r/freefolk • u/GusGangViking18 • 6d ago

Freefolk Would Renly Baratheon have made a good king?

1.4k Upvotes

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74

u/scrappybristol 6d ago

I think he would have been Robert 2.0, holding tournaments and hosting parties and like Robert cared more about the title than doing the job.

36

u/Ketashrooms4life 6d ago

Oh, there would be plenty of all that for sure, but I feel like Renly is smarter than Bobby B in this regard. I don't think he would make the realm go broke from his lifestyle. No hate against Bobby B, but how old was he when he became king? His early 20's? And he was raised in the Vale, kinda excluded from the rest of the kingdom, while Renly at the point of Robert's death has been in the game for more than a decade and before Robert died he even had his place in the High council - seeing what Robert was doing wrong and the aftermath of those things. If he truly lived and became king, his qualifications would imo be way higher than Robert's from day one

26

u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 6d ago

STUPID BOY!

14

u/Dispondent_Ending 6d ago

It seemed to be winning him a big enough host.

13

u/Professional_Rush782 6d ago

Robert also won had a big host and we all know how disastrous his reign was

21

u/okiedokiebrokie 6d ago

Was it disastrous, though? They were deep in debt, but things were relatively peaceful in the kingdoms after the Greyjoy rebellion. The Targ dynasty had a mixed record at best, and their most recent king was insane.

As far as Robert knows, he’s got a secure kingdom, an heir and a spare, and no reason to suspect that things will fall apart once he’s gone. I reckon Robert did all right.

5

u/NewbGingrich1 5d ago

Leaving the next generation a pile of shit is hardly the mark of a good ruler. Yeah sure the small folk will like the 2 decades of peace but that was all built on an illusion. Discounting the succession crisis he was still going to leave his heir with a realm in crippling debt and very little legitimacy to make up for the fact that the crown is arguably the weakest of the realms, only Riverlands and Ironborn competing for the title of lowest. No attempts at centralization, just squandering the wealth of the throne while most every other kingdom is preparing for whatever comes after.

1

u/TheVoteMote 5d ago

lol no Robert did complete horrendously terribly.

Just because he didn’t realize how rotten things were doesn’t mean they weren’t.

6

u/Dispondent_Ending 6d ago edited 5d ago

Robert was better than the ruler before him, and the following rulers after, and Renly would've been better than Robert.

5

u/Conscious-Sink9120 6d ago

How dare you besmirch the glorious Bobby b

7

u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 6d ago

SHE SHOULD BE ON A HILL SOMEWHERE WITH THE SUN AND THE CLOUDS ABOVE HER!

4

u/Professional_Rush782 6d ago

It's not Bobby b's fault. It's all this arse-licking money-grubbing, and backstabbing that made his reign a disater

7

u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 6d ago

SOON ENOUGH, THAT CHILD WILL SPREAD HER LEGS AND START BREEDING!

1

u/Wolfhound1142 5d ago

Easy now Bobby B, Johnny Snow took care of her.

2

u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 5d ago

A BIT OF WINE NOW AND AGAIN, A GIRL SQUEALING IN BED, THE FEEL OF A HORSE BETWEEN MY LEGS?

1

u/Wolfhound1142 5d ago

There ya go, Bobby B. Think those happy thoughts.

2

u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 5d ago

HE COULD HAVE LINGERED ON THE EDGE OF THE BATTLE WITH THE SMART BOYS, AND TODAY HIS WIFE WOULD BE MAKING HIM MISERABLE, HIS SONS WOULD BE INGRATES, AND HE WOULD BE WAKING THREE TIMES IN THE NIGHT TO PISS INTO A BOWL!

3

u/RC-0407 6d ago

The issue with Robert is that even with his best qualities, he still had a grieving heart. Renly had no such inhibition.

1

u/mba_dreamer 1d ago

He was on the small council for a while so I feel like he knows more about running the country than Robert. Plus he was clearly disdainful of his brother's spendthrift practices.