Game Of Thrones: 20 Stupid Character Decisions With Terrible Consequences
13. Stannis Leaves Melisandre Behind
Stannis Baratheon may be the rightful king to the Seven Kingdoms, by all the laws of Westeros, but that doesn't mean he is an intelligent, shrewd decision maker. In the preliminary stages of his campaign, Stannis defeats his younger brother Renly and wins over most of his army without shedding a single drop of blood (except poor Renly's). He does this by way of powerful dark magic, practised by his closest advisor, Melisandre, 'The Red Woman'. Next he sets his sights on King's Landing, probably the most heavily fortified stronghold in the whole world, and yet, on the council of his other advisor, Ser Davos Seaworth, he elects to leave his most effective weapon behind. Davos convinces him that a victory at King's Landing with Melisandre by his side would be a victory for her, not for him. Stannis fears this outcome, just as Davos fears the Red Woman, and as a direct result, their attack on King's Landing is a resounding failure. The people around him once again lead Stannis in circles; he is an excellent soldier, but perhaps not the most cunning of kings.
12. Theon Takes Winterfell
In Season 2, Theon makes the incompressible decision to turn on the family that raised him in a bid to win affection from the family that gave him up. I mean, the Iron Islander's as a culture pretty much pride themselves on how selfish and devoid of empathy and affection they are. That isn't Theon's undoing though, no, fair enough he felt he had to make a bold show of courage and loyalty to his old man, it's just how poorly he managed to do it. The error was in the strategy all along: Whilst Robb and his bannermen are off fighting a war in the South; Winterfell is ripe for the taking, in other words, defenceless. So Theon is able to take it with a small force, a small force with which he then can't defend his prize... Lord Stark always said a dozen men could hold Winterfell against a thousand, but I'm not sure I would be willing to bet my life on that in practice, especially when the dozen men at my command are a bunch of undisciplined, disloyal pirates.
