#that the focus shouldn't be ON the secession so much

[lemonhemlock]

Do you think that Sansa will be qitn ?

I 100% think Sansa will be in some kind of ruling position at the end of the books, in Winterfell. Whether that's Lady of Winterfell, co-ruling with her husband (*cough*Jon*cough*) or as a regent, I genuinely don't think anyone can know for certain and there is even a possibility that the author himself left that thread up in the air for a long time, since he's more of a "gardener" type of writer, leaving the door open for the options I listed.

As for QITN, I'm not convinced that seceding into individual kingdoms at the end of the series would change anything of significance. So, Sansa getting to call herself Queen instead of Lady of the North is not particularly progressive - just more of the same feudalism, but on a smaller scale. Nor am I against unitary states lol. Certainly our real world history has had us evolving away from the decentralized feudal system to the centralized bureaucracy of modern states, interspersed by the, *gasp here* installation of (enlightened) absolutism, before the advent of democratic institutions.*

So, I'm not expecting Westeros to turn into a socialist commune at the end of the series. I think it's fair to say GRRM is looking for a model of "good kingship", for his King Arthur, if you may. The claimants in the War of the 5 Kings die for a reason, because they do not fit that mold. They're not, IDK, let's use the term worthy, because this is a medieval fantasy concerned with critiques on honour and morality. We're not overthrowing the monarchy at the end of ADOS.

However, it would be nice if, at the end, we could see some possibility for the emergence of elements that would slowly contribute to the downfall of feudalism, like the development of cities, of the middle classes, wealth diversification and the erosion of the powers feudal lords enjoy, as well as technological progress, which has been laughably and unrealistically slow in Westeros. That last bit could have simply been done for narrative purposes, not to complicate the story too much, because this is fantasy, after all, so I'm not too pressed by it. But I feel like real technological change could only happen if magic is completely eradicated from the world and the climate returns to normal, which I am expecting to happen.

*huge simplification i know don't yell @ me, history is not that linear and neat. but still.