The ASOIAF Character GRRM Should Not Have Killed

[@hk-4886]

Isn’t it obvious that it’s Janos Slynt? He has a good many friends. George is fearing that they might retaliate

[@Rhoxmaster316]

RIP Nimble Dick, we will miss you forever.

[@Stefan-g2l]

There is so much lore told by dick. All those squishers....

[@amemequestthatwillneverbef9026]

Heaven gained another angel when we lost Nimble Dick

[@swisschaesar2701]

I miss Nimble Dick so much. He was Azor Ahai

[@AdamNazari-k2l]

I did enjoy nimble dick

[@chahineboudemagh9596]

Him and Brienne powerscaling their folk heroes will always be one of my top 5 favorite scenes in the entire series.

[@durianthesleepy]

He obviously killed his muse, and he regrets it deeply. The great, the legendary, the eminent: Gyles Rosby.

[@namonwashington8902]

I’ll cough to that!

[@michaelcallaghan9320]

​@@namonwashington8902im done 😂😂😂

[@aabbccdd4710]

What if George just meant IRL and will soon be arrested?

[@SpaceTravel1776]

Valar morghulis

[@unknowntome208]

Hey maybe his time behind bars will get him to actually finish writing something

[@VikingVern]

@@unknowntome208damn. Someone else already beat me to it. 😂😂😂

[@QuinnTheGM]

🚨🚨🚨

[@Blckrngr]

Lol

[@edgeman1135]

Kevan had a full epilogue and Maester Aemon's death was Sam's main story beat in Feast. If he did regret killing anyone it'd likely be someone who's death was more of an afterthought. My money's on Pycelle.

[@SIRslipperyasp91]

Pycelle and Varies were the mad king's last two advisors before he died. Chances are, If anyone knows anything that could cast dought on Young Grifs legitimacy, it would be Pycelle.

[@A_Black_Sheep94]

​@@SIRslipperyasp91Plus Pycelle really never got his moment in the sun y'know.

[@ryankwon8785]

@@SIRslipperyasp91It’s one of many reasons why Varys had Pycelle killed.

[@bebos1262]

@SIRslipperyasp91 To add to the previous point, he probably delivered baby Aegon and meticulously noted every detail of the baby's physical appearance for documentation, including all identifiers such as birthmarks and distinguishing features. If there was anyone capable of identifying Young Griff as the true Aegon, it would be him.

[@omarsaragoza]

RIP Lady, we needed you 😭

[@sblinder1978]

Yes! I think GRRM regrets Sansa not having a dire wolf any more

[@reaganrambles1951]

I think Lady’s death made sense thematically with George’s original outline, but with the way the arcs are written, she and Arya are both going to need to reconnect with their Stark identity while only one of them has the symbolic means to do so. I genuinely think there could be something to this.

[@KODarakor]

I genuinely forgot that Pycelle died

[@QuinnTheGM]

EXACTLY THE PROBLEM

[@raaaaaaaaaam496]

To be fair, in the books he really is a minor character. While in the show he’s a 10000 IQ mastermind.

[@KODarakor]

@@raaaaaaaaaam496 Every day is another warning to me not to continue watching that show

[@stonemorris5356]

I've read the books 5 times and I still keep forgetting he died.

[@whitleypedia]

@@raaaaaaaaaam496 Julian Glover has been a bad guy to James Bond, Doctor Who, and Indiana Jones. He's the only Imperial leader Vader who actually beat the Rebels. You don't just leave him on the sidelines.

[@mosh57]

George will never regret killing Strong Belwas because he simply cannot be killed

[@mementomori771]

Best comment ❤

[@driley1487]

😂

[@lucascarroll4859]

He is pure and must be protected.

[@dartagnanjames8069]

I've always felt that it's Maester Aemon just because the manner of his death felt like an after thought even though he still felt very significant to the story.

[@xKuukkelix]

yeah his death just felt weird

[@cock781]

yeah that was my first thought as well. i always felt like he would have some important role in telling jon his true identity

[@BobPantsSpongeSquare97]

Maester Aemon came to mind first as well but when I think about it some more, I don't think so. His final story relevance was wanting to seek out Daenerys and inform her of all the important knowledge and be her advisor. However once he dies, all of that gets passed onto Marwin the Mage who in turn seeks out Dany. So Aemon didn't really need to stick around anymore since Marwin fills the same role going forward but it would've been neat for he and Dany to meet

[@matt_9112]

Idk Aemon is like the one character faited to die during the story, no plotting or whatever needed. He's ancient. Maybe that's why it feels like an afterthought, no shaenanigans, plots or violence involved. Come to think of it, is he the only named character of any import to die of natural causes?

[@ACleverIdiot]

@@matt_9112I guess Hoster Tully did as well

[@WCLCooke]

Maester Aemon is the most badass character because he is the only character who dies of old age after a century.

[@DrewDragoon]

A bit of trivia but nobody actually dies of old age as a cause of death. Old age causes organs to fail or other sicknesses to take over but it's never the direct cause

[@WCLCooke]

@@DrewDragoon then let’s say natural causes

[@xKuukkelix]

Didn't he die of pneumonia or something?

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

@@xKuukkelix More or less. But a for a lot of people who die of "old age", the actual cause is some form of pneumonia. They catch something relatively minor, it lingers, and their bodies can't fight it like younger bodies can.

[@raaaaaaaaaam496]

@@DrewDragoonactually those little end bits on your chromosomes start wearing the second you’re born. Which is ultimately the reason why we will likely never achieve immortality.

[@Cappy-Bara]

Rip Jon Arryn

[@Drigallski]

hahaha true. This is just the hidden message of "Man i wish I didnt write these books this way. Why did I have to kick it all off with Jon Arryn's death"

[@nickschulte3915]

Hahaha, nailed it

[@erikscottdebie7665]

Counterpoint: it’s entirely possible GRRM regrets killing someone very early on, in GOT or CoK, and now that he’s written several books later, he’s like “man, that person could have solved this issue.” As an author myself, I can certainly relate. I enjoy your videos. Keep it up.

[@j-rey-]

I was gonna say the same thing. There is no reason it _has_ to have been a recent death. Because of GRRM's gardener style, the garden can grow to a point where potentially _any_ dead character becomes essential again if he's not careful.

[@cockanimal4878]

That settles it, its Ned.

[@mum-your]

yes, its def not kevan lannister as alot of people assume on reddit

[@PhilHibbs]

It’s definitely Ned.

[@QuintonMorota]

​@@PhilHibbs can't be Ned or Robb those felt intentional 😭😭

[@versmex87]

"The time to speak of the cold is not when we're standing in it" Pycelle's last words and My favourite phrase in the whole song.

[@freasfuck]

Why

[@CNTconnoisseur]

If it's Kevan, he can easily swap Genna Lannister in for him. She rocks.

[@TheBigHatLegion]

Small Paul. He just wanted a bird to eat corn out of his hand.

[@SergenteHartman2356]

It is Cleos Frey. He had so much to give

[@nicknoga564]

I genuinely think it’s Quentyn Martel for one reason: GRRM has mentioned the “Mereneese Knot” as an example for why so many new viewpoint characters were introduced in Dance of Dragons. My guess is that he ran into a similar problem yet again, and needs Quentyn to serve as the bridge between Westeros/Dorne/Mereen/dragon plot lines

[@Hubabuba258]

The answer is obviously Weymar Royce. After all, with the second Dance of the Dragons coming up between Dany, fAegon and NotAegon, Westeros would need a masterclass dancer like him.

[@miaud27]

I think it was maester Aemon cause he probably knew important things that could help Danaerys

[@donnadelreys]

Agree

[@A_Black_Sheep94]

Such as

[@Elias_Ehler]

If it weren't for Tyrion's complete story, I'd agree with you. As Mereen is the most likely place, where Aemon and Daenarys could've met up,I think that Tyrion would be entangled in whatever complications would arise from Aemon no longer being able to transmit information to Daenerys.

[@sylle_blossoms]

My heart says he regrets killing off Robb but my mind knows it was necessary

[@BlazeOnMars]

Agreed, friend. My heart wants it to be Robb, but there's no way it actually is. (The other option my heart wants is Lady but. Yeah, that's not it either.)

[@thelateescapist8266]

Maester Aemon is a great guess and probably the right answer, but I saw a couple comments mentioning Lady and it occurred to me that without her direwolf Sansa is the only Stark to have progressed this far into the narrative without developing any obvious skinchanger abilities. GRRM may have planned to introduce another animal for her to bond with but perhaps has been so far unable to organically insert said animal into Sansa's narrative, because it's progressed in directions he didn't previously anticipate. Maybe GRRM's come to regret this development because Sansa is nearing a point in the story where she will need her skinchanger abilities but he doesn't want her to develop them too abruptly.

[@fedetrex]

I don't think Sansa will develop skinchanger abilities, but if she does I don't think it suits her to be a wolf. She'd probably be a little bird, just like Sandor says, but algo because of the mockingbird being Littlefinger's personal sigil and birds being useful for spying, which relates much more to her becoming a master schemer under Littlefinger.

[@thelateescapist8266]

@fedetrex GRRM has said that all the Stark kids are skinchangers, some of them are just further along in the conscious use of their abilities. He's even alluded to it in Jon and Bran's chapters in ADWD As to what kind of animal Sansa will skinchange, I wouldn't take anything off the table. By the end of the series all the Stark kids will probably be skinchanging multiple animals. Bran and Arya already are, and I'll bet Jon will be skinchanging Mormont's raven after his resurrection, and Rickon will return from Skagos with a unicorn. As for the symbolic or thematic appropriateness of animals for Sansa to skinchange, while she has plenty of bird associations, as a Stark nothing is more appropriate for her than a wolf, but she's also half Tully making fish or other aquatic creatures also appropriate, even lions wouldn't be inappropriate as she was for some time closely associated with the Lannisters and is even technically a Lannister by marriage. So you see pretty much everything is on the table for Sansa skinchanger wise.

[@sandfordsmostwanted687]

It's Lady - she's the secret to everything #QueenOfTheNorth

[@sunshineroth9605]

I've always felt Aemon held so much more knowledge that could help Dany and Jon, as well as Sam. It must be, as he'd made it through so much already, just to die at sea before the knowledge could be shared? 💙

[@Ryan-vi5mz]

I’ve been struggling through reading the books, with school and everything else going on. But your passion and commitment for ASOIAF has really helped me get back into the story. Thanks!!

[@EDuarteVillanueva]

We all make fun of secret Targs beneath every rock, but a good way to accomplish Aemon's purpose in the Daenerys story (being a font of extensive knowledge of her dynasty) with Marwyn would be making him to be Little Maegor, the son of Aerion Brightflame. Sure, there's no evidence to this being the case and it's a bit indulgent, but it would open very interesting story options, serving as this twisted version of Aemon's advice (regarding dragon dreams, magic and prophecy).

[@QuinnTheGM]

That’s a great point! Though I still think Sam’s story suffers for his absence

[@whatisreddin7367]

its already theorized that the Tattered Prince is Maegor tbf

[@natewymer5917]

Always figured it was Pycelle since he wouldn’t be able to talk about the moon tea at Margaery’s trial.

[@BatFlash52]

I think it’s Pycelle. He knew Kevan had to die because he’s only one cutting through the bullshit and keeping the realm stable, as well the only one who could have got the Lannisters and Tyrells working as a team again, which would have stopped Aegon VI in his tracks. Without Kevan the house of cards is gonna fall. But Pycelle is an unwavering Lannister toady, who would absolutely try to save Cersei, if only out of respect for Tywin, but he’s not too powerful, he can’t command army, he isn’t as respected as Kevan and is actively breaking his Maesters vows. Cersei has to be doing more in the story but she only has one ally who is still on her side: Qyburn who is Master of Whisperers, but he’s also a disgraced Maester who experiments on people and has been in King’s Landing all of 5 minutes.

[@beevie4081]

I think Robert Strong is on her side too. In that case, she has two of the three scariest men in the South on her side. If Euron joins her, she'll have the full set!

[@BatFlash52]

@beevie4081 Good Point, but Strong is pretty much just muscle 💪🏻

[@beevie4081]

@@BatFlash52 yes, true. Muscle and hatred.

[@Sentient_Blueberry_Muffin]

Pycelle's betrayed Cersei and sided with Kevin.

[@neilhannan7525]

Martin, after watching Robb Stark in TV Series, hated he didn't write enough of him in the books to be fear I was disappointed as well because he was one of most favourite characters

[@harkiratsingh3048]

I don’t think he regrets the red wedding though.

[@matt_9112]

When you realize the character that embodies the trope you subvert most is a really interesting character... Doesn't change the impact of the red wedding ofc.

[@xoler2167]

Lancel Lannister, Osmund Kettleblack, even Moon boy for all I know

[@Indomita506]

Moon boy is dead???? 😮😮😮

[@borayldrm1703]

Beric Dondarrion. He regrets bringing Cat back.

[@paulchristensen7]

100% Beric

[@kaiserjones9074]

Hot take: GRRM regrets killing Jon. He might go so far as to resurrect Jon in Winds.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

There's no way he'd ever resurrect a POV character. In George's world, people stay dead.

[@Qus-pi8kb]

​@@thing_under_the_stairs He's totally going to bring Jon back, there's too much setup with warging for him to just die. Even if he's only alive as a wolf, Jon isn't out of the story yet.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

@ I really should have left that /s after my comment, huh?

[@exothermic1942]

I don’t think grrm regrets killing Jon, I think it’s part of his plan. He’s def getting resurrected tho, my money’s on sacrificing warg-Jon-ghost to get his spirit back into his body

[@BenJover]

​@@exothermic1942 But why? What's the point?

[@Fusseliko]

Couldn't he have Marwyn stay in contact with his students and Sam via glass candle?`I don't think having him leave for Daenerys has to remove him from Sam's plot necessarily.

[@justdirt]

I think George regretting killing a character is part of the reason it's taking so long for Winds. If a single key character's death affects the story that much, how often do you think he rewrites entire plots and sections to make sure killing a character is ok? From everything I've learned about George as a writer, he has probably typed out over 1 million words to Winds at this point, but has kept maybe 300k of them. This is a more meta-analysis of the text and future for the series rather than reading into the text, but I think it reveals a lot

[@RenegadeShepard69]

I agree with you especially because I think at the point we are in the story most deaths are unnecessary. And only complicate the story further. I mean there are many memorable epics that have had with times less characters than this, he never needed to develop so many, and many epics with way less character deaths, there comes a point where you can't have a red wedding every 50 pages, the deaths become too casual. I think for example most deaths cited in this video were mistakes.

[@josevitor918]

​@@RenegadeShepard69 but the only way martin have to finish the story within 2 books is killing half of the characters

[@memeaficionado]

I definitely agree that people overlook aemon for this. Could have had some huge lore drops before his death. And wouldve been super satisfying for him to interact with a dragon. He could have been the first targ to get a funeral pyre by dragonfire in over a century

[@Spllyn]

It was likely Lady, the dire wolf

[@UnlikeMike0]

I always thought killing Greywind was the mistake since he probably would want some sort of Stark children reunion and Greywind could have represented Robb

[@leobohnacker3634]

Quenty is also a death which could easily be undone... Many people are actually thinking that he is still alive (Preston Jacobs), so it makes no sense that GRRM could mean him

[@benjamingrunbaum3601]

GRRM can't go on Twitter cos he killed all 140 characters. 😂

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

Damn, you got to it before I did!

[@MCAPrince]

I think you may be right with Maester Aemon. Him dying at sea also seems kinda useless. He could then have just died at the Night's Watch if he was going to be killed off anyway. The only real effect Aemon leaving had now is that Jon is arguably partially responsible for his death. I am not sure Aemon should have joined Dany's court in Meereen though. Her councillors seem to be an army of disasters and Aemon wouldn't fit in with that. Marwyn does! However Aemon meeting Dany shortly in Westeros could have had some potential. I do really like the idea of a Targaryen connecting Jon & Dany. Aemon meeting Dany would have been lovely. Aemon realizing Jon is his great-great-grandnephew would also have been so sweet. Aemon could also have voucher for Bloodraven when Bran shows up. I do think Aemon should have died close to this point of the story though. I don't see him surviving the Winter, he is simply too old. He could also have died by dragonfire, having dragons and dreams of dragons kill the final son of Maekar as it did the others. Dying (actually) on his way to Dany could also satisfy this. I wouldn't like Aemon breaking his lifelong vows though.

[@harkiratsingh3048]

I’m thinking it was Oberyn

[@samg5753]

He was my choice for characters who I enjoyed the most and wish he was not killed off. He was my favorite Martell

[@ashleyofnaath]

It seems to me that the Kevan theory is contingent upon the prevailing belief that Cersei will escape King's Landing and make for Casterly Rock to be the promised view point there, and Kevan would therefore be instrumental in helping Cersei get on her way. However, as you astutely pointed out in a previous video, Cersei isn't the only character who could take us there; nor is she the best one to do it. Your theory about Victarion and Tyrion going there makes far more sense to me. Also, Kevan wouldn't need to be alive to facilitate anything for Cersei in this scenario. For what it's worth, I think Cersei will escape for King's Landing and directly mirror Rhaenyra's journey when she fled King's Landing but will get apprehended at Rosby. All in all, I think you've got the right idea about Aemond. I hadn't considered how his death forced Marwyn out of Sam's plot and the domino effect there. Perhaps Ser Jorah could be the bridge between Daenerys and Jon Snow since he's a northman and could speak to Jon's trustworthiness as a Stark. I think Jorah uniting the two most important people in saving the north from the Others would be a great way for the character to atone for the shame he brought upon his house and the humiliation he caused his father. In any case, this was a great video!!

[@randomchannel9473]

Actually, Pycell makes a lot of sense. Tommen isn't going to be choosing a new grand maester, and only the citidel can officially choose a candidate, but it's going to be hard for them to do that while under siege. Without Pycell, George needs to invent a new maester character (backstory, secret, specialisations, loylaties, etc) to be the source of news from Old Town as well as everywhere else. KL is going to be in Maester limbo now and George is going to have to add in this new cascade effect into the plot.

[@borayldrm1703]

There’s Qyburn in King’s Landing. Cersei will appoint him. There’s no problem with a Grand Maester.

[@randomchannel9473]

@borayldrm1703 Cersei's not exactly in power right now

[@A_Black_Sheep94]

​@@borayldrm1703He's not really a maester and he's already master of whispers

[@badyoutuber1986]

​@@randomchannel9473Kevan is Dead ,mace is heading to end. By all circonstances she is in power.

[@wayne47able]

It might be Maester Cressen. He could've given key hindsight of how Dragonstone was taken and what truly happened to Loras Tyrell.

[@samg5753]

Quinn, your videos are brilliant to say the least and are truly breathing life into the ASOIAF fandom. I look forward to each of your videos and I seriously thank you for the hard work you put into these. bravo

[@Pioneer10-F]

Aerys Oakheart was essentially for the Dorne Plot

[@declangallagher1448]

The only true Knight in all of Westeros. He died for the one true Queen!

[@jakez5599]

Yes the description of airanne was crucial for the plot

[@scorchinsun6586]

Oberyn. Not only is he the only interesting Dornishman, but Tyrion trying to crown Marcella would have been so much better than Tyrions story in Dance

[@dirrdevil]

George shouldn't have killed my hope for another book in this series.

[@Leader1934]

It was obviously Ned, why can't people see this

[@cockanimal4878]

Indubitably good sir

[@pumas2342]

As I already said, the death of Gyles Rosby is when shit hitted the fan. We'vd already started to see some inconveniences in cercei's otherwise impeccable rule

[@kevinkabali7201]

No clue who it could be. But I also doubt Kevan. His survival would be a bigger problem for George than his death. I wonder about Pycelle; he could have been rather helpful to push Cersei to do the wrong things, and if only because she would do the opposite of every good suggestion, maybe George would have liked to use him to push Cersei and the Citadel further apart. On an unrelated note, I wonder how many pre-released chapters of Winds are changed a bit or nearly unrecognizable since we first saw them.

[@cavrence]

RIP Pate

[@niallgaffney2475]

It’s been all downhill since Will was executed 😔

[@disrespectthemwomensubjuga5471]

It was Gared who was executed. Will was killed by Waymar Royce.

[@Rebel_Lord_Taron]

Outstanding. This is the perfect video that I needed to watch. I'm sure he definitely regrets killing Kevan or even pycele

[@sophiaemily1819]

my money would be on kevan or maybe maestor aemon, both are pretty important characters and both are in fairly underrepresented aparts of the world (especially assuming the damphair dies early in winds) edit: with kevan we would have 2 pov in kings landing, 1(2 with jons ressurection) at the wall, 3 in the north, 1 in the riverlands, 1 in the vale, 2 at storms landing, 1 beyond the wall, 1 in bravos and like a million at mereen so, i could 100% see it being kevan but with his death being in an epilogue so also it very well could be aemon

[@ryanwilliams9751]

2:56 It's always been Maester Aemon to me.

[@priceeverett9102]

Whoa definitely didn’t see this video a day early by subscribing to your Patreon!

[@bstahl52]

Obviously the character he ACTUALLY regrets killing is Ned Stark. I come to this conclusion because I like Ned and a happy ending to AGOT prevents the man from needing to write TWOW in the long term.

[@aaronginsberg4993]

I'd make a case for Little Walder Frey. The Frey-Bolton alliance is built around the Roose-Walda marriage but is significantly buttressed by Little Walder being Ramsay's squire. If the show is right, and Ramsay is going to kill Walda, why would the Freys support him now? Hosteen is Little Walder's uncle. It's plausible Hosteen would support Ramsay at his nephew's urging. But now? Why would Hosteen back his niece's killer? Little Walder also has a better claim to Darry than his older sister Ami. If GRRM needs a way to oppose Ami's claim, he no longer has Little Walder's claim (backed by the Freys) as an option.

[@soyusmaximus7176]

I think Ramsay may hold Walda hostage after killing Roose to keep the Freys loyal.

[@vietdinh8135]

Commenting to boost KZbin algorithm

[@Spllyn]

I am engaging with this comment in a positive way to appease the algorithm

[@Magmafrost13]

I wonder if the regret could be tied to the time skip not happening. Maybe Maester Aemon's death wouldve impacted the story less if Sam had been able to spend 5 years at the citadel, for example

[@crimsoneagle8755]

Did Maester Aemon accidentally cause Robert’s Rebellion by feeding Rhaegar’s obsession with prophecy?

[@Cassidyhunt]

I think its benjen stark personally because how will the jon snow actually work with some personal connection? Finding out his true parentage from a scroll in oldtown will be very unsatsifying. Also why would jon or the realm believe it. If benjen revealed it on the other hand well then Jon would probably believe it. (tbf Aemon may have fulfilled this role too, remember a fling that Rhaegar may have told him about etc.) Killing off benjen let jon become the lord commander but i could understand how 3 books later grrm would be regretting that decision.

[@TurquoiseStar17]

One person who was with Ned at the Tower of Joy is still alive, if he ever comes out of hiding - Howland Reed. We'll most likely find out either from him, or Bran seeing the past.

[@bookswithike3256]

But Benjen isn't confirmed dead and Martin could easily find a way for him to reenter the story.

[@gerganakoleva4137]

Benjen is not dead - not confirmed at least. If you think he is Coldhands - this is not confirmed, actually GRRM denies it in one of his interviews.

[@Raptor_Pancake]

RIP Ser Waymar Royce

[@MoonManTheories]

I really like this thinking. Aemon makes sense in exactly the way you lay out. For my money it's Joffrey tho. Thought that the second I read that quote. Always baffled by his death. I might to a podcast on this.

[@QuinnTheGM]

That’s a fascinating thought, I hadn’t considered him at all and I’d love to hear your reasoning

[@dagreen92]

Beric, he knew Ashara Dayne and could have ended up at The Wall to tell Jon about his "mother"

[@danielbroome5690]

The thing with Quenten Martell is that is it ambiguous ENOUGH that it wouldn't be an impediment to bringing him back. There is a time cut between him feeling part of his clothes catch fire, and the recovery of the burned body that later dies. The mere existence of so much speculation and theories about him not having died is enough leeway for GRRM to bring him back. It's obviously not an air-tight death if it left that much wiggle room.

[@victorbeidiljohnsen5257]

Another point about Pycelle. His death means that a new Grand Maester has to be chosen, and the last thing this story needs is more plotlines.

[@WorthlessWinner]

It can't be Quintin, since Quintin is alive ;P

[@donnadelreys]

@@WorthlessWinner God I hope so 😭 My sweet baby boy

[@Vmac1394]

Quentyn is in an indeterminate state. Martin absolutely could write him to be alive or dead. There's no way Davos should be alive at the beginning of Storm, but he is inexplicably washed up onto a rock in the middle of Blackwater Bay. If GRRM absolutely NEEDS Quentyn to be alive for his story to work, he can write him to be alive. I do think Quentyn is dead though because that makes sense for the Martell storyline.

[@jaredbrady5566]

​@Vmac1394 Davos has survived 2 potential write-offs, sure the 2nd was more ambiguous, being just a short-fingered corpse.

[@KaiHung-wv3ul]

@@Vmac1394I mean, people do survive drowning. As far as I’m aware, dragon-fire is a lot less survivable. Not to mention Quentyn dies in Barristan’s chapter with little ambiguity.

[@alexiavya722]

My opinion is GRRM killing Jon, I'd bet he thought he was going to leave Jon POV less until he gets a body back and assumed he could get all of the northern pov stuff in with Melisandra, but after getting into the thick of the northern plot stuff stopped connecting so nicely. These are much better options than Kevin, but I'm glued to the idea that he killed Jon off to soon and now he's struggling to reconcile the story. Except, unlike the 5 year gap, he can't just toss it away and move on with the story.

[@gerganakoleva4137]

To me it sounded that the person is really dead. We all know he planned Jon to come back to life somehow trough his wolf. It may be mistimed, but it was in the original backbone of the story, so I do not think he is that person.

[@thisisdevin111]

Needed a Lannister Lackey in KL. Introducing a new grand maester will be challenging. As characters are coming to meet and greet each other like Howland Reed etc... Aemon was needed as well. Is he being preserved for a resurrection as well?

[@joshosborne683]

Currently the number 1 asoiaf channel

[@SitKid721]

He regrets killing the books

[@fairshareofdrownedsouls]

2:46 To answer your question of who I think George shouldn't have killed, I say Ser Robar Royce. It always baffled me that TWO members of Renly's Rainbow guard had to be deleted by Ser Loras. House Royce is still important to the story. Why not have Ser Robar swear an oath to Catelyn, never to take arms against Houses Tully or Stark, have Ser Robar survive, then have him train in his swordsmanship, before joining Aegon VI's Kingsguard, or return to the Vale as a competent, stalwart knight to be around Sansa in these dark days. But no, George unceremoniously ends Ser Robar Royce's story in book 2, like there are a plethora of Royces and talented highborn knights to go around. Great video, by the way.

[@ColonelRPG]

I think Kevan shouldn't have been killed this early

[@raswartz]

It's hard to guess because most problems caused by any character's death could be solved by someone else knowing or doing the same thing. Maester Aemon and Pycelle knew a lot, but, anything crucial could be introduced as "lore" by some other method. I think it's got to be something very specific, like Kevan knowing what happened to Tyrion's first wife, Tysha.

[@nickschulte3915]

Obviously it’s the best character in the books. The one true King in the North, the Young Wolf, Robb Stark!

[@theawesomepossum7465]

Didn’t he straight up say once he regretted killing off Ned? Like I don’t think it was the exact same reason and I don’t think this is who he was talking about, but that did happen right I’m not crazy?

[@MsYuifan]

I thought he did too, but I can't find anything confirming he regretted killing Ned specifically.

[@matthewbird1067]

For Pycelle, I could see GRRM eeking out an extra scene with him via a very early Cersei chapter taking place prior to his death. We know chapters aren't in chronological order and the Jon-Sam mirror sets enough of a precedent for me. It could well be that he's needed for a longer-term arc, but if a lore-dump was needed from his perspective it is doable. That drops his odds considerably in my head, and I really can't see a direction that would need him long term that couldn't be occupied by Qyburn/random Lannister/generic Maester.

[@victarion_seaworth]

We all miss you guys. Preston Greenfield and Ser Hugh of the Vale.

[@pieterhofkens7259]

George shouldn't have killed Oberyn

[@zypalitra8080]

Before watching the video, my guess will be either Kevan or Maester Aemon.

[@martinfiedler4317]

George shouldn't have killed ASoIF... by stopping to write books.

[@Paradoxymoronic]

This was almost my exact comment on the Preston Jacobs video! I feel that the assumption it's Kevan doesn't fit right, as it feels more about people who could provide insight that others cannot - and that, naturally, feels like a fit for the older characters who a lot of knowledge would be lost. Ergo, Maesters Aemon and Pycelle

[@GsusKhrist]

My wildcard has always been, Oberyn dying and not being wounded. Understandably, his defeat moves the plot forward but he would be an excellent reason to stay with the Sunspear plot and explore their plans moving forward. The Martells are fantastic, but it’s hard to see where they go without catching the reader by surprise

[@rashelleobey7626]

Someone said on a stream the other day that the character is Measter Aemon. The fact that you think so too, makes it even more real! He is very old but if he stayed at the wall... would he have lived? I'm not sure that he would he would have survived the journey.

[@pitoblogg]

All of these problems would not be had he not been stuck in his - “I am a gardener not an architect. I have no plan or outline I let the story take me wherever it may as I am writing.” - style. A story as complex as his can not be gardened. It has to be meticulously planned.

[@montyparata3507]

Awesome bro :) initially i thought tywin

[@awwwshucks443]

It would be curious if Aemon perhaps having knowledge of Jon's lineage is part of the writing issue.

[@andilea-mab4199]

My money would also be on Maester Aemon

[@TheAlphaLegionnaire]

I’ve always lamented that Oberyn had to die. Though, I do understand that like Ned, his was a death that drove the plot into interesting places. I always wondered what may have happened if he’d won the duel and began pursuing vengeance against Tywin.

[@BarryESchwartz]

It was Gyldayn. The quote is from when he was focusing on Fire & Blood. Originally Gyldayn was the last maester to serve at Summerhall before it burned. George retconned this to have Gyldayn live into Robert's reign so he could deliver a comprehensive book on the Targaryan dynasty.

[@saggxnoah1979]

My thoughts are Pycelle. As you said, I think Kevan's death in his chapter was too planned to feel like a mistake later on. There are numerous ways the story can unfold with Kevan now gone. However, despite being a smaller character in the books, Pycelle is just about the only other person aside from Qyburn who could be an ally to Cersei. Granted she absolutely despises him, but he still could've had a role to play given his lengthy dedication to house Lannister. Though with Pycelle now dead, Cersei has only one real ally, and perhaps more importantly, she has very few active dynamics left. Her early feast chapters had Jaime to bounce off of, her later ones had Kevan, the Tyrells and the small council. But with Tywin dead, Tyrion gone, Jaime gone, Kevan dead, Pycelle dead, Tommen only a child, Robert Strong a mute, and just Qyburn, perhaps she'll lack for proper dynamics in Winds. Not to say introspective perspectives are bad at all, as Feast demonstrates, but maybe George has found it difficult to write substance for her chapters when she has few people to engage with now.

[@driftwood42]

My first thought was aemon as well. He just has a lot of potential knowledge that could have played a major role in the story. Unfortunately I think his death was written into the story early. Meaning that the way his character was setup was going to lead to his death around that time regardless.

[@ryankwon8785]

I think Maester Aemon. He should have lived long enough to give Sam a rundown of the Citadel. A mentor figure to ensure Sam is not oblivious to the inner workings of Old Town.

[@Mike-di1og]

I think GRRM ended up in a logistical knot for getting info to characters in a credible enough way for other characters to believe it, which may have easily been solved by Aemon being alive. There may be info about Rhaegar and Lyanna that Aemon would know from correspondence with Rhaegar, which might feel contrived and unconvincing in-universe when coming from another source. And I doubt that’s the only secret he was privy to. I imagine one reason Aemon was killed was because he had too much information that GRRM needed to remain under wraps, but now he needs a lot of that information to reveal it and he doesn’t have a good way to do so logistically without Aemon.

[@ericmclean4291]

The corner he's painted himself into may be that there is some highly important information that needs to be known and that character was the key to disseminating that information. Or an important task needs to be done and it made the most sense for that character to do it then die. It doesn't necessarily means he wants them around for the Winds of Winter. Now he has to come up with a somewhat convoluted way to get it done and he doesn't like it. My taught is Kevan. I believe somethign sly/cunning needs to be done and Kings Landing and they don't have a proper character to pull it off without feeling weird.

[@marknicklason]

Aerys Oakheart. Killed his Viewpoint character in Dorne and likely further reasons surrounding Myrcella and whatever issues arise from a Kingsguard in Dorne with relation to Kings Landing characters.

[@guyasor1]

How do you find the strength to release more videos without a new book.. Even alt shift barely touches the old story material

[@evanyurko3640]

Definitely think it’s Maester Aemon

[@evanyurko3640]

But it could be Pycelle too

[@faisalkamal4319]

it was of course my real man Tristifer IV Mudd