Line #42 Literature/AClashOfKings


1	[[quoteright:318:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Clash_of_kings_6466.jpg]]
2
3	->''"Crowns do queer things to the heads beneath them."''
4	-->-- '''Tyrion Lannister'''
5
6	The second book in Creator/GeorgeRRMartin's {{doorstopper}} ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' fantasy series, released in 1998.
7
8	Joffrey Baratheon sits on the Iron Throne, but rumors that he is not the king's legitimate heir are spreading throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Everywhere, a king vies for a throne. Robb Stark, called the Young Wolf, battles to secure independence for the North and revenge for his executed father. The Baratheon brothers, Renly and Stannis, each march upon the Iron Throne with a different claim, while on the Iron Islands, Balon Greyjoy prepares a new rebellion, setting his sights on Winterfell. Robert Baratheon's death has set the stage for the War of the Five Kings.
9
10	While kings march across the Seven Kingdoms and the people of King's Landing grow more and more malcontent, Jon Snow and his sworn brothers of the Night's Watch travel deeper beyond the Wall, searching for the so called King-Beyond-The-Wall. Across the sea, Daenerys Targaryen begins her journey as a khaleesi, having to nurture and protect her dragons from those who would take them...
11
12	As a result of the war and characters splitting up across Westeros, there are nine POV characters in this novel, with Stannis Baratheon's Maester Cressen narrating the prologue:
13
14	* Tyrion Lannister, the Hand of the King, and Sansa Stark, the king's betrothed and hostage provide insight in Joffrey's decadent court.
15	* Catelyn Stark follows Robb Stark's campaign, the war in the Riverlands, and the negotiations between Stannis and Renly.
16	* Smuggler-turned-knight Davos Seaworth gives the events on Stannis's side of the battle.
17	* Arya Stark, now hiding herself among commoners, shows bits and pieces of the ravages of war and the suffering of the smallfolk.
18	* Theon Greyjoy narrates the events in the Iron Islands.
19	* Bran Stark narrate the events in Winterfell.
20	* Jon Snow shows us what's happening beyond the Wall.
21	* And last but not least, Daenerys Targaryen shows us what's going on across the narrow sea.
22
23	The novel was adapted as the second season of HBO's ''Series/GameOfThrones''.
24	----
25	!!A Clash of Tropes:
26
27	* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Tyrion is shocked to learn that even though none of the smallfolk of King's Landing like the Lannisters, they hate ''him'' most of all. All the problems with the city are mostly due to Cersei and Joffrey, but Tyrion is the face of the new status quo due to the timing of his arrival (which makes him appear to be more of an EvilChancellor than Cersei, who was present during better times under Robert), his poor treatment of Janos Slynt and Pycelle (who appear to be good and earnest men to anyone outside the Red Keep), and his entourage of violent mountain clansmen.
28	* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: While Jaime is held captive by Robb Stark, his younger brother Tyrion tries to come up with an exchange to get Jaime back, while his [[BrotherSisterIncest sister/lover]] Cersei starts sleeping with Lancel, their [[KissingCousins cousin]].
29	* ActuallyPrettyFunny:
30	** Daenerys laughs in spite of herself at Ser Jorah's joke about Illyrio sitting on her dragon eggs himself if he'd thought they would actually hatch.
31	** Tyrion also admits that court fool Moonboy's ditty about the High Septon (notorious for being [[CorruptChurch corrupt]] and a FatBastard) being a man who worships the Seven so fervently he eats a meal for each of them every day is pretty funny.
32	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: [[spoiler:Theon Greyjoy takes Winterfell.]]
33	* AndImTheQueenOfSheba: When Daenerys tries to get a ship through royal intimidation, the ship's captain listening to her uses this to express his disbelief.
34	--> "Aye. And I'm Lord Tywin Lannister, and shit gold every night."
35	* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: [[spoiler: When he takes Winterfell]], Theon regrets not having Sansa around so he could have forced her to marry him [[spoiler: to strengthen his claim on Winterfell]].
36	* AttemptedRape: A rioting mob tries to gang-rape Sansa but she is rescued by Sandor Clegane.
37	* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: Invoked by Balon Greyjoy:
38	-->'''Balon Greyjoy''': ''"No man gives me a crown. I pay the iron price. I will take my crown"''
39	* BadassBoast: Two in succession, one doubling as a ShutUpHannibal, when Stannis refuses to fight in single combat for the castle of Storm's End.
40	-->'''Stannis:''' “Do you take me for an utter fool, ser? I have twenty thousand men. You are besieged by land and sea. Why would I choose single combat when my eventual victory is certain? I give you fair warning. If you force me to take my castle by storm, you may expect no mercy. I will hang you for traitors, every one of you.”
41	-->'''Ser Courtnay Penrose:''' “As the gods will it. Bring on your storm, my lord—and recall, if you do, the ''name'' of this castle.”
42	* BadMoonRising: A red comet is on the skies of Westeros from the epilogue of the previous book. It is widely considered an omen, but everyone interprets it differently. Old Nan gives the right interpretation:
43	--> '''Old Nan to Bran:''' Dragons ... it be dragons, boy.
44	* BeingEvilSucks: Theon starts feeling this as he has no choice but to kill people he grew up with during his time in the North.
45	* BigBadassBattleSequence: The Battle of the Blackwater, one of the most famous examples in the series.
46	* BlindedByTheLight: Jaime can't even look at Catelyn's lamp after being kept in the dark for so long.
47	* BodyguardBetrayal: Ser Mandon Moore covers Tyrion's back during the Blackwater Battle, [[spoiler: then he tries to kill him]].
48	* BodyguardCrush:
49	** Jorah Mormont starts showing shades of this towards Daenerys.
50	** [[spoiler: Sandor and Sansa, definitely on Sandor's side and implied on Sansa's]];
51	** Brienne to Renly [[spoiler: and she takes his death very bad]].
52	* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Invoked by Davos in his internal monologue before the battle. ''He'' had suggested to fleet commander Ser Imry that the fleet proceed carefully down the river, sending a few ships ahead to test and scout whatever defenses the city had managed to erect rather than just relying on what they learned from captive fishermen.[[note]] Which ''might'' have prevented them from being trapped behind the chain[[/note]] Imry dismissed him largely because of his low birth, but Davos also recognizes that since the fleet had experienced some weather-related delays and lost a few ships on the way, Imry would do well not to keep the notoriously impatient Stannis waiting any longer than he has to.
53	* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Shae, when talking about Lollys, notes, "She sleeps and she eats. Sometimes she falls asleep while she's eating."
54	* BrotherSisterIncest: Teased when Theon flirts with Asha before he realizes that she's his sister. She's just playing along with it to see what kind of man he's grown into, and isn't particularly happy when he gropes her, but enjoys teasing him about it afterward.
55	* CainAndAbel: Stannis and his younger brother Renly. The series' GrayAndGreyMorality being what it is, though, it's impossible to tell who is the "good" and the "evil" one. [[spoiler:They both had every intention of killing each other: Renly talking to his men about what to do with Stannis' body and Stannis actually killing Renly.]]
56	** Case in point: Renly wants power as king. Stannis seems to see it more as his duty as Robert's heir, though Renly acknowledges that Stannis may well have a better claim but he (Renly) has the larger army and was more the aggressor in the situation. [[spoiler:It turns out to be a Cain and Cain situation however, as Renly is assassinated before his vastly superior army can crush Stannis' own.]] It's never quite clear whether Stannis knew about this. He ''says'' he didn't, and that's [[BrutalHonesty usually enough]], but it's not 100% certain. However, he does show he is upset over Renly's death and did try to make terms with Renly.
57	* CaptainObvious: When they find Renly's army engaged in a melee, Catelyn notes that her guardsman Hal Mollen likes pointing out the obvious.
58	* CassandraTruth:
59	** When traveling northward with Yoren and the Night's Watch recruits, Arya alone doesn't want to spend the night in an abandoned village because she rightly guesses that the villagers fled for a reason. Everyone dismisses her as craven, then Lannister's knights come to raid the village and attack and kill most of their party, including Yoren;
60	** While recouping with other surviving recruits, Arya insists on scoping out a village alone because she's quieter than the others and less likely to get caught if there are more [[RapePillageAndBurn brutal knights there]]. Gendry "[[MeaningfulName the Bull]]" insists on following her, and sure enough, he gets caught. Hot Pie then insists on accompanying Arya to rescue Gendry, and then ''he's'' promptly caught and gives Arya's position away, leaving them all at the mercy of Gregor's [[SociopathicSoldier men]];
61	** Catelyn tells Robb that sending Theon to the Iron Islands is a bad idea. Robb does not listen, with disastrous results.
62	** No one believes Old Nan's stories, but she correctly guesses the red comet means the return of dragons.
63	** Stannis tells Catelyn that he brought his suspicions Joffrey and his siblings were illegitimate to Jon Arryn specifically to avoid this; Robert would have dismissed such accusations coming from Stannis as an attempt to advance himself up the line of succession, but he would be more inclined to trust the word of his old mentor and ParentalSubstitute Jon.
64	* TheCavalry: Renly's ghost and the joint Lannister-Tyrell forces that came to rescue King's Landing during Stannis' siege.
65	* CavalryBetrayal: The Flayed Man's host pulls this twice in the same chapter. [[spoiler:They betray Ser Rodrik and slaughter the men he has brought to retake Winterfell. Then, when Theon allows them inside to thank them, they burn Winterfell to the ground.]] Not to mention [[spoiler:The Brave Companions cutting a deal with Roose Bolton to take Harrenhal]]. Seems to be a [[spoiler:Bolton]] standard.
66	* ChekhovsGun:
67	** Renly's armor, [[spoiler: which is used in an ElCidPloy by the Tyrells during the Blackwater Battle]];
68	** Wildfire jars are founded near the Red Keep. [[spoiler:Tyrion takes the idea of burning down Stannis' fleet from it.]]
69	* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Renly puts his personal guard in ''rainbow''-colored cloaks.
70	* CometOfDoom: The red comet is interpreted differently based on superstition, but in reality it heralds the return of dragons into the world.
71	* CruelMercy: Played with. Sansa, not wanting Joffrey to have Ser Dontos murdered for showing up drunk and half-naked to his nameday joust, plants the idea that it would be crueler to strip him of his knighthood and for him to live as a fool rather than having him executed. While it appeals to Joffrey's sadism (aided by some quick BS about it being unlucky to kill somsone on your nameday), Dontos himself is very grateful to be spared.
72	* DeadPersonImpersonation: Rodrik Cassel's men attack Ramsay Bolton and his servant Reek. Reek [[spoiler:was actually Ramsay, who had traded clothes with the real Reek and sent him out riding. The men killed him and kept "Reek" alive to bear witness to Ramsay's crimes.]]
73	* DiabolusExMachina
74	** [[spoiler:Renly's death by Stannis' shadow results in most of Renly's forces going over to Stannis' side, enabling him to go from an underdog to the greatest threat to King's Landing.]]
75	** [[spoiler:Ramsay Bolton]] turns up at the end of the book and [[spoiler:destroys Winterfell with an army he's managed to recruit from the Dreadfort.]]
76	** [[spoiler:The Lannister/Tyrell alliance routs Stannis' army.]]
77	* DidNotThinkThisThrough:
78	** [[spoiler:Theon]] takes a castle with a tiny number of men through a cunning ruse. Looting the place and taking hostages would have been a great coup, but instead he tries to hold it with a few raiders.
79	** Later on, [[spoiler: when Theon finds two of his men torn to pieces by Summer and Shaggydog during Bran and Rickon's escape from Winterfell, he realises too late what a bad idea it was to let two gargantuan wolves that are ferociously devoted to the Stark boys and that he knows firsthand are more than capable of killing grown men roam around]].
80	** Tyrion passes on words from Tywin to this effect regarding Joffrey and Cersei kicking Barristan Selmy out of the Kingsguard, pointing out that if Selmy, who is a beloved figure in the eyes of the common folk, gives his backing to one of the rebel factions after being so spectacularly insulted by the Lannisters, it will give the rebels greater credibility in the eyes of the commoners.
81	** In the same conversation, Cersei comments that Janos Slynt only took two gold cloaks with him to carry out Joffrey's command to arrest Barristan Selmy and didn't consider that Selmy, a knight with decades more combat experience than Slynt or his thugs and nothing left to lose, would choose to fight rather than come quietly.
82	* DramaticIrony: When Arya, in the guise of Nan, Roose Bolton's cupbearer, wished that the princess to whom Elmar Frey had been betrothed would die, neither she nor Elmar were aware that she herself was the princess in question.
83	* EarlyBirdCameo: The Bastard of Bolton is mentioned for the first time on [[AxCrazy ''very'' unflattering terms]]. [[spoiler:There will be seen wonders from him in ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'']].
84	* ElCidPloy: In the Battle on the Blackwater, the "ghost of Renly" is actually [[spoiler:Garlan Tyrell wearing his king's armour to inspire the allied troops and confuse the enemy]].
85	* EveryoneHasStandards: Despite being notoriously corrupt, the High Septon is mentioned to be outraged by Joffrey having Eddard Stark beheaded at the Sept of Baelor, complaining that the holy site has been profaned with bloodshed.
86	* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Theon betrays Robb's cause, sides with his long-lost father and storms Winterfell.]]
87	* FakeDefector: Under the Halfhand's orders, Jon pretends to join the Wildlings to survive.
88	* {{Fauxshadow}}: Sansa notes that her period has stained her bedsheets "Lannister crimson, as if her body was raising their banner". This suggests that as late as this point, Martin was still considering following his original plan to have her eventually side with the Lannisters against her family.
89	* FedToTheBeast: [[spoiler: After Roose Bolton takes Harrenhal with the help of the Brave Companions and Arya, the commander of the Lannister garrison, Ser Amory Lorch, is chucked naked into a bear pit]].
90	* FeedTheMole: Tyrion shares his plans with three people he suspects are in the employ of Cersei. However, he told each person something different, and when Cersei confronts him, her response inadvertently reveals the source of the leak.
91	** Tyrion takes similar action several times throughout the book, since in King's Landing there are probably an infinite number of moles to be fed.
92	* FlowerMotif: Blue winter roses appear several times.
93	** They are stated to be a symbol of forbidden love and the central theme of Bael the Bard's legend of [[AbductionIsLove his affair with Lord Stark's daughter]];
94	** Blue roses appear again with Theon having a nightmare with dead Starks and Lyanna Stark appears wearing the crown of blue roses Rhaegar gave her;
95	** [[spoiler:In the house of the Undying Daenerys sees the blue winter rose growing from a wall of ice - obviously the Wall. Now read the other two entries and make of this what you want.]]
96	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
97	** Hallyne the Pyromancer, an alchemist, tells Tyrion that their increased efficiency at creating [[GreekFire wildfire]] is because their spells are more effective than they have been--they have not, in fact, been so efficacious since the days of the last dragons, hinting at the relationship between dragons and magic in the world.
98	*** Hallyne also mentions that many of the Alchemists' masters were murdered during the Sack of King's Landing, while much of the wildfire from that time was lost, and that recently they were confounded to find hundreds of jars stored under the Sept of Baelor. Later, he mentions a group of drunks stumbling upon an even larger cache hidden under the Dragonpit. [[spoiler:One book later, Jaime reveals the Mad King's plot to burn the city, and that he was responsible for killing several key alchemists to prevent/hide it afterwards.]]
99	** Theon sees a rickety bridge on his return to Pyke that he can't believe he used to play on as a child. [[spoiler:His father Balon falls off this bridge in the next book]].
100	** Also Theon dreams the feast in Winterfell for King Robert turning into a gruesome butchery, with the hosts being dead people. [[spoiler: Theon wakes up panicking as he sees Robb joining them.]]
101	** Daenerys sees a vision about her father Aerys, completely gone mad, who is ranting ''Let him [Robert] be king over charred bones and cooked meat.'' In ''Literature/AStormOfSwords'', [[spoiler:Jaime tells us he was planning to burn the city with wildfire, and that's why Jaime killed him. She also sees the Red Wedding, and possibly Quentyn Martell.]]
102	** The story of Bael the Bard foretells [[spoiler:Bran & Rickon's survival by hiding in the Stark crypt.]]
103	* GhostlyChill: Renly notes the sudden chill with some curiosity just before [[spoiler:Stannis's shadow stabs him]].
104	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Qhorin Halfhand lets Jon Snow kill him in a fight so he can win the trust of the Wildings.]]
105	* HiddenDisdainReveal: More like Hidden "wanting you dead" reveal, as Tyrion and Cersei's relationship has always been a hostile one, but Cersei finally reveals to Tyrion during their dinner together that she does want him dead, admitting that she has thought of slitting his throat more than once, and only stopped because Jaime would never forgive her for that. This reveal, and Cersei's holding of and threat to harm Alayaya, and Tyrion's own threat to harm Tommen if anything happens to her despite not meaning it, is what pushes their relation beyong the point of no return and truly make [[SelfFulfillingProphecy Tyrion Cersei's enemy.]]
106	* HillbillyIncest: Craster is the MedievalEuropeanFantasy version of a hillbilly. He's the bastard son of a member of the Night's Watch and a Wildling woman, but he's part of neither Westerosi nor Wildling society. He lives in an isolated, rundown shack in the middle of the forest with his BigScrewedUpFamily. He has 19 "wives" because for generations he has been marrying his daughters, siring more children on them, and keeping the daughters and leaving his sons to die of exposure or be taken by ice zombies.
107	-->'''Sam:''' Dolorous Edd says Craster's a terrible savage. He marries his daughters and obeys no laws but those he makes himself.
108	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Maester Cressen, who sought to poison Melisandre. Since her BloodMagic allows her to foresee any attempt to harm her directly, she was aware that Cressen would attempt to kill her with poisoned wine. She whispers to Cressen that he can spill the wine instead of sharing it with her but he refuses. They both drink; Cressen dies, but Melisandre is protected by her magic.
109	* HonorBeforeReason: Both times costing victory in battle.
110	** Renly refuses to attack Stannis's forces before dawn because doing so would taint the victory he is certain of.[[note]]And ''had'' he done so, Melisandre might not have had time to unleash the shadow monster that kills him before any battle starts[[/note]]
111	** Stannis leaves Melisandre at Dragonstone because one of his lords pointed out that if he did not, she and her magic would be credited with the victory instead of him.
112	* HopeSpot: Theon Greyjoy [[spoiler:is facing a battle he cannot win, when Maester Luwin reminds him that he can surrender to Rodrik Cassel and join the Night's Watch to save his life. Theon considers this, and seems to be on the verge of agreeing]] when [[spoiler:Ramsey Snow and his men betray and kill Cassel, meaning Theon has no-one to surrender to.]]
113	* HowDareYouDieOnMe: Arya is both sad and angry at Yoren's death, who had promised to take her home to Winterfell.
114	* [[IHaveYourWife I Have Your Whore]]: Cersei tries to do this to Tyrion. [[spoiler:Too bad she took the wrong girl...]]
115	** Followed by an [[IHaveYourWife I Have Your Son]] bluff from Tyrion. (He ''does'' actually have her son Tommen, but it's still a bluff, since Tyrion would never really allow Tommen to be hurt.)
116	* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: When Jon fakes his defection to the Wildlings, they make him execute the ColonelBadass he's serving under. Unfortunately for the Wildlings, the man figured this would happen and warned Jon beforehand, since the information Jon could gather was more important than the life of one ranger. Jon still feels guilty about killing him, though.
117	* IconicSequelCharacter: This book introduces Stannis, Davos, Melisandre, Asha Greyjoy, Jaqen H'ghar, Brienne of Tarth, Ygritte, Margaery Tyrell, Qyburn, and Ramsay Snow. It also has the first appearance of Wyman Manderly, who would become a major fan favorite in ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'', as well as Aeron and Victarion Greyjoy, who become POV characters in ''Literature/AFeastForCrows''.
118	* IdiotBall:
119	** How pretty much everyone sees Stannis and Renly's petty fight for their claim to the throne. And with good reasons, since it weakens both claims in favour of Joffrey's. Catelyn notice this and express her mind:
120	--->'''Catelyn''': Listen to yourselves! If you were sons of mine, I would bang your heads together and lock you in a bedchamber until you remembered that you were brothers.
121	** Cersei also makes a consideration:
122	--->'''Cersei''': Gods be good. I'm starting to believe that ''Robert'' was the clever one.
123	** Robb sending Theon back to his homeland to propose an alliance with his father. Said father comes from an AlwaysChaoticEvil culture, tried to rebel and attack the rest of Westeros just ten or so years prior, and personally hates the Starks. Theon was specifically a hostage to ensure his good behavior, so sending him back to his father removes their leverage. Ironically, said father was planning on attacking the North anyway (and had accepted Theon being executed in retribution as acceptable cost), but keeping him close by as the hostage he's supposed to be would have resulted in Winterfell never falling, and likely Robb never losing the war from a lot of the consequences.
124	** Ser Rodrik taking virtually every fighting man with him to defeat the Ironborn at Torrhen's Square leaves Winterfell completely undefended, which results in Theon's tiny force taking it over. When attempting to retake it, he allows an unknown military officer (Ramsay Snow) to approach him with a drawn blade and cut off his arm while pretending to shake his hand.
125	* {{Irony}}:
126	** Jon is surprised to note that while the experienced members of the Great Ranging are slowly getting more and more unnerved on the trek, self-professed coward Samwell is actually getting braver.
127	** In her first chapter Sansa thinks of Bran and that she'd give everything to be with him in Winterfell. [[spoiler:In this case she's actually ''lucky'', since Theon betrays Robb, Winterfell ends up in the firing line of the Ironborn invasion and Theon states he could have forced Sansa to marry him to strengthen his claim of Winterfell, and regrets not having her around.]]
128	** While prisoner in the Riverlands, Arya hears an old man lamenting that none of this mess would have happened during the old king's reign. Arya thinks he was referring to King Robert, but the old man meant [[TheCaligula King Aerys]].
129	*** What is even more ironic is that the earlier stages of Aerys' reign were relatively peaceful due to Tywin Lannister's administration, and Tywin Lannister is now the one who is making the Riverlands bleed.
130	** Also most conversations between Arya and Elmar Frey at Harrenhal. Elmar brags about his betrothal to a “princess,” and then is upset when Robb’s marriage causes the Freys to end that betrothal. Meanwhile, Arya thinks Elmar is an idiot, and tells him, “I hope your princess dies.” Elmar does not know that the girl serving him is in fact Arya, while Arya doesn’t know she’s been betrothed to anyone.
131	* ItsAllAboutMe: Stannis and Renly. When both Baratheon brothers attempt to claim the throne back from the Lannisters, they decide to attack each other rather than their common enemy. Catelyn notes that "somewhere, Cersei was laughing." In fact, when Tyrion informs Cersei, she's so happy that she ''dances'' with him.
132	** More notably with Renly, who quite simply wants the Iron Throne for himself and was willing to kill his brother for it. Stannis' motivations are left unexplored until ''Literature/AStormOfSwords'', when he confides in Davos that he feels [[ResignedToTheCall he has a duty to Robert and the Kingdom]] to claim the throne himself as Robert's true heir, rather than let a false king (whether Joffrey or his brother) sit the throne just because they ''can''.
133	* KillItWithFire: [[spoiler:Tyrion burns down Stannis' fleet with wildfire.]]
134	* KillThePoor: It is mentioned offhandedly that [[TheCaligula Joffrey's]] proposed solution to beggars and starving poor people in King's Landing is to kill them. He at one point brings a crossbow to the castle walls and uses it to [[KickTheDog shoot at the people outside the gates begging for food]].
135	* LamePunReaction: Theon made a crack to his uncle Aeron about how Robb's direwolf Grey Wind and Asha's ship Black Wind sounds similar.
136	-->"Stark's is grey. Greyjoy's is black. But they're [[ToiletHumor both windy]]."
137	-->''Theon's uncle said nothing to that.''
138	* LameRhymeDodge: When Arya Stark gets into a fight while travelling undercover with recruits for the Night's Watch, she loses her head in the heat of battle and screams "Winterfell!", the name of her home castle, as a battle cry. When another boy mentions this to her friend [[SecretKeeper Gendry]], he claims all she was "Go to Hell!" and later warns Arya to say the same thing if asked.
139	* LampshadeHanging: One sometimes criticized plot point is Theon successfully managing to take Winterfell with just a tiny handful of men (about 20), only because Rodrik took virtually ''every'' man in the castle to deal with Theon's ruse. As the fall of Winterfell is necessary for the sudden change of luck for the Starks that results in multiple plotlines over the next two books, it can be viewed a somewhat contrived IdiotBall. Maester Luwin essentially says to Bran, "Boy, it sure was foolish of us to send every soldier we had to deal with the threat at Torrhen's Square, wasn't it?"
140	* LaxativePrank: When Tyrion is too busy trying to save the city to struggle with Cersei's schemes he uses a mild poison with this effect to get her out of his hair for one day.
141	* LeastIsFirst: During the Battle of the Blackwater, the besieged forces draw back inside the defenses fearing that their own side has set the battlefield ablaze with [[GreekFire wildfire, (a magically enhanced, virtually undousable flame)]]. This lets the forces attacking them get right up to the gates and start trying to batter them down. The soldiers, even the BloodKnight leading them, (who, by the way, got half his face burned off as a kid) refuse to go back and fight. At this point, Tyrion, who has Dwarfism, rides up and tries to get the soldiers to go back into the fight. They refuse. Tyrion then goes to lead the attack himself, shouting at the tough guy soldiers "They say I'm half a man. What does that make the lot of you?" True to form, that shames enough of them into fighting that they make a difference in the tide of battle.
142	* LetMeTellYouAStory:
143	** Ygritte tells Jon about Bael the Bard's song. [[spoiler:It is ''very'' reminiscent of the [[EpilepticTrees fan theory]] about Jon's parents.]]
144	** [[spoiler:It also hints to where Bran & Rickon are hiding.]]
145	* LittlePeopleAreSurreal: Before entering the House of the Undying where she witnesses numerous bizarre visions, Dany is given a glass of shade-of-the-evening to drink by the tiniest dwarf she has ever seen.
146	* LoveIsAWeakness: Cersei gives this speech to Sansa.
147	-->'''Cersei:''' Robert wanted to be loved. My brother Tyrion has the same disease. Do you want to be loved, Sansa?\
148	'''Sansa:''' Everyone wants to be loved.\
149	'''Cersei:''' I see flowering hasn’t made you any brighter. Sansa, permit me to share a bit of womanly wisdom with you on this very special day. Love is poison. A sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same.
150	* LyingToThePerp: Tyrion uses this to work out which of the Council members is spying for Cersei, after narrowing it down to Littlefinger, Varys, and Grand Maester Pycelle (he's fully aware that none of them are trustworthy, but he and Cersei are at daggers drawn by this point). He gets ample dirt on each of them but works out that it's Pycelle he's after.
151	* MightMakesRight: Discussed by Renly about the legitimacy of his claim. He's quick to point out that he's got the biggest army.
152	--> '''Catelyn''': Let the three of you call for a Great Council... Let the assembled lords of the Seven Kingdoms choose who shall rule them.
153	--> '''Renly''': ... Tell me, my lady, do direwolves vote on who should lead the pack?... The time for talk is done. Now we see who is stronger.
154	* MirrorCharacter: During Stannis and Renly's parley, Catelyn points out that they are both usurpers who are trying to take the thrones from their nephew.
155	* NearRapeExperience: During the Battle of the Blackwater, after running away from the flames, Sandor Clegane slipped into Sansa's room and waited for her. He did indeed intend to rape her, but stopped himself and ended up taking nothing more than a song. [[spoiler:Sansa misremembers sharing a kiss with him in the [[Literature/AStormOfSwords next book]].]]
156	* NearVillainVictory: For a given value of "villain". Stannis is on the verge of victory at the Blackwater before the Tyrell host shows up to [[TheCavalry ride to the rescue.]] Though this allows the Lannisters to remain holding the Iron Throne.
157	* NemeanSkinning: Dany wears the skin of a white lion Drogo killed to cover her baldness after she hatched her dragons.
158	* NightmareSequence: Theon has a huge one where he dreams of a feast in Winterfell where the hosts are all dead people who used to be in the household (Jory Cassel, Fat Tom), people he himself killed (Farlen, Osha's companion), or long-dead Starks (Lyanna, Brandon, their father and even previous generations). [[spoiler:[[{{Foreshadowing}} When Robb and Grey Wind join them]], he wakes up screaming.]]
159	* NoDeadBodyPoops: Averted with [[spoiler:a young woman being hunted by Ramsay Snow and Reek. When Ser Rodrik’s men kill Reek (who is in Ramsay’s clothes), Ramsay smears the dead girl’s feces on himself and [[DeadPersonImpersonation pretends to be Reek]].]]
160	* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted with Sansa. She starts menstruating in this book and briefly tries to cover it up, since it means she could now be [[MaritalRapeLicense married and deflowered by Joffrey.]]
161	* NotAGame
162	** When Cersei sees Renly's knights participating in tournaments at camp, she dismisses them as "knights of summer" who know nothing of war.
163	** Theon says, "This is no game, Bran," when [[spoiler:announcing that he's taken over Winterfell.]] Ironically, ''Theon'' is the one who failed to take the situation seriously enough.
164	* NotQuiteTheRightThing: Lord Mormont sends Ser Alliser Thorne as his herald to the capital, both to get him and Jon apart and in hopes that a knight will be taken more seriously. He ends being ignored where another message would be taken seriously because Tyrion is mad at him... for his treatment of Jon.
165	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: After a Small Council meeting, Cersei actually takes a second to thank Tyrion for all of his hard work in preparing King's Landing for war and even gives him a kiss on the cheek. He takes about sixteen seconds to enjoy it before immediately flying into a panic and sending spies out to find out what horrible thing she's plotting to do to him now. This is proved to be in no way an overreaction.
166	* PleaseSpareHimMyLiege: Sansa uses this to save a drunk Ser Dontos from Joffrey's wrath by noting that it's bad luck to kill someone on your name day and it would be "[[CruelMercy crueler]]" if he were made into a fool rather than executed.
167	* PowderKegCrowd: During the starvation, the hungry, poor people of King's Landing after King Joffrey deliberately provokes them by telling the Hound to kill anyone that gets between him and someone who threw shit at Joffrey.
168	* PrettyInMink: Downplayed with Ser Axell Florent who Maester Cressen noted "remained homely even in russet and fox fur".
169	* PrayerOfMalice: Before the Battle of Blackwater, Sansa prays in the sept for every soldier on both sides and their families. But when the High Septon starts calling on the gods to protect King Joffrey, she leaves and thinks "Let his sword break and his shield shatter, let his courage fail him and every man desert him."
170	* ThePromise: Jaime [[spoiler:promises to Catelyn he will return her daughters.]]
171	* TheQuest: At the end of the book [[spoiler:Bran and his team run to The Wall to find the Three-Eyed Crow.]]
172	* RapePillageAndBurn: The tactic of the Lannister forces, particularly under Gregor Clegane.
173	-->Farms, villages, castles, septs, barns, it made no matter. if it could burn, the Lannisters had burned it; if it could die, they’d killed it. They had even set the woods ablaze where they could, though the leaves were still green and wet from recent rains, and the fires had not spread. “They would have burned the lake if they could have,” Gendry had said, and Arya knew he was right.
174	* RevealingCoverup: When the Small Council is discussing Stannis' letter that declares Cersei's children to be bastards and himself to be the rightful king, she suggests that anyone heard speaking of incest or calling Joffrey a bastard should [[TongueTrauma should have their tongue cut out]]. [[ProfessionalButtKisser Pycelle agrees]], but Tyrion replies with:
175	-->'''Tyrion''': When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar. You're only telling the world that you fear what he might say.
176	* RevengeBeforeReason: Balon Greyjoy's assault on the North seems to be of questionable strategic value, but since his primary goal was to pay back the Starks for putting down his previous rebellion and killing his sons, it succeeded admirably.
177	* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder: When Cersei threatens to kill Shae (or who she thinks is Shae) if her sons come to harm, Tyrion protests he wouldn't hurt his nephews.
178	-->'''Tyrion''': What sort of man do you take me for?\
179	'''Cersei''': A small and twisted one.
180	* RuinsForRuinsSake: While traveling in the red wastes, Daenerys' ''khalasar'' comes across the ruins of an ancient city, which they name Vaes Tolorro (Dothraki for "city of bones"). Though long abandoned, it has a well filled with fresh clean water, an orchard full of fruit trees, shade from the desert sun, and enough grass to sustain a small herd of horses.
181	* RuleOfThree: Jaqen's life debt to Arya plays out as a [[WastefulWishing "wasting the first two of your three wishes"]] plot familiar to lots of [[OurGeniesAreDifferent genie]] stories. Jaqen promises her he will take three lives in exchange for saving him along with two other prisoners. Arya uses the first two names to have cruel men killed, but they are unimportant in the grand scheme of things or even Harrenhal itself. The third name turns out to be [[spoiler:Jaqen H'ghar himself, forcing him to help her liberate the Northeners imprisoned in Harrenhal so that she would take back the name.]]
182	** [[spoiler:Even the third "wish" turns out to be wasted, since the Bloody Mummers have already decided to betray the castle to Roose Bolton and brought the Northmen with them specifically to aid in taking it.]]
183	** ''Each'' of Daenerys' visions in the House of the Undying.
184	* SadisticChoice: King Joffrey Baratheon is very fond of these. When he punished a minstrel for mocking his parents, he gave him the choice of keeping his fingers or tongue.
185	* SelfPoisoningGambit: Cressen attempts this in the prologue in order to get rid of Melisandre, who he believes is an EvilSorceress leading Stannis astray. Melisandre is protected thanks to her magic.
186	* SexMagic: It's implied that Melisandre creates a shadow assassin by sleeping with Stannis to absorb his LifeEnergy.
187	* ShamefulStrip: Joffrey orders his Kingsguard to strip Sansa when Robb humiliates the Lannisters in battle, and has her beaten into the bargain. Thankfully, Tyrion intervenes ([[PragmaticVillainy no point spoiling the hostage]]).
188	* ShoutOut: This quote from Tyrion...
189	--> ''"Crowns do queer things to the heads beneath them."''
190	** ... is clearly inspired by Creator/WilliamShakespeare (particularly ''Theatre/HenryIVPart2'')
191	--> ''"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown."'' (''Theatre/HenryIVPart2'' III.1.30)
192	* TheSiege: The Battle of Blackwater at the end of the book has Stannis's army (reinforced by lords who previously supported [[spoiler:Renly]]) attacking King's Landing. A combination of [[GreekFire Wildfire]] and [[spoiler:the timely arrival of Tywin's forces saves the city.]]
193	* SurpriseIncest: Played with in-universe by Asha Greyjoy when she comes on to Theon, who doesn't recognize her after [[SheIsAllGrownUp having not seen her since she was a little girl]].
194	* TakingYouWithMe: This is Cersei's plan for Sansa if Stannis wins the Blackwater Battle.
195	* TeethClenchedTeamwork:
196	** The Night's Watch is not happy at all about having to cooperate with Craster, but does so because his food and shelter is necessary to them to survive in their journey;
197	** Tyrion and Cersei loathe each other, but they have in common the Lannisters' cause of keeping Joffrey on the throne.
198	* ThoseTwoGuys: Hot Pie and Lommy, until Lommy dies.
199	* TitleDrop: Daenerys has a vision when visiting the House of the Undying in which she sees her brother Rhaegar say of his son, "He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire." The phrase "ice and fire" is also used in the Reeds' loyalty oath to Bran.
200	* TrojanPrisoner: The 'prisoners' Arya 'rescues' turn out to be this, as Vargo Hoat has changed sides.
201	* VetinariJobSecurity: Tyrion, who dislikes Littlefinger for falsely accusing him of hiring an assassin to kill Bran to Catelyn Stark, finds it hard to move against him since he had proven so useful to the Lannisters by betraying Ned Stark and that as Master of Coin, most of the customs and mint managers were his appointees and he had spies everywhere. While he does curtail some of his influence, Littlefinger manages to [[spoiler:come out on top when he takes an opportunity to treat with the Tyrells, an idea of Tyrion's, and parlays that into reaping rich rewards after Tywin enters the city]].
202	* VillainousDemotivator: When Tyrion commands a collection of blacksmiths to [[spoiler: forge a chain across the harbour to impede Stannis's fleet]], the blacksmiths mention that Cersei has hired them to make weapons and armour for her soldiers, and threatened any smith who doesn't meet their quota will get their hands crushed on their own anvil. An exasperated Tyrion insists he won't let Cersei go through with it.
203	-->'''Tyrion''': [[SarcasmMode Sweet Cersei, always striving to make the smallfolk love us]].
204	* VisionQuest: The House of the Undying; Daenerys is drugged and left to navigate the OhLookMoreRooms {{Bizarrchitecture}} of the building, and has several {{Psychic Dreams\|ForEveryone}} as she does so. [[spoiler:In reality, it's a MobileMaze she's supposed to get lost in and/or be driven mad by, as the Undying Ones want to feed on her.]]
205	* WarIsGlorious: The (apparent) mindset of Roose Bolton. [[spoiler:After Stannis' loss at the Blackwater, when it seems the Lannisters are clearly winning the war]], his lieutenants ask him whether they should change sides. He more or less remarks that he'd rather that the war lasts as long as possible, since he likes the current situation more than the peace that preceded. [[spoiler:This turns out to be ObfuscatingStupidity on his behalf, he just wants to further bleed the Northern army before backstabbing Robb]]
206	* WarIsHell: Daenerys has a vision in the House of the Undying of a woman being gang raped by four dwarfs. It's a metaphor for what the war over the throne is doing to Westeros.
207	* WastefulWishing: Arya wastes the chance to kill ''anyone'' on petty tormentors instead of enemy commanders. Interestingly, she ''does'' consider killing Lannister commanders at first, but decides against it when she remembers her father telling Robb and Jon than a man should kill his true enemies [[HonorBeforeReason face to face, without using deception or intermediaries.]]
208	* WeaponizedOffspring: [[spoiler:Melisandre]] gives birth to a {{living shadow}} which slays [[spoiler:Ser Cortnay Penrose]].
209	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse
210	** Tyrek Lannister disappears during the riot in King's Landing and he's never seen again. [[spoiler:Jaime makes out some interesting theories about him in Literature/AFeastForCrows.]]
211	** Sansa's friend Jeyne Poole is noted to have disappeared only later to be found [[spoiler:forced into prostitution]].
212	** Bran's last chapter has him see a [[spoiler:''dragon'' fly over Winterfell as it burns]]. He was warged into Summer at the time and "The smoke and ash clouded his eyes" just before he sees it, and it disappears right afterward, and Bran-as-Summer does occasionally use odd turns of phrase (such as describing a chain as a "metal snake") so [[UnreliableNarrator Unreliable Narration]] is possible, but the reader is never given any reason to believe that Bran's wolf dreams are anything other than the objective events experienced by Summer. So was the [[spoiler:dragon]] real, a flowery way to describe the flames or the red comet, or something else? Perhaps a combination green dream and wolf dream? It hasn't been addressed. It also may or may not be connected to his later observation that the Old Keep had a massive section blown apart from the inside, which is similarly never explained.
213	** After being insulted and dismissed from the Kingsguard, Barristan Selmy is mentioned to have vanished after killing several gold cloaks who tried to arrest him on Joffrey's orders, declaring his intention to find and serve the rightful king. Nearly all the rival claimants to the Iron Throne assume Selmy is referring to them, but he never shows up at their camp. [[spoiler: The next book reveals that he's gone to serve Daenerys with the intention of helping [[RightfulKingReturns restore House Targaryen]] to the throne]].
214	* WhatTheHellHero: Arya is called out for helping the Bloody Mummers take over Harrenhal since they're even worse than Lord Tywin's thugs.
215	* WhatWouldXDo: Tyrion wonders how his brother Jaime would react when Cersei supposedly takes Shae hostage, but realizes Jaime's normal approach of killing whoever in his way wouldn't work for Tyrion, so he instead considers what his father Tywin would do.
216	* WhenSheSmiles: When Tyrion tells Cersei that Stannis has marched on Storm's End instead of the capital, he remarks how beautiful she really is when she is truly happy.
217	* WishingForMoreWishes: Less a "wish" in the magical sense and more of a "boon." Assassin Jaqen H'ghar is honor-bound to kill any three people Arya Stark names. When Arya asks him to help her free some prisoners, which would require killing many more than the one name she has left, Jaqen tells her that this was not the deal and asks her for the third name. She gives him his own name and orders him to kill himself, and he agrees to help her if she will rescind the request.
218	* TheWorfEffect: Melisandre and the Lord of Light are quickly shown to be nothing to trifle with in the prologue when Melisandre survives a dose of the strangler, a poison that can kill in seconds.
219	* WouldntHitAGirl: [[spoiler:Jon lets Ygritte live.]]
220	** Subverted with the Kingsguard. Poor Sansa.
221	* XanatosSpeedChess: Ramsay Bolton managed to [[spoiler:go from fleeing for his life disguised in his servant's filthy clothes to capturing and sacking Winterfell]] through what amounted to a series of clever improvisations.
222	* YouExclamation: Joffrey when Tyrion arrives at King’s Landing.
223

Context Literature / AClashOfKings