<<SPOILERS AHEAD!>>
I think the best part of Game of Thrones lies in the dialogues. You can get to know and understand each character and what constitutes their ethos and motivation based a lot on the dialogue. These past two weeks, I have re-watched the entire past 7 seasons, but with a bit of a backseat view. Because I knew already what will happen to the characters, I was more interested listening better and closely watching their motivations, their actions and the consequences thereof. From all that, I have been able to put together a number of lessons which I find valuable and would like to share with you.
1. Honour is honourable, but sometimes you have to learn to get dirty. Stannis Baratheon once complimented Jon Snow for being an honourable man like his father. When Jon Snow thanked him, he told Jon Snow that it was not a compliment, adding that honour is what killed his father. The truth is, this world is an imperfect place and you have to learn to get dirty smetimes. You cannot always play by the rules all the time. That was Ned Stark's biggest problem. He came to a place where people lived like thieves and was warned. He even resigned from the Small Council in protest of the killing of Daenerys. His head ended up on a spike.
2. Make sure you understand a new environment before you impose changes on it. Ned Stark once summoned Tywin Lannister after one of his banner men raided some villages. If he had taken any time to really understand the power play in Westeros, he would have known that Tywin Lannister was the real king. Again, that led to his head ending up on a spike.
3. When you are on a sure path to greatness, many opportunities will befall you. Not everyone is good for you. When Khaleesi was in Qarth, the Richest Man proposed to marry her in exchange for his money, influence and ships. She almost agreed but was persuaded to turn down the offer by Jeor Mormont. Lucky for her, because the Richest Man in question turned out to be a scammer.
4. Life is sometimes about sacrifices. But before you sacrifice one thing for another, do your due diligence and be certain about what you are getting. Remember when Khaleesi offered the life of her baby for the life of Khal Dhrogo? His life was saved, but the guy was a vegetable. Khaleesi ended up killing him and losing both the baby and her king. And to add small dash, she will never bear kids again. At least she is OK with that.
5. Chaos is a ladder; you just have to figure out how best to climb it. Every disruption or mess in the environment creates some kid of opportunity. If you are sharp enough to spot it and to use it to your advantage, then good for you. Game of Thrones is full of characters using chaos to climb up. Ironically they all meet their demise. Ask Lord Baelish. He said it himself.
6. Respect your promises, especially the ones that carry grave importance. Robb Stark threw away his promise between a woman’s legs. His mother even warned him when she said “treat your oath recklessly and your people will do same.” He ended up being killed at his uncle’s wedding. Serves him right.
7. Your mother’s intuition is hardly wrong when it concerns another woman. Cersei Lannister, for all the terrible person she was able to discern that Margery Tyrell was conniving and manipulative. It didn’t matter that Margaery was doing it for the right reasons. Too bad the green flame didn’t let her finish her work on the High Sparrow.
8. There is wisdom in age and experience. Ask Khaleesi. Not one person in the series took to good counsel like she did. And it only led to her becoming greater and greater. Which leads me to the next point.
9. Choose wisely those you work with. Daenerys Targaryen chose to let herself be guided by the correct people and always sought the opinion of her team. They were people with different backgrounds (mostly military) and with different experiences. All these made her have even more clarity in her decision-making. Look at where she is now.
10. Be careful about the monsters you create. They may come back to haunt you. The High Sparrow was given power by Cersei to create the armed group of the faith even though such movements had been cancelled 200 years prior. Her aim was to get at Margaery Tyrell. The serpent that she fed ended up swallowing her. And she had to walk through King’s Landing naked. O! Shame oh!
11. Any man who must say ‘I am the king’ is no true king. Tywin Lannister could not have said it better. In this life, let people talk about your good work. Trying to force people to see what you have accomplished will not help your case. Keep your peace and let the world argue on your behalf.
12. Pride definitely comes before a fall. Stannis Baratheon refused to take to the advice of his hand, Sir Davos. He choose black magic over common sense and decided to sacrifice his own daughter at the stake rather than returning to Castle Black and waiting for the storm to pass. All because he did not want to be known as “The King Who Retreats.” Come morning, the storm had passed but half his army also deserted. He took the rest of his tired and weary soldiers to get Winterfell even though he should not have. His army was overrun and everyone died. What an idiot.
13. Humility is the stepping stone to greatness. Remember when Jon Snow was asked to be the steward to the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch? He was angry because he thought he was better than emptying chamber pots. Samwell Tarly had to remind him that being the Steward to the Lord Commander puts him in the best position to see how things were run. In effect, he was being groomed for Command. Jon came to his senses, so much so that when he became Lord Commander he decided to groom Ollie too. Too bad Olllie betrayed him and ended up being hung.
14. Knowledge is power. Save for Lord Baelish, the people who have survived the series so far are mostly those who have knowledge or have surrounded themselves with people who know what is going on everywhere. Lord Varys is a perfect example. At least Lord Baelish lasted up till season 7
15. There is no getting out of the friend zone. Ask Jeor Mormont, he will tell you. Lmao
- Wandji Wilfred
P.S* If there are any lessons you learned from Game Of Thrones, please include them below.