John Suburbs

Maybe, but at the same time Cat says the wedding chamber and her own rooms were nicely appointed. Not lavish, but nice. So whether it was meant to spite Robb or to save money is unclear. All that is known is that it is not a sign of anny great wealth by the Freys.

Not always, but in this case she did. Everyone recognizes her as Joffrey's regent. Who knows who told whom about what? Cersei may very well have told him. It's not the kind of thing you would keep from the man who controls your destiny. And no, you don't have a hard stop because you are asserting that Tyrion came up with the explosion plan, which you have utterly failed to do. The hard stop is mine because my contention is confirmed: we don't know where this idea came from. Hard stop.

Jaeharys I was King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm. And lords or kings, it makes no difference. Mothers can become regents for their sons. Tywin wasn't with the Tyrells when the negotiations were taking place. Littlefinger did that, on Tyrion's orders with Cersei's approval. There are things called horses and ravens that allow people to exert their power and control over great distances, as Tywin does with Tyrion, and Tyrion/Cersei do with Littlefinger. If Tywin did not want Cersei to be regent, she would not be regent. Hard stop.

Again, though, if he has all this money, where is the evidence of it? His halls are grim and colorless, none of the ornamentation of opulence once would expect from a man, even a commoner, of great wealth. Aside from a few exceptions their clothes and armor are meager. Even his maester is shabby and covered in bird shit. The food at the wedding feast was "poor fare to set before a king." The only thing we have that points to the Frey's great wealth is words. And haven't you heard? Words are wind.

Precedent states it: Queen Sharra Arryn was regent for her son, Ronnel Queen Alyssa Velaryon was regent for her son, Jaehaerys Lord Lyonel Tyrell's mother served as his regent until he came of age Lysa Arryn was Sweetrobin's regent Catelyn Stark was Robb's regent In these kinds of hopeless patriarchal societies, this is one of the few ways women can exercise political power -- through their sons. And the fact the Cersei declares herself regent and no one, not even Tywin, overrules this means that she is, in fact, regent. I don't believe Cersei was the one behind the plan. As I made perfectly clear, I suspect it was Tywin. What we do know is that Tyrion never mentions it or even thinks of it before it happened, while he does comment frequently about his firepot plan. So there is even less evidence to suggest this was Tyrion's idea than Cersei's. But again, I think it was neither.

Actually, it was 7.5 gold for Sweetfoot: 3 gold dragons and the rest in silver, so sure, the exchange rates may vary, depending on the silver content of the coin. But my math was wrong in any event. Roose wouldn't have 425 coins, but 4,250. But even then, that's only equivalent to 42 horses at one gold apiece, and assuming a 1:100 ratio, which is still a pitiful dowry for the daughter of a fabulously wealthy house. And in the end the same ethos applies: merchants deal in silver, lords deal in gold.

No it wouldn't. Masters at arms don't teach about the strategies behind wildfire. They teach combat -- swords, lances, hammers and other weapons of noble, honorable knighthood. Cersei did not name herself regent. That's what she is, by right of her being the king's mother. Tyrion was sent to KL to end the follies of her rule, not to depose her. She is still regent, aka acting king, and remained so right up until the faith arrested her. So technically, Tyrion is her servant, not the other way around -- although there is plenty of wiggle room within this hierarchy. And since there are plenty of references to Tyrion's clay pot strategy for the wildfire and none whatsoever to the hulk on the river (until after he sees it, of course), the logical conclusion is that it was someone else's plan, not his. My guess is if that anyone could come up with a scheme like that, it would be Tywin.

Yes, very wealthy, but not on par with other top-tier bannermen like Walder pretends. Again, he's wealthy in land, not so much in coin -- for the very reason he says: he has a huge family to feed, clothe, house and arm.

Easier to control? He's a snotty, petulant little brat who throws the contents of his chamber pot at you if he doesn't want to do what he's told. Harry owes LF everything, especially if he lands Sansa Stark, who will likely come with a nice fat dowry, just like the Grafton's new bride. Sweetrobin is only necessary at this point because LF needs him to control the LDs. Once that problem is resolved, he can go -- and no one would know that his untimely death is unusual in the slightest (although some might suspect but cannot prove).

Lol, Illyrio? The biggest BSer in the story? He knows perfectly well that war is a great time to enrich oneself, especially if you control a strategic point that military leaders must use if they hope to prevail against their enemies. And in peace, like we've noted, the bulk of trade is following the kingsroad, with the rest more likely to take the faster route downriver. So any trade crossing at the Twins is local at best. If they are making any significant money on trade at all, it's from patrolling the river, not blocking the bridge. King Argilac offered his daughter to Aegon I, and all the lands east of the God's Eye. Would you say that is worth more than a few hundred silvers? And look at it this way, 1000 ounces of silver weighs about 70 pounds. If Fat Walda is 300 pounds, that's about 425 coins -- assuming that the coins are one ounce each of pure silver. In the Hedge Knight, some 80 years prior to the current story, Ser Duncan sold his horse for 3.5 gold. He got three gold coins and 50 silver, which means one gold is equal to 100 silvers. In the current story, both Brienne and Tom o Seven think that one gold is a fair price for a horse. So at best, Walder is giving Roose the equivalent of 4, maybe 5 horses for his daughter. Imagine any lord paramount selling off a daughter this cheap, or even top-tier bannerman like a Reyne or a Hightower. This is a measly dowry by lordly standards, any way you look at it.

Cersei is Queen Regent. She is the ruling sovereign until Joffrey comes of age. She outranks Tyrion. Tyrion was never trained for this stuff either. He just reads a lot.

Yes, 600 years ago, the crossing made them rich. That was when constant warfare between mud kings and marsh kings and river kings, along with constant invasions from north, Vale, storm and other kings, produced a steady stream of armies needing to cross the river at that point in a hurry. Likewise, there was no road diverting trade past the Twins until the Targeryen's built one. Since the Conquest 300 years ago, however, the only armies to have crossed there were Ned's (maybe) and Robb's. And there is very little reason to have to move trade from one side of the river to the other when you can just float it downstream to Saltpans or Maidenpool. In fact, there wasn't much reason to do this before the kingsroad either. So yes, Walder has a big family, with not just knights but many ladies as well, which means fine lace and fabrics, jewelry and the like. But aside from a few exceptions, we see no signs of this great wealth -- not by the look of his halls, the clothes of his family, the armor of his knights, nor the measly dowry he offers for his daughters. To be sure, he has a lot of land that bring in substantial income, but he has lots of expenses too, which is why he is so eager to marry off his children. So my conclusion is that he may be land-rich, but he's cash-poor.

Hard to say. Tywin credits Cersei for kickstarting the wildfire production, but he doesn't say anything about the barge. Tyrion seems to have known that the barge was necessary at the time of the explosion, along with the mutual destruction of both fleets, but whether he is just making a judgement in the moment or it was planned is unclear. Would the planning for the battle fall to the Hand, or the regent? Or both?

Lol, he's a gardener all right. Yes, many veggies have special needs, and nnot just acidity. There are veggies that thrive in the types of soils found in temperate climes vs tropical ones. So a greenhouse at the wall might serve for carrots, beets, neeps, onions, etc., but not okra, eggplant, mustard . . . So in the same vein, things like lemons, peaches, pomegranates and the like are probably out, but apples, pears and blackberries are probably in.

Lemon trees need more than just warmth and sunlight. They need the proper soil, drainage, Ph, and other stuff. So vegetables, yes; citrus fruits? Probably not.

You need more than just a warm climate to grow lemons. You need the right kind of soil (more salty and loamy, less acidic), proper amounts of sunlight, proper humidity, drainage . . . So just having a greenhouse is only part of the equation.

It's probably a combination of both. They leveraged the wealth that the crossing used to bring them to buy land, and that still brings them significant revenue today, I would think. But their expenses are high, with such a big family.

I don't see any evidence of that. If they are, they don't flaunt it. Rich lords decorate their halls and wear the finest clothes, and they deal in gold, not silver.

True about the wildlings, but he didn't do much commanding at the battle until the sortie. And even then, he was caught off-guard. He started at the Mud Gate along the river, since that was the most obvious, and had to scramble when the main assault came across the tourney grounds to the King's Gate. And it seems that he did know about the wildfire barge before it happened, but it's hard to say whether that was his idea or not. Tywin gives the credit to Cersei for kickstarting the wildfire production, but not the barge. So that's why I give him a 5.5.

Tywin gives Cersei credit for ramping up the wildfire production, not for the barge idea. It's not that the chain prevented a retreat downriver, but all the way back to the bay. If that were to happen, then Tyrion would have won the battle, because Stannis, or at least his army, would have fled. And since Tyrion didn't know about the wildfire barge (apparently), he had no reason to suspect any of it would be on fire, and this would have made it even easier for Stannis' men to cross and maintain the assault on the city.

He stepped up when the time came, but the only thing he commanded was a sortie. And I don't think it's entirely clear that the wildfire explosion was Tyrion's idea. It may have come from Cersei's (which might have originated with Tywin?). Tyrion did organize the more conventional measure to launch it on the enemy with clay pots. And even his chain provided the means for the enemy to cross the river, which the wildfire had effectively blocked. And then after snarking at men in armor crossing the water on wet slippery decks, Tyrion, in is own armor, does the exact same thing, and almost dies. So I would give Tyrion a 5.5 for command skills. Maybe higher for bravery, and perhaps a 3 for intelligence.

It's one of the reason I suspect that the Freys are not as wealthy as they pretend to be. Their halls certainly don't display significant wealth, neither do their clothes. And yes, silver is the coin or merchants and tradesmen. Nobles, especially ones who aspire to become lords paramount, deal in gold.

I doubt there was a whole lot of traffic between north and south, even after the Conquest -- at least via the neck. It would be much faster and easier to go by sea out of White Harbor. The Neck was the main reason the north was able to maintain its autonomy while the south was dealing with the Andals. The Freys made most of their money from the riverlands, not just with trade but the constant warfare that was going on, even after the Harrens took over. All that would have ground to a near-halt after the Conquest. The need to cross at that part of the river pretty much evaporated, and whatever trade made its way that far north on the new road bypassed the Twins altogether. This is why I suspect the Freys are not as wealthy as they pretend to be. Their halls are meager, their clothing is shabby, and a truly wealthy vassal like the Reynes and Hightowers would offer gold for their brides, not silver -- especially if they aspired to marry into a house paramount.

There are good and evil acts in the story, but there are no good or evil people. Everybody is grey. Martin has been 100 percent clear on this. See the quotes I posted above.

That's what he says: and There are others out there, but the theme is always the same: the evil Dark Lord and his evil minions are a worn out trope in fantasy literature, and he is not doing that in AsioaF. There may be some kind of conflict between humans and Others, but it won't be the final battle to decide the fate of the world. Yes, the westerners would be pissed at anyone who disrupted their lives. But in the story, it was Robb who did this, not Tywin. So while Robb's family and friends and subjects might think he is the purest of the pure good, the westerners most definitely do not. That is my only point. No one is pure, and Martin has said this over and over again. Sorry, but this is not in abstract. This is the driving philosophy behind Martin's vision. Here: And on and on and on, over and over again. He could not be more clear on this point. Nobody is pure good or pure evil. Nobody.