leoofredkeep

[leoofredkeep]

Rooting for Cersei

From the outset, the story has disguised its villains as the good guys and the other way around. The author claims he writes "grey" characters with both qualities and flaws but a closer look shows that the "nice guys" or those who claim to be "rightful" are consciously causing the most horrendous things while the "selfish villains" are doing minor direct damage when they are not merely defending themselves. The audience is consistently misled into accepting "heroes" whose decisions unleash the most evil activities like war, human sacrifice or foreign invasion, all under seemingly "honest" or justified pretexts, hiding a blatant disregard for life or freedom of choice.

Ned Stark is the first of these disguised villains. Presented with a genetic secret of no consequence, he decides to reveal it to the world in full understanding of the war it is about to start. He says "there is no other choice", denying himself and the world any freedom in the matter, not showing a second thought about the cost in utterly innocent lives and the disruption it is bound to represent. By the time this happens, it has become obvious that Joffrey is a dubious candidate for the throne but so was Robert before him and the realm was peaceful and prosperous. Ned will never take this into consideration anyway, Joffrey's personality plays no role in his decision. Ned Stark values principles more than the people they are meant to benefit. He has the cart before the horse and the result is a war no one needs. "Winter is coming", we'll hear the fool mumble a few times, but righting a petty wrong is more important to him than preparing for it.

Learning his father was arrested, Robb reacts by "calling the banners". The Starks are implicitly presented as good people and good rulers but the son reacts just as his father would and immediately calls the armies of the whole North to serve his personal family matters. He doesn't question his father nor does he attempts at negotiating anything. He marches south with battle plans and his first one involves sacrificing 2000 of his own men in a decoy move. Conscious of the price, he will prepare the rest for more and consciously send terms he knows are unacceptable. He will tell his mother once he only means to apply pressure to get his sisters back but will never act on this.

When he meets a nurse on the battlefield, his only plan is to kill Joffrey and he needs her to open his eyes on the misery he causes. Robb wil remain blind to danger and common sense, though. His last plan will be to get help from the man to whom he made a false promise in order to attack a psychological objective. "Show them how it feels to lose what they love" will be his mother's words and he'll go for it.

Stannis thinks of himself as "the rightful king". He doesn't really want the position but thinks he has to take it because he dislikes choices. His ideal world is one of regulated certainties in which people do what they must, not what they want. He will deal "justice" rigidly, without compromises, will not ally with anyone not fitting his views. He will bend them by force instead, fighting the world if he has to and sacrifice his own daughter for a purpose which is not his or anyone's, really. Stannis values nothing more than his own concept of order. As Ned Stark, he fails to see it as a means to an end and will always prefer the rules to the ruled.

Renly does not like his brothers, does not think they should be king. He thinks he should be because he is a nicer person, because he is more popular. As nice as it is for people to like their rulers, it is a serious stretch to present war as a justifiable price for them. Renly does this, however, and abuses his popularity to start a war of his own. He will be king because he can, because his lover's family is rich enough to provide him with a large army and sustain the war effort. There is no telling how he will rule, this is not part of his program. His only promise is to offer a nicer smile than the fat drunk before him. We see him reproach Robert his taste for war then start his own. Renly is a certified hypocrite.

Margaery is Renly's queen and all about business. After he dies, she'll want to be Joffrey's queen, even though her former husband wanted Joffrey's head. At this point, it is safe to say she will do whatever it takes to get where she wants. Cersei married Robert after he became king and their union helped keep the realm at peace. Margaery married a pretender in order to better fuel his private war effort. But Margaery smiles at people and pretends to care for them so people like her more. She knows how to use people's desires or beliefs and will do so whenever she gets a chance. That doesn't make her a villain, after all she is not the one initiating aggression. She willingly sides with it without much scruple, whether it is Renly's war or Joffrey's urges. Of the various potential rulers this story proposes, and Margaery is one in that she attempts at taking over to some extent, she remains one of the most acceptable.

Starting off as sold, abused and kind, Daenerys takes her brother's role when he dies and turns into the epitome of power seen as personal property. What once belonged to her mad father, she will take back whatever the cost, even if it means bringing savage hordes and weapons of mass destruction to the place she calls "home" but really considers as nothing else but her private backyard. "I will take what is mine. With fire and blood!" This is what Daenerys really is about and she only stops on her way to practise the skills she knows she will need, abandoning the people of Meereen to the hands of a sellsword without scruples once she thinks she's done. Like Stannis, she is all about getting people to "bend the knee" to her but where he felt he was following some universal rule, she does it out of pure sense of entitlement. Trying to listen to advice at first she later admits she never wanted to. She is "the Dragon" and will take what dragons take, the way they do: by burning it down first. Realising her "property" is about to be invaded by some undead army, she turns to defend it as anyone else would. Daenerys is the classical tyrant: someone who decides to take power unasked and wield it entirely based on personal judgement.

Jon Snow is a good guy. He is even a conciliator, one who finds reasons to unite opposites rather than choosing sides but he is tragically incompetent. He was surprised by Craster, captured by wildlings, failed to convince anyone but Maester Aemon or those he saved from something. Elected Commander, he was such a terrible leader he was assassinated by his own men. Warned of Ramsay's personality, he ran head on into is trap. Finally, his last blunder gave the Night King a dragon and the means to bring down the Wall. Without it, White Walkers and their army of dead men would have remained confined to the empty spaces north of the Wall as some weird tourist attraction.

So seriously, who would want to root for the man who always makes a mess of everything?

Cersei is not a nice person. She is not loveable, she does not care for others and will occasionally over-react to threats, like direwolves around her children or manipulation attempts on her sons. Yet, she never actively tried to take advantage of people, advised her son against going to war against the North and objected to Jaime giving the Dornish cause for conflict. She is utterly reactive, married the king to become queen after rebellion had ended and put up with him for 17 long unhappy years for the sake of peace. She is not a conqueror taking armies of slaves and savages to a place she calls hers together with tyrannical demands. Threatened of denunciation by Ned Stark, she still found the nerve to offer him a way out twice, again for the sake of stability in the realm. She has made a few mistakes on the way, of which she has learned, and remains the most realistic ruler at hand. Of all the proposed "solutions" to the question of power, she is by far the least problematic choice.

[leoofredkeep]

Daenerys is evil, not Cersei

"She was good. From her first breath, she was so sweet. I don't know where she came from. She was nothing like me. No meanness, no jealousy, just good. I thought if I could make something so good, so pure... maybe I'm not a monster."

Cersei speaking of her daughter tells that she sees her own faults. She knows her impulses and judges them, regrets them. She knows she has to restrain herself and does it too.  When Jaime tells her he's going to Dorne to steal Myrcella back, she first counters he might commit "an act of war", something she does not want. When Myrcella's body arrives, she grieves as a form of compassion or justice: "I have to. It's not right she has to suffer alone". She feels she owes her daughter something.

Against expectations, she does not fall into raging revenge plans, does not ask war be brought to the Dornish. Instead, she will punish those who harmed her, and only those, when she gets the  chance. This is far from Daenerys' sense of "justice", which she expressed by crucifying people without a trial on the basis of a blanket accusation and in complete ignorance of the way the decision she intended to punish was taken. The masters of Meereen were all judged equally guilty without a second thought and Daenerys felt she was doing right. Later, she will always  have to be refrained by others, not by herself. She will finally listen to the voice who tells her to ignore advisers and "be a dragon" instead of a human being.

Facing the prospect of trial by the Sparrows, Cersei first bets on trial by combat, the least violent solution, even though it implies acceptance of their right to judge her, another humiliation. After Margaery sides with the Faith, Cersei will go to Lady Olenna and beg for help, making apologies and showing insight. Only when all fails will she resort to the last, most destructive weapon she has. This is in explicit contrast with Daenerys' first impulse which is  always to destroy indiscriminately, which she does by burning all the Khals  and proposes to do again back in Meereen: "I will crucify the Masters. I will set their fleets afire, kill every last one of their soldiers, and return their cities to the dirt".

When Cersei utters terrible threats, it is always from a strongly emotional standpoint, out of helplessness in the face of something she cannot accept. Then she shows insight and regrets her mistakes. Daenerys does it calmly from a position of power leaving no doubt as to her willingness to do what she says.  She does not show regret afterwards, nor does she seem to learn.

Cersei might be flawed, as all characters in the story, but Daenerys is the monster.

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[leoofredkeep]

Cersei is not a narcissist

Narcissism: an exceptional interest in or admiration for oneself, especially one's physical appearance. A consuming self-absorption or self-love; a type of egotism. Narcissists constantly assess their appearance, desires, feelings, and abilities.

Cersei is renown as "the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms", in her father's words, a slogan he made up when he wanted to marry her first to the Targaryen Prince then to the new Baratheon King. She is certainly proud of it, as any woman would, and she cares for her appearance but do we see her make it the center of her life? Not at all.

Does she spend time talking about how she feels, what she wants or what she can do? Is she boasting about herself, showing off? Do we see her spend time in front of a mirror? Does she parade herself? Does she question the way people see her?

No. None of this applies.

When we first see Cersei, she is worrying about her secret relationship with her twin brother being discovered. In her next scene, we see her annoyance at her younger brother giving a bad image of the family and her pain at her husband being in a hurry to visit the tomb of his first and only love. All these are very normal, relatable concerns. She shows contentment at the beauty of the young woman set to marry her son.

Later, we see her recall the death of her first born and regret the failure of her marriage in spite of her original enthusiasm for her husband. We learn both hate their present situation but find some comfort in the realisation it contributes to "hold things together". When told to flee before her adultery is brought up to light, she decides to fight instead and retain her status. She puts her son on the throne and offers the potential traitor a chance to accept the situation. She will work to find a peaceful solution to the unfolding drama, in a setup making her son look magnanimous and wise.

When Tyrion criticises her rule, mistaking her son's decision for hers, she reacts defensively, frightened, almost overwhelmed by the task she feels her brother ought to be taking more seriously. "It's all fallen on her", she says, then she bemoans the loss of her mother. None of this displays the self-satisfaction of a narcissist. At no time is she trying to have people see how good she is at anything. Cersei is a struggling, reactive character doing what she can in a hostile situation.

There is a great deal of pride in Cersei, she is a Lannister and she wants to live up to what her father taught her it is supposed to mean. She doesn't care for people outside of a small circle, yet she professes undying love for those inside and will never consciously betray them. On the contrary, she will forgive them anything. Mourning her daughter, she will praise her for not displaying the faults she sees in herself: "I thought if I could make something so good, so pure... maybe I'm not a monster".

Cersei can be called many things but she is not a narcissist.

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[leoofredkeep]

“The Great War" used to be a name for the First World War. It was started not because some Serbian activist shot an Austrian Archduke but because countries had been preparing for it for decades. They had been preparing because they were afraid of each other. 

"If you want peace, prepare for war". It's always been true with the side effect that people base careers on it. They are defined by the eventuality of war. Choosing the point in time when war starts is something they come to see as an advantage to secure. This is how unnecessary wars start. It may have been the case for "the Great War" of 1914 which had such a devastating impact on the rest of the century. 

George RR Martin has not portrayed this scenario in his "Song of Ice and Fire" series. Not yet. The oldest cause of war, expansion and competition for resources, he covered in the ancient history of the First Men fighting the Children of the Forest. He set war of conquest at the start of the Targaryen dynasty. He told of the justified rebellion against a mad king ending in the sack of a city and the murder of innocent family members as well as the exile of surviving heirs. 

He has shown how the feudal concept of power as a personal property led to a major war of succession after Robert's heir was accused of illegitimacy. In parallel to this, ambition brought the younger brother of the deceased king to plan his own war of conquest on the throne he felt he should have. The elder brother, Stannis, later came to the understanding he had to deserve his crown by saving the realm against a Wildling invasion or against the Bolton's rule of the North. In order to fight the second conflict, he would allow the invasion he went to stop in the first one. For Stannis the Hypocrite, war appears to be a public relation exercise, or maybe he just cared for the legality of things regardless of the actual results. 

The sense of identity is what motivates the Ironborn to reject the authority of a "foreign" king. Balon Greyjoy would take his crown because "that's what he is". When the Northerners made Robb Stark King in the North, limiting his ability to negotiate peace by the nature of their support, independence was the driver, whereby identity played a major role. The Greatjon's disdain of "a flowery seat in the South", his statement that "even their gods are wrong" made sure we understood this. Further south, vengeance and another sense of identity would drive the Dornish into war, one way or another. 

On another continent, if entitlement motivates the girl who will "take what is hers with fire and blood", it is the availability of a superior weapon which really sets her on the move. Her noble, generous intentions fail to hide the mess she makes of using it and she is openly out to invade what she calls her home land and destroy its social structures before she tries to understand them. At her side, or parallel to her in the books, we see idealists who believe using force to install a trained (Aegon) or monitored (Daenerys) ruler will be the solution to everything. 

We weren't told of the White Walkers' intentions, only that they cannot pass the Wall. Maybe they never wanted to. It's theirs and they're only pushing people south. Maybe Jon Snow is your typical fool jumping to conclusions and the "Great War" is the one he'll start out of understandable fear, very much like the previous "Great War" of history. 

It would complete the collection of war motives the author has been putting together. It would finish the lesson he is out to tell. It should be no surprise if Bran does not end up controlling dragons, wights or White Walkers but simply finds out he can talk to the Night King. 

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[leoofredkeep]

The Lannisters and the Gods

Cersei: Praying to the Gods to have mercy on us all. The Gods have no mercy, that's why they're Gods. My father told me that when he caught me praying. Sansa: Your father doesn't believe in the Gods? Cersei: He believes in them, he just doesn't like them very much.

This story is written by modern, militant atheists. They will portray all the horrors done in the name or religious beliefs, denounce the abuse of power given to religious organisations and mock the naivety of the faithful at every turn.

In two occasions only will they show religion under a better light: the pious, respectful father and his daughter welcoming Arya and The Hound in Season 4 and Brother Ray’s open minded belief used to spread moral pacifism in Season 6. In both cases, though, things turn badly for them. Their gods didn’t help after all. The pious father could pray but not defend himself and Brother Ray’s community was slaughtered because he believed that “the Gods” had a plan for everyone and accepted his own fate.

Then there is the Lord of Light and his yet unexplained connection to very real resurrections as well as the apparent reliability of visions in fire. We have been made all too familiar with the excesses this leads to. Shireen’s screams won’t be forgotten any time soon and Kinvara’s offer to purify unbelievers is still open. What are “the Gods”, though?

Sansa, Cersei and even Tywin believe in them. The Lannisters, however, do not believe in praying for things to happen.

Cersei mentioned “the Gods” several times in an abstract way, admitted fear of punishment for incest to Tyrion but never sincerely referred to the Seven. She told Cat’ she prayed to “the Mother” for Bran in what we may think was just to fit in. Jaime mocked the justice of “the Gods” when Cat’ visited him at the end of Season 1. Tyrion never believed in anything until he became Tyrion Danister.

In the Sept in Season 3, Cersei and Lady Olenna discuss the role of men and women, bemoaning the fact that men hold power and use it in a self-destructive way. Olenna objects to it but Cersei responds “the Gods have seen fit to make it so”.

There we have our “Gods”.

Between the Old Gods of the First Men, unnamed agents of nature represented by trees for the respect of those subjected to its whims and the exemplary archetypes of human functions offered as icons to men by the Faith of the Seven, we find the unexplained but logical and inherently justified outcomes of reality. “The Gods have seen fit to make it so” translates to “it has turned out this way for a reason”.

Cersei’s belief is that the ways of life are grounded in some intricate logic which may defy insufficient observation but retains its validity in the face of recoils and yearnings. “The Gods”, in this view, end up being the set of laws, constraints and needs making things the way they are.

Tywin was very aware of this, always doing not what he wanted but what he felt was necessary to maintain himself or achieve his goals in an environment he could influence but never fully control. Tywin was a realist and so became his children, all three of them, albeit in their own ways. Lady Olenna was no different, which is why she was left without an answer to Cersei’s statement of faith. She just had to agree with her.

Someone wrote “God always forgives, men do sometimes, nature never”. There we have the Seven, or at least “the Mother”, their flock of more or less accomplished followers and natural, implacable, merciless reality.

“Lannisters don’t act like fools”.

[leoofredkeep]

Taking sides in Game Of Thrones: Tyrion, Jon, Daenerys or Cersei?

Like it or not, there are three "main" characters in the story and they are all in explicit or implicit opposition to a fourth which the authors mean to incarnate "the root of all evil today". The threat of White Walkers is merely a plot device to influence the interaction of the main characters in the final phase of the story. 

The show has turned the three "protagonists" into archetypes just like marketing experts resort to segmentation. Daenerys, Jon and Tyrion are streamlined to appeal to complementary types of inclusiveness while the "antagonist" is given demanding characteristics and exclusive values. 

The quotes attributed to the characters are not taken from the script.  They summarise their attitude towards their closest partners in the story. This can be generalized to a more general position they take in life which in turn defines which part of the audience they will attract. 

Tyrion seeks recognition from anyone. He went to see his father expecting “a bit of gratitude” in Season 3, trusts Varys because he tells him he’s good at his job and “can cast a large shadow”, believes his sister always wanted him dead and suffers from the feeling of being rejected by the whole world. 

If compassion is your thing, if you are attracted to people you can help or make feel better, Tyrion is your man and you probably want to see him ride a dragon sometime. 

Jon doesn't have any particular desires or goals. He wants to do what’s right and be considered appropriately. In Season 1, he wanted to become a ranger because he thought he already had the fighting skills, not because he was the son of a lord. He resents being called a bastard because he feels it is an artificial categorisation without relation to what he can be or do. He befriended the fat coward others instinctively reject. He basically stands for equality of rights and will give anyone a chance to prove themselves, somehow. He fell in love with the first woman who wanted him because he’ll find something in anyone, really, unless they become traitors or rebelling officers. 

If your motto is “live and let live”, if tolerance is one of your highest values, if you’re not picky on your food unless it wants to eat you, if your main quality is to be nice or fair to others, you are probably partial to Jon. 

Daenerys is a fighter who gets really angry at things she dislikes. She feels she was chosen to rule the world and wants to save it from “injustice” and pain. She gives loud speeches in which she promises the impossible to whoever will join her and help her get it. She uses whatever attraction she has to get what she wants. She tried to tell Drogo about getting the “Iron Chair”, told Jorah her dragons are the only children she’ll ever have and he can help her get them back, told Tyrion she would “break the wheel” with his help. She even chose all Dothraki as bloodriders to better get them behind her and ask “more of them than any Khal ever would”. 

If your basic thought is that the world is bad and needs to see “progress” at any cost, if you’ll value any well-meaning change as a step in the right direction, if your main wish it to make it happen or just cheer at those who do, if you’re still pissed off at missing the Nuremberg, no sorry,  Dothraki Sea rally and planning to be at the next one, wherever it is, then you must be a Daenerys supporter. 

Cersei doesn't like anything unless it has proven its value. She was badly disappointed before and won’t let it happen again (“love no one…”). She doesn't trust people for their intentions, good or bad, because she understands how the world works and knows the rabble for what it is. She is selective in everything and will let you know her favour comes at the price of excellence. 

If you are confident in your ability to thrive or find your place amidst free competition, if you want the world to be a place where the difference you make is considered, if you want to be "This One" instead of "Equal No. 123456", the Lannisters are the rulers you need. If not, you’ll go for one of the inclusive parties and keep demonising Cersei or her father.

[leoofredkeep]

Proof Tyrion poisoned King Joffrey

Enough nonsense has been written about this already :-(

Tyrion was convicted. Are you doubting the Gods?

Tyrion conspired with Olenna. Sansa knew about it, wanted it. She wanted to marry Loras and the Tyrells wanted to marry Sansa Stark.

Olenna used Littlefinger, never said a thing about Tyrion or Sansa being involved, so Sansa could play the innocent with him. Olenna lied to Margaery about it too, of course.

Tyrion was framed to be the suspect from the start. He had a motive: he had slapped Joffrey in public and threatened him, he believed Joffrey had tried to have him killed. He feared for his life. His being right in the middle of it when it happened just accelerated things.It was not meant to go that way. Both Sansa and Olenna had some of the poison in hand, waiting for a chance to use it. Tyrion couldn't know he would be made Joffrey's cupbearer and he would never have planned it this way but Sansa picked up the goblet from under the table. She never cared for Tyrion, had no trouble sacrificing him. She took the occasion to drop the poison in, then left when Joffrey choked. Littlefinger double crossed the Tyrells and kept Sansa to himself. Tyrion had been used, just like Dontos, but he was an active participant in the scheme. 

Shae wasn't lying at the trial. No one else really was. Meryn Trant and Pycelle had personal fears or grudges and took advantage of the situation. Varys did what he had to to stay in the good graces of the powerful.Tyrion made it look like a farce, pretended to be accused of being a dwarf so he would put a plausible alternative into the room in case he won the trial by combat. He knew he couldn't withstand a closer investigation and hoped to manipulate his brother into fighting for him.

[leoofredkeep]

The Game Of Thrones ends in A Reign Of Lions

Magic will disappear from the world again.

Daenerys relies on dragons and magic abilities. Stannis said dragons are magic.Jon Snow was resurrected. That's magic too. Arya survived the impossible. Has she drunk magic water from the Faceless men? White Walkers are magic. Bran has magic abilities. 

The "Great War" is about magic coming back to annihilate itself: the extremes of Ice and Fire canceling each other. They will all die or vanish in the end and we'll be left with real people to pick up the pieces: Cersei, Sansa, Tyrion, maybe Varys and Littlefinger. Enter a Reign of Lions.

[leoofredkeep]

Truth at last

[leoofredkeep]

Game of Thrones is a story about power.

It is NOT about ice zombies threatening men. White Walkers let people escape on purpose. They made agreements with Craster. They first herded wildlings south instead of slaughtering them. Benjen said they cannot pass the Wall. 

The "Great War" Jon sees coming is a misconception, a false belief. This whole story is about the false beliefs of men: belief in honour that gets them killed, belief in a blind law of succession worth starting wars while the very purpose of laws is to provide a civil resolution to conflicts, belief in various gods, in prophecies, in the virtues of unlimited power through dragons, belief in leaders either "chosen", “promised” or "with a gentle heart". Finally it is about the too easily accepted belief that something "other" and unknown is a terrible threat (White Walkers are called the Others in the books). The "Great War" will be caused by those who see it coming.

[leoofredkeep]

Daenerys Wheelbreaker and her wrecking crew

Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Monsters, Collector of Eunuchs, Leader of Scum and Reciter of Titles.

[leoofredkeep]

Daenerys Targaryen is not mad

Daenerys is not mad, never was and never will be. She is the Mad King’s daughter and as such will face the fearful worries of people who think of her father when they hear of her, the same way they could have feared Joffrey’s brother or Ramsay’s cousin. 

What people call “her Targaryen side” is nothing but the very common human ugliness of people wishing the worst on what they fear, calling for blind rage on difficulties, wishing they could simply crush everything that bothers them or watch those they think did them wrong writhe in agony until the end of time. 

Daenerys’ “Targaryen side” is in all those who nodded in agreement as Mirri Maz Duur burned or as Xaro and Doreah were locked up to die in some slow and terrible way. It is in those who cheered as she had Masters randomly crucified for being born into a social class whose rulers took a decision through some unspecified process. 

It is the dominant quality of all who think provoking fools into rage is a sufficient excuse to burn them alive. It is the core need of those who cheered at her Nuremberg speech atop a monster in the desert and secretly wished they would see her burn cities to the ground before settling for just one ship. 

Daenerys is not mad; she is the leader of yapping pugs and the hero of the lynch mob.

[leoofredkeep]

Send her north ASAP!

[leoofredkeep]

Cersei Lannister is not a monster

They called her a bitch, a whore, evil and worse. I ask for a revision of this judgment.

[leoofredkeep]

Like father, like son.

[leoofredkeep]

Cersei Lannister did not kill King Robert Baratheon

Robert was killed by a boar in self-defense. 

Robert attacked first and missed his thrust. He had been drinking of his special wine all day, the one he insisted on having at all times. Cersei made sure he never lacked of it, as Robert was known to become violent when sober. He even hit her once. 

Lancel did think it had been done with an evil purpose in mind but he was an idiot with one ball and no brains whose mother was a dumb whore with a fat arse. 

It is known.

[leoofredkeep]

Life with Ned Stark