| “ | Woe to the Usurper if we had been. | „ |
| ~ Oswell Whent to Eddard Stark |
Ser Oswell Whent is a minor posthumous character in the ASOIAF novel series and its TV adaption Game of Thrones. The younger brother of Lord Walter Whent, Oswell is a knight of House Whent and a member of the Kingsguard to King Aerys II Targaryen. During the final years of Robert's Rebellion, he was killed alongside Ser Arthur Dayne and Lord Commander Gerold Hightower during a skirmish at the Tower of Joy.
In Game of Thrones, though Oswell Whent was featured in Game of Thrones: Histories and Lore, he appeared in a flashback in the sixth season as an amalgamation of himself and Ser Gerold Hightower. As one, they were portrayed by Eddie Eyre.
Appearance[]
Oswell wore a distinctive helmet that is emblazoned with the symbol of his house, a black bat with its wings spread.
Personality[]
All that is known of Ser Oswell's personality is that he was remembered and well-known for his dark humor.
Biography[]
At some point during the year of the false spring, after Oswell Whent visited his older brother, Lord Walter Whent, the latter announced the tourney at Harrenhal. The Master of Whisperers, Varys, proposed that the Prince of Dragonstone, Rhaegar Targaryen, is sponsoring the tourney in secrecy as a shadow host in order to gather lords together to deal with the matter of King Aerys II, who is also known as the Mad King. This was believed by some. It was also believed that Ser Oswell Whent is being used as a go-between to his brother.
During the tourney at Harrenhal, Oswell was present as Ser Jaime Lannister, the eldest son of Lord Tywin Lannister, was named to the Kingsguard by the Mad King. According to a semi-canon source, as the year of the false spring was reaching its end, Prince Rhaegar was aided by Ser Oswell and Ser Arthur Dayne, another member of the Kingsguard, in the kidnapping of Lady Lyanna Stark, the daughter of Lord Rickon Stark. This consequently, in turn, resulted in Robert's Rebellion/War of the Usurper. Throughout the entire conflict, Oswell Whent remained out of the rebellion together with Lord Commander Ser Gerold Hightower and Ser Arthur Dayne, as they were commanded by Prince Rhaegar to stay and guard Lyanna Stark at the Tower of Joy.
Meanwhile, their other sworn brothers, Prince Lewyn Martell and Ser Jonothor Darry were slain during the Battle of the Trident while Ser Barristan Selmy was captured by the Rebel Army. As for Jaime Lannister, he betrayed the Iron Throne by personally killing the Mad King during the Sack of King's Landing. Thus, Ser Oswell, together with Ser Gerold and Ser Arthur, became the remaining Kingsguard who are still loyal to the Targaryens.
Close to a year later, at the end of the rebellion, when Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark and a party of six highborn companions rode out to the Mountains of Dorne to rescue Lyanna, they encountered the three Kingsguard at the tower. Ned Stark tells them that he looked for them at the Trident, and Ser Gerold responded saying that they weren't there while Oswell Whent said that if they were there then this would cause distress to Lord Robert Baratheon, the newly-crowned king of Westeros. In the conflict that followed, all three of the Kingsguard were slain in battle while Ned Stark and Howland Reed survived. After Lyanna Stark passed away in the Tower of Joy, Ned took out stones from the tower to build Oswell's cairn upon a nearby ridge.
Recent history[]
A Game of Thrones[]
Eddard Stark, while under the influence of Milk of the Poppy, has a fever dream of the fight at the Tower of Joy; In the dream, Ned and his companions (who appear as shadows) encounter and battled Ser Oswell Whent, Ser Arthur Dayne, and Gerold Hightower at the Tower of Joy after they refused to submit.
A Storm of Swords[]
While resting his head on a Weirwood stump, Jaime Lannister has a bizarre dream where he and Brienne of Tarth are trapped in dark caverns beneath Casterly Rock, the ancestral seat of House Lannister. There, they were met by the ghosts of Oswell Whent, Gerold Hightower, Arthur Dayne<br>Lewyn Martell, Jonothor Darry, and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. They proceeded to admonish Ser Jaime for murdering King Aerys II and for failing to protect Princess Elia Martell, and her children, Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon during the Sack of King's Landing.
A Dance with Dragons[]
Oswell Whent was mentioned by Ser Barristan Selmy; after Oswell visited his brother, Lord Walter Whent announced the tourney at Harrenhal.
Trivia[]
- In Game of Thrones, in the White Book, a tome that holds the records of every Kingsguard knight, Oswell Whent was stated to have died in the Red Mountains of Dorne when he refused to bend the knee to King Robert Baratheon, though the exact cause of his death is unknown.
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