Dontos Hollard

"Once I was a knight, and now I'm only a fool... I may be a fool, but I'm a living fool, thanks to you."

- Ser Dontos the Red, to Sansa Stark

Ser Dontos Hollard is a recurring character in the second and fourth seasons. He is played by guest star Tony Way and debuts in "The North Remembers." Also known as Ser Dontos the Red, he is made a fool by King Joffrey Baratheon after attending a tourney drunk.

Background
Ser Dontos is a knight, and the only surviving member of House Hollard.

Season 2
He enlists in the tournament to celebrate King Joffrey Baratheon's name day, and is set to fight Lothor Brune. When his bout is announced he emerges half armored and drops his helmet. He apologises and Joffrey accuses him of drunkenness. Dontos denies the accusation but admits to drinking two cups of wine. Joffrey offers Dontos as much wine as he likes and Dontos accepts. Joffrey orders Ser Meryn Trant of the Kingsguard to ensure that Dontos drinks his fill. Trant and two of his sworn brothers hold Dontos down and pour wine into his mouth through a funnel. Sansa Stark cries out “You can't.” Joffrey is incensed, but she claims that she meant it would be bad luck for Joffrey to kill someone on his name day. Joffrey is dismissive of this superstition until the Hound backs Sansa. Joffrey reluctantly orders Dontos to be imprisoned until the following day, planning to execute him then and calling him a fool. In an effort to spare Dontos from execution, Sansa says that Joffrey was clever to notice Dontos' foolishness and entreats him to prolong his suffering by making him the court fool.

Dontos is present at court, in his fool's regalia, when Joffrey orders Sansa publicly beaten for her brother Robb Stark's victory in the Battle of Oxcross. She is rescued partway through by the intervention of Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister.

During the Battle of the Blackwater, Dontos is present at Maegor's Holdfast. He juggles to entertain some of the highborn ladies refuged there.

Season 4
Dontos follows Sansa to the Red Keep's godswood, where he thanks her for saving his life during Joffrey Baratheon's nameday celebration. As a gesture of his appreciation he gives Sansa a necklace strung with six amethysts, which he tells her is a family heirloom worn by his mother and grandmother. Sansa tells him she will wear it with pride.

Dontos performs at the feast following the wedding of Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell. Bored with his performance, Joffrey offers a gold dragon to the person who knocks Dontos' hat off, resulting in Dontos being pelted with objects from all directions. Later, when everyone is distracted by Joffrey's fatal poisoning, Dontos approaches Sansa, convincing her to leave in order to save her life. Unlike the rest of those present, Dontos is neither shocked nor horrified.

The confusion from Joffrey's death gives Dontos and Sansa just enough time to flee the feast. Soon after Tyrion is seized for Joffrey's assassination, Queen Cersei orders Sansa arrested as well, only to find Sansa nowhere to be found. Hand of the King Tywin Lannister orders that no one be allowed to leave King's Landing. Despite this, Dontos and Sansa are able to make their way through abandoned alleys virtualy unseen, coming upon a small row boat. Dontos rows the two to a fog-shrouded ship and has Sansa board. On board is Petyr Baelish, who reveals to Sansa that the "family heirloom" that Dontos gave her was a fake and that Dontos rescued Sansa expecting payment from Baelish. Baelish double-crosses Dontos, "paying" him by ordering his death by crossbow, reasoning that he would talk eventually.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Ser Dontos is the only surviving member of House Hollard. The Hollards were close allies and vassals of House Darklyn of Duskendale. When the Lord of Duskendale rebelled against the Mad King in the Defiance of Duskendale, the Hollards joined them. After Aerys II had been held prisoner by the Darklyns for several months and then rescued by Ser Barristan Selmy, he had the Darklyns and most of their vassals executed in a variety of grisly ways. Ser Barristan asked for clemency for the infant Dontos, which Aerys granted. Dontos was taken back to King's Landing and raised as a squire, eventually earning his knighthood.

Some time after Sansa saves Dontos' life, he leaves her a note asking to meet him at the Godswood. Sansa suspects of a trap but comes anyway. Dontos thanks Sansa for saving him and promises to help her escape, comparing them to the tale of Florian - a knight who became a fool - and Jonquil, his love. Sansa is impatient and wants to escape immediately, but Dontos says they have to wait when the time is ripe. They meet occasionally at the Godswood, Dontos becomes Sansa's confidant. It is Dontos who tells Sansa that the Lannisters won the Battle of the Blackwater.

Sansa, unaware that Dontos works for Littlefinger, innocently tells him that the Tyrells offer her to marry Willas. Dontos reports Littlefinger, who alerts the Lannisters. In the show, the Lannisters are told about the Tyrells' plan by Olyver.

At one of those meetings Dontos gives Sansa a hairnet embedded with amethysts, claiming it is magical and can get Sansa home. He instructs Sansa to wear the hairnet at Joffrey's wedding, and she does.

After Joffrey collapses, Sansa escapes alone to the Godswood, where she hid spare clothes as Dontos told her. While changing clothes, she notices one gem is missing from the hairnet and immediately realizes the meaning (though she does not recall that Olenna Tyrell touched the hairnet while pretending to straighten her hair). Dontos arrives shortly afterwards, and she confronts him about the hairnet. He denies any connection to Joffrey's death. Once they reach the ship, Littlefinger orders to give Dontos his payment. Three archers shoot at Dontos, killing him instantly, and his body is set on fire. Sansa feels sad for Dontos.