2. What If Jaime Lannister Killed A Different Guard?
HBOOf all the deaths that have occurred in Westeros, it only took the passing of a common guard to completely change the complexion of the war. On one of Jaime's many daring escape attempts, he strangled a guard known as Torrhen Karstark, as well as his own cousin Alton Lannister. This meant Rickard Karstark, one of Robb's northern lords, had now lost two sons at the hands of Lannisters. Rickard demanded justice for this wrong via the execution of Jaime Lannister, but Robb refused, as a result Rickard eventually sought his own form of justice in the shameful murder of Martyn and Willem Lannister, two young, innocent squires. Robb Stark saw a swift beheading as the obvious punishment for this treason, unfortunately for the Starks, this resulted in half of their army marching home, but what if Jaime Lannister had killed a different guard? Well, for a start, Rickard Karstark is never killed and his men are still loyal to the King of the North. More importantly, this means that Robb is never desperate enough for men that he agrees to an uneasy alliance with Walter Frey. With there being no incentive for Robb to wed his uncle away, he gets to keep his head and has a decent chance of winning the War of Five Kings. The young wolf could have avenged his father and conquered the seven kingdoms, if only Jaime had killed someone else's son.