71 replies to this topic

[SerFelixCulpa]

Deceptively simple question: who do you think is the most overall long-term important character in ASoIaF from whom we have never had a POV chapter?

My vote is Littlefinger, I have a feeling he has had by far the greatest individual impact on events in and near Westeros with or without being a POV character.

Edited by SerFelixCulpa, 16 June 2011 - 12:31 PM.

[MyDogIsNamedDanerys]

Robert has a pretty good claim to this, having personally overthrown a Dynasty because he got his feefees hurt, not to mention then being a complete failure as a king and husband.

Edited by MyDogIsNamedDanerys, 16 June 2011 - 12:53 PM.

[Theano]

Definitely Littlefinger, though probably also Varys (and maybe even Illyrio).  Howland Reed is a maybe, though more for what he knows than what he does.

[Boots]

Podrick! In seriousness I agree, probably Littlefinger. He's one of the puppetmasters keeping things going.

[Tourniquet]

I was in the LF(#1) and Varys(#2) camp but the mention of Robert was intriguing. I would say that his actions have and continue to have a even greater effect on Westeros than LF.

[Valmy]

Littlefinger without a doubt.

[Horza]

Going through the UnPOVable three (Varys, LF, Howland Reed) right now it's fairly easy to say Littlefinger but by the end we might be saying Reed.

[Xenophon]

LF and Varys are the safest bets.  More in line with the Robert suggestion, what about Tywin?  He made 3 of the POV characters into the people they are, and he had his fingers all over Robert's reign and the war of the 5 kings.

[Taena's Curves]

No one wants to say Tywin?! Or is this only for surviving characters? Littlefinger, without a doubt is the most important among the still living but I would have loved to read Tywins PoV. Also, Beric would have been cool to read in PoV as well. Although his would have just been more interesting than important.

[Arrogant Bastard]

I would add Stannis to the list. He basically sets the whole story in motion by figuring out Cersei and Jaime's incest and alerting Jon Arryn to it. And from Book 2 onward he is hugely important in the War of the Five Kings and now agianst the Others.

[Taena's Curves]

Xenophon, on 16 June 2011 - 01:11 PM, said:

LF and Varys are the safest bets.  More in line with the Robert suggestion, what about Tywin?  He made 3 of the POV characters into the people they are, and he had his fingers all over Robert's reign and the war of the 5 kings.

Lol! You posted this while I was still typing mine so now it looks like I didn't read the replys. Hehehe Anyway, I'm glad I'm not the only one that says Tywin

[Millardkillmoore]

1.LF
2.Varys
3.Stannis
4.Tywin
5.Robb

[Little Grandfather]

Rickon  

[Gurkhal]

Considering how extremely influential his machinations are, I would say Littlefinger.

[Miyamoto]

Magister Illyio and Varys.

[MinotaurWarrior]

Magister Illyrio. He's not just unPOVable, we've only been allowed to see him three or four times. I think he's playing a game far above everyone else. While everyone else is playing "Iron Throne" he's playing "The Game of Thrones" Consider that his opening move is making Dany Khaleesi, and giving her all the tools she needed to do all that she's done (the sex instructor, the dragon eggs, et cetera). When she has crossed the Dothraki Sea and the Red Waste, he wastes no time in finding her, and sending out Barristan the Bold to her (I'm not sure on the size of Essos, but I think that information network just put Varys to shame). I could go on, but these are the really major things.

[King Stannis I]

Me

[SerFelixCulpa]

The Robert answer is a good one, though I was thinking more along the lines of the events actually taking place during the books.  Robert, by the start of AGoT, is not really causing anything to happen, he's reacting and/or not doing much of anything.

Varys is a good one as well, though the exact extent of his machinations are (to me) somewhat more mysterious than Littlefinger.  I think we know enough to know LF is playing his own game rather than a certain faction's.

Stannis is a contender even beyond Littlefinger, good call on that one.

Tywin's right up there, no question.  It may be a problem that he's dead after three books (some people may surpass him before the end), but right now he easily belong in the top five.

I feel unable to consider Howland Reed until we know a bit more about him, what precisely he knows, what he's doing, and how he lets everyone know.

My provisional top five:

1) LF
2) Tywin (for now)
3-4) Varys and Stannis (I peg them about the same)
5) Olenna Tyrell (I think she's the brains entire behind House Tyrell...I sort of count Margaery along with her)

Dark Horse Candidate: Hot Pie  (just kidding)

[apt54]

Petyr, Melisandre and Varys certainly compete for the first place as the most important NON-POV characters.
After them Tywin, Robb, Queen of Thornes and Stannis.

Oh and don't forget Shagga son of Dolf, the prince that was promised, azhor-azhai reborn, and in nearest future: first of his name, king of andals and the first men, lord of the universe and protector of the goats.

[SerFelixCulpa]

apt54, on 16 June 2011 - 02:19 PM, said:

Petyr, Melisandre and Varys certainly compete for the first place as the most important NON-POV characters.
After them Tywin, Robb, Queen of Thornes and Stannis.

Oh and don't forget Shagga son of Dolf, the prince that was promised, azhor-azhai reborn, and in nearest future: first of his name, king of andals and the first men, lord of the universe and protector of the goats.

I have to technically disqualify Melisandre because we will apparently be seeing her POV in the very near future, otherwise we would have a top 5 contender no question.

A couple of related questions then: (1) do you think GRRM is having/had a lot of trouble with speed precisely because it gets so hard to write without a lot of very important POVs?

(2) Who'd like to offer a definition of 'important' for our purposes?  I'll start, "Character with the most intentional sway over the affairs of Westeros/Essos, regardless of whether the person is perceived as important (though that can be considered)."