History Fanfic / RobbReturns

* SkewedPriorities: [[spoiler: Jon Connington is still focused on his plans to instill Young Griff on the Iron Throne despite the threat of the Others being widespread and Westeros preparing itself for an ancient invasion not seen for centuries, viewing it as "Greenlander Mummery" ''despite hearing about the Call itself''. This was why Varys had him assassinated]].

* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: After talking with Lords Royce and Redfort, Ned makes note that of the seven mainland Westerosi kingdoms, six of them have First Men {{Ancestral Weapon}}s [[note]][[CarryABigStick The Fist of Winter]] for the North, [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe the Shield of the Riverlands]] for the Riverlands, [[{{BFS}} Stormbreaker]] for the Stormlands, Otherbane for the Reach, Rocktooth and [[DeviousDaggers the Warnings]] for the Westerlands, and [[CoolSword Dawn]] for Dorne[[/note]] while the seventh, the Vale, has [[RunicMagic runes]] that they can inscribe onto castles and armor, which are said to deter the Others.

** Robert hitting Cersei is portrayed as something [[WoundedGazelleGambit she provokes]], while in canon it also happened when he got annoyed at her. Also, there is no mention of Robert [[MaritalRapeLicense "taking his rights"]] when drunk. Later, Varys tells Daenerys that he never actually sent assassins after her and Viserys.

* GodzillaThreshold: Ned is someone who sticks by a code of honor, detesting the use of deceit and trickery. However, hearing Robb's tale of the canon timeline and what's at stake prompts him to resort to these tactics, sending a message to Jon Arryn warning him about a Lannister plot under the pretense of crops and [[spoiler:making the Broken Tower look like it's still in disrepair to catch the Lannister twins in the act]].

* BatmanGambit: Ned Stark, of all people, pulls one off after hearing Robb's tale of the future that is long in the making. [[Spoiler: In order to prove that Joffrey, Tommen & Myrcella are not Robert's children and find evidence against the Lannister twins for their crimes, the Broken Tower was made to look as if it hasn't been repaired yet, banking on the fact that the king and his retinue will arrive at Winterfell as well as getting the Lannister twins to take the bait. Fortunately, it paid off, allowing both the Golden Twins of the Lannisters to be caught red-handed]].

** Robb's return to the past unsurprisingly causes many a great thing for the Starks. [[spoiler: Ned has lived past the point of his canon death, Jon has been legitimized, Catelyn no longer holds a grudge against Jon and seeks to repair their relationship. Sansa is HappilyMarried to Domeric Bolton, who is the opposite of his father in any ways. Arya doesn't need to be on the run due to Winterfell staying intact and al the Starks, including Ned, have direwolves of their own with none of them dying this time]].

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Poor Myrcella and Tommen. Even though some of the more noble characters are actually getting a break this time around, it doesn't change just how little of a bright future they have due to their [[spoiler: status revealed as bastards and products of incest. Despite them having nothing to do with the actions of their parents, they're effectively granted no power, nor do any of them have any claim to the throne as well as be ostracized. Making it worse is that Myrcella ''knows'' this, and is clearly torn up about what's her life going to be from henceforth. The silver lining throughout all of this mess is that Robert feels no catharsis for the blowback they had to endure and Tywin is genuinely pained with Myrcella's suffering, willing to make sure she gets married to someone who will treat her right]].

* LighterAndSofter: Played with. On one hand, all of Westeros now have to deal with a supernatural force that's out to get them. One the other hand, Westeros is united in defending themselves against a force that's out to get them. Many of the morally lighter gray characters not only live past the point of their death in canon, but also go through CharacterDevelopment while the bad guys bite the dust. Any tensions between nations is put aside for the sake of preparing for the fight to come against the Others. All in all, the story went from a DarkFantasy where the main conflict is between humans to a HighFantasy where the main enemy are the Others.

** [[spoiler: After the reveal that she is a bastard, all Myrcella asks of her grandfather Tywin is for whatever husband he arranges to marry her to, to be kind to her. Tywin readily agrees, and makes it clear to Cersei that he will keep that promise.]]

* AdaptationalBadass: Euron Greyjoy's magical abilities were only hinted at in the books and almost completely absent in the show. Here, [[spoiler:he has mastered at least one magical ability (VillainTeleportation), possibly another (if he is responsible for [[MindRape mind-raping The Mountain]]), and implies that he is a PowerParasite (he intends to betray the Others and add their powers to himself).]]

** [[spoiler:In the books, it is currently ambiguous if Rhaegar and Lyanna were in love or if the former kidnapped the latter. Here, it's confirmed that Rhaegar raped Lyanna to produce Jon - though it's implied that she went willingly at first, and that he had a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment afterwards, ultimately [[FaceDeathWithDignity accepting death]] as the [[RedemptionEqualsDeath price of his actions]].]]
** [[spoiler:Lysa Arryn isn't just [[MyBelovedSmother murderously overprotective]] of her only surviving child, she's actively ''causing'' Robert Arryn's chronic illness to keep him wholly dependent on her]].
** [[spoiler:Jon Connington ''knows'' the boy he raised isn't Aegon; he's not acting out of love for Rhaegar's son, only for revenge.]]

** The Martells' desire for revenge for Elia and her children gradually wanes over the course of the story due to the mounting threat of the Others. The final stab to the heart of their plans, however, [[spoiler:is when Oberyn learns about Aerys' wildfire plot, and realizes that the moment Robert killed Rhaegar at the Trident, she and her children were dead either way]].

*** [[spoiler:In Chapter 70, he completely ''snaps'' and attempts to awaken his dragon by murdering one of Illyrio Mopatis' servants and then trying to do the same to ''his own sister''.]]

** Just before his trial by combat, Baelish smirks when remembering Brandon Stark's death in the latter's father's "trial by combat" against Aerys the Mad's champion - fire. [[spoiler:Probably what was in Jon Arryn's mind when he got Littlefinger to wear heavy armor before handing him a heavy axe and sending him against ''his'' champion - the sea.]]
** Upon meeting [[StrongFamilyResemblance Gendry]], Robert wonders why Joffrey had to look so much like a Lannister. The readers obviously know [[BrotherSisterIncest why]].

** After an encounter with their exiled brother Euron Greyjoy, Aeron tells Balon that he shouldn't make any deals with him because Euron would only lead them to "death and destruction". [[spoiler: Considering the truth of the [[GodOfEvil Drowned God]] that they follow...]]

* EvenTheLovingHeroHasHatedOnes: After learning of his half-brother Ramsey Snow's depravity, Domeric declares that if he had known sooner, he would've ridden out and cut Ramsey down himself, even if he'd become a [[KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil kinslayer]] in the process. He would even embrace his family's tradition of flaying men alive, which typically disgusts him.

** The Martells start heading this route in regards to Elia and her children as the threat the Others pose becomes more clear to them, [[spoiler:especially after learning about Aerys' wildfire plot and realizing that they were probably going to die no matter what happened]].

** Even after learning about Ramsey Snow's monstrous nature and crimes, Domeric is bewildered that his half-brother would hate him so much just for existing, especially when the two of them had never even met.

*** Ned is quite impressed by Robert's level-headed analysis of the SuccessionCrisis after the discovery of the of Lannicest. As Robert notes, without any trueborn children, Stannis is his heir, followed by Shireen, which risks a repeat of the Dance of Dragons since many will consider a woman unfit to rule Westeros. Robert also notes that while he can immediate divorce Cersei for her infidelity, they need confession from her or Jaime to properly prove that Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen are bastards born of incest.

* IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer: Greatjon, while telling Tyrion to consider courting Dacey Surestone, warns him that, if he breaks her heart, Ned (Dacey's cousin) will kill him, Greatjon will break whatever Ned leaves intact and then [[TortureTechnician Roose Bolton]] will take his turn.
* IgnoredEpiphany:
** Renly Baratheon discusses as much with Jon Arryn, in that despite him being at Storm's End, witnessing a statue with glowing eyes come to life, hand Robert a legendary sword and declare him Storm King, within days of returning to King's Landing, he had pushed the event aside and subsumed himself into the regular plots and politics of the city. It takes him seeing a living wight's head for the reality of the upcoming war of the Others to stick.

** [[spoiler:After finding out his true parentage, Robert declares Joffrey no longer a Baratheon, but Joffrey Hill the bastard]].

* ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin: [[spoiler:Mern IX Gardener's nephew, badly burnt from the Field of Fire, had the Lord Tarly during the Conquest hide Otherbane at Horn Hill before dying, to avoid the other houses of the Reach fighting over it]].
* ImplausibleDeniability:
** How Ned plans to make it impossible for [[spoiler:Cersei to deny her [[{{Twincest}} incestuous affair with Jaime]]: [[InterruptedIntimacy catch them in the act]], with Stannis and Ser Barristan as witnesses.]] And even then, [[spoiler: when Robert finally confronts her, she]] ''still'' tries to claim it's all a lie.
--->'''[[spoiler:Cersei]]:''' They... misunderstood what we were doing.\\
'''Ned:''' Misunderstood? You were both naked and both rutting like animals. [[spoiler:You and your own brother!]]\\
'''Stannis:''' [[AndThatsTerrible Which is treason]].
** Pycelle does try to deny it, but the rest of the Small Council quickly rebuke him.
** [[spoiler:The affair also doubles as a twofer for Cersei; since the affair was clearly consensual, there is no way she can deny knowingly interfering with the royal succession once her children's true paternity is revealed[[note]]Jaime, at least, can claim that he is only guilty for betraying the king and lusting after his queen; Cersei could have easily kept up the affair ''and'' given Robert trueborn children via taking moon tea after her encounters with Jaime, but instead chose to do it the other way around, something anyone can infer from her consent to the relationship[[/note]]. As interfering with the royal succession is a far more grievous crime than cheating on the king with her brother/guard, Cersei cannot be afforded any mercy, unlike Jaime]].
* ImpromptuTracheotomy: [[spoiler:Rodrik Harlaw gives Alek a MercyKill by stabbing him in the throat.]]

* InSpiteOfANail: [[spoiler:Jon falls in love with Ygritte, as in canon.]]

* InUniverseCatharsis: As noted by Tywin, who remarks that [[spoiler: killing Cersei for all that she's done to bring shame and ruin to House Lannister's good name would make him feel marginally less angry. He doesn't go through with it, though it's a close call, because doing so would be kinslaying and House Lannister's reputation is on shaky enough ground as it is without adding that label.]]
* IRejectYourReality:
** The first Maester who discovered that [[TheMagicComesBack magic had returned]] had been trying for 10 days to undo what he had done and pretend it hadn't happened, but his colleagues found out anyway.
** [[spoiler: After Cersei's affair and her children's parentage is found out, Robert divorces her and her children are stripped of their royal status, but she and Joffrey are still delusional that they still have some sort of power. Much of Cersei's internal dialogue in her focus segment in Chapter 135 is her reassuring herself that she can make her father believe her and that the Westerlands still hold the Crown in debt until Tywin strips her of any delusions that he would ever help her out of her giant mess.]]
*** [[spoiler: When Tyrion comes to inform Cersei of her exile, her delusions are such that she interprets being told that Tywin is going North to inspect the Wall as Tywin going there to retrieve Jaime and Joffrey and preparing to raze the North. Being told repeatedly that the Mountain is dead barely leaves a mark in her.]]

** Bronn was the one that captured Littlefinger, and got a keep as payment. [[spoiler:While he is in that keep, he ends up capturing Lysa Arryn by pure chance - after she attacked her husband because of Littlefinger's death.]]
*** [[spoiler: For added irony, he captures Lysa while fishing for trout - the emblem of Lysa's maiden house Tully.]]
** One of the main problems between Ned and Catelyn at the beginning of the story is Jon, who Catelyn thought was Ned's bastard son and suspected Ashara Dayne may have been Jon's mother, until Ned cleared it up by revealing Jon was actually his nephew. [[spoiler:It then turns out that Ned actually ''did'' have a bastard son with Ashara Dayne - Edric Dayne, who was adopted by Alster Dayne the whole time and raised as the true born heir of Starfall - and never knew it.]]
** Joffrey [[GreenEyedMonster hates]] the fact that Robert seems to favor Gendry, who looks almost exactly like him, and he likes to bring up the fact that he is a bastard every time they meet - and then it turns out that Joffrey, too, is a bastard.

* IWillShowYouX: King Robert has choice words for a septon who describes Northerners (like his friend Ned and old love Lyanna) as "uncouth".
--> Uncouth!?! I’ll uncouth you right in the face, you bastard!

** [[spoiler:During his trial for his corrupt practices, embezzling, outright robbery and his attempt to have Robert Arryn kidnapped,]] Littlefinger points out the nobles' hypocrisy in relation to the smallfolk, Stannis' inability to get past any slight (imagined or otherwise) even though he controls Dragonstone and is the Master of Ships, and Jon Arryn's inability to control the King's excesses and to discover that Cersei's children are not the King's.
*** Jon later acknowledges that Littlefinger had a point about the nobility in a conversation with Bronn, [[spoiler: and says that Bronn becoming a lord would actually help address the issue, by infusing some new blood into the nobility]].
*** Littlefinger's insinuation that Stannis only has one sickly heir for a reason seems to have been taken to heart, as he then starts spending more time with his wife Selyse.

** Tywin goes to Winterfell to confront the accusation of his twin children being caught fornicating. After being given irrefutable proof, including a signed confession from Jaime admitting to be the father of Cersei's three children, he begrudgingly accepts Robert's decisions to divorce Cersei, disinherit her children, and send Jaime to the Wall.

** [[spoiler:Viserys Targaryen kills one of Illyrio Mopatis's servants, and then tries to kill Daenerys, in an attempt to awaken his dragon egg and Daenerys' three. Not only does he die himself from a fire he accidentally provoked, after learning his egg was fake: in an extremely ironic turn, his death is one of the three that restore Daenerys's dragons to life.]]

* MisplacedRetribution: Refreshingly subverted. Unlike other stories, the Martells here have no grudge against the Starks for taking part in the rebellion – in fact, they ''respect'' Ned for the lengths he went to to save his sister, seeing as the only reason they sided with Aerys and Rhaegar is because the former was keeping Elia Martell and her children hostage. It helps that, unlike said stories, Lyanna really was kidnapped and raped, making her just as much a victim as Elia was.

** [[spoiler: Daenerys' predicament by Chapter 94 once she becomes the Mother of Dragons. The Magisters of Pentos are keeping her imprisoned with the intention of using her to conquer Braavos and force the rest of the Free Cities to submit to their rule. Leaving for any of the other cities would end up with her in a similar predicament. Trying to return to Westeros, and potentially reclaiming the throne, would fail since her allies are alienated and unreliable after Viserys' shenanigans and the wildfire plot are revealed, and trying to invade the Seven Kingdoms (not that she has any troops to do so) would make her look like an opportunistic usurper. The other alternatives - going to the Summer Islands or to eastern Essos - are similarly handicapped by her lack of knowledge about both regions. Fortunately, Varys manages to bring her to a relatively safe place where she will be able to consider her future without being pressured.]]
** Varys finds himself in a similar predicament - to stay in the game that has changed beneath him, or abandon it for a land far away.
** Robb and Ned know they can't let Joffrey become king. Fortunately, they can prevent it by revealing his true parentage. However, they can't do that either since they know Robert would become so [[UnstoppableRage enraged]], he'd kill Cersei and Jaime himself, which in turn would cause their father Tywin to retaliate, and plunge Westeros into a civil war, which is the ''last'' thing they need in the coming war against the Others.
*** [[spoiler: Fortunately Robert's CharacterDevelopment dissolves this example, as when the truth is revealed for him, he manages to keep his temper, divorces Cersei, disinherits his illegitimate children, and tries Jaime for treason and sends him to the Wall, all justified and reasonable actions that make it unlikely for Tywin to declare war. And when Tywin finds out later, there's too much proof for him to refute anything, and all he asks is to hear from Cersei directly.]]

** Bran the Builder, when he built the Wall to protect the South against the Others, caused one unintentional side-effect: [[spoiler: not understanding the magic in the earth, building the Wall also broke the links between the North and South, meaning that the Greenseers and Children of the Forest on either side could no longer communicate with each other. The entirety of Coldhands' mission was to bear some magic south of the Wall and bridge the gaps.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHerod: [[spoiler:King Aerys' execution of Rickard and Brandon Stark meant that Ned had no means of knowing about the Others and the Call and left Westeros near-helpless against them.]]

* NotSoStoic:

** Varys can't hide his terror when he learn that magic has returned, since he was castrated in a BlackMagic ritual. He has to leave the room when he hears the news to properly calm down before he returns to his normal self.

*** And later, Varys' [[NotSoStoic shock shows through]] again when, in Andalos, he receives the news about [[spoiler: Aerys' wildfire plot]].

** When Baelish insults Shireen, Stannis almost unsheathes his dagger.

*** [[spoiler: In exchange for either sending Robb back or [[WhiteSheep Domeric Bolton]] being saved by them sending Robb back, they kill [[BastardBastard Ramsey Snow]].]]

* RelatedInTheAdaptation: It is revealed that Val of the Free Folk is Mors Umber's granddaughter, her mother being Mors' daughter who was abducted by wildlings.

* RightForTheWrongReasons: Catelyn spent years thinking Ned had sired a bastard son while away fighting in Robert's Rebellion. [[spoiler:She's right, but it's not Jon Snow, who is actually Ned's nephew; it's Edric Dayne, son of Ashara Dayne]].

* WhyWeCantHaveNiceThings: Among the consequences of her actions Tywin points out to Cersei is that [[spoiler:Lannister women will have suspicions of infidelity and incest following them for generations to come]].

* WrongGenreSavvy:
** Mace Tyrell believes that the Call is just mummery and is completely unconvinced that the Game of Thrones has changed. [[spoiler: It takes [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield Otherbane burning his hand]] to shut him up.]]
** Walder Frey sees everything as some sort of plot. [[spoiler: The Green Men and a living wight's head]] arrive to give him a harsh smack in the face with reality, [[spoiler: and it literally kills him]].
** Abound with the Lannisters:
*** Tywin thinks that Eddard asking about the Others is just another move in the Game of Thrones. At least until he translates the runes inside a hidden room in Casterly Rock.
*** Jaime is very much unaware about the changes going on in the North and elsewhere. Apparently, he is not even aware of the Call happening, and he is very much puzzled by Robert and his new desire to regain his strength.
*** Cersei is completely perplexed with Robert's newfound zeal to head north.
*** Joffrey thought he would be able to grab [[spoiler:Stormbreaker]], claiming it as his birthright. [[spoiler:Stormbreaker (and perhaps the Old Gods) happily [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield demonstrate]] [[BlownAcrossTheRoom otherwise]].]]

** In one chat between Theon, Jon and Robb, Theon wonders how he can get his hands on a Valyrian steel blade. Later in the scene, one does show up... [[spoiler: in the hands of Joffrey trying to murder Robb]].

* GenreBlind:
** When he hears that the Company of the Rose (descended from the Northerners that chose exile over bending the knee to Aegon the Conqueror) is in Pentos, Viserys seriously considers ordering them to fight for him, his argument being that, since they are from Westeros, they should obey the rightful king, i.e. him. Magister Mopatis has to tactfully point out that they are more likely to ''kill'' him[[note]]seeing that (a) it is formed by the descendants of the Northerners that chose exile over bowing to the Targaryens and (b) they all know about what Aerys the Mad did. Rosestark even tells Eddard that when news of Brandon's and Rickard's Executions reached them, the Company nearly broke apart over whether or not they should return and join the North for revenge.[[/note]].
** Catelyn has a brief moment of this when she insists that Arya keep learning how to be a lady even after all the evidence of the Others' return and Arya's fair argument that Winterfell needs Stark warriors more than ladies, and [[NotNowKiddo disbelieves]] [[spoiler: Arya being a warg]]. After Arya runs off in tears, [[GenreSavvy Luwin]] makes Catelyn reconsider, saying that with all the old secrets being reawakened, [[spoiler:Arya being able to warg]] may also be one of them.
* GenreSavvy:
** As soon as he has Baelish captured, Jon Arryn does everything to make sure he will not spread around news about "The Great Matter" (aka the fact that Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen are all Jaime's children): keeping him isolated from anyone not in Jon's service during his imprisonment, make his trial a private affair [[spoiler:and then making sure he will have no chance to survive in a private trial by combat]].
** When he learns that there's an Iron Bank representative "just passing by" King's Landing, Baelish [[spoiler:(who has been arrested for stealing money from the Crown, some of which belonged to the Iron Bank)]] knows that the representative is either a Faceless Man or knows there's one close.
** Illyrio Mopatis knew that Viserys was not a mentally balanced person, so [[spoiler:he gave him a completely fake "dragon egg" made of stone]] to distract him. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:this has the consequence of Viserys becoming even [[AxCrazy more deranged]], culminating in him trying to kill Daenerys and both him and Mopatis dying in a fire as they fight each other.]]
** As soon as they get Balon Greyjoy's invitation to a meeting to discuss how to restore peace, Rodrik Harlaw and Asha Greyjoy immediately realize it's a trap.

* PersonalSeal: The Baratheons have two signet rings, which are now owned by Renly. One belonged to Steffon Baratheon, which he gave to Renly before his ill-fated trip to Essos to find a bride for Prince Rhaegar; the other was made for Robert as his fingers were too large for the first ring.

** Also, Balon Geryjoy finds the idea of breaking SacredHospitality unthinkable.
** Likewise, breaking SacredHospitality and kinslaying are the lines [[spoiler:Illyrio Mopatis is unwilling to cross, which drives him to attack Viserys when the latter tries to use Daenerys as a HumanSacrifice to hatch his dragon egg.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards:
** [[spoiler:Everyone is horrified to learn of Aerys' wildfire plot, and any and all grudges in King's Landing are put aside to deal with the situation]]. They are also firm believers in SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil and are horrified to learn just how far Baelish had gone in his quest for power, and when [[spoiler:Renly proposes his plan to return all the funds from Baelish's properties in a way that also restores the Crown's funds, he specifically mentions that they won't profit from the slave trade in the process.]]
** No matter how conniving and power-hungry Tywin Lannister may be, [[spoiler: he's completely disgusted by Jaime and Cersei's affair and passing off their children as Robert's. He disowns Cersei while tearing her apart verbally for how she's ruined the family.]]

* EveryManHasHisPrice: [[spoiler: As Petyr Baelish discovers, ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney fail to work when your target (Bronn) knows that you have no money and that no matter what you offer you cannot pay him. Related is the fact that people whose only loyalty is to the money you pay them will drop you like a hot potato when they find you are broke. And, also, when you mess with the man who is both the Hand Of The King ''and'' the lord you are sworn to, he can ''easily'' strip you of your titles.]]

* GoingNative: Theon finally decides to leave his Ironborn nature behind him when he renounces the Drowned God, firmly casting his allegiance with the North and the Old Gods. It's later cemented by [[spoiler: Ned's decision to give him the seventh direwolf pup, and later, changing his last name to Greymist.]]
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Finding out that the Old Gods not only exist but are powerful enough to [[spoiler:curse him with blindness]] is enough to make [[spoiler:Blackfoot]] crack.
** [[spoiler: To make things worse for him, his lines in Chapter 133 right before his execution imply he received at least one prophetic vision relating to the coming of the Others after his blindness.]]

** [[spoiler: Hearing about the Mad King's plans to burn King's Landing to ash with wildfire, Jaime killed him and kept the presence of the wildfire secret in the knowledge that it would degrade over time... except that well-mixed wildfire in the dark doesn't degrade, it ''[[HairTriggerExplosive destabilizes]]''.]]

** He may act like a senile old man, and he may be loyal to the Lannisters rather than the King, but Grand Maester Pycelle reminds everyone that he is ''still'' a maester when he is able to find almost exactly where in Westeros the statues of the Seven in the Sept of Baelor are pointing by calculating the exact directions each statue is pointing and drawing a line for each of them on a map, then figuring out where all of them intersect, [[spoiler: finding that they are all pointing at a specific point beyond the Wall, meaning he may have actually found the location of Hopemourne, the lair of the Others]]. He also, without having to be asked by anyone, makes sure to inform the various septons gathered there, who are gearing up for a holy war against Winterfell, that the statues aren't pointing at the North. He does so quite forcefully, taking the wind out of their sails in a manner that's implied to have involved quite a bit of shouting.
*** And later, he is fully willing to lead the search for the [[spoiler: [[HairTriggerExplosive wildfire]] hidden underneath King's Landing]].
** Leera, Jorah Mormont's lover, says this about King Robert after they meet him and find that he's not the oaf everyone thought he was.

*** When Robert first meeds Robb Stark, he instantly sees the boy has much older eyes than his youth says.
*** Robert often surprises people with how intelligent he can be. While part of it is due to CharacterDevelopment, the other half is that he ''is'' a skilled warrior and commander, rather than just some DumbMuscle with a warhammer. As Jaime notes while sparring with him, he learns swordsmanship quickly and never makes the same mistake twice.
*** As skilled a horseman as he is, all the way back in Harrenhall, Robert [[FightingFingerprint recognized the horse tack]] of [[spoiler:the Knight of the Laughing Tree, as he did it in exactly the same way as Lyanna Stark]].
** [[spoiler:The main reason Balon Greyjoy staunchly resists the message from Winterfell is that he feels acknowledging it means accepting the rule of the Old Gods, and without the Drowned God, the Ironborn are nothing but ridiculous savages with no place in the world.]]
** Tywin Lannister privately admits that when he enacted the annihilation of the Reynes and Tarbecks that inspired the Rains of Castamere, he went too far due to youth and inexperience and garnered a bloodthirsty, ruthless, mad dog reputation for his House, which took years of fair governance, even judgement and a stint as Hand of the King to alter into a reputation of just rule. The lesson he took from that was that real power is more than just military might or threats of force, it is also strong reputations and trustworthiness. That said, he [[TheUnapologetic never wishes]] that he ''hadn't'' enacted the massacre, merely that he ought to have left some members alive as an example.

** The first maester who discovered that [[TheMagicComesBack magic had returned]] had been trying for 10 days to undo what he had done and pretend it hadn't happened, but his colleagues found out anyway.
** [[spoiler: After Cersei's affair and her children's parentage is found out, Robert divorces her and her children are stripped of their royal status, but she and Joffrey are still delusional that they still hold on to any sort of power. Much of Cersei's internal dialogue in her focus segment in Chapter 135 is her reassuring herself that she can make her father believe her and that the Westerlands still hold the Crown in debt until Tywin strips her of all her delusions that he would ever help her out of her giant mess.]]

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: This trope is {{Implied}} when a tome about [[spoiler: Valyrian dark magic, including how to warg into other human beings,]] is found in Winterfell's secret room, with the name "Torrhen Stark" written in it. From the discussion of what is in the tome, if Torrhen Stark thought that [[spoiler: the Targaryens had this magic at their command in addition to their dragons]], it's no wonder that the King Who Knelt did so.

* LapPillow: Tyrion ends up falling asleep on Dacey Surestone's lap in Winterfell's godswood, exhausted from the long ride back from the Wall.

* LifesavingMisfortune: The storm that ends up damaging the ship taking Gendry to Storm's End ends up benefiting him, because it brings him to Dragonstone where he meets his cousin Shireen and where he finds the hidden godswood that heals the girl - and it also keeps him there long enough for Stannis to bring him to the North.

** Kevan plays this to his brother, particularly regarding those topics where Tywin is a tad too stubborn for his own good - the Call and Tyrion, for starters.

** Rhaegar Targaryen, whose obsession with the prophecy of the song of ice and fire led to his kidnapping Lyanna - though it is suggested that she went willingly, until she heard about what Aerys did to her father and oldest brother. [[WellIntentionedExtremist Rhaegar]] [[spoiler: then raped her, ultimately producing Jon]], though when he goes to his second consultation with the Green Man [[spoiler: a.k.a. Ser Duncan the Tall]], [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he is fully aware that what he did was horribly wrong and that his arrogant belief that he'd perfectly interpreted the prophecy was equally wrong]], and asks the Green Man for his counsel. The Green Man tells him to seek out Robert Baratheon on the battlefield, which Rhaegar quickly realises will result in his death, and ultimately accepts it as the price for his actions, resolving to FaceDeathWithDignity. [[spoiler: A visit from the future version of Robert telling him how he was wrong about the prophecy and all the tragedy that resulted just reaffirms his resolve to die to save the realm]].

** Theon finds out that the Drowned God's religion is (or may be) this in a series of dreams he has - which leads to him renouncing the Drowned God.

** [[spoiler: Robb notes that they really should have paid attention to the symbolism in the original timeline of the mother direwolf (the symbol of House Stark) being found after being killed by a stag (the symbol of House Baratheon). In turn, the fact that this doesn't happen symbolises Ned's survival, and the fact that there is an extra direwolf pup born, with eyes the colour of the sea, symbolises how Theon is more of the North than the Iron Isles in this timeline]].

* SadisticChoice: Robert finds himself in one when [[spoiler:he learns of his Great Matter - that he has been cuckolded by the Lannister twins and he actually has ''no'' trueborn children. See SuccessionCrisis below for details]].

*** [[BladeOnAStick Otherbane]], the weapon of the Gardener Kings, taken to Horn Hill in the aftermath of the Field of Fire.

* BladeOnAStick: Otherbane, the ancient spear of the Gardener Kings, found in Horn Hill's (House Tarly's keep) armory. Like its fellow {{Ancestral Weapon}}s, it contains great power, such as when it [[spoiler: shielded Willas Tyrell from the [[BrownNote fear-inducing aura]] of the DoorOfDoom beneath the Hightower, and when wielded against Euron Greyjoy, [[FlamingSword its head bursts into flame]]]].

* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Mace Tyrell. He sees himself as a great leader and player of the Game of Thrones, while most of his family, contemporaries and fellow Lord Paramounts see him as a buffoon, especially when the advent of the Call changed everything from under his feet without him noticing. Even after [[spoiler: [[BladeOnAStick Otherbane]], the spear of the Gardener Kings [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield rejects him]]]] in favour of his son Willas and his mother Olenna convinces him to retire to his hunting lodge, he still wants to be relevant and lead the Reach again, even willing to [[spoiler: answer to the Septon of the Starry Sept to 'cleanse' an ArtifactOfDoom beneath the Hightower]] to do so, despite not having a clue what he's doing.

* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: After talking with Lords Royce and Redfort, Ned makes note that of the seven mainland Westerosi kingdoms, six of them have First Men {{Ancestral Weapon}}s [[note]][[CarryABigStick The Fist of Winter]] for the North, [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe the Shield of the Riverlands]] for the Riverlands, [[{{BFS}} Stormbreaker]] for the Stormlands, [[BladeOnAStick Otherbane]] for the Reach, Rocktooth and [[DeviousDaggers the Warnings]] for the Westerlands, and [[CoolSword Dawn]] for Dorne[[/note]] while the seventh, the Vale, has [[RunicMagic runes]] that they can inscribe onto castles and armor, which are said to deter the Others.

** Willas notes this in Randyll and Samwell Tarly when they visit to bring him [[BladeOnAStick Otherbane]]: the former is visibly more subdued, and the latter more self-assured.

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: Every Northern Lord, [[spoiler: and Tywin Lannister as well]], liked the late Lord Torgen Surestone, even ''[[TokenEvilTeammate Roose Bolton]]''.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: According to [[spoiler: Ser Duncan the Tall]], the tragedy of Summerhall was caused by [[spoiler: an over-helpful pyromancer who, in his eagerness to help his king, made wildfire that was too strong in the ritual to try and rebirth dragons.]]