Lord Paramount Bronn

[Daemon of the Blacks]

Out of all characters Bronn seems to have been given one of the finer endings. From common sellsword to the richest lord in the realm. With Casterly Rock running dry the Reach must surely possess more wealth then the Westerlands and the biggest population in the seven kingdoms. With this Bronn likely surpassed the Aryans, the Tullies, the Martels and even the Lannisters in power when all was said and done. And if not he's still one of the seven most powerful men on the continent. 

But....what exactly did Bronn do to deserve this happy ending? He was always going to get some reward and since he's a fan favorite it would definitely be a fine one. But why was the reward Highgarden and the Reach? What in Bronn's career justified this immense advancement?

Bronn's service to the Lannisters was no doubt important but he always remained a grunt at best. He provided no great troops nor did he personally lead forces into battle. 

-Bronn served as Tyrion's bodyguard for a bit and saved the life of the ''lowest of the Lannisters''
-He briefly commanded the city watch which Tyrion probably didn't have the authority to arrange since Tywin removed him the moment he got back
-Bronn served very well at the battle of the Blackwater
-Bronn served some time as Jaime's bodyguard and was present in the sieges of Riverrun and Highgarden, however neither castle's capture was even remotely due to bronn.

None of these tasks were particularly vital to the Lannister war effort. Bronn's effort surely helped them but he was hardly their ace in the hole. 

So in the end what could have justified Bronn being given Highgarden aside from him threatening a cripple and a dwarf?

[Br16]

On 6/4/2019 at 6:00 AM, Daemon of the Blacks said:

Out of all characters Bronn seems to have been given one of the finer endings. From common sellsword to the richest lord in the realm. With Casterly Rock running dry the Reach must surely possess more wealth then the Westerlands and the biggest population in the seven kingdoms. With this Bronn likely surpassed the Aryans, the Tullies, the Martels and even the Lannisters in power when all was said and done. And if not he's still one of the seven most powerful men on the continent. 

But....what exactly did Bronn do to deserve this happy ending? He was always going to get some reward and since he's a fan favorite it would definitely be a fine one. But why was the reward Highgarden and the Reach? What in Bronn's career justified this immense advancement?

Bronn's service to the Lannisters was no doubt important but he always remained a grunt at best. He provided no great troops nor did he personally lead forces into battle. 

-Bronn served as Tyrion's bodyguard for a bit and saved the life of the ''lowest of the Lannisters''
-He briefly commanded the city watch which Tyrion probably didn't have the authority to arrange since Tywin removed him the moment he got back
-Bronn served very well at the battle of the Blackwater
-Bronn served some time as Jaime's bodyguard and was present in the sieges of Riverrun and Highgarden, however neither castle's capture was even remotely due to bronn.

None of these tasks were particularly vital to the Lannister war effort. Bronn's effort surely helped them but he was hardly their ace in the hole. 

So in the end what could have justified Bronn being given Highgarden aside from him threatening a cripple and a dwarf?

Realistically he would never get Highgarden. However, as he did, I feel that he most certainly did not deserve it. As an independent sellsword who did not bend the knee, I think he deserves his contract pay, but not reward or favor (that's only for people who swear oaths or bend the knee). He has two contracts:

1) Double of whatever someone else was offering to kill Tyrion.

2) A lordship, a highborn beauty wife, a castle better than Stokeworth as promised by Jaime after he cancelled Bronn's Lollys Stokeworth marriage (Bronn's reward for Blackwater) and dragged him along on the Lannister campaigns.

In the Winter town pub crossbow scene, Bronn seems to waive his contract with Jaime and rolled it into Tyrion's "double" contract. So as he claims that Cersei offered him Riverrun, Tyrion was obliged to double it to live. However, the truth is that Qyburn only promised an advance payment of several chests of gold and a hint of a greater final reward -along the lines of he himself being made Hand for loyal service (which despite the high office was not overlordship over territory). So Bronn was probably lying about Riverrun (and implied LP of Riverlands) to get Highgarden, and banking on Tyrion's easy going nature, tolerance and affinity towards him to honor it despite the fact he was threatening them.

Thus, I am going to conclude that Bronn obtained Highgarden by fraud, and that by the two contracts he had with the brothers, he deserved only:

1) Double the gold Cersei gave him, and perhaps reinstatement to City watch commander to count as double of Qyburn's hint of final reward shall he succeed. 

2) An attractive wife who is at least of gentry rank, a title of vassal lord and a castle slightly better than Stokeworth. 

 

[CrypticWeirwood]

2 hours ago, Br16 said:

Realistically he would never get Highgarden. However, as he did, I feel that he most certainly did not deserve it. As an independent sellsword who did not bend the knee, I think he deserves his contract pay, but not reward or favor (that's only for people who swear oaths or bend the knee). He has two contracts:

1) Double of whatever someone else was offering to kill Tyrion.

2) A lordship, a highborn beauty wife, a castle better than Stokeworth as promised by Jaime after he cancelled Bronn's Lollys Stokeworth marriage (Bronn's reward for Blackwater) and dragged him along on the Lannister campaigns.

In the Winter town pub crossbow scene, Bronn seems to waive his contract with Jaime and rolled it into Tyrion's "double" contract. So as he claims that Cersei offered him Riverrun, Tyrion was obliged to double it to live. However, the truth is that Qyburn only promised an advance payment of several chests of gold and a hint of a greater final reward -along the lines of he himself being made Hand for loyal service (which despite the high office was not overlordship over territory). So Bronn was probably lying about Riverrun (and implied LP of Riverlands) to get Highgarden, and banking on Tyrion's easy going nature, tolerance and affinity towards him to honor it despite the fact he was threatening them.

Thus, I am going to conclude that Bronn obtained Highgarden by fraud, and that by the two contracts he had with the brothers, he deserved only:

1) Double the gold Cersei gave him, and perhaps reinstatement to City watch commander to count as double of Qyburn's hint of final reward shall he succeed. 

2) An attractive wife who is at least of gentry rank, a title of vassal lord and a castle slightly better than Stokeworth. 

 

Maybe part of the point is that people often get something other than what they deserve. 

[Br16]

4 hours ago, CrypticWeirwood said:

Maybe part of the point is that people often get something other than what they deserve. 

Could very well be. After all, truth can be stranger than fiction.

[Beardy the Wildling]

I like to imagine the reacher lords taking a huge issue with Bronn's utterly baseless ascension and mounted a coup in no time. Of course, this is assuming the universe still has meaningful conflict and consequences (which thanks to D&D, isn't the case), but still, there's something funny about the idea that the new, likely incompetent Master of Coin/Warden of the South combo dying within the first year of Bran the Broken's rule.

Of course, Bran wouldn't try to help, what with not really wanting anymore.

[Br16]

21 minutes ago, Beardy the Wildling said:

I like to imagine the reacher lords taking a huge issue with Bronn's utterly baseless ascension and mounted a coup in no time. Of course, this is assuming the universe still has meaningful conflict and consequences (which thanks to D&D, isn't the case), but still, there's something funny about the idea that the new, likely incompetent Master of Coin/Warden of the South combo dying within the first year of Bran the Broken's rule.

Of course, Bran wouldn't try to help, what with not really wanting anymore.

Luckily for Bronn, maybe the Reach Lords (other than the late Tarly) live so luxuriously they rather not rock the boat under any circumstances. Maybe their ten of thousands of troops considered "fighting not their forte", so Bronn and whatever mercenary crew he put together is gonna get a pass. But I'll bet the Iron Bank will be the source of his death.

[It_spelt_Magalhaes]

11 minutes ago, Br16 said:

Luckily for Bronn, maybe the Reach Lords (other than the late Tarly) live so luxuriously they rather not rock the boat under any circumstances. Maybe their ten of thousands of troops considered "fighting not their forte", so Bronn and whatever mercenary crew he put together is gonna get a pass. But I'll bet the Iron Bank will be the source of his death.

Mycroft wouldn't stand for his 'bail' payment plan. Was it just me who kept waiting for him to pull out an umbrella?

His little plotting session with Cersei felt so... empty. War maketh debt, peace under an sob maketh money, revolution screweth banks. Wah wah. I just thought he showed up to salvage a really bad collection. Her reign was toast, litterally, and it was negotiate something or loose the ton of money they'd sunk into the Seven.

[Beardy the Wildling]

18 minutes ago, Br16 said:

Maybe their ten of thousands of troops considered "fighting not their forte", so Bronn and whatever mercenary crew he put together is gonna get a pass.

Lul, that was such a copout. The largest army in Westeros, who alone gave Renly Baratheon a kingly claim by conquest and managed to deflect Stannis's otherwise guaranteed conquest of King's Landing. The army that forced an uneasy alliance between Tyrell and Lannister, that Tywin fucking Lannister was afraid of. But apparently, no. A flower is their sigil, fighting isn't their forte. The home of chivalric romance in Westeros isn't good at fighting.

SEEMS LEGIT TO ME.

It's odd that this excuse was trotted out to explain not showing a big battle. Usually D&D jump for an opportunity to show off a visually spectacular, tactically inept battle. I guess we can assume, like everyone else, the reachers just didn't know you can use a castle as fortification and not meet your opponents out on the field. 

[It_spelt_Magalhaes]

1 minute ago, Beardy the Wildling said:

Lul, that was such a copout. The largest army in Westeros, who alone gave Renly Baratheon a kingly claim by conquest and managed to deflect Stannis's otherwise guaranteed conquest of King's Landing. The army that forced an uneasy alliance between Tyrell and Lannister, that Tywin fucking Lannister was afraid of. But apparently, no. A flower is their sigil, fighting isn't their forte. The home of chivalric romance in Westeros isn't good at fighting.

SEEMS LEGIT TO ME.

It's odd that this excuse was trotted out to explain not showing a big battle. Usually D&D jump for an opportunity to show off a visually spectacular, tactically inept battle. I guess we can assume, like everyone else, the reachers just didn't know you can use a castle as fortification and not meet your opponents out on the field. 

The Reacher Lords went to Cersei's PR convo and said 'Eff the Tyrells, 's my turn to shine!'. Also, are we supposed to believe 'all' the Tyrells except Olenna went boom with the Sept? That the Queen of Thorns had left a steward running Highgarden as she went to KL while the High Sparrow was gunning for her family?!

[Br16]

2 minutes ago, It_spelt_Magalhaes said:

Mycroft wouldn't stand for his 'bail' payment plan. Was it just me who kept waiting for him to pull out an umbrella?

His little plotting session with Cersei felt so... empty. War maketh debt, peace under an sob maketh money, revolution screweth banks. Wah wah. I just thought he showed up to salvage a really bad collection. Her reign was toast, litterally, and it was negotiate something or loose the ton of money they'd sunk into the Seven.

Good point, it seems the whole scene was just to give Cersei some Tywin style cred. I bet the Iron Bank is going to miss the Golden Company though, their preferred collectors for arrears. 

1 minute ago, Beardy the Wildling said:

Lul, that was such a copout. The largest army in Westeros, who alone gave Renly Baratheon a kingly claim by conquest and managed to deflect Stannis's otherwise guaranteed conquest of King's Landing. The army that forced an uneasy alliance between Tyrell and Lannister, that Tywin fucking Lannister was afraid of. But apparently, no. A flower is their sigil, fighting isn't their forte. The home of chivalric romance in Westeros isn't good at fighting.

SEEMS LEGIT TO ME.

It's odd that this excuse was trotted out to explain not showing a big battle. Usually D&D jump for an opportunity to show off a visually spectacular, tactically inept battle. I guess we can assume, like everyone else, the reachers just didn't know you can use a castle as fortification and not meet your opponents out on the field. 

Agree, I really wanted to see the Reach army do at least one epic daylight scene in full force, but all I got was some Horn Hill men mixed with Lannisters and Mace Tyrell's one scene outside the Sept. 

[It_spelt_Magalhaes]

Unless it was one of those 'the more things change', 'the wheel keeps on turning' things that, through the marvelous storytelling ability of D&D went 'splat'.

The Gardeners got crisped, their stewards got elevated. The Tyrells got crisped, their vassals turned cloak on  the last old biddy 'cos Cersei Said. The Tarlys got crisped out of pure stupidity on every direction, their...

Nope, expectations averted! Here's a cutthroat with zero connection to the system! Maybe this will work.

[Br16]

5 minutes ago, It_spelt_Magalhaes said:

Unless it was one of those 'the more things change', 'the wheel keeps on turning' things that, through the marvelous storytelling ability of D&D went 'splat'.

The Gardeners got crisped, their stewards got elevated. The Tyrells got crisped, their vassals turned cloak on  the last old biddy 'cos Cersei Said. The Tarlys got crisped out of pure stupidity on every direction, their...

Nope, expectations averted! Here's a cutthroat with zero connection to the system! Maybe this will work.

Wow, I forgot how everyone who held Highgarden/Reach LP got incinerated by either dragon fire or Targaryen wildfire. Also, Bronn did wound Drogon and Drogon is still alive. Feels like Bronn might not make it work out after all.

[It_spelt_Magalhaes]

To utilize the common algebra thing from the (who-the-hell-ever)+l=j thread:

Fire + ripe grainfields=?