Character Analysis
He Looks Good on Paper
Giddon is noble, strong, and willing to risk his life for the Council. He has a large holding, a well appointed home, and "warm eyes lighting up a face that was confident and handsome" (3.15). But Katsa isn't interested, and for Giddon, that's a real bummer.
Like Po, he isn't put off by Katsa's fighting prowess or her reputation for killing. Indeed, he's witnessed her in action plenty of times and still wants to marry her. When he, Katsa, and Oll dine at an inn after one of their missions, he takes it upon himself to tell the serving girl, "[Katsa] wouldn't hurt you. […] Do you understand that? But if someone else were to hurt you, Lady Katsa would likely hurt that person" (5.31).
And when the three stay at Giddon's castle en route to another mission, Katsa, who has recently learned that Giddon is in love with her, notices that Giddon's servants always approach her, greet her, and attend to all her needs, something she doesn't experience anywhere else—not even in her home. It occurs to her that Giddon has instructed his servants to "treat her like a lady—not to fear her, or if they did fear her, to pretend they didn't. All of this Giddon had done for her" (13.22).
And apparently Giddon's a kind lord, too, because at his approach, his "servants flowed into the sunny courtyard to greet their lord and bow to him, and he called them by name and asked after the grain in the storehouses, the castle, the bridge that was being repaired" (13.21).
So Why Don't We Like Him?
Because, unlike Po, Giddon attempts to domesticate Katsa. He wants to turn her into something she doesn't wish to be—a wife and mother—and he doesn't listen to her when she tells him that's not what she wants out of life. Instead he counters with, "You're not an unnatural woman, Katsa. […] You'll want babies. I'm certain of it" (13.112). And that's where Giddon goes wrong.
Still, we do have to give him some credit for handling rejection well… eventually. At first he gets pretty snotty and insulting, but we can see how he might feel defensive right after having his proposal of marriage declined. And he must have really wanted Katsa, not just any woman, for his wife, because we learn from Raffin that "Randa keeps trying to marry him off, and Giddon keeps refusing" (39.32).
Okay, Maybe We Do Like Him After All
But the thing that lets us know for certain that Giddon is ultimately a good guy (if a bit misguided when it comes to women), is that "he gives himself completely to the work of the Council," and "he's an invaluable ally" (39.32), two more things we learn from Raffin. Plus, Raffin says that Giddon wouldn't mind seeing Katsa someday, which lets us know he's not holding a grudge. And that takes some character.