That is a possibility that I have considered. What happens during that reunion might not be what people want, though. What if Sansa ends up killing Arya by mistake? Littlefinger is Sansa's connection to power. He's also becoming her mentor. The reason I feel that Arya might die in the next book is this: GRRM likes to foreshadow with dreams far more accurately than he does with prophecy. Now look at Jon's crypt dream: Jon is looking for Eddard, who is dead. He looks for Robb, who is dead. He looks for his uncle Benjen, who may be dead, may be undead, but no one knows. He also looks for Arya. This could be just some stupid dream that means nothing. But then you have to take into account the possibility that Jon is the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryan and Lyanna Stark. The Targaryans have long had a history of foretelling. If Jon is actually the son of Rhaegar, it gives credence to the idea that his dreams are more than just dreams. And that this dream could signify that his little half-sister is going to bite it.
I also heavily suspect that Sansa will kill LF and take over the Vale, or at least screw up LF's plan in a major way. Do you believe the theory that Benjen Stark is cold hands?
I think that is the obvious conclusion. Thing is, Bran knows his uncle's looks, knows the looks of his kin, and so far has shown no recognition at all of Coldhands as Benjen Stark. Granted, he can only see part of his face, but still... I'm not convinced, but it's what we are led to believe.
For people that haven't read the Dunk&Egg books, which I recommend... Don't read this if you plan on reading them. Not a huge spoiler, but it's telling. ****Spoiler alert**** Nightraven (the freaky wooden guy that is with the CotF and teaching Bran in the caves) is a Blackfyre from the old days of Targaryans. He actually has some sort of a connection to Varys and Illyrio, IMO.
One way or another, I have a feeling will find out about Benjen Stark in TWOW. Particularly because it's supposed to take us even further north of the wall than ever before, which gives me more incentive to believe it. Who are some of the deaths you think will occur? I think Theon, Arya, Euron (maybe Victarion as well), Aero Hoath, Cersei, Ramsay (can't wait till this fucker dies :metal, Roose Bolton, Littlefinger, Barristan Selmy, and Lady Stoneheart (Cat) will bite the bullet. Maybe Davos as well, but I think he lasts till the last book. I can also see a situation where Melisandre and Stannis come to blows because Stannis is pissed she isn't seeing AA in him, but in Jon Snow. Predicting either Stannis or Melisandre bite the bullet, but I think Stannis will lose that confrontation and die. I'm predicting a blood bath in this book.
As was mentioned on the last page, I think that's giving him too much credit. I don't think he does crazy plot twists just for the sake of doing crazy plot twists... certainly not at the expense of the story at large. And if he starts killing everyone and turns, say, Rickon - who was a baby for two books and off-screen for three more - into a major character, that will have zero resonance with anyone. It's an epic story with great characters, but it's still an epic story and - while Martin often twists some rules - there are still basic tenets of good storytelling to follow. The fact that Mel can't interpret her own visions correctly is in favor of Jon being AA. Her interpretations are pointing to Stannis. The visions themselves point to Jon. I'd be willing to bet almost anything that Jon is AA. It makes far too much sense and just because many of the readers have "figured it out" is not a reason to make major changes to a good story.
Glad I'm not the only one. Even the "cliffhanger" of killing Jon at the end of the last book was just a slap in the face of the readers IMO. If he is dead, why all the foreshadowing about his parents? Why have Eddard thinking of him just before he dies? What is the point of any of it if he continues to live as a wolf? Everyone has figured out his story because he takes so long. Great writer. Finish the Books George.
I don't think anything is safe with GRRM. You're assuming that everything is going to wrap up in a nice little package like every other set of novels. I don't think that's the case. Do I think Jon Snow is dead? No, or at least I hope not. But the point for me is that this world is more like reality: it's imperfect. The good guys don't always win, the bad guys don't always lose and the lovers don't always live happily ever after. People with great promise die, lovers are torn apart, some times horrible things happen to good people and sometimes the bad guys get away with it (for awhile at least). If you go back far enough I'm sure I posted my agreement with the theory that Jon Snow is the legitimate son of Lyanna and Rhaegar and I can buy into him being AA as well. But that doesn't mean that I can project from where we are now that those things will actually come to fruition because there have been areas in the books all along where you look ahead and see what they are going to be or what's going to happen and it doesn't because other things get in the way: death, war, love, kidnappings, etc. So to answer your question about why all the foreshadowing: It's not to make the foreshadowing meaningless it's to make the loss of what was expected to happen more impactful because you think of what could have been. I think he did the opposite of this with Bran's loss of use of his legs, it was so early on that we didn't have time to look forward to what Bran could have been, he's just basically always been a cripple to us so while the idea of a young boy being crippled is devastating it's not as bad as it could have been as far as how we viewed him prior to and afterwards.
But in writing a story where the good guys won't always win, you still need to write a good story. Three's a difference between what a POV character is thinking in terms of how the character thinks his story is going to turn out, and what the character is thinking in terms of what the author intends the reader to know. In other words, there's a difference between Bran thinking to himself that he is going to be a night in a POV chapter and George RR Martin telling the reader that Jon Snow is AA. Having the character be surprised by how it turns out is fine... the unreliable narrator is a common writing technique. A character thinks something is going to happen, and it doesn't, so he is surprised and the reader is surprised right along with him. What is not good storytelling is misleading the reader at the meta level. It becomes absurdist.
Assuming that AA must be a Stark is the flaw in your argument. Martin has been championing unlikely heroes from the beginning. Jon may end up being the hero of the books, yet not necessarily have ti be Azor Ahai. It could also be a red herring to assume that AA is the overall hero in the end. Nowhere does it say that the Prince that was Promised is one in the same with AA and Jon is also a likely candidate for that role. And he doesn't have to make Rickon a major character when Davos Seaworth has been a major character and unlikely hero since book 2 and fits much of the criteria of AA himself. Bet anything if you want. You don't seem to be willing to consider otherwise, based mainly on a vision/prophecy in a series of books where visions and prophecies haven't proven to be very accurate.
I never assumed that AA must be a Stark. I just used rickon as a silly example of why crazy plot twists don't equal a good story. And I make no assumptions about whether AA is the overall hero, either. Maybe it's Davos. That seems less likely to me, though. And you are incorrect to say that visions and prophecies haven't be accurate. What has been inaccurate is the interpretation of the visions/prophecies by the seer. Big difference... and gets at what I was saying in the last post about the difference between an unreliable narrator and playing "gotcha" with your readers.
What do people expect from the crannogmen? Obviously Howland Reed had a very important part to play in the forming of the initial sub-plot, and Maege Mormont was told to seek out Greywater Watch when she left Robb's camp with Robb's will to empower Jon as his heir... Where does everyone think this forgotten plot device raises it's head? Not to mention... Both of Howland's children are with Bran North of the Wall.
By the seer or by the character. Maggie the Frog and Cersei. Bran's interpretations of his dreams/visions. The house of the undying. All true visions, but not understood/believed by the character.
Christ, man. I don't got time to give you references. I'm working here and posting from my phone. Go to Wiki of Ice and Fire or Westeros.org. They have prophecy pages that does list them all.
I actually know most of them, I'm wondering what parts you think have been misinterpreted. But by all means, don't spill the primordial ooze in your efforts.
It's still there, no one had posted in it for a while. I think the title was changed a bit. http://forums.theganggreen.com/showthread.php?t=65590 This one was made because people kept hinting at spoilers.
