History DeconstructedCharacterArchetype / ASongOfIceAndFire

* AChildShallLeadThem: Children put in charge of whole kingdoms isn't always a good thing.
** Robert Arryn is too physically and developmentally challenged to effectively rule the Eyrie, though he's bright enough to work most of the shenanigans going on in front of him out. His stepfather and bannermen are all vying for the title of Lord Protector so they can rule in his name (until he dies), with little regard to how he feels or what he thinks about all this. Figurehead? He ''wishes'': they barely notice he's in the room while they plan his life for him! Try "pawn".
** Joffrey Baratheon is a spoiled sadist who becomes TheCaligula even before he leaves his teens. His stupid childish whim of ordering Ned Stark's execution plunges the realm into civil war. And that's only ''one'' of his pointlessly stupid moves if the most spectacular one. [[spoiler:Eventually, Joffrey's allies end up killing him at his own wedding at the age of thirteen because Joffrey is both too vicious and random to remain on the throne when his brother is a ''much'' better alternative.]]
** Robb Stark is forced to take command of the North and launch a war at age fourteen. He quickly proves to be skilled leader and an excellent military commander. But he doesn't really understand the complexities of politics and is too quick to trust people who sworn loyalty. Then he succumbs to temptation, has sex with the girl who'd been sent to nurse him, and marries her, abandoning an agreement to marry someone from a more important family. This folly of youth ends up costing him valuable support [[spoiler:and leads to betrayal at the Red Wedding, in which he and his mother are killed]].
** Daenerys Targaryen, married at thirteen and already queen at sixteen, has severely affected the slave trade and taken over Meereen. She even takes advantage of her age and sex so some of her enemies will underestimate her, but she's still subject to a teenage girl's lusts. The stresses of ruling and having to constantly compromise to the slavers laying siege to her city and holding slave auctions in front of her gates, and marrying a potential enemy to maintain a semblance of peace prove too much and [[spoiler:she flees Meereen atop one of her dragons.]]
** [[spoiler: Tommen Baratheon]] signs any decree someone puts in front of him, making him very easy to manipulate.
** Aegon III only became king because war claimed most of his family. A council of regents was appointed to run the kingdom in his stead, but the rival court factions fought to control him, so he grew up to be a sad man who trusted no one but Viserys II, his younger brother and only surviving brother.
** Aegon's son Daeron I was crowned at fourteen and is remembered as a wannabe YoungConqueror who treated war as a game and got himself and 50,000 men killed in a foolhardy conquest.

** Pretty Meris is like a combination of Arya (horrible experiences leaving her emotionally scared and downright vengeful) and Brienne (big, blonde, good with a sword and a spitefully applied IronicNickname, along with a habit of collecting physical scars and rape attempts). Except Meris is rather more scathed from her twenty years in war than those two put together--for now. If either Arya or Brienne keep at it for as long, they may wind up in a similar state.

* ArchnemesisDad

* BloodKnight

* BoisterousBruiser

* BookWorm: AntiIntellectualism runs rampant in Westeros and people who can read are looked down upon because warrior culture dominates.

** The Ironborne culture, more specifically the Old Way, encourages them to rape and reave others, with buying goods being seen as unmanly. When their victims inevitably unite and drive them off, they just seethe and plan for the next round, [[NeverMyFault never realizing that they are the ones causing their own downfall]].

* TheChessmaster: In a story with oodles of characters (as is RealLife, mind you) you can't always predict what others are up to and move accordingly. Also, sometimes their plans fall apart because they take too long to make a decisive action, or are blinded by their personal flaws or bias. That's why most of them has failed or will eventually fail. The only character in-series that has managed to do his bidding till the very end was Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers...who could because he has supernatural powers who allow him to spy everyone everywhere and manipulate events.

** Littlefinger's plans look likely to get complicated in the near future as he's taken into his service a hedge knight [[spoiler: who was looking for Sansa Stark, and may very well know 'Alayne' is her in disguise.]] This shows another Chessmaster weakness, the inability to truly know everything. [[spoiler:Also, he has to bring his plans forward as Cersei is proving more incompetent at ruling than he anticipated and his plan relies on Sansa being the heir to Winterfell when two of her trueborn brothers are unknowingly still alive and in hiding.]]

--> '''Catelyn''': You knew the man. The king is a stranger to you.
** Robert chose Ned as his new Hand of the King because Ned was the person he trusted most with the position. Ned does Robert a favor by breaking up his family to go to King's Landing. Unfortunately, they've grown so different over the years and ended up in such different circumstances that Ned can't integrate into Robert's new life [[spoiler: and pays for it with both their lives]].
** While investigating [[spoiler: the attempted assassination of her young son]], Catelyn was found by Petyr. She trusted him with sensitive information and took his every word to heart because she thought he had no reason to lie to her. What she didn't know was that in the years since they last saw each other, Petyr had grown to be a ruthless manipulator and self-serving chessmaster -- precisely ''because'' they had been separated.

* {{Cincinnatus}}: Ned Stark is a simple, straightforward, honorable man who does not really want power, so objectively he's the best choice to be the Hand of the King: he can be trusted not to abuse the huge amount of power and responsibility that theoretically comes with the position. Unfortunately, as a simple, straightforward, honorable man who has avoided the political game all his life, he's not very good at playing it. He has no idea how to navigate a DecadentCourt - a court that is so corrupt and full of intrigues, by the way, that he effectively has ''no'' actual power to abuse even if he wanted to. [[spoiler:When the time comes that he has no choice but to play the Game of Thrones, he loses ''big time''.]]

** Theon Greyjoy [[spoiler: takes Winterfell with twenty men, since all able-bodied men from the castle are away fighting. He soon finds out that he's not able to defend the castle when the defenders return.]]

** The Boltons and Freys [[spoiler: usurp the Starks and Tullys, respectively, only to have trouble establishing themselves as lords over the loyal bannermen of the families they betrayed]].

** Lyanna Stark dies before she is saved. Her failed rescue [[spoiler: also kicks off a bunch of seemingly unimportant events that eventually leads to the Red Wedding]].
** Sansa Stark is held hostage and abused by the Lannisters, [[spoiler: but doesn't get rescued by her family. Instead Petyr Baelish kidnaps her so he can use her in his own schemes]]. The whole experience has left her cynical, disillusioned, and psychologically traumatized. There's also a strong undercurrent of dehumanization: apart from her immediate family and Brienne of Tarth, all the factions that want Sansa only see her as a means of getting what they want, not as a person in desperate need of help.

* DepravedDwarf: Tyrion is, if anything, the WhiteSheep of the Lannister clan, but that doesn't stop everyone from his father downwards seeing him as this. It creates aspects of SelfFulfillingProphecy -- his inability to trust women leads him to visit prostitutes all the time, which gives him a reputation as a lech; his BlackSheep treatment forces him to struggle with his own family for the power any other man would be afforded by birthright, which gives him a reputation as disloyal; his having to fall back on EveryManHasHisPrice gives him a reputation as profligate. When he serves as Hand of the King to Cersei and Joffrey, he single-handedly keeps the city from collapsing into chaos, but the populace targets him as a {{Scapegoat}} for all the regime's injustices because they believe BeautyEqualsGoodness. He's also the number one suspect in the attacks on both Bran and [[spoiler:Joffrey]], despite having nothing to do with either, and his reaction to the latter is to further ruin his reputation by [[spoiler:killing his father.]]
* DoomedMoralVictor

** Roose Bolton is pretty damn close to the archetype despite lacking any magic. He lives in a castle called The Dreadfort, his sigil is a [[FlayingAlive flayed man on a field of pink]], and his men often have rather sinister nicknames. However, this image of being an EvilOverlord is bad for his PR, and Roose is trying his damnedest to keep his reputation as squeaky clean as possible. But because of Ramsay's [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe various]] [[TheMostDangerousGame atrocities]] and [[spoiler:his betrayal of the Starks]], everyone hates his House's guts, and [[BaitAndSwitchTyrant Stannis]] is bearing down on his ass with an army of sellswords and [[spoiler:pissed-off Northmen.]] Roose knows he's backed himself into a corner through his actions as well as his House's reputation.

* TheFettered: Many try with very little success, as reality often tests people by pulling them between two or more oaths and responsibilities, like say loyalty vs morality, honour vs family, human decency vs survival, or just all and more at once. Ned ends up having to stop doing the right thing in order to keep his head and his family safe [[spoiler: only to die anyway, [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished as a consequence of saving]] TheCaligula.]] Brienne ends up having to make the impossible choice between her life, the life of her squire, her loyalty to Jaime Lannister, and her prior loyalty to [[spoiler: Catelyn Tully, who's become obsessed with hurting anyone remotely involved in the Red Wedding.]] Jaime himself gave up being TheFettered, after seeing his initial loyalty to King Aerys rewarded with front row views of his atrocities, and his eventual decision to put him down in the name of decency rewarded with being termed [[TheOathbreaker the Kingslayer.]]

** Jaime and Cersei Lannister. Cersei actually resents being the responsible one, neglecting her needs for the good of the family. As she gets closer to the Iron Throne, she loses people who can counsel and guide her ([[spoiler:Jaime, Tyrion, Tywin, Kevan and even Pycelle]]) and her disregard for the needs of others eventually gets her [[spoiler: dethroned]]. Jaime on the other hand, sticking too much to his family's credo of not caring what the "sheep" might say gets him in trouble.

--->Catelyn (thinking): I have always done my duty. [...] I gave Brandon my favor to wear, and never comforted Petry once after he was wounded, nor bid him farewell when Father sent him off. And when Brandon was murdered and Father told me I must wed his brother, I did so gladly, though I never saw Ned's face until our wedding day. I gave my maidenhood to this solemn stranger and sent him off to his war and his king and the woman who bore him his bastard, because I always did my duty. [...] How can I do my duty if I do not know where it lies?
** The Baratheon Brothers falls into this, with Robert and Renly falling into the Foolish side, while Stannis falls into Responsible. The two brothers [[TheUnfavorite did not like Stannis]]; the former showed preference to his best friend Ned Stark [[ReassignedToAntarctica and put Stannis in charge of Dragonstone far way from him]] while the latter makes a bid to usurped Stannis in the line of succession. Stannis for his part hates both of his brothers, seeing them both as [[UpperClassTwit Upper Class Twits]]. It's why Stannis has no qualms in plotting Renly's death.

* GirlInTheTower
** Sometimes a girl gets herself locked in the tower, wishing for a rescue she doesn't really need, for a ''very'' good set of reasons. Arianne Martell found that out the hard way when [[spoiler: she decided to try a little plotting of her own and truly messed with her father's long-term strategy]]. House arrest wasn't so much a punishment as it was an attempt at kick-starting the learning curve with a bucket of cold water over hot-headed impatience.

** Val, the so-called "[[TheChiefsDaughter wildling princess]]", is held captive by Stannis Baratheon in one of the towers of Castle Black -- and she is even protected by a (sentient and friendly) giant. When a knight vying for her hand is told that a wildling woman will [[BestHerToBedHer only respect a man who can "steal" her]], Ser Patrek attacks the giant unprovoked, gets promptly ripped to pieces, and causes a hugely consequential increase in tensions between [[PowderKegCrowd the wildlings, the queen's men, and the Watch.]]

** Baelor the Blessed is thought of as one for his piety and kindness to the smallfolk, but was quite likely mentally unstable and his uncle and Hand Viserys was more responsible for his stable reign. On the one hand his religious conviction led him to care about the poor and minister to them personally, on the other hand he also indulged in {{Bookburning}} and despite his pacifist nature was at one point considering holy war with the North (who worshiped the Old Gods).

** [[spoiler:Jaime Lannister]] finds out that there's no easy way to becoming this after losing his hand, and swordsmanship is [[DamnYouMuscleMemory not easily transferable to your off-hand.]]

* HeartbrokenBadass

** It's often noted how different Tywin Lannister would have been had his wife never died but it doesn't stop him from [[spoiler: sleeping with prostitutes. The discovery of his hypocrisy finally causes his son to kill him]].

* TheHighQueen: This is the image Cersei and Daenerys project, but it takes more than the force of will to rule. By the end of ''Dance'' [[spoiler: both are ousted from power, the former for empowering religious fanatics, and the latter for implementing too many pro-smallfolk reforms too quickly.]]
** Cersei sees herself as a strong leader with a firm grip on the realm. Yet she continues to abuse her powers for petty reasons, creating rifts with the allies she needs, recruits yes men as her cronies, and brings nothing but ruin to the kingdom. She is later arrested by the High Sparrow, who charges her of adultery, thus removing her from her position, and her supposed loyalists quickly abandon her.

** Margaery was this for Renly, but his orientation meant no heir was sired, and at his death she remained a virgin. She was also arranged to be this for Joffrey but [[spoiler: after seeing his true colors, Olenna plotted with Littlefinger to assassinate him when it became clear that Joffrey was an unhinged sadist that would kill Margaery without a second thought. She then marries kinder Tommen after.]]

* IdiotHero: Prince Quentyn Martell isn't particularly handsome, strong or smart but he makes up for it with a "can do!" attitude and sheer moxy. [[spoiler: He gets burned alive for trying to steal a dragon. Seems that for the Hero to counterbalance the Idiot, you need either luck, PlotArmor or a much fluffier world with fewer carnivores acting like defensive carnivores stuck in spaces too small for them.]]

** House Westerling went against their own motto "Honor, not Honors" [[spoiler: participating in the Red Wedding]].

** The Brotherhood Without Banners started out as a peacekeeping force driven primarily to aid and protect the smallfolk during the War of Five Kings. When their leader, Beric Dondarrion, gives up his life force to resurrect [[spoiler: Catelyn Tully Stark]], now known as Lady Stoneheart, they make a change for the worse. Lady Stoneheart takes the reins of the band and uses them to carry out vengeance against the people that killed her and her son (who stayed dead). Over time, the Brotherhood become a bunch of Main/{{Knight Templar}}s, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters no better]] that the people they fight against while still claiming moral superiority. A few characters, including one of their own, call them out on their hypocrisy.

* KarmaHoudini: Both Tywin Lannister and the Wyl of Wyl got away with so many atrocities [[spoiler: that long after their deaths there are still those who want revenge and it's usually their innocent kin and bannermen who pay with their lives]].
* KidHero

** Daenerys is the first DragonRider in centuries but she only knows the most rudimentary commands like attack. Soon her dragons become a menace.
* KingIncognito

** Ser Arthur Dayne, regarded as the greatest swordsman in Westeros and the epitome of chivalry, finally dies holding Lyanna Stark hostage, intending to kill her brother who came to rescue her, long after the war was over. In short, Arthur had become the very villain that Knights of his character and quality are supposed to defeat in battle, and this came out of his own UndyingLoyalty to Prince Rhaegar. [[spoiler: But who knows, maybe he had good reasons to do so. Still, this is ''not'' what KISA are supposed to do. ]]

** Tywin outright demands that everyone in his family - children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews - do things as he tells them. His bullying them into following his orders is a major contributor to [[DysfunctionalFamily how screwed up they are]], and plays a major role in [[spoiler:Tyrion killing him after he crosses one line too many]] - especially since it appears that what he wants Tyrion to do is ''die''.

** Sandor Clegane is charged with protecting Sansa and immediately it goes wrong. She sees him as a violent drunk and he sees her as another spoiled highborn. Sansa later gets another "champion" in the disgraced knight turned jester Ser Dontos Hollard. [[spoiler:He is actually in Littlefinger's employ]].

** Joffrey embraces all of Robert's worst vices, inheriting [[BloodKnight his thirst for violence]] and his [[DomesticAbuse mistreatment of his significant other.]] He has such little restraint despite his position of authority that this causes his political allies to turn on him and eventually plot his assassination.

** Tywin's beloved wife Joanna died giving birth to their youngest child, Tyrion. He [[MaternalDeathBlameTheChild never forgave Tyrion for it]], even though the poor boy could hardly help being born. As a result, Tywin was extremely [[AbusiveParents abusive]], to the point that [[spoiler: Tyrion couldn't stand it anymore and murdered him.]]

** Jaime Lannister [[spoiler: gets his right hand chopped off and trains his left to no avail. He often has to bluff opponents with his reputation but he wonders how long it will last]].
* TheMentor: Petyr Baelish deconstructs the "mysterious benefactor" archetype. He's not just an "old friend" of Sansa's mother Catelyn, he was obsessed with her [[spoiler:and he's transferred his affections to Sansa now that her mother is dead]].
* MightyWhitey: Daenerys's liberation of Slaver's Bay initially appears to play it straight: slavery in these cities is shown to be pretty unambiguously horrible, the slave masters are all shown to be bastards, and the slaves she frees all adore her for it and treat her as their savior. The problem comes when she stops conquering and actually tries to restore order to the places she conquered: as it turns out [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome a society that has relied on slavery for thousands of years does not change overnight just because slavery is abolished.]] The economy of Meereen is essentially destroyed, and many of the slaves she freed now need to resort to prostitution or other desperate measures in order to put food on the table. The nobility deeply hates her, and immediately starts an insurgency against her to try to restore the old order. The city of Yunkai has backtracked on their forced abolition of slavery and is now leading an army against Daenerys along with the other cities that economically relied on the slave trade, while the City of Astapor is quickly taken over by a tyrant in Daenerys's absence before falling to the armies of Yunkai, resulting in a bloodbath. Through it all, Daenerys struggles to get a grasp of Ghiscari culture - further alienating the nobility in the process - and it quickly becomes apparent that she has no idea how to deal with a complex problem that lacks a simple solution like "burn it down with dragons."

* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Varys helps to instigate the events that leads to the War of Five Kings, all to set the stage for the realm to eventually welcome [[spoiler: Rhaegar's surviving son, Aegon Targarean]] as the new king. Varys is completely disgusted with the way the current crop of nobles rules and the impact they have on the common folk, and is convinced in the idea of a Savior King. This also makes Varys something of a {{Hypocrite}} as he takes part in the sufferage of the common folk for his own schemes, and actively impede Nobles who do try and use their authority to help the disenfranchised [[spoiler: as seen with his assassination of Kevan Lannister and sabotage of Tommen Lannister.]]

* NobleFugitive

** [[spoiler: Ser Barristan the Bold]] secretly doubts his fighting ability due to his old age. He is haunted by the {{Protectorate}}s he outlived, deeply ashamed of his past failures, and worried about ruining his last chance to serve a ruler he truly admires.

* OnlySaneMan: In a world where short-tempered and heavily-armed sociopaths hold all the political power, the few who are reasonable and competent do not do well. In fact, they're often the primary targets for their families' enemies, since they're the ones holding things together. Such was the case of [[spoiler:Kevan Lannister]], assassinated specifically ''because'' he's a stabilizing influence on the shaky Lannister regime. It's generally implied that such men do well in peacetime, but their skills don't transfer to times of war, upheaval and betrayal -- and peacetime is rare in Westeros.

** Likewise the Children of the Forest show ancient knowledge, particularly concerning magic and are a remnant as well. Their relative secrecy means that their knowledge is limited to whoever appears to be a greenseer and unlike humans they aren't doing much to actually prevent their coming extinction.

--> '''The Red Lamb''': Should I die, I will go before the Great Shepherd of Lhazar, break his crook across my knee, and say to him, "Why did you make your people lambs, when the world is full of wolves?"
* PosthumousCharacter: The heroism or villainy of historic characters in Westeros is often exaggerated. Thanks to their stories being WrittenByTheWinners, and all the SecondHandStorytelling, it's hard to make an objective opinion about these characters. For instance, Renly is remembered as a kind and heroic lord who [[spoiler:came back from the dead to save the Seven Kingdoms from his brother]] even though he was really just a vain and scheming figure who [[spoiler:was impersonated after his death.]]

** Much of Westerosi society is this at its core, and much of its DeliberateValuesDissonance is connected to their pride in being warriors above all else. Women, scholars, artists, and merchants are generally disdained because they aren't expected to be warlike, or their trades aren't directly connected to warcraft, [[UngratefulBastard despite the invaluable service they can and do provide to others and society as a whole.]] Being a ProudWarriorRace also entails a very flippant attitude to war itself, as wars are started over land, wounded pride, and broken marriage contracts, with few of the instigators ever pondering on the human costs involved.

\\
The end result is that you get a colorful mix of uninheritable nobles (bastards and sons far down the line of succession), violent criminals, poor smallfolk who take the black for the promise of a guaranteed meal, and a few who genuinely want to serve the Realm. Unfortunately, this means the officers aren't always able to keep the less savory elements under control, [[spoiler:and Lord Commander Mormont is murdered by his own men when a ranging goes bad. Later, his successor Jon Snow is backstabbed when he tries to implement reforms, and as of ''A Dance With Dragons,'' it's unknown if he survives.]]

** Littlefinger sees the underaged Sansa as another chance to be with his lost love Catelyn, or something close to that, but given that he [[spoiler: framed Sansa for murder so she'd be completely dependant on him and molests her while making her call him "Father"]], the relationship is plainly unhealthy and inappropriate.

** Tyrion ends up being blamed for [[spoiler:Joffrey's murder]] both because everyone hates him and the abuse he suffered at the latter's hands provide an excellent motive. As Tyrion has spent his ''entire life'' being hated for the crime of existing, this proves to be the straw that breaks the camel's back. [[spoiler:He demands trial by combat and picks Oberyn as his champion so that whatever the outcome, he spite's his family's plans. Then, after being freed by Varys, circumstances transpire that end with Tyrion murdering his father in repayment for his many, many crimes]].

** Sansa wanted to leave Winterfell and go to the royal court. She finds it both dazzling and dangerous. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, she starts off hopelessly over her head regarding the politics of royal court because she's never had to worry about anyone trying to harm or use her. She's easily manipulated into undermining her father's plans and unintentionally plays a role in his death]].

** Ryman Frey is dismissed for his incompetence and he ends up [[spoiler:murdered by outlaws.]] No one really cares, even his own sons.
** What [[spoiler: Theon Greyjoy]] goes through on account of being a SmugSmiler of a SmugSnake as the "guest" of a family that doesn't like the Smiling? You wouldn't even wish this ironic FateWorseThanDeath on Jack the Ripper. Deep down he is just a man trying to find acceptance of who he is, he has tried changing his [[FaceHeelTurn cloaks twice]], and it screws him over. Now no one wants him around.
** When Cersei Lannister becomes queen regent, she starts alienating her allies (the Tyrells, her uncle Kevan, and even Jaime), and continues to piss off powerful people she needs (the Iron Bank, and the Faith of the Seven). Her actions continue to bring ruin to the kingdom, causing everyone around her to turn against her. [[spoiler: She is later imprisoned with most of her authority stripped from her (along with her clothes).]]

** The unnamed former Clegane patriarch knows his son Gregor is psychotic after he burns his brother Sandor's face and probably killed his own sister but he also knew he would make a powerful knight so he covers up his atrocities. Gregor eventually gets knighted and elevates the family to new status. [[spoiler: Gregor then kills his father and takes the family fortune.]]

** The Boltons. While they are successful in becoming [[spoiler: the new Wardens of the North for their betrayal in the Red Wedding]] and most of the North bow before them once they are in power, some of the Northern houses are planning to revolt against them. Their only allies are their co-conspirators the Freys, a few weakened factions that won't lift a finger to aid them, and people who plan to dispose of them, such as [[spoiler: House Manderly]].

** Lyanna Stark was betrothed to a man she disliked at best and was a tomboy trapped in a misogynistic culture. Rhaegar was the prince of the realm. Sounds like a fairy tale, right? Except the former did not think the repercussions through, the prince was a married man with two children, Brandon did not take Rhaegar absconding with his 14 year old sister well and was murdered by Aerys (who then murdered their father & kickstarted a war of survival by calling for the heads of Robert Baratheon & Eddard Stark), and to cap it all of it's implied Rhaegar never really cared for Lyanna and only used her to fulfill a prophecy.
** Cersei is the queen of the realm in an unhappy marriage, Jaime is one of the most elite knights of the realm, infamous as the Kingslayer who took down [[TheCaligula Mad King Aerys.]] The problem? [[BrotherSisterIncest They're twins.]]

* SweetPollyOliver

** The Lannisters, Boltons and the Freys are tolerated by the Baratheons, the Starks, and the Tullys during the wars in spite of their moral indignation in working with them because they are just too powerful and useful to ignore. Unfortunately, when placed in positions of power and strength, each of these factions proceed to undermine the houses they're ostensibly working for to fulfill their own agenda: [[spoiler: The Lannisters through Cersei usurp the throne into the hands of her bastards from incest, and proceed to undermine their rival Baratheon claimants; The Boltons take advantage of Robb Stark's failed rebellion to take over as Lord Paramount of the North; while the Freys betray the Tullys to the Lannisters for control of the Riverlands.]]
*** It must also be noted that Roose Bolton was already backstabbing Robb's forces from the very beginning even when Robb was actually ''winning''. Amazing how so many of Robb's forces became arrow fodder while Bolton forces were left unscathed while off guarding other positions. This culminates with him sending a false order for 1/3 of Robb's army to march on Duskendale, a worthless target that just happened to have a Lannister army there waiting for them.....

** Ser Criston Cole is treated as this to the Greens but it feels more like the elitist nobles throwing a poor upjumped knight under the bus to distance themselves from what they saw as an opportunistic lowborn.

** Being surrounded by amoral people slowly corrupts Tyrion, a process that's sped up by how badly his father and sister treat him. Eventually, his resentment and bitterness toward them grow to the point that [[spoiler: after killing his father, he turns his back on his family completely]].
** [[spoiler: After some soul searching and time in the company of the Maid of Tarth, Jaime makes a sincere effort to clean his act and become the KnightInShiningArmour he always wanted to be. Unfortunately, he still serves the Lannister regime and their allies, and his change in character is unappreciated by his family or his enemies. The fact that his actions, however well-intentioned, ultimately serve the ends of dishonourable usurpers who openly broke SacredHospitality causes many, the Tullys especially, to see him as little more than a delusional PunchClockVillain at best, and that's without Jaime's kingslaying baggage.]]

* TurbulentPriest: Charismatic religious figures preaching against the corruption of the ones in power, whether the High Sparrow of the Faith in the Seven or Benerro of the Lord of Light in Volantis, have noble goals. The former wants to end the Lannister-era corruption while the latter wants to foment slave liberation, but religious frenzy and the control it has over its population carries with it the threats of riots, chaos and mob violence. As noted by Tyrion:
--> ''"Give me priests who are fat and corrupt and cynical, the sort who like to sit on soft satin cushions, nibble sweetmeats, and diddle little boys. It's the ones who believe in gods who make the trouble."''

* TheUnfavorite:

** Given the rigidly patriarchal nature of Westeros, Catelyn had only the best of intentions in trying to break [[RebelliousPrincess Arya]] of her wild ways and constantly comparing her to the near-perfect [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl Sansa.]] Unfortunately, it failed to correct Arya's behaviour and fostered a culture of bullying against her that Septa Mordane, Sansa, and Sansa's friends all participated in. This has ravaged Arya's self-esteem, to the point that she has (incorrect) doubts that Catelyn and Robb would even bother paying a ransom to get her back.

** Nothing prevents Tywin Lannister from pursuing his goals, and he believes that having this image and attitude is his strength. However, his willingness to do absolutely anything to pursue his ambition of controlling the Seven Kingdoms and founding a family dynasty irrespective of morality and without concern for the emotions of others ultimately results in a multitude of factions viewing him and his House as enemies who must be destroyed rather than cowing to him out of fear. It has also resulted in all of his children being deeply screwed up and resentful towards him because he insists on controlling them and using them as pieces in his game, with no regard to their emotional needs or desires, and [[spoiler: this ultimately leads Tyrion to kill him for what Tywin did to Tysha.]]
** Ramsay Snow/Bolton doesn't care if anyone finds out about his [[TheMostDangerousGame eccentric]] [[FlayingAlive habits]]. On the contrary, he believes that, like Tywin, this image gives him strength. Unfortunately, his lack of secrecy means everyone knows he's a mad dog, and [[MaskOfSanity Roose Bolton]] points out this makes Ramsay a liability. Should Roose die, Ramsay won't be too far behind.
--->'''Roose''':No tales were ever told of me. Do you think I would be sitting here if it were otherwise? Your amusements are your own, I will not chide you on that count, but you must be more discreet.
* UnknownRival: Not knowing who your enemy is, or rather, who considers you an enemy is extremely dangerous, especially when you find yourself courting them for help. Ned finds this out the hard way when Petyr stabs him in the back at a critical moment because he's always resented the Starks for the CurbStompBattle Brandon gave him, and Ned Stark marrying the love of his life. [[spoiler: The Starks and Tullys also end up losing the War of the Five Kings because they completely underestimated the ambitions of the Boltons and the Freys, who lure them into a trap to usurp their positions as Lord Paramount.]]
* UptownGirl
** Jorah Mormont resorted to selling criminals to slavery to keep his ex-wife in the lifestyle she was originally accustomed to but she eventually tired of him and ran away to the Free Cities where she became the mistress of some merchant prince.

** Stannis attempts to usurp the throne from Joffrey because he's not truly Robert's son, but there is a healthy dose of personal ambition spurring him on as well. Renly attempts to usurp Stannis, but raises the question of why bloodline should be more important than popularity or fitness to rule. However, his claim was based on PopularityPower and AppealToForce and it is not really known how good a King he would have been. It is also pointed out that usurpations make kingship less stable, Renly claims he is emulating Robert in taking the throne, and Robb points out he can't support Renly as that may lead to other younger brothers usurping rule.

** The Targaryen civil war known as the 'Dance of Dragons' was started when the second child of King Viserys I, Aegon II, challenged the claim of his older sister Rhaenyra for the Iron Throne, despite their father wanting Rhaenyra to succeed him and grooming her to rule. As Westeros is deeply [[NoWomansLand patriarchal]], ''Rhaenyra'' came to be viewed as the usurper, and Aegon as the rightful King.

** Cersei uses sex as a way of getting men to do her bidding. However, she places far too much faith in the loyalty this inspires in them, and fails to consider how tenuous a position she's putting herself in: all her power being derived from her marriage, any public revelation of her infidelity risks it all. It really comes back to bite her when [[spoiler: the High Septon finds out and [[SlutShaming forces her to walk through the city naked and shaved.]] This destroys all the power she has gained; no one will respect her now that everyone has seen her in such a vulnerable state. Even Jaime is unsympathetic and abandons her in her time of need. He thought she was cheating on her husband with him because he was her true love, and the discovery that she's sleeping with other people to win their allegiance- and also purely out of lust- makes him question their entire relationship.]]
** Arianne Martell uses her feminine wiles to seduce Arys Oakheart [[spoiler:into taking part in her coup]] but she has little else in her arsenal -- few allies, few resources, and a poor strategy. [[spoiler:After the coup fails miserably, Arianne is stricken with guilt over her manipulation of Arys and how it lead to his death. Now she's trying to be more politically savvy so she won't have to rely on just her good looks.]]

** Cersei Lannister tears herself up trying to be what her father (and the rest of Westeros) respects [[spoiler: and wanting to outright upstage him]] without having the required ability to.

** NiceGuy BookWorm Samwell Tarly might hate his father's guts (with good cause), but he ''still'' wants to impress him, regardless that he'll probably never be able to impress the grown-up JerkJock that Randyll is in a month of Sundays.

** Humfrey Hewett's wife very likely came to regret mistreating Falia Flowers in the drudge-like, Cinderella way she did. Because the "PrinceCharming" who came along to "save" this particularly [[TheDogBitesBack vengeful Cinders]] from her Wicked Stepmother and "Ugly" ''Half''-Sisters was [[spoiler: King]] [[RapePillageAndBurn Euron Greyjoy]], not some [[KnightInShiningArmor honourable dreamboat]], lover-boy, fairytale Prince. It would always have gone badly for the entire Hewett family, regardless, but Euron might have just killed them all (or sold them) relatively quickly, rather than [[{{Sadist}} deciding to slowly toy with]] the [[{{Troll}} amusing pantomime plot]] of a [[DysfunctionalFamily family dynamic]] this stepmother helped offer him on a platter. Lesson of the episode, kids: "[[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome somebody you raise to be broken via neglect or abuse will quite likely attract the attention]] of a [[AlwaysABiggerFish Much Bigger Monster]] who will mess them up more (with their deluded consent, in this case). One who can bite ''you'', and not just the messed-up, ticking bomb you created".
** Alicent Hightower's antagonism toward her stepdaughter Rhaenyra Targaryen was largely due to a SuccessionCrisis. Rhaenyra had been formally named her father's heir before Alicent married him, mostly to prevent her widely unpopular uncle Daemon from potentially staking a claim. [[WeUsedtoBeFriends Alicent and Rhaenyra actually got along quite well at first]], until Alicent's sons were born. Because sons usually came before daughters in the line of succession, Alicent assumed her eldest son Aegon would replace Rhaenyra as the heir, but her husband Viserys insisted on keeping Rhaenyra as his heir. Feeling snubbed, Alicent became hostile toward Rhaenyra, who returned the animosity. Alicent attempted to betroth Rhaenyra and Aegon, thus combining their claims, but Viserys refused. Eventually the conflict between Alicent and Rhaenyra erupted in a massive civil war that killed most of their family and almost all of their dragons. The war ended in a PyrrhicVictory for Alicent: though her son Aegon the Elder won after killing Rhaenyra, he was soon murdered by his own men and succeeded by Rhaenyra's son Aegon the Younger. Alicent outlived her rival by only a short time, spending her final few years in bitter regret and misery after losing [[OutlivingOnesOffspring all of her children and grandchildren]] [[ShaggyDogStory as well as the throne]].

** Varys believes Westeros needs a king who will put the needs of its people first but he seems more enamored by the idea of this perfect king instead of knowing the person face to face. [[spoiler: He kills the very capable Kevan Lannister because he doesn't fit the image and to pave the way for Prince Aegon Targaryen. However, Aegon is untested and whether or not he's an improvement remains to be seen.]].

* WorkingClassHero: Davos Seaworth is a knighted smuggler who is named by Stannis as his Hand because he is honest and gives good advice, even if Stannis doesn't always agree with Davos. However, Davos is still looked-down-on by the nobility for his low birth.

** Jon Snow [[spoiler:is made Lord Commander of the Night's Watch at age sixteen, as a result of Samwell's scheming, political division in the Watch, and a general lack of better options. While Jon is a skilled leader, he pushes too hard in making unpopular decisions, because he [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight believes that they're morally right.]] His decisions so enrage and frighten people that he ends up betrayed and stabbed by a group of his own men. It's left ambiguous whether or not he survives.]]
--->'''George R. R. Martin:''' Were they mistakes [by Jon]? I guess they were mistakes in some ways since they led to him losing control of part of his group. But it might have been wise and necessary decisions in terms of protecting the realm and dealing with the threat of the White Walkers. I'm a huge student of history, and all through history there's always this question of what's the right decision. You look back with benefit of hindsight at a battle that was lost and say, 'The losing general was such an idiot.' Was Napoleon a genius for all the battles he won? Or an idiot for losing at Waterloo? Partly I'm reacting to a lot of the fantasy that has come before this. Ruling is difficult whether you're a Lord Commander of the Night's Watch or the King of England. These are hard decisions and each have consequences. We're looking at Jon trying to take control of Night's Watch and deal with the wildlings and the threat beyond The Wall.
** Robb Stark is made King in the North at age fourteen after Lord Eddard's execution. While he proves himself an excellent tactician and good strategist, he ignores the sound political advice of many of his more seasoned companions, such as [[MamaBear Catelyn]] or [[TokenEvilTeammate Roose]]. He makes the kind of poor, inexperienced decisions one would expect a boy at the tail end of puberty to make, such as sleeping with Jeyne Westerling when he thinks Bran and Rickon were murdered, and then [[HonorBeforeReason marrying her to preserve her dignity]], despite his pledge to marry one of the Frey girls as part of the alliance agreement with the Freys. The Freys desert him for this, [[spoiler: and the Freys and Boltons kill Robb later in an event known as 'the Red Wedding'.]]

** Tommen [[spoiler: succeeds his older brother [[TheCaligula Joffrey]] after Joffrey's death during the Purple Wedding. While Tommen is a genuinely [[NiceGuy nice kid]], he's not even old enough to have sex yet, which means that he still needs regents to make decisions for him. His youth, naivety, and complete lack of experience make him very susceptible to manipulation from the likes of [[BitchInSheepsClothing Margaery]] [[BastardUnderstudy Tyrell]] and his mother [[MyBelovedSmother Cersei]] [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Lannister]].]] His problem is basically the polar opposite of Robb's. Robb is headstrong and sometimes doesn't take advice when he needs to, ends up breaking a pact when he has SexForSolace, and marries this girl to preserve her honor -- resulting in the [[spoiler:Frey's participation in the Red Wedding]]. Tommen [[spoiler:can't produce an heir with his betrothed at a moment when his dynasty hangs on by the skin of its teeth, and listens to people he really shouldn't trust.]]

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