Not the sharpest swords in the armory

[Lubbock]

Kind of Tragic, all us cynical people consider love a stupidity

[cape_royds]

I vote for the Astapori slavers, who made the single biggest blunder of any of those listed.

But Robb Stark is a case study in political folly, which is worth examining in some detail. The breaking of the Frey alliance, and sending Theon as an envoy to Pyke, are well understood errors.

But perhaps Robb's worst mistake was in letting the Greatjon bellow, "King in the North!"

There is more than one way to lose control of your bannermen. The most obvious way is through their insubordination, but Robb's crowning showed us another way of bannermen usurping authority from their liege.

By letting his lords crown him while in their cups, Robb lost any control over his war aims, and thus enormously complicated his own strategic predicament.

How could he ally with any of the Baratheon claimants, or with the Tyrells, after repudiating the Iron Throne?

This momentous decision--a transition from limited to total war, meanwhile forsaking any allies--was made without a minute's reflection on Robb's part.

[Young stormlord]

I thought of ressurecting this thread, just because of our new members sake. So, have fun voting for the bigest dummy in Westeros.

[viZion]

Thanks for bringing this one back. I voted for Robb. "I will sacrifice my entire Kingdom, my war, all of my alliances, and the lives of thousands, including my closest friends and family, because I got laid. Yes, that sounds like a noble idea."

n00b.

[Thalador]

I'd choose Robb Stark, for his lack of common sense. He neglected his kingdom to wage war while failing to practice sound diplomacy. Although Robb shares Eddard's idealism and nobility, his mistakes were serious and easily avoided. Eddard, on the other hand, was dealing with forces beyond his control.

Edmure failed as a general, but can hardly be blamed for upsetting Robb's plans. It reflects on Robb, because he should have told Edmure not engage Tywin's army. Theon's plan wasn't bad, simply too ambitious. He did, after all, gain control of Winterfell, although that reflects more on Ser Rodrik's stupidity (castles have garrisons for a reason).

[LyannaWolfBlood]

I'd have to go for Edmure. Going off on your own without consulting any of your fellow leaders, particularly your direct liege-lord, is just asking for trouble. Didn't it occur to him that there was a reason he got precisely the orders he did? Or that if the others were unaware of his plans it was just possible that he might not know all of theirs???

That being said, Robb didn't exactly cover himself in glory either.

[Rainswept]

Is it too late to vote for Hodor?

My vote goes to Theon. He had nothing but poor reasons and poor reasoning. I can't think of a way to defend him.

[TK-421]

I have sympathy for Theon. Although, my sweet Asha sure put him in his place. Now I suspect she will be the one to rescue him.

[Simian]

I'm going to throw a spanner in the works and say Eddard Stark. Of the four options listed, three can be chalked off to a combination of youth, plain stupidity, bad advice or circumstances beyond their control, and the slavers of Astapor paid the price for grossly under-estimating their opponent. Eddard, on the other hand, was old enough, experienced enough (and should have been savvy enough) to exploit the situation he found himself in to his benefit. Instead, he let his blind commitment to honour get him killed, and more than anyone else damned Westeros to the war that followed.

[Ghost of Harrenhal]

Edmure Tully. He is a nice enough guy but obviously has no idea how to lead men. He made a mess out of the original defense of the Riverlands and ended up in chains to be rescued by the Northmen. After that he never seemed to do anything that beneficial to the war effort. Instead he forced Tywin Lannister all the way back to King's Landing where the Lannister-Tyrell alliance was forged, being one of the biggest contributors to the North losing the war.

I don't think there is much of an argument in saying Robb and Brynden should have shared their plans with Edmure. They told him all they thought was required. They asked him to hold Riverrun. To me that means a stationary, passive defensive stance where you attack anything within a couple of miles and make sure the castle isn't taken. It does not mean, fight off the first attack and then chase the enemy all the way back to grounds they feel comfortable fighting in. If I were to say Robb should have shared the plan with Edmure, it would only be because Edmure is an idiot and needs everything explaining to him in simple english (or common tongue).

If you ask me, he spent too much time waiting to be Lord Edmure and not enough time learning to be Lord Edmure.

[cape_royds]

I still say Robb made a major blunder by letting himself get crowned by his drunken bannerman.

I mean, how could it have been a good idea to let the Greatjon take the initiative on a major political question?

[Ghost of Harrenhal]

Were his bannermen even drunk? I don't remember a feast, just a counsel of sorts held at Riverrun to discuss what action should be taken against the Lannisters and which King they should ally themselves with.

While I admit it wasn't a great idea to crown himself King, I don't see that he had much choice. He already said that he wouldn't bow to Joffrey for being too much a Lannister, he wouldn't bow to Renly because Stannis had the better claim, and for some reason he didn't bow to Stannis, I think because the northmen claimed Stannis' knew nothing of the northern ways. Who else was left? Like the Greatjon said, the Targaryens were the only House that could ever bring the North to heel and that was because King Torrhen didn't want a "Field of Fire" on his hands due to the dragons. Well there were no Targaryens left, and Eddard Stark was dead along with Robert Baratheon and they pretty much kept the peace between North and South.

It seems as if becoming their own kingdom again was the only pheasable option.

[Ursa major]

I'm with Scalem: if I could see how it would turn out, so should the slave traders.


(And I partially agree with Simian in that I think Eddard acted less than wisely.)

[pan naranus]

Nothing original here, but I vote for cersy. She will earn her nomination the Darwin award, when tommen and (her girl in dorne, macela, call me a blind baboon but I don't have a clue on the spelling of it) are done for. The fact that she still thinks she got a good plan going is just the icing on the cake.

[TK-421]

Myrcella, "the disfigured".