Faceless Men: who is Jaqen H'ghar?

Jaqen H’ghar is probably the most confusing Game of Thrones character. Who is Jaqen? What’s his relationship with Arya? Is Jaqen Syrio Forel? Who’s the “alchemist” at Oldtown, and what does he want? What do the Faceless Men have to do with Valyria? Were the Faceless Men involved in the death of Balon Greyjoy? Could they be working with Euron Greyjoy to orchestrate a huge terrible blood sacrifice?

This video contains spoilers for Season 6 of Game of Thrones, and Books 1-5 of ASOIAF, and a TWOW sample chapter read by GRRM.

Created with Adobe After Effects and a Blue Yeti USB microphone.

Images and video from Game of Thrones used here under fair use.

References / further reading:

Thanks to the following Patrons: Jason A. Diegmueller, Reverend Xandria, @MrFifaSA, Cameron Weiss, @Vineyarddawg, Eric Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Pan, Jason Rattray, Cynbobby Joe, Kate Lyons, Ryan Steele, Michael Appell, Artorias Stark, David Howe, Fallon Mail, Cregg Riley, Sean Ludtke, Todd Marcus, Chris Cole, Moiraine Sedai, Jake Burling, Chris Amolsch, Matthew Elisha Williams, Fred Petty

0:00 Jaqen
2:01 Faceless Men
4:44 Syrio
7:00 Alchemist
8:47 Valyria
11:22 Euron
13:33 Forsaken
15:33 Conclusion

[metalsteakful]

Syrio might have a similar philosophy to Jacen because they’re both from Bravoos and their culture is deeply influenced by the faceless men.

[Kvamus]

Imagine having people discuss your imagination in such depth and detail.

[BarkerT]

This guy was my favourite male character in GoT. His way of speaking is so cool. “A man has said.” “A man has patrol duty”😂”A girl lacks honour.” Also being a badass killer and teacher makes him very intriguing.

[mirabelwindsor]

The phrase "no one knows what caused the Doom of Valyria" could mean that No One does in fact know. The Faceless Men know.

[Thaddius]

I had always interpreted Jaqen and Syrio as opposites almost as a warning. "What do we say to the god of death? Not today" in the sense that hes telling Arya to reject the death cult.

[im_sorry_i_forgot_my_username]

Euron in the books: psychotic mass murderer who is organising an unprecedented ritual to a dark blood demon
Euron in the show: ａ　ｆｉｎｇｅｒ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｂｕｍ

[vanbeet]

There is something so mysterious about Jaqen H'gar; whenever he's on screen, you look at his eyes, his stare, his demeanour, his half smile, his way if speaking; its like he's holding a deep secret which we're not ready to hear. Most intriguing character in the show for me.

[justinq]

He didn't tell her everything about being a faceless man because he knew she wasn't meant to be a faceless man but Arya stark. He knows something we haven't learned yet where he's aware she's got a purpose.. don't think it'll be killing a night king in the book like the show but she'll have some purpose to come

[elliejin]

Although he only plays a supporting role, every scene he plays leaves a deep impression on us. Terrific acting!

[flyingo]

A man is perhaps the most intriguing character in the entire story.

[bisaster]

In the Doom of Valyria, around 10:00, I read a theory somewhere that the 14 flames were unstable, and the deeper they mined, the more unstable these volcanoes get. They mine deep and hot because this is how they hatch their Dragons. This is where magic comes in, Valyrians have Fire Mages, deep in the mines of 14 Flames, they conduct magic to keep the volcanoes stable.

This comes into play with the Faceless men causing the Doom of Valyria theory, because how would they cause the doom? They assassinated all Fire Mages in synchrony, causing all 14 Flames to become unstable all at once and the Doom of Valyria occurs.

[jonthn]

The Faceless Men are probably the most interesting elements in the books and show. They're a shadow government that pulls all the strings of the world behind the scenes. Clearly they're rich and powerful beyond comprehension what with their proximity (and most likely ownership) of the Iron Bank. They can basically decide who dies when and have limitless resources to do so. They're one of the deep elemental forces of this world and I really hope GRRM expands upon their lore in future books.

[johnnyace]

If they wanted too...game of thrones have enough of a storyline to extend for another 10 seasons after the white walkers

[Ibbelino]

A man is very confused.
I switched prof pic and name so now this doesn't make any sense...

[heartattackjack]

It's simple Jaqen H'ghar is the 'many faced god'. Each one is a part of this 'god', to the point that they become him. The Waif is not one of them because she still has her ego, and her anger. The faceless men are the 'many faced god', because each one can be someone else on a dime, but are always their 'god'. I believe each one gives up his ego, his sense of self, and is then used by their 'god' in order to accomplish certain events. Sort of like clones that are always connect to the first one. Doesn't matter if one dies as another takes his place.

[erikaenander]

I love your explanations. You don’t insist that you’re absolutely correct, but you do raise good questions. And a good question is always more productive than a flat answer.

[c.w.simpsonproductions]

So many lives would have been saved if Arya had said “Cersei, Tywin, Joffrey.”

[taytayqueen]

I really really really wanted Jaqen to show up in s8. 😭

[neckogecko]

from the one god line, i always thought syrio was once part of the faceless men, but left. he didn’t want to be part of the wacky death cult but still subscribed to the idea that death is the only god, but instead of accepting it as an inevitability he taught arya that death can be fought.

[cowheaddoe]

I’ve always loved the way your organize your info boards.
Those last minutes zooming around it all was exhilarating and made the info perfectly digestible.