I am currently reading my way through the series, I am about 1/3 of the way through A Storm of Swords so if you are to share information please be sensitive to spoilers. I haven't found any forums to discuss the actual books so I thought I'd post this here to see if people are interested in
So I have come the realization that the Starks are politically stupid. They are honorable to a fault, I'll give them that, but almost every single one of their moves from the day that Ned left Winterfell has been full of misteps and miscalculations leading ulitmately to the predicament they find themselves in now. Let me review the story to back up my claim, I will do it by book so as to allow those who haven't completed the books to only go as far as they care to.
A Game of Thrones.
**WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD***
Let’s discuss the stupid decisions starting from the top:
Ned:
- He finally had evidence of Cersei's and Jaime's incest but didn't tell Robert on his deathbed, ultimately dooming himself.
- He had the opportunity to get rid of Cersei and waited around for her to leave, he even told her about his plans and gave her ample time to plot his demise behind the scenes the whole time.
- He never built up support and a large following so as to protect himself from treachery, instead relied on Littlefinger at the last second only to be betrayed.
Catelyn
- The whole saga of kidnapping Tyrion and setting off the war with the Lannisters, was absolutely short-sighted and no thought out.
- She never needed to leave Winterfell in the first place, she could have sent someone she trusted or one of her sons.
Sansa
- Just all around stupid and naïve, I don't even know where to begin, sigh.
A Clash of Kings
**WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD***
Not much in this book I can point to really, Robb played things quite well other than the blunder of sending Theon as his envoy. Catelyn's visit to Renly was disastrous, but that was unlucky there was an opportunity there to form an alliance with House Tyrell if she didn't happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I gotta give Bran and Rickon some credit for playing it right and hiding where no one suspected them. Sansa kept up her usual naivete but not too much we can fault her on. Arya proved to be resilient and smarter than the rest of the bunch.
A Sword of Storms
**WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD***
And the stupidity comes roaring back in force in the third book:
Catelyn
- Letting Jaime go, absolutely retarded, not much more to say other than to see how it turns out (I haven't finished the book yet, Jaime and Brienne just got captured by the Mummers). This also caused the loss of House Karstark. I think the Starks would've been better off is she just bloody stayed in Winterfell from the beginning.
Robb
- Marrying Jeyne, he could've just slept with her and been done with it, now he has effectively broken his alliance and I don't see how he can recover (please don’t spoil here).
Sansa
- You'd think after all the abuse she's taken she would be able to recognize when someone is trying to exploit her and see through the charade that House Tyrell is putting on (I just also found out Twyin plans on marrying to Tyrion but she hasn't been told yet).
Conclusion
In conclusion even though the Starks have been victorious in almost every battle (and you could argue that this is due mostly to Cat's Uncle anyway) they have been out maneuvred by the Lannisters politically at every turn. I think of them as simple country folk who are being out classed and out foxed by their more sophisticated (albiet incestuous and dysfunctional) urban nemesis.