Is the High Sparrow evil?

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Greetings! Very few people like the High Sparrow, some even hate him as much as they hate Jeffrey or Ramsay but is he truly evil? Can he really be considered a villain? In this Blog I want to discuss these questions, so let's begin!

#TheNightsWatch

#BAS

#BoD

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ᴛʜᴇ ᴅɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ

ᴠɪʟʟᴀɪɴs ᴀɴᴅ ᴀɴᴛᴀɢᴏɴɪsᴛ

Before focusing on the High Sparrow himself, it is important to know what differentiates Villains from Antagonists and to figure out which category the High Sparrow fits into.

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Villains

The simple definition of a villain is "a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the Plot. The person is responsible for specified trouble, harm or damage."

Antagonist

An Antagonist on the other hand is some who "actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something and is an adversary."

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To summarize, a villain's actions are defined as evil. Not in particular his character, but said actions that have negative consequences and cause harm, and destrocution. The important thing is that evil actions not always necessarily mean an evil character, but when can actions be considered as evil? Well, like already mentioned can they when they cause trouble and damage.

The actions of the High Sparrow definitely caused damage, for example the imprisonment of characters that most fans didn't want to see in prison, like Margaery and Loras, for some even Cersei. But does that mean that it's objective if a Character is a villain? From the reader's point of view it might be, especially since nowadays we would describe the High Sparrow as a misogynistic, homophobic fanatic, but when taking a look at the circumstances in Westeros, the things he did were justified in his eyes and those of the smallfolk, but more to that when talking about his motives.

But if the High Sparrow isn't a villain in the eyes of the majority of people from Westeros, is he an Antagonist? Since an Antagonist describes an adversary this would fit, but again, it is important from which point of view we look at his Character. In Cersei's, Margaery's and most other nobles eyes is he a villain and an antagonist. For them, he is someone who actively tries to destroy them, but for the smallfolk the High Sparrow is the embodiment of their interests and someone who finally stands up for the small people and s something against the circumstances and the oppression they have to live under. As George R.R. Martin describes it, is the High Sparrow:

"A hero of the other side."

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ᴇᴠɪʟ ᴀɢᴀɪɴsᴛ ᴇᴠɪʟ

When to evils fight each other? Which one should win? When looking at the Character of the High Sparrow, we have a similar situation. On the one side we have Cersei Lannister who is, by most people, seen as a villain. She uses the High Sparrow and the Faith for her own intentions and the Gain of Power. Only when this force that she created herself turns against her, she realizes the mistake she made. On the other side we have the militarized faith. Cersei, like already mentioned, arms them and gives them the chance to become what they are now.

However, they stay true to their principles and although the Lannister Queen helped them, they punish her. In the end, it's Cersei who brought this demise over herself.

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The Question now is, who is justified in his actions? While Cersei's intentioned unarguably serve herself and her Position, we yet have to figure out what motives the High Sparrow has. What we know is that he performs his actions in a way that makes him seem like an evil character. He punishes Characters by imprisoning them, most likely even (emotionally) torturing them. So, does the end justify the means in this case? This questions leads to the next, and most important, part

of this analysis.

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ʜɪs ᴍᴏᴛɪᴠᴇs

Every character in GoT/ASoIaF has his or her own motives. To determine what it is that the High Sparrow wants, I am going to list some of the most common motivations and intentions and examime whether or not it fits to his Character and what we've seen from him.

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Gold

Gold and wealth is a thing that most people from Westeros desire. It's gold that wins a war and with enough money you can live a relatively life. However, when the High Sparrow has a conversation with Olenna Tyrell, one of the wealthiest women in Westeros, he declines her offer to give him gold in exchange for the Freedom of her grandchildren.

Faith and Religion

The High Sparrow is one of the best known representatives of the Faith of the Seven. If he truly believes in the existence of his Gods, then this would be a logical way to justify his actions. He punishes those that act against what he believes is the will of the gods and therefore his actions might be the only right thing to do from his Point. However, this combined with his actions, would make him into a religious fanatic, which could be a trait for a possible villain, but is serving a higher purpose which you strongly believe in, really evil? On the other side, a point that would to against this is how easily he forgives Margaery.

When she is supposed to do her Walk of Shame but is confronted by the combined forces of House Tyrell and Lannister, he allows her to leave without the Walk of Shame. Of course her "crimes", at least on the Show, were not as bad as for example Cersei's. In the end Margaery just lied for her brother and to add to this would it be stupid to face the soldiers, perhaps she even confessed to him in private and redeemed herself, but that doesn't mean that the Gods would let her get away without a punishment and by allowing her to leave without having to complete the Walk of Shame would make the High Sparrow look like an inconsistent believer.

Power

When Cersei armed the Faith, she was doing it to get back/maintain her power, but when the High Sparrow was turning against her, was he doing it for the same reason? The people that suffer the most from the actions of the High Sparrow are the ones with much power in their hands. If they are taken care of in a way that allows the High Sparrow to gather even more ers and thus, power, he might have found his own, effective way to play the Game of Thrones. In the end we don't know if he secretly wants to get the Iron Throne for himseld and accomplishes this mission by slowly removing all the other players.

My personal opinion on this topic however is, that Power isn't the ultimate motive of the High Sparrow. Most Characters are scheming, lying and planning to gain more Power and Influence. They all have ulterior motives and are "Up to something". I think that the High Sparrow isn't and that this is what makes his Character so interesting. He means everything the way he says it. He doesn't have a secret mission or any hidden reasons behind his actions. He is doing exactly what he is doing, which makes him complex and yet so simple at the same time and on a whole new level.

Revenge

Ignoring my own opinion above, it could be revenge that the High Sparrow is actually looking for. We don't know much about his past, nor about his origin. When we assume that he was born a commoner or a beggar, it is understandable that he tries to get revenge for the Circumstances that he had to live under and that he wants the rich to be punishes for abusing their position and like I said already do his actions mainly go against the nobles.

When we assume though that he is of noble birth himself, then there are still reasons for his actions. He might be from a family that lost their power due to one of the Houses he now tries to punish. Maybe he wants revenge for the death of a family member caused by the other nobles. We don't know but all those things are possible intentions.

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ᴛʜᴇ sᴍᴀʟʟғᴏʟᴋ

Most people who the High Sparrow are part of the smallfolk. People who don't have much, perhaps even have to fight for their survival on a daily basis, while the Lords and Ladies are sitting behind their castle walls drinking fine wine. But does The High Sparrow hate all the Nobles? This is a very complicated question, especially in regard to his motives.

To begin with, is it important to mention that the High Sparrow definitely had the possibility to get rid of them. After the imprisonment of the Tyrells and Cersei Lannister he could easily have sentenced them to death or just let them starve in their cell. Instead, he gives them the chance to make amends for their "sins" ans even offers them a fair trial. During his conversation with Margaery he gives her genuine advises and so does this imply that he actually does care for Margaery, Tommen, Loras and Cersei? Is he really just doing all this so they can be forgiven by the gods and live the life they should life? In my opinion the way he interacts with them conveys his view of the world. The King needs an heir and for him it's Margaery's duty to give him one. In his eyes did Loras and Cersei commit crimes and he wants them to redeem themselves, because his actions are a representation of his way of thinking.

However, the way he sees justice isn't how justice works. Dragging people into dungeons, starving them and denying them water to brainwash them and ultimately make them confess is not justice, but does it make him a villain when looking at his motives, his views or the goals he has? The story is told from the perspective of the nobles. We as the readers and watchers know what people like Margaery or Cersei feel and eventually we feel with them.

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We start seeing the things subjective ourselves and if the story was told from another person's point of view, the High Sparrow might be portrayed as a hero. He is, in my opinion, an excellent example for how the world that GRRM created isn't just black and white and how everyone sees things differently.

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Thanks for reading and I really hope that you enjoyed this Blog!

Vyena

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