The Lannisters Knew How To Handle Critics in Game of Thrones

A reminder to keep your head down and do your work

This week we’ve been back through Game of Thrones in our house. I haven’t watched it again since 2011 when the series first premiered on HBO and took over popular culture for the next eight years. There’s so much to be said about the characters in this show. Starks. Lannisters. Targaryens. Dothrakis. Baratheons. I’d forgotten how powerful this contest for control of Kings Landing and Westeros is. It’s not my intention to dunk on House of the Dragon, the new spinoff series set generations before GoT during the reign of House Targaryen, but there wasn’t much about the new series that left an impression or stuff to think about. King Viserys Targaryen and his willingness to let critics speak freely is one notable exception that we wrote about here on Geeky Stoics.

Viserys hears that rabble-rousers are questioning his choice of royal heir, and his advisor urges him to have their tongues cut out. The king, very much not inclined toward violence, declines. “Tongues will not change the succession. Let them wag.” He sounds a bit like Cicero, the Roman senator who scribbled down “Let other people worry over what they will say about you. They will say it in any case.”

“Those who can’t talk about those who can” is what actor Denzel Washington once had to say about his critics in Hollywood.

It’s true. You must not distract yourself with the useless opinions of others. “A lion doesn’t concern him with the opinions of the sheep” is what Tywin Lannister says to his son, Jaime, in Game of Thrones’ first season.

We have a balance to strike in our lives. Can we carry on with our work without reading the comments section or nervously checking on reviews? Can we be receptive to feedback and eager to learn or adjust without our entire existence hinging on the validation of others?

The tricky thing about this scene between Tywin and Jaime Lannister is that they’re the villains of this chapter in Game of Thrones.

Tywin is a nasty man, but he’s quite sane. In a Westeros full of madmen and murderers… controversial opinion here…but Tywin Lannister would be a decent king….simply because he is practical, understands power politics, and can be reasonable.

We don’t want to take advice from a bad guy, but not caring what people think about them is sort of their superpower. They are freed from self-imposed obligations to people around them whom they hold in contempt or see as lesser.

Good people need to hear this sometimes. They tend to think about others more than your villains of the world, and then they get trapped by that sense of care. A time will come when doing good requires being at odds with those around you who have been deceived or caught up in evil.

This little exchange between two Lannister men about the limiting effect of other people’s opinions is worth remembering. There is real wisdom there.

Thanks for reading. I hope this gives you something to think about as you finish off the week. Below we have exclusive content for Paid Subscribers about future plans for Geeky Stoics, a personal essay and some special projects we’re working on here. Join up! This community is growing day by day and we’d love to have you with us at the ground level

— Stephen Kent