Winning the Game of Thrones: The Host of Characters and their Agendas (7 page)

“Not easily,” Catelyn warned them, “and not in time. While you were mounting your siege, Tywin Lannister would bring up his host and assault you from the rear.” (I:640-641)

Who Killed Jon Arryn and Attacked Bran?

Certainly, Cersei has the obvious motive for both. But the obvious is rarely what happens on the show. There are manipulative characters who say the right word in the right ear. There are petty, jealous characters who make bad political moves for personal reasons. Basically, there are murderers out there beyond the Lannisters.

The sheer number of players, especially in the books, makes the plot rather complex: Lysa Arryn’s letter to the Starks accuses the Lannisters of her husband’s murder. Then Jon Arryn’s former squire, Ser Hugh, is conveniently killed by the Lannister knight Ser Gregor Clegane before he can offer any information. Much of Ned’s quest is discovering Cersei’s infidelity, which Jon Arryn uncovered just before he died. As such, the actual murder becomes secondary to him. Later, Grand Maester Pycelle confesses to Tyrion that he let the poisoned Lord Jon die to help the Lannisters. Basically, it becomes clear there’s a massive conspiracy, even if some characters like Pycelle helped the murderer from afar. The murderer confesses to one of the main characters late in book three, so it’s likely the real answer will be revealed in season four.

Bran’s attack is nearly as convoluted. It’s implied that though Jaime pushed him the first time, he’s not the sort to hire assassins. The hired killer was given a rare dragonbone dagger, which Littlefinger tells Cat belonged to him, before he lost it to Tyrion in a tournament wager. After Cat kidnaps Tyrion and escalates the Lannister-Stark hostility, Tyrion reveals the dagger wasn’t his – he never bets against Jaime. Tyrion also points out that only an idiot would use his own knife.

In fact, King Robert won the dagger in that wager and kept it among his many weapons. One assumes he didn’t arrange Bran’s death, though he said in front of his family that it would be a kindness to end Bran’s misery (On the show, Cersei inherits that line.) However, his armory was accessible to all of his household who traveled to Winterfell including the guards and trusted advisors. In Lysa Arryn’s sky cell, Tyrion thinks to himself:

If the old Hand had been murdered, it was deftly and subtly done. Men of his age died of sudden illness all the time. In contrast, sending some oaf with a stolen knife after Brandon Stark struck him as unbelievably clumsy. And wasn’t that peculiar, come to think on it. (I:415)

He comes to the conclusion that he’s being used in a conflict that’s bigger than Stark and Lannister, and he also believes Bran and Jon Arryn had different assassins – someone is setting up his family. Even if Littlefinger didn’t arrange the assassin, he set up Catelyn’s attack on the Lannisters. Like the other murderer, Bran’s attacker is revealed in the third book. So on both of these, just wait – it’s coming.

What Does Melisandre Want?

“He stands before you,” Melisandre declared, “though you do not have the eyes to see it. Stannis Baratheon is Azor Ahai come again, the warrior of fire.” (III:884)

Clearly she wants Stannis on the throne, or at least is aiming him that way. She seems to think he’s Azor Ahai, the Lightbringer of the prophecy. She also wants to sacrifice those of royal blood to increase her own and possibly Stannis’s power. She’s a fanatic desperate to protect the world from darkness, though she may be misguided about the nature of that darkness…or she may be completely correct.

       One problem is the red priests’ inflexibility: Beloved characters like Jon and Sam are saved by the ravens and Heart Trees of the Old Gods, but Melisandre and Stannis go about burning the ancient groves, contributing, one must assume, to the power of evil in the world.

There is no ambiguity about [other gods’] nature among the R’hllor priests. To them, the Others serve R’hllor’s nemesis, the Great Other, reminiscent of the Christian split between God and Satan. The priest Moqorro explicitly says to the Ironborn, “Your Drowned God is a demon. [. . .] He is no more than a thrall of the Other, the dark god whose name must not be spoken” (
A Dance with Dragons
). To the Lord of Light’s followers, all faiths but R’hllor represent the Great Other.
^[10]

With magic newly returned to the world, Melisandre may be a key player against the Other, or her inflexibility and fanaticism may doom everyone.

Martin tells us only, “Melisandre has gone to Stannis entirely on her own, and has her own agenda” rather than following the goal of the other red priests.
^[11]
In fact, in the fifth book, the Maegi in Volantis believe Daenerys is the chosen one. What has Melisandre seen? Why does she pursue her own course? Possibilities include the following:

1.
      
She honestly thinks she’s found Azor Ahai and needs him to fight the darkness of the wights that are coming. It wouldn’t be the first vision she’s gotten wrong, as she misnames towers and characters – she sees the images but the meanings are often lost to her.

2.
      
She has a crush on Stannis and is blinded by love for him, thus she thinks he’s Azor Ahai and wants to have his shadow babies. (This seems unlikely – Stannis is the least charming person imaginable.)

3.
      
Stannis is her power base while she waits for the conflict of ice and fire or the true hero. Possibly she’s seen in her fires that she’ll be needed in Westeros.

4.
      
She wants something and being close to Stannis will get it for her – perhaps she’s plundering Dragonstone for its ancient secrets or seeking the real Lightbringer sword.

A single, carefully-written chapter from her point of view in the fifth book fails to clarify much of anything. She has a vision of the past in which a woman cries, “Melony” and a man calls “Lot Seven,” suggesting she was sold as a slave once (V:408). She believes she’s doing the right thing to battle the darkness and protect her King Stannis. And she has a number of powers we haven’t yet seen. Her story is still largely a mystery.

What Happened to Winterfell?

After Theon’s emotional speech, his ironmen hit Theon on the head and leave for home – Robb promised amnesty to all but their leader. They’re surrounded on all sides by the Bastard of Bolton’s men – he’s the son of Robb’s bannerman, sent to save Winterfell and the Stark boys. When Bran and Rickon emerge from the crypts, their home has been burned to ruins. So who did it? Clearly the Bastard of Bolton. Why? Well, he’s a sadist and a selfish monster, as we see as he takes Theon home to his dungeons. The books show him filled with a jealousy, ambition, and need to prove himself that somewhat echoes Theon’s. Given the attack from a northern lord, perhaps it’s less puzzling that Maester Luwin urges the boys to find Jon on the Wall, not seek out other northerners for aid.

Why is Tywin so Useless?

Tywin seems the Machiavellian mastermind behind the Lannisters. So why does he keep losing against Robb, letting Joffrey rule idiotically in King’s Landing, and doing little else of use? Certainly his Lannister pride has led to arrogance. In season two, he, like many lords, is shocked by how well Robb is doing on campaign. As he struggles to modify his customary battle strategies, he’s been seriously taken off guard. On the other hand, he’s better in the council chamber than the battlefield. He notes that “some battles are won with swords and spears, others with quills and ravens” (III:260). In fact, most of his great plots work behind the scenes.

In the Battle of Blackwater, Tywin arranges the alliance with the Tyrells and their massive army after Renly’s death and arrives at King’s Landing in time to aid with the battle. Tywin’s henchmen, like the Mountain that Rides, are terrorizing the Riverlands. In the books, he hires mercenaries to loot the Riverlands, but they desert to serve the Boltons (under the Starks) and savagely slice off Jaime’s hand when they capture him. Ironically, Tywin has orchestrated his own son’s maiming.

Season three Tywin returns to King’s Landing and demotes Cersei and Tyrion for being incompetent (though this seems unfair in Tyrion’s case.) There, a scene of chair-moving as the Small Council literally jostles for position seems his greatest accomplishment. However, many of his complex schemes from book three have not yet unfolded by that point. Basically, he’s arranging covert and overt alliances, hoping that with a large enough army he can defeat Robb. His schemes in the book and show include having Littlefinger woo Lysa Arryn and her army, wedding Sansa Stark into the Lannisters (with Bran and Rickon allegedly killed by Theon, and Arya vanished, she’s the only Stark heir after Robb), and even wedding Cersei off to Loras Tyrell. In the books, Princess Myrcella’s betrothal to the Dornish prince is only the beginning of pacifying Dorne and somehow giving them Princess Elia of Dorne’s killer (unfortunately, Tywin Lannister is known for giving that order) in order to get Dorne’s massive armies. Going down the map, that’s five of the Seven Kingdoms, leaving only one for Stannis, whose war grows ever-shakier. The last kingdom, the Riverlands, is in the worst shape, as the most fighting and sacking has been happening there. By contrast, Tywin can add Highgarden, Dorne, and the Vale – who haven’t even lost troops yet – to the Crown lands and Lannister territories.

Further, Tywin’s the source of Robb’s two great betrayals, thanks to his “quills and ravens.” In the books, Robb imprudently weds Jeyne Westerling, whose family are bannermen to the Lannisters. This proves more foolhardy than just angering the Freys – Tywin convinces Jeyne’s parents to remain loyal to him and prevent their daughter from getting pregnant (with a TV wife from the Free Cities, it’s unknown how much of this storyline will play out). He’s also conspiring with a few of Robb’s and Edmure Tully’s bannermen, who eventually commit various treacheries and then declare for the Lannisters. Basically, most of Tywin’s arrangements are quiet, underhanded work, withheld from viewers until they play out shockingly, but he’s not just snoozing behind the Iron Throne. His plans to rein Joffrey in and teach him proper behavior are less clear, but he may feel they can wait until the war ends.

How Does Guest-Right Work?

In the most ancient times, enemies had to be set apart from friends – allowing someone into your house, past your walls, had to mean that neither guest nor host would kill anyone there. It was similar to the Geneva Convention – everyone agreed on a set of rules, the breaking of which, like using chlorine gas or torture, was considered an inhumane breakdown of civilized life. In medieval times, travelers had to stay in fellow knights’ castles or in inns. One might come down to dinner and find an enemy seated there already. Knowing there would be peace within the walls was vital, and losing that meant one’s life would always be in danger.      

In classical times, all strangers had the right to hospitality. Without even sharing their names, they were offered food, clothing, and gifts. Greek myth relies on this sacred law, and those who broke hospitality to attack a guest or host were cursed (this concept appears in the Iliad and Odyssey both).
Zeus was called Zeus Xenios, guaranteer of hospitality and protector of guests.

This tradition may seem extreme or outmoded to modern readers, but in ancient times it was incontrovertible for moral people. In the Bible, Lot is prepared to sacrifice his daughters to an angry mob rather than give them his guests, and Abraham makes a point of running down the road to beg every traveler to stop in for a meal. Middle Eastern tradition is clear on this issue, and even the captain of the forty thieves in
Arabian Nights
refuses to eat salt rather than accept this guest-right and then murder his host.

Europe of course has strong roots in the classical tradition. Dante’s
Divine Comedy
names those who break guest-right the second worst kind of traitors, condemned to the lowest level of hell.
The Hobbit
 references this trope – even irritating dwarves who show up from nowhere must be feasted. The Count of Monte Cristo refuses to eat in his enemy’s house.
Macbeth worries about killing his king, a guest in his castle, and certainly everything he does subsequently is cursed.
Ivanhoe
 and
King Arthur
, especially
Gawain and the Green Knight,
use this concept. Basically, in classical, Biblical, and the medieval tradition founded on them, this really meant something. Parts of this tradition, like taking a fight outside the building where one is eating or staying, still remain.

So what are the consequences for betraying guest-right?

According to classical sources, as well as comments by
Ice and Fire
characters, those who do so are cursed forever by the gods. On a more practical level, someone who doesn’t abide by the sacred laws has shown himself an outlaw, not a member of the community. Thus, no one will trust them, and others will feel free to betray hospitality to the oathbreakers. There’s nowhere they’ll be safe, and their most trusted friends may turn on them.

Where Did Daenerys’s Eggs Come From?

Magister Illyrio introduces his gifts as “Dragon’s eggs, from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai.” He adds, “The eons have turned them to stone, yet still they burn bright with beauty” (I:104). This is the land where the red priests originate and Bran has a vision of the country: