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Who is the main Arch-Villain of the Series?


BinkyBonks

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Why hasn't anyone else said Bloodraven? He's been present since the first book, has a hidden agenda and is vastly more powerful then anyone else.

And to the people who say "there will be no arch villian", don't mistake GRRM saying he doesn't want an "evil overlord" character to mean there won't be an overarching villain. Being the arch villain doesn't have to mean that that character has been responsible for every bad thing that happened.

So far all of the character's stories have been splitting apart, but eventually they will pull back together and the thing that pulls them back together will be the final showdown with whatever the arch villain is up to.

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The Others are possibly the greatest threat to Westeros, but do we have evidence to believe there is a mastermind behind their movements that would equate to a "master villain?"

As for all the schemes, machinations, and causes of chaos, I'm going with the Iron Bank of Braavos as the driving force behind all of it. "The Iron Bank will have its due."

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  • 2 months later...

My vote is Varys. Very little is known about his background, and several characters comment that he might be some sort of warlock (although he, himself, claims to hate magic). Even though he's always crediting his "little birds," he does seem to be damn near omniscient. Also, since he doesn't seem to be very physically intimidating, with this fat features and his high-pitched titters, he'd make a good under-the-radar arch villain. It's pretty hard to ignore the Others as main villains, but maybe Varys is somehow in league with them or controls them. Anybody called "the Spider" has to be a contender for potential arch villain.

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I think that one of the beauties of the ASoIaF Books is that evil in it is subjective. Thus villains to me are not necessary villains to you and vice versa ( although I'm right). To illustrate my point I very much like the character of Littlefinger whilst most readers see him as the embodiment of evil for his betrayal of the Starks etc. I personally don't think you can classify anyone as evil because they are all only serving their own interests (except maybe Stannis). I think the Others are so far seen as evil as they haven't been introduced and their power and motives haven't been sufficiently delved into.

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Dany will likely do all that, and order plenty of atrocities along the way, but she's still likely to be the saviour of Westeros when the Others invade. Does that make her an antagonist or not?

I like it. Westeros is saved not by a hero, but by The Lesser Of Two Evils. How's that for a morally gray story and a bittersweet ending?

The Prince That Was Promised [is A Jerk]

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I'm shocked no one has said this yet...uhm...Cersei, guys?

She's the only principal character who has been a malevolent presence within the story since the very beginning, and she's still around. Weakened as of late, to be sure, but if I'm certain of anything in this series I'm certain that that her walk has - far from humbling her - turned her into a sleeping volcano. I don't have a hard time envisioning an even MORE bitter, vengeful, insane Cersei weaseling her way into a position of power once again, realizing that her previous methods have failed and adopting new ones. She'll have to move more subtly in the future, to be sure, but I think it's very possible that her public shaming has only made her more dangerous. GRRM humanizes her to an extent with her POV chapters, which is in keeping with his desire to avoid the classic "evil overlord" archetype.

The only other option I can think of at this point to qualify for the "main villain" role is Littlefinger. I disagree completely with whoever above said that we know his game by now. It's Littlefinger, so I'm willing to bet my life that he hasn't revealed his entire grand scheme to anyone, even Sansa, yet. We've seen some of how many pivotal events were engineered by him behind the scenes, and what we know so far of his manipulative capabilities is, frankly, terrifying. I'd be sorely disappointed if he didn't have a few more tricks up his sleeve.

^ This.

They are the only two characters that I can think of that fit the bill.

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IMO there is no "Arch-vilain" and that is part of what makes ASOIAF so compelling. GRRM has repeatedly said that he goes out of his way to make sure that his characters are never solely good or evil.

Certainly the notion of the Great Other (or the opposite of R'hllor) could be perceived as the greatest threat to mankind but I am more a believer that for the world to exist, there needs to be a balance between Ice and Fire, not a decisive victory of one over the otehr.

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Who will turn out to be the principal bad guy of the series?

Roose Bolton? Littlefinger? Mellisandre? Varys? Who will it be?

Personally, I'm throwing in with Roose Bolton. He's so much more unambiguously evil than all the other characters. He's as clever as they come, and doesn't take half the risks that Littlefinger takes. Perhaps most important, he recognizes the power of magic -- and this is borne out by his regular leechings and his taking Qyburn into his employ.

Littlefinger, we're already clued into his schemes. Ditto Varys, if his epilogue soliloquy is to be believed. Mellisandre, we get a PoV chapter of her. Roose Bolton is still a mystery to us, and there's no doubt he's keeping something (or more likely many somethings) up his sleeve.

When did Roose Bolton take Qyburn into his employ? Isn't Qyburn in KL?

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