unpopular opinion alert (the orym fans will not like this post, but prefacing with i don’t dislike orym and also this is MY OPINION if you don’t like it ignore move on)
Thinking about how after swordgate it really seemed like Orym doesn’t see Laudna as a person sometimes. It’s interesting how people have approached swordgate but I will never get over the fact that if i was KILLED not just wounded but KILLED by a sword which then caused me to be trapped by my abuser, I would 100% relate that sword to this traumatic event, and if my supposed friend wanted to KEEP the sword??? I would be rightfully pissed.
Idk I feel like Laudna had a lot of valid crashouts and was not treated fairly at all because of it.
I feel like everyone in BH treated her unfairly at least once, even Imogen. LIKE COME ON ITS NOT HER FUCKING FAULT????
Why are some people so opposed to Rhaenyra having a sword in S3? (And blaming Emma D’arcy for wanting one?)
We’ve seen Rhaenyra use a weapon to defend herself against a boar in S1.
We saw in S2 how she was left defenceless during an assassination attempt, so it’s understandable she’d want a weapon to make her feel safer. Also, she was concerned that the men on her council saw her as more of a daughter or a mother saying; “They will see me as a ruler, and my symbols of authority won't be jewels and gowns but the shield and sword.” During the same scene she says she tires of being protected by others and not being able to do it herself. We saw her briefly holding a sword and lamenting that if she were born a boy she’d have been trained to use it as soon as she could walk. Rhaenyra is also an admirer of Visenya, who had Darksister. Although Aegon has it currently, the catspaw dagger should be Rhaenyra’s and it has significance to her character with the prince that was promised prophecy.
Emma did suggest they wanted a weapon so they had somewhere to put their hands (and it seemed like they were kind of joking and not adamantly demanding one), but it’s seems like the build up to Rhaenyra having one was already laid. It’s entirely possible they were going to get one whether they suggested it or not.
It’s not even a horrible, huge storyline changing thing to have the Queen carry around protection during a civil war. Sure, Rhaenyra isn’t said to have one in the book, but like come on, it’s just a sword, is it really that deep? Out of all the other changes and writing blunders a sword is the hill people want to die on?
Calling this theory swordgate. We already know about the sword that's gonna kill the dragon and that hopper was given a sword in russia to fight the demogorgon. It also says in the game that the party plays in the arcade that a magic sword will slay the dragon. What I think will happen is that Hopper will give the sword to Will and it'll be a whole father-son moment and somewhere along the way, it'll get "enchanted" somehow. Maybe by El or some other source of magic. No matter which way, I think Will is gonna be the one to slash one of the heads off.
On that last note, I think Mike and Eddie might slash the other two heads because of visual clues but that's another theory.
What do you think about Sansa not carrying out Littlefingers execution? I kinda wish she did it herself as her father said the one who sentenced should be the one to carry it out. It seems dumb to have her delegate it. But I guess Lf was on Arya’s hit list so...
Hey Anon! I’m so sorry it took so. long. for me to answer this, but I needed a break from the ol’ Ask Box…
Ooohhh Swordgate! Yet another Stark Sister wank that refuses to die.
“I kinda wish she did it herself as her father said the one who sentenced should be the one to carry it out. It seems dumb to have her delegate it.”
I think that essentially, you are falling into the trap of being far too literal. First of all, if you take “he who passes the sentence swings the sword” as literally as you are here, and take that logic through to it’s natural conclusion, it honestly produces a relatively sexist and ableist result. Not that I think you are being either, Anon! I just think it can be easy to accept words or “lessons” at face value and not ~dig deeper~ or ~look beyond~ to their full potential extent.
Think of it this way: if it had been Bran who passed LF’s sentence instead of Sansa, but Arya still carried out the execution, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation. I have seen no claims that Bran also should never be in charge of Winterfell because he is disabled and cannot lead soldiers into battle or carry out beheadings himself. Or what about Rickon; what if Rickon had survived and was serving as Lord of Winterfell or KitN? There is no way that 10 year old Rickon would have been able to lift a long sword and strike it with enough force to remove someone’s head. Even grown ass man Theon couldn’t do that, it would have to be done by proxy. And even Catelyn? I have seen no one criticizing her for asking the men at the Inn to help her take Tyrion into custody. It is extremely uncommon for women in the series to be skilled at any type of physical combat. Women like Brienne, Arya, or the Sand Snakes; they are exception, not the rule. Yet I have seen no arguments about Bran, Rickon, or Catelyn bringing dishonor to the Stark name due to their lack of physical capabilities; because that’s not what being a leader is really about. The Stark “pass the sentence, swing the sword” adage has never been about physical capability. It has always been about responsibility and accountability.
Yes, Ned Stark did carry out all the executions of his sentences himself; and yes, he did teach his sons to do the same. However, being the person to do the literal, physical act is not what’s at the core of the sentiment. What is the core of the sentiment is that human lives have value, and recognizing that ending one is not to be taken lightly.
Here is what Ned tells Bran in the beheading scene in s1:
“The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.”
And here is the similar excerpt from AGoT:
“The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.
“One day, Bran, you will be Robb’s bannerman, holding a keep of your own for your brother and your king, and justice will fall to you. When that day comes, you must take no pleasure in the task, but neither must you look away. A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is.” (AGoT, Bran I)
“Pass the sentence, swing the sword” is meant so much more symbolically than literally. This epitaph is about taking responsibility and accountability for your actions. It’s saying that part of being a lord, or a warden, or a ruler, or any type of leader at all is recognizing the importance of your orders and the effects that they on the people you are leading. It’s about being conscious of your responsibility to the people you rule over. It’s about acknowledging that taking another human life is no small thing and shouldn’t be treated as such. It’s not saying that having the physical ability and being able to kill is what makes a good leader, it’s saying that appreciating the significance of human life is. To use this quote as a way to shame or criticize characters for having limited physical abilities is a pretty sexist and ableist misapplication.
And it’s not just about accountability, is it also about compassion and mercy. It is about not dehumanizing or distancing oneself from the criminals being executed. It is about treating people as people and recognizing that every single life matters, regardless of any other consideration. It is about treating people with respect and dignity, even when they are being executed. It is about facing the actual truth of what taking a life is, and demanding it be treated as the monumental thing it is. It is about acting with honor. To reduce this saying to one merely about physical capabilities and being able to kill someone yourself, honestly I think that takes so much away from the true lesson of the message.
And in response to your question, I pose this one: why would Sansa carry out the execution? Honestly though, why?? Why would Sansa, who has never wielded a weapon against another character in the entirety of the series, take it upon herself to carry out the execution? When her sister, who she knows is extremely skilled in the areas of combat, is more than ready and willing to do so?! I am not saying Sansa couldn’t have found some way to do it, I am just asking why on earth would she?? Narratively and logically, that just doesn’t make much sense. In the series plot so far, Arya and Sansa have been in radically different environments and developing radically different skills that can be used for different purposes. Narratively all that happened for a reason: Arya learned how to handle weapons properly whereas Sansa didn’t. She has the skills to take a man’s life quickly and cleanly. She has the ability to carry out an execution with mercy and dignity, just like their father taught them to. And Sansa was standing right there beside her, she looked in to LF’s eyes as he was dying, she never looked away. (And I’m not even going to get into the fact that I would bet my left boob that if Sansa had been the one to knife LF, there would be sooo much complaining about “Sansa stealing from Arya again” and “Sansa taking Arya’s traits and skills” and “Sansa being a Mary Sue.”)
This scene is being interpreted as Arya passing Sansa’s sentence when in reality, the sentence was on behalf of all of House Stark. It was as much Bran and Arya’s sentence for LF’s crimes against their family as it was Sansa’s. His exposure and execution was a plan that they all played an integral part in from the beginning. They were acting together as a family. This was the show’s way of depicting to us how the remaining members of House Stark can still come together and work as a unified body after so much time apart. That they are still a family, that they are still a pack.
Instead of viewing Sansa and Arya (and Bran for that matter). as three separate actors, there is an entirely different way to view the scene. Sansa, Bran and Arya were acting together as three parts of a unified body: the justice system.
Judge, Jury, and Executioner. Those are the three arms of the law and all three are necessary for justice to be served.
The Jury (Bran)- examines the evidence and evaluates it’s veracity and credibility
The Judge (Sansa)- applies the law to the evidence and passes the sentence
The Executioner (Arya)- enforces the law and administers justice by carrying out the sentence accordingly
Personally, this is how I viewed the scene from the get go, as a metaphor for the justice system. I realize that I might only think that way because I have spent the past, like, eight years getting it bashed into my head through my various degrees. But still, to me it made it a lot of sense and was relatively obvious to see it that way. The three arms of the law aren’t separate, they operate together in unity to make sure justice is served. Each plays an integral role in criminal due process. They are three parts that make a whole; with out one the other two are essentially rendered moot. With out one arm, the whole system falls apart. What good is having a jury and executioner with no judge to interpret and apply the law? What good is having an executioner and judge with no jury to examine and evaluate the evidence? And finally, what good is having a judge and jury if there is no one to enforce the law or execute the sentence? With out some kind of punishment, consequences, or retribution for illegal acts, there is hardly a point to the criminal justice system as a whole. They need each other.
Ned’s most important lesson he taught his children was this:
“When the snows fall and the white winds blow the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.”
Arya and Sansa need each other, all the Starks need each other. They are parts of a whole, they are a pack. And I just don’t see anything dumb or dishonorable about that.
