I think the following POVs are underrated:
Bran Stark.
Samwell.
All Iron Island/Dorne segments.
Bran Stark:
People that tend to diss Bran POVs usually tend to not like the fantasy elements which are really emphasized in his POV. They also tend to think that he is ‘whiney’ because he can’t walk.
I love Bran POVs because of the stories. The stories within the stories. The Lore. We hear about the Last Hero, the Knight of the Laughing Tree, the Rat Cook and Brave Danny Flint. WE meet up with the Children of the Forest, these mythical beings we have heard referenced over and over again over more than 4 000 pages. The eeriness of the Cave and Bran’s visions.
But most of all I like the darkness implicit in Bran’s exploration of his powers, the iffy ethics, the slight odor of creepiness…all of it so understandable from a character point of view.
You know, Bran totally rapes Hodor’s mind. And eventually(if the show is anything to go by) causes his death and breaks his mind in the past, condemning him to a life of disability and mockery. And yet…we kind of support Bran. But it leaves a bad taste in our mouth.
In doing so, GRRM takes the cliches of the Chosen One trope and makes them fresh, showing us the real human cost of the humans around the Chosen Ones. He shows us the EVIL in the Chosen One trope.
And I think that anybody who has suffered some debilitating health incident goes through a period of depression and ‘whininess.’ I think that critics who don’t get that have probably not experienced much of life. It is very original and realistic, within the framework of this magical world, to have Bran get down about his disability and push on towards some kind of magical resolution to it.
Samwell
I feel like people who don’t like Samwell just want to read about ass-kicking. Samwell is the character that most goes against the frankly fascist tendencies of the fantasy genres. He’s a wimp, ridiculously so. But he is smart, gentle, a book reader. He is like Tyrion without the cruel streak. He is like me on a good day. I love Samwell and I love the fact that Sam alone has taken care of a White Walker and a Wight. I love the fact that heroism doesn’t have to be some Chosen One with a magic sword.
Iron Islands
I’ll admit the first time I read A Feast For Crows, I felt a little impatient with these chapters. That had absolutely nothing to do with how they are written. It had everything to do with I wanted to find out what the characters I had been following for the last three books were up to.
But upon rereading, I realize that some of GRRM’s most inspired prose in in those Ironborn chapters; and definitely his most inspired world-building. He is clearly inspired by those greasy island-rats and his writing has an energy and a verve to it. I love that stuff. And the Winds of Winter Aeron chapter (The Forsaken) released last year was one of the greatest chapters of the entire series.
Dorne
I liked Dorne more than the Iron Islands the first time I read it. Mainly because of the sexy — if kind of stupid — Arianne. But it’s also the beautiful imagery and symbology of the Areo Hotah chapters. The image of the middle-aged gouty cripple gazing out sadly at his gardens while overripe blood-oranges fall and splatter on the grounds is one that haunts me.
The Dorne complicates the political situation but sets it up in such a way that Daenerys is going to have her work cut out for her when she finally arrives, thus saving us all from a triumphant Dragon-Queen comes and kicks ass! narrative. And it has got some lovely imagery.
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