S7 E3 The Queens' Justice: Thoughts
Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 11:15 am
I tried to post this in the Recap on the front page but it disappeared into a void
I think Tyrion's abilities as a military commander are overrated, based on the Battle of Blackwater Bay by his surprise use of Wildfire and the late intervention of the reinforcements from Tywin and the Tyrells. Holding onto a strong defensive position inside a castle is a very different kettle of fish from trying to besiege one. Time and again we have seen in GoT that it is the element of surprise that is crucial ( Robb's capture of Jaime, the Red Wedding, Stannis' pincer on the Wildling army. Knights of the Vale vs Boltons) and it was the element of surprise that gave Tyrion the edge at Blackwater. Then we have the element of surprise again as the Lannisters and Tarly take Highgarden.
Tyrion lacks the element of surprise currently, and in fact it is Euron's surprise attack which scuppers the fleet approaching KL. Dany of course has no-one else to turn to for strategy but those surrounding her, and it is her completely understandable decision IMHO not to use her dragons yet and turn KL into a victory over scorched earth. It is clear that she regards high losses of the smallfolk (her people) as unacceptable (although starving them into submission is!) - very different from those who served the Masters or the Dothrak who would happily see her raped and killed.
Real history is full of instances where strong leaders seemingly in a position of invincibility make unaccountably poor decisions which end up backfiring ( Hitler's choice to attack Russia in WW2 for example, Gallipoli in WW1).
It may well be that all these setbacks start to make Dany think she may have to turn to Jon in a more cajoling means of equal partnership for support and military strategy rather than trying to bully him into bending the knee.
I think we need to allow a little time to see how this all plays out in the next episodes before launching into an inquisition against the writing...
I think Tyrion's abilities as a military commander are overrated, based on the Battle of Blackwater Bay by his surprise use of Wildfire and the late intervention of the reinforcements from Tywin and the Tyrells. Holding onto a strong defensive position inside a castle is a very different kettle of fish from trying to besiege one. Time and again we have seen in GoT that it is the element of surprise that is crucial ( Robb's capture of Jaime, the Red Wedding, Stannis' pincer on the Wildling army. Knights of the Vale vs Boltons) and it was the element of surprise that gave Tyrion the edge at Blackwater. Then we have the element of surprise again as the Lannisters and Tarly take Highgarden.
Tyrion lacks the element of surprise currently, and in fact it is Euron's surprise attack which scuppers the fleet approaching KL. Dany of course has no-one else to turn to for strategy but those surrounding her, and it is her completely understandable decision IMHO not to use her dragons yet and turn KL into a victory over scorched earth. It is clear that she regards high losses of the smallfolk (her people) as unacceptable (although starving them into submission is!) - very different from those who served the Masters or the Dothrak who would happily see her raped and killed.
Real history is full of instances where strong leaders seemingly in a position of invincibility make unaccountably poor decisions which end up backfiring ( Hitler's choice to attack Russia in WW2 for example, Gallipoli in WW1).
It may well be that all these setbacks start to make Dany think she may have to turn to Jon in a more cajoling means of equal partnership for support and military strategy rather than trying to bully him into bending the knee.
I think we need to allow a little time to see how this all plays out in the next episodes before launching into an inquisition against the writing...