Stannis. The White Walkers. The Greyjoys. We don’t really know what Catelyn’s sister is up to. The Brotherhood without Banners. That being said it’s two minor houses and a band of outlaws. They seem to have pretty much won and just need to wrap up consolidating power.
Remember when Tywin was talking to Olenna Tyrell? Tywin threatened to put Loras into the Kingsguard in order to take away the Tyrell heir. It wasn’t Tywin’s choice to put Jaime into the Kingsguard, it was Aerys Targaryen’s idea.
It’s a great honor to be in the Kingsguard, an acknowledgement that you are one of the biggest badasses in the kingdom. Apart from that i believe they really haven’t gone into the reasons behind Jamie joining the Kingsguard, but i fail to see how that makes it a plothole. And besides Stannis and the northmen who might be pissed at the slaughter of their lords there isn’t much opposition to the Lannisters atm. Maybe the Iron men count now since technically the north is part of the kingom once again.
I recall Tywin threatening to put Loras into the Kingsguard, but I don’t remember anything about Aerys doing the same to Jaime. It’s a good tactic though.
I figured Jaime was in the Kingsguard because he wanted to be, because of his relationship with Cersei.
I just had a thought. If Tywin were to die, say, keel over from a heart attack, or get stabbed, what would that do to House Lannister? Who’s in charge? Jamie the one handed kingslayer? Tyrion the imp? Is jamie the oldest brother, or Tyrion?
Jamie, of course. Remember that Tywin’s wife died while giving birth to Tyrion. It’s one of the reasons the family resents him.
Walder thought the noble houses of Westeros had been slighting him for years, since so few wanted to be joined with his family in marriage. That was before That Wedding…
Somehow, I think those noble families will be even less inclined to attend wedding festivities at The Twins. Walder probably knew that was his last turn as Father Of The Bride. So he might as well marry off the daughter (or granddaughter) who won the genetic lottery. Besides, her prettiness made his “joke” even funnier. (He’s got an odd sense of humor.)
As it stands right now Tyrion would become the new Lord of Casterly Rock; Jaime can’t inherit on account of being in the Kingsguard, and Cersei comes after her brother because she’s a woman. Whether Tyrion would be able to maintain control over the Lannister forces is another matter. If something happened to him then Cersei would become Lady of Casterly Rock in her own right, and de facto ruler of Westeros. Since Joffrey is her heir it’d mean eventually the Lannister holdings would merge with the Crown.
That was kind of what I was thinking about. With the Starks pretty much eliminated as a threat, it’s pretty much a mopping-up operation for the Lannisters, and the level of dramatic tension will drop significantly, which almost certainly means that the shit has to hit the fan for the Lannisters next season. And given that Tywin is smart, capable, and determined, losing HIM would be the best way to ratchet up the drama. I mean, with Tywin gone, Joffrey could make an attempt to actually BE the king as WELL as a psychopath. That should put things in the shitter for them big time, white walkers or no. Plus I don’t see Cersei, Jamie and Tyrion getting along, especially with Tyrion the head of the Lannisters.
Do you think people would follow Tyrion’s orders? I don’t. Ned was king regent and nobody followed his orders. Joffrey is king and people only follow his orders if they don’t conflict with Tywin. Tyrion hasn’t made any friends in King’s landing and Cersei is pretty well established in the power structure. If Tywin went down I think she’d take the reigns. Or Joffrey sets her aside and does what he likes, probably kills Tyrion actually.
My guess, only as a watcher of the series, is that the big dramatic arc next season will be an attack or a full-scale war with the white walkers.
That would be unfortunate. What makes this show interesting is the interaction between the human characters and factions. All of the magic fantasy stuff in comparison is quite boring.
Well, without any commentary about the likelihood of the next season focusing on a full scale war with the white walkers, there could certainly be a war in which we only spent 5% of screen time watching the fighting, and most of it watching what that war did to the relationship between the Lannisters and the Tyrells, etc.
I mean, at some level Danaerys’s storyline is all about some lady who is immune to fire and nurses the first dragons seen in the world in hundreds of years, and the drama in the story still manages to be human/political, not just magic magic magic.
Sure, most people would obey Tyron’s orders. They obey the orders of Joffrey the Crazy Kid King, why wouldn’t they obey the orders of Tyrion the Really Smart Dwarf? Plus he’s a hero to a lot of the populace for defending King’s Landing with his “Half Man” stand.
People are petty and they’re irrational. I can see how an ugly disfigured veteran dwarf could be vilified even if he was the best candidate for the position. I mean, look how unpredictable and irrational the politics is for American candidates.
The fat jokes about Chris Christie, for example; whether you love him, hate him, or are neutral to him, c’mon- make fun of his records or his statements but stop retreading a bunch of fat jokes that weren’t new in Vaudeville. For that matter when you say “Taft” the first thing that comes to mind is his size- not his presidential politics or his SCotUS career.
I wonder how high someone Peter Dinklage/Tyrion’s size could rise in U.S. politics.
Oh, come on now, that’s an easy set up if I ever heard one… 
Dinklage is 4’5"; While not a dwarf, Robert Reich, at 4’10" was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration.
Jaime joined the Kingsguard because [spoiler]he thought it would be a way to stay near Cersei in King’s Landing. Since he’s not interested in anyone other than his sister it would provide the perfect cover for why he wasn’t married off. Tywin was furious, and his first response when he found out was to send Cersei packing back to Casterly Rock, and then the war started. A not-mad King would never have accepted Jaime in the first place since it would be sure to enrage his father, but Aerys thought it was funny and did it on purpose to annoy Tywin.
So yes, it was a huge slap in the face for an eldest son to take a white cloak, especially since there wasn’t a suitable younger brother who could step in.[/spoiler]
I don’t remember that from the show…
I think it’s interesting that Joffrey and Robert both seemed to have the same ideas about having a single Royal Army, instead of the Lords+Bannermen system. Cersei pooh-poohed the idea when Joffrey brought it up, but then Robert pretty much said the same thing later. I get the feeling that a royal army is only going to happen if/when we have Targaryens sitting on the throne again. But then again… I have this nagging feeling that, when all is said and done, Hodor will be sitting on the Iron Throne.
HODOR!