Polliver


 * For similar articles see Lannister soldier.

"'Carry me', he says."

- Polliver, right before he stabs the injured boy Lommy through the throat

Polliver is a recurring character in the second and fourth seasons. He is played by guest star Andy Kellegher and debuts in "What is Dead May Never Die." Polliver is a man-at-arms in service of House Lannister during the War of the Five Kings.

Season 2
Polliver is a Lannister man-at-arms under the command of Ser Amory Lorch. He accompanies Lorch in the attack on Yoren and his Night's Watch recruits. He knocks Arya Stark over when she runs to join the fight and takes Needle from her. When the Lannister forces are victorious they take the survivors prisoner. Polliver uses Needle to kill Lommy Greenhands, because the boy cannot walk and he is not willing to carry him. Arya fools Lorch and his men into believing that Lommy was their target; the Royal bastard Gendry. Gendry is actually among the captives.

Lorch and his men deliver the prisoners to Ser Gregor Clegane at Harrenhal. Ser Gregor oversees the torture of the captives, killing several of them. Polliver beats an old woman prisoner for asking him for a crust of bread. Gendry is selected to be tortured while Polliver stands guard. Lord Tywin Lannister arrives during the torture and asks Gregor what is going on. Gregor says that they were not expecting Tywin for another day. Tywin asks why the prisoners are not in their cells. Gregor says that their cells are overflowing. Polliver interjects that the prisoners will not be there long. Tywin asks if they are so well manned that they can afford to discard able and skilled prisoners. Polliver catches Arya looking at Needle in his sword belt and orders her to kneel, calling her boy. Tywin immediately realizes that she is a girl and calls Polliver an idiot. He asks why she has dressed as a boy and she says that it was safer to travel. He says that she is smart and orders the prisoners put to work. He says that Arya will be his new cupbearer.

Season 4
Polliver and a few half dozen other kingsmen are in a tavern, robbing the innkeeper of his supplies while they prepare to rape his daughter. The Hound and Arya Stark arrive. Polliver recognizes the Hound, but not Arya, and greets him warmly. Polliver tries to convince Sandor to join them in robbing and pillaging; they have free reign to do as they wish, since they are wearing the King's colors. Sandor's blunt response is "fuck the King". He again demands some chickens. The tension finally erupts into conflict, and Polliver is knocked out of the fight by Sandor who throws a table over him. Sandor then proceeds to slaughter all but Polliver and one of his men, whom Arya staggers by smashing a pot over his head and then kills him by slowly sinking his own longsword into him.

When ​Polliver recovers and advances on the distracted Hound, Arya sneaks behind and slashes his hamstring, taking back her stolen sword Needle as he falls to his knees. She stands over him as he lays on his back and recreates Lommy's death scene, taunting him with the same words Polliver had used prior to killing Lommy: "something wrong with your leg boy? Can you walk? I've got to carry you?" Her gaze becomes that of a hardened killer. She then repeats what he said to her when he stole Needle, "fine little blade; maybe I'll pick my teeth with it." A look of dread comes over Polliver's face as he finally recognizes her. She slowly sheaths Needle into his neck, completing Lommy's death scene down to the gurgling of arterial blood from Polliver's mouth. As she watches him choke on his own blood a look of fascination resides on her face.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Polliver is a Lannister man-at-arms but he is under the command of Ser Gregor Clegane instead of Ser Amory Lorch. In the books it is Lorch who leads the attack on Yoren's recruits but Arya, Gendry, Hot Pie, the little girl named Weasel and Lommy escape. They are captured later by Clegane's men and Lommy is killed by Rafford (aka Raff the Sweetling), rather than Polliver. Nevertheless it is Polliver that takes Needle.

Arya and the Hound encounter Polliver, accompanied by the Tickler and a Sarsfield squire, at the Inn at the Crossroads in A Storm of Swords. It is the Hound and not Arya who kills Polliver in the ensuing brawl. Instead, Arya kills the Tickler, who in the novels was never targeted by Jaqen H'ghar.

Because Polliver was combined with Raff in the TV series, however, Arya kills Polliver in the TV series the same way that she later kills Raff in the books: sarcastically quoting back the same taunts he made to Lommy before he killed the boy, then stabbing Polliver/Raff through the throat in the same way that he killed Lommy.