Game of Thrones begins....

[Berkut]

Him dying was no surprise, but suicide was, but that makes sense given what happened to his wife and who did it...

[Zanza]

Nobody has mentioned Tommen!

That was a great scene, it completely surprised me I have to admit, although the moment afterwards it made perfect sense. THAT is good writing, IMO. If you can both surprise me and make me think it made absolute sense, and be a powerful moment.

Yes, that was one of the best scenes. Cersei was a bit too cold about it though.

[The Larch]

Nobody has mentioned Tommen!

That was a great scene, it completely surprised me I have to admit, although the moment afterwards it made perfect sense. THAT is good writing, IMO. If you can both surprise me and make me think it made absolute sense, and be a powerful moment.

Yes, that was one of the best scenes. Cersei was a bit too cold about it though.

Yes, I was expecting her to be more heartbroken, but she just shrugged it off.

[HVC]

She already lost him the the sparrow. And he crossed her.

[Berkut]

I think she is just pretty numb to it all now. She is completely broken at this point.

[Sophie Scholl]

From a claim standpoint, he is still a bastard though, right? If a bastard has a claim, one would think Gendry would be a viable heir at this point....what in the hell every happened to him anyway?

Is he?  The narrative that is tied to is that Rhaegar abducted and raped Lyanna.  If it was voluntary, they may have been married.  Perhaps it is something Jamie might know as a member of the Kingsguard at the time but never mentioned due to not wanting to offend Robert and not being overly relevant since Rhaegar and Lyanna were both dead and no one outside of Ned and possibly Howland Reed knew of Jon.

Something that comes to mind is the possibility of conflict between the North and Dany.  She has expressed that she is there for all of the Seven Kingdoms and is unwilling to see them splinter, even if it means gaining her allies.  The oath swearing King in the North Part II scene seems to suggest that the North is once again dedicated to being independent.

[Valmy]

I do have a hard time imagining the honorable Rhaegar making the bastard with his true love. He always tried to live up to the ideals in his books.

[Sophie Scholl]

Anyone familiar with Pruit Igoe and Prophecies by Philip Glass?  It was used in the Watchmen trailers and movie.  It reminded me very heavily of the music in various parts of the season finale.  I nabbed the soundtrack to this latest season, but I haven't had a chance to fully listen to it yet to confirm my theory.  I'll toss a link in for reference purposes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NScKjz4cNY

[The Minsky Moment]

Something that comes to mind is the possibility of conflict between the North and Dany.  She has expressed that she is there for all of the Seven Kingdoms and is unwilling to see them splinter, even if it means gaining her allies.  The oath swearing King in the North Part II scene seems to suggest that the North is once again dedicated to being independent.

Doesn't follow.  The KitN is for the same reason it was done with Robb - the existing Crown would not tolerate a Stark restoration and otherwise they would just be rebels.  Jon Snow presumably is worried principally about the threat across the wall.  He isn't going to hold back recognition if it compromises the defense  of the Noth.

[Sophie Scholl]

Something that comes to mind is the possibility of conflict between the North and Dany.  She has expressed that she is there for all of the Seven Kingdoms and is unwilling to see them splinter, even if it means gaining her allies.  The oath swearing King in the North Part II scene seems to suggest that the North is once again dedicated to being independent.

Doesn't follow.  The KitN is for the same reason it was done with Robb - the existing Crown would not tolerate a Stark restoration and otherwise they would just be rebels.  Jon Snow presumably is worried principally about the threat across the wall.  He isn't going to hold back recognition if it compromises the defense  of the Noth.

It's more than just him though.  The nobles seem rather committed to the idea of a free North.  He is beholden to them and their wishes as they are to him.  I'm not saying it is guaranteed to happen, but it does have some legs to stand on as an option.

[Admiral Yi]

Doesn't follow.  The KitN is for the same reason it was done with Robb - the existing Crown would not tolerate a Stark restoration and otherwise they would just be rebels.  Jon Snow presumably is worried principally about the threat across the wall.  He isn't going to hold back recognition if it compromises the defense  of the Noth.

Disagree.  The one constant of the book and series is centripital pull.  The cases where loyalties and legitimacy overrule brute strength are the exception, not the rule.

[Sophie Scholl]

Anyone familiar with Pruit Igoe and Prophecies by Philip Glass?  It was used in the Watchmen trailers and movie.  It reminded me very heavily of the music in various parts of the season finale.  I nabbed the soundtrack to this latest season, but I haven't had a chance to fully listen to it yet to confirm my theory.  I'll toss a link in for reference purposes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NScKjz4cNY

...and found the GoT music that reminded me of it!  Once again, linkage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS-gbqbVd8c&feature=youtu.be

[The Larch]

I do have a hard time imagining the honorable Rhaegar making the bastard with his true love. He always tried to live up to the ideals in his books.

Well, it seemed that he was more interested in following the prince that was promised prophecy rather than love and passion, so who knows.

[grumbler]

Doesn't follow.  The KitN is for the same reason it was done with Robb - the existing Crown would not tolerate a Stark restoration and otherwise they would just be rebels.  Jon Snow presumably is worried principally about the threat across the wall.  He isn't going to hold back recognition if it compromises the defense  of the Noth.

Disagree.  The one constant of the book and series is centripital pull.  The cases where loyalties and legitimacy overrule brute strength are the exception, not the rule.

But the situation is a unique one:  the threat from beyond the Wall is something no one has seen before.  Jon needs help or his kingdom and everyone in it is going to be wiped out.  He's not going to insist on independence when that insistence will doom every one of his subjects.

[Berkut]

He was alrady married. I don't think you can make much of an argument based on "honor" for a guy who was already married with kids running off with someone else t begin with, and throwing polygamy into it (which I don't even think would be recognized as a legitimate marriage in the Seven Kingdons anyway) doesn't improve his standing.