The smartest decision? Losing the Karstarks was what forced him to try and form an alliance with the Freys and we know how that worked out.
When a daddy dragon and a mommy human love each other very much, they have a special hug …
The only thing Robb did that was halfway dumb was to marry Talisa/Jeyne and thereby offend Walder Frey. Even at that, under normal circumstances, that would have just got him no cooperation from Frey, but he, Roose Bolton and Tywin Lannister conspired to do something so far out of the ordinary that nobody else would have comprehended that it was even possible, and perpetrated the Red Wedding.
Basically the custom of protecting visitors who you share meat and mead with was SO ingrained, that in many ways, Walder Frey and House Frey are somewhat outcast afterward. I think criticizing Robb for not expecting the Red Wedding is a bit simplistic- the Red Wedding broke one of the most, if not the most sacred customs that the Westerosi hold.
Otherwise, Robb didn’t necessarily do anything too crazy- he was wildly successful in the field, and just got beaten by what amounted to a somewhat desperate hail-mary, even if it looks cold and calculating.
The Starks were for the most part not stupid, they were simply out of their element. You wouldn’t call a carpenter stupid if he was forced to do pottery and sucked at it. Sansa was a sheltered teenage girl, yeah that probably made her stupid, but she shouldn’t have been expected to not be.
I don’t recall seeing anything in the show suggesting this. I mean, it stands to reason that it might be true, but I’m curious what you’re basing this on.
Mrs Cad claims that I knew about the Red Wedding before the episode because when Robb decides to go to Frey after cancelling the betrothal, even I (didn’t read the books) said something really bad is going to happen - like really REALLY bad. I’m not saying anyone predicted TRW but honestly, did anyone watching hear Robb’s plan and wasn’t saying, “Oooooh. Bad idea.”
Can most of Robb’s “stupidity” be written off and completely undiplomatic like his dad? Sure but his last major decision was moronic.
The Targaryens aren’t literally descended from dragons any more than Lannisters are from lions or Starks are from wolves. Their bloodline dates back to Old Valyria where they were accomplished dragon lords (snake charmers, horse whisperers), but they never sexed up giant lizards.
In the season three finale, Bran tells the story of the Ratcook, whom the gods cursed for killing a guest in his master’s house, followed by an immediate cut to Walder Frey. The implication is clear.
It’s more than that. Dany is fireproof. That’s clearly beyond any sort of snake charmer sort of relationship. It’s possible that her birthing the dragons was a result of some sort of knowledge (knowing the pyre would work), but the fireproof thing is definitely magic.
Then what is the source of Dany’s magic?
We don’t really know. We don’t really know what the actual source is of any of the magic in the series.
What is the source of Bran’s magic? Melisandre’s? The warlocks of Qarth’s?
Viserys wasn’t magical. Neither Rhaegar or the Mad King were. Maester Aemon doesn’t have magic powers.
She is part dragon.
She is literally descended from dragons. How? “There’s magic involved.”
As far as the dragon birth go it was probably blood magic like the witch woman did, her fire inmunity is not explained.
Then why aren’t the other Targaryens we know of magical if it’s hereditary.
You’ve misunderstood her house’s blustering as a literal truth.
Says who?
Surely it would have to be a daddy human and a mommy dragon, given the relative sizes.
I don’t see how that implies that Frey is actually an outcast. The fact that the remaining Starks don’t like him and wish him ill doesn’t really tell us anything. To the best of my recollection, we’ve not yet seen any negative repercussions for Frey after his colorful wedding planning.
Heck, maybe the other Houses are impressed with the strength and cunning of House Frey. Or perhaps they are fearful and therefore more willing to work with him.
Some of them are. It’s a reasonable assumption that the original conqueror 300 years ago who flew in on dragons was also part dragon.
The characters in the show.
We’ve already seen shapeshifters in the show; it’s not too much of a leap to imagine a shapeshifting human turning into a dragon, or vice versa.
From what I’ve heard from friends on the Internets, human female anatomy is quite accommodating to all manner of monstrous phalluses.