Spoiler Alert – If you haven’t watched Series 4 of Game of Thrones yet and think that your might want to, don’t read the rest of this post… [I’m not sure who I am addressing with that comment – almost no-one will ever read this anyway!]
Towards the end of the Series 4 of Game of Thrones (TV series), episode 8 to be exact, there is a classic piece of single-handed combat that nicely captures a really important lesson in life. The fight is a ‘Trial by Combat’ in which the flashy Prince Oberyn of Dorn elects to fight the ruling family’s representative, the huge, heavily armed and aptly named knight ‘The Mountain’. Oberyn has chosen to fight on behalf of the person on trial because he seeks revenge/justice against The Mountain who, previously, had raped and killed Oberyn’s sister. So, essentially, the battle is one of speed, agility and showmanship (Oberyn) versus cumbersome bulk and extreme brute force (The Mountain). Everyone watching expects The Mountain to win easily because that is what he always does, such is his size and power, but Oberyn fancies his chances because he is quick and skillful.
The battle starts and the lightly-armoured Oberyn spins and dances his way around The Mountain wielding only a long spear. It’s very flashy and showy stuff. The spear whirls and twirls through the air as Oberyn leaps under, over and around The Mountain but no particular damage is done. I can’t remember the exact sequence, but The Mountain does take the ascendancy at some point, smashing Oberyn’s spear after, I think, the latter slips or is tripped, but a replacement is immediately thrust into Oberyn’s hand. Oberyn then lands a telling blow, and another and another until The Mountain is put onto the floor, apparently in a near-death state with mortal wounds… This is where Oberyn gets things wrong. He is so bent on seeking vengeance on behalf of his sister that it isn’t enough for him to win the battle and kill her abuser, he feels the need to insist on a confession from his nearly dead adversary. He stands over him yelling at him to confess – to confess for the rape, to confess for the murder, to name the person who gave him orders to do this crimes etc. Over and over he dances over The Mountain’s prone body, screaming for him to own up to his crimes. And then [of course], suddenly, The Mountain grips Oberyn’s leg, twists him round (brute strength comes in handy even when you are practically dead) and lays him on his back. The Mountain rights himself, crouches over Oberyn and thrusts his hands into his head/eyes pushing down with the enormous force that his massive frame gives him. [At this point I began to stop paying much attention to what was happening on the screen – I am a pretty squeamish person and I could tell it wasn’t going to be pretty. Unfortunately, not only was the resulting scene visually one of the most gross things I have witnessed but, also, the popping sound as Oberyn’s skull bursts open was also pretty horrendous (shudder)]. So, despite being taken to the brink of death by Oberyn, The Mountain wins the fight.
But the thing is, Oberyn COULD have won. In fact, Oberyn SHOULD have won. All he needed to do was to take his spear and finish The Mountain off. He had the time and he had the opportunity. But oh no, these flashy types simply cannot resist the temptation to make a point, to play to the crowd or to try to finish things in style. You would think they would learn.
So the lesson here is that when you are given the opportunity to get the job done, don’t lark about, don’t show off, don’t try to make a point or get extra value/credit or anything similar, learn a lesson from Oberyn’s mistake and just get the job done.
Tim O'Hare 