Why the Night's Watch is Doomed to Fail | ASOIAF Lore & Analysis

Few orders were as sacred as the Night’s Watch. Yes, there was the Kingsguard, clad in their spotless white garb. There was the order of Maesters hailing from the Citadel in all their learned ways. There were the septons, septas, and silent sisters who roamed the Seven Kingdoms preaching and doing the work laid out by the Faith. But none would live in their relative comfort and splendor if not for the Night’s Watch. The order of black brothers had been founded in the ancient days of the world, tasked to forever stand guard atop the Wall for the good of the realm. Yet, this duty was considered by most a punishment, and was used as such in the ages that followed, filling an order created out of necessity and veneration to a hive of putrid souls and fallen and failed heroes. Even though the order still stands, this doomed the Night’s Watch. Hello everyone, and welcome back to Exploring Fiction. By the time of A Song of Ice and Fire, the Night’s Watch, like most other Westerosi institutions, was a shadow of its former self. Few men who possessed true virtue served in the ranks of the black brothers, though that was never seen as a requirement. But the particular use of the Night’s Watch as a punishment for criminals across the Seven Kingdoms put the order at a pronounced disadvantage, especially compared to the other brother and sisterhoods across the realm. Though their services had not been required in their fullest capacity for many years, the Night’s Watch still served the greatest purpose in the realm: to protect the Seven Kingdoms from death, enslavement, and extinction itself. This was long forgotten, though, and the average black brother was generally from the lowest and least-respected castes of society. There were honorable men, true, but they were outnumbered by those who joined to avoid disability and death. When they are truly needed most, it seems the Night’s Watch will be most unequipped to handle the one task for which they were built. So, why exactly is the Night’s Watch doomed to fail, and how did it end up this way? Let’s explore…

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0:00 Introduction
2:20 White Cloaks vs Black Cloaks
4:15 Reaping the Rewards of Punishment
4:58 Lord Snow
6:43 Sending Friends Away and Keeping Enemies Close
7:58 No One to Lean On
8:45 Men Who Keep Not to their Word
10:22 Conclusion
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Music:
Magic Forest - Kevin MacLeod
Nomadic Sunset - Alexander Nakarada
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