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Elizabeth Sandifer

Elizabeth Sandifer created Eruditorum Press. She’s not really sure why she did that, and she apologizes for the inconvenience. She currently writes Last War in Albion, a history of the magical war between Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. She used to write TARDIS Eruditorum, a history of Britain told through the lens of a ropey sci-fi series. She also wrote Neoreaction a Basilisk, writes comics these days, and has ADHD so will probably just randomly write some other shit sooner or later. Support Elizabeth on Patreon.

10 Comments

  1. David Faggiani
    January 25, 2016 @ 12:12 pm

    When I first watched it it almost seemed a bit much, following the Riverrun funeral scene so quickly in the same episode with the Small Council chamber scene, just because they use the same, largely wordless comedic style. It felt like they would have been better in separate episodes, but maybe I’m nitpicking.

    Reply

  2. Aylwin
    January 25, 2016 @ 12:12 pm

    When I first watched it it almost seemed a bit much, following the Riverrun funeral scene so quickly in the same episode with the Small Council chamber scene, just because they use the same, largely wordless comedic style. It felt like they would have been better in separate episodes, but maybe I’m nitpicking.

    Reply

  3. David Faggiani
    January 25, 2016 @ 12:31 pm

    Ooops 🙂

    Reply

  4. Aylwin
    January 25, 2016 @ 1:31 pm

    Poor Edmure. His boss can’t be bothered to brief him, and somehow that’s his fault. “No, of course you’re not supposed to the fight the enemy when they come at you, and when you are in a position to defeat them – what do you think this is, a war or something? What do you mean, ‘You could have told me’? I was going to tell you, later, once it was too late to make any difference. How could you possibly fail to realise that?!”

    It’s absolutely classic crap management behaviour. I realise we’re supposed to be on Robb’s side here, but it’s clearly his incompetence which is chiefly to blame.

    It may not be intentional, given that pro-Robb presentation, but it’s a failure that fits interestingly into the whole “never lost a battle but lost the war” thing, since failing to brief subordinates adequately on your plans and approach, so that they either understand exactly what you want or are in a position to make their own decisions on the basis of a reasonable conjecture as to what you probably would want, is on page 1 of How to Lose Wars and Still Be Considered a Military Genius (dumping the blame on those subordinates when things predictably go wrong as a result is on page 2). It’s one of those aspects of leadership whose importance tends to be underestimated when people think of war as a board game between generals, where everyone else is just a piece to be moved around the map (note here Robb’s game-board plotting-table later this season).

    It’s part of a linking theme in this episode, since both Daenerys and Ramsay are also engaged in enticing their enemies into a trap while leaving their subordinates in the dark about what they are up to, with uncomfortable results for those subordinates (though we don’t yet get the payoff to the plan in those cases, while Ramsay’s is a rigged, cat-and-mouse game played largely for entertainment rather than a genuine contest, and his henchmen’s role involves suffering worse than a tongue-lashing, but, well, Ramsay).

    The comparison between Robb and Daenerys is instructive, helping show why it’s not just accidental that their fortunes are heading in such different directions, and with wider implications about the game. Like Robb, Daenerys tells her lieutenants off for how they react in ignorance of her intentions, but here keeping them out of the loop is clearly a deliberate, calculated choice, and presumably intended to produce just the sort of response it actually does – visible and obviously genuine dismay at her concession, reassuring Kraznys and Co that they are on the right end of this deal. She seems to have accurately thought through how her people are likely to behave if left uninformed and incorporated it into her plans, whereas Robb has blundered into unintended consequences by failing to do so.

    Edmure gets chewed out for acting in what is in general a perfectly proper and fairly reasonable way, but with harmful effects in the context of the plan he hasn’t been told about, whereas Jorah and Barristan get it for acting in what is in general a clearly improper, though not unreasonable way, but whose effects are in that context both helpful and presumably planned by their boss. Of course, they could have reacted in a way that was suitably appalled without overstepping the mark by publicly contradicting her, so that exact detail need not have been specifically intended, but either way it works to her further advantage, since it enables her to discipline them on that point in a context where their transgression has actually had beneficial results, rather than waiting for it to happen some other time when it would probably be genuinely harmful.

    Well played.

    Reply

    • Dadalama
      January 25, 2016 @ 6:33 pm

      poor Edmure, he rolled a solid 8 on his charisma score. That’s his real problem.

      Interesting point about Dany and Rob too

      Reply

  5. Edwards
    January 25, 2016 @ 9:02 pm

    The Captchas are fixed! Hooray!

    Reply

  6. Jane Campbell
    January 26, 2016 @ 2:02 am

    I am always in support of The Chair Agenda.

    Reply

    • Aylwin
      January 26, 2016 @ 9:31 am

      The chair scene is marvellous. But surely in GoT it’s all about the tables. Especially in combination with Lannisters. Two or more Lannisters, a table, and maybe a basic prop or two (a document, a glass of wine, or if the budget’s pinching maybe just a dead stag and some butcher’s knives), and you’re sorted. Guaranteed Lannister Gold.

      Reply

  7. Daru
    February 9, 2016 @ 2:57 pm

    Love the chair scene.

    Reply

  8. bubble shooter
    March 11, 2020 @ 12:55 pm

    In the film, she plays a devil from hell to earth to blend into humanity, causing many troubles. Confronted with her is Santa Muerte – the goddess of Latin. I don’t know which side wins.

    Reply

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