History Characters / GameOfThronesRoyalCourt

** [[spoiler: When Jon and Daenerys present Cersei's court with a captured Wight, everyone else is horrified but Qyburn instead picks up its still moving severed hand, more fascinated than anything.]]

[[WMG:[[center: [- ''Series/GameOfThrones'' [[Characters/GameOfThrones Main Character Index]]\\
[[Characters/GameOfThronesWesteros The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseStark House Stark]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseStarkChildren House Stark Children]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseStarkHousehold House Stark Household]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseBolton House Bolton]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseKarstark House Karstark]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseMormont House Mormont]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseReed House Reed]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesOtherNorthernHouses Other Northern Houses]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseLannister House Lannister]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseLannisterHousehold House Lannister Household]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseClegane House Clegane]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseBaratheonOfKingsLanding House Baratheon of King’s Landing]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTargaryen House Targaryen]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesDaenerysCourt Daenerys I’s Court]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesServantsOfDaenerys Servants of Daenerys]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseBaratheon House Baratheon of Storm’s End and Dragonstone]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseGreyjoy House Greyjoy]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseArryn House Arryn]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTully House Tully]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseFrey House Frey]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTyrell House Tyrell]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTarly House Tarly]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseMartell House Martell]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesSandSnakes Sand Snakes]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheFreeCities The Free Cities]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesSlaversBay Slaver's Bay]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheDothrakiSeaAndTheRedWaste The Dothraki Sea and the Red Waste]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesQarth Qarth]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesNightsWatch The Night's Watch]] | '''Royal Court''' | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheOrderOfTheMaesters The Order of the Maesters]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheKingsguard The Kingsguard]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesWildlings Wildlings]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesBrotherhoodWithoutBanners Brotherhood Without Banners]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheFaithOfTheSeven The Faith of the Seven]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesRedTemple Red Temple]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesIndependentCharacters Independent Characters]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheatreTroupe Theatre Troupe]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesSupernaturalBeings Supernatural Beings]]]]]]-]

** [[spoiler: When Jon and Daenerys present Cersei's court with a captured Wight, everyone else is horrified but Qyburn instead picks up it's still moving severed hand, more fascinated than anything.]]

[[center: [-[[Characters/GameOfThrones Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesWesteros The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseStark House Stark]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseStarkChildren House Stark Children]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseStarkHousehold House Stark Household]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseBolton House Bolton]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseKarstark House Karstark]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseMormont House Mormont]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseReed House Reed]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesOtherNorthernHouses Other Northern Houses]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseLannister House Lannister]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseLannisterHousehold House Lannister Household]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseClegane House Clegane]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseBaratheonOfKingsLanding House Baratheon of King’s Landing]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTargaryen House Targaryen]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesDaenerysCourt Daenerys I’s Court]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesServantsOfDaenerys Servants of Daenerys]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseBaratheon House Baratheon of Storm’s End and Dragonstone]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseGreyjoy House Greyjoy]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseArryn House Arryn]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTully House Tully]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseFrey House Frey]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTyrell House Tyrell]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTarly House Tarly]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseMartell House Martell]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesSandSnakes Sand Snakes]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheFreeCities The Free Cities]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesSlaversBay Slaver's Bay]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheDothrakiSeaAndTheRedWaste The Dothraki Sea and the Red Waste]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesQarth Qarth]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesNightsWatch The Night's Watch]] | '''Royal Court''' | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheOrderOfTheMaesters The Order of the Maesters]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheKingsguard The Kingsguard]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesWildlings Wildlings]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesBrotherhoodWithoutBanners Brotherhood Without Banners]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheFaithOfTheSeven The Faith of the Seven]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesRedTemple Red Temple]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesIndependentCharacters Independent Characters]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheatreTroupe Theatre Troupe]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesSupernaturalBeings Supernatural Beings]] ]]-]

[[folder: Non-incumbent[[note]]by the end of Season 6[[/note]] Small Council Members]]

* TheDragon: To Cersei.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qyburn_s7.png]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ilyn_payne.png]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dontos_hollard.png]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qyburn.png]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ilpayne.png]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dontoshollard.png]]

!Other members of the King's Court

[[/folder]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qyburn_7266.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"[[MadScientist The only way to treat disease is to understand disease.]]"'']]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/AntonLesser

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/payne_ilyn_588.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"[[TheVoiceless ...]]"'']]
->'''Played By:''' Wilko Johnson

[[folder: Ser Dontos Hollard]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hollard_dontos_8910.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"[[SadClown Once I was a knight, now I am only a fool.]]"'']]
->'''Played By:''' Tony Way

!!!For the main character index, see [[AC:[[Characters/GameOfThrones here]]]]

** [[spoiler: When Jon and Daenerys present Cersei's court with a captured Wight, everyone else is horrified but Qyburn instead picks up it's still moving severed hand, more fascinated then anything.]]

* CompositeCharacter: He gains Varys' army of child spies and assassins from the books and role as using them to kill Pycelle.

** In Season 2, Tyrion knocks down the Small Council to about half its membership during his stint as a stand-in for Tywin, specifically the ones he doesn't trust not to betray him. Littlefinger, Varys, and Cersei are all that's left. Tywin restocks after he returns.

* NightmareFetishist: The way his eyes light up when cutting into Jaime's infected stump is more than a little terrifying. He gets a similar look in his eyes while examining Gregor Clegane's injuries.

'''Sandor Clegane:''' (speaking to Sansa) Do I frighten you so much, girl? Or is it him there, making you shake <nods at Payne>? He frightens me too, look at that face!

** It's gone through six Hands (Jon Arryn, Ned Stark, Tyrion Lannister, Tywin Lannister, Kevan Lannister and Qyburn) in the last five years alone (four being killed in office), two Master of Coins and two Master of Ships.

* AuthorityInNameOnly: Its status as the government of the Seven Kingdoms by the end of Season 6. Jon Snow has been declared King in the North and they're seceding again, and the Vale with Petyr Baelish backs them; the Reach and Dorne have sided with Daenarys against the Lannisters; the Riverlands are nominally loyal but Walder Frey and his eldest sons are dead so it's not clear who rules there now; the Greyjoys are technically still rebelling for the Iron Islands; the Stormlands, with the Baratheon family all dead, no ruler of them has been explained nor who they back. As Jaime lampshades in the Season 7 premiere, Cersei is the Queen of ''Three'' Kingdoms, at best.
has officially switched over and backed the North, the Iron Islands have a new King and a fresh campaign, while the Reach and Dorne have declared for the Targaryen Restoration which is finally invading Westeros with its armada. The Riverlands were nominally loyal but Walder Frey and his sons were assassinated, and even the Westerlands might not be safe since Jaime Lannister disapproves of his sister's actions.

See Characters/TheOrderOfTheMaesters.

[[folder:Grand Maester Pycelle]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pycelle_6101.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Kings? I can tell you all there is to know about kings."'']]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/JulianGlover

->''"I urged [the Mad King] to surrender peacefully. But the king didn't listen to me; didn't listen to Varys, who tried to warn him. But he '''did''' listen to Grand Maester Pycelle, that grey, sunken cunt."''
-->-- '''Jaime Lannister'''

The head of the Maester's order, resident Maester in the Red Keep, and a member of the Small Council. A sycophantic toady, he puts on a good show of serving the Iron Throne, but his only true loyalty is to Lord Tywin Lannister and actively undermined King Robert Baratheon.

* AdaptationalBadass: While Pycelle hasn't been upgraded into a BadassGrandpa, he's considerably cleverer in the series, with the implication that he's been playing many people to stay alive for years; this is a far cry from the doddering old man in the books.
* AdaptationalVillainy: The character in the books is hardly a saint, but Pycelle in the series is shown to be cruel, manipulative and a backstabber, whereas in the books he showed UndyingLoyalty towards House Lannister.
* {{Angrish}}: Prone to descending into stammered gibberish when panicked, as his arrest and the deleted scene with Tywin demonstrates -- though the latter case is a blatantly faked example.
* ArchEnemy:
** Pycelle does a good job at not making enemies at all, but Tyrion becomes a prominent one because Pycelle is outed as Cersei's mole and punished during Tyrion's stint as Hand. When Pycelle testifies in Tyrion's trial, it's abundantly clear that ItsPersonal for him.
--->'''Pycelle''': [Tyrion used the poison] to strike down the most noble child the gods ever put on this good earth. [Joffrey!]
** He does have an ongoing resentment of Varys, and is seen trying to turn Ned Stark against him.
* BadassBoast: In the ''Histories and Lore'' video for Season 4, he's talking about dragons when the subject of Daenerys and her dragons come up. Pycelle's conclusion goes thus:
-->'''Pycelle''': If she were so foolish as to march on Westeros, she would not not find, as her ancestor Aegon did, seven disparate kingdoms frightened by her strange beasts. She would find a continent united by Lord Tywin Lannister, who exintinguished her own father's flame. And we have known dragons now. ''We have seen them die''.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: First appears as a respectable man. It didn't take long for him to show his true colors.
* BlatantLies: Pycelle has the distinction of spewing out the biggest piece of bullshit ever uttered on the show, and maybe even beyond, calling [[TheCaligula Joffrey]] "the most noble child the gods ever put on this good earth." Everybody is uneasy about the line upon hearing this description during Tyrion's trial, and even people who harbor high animosity against Tyrion can't help but raise an eyebrow at that one.
* BloodFromTheMouth: Sprays blood out of his mouth after being stabbed repeatedly by Qyburn's little birds.
* BoringButPractical: They'll never write a song about Pycelle, but his method for staying alive ''works''. Kings come and go, and he has weaselled his way through it for decades, keeping a privileged life in the process.
* ButtMonkey: Season 4 sees Pycelle slowly beginning to slide into this role; roughly half of his scenes in the season involve him getting interrupted or embarrassed in public, and an entire scene in the second episode alone features him getting cockblocked, threatened, and repurposed as an errand boy by Cersei. For good measure, the season finale features him getting booted out of ''his own laboratory'' in favour of Qyburn, who seems to have pretty much supplanted him in Cersei's eyes.
* CovertPervert: Despite being sworn to celibacy, Pycelle has no qualms about hiring prostitutes. At celebrations, he seems even bolder: at Tyrion's wedding, he can be seen having a rather intimate chat with two young women; and at Joffrey's wedding, he's interrupted while attempting to seduce a young handmaiden under the guise of offering a physical.
* DefiantToTheEnd: He drops the feeble old man act and goes out swinging, even landing a pretty solid blow to one of the children before being overwhelmed by the numbers.
* DidntSeeThatComing: Pycelle is incredibly good at surviving despite the fact that nobody likes him, but he never thought that Qyburn would ultimately be the one to assassinate him.
* DirtyCoward: All Pycelle wants is to survive, and he will do anything he has to in order to do it, which amounts to kissing up to whoever is in power and ducking his head when they turn his way. In a deleted scene, he explains to Tywin that most people are like flowers, seeking to grow ever higher. But, when a flower grows too tall, it risks getting clipped; Pycelle wants to remain low and in the shadows so no one ever tries to "clip" him.
* DirtyOldMan: He likes to abuse his status as a physician to grope and harass young women.
* TheDogBitesBack: Manages to accomplish this to ''two'' of the Lannister children, in a cowardly vindictive way. He bids his time and waits until his targets are powerless.
** Tyrion tosses him into a cell in order to ensure he doesn't meddle with his rule as Hand of the King. After the Battle of Blackwater, Pycelle is released and is sure to rub Tyrion's injuries, not to mention his loss of power, in his face.
** For the better part of a season, Cersei routinely kicks him, even dismissing him from his own laboratory while Qyburn works to save Ser Gregor Clegane. After Cersei is arrested by the Faith Militant, Pycelle summons her uncle, Ser Kevan Lannister, to serve as Hand of the King in order to provide some semblance of a working government, and to get back at Cersei for his mistreatment.
* DyingAlone: Qyburn admits even Pycelle shouldn't die the way he is about to.
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** He appears genuinely shocked when he sees how Gregor Clegane tries to murder Loras Tyrell and then his own brother over pure pettines.
** He was also aghast when Joffrey orders Ser Ilyn to behead Ned Stark, right on the steps of the holy Sept of Baelor..
** He's disgusted by Qyburn's human experimentation as he feels that human experimentation is a perversion of the healing arts.
* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: While [[TheSpymaster Varys]], [[UpperClassTwit Mace]], [[TheChessmaster Olenna]], [[TokenGoodTeammate Tyrion]] are all ''clearly'' unamused by Joffrey's twisted jokes at the wedding (and even [[DragonInChief Tywin]] is blatantly forcing himself to smile), Pycelle seems genuinely entertained by them. Then again, it might be part of his professional Yes Man act -- this is a guy who managed to survive Aerys II Targaryen's royal court, so he's learned to laugh at an insane king's bad jokes to stay on his good side.
* EvilIsPetty: Especially towards Tyrion, who he hates for arresting him (however briefly). Apart from the IronicEcho at the end of the second season, he joins Cersei in mockingly applauding his appointment to Master of Coin, and later goes out of his way to "accidentally" drop a letter Tyrion was reaching for, forcing him to stoop out of his chair to pick it up.
* EvilOldFolks: During his long life, he's betrayed many Hands of the King and even one king, and it's implied he'll do it again if it means staying alive just a little longer.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He pretends to be polite and grandfatherly, but he's really a corrupt old lecher with no regard for anyone or anything except his own political (and literal) survival.
* {{Foil}}:
** A deleted scene with Tywin reveals him to be much like Varys and Littlefinger, lying and scheming to survive the DeadlyDecadentCourt he's in by any means necessary. However, while Varys and Littlefinger have higher ambitions they aim for, Pycelle is a coward who flies under the radar because he has no ambition but to live a bit longer and enjoy the perks his office affords him. Though this particular scene also would have been a particulat deviation from the books. Pycelle felt nothing but admiration and respect for Tywin, and while it's unclear inhowfar these feelings were mutual, it would have been out of character for Tywin to behave towards a useful tool like Pycelle for no good reason, like he did in said scene.
** Also, there is a certain amount of comparison and contrast to be made between him and Qyburn; both are Maesters that have ended up in the service of the Crown, both end up taking orders from Cersei, and both are well-known for behaviour inappropriate to their order, and both provide medical attention. However, Pycelle not only proves himself less ambitious and ''much'' less inquisitive than Qyburn, but also nowhere near as dedicated to healing. As amoral as Qyburn is, he genuinely wants to save lives - in sharp contrast to Pycelle, who not only withheld treatment for Jon Arryn but also loaned out his supply of poison for a murder-suicide. This is perhaps best exemplified by their scene together in "The Children": Pycelle is prodding Gregor Clegane's unconscious body with a stick, claiming that nothing can be done to save him; Qyburn is examining the wounds at close range and actually providing a treatment. However, your mileage may vary. On the other hand, Manticore venom is ''universally'' held to be incurable, and Pycelle oddly keeps a sense of medical ethics while Qyburn is a Mad Scientist. Yes Qyburn wants to heal people, but he treats it as a problem to be solved. Pycelle argues that the humane thing would be to stop prolonging Gregor's suffering - while Qyburn wants to perform horrific medical experimentation on him.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Pycelle might not have many enemies (due to his status as YesMan and his lack of ambition) but he doesn't have much in the way of friends either. He claims loyalty to the Lannisters, but none of them like him. Tyrion is a strong enemy, Jaime refers to him as a 'grey sunken cunt', Cersei is repulsed by him and Tywin sees him solely as a tool.
* GoodCopBadCop: Indulges in this in "The Pointy End" as the bad cop when Cersei manipulates Sansa into writing to Winterfell. This is only an act in part; he's later shown being abusive to Sansa for real.
* GreenEyedMonster: One interpretation of his hatred for Qyburn, who Cersei trusts much more than she ever did Pycelle.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: {{Subverted}}. Pycelle is an excellent judge of character and [[ObfuscatingStupidity fakes being a poor one]].
** Of all of the Kings he's served, he identifies Joffrey as the one he respects the most and thinks of most positively. However, the circumstances in which he says this suggest that he is lying, knowing that whatever he says could reach Joffrey's ears.
** During Robert's rebellion, he told Aerys II that the Lannisters could be trusted as friends. Once inside King's Landing, Tywin proceeded to [[CavalryBetrayal sack the city]], as Varys and Jaime had foreseen. But then again, when Tyrion comes to arrest him, Pycelle claims in his defense that he was already a [[TreacherousAdvisor servant of Tywin]] back then.
* HumiliationConga: Tyrion, Bronn and Timett, son of Timett, come to arrest him while he is with a whore, cut off his beard and threaten to [[CallBack cut off his manhood and feed it to the goats]]. [[labelnote:From the books...]]In the books it was Tyrion and Shagga, son of Dolf, and Shagga ''did'' cut off his manhood... Which, in a brilliant little piece of UnEntendre, it turns out meant the beard.[[/labelnote]] In Season 4, Pycelle goes a more subtle but well-deserved conga. He's increasingly delegated to menial tasks as Cersei's patience with him wears thin, and Pycelle finds himself essentially replaced by Qyburn. He no longer commands the respect he once had or his coveted position with the Lannisters.
* InterruptedIntimacy: His session with the prostitute Daisy was interrupted by Tyrion, Bronn, and Timett.
* IntellectuallySupportedTyranny: He provides the intellectual justifications for Tywin Lannister and his regime, and serves as his propagandist and agent in all matters.
* IronicEcho: Once Tyrion loses his status and power and is bedridden, he delivers this line:
-->'''Pycelle''': ''[tossing a coin to Tyrion, with a smirk on his face]'' For your trouble.
* {{Jerkass}}: His treatment of Sansa after Ned's arrest and his pettiness towards Tyrion whenever he has the chance.
* KarmaHoudini: He has betrayed several Hands of the King (and at least one King) over the years in order to stay safe. Defied when Tyrion, being far more savvy, sets him up to reveal himself as TheMole and promptly has him arrested and tortured to some degree. However, Pycelle has managed to worm his way out of that due to his status as a YesMan to Cersei.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Expires in the Season 6 finale, as he is brutally [[KarmicDeath assassinated]] as part of Cersei's plan against the High Sparrow. This time Pycelle chose the wrong side.
* MasterPoisoner: He's an expert on poisons, but to his credit, he apparently hasn't killed anybody with them, as he lacks a murderous nature.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Pretends to be an AbsentMindedProfessor in order to fly under the radar. It obviously has served him well, as he's managed to survive in the DeadlyDecadentCourt of King's Landing for sixty-seven years. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMXJlUIQP94 A deleted scene from Season 3 makes this extremely explicit]]. His physical, intellectual and oratory abilities would make him more than a match for the mighty Tywin Lannister if he so chose to be.
** This was something Julian Glover contributed to the role. He's remarkably spry for his age and suggested that this be included. The producers agreed and so included the scene in "Fire and Blood" where he exercises.
* OutGambitted: Tyrion pulls this by telling him, Littlefinger and Varys three different stories about who he'll marry Myrcella off to, and when Cersei confronts him about Pycelle's version Tyrion knows he's TheMole and has him arrested. Pycelle never lets this go, it probably being one of the few times someone has actually caught him in spite of his attempts to stay under the radar, though Tyrion embarrassing him for good measure certainly helps.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: Is stabbed to death multiple times by a gang of murderous child assassins during the Season 6 Finale.
* OhCrap: Has this reaction when Qyburn's little birds surround him.
* ProfessionalButtKisser: He might look like [[Literature/HarryPotter Dumbledore]], but he's pretty much just a Lannister yes-man. He was also a YesMan to Robert and Aerys before him. It's how he's managed to survive [[DeadlyDecadentCourt King's Landing]] for so long. This is shown in the "Histories and Lore: Dragons" where according to him, as long as King's Landing has Tywin, Daenerys and her dragons are no threat.
* RunningGag: By Season 4, other characters regularly interrupt Pycelle mid-speech.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: The venerable Grand Maester is in the habit of incorporating rather magniloquent figures of speech in his meandering sentences.
* SmugSnake: See the aforementioned scene between Pycelle and the injured Tyrion.
* ThrowingOffTheDisability: In the first season finale, he does a series of exercises that a frail old man shouldn't be able to do before changing back into his robes, adopting his usual stooped posture, and shuffling out the door. He completely drops the act in the beginning of "Valar Morghulis" to intimidate Tyrion. In a deleted scene with Tywin Lannister, he does this after Tywin points out that he can see right through it, only to resume it when their conversation is over. He ditches it for the final time in the Season 6 finale when he punches out the first little bird to attack him, demonstrating surprising speed. It does nothing to save him from the rest of them.
* UndignifiedDeath: Getting stabbed to death by a group of children isn't the most flattering way to go out; a fitting end for a cowardly weasel like Pycelle.
* UnknownRival: He has some unexplained animosity towards Varys. Varys doesn't seem to know or care.
* WizardBeard: Despite the fact that Maesters are ''not'' magic users, Pycelle most certainly has one. Tyrion has Bronn cut most of it off when arresting him, mostly [[KickTheSonOfABitch because he can.]]
* YesMan: To House Lannister, specially to Tywin Lannister. Unlike Varys and Littlefinger (who know exactly when and how to disagree or manipulate), Pycelle essentially agrees with whatever the most powerful person is saying. In a single scene, he goes from supporting Joffrey completely to wordlessly obeying Tywin's order to send the boy king to bed (essentially by drugging him).
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: He is killed by Qyburn's little birds in the Season 6 finale on Cersei's orders.

[[folder: Non-incumbent[[note]]by the end of Season 6[[/note]] Small Council Members]]

!!Lord Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King (Pre-Season 1)
See Characters/GameOfThronesHouseArryn.

!!Stannis Baratheon, Master of Ships (Pre-Season 1)
See Characters/GameOfThronesHouseBaratheon.

!!Renly Baratheon, Master of Laws (Season 1)
See Characters/GameOfThronesHouseBaratheon.

!!Lord Eddard Stark, the Hand of the King and Protector of the Realm (Season 1)
See Characters/GameOfThronesHouseStark.

!!Lord Tyrion Lannister, acting Hand of the King (Season 2), Master of Coin (Seasons 3-4)
See Characters/GameOfThronesDaenerysCourt.

!!Lord Tywin Lannister, the Hand of the King and Protector of the Realm (Pre-Season 1, Seasons 2-4)
See Characters/GameOfThronesHouseLannister.

!!Varys, Master of Whisperers (Seasons 1-4)
See Characters/GameOfThronesDaenerysCourt.

!!Lord Petyr Baelish a.k.a. "Littlefinger", Master of Coin (Seasons 1-3)
See Characters/GameOfThronesHouseArryn.

!!Prince Oberyn Martell, Sitting member for Dorne (Season 4)
See Characters/GameOfThronesHouseMartell.

!!Lord Mace Tyrell, Master of Ships (Seasons 4-6), Master of Coin (Seasons 5-6)
See Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTyrell.

!!Ser Kevan Lannister, the Hand of the King and Protector of the Realm (Seasons 5-6)
See Characters/GameOfThronesHouseLannister.
[[/folder]]

!Other members of the King's Court

[[folder:Ser Ilyn Payne]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/payne_ilyn_588.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"[[TheVoiceless ...]]"'']]
->'''Played By:''' Wilko Johnson

->'''Sansa Stark:''' Why won't he speak to me?\\
'''Sandor Clegane:''' He hasn't been very talkative these last twenty years. Since the Mad King had his tongue ripped out with hot pincers.\\
'''Joffrey Baratheon:''' He speaks damn well with his sword, though.

The mute royal executioner or "The King's Justice".

* AmbiguouslyEvil: How willing he is in all of this is unknown. He's never seen smiling or taking joy in anything, but merely does his job without passion or interest.
* BaldOfEvil: His evil might seem to be more placid than anything outright sadistic, but he's still a ruthless man with a shiny head.
* TheBrute: For Joffrey and Cersei, although he's gradually phased out and the more brutal acts he would usually be ordered to committ are committed by Ser Meryn Trant.
* EvilOldFolks: He's been around since the days of Aerys II, and his disposition hasn't improved.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: He kills or maims people whenever ordered to because that's his job.
* MercyKill: Cersei arranges him to fulfil this role if the Battle at Blackwater went badly. He was to kill all the women hiding, to save them the rape they would endure at the hands of Stannis' men.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: An executioner named 'pain'.
* OffWithHisHead: His method of execution.
* PerpetualFrowner: Ilyn is rarely seen without a belligerent scowl.
* TheSpeechless: His tongue was cut out under orders of the Mad King. He had mouthed off to a few folks that Lord Tywin was the real man in charge of Westeros.
* TortureTechnician: It's assumed he's done this at others times, but it's seen first-hand when Joffrey orders him to remove Marillion's tongue.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Not seen at all in Season 3 onward [[RealLifeWritesThePlot on account of Wilko Johnson having terminal cancer]]. He recovered partway through the filming of Season 5, so he may come back.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ser Dontos Hollard]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hollard_dontos_8910.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"[[SadClown Once I was a knight, now I am only a fool.]]"'']]
->'''Played By:''' Tony Way

->''"I had two cups of wine."''

An alcoholic knight reduced to being a court fool.
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* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: At first wants to help humanity and save people's lives, but to do this he experimented on many innocents. Then he makes a living abomination, orders children to perform murder and suicide mission for him, assist Cersei in torture and it becomes apparent his intentions were never noble, he is just fascinated about tampering with human bodies whether to repair or destroy it.

* DeadlyDoctor: When one considers just exactly what he did to have himself be stripped of his position and chain as a Maester in the first place...

* WellIntentionedExtremist: He wants to help humanity and save people's lives, but to do this he experimented on many innocents. He also sees no problem casting his lot with Cersei Lannister, helping her orchestrate a bloody purge and the deaths of hundreds of people.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: He appears genuinely shocked when Joffrey orders Ser Ilyn to behead Ned Stark; how genuine this is remains unclear. Pycelle's no fool; he could have just realized the ramifications of killing the head of House Stark. He's disgusted by Qyburn's human experimentation (though it may partially be jealousy for taking his place as Cersei's confidant). Ironically, Pycelle has said he's willing to assassinate Daenerys if it will prevent a war, but he feels that human experimentation is a perversion of the healing arts.

* AuthorityInNameOnly: Its status as the government of the Seven Kingdoms. The Iron Throne has no power in much of the continent after Tywin Lannister's death. By the end of Season 6, virtually every part of Westeros is in revolt. The North is under a new Stark King, Jon Snow the White Wolf, the Vale with Petyr Baelish has officially switched over and backed the North, the Iron Islands have a new King and a fresh campaign, while the Reach and Dorne have declared for the Targaryen Restoration which is finally invading Westeros with its armada. The Riverlands were nominally loyal but Walder Frey and his sons were assassinated, and even the Westerlands might not be safe since Jaime Lannister disapproves of his sister's actions.