Winning the Game of Thrones: The Host of Characters and their Agendas (27 page)

Jory Cassel

played by Jamie Sives

The captain of the guards and nephew of Ser Rodrik, he accompanies Ned to King’s Landing and is killed defending him from Jaime Lannister.

Maester Luwin

played by Donald Sumpter

The healer and wise guide of the castle and a close advisor of Bran’s. After Theon’s attack, he dies in the Godswood.

Vayon Poole

The steward of Winterfell and father of Sansa’s best friend, Jeyne

Jeyne Poole

Jeyne Poole, Sansa’s best friend, is ladylike and courtly like she is. She accompanies her to the Capitol, where (on the show) they attend the Tournament of the Hand together. When Ned Stark is arrested, the Lannisters capture Jeyne and lock her up. In the book, an imprisoned Sansa only sees her friend once in King’s Landing. However, the Lannisters find a use for her…

Septa Mordane

played by Susan Brown

A dour chaperone for Arya and Sansa, she accompanies the girls to King’s Landing. After Ned is killed, Joffrey has her head placed on a spike.

Old Nan 

played by Margaret John

The oldest person at Winterfell. Hodor is her great-grandson. The character is said to have passed away after season one to mirror the actress’s passing.

House Tully

Seat: Riverrun

Sigil: a silver trout leaping on a blue and red striped field

Motto: “Family, Duty, Honor.”

Symbolism: Trout signify growing prosperity. They along with salmon, appeared on Celtic coins, scepters, and so on, echoing the trout’s importance as a staple.
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The hero Fionn MacCumhail tastes the salmon or sometimes the trout of wisdom, which becomes the source of his great magic and luck. It’s said, however, that if one’s trout falls back into the water, a person will have a short season of happiness. In fact, one prophetess sees Catelyn in the water – after her and Robb’s many triumphs, doom is approaching:

“I dreamt of a roaring river and a woman that was a fish. Dead she drifted, with red tears on her cheeks, but when her eyes did open, oh, I woke from terror. All this I dreamt, and more.” (III:249)

Eating and killing trout is occasionally taboo in Celtic legend. There’s one tale of a beautiful white trout from the Otherworld, and the man who kills it is cursed forever.
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The Freys may have a similar fate coming in the future.

Lord Tully

Lord Hoster Tully, father of Catelyn Stark and Lysa Arryn, is getting on in years and rather ill. He dies in the second episode of season three. In the book, Catelyn is with him at his death, and hears some of his greatest regrets about his daughter Lysa.

Brynden Blackfish

played by Clive Russell

Lord Hoster Tully’s younger brother. Lord Tully sought to wed his brother Ser Brynden, hero of the War of the Ninepenny Kings to Bethany Redwyne, but Brynden would have none of it. This began a years-long quarrel between the two, for which Brynden earned the nickname “Blackfish,” like the black sheep of the family. He’s seen at his brother’s funeral, counseling Catelyn and Edmure.

Ser Edmure Tully

Catelyn’s brother and heir to House Tully. In the War of the Five Kings, he declares allegiance to his nephew Robb Stark. He appears in the third season, trying haplessly to light his father’s funeral pyre, and then confessing to Robb that he wrecked the young king’s strategy on the battlefield. He’s young and not terribly able. However, he reluctantly agrees to wed a Frey girl to save Robb’s campaign and regain the Frey alliance. His wife will not be a queen, but she will be the Freys’ liege lord in a splendid match.

See Catelyn Stark

See Lysa Arryn

House Baratheon

Seat: Storm’s End

Sigil: A crowned black stag rampant on a gold field

Motto: “Ours is the Fury”

Symbolism: To the Celts, the stag was king of the forest and the key to the people’s survival. Of course, it is also an herbivore, a creature ill-equipped to battle lions and wolves.

King Robert Baratheon

“I was never
so
alive as when I was winning this throne,
 or 
so dead as
 now that I’ve won it.”

played by Mark Addy

When young, he was fostered with Lord Jon Arryn at the Eyrie along with Ned Stark, and he grew to consider them his own family. He was betrothed to Ned’s sister Lyanna. When Rhaegar kidnapped her, Robert eventually slew him and claimed the throne in what is known as “Robert’s Rebellion.” With Lyanna dead, he married Cersei Lannister for political reasons. When he took the throne, he gave Stannis the isle of Dragonstone and Renly the Baratheon seat of Storm’s End. His officially acknowledged children are
Joffrey,
 
Myrcella, and
 
Tommen
 
Baratheon
, though Ned Stark discovers all three are not truly his. Around the time of Ned’s discovery, Cersei’s cousin and Robert’s squire, Lancel Lannister, gives him too much strongwine while hunting and he’s mortally wounded by a boar.

Robert’s Bastards

According to a
prophecy
 in the series, King Robert sired sixteen bastards. They have not all been seen in the books. Varys, for instance, says he knows of ten.

The only bastards seen on the show are Gendry and the baby Barra. In the books, Robert only acknowledges one bastard, and the rest appear ignorant of their parentage. He conceived Edric Storm with Lady Delena Florent in his brother Stannis’s wedding bed, and fostered the boy at Storm’s End. Gendry inherits Edric Storm’s plot, as Melisandre in the third book seeks to execute a king’s son but Stannis is reluctant.

Other bastards in the books include Mya Stone, a capable guide for visitors in the Eyrie, the adult brothel girl Bella (whom Gendry almost sleeps with!), and a pair of twins at Casterly Rock. All that could be found (not including
Gendry
, Edric, Bella, or Mya) are executed by Joffrey, to ensure they can’t claim the throne.

Stannis Baratheon

“I dream of it sometimes. Of Renly’s dying. A green tent, candles, a woman screaming. And blood. I was still abed when he died. Your Devan will tell you. He tried to wake me. Dawn was nigh and my lords were waiting, fretting. I should have been ahorse, armored. I knew Renly would attack at break of day. Devan says I thrashed and cried out, but what does it matter? It was a dream. I was in my tent when Renly died, and when I woke my hands were clean.” – Stannis Baratheon to Davos Seaworth.

played by
Stephen Dillane

Stannis is ruler of Dragonstone. Following his brother’s death, he seeks the throne for himself, but he is famously unpopular. His association with the Red Priestess and insistence that people convert to her religion doesn’t help matters. His daughter and heir Shireen is sickly with grayscale, and he doesn’t care much for his wife Queen Selyse, of House Florent.

Stannis’ Household

Red Priestess Melisandre

“The night is dark and full of terrors.”

played by Carice van Houten

Melisandre is a Red Priestess of the Lord of Light. She comes from Asshai in Essos, and is a Maegi. She has gifts of healing (or at least is immune to poison) and prophecy. After beginning an affair with Stannis, she births a shadow-creature that kills King Renly. She appears to be a fanatic, who has Stannis and his wife firmly under her control.

Davos Seaworth, “The Onion Knight”

“Stannis is my god.”

played by Liam Cunningham

Ser Davos Seaworth, a reformed smuggler, was born in the slums of King’s Landing and remained illiterate until recent events. During Robert’s Rebellion, Davos smuggled onions and other food to Stannis, who was besieged at Storm’s End. Stannis rewarded Davos with knighthood and lands, but cut off his fingers as punishment for smuggling. Davos wore the fingerbones around his neck as a lucky charm until he lost them at Blackwater Bay. As Stannis’s Hand, he is utterly loyal, though he’s more suspicious of Melisandre. Davos and his wife
Marya
have seven sons in the book: Dale, Allard, Matthos, Maric, Devan, Stannis and Steffon. The oldest four are killed at Blackwater Bay and the youngest two live with their mother. Devan is Stannis’s devoted page. On the show, Matthos dies at Blackwater and the others are unmentioned.

Queen Selyse Florent 

played by Tara Fitzgerald

Stannis and his wife
 have a loveless marriage, but she is a true fanatic of the Lord of Light, who originally introduced Stannis and the Red Priestess. She dwells in a tower on Dragonstone, consumed by her thoughts.

Princess Shireen

played by Kerry Ingram

Selyse and Stannis have one daughter, Shireen, who is disfigured by the disease called greyscale, which turns skin to stone. She’s nine in the first book and considered sweet but not pretty. She hides away from people and is an avid reader.

Renly Baratheon

“You may well have the better claim, but I have the larger army.” –Renly to Stannis

played by Gethin Anthony

Renly is known for being handsome and charming, more like Robert than Stannis. When he dies, killed by Melisandre’s shadow creature, Renly is married to Margaery Tyrell and having an affair with her brother, Ser Loras Tyrell. He is also trying to claim the Iron Throne.

Joffrey Baratheon

“We’ve had vicious kings and we’ve had idiot kings, but I don’t know if we’ve ever been cursed with a vicious idiot for a king.” –Tyrion to Joffrey

played by Jack Gleeson

The heir apparent, then king of Westeros, Joffrey is bloodthirsty and cruel underneath his handsome face. He chooses his whims over politics.

Myrcella Baratheon

“One day I pray you love someone. I pray you love her so much when you close your eyes you see her face. I want that for you. I want you to know what it’s like to love someone, to truly love someone, before I take her from you.” –Cersei to Tyrion, in her grief over parting with Myrcella

played by Aimee Richardson

In personality, she’s sweet, kind, and tractable, including to people Joffrey mocks, like Sansa and Tyrion. Tyrion, who regards her with affection, betroths her to the youngest prince of Dorne and sends her there, out of the war. So far, she’s displayed very little dialogue or personality and is treated as a pawn.

Tommen
 
Baratheon

played by Callum Wharry

Tommen Baratheon is placid, friendly, and rather useless in tournaments or politics.
He’s also sweet and kind. Joffrey
 
berates him for crying at parting from his sister
 
and for incompetence on the training field. He mostly does what everyone tells him.

House Lannister

Seat: Casterly Rock 

Sigil: A golden lion rampant on a crimson field

Motto: “Hear Me Roar!”

Symbolism: The lion of course is a royal symbol, often seen on heraldry. It is a symbol of power, majesty, courage and strength. Among the Celts it represented warrior gatherings much as the dragon did.
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Like the lion, the Lannisters have their savage side – Tywin wiped out House Castamere for its pride, as detailed in the popular Westerosi song, “The Rains of Castamere.”

Tywin Lannister

“A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of a sheep.”

played by Charles Dance

Tywin rules Casterly Rock and is appointed Hand of the King for Joffrey. Previously, he was Mad King Aerys’
hand and betrayed him to his death. He appears devoted to Jaime and filled with loathing for Tyrion, while he treats Cersei with sexist contempt. These feelings seriously motivate the personalities of his three children.

Jaime Lannister “The Kingslayer”

 “So many vows … they make you swear and swear. Defend the king. Obey the king. Keep his secrets. Do his bidding. Your life for his. But obey your father. Love your sister. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. Respect the gods. Obey the laws. It’s too much. No matter what you do, you’re forsaking one vow or another.”

played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

At a legendary fifteen, Jaime was the best fighter of his age. While his father intended Jaime to wed Lysa Tully, Cersei suggested to Jaime that he instead join the Kingsguard of the Mad King Aerys and be close to her forever in King’s Landing, where their father was Hand. Jaime joined, against his father’s wishes, but Tywin resigned as Hand in a fury and dragged Cersei back to Casterly Rock. The twins (already lovers) were parted once more.

In court, Jaime became increasingly conflicted, when for instance, he heard the king raping the queen and didn’t know whom to protect. Forced to watch savage executions as the Starks were burned alive, he learned to go away inside himself so he didn’t have to face the king’s actions.

As Aerys was losing the war, he planned to burn the city with wildfire. When Tywin arrived at the head of an army, Aerys ordered Jaime to execute him. Seeing no right choice, Jaime slew Aerys instead. Jaime sat on the Iron Throne, but willingly offered it to Ned Stark when he arrived. Robert forgave Jaime and kept him for his Kingsguard. While living close to his sister, Robert’s new queen, Jaime fathered Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen with her.