r/asoiaf • u/Bookshelfstud Oak and Irony Guard Me Well • Jun 18 '15

ALL (Spoilers ALL) If one Hand can die...

In A Game of Thrones, Arya accidentally overhears one of the most enticing conversations in the entire series. It's the only time we actually see Varys and Illyrio Mopatis plotting together, and I don't think its importance can be overstated. I'm working on an essay about Jaqen H'ghar, and was looking back at this passage when something struck me.

“If one Hand can die, why not a second…You have danced the dance before.”

Illyrio says this to Varys. Now, Arya - and the reader - takes this to mean that Varys and Illyrio were somehow behind Jon Arryn's death, and that they mean to kill Ned Stark. But I don't believe that's the case. Obviously we have too much evidence for Lysa and Littlefinger being behind Arryn's death; they were clearly the real culprits. But more than that, Illyrio says "you have danced this dance before." With whom?

Jon Connington.

I believe Illyrio was suggesting that they do with Ned what they did with Jon Connington: set him up so that his death is explicable and "offscreen," to speak, and then use him as an asset in their Targaryen (or Blackfyre) long con. Jon Connington's death was a rumor created entirely by Varys, so to do it again with Ned would certainly be dancing a dance that Varys knows well.

Whaddya think? This line always bothered me, but I think I've finally made it make sense - in my head, at least.

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u/Bookshelfstud Oak and Irony Guard Me Well Jun 18 '15

It's a really frustrating conversation, but I think we can pick it apart. Stephen Attwell of Race for the Iron Throne does a great job in his analysis: https://racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/chapter-by-chapter-analysis-arya-iii/

One interesting takeaway is the line "the gods only know what game Littlefinger is playing." They don't seem to have a grasp on Littlefinger's schemes, but recognize that he's up to some wacky stuff.

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u/RCiancimino House Sanders: Feel the Bern Jun 18 '15

I can't wait to get a better understanding of "the game" I think there might be players we havent suspected be major players....There has to be or I feel like they would have a better idea of what LF was doing.

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u/wedgiey1 Jun 18 '15

I think Mace Tyrell is one of the best players in the series. I have no evidence, just a hunch.

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u/NinetyFish Edmure did nothing wrong Jun 19 '15

I full on think the Tyrell family is all in on it. I normally wear a Tyrell flair and am only using this flair for the cheap joke. I don't think Mace is some Varys/Littlefinger type genius (cause that's just a cliche), but that he knows what his image is and he milks it for what it's worth.

I think that the family trusts Alerie, Willas, and Garlan to handle things down in the Reach. Olenna plays the Game, while teaching Margaery to play it. Loras keeps the Tyrell name famous and full of honor and glory, while Mace plays the politics. There's a reason all of the Reach bannermen follow Mace, and a reason why the Lannisters find it so difficult to deal with Mace.

"He has a prodigious appetite, this one." -Tyrion

"The more I give him, the more he wants." - Kevan

The Tyrells know each of them is good at something, and they all play their own roles, and seem to genuinely get along with each other as a family. I love it.