One of my favorite things about the setting is that there are essentially no characters who are completely, unassailably good, just as there are very few who are completely and totally evil. A case can be made to support the actions of almost any character morally. Sure, you have your Gregor Cleganes and your Joffreys, and you have your ... uh ... well, Starks on the good side, but even they have mitigating factors or points of contention.
For example: Dany. Dany wants to be good. I'll even go so far as to say that Dany does a decent job of being good. But she's also near merciless to anyone who crosses her, blinds herself to the venality and corruption of those close to her, and idolizes her dead husband, a man who, let's be frank, no matter how badass he was or what culture he grew up in, was still a serial murderer, rapist and thief who led a nation of the same. She's not without her moral flaws.
Ned himself was essentially too good for these sinful Seven Kingdoms, but even he, when faced with the child murdering ways of his friend, decided to retire to the North to be left alone rather than actually try to stop him, both times. He was also intolerant of anyone who didn't live up to his standards of honor (not morality, but HONOR), which was IMO the real nail in his coffin.
One of my favorite exchanges from the books is one between Davos and Melisandre, who I think exemplify the conflict between moral relativity and absolutism in this series.
Quote:
Originally Posted by A Clash of Kings p. 620
"Are you a good man, Davos Seaworth?" she asked.
Would a good man be doing this? "I am a man," he said. "I am kind to my wife, but I have known other women. I have tried to be a father to my sons, to help make them a place in this world. Aye, I've broken laws, but I never felt evil until tonight. I would say my parts are mixed, m'lady. Good and bad."
"A grey man," she said. "Neither white nor black, but partaking of both. Is that what you are, Ser Davos?"
"What if I am? It seems to me that most men are grey."
"If half of an onion is black with rot, it is a rotten onion. A man is good, or he is evil."
I've always viewed Davos as having a near direct line from the author, here, and Melisandre as exactly what's wrong with a lot of Westeros. The "us vs. them" of Melisandre's good vs. evil is too easy to fall into when we're discussing morality, when really everyone fits somewhere on a broad spectrum.
Then again, I could just be looking for an excuse to show off this exchange, because I love it so much. :smallredface: