Lady Dustin and revenge

[Lord Varys]

7 hours ago, Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 said:

Barbrey Dustin may have a genuine grudge against Ned but I don't think that she really extend this to Ned's children, and even if she does, she's most likely still working against the Boltons for she hates Ramsay far more that she could hate any Stark for what he has done to her beloved nephew and closest thing to a son who was Domeric, and that Roose lost any loyalty she may have had for him when he did nothing to punish Ramsay and avenge Domeric's death. She also surely isn't gullible about the Bolton's betrayal and their role in the Red Wedding where she lost men. 

And she may also know just how disastrous it will be for the North if the Boltons stay in power and that Ramsay ends up as its ruler after he succeeds Roose, hence another reason to plot against them.

Again, it is quite clear that Barbrey will not follow Ramsay - and it is equally clear that she could have murdered him before if she wanted to. He wasn't her guest at Barrowton, but still resided in her power with her bannerman. She could have attacked and killed him there. Like Manderly did away with the Freys.

Barbrey is close to Roose, so her loyalties are different from general Northern resentment towards the Boltons/Freys. It is quite clear that they will all turn on them if they show any weakness simply due to the Red Wedding.

If we talked about hatred and resentment then the Red Wedding alone should stop them from working with the Boltons ... but it doesn't. Even Manderly hedges his bets, pretends to work along and genuinely working along, presumably, if Davos were to fail.

19 minutes ago, Northern Sword said:

Barbrey Dunstin is a puzzle.

She may have this unrelenting hatred towards the Starks, and it is as simple as that. Clearly on the surface, that is a consistent message. It is not like she is hiding it.

Yet, underneath the surface, it may be a whole different story. She could be playing the double agent.

Or it could be somewhere in the middle. She hates the Starks for the past, whilst simultaneously not wanting the Bolton's in charge of the North in the future.

Taking anything at face value is a mistake.

Nobody is taking anything at face value. It is more about her actions than her words. Her forces are Roose's strongest Northern contingent aside from his own forces.

She is not a double agent working on behalf of somebody else. If there was a conspiracy she would be leading it - as she is the strongest Northern lord left (at least if we consider the forces assembled at Winterfell).

The crucial role she played at the wedding, etc. would allow her to kill, expose, or free 'Arya Stark' very easily - but there is no intention she was ever considering something like that.

[Lord of Raventree Hall]

3 hours ago, Lord Varys said:

Again, it is quite clear that Barbrey will not follow Ramsay - and it is equally clear that she could have murdered him before if she wanted to.

Varys, I sometimes agree with your theories, but as others have said here...you should really not put down your theories as like...absolute fact. 

Barbrey Dustin has a significant speaking role...in 4 pages of a 1,000 page book. Absolutely nothing is clear about her. I think she will betray the Boltons, but the truth is...I could be wrong...because it is 4 pages. Nothing is clear in those 4 pages at all. We know very very little about Barbrey Dustin. 

[Lord Varys]

20 hours ago, Lord of Raventree Hall said:

Varys, I sometimes agree with your theories, but as others have said here...you should really not put down your theories as like...absolute fact. 

But it is quite clear that Barbrey won't follow Ramsay. Just as it is clear that she could have murdered him (and Roose, too) as both were in her power. The Tyrells murdered Joffrey at his own table and at his own wedding feast, so murdering Roose and Ramsay both at Barrowton or Winterfell would really not be a big feat.

20 hours ago, Lord of Raventree Hall said:

Barbrey Dustin has a significant speaking role...in 4 pages of a 1,000 page book. Absolutely nothing is clear about her. I think she will betray the Boltons, but the truth is...I could be wrong...because it is 4 pages. Nothing is clear in those 4 pages at all. We know very very little about Barbrey Dustin. 

We certainly could know more about her, but there is no basis for her being a secret Stark loyalist. It is a crackpot theory.

Hell, we have even no clue what Manderly and his troops will do and how they will go about it. We certainly know his leanings and that he intends and wants to betray the Boltons ... but no clue how he will go about it.

And Rickon or no - they have to make a move at Winterfell. If Roose and Ramsay were to crush Stannis and the Northmen allied with him, they would be finished. Roose would have established his supreme authority in the North, and he would quickly settle the situation at the Wall, too.

Edited November 28, 2023 by Lord Varys

[Darth Sidious]

Barbrey has nothing at all to gain from the Starks. What we know about her shows the woman is a player of the game. The Starks can offer nothing. They have taken everything from her already. Two rebellions. The Starks made the North bleed because they rebelled twice. Any head of household in the North with some brains would want to depose the Starks. Roose offers a quiet land. His brand of justice is flawed for sure. But the Stark boys, Jon and Robb, are also just as flawed in that regard. Roose is at least more competent. Barbrey wants a quiet land at the end of the day.  She is not going to help the Starks. It’s not going to bring any benefit to her to bring them back. 
 

She’s got a plan up her sleeve. Like a hidden bastard. Somebody she wants to have legitimized maybe. She is plotting something with Roose. What candy he throws her way to keep her loyal? We’ve not seen the candy. Barbrey knows where she stands with Roose and he knows where he stands with her. 

[Kierria]

No happy endings for them.  Though they may get temporary and brief satisfaction from getting even.