My take on this has always been that it would be extremely short because he will be very unpopular. While his magical powers to see everything past, present and future (?) would make him good at being just and fair and powerful in some ways, lords don't want a just and fair king. They want someone who will work with them. I see his reign being fairly successful at first but the lords would quickly rise up against him and he would be fending off many assassination attempts from the noble houses. Not being a military leader type guy (meaning he doesn't have a loyal army), he won't be able to protect himself from this. Not to mention the common folk might not take kindly to a king with the super powers of a witch. Furthermore letting the North become independent will have a lot of negative ripple effects. All in all, I see it being a very short reign. Even if his magic powers give him a lifespan of hundreds of years, he will die of regicide way before then. I say he lasts 2 to 3 years as king, at which point he will be killed and the continent will fall back into the game of thrones.

Thoughts?

Maybe something with the Faith? Kinda messed up if the answer is no. In a society where 99% of the raping and murdering is done by men, they get a clean slate option but a woman has to face the king’s justice? God forbid a girl wants to go on a lil killing spree.

Like I didn't get it. He never catches cersei and Jamie affair not for once.

I know Robert has habbit for hunting and having feasts. Also maybe constant visit to Street of silks for his desires.

Were there no single moment like winterfell tower bran incident, occurred in red keep, Robert catches them ?

Yes for plot of GOT, I have to ignore this curious question. But what about Jon arryn.

Like when Joffrey or mycrella born ,jon never suspected,or he never put spies for confirmation.

Like I know some people will say kids took after mother in physical appearances but THREE times.

Like Ned, some courtiers would have question why queen's children not looks like certain baratheon, eyes or face structure (if ignoring hair ) , or comparing them to bastards.

Sorry if this has been discussed on here before, but I did some reading on the Anarchy (the civil war that inspired the Dance) and thought it was so interesting that I would share who I thought HOTD characters were based on!

Rhaenyra: Empress Matilda

Matilda was born in 1107 and was the daughter of Henry I of England and Matilda of Scotland. She was her parents’ eldest child and had a younger brother named William. As William was heir, Matilda was married off to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor. The couple had no children and Henry died in 1125.

In 1120, Matilda’s little brother, William (also known as William Adelin) perished in the White Ship Disaster. Henry I had no other legitimate children; therefore, when Matilda was widowed, he recalled her to England and married her to Geoffrey of Anjou to ensure the southern reaches of the kingdom were protected (England held lands in France during this era). Henry then declared her his heiress. He made his court swear oaths of fidelity to her; however, many nobles were not happy about this. Matilda‘s husband was from a family historically at war against England, and there was of course the matter of Matilda being a woman. Matilda herself was not fond of her husband initially, and (much like Rhaenyra in FoB) had to be forced by her less than amused father to marry him. She even tried to separate from him for a time before being coerced to return. In the end, she and Geoffrey had three sons, the oldest of whom was named Henry.

Henry came to odds with Matilda in the 1130s, as Matilda demanded for him to coronate her, have Norman nobles make oaths to her( and grant her castles and lands while he still lived. This was likely because Matilda sensed her claim to the throne was unpopular and wanted to strengthen her Claim. Henry, however, suspected that Geoffrey wanted to usurp him and denied Matilda. In retaliation, Matilda and Geoffrey gave military support to rebels in southern Normandy. In the midst of this turmoil, Henry died in 1135.

As Matilda was preoccupied fighting the royal army in southern Normandy, the stage was set for an usurper to claim the throne. Snd as Matilda’s claim wasn’t universally agreed upon, the nobles immediately crowned a man named Stephen de Bois (who I will return to) king. Matilda did not accept this. She allied with her maternal uncle, David I of Scotland, and her illegitimate half-brother, Robert, who helped her cross into England from France in 1139. David and Robert supported Matilda’s fight in England, while her husband Geoffrey conquered Normandy from Stephen’s forces. Matilda captured Stephen in 1141 and imprisoned him. She then started to secure her succession and had Henry of Winchester, an important church figure, declare her as the new leader of England and Normandy. But many church leaders and soldiers remained loyal to Stephen and the London civilians, fearful of being killed by these soldiers, refused to allow Matilda to be coronated at Westminster Abbey.

Things got worse for Matilda, as she and Henry of Winchester had a falling-out and he declared Stephen the rightful ruler. Stephen’s wife had kept his cause alive and commanded an army to surround Winchester. Matilda managed to escape, but her half-brother Robert, one of her most important military men, was captured. Matilda negotiated to release Stephen so that Robert could be freed.

Stephen and his wife were re-crowned in November of 1141 and the war turned into a long stalemate. Matilda controlled the southwest of England, while Stephen controlled London and the north. Stephen came close to capturing Matilda a couple of times, but she managed to escape. The tides slowly turned against Matilda, however, as her half-brother Robert and several other of her military commanders died of illness ot accidents and many of her men also joined the Crusades. Matilda also went through much of her money. Her oldest son with Geoffrey, named Henry, started to take the initiative in many of her battles and made a name for himself. But due to financial issues and a lack of support from the church, Matilda returned to Normandy in 1148. She made one last attempt to return to England in 1153, but by then, neither side was particularly keen to keep fighting. A truce was brokered: her son Henry recognized Stephen as king, and in turn, Stephen recognized Henry as his heir.

Matilda spent the rest of her life in Normandy, which she ruled. When her son Henry was crowned king in 1154, Matilda became his advisor. She negotiated several deals to keep peace between England and the Holy Roman Empire and France. She also became devoted to faith in her later years. Matilda died in 1167 and is buried in Rouen Cathedral in France.

Viserys: Henry I

There isn’t as much to say about Henry. He was the son of William the Conqueror and fought his older brothers Robert Curthose and William Rufus for the crown. He was considered to be a harsh but efficient ruler who played different nobles for support and negotiated reform in the church. But Henry had only two legitimate children: Matilda and William, and when William died, he was left heirless. He did have many illegitimate children with a multitude of mistresses, but at the time, it was frowned upon for bastards to be heirs. As his first wife was dead, he re-married Adeliza of Louvain in the hopes of having a son, but they had no children. As Matilda was widowed, Henry re-married her to Geoffrey in the hopes that the marriage could secure the kingdom and she would bear children. As Matilda gave birth to her son Henry II, Henry I declared her (and her children) to be his heir and made his nobles swear oaths to her. But Matilda and Henry had a strained relationship before he died in 1135, due to her demand for further support of her rule and his distrust of her husband.

Jacaerys: William Adelin

William Adelin, Matilda’s little brother, was destined to be heir to the throne. He served as his father’s regent in 1118 after his mother died while Henry I was in Normandy. He had also been given political power in Normandy and was referred to as the ‘king designate’.

Unfortunately, William perished in the White Ship disaster. A great party of nobles, including Henry I, William, his illegitimate siblings Matilda and Richard, and a very certain Stephen de Bois were set to sail from Normandy to England. Henry and some people in his party set off first. William’s ship’s crew wanted to drink, and William supplied them with plenty of wine with his father’s consent. The group therefore spent a long time drinking copious amounts of alcohol while the king sailed away. Stephen de Bois noticed how drunk everyone was getting, realized this situation wasn’t very safe, and departed the group, intending to sail back to England another day. Which saved his life. After drinking for a while, William ordered the ship’s crew to catch up to his father (their ship, known as the White Ship, was the fastest in the royal fleet). Unfortunately, due to the late hour and how much alcohol had been consumed, the ship struck a submerged rock and capsized. William had actually boarded a lifeboat and could have escaped, but turned back to save his half-sister Matilda, who couldn’t swim. People in the water who saw William’s lifeboat clamored to climb aboard, and the boat capsized, killing William, Matilda, and all else on board. Out of the 200+ people on the ship that night, only one person, a butcher from Rouen, lived. The ship‘s captain managed to make it on a lifeboat, but when he was told that William Adelin had perished, he chose to jump into the sea instead of facing Henry.

Aegon II: Stephen de Bois

This should make sense, as Stephen was the usurper of Matilda’s throne. But Stephen was not Matilda’s brother. He was her cousin. And in my opinion, he is a more nuanced and more interesting version of Aegon II.

Stephen’s father, Stephen-Robert, had a reputation for cowardice in battle. Stephen-Robert set off on the Crusades to prove he wasn’t a coward and promptly died. Stephen was 8-10. His mother, Adela, was Henry I’s sister and was renowned for her strong personality. She raised Stephen herself and gave Stephen and his brothers different educations to steer them toward different jobs. Theobald, her oldest (intellectually stable) son was heir to Bois, and Adela gave Stephen an education fitting to be a baron or feudal knight. His younger brother Henry meanwhile was educated to be a clergy member. Consequently, the brothers were all very close, which was not a given in those times. These close relationships helped Stephen consolidate power later in life.

Adela later placed Stephen in Henry I’s court so he could gain military experience and the support of a valuable patron. As Stephen was a relative of Henry but so far behind in the succession that he posed little threat to Henry or William Adelin, Henry welcomed him with open arms. Henry even arranged for Stephen to marry Matilda of Boulogne, whose lands and fortunes made Stephen a very wealthy man. His wife was also quite intelligent and proved a crucial ally in Stephen‘s power struggle.

Stephen therefore served the English court and developed a great reputation. He was considered well-mannered, modest and easy-going, and was noted to be happy to eat dinner alongside his servants and share jokes and laughter with them. He was also very generous to the church and was extremely pious, and encouraged for new abbeys to be built on whatever lands he owned. He was also known to be a man of firm action when needed, and seemed quite intelligent; he escaped the White Ship disaster by realizing that the situation was about to spiral out of control. Empress Matilda was not noted for her humility and kindness and her husband, Geoffrey, was descended from the historic enemies of England. Matilda was also a woman. So after Henry I died, many nobles decided that the well-liked Stephen deserved the crown.

Furthermore, Stephen was in Boulogne when Henry I died, while Matilda and Geoffrey were further away in Anjou and fighting rebels. As soon as Stephen heard the news that Henry I was dead and the nobles supported his right to rule, he sailed for England. When he arrived, the people of London elected him king, and Stephen began to consolidate power across England. He gave many liberties to the church and his younger brother Henry de Bois, part of the clergy, was able to convince many people to support Stephen’s claim. Stephen’s older brother Theobald briefly considered trying to become king of England, but Stephen’s claim was much more popular, and Stephen, being incredibly wealthy, gave Theobald lots of money as compensation: Theobald therefore gave Stephen full backing.

Stephen was crowned king on 22 December 1135. He attempted to consolidate his power across the kingdom, but when Matilda sailed from Anjou to take her throne, many nobles defected to her side. Thus began the Anarchy, which composed much of Stephen’s reign.

Stephen was captured in the Battle of Lincoln in 1141; he was noted for his refusal to retreat, even after many of his men fled. Empress Matilda had him imprisoned in Bristol Castle, initially in good conditions, but later in chains. His wife Matilda pled for his release, but the empress refused. Luckily for Stephen, many men were still loyal to him, and the people of London refused to let the empress be crowned. The church was also on Stephen’s side. His wife Matilda, meanwhile, proved to be loyal and quite a shrewd military mastermind, and she rallied an army in support of Stephen. They defeated Matilda at Winchester, captured the empress’s half-brother, and used him as a pawn to negotiate Stephen’s release.

The crowds of London enthusiastically re-crowned Stephen and his wife Matilda king and queen. Stephen spent the rest of his reign trying to consolidate power and capture Matilda, but she managed to evade him. Stephen did keep more of his wealth than Matilda, but it was depleted during the war. He therefore sought to end it and started to forge a good relationship with Matilda’s son, Henry. When Henry tried attacking England in 1147, his mercenaries turned against him due to Matilda not having the money to pay them. As a token of goodwill, Stephen paid their wages, allowing Henry to return to Normandy.

Stephen and his wife Matilda had two sons named Eustace and William, and his wife pushed for Eustace to become king; however, after Matilda died , Stephen negotiated peace with Empress Matilda under the condition of Henry becoming his heir. This may be due to Eustace having a poor reputation. Eustace died in the following months, while William was suspected of plotting against Henry and fled to Normandy, where he died of disease aged 22. Stephen died the following year after naming Henry heir.

Alicent: Matilda of Boulogne

Stephen‘s wife Matilda was, perhaps, the empress’s greatest female rival. She was wealthy, devoted to her husband, and proved to be quite courageous. Her contemporaries regarded her as someone who bore herself with the valor of a man. And when Empress Matilda refused to let Stephen go, it was Queen Matilda who rallied an army to Stephen’s cause and successfully won his release. She continued to advise Stephen after his release and is regarded as the reason why Stephen became king.

There are more characters I could summarize, but this took me such a long time to type and my hands are killing me haha. Please tell me what you think of my analyses, snd again, sorry it this has been covered before!

So I’m rewatching Game of Thrones for the first time since my initial watch back when it was airing, and I have to say: some of my opinions have changed, especially regarding theon and joffry. I’m only on Season 2 right now, so my thoughts might shift again as I get further in and remember things I’ve forgotten, but during my first watch I felt like both of them got exactly what they deserved. Now, though, I’m realizing I don’t feel that way anymore.

Theon

In Theon’s case, I actually feel bad for him. Here’s a guy who was taken as a child and kept as a hostage, constantly reminded of that fact by others — even though the Starks did treat him like family. Then, when he finally returns to his actual family, he’s immediately made to feel like an outsider and forced to choose between the Greyjoys and the Starks.

He absolutely makes the wrong choice, and nobody is denying that. But given how confused and torn he must have been, I think it’s understandable why he made it. During my original watch, I wasn’t paying close attention and forgot a lot of characters and plotlines between seasons, which probably contributed to me thinking he “got what he deserved.”

Now that I’m paying attention and binging the episodes back‑to‑back, I can only see him as a victim — a victim who made terrible mistakes and hurt others, sure, but not one who deserved what the Boltons did to him.

Joffrey

Now onto Joffrey — and don’t worry, I’m not about to say he was a victim. Not even close. When I say he didn’t get what he deserved, I mean he deserved way worse than what he got.

Honestly, even what the Boltons did to Theon would have been too good for that monster, but at least he would’ve gotten a taste of justice. Maybe there’s some lore behind the poison he was given im unaware of that says it’s the most painful way to die, but even if that’s true i still feel as though what happened to Theon is worse than what happened to Joffrey and joffry deserved way worse than that.

You get teleported from earth to Westeros, let’s say dragons are in play, just to make things interesting. You can bring whatever you want with you; not a whole house, but something like a car or smaller is acceptable.

Let’s say you get 48 hours to prep. You can buy anything available to a consumer; no tanks or fighter jets. What are you taking with you?

For me it was Sansa’s wedding night. Nothing could prepare me for that scene one my first watch. I really sat in silence once the episode was over. Very traumatic scene done very well to the point where her sobbing was echoing in my brain for a couple of days. Tough watch.