Foil / A Song of Ice and Fire

With so many characters, it's practically inevitable that some of them would have interesting parallels and contrasts to each other.

House Stark

In General

• In General
  • House Bolton. The Starks represent the best parts of the North and it's people (such as loyalty, community, and perseverance), but the Boltons represent the worst parts (such as grimness, ruthlessness, and savagery). While the Starks, who rule the North, are some of the most honourable characters and fight the Lannisters, the Boltons are a family with a very unpleasant reputation. The Boltons betray the Starks and are rewarded by the Lannisters with control of the North. Also, while the Starks have skin-changing abilities, the Boltons have a tradition of flaying their enemies so they can wear their skins.
  • House Tyrell. See below.
  • House Martell. See below.
  • House Lannister. There are few better comparisons between The Hero and one candidate of the Big Bad in Big Bad Ensemble. Both are ancient and powerful Houses with good militaries. Both were once kings whom were reduced to liege lord by Targaryens. House Stark rules Grim Up North with fewer resources, House Lannister rules a warmer land with many more natural resources. Both are concerned with honor but the Starks' stem from doing what's right, just, or both, while the Lannisters' stem from their self-interest and arrogance. Starks have an Honor Before Reason attitude who see ruling as duty, Lannisters see ruling more as their right. Male Starks wear utilitarian gear most of the time, male Lannisters wear extravagant clothes even while going to battle. Lannisters play the Game of Thrones and hone their skills to win it while Starks detest this game because of said Honor Before Reason and definitely lose big time when they do have to play it. Lannisters are a big family but don't have the best relationships with one another (with the exception of the relationship between Tyrion and Jaime). Starks are a smaller but loving family (except for Catelyn's cold treatment of Jon Snow, but Jon is loved by the rest of the family). Starks have primarily descended from the First Men while Lannisters, like other southerners, are now mostly descended from the Andals. Both used to have Valyrian Swords — Lannisters lost theirs long ago, Starks lost theirs recently thanks to the Lannisters confiscating said sword and reforging it. Both lost many important family members during the War of Five Kings.
  • House Targaryen. Both are respected and powerful Houses. Members of both houses have a tendency of having supernatural power because their respective exotic lineage. Both used to have lines of kings — the Starks' line of kings ended when Torrhen Stark bent the knee to Aegon I Targaryen and became warden of the North, the Targaryens' line of kings is cut as the result of Robert's Rebellion. Targaryens are a good example of both Royally Screwed Up and/or The High King-s with some members (but not all) exhibiting madness while the Starks are more grounded with a tendency toward a more reserved, stoic temperament. Targaryens are associated with fire and dragons, Starks are associated with ice, wolves and winter.

Eddard Stark

• Eddard Stark
  • Jaime Lannister. Ned believes in doing the right thing, is honorable and is known for these qualities, but will compromise this in some instances to do the right thing — however, he’s more discreet. Jaime very publicly gets his hands dirty all the time when he does the right thing, earning him an unsavory reputation that damages his self-esteem, even though he claims he doesn't care what anyone thinks.
  • Tywin Lannister. Both of them are powerful, competent, and highly respected lords with a lot of sway in King's Landing, but their methodologies are almost complete opposites. Eddard rules with respect and justice, Tywin rules through fear. Eddard leads by example, Tywin delegates. Both men value their families, but where Eddard loves all of his children unconditionally, Tywin approaches paternal duties as a cold necessity. Both have sons considered to be marked by innate immorality due to the manner of their birth, but, while Tywin openly hates his dwarf son, Eddard loves his bastard as much as all his other children. They also both place a high value on honor, but whereas for Eddard that means always doing the right thing, Tywin is more concerned with his reputation. The effects of their different approaches become very apparent after their deaths — Eddard's children and vassals remain fimrly loyal to him and his legacy, mounting multiple campaigns or plots to avenge him or place his heirs back in his seat, while Tywin's children all hate him and refuse to carry on his legacy or play the roles he meant for them, and his vassals simply abandon the Lannister cause in King's Landing once he's no longer alive to enforce his threats.
  • Rhaegar Targaryen. See below.
  • Cregan Stark. See below.
  • Jon Arryn. See below.

Catelyn Stark

• Catelyn Stark
  • Lysa Arryn. Both are mothers determined to protect their children but Lysa's strategy is to simply run and hide from all problems — not to mention Lysa is creepily overprotective of her son.
  • Cersei Lannister. Both love their children, Catelyn even seeing some justification in Cersei's actions. However, Catelyn has a loving relationship with her husband while Cersei cheats on her husband with her brother Jaime. Also both are driven into madness and obsessive anger when their first-born son is murdered in front of them.
  • Arya Stark. Despite being the only one of Cat's children not to take after her physically, and her Tomboy Princess attitude not much resembling Cat's Proper Lady one, it's clear that Arya inherited a lot of personality traits from her mother: her Hot-Blooded nature, her tendency to be more practical and cynical than the rest of their family, and less inclined to follow Honor Before Reason, her strong sense of justice that often translates into a desire for vengeance, and her ability to hold a grudge. However, Cat was the eldest child and Promoted to Parent very young, meaning she grew up wearing a Tough Leader Façade, and so the traits she shares with her daughter only really become apparent as she becomes increasingly traumatised. Arya, being a middle child with two parents, and then later being separated from her family, is able to be rebellious a lot longer. After they both believe most of their family is dead, they both end up on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. Arya is also one of the least class-conscious people in Westeros, easily making friends such as Mycah (the butcher's boy), Hot Pie, and Gendry, whereas Catelyn is, despite her generally compassionate nature, more classist — being put a bit out of sorts by illegitimate children (as they remind her of her husband's own illegitimate son Jon Snow by an unknown woman, a woman who Catelyn feared Ned loved more than her due to Ned's fierce protectiveness over Jon) and her reference to the smallfolk Edmure lets take shelter in Riverrun as 'useless mouths' (understandable, given the castle was about to be besieged, but still).

Robb Stark

• Robb Stark
  • Joffrey Baratheon. Both are young kings, but Joffrey is a coward who fears real combat and Robb is a brave military commander. Also, they are both murdered at weddings.
  • Robert Baratheon. Robb was named after Robert, and both seem at least partly based on Edward IV of England. Robb is very much what Robert once was: a handsome, bold Warrior Prince. Both prove brilliant at war but bad at politics, although Robb at least tries. Both rebelled against the crown to rescue a beloved Stark (Lyanna in Robert's case, Ned in Robb's) but failed to save that person. Both married Westerlands women: Robert married the daughter of the most powerful house in the region, who ended up despising, to secure a crucial alliance, and who eventually killed him; Robb married the daughter of a lesser house, who he ended up loving, breaking a crucial alliance and whose family were involved in the plot to kill him, but she herself was innocent of that. After his death, Robert seems widely unmourned even by his own family, whereas Robb is regarded as a martyr by many and his living family is devastated.
  • Sansa Stark. They are Ned and Catelyn's respective eldest son and daughter and both physically resemble their mother greatly, but inherit a number of character traits from their father, particularly his naivety, which proves a Fatal Flaw for the lot of them (although Sansa at least lives to learn from her mistakes). Their respective arcs say a lot about the nature of Westerosi gender roles and the expectations they come with: after Ned's death, Robb is immediately forced to grow into manhood and take on the roles and responsibilities of a lord and king, despite being young and unprepared, and he develops a facade that makes him appear a good deal more certain and confident than he really is. However, his youth leads him to make a number of crucial mistakes, ultimately costing him his life. Sansa, conversely, is treated as an Unwitting Pawn by everyone around her, which she slowly learns to use to her advantage. Robb spends the first three books as a Supporting Protagonist, up until his death, whereas Sansa spends most of the first three books as a Pinball Protagonist, up until her escape from King's Landing after Robb's death.

Sansa Stark

• Sansa Stark
  • Arya Stark. While Sansa is a deconstruction of the Princess Classic, Arya is a deconstruction of the Tomboy Princess. However, they both shed their idealism when forced to go on the run and change their identities.
  • Lysa Tully. Both Lysa and Sansa fell in love with the wrong kind of man, except Lysa never learns and becomes Littlefinger's willing pawn, going so far as to kill her husband Jon Arryn for Littlefinger's sake.
  • Cersei Lannister. She and Sansa both dreamed of becoming queen, but quickly became disenchanted with the social expectations that came with this.
  • Littlefinger. Both he and Sansa were Wide Eyed Idealists as children and had sweet, gentle natures before going through a horrendous Break the Cutie and Trauma Conga Line process, resulting in both becoming cynical and emotionally guarded.
  • The Hound. When he was younger, he had an idealistic and naïve outlook, wanting to be a great knight like Sansa wanted to be a Lady, but was quickly robbed of it by his brother. He sees these same qualities in Sansa and attempts to both enlighten and protect her, ironically functioning as the Knight in Shining Armor that he claims doesn't exist.
  • Tyrion Lannister. Though they are on opposite physiognomic spectra when it comes to beauty, gender and size, they are intertwined in their stories. They come to the bitter realization that no one will ever marry them for love. They are both rather intelligent, if naive and they have to contend against the same people in King's Landing. They end up married to each other against their will and they are currently on flight, as they are both accused of conspiring to kill Joffrey.
  • Jon Snow. See below.
  • Robb Stark. See above.
  • Margaery Tyrell. See below.

Arya Stark

• Arya Stark
  • Sansa Stark. See above.
  • Catelyn Stark. See above.

Bran Stark

• Bran Stark
  • Varamyr Sixskins. Both of them have broken pretty much every skinchanging taboo there is, but for entirely different reasons. Bran hasn't been taught about the taboos, isn't mature enough to think through the implications of his actions, and at least tries to heed Jojen's instruction and warnings with varying success. Whereas Varamyr, who had a mentor and knew many other skinchangers, knowingly and deliberately breaks them because it makes him feel powerful.
  • Jon Snow. Both are Ned's second sons in different ways: since Robb was conceived on Ned and Catelyn's wedding night and Jon was born after Ned goes to war, Jon is the second son Ned conceived (that is, if he is Ned's biological son), while Bran is Ned's second trueborn son. Bran is Catelyn's favourite child, whereas Jon is her Unfavorite, since he's not her own child, but her husband's son by another woman. Both tend to be the Blue Oni of the Stark boys, compared to Robb and Rickon but have very close relationships with them. Both are good-hearted, follow their calling to and/or beyond the Wall, experience insecurities in relation to their respective statuses (Jon as a bastard son and Bran becoming permanently crippled), and are initially motivated in part by them (Jon joins the Night's Watch for the sake of duty and to earn his own honour; Bran expands his supernatural mental abilities and seeks to experience the world beyond the limitations of his physical condition). Both grow up sheltered by protective parent(s) and must face the harsh realities of life after their family is separated and they leave home (Ned must go south and hoped Jon would stay at Winterfell but Catelyn won't allow it because Jon is not her son, while Bran is forced to flee Winterfell after Theon Greyjoy's capture and Ramsay Bolton's sack of Winterfell) — and both find out it's not quite what they expected. Both want to help people, are thrust into positions of leadership at young ages, and make difficult decisions on their journeys — although with Jon, the latter tends to happen because he's forced into impossible situations which force him to mature quickly, whereas Bran — though he is somewhat mature for his age — still lacks maturity and full comprehension of his decisions due to his younger age. Bran would be Robb's heir if anyone knew he was still alive, but it's implied Robb declared Jon his legal heir since he didn't. Both are also the last two Stark kids we directly see interacting with their direwolves, compared to Robb and Grey Wind, (who are both dead); Sansa and Lady, (with Lady being dead); Arya and Nymeria, (who are separated from each other); and Rickon and Shaggydog, (who are both MIA). And as of A Dance With Dragons, thanks to Melisandre, we have reason to believe Bran and Jon could be the respective champions of the Great Other and the Lord of Light.

Jon Snow

• Jon Snow
  • Theon Greyjoy. See below.
  • Ramsay Snow. Both are the bastard sons of powerful Northern lords. However, Jon's father loved and cared for him alongside his trueborn siblings since infancy as part of the family and is an acknowledged, highborn bastard son who loves his father and siblings. In contrast, Ramsay's father left him to his peasant mother, holds Ramsay in contempt, treats him poorly and didn't acknowledge Ramsay until he had no other choice. Jon also deeply loves his half-siblings and passes up a chance at legitimization in consideration of their inheritance claims; Ramsay jumped at the chance to be legitimized, and may have even murdered his half-brother to become the only heir. Jon is honorable, heroic, and strives to do the right thing while Ramsay is pretty much the direct opposite of that.
  • Jaime Lannister. Both are Lord Commanders of the white and black brotherhoods, which they joined at a young age for the sake of honour and duty as the Wide-Eyed Idealist, and both came from highborn upbringings. During their respective journeys, they are left disappointed when they find out that the brotherhood they joined was no longer as great as they expected and once were. Jaime is long reviled as a kingslayer when he kills the Mad King to save an entire city of innocent people from aforementioned king wanting to burn them all, while a group of the Night's Watch believe Jon to be an oathbreaker due to his sympathy for the wildlings (who Jon explains are men, women and children too, regardless of where they come from — in contrast to the views of many in the Night's Watch) when he goes against tradition to do what's right and protect innocent people in his efforts to save everyone.
  • Stannis Baratheon. They're both dutiful sons who have lived in the shadow of their brothers and they're the only authority figures in Westeros actually doing something about the Others.
  • Sansa Stark. Although they seem to be the North and South siblings in their family at the beginning of the series, both she and Jon are similar in many aspects and share many traits they inherited from Ned. Jon and Sansa both start off as the Wide-Eyed Idealist and because of their rather sheltered upbringing by protective parent(s), Jon and Sansa both have idealized notions of their respective aspirations — Jon's dream of becoming a member of the Night's Watch and Sansa's dream of going to the royal court and being betrothed to a prince. Both learn the reality of things rather quickly when they get to fulfill said aspirations. In addition, when Sansa is living as a highborn bastard under the identity of Alayne Stone, as Jon grew up a highborn bastard himself, Jon becomes a Lord and begins to lead in the same book.
  • Bran Stark. See above.

House Lannister

In General

• In General
  • House Stark. See above.
  • House Tyrell. See below.

Tywin Lannister

• Tywin Lannister
  • Eddard Stark. See above.
  • Wyllas Tyrell. Both are more competent lords than their fathers. Both have brothers and one sister. Both are no longer physically fit — Wyllas was crippled by Oberyn, Tywin is over the hill (50-something in the books, 67 in TV series). Both like to hunt. Wyllas is Nice Guy who get overshadowed by his siblings, Tywin is a grim, ruthless man who overshadow his siblings. They have different situations when they inherited the position (which may or may not contribute to their respective ruthlessness) — Lannisters are at their low at social grace and both Reynes and Tarbecks can openly challenge their authority, Tyrell are strong under Queen of Thorn and are definitely stronger than Florents.
  • Walder Frey. Both are feudal lords of a Big, Screwed-Up Family who in their prime used to resent their liege lords and plot against them(Aerys Targaryen and Hoster Tully respectively). In Robert's rebellion, they both act like opportunists who only send in their armies once there is a clear winner. However, while Tywin has the competence and power to both compensate for and mask those flaws in order not to let them ruin his reputation as a fearsome ruler, Walder Frey does not, and as a result is seen as a joke whose only Not-So-Harmless Villain moment is short-lived.

Cersei Lannister

• Cersei Lannister
  • Catelyn Stark. See above.
  • Sansa Stark. See above.
  • Robert Baratheon. In Feast, Cersei displays many of the behaviors she found repulsive in Robert: constant drinking, promiscuity, and ineffective leadership. Jaime starts to step away from her the same way she stepped away from Robert early in their marriage.
  • Tyrion Lannister. Cersei is considered to be the World's Most Beautiful Woman, while Tyrion is ugly and stunted. Though Tyrion proves to be a much more competent leader, Cersei is favored over him by their father. Cersei thinks of herself as Tywin 2.0, but it's Tyrion who has the most in common with Tywin.
  • Genna Lannister. Genna is everything a Lady of Lannister should ever be, grounded, proud and authoritative... much unlike her niece Cersei, who is neither grounded nor authoritative. Much of the things Cersei has accomplished by being a Lannister, Genna has done so in spite of being a Frey.
  • Kevan Lannister. See below.
  • Brienne of Tarth. See below.
  • Myrcella Baratheon. See below.

Jaime Lannister

• Jaime Lannister
  • Brienne of Tarth. She's a Knight In Shining Armour who shows Honor Before Reason and always keeps her word while he's a Blood Knight who breaks promises. Unusually for foils, after some tension caused by being on different sides of a civil war, each quickly develops respect for the other's combat prowess, which evolves into mutual admiration and trust over time as they travel together and save each other's lives.
  • Eddard Stark. See above.
  • Jon Snow. See above.
  • Edmure Tully. See below.
  • Brienne of Tarth. See below.

Tyrion Lannister

• Tyrion Lannister
  • Sansa Stark. See above.
  • Cersei Lannister. See above.
  • Robert Baratheon. See below.

Kevan Lannister

• Kevan Lannister.
  • Cersei Lannister. He represents everything that Cersei doesn't respect and doesn't have. Common sense, loyalty, reliability, prudence, the actual ability to rule, kindness, humility and understanding how power actually works.

Devan Lannister

• Devan Lannister
  • Robert Baratheon. An affable, boisterous man of a warrior that drinks a lot, swears a lot, doesn't care much for politics and is decidedly different from his family. Had Robert met him in his own glory days, they would have been drinking buddies. Other than that, Daven is actually loved by his family; the Baratheons didn't care much for each other.

Genna Lannister

• Genna Lannister.
  • Cersei Lannister. See above.

House Lannister of Lannisport

• House Lannister of Lannisport
  • House Karstark, who are a cadet house of the Starks of Winterfell. Unlike the Karstarks, the Lannisters of Lannisport are significantly less prominent in comparison, but they are said to be fiercely loyal to the Lannisters, have more intermarriage and more in common with them than what the Karstarks have with the Starks.
  • House Velaryon, who functioned as a cadet house for the Targaryen Kings because of their Valyrian traits. Their intermarriage was very prominent during the first two centuries of the dynasty, but weaned during the last because the Targaryens started to look down on incest and married with houses outside the Valyrian descent until the reign of Jaehaerys II, who reinstated the practice of incest. Like the Velaryons, the Lannisters of Lannisport are not particularly wealthy compared to their liege lords, and unlike them, they remained loyal to the Lannisters of Casterly Rock.
  • House Blackfyre. The Lannisters of Lannisport do not have pretensions beyond their level like the Blackfyres had and are recognized as Lannisters in spite of not being in the main line; the Blackfyres are Targaryens proper but are not recognized as such because of their hostility to the Targaryens. In summary, the Blackfyres would have turned out like the Lannisters of Lannisport and given lands and recognition if they had bent the knee to the Targaryen Kings.

House Baratheon

Robert Baratheon

• Robert Baratheon
  • Rhaegar Targaryen. Both Warrior Princes in their own way, but whereas Robert is a larger than life Boisterous Bruiser Proud Warrior Race Guy with no love for music save for bawdy songs, Rhaegar was a more thoughtful Emo Teen Warrior Poet who made women weep with his harp.
  • Aerys II Targaryen. Robert went into physical and moral decline late in his reign. He was clearly not so different from his archenemy.
  • Jaime Lannister. He was one of the best warriors of the realm (before he let himself go) but also had a sinister reputation (they both have good and bad nicknames). But it's Jaime who chooses to try to redeem himself, while Robert dies before he could potentially do so.
  • Daven Lannister. A boisterous bruiser bearded man with a penchant for alcohol? They would have been good friends.
  • Tyrion Lannister. While they're both hard drinking and depressive hedonists who desire most of all to be liked, they are completely opposite in everything else. Where Robert's strength is physical on the battlefield who knows how out of his depth at politics he is, Tyrion essentially tries to stay off in the corner of the battle while he is a master politician.
  • Robb Stark. See above.

Stannis Baratheon

• Stannis Baratheon
  • Renly Baratheon. Stannis is the very lawful older brother with limited social skills who is unpopular among the populace and claims the throne after his oldest brother's death as by law, it should be his. Renly, the younger brother, is a well-liked and charismatic figure who uses these qualities to try and win him the Iron Throne and gets more support than Stannis. They also both promote someone for merit despite social convention. Renly promotes Brienne of Tarth to his Rainbow Guard even though she is a woman. Stannis knights a lowborn smuggler, Ser Davos Seaworth, and makes Davos his Hand, valuing his counsel more than that of his lords. However, Renly only really respects Brienne for her martial skills and shows disdain for her behind her back due to her unattractiveness. Stannis respects Davos far more and shows some affection for him... not much, but by Stannis' standards, a lot.
  • Jon Snow. See above.

Renly Baratheon

• Renly Baratheon
  • Stannis Baratheon. See above.
  • Loras Tyrell. See below.

Joffrey Baratheon

• Joffrey Baratheon
  • Robb Stark. See above.
  • Tommen Baratheon. While Tommen Baratheon is virtually incorruptible, sweet, and caring, Joffrey Baratheon is universally despised among the A Song Of Ice And Fire fandom for being utterly psychopathic and for his enjoyment of tormenting others.

Tommen Baratheon

• Tommen Baratheon
  • Joffrey Baratheon. See above.

Myrcella Baratheon

• Myrcella Baratheon
  • Arya Stark. See above.
  • Cersei Lannister. Both born as the only girl beside two brothers, which put her on a dead end of the chain of inheritance. But while Cersei just feels she is more competent than any of her brothers, Myrcella really is smarter than both of hers — she is more stable than Joffrey, stronger than Tommen, and would probably be better ruler material than either of them — and their mother.

House Targaryen

In General

• In General
  • House Stark. See above.
  • House Martell. See below.

Rhaegar Targaryen

• Rhaegar Targaryen
  • Robert Baratheon. See above.
  • Eddard Stark. Like Eddard, Rhaegar was almost universally loved and their supporters are resorting to frankly insane measures to restore their children to their rightful place as rulers of the realm.

House Greyjoy

Theon Greyjoy

• Theon Greyjoy
  • Jon Snow. Both feel like outsiders, both are raised at Winterfell, and both experience identity issues that have left them bitter and with the desire to prove themselves. While Jon Snow faces societal prejudice for being an illegitimate child who does not even know the identity of his mother, he is loved by his father, siblings, and uncle, and raised alongside his siblings by his father Ned Stark. Theon — though he is heir to the Iron Islands — is sent away to another family as a hostage at age 10, raised by another family away from his own family, and his father treats him poorly. Jon is a blood Stark in all but name and raised as part of his family as Ned Stark's son. Theon has his family's name, Greyjoy, but is a Greyjoy son raised as a ward among all of Ned Stark's children to keep his father Baelon Greyjoy from rebelling again. Both Jon and Theon share very close relationships with Robb, Jon's half-brother and Theon's surrogate brother. Jon decides to join the Night's Watch for the sake of honor and duty, has risen to Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and might possibly be the heir to the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, Theon becomes a traitor to win his father's love, failed at keeping Winterfell after he captured it in an effort to gain affection from aforementioned father who doesn't even like him, and was later tortured into thinking he was a commoner named Reek.
  • Catelyn Stark. See above.

Aeron Greyjoy

• Aeron Greyjoy
  • Melisandre of Asshai. They are both The Fundamentalist who support grim warriors of "royal blood" and are totally cool with Human Sacrifice to their respective gods. They both have a Dark and Troubled Past that is implied to be rife with abuse, which influenced their passions for religion. They each find comfort in their respective elements and are all about fulfilling the will of their god through, no matter what their interpretation of that goal truly is. This includes attaching themselves to people of power and influence, and shoving their dogma down the throat of anyone who spends more than five minutes with them. The difference is that there is a lot more evidence that Melisandre's god is real, whereas Aeron only has blind faith to go on. Perhaps because of this, Melisandre is more calm and confident in her beliefs and the way she presents herself, which greatly contrasts with Aeron Damphair. Another contrast is that Aeron is always a freakishly disheveled mess covered in salt water, sea weed and rags, and Melisandre is always hauntingly beautiful, composed and wearing bright red silks.
  • Thoros of Myr. They both grew up with strong religious influences, of which they are now strongly devoted. They spent most of their lives as The Alcoholic Boisterous Bruiser due to their troubled pasts only to have a spiritual awakening following a resurrection (his own resurrection in the case of Aeron, and Beric Dondarrion's in the case of Thoros). Thoros' spiritual awakening sets him on a path to defend the smallfolk of the Seven Kingdoms from the warring factions that plague the land, whereas Aeron's made him one of the Ironborn's biggest supporters of the return of The Old Way (which is assuredly not for the good of anyone but the strongest, most brutal people in Westeros). While Aeron's revival left him a stern and gloomy individual who carries out every action in service to The Drowned God, Thoros retains his good nature for the most part, even as The Brotherhood Without Banners suffers He Who Fights Monsters.
  • Theon Greyjoy. They are the youngest sons of their respective Greyjoy lord fathers. And, after suffering deeply traumatic events during war, they each become completely different from the men they were before the war started. Specifically, Aeron was a fun-loving, hard-drinking rake who became a humorless, grumpy and devout priest after he was revived from drowning in a sea battle, and Theon went from a cocky young warrior and Jerk Jock to a crippled, ugly, half-mad shell of his former self after he is captured and relentlessly tortured by the enemy.

House Tyrell

In General

• In General
  • House Florent. They are the royal in-laws to two of the kings of the War of the Five Kings. They are both from the Reach, boast descent from Garth Greenhand and are disputing domain over the region for most of the contemporary era. Whereas the Tyrells are physically attractive and pleasant, the Florents are ugly with a sense of entitlement and no social skills; the Tyrells left the Reach to sunny King's Landing while the Florents left the Reach to the snowy North.
  • House Frey. Where the Freys have tried their social climbing the direct and dirty way when not marrying into every power in sight, the Tyrells have gone about it rather differently (if, also including marriage). Both have large families (granted, the Tyrells don't outnumber the Freys: but, they're still not a tiny family), both have Thicker Than Water tendencies. But, only one is succeeding at this whole PR thing and has plans in place for when various linchpins may no longer be in the world.
  • House Stark. They seem to have a flexible code of honor and a love of family that's seeing them stick together and manage to stay together while forging ahead in the Decadent Court atmosphere. "Strong" is in their motto. "Stark" also means strong. The Starks remain strong through endurance and willpower, the Tyrells through clever alliances. Both are loved by their smallfolk but while the former is honorable to a fault, the latter is have no true loyalties but to themselves. Both have ancestors who surrendered without a fight to Aegon the Conqueror.
  • House Tully. They have the focus on family, they worked to achieve more political power (like joining Aegon I to depose the Harren or Hoster's arranged marriages to House Stark and Arryn) and neither house ever held a kingship.
  • House Lannister. Both are ancient and powerful houses that have been working to exert their influence over the Iron Throne to their own benefit, but whereas the Lannisters are essentially a Big, Screwed-Up Family who cooperate through Teeth-Clenched Teamwork at best, the Tyrells work together out of genuine love and affection for one another, treating one another as actual family rather than rivals for power.

Willas Tyrell

• Willas Tyrell
  • Robert Baratheon. Willas is the eldest and brightest of three sons, just like Robert. Both men also had an interest in hunting with hawks. However, Willas is not as famous as his younger brothers, as opposed to the shadow Robert casts of his own brothers. Robert is a legendary Warrior Prince and Blood Knight, while Willas is handicapped, scholarly, and disinterested in combat. Willas is considered a greater lord than his own father, whereas Robert, despite his battle prowess, proves to be a completely ineffective ruler.
  • Tywin Lannister. See above.

Loras Tyrell

• Loras Tyrell
  • Renly Baratheon. They're the youngest, most handsome, and most well-loved of their respective families; idolized by highborn and lowborn alike, proud, arrogant, and ready to prove themselves. Both wear expensive, elaborate armour that and have glamourous, eye-catching fashion sense.

Margaery Tyrell

• Margaery Tyrell
  • Sansa Stark. Both are betrothed to Joffrey Baratheon, but while Sansa naively threw herself into her betrothal and wound up trapped by Joffrey, Margaery takes the time to scope Joffrey out and manipulate him.

Olenna Tyrell

• Olenna Tyrell
  • Tywin Lannister. She's basically a Gender Flippped version of Tywin. She's an excellent Chessmaster and every bit as ruthless. The different is that Tywin doesn't care if people know he is behind things, and Olenna's cultivated the facade of being just a rude old woman to hide her own manipulations.

House Martell

In General

• In General
  • House Targaryen. Both have forms of Culture Clash with much of the rest of Westeros, if in somewhat differing ways, thanks to the historical Valyrian persecution of the Rhoynar in Essos that drove them to Westeros in the first place. Westeros has changed both (arguably the Targaryens more than the Martells), while they've also kept their distinct flavours. However, they still share more in common with each other than they do with much of the continent.
  • House Stark. The Martells rule a hedonistic kingdom in the desert. Starks rule what is seen as a domain of frozen waste and grim men. Doran, Oberyn and Elia's relationship mirror that of Eddard, Brandon and Lyanna. Even more so then that; whereas the Starks' lineage is infamous due to Torrhen Stark, the King Who Knelt, the Martells are proud to be the only unconquered kingdom of Westeros. And while the Starks are the in-universe poster family for Honor Before Reason, the Martells are marked by their pragmatic and sneaky approach to life. And yet in spite of these differences, both families have a major hate-on for the Lannisters, even though they were on opposite sides of Robert's Rebellion. Both Houses were disconnected from ruling court and unlike virtually every other house, had no interest in the Iron Throne itself but got involved in the war to avenge loved ones at the hands of the Lannisters (Ned and Elia). Both Houses continue to be impacted by the events of Robert's Rebellion ^note  the Starks went to Kings Landing due to Robert and Ned's friendship from the rebellion, and Sansa/Joffrey's bethrothal was motivated by the failed Robert/Lyanna match, Oberyn defended Tyrion over Joffrey's death to avenge Elia who was murdered in the rebellion. Additionally, both regions share the fact that they're cultural outliers among the Seven Kingdoms: The Dornish for their aforementioned Rhoynish influences, and the North for being the only kingdom not to have been overrun or assimilated by the Andals. Both care deeply for the smallfolk — Starks heed the wisdom of First Men, Martells discover the wisdom after Princess Daenerys (no, not our Dany) that was betrothed to their Prince came to conclusion that under their clothes, the children of nobles can't be distinguished from children of smallfolk. Both lead the regions which are good at fighting defensively in respective harsh home terrains and easily defended pass (or fighting in general) — men of north are famed for their martial prowess by either nobles or smallfolk, Dorne produces long list of finest knights in Seven Kingdom and have their guerrilla tactics as defensive strategy.

Doran Martell

• Doran Martell
  • Wyman Manderly. See below.

Oberyn Martell

• Oberyn Martell
  • Robert Baratheon. Had Robert not physically degenerated and had been a good parent, he'd be Oberyn.

House Tully

In General

• In General
  • House Tyrell. See above.
  • House Frey. The motto of the Tullys is "Family, Duty, Honor", and while the Freys have the "family" part down...ish, they don't give a damn about honor or duty. Like the Tullys, the Freys form a marriage alliance with a Northern house; in their case House Bolton, which itself is a foil to the House Tully's ally, House Stark.

Edmure Tully

• Edmure Tully
  • Jaime Lannister. Like Edmure, Jaime Lannister can be impulsive and act independently of command serving as a Spanner in the Works. Most notably attacking Ned Stark in the streets of King's Landing which ruined Tywin's Batman Gambit of forcing Ned to come in the field to strike Gregor Clegane in an ambush intended to capture him. This prevents the Stark-Lannister feud from having the speedy resolution Tywin envisioned. Later Jaime gets lured into a trap by Blackfish who correctly used his Leeroy Jenkins restlessness against him, forcing Jaime to be a captive for most of the War of the Five Kings.

Roslin Tully

• Roslin Tully (nee Frey)
  • Alys Karstark. See below.

Brynden Tully

• Brynden "The Blackfish" Tully
  • Kevan Lannister. See above.

House Arryn

Jon Arryn

• Jon Arryn
  • Eddard Stark. Both are honorable, duty-bound men who lord over respective great houses. Ned practically learnt a lot from his time in the Eyrie as many of late Jon's virtues rubbed to him. While Eddard is Country Mouse who is a newbie to politics of King's Landing, Late Jon did well for years he acted as Hand. Both have Arranged Marriage to Tully sisters — Ned and Cat became happy, Jon and Lysa are not.

Lysa Arryn

• Lysa Arryn
  • Catelyn Stark. See above.
  • Sansa Stark. See above.

House Bolton

In General

• In General
  • House Stark. See Above.
  • House Manderly. Wyman Manderly is a Seven-worshiping Andal (not to mention managing a shipping and trading empire as the head of the only city in the North). Wyman could be seen as representing the "new," at least relative to Roose Bolton, who not only is a First Man who worships the old gods, but who practices some archaic customs such as the right of first night and flaying that have fallen out of favor elsewhere, though Roose cares little for the ancient tradition of guest right. The Boltons are an old Northern House who have often rebelled against the Starks and end up displacing them as rulers of the North, taking control by one of them marrying a fake Stark. The Manderlys are relatively new to the North but are very loyal to the Starks and trying to return them to rule the North. The Manderlys also tried to become the rulers of another Kingdom, the Reach, when a Gardner King died without sons and one of his daughters was married to Lord Manderly, the Manderlys were eventually driven out of the Reach as they threatened the Gardeners, but settled in the North.

Roose Bolton

• Roose Bolton
  • Wyman Manderly. See below.
  • Robett Glover. Contrasted in their introduction, where both ask Robb to name them commander of the Northern forces, Roose "brusquely" and Robett "with a smile and a jest." Both are respected Northern nobles and experienced commanders who end up as Number Two to a more powerful lord (Roose to Robb Stark, and Robett to Roose himself); together, they take part in some of the most intricate and successful Northern military operations of the War of the Five Kings. While both are pragmatic and not above deceit in warfare, Robett is by all appearances an honorable man, a devoted father and husband, and very close to his brother Galbart, while Roose's personality, tactics, and family life are...unorthodox. Finally, Robett is a dogged Stark loyalist who plots towards Stark restoration even after Robb's death, while Roose uses the war as a chance to rid himself of rival nobles (including Robett himself!) and eventually betrays and supplants the Starks.

Ramsay Snow

• Ramsay Snow
  • Jon Snow. See Above.

Other Characters

Alys Karstark

• Alys Karstark
  • Roslin Frey. She disapproved of her father's nefarious plans and went along with his deceitful marriage scheme where Alys fled her family.

Areo Hotah

• Areo Hotah
  • To Arys Oakheart. Areo acknowledges this trope in his internal monologue. In his word, both are soldiers coming to foreign Dorne guarding respective princess, Chaste Hero, loyal, decent blokes who even have similar names, Arys and Areo but noted the similarities end there. Areo loves Princess Arianne (in parental way), Arys is loved (genuinely, as lover) by Arianne. Arys is Kingsguard who is supposed to be Celibate Hero who loves Arianne because she seduced him, Areo is suspected to have Cargo Ship to his axe. Areo even wondered who would survive if the two clashed in his POV chapter. Both shift their allegiances from their initial princesses — Areo to Prince Doran, Arys to Princess Arianne. When the time comes for Arianne to start her scheme — Areo sticks to Prince Doran while Arys "betrays" Myrcella to Arianne because he reciprocated Arianne's love. Finally, because the scheme failed miserably, Arys dies (suspected to be Suicide by Cop) at the hand of Areo.

Arys Oakheart

• Arys Oakheart
  • Areo Hotah. See above.

Brienne of Tarth

• Brienne of Tarth
  • Jaime Lannister. See above.
  • Cersei Lannister. Brienne provides a counterpoint as the other important woman in Jaime's life. Brienne is precisely everything Cersei is not; ugly where Cersei is beautiful, honorable where Cersei is treacherous, a warrior where Cersei is a plotter. Brienne is physically grotesque but noble in spirit, while Cersei is beautiful but monstrous. The more Jaime distances himself in spirit from Cersei, the closer he becomes in spirit to Brienne.
  • Arya Stark. Both of them are wandering women, taking on various companions as they search for something missing in their lives. Both are breaking social conventions by their desires to fight, and both are tired and weary after spending many months traveling across the continent(s). However, Brienne is more like a Hedge Knight with her feeling honor bound to find Sansa Stark and make all the other starks safe for Jamie Lannister's sake. Arya is a child who just wants to take things back to how they were, but when she hits her Despair Event Horizon, flees Westeros in order to have new training so she can get her revenge on all who hurt her family. When they crossed paths briefly, Arya ends up...unimpressed by Brienne's mission, and end up parting on bad terms.

Davos Seaworth

• Davos Seaworth
  • Melisandre. Both grew up very poorly off (though Melisandre worse off), both loyal to Stannis to the end (and are the only ones truly respected by him), both generally kind and subservient to others, and both will fight for what they believe in without fail. The similarities end there.
  • Janos Slynt. They are both lowborn men raised to nobility. Janos Slynt was in an apparently honorable position, commanding the Goldcloaks, but earns his position through being corrupt and self-serving, supporting a usurper. Davos was a criminal who used his smuggling skills to help Stannis, leading to his position. He earns more honors through being honest, loyal and deserving. While Davos continues to act humble, feeling undeserving of his honors and not using his title often, Slynt after becoming a Lord acts arrogantly and insists on being referred to as a Lord. Also, Davos helps save one of Robert's bastards though he knows he risks execution, while Slynt shows no remorse for carrying out a purge of Robert's bastard children. Slynt ends up losing his head for disobeying orders, Davos apparently loses his head while loyally trying to carry out Stannis' wishes, but Davos — in reality — survives.
  • Wyman Manderly. See below.

Jon Connington

• Jon Connington
  • Petyr Baelish. See above.

Petyr Baelish

• Petyr Baelish
  • Varys. Both are Spymaster, Magnificent Bastards who are usually underestimated by more "honorable" nobles because of respective commoner's origin and with respective mysterious endgame. Littlefinger prefers Chaos, while Varys supports Order. Both cannot fight, so they order other people fight for them, Littlefinger with Knights of Vale, Varys with his sparrows, Golden Company and maybe Dany's force.

The Tattered Prince

• Tattered Prince
  • Robert Baratheon. See above.

House Umber

• House Umber
  • House Karstark. Both are among the most powerful Northern Houses. While the Greatjon Umber shows dissent to Robb Stark early on, after being defeated he becomes a loyal ally. Rickard Karstark seems loyal early on, but ends up murdering prisoners to avenge his sons, causing Robb to execute him. Both Lords appoint their uncles as castellans and both the Lords are captured by the Lannisters, the Greatjon at the Red Wedding while his son Smalljon Umber is murdered, after Rickard's death his only surviving son Harrion, now Lord Karstark, is captured. The Last Hearth castellans split under Bolton rule, with Mors declaring for Stannis and Hother for Roose Bolton, however Mors is clear that he doesn't want to fight his family and the Umbers want their nephew home safely. Rickard's uncle Arnolf Karstark declares for Stannis, but is really working with the Boltons and planning to betray Stannis, hoping his great-nephew Harrion will be executed for this, enabling his branch of the family to take control of Karhold.

Varys

• Varys
  • Arya Stark. See above.
  • Petyr Baelish. See below.

Wyman Manderly

• Wyman Manderly
  • Roose Bolton. They are both some of the most powerful Northern Lords. The Lord of the Dreadfort is a skinny health nut while Wyman Manderly is a morbidly obese glutton. Given all of the Food Porn in the series, it's obvious who is supposed to be the more sympathetic of the two.
  • Davos Seaworth. Both are very loyal to those who elevated their family — the Starks allowed Manderly to settle in the North after they were exiled from Reach about nine hundred years before; the Seaworths are a very new House, Davos having only just founded it. Both are trying to restore their liege lords to power. And both have naval associations and Non-Action Guy who have their hearts and their minds as their worth.