Game of Thrones 6x02 —Leadership is hard
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Spoilers for Game of Thrones up to Season Six, Episode Two and all the books
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“Have you ever seen the Iron Throne? The barbs along the back, the ribbons of twisted steel, the jagged ends of swords and knives all tangled up and melted? It is not a comfortable seat, ser. Aerys cut himself so often men took to calling him King Scab, and Maegor the Cruel was murdered in that chair. By that chair, to hear some tell it. It is not a seat where a man can rest at ease. Ofttimes I wonder why my brothers wanted it so desperately. ” — Stannis Baratheon
George R R Martin likes to remind us that power is an alluring proposition, but to wield it is uncomfortable and embittering. The Iron Throne is a metaphor (or perhaps a sharp reminder) that hardship and discomfort is inherent to leadership. Season Six, Episode Two reminds us of the discomfort those wielding power must push through to succeed.
But first, before discussing the discomfort of power, it’s official that Jon Snow is back from the dead and looks only slightly like a zombie. His in-tray will be quite daunting: avert a bloodbath between the Watch and Wildlings; resume preparations against the Others; welcome the refugees Sansa, Brienne and Pod; and, Ramsay Snow plans to arrive shortly thereafter. He may or may not also re-apply for Lord Commander-ship, if he isn’t busy.
How Jon reasserts control at the Wall depends what he has learned since his journey to the ‘undiscovered country.’ The Watchmen’s Mutiny is a stark reminder of Maester Aemon’s warning: “You will find little joy in your command. But, with luck you will find the strength to do what needs to be done. Kill the boy, and let the man be born.” Jon Snow must ‘kill the boy’, accept the hardship and unpopularity of leadership. There is good reason to believe Jon is more capable of this now than before. Beric Dondarrion reminds us that persons resurrected by the Lord of Light return to life incomplete. They lose a piece of themselves. I will wager Jon has lost some of his compassionate self. He will be less hesitant to execute Ser Alistair Thorne and Olly. The time has come when Jon will kill the boy.
While Jon Snow goes from death to life to kill the metaphorical boy, this episode Roose Bolton went from being alive to dead before his baby boy was torn to bits by savage dogs. His death is perversely logical: the birth of a second Bolton boy put Ramsay in a kill or be killed situation. We’ll never know why Roose didn’t execute Ramsay before he executed him, as Roose surely knew he must do. Roose’ last words are a good clue why not: A warm assurance that Ramsay would “always be my first son” suggests that sentimentality was his undoing. Roose was flatly uncomfortable that maintaining power meant killing his boy Ramsay. If Roose had done what was necessary for his survival he would have spared himself, his family and all of us watching at home a lot of pain.
This lesson in power is lost on Ramsay, of course. The fact he killed the baby boy Bolton, and his mother, without hesitation is a twisted extreme of a strong leader’s stoic resolve. Toning down his sadism is clearly too much for the Bastard Bolton, even if it will cost him popular support. More than likely, Ramsay will go one flayed man too far, prompting the Umbers, Manderleys and Karstarks to turn on him. My prediction is that Ramsay will suffer a major setback in battle this season, and his bannermen will seize the opportunity to rid themselves of the mad dog.
While Ramsay consolidates his uncompromising rule in Winterfell, further north Ser Davos is showing uncharacteristic flexibility to reassert control at the Wall. The Onion Knight implored Melisandre to resurrect Jon Snow. Countenancing blood magic is highly atypical for a man who protested the ritual murder of Renly, initiated Gendry’s escape from Dragonstone, and protected Princess Shireen when Melisandre was after her blood. This time is differnt, however, because Davos has never taken a moral stand that endangered anyone but himself.* Now, his moral code is straining under the responsibility he feels not just for himself, but for men of the Watch. Without Jon, they and the Wildlings will be at each others’ throats. Davos has assumed real authority for the first time and he’s finding the position very uncomfortable.
Although we did not see Daenerys this episode, we know that like Davos, her moral code has strained under the realities of exercising power. No doubt her time off screen is time reflecting on her compromises in power: she married a slimy Mereenese noble (now dead), she burnt a noblemen alive in front of his fellow elites, and she reopened the fighting pits. However, these measures were not enough to compensate for her mistakes: alienating the nobility by nailing slave owners to crucifixes, introducing competition between the closed-shop guilds and liberated slave craftsmen, and enraging the urban poor by executing perpetrators of revenge killings. Dany may feel like she has compromised a great deal, and indeed she has, but if her compromises had been enough then she would not be in the captivity of Khal Moro.
It did not have to be this way. Dany could have suppressed dissidents, inspired followers and crushed invading armies had she not locked her dragons in a pyramid. But without dragons she has no power to remake Mereen as a just and stable polity. Her hesitation was understandable, Drogon was killing herds of sheep and, allegedly, children. The moral sacrifice involved in allowing her dragons to remain free was too much. However, the Machiavellian retort is to ask how many children died in the terror campaign she enabled by disowning her dragons. How many will die in the wars kept in check by fear of her dragons? Dany is faced with the uncomfortable fact of political power in Essos - children will die no matter what you do.
While Dany rejected the consequences of employing her dragons as political tools, Tyrion has not. When Tyrion unchained Rhaegal and Viserion this episode he was visibly terrified, but his bravery has introduced a game changer in Mereen. Two adult dragons may be enough to bring the Mereenese into submission, make a brutal example of dissidents, and deter would be invaders. Although trying to control these two hungry dragons will be absolutely terrifying, they are nothing compared to letting Mereen tear itself apart. Tyrion accepts that dragons, and the collateral damage they cause, are necessary to avoid a much worse catastrophe. He may be scared by the prospect, but he does not flinch.
That is what Game of Thrones reminds us: that wielding power is discomforting by necessity. Jon has hesitated to control dissent in the Watch, but he has a second chance to learn his mistake. Ramsay has the perverted mind to undertake a ‘necessary’ assassination but that same perversion means he will inevitably lose power. Daenerys has made every compromise other than the one right in front of her. Davos is uncomfortable that his new found authority requires him to go against his principles. Only Tyrion, by accepting and moving past the inherent discomfort of wielding power, can become a truly effective political operator. Whether the other characters can learn that same lesson will determine whether they win or they die.
* Yes, Davos freeing Gendry did endanger Gendry also, but Gendry was going to die anyway if Davos did nothing.
