Hmm, interesting but I'm not sure I agree. In any case, I do love that of the characters you've described as "good", half of them are at war with each other. That's quite different from the usual way conflicts are portrayed, and it's a strength of Martin's.

If anything, rather than an ugly message, perhaps it prompts us to see the world more clearly. For the "good guys", the path of getting stuff done is paved with moral compromises, whereas it's easier to be a tyrant and just steamroll anyone who you stands in your way. Perhaps it makes me appreciate those people who do…

"Jaime is a very interesting and complex character, but a good guy he is not."
And surely that's kind of the point, no? The idea that someone is a "good guy" or a "bad guy" is just a literary construct. Jaimie has committed one of the worst acts in the story, and that will never go away. He's also done an insane amount…

The idea that Martin establishes his characters along a "bifurcated notion of good and evil" couldn't be more wrong.