We haven’t gotten there yet. The fifth book comes out in July, and I think there are two more after that. So we don’t know how everything ends up yet. I CAN tell you the short-term answer for the two you mentioned (though they’re not in the manner that you hoped for): Yes, and maybe. Whether the long-term, final answer is yes or not, like I said, we don’t know.
Oh, and Robert isn’t pussy-whipped, as such. He’s noble-whipped. He doesn’t want to start any trouble with House Lannister (and especially Tywin, though Jaime’s role in Aegon’s death makes Robert keep an eye on him warily, too), so he generally defers to Cersei when the stakes aren’t too high (and the death of a dog isn’t high-stakes to a king, no matter who that dog belongs to). The Seven only know that Robert certainly doesn’t limit himself to Cersei’s favors, so he’s not deferring to her to maintain access to THAT.
I’m pretty sure George is on the record for saying the series will have a bittersweet ending. I think that’s about the best we could hope for.
Life is irrevocably fucked for the Starks though. Both parents murdered, eldest brother murdered, home burned to the ground, etc. They’re generally the characters people root for, so having even a bittersweet ending probably means things are looking up.
Eh, the most triumphant I would expect is if the Starks get to fuck back the people who fucked them over, even if the Starks (however many are left) are still a miserable, fucked-over lot.
He’s not whipped, he’s just lazy. He takes the easy way out, and so doesn’t bother fighting with Cersei on stuff like killing Lady. It’s just not worth his trouble - he’s got drinking and whoring to do.
Plus, it’s possible that in the back of his head he keeps in mind that the Lannisters basically own the crown at this point.
How much longer would it take? I guess it depends on how the next episode goes and how the tourney wraps up, but that seems like a pretty big thing to cut and something that wouldn’t take too much time.
I guess in the big scheme of things Sandor isn’t that big of a character, but he’s a fan favorite.
Nothing has angered me so far. The only issue I have is that they’re not showing Sansa as being awestruck. She has too much trepidation about her new surroundings, and if that keeps up she’ll really seem strange for selling out her entire family just for a chance at staying there. Hopefully the melee will get her head back to all the chivalry and songs. I bet we’ll finally get Loras next week.