Game Of Thrones: 5 Reasons The Starks Are The Most Intelligent (& 5 It’s The Lannisters)

The rivalry between House Lannister and House Stark drove the entire story of Game of Thrones, but which family was truly the smartest?

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The conflict between the Starks and the Lannisters was a consistent plot thread throughout Game of Thrones. It was this conflict that Littlefinger exploited in order to trigger the War of Five Kings. The Lannisters are typically considered to be the most politically astute due to their actions in the destruction of House Reyne, as well as the Red Wedding that shocked Game of Thrones viewers around the world. However, just because the Lannisters have a reputation for intelligence, it doesn’t mean that the Starks are completely inept.

So here are 5 reasons why the Starks are actually more intelligent than the Lannisters, and 5 reasons why the Lannisters are still at the top of the GoT brainy list.

10 Stark: North Independence

Throughout the events of Game of Thrones, the Stark family has received brutal treatment at the hands of southern leaders. The execution of Ned Stark, the Red Wedding, and even Sansa’s imprisonment in King’s Landing and also with Ramsay are examples of this. As a consequence, Sansa was determined to secure an independent north that could rule itself.

Fortunately for Sansa, she received this in the final season, after securing Bran’s rise to the throne of Westeros.

9 Lannister: Destruction of the Great Sept

While it wasn’t a particularly subtle or delicate move by Cersei Lannister, it did certainly solve most of her problems. For several seasons, Cersei had been struggling with the Faith Militant and the Tyrell family. The Lannister matriarch had also seen her son *and King of the Seven Kingdoms) Tommen join the Faith Militant.

As a consequence, Cersei Lannister decided to blow up the Great Sept of Baelor with wildfire, with all of her rivals trapped inside. While the move wasn’t particularly delicate or deft, it did rid Cersei of all of her enemies.

8 Stark: King Bran

While it may be unclear as to how much of this came as a result of planning on behalf of the Starks, the Northern house did end with a member of their family on the throne of Westeros.

It may have appeared that Tyrion just suggested that Bran would be king out of the blue, but we mustn’t forget about Bran’s own powers. He would have undoubtedly been aware of the series of events that would lead to him becoming king, and would have certainly played events in order for this to occur.

7 Lannister: Battle of Blackwater Bay

Throughout season 2, we see Tyrion planning for Stannis’ proposed invasion of King’s Landing through the Blackwater Bay. We see Tyrion preparing wildfire and determining how he will actually defend his family and King’s Landing against, what appeared to be, an unstoppable force.

However due to Tyrion’s careful planning, King’s Landing was successfully defended. Although, the work was not solely done by Tyrion. Tywin Lannister was also instrumental in finishing off Stannis’ invasion.

6 Stark: Outsmarting Littlefinger

Throughout season 7, Littlefinger is attempting to create tension between Sansa and Arya. He is feeding distrust between the two sisters by showing Arya the note that Sansa was forced to write by Cersei, the note that condemned Ned Stark as a traitor.

Fortunately, the two sisters were well aware of what Littlefinger was attempting to do, and joined forces in order to finally end the cunning character once and for all.

5 Lannister: Outsmarting Daenerys

During Daenerys’ proposed invasion of Westeros, Tyrion suggests that Dany should attack and take Casterly Rock. While the Rock has a reputation for its defensibility, Tyrion was confident that his plan would be able to capture the seat of House Lannister.

However, Jaime Lannister was aware of Dany’s plan and moved most of his forces away. This allowed him to attack the undefended Tyrell stronghold of Highgarden and in so doing, capture the ‘breadbasket’ of Westeros. This was undoubtedly a devastatingly clever move by Jaime.

4 Stark: The King Who Knelt

While this happened before the events of Game of Thrones, it is still one of the most intelligent things a Stark King has ever done. During Aegon’s Conquest of Westeros, the Dragon Lord burned and decimated hundreds of Westerosi Lords. Those who would not come out to meet him in battle would be burned in their castles by Aegon’s dragon, Balerion the Black Dread.

Rather than agreeing to fight Aegon, the King in the North, Torrhen Stark, bent the knee. This saved thousands of Northmen and is the reason why there is no Stark sword in the Iron Throne.

3 Lannister: Red Wedding

Perhaps the most iconic moment in Game of Thrones is also the clearest example of the Lannister’s intelligence in the show. As a result of Robb Stark’s apparently unstoppable march south with the Northern Houses, Tywin Lannister sought the help of both Walder Frey and Roose Bolton in order to defeat the Young Wolf.

At Edmure Tully’s wedding, Robb Stark, his wife, and his mother were slaughtered, as were other members of Northern Houses. While it was a cunning act that won the Lannisters the War of Five Kings, it was also one of the most brutal events of the series.

2 Stark: Whispering Wood

Before the events of the Red Wedding, Robb Stark and the Northern army were deemed to be an unstoppable force. Perhaps the greatest example of the formidable nature of the Northern army was the Battle of the Whispering Wood. Robb Stark split his force in order to separate and weaken the Lannister Army.

The result of this battle was a crushing defeat of the Lannisters, with Theon suggesting that the Lannisters lost 10 men for every one man the Starks lost.

1 Lannister: The Rains of Castamere

Before the events of Game of Thrones and the leadership of Tywin Lannister, the Lannisters had an uncertain reputation with Tytos Lannister as their leader. House Reyne saw this weakness in the Lannister leadership and rebelled against Casterly Rock, which a young Tywin Lannister saw as a travesty. As a consequence, he took a small Lannister force and destroyed House Reyne.

The brutality of this event signaled what the Lannister family would become under the leadership of Tywin, as well as how intelligent and calculated their moves would be.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/starks-vs-lannisters-intelligence/