Money makes them powerful. They have barges of gold.
Tyrion already said, if they don't pay back the Iron Bank, then the Iron Bank will fund their enemies. Davos has already written them a letter, and Stannis is talking to them in the next episodes preview.
irishScott
Lifer
- Oct 10, 2006
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Well if that's the way the world works than fine I guess, I'm sure George has a good reason. I just don't see the economic sense.
"Hey dawg! I heard you weren't going to pay back that gold I loaned you! So I'm going to give an even bigger loan to one of your enemies who's even less likely to pay me back! Joke's on you!"
Seems like throwing good money after bad to me. Like if a bank funded the war in Iraq, didn't get paid, and decided to fund Iraqi insurgents instead. Not a very sound business strategy.
KLin
Lifer
- Feb 29, 2000
- 29,418
- 29
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It's called investments. And that's the way the real world works too. He who has the gold, makes the rules.
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irishScott
Lifer
- Oct 10, 2006
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Yes, and what do venture capitalists start doing when investments don't work out? (and sometimes when they do) they pile on more and more conditions for funding, gain more and more ownership of the company/venture funded to the point where they can completely take over and sell it or do whatever they want to recoup their losses. Hence the term "vulture" for average venture capitalist and "angels" for those rare venture capitalists with a conscience. I don't see how the Iron Bank can reposes or gain equity over a nation.
Funding a debter's enemies/retracting funding may be useful for showcasing revenge, instilling fear, keeping other clients in line etc, but they're still losing money overall. If one thief runs away with your money, what sense does it make to give the thief standing next to him the same offer?
irishScott
Lifer
- Oct 10, 2006
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Lol I am, this episode more than any other this season. But you can't blame a guy for asking for details when the writers have created such a detailed universe. If the Iron Bank is going to be a major player and not just some occasionally-mentioned entity (which I imagine they are, give that seems to be where the Staanis plotline is going) they need a believable motivation. I'm sure the writers have something cooked up I just hope it holds; because if the Iron Bank is purely a bank they should be chasing profit, and there doesn't seem to be much profit in funding Westerosi civil wars. Could be very cool, perhaps they fear the armies of Westeros could threaten Bravos if they weren't fighting each other, or some other higher purpose. Ah well, I put my faith in George and Co's thus far very capable hands.
Atomic Playboy
Lifer
- Feb 6, 2007
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Because the first thief doesn't want to die. Let's say I give you a buck to take over the throne, and you manage to do so and you don't repay me; I give the next person in line 2 bucks. What's your play? Pay up or die. Hell, the most powerful house in Westeros has an unofficial house motto about always repaying their debts; it's a sensible thing to do when money buys power.
The Boston Dangler
Lifer
- Mar 10, 2005
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wooo that was MUCH better than the previous episode.
1. some bombs being dropped! the way tywin informed cersei of the gold mines "the answer is the same." was killer, and lysa is truly 10 pounds of crazy in a 5 pound bag. i never would have guessed she and baelish were hooked up so far back, she murdered john for him, or that they were bringing down the lannisters before episode 1!
2. hodor.
3. the show all but admits the danerys story is strictly for the twilight/hunger games/whatever crowd, and should be ignored completely.
1. some bombs being dropped! the way tywin informed cersei of the gold mines "the answer is the same." was killer, and lysa is truly 10 pounds of crazy in a 5 pound bag. i never would have guessed she and baelish were hooked up so far back, she murdered john for him, or that they were bringing down the lannisters before episode 1!
2. hodor.
3. the show all but admits the danerys story is strictly for the twilight/hunger games/whatever crowd, and should be ignored completely.
the letter to catelyn said the lannisters have poisoned john arryn (robert's hand) and she has run for her life back to the eyrie. with the hand's murder, and the crown's massive debt, it was littlefinger the whole time!
Atomic Playboy
Lifer
- Feb 6, 2007
- 16,439
- 1
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Disagree that it was a better episode than the last, but it was certainly interesting to see how Littlefinger has been behind key events in Westeros dating back to before the show started. Kind of surprised that Locke was dealt with so abruptly, especially by someone possessed by the mind of the person who was crippled by the person whose hand he was responsible for taking... OK, that's a bizarre sentence. But still, I figured they'd keep him around longer. But, yeah, good episode overall.
The Boston Dangler
Lifer
- Mar 10, 2005
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really? i thought s04e04 was 1 of the worst episodes this show has cranked out.
drinking out of commander mormont's skull, wtf is that crap? like comicbookgirl said, that was some $9.99 party store item and skulls are full of holes, impossible to drink from. i was starting to fear the show was just going to keep jumping the shark from there on, and it kinda did with the mutineers' leader giving us an giger alien impersonation.
The Boston Dangler
Lifer
- Mar 10, 2005
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paraphasing:
"we took the mareenese navy"
"who told you to take the navy?"
"i heard you like ships"
"yeah, i do."
danerys story has really bottomed out now. they aren't even trying.
"we took the mareenese navy"
"who told you to take the navy?"
"i heard you like ships"
"yeah, i do."
danerys story has really bottomed out now. they aren't even trying.
Why is everyone so obsessed with the Iron Bank forcing repayment through war? All they would ever need to do is send a few thousand assassins out to kill whoever refuses to pay. The threat of that alone makes repaying them a good idea if you want to enjoy the money you borrowed.
techs
Lifer
- Sep 26, 2000
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Well put.
I'm a little surprised by all the Iron Bank discussion. It seems simple enough to understand that the King needs credit to purchase things from throughout the realm for his armies, at the very least. Without money the Kings army would fall apart pretty quickly due to lack of supplies and the soldiers would leave because they weren't getting paid.
btw I wish people would put information gained from next weeks previews in spoiler tags since I, and many others, intentionally don't watch them because we want the full unspoiled experience.
I really liked this episode, btw. Maybe the best of this season.
I was really impressed with the scenery. It looked real and not cgi, so I was wondering where they film GoT?
techs
Lifer
- Sep 26, 2000
- 28,567
- 3
- 0
The Boston Dangler
Lifer
- Mar 10, 2005
- 14,648
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1 thing i enjoyed from this episode was the way the cersei / lysa / hound / brienne scenes came back for a second taste, whatever that's called in filmmaking. i don't recall it being used much before in this show, certainly not to this extent. cersei actually gets 3 discrete scenes, but whatever.
however... burning craster's keep makes no sense. yeah, in the middle of the night let's burn down everything we have and the only shelter for miles. the conservation of ninjitsu was as strong as ever, with jon killing at least half of the mutineers. jojen's visions looked really good, but seemed a bit out of context - maybe more from his perspective was needed to flesh it out.
however... burning craster's keep makes no sense. yeah, in the middle of the night let's burn down everything we have and the only shelter for miles. the conservation of ninjitsu was as strong as ever, with jon killing at least half of the mutineers. jojen's visions looked really good, but seemed a bit out of context - maybe more from his perspective was needed to flesh it out.
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The Boston Dangler
Lifer
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cronos
Diamond Member
- Nov 7, 2001
- 9,380
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That's a book wiki that you linked, which will contain spoilers inappropriate for the TV show. The show does also have its own wikia site, which follows the show and as far as I could is tell kept pretty tight not to have spoiler from the books and only document things that have happened on the show. So the wiki link to Jojen should be this: http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Jojen_Reed
Edit: Oh and you probably meant to post the pictures in the other thread. I don't get them, and not really interested to know what to get
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The Boston Dangler
Lifer
- Mar 10, 2005
- 14,648
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the link is removed.That's a book wiki that you linked, which will contain spoilers inappropriate for the TV show. The show does also have its own wikia site, which follows the show and as far as I could is tell kept pretty tight not to have spoiler from the books and only document things that have happened on the show. So the wiki link to Jojen should be this: http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Jojen_Reed
Edit: Oh and you probably meant to post the pictures in the other thread. I don't get them, and not really interested to know what to get
the pictures are posted exactly where i meant to post them. they are for enjoyment, and you are free to not get that.
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