This article includes majorGame of Thronesspoilers pertaining to all seasons.
Eight years in andGame of Thronescan still surprise us to heartbreaking effect.
Martin (and thus David Benioff and D.B.
And it still hurts.
It also raised an interesting question:
Who exactly is responsible for this war?
So join us as we unpack it all by examiningthe nine characters most responsible for starting the war.
Tyrions fire trick could only work once and only on the sea.
Instead, it now rests on his sisters to avenge the removal of his pretty, pretty crown.
read more: Game of Thrones Season 8 Everything We Know
9.
This event occurs in the first season after Casterly Rock learns of the Starks kidnapping of Tyrion Lannister.
Less a starter than a finisher, this Machiavellian genius still has plenty of blood on his hands.
This is not to say that Renly was in the wrong for declaring himself king.
However, Stannis is actually quite bad at thegame of thronesthat all these characters play.
Which is more or less what Stannis did when he cheated by bringing magic into the equation.
Without Highgarden, Tywin Lannisters surprise attack on the Blackwater may not have been so surprising… or decisive.
That is probably because theyre the backwoods rednecks of Westeros.
The stupidest of these proud knuckle-draggers is Balon Greyjoy.
Honestly, Robert and Ned should have slit Balons throat and been done with it.
But it will never end for them in anything less than complete and utter defeat.
Is there anything worse than a people who keep fighting a war theyve already lost generation after generation?
Catelyn Stark
Catelyn Stark gets a lot of unfair hate on the internet from many, many male fans.
A large part of this is due to her irrational disdain and cruelty toward Jon Snow.
And if the Kingslayer died, Sansas head would now rot on a spike above the Red Keep.
The second was that she believed Lord Petyr Baelish when he said that the knife belonged to the Imp.
Tyrion, as we the audience knew, was innocent.
Its a shame that cooler heads failed to put it out before it engulfed the whole continent.
Unfortunately, this was not just a treasonous act; it put three imposters in line for the throne.
read more: What Comes Next for Cersei Lannister?
It also meant they could have a family savings group decapitation discount if Robert ever found out.
Hence Jaime knocking Bran Stark out a window to protect his family.
And from a Machiavellian POV, it was thus Renlys for the taking.
And to protect this secret, they inadvertently made an enemy out of the Stark family for a lifetime.
Robert Baratheon, King of the Seven Kingdoms
But then again, Jaime and Cersei Lannister werent in charge.
Robert was king, and the Silver Stag stops with him.
To be sure, Ned Stark is a good person which, in George R.R.
Martins world, is an increasing rarity.
This in turn likely accelerated the Lannister timetable.
The first choice would be obviously Robert himself.
By warning Cersei, he cemented that there would be a clash of swords between their houses.
And by refusing any friends, he assured that hed be in chains before the end of the day.
Again, this was not done out of anything but malicious idiocy and lack of forethought on Joffreys part.
This inadvertently placed the blame directly at his mother and uncle-dads feet.
This is the kind of vicious arrogance and stupidity that few can predict.
Only a precious few…
1.
WhenGame of Thronesstarts, viewers are immediately keyed in much quicker than Ned Stark to Littlefingers duplicity.
However, he is so much worse than that.
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It is safe to assume Petyr Baelish considers all of these traits burdensome flaws worthy only of exploitation.
A version of this article was first published on May 7, 2014.
