Throughout the entire history of Game of Thrones, there have been many rulers and kings, with intrigue and war plaguing each of their rules. The power dynamic is ever-changing, with no official ruler remaining on the throne for long, especially in the turbulent times following Ned's tenure as Hand of the King. There is the perceived ruler with whom all power should reside , but he's usually not the only one in charge: behind the scenes, many other Game of Thrones players compete for power and influence events as they please. , through intrigues, whispers and secrets. To completely cover all the power shifts over the 5 books and 7 seasons would take many more pages than allotted for this project – in fact, it could be an entire thesis. Therefore, this article will focus only on the powerful figures from the first season, drawing from both the book and the show, and sometimes venturing into further seasons and books for evidence. The person who holds all official power changes several times in the first season, starting with Robert Baratheon as sole king, then introducing Ned Stark as Hand of the King while Robert is absent, and finally ending with Joffrey Baratheon inheriting the throne. However, real, unofficial power also rests with other individuals, namely Petyr Baelish and Cersei Lannister, who both have much influence over the kingdom despite having no rights to the throne. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of the show, it's clear who has absolute power: Robert Baratheon, the man with all the titles, an intimidating presence, the one who does what he wants. Robert is king, although having gained his title by winning a rebellion has left him with less trust and respect than a Targaryen in the same position would have had. However, the people were generally satisfied with Robert's rule, as it led to years of peace and prosperity, without major conflicts or revolts. He let Jon Arryn, the King's Hand, and the rest of the Small Council rule in his place, while the king himself drank and whored: "The King shits and the Hand dries" ("Lord Snow") So while Robert he may have always had official power, he never really had any working power: everything was handled by his advisors and the Hand. His negligence may have led to the rise of other important power-holders in Westeros, most notably Littlefinger, who was appointed to his first truly powerful position of Master of Coin by Robert himself. This allowed Petyr to begin his plot and throw the kingdom into chaos, a state from which he would benefit most and from which he would have the chance to gain the most power and perhaps even the throne. Littlefinger is undoubtedly the person with the most power in the kingdom, the one who orchestrated the death of Jon Arryn and initiated the events that led to Ned's execution: the attack on Bran, the indictment of Tyrion, the encouragement of Ned's interest in Robert's bastards and subsequent delays in leaving King's Landing and finally Ned's betrayal when he purchased the Golden Cloaks. Petyr Baelish, "a man of great ambition and no morals" ("Fire and Blood"), planned to pit the Lannisters and Starks against each other from the start, as he foresaw the endless opportunities a war would bring could offer him. For this reason, Littlefinger managed to convince Lysa Arryn, who was in love with him, to poison her husband Jon Arryn and send a letter incriminating the Lannisters to Catelyn Stark, planting the seeds of suspicion and resentment from the beginning. After the attack onBran's life, when Catelyn travels to King's Landing with the assassin's dagger, Petyr reveals that Tyrion Lannister was the owner of the dagger and sent the assassin after Bran, which is revealed to be a lie in later seasons. In fact, Baelish was the true owner of the knife and ordered a plot to incriminate Tyrion, knowing that the Starks would seek revenge and Tywin would seek to defend his family's honor, leading to a war between the two houses. With this lie, Littlefinger began the War of the Five Kings, influencing all the major families of Westeros and outsmarting everyone involved. Additionally, Baelish slowly earned Ned's cautious trust by helping him uncover the secrets of Joffrey's lineage and Jon Arryn's fate. Petyr also advised Ned how to behave when Robert died and how best to take the throne from Joffrey. He offered to bring the City Watch to Ned's side to help defeat the Lannister men, to ensure a less bloody transition of power, appealing to Ned's sense of honor, duty, and mercy. By betraying Ned and being on Joffrey's side he helped Baelish ensure that he would keep his seat on the council and still be considered loyal to the royal family, and removed Ned from the scene, all according to Littlefinger's plan. Thanks to his cunning, unscrupulousness, immense ambition and intelligence, as well as a vast network of spies and powers of manipulation, Petyr Baelish has proven himself to be one of the most powerful men in the kingdom, working in the shadows and making sure things go smoothly. placed according to what he desires. The person who stands in the way of such desires was Eddard Stark. He also wielded a similar type of power to Robert: he had the power to pass laws and influence the kingdom, but he was no match for those who ruled from the shadows. Even though Ned was Hand, he still couldn't do what he wanted, as all the other council members had their own alliances and ambitions. Yet Ned slowly learned how to gather some of that unofficial power: he discovered the secret of the Lannister brothers, tried to conspire with Littlefinger to keep the throne from Joffrey, and finally agreed to confess himself as a traitor to save his family's life. However, even if Ned had the relevant knowledge, he could not use it effectively, as he was too honest a person. He had not realized Baelish's deception, he had directly threatened Cersei to reveal her secret to Robert without realizing the consequences this decision could have, in order to protect her and her children, and he had failed to see that kind of monstrous leader Joffrey was becoming. To be. Because of his honesty and unfamiliarity with Southern social standards and rules, as well as his distaste for intrigue and contempt for the value of secrecy, Ned does not exercise his vested power effectively and has not much authority over anyone. However, Ned represents a significant obstacle to anyone trying to secure the throne illegitimately, as he still has a lot of trust in Robert. Therefore, people like Petyrn Baelish must work together and engage with one of the other powerful players who have no official power: Cersei Lannister. She has even more authority than Littlefinger, but lacks his intelligence and ability to manipulate: Cersei is much less devious and is not considered trustworthy by anyone vying for power. Yet Cersei is Tywin Lannister's daughter and has absorbed many of his personality traits, such as obsession with family and ruthlessness. She is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the Lannisters in power and protect her children, which leads her to plot […].