I used to joke about an Arya & The Hound sitcom, but now I can joke about Tyrion & Varys, pirates on the high seas! Season five is entering uncharted waters.
I’ve been wondering what will happen at the Wall in Season 5. It’s practically a foregone conclusion that once Thorne is dead or no longer able to lead (is he dead now?) Jon Snow will become the new Lord Commander. Stannis will be accepting of that, since he sees the Starks as allies. And I’m certain there will be an interesting repartee between Melisandre and Jon Snow. But what really interests me is what Melisandre is going to do.
I’m not sure how this whole “power of king’s blood” thing of hers works. Obviously being the illegitimate son of a king is sufficient, as is being the brother of a king who later declares himself king. What does that mean for Aemon, who was in line to be king, but abdicated and is the brother of a king? What does that mean for Mance, who is certainly a king in his own right? And what does it mean for Jon Snow, who is the brother of a king and possibly the son of the former heir to the throne? Mel’s leeches are going to be exhausted! In any case, Mel, Stannis and Jon’s decisions about blood sacrifices and other Lord of Light type goings on will be enlightening to watch.
It’s good that Jon has grown up and hopefully built up some immunity to pretty gingers. I can easily see Mel attempting to seduce Jon (or actually seducing him), but Jon ending up opposing her plans and her Lord of Light BS once he gets his wits about him. He's too much like Ned. And Davos.
Oh, and what do you do with 100,000 wildlings who want to head south? Unless Stannis somehow convinces them to fight White Walkers with him (seriously unlikely) or burns them all, I don't see how the series can deal with them. They're not just going to go back home. But if they're allowed through the Wall, they'll plunder everything they come across as they head south. So I'm at a loss. Maybe Mel can convince them to all declare their royal heritage and screw every last one of them.
It’s good that Jon has grown up and hopefully built up some immunity to pretty gingers. I can easily see Mel attempting to seduce Jon (or actually seducing him), but Jon ending up opposing her plans and her Lord of Light BS once he gets his wits about him. He's too much like Ned. And Davos.
Laughed at the ginger minge immunity! Cool read. And I agree, there's too much Ned in that boy. Too much in Robb too. But you need characters like those. It somehow becomes a certain standard to measure all the rest to. In a good way.
Obviously we’re going to be introduced to Dorne this coming season. It’s clear that Danaerys is staying on her side of the Narrow Sea for now, so she won’t be the source of the drama in Dorne. I suppose the Iron Born could be involved with the Dornish, but I doubt it at this point. I think the only possibility beyond the obvious confrontation with the Lannisters is an alliance between the Bank of Braavos and Dorne. In any case, it’s clear that next season we’re looking at Episode V: The Dornish Strike Back. And they’re not necessarily the just and enlightened Dornish we’ve been led to believe.
I think I have a feel for what the Dornish are like, but I also wonder whether the picture Oberyn painted was truly the reality. I think Oberyn’s idealistic portrayal of the Dornish was in part a ploy to assuage the fears of the Lannisters when he arrived in King’s Landing. There is no doubt some truth there, but how much? I do believe that they are more socially liberal than the parts of the Seven Kingdoms we’ve seen (but maybe not High Garden?). And I believe Oberyn’s assurances that they will not punish Myrcella…or at least not in the way a Lannister would. But beyond that, I don’t believe they’re as tolerant and enlightened as Oberyn would like to think. There’s too much evidence that belies his words.
And just as interesting will be to see what it is about the Dornish that allowed them to withstand the dragon attacks that took out Harrenhall and the Seven Kingdoms. I would assume they had either architectural or magical defenses; something powerful enough to withstand dragons. The only other option would be an offensive weapon that made an assault on Dorne too risky for the Targaeryans. Either could be helpful against their frosty northern enemy.
More thoughts later, but I wanted to share my suspicions about Oberyn’s countrymen and questions about their strength. And since you’re all filthy, Sullied people, you don’t need to respond.
I've been thinking about Arya, and what Bravos has in store for her. I don't think she'll have any trouble finding the Faceless Men once she arrives, but I'm sure she won't find what she expects. Arya's young, brash and impatient. She wants to learn the skills she needs to cross names off her list, and then she wants to get down to business. I'm quite sure the Faceless Men don't just train people and send them on their way to do as they please. They have an investment in the people in their ranks, and they want to see a return on that investment. They also have a reputation to uphold, and letting someone like Arya run amok in Westeros before she is ready jeopardizes that reputation. So I'm sure that just as with an apprentice in any other trade, there's a period where Arya has to do their work instead of pursuing her own goals. It'll be hard for her. I'm not sure a storyline like that will be interesting, to be honest. Let's hope they throw in Syrio or Jaqen (or Jorah?!) to liven things up. The ideal would be for her to cross paths with Davos, since he would be such an amazing father figure for her, but that won't happen. It's HBO, not Disney.
Ramsay/Reek should be interesting, especially because they're heading to Winterfell. It's a shame nobody from Theon's former life will be there, but I do wonder whether being in familiar surroundings will jar Theon out of his Reekness on any level. More likely, Ramsay will use the surroundings as an opportunity to destroy whatever is left of Theon.
I'm hoping for a showdown between the Boltons and Stannis. The Boltons have finally earned a position of power in the North, and Stannis has inserted himself at the Wall. I think the big question is whether Roose Bolton has the wisdom to see the larger picture. He’s not Ramsay, but we’ve seen that Roose prefers brute force and expediency to finesse and patience. I don’t have a feel for whether he will see the threat from the North for what it is. I think he’s more likely to see Stannis as the threat and act accordingly. Whether or not they work towards their common interests for a while, it's got to end badly. Bolton needs time to consolidate power and set preparations to survive a long winter. Surely the food stores were destroyed along with everything else. He needs a truce to give him that time. What I want to see is Ramsay and Reek heading north to parlay with Stannis. And that's only because I want to see Jon's reaction and Mel's smirk when they meet Reek.
Good stuff BaS! I'm excited to see what D&D will do and i'm even more convinced that they will steer even further from the books as the uncharted territory of unpublished content gets closer, and i believe this is the season where the show surpasses the books. This is going to be awesome.
I cannot wait to see what happens with Sansa in the Vale. No idea if she'll really strike a partnership up with LF. And if she really does, will she play him, or will he play her?! Because let's face it that won't end amicably long term. Damn, Martin let us all Unsullied on THAT one!
Basi, you think Stannis will negotiate with the Boltons?
I cannot wait to see what happens with Sansa in the Vale. No idea if she'll really strike a partnership up with LF. And if she really does, will she play him, or will he play her?! Because let's face it that won't end amicably long term. Damn, Martin let us all Unsullied on THAT one!
Basi, you think Stannis will negotiate with the Boltons?
I'm looking forward to it too. Sansa thinks she's smart enough to play LF's game, but I'm not sure she's up to it. The fallout could be amazing. I don't have any feel for how things will go, but I'm thinking LF is going down.
No chance that Stannis would give Bolton the time of day. Mel may try to convince him, for the sake of meeting a common goal. I don't think Stannis will go for it. And Jon Snow's reaction would be priceless. It's not gonna happen.
Since Sansa is officially past the books here is what I think will happen, Littlefinger will off Robin Arryn soon as possible as he is annoying and an idiot, thereby becoming the ruler of the Vale.
Stannis is one stubborn sumbitch, and now that he has a brand spankin' new army he won't bow down to anyone.
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"Robert was never the same after he put on that crown. Some men are like swords, made for fighting. Hang them up and they go to rust.” -DN
I can't wait for us all to be speculating together. 
