John Suburbs

I doubt he gave the rape command, if that's what you mean, but he had to know that Elia had to die if her children were going to die. Neither Clegane nor Lorch could very well leave her alive as a witness to their crimes, and it's inconceivable that she would not be with at least one of her children at a time like this. So while the rape was unnecessary, her death was vital.

It doesn't look like it's a right that can be denied. Lysa didn't deny it to Tyrion, even though she denied him his chosen champion, Jaime. Aegon IV didn't deny it to Naerys. In fact, no one has ever been denied this right as far as we can tell. If Robert tried to do this, it would seem as if he was afraid to put the charges in front of the gods, as if he knows they aren't true. And Robert isn't likely to kill Cersei in a rage. First, there is no proof, only an accusation, and words in a dusty old book. Only two of Ned's six children look like Starks, and one of them is a bastard. Plus, Jaime is there to protect her, and most of the household guard are Lannisters. This was why Cersei didn't kill Jon Arryn when he had the book, why she didn't kill Ned when he had the book, and why she didn't just destroy the book. She knows nothing short of a confession from either her or Jaime will place her in jeopardy.

Kind of an old thread to resurrect at this point, but . . . Cersei, not Robert, calls for a TBC. That's her right.

He is. And one of the reasons he is so capable is that he uses commoners to undermine the high and mighty -- people who they don't think are a threat.

Shae saw right through Varys' disguise -- almost like she knew it was one of his personas already. She also knew about the dwarf joust when Littlefinger was spending a lot of time and expense to keep them under wraps. And she is desperately trying to be at the purple wedding, once saying she specifically wanted to see doves fly out of a pie. Varys has plenty of little birds to be his eyes and ears; Petyr does not. Also, Bronn brought Shae into Littlefinger's orbit, just like he brought the Kettleblacks. And we know who they were working for . . .

I suspect Shae was one of Littlefinger's operatives, probably one of dozens of young women sent into the kingdom to get close to the high and mighty to winkle their secrets out through pillow talk. In this light, Shae was not hurt by Tyrion's actions, nor was she trapped. She used him until a bigger fish came along.

They "knew" in the sense that they were certain about it. It isn't that hard to see. But nobody is going to bring this to Robert without proof. All Cersei has to do is deny it, and that's the end of it -- and the accuser is left looking like a fool. Renly wanted Ned to take the crown and set himself up as regent. He can't do that if he also denies that Joffrey is the rightful king. So going that route leads to all sorts of issues in an already complicated and dangerous time.

I think pretty much everyone with half-a-brain in the capital knew. The only ones who didn't know seemed to be the less political, more military types, like Ned, Robert and Selmy. Subtlety is not their strong suits. And yes, if Olenna did not know about the Margery plot, then the whole scheme was the brainchild of a couple of lunkheads that was never going to happen anyway.

Tywin gets reports just like all the other commanders. He would know pretty quickly that Renly was dead, and then Storm's End had fallen. He knows Stannis wants to be king, and that means taking King's Landing. But he won't if he thinks Tywin is anywhere near. So the feints on the Red Fork made him think Tywin was hundreds of miles away bogged down in the Riverlands and that the way to KL was open.

Locked up somewhere, a guest of his loving father.

All the more reason to believe that none of this story is true and that Rhaegar had nothing at all to do with Lyanna's disappearance. Nobody, least of all his enemies, would remember Rhaegar in such a good light if he really did do this.

I never said every battle. But he would not so nonchalantly brush these wounds off if he'd never experienced anything even close before. He knows what pain and discomfort is, and this poultice is pushing it to an extreme -- otherwise he would have ignored it. Even ammonia on a wound stings at first, but then subsides. This was getting worse and worse -- aggravating the wound, not healing it.

Yes, he got swayed by a pretty face in the end, and paid the price for it. But he failed to recognize the obvious when this choice was presented to him: he did not screw up. He did exactly as he was commanded to do: defend Riverrun and protect Robb's rear. Robb and the Blackfish are lying about all of this to gaslight Ed into taking the fall for Robb's mistake with Jeyne. There was no plan to lure Tywin into the west. That's absurd. Edmure did not prevent Tywin from doing that because Tywin was never going to cross the red fork anyway. Those skirmishes were just feints to goad Stannis into attacking King's Landing where Tywin could smash him unawares. A more observant lord would have seen all this, but Ed didn't.

Good guy but a bad leader. He couldn't even see how he was gaslit into marrying Roslyn.

He was perfectly fit to fight with an arrow through his arm and his nipple cut off. Just like Jaime and Qorin Half-Hand can still fight with only one hand, Dagmar Cleftjaw can fight with his face cut in half. These are tough, hard men who don't pout over a little itching and burning.

His hair was uncut because he'd never been defeated in battle, not that he'd never taken a wound. The sheer number of bells he wears is testament to the battles he has fought, and he is a fearsome warlord who isn't likely to lead from the rear. So this, plus his nonchalance over these wounds, strongly suggests that he has taken wounds before, serious ones. This itching and burning had to have been worse than anything else he's experienced to rip the poultice away.

Sure, but how likely is it that this is the first wound Drogo has ever taken? And would he be so nonchalant about it if it was? He would have known plenty of itching and burning already. The poultice was way beyond that, or he would have ignored it.

Poisoned? Probably not. That would be too obvious. But she likely treated him with stuff that she knew would not stop the infection, and would itch and burn so bad that Drogo would rip it off making it look like he was responsible for what happened.

Dany put her Dothraki on ships. There's no reason Drogo or one of his bloodriders couldn't do the same, especially if they are skipping across the Stepstones. Viserys is expecting 10,000 screamers, which would imply 10,000 horses as well, but they might not need to import them from Essos. Most likely this army will be the dregs of Drogo's khalasar. They'll go if ordered to. The only alternative is death. -- Renly's men were anticipating rich rewards once they cakewalked their way into King's Landing. Viserys could likewise lure his horde across the poison water with tales of the riches of Westeros ripe for the taking. Illyrio has plenty of gold and ships to bring them across. He managed the Golden Company and their elephants, despite the storms. Infighting will only occur if the chain of command breaks down. If a strong Dothraki leader is in charge, this won't happen. But even if it does, so what? Two or three hordes is as good as one for this particular plan. They don't have to worry about naval warfare. The Dothraki fight on land, not sea. Of course the Westerosi aren't going to help Viserys. He is invading their lands, burning their homes, slaughtering their people. That's the plan. The Dothraki have taken fortified cities before: Sarnor, Qaath. They might shun Westerosi castles, but again, so what? Their purpose is to terrorize the countryside, not put Viserys on the throne. Nobody has dragons, so this is not a concern.

There's all kinds of wiggle room here. Is the man who dishonored her at Harrenhal the Stark that Selmy mentions a moment later? Or did she turn to Stark after being dishonored by another? Is the Stark necessarily Ned or Brandon? There was a third Stark there too, and his whereabouts are unaccounted for after the tourney. Heck, there was a fourth Stark as well, if we want to get really weird. Does Selmy know the reason Ashara killed herself? He wasn't there, so this is just what he's been told. But by whom? Is she really even dead? Was she ever really pregnant? And since Ashara's death is bound up in the RLJ cover-up, there is every reason to believe that Selmy does not know the real truth.

Sure, I'm just saying that it's not the truth that will put fAegon on the throne, it's the throne that will determine the truth about fAegon. Power resides where men think it does, no more, no less.

The game of thrones is realpolitik. Targaryens/Blackfyres are not the only people who can wield magic, and it only takes a drop of either blood to put them on a dragon.

It doesn't matter who or what he is. If he wins the crown and manages to keep it, he is Aegon VI, lawful son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Princess Elia of Dorne. If he doesn't, he was just another pretender.

Well of course you don't hear about any of this. It's not like Illyrio is going to trumpet the plan all over the known world. There are plenty of signs that the iron bank is in a bad way. No, the people in Braavos would not be talking about it because they do not know. How could they? They will only start to realize it after Stannis is dead and it becomes clear that this time, the iron bank will not get its due.

His overarching plan is to help Illyrio crash the iron bank so they can set themselves up as the dominant traders on the Narrow Sea. So in that regard, he was trying to ramp up the tension between wolf and lion at first, but when the unexpected happened at the inn and the banners were being called, he had to pivot: talking the small council out of sending a faceless man after Dany and getting Robert to make a public proclamation for her death to spur Drogo into invading Westeros sooner rather than later -- exactly what Illyrio needed to happen. So no, he doesn't do things at random. He doesn't just kill random people, particularly kings, just to confuse his enemies. Everything is bent toward a specific goal.