House Frey

"We Stand Together."

"The Freys have held the Crossing for six hundred years, and for six hundred years they have never failed to exact their toll."

— Catelyn Stark

A noble house of the Riverlands, and probably the Tullys' most important vassal, though they are less than scrupulous in discharging their feudal obligations to their nominal overlord, and often ignore their duties in service of their own interests. Their castle(s) is known as the Twins, a very strategic bridge-fortress across the Green Fork tributary of the River Trident. In the aftermath of the Red Wedding and House Tully's downfall, House Frey has taken all of House Tully's former titles, including the Lordship of Riverrun. However, the Lordship Paramount of the Riverlands is in dispute between House Frey and Petyr Baelish, who was given Harrenhal and (formally) the Lordship Paramount, but is uninterested in ruling, making Walder Frey de facto Lord Paramount.

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In General

0% Approval Rating: In the time since the War of the Five Kings, House Frey's rule has deteriorated considerably. Near everyone in the Riverlands despises them for their role in the Red Wedding in addition to their disastrous lordship over the Riverlands which has yet to recover from being ravaged by the war, and they are treated as an afterthought at best in King's Landing. By Season 6, Brynden the Blackfish has retaken Riverrun for the Tullys, the other Riverland houses are taking up arms in revolt, and the smallfolk are being coaxed into rebellion by the Brotherhood Without Banners, forcing Walder to plead with the already depleted Lannisters for support in quelling the uprising.
Adaptational Attractiveness: In the books, the Frey gene usually leads to Royally Screwed Up facial features, skin conditions and disproportional physiques (with a few lucky exceptions). The named Freys in the series are at worst plain people in ridiculously unflattering outfits.
Adaptational Wimp: They are as a rule a bunch of incompetent and resentful weasels in the book but by adapting out all the more cunning Frey and wimpifying the remaining one it's even more blatant in the show. While their siege of Riverrun is a mess in the books they didn't just lose the castle to Blackfish who was never at the Red Wedding but they did set a perimeter.
Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: For the sake of brevity, the show does not get into the multiple conflicts between siblings and cousins in House Frey. Instead the show portrays the Freys as unified and likeminded. Nor does it bring up the fact that the Freys are tied to the Lannisters via Emmon Frey's marriage to Genna Lannister (both of whom were Adapted Out). In the books, Emmon sides with the Lannisters while the rest of the Freys side with the Starks at the beginning of the war. The show sidesteps this by using Lannister cousins to fill the roles Emmon's son and grandson had in the story.
Adapted Out: While it's known that Lord Walder has a number of great-grandchildren (to his elder children, at least), the characters who were identified (in the books) as such have been either unmentioned, or changed in terms of their relation to him (eg: Black Walder changed from a great-grandson to a bastard son; great-granddaughter Marianne Vance becoming granddaughter Marianne Frey).
Asshole Victim: A family wide example. Shortly after their patriarch is murdered by Arya, she has every single male member of their house poisoned during a feast for their crimes in the Red Wedding. A karmic end of for a family of treasonous degenerates.
Bad Job, Worse Uniform: As if being a descendant of Walder Frey isn't bad enough, the signature clothing item of House Frey is apparently that really stupid leather aviator's cap-like hat, sported by Black Walder and several other Frey bannermen.
- Their army is even worse off, wearing tiny skullcaps, sheep hides and do not even have boots instead binding their feet in rags.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: They are an infamously untrustworthy bunch, though only in a passive, greedy, self-interested way. Until it goes batshit active in "The Rains of Castamere", when they side with the Lannisters to massacre the Tullys and the Starks.
- According to the History of Lore videos for House Frey, Catelyn Tully noted that Lord Hoster Tully called Walder Frey "the late Lord Frey" partly because he suspected him to be hedging his bets and preserving his forces so that if the Targaryens defeated Robert on the Trident, Frey would then open their gates in exchange for being Lord of Riverrun.
Les Collaborateurs: How they are seen by the Riverlands resistance, puppet rulers for the Lannisters. The fact that the Freys are incompetent in policing the Riverlands and cutting down the brigandage after the Red Wedding and lose the seat Riverrun to the Tullys, and need the help of Lannister forces to cement their role, more than ensure that they will never be more than a puppet for an occupation.
Dirty Coward: Bravery is most definitely not their strong suit. They will only act when certain of victory and have no issue betraying allies in the most underhanded ways, gloating all the while.
Disproportionate Retribution: The Red Wedding in a nutshell. Sure, Robb broke off a marriage proposal, but he tried to make amends by having Edmure Tully, Lord Paramount of Riverrun, marry one of Walder Frey's daughters. Instead of begrudgingly accepting the marriage, the Freys instead feign letting bygones be bygones, only to massacre the Starks and their bannerman to make sure the Northern rebellion is put in the ground, while imprisoning Edmure in a coup on the Riverlands. Once you get past all their excuses and justifications, the ultimate reason why the Freys massacred thousands of men in a wretched violation of Sacred Hospitality comes down to wounded pride and naked greed.
Due to the Dead: The bad guy facet of the trope: they decapitate Robb, attach Grey Wind's head on the stump and parade it around chanting "The King In the North" as mockery. And people say the Wildlings are the savages...
- Early in Season 4, Sansa mentions to Tyrion that they also stripped Lady Catelyn of all her clothes and threw her into the Trident — again a mockery of funerary rites, in this case House Tully's Viking Funeral tradition (where a boat is sent downstream with an burning arrow fired upon it). Yup, what charming people the Freys seem to be.
Et Tu, Brute?: Fully shown in the Red Wedding. Up until then, the Freys only acted selfishly and spitefully but were technically a vassal of the Tullys, and a nominal ally. When the massacre begins, the Freys in the hall start stabbing everyone around them like savages. The final episode also shows them maiming the Stark soldiers viciously, for apparently no other reason than they can.
Everybody's Dead, Dave: Thanks to Arya killing Walder and all his sons and grandsons, House Frey is now gone, forever. Jaime even said all the Freys are dead. No one is going to be mourning their deaths.
Evil Is Petty: Good grief... While not all the Freys appear to be reprehensible human beings (made a lot clearer in the books), the ones who are tend to overshadow them: in numbers, in presence, and in sheer spite.
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of the medieval German noble houses who made a killing by garrisoning the Rhine River with castles and taxing every soul who came near ^note. Not giving a shit about their theoretical feudal overlords, marrying into other great houses and even taking arms against them, is reminiscent of noble houses in the Holy Roman Empire in general, as well.
Gang of Hats: Literally — many of the Freys wear medieval-type loose hats and green clothes embroidered with their sigil. Expect many mentions of "Freys in weird hats" in reviews of The Climb.
- Planet of Steves: Many younger Freys are also named after ol' Walder. ^{From the Books...}
General Failure: Neither the Freys nor their bannermen have done any fighting in living memory, bar some mopping-up in the final days of Robert's Rebellion. This becomes extremely apparent when they claim the Riverlands and have to do some actual fighting against rebellious smallfolk and vassals.
Genocide Backfire: They tried to wipe out House Stark and Arya later came back and murdered them all in revenge.
Jerkass: Stevron, Roslin, and Walda are the only remotely sympathetic members of the house.
Karmic Death: Not only their head has his throat slit like the Stark matriarch, all of them are murdered during a feast just like the Red Wedding and by an enemy they never saw coming, a fitting end for a family of backstabbing cowards.
Massive Numbered Siblings: The GOT Wiki has listed roughly twenty named descendants who have been name-dropped or identified within the show at this point. This is barely even scratching the surface of the family from the books — and on top of that, there seem to be a few Canon Foreigner descendants added to the show, as listed below. The TV show did mercifully condense this down to about six major recurring characters: Walder Frey, his young wife Joyeuse, his sons Lame Lothar Frey and Black Walder Rivers, his daughter Roslin Tully, and his granddaughter Fat Walda Bolton.
Promoted to Scapegoat: Tyrion recognises that the blame for the Red Wedding, despite being Tywin's plan, will fall squarely on the Freys. Thus earning them the animosity and outright hatred of Westeros. Violating the guest right is a crime so unthinkable, that it's on equal footing with (if not worse, than) Kinslaying. This is perfectly shown in "Breaker of Chains", where a Riverlands family are pissed off squarely at the Freys, not the Boltons or Lannisters.
Succession Crisis: With the death of Walder Frey and his two most prominent sons it's very unclear who is now head of House Frey, making the situation in the Riverlands even more chaotic. The answer, as Season 7 revealed, turned out to be rather irrelevant now that there is no House Frey anymore.
Troll Bridge: The Twins, at least under the rule of the current lord, Walder Frey. But, unlike most trolls, the Freys live above and at either end of the bridge, not under it. The Twins, and the bridge they guard, are the only means of crossing the Green Fork for hundreds of miles. Unless your army's made up of really awesome swimmers, expect to grovel at Walder Frey's feet and accept whatever terms he puts on the table (especially when the water level's really high).
Tyrant Takes the Helm: The Freys are terrible lords. A farmer who meets Arya and the Hound mentions that since they took over, the Riverlands has been prey to brigands, widespread Rape, Pillage, and Burn, and an overall decline in standards of living.
Won the War, Lost the Peace: The Freys walk out of the Red Wedding as the de facto rulers of the Riverlands, but they have to deal with the scores of brigands and other criminals roaming the countryside in addition to trying to rebuild from the devastation that the war had brought to the region, and as explained in Tyrant Takes the Helm above, they do a terrible job at that.

Lord Frey

Lord Walder Frey

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/walder_frey.png

"They're laughing at us. All across the Riverlands right down to King's Landing, they're laughing at us. I hear it in my sleep!"

Played By: David Bradley

Dubbed By: Georges Claisse (European French, Season 3 to 7)

"'The late Walder Frey' old Tully called me because I didn't get my men to the Trident in time for battle. He thought he was witty...but look at us now, Tully! You're dead, your daughter's dead, your grandson's dead, your son spent his wedding night in a dungeon and I'm Lord of Riverrun!"

Lord of the Twins and head of House Frey. A powerful bannerman to House Tully, though not a particularly loyal one.

Abled in the Adaptation: Downplayed. In the books, Walder Frey was so ridden by gout that his legs no longer worked. By contrast, here he can at least stand up from time to time and is occasionally shown walking short distances, though he's so old that he doesn't do it very often.
Adaptational Attractiveness: David Bradley may not be a Silver Fox, but in the books, Walder Frey is described as half-blind, bald, toothless, loose-skinned, and gouty to the point he can't walk. Bradley, per contrast, looks like he does in most all of his roles: like the average Grumpy Old Man.
Adaptational Villainy: During the Red Wedding scene, a change by the adaptation makes him even more monstrous than he was in the books. Due to the absence of the book character Jinglebell (Walder Frey's mentally-handicapped grandson), Catelyn targets one of his wives instead. In the book, he states that Jinglebell does not have anything to offer the family and that Catelyn has no leverage in the situation - cruel, but understandable for someone so pragmatic. In the show, he simply says that he can always get another wife, making him sound misogynistic and self-centered in addition to cruel.
Asshole Victim: As the last surviving conspirator of the Red Wedding, and easily the most repulsive one at that, no one will object to watching Arya slash his throat to let him slowly choke on his own blood.
The Bluebeard: While he doesn't seem to be murdering wives, he's obviously going through them pretty quickly. The head of House Tully is reported to have not attended the last several weddings. It's not unrealistic to assume that his past wives died in childbirth, given how many children he has. ^{From the books...} Nevertheless, the fate of his teen wife Joyeuse shows he doesn't give a damn about the lives of his wives. He can always get a new one.
The Cavalry Arrives Late: During Robert's Rebellion, he waited out the battle and only joined the winning side at the end. He has a reputation as a coward because of it.
Deadpan Snarker: Walder has a very sharp tongue.
Walder: You've lost it?
Black Walder: Yes, Father.
Walder: It's a castle, not a bloody sheep. Presumably you still know where it is.
Dirty Coward: His defining trait; he only acts when he's completely sure it'll work out in his favor. He earned his title "The Late Lord Frey" because he didn't send his army to aid Robert's Rebellion until he was sure Robert would win, and pulls the same stunt with Robb's rebellion. In Season 3, Tyrion points out quite correctly that he never would have murdered the Starks without having Tywin Lannister supporting him.
Tyrion: Walder Frey is many things, but a brave man? No.
Dirty Old Man: He utters filthy sexual innuendo, more or less every time he opens his mouth.
Disproportionate Retribution: Robb breaks a marriage vow, so Lord Walder has him, his mother, his wife, his unborn child and all of his bannermen (that he can get his hands on, at least) massacred.
Domestic Abuse: Yells at his moron sons and willing to use one of his young wives as collateral.
Doublespeak: To Robb, just before he has him killed.
Walder: I haven't showed you the hospitality you deserve. My King has married and I owe my new Queen a wedding gift.
Embarrassing Nickname: In-universe, known as "the Late Lord Frey" due to his army not arriving at the key battle of Robert's Rebellion until it was already over. It's also appropriate in light of his old age and refusal to die. Robb seems to be of the opinion that if allied with, he can count on Lord Frey's army to show up to do battle...eventually. He also notes that, by not showing up with the other vassals when summoned, his nickname once again rings true.
Even Evil Has Standards:
- While he treats them badly he makes sure all of his children are provided for, even the bastards.
- Subverted, he won't kill Edmure since killing his son in law would give his family a bad name, his family's name is already so shit for killing everyone but his son-in-law at the wedding that this standard makes him just worse.
Evil Gloating: Has this nasty pinch of salt for the wounds of Stark fans post-Red Wedding.
Walder: The 'Late Walder Frey,' old Tully called me, because I didn't get my men to the Trident in time for the battle. He thought he was witty. Look at us now, Tully! You're dead. Your daughter's dead. Your grandson's dead. Your son spent his wedding night in a dungeon... And I'm lord of Riverrun. Heh heh heh.
Evil Is Petty: Walder commits war-ending, line-crossing massacres, at a wedding — over a broken vow.
- Also, all of the Northerners were going to be killed in the massacre anyway. So there was absolutely no need for Walder to specifically tell his son to stab a pregnant woman in the belly right before that happens.
Evil Old Folks: He's the second-oldest character seen in the show (after Aemon Targaryen - though possibly excepting Old Nan, while she was still alive), and certainly one of the most evil.
Evil Overlord: Becomes one of The Riverlands after the Red Wedding. A scene in Season 6 has him chewing his underlings in a typical manner for that position, almost on par with a Hitler Rant.
Faux Affably Evil: When Robb and his bannermen arrive at the Twins for Edmure's wedding, Frey is clearly on his best behavior, seeming almost friendly for the first time in the series and appears to accept Robb's apology for breaking the marriage contract. Indeed, even when he's criticizing and mocking Robb at the beginning of the episode, it's more in the tone of friendly ribbing than anything else. And then he has everyone slaughtered.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Over the course of "The Rains of Castamere", old Walder goes from harmless if annoying old man to perpetrator of regicide all without even leaving his chair.
Genre Blind: In spite of his dark moments of intelligence, he fails to realize just how many people have him in their crosshairs now, since he's been Promoted to Scapegoat.
Hate Sink: Especially after the events of Red Wedding, he has officially joined the ranks of Joffrey and Ramsay. He cowardly murdered most of the more heroic characters over petty revenge and is as crass as they come.
Hypocrite. On many levels:
- Claims to value family above all else, but can't even remember the names of many of his literally dozens of direct descendants. Also considers his wives expendable and keeps getting young nubile ones.^{From the Books...}
- Selective Obliviousness: Oh gods. Walder is deeply annoyed that everyone calls him a Dirty Coward, specifically resenting how Hoster Tully nicknamed him "the late Walder Frey" for only showing up to the Battle of the Trident after the battle ended. Lord Walder knows damn well that he intentionally arrived late, but still hypocritically thinks that he is the injured party for being on the receiving end of Hoster's entirely accurate criticism. Walder Frey thinks that Starks and Tullys deserved what he did to them, as some sort of righteous payback. Contrast with Roose Bolton, who at least fully accepts that what he did was a betrayal, but sees it as an example of I Did What I Had to Do, because Robb was losing the war and the Boltons would have been wiped out by the Lannisters alongside them if they had stayed loyal.
Jerkass Has a Point: He completely nails how stupid Robb was to marry Talisa, breaking his oath for nothing more than a pretty face. And then he calls Robb out for claiming to not want to rub the marriage in his face, seeing as he brought his wife into the room. Before then, Catelyn Stark brings up he swore an oath to his lord to follow them into battle (against King Joffrey). Lord Frey points out he also swore an oath to the King.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: From the instant we meet him, Walder Frey is contemptuous of everyone who has the nerve to share his air. Despite this, and being a crochety old ass, he does show a somewhat more charming side after he agrees to let bygones be bygones after Robb broke his promise to marry a Frey girl. And then it turns out to just be a front for the Red Wedding.
Karmic Death: His most heinous act was betraying the Starks at a wedding dinner. In an act of true irony, he's killed in the middle of his dinner meal by Arya Stark in the exact same manner he had her mother killed. For some extra irony, he's killed in the exact same dinner room he had the Starks killed in, and in the exact same spot he sat at when he gave the order.
The Load: Jaime openly calls him out as this in his last episode, pointing out that while Walder is sitting around congratulating himself on having carried out the Red Wedding, others see the Freys as easy pickings, forcing the Lannisters to spend time and resources bailing them out of trouble.
Meaningless Villain Victory: Arya kills him before he can celebrate finally defeating House Tully.
Miles Gloriosus: Brags about beating the Tullys even though it was the Lannisters who did the fighting.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: While known to be cowardly and untrustworthy at the start of the story, he is never taken very seriously as an opponent. Then he swiftly massacres two Houses more powerful than his (albeit through backstabbing), all but ending the Northern rebellion in the process and becoming head of the leading House in Riverrun.
Obviously Evil: Rarely does one meet a gaunt-faced old man with a hooked nose, a grumpy expression and such a raspy voice that is up to anything good. Well, on screen at least...
Oh, Crap!: When he finds out he's been eating his sons, and especially when Arya reveals her identity to him.
Old Man Marrying a Child: His new wife is a fifteen year-old girl. Season 6's "Blood of my Blood" reveals he's found another.
Opportunistic Bastard: He isn't a manipulator or a planner, he's just a leech who will change alliances to whomever will give him the most power.
Orcus on His Throne: Upon being appointed Lord of the Riverlands, he's content to let the land go completely to hell, doing nothing about the roving bands of brigands in the wake of the war. Justified as he's too old to get physically active himself.
Outliving One's Offspring: His sons Lothar and Black Walder are killed and served to him in pies, something he discovers mere moments before his own death. He also outlives his granddaughter Walda and her newborn son though it's unknown if he ever learns of this.
The Patriarch: One gets the impression that he overcompensates for the lack of respect he receives from the rest of Westeros by demanding it in spades of his very large and very cowed family.
The Peter Principle: As the head of a small(er) house, Walder does an okay job. Upon being appointed Lord of the Riverlands, he's useless.
Politically Incorrect Villain: He's very sexist in a lazy way, although it's possibly averted: he treats women like he treats everyone, as disposable objects to use and discard.
Really Gets Around: To the point where one could suspect he has more Rivers running on top of The Twins than under it! ^{From the books...}
The Resenter: He's not very happy about having to pledge fealty, doesn't try to hide his contempt for his role in the vassal system and has trouble forgiving past affronts.
Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: It's unclear if he was ever polite, but these days he's a vulgar old lech.
Slashed Throat: Arya slits his throat after feeding him meat pies made out of his sons.
Small Name, Big Ego: He clearly considers his role in the Red Wedding to be a legendary achievement on par with Robert's Rebellion, when in reality, all that he really did was massacre a family and their followers while they were caught off-guard due to their failure to anticipate his spectacular violation of Sacred Hospitality. Instead of making Frey someone to be feared and respected, it marks him as a despicable coward, with only the protection of the Lannisters and the fact that Robb had already lost much of his support saving him from more immediate reprisals than the ones he faces.
Small Role, Big Impact: Shows up in three episodes during the first three seasons and is completely absent in the second one. He manages to shakedown the political landscape of Westeros in just two appearances and win the War of the Five Kings decisively for the Lannisters.
Smug Snake: Very pleased with himself about the Red Wedding, despite never having the courage to do it without Tywin Lannister backing him up.
Troll: Much of the time, he seems to just enjoy riling people. His obscene behavior toward Talisa gets under Robb's skin easily, who has to remain silent as he constantly insults them both. He also keeps Roslin hidden until the actual wedding, to make Edmure squirm about which homely Frey daughter he'll have to marry.
Villainous Breakdown: Loses his temper at his two Co-Dragons when the Blackfish takes back Riverrun in Season 6.
Villainous Glutton: While not enormously fat, the first scene of Walder in an episode is often a cut to him eating in a disgustingly loud fashion while someone is addressing him. In fact, he's done in by Arya while eating meat pies she made from the flesh of his two sons.
Villain Has a Point:
- Catelyn tries to win him over to Robb's side in "Baelor" by reminding him of his oath of loyalty to her father, Lord Hoster Tully. Walder correctly points out that his oath to the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands does not supersede his oath to the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. She's going to have to drive a pretty hard bargain to make him commit his forces towards a rebellion against the crown.
- Subverted when he alleges to Roose Bolton that the High Lords of Westeros are hypocrites because they make fun of him for marrying so many young girls, but that they had no problem when Jon Arryn married the much younger Lysa Tully. House Arryn was facing extinction before Lysa finally provided Jon with a suitable heir, and even then Robin only survived to adulthood by a stroke of luck. Walder is just doing it to fulfill his own sexual desires, to the point where he has more trueborn sons and bastards than he can count.
We Have Reserves: A rather disturbing version. He has no problem with Catelyn using his wife as a hostage because he can always find another one.
While Rome Burns: During the Red Wedding, he continues to drink from his goblet whilst watching in ecstasy the slaughter before him. Even when Robb is killed and Catelyn screams in anguish, Walder Frey's reaction is grinning and slurping wine.
Who's Laughing Now?: In the Season 3 finale "Mhysa", he describes the Red Wedding as a payback for all the times the Starks and Tullys have looked down upon him or insulted him. In a minor bout of karmic payback, when he reappears in "Blood of my Blood", he's throwing a tantrum for Lame Lothar and Black Walder Rivers' inability to find the Blackfish after the Red Wedding or prevent him from retaking Riverrun, since now he believes everyone is still laughing at him.

Sons

Stevron Frey

Played By: Colin Carnegie

The first trueborn son and heir of Walder Frey. A man of sixty odd years.

Adaptational Villainy: Possibly, depending on whether or not he was Spared By Adaptation or if he was sent away before the Red Wedding.
All There in the Manual: His name.
Calling the Old Man Out: He reminds Lord Walder that he shouldn't be rude to Lady Catelyn.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He doesn't appear in the second and third seasons. ^{From the books...}
Cool Old Guy: The only male Frey that genuinely doesn't seem to be an arsehole (Ryger Rivers, as a bastard, technically does not count).
Demoted to Extra: After his first appearance. He's even more demoted from his role in the books. While not a substantial character there, Book Catelyn still thinks that Stevron could have salvaged the Stark-Frey alliance if he had lived. Which is doubly ironic since Show Stevron is still alive, and the Red Wedding went down without a hitch.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Unlike his father, Stevron's a decent person.
Spared by the Adaptation: Possibly. In the books, Stevron commanded the Frey levies that went south with Robb Stark, but he dies of wounds suffered at the Battle of Oxcross. On the show, there is no indication that he left the Twins. Upon Walder's death, he presumably became the new lord of the Twins if he wasn't one of the victims of Arya's mass poisoning.
Token Good Teammate: Of all the Freys, he doesn't seem to be as bad as his kin — at least, from those in the Red Wedding, and we haven't seen enough of the females besides Roslin to tell what they are like.^{From the books...}
What Happened to the Mouse?: Did he die offscreen without mention? Was he at the Twins during the Red Wedding but simply not seen or present (thus possibly negating his Token Good Teammate status)? Was he just sent away before the event? The show never tells us, so it might be best to assume he suffered the same (or similar) fate as in the books until further notice. If he is still alive in the show, then he is the new Lord of the Crossing after Walder's death, assuming that he wasn't one of the victims of Arya's mass poisoning.
Wizard Beard: He has a rather long beard to indicate his age.

Ryger Rivers

Played By: Bryan McCaugherty

The bastard son of Walder Frey, probably his oldest baseborn child due to his apparent age.

All There in the Manual: His name — he was originally believed to be Walder Rivers, but is likely Ryger Rivers instead — hinted by the combining of said character with Black Walder Frey from the books, along with his more pleasant demeanour, line of dialogue, and backstory as a milkmaid's son (both of which belong to Ryger in the books).
Calling the Old Man Out: Also reminds Lord Walder that he shouldn't be rude to Lady Catelyn. And then is promptly shut down by his asshole dad.
Walder Frey: I need lessons in courtesy from you, bastard? Your mother would still be a milkmaid if I hadn't squirted you into her belly!
Composite Character: Given the age of the actor, he appears to have taken from Walder Rivers the position as Lord Walder's oldest bastard son (Walder Rivers himself was combined with the younger Black Walder Frey, becoming "Black Walder Rivers"); Ryger's exact age in the books is unstated, but he is confirmed to be younger than Stevron (who is 65) and implied to be among the older bastards anyway.
Heroic Bastard: One of the only decent members of House Frey that we've seen.
One-Shot Character: So far he's only appeared in "Baelor" (as a bastard son of Lord Walder, he's not especially significant).

"Lame" Lothar Frey

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lothar_frey.png

"Lord Frey requires a formal apology for your violation of your sacred oath to marry one of his daughters."

^{Click to see Lothar portrayed by Tom Brooke.}

Played By: Tom Brooke (Season 3), Daniel Tuite (Season 6)

A son of Walder Frey, and the steward of the Twins.

Adaptational Attractiveness: In the books, Lothar is described as plump, a word that can't be used to describe Tom Brooke or Daniel Tuite.
Adaptational Badass: In the books, Lothar is mostly described as a planner, having masterminded the Red Wedding alongside Roose Bolton. Here, he takes part in the killing, personally stabbing Talisa (and her baby) to death.
Adaptational Wimp: His book counterpart is an intelligent and cunning planner, but here he didn't take into account that someone might go to the bathroom prior to the massacre. In the books, he's also seemingly the real string-puller behind the Red Wedding; not so much here since the show didn't elaborate on the logistics and planning behind it.
Asshole Victim: Murdering a pregnant woman by stabbing her 5 times makes him deserve his death at Arya's hands.
Beard of Evil: He has one.
Co-Dragons: To old Lord Walder, along with Black Walder.
Composite Character: Due to compressing the Freys to a few prominent members in the show, he takes the roles of Ryman and Edwyn Frey in leading the siege of Riverrun alongside Walder Rivers.
Dirty Coward: Immediately cows to Jaime's demands after being threatened by him. To be fair he made the smart choice.
Evil Cripple: The whole reason he's called 'Lame Lothar' is due to his limp. Lothar also earns his evil credentials by murdering Talisa.
Faux Affably Evil: One second he's joking with Talisa, the next he's stabbing a steak knife into her pregnant belly until she bleeds to death.
Hypercompetent Sidekick: To Old Man Walder. ^{From the books...}
I'm a Humanitarian: The victim of this thanks to Arya.
Kick the Dog: Murdering Talisa and her child in such a violent, messy manner is a dick move.
Icy Blue Eyes: They become much more icy retroactively due to his actions during the Red Wedding.
In-Universe Nickname: Called "Lame Lothar" due to his limp.
Professional Butt-Kisser: Compared to Walder Rivers, when Jaime Lannister arrives to take charge, Lothar gives a grovelling apology to Jaime for Walder's behaviour and tells his men to follow Lannister orders.
Sibling Yin-Yang: Lothar is Faux Affably Evil and a Professional Butt-Kisser, while his half-brother Black Walder is just a straight-up Jerkass.
Would Hit a Girl: To kick off the Red Wedding, Lothar lurches over to Talisa and stabs her multiple times in the stomach.
Would Hurt a Child: It's unclear if he was aware that Talisa was pregnant, but he nonetheless murders her through her unborn child.

"Black" Walder Rivers

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/walder_rivers.png

Played By: Tim Plester

One of Lord Walder's many bastard sons.

Adaptational Villainy: In the books, the Frey that slits Catelyn's throat (Raymund) partially gave her a Mercy Kill, as Catelyn goes insane at Robb's death and starts clawing her face. She was intended to be kept hostage. In the show, Black Walder straight-up kills her after Robb dies.
Adaptational Wimp: Very much so. He is based on Walder Rivers and Black Walder Frey, both whom are among the most badass of Riverland warriors. Black Walder Rivers is a wimp and a moron.
All There in the Manual: Although he seemed to be the books' Black Walder Frey (a great-grandson of Lord Walder, whose father is the eldest son or Ser Stevron in the books), the HBO Viewer's Guide for Season 4 describes him instead as a bastard son of Lord Frey.
Asshole Victim: Being one of Walder's most despicable sons and murdering Catelyn, his death was well deserved.
Bastard Bastard: Though in this family, being a good or bad person apparently isn't determined by the legitimacy of your birth.
Beard of Evil: He has one, and his general Jerkass demeanour establishes him as a very unsympathetic character.
Bullying a Dragon: Thinks it's a good idea to argue with Jaime Lannister. This gets him a well-earned strike to the face.
Co-Dragons: To old Lord Walder, along with Lame Lothar.
Composite Character: There is no Black Walder Rivers in the books — he's a combination of two characters, with elements of a third:
- Black Walder Frey, a great-grandson of Lord Walder Frey's: he is the 2nd of three sons to Ryman Frey, himself the firstborn son of Ser Stevron (Lord Walder's own firstborn legitimate son). Called "Black Walder" for his vicious temper coupled with an impressive fighting ability, making him one of the more prominent members of the family in terms of involvement.
- Walder Rivers, the eldest bastard son of Lord Walder, who accompanies Lothar to meet Robb at Riverrun in the books. Also a skilled warrior, in the books he was involved in the slaughtering of the Northern troops outside the castle, commanding the Frey forces there (instead of being inside, as the books' Black Walder was).
- As of "The Rains of Castamere", he replaces minor character Raymund Frey as the one who kills Catelyn Stark (Raymund has no further significance besides this and being a trueborn son or Lord Walder, in any case).
- He and Lothar also replace Symond, Rhaegar, and Jared Frey as the victims of Frey Pies.
Hypocrite: Calls the Blackfish a "fucking coward". This is coming from the man who willingly violated guest right and slit Catelyn from ear to ear.
In-Universe Nickname: Called "Black Walder" for his dark beard and nasty temper in the books.
Jerkass: Unlike Lothar, who is polite and soft-spoken enough, Black Walder is very abrasive and rude to Robb during their negotiations. Also he, y'know, kills Catelyn by slashing her throat.
Kick the Dog: Tries to draw out the Blackfish by screaming that he'll kill Edmure in the same way he killed Catelyn.
No-Sell: The Blackfish swiftly proves his threats to kill Edmure as empty. Jaime berates him for the display.
Jaime Lannister: Only a fool makes threats he's not prepared to carry out.
Shut Up, Hannibal!: Is on the receiving end of this twice from Jaime. The first time, he doesn't take the hint and gets whacked in the face. The second time, he wisely shuts up.
Sibling Yin-Yang: Lothar is at least friendly and diplomatic on the surface, whereas Black Walder couldn't care less about being polite to anyone.

Olyvar Frey

One of Lord Walder's sons. As part of the agreement made with Robb's forces by Catelyn, he became Robb's squire.

All There in the Manual: The books detail his circumstances: he's the eighteenth son of Lord Walder; the fourth born from his sixth marriage to Bethany Rosby, older than Roslin, and one of five children in this union who survived past infancy. It's also noted that while many members of House Rosby have a weak constitution and poor health (to the point it's what their best known for), his mother did manage to give Walder one child for every year of their marriage (which lasted roughly ten years), and those who survived have proven to be able-bodied
Demoted to Extra: Only mentioned in "Baelor". Despite being Robb's squire, he's never onscreen in Season 2 in any of Robb's scenes (despite the series giving Robb more to do onscreen than the books did).
One-Steve Limit: Subverted in Season 3 with the introduction of Littlefinger's employee, also named Olyvar. Though casual viewers will likely forget that this Olyvar even existed anyway.
The Squire: To Robb.

Waldron Frey

The youngest of Lord Walder's known sons.

All There in the Manual: In the books, he's explicitly stated to be the twenty-second and youngest of Lord Walder's legitimate sons, born from his seventh marriage to Anna Farring, and is nine the year Arya turns ten.^{From the books...}
Adaptation Name Change: His counterpart in the books is named Elmar Frey.
Arranged Marriage: He was bethrothed to Arya Stark as part of the agreement to let Robb Stark's army cross through the Twins. As of the Red Wedding, this engagement is null and void.
Demoted to Extra: He appears several times in the second book, meeting Arya Stark at Harrenhal while it's occupied by Roose Bolton; not knowing she is his betrothed, he boasts about the princess he is to marry to the point that Arya, annoyed by him, hopes said princess dies before marrying him (not knowing it is her). Since Roose only occupies Harrenhal after Arya escapes in the series, we never see him onscreen.

Daughters

Lady Roslin Tully, née Frey

Lady Roslin Tully

Played By: Alexandra Dowling

See House Tully.

Lady Walda Bolton, née Frey

Lady Walda Bolton

Played By: Elizabeth Webster

See House Bolton.

Shirei Frey

The youngest of Lord Walder's legitimate daughters, and his youngest child yet identified. Presented to Robb as one of the Frey girls he could have married, she is nine years old in Season 3 and as such, yet unflowered.

Age Lift: She's six in the books when we first see her.
All There in the Manual: In the books, she is Lord Walder's seventh legitimate daughter and his youngest trueborn child (though Joyeuse is currently pregnant so that may yet change), born of his seventh marriage to Anna Farring.^{From the books...}
One-Shot Character: So far only seen in "The Rains of Castamere".

Arwaya Frey

A trueborn daughter of Lord Walder's, first seen when Catelyn negotiated with her father in Season 1, and later seen again at Edmure's wedding where her father presents her to Robb.

Adaptation Name Change: Her name is similar to "Arwyn Frey", the sixth of Lord Walder's trueborn daughters in the books (between Roslin and Shirei); it's possible her name was changed in the show, possibly to add to the Theme Naming the show has given them (Frey women's names ending on "-a" or "-ya" sounds). On the other hand, the three daughters below (who added to the number he has in the books) suggest she might be an original character rather than the same one — unlike her brother Elmar (the books' equivalent of Waldron, Arya's once-betrothed), Arwyn has no distinguishing traits that highlight her presence, so it's hard to tell if she's meant to be the same character.
Chekhov's Gunman: Blink and miss, but she appears in "Baelor" before returning in "The Rains of Castamere" (yes, it's the same extra), creating a nice bit of (possibly unintended) continuity.

Derwa, Waldra and Walda Frey

Three of Lord Walder's trueborn daughters, presented to Robb at Edmure's wedding to Roslin.

Adaptation Name Change: In the books, Lord Walder has no trueborn daughters with these names — there are Waldas among his bastard daughters, as well as his granddaughters and great-granddaughters, and Waldra is a similarly derivative name, but nobody named Derwa appears in the books or even indices. Of seven trueborn daughters in the books, the eldest three are married and the fourth is a maid of nearly thirty. Based on their relative age, these three appear to have replaced the books' Arwyn Frey — the sixth legitimate daughter of Walder and first child with Anna Farring, Anwyn is a year younger than Roslin and nearly ten years older than her trueborn sister Shirei. Derwa, Waldra and Walda are in the right age range to be between Roslin and Shirei, regardless of whether their mother is intended to be Walder's 6th wife (Bethany Rosby) or his 7th (Anna Farring).
One-Shot Character: So far, they've only been seen in "The Rains of Castamere".
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: See above.

Granddaughters

Janeya & Neyela Frey

Two girls who Lord Walder identifies as his eldest granddaughters. Presented to Robb at the Twins.

Ambiguous Situation: They aren't identified as twins, just as the eldest granddaughters, despite being introduced together.
Canon Foreigner: In the books, there are no known Frey females bearing either name.
One-Shot Character: Both of them.

Sarra and Serra Frey

Twin granddaughters of Lord Walder, presented to Robb at the Twins.^{In the books...}

Adaptational Attractiveness: Both are described in the books as pimply, which they aren't here.
Always Identical Twins
One-Shot Character: Both only appear in "The Rains of Castamere".
Twin Threesome Fantasy: Invoked when Lord Walder claims he'd have not minded if Robb — had he kept his vow — chose both of them as opposed to picking between them to be his bride. Should be taken with a grain of salt given his duplicity.

Marianne Frey

Played By: Katie Creaven

Another granddaughter presented to Robb at his uncle's wedding at the Twins.

Adaptation Distillation: She's based on Marianne Vance from the books, who was Lord Walder's great-granddaughter — her mother, Maegelle Frey, was married to Ser Dafyn Vance and was the daughter of Stevron Frey and his second wife. Her backstory seems to have been simplified, either by the writers for the audience, or otherwise by Lord Walder to avoid him explaining it in great detail. Her book counterpart was also presented to Robb despite being born a Vance, not a Frey.
One-Shot Character: Rinse and repeat...

Freya Frey

A granddaughter of Lord Walder, seen at the Twins by Robb and his retinue.

Canon Foreigner: Unless Adaptation Name Change is at play here.
One-Shot Character: And again...
Punny Name

Merry Frey

Played By: Grace Hendy

One of the Frey girls presented to Robb at his uncle's wedding.^{In the books...}

Accidental Misnaming: Her grandfather, knowing of the Theme Naming prevalent amoungst his kin, can't quite remember her name.
Lord Walder: My granddaughter... Wertha? Walra? Waldina?
Merry Frey: I'm Merry.
Lord Walder: Fine.
Age Lift: She's eleven in the books when introduced; here, she's approximately in her mid-teens.
Butt-Monkey: Her grandfather forgets her name and casually dismisses her when she remind him.
One-Shot Character: For "The Rains of Castamere", again.
Only Known by Their Nickname: She is likely intended to be Merianne Frey from the books, who is similarly called just "Merry".
Pet the Dog: Receives a subtle one from her grandfather, who lets her sit at the main table next to his wife during the wedding — she's the only descendant of his besides Roslin that gets this honour.
Shrinking Violet: She only barely gets two words out before Lord Walder dismisses her.

Others

Lady Joyeuse Frey, née Erenford

Lady Joyeuse Frey

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/joyeuse_frey.png

Played By: Kelly Long

"You see that? Fifteen, she is. A little flower... and the honey's all mine."

— Lord Walder Frey

Lord Walder Frey's eighth and current wife.

Composite Character: Takes the place of Aegon Frey, a.k.a. "Jinglebell", Lord Walder's mentally disabled grandson and fool, the Frey killed by Catelyn's hand at the Red Wedding.
Death by Adaptation: In "The Rains of Castamere", Catelyn uses her as a hostage in place of the Adapted Out jester Aegon Frey, aka Jinglebell, Walder Frey's lackwit grandson, whom Catelyn mistakes for a son. When Robb gets killed, Joyeuse gets a slit throat, just like Jinglebell.
Ironic Name: "Joyeuse", for a character who's obviously apathetic and miserable.
Old Man Marrying a Child: She's fifteen and Walder's ninety.
The Quiet One: Stays silent even when Walder gropes her in front of everybody. Likewise she remains silent during the Red Wedding. This becomes results in quite invokedFridge Horror in the scene where Joyeuse quietly accepts her death, with no attempts to resist. One wonders how Walder Frey must have treated her during their marriage.
Slashed Throat: At Catelyn's hand.
We Have Reserves: The reason for her death, when Walder admits he won't care if Catelyn kills her, since he'll simply find wife nine. Which is exactly what he starts planning to do in "Mhysa", while the maids are still scrubbing her blood from the floor.

Walda

A grandniece of Lord Walder.

Canon Foreigner: As revealed in the Tales of Dunk and Egg prequel novellas, Lord Walder has only one sibling with any detailed backstory — a sister, roughly a dozen years older than him and the second wife of Lord Ambrose of House Butterwell (a house which is disgraced during the events of the novella series, and thus may or may not exist in the present). Besides her, their father had at least two other daughters; any other relations outside of Walder's own line of ancestry have yet to be mentioned.
The Ghost: We only know she exists because Theon, while shooting ravens leaving the Twins (as a precaution, to ensure the untrustworthy Lord Frey doesn't warn the Lannisters of the Northern army's progress) found that one of the messages being sent was a birthday missive.
Only One Name: Subverted, but we don't know if her surname is Frey or something else — besides the aforementioned sisters of Lord Walder the prequel novels mentioned, the TV show is already an Alternate Continuity in its own right.

Willem Frey

A male of unspecified relations to the main Frey line, mentioned several times throughout Seasons 2 and 3. He is confirmed to have gotten married at some point before the main story began.

Age Lift: In the books, Willem is the second son of Cleos Frey, himself the eldest son of Emmon Frey — Lord Walder's second-born child and son, who is married to Genna Lannister, Tywin's younger sister. This might be him, aged up to correspond with the setting: in the books, Genna Lannister starts off at 52, her brother Tywin at about 55 or 56. With Tywin's age in Season 4 being stated as 67 (presumably 64 in the first season), it stands to reason that Genna herself would be in her early 60s at least when the story begins and thus old enough to have adult grandchildren.
The Ghost: Yet to make an onscreen debut.
Mythology Gag: Given the above tropes about him, there's the fact that he's mentioned by Alton Lannister, who was created as a Canon Foreigner substitute for the role that Cleos Frey — father of the books' Willem Frey — had in the books.

Characters / Game of Thrones - House Frey

See also the book character sheet for these characters.

House Frey

Lord Frey