R+L = J v.109

[Lady Gwynhyfvar]

When you need blue roses delivered quickly, call Tyrell Gardens

(Couldn't resist guys, this topic kept coming up! "Ad copy" by Alia, btw :) )

By the way, I think Apple's probably right about the KotLT being the primary motivation for the crowning (we say as much in E05 of the podcast) and that it's possible the rose crown was somehow specially designed for Lyanna as a nod to Bael the Bard. I'd also suggest that this is one of those situations where you need to suspend belief for a moment and remember that ASoIaF is a work of fantasy after all. If GRRM wants winter roses in spring at a moment's notice, he shall have them ;)

That said, I also tend to agree with those who suggested earlier (J Star and ??) that Lyanna's fondness for blue roses most likely developed after the tourney. A nod to Bael, followed by Lyanna developing a romantic attachment by association makes more story sense to me than Rhaegar somehow divining that she loved that particular flower.

[J. Stargaryen]

But would there have been time to order such a laurel made? The tourney only lasted ten days, after all..

How long does it take to make a crown of roses?

Something I've wondered about the tourney:

I think by then that Rhaegar and Lyanna had already met, when Rhaegar crossed paths with the KotLT. I think him giving her the laurel was less about him gaga in love with her at that point and more about him tipping his hat to the KotLT and paying honor to Lyanna's skill the only way he knew how. Might he have been smitten then, sure. But I really do think the KotLT thing was primary motivation for him giving her the laurel.

I also lean this way. But it's worth mentioning that blue roses are said to symbolize love at first sight, among other things.

"The blue rose is often used as a symbol of love at first sight, when you have been enchanted. Those who have been overcome by the feelings of love and adoration for someone often use these blue roses as an expression of those romantic feelings that they are experiencing. The color blue is also traditionally associated with royal blood, and thus the blue rose can also denote regal majesty and splendor." - Link

Royal blood and regal majesty, eh? You don't say. :)

Having said that, I've also wondered if the winner's laurel just happened to be the blue roses, or if Rhaegar explicitly asked that those flowers make up the laurel. All QoLaB's get a laurel, but it's unclear if the laurel is always the blue roses or if just Lyanna's was. Given Rhaegar's experience as a singer and a musician, it seems likely that he was aware of the Bael story and as such, it leads me to think that the laurel was specifically ordered by him, as opposed to being a mere thematic coincidence.

I wonder if the sequence of events couldn't go something like:

• discovers that Lyanna is the KotLT.

becomes determined to win the joust and honor Lyanna for her exploits as a mystery knight.

knowing that he plans to name Lyanna QoLaB, orders that the crown be made of blue roses.

[The Snowfyre Chorus]

It wasn't rigged. There is a parallel between Jorah and Rhaegar in their motivation to win.

^Exactly. We know that Selmy was trying to win, and that he definitely didn't throw the match. Even if some of them had agreed beforehand (which I doubt), that doesn't mean Rhaegar would automatically win. He had to get through the men who most definitely weren't in on the fix. Which is why I believe Rhaegar was simply driven by love in the same way Jorah was.

The "Jorah parallel" seems like a bit of a reach, to me. It's hard to see what those two tournaments have in common, or why we should view Jorah's "motivation" as informing Rhaegar's story.

And I'm curious how we "know Selmy was trying to win" at Harrenhal. Is that just an assumption based on character? As in thinking, "Selmy is too honorable, he'd never throw a match?" I ask because his own recollections of the event are curiously stilted. I think it's entirely possible that Rhaegar benefited from some "funny business" in the joust.

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

How long does it take to make a crown of roses?

I also lean this way. But it's worth mentioning that blue roses are said to symbolize love at first sight, among other things.

"The blue rose is often used as a symbol of love at first sight, when you have been enchanted. Those who have been overcome by the feelings of love and adoration for someone often use these blue roses as an expression of those romantic feelings that they are experiencing. The color blue is also traditionally associated with royal blood, and thus the blue rose can also denote regal majesty and splendor." - Link

Royal blood and regal majesty, eh? You don't say. :)

I wonder if the sequence of events couldn't go something like:

• discovers that Lyanna is the KotLT.
• becomes determined to win the joust and honor Lyanna for her exploits as a mystery knight.
• knowing that he plans to name Lyanna QoLaB, orders that the crown be made of blue roses.

Making the crown wouldn't have taken long. But I was more asking along the lines of, should Rhaegar have become determined to crown Lyanna because of the whole KotLT-issue (which I believe), he could have ordered such a crown made, sure, but only if the flowers were already at Harrenhal. Should the winter roses grow only in the north, (which I thought that Apple Martini's post was referring to, but now, upon rereading that post, I see that it wasn't, which teaches me not to try and post when I'm in a hurry :blushing: ) then there wouldn't have been time, because the tourney only lasted 10 days.

So that leads to the following question: do we know where blue winter roses grow? Can they grow only in the north? Or might they also grown in, say, the Riverlands during the winter, and we just haven't seen a mention of that yet, because we haven't been in the Riverlands during winter?

[sj4iy]

The "Jorah parallel" seems like a bit of a reach, to me. It's hard to see what those two tournaments have in common, or why we should view Jorah's "motivation" as informing Rhaegar's story.

There's a very clear parallel. Jorah never won Tourneys until he was motivated by love. Rhaegar never won tourneys until he was, too. It's another hint to us that Rhaegar was in love with Lyanna.

And I'm curious how we "know Selmy was trying to win" at Harrenhal. Is that just an assumption based on character? As in thinking, "Selmy is too honorable, he'd never throw a match?" I ask because his own recollections of the event are curiously stilted. I think it's entirely possible that Rhaegar benefited from some "funny business" in the joust.

He says so. We see it in his POV- he thinks that if only he could have unseated Rhaegar, he could have declared Ashara Dayne the queen of live and beauty, and that maybe it would have prevented everything afterwards.

[Ygrain]

The "Jorah parallel" seems like a bit of a reach, to me. It's hard to see what those two tournaments have in common, or why we should view Jorah's "motivation" as informing Rhaegar's story.

And I'm curious how we "know Selmy was trying to win" at Harrenhal. Is that just an assumption based on character? As in thinking, "Selmy is too honorable, he'd never throw a match?" I ask because his own recollections of the event are curiously stilted. I think it's entirely possible that Rhaegar benefited from some "funny business" in the joust.

There's a very clear parallel. Jorah never won Tourneys until he was motivated by love. Rhaegar never won tourneys until he was, too. It's another hint to us that Rhaegar was in love with Lyanna.

He says so. We see it in his POV- he thinks that if only he could have unseated Rhaegar, he could have declared Ashara Dayne the queen of live and beauty, and that maybe it would have prevented everything afterwards.

^^

I have never been a tourney knight. Yet with Lynesse’s favor knotted round my arm, I was a different man. I won joust after joust. Lord Jason Mallister fell before me, and Bronze Yohn Royce. Ser Ryman Frey, his brother Ser Hosteen, Lord Whent, Strongboar, even Ser Boros Blount of the Kingsguard, I unhorsed them all. In the last match, I broke nine lances against Jaime Lannister to no result, and King Robert gave me the champion’s laurel. I crowned Lynesse queen of love and beauty.

Yet when the jousting began, the day belonged to Rhaegar Targaryen. The crown prince wore the armor he would die in: gleaming black plate with the three-headed dragon of his House wrought in rubies on the breast. A plume of scarlet silk streamed behind him when he rode, and it seemed no lance could touch him. Brandon fell to him, and Bronze Yohn Royce, and even the splendid Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning.

[The Snowfyre Chorus]

He says so. We see it in his POV- he thinks that if only he could have unseated Rhaegar, he could have declared Ashara Dayne the queen of live and beauty, and that maybe it would have prevented everything afterwards.

Well, my point was precisely that Ser Barristan's own memories seems ambiguous. What we read, in ADWD, is this:

"If I had been a better knight... if I had unhorsed the prince in that last tilt, as I unhorsed so many others, it would have been for me to choose the queen of love and beauty."

And that first part (in bold) seems a peculiar phrasing in context. Selmy has a very particular understanding of what it means to be a knight. And the defining characteristic is not skill at arms, or success in tourneys, but chivalry and honor. He makes that clear in his instruction to trainees at Meereen:

...a young knight's repute derived at least in part from the honor of the man who conferred knighthood on him... Better a long life as a squire than a short one as a soiled knight. ... As the afternoon melted into evening, he bid his charges to lay down their swords and shields and gather round. He spoke to them about what it meant to be a knight. "It is chivalry that makes a true knight, not a sword," he said. "Without honor, a knight is no more than a common killer. It is better to die with honor than to live without it." The boys looked at him strangely, he thought, but one day they would understand. (5.67, The Kingbreaker)

(And note that this passage appears immediately before Selmy's reflection on the Harrenhal tourney... just 4-5 paragraphs, in fact...)

With that emphasis fresh in our minds, I think Selmy's memory of the joust at Harrenhal is definitely suggestive that the fix was in. Think about it. He doesn't say that he would have unseated the prince if only he had "held a surer lance," or "sat a better horse" ... instead, he believes he'd have unseated Rhaegar if he had "been a better knight." Given that he views honor as the definition of knighthood and the determinant of knightly worth, it sounds like he believes Rhaegar would not have won that tournament if Barristan Selmy had done the more honorable thing. In other words, there was something dishonorable about his performance "in that last tilt."

[sj4iy]

Well, my point was precisely that Ser Barristan's own memories seems ambiguous. What we read, in ADWD, is this:

"If I had been a better knight... if I had unhorsed the prince in that last tilt, as I unhorsed so many others, it would have been for me to choose the queen of love and beauty."

And that first part (in bold) seems a peculiar phrasing in context. Selmy has a very particular understanding of what it means to be a knight. And the defining characteristic is not skill at arms, or success in tourneys, but chivalry and honor. He makes that clear in his instruction to trainees at Meereen:

...a young knight's repute derived at least in part from the honor of the man who conferred knighthood on him... Better a long life as a squire than a short one as a soiled knight. ... As the afternoon melted into evening, he bid his charges to lay down their swords and shields and gather round. He spoke to them about what it meant to be a knight. "It is chivalry that makes a true knight, not a sword," he said. "Without honor, a knight is no more than a common killer. It is better to die with honor than to live without it." The boys looked at him strangely, he thought, but one day they would understand. (5.67, The Kingbreaker)

(And note that this passage appears immediately before Selmy's reflection on the Harrenhal tourney... just 4-5 paragraphs, in fact...)

With that emphasis fresh in our minds, I think Selmy's memory of the joust at Harrenhal is definitely suggestive that the fix was in. Think about it. He doesn't say that he would have unseated the prince if only he had "held a surer lance," or "sat a better horse" ... instead, he believes he'd have unseated Rhaegar if he had "been a better knight." Given that he views honor as the definition of knighthood and the determinant of knightly worth, it sounds like he believes Rhaegar would not have won that tournament if Barristan Selmy had done the more honorable thing. In other words, there was something dishonorable about his performance "in that last tilt."

If Selmy had thrown the competition for Rhaegar, I don't see why he wouldn't have said so in the private thoughts of his own head.

He never says anything at all about dishonoring himself as a knight:

If I had been a better knight ... if I had unhorsed the prince in that last tilt, as I unhorsed so many others, it would have been for me to choose the queen of love and beauty ...

Rhaegar had chosen Lyanna Stark of Winterfell. Barristan Selmy would have made a different choice. Not the queen, who was not present. Nor Elia of Dorne, though she was good and gentle; had she been chosen, much war and woe might have been avoided. His choice would have been a young maiden not long at court, one of Elia’s companions ... though compared to Ashara Dayne, the Dornish princess was a kitchen drab.

Even after all these years, Ser Barristan could still recall Ashara’s smile, the sound of her laughter. He had only to close his eyes to see her, with her long dark hair tumbling about her shoulders and those haunting purple eyes. Daenerys has the same eyes. Sometimes when the queen looked at him, he felt as if he were looking at Ashara’s daughter ...

But Ashara’s daughter had been stillborn, and his fair lady had thrown herself from a tower soon after, mad with grief for the child she had lost, and perhaps for the man who had dishonored her at Harrenhal as well. She died never knowing that Ser Barristan had loved her. How could she? He was a knight of the Kingsguard, sworn to celibacy. No good could have come from telling her his feelings. No good came from silence either. If I had unhorsed Rhaegar and crowned Ashara queen of love and beauty, might she have looked to me instead of Stark?

He would never know. But of all his failures, none haunted Barristan Selmy so much as that.

When you look at the passage in whole, it's very clear that he feels that he failed in his knightly duty- which was to win that tourney. He feels that had he done so, his beloved would not have been dishonored by 'Stark'. But there's nothing at all about him having 'dishonored' himself...which he surely would have pointed out if he had thrown the match. "Failure" is very different from "dishonor".

In any case, you are forgetting that Rhaegar also unseated Brandon, as well as other non-KG. Basically, Rhaegar would have had to bribe a LOT of people in order to do this. It's a massive conspiracy theory that really falls apart when you look at it. And there's absolutely nothing that indicates that Rhaegar knew anything at all about Lyanna before the tourney, so when would he have had time to arrange a fix?

[The Snowfyre Chorus]

If Selmy had thrown the competition for Rhaegar, I don't see why he wouldn't have said so in the private thoughts of his own head.

Well, I don't think that's so difficult to figure. After all, if Jon Snow is Lyanna's Stark's son, why wouldn't Ned have said so in the private thoughts of his own head? He never does - yet I think you will agree with me that Jon is Lyanna's son.

When you look at the passage in whole... there's nothing at all about him having 'dishonored' himself...which he surely would have pointed out if he had thrown the match.

Actually, that is exactly what I've just argued... that there is indeed a statement in that passage which suggests Barristan Selmy views his own performance in that last tilt as less than honorable. He believes that he could have "been a better knight;" and he believes that if he had, then Rhaegar would not have won that tourney. He has also just instructed his orphans that it is honor (or chivalry) that defines the knight, and makes him "true." Therefore, to say that he himself could have been a "better" knight may well suggest that his performance at Harrenhal was less than completely honorable...

[sj4iy]

Actually, that is exactly what I've just argued... that there is indeed a statement in that passage which suggests Barristan Selmy views his own performance in that last tilt as less than honorable. He believes that he could have "been a better knight;" and he believes that if he had, then Rhaegar would not have won that tourney. He has also just instructed his orphans that it is honor (or chivalry) that defines the knight, and makes him "true." Therefore, to say that he himself could have been a "better" knight may well suggest that his performance at Harrenhal was less than completely honorable...

Selmy is thinking that if he had done his job better, he could have prevented what happened later. His job, as a knight, is to win fights. That's what he's paid to do. He sees it as a failure that he could not unseat Rhaegar when it mattered most.

Again, though...you are completely missing that Rhaegar had to fight people who were not of the KG. Even if you could make a case for Rhaegar fixing the fight, he couldn't have done it with everyone.

"...The lavish purses he proclaimed drew hundreds of challengers. Even your royal father came to Harrenhal, when he had not left the Red Keep for long years. The greatest lords and mightiest champions of the Seven Kingdoms rode in that tourney, and the Prince of Dragonstone bested them all.”

There are too many people coming from all over Westeros for this to have possibly been fixed in Rhaegar's favor. Also, the reason this tourney was arranged wasn't for Rhaegar to declare his love for Lyanna...it was for Rhaegar to call a council in order to depose his father. When Aerys showed up, Rhaegar's plans were ruined. Presumably, Rhaegar first met Lyanna at the tourney, so there was never any preconceived plan for Rhaegar to crown her. In order to arrange for Rhaegar to win the tourney, he would have had to done this ahead of time.

To me, it's just not believable that the fix was in for Rhaegar to win the tourney. The entire reason for Jorah's story about the tourney, imo, was so that the reader would realize that the same thing applied to Rhaegar.

[The Snowfyre Chorus]

His job, as a knight, is to win fights. That's what he's paid to do. He sees it as a failure that he could not unseat Rhaegar when it mattered most.

That doesn't sound at all like Barristan Selmy, to me. It sounds more like Sandor Clegane.

• Sandor Clegane: "What do you think a knight is for, girl? You think it's all taking favors from ladies and looking fine in gold plate? Knights are for killing." ... "A knight's a sword with a horse. The rest, the vows and the sacred oils and the lady's favors, they're silk ribbons tied round the sword. Maybe the sword's prettier with ribbons hanging off it, but it will kill you just as dead."
• Barristan Selmy: "It is chivalry that makes a true knight, not a sword," he said. "Without honor, a knight is no more than a common killer. It is better to die with honor than to live without it."

I really don't think Selmy believes his failure was simply that he didn't fight hard enough (or joust well enough, in this case). He just finished reflecting on one of his Meereenese orphan trainees, Larraq "the Lash," thinking that the kid is "No knight as of yet, but a fierce fighter." He then instructs the orphans as a group, offering them the definition of knighthood I've quoted above. Five paragraphs later, recalling that "even Rhaegar" had secrets, he notes that he could have "been a better knight" by unhorsing the prince at the Harrenhal tourney.

I'm okay to disagree on this. I just don't think it makes sense to categorically deny the possibility that Selmy threw that final tilt. The text allows for that reading.

[MtnLion]

I suppose my point is we really can't assume anything at this point. This is a land where consciousness can be transferred from one being to another. Which along with some of the other magic we've been given a peek at makes any assumption a tad perilous.

Rhaegar's birth on the day of the Summerhall tragedy may end up being significant. I always found the following passage a little eyebrow raising:

I wonder if the Summerhall ghosts (i.e. consciousness) lived on after their death in Rhaegar. And if Rhaegar found a way to transfer his own consciousness before his death. Remember, the dragon has three "heads". Perhaps that phrase is more literal than we assume.

Certainly, and we have a reason to suspect who Rhaegar met with at Summerhall, that he kept secret; even from his Kingsguard. Who is it that we have been introduced to that always wants to hear a song? GoHH.

[BearQueen87]

Certainly, and we have a reason to suspect who Rhaegar met with at Summerhall, that he kept secret; even from his Kingsguard. Who is it that we have been introduced to that always wants to hear a song? GoHH.

Ooooh. That's clever. The "ghosts" of Summerhall and the Ghost of High Heart. I like that.

[UnmaskedLurker]

I'm okay to disagree on this. I just don't think it makes sense to categorically deny the possibility that Selmy threw that final tilt. The text allows for that reading.

Even if you are correct that Selmy threw the final tilt, Rhaegar still would have needed to get that far given that, as shown by others above, it would have been virtually impossible for the entire tourney to have been fixed in Rhaegar's favor. So Rhaegar still needed to win legitimately the prior tilts. So it seems that the disagreement is not as great given that some special "focus" was necessary by Rhaegar to get to that point--and the only question is whether Selmy threw the final tilt--not whether the entire tourney was rigged.

[MtnLion]

As for the crown of Love and Beauty, there is one wearing it at the beginning of the tourney. It is up to the knights present to enter the lists and attempt to claim the crown from her brothers. The final knight we know was Rhaegar, and there is no indication that the crown was reworked after his win, so that he could present a different seeming crown to Lyanna. I think it mere minutes between the crown being surrendered to Rhaegar, to his placing the crown in Lyanna's lap.

[Ygrain]

That doesn't sound at all like Barristan Selmy, to me. It sounds more like Sandor Clegane.

• Sandor Clegane: "What do you think a knight is for, girl? You think it's all taking favors from ladies and looking fine in gold plate? Knights are for killing." ... "A knight's a sword with a horse. The rest, the vows and the sacred oils and the lady's favors, they're silk ribbons tied round the sword. Maybe the sword's prettier with ribbons hanging off it, but it will kill you just as dead."

• Barristan Selmy: "It is chivalry that makes a true knight, not a sword," he said. "Without honor, a knight is no more than a common killer. It is better to die with honor than to live without it."

I really don't think Selmy believes his failure was simply that he didn't fight hard enough (or joust well enough, in this case). He just finished reflecting on one of his Meereenese orphan trainees, Larraq "the Lash," thinking that the kid is "No knight as of yet, but a fierce fighter." He then instructs the orphans as a group, offering them the definition of knighthood I've quoted above. Five paragraphs later, recalling that "even Rhaegar" had secrets, he notes that he could have "been a better knight" by unhorsing the prince at the Harrenhal tourney.

I'm okay to disagree on this. I just don't think it makes sense to categorically deny the possibility that Selmy threw that final tilt. The text allows for that reading.

And yet, to make them knights, he trains the orphans in the weapons of the knights. Honor is what distinguishes the knight from a killer but at the same time, a sword, lance and horse are the signs of knightly status and skill with sword and lance are considered chief knightly skills. Hence, Barristan's wishful thinking to have been a better knight is not in contradiction to his statement that honor is what makes the knight, he is simply talking about a different set of qualities.

Ooooh. That's clever. The "ghosts" of Summerhall and the Ghost of High Heart. I like that.

Ah. I guess the discussion took place some while ago while you were not part of the thread yet. It was suggested that Rhaegar either had prophetic dreams or encountered someone who did and that this was the reason of his melancholy. There is a passage that always when he returned from Summerhall, he brought a new sad song and when he sang of the deaths of kings, it was as if he sang of the deaths of those he knew and loved... so perhaps he really did.

[The Snowfyre Chorus]

...Barristan's wishful thinking to have been a better knight is not in contradiction to his statement that honor is what makes the knight, he is simply talking about a different set of qualities.

Certainly... I'm not suggesting there is a contradiction between (1) his instruction on knighthood, chivalry and honor; and (2) his regret that he wasn't a better knight at Harrenhal. (Quite the opposite, actually.)

But whether the quality of the knight in (2) was determined by a different set of qualities than those laid out five paragraphs earlier in (1) ... well, that's essentially the question that I'm proposing ought to be asked. Selmy does not explicitly reference "a different set of qualities," when he remembers the Harrenhal tourney. So, in the absence of that distinction, it seems the natural reading would be to assess his knightliness according to the terms just discussed: honor and chivalry. And that raises the question: in what way did Ser Barristan fall short of his honorable, chivalrous ideal, when he failed to unhorse Prince Rhaegar at the Harrenhal tourney?

Well, the obvious answer is that he threw the tilt. Right?

[BearQueen87]

Ah. I guess the discussion took place some while ago while you were not part of the thread yet. It was suggested that Rhaegar either had prophetic dreams or encountered someone who did and that this was the reason of his melancholy. There is a passage that always when he returned from Summerhall, he brought a new sad song and when he sang of the deaths of kings, it was as if he sang of the deaths of those he knew and loved... so perhaps he really did.

You're right I must not have been around yet. But I love it! Is there any chance that the GoHH and Bran could "talk" or share dreams together?

[Ygrain]

Certainly... I'm not suggesting there is a contradiction between (1) his instruction on knighthood, chivalry and honor; and (2) his regret that he wasn't a better knight at Harrenhal.

But whether the quality of the knight in (2) was determined by a different set of qualities than those laid out five paragraphs earlier in (1) ... well, that's the question that I'm proposing ought to be asked. He certainly doesn't explicitly reference "a different set of qualities," when he remembers the Harrenhal tourney. So, in the absence of that distinction, it seems the natural reading would be to assess his knightliness according to the terms just discussed: honor and chivalry. And that raises the question: in what way did Ser Barristan fall short of his honorable, chivalrous ideal, when he failed to unhorse Prince Rhaegar at the Harrenhal tourney?

Well, the obvious answer is that he threw the tilt. Right?

No. The natural reading is that his skills were insufficient to best Rhaegar.

Let's take a look on the role of skills in being a knight:

Larraq had years of work ahead of him before he mastered proper knightly weapons, sword and lance and mace, but he was deadly with his whip and trident. The old knight had warned him that the whip would be useless against an armored foe … until he saw how Larraq used it, snapping it around the legs of his opponents to yank them off their feet. No knight as yet, but a fierce fighter.

Here Barristan speaks about knightly skills with knightly weapons, and that Larraq's style, while efficient, is not befitting a knight. The same goes on:

The other boys were younger for the most part, and more familiar with looms and plows and chamber pots than swords and shields, but they worked hard and learned quickly. A few years as squires, and he might have six more knights to give his queen. As for those who would never be ready, well, not every boy was meant to be a knight.

Here we have an affirmation that in order to become a knight, one must be proficient with knightly weapons. It is a pre-requisite before it comes to the paragraph you quoted previously, knightly values. A knight must have both skills and values to be a knight. When Barristan regrets his failure at HH, though (and the word failure, IMHO, implies an unsuccessful but earnest attempt, not cheating), he says if I had unhorsed the prince in that last tilt, as I unhorsed so many others. He defeated his opponents with his skill, not a trick, and by that comparison, he says that not unhorsing Rhaegar was for the lack of skill, it had nothing to do with honour.

[sj4iy]

And that raises the question: in what way did Ser Barristan fall short of his honorable, chivalrous ideal, when he failed to unhorse Prince Rhaegar at the Harrenhal tourney?

...by losing.

Well, the obvious answer is that he threw the tilt. Right?

No. I would say the 'obvious' answer is that he simply lost.