Awesome / My Father's Son

Spoilers off.

Lyanna

• Taking her place in history, Lyanna first beats down the squires of House Frey, then goes medieval as the Knight of the Laughing Tree in the joust.
• Surprising Oberyn by drawing a dagger on him when he threatens Rhaegar.
• Giving Robert her own ultimatum after the rebellion: leave me alone, or this sword will kill you. Asserting herself as a dragon lady and no prize to be won.
• Leading ground forces at the Ironborn clash at Oxcross.
• There seems to be a recurring event for Lyanna to fight off assassins in the Red Keep.
  • First, the secret supporters right after she gets Wolfsbane.
  • Next, taking out several Ironborn in Euron's Raid.

Rhaegar

• Finally seeing that he cannot allow his family to come to harm under his father again. And declaring to Elia that he's going to overthrow Aerys II.
• Using his knowledge of Andal traditions to figure out the clearest way to get out of being sent to trial at Oldtown or King's Landing: Call for a Trial of Seven.
  • On that note, defeating Jon Fossoway as his first kingly work in strength of arms.
• Pulling a Napoleon by getting House Thorne to join his rebellion by just offering to die if any of them have the nerve.
• Handling the Rebellion in a pretty competent manner. Thinking experience, tactics, delegation and skill in ways that a king ought to.
• Trusting in the gods, and HATCHING HIS DRAGON!
• In his first political confrontation after taking over King's Landing, giving a condemnation of the fallen lords to the Stary Sept and speaking as a hand of the divine to bring justice to the sinners.
• Bringing the fire to the Ironborn in the battle of Oxcross.
• Killing Dunstan Drumm and taking his Ancestral Weapon.
• Cutting through the gaffe of the final siege of Pyke by getting his troops out of the way, and having Aegarax BURN THE DOOR DOWN!
• While not quite the light touch of Robert, or the hard hand offered by many, Rhaegar decides to take a different approach to giving the Iron Islands consequences for their rebellion. A penalty of thousands of dragons and stags in reparations, restructuring the islands under Tywin's direction, and not taking any half measures in preparing the islands for a new future by fostering Theon AND Asha.

Oberyn Martell

• Having the guts to threaten Rhaegar about the new marriage to Lyanna, and then having the wisdom to see Lyanna's character properly once he gets a sword pulled on himself.
• Providing the Big Damn Heroes moment for the Siege of Starfall, relieving the garrison and taking down Renly personally.
  • On that note, using Loophole Abuse to get there by talking about it as an intrusion on their lands rather than the direct royal conflict.
• Giving a small "screw you for doing this to us" to Doran by returning the Targaryen ancestral crown.
• Despite not exactly having the temperament of a Hand of the King, working diligently through The Great Red Plague of 284, and providing steady leadership alongside the rest of the keep.
• Defeating Rodrik Harrow in single combat exactly the way he said he would.

Rhaella Targaryen

• Rhaella's slow rebuilding of her psyche. Beginning with seeing her brother/husband nakedly and without reservation.
  Rhaella: You're a monster.
• Rhaella breaks her last bonds of pain, killing Aerys to ensure Rhaegar's survival.
• Given a god's blessing, she makes a move on Dragonstone and becomes the first mother of dragons by hatching 2 of them.
• After all the trials in her life, get's given the Hand's pin as Rhaegar's chief advisor following the plague, even proposing the most Necessarily Evil path forward for her grandsons by proposing to call the fourth great council.
• Helping to tip Tywin's diplomatic aims with just two sentences. "Your son is my lover. And I'm carrying his child."
• Riding Jamiexes into battle at Oxcross. Her first taste of battle, and one which works quite well with her providing air support alongside her paramour.

House Targaryen

• Elia using a read of history and cotenporary positions to give Rhaegar a safe foothold in Starfall by convincing her husband to entreat with house Peake.
• Elia giving Doran a piece of her mind that he thinks that legacy is somehow more important than the family he can be a part of right now.
  • On that note, uncle Lewyn affirming to her that as a Kingsguard, he's loyal to her above all now.
• Elia owns up to her mistake, and submits to a mystical ritual to release Jon from a curse she accidentally put on him. And indeed, she suffers some mystic fires as she endures in love, but they discover her love is indeed genuine, and Baelon is healed.
• Elia finding her martial martell spirit by using a ceremonial spear to kill an ironborn.
• Normally in Canon, there's no explanation for why Euron's two eyes are different. Here, he lead a raid on the Red Keep, but Rhaenys stabbed his eye to give just enough time to protect her family.
• Baelon and Danearys make their first marks on history by pulling a surprise hatching of the other 7 dragon eggs.

House Stark

• House Stark sticks up for their pack. When Aerys springs a betrothal on Lyanna and Rhaegar, Brandon's immediately ready to defend his sister with force as needed.
  • Then when he finds out about Robert's uncouthness towards Lyanna, Brandon agrees to support the new betrothal as a brother.
• Here, Brandon and Rickard get burned again, but we get a different sort of death. Rather than the Cruel and Unusual Death presented in canon for horror, here they first accuse the crown of crimes to the realm. Exposing Aerys as the cause of Lyanna's miscarriage, and Connington's poisoning of Jon Arryn.
  • Then when they're moved to a summary execution, the both give a Dying Curse that they will be avenged by their family. And both Face Death with Dignity in their own ways. Brandon focusing on the ability of his siblings to bring Justice, and Rickard just focusing on seeing his wife again.
• Ned protects Rhaegar from his canon death. And in helping with the retreat earns a new nickname: The Rock of Harrenhal.
• Eddard Stark manages to defeat Randall Tarly in combat, kneecapping the Reach forces and beginning the end of the Crown's forces
• Benjen, Kingsguard gains his first notable epitaph in the White Book in the Greyjoy Rebellion: The Kraken Slayer. Helping to lead an ambush, single handedly holding the palace door open so they could storm it, then killing Rodrik Greyjoy in single combat.
• Cersei's first major action as the new Lady Stark is to publicly chastise Septa Mordane for slandering Robb and Baelon as "bastard usurpers" and trying to poison Sansa against them. She repeatedly shoots down any attempt at protest made by Mordane, fully asserting herself as a true lady of Winterfell.
  • Ned also gets in on the action, threatening to remove Mordane's tongue when she tries to shut up Sansa during her testimony, and ultimately banishing her and all other remaining members of Catelyn's Riverlands entourage (except those who have gone native and married locals).

House Lannister

• For the first time in her life, Cersei decides to put her foot down against her father, and refuses her canon fate of marrying Robert.
• Tywin gets to play the Big Damn Heroes to Rhaegar's Rebellion, rescuing the hosts on the back of Westerland knights.
• Jaime's campaign of protection for Rhaella is awesome in its brutality.
  • First, killing a knight that overheard Rhaella's prayers for safety to her son.
  • Then, killing the Pyromancer, and giving Aerys "The Reason You Suck" Speech on how unworthy Aerys is for Rhaella.
  • And of course, there's his taking credit as a Kingslayer, because he'd rather take on dishonor than allow his beloved to be forever known as a Kinslayer.
• Gerion Lannister, unlike in other times, made a SUCCESSFUL trip to Old Valeria, recovering not only Brightroar, but a host of other Valarian weapons as a gift to the crown.
• Tywin gets to be a political mastermind once he's presented with the fact that their legacy could be ripped away at any time by Melisandre. And as such, begins a five year plan to bring his house from caged lion, to secondary power of the kingdom again.
  • Step 1: Join Rhaegar's rebellion to save the army in order to ingratiate himself with Rhaegar professionally as someone to help and strengthen the realm.
  • Step 2: Be The Kingmaker at the Great Council so to earn favor for supporting the Targaryen plans. Get Gerion into the Red Keep as a first step into returning.
  • Step 3: Assassinate Lady Catelyn.
  • Step 4: On reuniting with Rhaegar, present offer to take back old position as Hand of the King and show that there's problems with the current hand.
  • Step 5: Propose to have Cersei wed Ned as a way to reingratiate himself in a formal alliance with the dragons.
  • Step 6: Reveal Robb Hill as Ned's secret bastard as a way to guilt the Stark half into completing the pact.
  • End result: Return to power in the Red Keep as Number Two, have Lannisters in line for two of the seven kingdoms, keep a spare in hand for bastard granddaughter, begin influencing policy alongside the younger king.
• Jaime's rematch with Victorian Greyjoy. After years apart from the melee at Harrenhal, The Young Lion shows he still has the teeth to beat the warrior Squid.

Other Individuals

• Bronn joins up with Rhaegar for his Trial by Seven, and proves to be cunning with the blade so that he's the first to take down an opponent.
  • Then, he's the one who kills Jon Fossoway when Jon tries to kill Rhaegar dishonorably.
• Lord Reed gets to show his meddle, leading guerilla raids on the Crown's armies.
• Stannis gets to fight Euron in the battle of Redwyne Strait, nearly ending the black kraken right there, had he not escaped into the sea.

Other Factions

• Evilness aside, there's something impressive in seeing Euron lead the Ironborn is a rebellion that went as far as a raid on the capitol.