- "She looks like him, don't she, m'lord?"
- ―Mhaegen to Eddard Stark about how Barra resembles her father, Robert Baratheon.
Barra was the bastard daughter of King Robert I Baratheon and Mhaegen.
Biography
Background
Barra is an infant, the bastard daughter of King Robert Baratheon and Mhaegen, a prostitute working for Petyr Baelish in King's Landing. Barra lives with Mhaegen in one of his brothels. Her name may be a reference to her father's noble House, Baratheon.
Season 1
Littlefinger brings Eddard Stark to see Mhaegen at his brothel. She tells him that Barra is Robert's daughter, one of his many bastards.[1]
Season 2
During a purge of the late King Robert's bastard children carried out by the Gold Cloaks, the brothel is stormed, and both Mhaegen and Barra are brought outside. Janos Slynt orders Barra killed, but his men cannot go through with it, prompting Slynt to kill Barra himself before the eyes of her mother and several prostitutes, including Ros.[2]
When Ros tells Littlefinger she is upset for Barra's death, he reacts very indifferently and insensitively, commenting that was "poorly handled".
When news of Barra's death (as well as her killer's other actions) reaches the acting Hand of the King, Tyrion, he has Janos exiled to the Wall.[3]
Season 3
Tyrion takes Pod to Littlefinger's brothel. Littlefinger comments "This is the safest place in the city"; Tyrion dryly responds "Not for bastards," presumably referring to Barra's death.[4]
Season 5
Barra and all her other half-siblings that were killed are eventually given a small justice, when Janos Slynt is beheaded by Lord Commander Jon Snow.[5]
Appearances
Template:Season One Appearances Template:Season Two Appearances
Family tree
Template:House Baratheon family tree
In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Barra is identified as an infant with thin, dark hair. Her mother is 15 years old and her name is never mentioned. When Eddard Stark sees Barra, he thinks of how much she resembles her half-sister Mya Stone, the eldest of Robert's bastards (whom Robert fathered at a young age when he and Eddard were fostered by Jon Arryn at the Eyrie). Mya wasn't included in the TV series.
The brothel where Barra lives is not owned by Littlefinger but by Chataya, a tall and elegant black-skinned woman from the Summer Islands.
Following the bloody brawl with Jaime, Cersei accuses Eddard of being drunk after a night of debauchery in the brothel. Eddard tells Robert he had only gone there to see the newborn, Barra. Robert is quite embarrassed to hear that. However, by telling Robert why he was at the brothel, Ned also made Cersei aware of the newborn's existence (though Cersei could also have been informed about Barra from her spies, so it is uncertain if Ned indirectly caused the newborn's death).
When a dying Robert makes Eddard swear that he will protect and be a second father to his children, it is Barra, Gendry, and Mya Stone that Eddard thinks of when he takes the oath.
Afterwards, Barra is ordered to be killed - though in the books, no mention is made that any other bastard children of Robert are also killed (it is said that Cersei has had two of Robert's bastards secretly murdered in the past). It is one of the gold cloaks, Allar Deem, instead of Janos Slynt himself, who kills the newborn, and her mother as well who tries to protect the little girl. When Slynt is made Lord of Harrenhal, he recommends Allar Deem to replace him as commander of the Gold Cloaks. However, Tyrion orders that Deem be sent to the Wall with Slynt. Tyrion also sends the captain of the ship that is taking them there a message that if a wave washes Deem overboard it would not be amiss.
When Tyrion discusses Barra's death with Varys, Varys says, looking grief-stricken "There was another bastard, a boy, older. I took steps to see him removed from harm's way... but I confess, I never dreamed the babe would be at risk. A baseborn girl, less than a year old, with a whore for a mother. What threat could she pose?". Tyrion answers bitterly "She was Robert's. That was enough for Cersei, it would seem". While Tyrion genuinely grieves for Barra, it is unclear if Varys is really sorry for her. His excuse for not acting to save Barra is questionable, given that everyone knows the Lannisters and their henchmen are not above killing children and newborns. He could have saved Barra, either by hiding or switching her with another baby, the same way he saved many years before another baby of royal origin.
