#balon grejoy

[warsofasoiaf]

From his plan for taking advantage of the interregnum after Balon's death, Robb seems to gained a better grasp on Ironborn succession through talks with Theon than the actual iron islander himself had (albeit with wishful/hopeful thinking blinders affecting Theon). A. Maybe he's not a political idiot? B. Do you think he was doubtful about making an ally of Balon, and maybe let Theon go primarily so he wouldn't have to kill him if Balon joined Team Joffrey or something?

I've always subscribed to the idea that "Robb is a political idiot" is an overly simplistic interpretation that tries to force the fit of Robb as a false protagonist to over-emphasize the virtue of the protagonists that remain. Robb makes mistakes, yes, and it is worthwhile to criticize him for them, but to mark him as somehow unique in this regard is largely a limiting one.

Honestly, I think Robb was expecting Balon to be more rational than he actually was, and that's not an entirely unrealistic expectation. If Balon wanted to be a pirate lord and seek out total personal advancement, Robb would have been correct. What Robb didn't understand is that Balon is much more of a small, petty man and an irrational actor besides. Balon isn't a man looking for his own personal glory, he's looking to avenge himself against Eddard Stark's ghost for making him feel small. Robb thought that Balon being a king would be enough, but that's not enough for Balon - he's willing to go to Tywin hat in hand begging to hold his meager conquests, shaming himself if it means he could have said that once, he fought against the Starks to avenge his pathetic loss. Shame of the new conquest is secondary, Balon just can't stand being made to feel small. It's pathetic and stupid, and that's why Robb can't predict it.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[winged-wolves]

“We Do Not Sow”

I started watching the show before reading the books so I was definitely part of the crowd that criticized him for his many crimes, among which I included betraying the Starks. But reading the books definitely made me like him more as a grey/dark character once the context behind his hostage situation came to light. His interactions with Jeyne and his transformation was also wonderful to read.

ASOIAF Mandala Series: arryn | dayne | martell | stark | targaryen | tyrell

[writingsofwesteros]

Each Grejoy Brother stealing a wife from a different House 👀

Euron goes for a martell and a lannister he is greedy and wants drama ;))

Balon (as The oldest) goes for a targaryen

Victarion as the strongest and biggest goes for a Baratheon

Aeron, as the man of the drowned God, goes for a woman of the old gods: a stark

UM YES PLEASE !! And now we need face claims for the last three ;)

Balon (as The oldest) goes for a targaryen Of course ;)

Euron is just greedy and he enjoys seeing them together as much as with him thank you very much

[persephones-plantpot]

THE GREAT HOUSES OF WESTEROS (PRE AGOT)

THE TARGARYENS

Rhaegar, Aerys, Rhaella, Viserys

THE LANNISTERS

Jaime & Cersei, Tywin, Joanna (pregnant with Tyrion)

THE STARKS

Ned, Lyarra, Benjen, Lyanna, Rickard, Brandon

THE BARATHEONS

Robert, Renly, Steffon, Cassana, Stannis

THE GREYJOYS

Balon, Euron, Quellon, Victarion, Aeron, unknown Lady Grejoy, Urrigon

THE ARRYNS

Jon, Jasper, Alys, unknown Lady Arryn, Ronnel

THE TULLYS

Edmure, Hoster, Catelyn, Minisa, Lysa

THE TYRELLS

Mace, Luthor, Janna, Olenna, Mina

THE MARTELLS

Doran, unknown Prince Consort of Dorne, Elia, unknown Princess of Dorne, Oberyn

[thelegendofclarke]

babydonttalkthatmuch replied to your post

He died at home :)

thewaywardgryffindor replied to your post

he died at home

waeleto replied to your post

It's okay really he died at his home protecting his brother

oh my lord in heaven if i have to see ONE MORE COMMENT LIKE THIS ON THIS POST!!!

yes, Theon was a Stark and considered Winterfell his home, BUT...

a) he did not come to live with the Starks at Winterfell by choice. he was removed from his home and family as a hostage at a very young age. looking at the long term, was it for the better in his life in general? considering what we know about his father and uncles, yeah it probably was. but that doesn’t mean it was any less traumatic and...

b) IT DOESN’T MAKE HIM ANY LESS OF A GREYJOY! Theon was A STARK AND A GREYJOY! it’s still an important part of his identity and he doesn’t need for it to be taken away from him any more than it already was. being a Stark and living at Winterfell (forcibly) did not make him any less of a Greyjoy...

as Jon pointed out: you [Theon] are a Stark and a Grejoy, you don’t have to choose.

and like Sansa told him: your name is Theon Greyjoy. last surviving son of Balon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands.

Theon spent a good amount of the show having his identity be stripped away from him in it’s entirety when Ramsay tortured him and turned him into Reek. him reclaiming both parts of his identity was incredibly important for his character. he died a hero, and he was both a Stark and a Greyjoy when he did.

[tomakeitbeautifultolive]

have you read the winds of winter sample chapters because preston jacob a youtuber did a video series called prepping for winter where he analyzed the winds of winter chapters and ended up coming up with 4 theorys on what may happen titling them the battle of steel, ice, blood and fire respectively and did a separate video on his theory involving eurons battle of blood and it would be interesting to see your thoughts on it ( he didnt make ones for the other

I just watched the video you suggested by Preston Jacobs. I guess I hadn’t really considered Euron’s ‘atheism’ much when it came to what he was planning, but it does sort of put things into a different perspective for me.

I think that if you’re looking for historical parallels to Euron in the ASOIAF world, the Bloodstone Emperor might be a good place to look.

“The Bloodstone Emperor’s reign was a reign of terror. His usurpation became known as the Blood Betrayal in the annals of the Further East, which claim that the act of usurping his sister’s throne ushered in the Long Night. He practiced torture, dark arts, and necromancy. He enslaved his own people, took a tiger-woman for wife, feasted on human flesh and cast down the true gods of Yi Ti to worship a black stone that fell from the sky. Some scholars believe him to have been the first High Priest of the sinister Church of Starry Wisdom.”

First, we have Euron committing his own ‘blood betrayal’ by kinslaying Balon Grejoy.

Euron then usurps the Seastone Chair, “a block of oily black stone” (which reminds me of the black stone the BE worshipped).

Like the BE, he tortures his men by cutting out their tongues or binding them to the prow of his ships.

And Euron seems to have an addiction to shade of the evening, so much that his lips turned blue, a trait also seen in the Warlocks of Qarth… a nod to dark arts?

This ‘battle of blood’ definitely seems like it’s going to be used to call forth krakens, or that it has something more to do with blood magic than it does the drowned god (which is what I previously assumed).

Considering Euron’s parallels with the Bloodstone Emperor, I think Euron is interested in ushering in another Long Night, perhaps?

GRRM seems pretty intent on hinting that the Night’s King isn’t a living character in the books, so maybe Euron’s dragonbinder horn is what brings the Wall down? I’ve also heard recent theories that maybe he ends up commanding the Others? You know who you should ask about this? @theyruinedeuron

Honestly, speculating about Euron Greyjoy is all very new to me.

[aleasoiaf]

Lysa, Sweetrobin, High Sparrow, Shireen, Blackfish, Edmure, Kevan Lannister, Jaqen, Aeron Grejoy, Euron, Balon, Grand Maester Pycelle

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Ive read in the Grand Maester conspiracy that Euron did not lose the dragon egg, but perhaps paid for Jaqen H'Ghar to kill Balon with the dragon egg. I know you've written about the Grand Maester conspiracy, and if u addressed this question could u please point me to that meta?

I don’t think I have discussed the “Grand Maester Conspiracy”? At least not one that talks about Euron at all… I’ve only mentioned the conspiracy in the sense that it’s described in the books, where (a) there was possibly a conspiracy by maesters to keep magic down and also kill all the dragons (as mentioned by Archmaester Marwyn), and (b) there may have been another conspiracy to foment revolution via encouraging alliances between houses, causing Rickard Stark’s “southern ambitions” (as mentioned by Barbrey Ryswell). If there’s some kind of website or thread that’s called the Grand Maester Conspiracy that also discusses other theories, I don’t know about it.

Anyway, re Euron, it’s certainly possible – I mean, the Faceless Men do charge quite a lot. But in context:

“I once held a dragon’s egg in this hand, brother. This Myrish wizard swore he could hatch it if I gave him a year and all the gold that he required. When I grew bored with his excuses, I slew him. As he watched his entrails sliding through his fingers he said, ‘But it has not been a year.’” He laughed.[…] “Show me this dragon’s egg.”“I threw it in the sea during one of my dark moods.” Euron gave a shrug.

…it seems odd that Euron would talk about the dragon egg to Victarion if he had used it to hire the assassin that killed their brother. But who knows – Euron’s drinking shade-of-the-evening during this conversation, and his thoughts are wandering all over the place. Maybe it did loosen his tongue enough for that near-slip.

But unless we hear (via Arya’s chapters or the like) that the Faceless Men have a dragon’s egg, then we just have one data point with no corroboration and I couldn’t say the theory has any real validity.

[lorath]