For other readers (and viewers), dramatic interplay featuring best of Shakespearian tomfoolery/playfulness and histories are apparent (in-truth ancient Grecian tragedies/comedies/histories) and found with murders and deaths, births and swordplay--swordplay of many kinds, this itself opening the appeal to wider oft woefully-dismissed and neglected audiences; switched-babies and identities and such further plotlines. Fandom has up to this point put pieces together quite successfully as evidenced by the volumous /r/asoiaf catalog (you should really search it before posting, seriously-- but you know, new posts are really either just someone else figuring things or seeking to figure things out out so there that goodness in AHA! moments). Some fans focus on Targaryen bloodline lineage as clues, others looking at encoded written/spoken oaths and character words as signs, and furtherly complex are the deeply hidden literary patterns GRRM uses to obscure the most complex of mysterious facts of the world. Whether or not thoughts and dialog are sonnets or poems or pharaohicly-complex riddles leading to answers are perhaps best left to only those with doctoral levels of literary analysis-but evenso these are accessible and understandable to all fandom regardless of comprehension level. To answer the hardest questions a combination of the right/left brain perspectives is needed- a salt-n-peppered knowledge of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons, geneticism and psychology as GRRM is a great researcher and upserptor of all things human into his work. Re-defining and re-framing how data and art is combined--from a more diagonal-slanted combined perspective helps. Obvious to most and generalized, is a simplistic Red versus Green perspective: Redly, fire, and ghastly death meaning/defining the unnatural, and Greenly things ice, trees and beautiful life itself as natural and good (mostly). So, presented are "mechanisms" at work--chew on it as you will, dismiss it as you must, either way please consider this take if seeking further answers.

Myself, a great fan of all-things serialized 1950's to contemporary-era sci-fi, ASOIAF is truly Lord Paramount of all things fantasy, and it would appear to be GRRM's everlasting tribute to the genre itself. Nothing in the contemporaneous near-future will compare to this epic apex of fiction-- and this in some way's it both well-received and not-so well-received within circles of jealous peer-group in writerdom as financially he cashed-in the biggest paycheck of all kahuna's--HBO; and it forces the next generation of sci-fi into existence-- which will consist of only the most creative of minds having that capacity (GRRM's work is forcing an evolution of the sci-fi genre--the question is: with who and when does that happen? Is that person even born yet?). So I really post this message for the most selfish of reasons: I covet more ASOIAF answers; so to stimulate furthered thought exploration of deeper themes and those mysteries still hidden. Let's start with a few observations:

Characters: Generational Shapeshifting Reincarnation Through Selective Breeding

Surprise! Targaryens are a hybrid dragon-human, or maybe better stated, a dragon-to-human contraption developed in Old Valyria (MEME); --and are at best defined as generationally-focused inter-breeders as most Great Houses have over time had the Old Valyrian bloodlines introduced into them (not all, and this is an important fact-Free Folk are the future!!); this in itself is why it is important to keep records of who fathered whom from what family (but there are no Free Folk records of such so their bloodlines are hidden and unknown). Within record books lie a complex maze of bloodline answers (and even some of those records have been manipulated and lie). It is the bloodline of each family themselves that is a magic of sorts. Unnaturally beautiful and entrancing of humans -humans being the Targ target-animal must like wolves are Stark target-animals, the Targs have as their goal elicitation of specific family traits from their targeted humans, using as many previously interbred and deposited qualities of Old Valyrian traits to produce a result--the Prince that was Promised!

Rhaegar was the most puissant of princes for a reason--he was purposely trying to spread his seed in as many previously defined places as possible-- and for this reason alone, like many other men, he had to be stopped by opposing--or rather competing bloodlines from achieving his goal. But he was not stopped!-thus AGoT! This promised prince is not a protagonistic hero most would think, depending on your perspective and orientation to the story (lol)-- but rather the antithesis of the Northern Starks and the "Greenworld" of all things natural. The Azor Ahai prophecy itself is merely a past Essoian perspective of the matter just as the Last Hero was in the time of the First Men. In current 300AC time there is no real Azor Ahai as this person of this generation (or re-generation of the past) will in future stories of old wet nurses be defined as someone else (all time is really cyclic in the bigger scheme). The Prince that was Promised is the "God of all things Unnatural" - effectively the all-controlling devil of sorts -the apex of all demonspaewn, aligned with whatever resides in Asshai and Staygai - the God R'hllor - better defined as King Rheallor Targaryen - also known as Joffrey Tommen Baratheon. Joffrey, the younger brother, is the Valonqar-and will in fulfill of the prophecy of Maggy the maegi, kill his own mother Cersai. So who is this High Sparrow? He is the further incarnation of the Targaryen line, of sorts- and his goal is to rid Tommen of those influences, such as Cersai, which seek to control him for her own uses, as the High Sparrow his self needs Tommen to fullfill the Prince that was Promised prophecy. The High Sparrow could be one of many characters, most likely Rhaegar or Aerys by blood, as even those two were generationally reincarnated and saved through unnatural magic to come back again for their continuing apocalyptic goals. In a much broader truth, the family name Targaryen is meaningless - what it really is .. is a continuing bloodline and practices of Old Valyria, this being **the important distinction. It is that Old Valyrian way of operations that exploits women as raped breeders and children as sacrificial life-bringers, and thisis why following the Doom of Old Valyria there were some mostly successful efforts to create the Free Cities--places themselves where refugees of that cataclysmic event fled to escape the continuing entrancement of those Redly-oriented forces of un-nature. Every aspect of ASOIAF is easily explained as either being oriented towards promoting Old Valyrian practices or ending them. Valar Morghulis, "All Men Must Die" means several things, just as Valar Dohaeris --"All Men Must Servce" means many things in a dualistic world, perhaps not obvious to casual readers.

Rhaegar was purposely using his "Tower of Joy" as both

Boltons

LF's "Come and See" in a way equates to "Witness Me" as some might die purposely in battle as a form of reincarnation- seen in Mad Max (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/witness-me)

dna crypts

Brienne Bran Jon Dany Ned Catelyn and Lysa Hound High Septon Ser Robert Strong CCastrations - end of bloodlines LF and falcom Taking the black What Free Folk represent.

greenseering and such is a resulting expression of several things -- both genetic and environmental -- extreme trauma such as falling from a tower, witnessing the death of one's father, being present in the events of one's offsprings own murders rightful reincarnations

The ending - old bloodlines must die - Free Folk take over - Aemon Steelsong Death, Life, and Reincarnation
Red side Green side
Red Priests GreenLifer

In a scene that may never be produced i suspect that Maggy sent forces to kill Cersai once the prophecy was known, were successful, but Cersai was Red-sidedly re-birthed herself and the life of Melara Hetherspoon was given to appease the God of Death.

Culturally Introduced Mechanisms of Behavior Control

eunichs Taking the Black Maesters and poison, moon tea Life tea Kiss of Life Embrace of death wet nurse as warg or priest entrancing Bran teaching 3eyed crow Number and Color Games 3rd child 44th generation one-thousand and one Morality grey eyes - ambigous characters eyes are windows to the sould - come and see

It is very clearly black in white -- all men must die or all men must serve

A Homeostatus balance of life exists within ASOIAF with life and death as I think we shall find newly born armies of the Green side hatched within the caves of the Whitefish for each humanly evil death of countless man a new creature of greenly good is seeded, incubated and born, to be the future population of Westerso- msotly animals, wolves, giants, and even neander-ith First Men (Free Folk).