History Foil / GameOfThrones

** To Ned Stark. Both are stoic, dour patriarchs of powerful families who serve [[spoiler: and die]] as Hands of the King in the capital. While they're polar opposites in how they treat their subjects and their families, and also about how they rule (Tywin is [[TheUnfettered a ruthless]] [[EvilChancellor schemer keeping his family in power at any cost]], while Ned is [[TheFettered a scrupulous]] [[TheGoodChancellor statesman working to stabilise the realm]]), the outcome is one and the same - [[spoiler: they never quite prepared their successors to rule as capably as they did and after their deaths their respective houses fall in disarray.]]

** To Gendry. Both are the children of adultery on the part of the royal couple of Robert Baratheon and Cersei Lannister, but Robert's illegitimate son Gendry is unacknowledged, poor, hardworking, brave, kind, and clever whereas Cersei's [[spoiler:illegitimate]] son Joffrey is his polar opposite: presumed to be the legitimate son of Robert Baratheon, spoiled, idle, cowardly, cruel, and idiotic. Gendry grows up in poverty in Flea Bottom, does not receive the special surname given to noble-born illegitimate children because he is an unacknowledged son of Robert Baratheon, does not know he is the son of a king [[spoiler:until later on in the series]], grows up as a blacksmith's apprentice with his apprentice fee funded by an unknown lord, and defends those weaker than himself. Meanwhile, Joffrey grows up in the royal Red Keep, mistakingly believes himself to be the son of a king, and relishes in using his power to abuse his subjects. Gendry befriends and protects [[{{RebelliousPrincess}} Arya Stark]] while she is disguised as a commoner boy, and she cares about him deeply while neither of them knew he is of Baratheon blood. Joffrey is formally betrothed to [[{{PrincessClassic}} Sansa Stark]] to make a Stark-Baratheon match via marriage, but abused and bullied her and she grew to hate him.

** To Stannis. The two brothers are night and day to each other. Renly is a young, charismatic, good-looking guy who seems to be well-liked by everyone and despite being second in line for the throne after Robert dies, is easily able to round up an army because of his skills in diplomacy and his loving relationship with Loras (who says Renly would make a great king), but is flashy and can be frivolous. In contrast, Stannis is an older, harsher, dutiful, dour man with the rightful claim to the throne and is martially skilled, but struggles to rally an army because of his hard, rigid personality, and (Loras says he has the personality of a lobster), and has a few close friends.

** To Ned Stark. Renly is a flashy-but-astute NonActionGuy politician who can navigate a DeadlyDecadentCourt while Ned is a modest, stoic warrior who is ill-suited for intrigues. Ned and Catelyn have an openly PerfectlyArrangedMarriage whereas Renly and Loras must maintain a SecretRelationship because homosexuality is a taboo.
** To Stannis. The two brothers are night and day to each other. Renly is a young, charismatic, good-looking guy who seems to be well-liked by everyone and is easily able to round up an army but is flashy and can be frivolous. In contrast, Stannis is an older, harsher, dutiful man with the rightful claim to the throne and is martially skilled, but struggles to rally an army and has a few close friends.
** To Littlefinger. Both are ostentatious NonActionGuy politicians who excel at SnarkToSnarkCombat, but Renly grew up as a privileged high lord while Littlefinger only rose from a very minor noble by being a ruthless SelfMadeMan. Renly's [[TheCharmer charm]] and NiceToTheWaiter qualities sharply contrast Littlefinger's TheSociopath and BadBoss traits. Renly loathes the Lannisters and seeks to oust them while Littlefinger supports them. Littlefinger is an UnluckyChildhoodFriend infatuated with Catelyn while Renly's love for Loras is reciprocated.
** To Robb Stark. Both are young, [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure sensible]], [[NiceGuy nice guys]] who aspire to be TheGoodKing, but where Robb is ModestRoyalty warrior who excels on the battlefield, Renly is an [[ErmineCapeEffect ostentatious]] courtier whose strength is his political acumen. This is most clear when Renly marries precisely the right woman for an alliance whereas Robb throws away an alliance to marry his lover.
** To Joffrey Baratheon. Both are introduced into Season 2 presiding over a tournament. Joffrey is pleased when his non-knight Kingsguard, Sandor Clegane, kills a fellow competitor whereas Renly's tourney features no death and culminates in the elevation of a female non-knight to his Kingsguard. Renly is also courteous to his wife Margaery and Catelyn's embassy whereas Joffrey is abusive to his fiancée Sansa and his new councilor Tyrion.

* Stannis to Tyrion. Both are the outcast, maligned, and underestimated second son whose elder brother left them OvershadowedByAwesome and face interference and betrayal by an ambitious sibling who refuses to acknowledge their rights, accomplishments, and sacrifices.

** To Stannis Baratheon. These two become very direct foils in the Battle of the Blackwater when Stannis personally leads the assault, proving that despite his flaws he truly believes in his cause and is willing to put himself him in tremendous danger for it. Meanwhile, Joffrey [[MilesGloriosus brags endlessly before the battle]] but proves a DirtyCoward who panics at any setback and prevails only because others do all the work.

* [[OrderVersusChaos Varys and Littlefinger]]. Both are [[SelfMadeMan self-made]] [[TheChessmaster Chessmasters]] from humble foreign beginnings with a DarkAndTroubledPast who have worked their way up to the small council without the support of a faction. The key contrast is that Varys claims to fight for [[LawfulNeutral stability]] and TheNeedsOfTheMany whereas Littlefinger strives to create [[ChaoticEvil chaos]] to further his [[ItsAllAboutMe personal]] quest for power. An additional contrast is Littlefinger's occupation as a perverse provider of sex while Varys is an asexual eunuch.

* Bronn is the most obvious one to Jorah Mormont. Jorah was a nobleman, heir of a fief, and a knight who was disgraced and became a mercenary. Bronn was a mercenary that earned royal favor and became a knight, and then (at least at one point) earned a ''de facto'' Lordship by marrying into nobility. Jorah eventually decided to fight on Daenerys's behalf as the knight to her lady but was banished for his earlier betrayal and essentially replaced his in function by the mercenary captain, Daario. Bronn and Tyrion's relationship, though almost friendly, was always based on money, so when Bronn abandoned Tyrion for a better (and more survivable) offer, Tyrion understood, and the parting was more cordial. Eventually, he was replaced as Tyrion's prime companion by... Jorah.

** To Tyrion Lannister. Jaime has everything Tyrion lacks -- Jaime is a dashing duelist, adored by the smallfolk and by his family, and is even treated with some consideration by their father Tywin. Meanwhile, Tyrion is regarded as an outsider for being a dwarf and treated horribly by their father and sister. Jaime could commit all kinds of follies and still be the golden son but Tywin despises Tyrion for things Tyrion is completely blameless for: MaternalDeathBlameTheChild and being born a dwarf. The twist is that while Tyrion craves what Jaime has, Tyrion and Jaime are among the few in their family with a mutually genuine, loving relationship as brothers. Come Season 7 and this becomes even more evident. Both men are in service to queens in opposite sides of the war and they genuinely believe they are going to make the world a better place once their victory is complete. They also manage to massively disappoint them due to fatal mistakes they make, such as Tyrion's plans lead to TheAlliance that Daenerys forms in Season 6 quickly crumbling and Jaime's defeat in Blackwater Rush and as a result both Daenerys and Cersei disregard their advice to take matters into their own hands.

** To Tyrion Lannister. Jaime has everything Tyrion lacks -- Jaime is a dashing duelist, adored by the smallfolk and by his family, and is even treated with some consideration by their father Tywin. Meanwhile, Tyrion is regarded as an outsider for being a dwarf and treated horribly by their father and sister. Jaime could commit all kinds of follies and still be the golden son but Tywin despises Tyrion for things Tyrion is completely blameless for: MaternalDeathBlameTheChild and being born a dwarf. The twist is that while Tyrion craves what Jaime has, Tyrion and Jaime are among the few in their family with a mutually genuine, loving relationship as brothers.

* Eddard Stark to Tyrion Lannister. As Hand of the King, Ned suffers the consequences of HonorBeforeReason and a refusal to compromise. His successor Tyrion is not corrupt by any means, but does accept the demands of {{Realpolitik}} far better and is able to curtail the excesses of his king and the machinations of Cersei better than Ned. Nevertheless, Tyrion eventually ends up [[spoiler: imprisoned and facing banishment to the Night's Watch as a scapegoat]] much like Ned.

** To Jon Snow. Like Jon, she went from being someone who nearly all of society has written off due to birth status (Jon) or family name (Dany), to becoming the ruler of their dynasties. Both of them have reputations for being a LivingLegend and as per Melisandre, are both possible contenders for being "The Prince Who Was Promised". Much like how Dany does everything she can to liberate the oppressed slaves in Essos and incorporate foreigners into Westeros, Jon does everything he can to save the wildlings from death beyond the Wall and brings them into his kingdom. In Season 7, Tyrion and Davos make it even more explicit when they mediate a tense meeting by helping them see their commonalities: both rule because they were chosen by their subjects, not by birthright; both are concerned for the people's welfare; and both are beloved because of their strong character and concern for the common people.

** To Robb Stark. Both are young men who come to power in the wake of [[spoiler: their father's deaths]] -- one by the acclaim of his bannermen, the other in a power play at a DeadlyDecadentCourt. Robb has a legitimate claim to his lands and titles, Joffrey has no legitimate claim to his position. Both pursue relationships with women against the advice of their mothers which ultimately leads to [[spoiler: their sudden and shocking demise by being murdered at a wedding]]. Despite his youth, Robb is AFatherToHisMen who [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething leads from the front]] while Joffrey is TheCaligula and a DirtyCoward. Further still: Robb is loved and respected by the North at the beginning of the war (though dissent breaks out later) while Joffrey is universally hated. Their respective betrayals (by houses known to be dangerously Machiavellian) come as a moment of epic ''schadenfreude'' in the latter case and a horrific MoralEventHorizon for the former.

** To all the Stark children. They are taught that WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility. All Joffrey knows is that might equals right.

** To Sansa Stark. Both are young maidens who enter an ArrangedMarriage pact, but Daenerys is married almost immediately to a brutal barbarian who turns out to have a sensitive side and frees her from her abusive brother whereas Sansa endures a long betrothal to a handsome prince who turns out to be a total sadistic [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who separates her from her loving family. Both were also victims of abuse: where Dany escapes the lifelong abuse she experiences when her cruel [[BigBrotherBully brother]] is killed by her husband, Sansa experiences the abuse after she is separated from her family and it doesn't stop until she manages to escape and reunite with one of her [[BigBrotherInstinct brothers]] six years later. At the beginning of the series, Daenerys starts out very shy and meek, but her childhood as a NobleFugitive and the hardships she's faced since birth leave her better prepared for the brutal realities she faces, allowing her to make the best of her bad situation early on and turn things to her advantage, eventually working her way up to raising a powerful army, conquering several cities, and trying to liberate its slaves. Meanwhile, Sansa starts out the series as a sheltered girl who lives with her loving family in a castle, believing the stories of idealized princes -- until the prince kills her father, she is kept prisoner by her family's enemies while a war rages on, the prince's forces slaughter her mother and brother, and she is used as a pawn, doing what she can to learn how to survive the DeadlyDecadentCourt and her family's enemies. In Season 6, she utilizes what she's learned from her experiences, finally manages to escape back to one of her remaining family members when she reunites with her brother Jon, and uses her knowledge to help them retake their family home. As of Season 7, both Dany and Sansa are in positions in which try to better the lives of their people.

** To Sansa Stark. Both are young maidens who enter an ArrangedMarriage pact, but Daenerys is married almost immediately to a brutal barbarian who turns out to have a sensitive side and frees her from her abusive brother whereas Sansa endures a long betrothal to a handsome prince who turns out to be a total sadistic [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who separates her from her loving family. Both were also victims of abuse: where Dany escapes the lifelong abuse she experiences when her cruel [[BigBrotherBully brother]] is killed by her husband, Sansa experiences the abuse after she is separated from her family and it doesn't stop until she manages to escape and reunite with one of her [[BigBrotherInstinct brothers]] six years later. At the beginning of the series, Daenerys starts out very shy and meek, but her childhood as a NobleFugitive and the hardships she's faced since birth leave her better prepared for the brutal realities she faces, allowing her to make the best of her bad situation early on and turn things to her advantage, eventually working her way up to raising a powerful army, conquering several cities, and trying to liberate its slaves. Meanwhile, Sansa starts out the series as a sheltered girl who lives with her loving family in a castle, believing the stories of idealized princes -- until the prince kills her father, she is kept prisoner by her family's enemies while a war rages on, the prince's forces slaughter her mother and brother, and she is used as a pawn, doing what she can to learn how to survive the DeadlyDecadentCourt and her family's enemies. In Season 6, she utilizes what she's learned from her experiences, finally manages to escape back to her remaining family when she reunites with her brother Jon, and uses her knowledge to help them retake their family home. As of Season 7, both Dany and Sansa are in positions in which try to better the lives of their people.
** To Robert Baratheon, the very Usurper she despises. Both are excellent at galvanizing support, can be ruthless to their enemies, seize power by right of conquest, and struggle with the realities of establishing a new order of things. Both show visible unhappiness at the realization that conquest is far easier than postwar administration and reconstruction, but Daenerys shows a commitment to learning how to rule and learning from her mistakes, as opposed to letting someone else rule for her entirely, that Robert never showed.

** To Sansa Stark. Both are young maidens who enter an ArrangedMarriage pact, but Daenerys is married almost immediately to a brutal barbarian who turns out to have a sensitive side and frees her from her abusive brother whereas Sansa endures a long betrothal to a handsome prince who turns out to be a total sadistic [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who separates her from her loving family. Both were also victims of abuse: where Dany escapes her [[BigBrotherBully brother's]] lifelong abuse when he is killed by her husband, Sansa experiences the abuse after she is separated from her family and it doesn't stop until she manages to escape and reunite with one of her [[BigBrotherInstinct brothers]] six years later. At the beginning of the series, Daenerys starts out very shy and meek, but her childhood as a NobleFugitive and the hardships she's faced since birth leave her better prepared for the brutal realities she'd face, allowing her to make the best of her bad situation early on and turn things to her advantage, eventually working her way up to raising a powerful army, conquering several cities, and trying to liberate its slaves. Meanwhile, Sansa starts out the series as a sheltered girl who lives with her loving family in a castle, believing the stories of idealized princes -- until the prince kills her father, she is kept prisoner by her family's enemies while a war rages on, the prince's forces slaughter her mother and brother, and she is used as a pawn, doing what she can to learn how to survive the DeadlyDecadentCourt and her family's enemies until she reunites with her brother Jon and they retake their family home. As of Season 7, both Danhy and Sansa are in positions of leadership in which they try to better the lives of their people.

** To Sansa Stark. Both are young maidens who enter an ArrangedMarriage pact, but Daenerys is married almost immediately to a brutal barbarian who turns out to have a sensitive side and frees her from her abusive brother whereas Sansa endures a long betrothal to a handsome prince who turns out to be a total sadistic [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who separates her from her loving family. Hence both were also victims of abuse, although Sansa was only abused by Joffrey for a two year time period while Daenerys endured abuse from her brother for most of her life. Daenerys started out very shy and meek, but her childhood as a NobleFugitive has also left her far less naive than Sansa. However, Daenerys was able to make the best of her bad situation and turn things to her advantage, eventually working her way up to raising a powerful army and conquering several cities, while Sansa remained helpless throughout her plight. Daenerys' success can largely be attributed to being toughened up from the hardships she's faced since birth, whereas Sansa led a privileged and sheltered life and was completely unprepared to cope with her life taking a turn for the worse.

** To Jon Snow. Like Jon, she went from being someone who nearly all of society has written off to becoming the heir and ruler of her dynasty. Both of them have reputations for being a LivingLegend and as per Melisandre, are both possible contenders for being "The Prince Who Was Promised", and much like how Dany wants to incorporate outsiders and foreigners into Westeros, Jon brought Wildlings into his kingdom. In Season 7, Tyrion and Davos make it even more explicit when they mediate a tense meeting by helping them see their commonalities: both rule because they were chosen by their subjects, not through any birthright, and both are beloved because of their strong character and concern for the common people.

** To Jon Snow. Both are highborn bastard sons of powerful northern lords who share the surname Snow, the last name given to illegitimate children with noble blood in the North. However, Jon was raised in a loving household, loved by his father and siblings - Ned loved Jon and treats him as one of his sons, telling him that he might not share the Stark name but that he's every bit a member of the family, raising him as his own alongside his trueborn children, while Ramsay is treated poorly by his father, who regards him with contempt, with Roose bluntly informing Ramsay that he's just a Snow, not a Bolton and frequently calls him a bastard. Jon loves his father and siblings, while Ramsay [[spoiler:killed his father, father’s wife, and half-brother to become the only heir]]. [[HeroicBastard Jon is honorable, heroic, compassionate and strives to do the right thing]] while [[BastardBastard Ramsay is pretty much the direct opposite of that,]] as even George R.R. Martin pointed out in the Season 4 featurette on "Bastards of Westeros". While Ned never legitimized Jon, Roose did so for Ramsay... but only after Ramsay helped him win the North and Roose lost his trueborn son, leaving him with only Ramsay.

* Roose Bolton to Eddard Stark. Both are northern lords with illegitimate sons, but have very different personalities. Ned is an honorable, honest, kind, and content man whereas Roose is treacherous, deceitful, cruel, opportunistic, dishonorable and hypocritical. Roose tells his illegitimate son Ramsay, "''My'' banners, not yours. You're not a Bolton; you're a Snow," whereas Ned tells his illegitimate son Jon, "You ''are'' a Stark. You might not have my name, but you have my blood." Ned loves Jon as one of his sons, acknowledges him, and raises him alongside his true born siblings whereas Roose treats Ramsay poorly and only acknowledges Ramsay when he has no other choice. Ironically, in the end, Roose [[spoiler: legitimizes his bastard son, gives him the family name and makes him his heir]], something Ned never did. However, according to [[WordOfGod George R. R. Martin]], Roose only did this because he had no other choice and states: "Ramsay gets nothing from Roose."

** To Arya Stark, her younger sister. In the novels, George R. R. Martin designed Sansa to be Arya's foil. This is present in the adaptation as well. They are both Stark daughters of Winterfell but Sansa is a PrincessClassic who loves traditional feminine arts and her parents have great hopes for her and expect her to excel at court, while Arya is a RebelliousPrincess who wants to fight and ride with the boys, and Ned and Catelyn worry about her behaviour. However, Sansa is a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter at court, believes Joffrey and Cersei are kindly nobles, is manipulated by them and ends up their prisoner. Meanwhile, Arya is savvy, quickly recognizes the Lannister's are sociopaths and manages to escape Kings Landing. They both spend a great deal of time with Sandor "The Hound" Clegane who takes them both captive at one time or another and ends up displaying his softer side with them. Their CharacterDevelopment arcs involve very different versions of BreakTheCutie. Sansa spends the War of the Five Kings in the royal court, is used as a pawn for her status, learns how to manipulate and play the games of high borns, becomes ensnared in the politics of King's Landing, is dependent on her wits to survive and sees firsthand the ruthlessness and backstabbing of a DeadlyDecadentCourt. Arya experiences the war disguised as a commoner, suffers with the smallfolk, hones her physical skills and falls under the view and guidance of characters of varying moral fibre. Arya slowly becomes a methodical ChildSoldier who falls in with an amoral killing cult that believes in death for everyone while Sansa has become NumberTwo to Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, using her father's honorable reputation to defend a murderer from facing the consequences of his actions and becoming a willing accomplice. In both cases, the sisters are forced to discard their whole identities in order to pursue vengeance and survival.
* Ned Stark to Stannis Baratheon. Like Stannis, Ned chose family over fealty to his king. Stannis followed his brother Robert into rebellion while Ned lied to his future king Robert to protect his nephew and honor his sister Lyanna's DyingWish.

** To Tyrion Lannister. Jaime has everything Tyrion lacks -- Jaime is a dashing duelist, adored by the smallfolk and by his family, and is even treated with some consideration by their father Tywin while Tyrion is regarded as an outsider for being a dwarf. Jaime could commit all kinds of follies and still be the golden son but Tywin despises Tyrion for things he is completely blameless for: MaternalDeathBlameTheChild and being born a dwarf. The twist is that while Tyrion craves what Jaime has, Tyrion and Jaime are among the few in their family with a genuine, loving relationship as brothers.

** To Robert Baratheon. Both are excellent at galvanizing support, can be ruthless to their enemies, seize power by right of conquest, and struggle with the realities of establishing a new order of things. Both show visible unhappiness at the realization that conquest is far easier than postwar administration and reconstruction, but Daenerys shows a commitment to learning how to rule that Robert never showed.

** To Sansa Stark. Both are young maidens who enter an ArrangedMarriage pact, but Daenerys is married almost immediately to a brutal barbarian who turns out to have a sensitive side and frees her from her abusive brother whereas Sansa endures a long betrothal to a handsome prince who turns out to be a total sadistic [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who separates her from her loving family. Daenerys' childhood as a NobleFugitive has also left her far less naive than Sansa.

** To Joffrey Baratheon. Both are products of BrotherSisterIncest from a [[TheBeautifulElite powerful house hailed for their good looks]] with a certain sense of entitlement and a vindictive streak for those who cross them. However, whereas Joffrey grew up a sadistic RoyalBrat, Daenerys grew up a NobleFugitive who understands the plight of the lower classes and the value of kindness.

* Joffrey and Tommen, possibly the most different set of siblings in the series. Joffrey is cruel, vindictive, petty, idiotic, and treats his mother poorly. Tommen doesn't fare much better at ruling and is less proactive than Joffrey, but he is a kind, good-natured person, a MamasBoy, and is an ActualPacifist. Joffrey, while betrothed to Sansa, tells Tyrion, "Let them have [Sansa]," during a riot in King's Landing while Tommen, when his wife [[spoiler: Margaery is killed, commits suicide out of grief for her]].

** To all the Stark children. They are taught that WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility. All Joffrey knows is that MightEqualsRight.

** To Robb Stark. Both are young men who come to power in the wake of [[spoiler: their father's deaths]] -- one by the acclaim of his bannermen, the other in a power play at a DeadlyDecadentCourt. Both pursue relationships with women against the advice of their mothers which ultimately leads to [[spoiler: their sudden demise at weddings]]. Despite his youth, Robb is AFatherToHisMen who [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething leads from the front]] while Joffrey is TheCaligula and a DirtyCoward.