A Game of Thrones - TV Show Discussion Thread

[Lord Avalon]

Flubber, I disagree. There are very few who follow the straight and narrow path like Ned and Stannis, to whom the next-in-line claim has actual meaning. For the others, who really don't know the truth, Stannis is what, third in line? If you're supporting a rebel in the Game of Thrones, then the one who has the most power has the "best claim," and that appeared to be Renly.

[Imran Siddiqui]

No, Flubber has a point. After all, these Lords assert their dominion because they were the eldest son. Imagine if they put into their families' heads that someone other than the eldest son can have a valid claim. Would be dangerous.

[OzzyKP]

Technically I think the only people that know for sure are Jamie and cersei with a large cast of people that suspect-- Joffrey himself may be ignorant of his true father.

One notable thing about last night's episode is that both Jamie and Cersei came clean about their affair. Cersei admitted it to Tyrian and Jamie to Lady Stark and the 50 foot woman.

[Flubber]

Flubber, I disagree. There are very few who follow the straight and narrow path like Ned and Stannis, to whom the next-in-line claim has actual meaning. For the others, who really don't know the truth, Stannis is what, third in line? If you're supporting a rebel in the Game of Thrones, then the one who has the most power has the "best claim," and that appeared to be Renly.

It seems this was male line only so the apparent succession would be Joffrey, his brother and then Stannis, followed by Renly


But the eldest stuff seems to be followed-- Sam Tarly was forced to take the black so he wouldn't be available to inherit--IT seems his dad couldn't just choose a younger son
Croppled Bram rules as a lord despite his infirmity-- there is no thought that his able-bodied younger brother take over


I realize if you rebel, you can ignore all the old stuff and say "I am king because I have the largest army"-- But here the "rebels" chose a guy that was 4th in line as it stood and 2nd in line on the argument that Joffry is a bastard Lannister. To me that remains an odd choice for rebels, particularly since it split the anti-Lannister forces

[Lord Avalon]

No, Flubber has a point. After all, these Lords assert their dominion because they were the eldest son. Imagine if they put into their families' heads that someone other than the eldest son can have a valid claim. Would be dangerous.

First of all, we're not really talking legitimate succession - few people know the truth, and the Lannisters certainly aren't going to go public and give up their support of Joffrey "Baratheon" and let Stannis take the throne. So it's a rebellion. And secondly, Robert Baratheon took the throne from the Targaryens, who took it from whoever had it before. So the idea is already out there that might trumps valid claim.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Might does - but Robert was, of course, first in line of Storm's End. And he was (as is pointed out) the person who has the best claim to the Throne of all the Targaryens just died (the Baratheon boys' grandmother was a Targaryen). There is a pecking order and even in rebellion they have to be cognizant of that.

Now there is the idea I guess that the Tyrells and Baratheon banner men didn't know Stannis was going to be rebelling as well. They were already committed to Renly so what else could they do? Also, I guess a bunch of them were Renly's bannermen as Renly was given Storm's End and so would declare for him as soon as he said he was rebelling. Stannis comes later and it's kind of like... ooops.

[Flubber]

Plus if the lineage is irrelevent, why was the king and small counsel so worried about a Targaryan being pregnant over in Dothraki lands. It seems obvious that lineage matters to most

Imran-- you explanation makes more sense than most -- Renly rises up perhaps when Stannis is still seen as being with Joffry-- with his army raised and loyal to him, he doesn't feel like just handing them over to his brother


Oh and the lineage issue can hardly be a secret now-- Wasn't it Stannis that sent a raven to every lord proclaiming the tale and hell-- even the common folk of Kings Landing refer to it from time to time

[Lord Avalon]

But the eldest stuff seems to be followed-- Sam Tarly was forced to take the black so he wouldn't be available to inherit--IT seems his dad couldn't just choose a younger son
Croppled Bram rules as a lord despite his infirmity-- there is no thought that his able-bodied younger brother take over

It's followed for families. I think thrones are different.

Bran is Prince of Winterfell, but is more of a figurehead than actually ruling, as his elder brother is Lord of Winterfell and King in the North. But he's old enough to do that duty, while Rickon is too young. When they become of age, if Bran were to become Lord of Winterfell, I wonder how many of the Stark bannermen would follow him. I suppose it would depend on Rickon, who would be a knight and perhaps eventual commander in the field. How many followers would Bran have if Rickon decided to take over?

As far as Sam Tarly, his father is choosing another heir while he's still alive to make that choice.

I realize if you rebel, you can ignore all the old stuff and say "I am king because I have the largest army"-- But here the "rebels" chose a guy that was 4th in line as it stood and 2nd in line on the argument that Joffry is a bastard Lannister. To me that remains an odd choice for rebels, particularly since it split the anti-Lannister forces

I don't know how many people believe Stannis' claim of Joffrey's illegitimacy. So IMO they're going with who seems to have the best chance to win the throne.

[Lord Avalon]

Might does - but Robert was, of course, first in line of Storm's End. And he was (as is pointed out) the person who has the best claim to the Throne of all the Targaryens just died (the Baratheon boys' grandmother was a Targaryen). There is a pecking order and even in rebellion they have to be cognizant of that.

Now there is the idea I guess that the Tyrells and Baratheon banner men didn't know Stannis was going to be rebelling as well. They were already committed to Renly so what else could they do? Also, I guess a bunch of them were Renly's bannermen as Renly was given Storm's End and so would declare for him as soon as he said he was rebelling. Stannis comes later and it's kind of like... ooops.

Well, if legitimate claims mean so much, then most of Renly's followers should have gone over to Stannis as soon as he declared himself king, right? But no one switched until Renly died.

[Lord Avalon]

Plus if the lineage is irrelevent, why was the king and small counsel so worried about a Targaryan being pregnant over in Dothraki lands. It seems obvious that lineage matters to most

Imran-- you explanation makes more sense than most -- Renly rises up perhaps when Stannis is still seen as being with Joffry-- with his army raised and loyal to him, he doesn't feel like just handing them over to his brother


Oh and the lineage issue can hardly be a secret now-- Wasn't it Stannis that sent a raven to every lord proclaiming the tale and hell-- even the common folk of Kings Landing refer to it from time to time

Well, it was Robert who was obsessed with wiping out the Targaryens. I don't know that the small council would have done anything (other than Littlefinger and Varys keeping tabs on them) without royal authorization for assassination.

Yes, Stannis sent out ravens everywhere, but who believes his "story"? Didn't the Lannisters put out word that he's making **** up?

[Flubber]

Well if might is so much then why don't they all just declare for the Knight of Flowers??

He is a renowned fighter and House Tyrell has been stated to have the 3rd largest army after the Lannisters and Starks. To flip your argument, why wouldn't they they choose Stark or Lannister or Tyrell--
Thats what troubles me about the whole thing if you are saying the lineage doesn't matter. If you are rejecting Stannis why doesn't he stay rejected?

Although we are of course missing the simplest explanation-- the Knight of Flowers was in love with Renly and supported his partner/lover bringing all the armies and bannermen of House Tyrell with them-- All those bannermen followed their Leige lords (the Tyrells) and Renly had his own bannermen that followed him directly.

With Renly's death, the Tyrell armies went home following the grieving lover and widowed queen and everyone else switched to Stannis. logical -- just follow the leige lords--

[Lord Avalon]

Well, I guess you could say lineage matters, until it doesn't. And did Ser Loras, who happens to be the youngest Tyrell son, declare for the throne? No? So why would anyone declare for him?

[Jon Miller]

My point of view, the Tyrell's wanted to be king makers and put their own on the throne.

So it was basically:
Stannis (Baretheon, but one of the weakest)
Renly (Tyrell and a bit of Baretheon, but definitely heavily Tyrell) - with Tyrell probably the strongest?
Dorne stayed out
Ayn stayed out (crazy)
Stark (not nearly strong enough) but with Tully had a reasonable force
Joffrey ( really Lancaster ) - lancaster might have the strongest army, but the crown is weak, and is theoretically the one attacked on all sides
Greyjoy (the weakest)

So basically, Tyrell wanted to be a power... similar to Lancaster/Stark for Robert

JM

[Flubber]

Well, I guess you could say lineage matters, until it doesn't.

Well every "king" out there was either the lord of one of the seven kingdoms or in the existing succession for the Iron Throne

There are no outsider rebels out there really

Stark has an ancient claim to be King of the North and doesn't really aspire to be more-- Joffry and Stannis are really in a succession fight as to their relationship to the deceased king etc etc.

But my simple point was in a land where authority for most lords comes from them being eldest, you reject an elder brother at your peril.

But on thinking this through, the Tyrell support for Renly was simple self-interest through both the lover connection with Loras and then them wedding the daughter-- If Renly became king the tyrells would have had a Tyrell as queen and another as lover to the king. Logic would not have entered into LOras thinking on this one

Oh and I misremembered-- I think Tyrion said they were the third richest house but what I am reading indicates they had the ability to raise the largest armies by far-- earlier I think I commented they had the 3rd biggest army-- and that would be incorrect

[Dinner]

I've heard similar from show watchers. I think they are just kind of ****ing up Jon Snow's story. There is a reason he is considered one of the favorite characters for book readers.

Yeah, John Snow's character is great but a lot of his chapters in the books are of him thinking about stuff and trying to work things out. It's hard to turn that into a TV show.

[Jon Miller]

Robert made the Baretheon lords be beneath Renly and not Stannis. This meant that they had a non-obvious choice and decided to go with their direct lord (Renly).

I think that is the only somewhat questionable thing, but Tyrell wanting power and combining with Baretheon (Renly) makes sense from Tyrell's perspective.

Are they not also an 'upstart house'.

JM

[Flubber]

Yeah, John Snow's character is great but a lot of his chapters in the books are of him thinking about stuff and trying to work things out. It's hard to turn that into a TV show.

Agreed-- It should be better from here on out. His interactions should get less introspective LOL

[Guynemer]

Robert made the Baretheon lords be beneath Renly and not Stannis. This meant that they had a non-obvious choice and decided to go with their direct lord (Renly).

I think that is the only somewhat questionable thing, but Tyrell wanting power and combining with Baretheon (Renly) makes sense from Tyrell's perspective.

Are they not also an 'upstart house'.

JM

IIRC, they took over those lands after the Targaryens wiped out the former house. They weren't even lords in their own right, but served as stewards to the previous house (I want to say... Gardeners?)

[Berzerker]

what were the 2 charred bodies hanging at the end?

[Lord Avalon]

IIRC, they took over those lands after the Targaryens wiped out the former house. They weren't even lords in their own right, but served as stewards to the previous house (I want to say... Gardeners?)

From the Appendix:

The Tyrells rose to power as stewards to the Kings of the Reach, whose domain included the fertile plains of the southwest from the Dornish marches and Blackwater Rush to the shores of the Sunset Sea. Through the female line, they claim descent from Garth Greenhand, gardener king of the First Men, who wore a crown of vines and flowers and made the land bloom. When King Mern, last of the old line, perished on the Field of Fire, his steward Harlen Tyrell surrendered Highgarden to Aegon Targaryen, pledging fealty. Aegon granted him the castle and dominion over the Reach.

From the viewer's guide:

For centuries, the Tyrells served and occasionally intermarried with House Gardener, the ancient family of the King of the Reach. But after the Targaryen conquest eliminated the Gardeners, the Tyrells bent the knee to the Iron Throne – and then rose to become principal house and Warden of the South.

Mace Tyrell is Lord of Highgarden, Warden of the South, Defender of the Marches and High Marshal of the Reach.

what were the 2 charred bodies hanging at the end?

Two unfortunate kids.

[Dinner]

Ygritte is a hottie and a half.

[Imran Siddiqui]

But my simple point was in a land where authority for most lords comes from them being eldest, you reject an elder brother at your peril.

Agreed.

But on thinking this through, the Tyrell support for Renly was simple self-interest through both the lover connection with Loras and then them wedding the daughter-- If Renly became king the tyrells would have had a Tyrell as queen and another as lover to the king. Logic would not have entered into LOras thinking on this one

Seems to be right. Let's just say the Tyrells tend to be an oppertunistic bunch - after all, you'll note they didn't declare for Stannis after the death of Renly.

Oh and I misremembered-- I think Tyrion said they were the third richest house but what I am reading indicates they had the ability to raise the largest armies by far-- earlier I think I commented they had the 3rd biggest army-- and that would be incorrect

IIRC, the Reach is the richest region after the gold mines of Casterly Rock.

[Supr49er]

I am unclear - did Xaro Xhoan Daxos come to Qarth with nothing?
Is he the richest man in Qarth? I wish the writers would make this known.
A man has asked.

[DaShi]

what were the 2 charred bodies hanging at the end?

Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.

[Ecthy]

I am unclear - did Xaro Xhoan Daxos come to Qarth with nothing?
Is he the richest man in Qarth? I wish the writers would make this known.
A man has asked.

More importantly, does he have any regrets about it?

[Ecthy]

what were the 2 charred bodies hanging at the end?

We see them earlier in the episode, I can tell this much.

[Dinner]

what were the 2 charred bodies hanging at the end?

The charred bodies of two small boys. Obviously.

[Dinner]

I am unclear - did Xaro Xhoan Daxos come to Qarth with nothing?
Is he the richest man in Qarth? I wish the writers would make this known.
A man has asked.

Yes he supposedly came to Qarth with nothing, no he's not the richest just one of the richest (he's on the 13), and right now the TV series is going far away from what happened in the books.

[Guynemer]

A man needs to better recognize sarcasm.

[Flubber]

A man needs to better recognize sarcasm.

LOL

A man gets tired of the repetition on TV
A man not watching may not comprehend