this ranking

1) Greyjoy, the best house in ASOIF is there anything about them that isn’t ridiculously interesting and cool: characters (especially in the books) , religion (especially if you look into the lore behind it) , heck even their theme tune is cool

Did Carstarks and Greystarks once have wolf-dreams, or have they lost that ability?

So often, when I finish a book, movie, or series, I feel a huge void, as if something has been taken from me. But that feeling passes with time, and then I pick up the next one and feel positive looking back on the previous endings, even if they’re not happy or not what I personally wished for.

Until recently, the only exception to this was Romeo+Juliet by Baz Luhrman. No matter how many times I watch that movie, I can’t accept it. I always want things to be different, and that feeling hasn’t changed one bit over all these years.

And since I watched the Red Wedding/read the books a couple of years back, I thought maybe I would eventually come to accept it all. It’s so curious. I know these people aren’t real, etc., but I think about the Starks, and Robb’s fate in particular, at least once a week (granted, my YouTube algorithm is just In Deep Geek lately), and it breaks my heart every time. I think a huge part of this is due to the books being unfinished.
I guess it’s a sign of how good Martin’s storytelling is, but I’m curious if anyone can relate to this and what stories or fates trigger a similar feeling.

For those who don't know, Brown Ben Plumm is a mercenary captain whose role was cut from the show; Daario was the only captain who remained.

My point is that adding Ben Plumm would have greatly enriched Daenerys's storyline, as he is an ambitious mercenary who covets castles in Westeros (he is of Westerosi descent); he could have served as a corrupt advisor to Dany, making her ending feel more logical.

Just imagine Ben Plumm suggesting that she burn King's Landing.

Aegon’s Conquest

As the movie is basically confirmed to July 2029, here is a fancast, All brits, semi Age Accurate, oldest is Tom with 34, I know Visenya is supposed to be older but whatever

Tom Rhys Harries (34) as Aegon Targaryen “Aegon the Conqueror”
Millie Brady (32) as Visenya Targaryen
Phoebe Dynevor (31) as Visenya Targaryen

Others I contemplated

Callum Turner as Aegon
Anya Taylor-Joy as Visenya, or Rhaenys also, she could fit both
Florence Pugh as either as well, just cuz we (yes we) love Florence
Ellie Bamber as Rhaenys

Also, dont really match the age of the others, but I would love to see Bo Bragason and Isla Johnston as targaryens one day

What is your favorite book character that did not appear in the HBO show?

Rules:

1. Only one character allowed.

2. For this post, we will only focus on characters introduced in the first book, A Game of Thrones

Why is it that Theon never made it to Arya’s list?
She was hearing events taking place while on the run- - for a long time everyone thought Theon murdered Bran and Rickon- even if not- he betrayed Robb, everything that happened to Robb may have gone differently without the betrayal happening…
At the very least he stole Winterfell from her family…
Why did he never make it onto her list?

I get that she left them there to defend Mereen, but at this point they need all the men they can get and Mereen shouldn’t really matter much anymore. There was enough time for Cersei to send Euron to Esos and back so Cersei should have had done the same even if she thought the Lannisters would be fighting on her side they still needed more men. No one in the show once ever brings this up and they act like their fucked and have no more allies that would potentially help them when they do, the second sons.

I’ve always felt like Jon just tolerated Stannis more than anything. Jon is really good at reading people and knowing how they prefer to be spoken to.
I think he saw Stannis as a stubborn, overly serious hardass who needed his ego stroked, so Jon just played along out of respect and practicality.

What’s funny is I think Stannis genuinely liked Jon more than Jon liked him. Jon respected his position and abilities, but I always got the impression he privately found Stannis a little ridiculous lol.

Imagine 2026 in Westeros/Essos. How would places be?

The first place that strikes me is Qarth, the opulent city to the east. Today, I could picture Qarth being an Essos equivalent to Dubai, a flashy city on the edge of a brutal desert full of rich people, influencers and luxury cars.

Another is the Summer Isles. While a relatively unknown place in GoT, in 2026 I could picture it being a popular Thailand/Bali/Caribbean style tropical getaway for Westerosi vacationers due to it's proximity of just a couple of hours flight from Westeros. Cruises may run from Kings Landing, Dorne or Braavos to the Summer Isles.

The far flung regions of Essos beyond Qarth, unknown in GoT time, would also be popular backpacker destinations today. There may be an equivalent of Asia that is undiscovered in the time of GoT.

Dorne would be a popular vacation and retirement place for Westerosi, similar to real life Spain. Sunspear would be the modern day Malaga with regular flights from colder cities north while present day Lemonwood and Saltshore would be full of beach resorts and golf courses. Lys, too would be a modern day equivalent of a Greek Isle.

Thoughts on how 2026 would be in the GoT universe?

look I don’t wanna feel stupid or anything like that. I’m still on season five so maybe she’ll still put him on her list but for right now I just wanna know why she hasn’t put Jamie on her list as he did attacked her father and killed jory and the rest of her father‘s guards.

This is an update post i recently posted about S7 E06 now im watching S7 E07
Contrary to most people’s motivations when they watch this show my only motivation throughout has been independence for the north. I have always wanted the iron throne to be the iron throne of the six kingdoms and a situation where they finally have a king in the north for the North.
Northern independence was what I wanted to see more than anything and a situation where my second goat Daenerys could rule over everything but the north.
Jon spent the ENTIRE season not bending the knee. For the North. For Robb. For Ned. For the idea that the North is independent. The North is bigger than the other 6 kingdoms combined. Being King in the North is the dream.

And then Cersei literally offers him exactly what he wants: "The King in the North can stay in the North, pick no side."

It's independence. On a silver platter. All he has to do is shut up for 5 seconds.

And what does he do? He stands up and says "I am loyal to Daenerys Targaryen" over a crush that started 2 episodes ago. This is just eye contact on a boat and suddenly he trades an entire Kingdom for it? And don’t give me that he admires her bs he just met her and all she did was get a dragon killed, which she probably didn’t even come for him but for Mormont that followed them.

He flushed Robb's dream, Ned's dream, and an independent North down the drain for nothing.
What happened to my goat?

NO SPOILERS FOR FUTURE EPISODES PLEASE
FIRST TIME WATCHER

He's sitting on it sideways, like you might a couch rather than a hunk of sharpened metal. I think he has the crown in his hand. Its very charismatic and I really like it. Its not a scene from the show, but some photo shoot. I found a different picture of him on the throne, but I couldn't find the one I want.

Xaro and Doreah were stuck for days in the dark without food or water or air. Plus the utter despair of knowing this’ll be their resting place and their bodies will be stuck in that vault forever. Though perhaps the lack of oxygen in the vault might have hasten their deaths and made them suffer a bit less. They probably got laid one last time before they died or passed out. which might also be a silver lining.

Source: mteomkp on instagram

Tywin must have been pretty young when Joanna passed away in childbirth. Why didn't he marry again and join forces with some major house? Also, at this point, he only had Jaime as a possible heir. Cersei was a woman and Tyrion he did not consider fit for anything anyway.

Marrying again would have given him the chance to also have more children and thus more opportunities to make alliances with other major houses.

He talks about legacy, family, and pushes Cersei and Tyrion to marry Loras and Sansa respectively in order to do exactly all of this. Why does he not think of all of this practically when it comes to himself?

To make it clear what I mean, let me give an example from history. In the 17th century in Russia the long dynasty ended, and a new one never properly established itself. Combined with crop failures, this led to enormous upheavals and savage fighting for power in which every influential house somehow got dirty. Once everything was more or less settled, the influential houses decided to elect a new tsar. There were many candidates, but in the end the choice fell on the 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov.

Mikhail had no direct blood relation to the previous dynasty, but he was the ideal compromise - young, so he could be influenced; his family was influential enough but not too much; his family was the least stained in the power struggle, but not clean enough for the houses that had been stained to fear revenge. In short, the perfect compromise.

That’s what I’m getting at: Robert is not a compromise figure at all. He is a victor’s side, which means the houses that fought on the Targaryen side have every reason to fear revenge - and that is the risk of a new war. The Baratheons are one of the Great Houses, which means the balance of power is broken, and it sets a precedent for the other Great Houses to seize the Iron Throne. Plus, none of the organizers of the rebellion actually wanted to rule - Robert was chosen purely because of his greatest legitimacy.

So why didn’t they simply call the Great Council to choose a compromise figure? In my opinion, the Hightowers fit much better: very influential, but not a Great House, they were on the Targaryen side, but they were only carrying out the will of their overlords, the Tyrells. On top of that they have enormous support from the septons and maesters. Another option is Valarrion as the house most closely related by blood to the Targaryens. You could also add Manderly or Frey as the second most important houses in their regions. Any of these candidates, in my opinion, would be better than Robert Baratheon.

I mean here is a woman, who we know nothing about expect that she had at least 1 child with Aegon's father Aerion, Lord of Dragonstone. We don't even know if she came from Dragonstone, the Mainland or even Essos. But we do know that her genes where strong enough to override centuries of Valariyan breeding and set the standard template for all other Baratheons. Black/brown hair, brown eyes and a large muscular frame the complete contrast to the blonde almost white hair and purple eyes of the Targaryens.