Ned Stark vs Cersei Lannister
The following contains spoilers for both the HBO show “Game of Thrones” as well as its source material, the book series “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George Martin. You have been warned.
Let me start by saying that yes, this will be one of those posts that compare the show to the book series, but no, not for the reasons you think. I am not here to complain about the way Dorne and the Martells have been massively short-changed on the show, or how Lady Stoneheart has been criminally left out, or how we never got the intricacies of Volantis politics (I kid, I kid). These were all decisions that had to be taken given the limitations of the TV format. The ASOIAF books may be epic in scale, but they just cannot be translated completely into a TV series without it running for 15+ seasons. A logistical impossibility.
My point of contention with the show goes deeper, to the very nature of the show and how its creators -Benioff and Weiss- have moulded it, particularly in the later seasons when the show deviates heavily from the book. And you dont need to have read the books to understand the point I am about to make, because its not really a plot issue. Its something to do with the soul of the show and what Game of Thrones really is about. Not the dragons and the white walkers and the mythical saviours, though indeed the show has become almost exclusively about these things in Season 7. Its about the nature of power and those who rule. Its about the two philosophies that have been at war since the first season. If the title didnt give it away already, its about Ned Stark vs. Cersei Lannister.
In season 1, episode 7 (aptly titled “You win or you die”) Ned and Cersei confront each other, where Ned reveals his knowledge of her dark secret, and Cersei utters the now legendary line “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die, there is no middle ground”. As if to drive the point home, Ned dies a couple of episodes later. At the time of writing this piece, at the end of season 7, Cersei is seated on the Iron Throne as Queen of the Realm. The show is very clear in this; Ned, the naive, honorable, bumbling Northman couldn't play the Game of Thrones and paid for it with his life. Cersei, the ruthless daughter of Tywin Lannister, played to win, and win she did. And it is here that I think the showrunners have — accidentally or deliberately — seriously misinterpreted George Martin’s vision for the series.
The books initially follow the same tune. Up until the end of book 3, it appears that everything Ned (and by extension the rest of the Starks) stood for was misguided. Ned dies in book 1, and by the end of book 3, Robb and Catelyn are dead at the Red Wedding. Their army has been massacred there as well, and most of their loyal bannermen are killed or taken hostage. The rest of the North is busy fighting off an invasion of Iron islanders. The Boltons are declared Wardens of the North, and the remaining Northern lords have either gone over to the Boltons or are kept in check with family members taken hostage. The Starks are wiped out, utterly annihilated. The Lannisters meanwhile are doing relatively well. Sure, they lose Tywin and Tyrion, but they still have the Iron Throne.
However it is here that the show and books take significantly different paths. The books from here on go into painstaking, elaborate details to show how the Northerners are not only still loyal to the Starks, but are actively trying to reinstate them into power. It is a slow, intricate plot, better detailed in other places, but the basic idea is that almost all the houses in the North are playing a long con on the Lannisters, the Boltons, the Freys, and even Stannis Baratheon (still alive in the books) in order to get a son of Ned Stark (either Jon or Rickon) back into Winterfell. It is quite an inspiring story, mainly because the Northern lords are taking significant risks to put this plot into play. Many of them still have relatives held hostage by the Freys and Lannisters, the retribution of the Lannisters can be fatal for any lesser House, and they have little to gain personally and much to lose in this conspiracy. It is undertaken largely because of the loyalty inspired by the Starks.
The North Remembers. It remembers generations of generosity by the Starks, their honor and righteousness. But mostly they remember Ned Stark. A man so honorable that Stannis would choose to legitimize his bastard simply because he knows the North would rally behind a son of Eddard. A man whose memory convinces Lord Manderly to cook Freys into a pie. The North lost sons and brothers with Ned at Kings Landing, it lost sons and brother with Robb at the Red Wedding. And yet they would risk it all again to put a Stark back in Winterfell. The North Remembers.
The history of Westeros is littered with great houses that have died off, and lesser houses fighting over the remains. Its only the Starks who inspire such loyalty even as their House lies in tatters. It is ironic that Tywin and Cersei have gone about being cold and ruthless in their goal of a 1000 year Lannister rule, while Ned, with honor and compassion, has found the right path for doing so. The Lannisters are doomed, and Cersei will ensure it. The books have yet to see her crowned Queen, and even if she is, it is likely to be a short rule. Her demise is already spelt out in prophecy, with only the details left to be filled in. Ned Stark has won the Game of Thrones without ever having played it.
This is where the show has utterly fallen short. The North Remembers is a fancy line on the show, but what exactly the north remembers in it, no one knows. The northern lords are repeatedly shown as cowardly and conniving. Some went over to the Boltons completely, others didnt turn up when needed. It is impossible to imagine a situation in the books where Sansa Stark, Ned’s daughter, had to go around asking for men from Northern Lords to take back Winterfell, and would be turned down. Season 7 has Sansa saying pointblank that the Northern lords cant be trusted, and shows them conspiring with Littlefinger (Seriously?).
In the end, Sansa had to use the lessons learnt from Cersei in order to come out on top. And who can blame her? On the show, Cersei and her “Power is power” motto seem to trump everything else. The show glorifies Cersei and her patently ridiculous style of ruling and alienation of allies. One has to wonder why Tywin even bothered forging alliances with Houses if it was so easy to be a destructive, narcissistic King/Queen of the realm in the first place, resources and armies be damned.
This is the shows greatest failing. The wonder of George Martin’s writing is that nothing is as it seems initially. Jaime is not the honour-less villain. The wildlings are not crazed savages. The prince is a bastard, and the bastard is a prince. Ned’s honour turns out to be worth it after all. Cersei and Tywin were wrong. The show has missed this huge distinction, and a story about war and its folly, the depraved use of power and its toxicity, have become something lesser.
It is too late now to rectify these faults on the show. The last 6 episodes are likely to be about a spectacular battle between the undead and the dragons. Jon and Dany will find their way to the Iron Throne. Sansa will rule the North. Jaime will complete his redemption and kill Cersei. Everything wrapped up with a nice bow on top. And those who watch the show will forever be left thinking “Ned Stark was too stupid for this show”. What a travesty.
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