Grand Maester Pycelle notes, "The small council grows smaller and smaller." Cersei responds, "Not small enough," and strolls away assuredly. She illustrates her disdain for advice during a small council meeting in season five episode four, when she ships off the blubbering Mace Tyrell, the new Master of Coin, to Bravos to negotiate payment terms with the Iron Bank. Cersei trusts no one, is unable to delegate and does not inspire people to follow her, but fear her. I distrust you because you're not as smart as you think you are."As Tywin tells Tommen in the fourth season, " A wise king knows what he knows and what he doesn’t." Cersei never learns this. Tywin ultimately responds, "I don't distrust you because you're a woman. But she also comes to state her case for her father's trust and confidence- that she, not her brothers, has more to contribute. In season three episode four, Cersei visits her father to ask if they're doing everything they can to retrieve her twin brother, Jamie Lannister. Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister Helen Sloan/HBO The best leaders, whether the CEO of a company or the King of Westeros, surround themselves with people wiser than they are, and listen to them. But they don't have the vision or the charisma of their leaders (or the family name or fortune), so they lend their wisdom to those who do. It is a theme in The Game of Thrones that advisers are often wiser than the rulers: Ned Stark is wiser than Robert Baratheon, Davos is wiser than Stannis, Samwell Tarly and Maester Aemon are wiser than Jon Snow, Tyrion and Jorah are wiser than Daenerys. It is of course a manipulation for power, but there are worse people who could be in power than Tywin Lannister, and no one knew that better than Tywin Lannister. And the wisest kings continue to listen to them long afterwards. A wise young king listens to his counselors and heeds their advice until he comes of age. A wise king knows what he knows and what he doesn’t. How do you know which choice is wise and which isn’t? You’ve any experience of treasuries and granaries or shipyards and soldiers? Tywin: Yes! But what is wisdom? Hmm? A house with great wealth and fertile lands asks you for your protection against another house with a strong navy that could one day oppose you. So, we have a man who starves himself to death, a man who lets his own brother murder him, and a man who thinks that winning and ruling are the same thing. He spent his time whoring and hunting and drinking until the last two killed him. And he attended three small council meetings in 17 years. He won the rebellion and crushed the Targaryen dynasty. Tywin: Hmmmm.strength. King Robert was strong. Was that truly just of him? To abandon his subjects to an evil that he was too gullible to recognize? He was murdered in his sleep after less than a year by his own brother. He ended up fasting himself into an early grave because food was of this world and this world was sinful. He also named a six-year-old boy high septon because he thought the boy could work miracles. And just like in Westeros, attaining power is hard, but maintaining power is twice as hard, and different characters take vastly different approaches. The game of thrones in Westeros is much bloodier than the real world, where corporate competition lies mainly in outmaneuvering opponents for promotions, discrediting their input and decreasing their influence. The competition is just as ruthless, if not as deadly. It's the relationships: the familial loyalty, love, secrets, betrayal, revenge, friendship, camaraderie and politics that transcend the fantasy. In Westeros there are no cell phones or cable television where in the real world, people watch the most popular and successful show on HBO, Game of Thrones. In some respects, Westeros is nothing like the real world: there are no dragons, no white walkers, no faceless people, wargs and political rivals are mysteriously murdered far less frequently. Varys, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, and Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm Macall B. (LEFT TO RIGHT) Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Conleth Hill as.
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