King Robert Baratheon, an underrated king?

[Jasta11]

The Realm was better off under Aerys.

If you liked burning to death, I suppose.

[The Fresh PtwP]

IMO he was a good leader, but a ruler... not so much.

This! I would follow Bobert into any battle but a throneroom isn't a battlefield...most of the time.

Edit: ignored some of the question in OP. Yes Robert is and underrated king. Him being a generally good person gives hin a leg up on about 40% of The Targs.

[Qhorin Halfhand and Yoren]

While Robert had important flaws, looking at the fate of the others who tried to rule Kings Landing either as King, Hand, or Regent, I do think the existence of many backstabbers was more ruinous than Robert's actions alone. One might blame Robert for not properly handling the backstabers but several others also didn't.

Jon Arryn, Robert, Ned, Tyrion, Joffrey, Tywin, Cersei, Kevan Lannister, Pycelle. It seems competent or not, Kings Landing gets you and that iron throne made of swords stabs you in the end.

Considering the instability they can cause so consistently even with different rulers, I would blame the backstabbers more than the king. In Robert's case it is mostly Cersei, Littlefinger and Varys.

[The Santa of House Claus]

While Robert had important flaws, looking at the fate of the others who tried to rule Kings Landing either as King, Hand, or Regent, I do think the existence of many backstabbers was more ruinous than Robert's actions alone. One might blame Robert for not properly handling the backstabers but several others also didn't.

Jon Arryn, Robert, Ned, Tyrion, Joffrey, Tywin, Cersei, Kevan Lannister, Pycelle. It seems competent or not, Kings Landing gets you and that iron throne made of swords stabs you in the end.

Agreed, Kings Landing, like Washington DC, corrupts all, and draws the corrupt. KL was not some place of chocolate river and rainbows before he became king.

[Señor de la Tormenta]

The 200 royal fleet seams to be an accomplish of his rule. Its really the first time we have some kind of royal navy since westeros is an united kingdom. As I recall with Dagon, or Aerys, Targaryens ever had one that big at their dispossal.

It was like one of the biggest steps ever done to make royal power stronger, and it might explain some of the debt.

The plan to wed the Stark girl to Joff, which is his own since Arryn is dead is also a smart move to make his dinasty stronger. In a normal course of events, his granson would have Tullies, Starks, Baratheon and Lannister bonds. A strong position that requires a vision incest Targaryens ever had.

He was a strong warrior, and he gave his two brothers huge amounts of power to relay on. 6000k bannermen swords and 200 warships for Stannis, and the 30k Storm Landers to Renly. He wanted his kid married to the daughter of the Lord of Winterfell...a kid who might be the heir of Casterly Rock on his own right.

He put the Greyjoys in check, and piss the Tyrells giving Stannis some influence in the reach. I guess marrying him to ynys Yronwood would have been the smarter move ever.

[GallantGambler]

Probably because I saw the show before I read the books, but Robert's one of my favorite characters. I used to wonder what it was that made him such a hated character on these boards, but after reading AGOT and AFFC specifically, you see that the only two POV characters that actually knew Robert at all were A) pissed off at him the whole time, and B) absolutely despised to the point of murder. It's easy to see Robert in a negative light when his best friend is angry at him up until he sees him on his deathbed, or when his wife, in the most hypocritical fashion, decided she hated from the night of their wedding onto the day she killed him.

We see what the results of poor economics can bring unto the small folk, in other parts of the world and even America these past few years. Bankrupting the realm is really inexcusable. Robert choosing to abscond from the responsibilities of being king and all that came with it are inexcusable. However, Robert was more than less a good person. The fact that he was able to turn enemies into friends is about the best quality a king can have.

Perhaps he should've gone Rains of Castemere on the Greyjoys but that wasn't his style. Balon Greyjoy is clearly an imbecile of the highest order, I don't blame Robert for that. While installing his own SC would've been a better move, look at who his SC appeared to be. Jon Arryn placed Little Finger on the SC because of Lysa crowing in his ear. I'll never blame Robert for trusting Jon's judgment. Varys, shady and slimy as he may appear, is damn good at his job, won't blame Robert for keeping him around.

Robert maintained peace throughout his reign. While he definitely should've been more active towards maintaining that peace, how was he supposed to know that Cat was gonna run off with Tyrion? Ned kept his mouth shut about EVERYTHING. Everyone in the kingdoms knew how Tywin, Jaime, and Cersei were gonna take that, and Tywin went severely overboard by burning the Riverlands to the ground. And then Robert is murdered. I don't blame the Robert for TWOT5K. The only person that's clearly more at fault than Lysa and Petyr is Ned himself.

Even though he was ultimately wrong, if Ned had told Robert that the Lannisters might have had something to do with Jon Arryn's death, Robert would've heard him out. Isn't that what Cersei's so damn afraid of in AGOT? That Robert would listen to Ned over her? For some reason or the other Ned decided he wanted to be Sherlock Holmes and solve the mystery when the dude very clearly had no idea what the hell was going on around him or who he was truly up against.

By no means was Robert the best king but no calls him the Mad King or anything like that at all.

[joffrey fan]

Nah he was a bad king.

He would've been good though, if he actually gave a damn and made effort.

[The Santa of House Claus]

Coming from a Joffrey fan, to be blunt, youre opinion does not count, lol. Just kidding...kinda :cheers:

[PrimeRhaegar]

Nah man he was a piece of shit king everyone including called him a drunken sot basically, because he was. Seriously his master of ships tells him about his city watch being corrupt and tells him who and what does he say? Lets leave him because they other one might be worse seriously you call that an underrated king. Nah man he was awful

[Boarsbane]

Nah man he was a piece of shit king everyone including called him a drunken sot basically, because he was. Seriously his master of ships tells him about his city watch being corrupt and tells him who and what does he say? Lets leave him because they other one might be worse seriously you call that an underrated king. Nah man he was awful

Shitty king but at least he did the realm a favor by killing Rhaegar, that guy would of been even more out of touch than Robert.

[JonCon's Red Beard]

Shitty king but at least he did the realm a favor by killing Rhaegar, that guy would of been even more out of touch than Robert.

We don't know that. Rhaegar wanted to make changes. For what we know, maybe he also thought his father was crazy and he didn't approve and wanted to do something about it.

[Boarsbane]

We don't know that. Rhaegar wanted to make changes. For what we know, maybe he also thought his father was crazy and he didn't approve and wanted to do something about it.

The entire realm knew his father was crazy. Rhaegar may have wanted to make changes but he didn't, it had to come to war for changes to happen because Rhaegar wanted to play house in Dorne. The way Rhaegar handled the Lyanna situation showed he had no respect at all for his lords.

[The Wolves]

Shitty king but at least he did the realm a favor by killing Rhaegar, that guy would of been even more out of touch than Robert.

I don't get the constant comparison between Rhaegar and Robert there is no evidence that Rhaegar would have been a horrible King, him kidnapping/running off with Lyanna should have not been the result of a civil war, Robert gets blamed for that also.

Robert should have died also with Rhaegar on the Trident at least than Westeros would have never suffered the Baratheon/Lannister dynasty that has resulted in the worst war Westeros has ever seen and weakened it for ice zombies. Now the human race is in of threat of extinction thanks to Robert and his horrible dynasty.

At least Rhaegar was prepping years in the making for this war against the Others and At least under his rule Westeros would have had more than a 6% chance of winning.

[Twenty of House Goodmen]

At least Rhaegar was prepping years in the making for this war against the Others and At least under his rule Westeros would have had more than a 6% chance of winning.

So they would have an 8% chance of defeating the Others if Rhaegar was king?

[Boarsbane]

I don't get the constant comparison between Rhaegar and Robert there is no evidence that Rhaegar would have been a horrible King, him kidnapping/running off with Lyanna should have not been the result of a civil war, Robert gets blamed for that also.

Robert should have died also with Rhaegar on the Trident at least than Westeros would have never suffered the Baratheon/Lannister dynasty that has resulted in the worst war Westeros has ever seen and weakened it for ice zombies. Now the human race is in of threat of extinction thanks to Robert and his horrible dynasty.

At least Rhaegar was prepping years in the making for this war against the Others and At least under his rule Westeros would have had more than a 6% chance of winning.

How does Robert get blamed? All he did was defend himself when Rhaegar's insane father called for his head.

[The Wolves]

So they would have an 8% chance of defeating the Others if Rhaegar was king?

It's still a higher percentage than what the Baratheon dynasty ever gave Westeros, and honestly Rhaegar(not many Targaryens either)wouldn't have scoffed at the idea of a 8,000yr old ice zombie race invading the realm.

I honestly believe Westeros would be in a better place had the Taragaryens stayed in power and more prepared for the Others but that's my biases and hatred talking.

[Lee-Sensei]

How does that change the fact that for most of his reign the realm was peacefully and not in debt, compared to Robert where the realm was peaceful up until the end of his reign and was drowning in debt ?

Well let's just say there's a reason that Robert was popular and Aerys was not.

[House Pintur]

He had some of the best characteristics in a leader. Charisma and enough common sense to let competent people run things.

[Twenty of House Goodmen]

Actually, maybe Robert killing Rhaegar was a good thing.

If the Targs won the rebellion, Daenerys would've never been exiled. Which means she probably would've never hatched her dragons. I highly doubt that Illyrio would give the Targaryens the dragon eggs if they remained in power(assuming they really do have their own agenda, and aren't Targ loyalist).

Whether or not the Dragons will act as an automic win button against the Others(doubt it), I'm pretty sure they will still play an important part of that war.

[The Wolves]

How does Robert get blamed? All he did was defend himself when Rhaegar's insane father called for his head.

Because it was him who called the banners and went to war that killed thousands, it was him who helped to plunge the smallfolk into a civil war. I don't care if Robert was defending his self he still plunged a realm and thousands of innocent smallfolks into a war he sure does get blamed just like Hoster, Ned, Arryn, Tywin, Mace, Aerys, that war was all on them the escalation, the deaths, the sack, and they do deserve blame for TWot5Ks.