Game of Thrones begins....

[The Larch]

Robb and his men went to war against Tywin and his men and... Robb used.. a very clever farce.

Yeah, I can see why you'd like this guy, Timmay. 

Man, maybe if he stopped hitting the pipe so hard, he wouldn't sound like a retard s'much.

Amazing in a hilarious way. He's the perfect example of the average joe who's never read the books.

Already memefied. 

[Josquius]

If Littlefinger had anything to do with it it wouldn't be a case of "Oy, Joff, Kill Ned would you?" it'd be "So here's the high and mighty king! Be sure to do what your mommy says like a good little boy ey?".
Knowing how Joffrey thinks so putting him in the frame of mind when he would do something stupid like this to prove himself.

[crazy canuck]

Was his offer to side with Ned legitimate?

If Ned looked like he would win this particular struggle it was.  It was not until he had to decide  whether to bribe the City guard to support either Ned or Cersei that he had to actively support one side or the other and even then if by some miracle Stark han won that encounter Little Finger could still say he supported Ned since the only person who would have know about Little Finger's betrayal - the captain of the guard could have been dealt with.

[Martinus]

Ned's best bet would have been to side with Renly. Unlike Littlefinger, he would have been unlikely to betray Ned, and with the money of Highgarden, he would stand a fair chance against the might of Casterly Rock. Plus Renly is a decent guy and would have probably been a decent King.

[grumbler]

Ned's best bet would have been to side with Renly. Unlike Littlefinger, he would have been unlikely to betray Ned, and with the money of Highgarden, he would stand a fair chance against the might of Casterly Rock. Plus Renly is a decent guy and would have probably been a decent King.

Disagree.  I think a better bet would have been to side with no one and just waitu p north for the violence to work itself out.  It would have been difficult and time-consuming to work himself up to siding with Renly oppose the lawful king (as Ned saw it) and time was what he didn't have. 

[Josquius]

Ned's best bet would have been to side with Renly. Unlike Littlefinger, he would have been unlikely to betray Ned, and with the money of Highgarden, he would stand a fair chance against the might of Casterly Rock. Plus Renly is a decent guy and would have probably been a decent King.

Well yeah, but that would involve Ned going against his honour and picking one false king over another- hell, his claim is even worse than that of Joffrey as he is neither the true heir or the commonly believed heir.

[Berkut]

I actually agree with ned on that one - even if you ignore the issue of "honor", the practical consequence of a new king who has zero legitimate claim succeeding a king who took the throne by force is not going to be good in the long run. At that point, the throne has no actual hereditary legitmacy, and after Robert solidifying that legitimacy seems pretty important.

Of course, in hindsight...

[crazy canuck]

Of course, in hindsight...

Hindsight is the only thing that makes Marti's suggestion in any way viable.  At the time Stark thinks he is going to catch Cersei by surprise (unlike the tv show which has him confront Cersei with the paternity of her children and tells her to get out of Dodge).  He doesnt know (and never learns) that it was Sansa that unwittingly betrays his plans to Cersei and he doesnt know but soon finds out that Little Finger has turned the City Guard against him rather than as planned.

Going to your question about whether LF's promise of support was ever genuine - what might have happened if Sansa didnt go running to Cersei to tell her about leaving so that Cersei could then put her own plans in motion.

[Valmy]

Hindsight is the only thing that makes Marti's suggestion in any way viable.  At the time Stark thinks he is going to catch Cersei by surprise (unlike the tv show which has him confront Cersei with the paternity of her children and tells her to get out of Dodge).

Um that scene happened exactly that way in the book.  Well ok not exactly that way I think Cersei tries to seduce Ned in the book.

How Sansa was relevent to what went down always confused me.  She not only told Cersei only an hour or two before it all went down but she didn't really know anything that seemed like it helped Cersei that much.  I am sorta glad that really confusing part got left out of the show.

[Slargos]

Hindsight is the only thing that makes Marti's suggestion in any way viable.  At the time Stark thinks he is going to catch Cersei by surprise (unlike the tv show which has him confront Cersei with the paternity of her children and tells her to get out of Dodge).

Um that scene happened exactly that way in the book.  Well ok not exactly that way I think Cersei tries to seduce Ned in the book.

How Sansa was relevent to what went down always confused me.  She not only told Cersei only an hour or two before it all went down but she didn't really know anything that seemed like it helped Cersei that much.  I am sorta glad that really confusing part got left out of the show.

It reinforces the naive-nitwit persona. Not that it needs it, or merits more screen time. We already know.

[Jaron]

I thought it was pretty clear Littlefinger engineered Ned's death. He may not say the words but he knows how to pull the strings very very well. From framing Tyrion to arranging Jon Arryns death he has set the stage for Westeros to be in a civil war. Had Ned lived peace between Stark and Lannister was possible. Once Joffrey had him executed they were going to fight to the bitter end. It was a calculated point of no return not a fortunate coincidence.

[crazy canuck]

How Sansa was relevent to what went down always confused me.  She not only told Cersei only an hour or two before it all went down but she didn't really know anything that seemed like it helped Cersei that much.  I am sorta glad that really confusing part got left out of the show.

I didnt find it confusing at all.  When Sansa went to her she learned that Stark was sending his children North and she figured out that she and Joffrey were in imminent peril. Enough time to get to LF and turn things around on Stark.

[crazy canuck]

I thought it was pretty clear Littlefinger engineered Ned's death. He may not say the words but he knows how to pull the strings very very well. From framing Tyrion to arranging Jon Arryns death he has set the stage for Westeros to be in a civil war. Had Ned lived peace between Stark and Lannister was possible. Once Joffrey had him executed they were going to fight to the bitter end. It was a calculated point of no return not a fortunate coincidence.

Yes there was no return from Stark's execution.  The only people that get to do that are his wife and others helped by the Red Knight.

[Sophie Scholl]

Ned's best bet would have been to side with Renly. Unlike Littlefinger, he would have been unlikely to betray Ned, and with the money of Highgarden, he would stand a fair chance against the might of Casterly Rock. Plus Renly is a decent guy and would have probably been a decent King.

Would not Stannis still kill Renly though?  Adding more troops to his army wouldn't have mattered at all.  He had the largest army amongst the claimants already when he was killed.

[Valmy]

I didnt find it confusing at all.  When Sansa went to her she learned that Stark was sending his children North and she figured out that she and Joffrey were in imminent peril. Enough time to get to LF and turn things around on Stark.

Except there really wasn't.  Sansa went to her the morning she was going to leave or just an hour or so before the trap.  And it got confusing later because Cersei starts telling everybody that Sansa told her her fathers plans, not simply that Sansa told her she was going to leave.  And besides that you are just guessing nowhere in the book did it say Cersei went to LF after she talked to Sansa.

Besides she knew Ned knew about she and Jaime so she hardly needed Sansa to know she had to act fast and that she was in peril.

In any case, like I said, glad it was not in the show.  Since GRRM himself wrote episode 8 and axed it I can only assume it was not that important to the plot so not worth worrying about.