Everything points to Daenarys being the ultimate winner of the game of thrones. She is the real Azor Ahai reborn, her dragons are proof of that. Almost all the pieces are moving towards her in Mereen, her fleet in Victarion Greyjoy, Cavalry in the Dothraki which she will command in book 6, Dorne in Quentyn Martell, Tyrion to help her rule her cities, the freedmen of the major cities are all waiting for her to march west, she already has the best infantry force in the world in the Unsullied.
I believe that in the final 2 books of a song of ice and fire, the white walkers will finally attack the wall and only the eventual return of Daenarys and her forces will turn the tide and save the world
The current state of things make this a probable ending, though I wouldn't like it. It suggests that the Targaryens are superior (due to their magic and dragons) and that they were made to rule (that it's in their blood). Danaerys has good intentions, but she has so many faults:
- her sense of inborn entitlement to the Throne (after her father screwed up terribly teaching us once again that one's blood doen't make a convincing case for entitlement toleadership; supposing leadership is actually necessary) - her eagerness to rule, unlike the much more likeable Jon Snow or even Stannis who acts out of a perceived duty much rather than lust for the position; - dishonourable behaviour: the way she recruited the Unsullied, pillaging places to buy her an army/fleet to reach Westeros, allowing the Shavepate to torture (rape?) a wineseller's daughters in front of their father without caring a whit whether they were actually guilty; - mediocre leadership skills, up to the point that she needs to enter into an arranged marriage in order not to lose her rule over the City of Meereen: if she can't rule a city why is she so confident that she should rule entire Westeros?; - bad judgement: walking into fire, needlessly leading her people through a blistering and seemingly endless desert without knowing what to expect at the end of it or even whether they'll make it through the desert, entering the House of the Undying. The only reason she's still alive is that she's has been "luckier" than all the Starks in history combined.
I'm not saying that others such as Jon, Stannis or Tyrion are without fault, but I don't see either why she should be the obvious choice to rule Westeros. I do like that she's a woman, and very influential one at that.
In all seriousness, I'd have taken Robb over everyone. Since he was not an option I went with my boy Jon.
Robb got screwed by his choices with women (a common mistake) but aside from that he was not only successful but a just ruler, which is far, far more important.
Robb was a successful tactician but a poor strategist. He's not entirely unlike his father in that respect. He won every battle but lost the war. Both were too honourable and inflexible to play the Game of Thrones well.
(Not necessarily a criticism - GRRM presents a Machiavellian world. A truly good, morally inflexible person will always struggle in one.)
According to the prophecy recounted by Melisandre, after a long summer, Azor Ahai will be reborn amidst smoke and salt wielding the flaming sword Lightbringer to defend the world from R'hllor's nemesis, the Others (White Walkers).
This matches up almost perfectly with:
Jon Snow Jon's wounds smoke while Bowen Marsh cries, providing the prophesized salt, and Ser Patrek's bloody, star laden heraldry is in the air above. When Melisandre looks into her fires for Azor Ahai, she sees only things to do with Jon or snow. It's almost funny how she get frustrated because she's sure she should be seeing Stannis. Jon Snow has a dream where he fights the Others with a red sword burning in his hand. If having the Blood of the Dragon is a prerequisite, if Jon's father is truly Rhaegar, Jon would satisfy that prerequisite. He would be the grandson of Aerys and Rhaella and thus come from their line. Jon chose his duty to the Night's Watch over his love for Ygritte. He indirectly caused her death by warning Castle Black of the incoming wildling raid. Similar to Azor Ahai sacrificing Nissa Nissa to complete Lightbringer.
Who should sit on the Iron Throne? Sarevok of course.
In all seriousness, Daenerys is the most interesting character in the series.
Everyone else is some random or political person, while Daenerys is like "I HAVE DRAGONS. Plus I'm immune to fire. Did I say that I HAVE FREAKING DRAGONS?!"
If she's killed off, I pretty lose the biggest reason to watch the show.
Who should sit on the Iron Throne? Sarevok of course.
In all seriousness, Daenerys is the most interesting character in the series.
Everyone else is some random or political person, while Daenerys is like "I HAVE DRAGONS. Plus I'm immune to fire. Did I say that I HAVE FREAKING DRAGONS?!"
If she's killed off, I pretty lose the biggest reason to watch the show.
I think if she dies it will be at the end of the series. She'll either win and the series will end or she'll die and the series will end.
Whoops, I meant to vote for Daenarys, not Cersei. I *hate* Cersei. LOL, what a misclick! That's the first time I ever misclicked the wrong poll option.
I just saw Season 3, episode 4 last night, where
Daenarys uses the Unsullied and her dragons to raze the slaver city to the ground. I actually cheered aloud and started laughing with glee when she ordered the one dragon to fry the slaver lord. The shot at the end of her three dragons flying above her army of 8,000 was like, the coolest thing I've ever seen. GoT>LoTR.
Nobody, because monarchy is terrible and so is pretty much everyone in GoT.
It'll probably be Daenerys, because she's a special and unique snowflake and also there has to be some sort of payoff for an eternity of her wandering around being irrelevant to the rest of the plot.
Stannis of course, a just and honourable King, and Robert's one true heir after the Baratheons overthrew the tyrannical Targaeryens.
I came back to necro this topic midway through tonight's episode of GoTs just to see if anyone picked this motherf@cker to sit on the throne and see how their feelings have changed (if they are not book readers, presumably). Needless to say I was shocked enough.
I'm guessing @Blackraven would have a new candidate. I used to like Stannis but now I think his campaign has gone... up in flames.
I imagine the morale of his men would suffer due to his actions. Look forward to seeing that unfold, hopefully in the remainder of this episode.
I say Littlefinger, with Tyrion as a close second choice because well they are both incredibly intelligent, they are both masters of the game, "with Littlefinger being the better player" and either would most probably make for the best ruler Westeros could hope for.
On a side note: I can still not fathom the popularity for the incredibility inbred, possibly insane, completely useless, child queen that is Daenerys Targaryen. The women is a moron, but hey I'll chock it up to the same reason why in real life people like Kanye and Kim are famous.
Before you start, yes she has DRAGONS!!!!! what does she do will her dragons? ..... Exactly bugger all that's what, besides locking them for being dragons. She is not only a moron, but also a huge douche. She never even tries to train her dragons, what did she think was gonna happen?
I say Littlefinger, with Tyrion as a close second choice because well they are both incredibly intelligent, they are both masters of the game, "with Littlefinger being the better player" and either would most probably make for the best ruler Westeros could hope for.
On a side note: I can still not fathom the popularity for the incredibility inbred, possibly insane, completely useless, child queen that is Daenerys Targaryen. The women is a moron, but hey I'll chock it up to the same reason why in real life people like Kanye and Kim are famous.
Before you start, yes she has DRAGONS!!!!! what does she do will her dragons? ..... Exactly bugger all that's what, besides locking them for being dragons. She is not only a moron, but also a huge douche. She never even tries to train her dragons, what did she think was gonna happen?
She got to ride one last night, which gives her major points in badassery.
It's kinda sad though, after what the tv show writers did to Stannis and made everyone hate him. Now the only runner in the race with any amount of goodness in her is Daeny, which is a shame. Variety, people. I liked Stannis before last night; I thought he was a real contender. Not anymore--now I've only got Daeny to root for, and you're right, she's definitely made some stupid decisions over this season.
Well now that the TV show is no longer following the books, and thus any character could now magically appear, I now instead pick @Bengoshi. Long may he reign
I vote for Ned Stark. I think he had the best attitude about the whole thing.
as far as it goes, Tyrion is my favorite and I think he would do a good job. But I think that he is more of a 'Hand' than a King. I think that Danni has the best shot at it. Three fire breathing dragons should be able to handle the White walkers quite nicely, and she is shaping up to be quite the ruler. And if she keeps Tyrion by her side, she couldn't go wrong.
Damn I hate I can't undo my vote. Just remembered Euron Greyjoy the crow's eye. Don't know how I forgot about him, he quickly became my one of my favorite characters in the books. Really should reread those, just so I can remember whats cannon. The man captains "the silent" a ship crewed completely by mutes, mutes because Euron ripped out all their tongues. He killed Warlock stole their magic brew and now has awesome blue lips and also visions.
“ We are the ironborn, and once we were conquerors. Our writ ran everywhere the sound of the waves was heard. My brother would have be content with the cold and dismal north, my niece with even less ... but I shall give you Lannisport. Highgarden. The Arbor. Oldtown. The riverlands and the Reach, the kingswood and the rainwood, Dorne and the marches, the Mountains of the Moon and the Vale of Arryn, Tarth and the Stepstones. I say we take it all! I say, we take Westeros. ”
– Euron, at the kingsmoot
Sadly I he hasn't been cast as far as I know, so all I can do is hope he and the rest of his brothers pop up at some point.
I do not know who will be sitting on the IRON throne. But what I know is that person will sure as hell gonna have some serious haemorrhoid issues within his or her royal tenure.
Protip: a slime or pudding throne would be way healthier. And warmer to boot.
I came back to necro this topic midway through tonight's episode of GoTs just to see if anyone picked this motherf@cker to sit on the throne and see how their feelings have changed (if they are not book readers, presumably). Needless to say I was shocked enough.
Haven't seen the ep yet, but I've had it spoiled for me. I love Stannis, and I think I'm just going to pretend it didn't happen since
it didn't in the books (although it still might) and is probably the biggest departure so far.
So I'm still rooting for him, although I suspect the who will win the throne question will be phased out by the White walkers soon.
@booinyoureyes, I haven't seen any of this season's episodes yet, but just got spoilered anyway. Stannis' action isn't kingly at all, and yes, it makes someone like Jon or Tyrion a more suitable king. The problem is: this isn't Stannis... not GRRM's Stannis, who said "Half my army is made up of unbelievers. I will have no burnings. Pray harder" when begged to burn an unbeliever to appease R'hllor. Apparently the books were too boring for the TV show makers to adhere to, which I think is a shame.
@TheElf - my biggest problem with Stannis is not the horrible thing that happened in the most recent episode (although that was shocking and horrible). It's the fact that he is NOT in control in any way, shape or form. He is this pathetic pawn who is manipulated at every turn by another entity. And it is totally shameless how easily he is swayed and made blind to the fact that he is not elevating HIS destiny, but hers.
A vote for him is a vote basically for 'The power behind the throne' as he is not his own man. Plus
That's how I saw him at first too, but he's certainly grown on me. He's maybe my favorite character now. I think he's been a great depiction of the sort of person that almost no one would like in real life (but would love in fiction) but really would probably be the best thing for the kingdom. I know people complain about GRRM killing off all their faves, I really haven't minded any of the deaths so far, but if this one happens in book 6 I think I might get fan rage.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I really liked his personality and how he is written. But that doesn't change my point above. At every single choice he has made, it was the red witch who coerced him into it. This great destiny that he is supposed to have, is all her manipulating him up to it. This charge for Winterfell was her doing and he would have known better had she not convinced him to do it. If left to his own devices, he would have never left his castle and certainly would not now be the power that he is today.
Oh, her magical powers are real (within the context of the story). Certainly her 'plan' has the backing of some REALLY effective powers, but she is basically using him as a pawn and making HIM pay the price for everything.
And once he wins (always assuming that he does), she will have no more need of him. I bet his life expectancy is on the short side once that happens. Or maybe she will keep him around as a puppet king?
As far as the thread is concerned, I think that the power behind Stannis (if not the man himself) is rivaled only by Danni's Dragons. Funny how they both have 'anni' in the middle of their names. Coincidence?
I'm liking Stannis a lot more in the show than in the books, yes he did a bad thing last ep, but what were his other options? Ser Onion knight said it himself, they didn't have enough food to make the trip back to Castle Black and they had no chance of taking Winterfell with the storm going and all. So do a terrible thing, that gives you a chance at victory or everybody freezes to death. Not much of a choice if you ask me.
More importantly where is my Kingsmoot??????
Also been wondering where are Irri and Jhiqui, also the bloodriders?
Edit: never mind, seems Jhiqui vanished and they killed Irri ages ago.
Comments
- her sense of inborn entitlement to the Throne (after her father screwed up terribly teaching us once again that one's blood doen't make a convincing case for entitlement toleadership; supposing leadership is actually necessary)
- her eagerness to rule, unlike the much more likeable Jon Snow or even Stannis who acts out of a perceived duty much rather than lust for the position;
- dishonourable behaviour: the way she recruited the Unsullied, pillaging places to buy her an army/fleet to reach Westeros, allowing the Shavepate to torture (rape?) a wineseller's daughters in front of their father without caring a whit whether they were actually guilty;
- mediocre leadership skills, up to the point that she needs to enter into an arranged marriage in order not to lose her rule over the City of Meereen: if she can't rule a city why is she so confident that she should rule entire Westeros?;
- bad judgement: walking into fire, needlessly leading her people through a blistering and seemingly endless desert without knowing what to expect at the end of it or even whether they'll make it through the desert, entering the House of the Undying. The only reason she's still alive is that she's has been "luckier" than all the Starks in history combined.
I'm not saying that others such as Jon, Stannis or Tyrion are without fault, but I don't see either why she should be the obvious choice to rule Westeros. I do like that she's a woman, and very influential one at that.
Robb got screwed by his choices with women (a common mistake) but aside from that he was not only successful but a just ruler, which is far, far more important.
(Not necessarily a criticism - GRRM presents a Machiavellian world. A truly good, morally inflexible person will always struggle in one.)
According to the prophecy recounted by Melisandre, after a long summer, Azor Ahai will be reborn amidst smoke and salt wielding the flaming sword Lightbringer to defend the world from R'hllor's nemesis, the Others (White Walkers).
This matches up almost perfectly with:
Jon Snow
Jon's wounds smoke while Bowen Marsh cries, providing the prophesized salt, and Ser Patrek's bloody, star laden heraldry is in the air above.
When Melisandre looks into her fires for Azor Ahai, she sees only things to do with Jon or snow. It's almost funny how she get frustrated because she's sure she should be seeing Stannis.
Jon Snow has a dream where he fights the Others with a red sword burning in his hand.
If having the Blood of the Dragon is a prerequisite, if Jon's father is truly Rhaegar, Jon would satisfy that prerequisite. He would be the grandson of Aerys and Rhaella and thus come from their line.
Jon chose his duty to the Night's Watch over his love for Ygritte. He indirectly caused her death by warning Castle Black of the incoming wildling raid. Similar to Azor Ahai sacrificing Nissa Nissa to complete Lightbringer.
Further Conjecturing:
http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/96929-an-analysis-of-the-prophecies-concerning-azor-ahai-and-the-prince-that-was-promised-spoilers-books-1-5long-post/
Wait.
In all seriousness, Daenerys is the most interesting character in the series.
Everyone else is some random or political person, while Daenerys is like "I HAVE DRAGONS. Plus I'm immune to fire. Did I say that I HAVE FREAKING DRAGONS?!"
If she's killed off, I pretty lose the biggest reason to watch the show.
I just saw Season 3, episode 4 last night, where
It'll probably be Daenerys, because she's a special and unique snowflake and also there has to be some sort of payoff for an eternity of her wandering around being irrelevant to the rest of the plot.
I'm guessing @Blackraven would have a new candidate. I used to like Stannis but now I think his campaign has gone... up in flames.
I imagine the morale of his men would suffer due to his actions. Look forward to seeing that unfold, hopefully in the remainder of this episode.
On a side note:
I can still not fathom the popularity for the incredibility inbred, possibly insane, completely useless, child queen that is Daenerys Targaryen. The women is a moron, but hey I'll chock it up to the same reason why in real life people like Kanye and Kim are famous.
Before you start, yes she has DRAGONS!!!!!
what does she do will her dragons?
.....
Exactly bugger all that's what, besides locking them for being dragons. She is not only a moron, but also a huge douche.
She never even tries to train her dragons, what did she think was gonna happen?
It's kinda sad though, after what the tv show writers did to Stannis and made everyone hate him. Now the only runner in the race with any amount of goodness in her is Daeny, which is a shame. Variety, people. I liked Stannis before last night; I thought he was a real contender. Not anymore--now I've only got Daeny to root for, and you're right, she's definitely made some stupid decisions over this season.
as far as it goes, Tyrion is my favorite and I think he would do a good job. But I think that he is more of a 'Hand' than a King. I think that Danni has the best shot at it. Three fire breathing dragons should be able to handle the White walkers quite nicely, and she is shaping up to be quite the ruler. And if she keeps Tyrion by her side, she couldn't go wrong.
The man captains "the silent" a ship crewed completely by mutes, mutes because Euron ripped out all their tongues.
He killed Warlock stole their magic brew and now has awesome blue lips and also visions.
“ We are the ironborn, and once we were conquerors. Our writ ran everywhere the sound of the waves was heard. My brother would have be content with the cold and dismal north, my niece with even less ... but I shall give you Lannisport. Highgarden. The Arbor. Oldtown. The riverlands and the Reach, the kingswood and the rainwood, Dorne and the marches, the Mountains of the Moon and the Vale of Arryn, Tarth and the Stepstones. I say we take it all! I say, we take Westeros. ”
– Euron, at the kingsmoot
Sadly I he hasn't been cast as far as I know, so all I can do is hope he and the rest of his brothers pop up at some point.
Protip: a slime or pudding throne would be way healthier. And warmer to boot.
So I'm still rooting for him, although I suspect the who will win the throne question will be phased out by the White walkers soon.
Stannis' action isn't kingly at all, and yes, it makes someone like Jon or Tyrion a more suitable king.
The problem is: this isn't Stannis... not GRRM's Stannis, who said "Half my army is made up of unbelievers. I will have no burnings. Pray harder" when begged to burn an unbeliever to appease R'hllor.
Apparently the books were too boring for the TV show makers to adhere to, which I think is a shame.
A vote for him is a vote basically for 'The power behind the throne' as he is not his own man. Plus
Oh, her magical powers are real (within the context of the story). Certainly her 'plan' has the backing of some REALLY effective powers, but she is basically using him as a pawn and making HIM pay the price for everything.
And once he wins (always assuming that he does), she will have no more need of him. I bet his life expectancy is on the short side once that happens. Or maybe she will keep him around as a puppet king?
As far as the thread is concerned, I think that the power behind Stannis (if not the man himself) is rivaled only by Danni's Dragons. Funny how they both have 'anni' in the middle of their names. Coincidence?
More importantly where is my Kingsmoot??????
Also been wondering where are Irri and Jhiqui, also the bloodriders?
Edit: never mind, seems Jhiqui vanished and they killed Irri ages ago.