SPOILER WARNING



src: panicmoon

SPOILER WARNING: This blog contains spoilers from the Song of Ice and Fire books and the Game of Thrones TV series. Please exit this page immediately if you do not want to ruin the show/books for yourself. Please be considerate of others who do not want to be spoiled before sharing what is mentioned here.

If these theories turn out to be what George R. R. Martin has planned, it might ruin the ending for some people. Don't let it spread like wildfire over the internet like other theories *cough*R+L=J*cough*. I don't intend to spread this blog around to the multitudes just so I can look like the smarty pants who knows everything about everything on ASOIAF. I just put this on the web so that those who really, really couldn't wait for answers could find them and have hope.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The White Lion in the Tall Grass

src: ybee
"A white lion ran through grass taller than a man." (Page 531, A Clash of Kings)
In the last set of visions in the House of the Undying, Daenerys sees images of her past and future. Before the mentioning of the white lion, she sees images of things that actually happened like the shadows dancing in the tent, her house in Braavos, and the man being dragged by the horse. After the mentioning of the white lion, she sees a line of naked crones bowing before and ten thousand slaves reaching out to her calling her "Mother!" Those who have read past A Storm of Swords knows that the last vision actually comes to pass. The vision of the naked crones is yet to happen, but it seems that this last set of visions depicts Daenerys's past, present, and future or at least just her past and future.

We might speculate, if the white lion is symbolic of something from the present or future, that a Lannister will meet Daenerys and they will be in disguise. The Lannister could be Tyrion, since we know that he is traveling to Meereen to find Daenerys or it could be Jaime because he wore white armor. These speculations could very well be true. However, even though lions are the Lannister's sigil, their lions are gold and not white.

The white lion might even simply represent what happened in the past, when Drogo hunted the lion. It may not tell us anything of the present or future at all.

To relate this post to Khal Drogo's return, I am going to say that vision of the white lion running through the tall grass shows what is happening Dany's present, that her "white lion" is with her, but hidden in the "tall grass" or disguised.
It was Drogo who had given her the pelt she wore, the head and hide of hrakkar, the white lion of the Dothraki sea. It was too big for her and had a musty smell, but it made her feel as if her sun-and-stars was still near her.
(Page 31, A Dance With Dragons)
"There are ghosts everywhere," Ser Jorah said softly, "We carry them with us wherever we go."
Yes, she thought. Viserys, Khal Drogo, my son Rhaego, they are with me always.
(Page 149, A Clash of Kings)
My speculation is that Drogo's spirit is alive and has been with Daenerys all along, but she could not recognize him because he is living in the body of her dragon, Drogon. The prophecy might be fulfilled when Dany recognizes Drogon as Drogo. This is a different kind of plot twist than just having Khal Drogo magically and randomly come back from the dead in his Jason Momoa form. It will still be sad in a way and won't erase the grief that came with Drogo's death by pillow. People just won't understand it if their queen was claiming her dragon is her husband and might deem her insane. This is one way I think Drogo can come back without dumbing down the story. Maybe Mr. Martin thought so too. We will see.

I can explain why I think Drogon is Drogo and how I think it happened in later posts. Stay tuned. There are many more analyses on the way.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Mirri Maz Duur's Prophecy

src: gameofconfessions
 As any A Song of Ice and Fire fan would know, George R. R. Martin just loves to keep his readers guessing with prophecies. Some of the prophecies are clearly identified as such and others are not so clear as to whether or not they are actually prophecies. It is uncertain whether Mirri Maz Duur intentionally prophesied, unintentionally prophesied or the words she said had no bearing on the future at all. Many people believe the latter, that these words were not prophecy, but a mere curse. However, I must question why this non-prophecy is repeated so often in the books, why all the conditions of this non-prophecy are somehow being met through symbolism in the latest book, and why other dead characters did not get a sad little poem as they died. Why is Khal Drogo's death so special? I must question.
"When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east," said Mirri Maz Duur, "When the seas go dry and the mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When  your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before." 
(Page 734, A Game of Thrones)
These words are repeated by Dany as she is about to smother Drogo's unresponsive body.
"When the sun rise in the west and sets in the east," she said sadly, "When the seas go dry and the mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When my womb quickens again, and I bear a living child. The you will return, my sun-and-stars, and not before."
     Never, the darkness cried, never never never.
(Page 736, A Game of Thrones)
These words are remembered by Dany as she is alone and stranded in the Dothraki sea.
    Bells, Dany thought, smiling, remembering Khal Drogo, her sun-and-stars, and the bells her braided into his hair. When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, when the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves, when my womb quickens again and I bear a living child, Khal Drogo will return to me.
     But none of those things had happened.
(Page 941, A Dance With Dragons)
These words are not mentioned in A Clash of Kings or A Storm of Swords, but repeated three times in A Dance With Dragons. It is also worth noting that Dany says the words to the vision of Khal Drogo in the House of the Undying scene on the season 2 finale of Game of Thrones. With all this repetition, do you think that Martin is just trying make his books longer? It is so much simpler just to say "never". I would say that Martin has a purpose for repetition. It is to get the idea in our heads so that when the prophecy is fulfilled, we will remember the words and be astonished as the curse turned out to be an unexpected prophecy and that it did not unfold in ways that we first thought it would.

Will Khal Drogo Return?

src: gameofconfessions
This topic has been debated amongst A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones fans for years. Many fans believe that bringing dead characters back to life is not what George R. R. Martin should do as it would have made their deaths meaningless. If he wanted the characters in the story later on, he should not have killed them off in the first place. Though it would seem to be a terrible, random, and pointless plot device to bring back a deceased character, perhaps there would be an exception for Khal Drogo. Why? He had a mysterious death imbrued with Blood Magic and a "prophecy" was made stating when he will "be as he was". At the end of A Dance With Dragons, we see that some of the conditions of the prophecy have been met. All we need to do now is wait for the last two books in the Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, to be published to see if he comes back. Until then, all we can do wish, hope, and speculate.