Faceless Men purpose/Secret Identities

[Waylin Stark]

She's like ten years old in the books. Nah, she's a peaceful butterfly woman / translator. Whom was she supposed to kill, the Unsullied boss? Daenerys beat her to it.

There's lots of evidence to suggest Missandei is a FM.

http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/82748-missandei-is-a-faceless-manwoman-perhaps-izembaro/

I think Varys could be a FM or a former FM, or at least has powerful connections with them.

He's really mysterious, displays many of their traits, and it would be awesome if he turned out to actually be a FM.

Other than him, I'd say Missandei.

Don't know about anybody else.

[imopatis]

if one assumes that the kindly man is not just telling complete bs to Arya, the FM will have no motivation to instigate a mission on behalf of Targ/BF, so Varys and Illyrio are out.

Furthermore, if one assumes the Jaquen at the Citadel theory to be true, it seems that a FM can take on the face of any fresh kill, not just faces from the vaults in the temple.

It would therfore make very little sense for an FM to spend years in someones identity, but rather to get in quick, take a face, kill the main target, get out again.

Missandei or anyone else at Danys court may be an exception, as the FM will have a strong interest to watch Dany long term to see what she does, due her dragons and Valyrian heritage on the one hand (FM would oppose) and her anti-slavery policy on the other hand (FM would support).

I'm not holding my breath to see if anyone is really long-term FM impersonated.

[stateofdissipation]

if one assumes that the kindly man is not just telling complete bs to Arya, the FM will have no motivation to instigate a mission on behalf of Targ/BF, so Varys and Illyrio are out.

Furthermore, if one assumes the Jaquen at the Citadel theory to be true, it seems that a FM can take on the face of any fresh kill, not just faces from the vaults in the temple.

It would therfore make very little sense for an FM to spend years in someones identity, but rather to get in quick, take a face, kill the main target, get out again.

Missandei or anyone else at Danys court may be an exception, as the FM will have a strong interest to watch Dany long term to see what she does, due her dragons and Valyrian heritage on the one hand (FM would oppose) and her anti-slavery policy on the other hand (FM would support).

I'm not holding my breath to see if anyone is really long-term FM impersonated.

The entire idea that the faceless men have a mission to gather intelligence rests on Arya's training and Pate's conjecture.

Arya's training first requires her to observe others. There is nothing to suggest she is sent out to gain specific intelligence or that her reports are put to any sort of use. When she is given a target, she is asked to put her observation training into practice to find a way to accomplish her mission. Again, her observations are hardly valuable outside of her assignment.

Pate asks why the Alchemist would want the master key. He asks if the alchemist wants the books or scrolls. His questions are not answered. Pate is not the sharpest tool in the shed. He has been a novice for a year and has not forged a single link. He mistakenly thought he could easily earn a link for ravenry and ended up caring for a senile maester

I do not see any possible connection between Illyrio and Varys and the faceless men. 15 plus years of deep cover defies reason.

I see the argument for Pate being the alchemist. However, that goes against what the kindly man stated about only killing the intended target. It is equally possible for Pate to have woken up in the alley, taken his dragon to the girl and been refused. Then Pate the failed lover, thief, and incompetent novice accepts who he is "Pate like the pig boy." Pate would never know what the Alchemist wanted because he changed his name and his face after the meeting.

Taking the face of somebody with access to the target would seem to be an efffective means to accomplish the mission in the short term. However, in the long term killing to get a disguise and disappearing shortly after the assignment would be a pretty recognizable pattern. The pattern could be clouded by remaining long enough to slip away unnoticed. That would end with the mission taking as long as getting inside and doing the job. We are paid for precise killing, killing only the intended target. If the prince hired a faceless man to kill the king, and the faceless man killed the prince to get close to the king then hiring them would not be such a good idea. That would be much the same as keeping a grizzly bear in your house to ward of mice.

It would seem that the faceless men are actually priests of the manyfaced god. I have yet to see them do anything that conclusively contradicts that. It might seem like a good idea to stash FM in areas where people would likely become targets. But, the practicality of is not nearly as easy to establish.

[modbelle]

The sexing up of the target was my own interpretation upon reading that line

However I CAN see how he COULD have meant castration after thinking about it.

I assume it's one or the other, not both.

I was thinking more along the lines of the reproductive organs like the inability to father or mother children for sure (like giving Drogo "life" cost Dany the life of her unborn child and quite possibly the ability to ever have children). IMO, what the FMs do, makes them infertile.

OP: Aegon is that you behind a mask? Gerrion Lannister? You are probably right, at least one of them will pop out that was at least mentioned before (even if it's a dead or whereabouts unknown) but for the life of me, I don't know who it will be.

[Lady Blizzardborn]

The added "Ros" character from the show attempts to arouse Varys in the brothel but finds out there is nothing down there. I know the show and the books should be considered as separate works but would George have approved of such a scene if he meant to have it differently later in the books?

Sure. If it's not a point that makes a huge difference to the plot there wouldn't be a problem with it.

I haven't watched all of the three seasons that are on DVD yet (will watch the last ep of season 1 tonight). Is it that there's nothing there, or she can't get a reaction from him and just assumes that he lacks the proper equipment?

[Jo cool]

Sure. If it's not a point that makes a huge difference to the plot there wouldn't be a problem with it.

I haven't watched all of the three seasons that are on DVD yet (will watch the last ep of season 1 tonight). Is it that there's nothing there, or she can't get a reaction from him and just assumes that he lacks the proper equipment?

iirc this scene is unequivocal, but I will not spoil it for you any further!

[The Lord of the Waters]

Varys is not a Faceless Man, Varys is Varys.. He used to be a mummer(performer/actor) so disguises are no mystery to him. He is what he is, it is part of his character, he is a unique character and I do not believe he is a faceless man because it doesn't seem reasonable.

As for Pate, it seems obvious that the 'Gold coin' he bit in his mouth was soaked in something, quite likely poison. .You see Arya use the same technique with the insurance man. If the Alchemist/Pate/Jaquen is perhaps on some kind of spying/information gathering mission perhaps? It seems that faceless men would be very good for infiltration and observation missions.

As for other characters actually being Faceless men, I think it needs to be reasonable an have some point as to why they are faceless men, there are very few characters who strike me as possibly being faceless men.