D.B. WEISS: I think that in this world and in the real medieval world,
marriage was definitely politics by other means.
It was one of the prime sources of glue that held people together in larger societies.
One of the fundamental things that sets up the whole drama of our series,
marriage was a way to bind two families together.
It was a form of political alliance.
And royal marriages are one of the ultimate examples of this.
The gods are good.
Ser Loras, I will gladly wed your sweet sister.
You will be my queen
and I will love you from this day until my last day.
(ALL APPLAUDING)
The real bomb that goes off in King's Landing in Season 3
is the arrival of the Tyrells.
They're very powerful, they're very wealthy and they control a lot of cards.
So, the family dynamic between the Lannisters and the Tyrells is quite charged.
Joffrey and Margaery's marriage had nothing to do with love or even affection.
It was purely about stabilizing the kingdoms and lessens the chance
of some kind of uprising that we saw start to take place in Season 2.
Tell me what you think of her.
With the Tyrells beside us, we'll crush the Northerners.
Hang their lords, burn their strongholds, sow their fields with salt,
and no one will think of rebelling for another century.
WEISS: He's not even thinking of Margaery as a woman.
He's thinking of her as an abstract principle
that will help further their family's political aim.
BENIOFF: lt just makes Tywin's job much, much easier.
The Tyrells allow them to solidify their hold on the South.
I have seven kingdoms to look after and three of them are in open rebellion.
CHARLES DANCE: His prime objective is to ensure the survival of the Lannisters
and to maintain the status quo,
and only change it for the betterment of him and the rest of the Lannister clan.
And the way to ensure your legacy and so forth is through marriage.
For the Tyrells, I think the idea that their eldest daughter is gonna be queen
is immensely attractive.
Margaery's clearly got a hunger and is incredibly ambitious.
Do you want to be a queen?
No.
I want to be the queen.
DOELGER: Margaery knows exactly how to play the game
better than almost anybody else.
She, of course, is the granddaughter of one of the great matriarchs
in our world, Olenna Tyrell.
She is the mother of the present Lord of Highgarden, Mace Tyrell,
and she is a very sharp lady.
I want you to tell me the truth about this royal boy.
We've heard some troubling tales. ls there any truth to them?
DIANA RIGG: Sansa is an interesting girl.
You know she's beautiful and she comes from a famous family.
And I want to find out about all sorts of levels of information, definitely.
I think they want to get to the top by hook or by crook.
That's part of the fun, isn't it?
She realizes that Sansa is a very valuable piece in the game of thrones.
So far as the realm knows, Bran and Rickon are dead, therefore...
If Robb Stark falls, Sansa Stark is the key to the North.
I believe I have a possible solution.
MARTIN: Their plan is to get Sansa to marry Ser Loras, the Knight of Flowers.
But there are a lot of spies. There are a lot of listening ears.
So, before they can really put their plan in motion,
the Lannisters get wind of this.
We need to act first and kill this union in its crib.
- And how do we do that? - We find Sansa Stark a different husband.
- Wonderful. - Yes, it is.
PETER DINKLAGE: Tyrion is in love with Shae at this moment,
but he's forced into this marriage
that I really don't want to be a part of.
But at least if he marries Sansa, he can protect her,
especially from Joffrey.
BRONN: All you have to do is get a son in the Stark girl.
He'll be Lord of Winterfell one day. You can rule the North in his name.
You'll have two women and a whole kingdom of your own.
And then Tywin turns the tables onto Cersei
and says she has an arranged marriage as well.
I am Queen Regent, not some broodmare.
You're my daughter!
You will do as I command, and you will marry Loras Tyrell
and put an end to the disgusting rumors about you once and for all.
My children.
MARTIN: Now the Lannisters will control the South as well as the North,
as well as the Iron Throne. It's all for the glory of House Lannister.
My mother always told me you Westerosi were a grim lot.
Grim, stinking barbarians that would row across the Narrow Sea
and steal us from our beds.
Did you ever think you'd marry one?
When we first meet Robb Stark in Season 3, the tables have changed somewhat.
Robb's in a very difficult position.
He was engaged to one of the Freys, but he's followed his heart, not his head.
He married Talisa.
And by breaking his vow, he's angered a once very powerful ally.
If I had the sense the gods gave a fish, I'd hand you both over to the Lannisters.
- Why don't you? - Stark, Tully, Lannister, Baratheon.
Give me one good reason why I should waste a single thought on any of you.
Walder Frey could have remained neutral in this conflict,
and that had its own risks,
but he saw an opportunity to vastly enhance the prestige of House Frey
and he took it.
So now what he cares about is the political contract that was violated.
This is not a world
where the idea of marrying for love makes any sense to anybody.
MICHELLE FAIRLEY: Cat has this instinctive feeling.
Talisa is the catalyst that starts the demise, almost.
For a king to break his word is something she cannot accept.
Because in this world, nothing goes unanswered.
Walder Frey is a dangerous man to cross.
- You arranged it. - And you agreed to it.
You gave him your word.
Treat your oaths recklessly, and your people will do the same.
WEISS: The decision to marry Talisa definitely divided Robb's bannermen.
There're gonna be the people who said, "I pledge my allegiance to this person,
"and I'm gonna stick with him no matter what."
There're also gonna be the people who wonder,
"Maybe I need to reassess who he is as a leader."
You don't think we can win?
I think you lost this war the day you married her.
After Robb married Talisa, things changed.
We lost some of our men.
My army are angered at that,
and it's the one dishonorable thing that I feel Robb has done
since we've got to know him.
I need men to replace the Karstarks who marched home.
There is only one person in this kingdom
with that kind of army who hasn't already sided with the Lannisters.
(LAUGHS)
The man whose daughter I was supposed to marry.
Walder Frey.
Robb not only deprived Walder of the chance to see his daughter as queen,
but also Walder's still guilty of rebelling against Tywin and the Iron Throne.
And that puts Walder Frey and his entire family at risk.
So something Robb has to try to do is mend a lot of broken bridges
and see if he can repair the damage that he's done by a lot of bad decisions.
We will do whatever we can to give Lord Frey what he needs.
Not what, whom.
Our father requires Lord Edmure to wed one of his daughters.
He was due a king to marry one of his daughters to.
Edmure Tully, while he is an important person in his own right,
and is the heir of the Tully household,
it's still kind of a door prize in the political marriage race.
I've won every battle, but I'm losing this war.
If we don't do this and do it now, we're lost.
BENIOFF: It's something that you see time and again in Game of Thrones,
is characters who are casting off their illusions
and learning what it means to rule and to seize power,
and the truth is, all these families see it as a tool,
so whether it's the Tyrells marrying Margaery to Joffrey,
or Tywin trying to figure out how to ensure his legacy
by marrying Tyrion to Sansa and Cersei to Loras,
marriage is one of the main tools of political maneuvering
and we're gonna see it again and again in this world.