More of George's Regretful Kill

[@bryanclark3151]

Everybody is thinking too narrowly. The character GRRM most regrets killing is Jon Arryn. He can't write himself out of that.

[@wyssmaster]

If he'd never killed Rhaegar he never would have had to write the series

[@mueezadam8438]

Lol

[@Charles-In-Charge]

@@wyssmasteryeah he clearly prefers writing about the Targaryen dynasty

[@SilverSoulxd]

@@Charles-In-Charge Still mind-blowing how he wrote that Targaryen dynasty book before finishing the series, I know he had a lot of stuff already, but still... Around 800 pages for that book alone, with a second part coming and somehow he hasn't been able to write Winds of Winter in 13 freaking years? Makes no sense at all, but I guess that's the working method of George (gardener BS), just writing for the shake of it and let's see where it takes us...

[@ForageGardener]

​@wyssmaster he didn't write the series he wrote half

[@fabvz5436]

It is most likely Aemon. In this case George was a victim of his own realism, because it was really logical that he didn't manage to survive the hard travel

[@nononono3421]

Yep, and that would explain the weird bit about how similar the ship he was on is to the Cinnamon Wind with its corpse in a cask of brine, Qhohuro Mo (Moqorro), etc. My guess is that originally Aemon left to join Daenerys on the same ship they reached Old Town on, and gets captured by Victarion. The line “Dark flame and kraken” in Quaithe’s message was originally “Crow and Kraken”, Aemon would be the crow.

[@Borgcow]

But Alleras and Marwyn got into Aemon’s head with a glass candle, right? So can’t they have gotten any knowledge we need from him that way? Do we really need Aemon himself to be physically present for some reason? We have other maesters, other Targaryen’s, and we even still have Aemons corpse and blood in case that’s as important as people like Melisandre think

[@pcharl01]

Couldn't it be Jon? Not necessarily just killing him but are the Night's Watch just going to leave the body? How much time did it take for that guy to transform into a wight in GoT? Timing maybe an issue. Is it plausible that warging into his wolf even dying preserves his body from turning into a wight? Is Shireen burning the fuel to resurrect Jon?

[@Borgcow]

@@pcharl01 well but Jon might not be dead, all we know was he was stabbed at least four times and then all he could feel was the cold. But even if he is dead, Mel is there and could easily pull some magical resurrection like in the show, no Ghost required. She is literally in the magical resurrection and fire cult after all

[@CharlesFreck]

@@pcharl01 It's back to the thing of easily reversible. Like, even without fire magic and resurrection, you can literally just say "Jon didn't die! He's just badly injured!". Sure, is it anti-climactic? Yeah, but it's easy to fix. There's no reason Jon dying should delay Winds of Winter, when there's a bunch of ways to resurrect him.

[@Teratoma..]

I dont see how we can have Cersei's trial without Giles Rosby. Who else is going to cough incessantly?

[@miriamvesela8461]

😂😂😂

[@exactemphasis]

Regarding Walder Frey, what I want to see is the him residing over the slow demise of his house until at the end of the series he's the only Frey still alive

[@greywolf7577]

Talk about irony. All that fucking and reproducing for nothing. And to have the oldest member be the last one to survive.

[@ultimateshipper8997]

In the black cells

[@dandyman204]

He dolls himself up and lays out a marriage proposal to the Great Other during the long night

[@DzinkyDzink]

And it turns out he's a supernatural being that only played the whole situation to reap Frey blood and souls.

[@movieloverfan18]

Yes can definitely see it . Black Walder is now heir. Several Freys think he killed his predecessor and are plotting to kill him. I think Black Walder will survive, kill them but then see enemies elsewhere. There is going to be a whole Frey civil war. Meanwhile Lady Stoneheart is out there taking them out. And all the Freys in the North will die fighting Stannis. Walder Frey will see the end of his line and his castle will be seized by the crown, that's what happens when there are no heirs. I wonder Olyvar is, he was squire to Robb and I think stayed loyal to him or the kid that idolized the princess he was supposed to marry when he was engaged to Arya. Gatehouse Amii will land on her feet, so to speak.

[@thomasb.anderson8113]

"Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends" - gandalf

[@taterthepenguin]

This line hits so much harder as an adult

[@silverstorm3729]

The idea of all of Varys's victims coming back, with Varys confused and watching in the background, is really funny. Maybe Varys's ultimate defeat can just be all his enemies inexplicably returning from the dead and carrying on as if nothing happened.

[@Ieremos]

How does this comment not have more likes!

[@wyssmaster]

His little birds pop up and say "Actually we still have our tongues and used prop knives so everyone we stabbed is still alive"

[@Ieremos]

@@wyssmaster Varys kinda forgot about his little birds but they certainly didn't forget about him.

[@dandyman204]

Varys was rising up in the shadows, spinning his spider web. Now he is irrelevant, seeing him as a mere ineffectual bug

[@simonscott2560]

For me it has to be Measter Aemon he would have been a great source of information about blood raven and rheagor amongst many other things.

[@musculusiv4172]

I'm also kinda on the Aemon train because he might know some Targaryen family secrets which noone else could know. Possibly something about Dragonstone and the awakening of stone dragons or other old valyrian magical bs or some kind of hidden obsidian supply at DS or something

[@travisslade6860]

But couldn’t someone find whatever he would have had to say written down at the wall. Yes he was blind but he wasn’t always. It just doesn’t seem that hard to fix if GRRM really needed to do so.

[@simonscott2560]

Yes you could but the wall is a long way from old town where Sam is. I think when your looking for a reason to regret killing the character the characters location is just as important.

[@CasaTelvanni]

the thing that makes me disagree about the aemon possibility is because of prestons theory that marwin and the sphinx pried into aemons mind with the glass candle to get some secrets about his youth and family, i think he talks about it in his dornish master plan series, so any information aemon could have marwin and the sphinx would have too

[@simonscott2560]

Your right but glass candles only started to work recently in the story. Any conversation with bloodraven and rheagor they couldn't have spied on.

[@lmcfigs4874]

I think Preston is right that some of these deaths are reversible. But maybe reversing any one of them cheapens the stakes and that's why George regrets it?

[@BenJover]

Wouldn't be the first time a character comes back

[@JustforNow-ty5zt]

Yeah, their might also be important thematic significance to their deaths wich George doesn’t want to take away.

[@iron_captain]

like disney bringing everyone back

[@dblackesquire]

Some don't even require a reversal. Quentyn, Jojen are only theorized as dead.

[@Mj_Jetson]

Maybe... though perhaps a little odd that he'd have excessive fakeout deaths before, and only now really start to care about them. Arya and the ax at the Red Wedding, Tyrion and the Stone Men at the Sorrows, Davos and the execution at White Harbor, Bran & Rickon at Winterfell, Theon at Ramsay's sack of Winterfell, Stannis if the Pink Letter is lying. Not to mention all the resurrections...

[@deuceyd8468]

Do we know for sure that George didnt just accidently kill a character in winds, and he doesn't just want to erase a ton of progress by going back and undoing it?

[@DJHigher1]

Big IQ take

[@JamesWillKickYourButt]

What progress my brother died and it's still not out

[@danielallen4450]

You could absolutely be correct

[@DrunkenGyarados]

This is what I think it is. Could take hundreds of thousands of words to undo and years to put it back together again, which is extremely mentally draining. Could go a long way toward explaining why Winds has taken soooo long to write.

[@Runningdeering]

I still like the idea of Beric. I always got the vibe those who are his followers still out and about are sticking to what he believed in and how he approached leadership of the Brotherhood without Banners, compared to the extreme revenge that Lady Stoneheart's group is on.

[@KaritKtana]

And it fits with their principles, since they still called themselves King's Men, insisting on follwing a directive despite King Robert's death

[@Jotari]

Kevin's death can be worked around pretty easily by just having him die half way through Winds instead of at the start. We don't really know when his death takes place in regards to everything else, there's only one mention of Aegon's landing.

[@sarairoby4195]

I wonder if it would have changed the ending in the show if Danny had a chance to sit with Aemon before he died. Maybe give her better advice than “be a dragon”

[@discipleofthevoid7248]

It might have, had the writers actually read, or cared about, the source material.

[@rickyvandusen1744]

Show ending dont count for anything lets all forget

[@559925]

Don't mix things from the show with this

[@ScubaMySteve]

George just needs to pull a Beer Fest where the character that died has a secret twin brother who is indistinguishable from the original dude

[@kai-in1xt]

Ser Patsy of House Parisi

[@faisalkamal4319]

of course it's Waymar Royce

[@youngnat]

Very first kill?

[@Jetpackguyy]

Who 😂

[@kaminsod4077]

​@@Jetpackguyy A knight from the vale who recently joined the Watch, and is killed by Others in the AGoT prologue, youngest son of Bronze Yohn Royce, Lord of Runestone.

[@alibomaye4536]

Dance with me, George

[@DirtPerson]

​@@kaminsod4077 Also, he's a bastard of Ned Stark's brother Brandon.

[@amysteriousviewer3772]

I think it would have to be someone that was killed in the earlier books. Anyone killed in Feast and Dance could probably be retconned with some mental gymnastics but retconning a death from AGoT, ACoK or ASoS would be a lot more difficult to justify.

[@Serch_YB27]

Yeah, being someone that died earlier might be why George overlooked it. But I can't think of who could it be

[@SvenDzahov]

I really think it’s either Grey Wind or Lady.

[@ultimateshipper8997]

Old Nan

[@d26k164]

allar deem@@Serch_YB27

[@carter9449]

Or if they were a prologue/epilogue POV character, I guess you could break the format but it would be weird.

[@FitzChivalry_Chade]

I just have to say, I absolutely love this channel and have been following you for years now. Please keep the content coming, wether it’s ASOIAF world related or any book series. Your ability to see the layering of texts and get deep beyond the words is remarkable.

[@mostlytoasty801]

R.I.P Groleo He was the key

[@PineappleLiar]

Get Qyburn in here, stat! We can still save him!!!

[@j-rey-]

He was a funnier character than we've ever had. (I have to specify that this is a joke and to blame George Lucas)

[@PineappleLiar]

Here’s a thought: what if George is regretting that he has to resurrect Jon? Sure he can get out of Jon’s death, but not without consequences. Same would go for the Quentyn option as well: he can be alive, but not as he was before. For the Jon case: George would be in a bind of wanting to keep Jon’s character in line with that of someone who was resurrected, but also disliking the paths that decision making follows. And even if you say his injuries didn’t kill him the situation of Jon being severely injured and probably comatose during a mutiny doesn’t leave many options open.

[@amysteriousviewer3772]

I think Jon‘s arc can only really work with him dying and being resurrected not least because of the Night’s Watch oath.

[@PineappleLiar]

@@amysteriousviewer3772 I agree, it may just be that George realized he pulled the trigger on that too soon. Like being undead makes it too hard to negotiate with certain characters (probably wildlings, tbh) and now the already unpopular Jon has to work double time to get anything done, and that’s ignoring any soulless emptiness that may encourage him to take the less than moral paths (say, Catelyn style murderous revenge).

[@dustingaethje1332]

​@@amysteriousviewer3772I mean, his oath says "for this night and all nights to come." So it doesn't technically end when he dies.

[@andyhx2]

@@PineappleLiar It's also difficult to even implement even less significant time jump, like week or month, hell even couple days are problematic - what are we going to put Jon in the freezer in the meantime?

[@avatarname0008]

You could honestly just say Jon didn't die and milesandre is keeping him alive with magic or something like that

[@Remember1453AD]

I wonder if it’s an early death character because of how he describes it writing himself into a corner

[@Hoover889]

Maybe he regrets killing Ned.

[@amysteriousviewer3772]

@@Hoover889Nah Ned is the catalyst for almost the entire story though it could be someone like Renly or Maester Aemon. Kevan seems too recent to not be reversible with some mental gymnastics.

[@sblinder1978]

Ser Weymar Royce was the key all along

[@andrewparsons2391]

"That boar that mutual killed with Robert was going to be the key to preventing Dany from becoming the Mad Queen; dammit!"

[@TheseUseless]

Mycah

[@trout440a]

actually, he's not explicitly dead, but I wonder if Benjen's disappearance has been an obstacle to writing at all.

[@Wallace43266]

George setting him up as Coldhands and then not delivering on that seems to be an obstacle

[@Longshanks1690]

Kind of like how no one could possibly predict the scene in GOT he’d hate the most was the lack of pageantry in Robert’s hunt, I think the same principle might apply here and who he’s actually talking about is so random and obscure no one would ever think it would cause the kind of problems he’s alleging. Like he wishes the Antler Men were still around or something. 😂

[@ultimateshipper8997]

Old Nan, baby!

[@will2brown50]

The Antler Men were a key part of Baelish's debt trap, of course.

[@charlesor1023]

In worried of all the characters George leaves in a limbo. Is usually a bad signal of writing because it shows the autor still has no clear idea where to go so they do not compromisw

[@TransKidRevolution]

Sure Charles lol🙄

[@abbiiQ]

Sure Festina 🙄

[@lead_downpour8854]

What she's saying about the painting oneself into a corner metaphor is that the solution is to simply walk through the paint and repaint over your footsteps. Not ideal but with a little extra work you still get things done on time. Just keep going, don't get stuck.

[@dcblunt666]

Maybe it’s Oberyn. His life is still a massive motivating factor for Arienne, Doran, the sand snakes and the whole Dornish plot

[@carter9449]

In another video they rule out Oberyn because the character of Oberyn isn't gone, but rather split in to 7 characters. There isn't anything that he could have done that can't be done by one of the sand snakes.

[@TheEnecca]

I think Beric is a really good guess. He is pretty important and his death is not easy to reverse. Him just going "well that kiss of life thing didnt kill me afterall" would feel really clunky.

[@CharlesFreck]

But he's so easy to replace. Just take another companion and give him a backstory and have him take his place. There's characters already that could probably carry any arc he has. Or you can have a new character. He's important, but not irreplaceable in the way Jon or Cersei or Dany would be.

[@gustavoferroni2693]

Why is he important? In what way he would be unique to advance the plot of Jamie, Brianne and the brotherhood?

[@DrZaius3141]

The point about Jon is that while it is reversible, reversing his death would drastically change the situation in ways that might not be ideal for his plot. Melisandre resurrecting him would not only give credence to her power where otherwise it's ambiguous how much of a fraud she really is. Also, coming back from the dead might not have the cleanest of feelings for the Free Folk who are literally fighting against enemies that raise the dead. So I can definitely see the basic idea having been "he'll die and get rezzed" without contemplating all the issues that might come from it.

[@gustavoferroni2693]

Dude he already has a resurrected person who is Lady Stoneheart and Thoros didnt became this unmanageable powerful character . And he already included Easter eggs on Jon being resurrected from a second life inside ghost (With Varamir Six skins prologue). He doesn't need Melissandre to do it actually. Jon can resurrect when Wildlings take over the castle and burn shireen because of greyscale. And then by accident they did a sacrifice that ressurects Jon. Maybe they put his body in the pyre and then it becomes a parallel with Dany in GOT. The sacrifice, the fire, dragons being born. But it can all be unintended, with Mel having o agency in it.

[@praetorxyn]

Jon's "death" is easily reversible without a silly resurrection. When I read the books, I figured he just didn't get stabbed anywhere vital and would barely live. The Order of the Green Hand has a great theory on this that makes a lot of otherwise odd passages useful, and basically boils down to Jon and Tormund doing a glamor swap so Jon's consciousness was with Tormund, who got stabbed.

[@ianmcgregor576]

@@praetorxynI’m pretty sure Jon would notice if he suddenly gained a foot-long member

[@praetorxyn]

@@ianmcgregor576 You’re assuming Tormund actually has one just because he jokes that he still has one after half of it was bitten off, first of all. But Tormund would be glamored as Jon, and we don’t know enough about how that works. Mance glamored as Rattleshirt seemed to have no problem kicking Jon’s ass as if he were a small child, so that’s at least one piece of evidence you feel like yourself when glamored.

[@bastianschrderlarsen6059]

You can always find another vehicle for exposition. It has to be something more than that.

[@Jenni208]

What if it's someone who died earlier in the series? And then much later, he realized, "Oh shoot, I actually need that person now." But it's hard to imagine who that person might be. But I'd love to see another one of these videos going through the major character deaths in the first 3 books.

[@danielallen4450]

If it is someone earlier, I would guess Luwin, since he presumably knows a lot of Stark secrets, which aught to be incredibly relevant for Winds.

[@AlexKwiatek]

Imo the best bet for a guy who will deliver dragon to Aegon is... Aurane Waters. Seriously, Martin for the last 12 years was writing about Velaryons riding dragons. And Aurane is currently in Stepstones. Whatever part of Westeros Dany aims to land in - she has to pass the Stepstones. Even if she lands in Reach or Dorne - she sails along Stepstones. And that would be nice parallel to Hugh and Ulf too. Aegon would have this dragonrider who has to be placated with titles and gift to keep him loyal. If he doesn't, he'll just switch sides or go rogue.

[@musculusiv4172]

Nice idea, but how would he get to the dragon? There's no sign of him going to Slaver's Bay

[@autje1970]

She could hit Volantis, and then head to Pentos over land. From there it's a short hop to Dragonstone. I feel like sailing through the Stepstones would be lunacy. Far too dangerous to lose ships and men. With a Dothraki horde at her side, who is going to stop her when going over land? Which isn't to say that Aurane wouldn't be a good option to be a dragonrider. There is really no need to steal a dragon all the way over in Meereen, you could do it once Daenerys is already in Westeros.

[@ultimateshipper8997]

@@autje1970 far more likely, Euron kills Aurane in battle and takes back the royal fleet for Cersei, gaining her trust.

[@AlexKwiatek]

@@musculusiv4172 he doesn't have to go to Slaver's Bay for them to meet as he's currently located on her only route to Westeros. She only needs to lose dragon before the Second Dance, and for that, she has to be in Westeros, and for that she has to pass through Stepstones. There is no harm in her having two dragons while ravaging Yunkai and Volantis.

[@AlexKwiatek]

@@autje1970 but her fleet is in Meereen, so at least the fleet has to pass through Stepstones to get to Pentos. Well it's not *her* fleet now, but there is little doubt that she'll get Iron and Volanteene fleet.

[@kyuubigan]

A couple of the characters that crossed my mind were Lysa Tully, Maester Luwin, or Robar Royce. Each of these characters could make a major impact if they were still alive. Maybe Littlefinger's plans for the Vale become untenebable without Lysa's support or presence. Maester Luwin being alive means he could verify Rickon's identity, not to mention some the Stark family secrets he must possess. Robar Royce's death probably soured any attempt for an alliance between the Vale and the Reach, as I doubt Yohn would easily forgive the senseless murder of his son.

[@tarvoc746]

GRRM: "Gandalf should have stayed dead." JRRT: "Kevan should have stayed alive." GRRM: *starts to sob.*

[@Bip_Johnson]

It’s gotta be Jon. With John still alive he could have done the time jump, assuming he had reworked some of Dany’s plot as well

[@nathhje]

14:13 But the very best one is that Varys is a merman plotting to take over the world in the name of the merpeople.

[@ultimateshipper8997]

I did it for the Realm, for the children... I mean, the Underrealm, the merchildren. Make no mistake, FISHPEOPLE LIVES MATTER!

[@hannahbrennan2131]

Still better than the drivel D and D came up with.

[@SvenDzahov]

My money is on Grey wind or Lady. Grey wind is a bit more obvious with the soul jar for Robb thing, there could’ve been a great plot with Robb coming back and fulfilling the night king stuff. We get so much foreshadowing about an undead Robb being the night king. However maybe he wants to use Lady in some way. The whole soul jar and Stark’s being wargs and the wolves seem super important late game, so Sansa being without a wolf seems like a bit of a misstep

[@borisdorofeev5602]

For Briennes hanging there were many people part of the Brotherhood missing. Ned Dayne, Berics squire, was missing. So was the Master of Horses son. I think they split in half and Beric went North to the wall believing he left the other half in good hands.

[@kapistar1]

GRRM's great conspiracy/master plan: purposefully slipping the fact about writing himself into a corner to the public just so that people like Preston could provide him solutions to his issue on a silver platter.

[@lastquarter3992]

I agree with people saying it's probably a death in one of the earlier books because that makes it much harder to change.

[@zeoxyman]

Possible angle with Jon, maybe George regrets killing him because now everyone expects him to be resurrected but actually he wanted the death to stick. Like maybe some idea how he would've actually been the best possible king, but by the time people figure out his parentage he's just a wolf stuck somewhere in the north. So he gets a legacy as a martyr figure but isn't actually the one to stop the white walkers, if anyone is.

[@Jbirdie]

What about Hodor? Not written yet but he publicly confirmed the show being similar. The Hodor death and explanation really puts Bran's story on a certain trajectory. Time travel is always a great way to ruin a perfectly good story.

[@amysteriousviewer3772]

I mean it’s not really time-travel in the traditional sense. It’s a closed loop. „The ink is dry“ and all that, meaning that whatever Bran may have done in the past („burn them all“) already lead to the events as they occurred and only serve to close that loop.

[@alexanderguerrero347]

@@amysteriousviewer3772 I mean isn't closed loop time travel just the sci fi version of a prophecy one has to fufill.

[@amysteriousviewer3772]

@@alexanderguerrero347 Not exactly because a prophecy usually refers to events that have yet to happen that may mirror past events but are not necessarily dependent on them. Closed loop time travel simply means that the events that have already occurred can not be altered by the time traveler, only set in motion.

[@treybrannon4964]

Little Walder. Taken too soon, before he could grow to become a Frey.

[@JustAGuyWhoLikesStuff.]

I'm convinced George is just struggling with his Kevanese knot and he can't find a way to cut it.

[@MeleysRQ]

I totally went back to aCoK when I finished the prologue of aFfC for the first time, I was so happy I caught that. Then I proceded to not get that Mance was Abel until years later.

[@VinceLovesToast]

Aemon could know what happened at Summerhall. He clearly knows some about the song of ice and fire and the Prince that was promised

[@CharlesFreck]

Sure, but Bran, Bloodraven or a glass candle user could all provide that information

[@VinceLovesToast]

@CharlesFreck Bran is notoriously hard to write for and I imagine trying to force exposition into those chapters will be tough. And George has already discussed wanting to scale back the glass candles idea because he was having second thoughts on them. Regardless, both of these things are dream like sequences or visions. They are unreliable and characters in the story never really take any action based upon information they've learned from their dreams/visions as they can never be sure what they meant exactly. Exposition from Aemon would be much more straightforward and simple

[@VinceLovesToast]

This being said, I'm currently rereading Feast and George can very easily retroactively say that Aemon told Sam something before dying. It's shown he talked about prophecy for days and days before dying but Sam seemed to think it didn't make sense most days. So he could probably make Sam put 2 and 2 together maybe idk

[@CharlesFreck]

@@VinceLovesToast Yeah, or it can just be in a book. The point is, if he really needs to get out of the corner, he's got half a dozen perfectly good options. It doesn't matter if characters haven't trust visions so far, just make it an "extra convincing, realistic vision" and have them suddenly believe it, or just use the glass candles this one time and then have the Maesters or the Faceless Men or Bloodraven destroy the network. Like, if you're painted into the corner, then hand wave to get out of it and then go back to normal. Books are complete contrivances and his story is already full of plot holes. Tyrion literally forgets to address that Petyr straight up tried to get him murdered and started the whole war. GRRM realised court intrigue was more interesting and so essentially just hand waved his way out of that corner to keep an interesting character around. So you're seriously going to say George will hand wave away a serious plot point in the main plot, but refuses to give 2 pages of exposition and just have a character believe it? Also, Jon is the one who probably most needs to know about the prophecies and summerhall, and Jon is incredibly easy to influence via dreams and psychic powers. He spends his whole story getting influenced without realising it by Bloodraven. (probably, or someone else, like future Bran or Bloodraven's lover) Dude is basically a puppet at this point. No, I can't believe Aemon giving exposition was so critical to his story that he wouldn't just handwave it away, when he hand waved away the entire reason the war in Westeros started. Dozens of characters killed and Petyr role gets hand waved away completely despite Tyrion knowing he started the whole war.

[@kurtacus3581]

Coukd be Tywin, without a strong figurehead at King's Landing then what reason is there for the people to not revolt seeing all their figureheads be jailed and humiliated by the faith. How is Cersie meant to be a character that somehow holds the kingdom together until the other players make their way back to Westeros without explanation as to how the kingdom doesnt completepy fall apart within that time.

[@multimediafan6777]

It's that lady from the inn at the crossroads...

[@OneOnOne1162]

It might be a little bit controversial but I actually think the most likely person isn't Aemon or Kevan but Pycelle. Aemon's information I think can, as Preston says, be delivered by someone like Marwin or Tyrion. Unless maybe Marwin gets killed at sea or burned by Daenerys on sight or something and that's why George suddenly realized he needed Aemon. The troubles that come with Kevan being gone I think were totally intentional and I think they'll be used to build suspense in the story. I feel like if George even though about killing off Kevan he would immediately think about "What's next?" and the problems Kevan dying causes are very predictable in that way. On the other hand, I think killing off Pycelle will cause difficulties in the Cersei plot because Cersei may need someone to conspire with. And she may have nobody else left. And with the Tyrells essentially being the main power in King's Landing and Pycelle being a Lannister loyalist I feel like Pycelle could be talked into allying with Cersei, whereas I can't see anyone else left in King's Landing with any power doing that. It's also harder to foresee because you actually have to come up with Cersei's plans and work those out before you fully realize this problem.

[@j-rey-]

I generally agree with most of this analysis, but I still think you blew past Beric. My two most significant guesses are Aemon and Beric, and when I read the story, I didn't think twice about Aemon's death, but when I had heard that Beric died off-screen... given his fire wight status... it made me do a double take.

[@Sciophile]

For the Maester Aemon case, you just go through his office and discover "He was secretly writing a history this entire time/had notes & manuscripts" and BAM, George has a new book deal.

[@Sophie-kv9zz]

One problem: The mf is blind

[@29Davies]

Is it stated that GRRM is referencing mainline ASOIAF specifically and not, say, a character from Fire and Blood/Targ history?

[@childishgrimm9610]

Turns out he's been writing Fire and Blood 2 this whole time, and he's been stuck

[@zackk6819]

I didn't expect to hear someone say gabagool on a thrones vid but im here for it

[@Scott100W]

My guess is Ares Oakheart, it left the space open in the kingsguard for Robert Strong to fill, this could have been left until the next book maybe? That's as far as i got

[@lektrode5246]

Yes, because he was a "mobile " POV character down where he needs one

[@MaegorExposition]

Even if it was Maester Aemon, Marwin and likely the Dornish were reading his mind with the glass candle. It stands to reason, anything he knew of value is already known by someone else. If I’m getting crazy with it, I’d agree with Janos Slynt, but I’m also crazy for Harrenhal.

[@ragggedblossom]

Another point about killing Kevan and Pycelle, even if it's not about bringing them back, is that the trial might need to be delayed for their funerals, maybe?

[@mrshook145]

Could one of the dragons go to Euron? Maybe the dragon horn works, Victarion gets a dragon and flies to the new kingsmoot (which could happen because Theon wasn't present at the last one, like with Urrathon Goodbrother). But then Euron takes control of the dragon as the horn's real owner. Maybe that's even one of Dany's betrayals.

[@michaelhenry3234]

That's a given. Preston is saying the other dragon has to get captured, otherwise not only is Aegon dragonless in a dance of dragons, but it's also a 2v1 in favor of Dany with Aegon in the crossfire.

[@samforsyth]

Maybe it's Maester Aemon -- here's my thought: The last we know about Aemon is that he's been stuffed into a barrel of wine to preserve his body for burning at old town. BUT at Old Town Sam leaves the ship immediately and heads to the Citadel and talks to Marwyn. Sam tells Marwyn that Aemon has died, but that he was hoping to be able to help/advise daenarys because he believes she is the prince that was promised. Marwyn leaves immediately and boards the Cinnamon Wind heading for Mereen. COULD the Cinnamon Wind be boarded by Victarion in the bay at Mereen where Marwyn could meet up with Moqorro then realizing Aeomon's body is still on board the ship, Moqorro gives Aemon the last kiss, bringing him back to life, enabling him to play a part in getting Dany to team up with Victarion???? From Dany's point of view-- who could she trust more that the only other living Targ in the world (That she knows of).

[@eerbrev]

I wonder if it's actually even further back? What if it's someone from the first two books? He's just come to a point where he's realizing that he shouldn't have killed that person because they'd be a game changer now.

[@wyssmaster]

It's Ned. If he'd left Ned alive he could have finished the series in three books and been done fifteen years ago.

[@solomonrivers5639]

He might regret killing Jon, not because he prematurely lost a pov forever, but rather being unable to use Jon until the logistics of his resurrections are complete

[@mtrunkello]

I think you are missing someone obvious: Hodor. He is not dead in the books but they confirmed his death is something that came from Martin himself in the show. You know the whole hold the door thing pretty much sealed his destiny. What if George wanted to use Hodor as an avatar for Bran in the longrun?

[@SamsonMcarthy-oo6cb]

Then he still can, because as you stated Hodor isn't dead in the books.

[@lucasrfma]

about that "paint yourself into a corner, then just paint a way out" thing, In my mind I imagined some looney toons stuff you know, like painting a door on the wall and then using that "door" to get out. You are the writer, do w/e lulz, kinda thing

[@bogdanbogdanovich]

I think the point is less about info the character can relay, and more about the characters' purpose in the story. For example, what Quentin means for the plots surrounding mereen.

[@lektrode5246]

So it would most likely be a POV character

[@mishmash3927]

Are we sure it was someone who died in Feast or Dance? Someone mentioned Marillion but what if it’s Lysa Arryn? She was my first thought.

[@at.kafasi.2123]

I love how Preston starts the first video with GRRM has a very incorrect reputation for killing many characters and then to figure out the "regretful kill" goes on a list of almost a hundred characters that are killed

[@uosdwis-r-dewoh14]

Easy way to bring Jojen back in but explain the bloody paste would be for them to find him racked up in a root chair somewhere and being bled by the children

[@YoungsterSkaymore]

To me Kevin Lannister and Master Aemon both seem like likely possibilities. On one hand, the role Kevin could play in King’s Landing and Cersei’s trial would be pretty irreplaceable. However, that death was put in a prominent place in the story and seems a conscious effort to get him out of the way. Aemon, on the other hand, does have a ton of unique wisdom. Any given insert of info can surely be replaced, but the role of that wise character in regards to the wall, maybe a counter to bloodraven bc they are from the same age, is a role only Aemon could do. But there isn’t any specific thing that I can think of that would require Aemon.

[@chyawanprash]

Beric being in the Feast appendix is probably because his death was revealed only in Feast.

[@Nemenon]

I think the great thing about keeping Aemon alive would maybe be him finding out who Jon really is, I feel like we were robbed of that emotional potential. It almost feels pointless for him being a Targaryen since it has very little impact on the plot outside of his dramatic reveal imo.

[@logansmith2703]

Yeah it definitely has to be Aemon, Kevan or Pycelle.

[@alistersinclair4600]

idk, a lot of those 'reversable' deaths don't seem to me like George would every actually do that. It would lower the stakes to have, say, Lord Beric suddenly turn out to be alive again, and it wouldn't make sense with his character. Beric swore to Arya that he'd ensure she would meet her mother again, and in doing that he finally achieves death while doing good. Why would George want to return him to life when it would make that act less impactful. Most of the other 'reversable' deaths are the same, it wouldn't make sense within the story even if it doesn't directly contradict what we've seen on the page. personally, I think it's most likely to be Aemon he regrets killing, I doubt it's Jon but I guess it could be Kevan.

[@khaz023]

Catelyn Tully. From a different angle, does the 'resurrection' and display of 'real magic' affect the way we interpret characters' abilities in the series? Other displays of 'real magic' can be explained by science, lack of perspective or mis-interpretation. Can hers? Do we know what Brienne, et al are really experiencing? Does George have to consider that he may have released a 'real-magic' element into a scientifically based and ambiguous setting? Was the death he reconsidered the one that allowed a different set of possible outcomes to the narrative? Just silly foods for thoughts. :) Love ur discussions Preston.

[@HaxeRoxas13]

I think the Aemon angle is more about a character being able to get Dany out of Mereen. She stays because she feels it’s her duty, if she looks back she is lost. Except if her great uncle comes to her, another Targaryen would rock her world and absolutely give her the gusto to come home to Westeros

[@barrone71]

Maybe Nimble Dick Crabb? The character was from the Crownlands and loved to ramble. That’s the kind of character who could help the story with a non Kings Landing Crownlands POV and fill in some history. He also would’ve been a good companion with Brienne and Pod and after his death Brienne seemed to realize he wasn’t an outlaw looking to screw her and Pod over.

[@diaperfang5293]

Victarion could ask Aegon to give him rule over the Iron Isles or something like that, bestowing him such a gift like a dragon. I could see that working out if he managed to get one.

[@TransKidRevolution]

If he had a dragon, he wouldn't need to be gifted anything.

[@awwwshucks443]

I have to imagine it deals with the Kings landing plotlines moatly because the stuff in the north and east are aboe to mostly be solved with magic or some other crutch. He night as well put some kind of crutch or gimmick in for now and then see if ot can be edited later into coherence

[@veruspatri]

1) Kevan Lannister: It will be difficult to move the Kingslanding plot forward without a senior Lannister present in the city. 2) Dominic Bolton: Without a reasonable, "good-guy" persona within House Bolton, it leaves their entire House as one-dimensional. Bad. 3) Elbert Arryn: With Robin "Arryn" most likely being Littlefinger's bastard, House Arryn of the Eyrie is technically extinguished. 4) Oberyn Martell: Because Westeros isn't the same without him.

[@kaemonbonet4931]

Oberyn is an interesting one. Hes a lens for the dornish plot in kings landing. I don't think he can be brought back either.

[@MiddleEarthGirl75]

What about further back, like Renly? George said Stannis is still alive in the books right? I can't even remember. I say Aemon, not because of his age, but because he is a true-blooded Targaryen and perhaps there should have been something big with him, Jon and Dany? And the three dragons?

[@Axemantitan]

Old Nan? Did they mention her?

[@Mj_Jetson]

So Jaime & Brienne's upcoming Brotherhood confrontation is really important, and thematically complicated and crucial to get right... I've thought a lot about how it should play out, and its really hard to thread that needle... I wonder if GRRM figures it would be easier to resolve if he hadn't killed someone off? If Rorge and/or Biter were taken prisoner by the Brotherhood instead?

[@reyniknamyrion3557]

I think what will happen with the dragons is that Rhaegal will choose Aegon and bond with him and Euron will get Viserion with the dragonbinder horn. That way Daenerys is one of three dragonriders and it massively hampers her moving forward (along with her army being made up of slave soldiers, third-rate Mongol knockoffs terrorising the civilian population and backstabbing mercenaries doing much the same, and her advisors being essentially the scum of Westerosi society). The dragonbinder horn is a massive Chekhov's Gun that has to be used at some point, and it makes the most sense to be either Euron or Victarion that uses it. With Victarion actually wanting Daenerys on side and Euron seemingly just pretending to I think it makes more sense to be Euron. Aegon I think will claim Rhaegal during a meeting with Daenerys, possibly at her insistence, with her thinking that 'her child' will reject him and burn him alive, ridding her of a nuisance, only for it to backfire when Rhaegal actually chooses and bonds with him, bringing him a ton more support, partially seeking out someone to bond with because of Daenerys locking up Rhaegal and Viserion for Drogon's crime and partially just because Rhaegal's growing up and basically 'leaving the nest' as it were. With Rhaegal being named for Rhaegar it makes more literary sense that this is the dragon that bonds with his supposed son (since it would give him massive political capital as a big symbol of legitimacy) and with green being a pretty 'bad luck' colour for Daenerys it makes more sense for the green dragon to be the one that actually leaves her of its own volition.

[@paulbarry3400]

Raff is possible, if George feels it’s impossible that Arya won’t be kicked out of the Faceless Men for it. He could realise it’s too soon for her to be gone (hasn’t learnt enough which is certainly true), or he could feel she needs to interact with Fake Pate. Having someone inside the Faceless Men isn’t fixable - having written her out of their organisation isn’t either. But against my own argument - they’ve met her stay for impeachable crimes before, even promoted her, so I feel he could just have them keep her. But it’d be just like George to paint himself into a corner entirely of his own making and rewrite the book instead of have a few questionable plot lines. He’s done it before…

[@derekfurst6233]

Maybe the miller's boys. Maybe George wants a happy ending for theon

[@stephaniec9539]

What if it's Rob? Cause didn't he want him to live originally?

[@mistermaestersirthomas9164]

Rob’s not dead, he’s the Reek(4) at Moat Calian that CAN hold a sword.

[@psychosytheXmediaXco]

​@@mistermaestersirthomas9164Bitch what? I need this theory

[@mistermaestersirthomas9164]

@@psychosytheXmediaXco I’ll probably have to respond in parts. Cat, soon to be Stoneheart, sees Rob stabbed though the heart. Sandor tells us, in so many words, that to kill a man you must stab him in the heart. But,… Cat is a pov in ASOIAF and therefore unreliable. Cat is also a follower of the Seven which is a metaphor for Catholicism, in this case specifically the ?Centrist? version where everything revolves around the “heart”. So the “center” or “heart” of a man is center mass not up and left. (There’s a whole clue branch into a Lady MacBeth/Cat’spaw/attempt to kill King Robert (hart) thing here too). This is why Rob gets stabbed by a “pale pink cloaked man”(Ramsey true born son of Barbary and Brandon) in the “heart” but then stumbles about before collapsing into Cat’s paws and gets to talk about her hair(heir) before “dying”. GRRM is taking advantage of a “dramatic death” trope, so we don’t question if he really died or not or why he didn’t die sooner. Ramsey at the wedding is why Ramsey’s minions had been watching Theon(Reek 3) and losing fingers to them instead of Ramsey. Theon was left in Winterfell and hasn’t left. Reek at Moat Cailin is Rob turned into Reek. The joke, of course, is that Theon was dressed as Rob at Winterfell for the wedding there and Rob is dressed as Theon, which Ramsey makes a 4th wall insult to the reader about “those fools really think you’re Theon Greyjoy?” (probably no exact quote, but close enough). The scene in Bran’s Weirwood vision where Ned is sharpening/cleaning Ice and Ned hopes “they love each other as brothers” is a feint for Rob and Jon. He’s really talking about Rob and Theon, since they are (as well Robin Arryn) their namesakes sons: King Robert’s. Rob and Theon are half-brothers. Cat found Robert, as she did Tyrion, at the Inn Westeros’ history is made. Just like her daughter-in-law, Cat found Rob(ert) injured and ended up getting pregnant, where as the one time with Ned she didn’t. He probably promised her a Queenship, maybe married by a tree no witnesses, and left her high and dry. Robert did the same with Lysa at Kingslanding after the war. This is all a Henry the 8th and Bolelyn fanfic allusion, Robert/Henry and Tully sisters/Bolelyn. This also why the sister’s conspire to kill him using Petyr and the Cat’s Paw, that assassination attempt was changed to Bran, by Cat, to (Mother) mercy kill him. The dagger Cat planted from Lysa from Petyr, ended up in her red soaked hands I.E. caught red-handed (Lady Macbeth and her dagger, also “faceless others” both in first act). Lady Dustin, her sister-in-law, had the same “First men” marriage by the tree no witnesses and Papa Stark and maester had it annulled, that makes Ramsey trueborn heir as the “Pink letter “ says. Just like Jon Snow, Snow isn’t a bastard. Anyway, Reek(s) has a questionable finger count on each hand and how each was lost. Some were chewed because Reek(Rob) is a trapped animal (Greywind’s second life) and some were cut. When Winterfell is looking for a murderer, Reek(Theon) is cleared because he can’t hold a KNIFE in his hand (two fingers on his bow pulling hand hinted at in: Essos with two structures jutting up like fingers, little finger/big finger, Davos rubbing only two of his missing fingers, and Theon shooting bow two fingers to draw with. Reek(Rob) at Moat Calian has “enough fingers to hold a SWORD, he had enough to still do that”. After meeting the “hooded man” headed the opposite direction, Reek passes him for a walk and returns. Ending up with Lady Dustin, meaning “hooded man” had met with her right before, Lady Dustin wants to see his fingers. This is because she can’t tell “the hoooded man” and Reek apart except the fingers, which she asked to see in the crypts. “The Hooded man” is Reek aka Rob, who didn’t know Theon didn’t kill Bran and Rickon. Theon “flips” him off with two fingers since that’s all he has left. “Reek you look like you got two heads”, just like “Hold the door” is an expression of shock and surprise, “you look like you’ve got two heads” is clue/foreshadowing that Reek is a “twin”(half brother look alike). Along with this and the Ned at the Weirwood vision are clues that Jon also has a twin: Jaqen aka Aegon the Even Younger. This makes the “3 headed dragon Aegon” sons of Aegon(Mance) in order: Aegon(Young Griff), Aegon the Younger(Jaqen), and the youngest Aegon the Even Younger(Jon Snow). One half brother and two twins, joke being 1/2 times 2 equals one dragon. Ned appearing to talk about both Rob and Jon, kinda does but individually. I call these “Pink Salmon” clues: not really Red herrings since they do actually give real hint just with trolling of the immediate meaning. Pink slamon is also the answer to Jojen Paste, probably without any Jojen unless his second life was a salmon. Rob won’t die until Nymeria’s pack is near to live a second life into, same with Rickon. Maybe technically Rob will enter Ramsey’s dogs, but the dogs will join Nymeria, so either way. Cat will kill Rob thinking it’s Theon, won’t figure it out until he plays with her hair again. Illyn Payne, Ned’s second life no tongue to bite like thistle, will “be the one to swing the sword” and kill a “Lady” Cat. Arya will kill Illyn(Ned) to complete this Shakespeare tragedy. Gotta go… let me know if you have questions

[@georged7059]

They’re talking about the end like dream of spring is ever coming

[@kongming7684]

Marillions death is way too suspicious. His last mention is when Alayne and Sweetrobin are disputing his death. And several times they emphasize how Littlefinger let him keep his tongue. I think one of the Royces is building a case against Littlefinger. And Marillions testimony will be useful

[@cheffdonty]

??? Did they mission impossible him out of a sky cell or what. Unless Lothar Brune or one of his men snuck him out

[@Wellcraines]

killing Viserys III was the biggest mistake. he should have just been exiled from the horde (maybe even with a half-gold face) and remained a possible threat that could reappear after he somehow scraped together a revenge plot.

[@_addison4772]

Maybe Jon was originally suppose to die for good but now that the show brought him back and so popular George needs to bring him back. Show brought him back with no consequences and he said he’s against that. Can’t come back without some major change

[@amysteriousviewer3772]

No way. Jon‘s arc is not really complete and he was one of the characters surviving until the end in the original trilogy outline which also confirms that R+L=J.

[@whyismyricewet1986]

Jon could be the night king

[@kallemort]

Jon legit just dying and not coming back would be fantastic.

[@TheGreendragon1001]

It has to be Aemon. He was killed off and cremated in AFFC; which means it wasn't recent and can't be undone. He could have been a source of knowledge for Sam and Dany, but George now has to contrive a way to see things through his memories.

[@psevdhome]

I think the thing George needed Pycelle for is to testify in Cersei's trial. Because I think even though we *know* she is going to choose Trial by Battle (or even of Seven), there will be a normal trial first. We need Pycelle to explain all the poisons that are used up or missing from his stores just like he did at Tyrion's trial. There's no character that has that knowledge in the same way that can give it in exposition as a parallel to Tyrion's trial. I think her trial is going to parallel Tyrion's even in the sense that the crown and the justice will be championed by someone Dornish (Maybe Obara or Tyana? Or Tyana as a septa puts forth Obara?) and Cersei by "Robert" the Mountain "Strong". So to have that set up we need a mock trial where Cersei's former associate (Kettleblacks) give a tearful testimony how he was forced to seduce Margaery while actually having an affair with Cersei. This is just a complete guess. But this is not some plot critical character missing, just Pycelle is needed to explain moontea and stuff in a parallel to Tyrion's trial. If someone just mentions that it's missing it doesn't have the same impact.

[@transformersrevenge9]

Man, Preston quotes these books like the bible. ''It was said in Sam V...''

[@ultimateshipper8997]

The published books in ASOIAF are literally the Pentateuch, the first Five Books of the Bible.

[@Halfdan1]

It's better written and more believable than the bible. Not as dark though.

[@TinfoilMaester]

3:37 "Imagine how pissed Varys would be [if FacelessKevan PigBoy'd his way into TWOW]" implying Varys doesn't run the FLM plot thread.

[@PassivesAbseits]

On the "Who steals the Dragon" problem: Maester Marwyn should be the most qualified to actually steal a Dragon, since he spent so much time studying dragons. Like Quentyn just hopes, that his blood helps him and that he will bring up the courage to stare the dragons in the eye. Marwyn could be the only one with the knowledge on how to tame a dragon without binding yourself to it... which is an underrated factor: If you just arrive at Stormsend on the back of a dragon, you can't just pass it on to Aegon... and why would you even do that? The other drake then goes to the Ironborn, because the magical MacGuffin actually works. That way, you would spread the 3 dragons over 3 different parties. And yes, that also means, that Quentyns arc was just freeing the dragon and dying a pointless death.

[@coldwaterburns_]

I think it actually could be Jon to be honest. Not that he isn't supposed to be killed and resurrected, but that GRRM wishes he'd waited a little longer to pull the trigger. Plenty of people have pointed out the logistical issues of resurrecting Jon at this point in time. The NW brothers revolted specifically because of the wildlings so there's definitely going to be fighting, and then the queen's men are thrown in the mix as well (not to mention Wun Wun). Mel is pretty clearly the best candidate for reviving Jon, but she doesn't really have a great reason to at this point (that we know of). The general idea is that she'll realize he's AA and switch her allegience from Stannis, but she doesn't believe that Jon is AA yet at the time he's killed, and he can't exactly do anything to change her mind while he's dead. Maybe she's going to have his body preserved in the ice cells, but why? What would she be waiting for? It's not impossible to work this all out, but it's pretty damn messy.

[@joshuazarate9780]

Missing: when he killed the WoW with his apathy

[@DD-qo1tw]

Not sure I agree it HAS to be someone he killed on a released book. If he killed them in winds early in the writing process, where huge chunks of his writing depends on or relates to them being dead it would still be a major dilemma.

[@chalupa316]

Reminds me of that 1 time at work when my nephew and his friend painted Themselves into a corner literally everyone called them dumb and dumber

[@xi0]

I still think Jon is a viable choice here because of when/how he might be resurrected and Mel being the only other POV character at The Wall. I don't really expect it to play out the way it did in the show with him coming back an episode later. Sure that would "fix" the issue his death might have created but does that sound at all like how GRRM would handle it? Not to me...

[@johnpotts8308]

If that's the problem, Jon might not actually be dead. We see him bleeding out in the snow, but (theoretically) he could still be saved in time. It's not like we haven't had POVs who apparently die in their chapters (Arya, Brienne twice!) but actually survive. Whether that's a cop out or not is a whole other matter!

[@xi0]

@@johnpotts8308 yeah he could also "solve" that issue that way too. The thing is, the foreshadowing we got in ADwD Prologue heavily hints that living on through Ghost is Jon's fate. I'd be shocked at this point if that doesn't happen as I'm not sure what purpose the things we learn about warging through Varamyr Sixskins would serve then.

[@novafloyd12]

It’s bloodraven

[@redseaford9426]

So weird! I'm literally standing in line at Publix waiting for my Gabagool!!! (Capicola)

[@YourGraceMyLady]

3:08 arya also describes a man from Westeros that matches the description of Jaquen with curly hair and a scar on his face of a dead body that she cleans while she’s blind and he has two dragons in his pocket. I found that wierd

[@Mj_Jetson]

Its not Quentyn cuz that's reversable... there's enough outs to have a body-double... though if you're not killing Quentyn, then you kinda gotta kill the Tattered Prince, because the fun princely double meanings don't work if its just a random dude. Maybe GRRM realized he needed both Quentyn AND Tatters alive? Its not Kevan because GRRM left a pretty clear roadmap in the ADwD epilogue for how screwed up everything will be without him... GRRM definitely thought his death through... Its not Aemon because that's reversable? If you need Aemon himself around, then he's in a boat with a guy whose students seem to know how to turn people into zombies - its the biggest non-surprise in the world if Marwyn turns him into a zombie. If you just need exposition from him, then Gilly was hanging out with Aemon a lot when Sam was elsewhere; you could retcon that she heard critical info offscreen that she can now spout to Tyrion or whoever. Its not Jon because that's reversable... resurrection is a potential thing with Jon... although maybe GRRM changed his mind, and didn't want all the Chosen One vibes of a resurrection... though I would think he could just make zombieJon super creepy and problem solved. the rules for what zombies are like is super flexible. Could it be Rattleshirt? (not sure if he was mentioned in the video?) Is he a different and distinct enough character from all the other wildlings leaders at the Wall that he could take the story in a direction that they could not?

[@gustavoferroni2693]

It has to be Kevan or Pycell.

[@umwha]

I think the regretted death is Jon Snow. I think he was always meant to die - but I think his death is too soon. This is because I think Jons resurection is supposed to be simaltaneous with the fall of the Long Night. However, now Jon is dead, it's been established that the amount of time someone is dead is highly relevant. Catleyn being dead for THREE DAYS was shown to be far too long. That means that Jon has to come back in THREE DAYs or less, really, meaning the Long Night has to fall the day after tomorrow. But the other plot lines need more than 3 days! George could extend Jons death due to the Ice Cells preserving the body, and Ghost preserving his soul. But I think that might give us like a week tops. Since George is shown to be very serious about how long a person is dead and its ramifications. So yeah. Jon died too early, and its forcing the Long Night too early.