Game of Thrones: The Brotherhood Without Banners, Explained

One of the many challenging elements of Game of Thrones is the moral spectrum of its characters. There are few heroes in Westeros, especially as the franchise focuses primarily on corrupt, self-centered aristocrats born into unimaginable power. The well-intentioned characters routinely die to benefit sadists and monsters. Noble goals are few and far between across the beloved fantasy series, but some manage to keep the flame of heroism alive. The Brotherhood Without Banners is a rare, underappreciated example.

A newcomer to Westeros would wander into an absurdly complex network of factions vying for control. The Iron Throne sits above a dozen rival rulers and countless groups dedicated to other goals. Any collection of armed soldiers will regularly descend into chaos, but the books and series depict the rise and fall of various groups. The Brotherhood Without Banners rarely gets enough focus in the show, but they remain engaging in the books.

The Brotherhood Without Banners, whose austere name is capitalized in the show and lowercase in the books, initially formed as a temporary task force. Catelyn Stark accurately blamed House Lannister for crippling her son, Bran, but inaccurately abducted Tyrion for Jamie's crime. Acting uncharacteristically irrationally, Tyrion's father, Tywin, sends Ser Gregor Clegane to raid Catelyn's homeland. Catelyn's father, Lord Holster Tully, demands an audience with Eddard Stark, the Hand of the King, to request a force to protect his domain. Stark agrees, selecting the Lightning Lord Beric Dondarrion as his champion. He tasks Beric, Thoros of Myr, Ser Gladden Wylde, and Lord Lothar Mallery with rounding up an army to kill Gregor Clegane.

The group's first mission goes terribly. Tywin Lannister's scheme ran deeper than revenge. He sent Gregor to the Riverlands to draw Eddard Stark. An injury prevented Eddard from leading the party, sending Beric and his soldiers into the ambush Tywin staged for him. Beric, Gladden, Lothar, and most of their soldiers die in their battle against Tywin and the Mountain. Thoros, a failed priest of the Red God, unintentionally resurrected Beric while performing funeral rites. With newfound vigor, Beric gathered the remaining knights under his command. Though many suggested returning to King's Landing, Beric saw the destruction levied by various armies and the suffering of the smallfolk. Their plight moved him to create the Brotherhood Without Banners. Together, Beric, Thoros, and a new band of outlaws would rob from the rich, give to the poor, and protect the innocent from armies under every banner. Beric sums up their mission to Sandor Clegane like this:

We were knights and squires and men-at-arms, lords and commoners, bound together only by our purpose. Six score of us set out to bring the king's justice to your brother. Six score brave men and true, led by a fool in a starry cloak. More than eighty of our company are dead now, but others have taken up the swords that fell from their hands. With their help, we fight on as best we can, for Robert and the realm.