Supreme Court of Westeros, ruling 41

Thursday is court day! 

Welcome to the Supreme Court of Westeros! Every week, three pressing questions from the community will be answered by the esteemed judges Stefan (from your very own Nerdstream Era) and Amin (from A Podcast of Ice and Fire). The rules are simple: we take three questions, and one of us writes a measured analysis. The other one writes a shorter opinion, either concurring or dissenting. The catch is that every week a third judge from the fandom will join us and also write a dissenting or concurring opinion. So if you think you're up to the task - write us an email to stefan_sasse@gmx.de, leave a comment in the post, ask in the APOIAF-forum or contact Amin at his tumblr. Discussion is by no means limited to the court itself, though - feel free to discuss our rulings in the commentary section and ask your own questions through the channels above.

One word on spoilers: we assume that you read all the books, including the Hedge Knight short stories, and watched the current TV episodes. We don't include the spoiler chapters from various sources in the discussion, with the notable exception of Theon I, which was supposed to be in "A Dance with Dragons" anyway.

And now, up to ruling 41 of the Supreme Court of Westeros! Our guest judge this week is Jimmy McCullough. He has been heavily interested in “A Song of Ice and Fire” since his sister introduced me to GRRM books. Sadly, she lives in Australia now and they do not get to discuss them often, but hopefully she will return before “The Winds of Winter” is realised. He works for Bupa, a PMI company and is starting an MA in History in October.

Is Ser Meryn Trant part of Varys' plan? He always seems to be on guard when something goes wrong or Varys' plans spring into action.

Main Opinion: Stefan

It's kind of the job of a kingsguard to be around when something happens, so I'd not place too much emphasis on that. It's possible, of course. The problem with characters like Trant is that we simply don't know that much about them. Trant's treatment of others, particularly Sansa, and his general "all I care about is killing" attitude suggest, however, that he is either a great actor or utterly unfit as Varys' catspaw. Given how unimportant Trant is and how underdeveloped the character, I tend to the latter.

Concurring Opinion: Amin

I agree that there isn’t much evidence to say that Trant would be under Varys’ employ. He seems to be just a Lannister catspaw. Varys probably could have made use of him for something minor for the right price, but nothing leaps to mind.

Concurring in part, dissenting in part: James McCollough

I agree that we know very little about him politically so we cannot say for sure but, Varys, claims he is Cersei's man. This is a strange claim as he is a knight from the Stormlands, which would indicate his loyalty to Robert. Also, he was on guard during Tywin's and Kevan's assassinations, but the Kingsgaurd rarely perform duties outsides the immediate Royal Family, and a during the Handship's of Eddard and Tyrion we never saw them guarding then. He also lied about Arya Stark's escape and Syrio Forel's role as a Dance Master/Swordsman. There is something up with Ser Meryn, but what are why, we cannot be sure.

Final Verdict:  Possible, but we simply have too few information about the man.

Do you believe that Loras was party to the Tyrell plans to Poison Joffrey? (For that matter, whom else in the Tyrell family would be trusted with that plan?) If so, his condemnation of Brienne as a Regicidal Kingsguard would be very hypocritical (recognizing he later absolves her of the blame). Furthermore, such deceit might lend credence to the notion that his maiming on Dragonstone may be a mere mummers show for Cersei's benefit.

Main Opinion: Stefan

Loras is just what he is: very good at knocking people from a horse with a stick, and looking dashy. He’s not a mastermind, and there’s no reason to involve him in the whole political stuff. He wasn’t even involved in anything close to politics in Renly’s camp, and Renly was sleeping with him! No, Loras isn’t in on anything. I think we also talked about the “he’s not maimed” thing that went on on Dragonstone, but for the record: no, the accounts are true, he is brutally burned. As to the other question of who was in on the plan: no one besides Olenna, methinks. Keep the circle as small as possible.

Concurring in Part, Dissenting in Part: Amin

I agree that Loras was not in on the poisoning plan. There was no need for him to be in on it and it was safer for him and the other Tyrells to keep him out of the loop of this particular plan. I am not sure I quite agree on whether Loras’ injuries are as grave as projected, but there is no way to be sure until we see what exactly happened at Dragonstone.

Concurring in part, dissenting in part: James McCollough

Ser Loras is what Stefan's describes him as, but I feel there is more too him politically. The first we really see of him is when Renly asks Eddard if Margarey looks like Lyanna. From this we can tell that he has hatched a plan for Cersei to be supplanted by his own sister, and therefore his is looking to increase his own families influence in Westeros. I do not believe he had anything to do with Joffery's death, he seems sincere in his anger directed at Sansa during the meeting of the Kingsguard. I do agree with Stefan that he is injured on Dragonstone. It makes no sense for that to be a red herring.

Final Verdict: Loras is injured, and most likely out of the loop. 

Why is Arya in Braavos, narrative-wise?

Main Opinion: Stefan

To propel her story arc. She’s on a very dark road, with all that nihilistic nothingness in front of her and her desire to simply kill people, which can only get you so far narratively on a Westeros road trip. We also need to get at the root of Jaqen H’qar and deconstruct the “badass assassin” trope while we’re at it. As I read it, Arya will finally learn what it means to become “no one” and not be able to pull out all her Winterfell roots. Plus, I’d guess there’s also a revelation coming about the ultimate motives of the Faceless Men, like in Wanted (the movie version, not the clusterfuck of a graphic novel). All of this will destroy the notion of being an assassin being any legitimate objective for a little girl, or anything else, for that matter. After Braavos, Arya should gravitate back to Westeros. It is the pinacle of her development, marking the farthest point she’ll reach on her quest of destruction.

Concurring Opinion: Amin

I agree with Justice Stefan’s assessment of Arya’s story arc in Braavos. The fact that GRRM followed up with Jaqen H’ghar coin in A Clash of Kings with Arya’s surprising use of it to head for Braavos in A Storm of Swords was well appreciated. The chance to get a closer look into Braavosi society from her POV is one of the positive aspects of the last two books.

Concurring Opinion: James McCollough

Arya was destined to go to Braavos from her time Syrio. She had a clear interest in the place and it's culture, which was only heightened by her encounter with Jaqen H'qar. Arya also wants to learn how to kill and indiscriminately as possible, and there is no better place to learn than the House of Black and White. GRRM also seems to want the reader to get a view of as much of this work he has created as possible, so have one of the POV characters situated in a city who's institutions have a major role in things to come in Westeros (Iron Bank and the Faceless Men) seems sensible. 

Final Verdict: Because she needs to be there for her personal story to develop.