''Balon was mad, Aeron is madder, and Euron is the maddest of them all''.

[oursisthefury69]

op didn't respond to the op?

[northwesterner]

I wonder how significant it is that Victarion is the only one of the Greyjoy brothers not considered mad. Like Aeron, he has murderous religious fervor (sacrificing innocents to his bloodthirsty god.) Like Balon, he has huge ambitions that haven't been thought through (marrying Dany for himself.) Why was he alone left out of the madness quote?

I know, however Victarion is madder than Euron

[mankytoes]

I wouldn't call any of them truly "mad". Balon was a total moron, Aeron is just a religious extremist and Euron is a psychopath.

[complexphoenix]

All the male Greyjoys seem to suffer from delusions of grandeur and harebrained schemes. Hilariously, they can all recognize this in each other but never, ever in themselves. You see it for the first time when Theon talks to Balon; Balon points out the flaws in Theon's plan, Theon points out the flaws in Balon's plan, neither is persuaded by the other but Balon wins by pulling rank. Asha is truly the Only Sane Greyjoy.

[Dagon]

Euron lives on the precipice of reality.

[Sansa_Stark]

I don't see why he couldn't win the independence of the isles if he played his cards right. He should have waited and attacked the Lannister-Tyrell alliance with by attacking the Reach imo.

[northwesterner]

Why is Northern independence considered ''romantic'' whereas Iron Islands struggle is considered foolish?

[Arthur Dayne's Honor]

Why is Northern independence considered ''romantic'' whereas Iron Islands struggle is considered foolish?

cuz with their independence the IB would begin to raid all of Westeros.

[northwesterner]

There is not a lot of love for the Greyjoys on these forums, however I am surprised that they are despised as much as the Lannisters.

[Sullen]

Why is Northern independence considered ''romantic'' whereas Iron Islands struggle is considered foolish?

I'm a huge fan of the Ironborn. but you have to realize that once they are independent they're going to be dependent on repeated attacks on the Seven Kingdoms.

The Iron Throne is not going to like that.

[sanzor]

I don't know why you people keep saying Euron is crazy.A man that travels so much has a totally different perspective regarding the world.He is seen as mad by the ones that stood in one place all their life,the ones that can't cope with change.He is exotic , but not mad ! I didn't see any sign of madness ,instead reading about him made me consider this particular person visionary,resourceful,a grand schemer and a person that will always have the last word.

[northwesterner]

I don't know why you people keep saying Euron is crazy.A man that travels so much has a totally different perspective regarding the world.He is seen as mad by the ones that stood in one place all their life,the ones that can't cope with change.He is exotic , but not mad ! I didn't see any sign of madness ,instead reading about him made me consider this particular person visionary,resourceful,a grand schemer and a person that will always have the last word.

This :agree:

[northwesterner]

Also, I believe the readers got the impression that ironborn aren't bright, so that is why they can't accept Euron

[Lady of Dragonstone]

How? Euron is a bright and brilliant but also a cunning man.

Do you consider Varys and Littlefinger mad? Because that is what Euron is, someone who is playing the system

Varys, no. Littlefinger, a bit.

I never said Euron was not cunning. I actually agree that he is. If he wasn't abusive towards his family, I'd call him evilly eccentric. But he raped one brother, kills another's wife not to mention the unspeakables, and then steals the Seastone Chair from Balon's heirs for his own gain. Instead of working with his kinfolks to strengthen the family he is actually working a campaign against them. For no reason but a few years' notoriety? He has no living heirs as far as we know, so what good would it be for him to make the Iron Islands a capable force if he knew it would go to hell with the next Greyjoy in line? (in his opinion)

Why is Northern independence considered ''romantic'' whereas Iron Islands struggle is considered foolish?

I can't speak for anyone else but I say it's because the North can sustain itself as its own country (before the Conquest, they did just that). The Ironborn's only significant means of sustainment as far as we can tell are reaving, thieving, and whoring... which are all deplorable. They might be able to negotiate or trade with the other territories and lords IF they could stop stealing their women and belongings, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon with Euron or Victarion controlling the Iron Islands.

[Lady Kelsey]

Pretty sure Euron is barking. Just a different sort. Hes not super dipshit nuts like his brothers, but hes got the cray up in here with his Shade of the Evening antics and just plain being kinda out there. He seems to be smarter than his brothers though.

Laughed; I agree

[Fat Mac]

Their madness is not in the normal sense it seems.

Balon- Bitter and revenge-driven to a major level. Possibly an extremist. He only wants the Old Way for the Ironborn, when seemingly it had been abandoned on and off since Aegon's conquest.

Aeron- Religious fanatic. Very narrow minded to an extremist level. Mad in the same way King Baelor was mad.

Euron- Likely he has mental problems. He's a compulsive liar, sadist, and possible child molester. I think there's something biologically wrong with his brain.

[Darkbringer]

I don't know why you people keep saying Euron is crazy.A man that travels so much has a totally different perspective regarding the world.He is seen as mad by the ones that stood in one place all their life,the ones that can't cope with change.He is exotic , but not mad ! I didn't see any sign of madness ,instead reading about him made me consider this particular person visionary,resourceful,a grand schemer and a person that will always have the last word.

He's not crazy as in delusional or schizophrenic. He's crazy as in a totally remorseless manipulative psychopath with a sadistic abusive past.

[Stan the Man Baratheon]

Their madness is not in the normal sense it seems.

Balon- Bitter and revenge-driven to a major level. Possibly an extremist. He only wants the Old Way for the Ironborn, when seemingly it had been abandoned on and off since Aegon's conquest.

Aeron- Religious fanatic. Very narrow minded to an extremist level. Mad in the same way King Baelor was mad.

Euron- Likely he has mental problems. He's a compulsive liar, sadist, and possible child molester. I think there's something biologically wrong with his bra

Hmm well Quellon Greyjoy would be proud wouldn't he?

[Nucky Thompson]

All the male Greyjoys seem to suffer from delusions of grandeur and harebrained schemes. Hilariously, they can all recognize this in each other but never, ever in themselves. You see it for the first time when Theon talks to Balon; Balon points out the flaws in Theon's plan, Theon points out the flaws in Balon's plan, neither is persuaded by the other but Balon wins by pulling rank. Asha is truly the Only Sane Greyjoy.

Well, you could consider the fact that Balon's wife has truly gone mad and had to be locked away in a tower. In comparison, Balon was able to keep his shit together and actually launch an invasion of another kingdom. It's not like he lost his marbles, he just had a changed and "all-in" type of attitude. Clearly, his actions are absolutely in line with the philosophy of his region, he doesn't once step outside Ironborn norms. I can't really see why is Balon called crazy, when he acted in perfect accordance with his doctrine, even if it disagreed with reader expectations (as was the case with his issues with Theon). With Aeron, it is different, the guy is totally crazy, albeit excusing himself with religious reasons. Euron has an even more of an "all-in" personality - basically the same doctrine as Balon, but with more agressive tactics and higher, more ambitious goals. It is true, he has his quirks, but they don't seem to be the defining part of his character.

What is more interesting here, is how GRRM continues the story once a main character who was the driving force behind a particular storyline is killed off for shits and giggles: once Ned is beheaded, the North is lacking a strong, middle-aged leader who can command respect. Then Roose comes under the limelight. Balon, the unrepenting Ironborn mastermind, falls from a bridge - no problem, Euron shows up to up the ante even further (no real sense in backing down - the North is already pissed off, it is either complete victory, or complete annihilation, so why not piss off the second biggest region of the realm). The same can be seen with Robert's demise - although there was a slight variation in terms of Renly there, but Melisandre saw to that. The same trope is actually evident in Renly's demise in terms of Stannis "succeeding him" plot-wise (even more so with his bannermen conveniently "flocking" to Stannis). So, what is intriguing, is whether Doran would survive long enough to see his plans come to fruition, he doesn't have a ready replacement if you discount fAegon, and we have already seen that changing the player, changes the plan significantly.

[Minsc]

All the male Greyjoys seem to suffer from delusions of grandeur and harebrained schemes. Hilariously, they can all recognize this in each other but never, ever in themselves. You see it for the first time when Theon talks to Balon; Balon points out the flaws in Theon's plan, Theon points out the flaws in Balon's plan, neither is persuaded by the other but Balon wins by pulling rank. Asha is truly the Only Sane Greyjoy.

How is Asha any better seeing how she equally follows Balon's harebrain plan?