'Game of Thrones': 10 characters you might overlook

While we all wait impatiently for Season 4 of HBO's dramatization of George R.R. Martin's "Game of Thrones" series, let's take a few moments to consider some of the minor characters who have done big things in their supporting roles. Who knows if one of them might not hold the future in his or her hands?

1. Lancel Lannister

Lancel was King Robert's squire and often prey to the King's temper and mood swings. He is close to his cousin Cersei and was responsible for making sure that Robert was drunk when hunting. Because of his inebriation, King Robert was unable to fend off a charging boar and he died from the wounds he sustained. Thus, Lancel is largely responsible for the whole mess of Season 3!

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Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

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If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

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