Essos is clearly the prize, westeros is a side show… like the UK vs Europe… But if you want to conquer Essos you can’t leave your western flank open, you have to secure westeros before you can move your military eastward.
If her arc is freeing more slaves, and starts to look east, she has to wrap up the West. We could motivate it by showing diminished supply lines going east, and the logistical trouble going east. Have some harassment from the iron Islands, some piracy, continue to assassination attempts from the Lannisters, The iron Bank refusing to bend the knee - and funding competition, motivating a need to secure the West and put in place a hand of the queen so she can focus on the east. I think you could sell it as a good story
Update - I now realize, The Dragon queen is in Slavers bay / Dragon’s bay, in the freaking middle of Essos, so everything I wrote above doesn’t apply. There is no good reason to leave her empire and travel HALF the world away, skipping all these other kingdoms and leaving your rear open, with huge logistics and supply issues. Abandoning a perfectly good, and GROWING, power-base to secure a side-show because its where they killed your dad doesn’t make sense, ESPECIALLY because the targarians only went to westeros “recently” and they are originally from Essos anyway.
She should expand her free slave empire slowly westward, and eventually secure a strong path to Westeros before the Dragon throne plot can happen, other than revenge, there is no urgency in recapturing Westeros
You had me in the first half, but I agree with your assessment in the second. It would be like the Roman Empire deciding that all they wanted was Britain and never conquering Gaul, Spain, or Greece.
White walkers take total control north of the Wall, and the nights watch/king in the north are having SERIOUS issues keeping the wall in good repair, some white walkers are able to get south of the wall and take over northern castles and strong holds… maybe we introduce a mechanic where the ice-zombies are slower and weaker in warm weather, so this initial incursion is a PROBLEM but not the end of the world, but as winter comes, this becomes more urgent.
Snow/Night Commander hears from the meisters that there are dragons in Essos, and that Fire Dragons are a great counter to the white walkers… Things are dire, he sends ravens/and proxies to Essos to BEG for a dragon but this is ignore/rebuffed since the Dragon queen is perfectly busy in Essos Thank you very much.
After HEAVY losses, HEAVY, perhaps a breach of the wall, Snow goes in person to Essos to beg for dragons as the only possible way to save Westeros. Bran/Mr. Whispers know he is a targarian and do some subplots to prevent them from finding out, plot, plot, plot, In Essos the queen meets snow, they have conflict, dragon fire can’t kill Snow, they both discover they are related… Maybe Snow has a better connection/control of the dragons, something to make the Queen to consider him a huge threat. Queen of Dragons gives Snow a single dragon to help with the wall, and sends him away so she can focus on Essos plots with the promise that Snow will help her claim revenge on those who killed her Dad (lannisters).
Dragon is pregnant, but nobody realizes, goes to the wall, fights, gets converted to a Zombie dragon and lays eggs, the last possible dragon eggs, which the Dragon Queen must come and rescue before they are born (Ice / Zombie dragons threaten Essos as well as Westeros)…
Now we finally have a motivated reason for the Dragon queen to abandon her empire on a side quest, which puts her and her other dragons in Westeros so she can be part of the winter battle, melt the iron throne, etc…
(I just finished a rewatch of the show, so I’ve got some ideas in my head still)
Essos is clearly the prize, westeros is a side show… like the UK vs Europe… But if you want to conquer Essos you can’t leave your western flank open, you have to secure westeros before you can move your military eastward.
If her arc is freeing more slaves, and starts to look east, she has to wrap up the West. We could motivate it by showing diminished supply lines going east, and the logistical trouble going east. Have some harassment from the iron Islands, some piracy, continue to assassination attempts from the Lannisters, The iron Bank refusing to bend the knee - and funding competition, motivating a need to secure the West and put in place a hand of the queen so she can focus on the east. I think you could sell it as a good story
Update - I now realize, The Dragon queen is in Slavers bay / Dragon’s bay, in the freaking middle of Essos, so everything I wrote above doesn’t apply. There is no good reason to leave her empire and travel HALF the world away, skipping all these other kingdoms and leaving your rear open, with huge logistics and supply issues. Abandoning a perfectly good, and GROWING, power-base to secure a side-show because its where they killed your dad doesn’t make sense, ESPECIALLY because the targarians only went to westeros “recently” and they are originally from Essos anyway.
She should expand her free slave empire slowly westward, and eventually secure a strong path to Westeros before the Dragon throne plot can happen, other than revenge, there is no urgency in recapturing Westeros
You had me in the first half, but I agree with your assessment in the second. It would be like the Roman Empire deciding that all they wanted was Britain and never conquering Gaul, Spain, or Greece.
Forget the iron throne, iconic but a distraction.
White walkers take total control north of the Wall, and the nights watch/king in the north are having SERIOUS issues keeping the wall in good repair, some white walkers are able to get south of the wall and take over northern castles and strong holds… maybe we introduce a mechanic where the ice-zombies are slower and weaker in warm weather, so this initial incursion is a PROBLEM but not the end of the world, but as winter comes, this becomes more urgent.
Snow/Night Commander hears from the meisters that there are dragons in Essos, and that Fire Dragons are a great counter to the white walkers… Things are dire, he sends ravens/and proxies to Essos to BEG for a dragon but this is ignore/rebuffed since the Dragon queen is perfectly busy in Essos Thank you very much.
After HEAVY losses, HEAVY, perhaps a breach of the wall, Snow goes in person to Essos to beg for dragons as the only possible way to save Westeros. Bran/Mr. Whispers know he is a targarian and do some subplots to prevent them from finding out, plot, plot, plot, In Essos the queen meets snow, they have conflict, dragon fire can’t kill Snow, they both discover they are related… Maybe Snow has a better connection/control of the dragons, something to make the Queen to consider him a huge threat. Queen of Dragons gives Snow a single dragon to help with the wall, and sends him away so she can focus on Essos plots with the promise that Snow will help her claim revenge on those who killed her Dad (lannisters).
Dragon is pregnant, but nobody realizes, goes to the wall, fights, gets converted to a Zombie dragon and lays eggs, the last possible dragon eggs, which the Dragon Queen must come and rescue before they are born (Ice / Zombie dragons threaten Essos as well as Westeros)…
Now we finally have a motivated reason for the Dragon queen to abandon her empire on a side quest, which puts her and her other dragons in Westeros so she can be part of the winter battle, melt the iron throne, etc…
(I just finished a rewatch of the show, so I’ve got some ideas in my head still)