Top 5 blunders in the Series

[Liaraeyne]

^Hell yes.

AFFC was GREAT comedy thanks to Cersei. I laughed and laughed while reading her chapters.

[ThirdUnsulliedFromTheLeft]

Cersie was the gift that kept on giving. Long may she reign.

[Chebyshov]

I'll add Auron calling a Kingsmoot instead of just throwing his support behind Victarion.

Or Vic rejecting Asha's hand offer because she has a vagina.

[ThirdUnsulliedFromTheLeft]

Renly playing king. Even if he got away with it, what would stop others from rebelling? He had zero rights. He could have gathered Highgarden and the Storm Lands then ally with Stannis and Robb. Then he is back in the power seat as hand, heir, and lord of the Storm Lands. Highgarden gets a grandson that will be king because Stannis looked like having a son unlikely and Renly could close his eyes with Marge. He had it but got greedy. He was a usurper through and through.

Spot on. There's a great Stannis quote somewhere about him understanding the men that followed Joff and Robb, as in the eyes of those men they had legitimate claims. But not the men that followed Renly; Renly was the younger. Usurper through and through.

[Acnologia Targaryen]

1. Ned warning cersei sigh it still puzzles me

2. Robb marrying jeyne

3. Brandon going to Kingslanding

4. Half the things Cat did i.e. taking tyrion, releasing jamie, giving walder frey so much during the negotiations

5. Cersei rearming the faith and pissing off the IB serious one institution bothered the Targs even when they had dragons, and the other in known for helping other Claimants if their debts aren't collected what was she thinking.

[somethingorother]

Theon's attitude going to the Iron Islands. Theon was screwed since he got there, but the self righteousness was his own fault. Its a business trip first. No smiles, no empty boasts, no sister flirting. Go to Pyke, demand audience with the king. Explain that the North is independent of the throne and will assist us in sacking the rich Westerlands. Ask to meet his sister and see if she will help him convince the king.

Theon's attitude towards Asha could have prevented so much. Instead he made her an enemy. He had experience on land, she at sea. Attacking the poor lands of the Stoney Shore of a nation that will give you resources willingly, or get strong armies to distract for you while taking Casterly Rock?

[Mal Malenkirk]

Not smart, but not a blunder. He had no way to foresee the consequences his action had.

He knew she was the daughter of a Lord Paramount. He knew she was fiancee to another Lord Paramout. He knew his wife would be publicly embarassed and that she was sister to a lord Paramount. He knew Brandon Stark was hot blooded and prickly about family honor. He knew Rovert Baratheon was hot blooded. He knew Oberyn Martell, brother to his wife, was a very dangerous man and prickly about his honor (he was in Essos at the time, but still).

He knew there would be a political crisis as a result.

He knew that with him gone, his father would have to handle the fallout.

And he knew his father was by now completely crazy.

So yeah, he couldn't foresee exactly how this mess would play out. And it should have terrified him!

Assuming he did not mean to have his family massacred and his dynsaty ended, he definitely belong at the top of the list.

[Lord Sapna]

A couple of what I think were the biggest blunders worked out for the people involved, just for the plot which always gripes me.

1. Cersei admitting the incest to Ned - all ned had to go on was a book and a few bastard children. Unless cersei is absolutely sure of the dates of conception, simply blonde hair is no proof that they aren't Robert's. All she had to say was. "Nope they are Roberts, yes it's strange they all have blonde hair, but so what." It's not like they could be DNA tested or anything

2. Lancel and cersei 'killing' Robert. I seriously think this was the weakest part of all the books. "Let's give our fat drunk king wine that's stronger then usual, he will probably be fine but maybe just maybe, a boar will kill him."

3. Balon wanting independence so attacking the north as opposed to the people opposed to his independence.

4. Dorans plan for targ and dornish revenge which took 15 years to plan and resolved around a proposal.

5. Viseryrs threatening dany in front of her warrior rapist husband and his army.

[Prince Lou of House Reed]

How about Joffrey beheading Lord Eddard? Way to start a huge war you're not ready for.

[SnowHeart]

- That guy who tried to sell the unsullied to Danny for a dragon

- Any decision Cercsi makes that she prides herself on being a smart one

- The red Viper fight - come on man, you had him!

- Robb and Jenyne

- Basically Ned's very existence once he reached Kings landing

[somethingorother]

I'm going to try and defend the Ned. He doesn't trust anyone. He is always upset with having to work with LF, but Baelish is giving him what he is looking for. Ned went South to find out what happened to Jon Arryn. He has to investigate. He tried to save Cersei's children. Ned knows for a fact that Robert can handle dead children and is not going to have another child massacre. He discovered the incest after telling the girls they were leaving and had no idea Sansa would go to the queen. What could he do that would be consistent with who he is. He had to buy the gold cloaks and LF wad the only person that appeared trust worthy.

Only way Ned gets out of this is if he acts as slimy as the other vipers, then he is not Ned.

Had Stannis stayed and let his feelings get hurt, Renly not run away when needed most and secured the throne for his true king, Joffrey not cut off his head for fun, Sansa not tell Cersei, Ned lives and war avoided.

[somethingorother]

Really the biggest blunder is Roberts. When he found the dead Targ kids he should have been outraged. Now he could have sent Lorch and Clegane to the wall, punish Tywin by stripping him of his title of lord of the Westerlands. Remove Jaime from the kingsguard for betraying the king, but forgive him as an act of war and install Jaime as lord, which is what Tywin really wanted all along. That satisfies everyone except the Martells but its a lot better than what he actually did.

Or he could have not done that and at least name Stannis the hand after Arryn.

[Falcon2908]

Really the biggest blunder is Roberts. When he found the dead Targ kids he should have been outraged. Now he could have sent Lorch and Clegane to the wall, punish Tywin by stripping him of his title of lord of the Westerlands. Remove Jaime from the kingsguard for betraying the king, but forgive him as an act of war and install Jaime as lord, which is what Tywin really wanted all along. That satisfies everyone except the Martells but its a lot better than what he actually did.

Or he could have not done that and at least name Stannis the hand after Arryn.

He was not outraged but happy upon seeing the dead kids.

Barristan should have killed him there and there, just like his POV mentions

[David Selig]

Renly playing king. Even if he got away with it, what would stop others from rebelling? He had zero rights.

His army. Same as any other king ever. Rights don't matter all that much.

[Timothy Of The Vale]

I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned that Robb might have mentioned to his uncle 'Edmure, you should probably be aware I'd quite like to draw Tywin's army west' or Edmure not noticing the strategic advantage himself...it was what he was trained for after all!

Looking forward I think some of the biggest blunders will prove to be from Walder Frey 1) Letting the northern army cross thus allowing the rebellion to really start and 2) betraying the Starks and Tullys at the Red Wedding. Seriously, his ally's can't trust him, his enemies loath him, some of his sons and grandsons would gladly kill him if they were next in line, the chances are the IT will at some point be occupied by someone who will execute him for no better reason than stubborn principle and when he does die his house will probably tear itself apart.

[Timothy Of The Vale]

Fun thread by the way, when read with the understanding that but for these 'blunders' we wouldn't have such a great series!

[Vlaars]

5. Quentyn trying to steal dragons.

4. Ned telling Cersei about his knowledge of the incest.

3. Joffrey ordering Ned Stark to be beheaded.

2.1. Theon not taking Bran and Rickon back to Pyke.

2.0 Robb marrying Jeyne Westerling instead of a Frey girl.

1. Dany taking Meereen.

[Mal Malenkirk]

I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned that Robb might have mentioned to his uncle 'Edmure, you should probably be aware I'd quite like to draw Tywin's army west' or Edmure not noticing the strategic advantage himself...it was what he was trained for after all!

Nah, Edmure saved Robb's ass on that one, Robb was overreaching himself.

The plan was basically to draw Tywin through the moutains, circle past him, take the pass through the mountain an then bottle him in the west that way, right? IIRC.

Well that's stupid. Tywin had a lot more men then Robb and was a methodical if univentive commander. When he reached that pass, he'd have gone by the book and left enough infantry to hold it before chasing Robb, thus leaving Robb stuck in the Westerland, cut off from logistical support and chased by a larger army. It would not have ended well.

If Robb thought his opponent would be too dumb to think about securing the pass, he'd started commiting the same sin Tywin was originally guilty off and was underestimating his opponent.

[Endymion I Targaryen]

1. Rhaegar 'kidnapping' Lyanna - Rhaegar thought it was a smart idea to run away with a woman, who was the daughter of the Warden of the North, betrothed to the Lord of the Stormlands and whose brothers were a ward to the Warden of the East and betrothed to the daughter of the Lord of the Riverlands. It wasn't. Thankfully, Robert and Ned got rid of the emo and his friends though the former didn't turn out a whole lot better.

2. Balon attacking the North - Balon's stupidity knows no bounds. Instead of either sticking to the Iron Islands or getting into an alliance with one of the kings in exchange for lands he does all of Tywin's work for him and THEN asks for the alliance. He put his misplaced sense of revenge over plain common sense. Fortunately, he died. Unfortunately for the Iron Born he was replaced by someone even more retarded.

3. Robb marrying Jeyne - Oh Robb...Honour, love and abject stupidity proved to be his undoing. RIP Young Wolf.

4. Tyrion gift wrapping Myrcella to Dorne - Oberyn must have laughed himself silly.

5. Ned warning Cersie - This was buffoonery on an epic scale. Good intentions, true, but silly and naive nonetheless.

I would replace 4 with Catelyn abducting Tyrion.It was even worse than Sansa telling her father's plans to Cersei.

[Dragon in the North]

1. Robb breaking his vow to Walder Frey

2. Balon refusing Robb's offer for an alliance

3. Eddard telling the Cercei he knows the truth about her kids

4. Sansa trusting the Lannisters after they killed her pet and attacked her father in the street.

5. Quentyn trying to tame a dragon.