In House of the Dragon, Alicent Hightower has been proving that she’s a devoted mother who will do anything to keep her children safe (even if it means alienating and tormenting her former friend, Rhaenyra). Her kids are her first priority, and nothing will supersede that. It’s a major reason why she’s a terrifying mother.
But House of the Dragon isn’t the only show with intimidating mothers. Its predecessor, Game of Thrones, also depicted some dedicated moms with no limits. While Cersei Lannister is often considered the scariest mom in Game of Thrones, Catelyn Stark was even scarier.
Freeing Jaime Lannister
Jaime Lannister was one of the greatest Kingsguard of all time, and Robb Stark had him in chains. Yet, despite knowing that Jaime pushed her son out of a window, Catelyn was able to look past her shock to free Jaime. Considering the crisis it caused for Robb, it was an utterly terrifying action that proved that Catelyn was capable of anything.
Catelyn did what Cersei and tens of thousands of Lannister soldiers couldn’t, and she hardly faced any real consequences for it. While it may have been a poor decision, she did it in the hopes that it would restore Arya and Sansa to her. As a grieving mother without limits, there was nothing she wouldn’t do for them.
Selling Arya To The Freys
Catelyn also proved that she was utterly ruthless in her quests to get the girls back. Though she was clearly doing it for her family, she was also willing to harm her own children in the process. Although she hadn’t seen her daughters in ages, she was still willing to sell both Robb and Arya for a bridge.
Though she had also betrothed Robb to the family that would betray House Stark, she ensured that Arya would have absolutely no say in her marriage. Yet, if it meant keeping her kids alive, regardless of how happy they would be about it, she was willing to do it. It was even worse than Cersei’s behavior, as even Cersei didn’t want to betroth Myrcella to Dorne without her consent.
Encouraging Robb To Fight
Having lapsed into grief after the death of his father, Robb Stark destroyed his sword by aimlessly hacking at a tree. Yet, after finding her son angrily mourning Ned, Catelyn held him and agreed that they would kill every single Lannister.
While Cersei held Joffrey close and encouraged him to avoid the battlefield and avoid inciting the wrath of the North, Catelyn was perfectly happy to test the Lannisters. The circumstances may have been very different, but Catelyn was perfectly happy to continue to escalate the war at any cost.
Traveling To King’s Landing For Ned
After an assassin attacked her comatose son, Catelyn felt the urge to travel across the entirety of the Seven Kingdoms alone just to inform Ned. Considering how many loyal men they had, there was no reason for her to travel so far, but she was still perfectly willing to do it without anyone at her side.
Although Cersei preferred to stay in the relative safety in King’s Landing beside her children, Catelyn wasn’t afraid and she didn’t even see the need for an official retinue. While one Stark loyalist offered to come along, Catelyn was perfectly happy to cross the Kingsroad alone because she was utterly fearless.
Catelyn Fought Off An Assassin
Where Cersei had loyal guards willing to give their lives for her, Catelyn was a loyal mother willing to give her life for her sons. After all, when the assassin moved to attack her son, Catelyn threw herself on top of him and fought the assassin with her bare hands.
Catelyn wasn’t even afraid to hold onto the knife for dear life. The assassin hadn’t even been trying to kill her, but Catelyn didn’t care. Had Summer not been there, it’s likely she and Bran both would have died because she threw herself in the way of a boy who may not have even survived without the assassin there.
Abandoning Rickon and Bran
While Cersei was loathe to leave her children, Catelyn was willing to do it for their sakes. After all, after deciding to travel to King’s Landing, Catelyn never actually returned for her two youngest sons. Instead, she kidnapped Tyrion Lannister, went to Robb’s side, and she stayed there until her death.
Catelyn can be summed up as a woman who was trying her best for all of her children. She simply felt that Robb needed her most, while Bran and Rickon didn’t. Still, it was scary behavior as a mother who was desperately needed by Bran and Rickon.
Capturing Tyrion And Starting A War
To avenge the attack on Bran, Catelyn kidnapped Tyrion Lannister and started the War of the Five Kings. It was one of the dumbest decisions in Game of Thrones, and it directly led to the death of her son Robb and the death of Ned Stark. Acting without any authority, she did it just to make sure that no one would ever attack her sons again.
Considering how many people died because of her decision, it was certainly scary behavior. Although Cersei may have blown up the Sept of Baelor, the consequences of Catelyn kidnapping Tyrion reverberated even farther. In trying to avenge her son, Catelyn damned another son.
Praying For Jon’s Death
When Ned returned from Robert’s Rebellion against the Mad King, he brought with him a little baby boy named Jon Snow. Claiming the boy as his own bastard, Ned’s choice to bring the boy back to Winterfell completely shamed Catelyn and made her entirely resent Jon.
In fact, Catelyn later admitted that she even prayed that Jon would die of a fever. It was incredibly cruel behavior that proved that she was one of Jon’s worst enemies. She could have simply ignored the baby, but praying for his death was a step too far, as even she admitted. Though she tried to repent, it showed a scary side to her that even Cersei wouldn’t have stooped to.
Killing Lady Frey
After threatening that she would kill Lady Frey if Robb was not freed during the Red Wedding, she was shocked to see that Walder Frey didn’t care if his wife was harmed. With no leverage, and after watching Robb’s murder, she cut Lady Frey’s throat before dying herself.
It was completely unnecessary and was one of the most upsetting moments in the Red Wedding. While Catelyn was clearly wracked by grief, Lady Frey clearly wasn’t involved in the planning and was terrified. Even Cersei didn’t kill completely innocent parties.
Sending Jon To The Watch
Catelyn knew what the Night’s Watch was, where Jon didn’t truly know, but she was still perfectly happy to send him to a den of monsters. While it made sense that she would want him gone, since he could cause a succession crisis against her own children, it was still extremely cruel and unnecessary.
Catelyn could have warned Jon and then pushed to have him fostered elsewhere. Instead, she wanted him gone forever. To make matters worse, she even despised that he wanted to say goodbye to Bran. It wasn’t fair to Bran or Jon, and it showed how scary a mother she could be.
