Man in Office

Originating in A Clash of Kings and well stated in Vary's Riddle of the Sellsword, Man in Office discusses how unlikely individuals may unknowingly wield great power. Subthemes include: Right Man, Obedience and Power of the Broker

16 AGOT Sansa I: Cersei says it's right Ser Ilyn be fearsome. "If the wicked do not fear the king's justice, you have put the wrong man in the office. " 146

A Clash of Kings

74 ACOK 1 Prologue: Cressen is out and Melisandre is in. Who a throne claimant's right hand man is matters.

76 ACOK 3 Sansa I: Dontos's life is saved when appointed fool, a fact for which he professes great, heartfelt loyalty to Sansa. It is also fortunate that The Hound is Joffrey's man, since he curbs Joffrey at every turn where he used to prompt him to violence.

77 ACOK 4 Tyrion I: Varys tells Tyrion The Riddle of the Sellsword. Tyrion finds Ser Mandon blocking the door to the small council. He chooses to step aside, but there are guards who might not have, while there are others who might never have stopped Tyrion at all. Tyrion decides to keep Vylarr as captain of the red cloaks because he obeys Tyrion and discloses Joffrey's orders to him, which a man like Slynt might not have.

78 ACOK 5 Bran I: Who's lord matters.

79 ACOK 6 Arya II: Which lord commands the most swords matters

80 ACOK 7 Jon I: Sam loves the library, Donal Noye loves his forge and Jon loves to range. Each man has a happy role in society as well as ones he's ill-suited for. Chett loved caring for Aemon, but hates the kennels. Mormont considered sending Sam to ask Renly for help, but decided against it. The specific man for the job can make all the difference.

81 ACOK 8 Catelyn I: Cleos and Theon are chosen as envoys for who their familes are. Cleos argues to exchange hostages, since his little brother is one.

82 ACOK 9 Tyrion II: Tyrion replaces Slynt and candidates with Ser Jacelyn Bywater, Varys's candidate. Vary would also have Tyrion replace Vylarr, captain of the gold cloaks, but Tyrion has already vetted him and decided a dutiful man is better than a loyal man.

91 ACOK 18 Tyrion IV: Tyrion learns Littlefinger appointed most of the officials in King's Landing. Customs officials, tax collectors etc. He's been promoting in an entirely new way that does not simply prefer highborn appointees.

92 ACOK 19 Sansa II: Littlefinger designed a snare for Sansa that appealed to her specifically and to her sense of right and wrong.

93 ACOK 20 Arya V: The office changes the man. Soldiers who start by loting corpses willsoon enough rob from those weaker than themselves. A soldier long at war becomes a brigand.

94 ACOK 21 Tyrion V: Institutions and offices keep delicate substances and information. Where Tyrion would have seen Yoren soon enough, he ignores Ser Alliser Thorne out of personal dislike.

96 ACOK 23 Catelyn II: Problem employees can't always be fired. They tend to be transferred, especially to appointment that appear to honor them. Good rulers know how to get rid of dead weight without offending anyone.

97 ACOK 24 Jon III: While Mormont reviles Craster's human sacrifices, he recognizes that Craster's Keep is not a branch of the Night's Watch.

98 ACOK 25 Theon II: Asha tests Theon to see if he's worth helping or in need of being opposed. She finds him irrelevant. Victarion transfers his drunkard of a steersman to Theon's ship. Lord Botley gives him Wex and Smiler. Since Theon isn't looking for good men, like Asha is, he becomes the dumpster for castoffs. Though, perhaps Botley means him well?

99 ACOK 26 Tyrion VI: Tyrion arranges to be on the iron throne on a particular day so he can send the red cloaks away (as Varys has been nagging) with Cleos without Cersei intervening. He also removes Pycelle from office, shaving him and having him thrown in the dungeon: something he did not have the authority to do.

100 ACOK 27 Arya VI: Those interrogated wouldn't have to die, but it's the way the Mountain's Men do it. They torture you until you die.

103 ACOK 30 Tyrion VII: Tyrion learn he has a loyal and capable captain of gold cloaks in Ser Jacelyn Bywater when Cersei would have him imprisoned for the treason of ignoring her orders. He also learns that Lancel is altogether incompetent as a henchman for Cersei, at least anymore, but will serve nicely as a spy on her for Tyrion.

104 ACOK 31 Arya VII: Jaqen H'ghar tells Arya he owes her three deaths for having saved him, Rorge & Biter. Arya should think strategically and should name somone like Joffrey or even The Mountain before someone like Chiswyk. How different would the outcome be had three names fallen to another?

106 ACOK 33 Sansa III: Ser Boros grabs Sansa immediately when ordered to intervene, where Meryn Trant makes for Dontos. The Hound has only been once commanded to strike Sansa and he moved so slowly Dontos was able to intervene. The specific man matters. Boros has chosen to be most obedient despite knowing it will mean he's asked to commit atrocities. Obedience

110 ACOK 37 Tyrion VIII: Littlefinger is to be sent to negotiate with the Tyrells. He'll carry a document authorizing him to do so. He'll have the power of the king. Yet, what it means is always fluctuating and always relative. Certainly, Littlefinger will accomplish much for himself by this negotiation. Power of the Broker

111ACOK 38 Theon III: If Balon had sent to Dagmer Cleftjaw and Aeron Damphair to harry the Stony Shore, that's all they would have done. But Balon gave Theon command, so they took Winterfell.

114 ACOK 41 Daenerys III: The Pureborn or Enthroned are a senate in Qarth. There is little about them we know for sure, but they seem to be like a Great Council of representatives that meets often, even daily.

Based on Xaro Xhoan Daxos's descriptions, the rule of The Enthroned resembles corruption and intelligent rule at once.

116 ACOK 43 Davos II: Ser Cortnay Penrose's elderly father is considered potential leverage, so Lord Alester Florent proposes threatening to hang him if Ser Cortney refuses to surrender the castle and the boy. But Davos thinks Ser Cortney would see his father die before betraying his trust. The implication is that Ser Cortney's father would prefer to die before seeing his son surrender principle to such debase manipulation. The specific men in office matter, and how they can be compromised.

117 ACOK 44 Jon V: Qhorin Halfhand is a veteran ranger, molded by office into a hard, resilient man who is ready to die. Mormont does not need to ask his council for Qhorin to suggest a ranging as the solution. Mormont's concern for his men's lives is one Qhorin does not conceive of in the same way, though. Mormont's job was to not let the ranger suggest more ranging and Qhorin's was to realize that his knowledge it was time to seal the gates meant if he were to recommend any action it needed to be understood as primary that the majority of the large ranging head back to the Wall immediately. Qhorin even knows this deeply, as he will discuss with Jon in a later chapter. (Paraphrase) "If the Wall falls, all fires go out." But Qhorin had more strength and humility than awareness of his duty to leadership: The Tragedy of Qhorin Halfhand.

118 ACOK 45 Tyrion X: The man who gets the job gets the promotion. Tyrion took Bronn into service to keep Bronn from abandoning him on the high road, but now Bronn will require promotion. Being the captain of the guard to the acting Hand is a position of absolute authority. It seems Bronn is already redirecting bribes to himself. His sense of the possible has telescoped. Lord? Yes, please! Power of the Broker

120 ACOK 47 Bran VI: Bran yields Winterfell to protect its people, but not every person in his place would have. We're reminded of the recent confrontation at Storm's End where Ser Cortnay Penrose ceded the castle by offering single combat. That was his style in that situation. Bran must yield, but Little Walder wouldn't have. He'd have sacrificed his people to pride.

121 ACOK 48 Arya IX: Pinkeye is all bark, so Arya does much more than she did under Weese. In contrast, Gendry's boss is as good as any he's had, so he won't consider leaving Harrenhal to help Arya reach Winterfell. Would he have a better boss up there? Unlikely. Hot Pie does a good job on the tarts, not pinching any for himself or spitting in them, as Arya would, and notonly because he fears punishment. Obedience

123 ACOK 50 Tyrion XI: Rule corrupts. This chapter shows Tyrion having lost all sense of what needs doing. He is idle enough to stop to instruct Shagga in the fundamentals of raiding, but too busy to stop and think of alternatives to having Bronn burn the fish market in his name. Self-importance is Tyrion's specific flaw, but any Hand would find themselves so pressed, even if only by underlings like Varys, who rule through those they weaken with worries. It raises the question of why bothering with so-called rulers when free agents and market forces decide.

124 ACOK 51 Theon IV: Theon thought Eddard Stark got so much respect for being Lord of Winterfell. As lord, himself, now, he sees the position's pressures and how generations of relationship building created stability, not titles. Having seized the position, betraying his oath to Robb, Theon can barely hold against his "own" servants. Obedience

127 ACOK 54 Jon VII: Qhorin explains to Jon he commanded him to do what needed to be done to learn about him. He explains in a beautiful quote that each man is best suited for certain tasks and a leader must kow his men to select them for tasks. Recall, he is known to call for volunteers. We see what one warg can do via eagle or wolf, and it seems it could eliminate so much that is difficult and costly about ranging. Right Man

129 ACOK 56 Catelyn VII: The specific gaoler on duty let Catelyn pass when she threatened him, but others might not have. Jaime killed Aerys, when it seemed necessary. Another in his place might have chosen differently. Catelyn frees Jaime, given the opportunity, when few others would have.

131 ACOK 58 Sansa V: When Cersei says Ser Ilyn Payne is at Maegor's as a knight to protect them, Sansa wishes it were the Hound.

132 ACOK 59 Davos III: Ser Imry Florent was given command of Stannis's fleet and sailed straight into Tyrion's trap. If Davos had commanded, they'd not have gone near the trap due to his different style and approach. Davos initially assumed Tyrion had constructed the chain boom to keep the fleet out and hoped to find it raised against Ser Imry's intent to enter the trap.

134 ACOK 61 Sansa VI: Rule turns poor rulers into terrible ones, but makes any ruler worse. The office ruins the man.

135 ACOK 62 Tyrion XIV: Tyrion thinks differently as a soldier than as a Hand. He remains confident in his own judgment over that of more experienced men, but his view is limited to what levers he sees at hand. Where he'd once sent word to the trebuchets (133 ACOK 60 Tyrion XIII) he now doesn't even consider them and rides stright at the problem, as Jaime would. Balon points out the bridge of ships to Tyrion, but he did so partly to avoid boarding it. Obedience

138 ACOK 65 Arya X: Arya abuses her power as Roose Bolton's cup bearer, telling the stable boy Roose commands she be given horses. She'd already commanded the kitchens to prepare his dinner in the same relay of his tone. The guard Arya must kill in order to escape is both a man in office, just any one performing his duty, and also someone made a specific obstacle and therefore likely to die at his post. Power of the Broker

142 ACOK 69 Jon VIII: While Ebben would have Jon be the one sent to report to Mormont, to spare his young life, Qhorin says "Jon has a different part to play." Qhorin's plan is already formed and he knows how he will use his own death. Right Man

144 ASOS 1 Prologue: Reminiscent of Arya's requirement to kill the man guarding the lightest guarded gate, Chett calls it their bad luck for drawing watch that certain men would be killed as part of the mutineer's escape. You can even see how the whole plan could very easily backfire should the man tasked to kill a certain guard prefer to invite that guard along, instead. This may foreshadow Jaime's reveal he was tasked to bring back his own father's head, which he would not consider doing. Wrong Man

145 ASOS 2 Jaime I: Jaime would fight to the death, Cleos would surrender, Brienne would use her head and the landscape. The outcome has everything to do with who leads.

146 ASOS 3 Catelyn I: Because she was no king, Catelyn was able to attempt to trade Jaime for two girls. Robb, even had he wanted to, would have to answer to his lords.

148 ASOS 5 Tyrion I: Tywin has done many of the foundation laying acts of office Tyrion did as Hand such as installing his own captain of gold cloaks. Most any Hand would.

150 ASOS 7 Sansa I: Mace Tyrell is the official head of House Tyrell and will sit on the king's council, but his mother, Olenna, will actually hold the office, making decisions and passing them through him. At least according to her. If it's true, it creates a type of false front, since Mace's apparent motives can be sculpted.

151 ASOS 8 Jon I: Mance Rayder says he infiltrated the feast at Winterfell to take the measure of his enemies (Benjen) and rivals (Robert) He wanted to se what kind of men he might be dealing with, to guess what kind of values they hold and what decisions they'd make: cautious or wily or hot headed, men have different ways about them.

155 ASOS 12 Jaime II: That Aerys made Jaime Kingsguard to hold hostage meant Jaime was his only guard when he needed someonloyal. Wrong Man

156 ASOS 13 Tyrion II: Tyrion didn't have the authority to dismiss Pycelle. To remind, or in retaliation, the Conclave assigns a Tyrell replacement which Tywin must block by reinstating Pycelle.

159 ASOS 16 Jon II: Jon thinks he should kill Mance Rayder to route the wildling army. His position inside the camp is opportunity and he can't stand the idea of Mance riding on Winterfell. Assassination

A Dance With Dragons

281 ADWD 10 Davos I: Lord Godric Borrell deciedes to betray the chain of command and help Davos reach White Harbor when he's technically supposed to send word to Sunderland that he had Stannis's Hand captive. That he does so out of a memory of his father deciding to make the same decision to help Eddard Stark is interesting, since Manderly would aid Stark as well. Borrell does so to be kind of man he can esteem and likes the idea of emulating his father and being a bit of a secret rebel.