u/Interesting-Egg4295

I know the Others are the obvious existential threat, and I’m not trying to downplay that. But on reread, I sometimes find the “fire people”, Melisandre, the red priests, and the broader R’hllor faith, even more unsettling in a different way.

Fire is terrifying on its own in this series. We see how destructive it is with wildfire, dragons, burning people alive, prophetic visions, etc. But when fire gets combined with religious certainty, fanaticism, sacrifice, prophecy, and the fanatical belief that horrific acts can be justified for some greater cosmic purpose, it starts to feel like a massive danger that a lot of characters aren’t fully recognizing.

The Others are inhuman and distant for much of the story, which makes them frightening. But the R’hllor/fire-associated threat feels more human and somehow more sinister. Humans choosing horrific violence because they believe they are serving the “one true god” or preventing the end of the world. That kind of conviction can be terrifying because it can make pretty much anything feel permissible.

I’m not saying the Others are less important as the endgame threat. I’m more asking about which side feels more psychologically disturbing to read.

TLDR: Does anyone else read the fire/R’hllor side of the story as more immediately unnerving than the Others? Not necessarily more evil or more dangerous in the final cosmic sense, but more disturbing because it is already operating openly through actual human beings?

Edit: I’m curious about the storylines/plots/major characters you actually “ENJOY/LIKE” that you would be willing to sacrifice. NOT the ones that annoy you or you don't like.

At this point, it feels very possible, even likely, that GRRM may never finish the series. And even if he does, it seems clear that he’s struggled for a long time with how to bring this enormous story to a close.

So my question is: what character, POV, or major plotline do you genuinely like/enjoy that you’d still be willing to lose if it made the overall story tighter and easier to finish?

I don’t mean stuff you already dislike. A lot of people would gladly cut the Dornish plot, Young Griff, Meereen, Darkstar, Quentyn, etc. I’m asking for something you’d actually be sad to lose.

For me, the painful answer might be Davos. He may honestly be my favorite character. I love his chapters and how he sees power from the perspective of someone who was never born with it. But if I’m being ruthless, I could imagine cutting or heavily reducing the whole Stannis/Davos/Melisandre part of the story.

And this hurts to say too, but maybe Brienne. I love her, and her chapters are some of the best material in the series for showing the human cost of war. But if the goal were to simplify the story, I could see her Riverlands quest being heavily compressed or removed, with some of that thematic weight shifted elsewhere.

TLDR: what part of ASOIAF do you love, but would still sacrifice for the sake of a tighter, more finishable series?