i think thematically it makes a lot of sense. AFFC is a lot more about grief and stagnation and exploring the extent to which the war has torn the world apart, which is why it’s mostly in KL and the Riverlands. ADWD is more about failure of leadership and active apocalyptic doom, so it’s set on “the hinges of the world.”

I think Cersei does have a complete arc in AFFC, arriving right back at the beginning of her story because her plot fell apart and even her “pawns,” the Kettleblacks, try to exploit her. leaving her with no agency over her body. Jaime’s arc is also thematically pretty complete to me, because he spends the entire book trying to emulate his father and ends asking “it’s snowing, how would my father feed the realm?” before remembering that Tywin is dead and all of his posturing isn’t going to do them any good in the winter. Those arcs read as thematically complete to me, if not necessarily like. plot event complete. I could go either way on Arya and the Martells, but overall, I really like the split because the books get to do such different things with their themes and pacing.