2 AGOT Bran I: Mercy

At the center of the chapter is the idea that mercy is better understood as bringing into care than as granting a swift and painless death. Lord Stark's judgment about the direwolf pups reflects on his earlier judgment of Gared. Each involve risk and require care, representing burden. Gared introduces the theme of the broken man that will pervade the series. While even children understand the need to take in and care for the young, who will understand the need to take in and care for the broken, especially where lords are tasked to execute them as outlaws and oathbreakers?

“Justice will fall to you”

Gared, the man who was forced to endanger himself by his inexperienced commander in the prologue, has escaped the Others. However, he's captured north of Winterfell and the local lord, Eddard Stark, is called upon to dispense justice. Lord Stark brings his sons to educate them in the duties that may fall to them one day. Seen through the eyes of seven year old Bran, who expects to see a mythical “wildling,” our sense of events focuses on the inter-generational task of preparing youth for what tasks and struggles they may encounter.

Focused on his duties as lord, Eddard teaches his sons and ward “you must take no pleasure in the task, but neither must you look away.” An executioner who flinches will deliver a more painful death than one who strikes true. One owes it to the condemned to serve only clean justice, not to punish them.

Later, when Hullen says “it would be a mercy” to kill the direwolf pups, Bran must look away so his father won't see him cry. It's a call back to Jon's advice to not look away from the beheading. Bran was able to do that when the one in question was a man because he did not consider himself to be anything but a bystander. Ned judges:

“Hullen speaks truly, son. Better a swift death than a hard one from cold and starvation.”

Sansa will later feel it as a grievous betrayal that Joffrey promised to be merciful to her father, then took his head and called that mercy.

Ned's own execution by Ice is set up here

While we do not hear the questions Ned asked or the answers Gared gave, Jon's observation that the man was "dead of fear" seems to communicate Gared's having run for his life. There is reason to believe Gared was not dangerous the way a man who deserted for another reason might be. Of course that in no way qualifies as an extenuating circumstance, but maybe it should. That the direwolf pups are brought in and cared for suggests the same might have been done for Gared. That we see this through Bran's eyes, not questioning the lord's judgment and immediately feeling that puppies should be kept, means readers are initially likely to take on Bran's view of Ned as an ideal father and lord. It is only the similarities between his own trial and Gared's that may make us revisit Ned's judgment upon Gared and see him as a heavy-handed judge rightly troubled by his conscience instead of as an infallible judge and executioner. Both Ned and Gared are actually guilty of the crime they are accused, at least in the most general way. Ned did declare Joffrey had no right to his throne and Stannis the true heir. Though he may have spoken truthfully, that talk was still treason and his letter to Stannis could be fairly called scheming to replace his king. Similarly, Gared was a man of the Night's Watch who did desert and that is the only piece of information Ned would have needed to verify in order to confirm that his own duty was to take the man's head.

The role of conscientious objector

Robb tells Theon, who is bullying Bran with threats to kill the pups to put away his sword. He sounds like a lord and announces “We will keep these pups.” But Harwin objects. There's a power struggle Ned is brought in to resolve. Jory thinks the pups an ill omen, having been born of the dead, and there's unexplained concern about the symbolism of a direwolf killed by a stag. Hullen and Harwin are against such beasts being brought into the castle. Ned makes the responsible choice of a lord who must hear and advocate for his men. It's not just the majority who would kill the direrwolf pups, it's the men of the group against the boys: a generational disagreement.

It is in this context that Jon makes his appeal. He speaks to Lord Stark alone, appealing to the talk of an omen, but with a different interpretation. “Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord.” Ned is swayed, but not by Jon's reasoning. It's that Jon has excluded himself from the count so as to make his argument. Ned sees this as a sacrifice made for his brothers and his heart is moved.

A hard death by cold and starvation

That Ned is raising Robb to speak with the authority of a lord is potentially more of a problem than it seems. At this point in the story it compares him to inexperienced commander Waymar Royce. A lord's most important duties involve seeing the people of a region through unforseeable disasters.

Constructions

Ned's own beaheading

Bran's becoming king?