Why did they do that? (A thread about characters mistakes)

[SecretNegative]

I know! Let's send the son to deliver a message that begs the help from a lord who hates us and hasn't attacked us only because we have his son! Brillant!

[The Crow's Eye]

Why didn't Balon take Robb's offer and attack Lannisport and Casterly Rock? The alliance between the independence seeking Northmen and Ironborn would have made a lot of sense, and would have been badass as hell. But no. :crying:

Dammit Balon! You fucked it up for everyone!

[998]

This isn't probably mistake but I wonder why Tywin didn't go to Robert when was Tyrion kidnapped. He could say that Ned broke King's peace, etc and insisted on Ned's resignation as Hand. He could have Tyrion back plus probably some gold, reputation of house Stark would be tarnished and position of Hand would be empty. He could IMO gain more positives from this scenario than his war againts Riverlands and WOT5K.

Robert probably wouldn't have done anything against his good friend Ned. Plus I doubt Tywin would've liked appearing weak, even to the King.

[secretTysha]

I don't want to say Balon was stupid, just prideful to the point of stupidity.

Cersei and her underestimation of Joffrey. I know most parents have a hard time believing their children have issues. In reality though, someone's child will ultimately grow up to be a psychopathic killer. Ned was a dead man before he was even arrested.

[tze]

This from the man who wiped two houses off the map when he was sixteen. Does Tywin listen to his own song? He himself proved that even an untried general can win a campaign.

Knowing what we know of Tywin, I think this blindness actually does make sense. Tywin considered himself superior to everyone else. If someone else, especially a non-Lannister, could achieve the same martial prowess as young Tywin (and in fact, do it at an even younger age than Tywin!) . . . that would mean that 1) Tywin isn't actually special and 2) being a Lannister doesn't actually make him superior to anyone else. Tywin refuses to acknowledge either of these possibilities, and that's why he couldn't use his own history to extrapolate the potential threat Robb posed to him.

[Xango]

To stay on the Tywin theme...Tywin completely ignoring Tyrion. He had a son that could do anything minus being a knight, but instead he's a prideful and spiteful dick and ignores all the possibilities for his son...and it ultimately costs him his life, good ole irony.

[Dimadick]

- Theon turning his back on Robb and capturing Winterfell.

I actually thought this was a good move to re-establish himself as a Greyjoy. He was seen as an outcast by his own family. His strategy at capturing Winterfell was brilliant.

But you can't actually maintain occupation of an area with a hand-full of soldiers. refusing to evacuate Winterfell, with his noble captives, was a major blunder. If Ramsay failed to undermine him, other Northerners would have taken up the challenge.

[Dimadick]

- Cersei giving The Faith military power (I lol'd when her plans backfired on her though)

I couldn't believe my eyes. A ruler allows an army outside of his/her direct control to be built within his/her own base?

[Leviathan I]

Has no-one mentioned Quentyn's little fuck up with the dragons? That was a pretty bad mistake.

[Dimadick]

- Tywin Lannister: Remember Tywin pissed off at all the bad decisions and strange messages coming from King's Landing? He has to send Tyrion to the city because he suddenly realizes there are no reliable Lannister agents there. Seriously Tywin? You pretty much financed the entire regime for almost two decades. You never thought of maintaining skilled agents throughout its area?

- Cersei Lannister: Trusting in Lancel, and sleeping with him. The move backfires severely. Lancel keeps leaking information to just about anyone, provides blackmail information to Tyrion, plays a large part in alienating Cersei from Kevan, is one of the causes of her alienation with Jaime, and proves a convenient pawn for the High Sparrow. This keeps getting better and better.

-Jaime Lannister. At the early chapters of "A Game of Thrones", we learn that Cersei wanted to put forward Jaime as a candidate for the position of Hand to Robert. He himself denied the role as part of his lifelong goal of avoiding responsibility. He has no right to complain when Jon Arryn is replaced by a largely hostile Hand.

-Tyrion Lannister. Tywin pretty much gives him the freedom to determine the current loyalties of Petyr, Pycelle, and Varys. And if necessary execute them, Tyrion takes out Pycelle, the only one of the three who is actually loyal. Good job, Tyrion. You can't tell your enemies from your friends.

- Stannis Baratheon. Renly was building up alliances before the War started. Stannis pretty much isolated himself. Guess who ends up with the biggest army.

-Aeron Greyjoy. I can't think of an Ironman less in touch with the needs, ambitions, of dreams of his own countrymen. If the Kingsmoot proved anything, was how clueless Aeron is concerning the views of his countrymen.

[Grip]

I am a bit conflicted on the Old Bears descision to remain at the Fist, instead of retreating to the Wall. Perhaps this is in hindsight yet I still think it is worth discussing. Sure the Fist is strong, and was made stronger by the NW, yet even so they could not have hoped to hold Mance Rayder at bay that long. Jon raises the question of the water supply and they talk, IIRC of bringing in water and building cisterns yet we dont know whether they actually completed this. Not having a fresh water supply could well have meant all the difference. If Mance besieged them they would eventually have to attack, or die from lack of supplies, and I doubt they could break through. The plan is, it seems, was to use the Fist as a base from which they could attack the Wildling column, striking in smaller groups along the order of marsch. While this is a good strategy is it worth risking the best elements IE the veteran rangers, the elite, of the Watch? The Halfhand informs Mormont that the Wildlings are far more numerous then expected and that they mean to breach the Wall somehow, not try and climb it etc. Would it not then have been better to withdraw and make sure that you manned some of the abandoned forts aswell as keeping the rangers as a mounted reserve, ready to counter any eventual breach? Or keep a smaller force, say 50 men, to strike along the column while the rest retreated to the safety of the Wall? So in conclusion I can understand Mormont's descision yet I am not sure it was the right one, its not clear cut imo. Unfortunently I see this in part as a move from Martin in making Jon's rise to commander that much easier, had all those officers not been lons then Jon's elevation would have been much harder.

[wolverine]

It seems like a lot of these questions can be answered with the character being crazy or temporarily irrational for a specific reason.

I mean, how can you question anything Cersei does? She's crazy.

[Daena the Defiant]

Another is why did Cat go to Ned herself with the dagger? Ned trusts his own men, so why couldn't she just have sent Ser Rodrik Cassel and Theon Greyjoy with the dagger?

Catelyn went with the accusations to King's Landing because she thought she had the best chance of being believed when accusing the king's in-laws because she is a) one the highest ranking people in the Seven Kingdoms b ) a direct eyewitness c) the mother one victim and lastly, and crucially d) victim herself with scars to corroborate her accusations. Her plan was to go to Ned and confront the Lannisters in court if necessary. It would be hard to ignore the Lady of Winterfell, Wife of the Hand and daughter of the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands holding up her fucked up hands in court and blaming the Queen's family for it.

And seriously, send Theon Greyjoy? The hostage against his father's good behavior whom Catelyn counselled Robb against sending away anywhere? The one who, as soon as he set free turned right around cut Robb's throat? Good grief.You might as well as suggest that she meet with Cersei to discuss her concerns.

[Fire Eater]

Catelyn went with the accusations to King's Landing because she thought she had the best chance of being believed when accusing the king's in-laws because she is a) one the highest ranking people in the Seven Kingdoms b ) a direct eyewitness c) the mother one victim and lastly, and crucially d) victim herself with scars to corroborate her accusations. Her plan was to go to Ned and confront the Lannisters in court if necessary. It would be hard to ignore the Lady of Winterfell, Wife of the Hand and daughter of the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands holding up her fucked up hands in court and blaming the Queen's family for it.

And seriously, send Theon Greyjoy? The hostage against his father's good behavior whom Catelyn counselled Robb against sending away anywhere? The one who, as soon as he set free turned right around cut Robb's throat? Good grief.You might as well as suggest that she meet with Cersei to discuss her concerns.

Theon Greyjoy didn't turn on Robb until his father made him; before he wanted his father to ally with Robb. Cat told Robb just not to send him back to his father, and KL is on the opposite side of Westeros.

If the Lannisters paid an assassin to kill her son what would stop them from doing the same to her in light of her accusations in court in a city they dominate?

[Every]

-Jaime Lannister. At the early chapters of "A Game of Thrones", we learn that Cersei wanted to put forward Jaime as a candidate for the position of Hand to Robert. He himself denied the role as part of his lifelong goal of avoiding responsibility. He has no right to complain when Jon Arryn is replaced by a largely hostile Hand.

To be fair to Jaime, there's no reason to think Robert would have accepted him as Hand even if Cersei had suggested it. Robert was emphatic about wanting someone he trusted as Hand, not someone whose loyalty was unquestionably to his wife. Besides which, can a member of the KG even be Hand?

[Daena the Defiant]

If the Lannisters paid an assassin to kill her son what would stop them from doing the same to her in light of her accusations in court in a city they dominate.

Ah, you hit the nail right on the head. Kudos.

She was the best person to level the accusations for the above mentioned reasons, but she also knew she was vulnerable which is why she went in secret with minimal escort.

[Martello]

Cersei not accepting Ned's offer of a chance to take her kids and run was a massive mistake. Her decision to stand and fight has so far cost her the North, her father, her eldest son, her uncle, her brother's love, a good chunk of her personal power and influence, and she will probably lose her other two kids, her crown and her life by the end of the series.

[The Fat Huntsmen]

This one belongs to many different Starks throught all of history. After the Boltens killed a Stark and wore his skin, and after how many rebelliouns you think one Stark would have said "We need to kill ALL the Boltens"

[Nausicaä]

Remember when Sansa disobeyed her father, left the tower of the hand, and went to Cersei with her father's plans thereby resulting in the death of Ned's entourage and her own capture? That might have been a mistake.

No, not really. In the books I've read, Sansa's disobedience resulted in her own capture and the deaths of her father and his entourage were the result of her father's "honor" and Littlefinger's betrayal.

[Lonin]

Ned Stark - leaving Theon Greyjoy in Winterfell.