MovieChat Forums > Game of Thrones (2011) Discussion > if no one ends up on the Iron Throne

if no one ends up on the Iron Throne


Do you think they'll just (d)evolve into a bunch of Free Cities, like Essos? Maybe that's what we're supposed to be rooting for?

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That's a strong possibility, the Iron Throne and King's Landing are destroyed, the Targaryans, Lannisters, and Baratheons die out, and Westeros goes back to seven kingdoms. Or eight or nine, depending on what wars are on.


I hope that doesn't happen, because that would essentially make Westeros a land of warring warlords, constantly fighting over territory and old grudges, declaring independence from each other and putting down rebellions. I mean it's not like Westeros is ever a paradise full of peace and justice, but if there's no king, there's going to be more slaughter, starvation, and misery. Sure, some people will think that it'll mean freedom from tyranny, but that's bull. Having no central government means a decreased quality of life for everyone, except the lords of the great families.

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Should have split back into Seven Kingdoms after the Mad King's death.

That never made any sense to me. Why Tywin wouldn't want to be a King in his own right for example. Or Ned wouldn't want the North to return to being independent. Robert wasn't going to fight to be King of all at the time.

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Maybe the decision-makers of Westeros agreed with me, back when the Mad King died, that Westeros was better off with a king in King's Landing? And it was better to have an idiot like Robert in charge than to go back to seven kingdoms that were always at war with each other?

Because great minds do think alike.

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Worked out well...

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It all might have worked out as well as anything does in Westerosian politics, if it weren't for the incest. Robert would have had competent people to run the government while he partied, the Starks and the Lannisters would have remained at peace, Robert's heir would have been saner than Joffrey (whoever his biological father was), and Bran would have grown up to be the perfectly normal Castellan of Winterfell.

That's a bit of a theme in the story: Incest Ruins Everything.

The Targaryans practiced incest and it led to their losing their throne and nearly dying out, the Lannister incest led to the ruin of the Baratheon dynasty and a massive civil war, and we'll probably find out that Craster's incest and the sacrifice of his male children led to the rise of the White Walkers and the War Between the Living and the Dead. Which doesn't bode well for Jon and Dany's upcoming marriage, does it.

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But from a storytelling perspective, it makes no sense why the Seven Kingdoms didn't revert back to the Seven Kingdoms before the Targaryans came after they fell.

Never made any sense at all to me. Robert didn't even want to be King. He would have been happy with only the Storm Lands. I don't buy Tywin missing the opportunity to become independent from the throne. Or the North wishing to as well. Dorne and the Tyrell's in the books who backed the Mad King certainly would want wanted to split as well.

Really, each of the Wardens or Lord Paramounts exercised more power than the King. Fealty means nothing in Westeros. Joffrey only had the support of the Lannisters. If Tywin hadn't backed him, he had no army at all. It was a stupid form of government.

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Why would Tywin Lannister want to be King of the Westerlands, when he'd actually been governing all of Westeros for years? Remember, he was Hand of the King to Mad King Aerys, and had actually been running the central government of Westeros without much interference from the king, he'd been king in all but name for a long time. And his long-term goal was to keep running all seven kingdoms, that's why he married his daughter to Robert Baratheon, his long-term plan was to rule through her and her children, and keep his descendants ruling all Westeros forever.

Since the alternative was a return to small kingdoms that were eternally at war with each other, I believe that someone like Tywin could have talked the other great lords into appointing a new monarch of all Westeros. Who was going to say "no", aging Jon Arryn? Peaceful Hoster Tully? Ned Stark who was new to ruling the North, and who didn't want any more warfare? Robert Baratheon, who was going to be king? I mean, that's a majority of the great lords right there, and Tywin's word would have had a lot of force because they all knew he was the smartest man in the room, the meanest, and was presumably the richest.

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This is the best post I’ve read in years. Incest being the spark that ignited such horrid and wanton chaos. Certainly worthy of a new thread. Do you mind if I make one and quote you? Cheers!

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You are so kind! Yes, feel free to quote me anywhere.

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They'll have some sort of democracy. Dany installed one in Meereen and Tyrion mentioned it a couple of times.

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