I don't think mentioning how long they've traveled or been away is too cumbersome, or at least showing time pass in some way. I guess you can't really use the changing of the season though lol.

Hey, you go get forced to do a walk of atonement and tell me you wouldn't explode those bitches at the first given opportunity.

I don't get why Jaimie sent him back to the Freys? Wasn't he supposed to send him to Lannisport? Was that just to prove how slimy and untrustworthy Jaime is?

Completely agree. I like that things are moving faster, but they don't have completely get rid of the sense of scale that made the world so realistic.

Yeah to me the big picture is the consistent theme throughout the book that the heir, the destined one, the next in line, isn't a real thing. All these guys trying to claim there destinies end up failing because birthright is actually bullshit. For the story to end with Jon on the Iron Throne because he secretly has…

Nope, not necessarily.
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/…
there is no confirmation that the ability to ride a dragon is linked to the blood.

There isn't confirmation that they are all bastards.

Yep, they have to be going there!

But why didn't he just leave with Brienne if he was going to escape?

Lies! The Leftovers was tedious and unsatisfying, this was the opposite.

I agree, especially as Daario. Ed looks good but he looks better with a different haircut.

Well the Mountain stopping him is a giant clue. But he is pretty dumb so he may not have put it together.

So the strength of the claim is irrelevant, as I was saying.

This is disproven in the World of Ice and Fire, where they had non-Targs riding dragons in the Dance of the Dragons period.

I am going go out on a limb and say that the bloodline is irrelevant for that: I can't see Viserys riding a dragon, for example.

Also, it seems like they dropped him off on the wrong side? He should have been approaching from the North, the opposite side of the sea. But it was worth it for the view.

Why does he need to be literal royalty for that? The Targs are only kings because they had dragons and conquered, not because of special blood lines. Viserys clearly had the blood but was nothing special.

Which is irrelevant since the first season, because Viserys clearly had a better claim than her. The reason why she in this position is because of her will and resilience: this is a clear theme throughout the story.

I find it completely unnecessary that they sand off Ned's rough edges. I liked it better when he was a mostly good man with some failings.

The Dragons are clearly the fire part.