Characters' Worst Decisions

[The Bard of Banefort]

Ned: Tipping off Cersei is definitely one of his worst moves, but I'd place trusting Littlefinger even higher. Cersei probably would not have been able to capture Ned without his help.

Catelyn: Kidnapping Tyrion

Tyrion: Not executing Littlefinger

Cersei: The obvious answer is arming the Faith, but accusing Tyrion of Joffrey's murder was probably more disastrous for her. It set off a chain of events that got both Tywin and Oberyn killed and alienated Kevan. And Tyrion was a key asset to the Lannisters, however much they didn't want to admit it.

Jaime: This one is harder. You could argue that Jaime's mistakes since the beginning of the series have actually helped him, since they set him off on a journey of self-discovery. With that in mind, I'd say his biggest mistake was joining the Kingsguard.

Sansa: Divulging Ned's plans to Cersei

Arya: Not requesting Jaqen kill someone more important than Chiswyck 

Bran: Maybe warging Hodor? His worst decisions are probably still to come.

Robb: Marrying Jeyne Westerling

Jon: Ignoring the concerns of Bowen Marsh and the other Night's Watch men

Tywin: Going through with the trial and conviction against Tyrion, rather than putting a quick stop to it

Petyr: Divulging many of his secrets to Sansa. His biggest mistakes are likely still to come.

Sandor: Like Jaime, his bad decisions appear to be leading him to a better place. Overall, his blind obedience to the Lannisters is probably what caused him the most personal grief.

Daenerys: Going on a conquest without a long-term plan for the cities whose rulers she toppled. Rejecting Quentyn was probably also a poor decision.

Arys: Charging Areo Hotah

Arianne: Pretty much her entire queenmaker plot. The whole thing was asinine from the start.

Theon: Taking Winterfell

Asha: Not supporting Theon's claim from the beginning 

Doran: Pursuing his revenge plot. He saw how Dorne prospered under his years of restraint; now he's going to see what happens when he tosses his hat into the ring.

JonCon: Possibly how he handled the Battle of the Bells, although there's no guarantee that he would have won either way. Not convincing Aegon to continue onward to Meereen will likely have huge repercussions. 

Aegon: Taking Tyrion's stupid advice instead of teaming up with Dany

Stannis: Sitting on the incest revelation for as long as he did

Davos: Letting his sons join him in battle, perhaps? He's made remarkably few poor decisions so far.

Roose: Outing himself at the Red Wedding. He should have disguised his treachery and surrendered to the Lannisters immediately afterwards, giving him a plausible pretext for why he was granted Winterfell.

Walder: The Red Wedding

Barristan: Trusting the Shavepate. Or saving Aerys.

Victarion: Submitting to Euron

Aeron: Calling a kingsmoot instead of championing Asha

Margaery: Going to Pycelle for moon tea

Loras: Storming Dragonstone

Kevan: Leaving King's Landing after Tywin's death

 

What do you think were some of the characters' worst decisions?

[Kal-L]

Ned is the most important one to me. His choice to bring his daughters into the viper's nest that was King's Landing in spite of the numerous red flags that had risen through from Robert's arrival to Winterfell onwards put his family in a terrible position, freely giving his enemies valuable hostages. Overall, Ned's love for Robert, a man who - as much as I enjoy the character - was never worth it is the root of House Stark's downfall. Lyanna definitely dodged a bullet, and it goes way deeper than Robert being unfaithful, it was just a part of the shallowness of his character.

[Odej]

Jaime's biggest mistakes can be summarized in one: thinking with his dick.

[Nevets]

Ned:  Not taking Renly up on his coup offer.

Catelyn: Arresting Tyrion.

Tyrion: Threatening Tommen.

Daenerys: Not threatening her cupbearers (hostages).  It gives the impression of weakness, and she needs to appear powerful and scary.

Jon: Dismissing the concerns of Bowen Marsh and other subordinates.  Also, announcing he's attacking Winterfell with a wildling army.  What's that about?

Sansa: Telling Cersei of their plans to leave.  Ned was doomed, but she and Arya still had a chance to escape.

Arya: Not giving Jaqen names that actually mattered.

Theon: Staying in Winterfell.  Taking Winterfell was a stroke of genius.  Take the Starks (and the Reeds and Freys if you can hold on to them) and make a run for it.  Daddy might even take you seriously after that.  Winterfell itself is worthless; it's who lives there that's important.

Balon: Trying to take the North in the first place.  It's too big, too spread out, and too damn poor to be worth the effort.

Cersei: Making enemies of Margaery and the Tyrells.  Stiffing the Iron Bank and rearming the Faith are pretty bad, too.

Brienne: Assuming that the fool and his companions mentioned by the dwarf were Dontos and Sansa.  The descriptions didn't really match and she wasted a lot of time on Crackclaw Point.

Robb: Marrying Jeyne Westerling.

[Groo]

21 minutes ago, Nevets said:

Theon: Staying in Winterfell.  Taking Winterfell was a stroke of genius.  Take the Starks (and the Reeds and Freys if you can hold on to them) and make a run for it.  Daddy might even take you seriously after that.  Winterfell itself is worthless; it's who lives there that's important.

Came here to say exactly this. Theon would be in a dramatically improved position if he had just taken hostages and gone back to the Iron Islands.

[Groo]

4 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

Aeron: Calling a kingsmoot instead of championing Asha

In thousands of years, the Iron Islands had never been ruled by a woman. Calling a kingsmoot and championing Victarion was not an obviously bad move. Victarion got a lot of support and it could have worked. When I think of bad decisions, I think of moments that left me stunned as they were happening. Top of my list is Ned tipping off Cersei. Even on my first reading, I was gob smocked by the stupidity of it. I have that same reaction to much of what Cersei does so it's hard to pick a "winner" for her. I'd probably go with arming the Faith, like you said. I thought that was blindingly stupid as I was reading it.

[SeanF]

Dany shrank from what Macchiavelli considered essential, in a ruler, in a newly-established principality.

She failed to destroy the old order.

[Craving Peaches]

Tommen's decision to outlaw beets was ill advised. The consequences will negatively effect the economy of Westeros. He let emotions get the better of his judgement there.

[JonSnow4President]

I actually think Ned's dumbest decision is not taking full use of the political power of the hand and consolidating practical power in the hands of people he controlled.  You can't look at these things purely objectively without also considering the objectives of the people involved.

Ned absolutely does not want to kill innocents and become part of King ruling as Aerys reborn.  Saving Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella is entirely consistent with that objective, and a very human move.

[Groo]

27 minutes ago, JonSnow4President said:

Ned absolutely does not want to kill innocents and become part of King ruling as Aerys reborn.  Saving Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella is entirely consistent with that objective, and a very human move.

Yes, but he had other options besides tipping off Cersei. Here's an obvious one: arrest Cersei, seize the children, and send the children to Winterfell for safekeeping while Cersei is tried. Ned was foolishly hoping that Cersei would make everything easy for him. If she ran away it would confirm her guilt, keep the children safe, and avoid a showdown with Robert about killing the kids. Wishful thinking always imagines great and easy outcomes.

[Darth Sidious]

6 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

Ned: Tipping off Cersei is definitely one of his worst moves, but I'd place trusting Littlefinger even higher. Cersei probably would not have been able to capture Ned without his help.

Catelyn: Kidnapping Tyrion

Tyrion: Not executing Littlefinger

Cersei: The obvious answer is arming the Faith, but accusing Tyrion of Joffrey's murder was probably more disastrous for her. It set off a chain of events that got both Tywin and Oberyn killed and alienated Kevan. And Tyrion was a key asset to the Lannisters, however much they didn't want to admit it.

Jaime: This one is harder. You could argue that Jaime's mistakes since the beginning of the series have actually helped him, since they set him off on a journey of self-discovery. With that in mind, I'd say his biggest mistake was joining the Kingsguard.

Sansa: Divulging Ned's plans to Cersei

Arya: Not requesting Jaqen kill someone more important than Chiswyck 

Bran: Maybe warging Hodor? His worst decisions are probably still to come.

Robb: Marrying Jeyne Westerling

Jon: Ignoring the concerns of Bowen Marsh and the other Night's Watch men

Tywin: Going through with the trial and conviction against Tyrion, rather than putting a quick stop to it

Petyr: Divulging many of his secrets to Sansa. His biggest mistakes are likely still to come.

Sandor: Like Jaime, his bad decisions appear to be leading him to a better place. Overall, his blind obedience to the Lannisters is probably what caused him the most personal grief.

Daenerys: Going on a conquest without a long-term plan for the cities whose rulers she toppled. Rejecting Quentyn was probably also a poor decision.

Arys: Charging Areo Hotah

Arianne: Pretty much her entire queenmaker plot. The whole thing was asinine from the start.

Theon: Taking Winterfell

Asha: Not supporting Theon's claim from the beginning 

Doran: Pursuing his revenge plot. He saw how Dorne prospered under his years of restraint; now he's going to see what happens when he tosses his hat into the ring.

JonCon: Possibly how he handled the Battle of the Bells, although there's no guarantee that he would have won either way. Not convincing Aegon to continue onward to Meereen will likely have huge repercussions. 

Aegon: Taking Tyrion's stupid advice instead of teaming up with Dany

Stannis: Sitting on the incest revelation for as long as he did

Davos: Letting his sons join him in battle, perhaps? He's made remarkably few poor decisions so far.

Roose: Outing himself at the Red Wedding. He should have disguised his treachery and surrendered to the Lannisters immediately afterwards, giving him a plausible pretext for why he was granted Winterfell.

Walder: The Red Wedding

Barristan: Trusting the Shavepate. Or saving Aerys.

Victarion: Submitting to Euron

Aeron: Calling a kingsmoot instead of championing Asha

Margaery: Going to Pycelle for moon tea

Loras: Storming Dragonstone

Kevan: Leaving King's Landing after Tywin's death

 

What do you think were some of the characters' worst decisions?

Your list is too Stark-friendly.  Jon’s worst decision is the worst in the history of the Night’s Watch. That is starting a war with the Boltons. When he sent Mance Rayder to help Arya. That was like declaring war on the Boltons. 

[Groo]

6 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

Robb: Marrying Jeyne Westerling

Let's put killing Rickard Karstark as Robb's second worse decision.

[Lee-Sensei]

15 hours ago, Kal-L said:

Ned is the most important one to me. His choice to bring his daughters into the viper's nest that was King's Landing in spite of the numerous red flags that had risen through from Robert's arrival to Winterfell onwards put his family in a terrible position, freely giving his enemies valuable hostages. Overall, Ned's love for Robert, a man who - as much as I enjoy the character - was never worth it is the root of House Stark's downfall. Lyanna definitely dodged a bullet, and it goes way deeper than Robert being unfaithful, it was just a part of the shallowness of his character.

Is it? There were several things that Ned could have done to avert what happened. Take Renly up on his offer after Robert's death (when Robert gave him full power) as an example. Instead he decided to trust a much more shady character. Littlefinger. Lyanna dodged a bullet in that she didn't end up with someone she didn't seem to want (fair enough, but it had some pretty deadly consequences). I don't think that means that Robert was just always terrible.

Edited September 26, 2023 by Lee-Sensei

[Lee-Sensei]

11 hours ago, Groo said:

In thousands of years, the Iron Islands had never been ruled by a woman. Calling a kingsmoot and championing Victarion was not an obviously bad move. Victarion got a lot of support and it could have worked. When I think of bad decisions, I think of moments that left me stunned as they were happening. Top of my list is Ned tipping off Cersei. Even on my first reading, I was gob smocked by the stupidity of it. I have that same reaction to much of what Cersei does so it's hard to pick a "winner" for her. I'd probably go with arming the Faith, like you said. I thought that was blindingly stupid as I was reading it.

Ned warning Cersei is understandable to me, but not a wise decision. I think the fandom often portrays Ne as dumb. I don't think that's fair. But it's kind of baffling to me how Ned wonders why Cersei's lingering around so long after he warned her to leave. I guess he was only looking at it from his own perspective and what he'd do if he was in their position (leave to protect his kids). 

[SeanF]

13 hours ago, Darth Sidious said:

Your list is too Stark-friendly.  Jon’s worst decision is the worst in the history of the Night’s Watch. That is starting a war with the Boltons. When he sent Mance Rayder to help Arya. That was like declaring war on the Boltons. 

The Boltons are hostes humanum generis.  Fighting them is a moral imperative.

 

13 hours ago, Groo said:

Let's put killing Rickard Karstark as Robb's second worse decision.

Karstark had done rogue.  He was a traitor, a mutineer, and publicly defied his king, making him a liar in the eyes of the world.  Any king would execute such a vassal.

[Lord of Raventree Hall]

21 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

Ned: Tipping off Cersei is definitely one of his worst moves, but I'd place trusting Littlefinger even higher. Cersei probably would not have been able to capture Ned without his help.

Catelyn: Kidnapping Tyrion

Tyrion: Not executing Littlefinger

Cersei: The obvious answer is arming the Faith, but accusing Tyrion of Joffrey's murder was probably more disastrous for her. It set off a chain of events that got both Tywin and Oberyn killed and alienated Kevan. And Tyrion was a key asset to the Lannisters, however much they didn't want to admit it.

Jaime: This one is harder. You could argue that Jaime's mistakes since the beginning of the series have actually helped him, since they set him off on a journey of self-discovery. With that in mind, I'd say his biggest mistake was joining the Kingsguard.

Sansa: Divulging Ned's plans to Cersei

Arya: Not requesting Jaqen kill someone more important than Chiswyck 

Bran: Maybe warging Hodor? His worst decisions are probably still to come.

Robb: Marrying Jeyne Westerling

Jon: Ignoring the concerns of Bowen Marsh and the other Night's Watch men

Tywin: Going through with the trial and conviction against Tyrion, rather than putting a quick stop to it

Petyr: Divulging many of his secrets to Sansa. His biggest mistakes are likely still to come.

Sandor: Like Jaime, his bad decisions appear to be leading him to a better place. Overall, his blind obedience to the Lannisters is probably what caused him the most personal grief.

Daenerys: Going on a conquest without a long-term plan for the cities whose rulers she toppled. Rejecting Quentyn was probably also a poor decision.

Arys: Charging Areo Hotah

Arianne: Pretty much her entire queenmaker plot. The whole thing was asinine from the start.

Theon: Taking Winterfell

Asha: Not supporting Theon's claim from the beginning 

Doran: Pursuing his revenge plot. He saw how Dorne prospered under his years of restraint; now he's going to see what happens when he tosses his hat into the ring.

JonCon: Possibly how he handled the Battle of the Bells, although there's no guarantee that he would have won either way. Not convincing Aegon to continue onward to Meereen will likely have huge repercussions. 

Aegon: Taking Tyrion's stupid advice instead of teaming up with Dany

Stannis: Sitting on the incest revelation for as long as he did

Davos: Letting his sons join him in battle, perhaps? He's made remarkably few poor decisions so far.

Roose: Outing himself at the Red Wedding. He should have disguised his treachery and surrendered to the Lannisters immediately afterwards, giving him a plausible pretext for why he was granted Winterfell.

Walder: The Red Wedding

Barristan: Trusting the Shavepate. Or saving Aerys.

Victarion: Submitting to Euron

Aeron: Calling a kingsmoot instead of championing Asha

Margaery: Going to Pycelle for moon tea

Loras: Storming Dragonstone

Kevan: Leaving King's Landing after Tywin's death

 

What do you think were some of the characters' worst decisions?

Catelyn : Trusting her sister, Lysa, or trusting Petyr. Capturing Tyrion was actually a smart move....if the things Petyr were telling here were true, and if Lysa wasn't an idiot they could have traded Tyrion for Eddard. Let's go with trusting Petyr, to match Eddard.

Eddard : But actually no. Not befriending Renly, not taking Renly's offer of men. Something with Renly. Basically Eddard and Renly could have been allies, logical allies, but Eddard never treated him seriously. 

Sansa : Not supporting Arya's version of events. If she had, Lady might still be alive, and perhaps Lady coul dhave....protected her in some way through the rest of the books. 

Daenerys : Trusting Mirri Maz Dur I guess. But...she needed to trust her to come into her power/hatch her dragons. Hmmm. Oh, I know. Not redistributing the wealth more in Meereen (giving more of the Masters stuff to the Freedmen). This could have made a big difference I think in how things played out in Meereen. 

Arya : I agree with you. The Jaqen thing. 

Jon : Also agree with you. 

Jaime : Throwing a small child out a window. I don't know, I think that is horrible. 

Cersei : Listen, I know this will be controversial. Don't hate me. But not making a baby with Robert. I get it, she hated him...but....like if she had just one black haired kid, no one might have ever expected or cared about the others, especially if the black haired kid was the oldest. 

Tywin : Being a terrible father. The thing where he had his son's wife raped? Treating his daughter like dirt, or even less than dirt? I don't know...there are so many. Tywin is a horrible human being, most of my decisions in my mind are worse than like any of the characters above other than perhaps Cersei's. 

Tyrion : Raping a person. 

Theon : Hmm. This is hard, he made a series of terrible decisions in ACoK. I guess if I pointed to "the worst one"...trusting Ramsay Bolton, lol. I mean, it was very bad. But close up there would be choosing his father over Robb. Robb was the right choice,a nd even Theon knew it. 

Bran : Looking in the window. Listen, he is a child, but it was a very bad decision we know because of the consequences. 

Asha : ....Not either supporting Victorian or getting Victorian to support her I guess. 

Victorian : The same as above. Or killing his wife. That is pretty obviously horrible.

Lysa : Not holding onto Tyrion. Not trusting her sister. 

Edmure : Pulling the Tallhart men from the Twins (it was Tallheart's right?)

Stannis : Only listening to Melisandre of Asshai, not doing...normal King shit like trying to make alliances with Lysa or Robb. Not teaming up with Eddard pre-Robert's death. Not telling anyone about the incest. honestly, I think Stannis made oh so many mistakes, lol. 

Renly : I guess going to meet Stannis. Granted like Bran above, he couldn't possibly know how that would turn out, but in retrospect it cost him hislife. He could have taken King's Landing. Maybe...then Stannis's shadow-babies are already used up? 

Qyntyn : Obviously going into a dragon's den. 

Arianne : Queenmaking plot, I agree with OP

JonCon : Not making sure Aegon went to meet Daenerys. 

Aegon : Trusting Tyrion even while Tyrion essentially told him not to trust him. 

Robert : Not seeing Cersei as a threat to his power, like at all. Also, probably raping her. Or calling her Lyanna. Think, if he just called her Cersei...he might have had his own son born. 

Walder : The Red Wedding. His house will be torn apart because of it I think. 

Roose : Trusting his bastard son. Honestly, I think Ramsay could be his downfall. Or betraying the Starks. Honestly, the Boltons are not going to come out of this well I don't think. 

Loras : Killing the Rainbow Guard members. That always struck me as tragic. 

Robb : Listen, this one is complicated, but not somehow marrying Maergerry Tyrell instead of a random Westerland lord's daughter. The Starks and Tyrells would have been enough to crush the Lannisters, and with a promise of justice to Doran Martell, he ocul dhave gotten the Martells as well. I guess marrying Jeyne Westerling would be the simpler answer here. Maybe not pushing for Edmure, and not himself, to be the initial marriage contract haver? Or maybe Bran? I don't know, he was too valuable to marry a Frey too. He should have been single and ready to mingle, and then an alliance could have been made with the Martells, Tyrells, or hell, maybe even Stannis? Marry Shireen when she comes of age. I don't know. I'm spitballing. 

Viserys : So many things. Not accepting his place I guess. Not realizing he needed to be a puppet King at best and kind of go with the flow. Beating his sister? A lot of things. 

Jorah : Not being more honest with Daenerys once he changed sides. Think if his words had come from him instead of Barristan. Could have changed how Daenerys felt...maybe? Or fuck, if he'd just been more apologetic and humble??

Jeor : Fist of the First Men probably. 

Janos : Not obeying Jon Snow's orders. 

Melisandre : overconfidence in her visions I guess. 

Brienne of Tarth : Honestly, nothing. Yeah, that's right. She is perfect! I said it. okay, that's not true. I guess not trusting Dick Crabb more? I liked Dick Crabb. 

Lynesse Hightower : marrying Ser Jorah (I mean it obviously wasn't for her, am I right?)

Jhogo : Nothing. Jhogo is perfect from what we see, lol. 

Drogon : Eating that kid if he did it. Really fucked things up for Daenerys. Come on Drogon!

The Shavepate : If he did indeed poison the locusts...it was honestly a bad plan. It could only work to his favor the way it went down...maybe if Daenerys ate them and survived I guess too. But what if Hizdar ate them? I doubt that would have gone the way he wanted it. 

Barristan : I'd argue he already owned his worst decision by going to join Daenerys. 

Aegon the V : Being too awesome and pro-little people. I'd vote for you if you were running for President, Aegon the V. 

Duncan the Tall : Not getting Tansy Too Tall's phone number. Come on bro. 

Preston Greenfield : getting killed by that mob seemed a bad decision to me. Maybe protecting the HIgh Septon?

Tytos Lannister : Not ....controlling Tywin more somehow. 

Brandon Stark : Going with  few dudes instead of an army to King's Landing. 

Rickard Stark : The same thing as above. 

Jon Arryn : Raising LIttlefinger up. 

Rhaegar Targaryen : Not ....explaining more. LIke, if Lyanna an dhim were in love....like...maybe announcing that. I don't know. Explain better bro. 

Lyanna : Same as above. Write to your father or something, I don't know. 

Aerys : Everything in his life seemed a mistake, but I'll go with.....killing Brandon and Rickard Stark actually, it ended up costing him and his house everything. 

Mace Tyrell : maybe joining hands wiht the Lannisters. Should have gone for someone better. 

 

 

 

 

[Ser Arthurs Dawn]

17 hours ago, Craving Peaches said:

Tommen's decision to outlaw beets was ill advised. The consequences will negatively effect the economy of Westeros. He let emotions get the better of his judgement there.

Wow. Biased much?? I always knew you hated Tommen, and it's really showing here. This was his secret way of reaching an accord with House Martell. An excessive amount of beets can potentially lead to gout, and Tommen knows how much Doran suffers from this illness. The way he outlawed beets was a stroke of genius, attempting to settle years of conflict between his family and the Martells, and all without his mother's knowledge. In this essay I will-

 all hail King Tommen

[Craving Peaches]

5 minutes ago, Ser Arthurs Dawn said:

Wow. Biased much?? I always knew you hated Tommen, and it's really showing here. This was his secret way of reaching an accord with House Martell. An excessive amount of beets can potentially lead to gout, and Tommen knows how much Doran suffers from this illness. The way he outlawed beets was a stroke of genius, attempting to settle years of conflict between his family and the Martells, and all without his mother's knowledge. In this essay I will-

 all hail King Tommen

You misunderstand me. As leal subjects of King Tommen it is our duty to (gently) inform His Grace of where he has erred, so that he may learn from his ill advised decisions. Which, naturally, the decision to ban beets was. I daresay that Prince Doran might not be suffering from gout if he'd eaten a few more beats. Of course, it is evident where this bad decision came from. We must look no further than Lady Whiskers, who already has a noted propensity for the mischievous.

[Ser Arthurs Dawn]

Theon: not seeing his mother when he had the chance  And like someone above said, remaining in WF 

Dany: same as OP, lacking any long-term plans for such a major and life-altering mission. It's understandable though, given her age and lack of experience.

Catelyn: I'd say kidnapping Tyrion, but I think the bigger mistake was taking him to Lysa.

Ned: I'm gonna go with refusing Renly's offer, but also taking his girls with him to KL. I know it probably worked out in their favor (to a degree), but I often wonder what would have happened had they stayed in WF. Theon talks about wishing he would have been married to Sansa, would he have forcibly married her after he took it? Would Osha have been able to get all 4 of them out?

Cersei: arming the Faith

Jaime: thinking he's the main character gifted with plot armor. "I'm gonna attack Lord Stark and push his son out of a window and nothing will happen to me." his only redeeming quality is sticking to the oath he swore to Cat, even if he is only doing it for the sake of irony.

Jon: announcing his plans, and in the most "ra-ra!" way ever. it was very cringey, but cringe is Jon's middle name. (i did love his hardy boys phase though.)

Sansa: spilling the beans to Cersei. but also just not being supportive of her sister.

Robb: locking up Greywind & marrying Jeyne

Tyrion: not offing LF

Tywin: the way he raised and treated his children

Joffrey: beheading Ned

Stannis: the martyring. I understand "religion" isn't a huge part of GRRM's story, but for me personally this is a huge deal. he will never rule peacefully as long as he is persecuting people for their religious and spiritual beliefs/practices.

Robert: treating his wife like crap, not giving his children the time of day, slacking in his duties.

Davos: sir, get your son and go back to your wife, i'm begging you.

I'll stop there because I'm too lazy to do any more.

Edited September 26, 2023 by Ser Arthurs Dawn

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight9]

On 9/25/2023 at 4:57 PM, The Bard of Banefort said:

Ned: Tipping off Cersei is definitely one of his worst moves, but I'd place trusting Littlefinger even higher. Cersei probably would not have been able to capture Ned without his help.

Catelyn: Kidnapping Tyrion

Tyrion: Not executing Littlefinger

Cersei: The obvious answer is arming the Faith, but accusing Tyrion of Joffrey's murder was probably more disastrous for her. It set off a chain of events that got both Tywin and Oberyn killed and alienated Kevan. And Tyrion was a key asset to the Lannisters, however much they didn't want to admit it.

Jaime: This one is harder. You could argue that Jaime's mistakes since the beginning of the series have actually helped him, since they set him off on a journey of self-discovery. With that in mind, I'd say his biggest mistake was joining the Kingsguard.

Sansa: Divulging Ned's plans to Cersei

Arya: Not requesting Jaqen kill someone more important than Chiswyck 

Bran: Maybe warging Hodor? His worst decisions are probably still to come.

Robb: Marrying Jeyne Westerling

Jon: Ignoring the concerns of Bowen Marsh and the other Night's Watch men

Tywin: Going through with the trial and conviction against Tyrion, rather than putting a quick stop to it

Petyr: Divulging many of his secrets to Sansa. His biggest mistakes are likely still to come.

Sandor: Like Jaime, his bad decisions appear to be leading him to a better place. Overall, his blind obedience to the Lannisters is probably what caused him the most personal grief.

Daenerys: Going on a conquest without a long-term plan for the cities whose rulers she toppled. Rejecting Quentyn was probably also a poor decision.

Arys: Charging Areo Hotah

Arianne: Pretty much her entire queenmaker plot. The whole thing was asinine from the start.

Theon: Taking Winterfell

Asha: Not supporting Theon's claim from the beginning 

Doran: Pursuing his revenge plot. He saw how Dorne prospered under his years of restraint; now he's going to see what happens when he tosses his hat into the ring.

JonCon: Possibly how he handled the Battle of the Bells, although there's no guarantee that he would have won either way. Not convincing Aegon to continue onward to Meereen will likely have huge repercussions. 

Aegon: Taking Tyrion's stupid advice instead of teaming up with Dany

Stannis: Sitting on the incest revelation for as long as he did

Davos: Letting his sons join him in battle, perhaps? He's made remarkably few poor decisions so far.

Roose: Outing himself at the Red Wedding. He should have disguised his treachery and surrendered to the Lannisters immediately afterwards, giving him a plausible pretext for why he was granted Winterfell.

Walder: The Red Wedding

Barristan: Trusting the Shavepate. Or saving Aerys.

Victarion: Submitting to Euron

Aeron: Calling a kingsmoot instead of championing Asha

Margaery: Going to Pycelle for moon tea

Loras: Storming Dragonstone

Kevan: Leaving King's Landing after Tywin's death

 

What do you think were some of the characters' worst decisions?

Robb's worst mistake was never marrying Jeyne Westerling, it was trusting Roose Bolton and Walder Frey and most of his scions in the first place.