The Drowned King and the Faceless Crow - Complete analysis

[Arland]

How about a possibility that Euron is not a real Euron at all but Faceless impersonator playing some sinister FM game here. They have their man with maestors, may be they are ploting someting too with Iron Born. After all it is rather weird that Euron have decided to switch Ironborn attack towards south , he may as well will try to take Oldtown.

[Dragon greyscale]

OP, i love these thorough analyses! You also have a knack for picking the stuff i am most interested in that i find viable as well.

I don't think we need to know more about balon's death. The hints are clear but not too clear. More importantly, i don't see the need, narratively speaking, to make Euron's complicity more explicit. Balon died and Euron grabbed his chance. It's just like sandor's fate: clear but not

too clear, yet there is no need to elaborate on his story. It's the ambiguity and uncertainty that make these books great and drives us to the boards.

I have a differnt take on alleras/sarella: that story has only just begun in my opinion.

Sorry, bit off topic.... but to sum up: great posts!:)

[The Mother of The Others]

After the 'complete analysis' has been completed on every character, is the website going to be shut down?

Good points.

I wonder why the crow is drowned and has seaweed on it's wings. Is it foreshadowing or what?

That clues you in to how the vision relates to the Iron Islands. There may be no deeper significance to it than that. That way, when you hear bad news about Greyjoy, the specifics of his death may jog your memory about the vision. If there was no seaweed on the bird, people wouldn't make the connection and it'd be a wasted prophecy. Why don't we eat seaweed? It must be wretched or something, or else by now it would have become a trendy salad choice.

[Cosmic Maintenance Man]

OP, i love these thorough analyses! You also have a knack for picking the stuff i am most interested in that i find viable as well.

I don't think we need to know more about balon's death. The hints are clear but not too clear. More importantly, i don't see the need, narratively speaking, to make Euron's complicity more explicit. Balon died and Euron grabbed his chance. It's just like sandor's fate: clear but not

too clear, yet there is no need to elaborate on his story. It's the ambiguity and uncertainty that make these books great and drives us to the boards.

I have a differnt take on alleras/sarella: that story has only just begun in my opinion.

Sorry, bit off topic.... but to sum up: great posts! :)

Thanks, glad you like them! I completely agree that GRRM doesn't need to go in too much detail regarding these topics. It keeps things more interesting that way.

[dark sister]

The only thing I disagree with is the wealth allowing him to hire a faceless man. The FM seem to charge a high price, but it is not specifically gold. The first gift they provided was to kill a slave owner for the slave. The slave had nothing but his own life to give, so that was the cost.

What did Euron have to give that was most important to him? That would have been the cost.

I think it's a little mixed up here. Acolytes who are TRAINING to become Faceless Men have to give up the things most important to them -- like the way Arya gave up all her gifts, and the "kindly man" told her that would take her eyes, ears, privates, etc. etc. For a Faceless Man to do the killing he just has to not know the person victim personally. Remember when some of the FM were meeting and two of them were like "I know that man" and the third said "I do not know this man" and so they were able to proceed?

However if someone had to give up a personal sacrifice, as well, it would be interesting if Euron sacrificed the eye he always hides under that patch.

How about a possibility that Euron is not a real Euron at all but Faceless impersonator playing some sinister FM game here. They have their man with maestors, may be they are ploting someting too with Iron Born. After all it is rather weird that Euron have decided to switch Ironborn attack towards south , he may as well will try to take Oldtown.

Eh...no. I doubt it.

[Candor]

Thanks alot for this analysis! The only thing still perplexing me is why he is called as the drowned crow? Maby cause he drowned that lord when he returned? Or maby drowned crow as in "drowned god" as in being ironborn...or may its foreshadowing as others suggest...

Euron has always struck me as being the most well-written ironborn(except reek) despite having no POV and very little screen time...

Vic is cool but damp hair needs to die fast..

Maybe on his travels Euron drowned, and he like Patchface knows what's under the sea, oh, oh...

[Candor]

I think it's a little mixed up here. Acolytes who are TRAINING to become Faceless Men have to give up the things most important to them -- like the way Arya gave up all her gifts, and the "kindly man" told her that would take her eyes, ears, privates, etc. etc. For a Faceless Man to do the killing he just has to not know the person victim personally. Remember when some of the FM were meeting and two of them were like "I know that man" and the third said "I do not know this man" and so they were able to proceed?

However if someone had to give up a personal sacrifice, as well, it would be interesting if Euron sacrificed the eye he always hides under that patch.at

Eh...no. I doubt it.

Theon Spoiler Chapter tells us:

Euron has a black eye under the patch, which apparently gleams with malice.

[The Sunset King]

In AFFC Damphair is also aware that Euron has two eyes and that the left one is apparently somehow not normal.

[dark sister]

Theon Spoiler Chapter tells us:

Euron has a black eye under the patch, which apparently gleams with malice.

I know, I read the chapter. But Theon hasn't seen Euron in a loooooooong time. Events may have changed since he was there. But my point is that I don't think one has to sacrifice ANYTHING to hire a faceless man.

[SweetRobin4Life]

Euron had to show up almost immediatly after Balon's death or else he wouldn't be bale to claim the seastone thrown. Otherwise Victareon would've become the Iron King and probably had Euron killed the moment his ship sailed into Pyke.

[SweetRobin4Life]

able* ^^

[The GRRumbler]

Euron had to show up almost immediatly after Balon's death or else he wouldn't be bale to claim the seastone thrown. Otherwise Victareon would've become the Iron King and probably had Euron killed the moment his ship sailed into Pyke.

Pretty much this. Euron just couldn't delay it and had to take the risk.

[thetitansbastard]

Pretty much this. Euron just couldn't delay it and had to take the risk.

I think Euron wants people to think that he's the murderer as long as they can't prove it

[Im no Ser]

I think it's a little mixed up here. Acolytes who are TRAINING to become Faceless Men have to give up the things most important to them -- like the way Arya gave up all her gifts, and the "kindly man" told her that would take her eyes, ears, privates, etc. etc. For a Faceless Man to do the killing he just has to not know the person victim personally. Remember when some of the FM were meeting and two of them were like "I know that man" and the third said "I do not know this man" and so they were able to proceed?

However if someone had to give up a personal sacrifice, as well, it would be interesting if Euron sacrificed the eye he always hides under that patch.

The only FM contract we actually know details about is the waif's father, who gives the FM's 3/4 of his wealth and his daughter, and the first FM who killed slaves who prayed for death (i.e., paid with their own lives). We've never seen an FM contract that was just money. Admittedly it is a limited sample size, but a significant sacrifice to show you really want the target dead fits the FM's apparent philosophy and origins.

[FanTasy]

The only FM contract we actually know details about is the waif's father, who gives the FM's 3/4 of his wealth and his daughter, and the first FM who killed slaves who prayed for death (i.e., paid with their own lives). We've never seen an FM contract that was just money. Admittedly it is a limited sample size, but a significant sacrifice to show you really want the target dead fits the FM's apparent philosophy and origins.

There is additional information about the price of a contract with the Faceless Men, given by Littlefinger in AGOT.

He tells Pycelle that he won't dare think about the costs of hiring the Faceless Men for killing a princess, the pregnant Dany, as Pycelle suggests. Littlefinger refers to the costs of killing "a merchant": "You could hire an army of common sellswords for half the price." AGOT, Eddard VIII

[dark sister]

The only FM contract we actually know details about is the waif's father, who gives the FM's 3/4 of his wealth and his daughter, and the first FM who killed slaves who prayed for death (i.e., paid with their own lives). We've never seen an FM contract that was just money. Admittedly it is a limited sample size, but a significant sacrifice to show you really want the target dead fits the FM's apparent philosophy and origins.

Hrm, okay. I can't think of what Euron would sacrifice, tho...he seems to care about nothing. That's why the only thing I can think of is maybe one of his eyes? Sort of like how

Mat had to sacrifice an eye in the Wheel of Time series.

[Dementia]

But that's the thing, if he really did plan the assassination, a coup wasn't necessary at all, wasn't he the lawful heir to the Throne ?

The lawful heir would be Theon, as the oldest surviving son of Balon. Euron would be next in line, since he's the oldest brother.

[SweetRobin4Life]

What did Euron pay the FM with then? The waif's father paid with a daughter and most of his wealth but Euron shows up in Pyke with a massive longship full of plunder, including ridiculously rare and valuable things like the dragon horn and thewarlock drink. What did he have that was worth more than all that?

[Ojji]

The only thing I disagree with is the wealth allowing him to hire a faceless man. The FM seem to charge a high price, but it is not specifically gold. The first gift they provided was to kill a slave owner for the slave. The slave had nothing but his own life to give, so that was the cost.

What did Euron have to give that was most important to him? That would have been the cost.

If a slave who has no wealth whatsoever can hire a FM, I dont see Euron having any problems..

And the price that Euron paid is still unclear

[The Shadowbinder]

Maybe Euron sacrificed some of his own sons for the FM, he doesn't seem to think to much of them...IIRC he compares their worth to his own feces.

Nice anaylsis!

And hey I got an theory about why the crow is drowned and covered in seaweed...

Maybe it's as simple as if GRRM had just said "a crow perched on the man without a face" we would be left wondering if it represented the three eyed crow, or a black brother, or maybe a messenger raven...? But GRRM was nice enough to give the crow seaweed and drown him so that'd we'd know he's an iron born crow - and most like The Crow's Eye.