Karl Tanner

"There are no laws beyond the Wall!"

- Karl defies Jeor Mormont

Karl Tanner is a character in the third and fourth season. He is played by guest star Burn Gorman and debuts in "Walk of Punishment." He is a brother of the Night's Watch who has gone north of the Wall on Lord Commander Jeor Mormont's Great Ranging.

Background
Karl Tanner hails from Gin Alley in Flea Bottom, King's Landing, where he made a living as a hired knife. Karl eventually was sent to the Wall and became a ranger of the Night's Watch. He takes part in the Great Ranging.

Season 3
Karl survives the White Walkers' attack on the Fist of the First Men, and regroups with the remaining survivors as the ranging attempts to pull back to the Wall.

When the Watch arrive at Craster's Keep seeking food and shelter, Karl is openly antagonistic towards Craster, accusing him of giving his pigs better food than them. Along with Rast, he shows an interest in Craster's daughter-wives.

Following the death and funeral of Bannen, as tensions between Craster and the brothers of the Watch run higher, Karl insults Craster - calling him "a daughter fucking wildling bastard" - after the wildling demands the Watch to leave his hall and threatens to kill anyone who insults him. Craster charges against Karl but the black brother then kills him, stabbing him in the throat with a dirk. Karl's action triggers a mutiny that causes the death of Lord Commander Mormont and fight among the black brothers.

Season 4
Grenn and Edd arrive at Castle Black after escaping from their captivity at Craster's Keep. They reveal that Karl is the ringleader of the mutineers, and that they are content with staying at the keep, eating Craster's food, and raping his wives and daughters.

​Jon Snow then points out that they know about the small garrison at Castle Black and proposes that they should be killed so they won't disclose it to the wildlings.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Karl, called Clubfoot Karl, is a steward of the Night's Watch. Along with Chett, Lark the Sisterman, Paul, Dirk, Ollo Lophand and others, he had conspired to kill Lord Commander Mormont, Sam and other individuals and desert the Watch, but their plan was interrupted by the sudden snowfall and the subsequent White Walkers' attack. He is among the traitors who mutiny against Lord Commander Mormont. However, Dirk - not Karl - is the one who kills Craster and takes one of his wives as hostage. Like the TV version of Karl, Dirk is a ranger.

There is no noble family named "Tanner" in the novels, and based on Karl's comments in the TV series that he was dagger-for-hire on Gin Alley in Flea Bottom, "Tanner" seems to be just a nickname that he picked up.