People need to realize, Robert I believe never meant to be the king, when he led his rebellion against Aerys he had no real choice, his life was forfeit if he didn't as was Ned Starks. However Stark was the ideal choice for king, a noble, honorable man who would never stoop so low as to get sucked in to the mire and the mud. However Robert was the natural leader, men loved him. Robert is like the great general, the man you want in charge of your army. In his youth Robert was a mighty man, a great big bear who with his war hammer could smash through knights like they were kindling for a fire. Because the men followed Robert they'd never have accepted him fighting his war and winning only to pass the throne to Stark. In the books and it's skimmed over briefly in the series by this point too, when Aerys was murdered by Jaime Lannister he had the city gates opened to his fathers men. Tywin Lannister sacked the city, killing the princess and murdering the children of Aerys what remained in the city. Robert hearing that Kings Landing had fallen sent Ned Stark to Kings Landing to determine the situation whilst he readied what was left of their forces in preparation to fight the Lannisters if need be. On his arrival in the city Ned found Jaime Lannister upon the Iron Throne and commanded him to get off it, on pain of death. Tywin actually offered to accept Ned Stark as king, knowing perhaps if he executed his original plan to take the throne he would be crushed by Baratheon. If Stark took it however Robert would be calmed. Perhaps Tywin believed he could manipulate the Starks more. Ned refused out of honor and loyalty to his friend and brother in arms Robert. He was not meant to be king in his opinion, he was not meant to rule. He was a soldier fighting a war to avenge his father and brother and so that he and his remaining brother Benjen Stark might live. Robert was the natural leader, the man meant for the throne and so he let Robert take it. I believe as is pointed out in the numerous discussions between Robert and Ned about it, Roberts initial idea was to place Ned upon the Iron Throne so he had the power and responsibility of being king because he was right Ned would have hated it and in hating the power and responsibility he would have been a better king for it. Tywin Lannister had no real choice in the matter, though in effort to placate the Lannisters Jon Arryn lord of The Vale and guardian to both Robert and Ned suggested the marriage of Cersei Lannister to Robert. Since Tywin had sacked Kings Landing and could have laid claim to the throne, as could his son Jaime and indeed Ned Stark even Arryn thought that a marriage between Baratheon and Lannister would put the schism between the two houses in the past. It would have done so too if Robert had not still been deeply in love with Lyanna Stark. He never truly got over the death of Lyanna and so never truly accepted his wife Cersei who initially had loved him. This is where all the troubles really began. If after the battle of the Trident where Robert smashed Rhaegar effectively winning the war Ned had been proclaimed king none of this would have happened.
Also Paul, trust me on this:
Robb Stark is a smurfing badman and a totally smurfing awesome general.
"The First Sword of Braavos does not run"
Syrio continues to be a badass. I was really looking forward to this scene and I think they played it wonderfully.
And check out Robb being a bad mothersmurfer. I can't wait to see some of the fighting that comes of this war.
Frankly Steve, I don't know where you got half of the information you did about all that. Robert had every intention of becoming king when he declared war against the Targaryens. Certainly his motivations were not to usurp the throne on the sole merit of assuming the crown, but it is discussed that his claim was to some degree legitimate since the Baratheons have Targaryen blood (through Robert's grandmother, I believe). He never meant to place Ned on the throne.
Nowhere is it stated that Tywin meant to assume the crown when he sacked King's Landing. He had his own grudges against the Targaryens (SPOILER)mostly involving Jaime's ascendance to the Kingsguard, which was meant as a slight against Tywin by King Aerys in that it deprived him of his preferred heir, which is discussed in depth as the series progresses. His late entrance to the war was him merely choosing the winning side, and it is stated multiple times that Tywin only decided to turn on King Aerys after Rhaegar was slain at the Trident (which was the deciding victory in the war).
Tywin would further have less use for Eddard as king than Robert besides. Eddard was already married, whereas Robert provided the opportunity for Tywin to become the grandfather of kings through Cersei. Similarly, to what purpose who he assume the throne himself? His heir is a dwarf he despises. His preferred son, as already mentioned, has forsworn his family name and rights.
You're just complicating things, Steve.
(Last nights episode was awesome, btw).
I think Iceglow may be talking about when Robert Tells Ned
Not sure but I seem to recall the sentiment coming forth on another occasion as well. Long story short even Robert himself doesn't feel he is well suited to kingship or that he makes a very great king(though better than Aerys certainly).Originally Posted by A Game of Thrones page 259 when Ned is talking Robert out of fighting in the Melee
Robert acknowledges that Ned would make a better ruler; that does not mean that he ever planned for Ned to be king.
Throughout Game of Thrones, Robert constantly expresses his displeasure at being king. I understood it mostly to be a man looking back at his decisions as a youth and regretting them. He never put an awful lot of thought into what winning the crown meant. He wanted revenge. Revenge for Brandon and Rickard Stark and revenge for Lyanna.
This episode was awesome. You know why it was probably the best so far? GRRM himself wrote it xD WHICH like in the book they didn't show if syrio (SPOILER)actually died or not. So that is still in the air. Damn you GRRM!
He extrapolated an awful lot about Tywin's imaginary motivations from offhanded comments from Robert to Ned then. Then again, this is Steve.
All the Starks seem to exist solely to infuriate me. Well, except Rob. And Jon.
For a show that includes a lot of tits and ass, I am surprised the looting/pillaging scenes did not show much skin. I thought Drogo's warriors were about to have tea parties with their captives and slaves by how tame everything was. Drogo himself is a beast and should be emulated by all people.
Arya and Bran become more and more awesome as the series progresses. I wish I could say the same for Sansa. And Rickon? Well, he's four.
Sansa is awful in the books as well, didn't really expect much out of her.