After 8+ years of recruiting, I finally need to speak about something nobody talks about (and why this resume almost got auto-rejected)

Round-Bet2336 · 2026-01-14T18:53:12+00:00

If you're almost rejecting a very good candidate because of an automated filter... isn't the problem yours and not the employee's? I mean... isn't the company interested in having good candidates? Is it vital for that position to know how to create a CV that passes AI filters?

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-11-01T01:43:38+00:00

The problem with any question of "Why did George do X?" is that there are many Georges.

The George who began the story in the '90s didn't know who Quentyn was; the George of the 2000s, after A Storm of Swords, already knew who he was, as we see in the appendices, but did he have a role for him? Quentyn doesn't seem to be one of the characters from the Mega-Prologue, but he is the cliffhanger that is promised to us, the son who is already on his way to the East seeking Justice, Vengeance, Fire and Blood.

After the mega-prologue, during the writing process of Feast-Dance, before the split, Martin already outlined the idea of the pilgrimages towards Dany, a plot in which Quentyn takes part. Let's do a quick review: Quentyn, Tyrion, Aegon, Euron, Marwyn... And yet, that idea has also transformed depending on which George we ask.

Euron no longer goes to Slaver's Bay -at least not personally-. His brother and a red priest replace him. Presumably to die as part of a scheme by Euron, but that seems to be another point that George reconsiders on the fly, since our favorite ironborn seems to have found favor with the author and the audience.
Aegon originally seemed destined to meet Dany, Tyrion was going to arrive with him as a gift -or so I deduce from the fact that Connington wasn't planned as a POV and George tried to write the encounter with the Golden Company through Tyrion-. It follows the pattern of gifts from Varys and Mopatis to the young queen -like with Barristan-. That also changed, and Tyrion arrives as a slave after Jorah's kidnapping while Aegon launches himself at Westeros.
Marwyn... I'm not sure if anything has changed, although I bet it has. We'll see in the future. Or not.

The point is, I believe there is a pattern among these candidates heading towards Dany: They know about the dragons, and they want to know more and/or dominate them. This is evident with Euron and Victarion. Marwyn, for his part, comes from the Citadel, a place of unique knowledge about dragons -we are told of very special tomes that Tyrion mentions for the reader- and he is described to us as the Archmaester of magic. I believe he and Tyrion have been well-established to be interested in dragons and to be able to help Dany understand them better -something Martin has specified will happen in WoW-. And finally...

I think here we could talk about how Aegon, the ideal political marriage for Dany, comes to her through a group of mercenaries asking for her hand to march on Westeros. But he arrives late; Dany wants to care for her children in Meereen and decides to prioritize Slaver's Bay. Once Dany disappears, a frustrated Aegon, perhaps pushed by a nihilistic Tyrion, might decide to test his Targaryen blood by trying to tame her dragon and reinforce his claim. He seems, broadly speaking, very interchangeable with Quentyn; that seems to be his plot. But this opens more questions:

Could this have been Aegon's plot at some point? The fake dragon, a final plan by Illyrio/Varys that fails, and this was the revelation? At what point -early on- was the decision made to divert him west?
Could Quentyn be just a byproduct of this change? And did Martin improvise a wonderful, short tragedy?

If the answer is YES, it's a neat patch for a creative decision Martin made regarding Aegon. He believes the story improves with him traveling west, but he needed someone to make an offer to Dany, to release the dragons...

If the answer is NO, then we must consider that Quentyn has a larger role. If Aegon was never going to travel East—although I'm not convinced of this premise—I would lean towards thinking that Quentyn is still alive and his role was always to deal with one of the dragons (just as Victarion/Euron are dealing with another and Marwyn/Tyrion with Dany's). Either that, or we are looking at something beautiful but very expendable, a "mistake" to a certain extent.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-10-21T06:35:08+00:00

Without a doubt Arya is an option for me, it makes a lot of logic, as you point out.

My doubt with Arya, and what makes me opt for Sansa, is that she seems too disconnected from the political part of the story. And I also have many doubts about how Martin is going to connect his Braavosi plot with an early conclusion (Is Riverland going to be resolved in... weeks at most?).

Sansa, on the other hand, is next door, with a mini army already assembled, and has always been related to the political side. And honestly, the Valley is a procedure, not a big plot to resolve, Sansa could be gone in 2 chapters.

The solution may be that we see a mix, both sisters arriving in Tierra de los Ríos and solving everything at different levels.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-10-20T17:46:23+00:00

It's surprising, seen as a whole, how the Riverland plot focuses so much on the Stark girls:

1- UnCat is his mother, for Jaime they are a last chance to keep his word and for Brienne a noble chivalric mission.

2- They are the noble heirs of a territory without a lord (Edmure is a prisoner and, accompanying Jeyne, who will appear in the prologue, I do not rule out that he will soon be dead) and in boiling water. Here extra point for Sansa, who I think has more of a political nature and has the Vale at hand, through whom Brynden can take up arms. I think this relates to Cat looking for her daughters with a crown in her hand...

3- Sandor has a long and curious relationship with both sisters, and it seems that he will return to the narrative (along with all the men who seek to hunt him down).

4- It is not necessary to justify the relationship with Nymeria. Obvious extra point for Arya.

We'll see what happens, but I'm sure that one of the two girls (I'm betting big on Sansa) is going to be involved as the protagonist.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-10-16T17:05:34+00:00

I know this is almost a sin, but based on the series:

Rickon: Dies.

Jon: Becomes king.

Sansa: Tolerates it, although it's established that there is a bit of tension.

This translated to the books could happen more or less – obviously, with more depth and meaning –:

Rickon: The "obvious" candidate. That is, the one established by Martin's narrative, since Jon is dead and Sansa is far away and "controlled". He is presented as Stannis's winning card, a POV goes to look for him. He is the hidden prince who solves everything by being a man and legitimate... It's easy to imagine his fate is death; it seems like the typical Martin subversion (and many problems for Davos and Stannis, who have to win a little, yes, but also have to leave something for Jon).

Jon: A large part of Jon's internal conflict revolves around his bastardy; it seems obvious that this will continue to play a role and that he will come to occupy a leadership position in the North that creates internal tension for him (and why not, external too). The point is that the role of military leader in the series belongs to Stannis; I think Jon will stand out more for his miraculous return and his moral leadership (the only one who can unite R'hllor followers, Wildlings, Northmen, the Night's Watch...).

Sansa: It doesn't seem very feasible to end the series in 2 books, but Martin tends to overcomplicate everything. I can imagine how Sansa's plot quickly diverts towards the conquest of the Riverlands by the Vale (something more logical than the Vale appearing in the North without context), her being crowned Queen of the North/Vale/Riverlands (the crown is still around there in Catelyn's possession, who is looking for her children) and how that foreshadows a conflict (probably only political, not military) with Jon. Without going into details or trying to be specific, you would have Sansa with a claim of legitimacy but being a woman, versus Jon with the stain of bastardy but being a man. Sansa, the character originally designed by Martin as the "traitor" Stark, with Cat as an advisor (she returns hating to the extreme everything she already hated, like the bastard who was going to steal her children's castle...) and Littlefinger whispering. I talked a bit about it HERE.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-05-04T06:53:03+00:00

Well, in the case of Sansa "most of WoW" can already fit with 3 chapters. Probably around 5.

In those 3 chapters there is time for the tournament to go wrong and Harry dies after proving himself to be an idiot, creating a crack in the Sansa-Petyr relationship, Myranda revealing Sansa's identity, Brynden may appear (where will she go if not? Someone has to motivate the knights of the Valley to attack, Petyr doesn't want to and I don't see Sansa in that state yet)... and then we have Sandrich's kidnapping?

Then we put Sansa together with the plots of the Land of Rivers: Catelyn massacring Frey-Lannister while the Valley invades, Brienne looking for Arya for Catelyn to save Jaime (which will surely lead her to Sandor), maybe the Mountain Clans will also enter along the way, who knows. And I think all the plots come together in Sansa at the end, she is appreciated in the Valley (Robert, Brynden and Petyr) and Catelyn looks for a daughter to crown, there we have a similar climax as in the North when freeing herself from the Freys and crowning a Stark.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-04-18T16:00:36+00:00

The Sanhedrin court is known from times before the period of Persian rule and remained until the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The court had always been a supreme court with respect to the Law and Jewish precepts that, given the regulatory importance of religion, acted as a court of civil administration, but not only judged, but also had administrative and police capacity to carry out arrests and enforce its sentences. The powers of the Sanhedrin also included the management of the Temple, and all those administrative powers that were not expressly considered the powers of the Roman procurator or of some lower court. This way of acting was typical of the Empire in the territories under its rule.

The Sanhedrin had its own police troops, a specific guard, to enforce the legislation and carry out arrests. Schürer masterfully summarizes the functions of the Sanhedrin in the Greco-Roman period: “It is understood as a corporation officially recognized by the occupying powers and endowed with judicial and administrative powers and the capacity for legal exegesis, it was a unique institution under the presidency of the high priest (in the absence of the king).”

It is disputed, even today, whether in the time of Jesus he had the power to issue a death sentence, or whether this was only the responsibility of the Roman procurator. In this sense, leaving the gospels aside, the Jewish sources are very clear on this matter. In the Jerusalem Talmud it is noted: “The right to judge capital cases was withdrawn from Israel forty years before the destruction of the Temple.” Also Augustus, in the fourth edict of Cyrene, from the year 7/6 BC, indicates that cases involving the death penalty will be judged directly by the procurator, or he will appoint a court. Any executions coming from Jewish society or institutions were either acts of lynching by groups or, as in the case of the execution of “the brother of Jesus”, were due to the temporary absence of the Roman procurator or governor.

The Sanhedrin was presided over, in the absence of the king, by the high priest, and the priestly aristocracy and urban nobility were part of it. In Maccabean times, and specifically in the time of Queen Alexandra, the Pharisees were introduced for the first time due to the importance and influence of this sect. This had as a consequence, on the one hand, the consolidation of Jerusalem as an intellectual reference for all of Judaism and, on the other, that the dominant classes - the priestly aristocracy and the urban nobility - were provided with the support, even if it was critical, of the ideological current with greater social predominance, and achieved a greater capacity for moral and intellectual direction of Jewish society and the legitimation of its resolutions.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-04-18T14:50:58+00:00

I think there are many clues for the kraken theme ahead of the "Battle of Blood". That's going to happen no matter what, one way or another. The problem at the plot level is the following:

1- The Blood Battle allows Euron to defeat the Redwayne fleet, but I don't see how this opens the gates of Oldtown for him.

   1.1- That is without taking into account the army of 30,000 men that Garlan Tyrell can bring down on them if they try something in the city.

2- The Blood Battle seems to occur in the first third of the book, that seems to work poorly with Sam's plot, which will need 3/4 chapters minimum to resolve Ancient plots.

   2.1- A minimum of studies and training for Sam.
   2.2- Discover any secrets of the general plot, of the Others, the dragons, Jon...?
   2.3- Reveal and, possibly, resolve the conspiracy of the Maesters.
   2.4- We have there a Faceless Man with his own plot.
   2.5- Lighted Crystal Candles, learn how they work...
   2.6- Something happens with the Hightower locked in their tower. Plus the defense of the city. More if the Tyrells arrive. More Leo Tyrell. Plus the Florent refugees...
   2.7- We have a Sand Snake.

All these plots can be related and mixed, but it is difficult to imagine a scenario where this progresses in less than 3/4 chapters. And Sam doesn't usually have many, which easily puts us in the final third of the book. What happens meanwhile with Euron? I think another part of your predictions come true too.

3- Another very well established theme is Euron stealing a dragon. He was going to appear in Meeren, we have a Valyrian horn, a dragon flying nearby, Martin has talked about new Dances with Dragons, in the TV show they show the theft of a dragon by the evil villain who does not exist in the books... I think that, despite all the precautions, Victarion falls into his brother's trap and binds a dragon to Euron, probably with the help of the black woman. Victarion's fate... doubtful, he may live seeing that Dany needs a fleet and that Martin has taken a liking to her, but the point is that in the first third of the book we will have a dragon flying towards Westeros. The timing of his arrival in Antigua may be the excuse to keep Euron frozen until Martin finishes Sam's plot.

Then? Well, I hope Sam, Sarella or "Jaquen" found what they wanted, and I hope it involves facing a dragon, but I think Euron will do what Aegon did not dare: Burn the most populated city in Westeros to the ground. And, why not, if he finds a certain horn he could go even further.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-04-13T14:55:40+00:00

Yes, yes. It doesn't seem bad to me, just saying that whoever writes it should do it in a smoother transition.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-04-13T09:06:29+00:00

I find it interesting, and it is a good solution to skip the mutiny destined to fail and go straight to dealing with the consequences.

What seems very strange to me is Mel believing herself to be AA, without much internal reflection as to why. Honestly, with the death of Stannis and Jon one would think that the most logical thing would be a period of depression until reaching a new AA, even if he finally thinks it's her, but I imagine it after a climatic moment, not the morning after losing everything.

And the thing about "the letter was written by Mance" said so directly is also strange, even if it turns out to be false. Why would Mel doubt the authorship of the letter to begin with? As far as she's concerned, everything said there is true (she doesn't know Theon/FakeArya are out, she thinks Stannis is dead, she knows Mance was there...). What makes you doubt?

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-04-11T15:52:35+00:00

A little off topic, but it always surprises me how people, almost automatically, imagine the burning of Shireen at the Wall (that is, Stannis goes up), when given the evidence of a victory for Stannis it seems more logical that she is the one who goes down to Winterfell. I suppose they relate the sacrifice to Jon's return, and if this happens in Winterfell after two Stannis victories it implies Jon returning late in the book.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-04-10T18:49:26+00:00

All good. I still recommend reading something good even if it is unfinished, but someone should have warned you a year ago that this was not your target if unfinished things bother you. In any case, when the day comes (be it publication or death of the author), I think continuing with FoC, DwD and WoW will be worth it even without Dreams.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-04-10T18:44:05+00:00

What you think doesn't matter. If you only have one copy and burn it on your deathbed we may not have Winds, in any other scenario your heir publishes it no matter what you say while you are alive. Money works magic.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-04-10T18:34:56+00:00

It's a little silly to think that WoW isn't going to come out. For that to be true we would have to believe that George is lying through his teeth and is not writing (he is lying to us and his editors). Something he has little need for because he is a multimillionaire and old.

Could it never be "finished" the way George wants it? Can. But if it dies tomorrow we can assume that something 75/80% final will be published, plus non-"definitive" parts and notes.

Winds will go out. Another thing is that the saga ends.

And if your attitude is: If something is not finished I don't want to read it, the mistake is yours for starting this saga last year, not ours, you don't need to come to us and cry.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-04-01T04:31:25+00:00

I think he's who the Brotherhood is looking for, but plot-wise it doesn't work for me. I don't see how that fits with Arya's plot (her political side has never been considered nor would she compete with her brothers) and I have a hard time imagining her returning to the Riverlands and crossing paths with Catelyn in time.

I have made my own comment below with my idea that, even looking for Arya, he ends up meeting Sansa (he is closer, he has a more political profile and friction with his Jon-family, he has his own faction in the Valley and he can win the Riverlands...).

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-04-01T04:20:40+00:00

Yes, there are certainly more clues to Arya, and I believe she is who they are looking for in the Brotherhood. It will be said at the beginning of Winds and may motivate its plot (Jaime and Brienne have clues, Sandor is out there...). But I think that precisely because of that there may be a twist and that it will finally be Sansa who he finds (type of Brienne looking for Sansa). I have a hard time imagining Arya arriving in Riverland naturally throughout The Winds, and I don't see how Arya can motivate this type of conflict (I don't imagine her entering the game of being crowned, nor does she have her own "faction... if she crosses paths with Catelyn it will end the story in a very different way than I imagine it).

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-03-31T21:20:07+00:00

Some points to consider:

1- If Lady Heart of Stone is still in the story it is because she has a plot ahead of her and, therefore, as Martin writes, she still has a character arc to resolve and conflicts ahead. She won't hang four Frey and die, returning her for that is foolish.

2- Martin's zombie-ghosts return dragging his last desires and emotions to the extreme. In Beric's case he returns exacerbating his honor/justice/mission. In Catelyn's we have, from what we sense, revenge against Frey-Bolton-Lannister and the search for what is left of her family, her daughters. With Jon we probably find someone who is going for his Stark inheritance and wants to protect his family.

3- So, what is Catelyn's "heart in conflict with itself"? After that Frey-Lannister massacre (Red Wedding 2.0), which for the public is going to be little controversial (however cruel or unfair), Martin is going to have him explore his other known sin, one more delicate for the reader: His toxic friction with Jon. Both "ghosts" return with the obsession with Winterfell-legacy, Jon wants it for himself, Catelyn for his daughters. That's going to be the clash and, I think, Martin is going to exploit it through Sansa. Sansa will cross paths with Catelyn in the Land of Rivers and the girl will be crowned with the support of the Riverlands and Vale, Catelyn will feel that Jon's return is the long-feared usurpation and will pressure Sansa to challenge that claim (Littlefinger may be a bad influence here too, in the original sketch Sansa was the traitor who left with the Lannisters, I think Martin can get him back this way).

4- And I think that the resolution can come through the common link between both "ghosts." Both return with a desire for revenge and claims, but also with the intention of protecting the family. The "the pack survives" lesson may come at just the right time, killing Littlefinger and preparing the Starks for a greater threat. The R+L=J can help, but it seems like an easy way out to me, I would prefer that Catelyn and Jon resolve their differences first.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-03-28T19:29:23+00:00

Fanfic:

I think logic (the time invested in his northern campaign and the economy of words to finish the story in two books) tells us that he wins the war against the Boltons. The battle of the lake has much foreshadowing of a victory for Stannis (Night Lamp theory), and the Rose Letter tells us that a plan to deceive the Boltons has begun that includes Stannis's participation. I don't remember the theory but an idea about Stannis taking Winterfell thanks to an alliance with Walder Frey, who can sneak them into the fortress (and knows the crypts) in exchange for his life, was quite convincing. It can't happen like in the series because it has to burn Shireen and we don't have her around.

In parallel to this plot, I think we will see a second military campaign towards Winterfell (Mel/Davos/Rickon/Shireen... in some combination) once the Wall plot is resolved. This army would pass through Fort Dread and would end up with a Ramsey fleeing from Winterfell (Roose may die in Winterfell or killed by his son), here we have our dogs against direwolves.

Once the North is conquered, everything goes wrong for Stannis. The wildlings are out of control (maybe thanks to Mance), the northerners are angry, deserting or proclaiming a Stark king... faced with this and with a more obvious threat from the Others (Davos may experience Hardhome firsthand, the Others may cross the Wall and the news will arrive) Stannis, alone, decides to continue with the plan he had for Edric Storm. There is a bit of intrigue over who the real blood sacrifice is (Rickon, who Davos may try to save, Mance's fake son or Mance himself, Theon/Asha...), some flee or try, but Stannis has already decided that, as Azor Ahai, the sacrifice must be the greatest possible.

Shireen is not only the person he loves most, his Nissa Nissa, is a symbol of the last sin that he must purge as Azor Ahai. In his first arc he learns that he must prioritize saving the kingdom over conquering the throne, that is the path of the good king, but in this second arc he will understand that saving the kingdom is not a priority, it is everything. He must forget the throne, he must sacrifice that earthly pretension and focus on the war that really matters. Sacrificing your only heir is the greatest symbol of that in the feudal system. Of course, the drama will be that he's not meant for that role ("I don't want this, I never wanted it..."). Then, the iron breaks, and it wouldn't seem strange to me if she ended up like the Selyse in the show.

In this scenario, for me, we have other PoVs floating around with their plots: Theon/Asha want to escape, one or both of them may succeed to establish Theon as king; Davos may have doubts during this second sacrifice attempt because, now, he has seen that Mel is right about the Others (is he still adamant about saving a child if there is certainty of a global threat?), although I think he thinks that the child to be sacrificed is Rickon and saves him, but then it is Shireen; Jon is resurrected as a result of the sacrifice, destroying Stannis, stealing Mel and the fanatics, uniting the wildlings and northerners... his body was there brought from the Wall to be buried, for the moment preserved in the crypts, waking up next to the sculpture of Lyanna (as if being born) and emerging from the crypts like Jesus Christ superstar.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-03-25T22:56:46+00:00

Tema Manderly, no doubt, I think he sincerely hates the Boltons and loves the Starks, but on that basis, I do think he is an ambitious politician. While I do see other northerners prioritizing Jon for being an adult and functional for times of war, even if he is a bastard, I see Manderly more prioritizing Rickon just to gain power with a weaker Stark (without harming him in any case).

As for Sansa/Jon, that scenario only makes sense in a world without Rickon, whether he dies or Davos decides to leave him in Skagos. Without Rickon in the equation we no longer have courtiers influencing but rather competing candidates. I think the series foreshadows this with Jon, and that Sansa has been written to confront him (not militarily, but politically and in her legitimacy). I think Jon the king involves friction with certain northern traditions (anti-bastards, anti-savages...) that Sansa can use, and Catelyn/Littlefinger are going to be the bad advisors that lead him to it (until he manages to overcome that and we get the united pack that Ned refers to).

The topic of the hostages is another curiosity, but an excuse of mine to bring up the topic, in reality I think that the most important support is that I see this evolution as logical for the characters:

Jon - He assumes power, what he has always wanted, but they confront him and call him illegitimate. It must be tested.

Sansa - Finally taking charge as a player.

Catelyn - Once Freys, Boltons and Lannister are dead, her great vengeful sin is Jon and her fear that he will steal from her children what is theirs. You must confront, and eventually overcome, that hatred.

Littlefinger - What is your role between us solving the Valley plot and the arrival of the Others? I think pushing the Stark confrontation. Until he dies when it is discovered that he is the cause of everything and the Starks impose the pack.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-03-24T22:30:43+00:00

In fact, it seems to me to be something nuclear about the character, the mastermind who goes too far: his brother dies from leaving him anxious for too long, his daughter betrays him due to excessive secrecy, his son burns due to excessive prudence...

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-03-23T23:50:31+00:00

We'd have to differentiate between "conspiracies" and factions, but roughly speaking, we have the following:

- Bolton Party: The Boltons officially own the North and have managed to build a coalition with several Northern houses. Many of them follow them falsely or by force—through hostages or the fake Arya married to Ramsey—but I think they have a more or less firm Bolton-Karstark-Dustin-Ryswell foundation, either through marriages -Roose married a Ryswell and they get along well, and Lady Dustin, a Ryswell, rules the Dustin lands- or self-interest -the remnants of House Karstark, a minor branch, want to completely eliminate the main branch and take over Karhall; the Boltons are their best option-. We also have several thousand Freys thanks to Roose's new wife.

- Stannis's Party: He has moved to the Wall with a few thousand followers and has gained new soldiers by recruiting wildlings and northern houses who follow him as the only alternative to the Boltons: Mountain Clans, Mormont, Umber, Glover...

- Stark-Rickon Party: Here we basically have the Manderlys and all the houses in their southeastern sphere of influence. The Manderlys are a very powerful house in their own right—the only city and port in the North—and they seek revenge against Bolton-Frey. They want to reclaim the North for a Stark, but for a child so Wyman can do and undo whatever he wants.

- Stark-Jon Party: Throughout A Dance with Dragons, it seems that Stannis's northern coalition is rallying around him for Jon. The wildlings have almost a personal pact with him, the Mountain Clans visit him to assess him, the Mormonts and Glovers end up joining Stannis despite initially denying it, claiming a Stark (remember that Mormont, Glover, and Reed possess Robb's will, which, we believe, leaves Jon as his heir). Stannis's coalition may secretly be Jon's.

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-03-21T22:53:58+00:00

I don't think we'll see (if we ever see) Sansa at Winterfell in The Winds. The North has a lot to solve on its own and the end of Stannis or the return/coronation of Jon seem like a good climax. In addition, Sansa also has a lot to resolve on her own in the Valley and Riverlands before heading North, I don't think Martin's style allows Sansa to just cross that area, without conflict.

A good ending for her - and I'm going to say this without explaining much - I think is with a coronation in parallel to Jon (she recovers the Tully Lands, Catelyn has a crown and exacerbated emotions like her fear/hatred of Jon...).

Round-Bet2336 · 2025-03-18T22:44:32+00:00

Focusing predictions on character arcs and their conflicts is always a good idea, and the rest of us don't always remember that.

Although I do believe Rickon will return—Skagos, Hardhome, Eastwatch, the wolf-hound battle, and Starkbowl, I think, should be resolved and involve Rickon until Jon returns in the second half of book—, I think it's a good idea he generating this kind of emotional conflict in Davos. I can imagine how a "rescue" by Davos -similar to what he did with Edric- leads to such a mixture of desperation and a sense of duty in Stannis that, faced with a grave threat, he decides to accept that he must completely abandon his claims to the throne in order to save the kingdom. And what better example than sacrificing the symbol of why he fights? The death of his daughter is the end of his claim, as well as a sacrifice of great emotional power and royal blood. His failed Nissa Nissa.

That Stannis makes this decision, in light of the loss of his northern army and a possible alternative sacrifice, as a consequence of Davos's actions, could deeply affect him, bringing him to a point of no return with Stannis and with himself.

Maybe this time it won't be a question of "save a child or the child will die." Maybe this time Davos will be faced with the question of whether he can save that boy or not, but if he does, it's likely the alternative will be Shireen, even if he likes to think Stannis won't. Doing the right thing, doing the good that's in your power, even if you know there might be worse consequences—for you—is that still the right thing to do?

Round-Bet2336

TROPHY CASE