31 Things We Learned from the Game of Thrones Women

Image credit: HBO/Helen Sloan

31. Different places breed different people

Ros

This one takes a bit more supposition than the others. When we first meet Ros in the North, she has all the confidence of a lady, despite her brothel lifestyle. Ros carries herself with grace and panache. We can’t assume that she’s generally well-treated—whores seldom are, fictional world or otherwise—but she seems to live a life worth smiling about. Her demeanor would suggest as much.

But upon her move to King’s Landing, Ros is quick to learn that all is not well beyond Winterfell.
Completely different standards of living rule these places. This is made glaringly obvious following Joffrey’s order that Robert’s bastards be executed, and the City Watch raids Petyr Baelish’s brothel to kill an infant. It’s the first time Joffrey’s violent predilections affect Ros, but it’s not the last. At the time, Petyr warns Ros against becoming a “bad investment,” and she then aligns herself with the likes of Varys and Tyrion. When Petyr learns of her loyalties, he decides she was indeed a bad investment, and she dies at Joffrey’s hands in Season 3.

Ros may have been clever, but she wasn’t quite quick enough to outsmart her enemies. Perhaps she wasn’t prepared for the world that awaited her outside the North. This is the case with some of our other women as well, but Ros doesn’t live long enough to learn her lesson. Ros’ arc applies to us in that it’s important to understand others’ backgrounds and how personal history motivates people. We can’t learn about our fellow people if we adhere to our own life path alone.