The Red Wedding on Game of Thrones proves that honor dies as soon as power enters the play

The Red Wedding on Game of Thrones became a cultural phenomenon and the most talked-about scene at the time of its release. It all boiled down to two of the very significant phrases that Cersei Lannister, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms at the time, had said. 

The gist that it was about to get brutal on the show started when Ned Stark confronted Cersei about her children and how they are Jaime Lannister's bastards. She said,

"When you play the game of thrones, you win, you die. There is no middle ground." 

And that is exactly what happened with the Stark family at Walder Frey's celebration dinner. Even though the Winterfell natives tread with honor and respect, they were met with a brutal game of power. Ned Stark's beheading was a warning, and then, the Red Wedding was the merciless declaration that when power is at stake, honor has no place to live. 

The second time Cersei hinted at how bad and unjust things are in Westeros at the hands of the Lannisters, it was during a conversation with Lord Petyr Baelish, master of coin at the small council. She had wanted him to locate Arya Stark to gain power over her brother, who was marching towards the capital to overthrow Joffrey.

However, it turned ugly when Petyr hinted at knowing the secret Ned Stark died for and claimed, "Knowledge is power." Cersei then gave him a lavish display by asking her guards to hold him and cut his throat. But then she changed her mind at the last second and let him go. She then replied, 

"Power is power." 

And true, power is power on Game of Thrones, where everyone fights for it, and even dies for it. However, Robb Stark and the whole family were brought up by Ned on the principles of loyalty and honesty, which cost them their lives in the end. The Starks only survived after Arya, Sansa, and Bran took the reins and understood how the world works and the cruelty it holds. 

In one of the scenes at the end of Game of Thrones, The Hound meets Sansa and addresses how much she has grown. She remarks that it would have been safer if she had never gone south all those years ago.

However, she replies by saying that she would have stayed a little girl her whole life if she had never travelled to King's Landing. 

What happened at The Red Wedding on Game of Thrones?

The Red Wedding on Game of Thrones saw a union between the Houses Frey and House Bolton, in a conspiracy against House Stark. Lord Walder Frey invited the Starks to a dinner at their home and killed each one of them.

It was because Robb had chosen to marry the girl whom he loved, instead of Frey's daughters, and Roose Bolton wanted to take control of Winterfell after the Starks were gone. It displayed how alliances are disposable and oaths mean nothing.

The Red Wedding serves as a brutal reminder that even in the real world, honor is a liability and power is the name of the game. 

All episodes of Game of Thrones can be watched online via HBO Max.