This post will be talking ever-so-briefly about Game of Thrones. If you don’t know who Ser Alliser Thorne is, or why he even needs to be defended, you’ll have no interest in this.
Okay! We cool kids can talk freely now.
Earlier this week, I said I’d posted my last pre-season 6 Game of Thrones post, which is true. My discussion of differences between the show’s portrayal of Moat Cailin and the Eyrie will be my last major topic. But earlier in the week, the honorable Neil Miller of the Film School Rejects site pressed a button and published an article I had submitted to him last year, where I examine Ser Alliser Thorne’s behavior during season 5, leading up to the assassination of Lord Commander Jon Snow. (He felt it would be better suited right before the new season started up.)
If you have any interest in reading my quasi-defense of Alliser Thorne, you can read all about it HERE.
Some of you might have already seen the article advertised on my Twitter feed.
To be fair, I’m not trying to exhonerate him from the charges of mutiny and murder – instead I’m trying to show that Ser Alliser might have decided to remove Jon from power, permanently, as rational way to protect the Night’s Watch and the realm. Instead of him just being some kind of crabby butt-rash.
If you do go and check it out, I’d appreciate if you left a comment for me on that article at the Film School Rejects site.
If you think my reasoning is solid? Let me know.
If you think I’m an idiot? Let me know. I respect all opinions. (Except for the obviously wrong ones.) And I’d be happy to talk more about my reasoning there.
(Okay full disclosure: if Neil sees activity on the post, even if it’s just being shared from the site, he’ll be more likely to ask me to write more articles for the Film School Rejects.)
You are under no obligation to comment there, and if you are more comfortable in interacting with me here, I’m completely fine with that.
Regardless if you are interested in seeing my articles on other sites, thank you to everyone who has read my Game of Thrones posts here during the years. I’m quite touched with the kind and thoughtful comments I receive, and I really enjoy interacting with my new friends via my blog, their blogs, social media, and sometimes in person!
Thank you everyone, and I look forward to talking about season six Game of Thrones soon. (Well, no blogging about it until the season is done… taking a break…)
(Comments are always welcome. Super welcome! But if you want to talk spoilery Game of Thrones talk with me (also welcome) I’d invite you to visit my Safe Spoilers page on my backup blog. That way my non-book-reading friends won’t be shocked with foreknowledge.)
Image from HBO’s Game of Thrones (obviously.)
I make no claims to the artwork but some claims to the text. So there.
If you liked this article, thank you! I have all of my Game of Thrones related articles on my handy-dandy Game of Thrones page should you want to read more but don’t want to navigate around my site.
© Patrick Sponaugle 2016 Some Rights Reserved
I Can't Possibly Be Wrong All the Time 
You defend everyone, so I’m not SUPER surprised that you’re defending Ser Alliser. Off to Film School Rejects.
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That’s a fair statement.
And thank you for going to FSR!
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Haven’t had time to read yet, but I just saw this on Houzz and thought it was hilarious.
FANCY WESTEROS-THEMED TOILETS!
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I left a comment over on FSR!
Also my posting of GoT-themed toilets in no way reflects upon you, your writing, the quality of this blog, or anything else. They’ve actually found some really good bathrooms over there, that match the design themes of characters, both well and lesser known. There’s a Wildling bathroom! And a Night’s Watch one! 😀
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You’re the best, thank you for supporting my blog with your comments and presence, and for supporting me on FSR.
No worries about the toilet posting, toilets are fantastic and practical inventions that we sorely miss when not available. The seats of knowledge. (And sometimes a supportive friend when we’re not at our best, if you know what I mean…)
Thanks again. 3 more days!
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Aww, thanks! And you’re welcome, I am continually in awe of how you’re able to consistently produce such detailed, in-depth blog posts!
Toilets – THEY are the best!
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I will check out this link! Thank you for sharing it, of course.
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I get his reasoning but its flawed old world thinking. He’s been at the wall fighting wildlings for a long time…he has seen blood and horror, but not the army of the dead. He simply has no sympathy for the men who have killed his brothers in the past and I get it. Alliser just did what he thought was right, but I’m pretty sure he thoroughly enjoyed doing it.
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I don’t disagree, but my line of thinking was more on why he agreed to let the wildlings in earlier, and then decided to kill Jon, after the foxes were in the hen house.
I think you have a solid read on Ser Alliser’s character.
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Loyalty. He have that disclosure to the watch. I think he let them in out of loyalty and then stewed and stewed and found others who agreed. But the look of satisfaction in his face and that little nod he gave as he thrust the dagger…that was something he enjoyed doing.
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Loyalty is good, but risk management also. Killing Jon while Stannis was in a very real position to control the North would be suicide for Thorne. Stannis would not put up with that business.
And once Stannis was dead, Jon being alive was a liability, since he in theory could be used by Northern rebels as a symbol.
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Good point.
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The show hasn’t really backed up my theories so much, of course. And I’ve considered complicated character stuff in the past that went nowhere. A lot of these things for me are exercises.
Thank you very much for chatting with me about this, I enjoy hearing other people’s perspectives on the show.
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You’re welcome. I love talking and speculating about this show.
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I signed up for Discus so I could comment! Hopefully you’ll get more of your articles published there. Bravo!
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When’s the post about mellisandre coming up? 😉
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You mean talking about her appearance at the end of the premiere episode? You’ll have to wait, man. I regret to tell you that I tend to scale back my blogging about Game of Thrones until the season is over. But I will make a note that you expect a post about Melisandre. She’s a solid of topic of discussion.
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Oh! Why are you scaling back?
Yes, I’ll wait for that one 😉
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It’s what I do… I always stop during the season so I can enjoy the show, and read other people’s recaps and opinions, and listen to podcasts. Then I work up a set of around 24 topics (at least) and I write every two weeks until the new year, when I write every week until the show starts up again. It’s been my rhythm to do it that way starting before season 4. (I think that’s the right time frame.) I will be posting some Game of Thrones related stuff soon though. A friend of the blog released a Game of Thrones concept album, and I’m writing something about that.
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That’s pretty neat! So you make sure your readers are not starved through the year 😛
I really like your thoughts. You really really dig into a topic and it’s…something. reading what you have to say 🙂
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🙂 Thanks! I appreciate your enjoyment. I don’t know if I always make sense, but when my argument gets weak (like, all the time) I fall back on using a photo with a funny caption, or some amusing invented dialog. It totally works! (Maybe I shouldn’t be giving away my trade secrets.)
Anyway, I think I like to write about the show in the off-season, because it’s not on and it’s either post stuff that I’m thinking, or have my head explode. Once the show’s on, I’m in a much calmer place. (Sort of. Then I send long rambly emails to Game of Thrones podcasts. Or else my head might explode.)
Regardless, I’m glad you’re interested in my articles. More will be on the horizon.
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Hahaha that’s a good trick 😉
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Great defense of Ser Alliser! I never liked the guy, but I never saw him as a villain. I think he was doing what he thought was right, but failed to really grasp the bigger picture. I never really considered the timing too heavily, but that’s some great insight about how it happened just after Jon’s major supporter, Stannis, died. Despite the fact that the Pink Letter hadn’t yet arrived, it makes sense that he would be thinking about the repercussions of Stannis’ loss. Still, he had to realize that without Jon there would be no way to deal with the thousands of Wildlings he’d let through the Gates. Clearly a very large oversight.
I might actually have to read your defense of Olly. I wasn’t sure I would buy into it at all, but I’m convinced now that you can at least get me considering it.
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