History Foil / GameOfThrones

** To Ned Stark and later, to Brienne of Tarth. His code of flexible morality contrasts their strict adherence to their own code of honor.

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

** To Cersei Lannister. Margaery carefully projects an image of TheHighQueen to earn the [[HundredPercentAdorationRating adoration of the smallfolk]] while Cersei [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen doesn't give a damn about them]] and, not surprisingly, [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating the feeling is mutual]]. Margaery is comfortable with her femininity and doesn't see it as a hindrance in her pursuit of power. Cersei resents her gender because she believes it gives her an unfair disadvantage and envies the power that men wield. Margaery has Joffrey wrapped around her finger, whereas Cersei completely loses control of her son after he becomes king.

** To Margaery. Both believe that MachiavelliWasWrong is the best approach to ruling and mirror each other in their personas as TheGoodKing and TheHighQueen and their AFatherToHisMen and FriendToAllChildren behaviour, which earns them a HundredPercentAdorationRating. Their charm, wit, and ostentatious fashion-sense also makes them both well-suited for the DecadentCourt. They are also unperturbed by each other's homosexuality and lack of virginity respectively and share a deep love for Loras Tyrell (in different ways, of course). However, Renly is a BlackSheep who receives no emotional support from his family while Margaery is her grandmother's favourite and part of a loving family.

** To Robert Baratheon, the very man Dany despises as she views him as the usurper of her family's throne. Both are excellent at galvanizing support, can be ruthless to their enemies, seize power by right of conquest, and struggle with the realities of establishing a new order of things. Both show visible unhappiness at the realization that conquest is far easier than postwar administration and reconstruction, but Daenerys shows a commitment to learning how to rule and learning from her mistakes that Robert never showed, who fell into letting someone else perform all of his duties to free him up for leisurely pursuits such as drinking, jousting, and frequenting brothels.
** To Joffrey Baratheon. Despite their similarities, the differences are astonishing. Joffrey and Dany were both raised in neglect, albeit Daenerys in near poverty and Joffrey in the lap of luxury. Both are products of BrotherSisterIncest from a [[TheBeautifulElite powerful house hailed for their good looks]] with a certain sense of entitlement and a vindictive streak for those who cross them. However, whereas Joffrey grew up a sadistic RoyalBrat, Daenerys grew up a NobleFugitive who understands the plight of the lower classes and the value of kindness and does not hold the family name and legacy as the be-all and end-all of a claimant's 'right' to rule. It has to be earned through hardships and out of the two; only Daenerys has experienced her fair share of those. This makes her pride more relatable as well. It is one of the only shields of dignity she has in the entirety of a wide, dangerous world pitted against her.

** To Stannis Baratheon. These two become very direct foils in the Battle of the Blackwater when Stannis epitomises AuthorityEqualsAsskicking by personally leading the assault, proving that despite his flaws he truly believes in his cause and is willing to put himself him in tremendous danger for it. Meanwhile, Joffrey [[MilesGloriosus brags endlessly before the battle]] but proves a DirtyCoward who turns tail in the heat of the same battle in which he's only observing anyway and panics at any setback and prevails only because others do all the work.
** To Gendry. Both are the children of adultery on the part of the royal couple of Robert Baratheon and Cersei Lannister, but Robert's illegitimate son Gendry is unacknowledged, poor, hardworking, brave, kind, and clever whereas Cersei's [[spoiler:illegitimate]] son Joffrey is his polar opposite: presumed to be the legitimate son of Robert Baratheon, spoiled, idle, cowardly, cruel, and idiotic. Gendry grows up in poverty in Flea Bottom, does not receive the special surname given to noble-born illegitimate children because he is an unacknowledged son of Robert Baratheon, does not know he is the son of a king [[spoiler:until later on in the series]], grows up as a blacksmith's apprentice with his apprentice fee funded by an unknown lord, and defends those weaker than himself. Meanwhile, Joffrey grows up in the royal Red Keep, mistakingly believes himself to be the son of a king, and relishes in using his power to abuse his subjects. Gendry befriends and mutually protects [[{{RebelliousPrincess}} Arya Stark]] against the hell they go through while she is disguised as a commoner boy, and she cares about him deeply while neither of them knew he is of Baratheon blood. Joffrey is formally betrothed to [[{{PrincessClassic}} Sansa Stark]] to make a Stark-Baratheon match via marriage, but relentlessly abused and bullied her and she grew to hate him.

** To Ramsay Bolton. Both are extremely sadistic {{Bastard Bastard}}s who [[spoiler: enjoy a cruel stint as an EvilOverlord and die for it]]. Joffrey was engaged to Sansa Stark and threatened to marry and [[MaritalRapeLicense rape her]]. [[spoiler: That's just what Ramsay ended up doing]]. [[spoiler: Joffrey's father was unaware he's a bastard so he inherited the throne by law; Ramsay had to prove himself to get legitimized, then usurped his father. Joffrey had his bastard half-brothers killed despite not being threatened by them; Ramsay killed his stepmother and half-brother because the baby was Roose's legitimate son. Joffrey died and Sansa was wrongfully accused of his murder, while Ramsay's death came at her hands.]] The main difference is that while Joffrey [[BoisterousWeakling was mostly talk]] and only tortured people who were helpless at his mercy, Ramsay is terrifying as a torturer, fighter and schemer and can handle himself much better.

** To Ned Stark. Renly is a flashy-but-astute NonActionGuy politician who knows how navigate the treacherous waters of a DecadentCourt while Ned is a modest, stoic ProudWarriorRaceGuy who is a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter and is therefore ill-suited for intrigues and ill-prepared to deal with his enemies in King's Landing. Robert loves and respects his best friend much more than his own brothers, and Renly is even a bit jealous of Ned, as the only attention Renly ever receives from Robert involves the belittling of his masculinity. Ned and Catelyn have an openly PerfectlyArrangedMarriage whereas Renly and Loras — who are happily committed to each other — must maintain a SecretRelationship because homosexuality is a taboo.

** To Littlefinger. Both are ostentatious NonActionGuy politicians who excel at SnarkToSnarkCombat, but Renly grew up as a privileged high lord as the king's brother and as the liege lord of the Stormlands, while Littlefinger only rose from a very minor noble by being a ruthless SelfMadeMan. People are drawn to Renly's [[TheCharmer charm]] and NiceToTheWaiter qualities which sharply contrast Littlefinger's reputation for TheSociopath and BadBoss traits. Renly ''loathes'' the Lannisters, seeks to oust them and tries to protect Ned from falling into their clutches, while Littlefinger supports them and hands Ned over to them. Littlefinger is an UnluckyChildhoodFriend infatuated with Catelyn while Renly's love for Loras is reciprocated.
** To Robb Stark in Season 2. Both men share certain traits in common (e.g. they are young, [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure sensible]], [[NiceGuy nice guys]] who aspire to be TheGoodKing) but they are polar opposites in other respects. Where Robb is ModestRoyalty warrior who excels on the battlefield, Renly is an [[ErmineCapeEffect ostentatious]] courtier whose strength is his political acumen. This is most clear when Renly marries precisely the right woman for an alliance whereas Robb throws away an alliance to marry his lover.

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

** To Roose Bolton. Both are stoic, [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] characters with posh accents as well as deconstructions of the EvilOverlord trope. While Tywin is all about sending a message to people who cross him, Roose is all about trying to keep his own sadistic impulses in check. They also have sociopathic descendants, a son and grandson respectively who practice StupidEvil. Tywin is able to keep his sadistic grandson Joffrey in check during his kingship and has Joffrey cowering in fear throughout, while Roose is not so successful at controlling Ramsay and is ultimately murdered as a result.

** To Thoros of Myr. Both are foreign priests of the Lord of Light, but Thoros was never very devout whereas Melisandre is dedicated to her faith. Both can perform magic, but Melisandre mostly uses hers to bring death while Thoros uses his to restore life. Both claim to be serving the greater good in the name of the king by preventing an apocalypse or protecting the smallfolk, but are not averse to sacrificing a few innocents along the way.

** To Walder Frey. Both are the ScrewPolitenessImASenior leader of a SocialClimber House who place a pedigree on reputation while simultaneously denigrating their own progeny. They even share some [[DirtyOldMan Dirty Old Senior]] attitudes and [[spoiler: violate sacred hospitality to betray and murder an "allied" king at a wedding]] to advance their family's interests, but Olenna does all these things with a grandmotherly smile while Walder does so with a contemptuous sneer.

** To Maester Aemon. Where Pycelle is corrupt, depraved, and despised by his masters, Aemon is thoroughly dedicated to his vows, offers genuine advice, and is beloved and respected by the people he serves.

** To Joffrey. Both are equally sadistic and cruel {{Bastard Bastard}}s whose favourite past time is the ColdBloodedTorture of others. However, where Joffrey is a DirtyCoward OrcusOnHisThrone and a weakling who prefers to make others do the dirty work for him, Ramsay isn't afraid to get his own hands dirty, shows impressive combat skills and is far more intimidating in general; where Joffrey believes he is legitimate and entitled to power because he is the son of the last king and is publicly seen as a trueborn Baratheon son -- despite suspicions to the contrary (though this means he has at least some token conception of being a great king, so some actions will hurt his public image -- admittedly few), Ramsay's bastard background drives him to achieve and he openly revels in the fact that he's a sadistic butcher and that his claim to "power" is purely based on his brutality, not laws or inheritance; and where Joffrey is a StupidEvil SmugSnake, Ramsay at least shows a talent for short-term schemes (his siege of Winterfell and his torturous games wherein he knows exactly how to push a person's buttons, not just to torment them, but to ''break'' them), if not for long-term plots. (Roose has criticised him for routinely torturing to death enemies who surrendered in good faith for promise of safe passage, purely for his own amusement, with no thought to the repercussions). Joffrey also pays some token lip-service to the dignity of his office from time to time (usually not, but one can make an appeal to his arrogance that if something would make him look bad, he ''might'' listen). However, Ramsay turns out to be just as much of a coward as Joffrey as seen in 'Battle of the Bastards' and both die Undignified Deaths.

** To Tyrion Lannister. Both are the sons of cold and scheming lords who, even if they relegate important tasks to them (Tyrion is made acting Hand, Ramsay acting lord of the Dreadfort), don't hold them in high regard. Tyrion is trueborn but "all dwarves are bastards in their fathers' eyes", Ramsay openly resents being a bastard. Both of them [[WellDoneSonGuy want to earn their fathers' approval and inheritance]] but Tyrion gets disinherited while Ramsay gets legitimised. Both get married to Sansa to gain control over the North, but whereas Tyrion protected and became friends with her, Ramsay raped and terrorised her. Both men also had relationships with lowborn women who were jealous of Sansa. Both also ended up murdering their fathers.
* Oberyn Martell:
** To Tyrion Lannister. Both are highly-intelligent and profligate second sons with a wide reputation for wit and depravity who are unable to marry their lovers. However, where Tyrion is despised by his father, sister, and most of society in general, and is forced into a political marriage against his will, Oberyn is accepted by his family, loved by the people of Dorne, and enjoys an open relationship with his lifelong paramour, Ellaria Sand, with whom he has several children.
** To Loras Tyrell. Both are formidable, non-heterosexual warriors who dress more flamboyantly than the norm and maintain a romance with someone they can never marry. They also share a deep love for their older sister who married into royalty and despise the Lannisters for the death of a loved one but are nevertheless allied to them through political marriage. However, Oberyn is more passionate and is quite open about his sexuality and TranquilFury whereas Loras is restrained and decorous which creates a lot of SuppressedRage.
** To Ned Stark. Strong warriors and family men from a culturally and climatically isolated region who disapprove of mainstream Westeros, especially the Lannisters, who come to King's Landing to investigate the death of a loved one and accept an invitation to serve on the king's small council.
** Oberyn later gets his own {{Foil}} in the form of Euron Greyjoy. Both are very charming, affable, arrogant swaggering warriors with fearsome reputations, a sharp wit and a love for battle. But Euron is a completely unstable psychopath in contrast to Oberyn's sensible and honorable behavior.
* Eddard Stark to Tyrion Lannister. As Hand of the King in Season 1, Ned suffers the consequences of HonorBeforeReason and a refusal to compromise. His successor Tyrion is not corrupt by any means, but does accept the demands of {{Realpolitik}} far better and is able to curtail the excesses of his king and the machinations of Cersei better than Ned, as Varys noted. Nevertheless, while Tyrion does manage to get better results, he's not able to escape his reputation and his father's shadow, though he does survive a little while before he eventually ends up [[spoiler: imprisoned and facing banishment to the Night's Watch to escape execution, as a scapegoat]] much like Ned.

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

* Roose Bolton to Eddard Stark. Both are northern lords with illegitimate sons, but have very different personalities. Ned is an honorable, honest, kind, and content man whereas Roose is treacherous, deceitful, cruel, opportunistic, dishonorable and hypocritical. Roose tells his illegitimate son Ramsay, "''My'' banners, not yours. You're not a Bolton, you're a Snow," whereas Ned tells his illegitimate son Jon, "You ''are'' a Stark. You might not have my name, but you have my blood." Ned loves Jon as one of his sons, acknowledges him, and raises him alongside his true born siblings whereas Roose treats Ramsay poorly and only acknowledges Ramsay when he has no other choice. Ironically, in the end, Roose [[spoiler: legitimizes his bastard son, gives him the family name and makes him his heir]], something Ned never did. However, according to [[WordOfGod George R. R. Martin]], Roose only did this because he had no other choice and states: "Ramsay gets nothing from Roose."
* Lady Lyanna Mormont to Joffrey and Tommen Baratheon and Robin Arryn. All are [[AChildShallLeadThem child rulers]] in the positions of power. Lyanna is a wise, fearless, and judicious ruler, whereas neither Baratheon brother or Robin Arryn are half the leader she is -- despite being the youngest of the four examples. Tommen and Robin have access to far more soldiers, hold more power, but both are weak-willed puppets lacking any form of autonomy or guts. Lyanna is a girl with very few men, but determined, wise beyond her years, clearly in charge, and tough as nails. Where Joffrey is vain, Lyanna despises flattery. Where Joffrey hides at the sight of danger, Lyanna rides to meet her foes eye-to-eye. Where Joffrey makes petty threats, Lyanna fulfills her promises. Where Joffrey is cruel and feared, Lyanna is responsible, thoughtful, and respected.

* Bran and Tommen, who are both sons of a MamaBear and far more gentle then their aggressive older brothers. However, Bran is determined, brave, proactive and [[spoiler:has magic powers]] while Tommen can't be described as any of those. Also, Bran [[spoiler:survives a fall from a tower. Tommen doesn't]].

* Ned Stark to Stannis Baratheon. Like Stannis, Ned chooses family over fealty to his king. Stannis followed his brother Robert into rebellion while Ned lied to his future king Robert to protect his nephew and honor his sister Lyanna's DyingWish.

** To Littlefinger. Both men came from almost nothing to having a great deal of power and influence, but are still mocked for their initial statuses. While Littlefinger is disloyal and is resentful of the mockery, betraying even those who gave him power in order to gain more, Davos takes it in stride and rewards the man who gave him his power with UndyingLoyalty.

** To Theon Greyjoy. The insults and disrespect Jaime gets when returning to his family are very similar to what Theon experienced when returning to Pyke.

* Kevan Lannister:
** To Ned Stark. The younger sibling of a family who ends up in a position of power after the death of a brother. Like Ned Stark, he's also a highly honorable and uncompromising man of justice who ends up as a loyal, if reluctant, Hand to a buffoon King.
** Also to Renly Baratheon. Both of them are competent politicians in their own right. But while Renly is confident on his potential as a king to a fault by openly berating his older brother Stannis in public, Kevan knows his place as the younger brother of a leader and devotedly serves as his subordinate.
* Robert Baratheon and Jon Snow are two men who find themselves in positions of power they do not want. Both are great warriors but where Robert thought being king meant, "[he] could do whatever [he] wanted," and enjoys violence, Jon does not enjoy violence, never wanted the position as king, and only accepted it to help save humanity from the encroaching ZombieApocalypse. Both end up alienating factions in their tenures for very different reasons: Robert pursues whoring, drinking, and running up debt while letting others make his decisions for him where Jon's leadership decisions are largely influenced by his HonorBeforeReason trait, making many of his decisions in the favor of [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight the moral good]] over convention. Robert is boisterous and often chooses fun over responsibility while Jon is somber and is [[TheChainsOfCommanding worried about saving humanity from the dead]], trying everything he can to do so. Robert is betrayed and murdered by his wife, who despises him for his disinterest in her and his love for another woman while Jon is betrayed and murdered in a mutiny for trying to save the wildling people (but is brought BackFromTheDead).

* Stannis Baratheon:
** Lets see. In the shadow of a more charismatic brother who is heir to the family castle. Ridiculously dutiful, stubborn and dedicated to justice. Breaks his vows with a redheaded woman, constantly dresses in black and doesn't really seem to care if the people he surrounds himself with are noble-born or not as long as they are useful. Nope, doesn't sound the least bit familiar.
** To Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish. Littlefinger is another HeelFaceRevolvingDoor who eskews conventional morality and is widely despised for it, but who believes that his own life philosophy will ultimately be vindicated. However, while Littlefinger's odiousness comes from his complete contempt for morals and principles and his determination to get ahead through any means available - as well as from the fact that while he's very successful at sowing chaos, he's ultimately nowhere near as good at capitalising on it as he thinks he is - Stannis' comes from his rigid, unforgiving commitment to his notion of justice and his misguided belief that he's a prophesised hero. They both die ignobly in a season finale, and in both cases their downfall is caused by their ZeroPerCentApprovalRating finally catching up to them.

** To Joffrey, in a way. Literally Joffrey's ''only'' positive trait is that he is physically attractive (which fools Sansa into thinking he's her Prince Charming), but otherwise he is a megalomaniacal sociopath, yet also ''dumb as a brick'', unskilled at anything from combat to rulership. In contrast to her alleged cousin, greyscale has marred half of Shireen's face so she isn't attractive, but she is very well-read (specifically on books about history and governance), kind, and very intelligent. Joffrey also gets away with a lot of the stuff he does simply because he is a boy in the male-dominated society of Westeros (i.e. casually remarking to Sansa, in public at the feast for her wedding to Tyrion, that he might want to rape her first while the Kingsguard hold her down), but Shireen is a girl.

* Gendry is a subtle one to Jon Snow: HeroicBastard? Check. Close brotherly relationship with Arya? Check. Clueless about their SecretLegacy? Check. Last of their kind? ''Definitely'' check (in Jon's case, it's the male kind). As we find out in the Season 6 finale, Jon Snow is actually the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen — meaning that Gendry is in fact Jon's third cousin (Robert's grandmother was a Targaryen). Bonus for Robert and Rhaegar being archenemies and yet fathering two boys that foil each other.
* Selwyn Tarth to Ned Stark and Tywin Lannister. All three have very similar daughters: strong-willed, physically and mentally capable, completely unwilling to be married off like so many other highborn girls, and are very vocal about it. Unlike both of them, however, Selwyn acquiesced to his daughter's wishes, because he wanted her to be happy more than he wanted political advantage.

** To Roose Bolton. Both are stoic, MagnificentBastard characters with posh accents as well as deconstructions of the EvilOverlord trope. While Tywin is all about sending a message to people who cross him, Roose is all about trying to keep his own sadistic impulses in check. They also have sociopathic descendants, a son and grandson respectively who practice StupidEvil. Tywin is able to keep his sadistic grandson Joffrey in check during his kingship and has Joffrey cowering in fear throughout, while Roose is not so successful at controlling Ramsay and is ultimately murdered as a result.

Similar to [[Foil/ASongOfIceAndFire its book counterpart]], a wonderful result of the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters in the show is the extraordinary amount of foils:

[[WMG:[[center: [- '''Tropes for ''Series/GameOfThrones'''''\\
GameOfThrones/TropesA ([[AdaptationalAttractiveness/GameOfThrones Adaptational Attractiveness]], [[AdaptationalBadass/GameOfThrones Adaptational Badass]], [[AdaptationalHeroism/GameOfThrones Adaptational Heroism]], [[AdaptationalModesty/GameOfThrones Adaptational Modesty]], [[AdaptationalVillainy/GameOfThrones Adaptational Villainy]], [[AdaptationalWimp/GameOfThrones Adaptational Wimp]], [[AdaptationDistillation/GameOfThrones Adaptation Distillation]], [[AdaptationDyeJob/GameOfThrones Adaptation Dye-Job]], [[AdaptationExpansion/GameOfThrones Adaptation Expansion]], [[AdaptationExplanationExtrication/GameOfThrones Adaptation Explanation Extrication]], [[AdaptationInducedPlotHole/GameOfThrones Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole]], [[AdaptationNameChange/GameOfThrones Adaptation Name Change]], [[AdaptationPersonalityChange/GameOfThrones Adaptation Personality Change]], [[AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul/GameOfThrones Adaptation Relationship Overhaul]], [[AdaptedOut/GameOfThrones Adapted Out]], [[AgeLift/GameOfThrones Age Lift]], [[AnimalMotifs/GameOfThrones Animal Motifs]], [[AscendedExtra/GameOfThrones Ascended Extra]], [[AssholeVictim/GameOfThrones Asshole Victim]], [[AsYouKnow/GameOfThrones As You Know]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesB ([[BadassBoast/GameOfThrones Badass Boast]], [[BaitAndSwitch/GameOfThrones Bait-and-Switch]], [[BullyingADragon/GameOfThrones Bullying a Dragon]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesCToD ([[CallBack/GameOfThrones Call-Back]], [[CanonForeigner/GameOfThrones Canon Foreigner]], [[CompositeCharacter/GameOfThrones Composite Character]], [[CruelAndUnusualDeath/GameOfThrones Cruel and Unusual Death]], [[DeathByAdaptation/GameOfThrones Death by Adaptation]], [[DemotedToExtra/GameOfThrones Demoted to Extra]], [[DueToTheDead/GameOfThrones Due to the Dead]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesEToF ([[EstablishingCharacterMoment/GameOfThrones Establishing Character Moment]], [[FamousLastWords/GameOfThrones Famous Last Words]], [[FanDisservice/GameOfThrones Fan Disservice]], [[FantasyCounterpartCulture/GameOfThrones Fantasy Counterpart Culture]], '''Foil''', [[Foreshadowing/GameOfThrones Foreshadowing]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesGToK ([[HateSink/GameOfThrones Hate Sink]], [[JerkassHasAPoint/GameOfThrones Jerkass Has a Point]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesLToO ([[Leitmotif/GameOfThrones Leitmotif]], [[OhCrap/GameOfThrones Oh, Crap!]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesPToS ([[PragmaticAdaptation/GameOfThrones Pragmatic Adaptation]], [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome/GameOfThrones Surprisingly Realistic Outcome]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesTToZ ([[WhamEpisode/GameOfThrones Wham Episode]])]]]]-]

GameOfThrones/TropesA ([[AdaptationalAttractiveness/GameOfThrones Adaptational Attractiveness]], [[AdaptationalBadass/GameOfThrones Adaptational Badass]], [[AdaptationalHeroism/GameOfThrones Adaptational Heroism]], [[AdaptationalModesty/GameOfThrones Adaptational Modesty]], [[AdaptationalVillainy/GameOfThrones Adaptational Villainy]], [[AdaptationalWimp/GameOfThrones Adaptational Wimp]], [[AdaptationDistillation/GameOfThrones Adaptation Distillation]], [[AdaptationDyeJob/GameOfThrones Adaptation Dye-Job]], [[AdaptationExpansion/GameOfThrones Adaptation Expansion]], [[AdaptationExplanationExtrication/GameOfThrones Adaptation Explanation Extrication]], [[AdaptationInducedPlotHole/GameOfThrones Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole]], [[AdaptationNameChange/GameOfThrones Adaptation Name Change]], [[AdaptationPersonalityChange/GameOfThrones Adaptation Personality Change]], [[AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul/GameOfThrones Adaptation Relationship Overhaul]], [[AdaptedOut/GameOfThrones Adapted Out]], [[AgeLift/GameOfThrones Age Lift]], [[AnimalMotifs/GameOfThrones Animal Motifs]], [[AscendedExtra/GameOfThrones Ascended Extra]], [[AssholeVictim/GameOfThrones Asshole Victim]], [[AsYouKnow/GameOfThrones As You Know]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesB ([[BadassBoast/GameOfThrones Badass Boast]], [[BaitAndSwitch/GameOfThrones Bait-and-Switch]], [[BullyingADragon/GameOfThrones Bullying a Dragon]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesCToD ([[CallBack/GameOfThrones Call-Back]], [[CanonForeigner/GameOfThrones Canon Foreigner]], [[CompositeCharacter/GameOfThrones Composite Character]], [[CruelAndUnusualDeath/GameOfThrones Cruel and Unusual Death]], [[DeathByAdaptation/GameOfThrones Death by Adaptation]], [[DemotedToExtra/GameOfThrones Demoted to Extra]], [[DueToTheDead/GameOfThrones Due to the Dead]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesEToF ([[EstablishingCharacterMoment/GameOfThrones Establishing Character Moment]], [[FamousLastWords/GameOfThrones Famous Last Words]], [[FanDisservice/GameOfThrones Fan Disservice]], [[FantasyCounterpartCulture/GameOfThrones Fantasy Counterpart Culture]], '''Foil''', [[Foreshadowing/GameOfThrones Foreshadowing]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesGToK ([[HateSink/GameOfThrones Hate Sink]], [[JerkassHasAPoint/GameOfThrones Jerkass Has a Point]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesLToO ([[Leitmotif/GameOfThrones Leitmotif]], [[OhCrap/GameOfThrones Oh, Crap!]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesPToS ([[PragmaticAdaptation/GameOfThrones Pragmatic Adaptation]], [[RealityEnsues/GameOfThrones Reality Ensues]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesTToZ ([[WhamEpisode/GameOfThrones Wham Episode]])]]]]-]

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

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

** To Ned Stark. Renly is a flashy-but-astute NonActionGuy politician who knows how navigate the treacherous waters of a DeadlyDecadentCourt while Ned is a modest, stoic ProudWarriorRaceGuy who is a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter and is therefore ill-suited for intrigues and ill-prepared to deal with his enemies in King's Landing. Robert loves and respects his best friend much more than his own brothers, and Renly is even a bit jealous of Ned, as the only attention Renly ever receives from Robert involves the belittling of his masculinity. Ned and Catelyn have an openly PerfectlyArrangedMarriage whereas Renly and Loras — who are happily committed to each other — must maintain a SecretRelationship because homosexuality is a taboo.

** To Margaery. Both believe that MachiavelliWasWrong is the best approach to ruling and mirror each other in their personas as TheGoodKing and TheHighQueen and their AFatherToHisMen and FriendToAllChildren behaviour, which earns them a HundredPercentAdorationRating. Their charm, wit, and ostentatious fashion-sense also makes them both well-suited for the DeadlyDecadentCourt. They are also unperturbed by each other's homosexuality and lack of virginity respectively and share a deep love for Loras Tyrell (in different ways, of course). However, Renly is a BlackSheep who receives no emotional support from his family while Margaery is her grandmother's favourite and part of a loving family.

** To Varys and Littlefinger. All three characters lie and scheme to survive in their positions in the DeadlyDecadentCourt, putting on false personas to deflect suspicion, but while Varys and Littlefinger have higher ambitions, Pycelle in content to fly under the radar and live out his life in the comfort afforded by his office.

** To Arya Stark, her younger sister. In the novels, George R. R. Martin designed Sansa to be Arya's foil. This is present in the adaptation as well. They are both Stark daughters of Winterfell but Sansa is a PrincessClassic who loves traditional feminine arts while Arya is a RebelliousPrincess who wants to fight and ride with the boys. Their parents Ned and Catelyn have high hopes for Sansa and expect her to excel at court, while they worry about Arya's behavior and prospects at court due to her {{tomboy}} nature. However, Sansa is initially a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter at court, who starts out believing Joffrey and Cersei are kindly nobles until they arrest her father and Joffrey has him executed, is manipulated by them, and used as her pawn and prisoner until she is smuggled out of King's Landing in Season 4. Meanwhile, Arya is savvy enough to quickly recognize Joffrey and Cersei are horrific people, escapes the Lannister guards after Ned's arrest, and is smuggled out of King's Landing at the end of Season 1. They both spend a great deal of time with Sandor "The Hound" Clegane who takes them both captive at one time or another and ends up displaying his softer side with them. Their CharacterDevelopment arcs involve very different versions of BreakTheCutie. Sansa spends the War of the Five Kings in the royal court, is used as a pawn for her name, observes how to manipulate and play the game, becomes ensnared in the politics of King's Landing, is dependent on her wits to survive and sees firsthand the ruthlessness and backstabbing of a DeadlyDecadentCourt. Arya experiences the war disguised as a commoner, suffers with the smallfolk, hones her physical skills and falls under the view and guidance of characters of varying moral fibre. Arya slowly becomes a methodical ChildSoldier who falls in with an amoral killing cult that believes in death for everyone while Sansa has become NumberTwo to Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, using her father's honorable reputation to defend a murderer from facing the consequences of his actions and becoming a willing accomplice. In both cases, the sisters are forced to discard their whole identities in order to survive.

** To Tyrion. While drastically different physically, The Hound and The Imp have a lot in common. They both start out on the Lannister side (both as TokenGoodTeammates) and desert King's Landing after being mistreated. They are both judged and bullied for their disfigurement, and use their exaggerated personas as a defense mechanism (never forget who you are). Most tellingly, they both have an older sibling who is/was abusive (Gregor to Sandor, Cersei to Tyrion), even as children.

** To Tyrion. While drastically different physically, The Hound and The Imp have a lot in common. They both start out on the Lannister side (both as TokenGoodTeammate and desert King's Landing after being mistreated. They are both judged and bullied for their disfigurement, and use their exaggerated personas as a defense mechanism (never forget who you are). Most tellingly, they both have an older sibling who is/was abusive (Gregor to Sandor, Cersei to Tyrion), even as children.

GameOfThrones/TropesA ([[AdaptationalAttractiveness/GameOfThrones Adaptational Attractiveness]], [[AdaptationalBadass/GameOfThrones Adaptational Badass]], [[AdaptationalHeroism/GameOfThrones Adaptational Heroism]], [[AdaptationalModesty/GameOfThrones Adaptational Modesty]], [[AdaptationalVillainy/GameOfThrones Adaptational Villainy]], [[AdaptationalWimp/GameOfThrones Adaptational Wimp]], [[AdaptationDistillation/GameOfThrones Adaptation Distillation]], [[AdaptationDyeJob/GameOfThrones Adaptation Dye-Job]], [[AdaptationExpansion/GameOfThrones Adaptation Expansion]], [[AdaptationExplanationExtrication/GameOfThrones Adaptation Explanation Extrication]], [[AdaptationInducedPlotHole/GameOfThrones Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole]], [[AdaptationNameChange/GameOfThrones Adaptation Name Change]], [[AdaptationPersonalityChange/GameOfThrones Adaptation Personality Change]], [[AdaptedOut/GameOfThrones Adapted Out]], [[AgeLift/GameOfThrones Age Lift]], [[AnimalMotifs/GameOfThrones Animal Motifs]], [[AscendedExtra/GameOfThrones Ascended Extra]], [[AssholeVictim/GameOfThrones Asshole Victim]], [[AsYouKnow/GameOfThrones As You Know]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesB ([[BadassBoast/GameOfThrones Badass Boast]], [[BaitAndSwitch/GameOfThrones Bait-and-Switch]], [[BullyingADragon/GameOfThrones Bullying a Dragon]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesCToD ([[CallBack/GameOfThrones Call-Back]], [[CanonForeigner/GameOfThrones Canon Foreigner]], [[CompositeCharacter/GameOfThrones Composite Character]], [[CruelAndUnusualDeath/GameOfThrones Cruel and Unusual Death]], [[DeathByAdaptation/GameOfThrones Death by Adaptation]], [[DemotedToExtra/GameOfThrones Demoted to Extra]], [[DueToTheDead/GameOfThrones Due to the Dead]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesEToF ([[EstablishingCharacterMoment/GameOfThrones Establishing Character Moment]], [[FamousLastWords/GameOfThrones Famous Last Words]], [[FanDisservice/GameOfThrones Fan Disservice]], [[FantasyCounterpartCulture/GameOfThrones Fantasy Counterpart Culture]], '''Foil''', [[Foreshadowing/GameOfThrones Foreshadowing]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesGToK ([[HateSink/GameOfThrones Hate Sink]], [[JerkassHasAPoint/GameOfThrones Jerkass Has a Point]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesLToO ([[Leitmotif/GameOfThrones Leitmotif]], [[OhCrap/GameOfThrones Oh, Crap!]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesPToS ([[PragmaticAdaptation/GameOfThrones Pragmatic Adaptation]], [[RealityEnsues/GameOfThrones Reality Ensues]]) | GameOfThrones/TropesTToZ ([[WhamEpisode/GameOfThrones Wham Episode]])]]]]-]

** To [[KnightErrant Brienne of Tarth]]. Both are non-knight [[LightningBruiser Lightning Bruisers]] who come to serve on the traditionally knights-only Kingsguard. However, Brienne seeks to uphold the lofty notion of chivalry and aspires to be respected as a knight despite being denied knighthood because of her gender whereas Sandor is a BloodKnight who disdains knightly chivalry as an absurd construct and actively refuses knighthood. Brienne also remains [[UndyingLoyalty Undyingly Loyal]] to her king even after his death while Sandor deserts his king during the Battle of Blackwater, and Brienne is motivated to uphold her vow to protect the Stark girls whereas Sandor is motivated to keep Arya close so that he can sell her for money. This becomes very evident during their confrontation and duel at the end of Season 4.

* Orson Lannister to his cousin Tyrion, as they are both Lannisters with disabilities. But while Tyrion is an extremely intelligent dwarf who dislikes killing, Orson was mindless and lived only for senseless violence.