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Walder Frey's Masterplan | In Deep Geek | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Walder Frey's Masterplan
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House Frey's historical ambition for social and political advancement, exemplified by Lord Walder's strategic betrayals and marriage alliances, ultimately led to their current precarious state of internal decay and external retribution.
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What is Wulder's master plan in A Song
of Ice and Fire? Yes, there was the Red
Wedding, but what else has he been
planning? Let's take a look. Hi
everyone, this is Robert. Welcome to In
Deepge Geek. If you like theories,
background, history, and lore about A
Song of Ice and Fire, The Lord of the
Rings, and The Witcher, this is the
place for you. Welcome. And this is
another collaboration with the excellent
History of Westeros. Please do check out
their podcast and YouTube channel.
There's a link in the description.
In a previous video, we looked at how
Lord Walder Freay's ambitious,
opportunistic approach to the Game of
Thrones is largely a continuation of his
family's way of doing business for 600
years or so. Most notably, we saw that
his ancestors joined a number of
rebellions very early on, aiming to
benefit from the immense rewards a new
king could potentially offer, perhaps
even including marriage to the would-be
new royal house. This rarely worked
exactly to plan, but still the phrase
grew and prospered, waiting for their
next big break. The Freys have not been
shy about aiming high, and why not?
They've never been truly accepted by
their fellow riverlords as a whole, most
of whom can rather snootily traced their
lineage back thousands of years. House
Frey is now only six centuries old, and
are still seen as upstart toll
collectors by the ruling classes, and
thus do not fit neatly into their club.
In response, the phrase have mostly
unsuccessfully tried to rise above those
who looked down on them. Yet, despite
being on the losing side so many times,
they've never suffered much for it. They
are very rich, capable of paying
enormous amounts in restitution, and as
is often required, they can also give
hostages. There are lots of phrase going
spare. Either way, as long as they have
the twins, their coffers will refill
with toll revenue, and new phrase will
be born. Lord Walder is the extreme
version of all these fray qualities.
With his enormous number of descendants,
he can spend them however he chooses for
marriage alliances, high offices,
military commands, whatever brings advantage.
advantage.
But there's another option when you're
losing, though it's far less honorable.
Switching sides. Lord Walder was
responsible for the Red Wedding, of
course, so there's an obvious and
infamous example there. However, he was
not the first Frey to switch sides. He
wasn't even the first Frey to switch
sides at a wedding, but he was a witness
to that first time when he was a child,
and the event appears to have left an
impression. When he was only 4 years
old, Walder caught his 15-year-old
sister with a skullion and tattled to
their father. To minimize the scandal,
Lord Frey quickly arranged for his
daughter to be married to the very
wealthy Lord Ambrose Butterwell, a man
50 years old. As another house that owed
much of its success to mercantile
pursuits, they were also looked down on
by the riverlords at large, not unlike
House Frey. Lord Frey brought his son
with him to White Walls for the event.
Dunc observed that the child was
extremely annoying and was tempted to
toss him into a well. Too bad for Rob
and Catelyn and the rest that Dunc
restrained himself. But as it turned
out, the wedding and Tony, as detailed
in the mystery night, the third Duncan
egg novela was actually a cover to
launch the second Blackfire rebellion.
When the plan began to unravel, Lord
Frey tried to flee, but he was caught by
Blood Raven's men and brought back to
White Walls. The castle was raised to
the ground, and Lord Butterwell was
stripped of 90% of his wealth. Yet, like
so many Freys before him, this Lord Frey
seemed to face no obvious punishment.
Given Blood Raven's complete lack of
mercy towards Blackfire supporters in
every other case, including Lord
Butterwell himself, this is a notable
and suggestive exception. The reasonable
conclusion is that Lord Frey turned on
his fellow conspirators and cut a deal
with Blood Raven to gain a pardon and
escape punishment. Despite participating
in so many rebellions, this appears to
be the first time a Lord Frey betrayed
their allies. But as we know, it's not
the last.
Many years later, Walder took his
father's place as Lord Frey, but he
didn't forget that experience, and
surely over the years he would have
learned of his family's ambitions prior
to his father's. Trying to move up in
the world was a family tradition he
clearly became well reared in. This, of
course, means he also learned that none
of those attempts to climb the ladder
succeeded. The phrase had gained little
favor, let alone marriage alliances with
either royals or riverlords.
In the ensuing decades, Lord Walder
sired many children, grandchildren,
great-grandchildren, and made a dizzying
array of marriage alliances. He famously
married eight times, but only his
fourth, to Lady Alyssa Blackwood, was to
a fellow Riverlord's house. Walder's son
and heir, Sir Stevron, married thrice
himself, all outside of the Riverlands.
Stevron's daughter, Miguel, did marry
into House Vance of the Riverlands,
however, and of course, they named their
eldest son Walder. But overall in the
vast Frey family tree under Lord Walder,
there are few marriages to other houses
in the Riverlands. Most of the wives and
thus mothers are from the Veil, the
Crownlands or the West, especially the
Westerlands. And this is revealing. Lord
Walder has long had his eye on the West,
particularly on Castly Rock. Eventually,
he got what he wanted from the amiable
Lord Tittos. That's Tywin's father. and
his second son, Emmen, married Jenna
Lannister, Tywin's sister. Tywin was
only 10 at the time, but he spoke out
against the marriage at a feast with
half the Westland's nobility present.
Though Lord Walder is proud and prickly,
this did not deter him from seeking
further connection to House Lannister,
and he also continued to aim as high as
possible, though not very subtly,
because he began naming his descendants
after Targaryenss.
His third son he named Anise after the
second Targaryen king. Anise Frey went
on to have two sons of his own who were
named Aegon and Rhaegar. This is the
same Rhaegar Frey who wound up as Mandly
Py filling while Aegon has never been on
page as he is apparently an outlaw of
some sort called Aegon Bloodborne. And
there was also a second Aegon Frey, son
of Walder's first son, Sir Stevron. This
Aegon was better known as Jinglebell,
the court fool, and was slain by Catelyn
during the Red Wedding. In addition,
Lord Walder's eldest bastard son had a
son of his own named Aean. Another of
the Freys who wound up in a pie was
Jared, and his firstborn son is named
Tittos, most likely after Tywin's
father, who was Lord of Castly Rock at
the time of his name. These repeated
examples indicate a clear strategy. Name
phrase after members of the royal family
and House Lannister. the second most
powerful house in the realm at the time.
This is something Lord Walder likely
encouraged, if not commanded his
children and grandchildren to do
whenever they weren't naming their
children Walder. That is, given that
Tywin was willing to insult House Frey
as a 10-year-old, Lord Walder likely
didn't expect much from House Lannister
when Tywin ascended to his father's
seat. But he wouldn't have failed to
notice that over the years, Tywin was
highly successful in pretty much all of
his endeavors. Even before his lordship,
he brutally and ruthlessly ended house
reign in what became remembered as the
reigns of Castmir. Rather than harming
his reputation, it only seemed to
enhance it. He became friends with the
then prince Eris Targaryen and was then
named Hand of the King when Eris
ascended to the Iron Throne, a position
Tywin held for 20 years. By the time
Robert's rebellion began, Lord Tywin and
King Eris had fallen out. However, Tywin
was back at Castly Rock, no longer in
office. Tywin led his host into the
field, but did not declare for either
side. Lord Walder did the same. Lord
Tywin waited to see who gained the upper
hand in the war. And again, so did Lord
Walder. It seems that while Lord Tywin
was waiting to see who he would join,
Lord Walder was waiting to see who Lord
Tywin would join. To him, Lord Tywin's
side and the winning side was probably
the same thing. But when the Battle of
the Trident was fought, their strategies
diverged. Lord Walder rushed to the
battlefield with his host, declaring
they had been allies all along. This
earned him the nickname the late Lord
Frey and placed another stain on the
honor of his house. But they also didn't
receive any punishments nor make any new
enemies. Tywin infamously rushed to
King's Landing and sacked it. Instead of
merely bending the knee to the new king,
he had Princess Ellia, Prince Aegon, and
Princess Rainees killed, forever
repudiating House Targaryen. Never again
could the two houses ally.
Tywin had no hand in Rhaegar's death,
but he might have saved it had he shown
up at the Battle of the Trident to fight
for his lege against Robert. Had he done
so, surely Lord Walder would have been
quick to join as well. The phrase with
Targaryen names might have preferred
that outcome. As with the reigns of
Castmir, Tywin's extreme actions didn't
seem to stop House Lannister's rise.
They received many rewards. The biggest
of which was the marriage of the new
King Robert to Cersei. The Lannisters
were now part of the royal house. Lord
Walder had observed Tywin's entire
career, and he now had a blueprint, a
very bloody blueprint. But he also
returned to his old tricks. Robert's
rebellion ended in 283. And later that
year, Lord Walder's 11th son, Raymond,
had his firstborn son, who was named,
predictably enough, Robert. Their fourth
child was named Cersei. And during the
events of A Song of Ice and Fire, there
were twin boys named Jaime and Tywin.
This came just after Tywin became hand
of the king again and Jaime made Lord
Commander of the king's card. Perhaps
it's unsurprising given the sheer size
of House Frey. But there is more. A few
years after Robert Baratheon took the
throne, Lord Ward's grandson, Cleos, the
same Cleos who traveled with Jaime and
Brienne in the main story, the same
Cleos who 10-year-old Tywin didn't want
his sister to marry, had a son with
Jenna, whom they named Tywin. Putting
this all together, it helps explain why
Lord Walder was unwilling to go against
House Lannister in a Game of Thrones. He
was not eager to make an enemy of the
man whose success he most wanted to
emulate. A house he had tried to tie to
his own many times and had tied to
through his son and Tywin's sister. But
then an opportunity presented itself.
Rob Stark was desperate to cross the
river and Walder knew that he could
exact a very high price. The Lannisters
and Starks may be at war, but at his
age, when else would he get an
opportunity like this? a marriage to the
heir of House Stark is extremely
prestigious. He also probably expected,
as many other lords did, a short war,
perhaps an exchange of Jaime Lannister
for Ned Stark, followed by a peace
arrangement. Though he had long wanted
Lannister marriages, and tying himself
to the Starks when they were at war with
the Lannisters was risky, the Starks are
a great house. The deal was hardruck,
and Lord Walder knew it was a rare opportunity.
opportunity.
He couldn't have foreseen Ned Stark's
execution, which led to Rob's
coronation. So instead of the short
inconvenience of a war followed by the
long-term advantages of his descendant
being a Lord Stark, House Frey found
themselves in an allout war for
independence with the North and the
Riverlands against the Lannisters. It
was far more dangerous, but the rewards
were also potentially greater. If they
succeeded, A Frey would be the queen of
the North. The next king in the north
would be Lord Walder's descendant. This
is why we can be reasonably confident
that Lord Walder's initial support for
Rob Stark was sincere, not out of
loyalty to House Stark or in keeping
their word, but because it was a chance
to win what his family had sought for
centuries, royal status. Thus, we can in
turn be reasonably sure that he didn't
enter the arrangement with plans to
betray it. But like his father taught
him, switching sides was a completely
valid option if the right opportunities
came along. When the war started going
badly for the North, when his son and
heir, Sir Stevron, died on campaign and
Rob broke his promise to marry a Frey,
everything changed. Rob offered the
Freys a marriage to House Tully instead.
While prestigious, he had aimed for a
royal status, not a marriage to his
feudal overlords. This is seemingly when
Lord Walder pivoted plans, and the
result was the Red Wedding. Through his
new plan, not only did he have Rob and
most of his hosts slain, his third
wife's side of the family married the
new rulers of the north, House Bolton.
So, he still got that northern ruling
connection. On top of that, and perhaps
more importantly to him personally, he
acquired further links to House
Lannister, who had become, for all
intents and purposes, the new royal
house on the Iron Throne. And on top of
that, as part of the arrangement, Lord
Edmure Tully still married Lady Roslin
Frey, but was stripped of his lands.
Lord Walder's second son, Emmen, along
with Jenna Lannister, received Riverrun
as their seat. So Lord Walder got
everything Rob was offering, plus quite
a lot more. Influence with the ruling
family in King's Landing, a marriage to
the ruling family in the north, his son
getting Riverrun, the Tullies stripped
of their lands. Yes, it will have seemed
like a very profitable venture by Walder
Fray. However, little has gone according
to plan for Lord Walder since. Instead
of the respect he expected to gain for
his house, they've become associated
with disloyalty and the violation of
guestright, an especially huge taboo in
the north. Lord Walder probably didn't
see it coming. Tywin's ruthless violence
helped his family advance and made
everyone fear him, but House Frey
instead won contempt. The phrase had
been opportunistic and inmperate many
times, but this kind of brutality was
new, and it's changed their place in
history forever. What Lord Walder also
failed to notice is that even Lord
Tywin, with all his power and wealth,
could not escape his past. Prince Doran
Martell was not the only one playing a
very long game to get revenge on Lord
Tywin. Daenerys knows it was Lord Tywin,
father of the King Slayer, who killed
her family. This as well is the house of
Joffrey and Cersei. Their list of
enemies is lengthy, but those powerful
enemies never got their chance because
Tywin's death came from within, from his
own family. Lannister turned on
Lannister. That might ironically be what
Lord Walder is facing now as well. He
taught his son to protect the family, to
be loyal to House Frey. But even Lord
Walder is only somewhat loyal to his own
and has little regard for women.
Regardless, Sirvron is dead now, and no
one bothered to teach those same lessons
to Sevron's heirs, not even Lord Walder
himself. And vengeance is starting to
close in on the phrase. The Brotherhood
Without Banners hanged Peter Frey, aka
Peter Pimple. Then, when Meritt Frey was
sent out with money to ransom him, they
hanged him as well. This is, of course,
under the leadership of Lady Stoneheart.
The Brotherhood Without Banners next
hanged Ryman Frey during a feast for
crows, making his son Edwin Frey the
heir with his brother Black Walder next.
But Edwin didn't blame the outlaws. He
believes Black Walder killed their
father, Ryman. Edwin has long hated his
brother, and the feeling appears to be
mutual. Amongst the rest of the phrase,
however, Black Walder is feared and
ambitious. Edwin is not. Even though
Edwin is wrong about who killed their
father, he's not wrong to think Black
Walder might kill him. We're told and
have seen evidence that Black Walder is
perhaps the most dangerous of the Freys
left alive and he might be willing to do
anything to claim the lordship. Black
Walder has been rumored credibly to have
slept with many of his kin wives and may
have even slept with Lord Walder's
seventh wife, Anara Faring. If so, the
complicated Frey family tree would
become even more tangled by incest, a
disturbing way to further emulate houses
Targaryen and Lannister. This every man
for himself attitude amongst the Freys
is the opposite of what Lord Walder
intended. It runs so deep that even the
children are participating. For example,
the most likely killer of Little Walder
in the north is his own cousin, Big
Walder. This calls to mind the legend
and song of the rat cook who was cursed
to eat his own young for the crime of
violating guest right. House Frey is
eating itself. Not that Walder is going
down without a fight. Thanks in large
part to bribery. His fifth son Lucon was
almost chosen as the new High Septton
only for the High Sparrow to swoop in
seemingly from nowhere with his flock to
claim the title instead. Lission may not
be long for this world, but more
importantly, House Lannister's time on
the Iron Throne may also come to a quick
end, and the enemies of House Bolton are
massing and plotting in the north. House
Freys protectors are starting to look a
little more precarious. All in all,
Walder Freys master plan appears to be
in the process of complete collapse. The
next step was surely to cement their
position in the Riverlands with
Lannister support and eliminate any
resistance in the north with the
Boltons. But more Freys have died since
the Red Wedding than before it, and the
count will surely continue to rise as
their many enemies close in. The
Manderlyes, the Brotherhood Without
Banners, even Nimria's super pack of
wolves seem to be targeting Freys these
days. There are still a lot of them, but
they are dropping fast. Which also
brings us to perhaps the most dangerous
potential enemy of all, Arya. She
doesn't have any specific names, but she
thinks to herself that the phrase as a
whole belong on her kill list. She was
at the Red Wedding with Sandor Clegane
after all. And though it's still a
subplot at the moment, there is a good
chance we will get another Frey wedding
in the Riverlands in the Winds of
Winter. What chance a reverse red
wedding? Quite high, I suspect, but
that's a subject for another video. Wery
is very old, but perhaps he will live
long enough to see the downfall of his
house and the ultimate failure of his
plotting and planning and betrayals
before his death. Many fans will cheer
it when it happens. If you'd like to see
more A Song of Ice and Fire videos like
this, there's a link to my playlist on
the left of your screen now. Or to
support this channel, thank you. There's
a link to my Patreon page on the right
of your screen. Thanks for watching.
That's all for this time. I'll see you
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