Yahoo Movies The 25 Best 'Game of Thrones' Characters, Ranked
What showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss failed to understand—especially in its later seasons—is that Game of Thrones is a series more about the characters than it is anything else. There are dragons! There are mysterious magics! There is sex and blood and dirty people with big swords! But what truly sets this series apart from anything else, are the complex and surprising people who inhabit this fantasy world. Game of Thrones would never have become a television-changing sensation if it weren't for the early death of Ned Stark or the transformation of Jaime Lannister or the unforgettable evil of Joffrey Baratheon. These characters defy categorization, upending our expectations of heroes and villains. Their paths through Westeros are shocking and painful and poetic.
As entertaining as The Biggest Battle in TV History might be, it pales in comparison to the emotion these characters are able to capture. That's the true human experience we connect to as viewers. In honor of House of the Dragon launching on HBO, we're ranking our 25 favorite characters, from the least likable to the most likable. If you watch Game of Thrones, you know that "likable" doesn't necessarily mean "good" or "morally upstanding." Hell, that's the fun of it. Read on to see where your favorites landed.
25. George R.R. Martin
The nastiest villain in Game of Thrones history isn't Ramsay Bolton—it's George R.R. Martin, the puppet master who gave us a genre-changing series and then refused to finish it. Maybe if he finishes The Winds of Winter before 2040, we'll revise our ranking. George, if you're seeing this, we hope you'll take our criticism as motivation. Write like the wind, buddy.
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24. Ramsay Bolton
OK, he's the second nastiest villain. This (legitimized) bastard is responsible for all the Season Five torture porn that sent some viewers running for the hills and left others watching through their fingers. When hounds ate him alive, the cheer that went up across the land did more to unite Americans than even Joffrey Baratheon's death.
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23. Hodor
Hodor. Hooodor, HODOR. Hodor? Hodor, hodor, hodor! Hoooo…..ld the door.
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22. Samwell Tarly
There are very few “good” characters in Game of Thrones. No one is innocent. And anyone who comes close to the moral heart of the show is killed swiftly and brutally. Yet, somehow, dear sweet Samwell Tarly (played lovingly by John Bradley) makes it through the end game against all odds, proving that even those of us with no notable physical talents can survive in the cutthroat land of Westeros.
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21. Bronn
“Sides” don’t matter when it comes to Bronn—only gold. And, who can blame him really? In this land of backstabbing and shifting loyalties and toppled dynasties, the only objective truth can be found in the shining consistency of cold hard currency. Played with a sly wink by Jerome Flynn, Bronn of the Blackwater is the kind of scoundrel mercenary that you can’t help but root for. Sure, he’ll run you through with his sword to the highest bidder, but it worked for him, didn’t it?
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20. Littlefinger
Oh Littlefinger you sneaky, creepy little shit. He’s playing 50 games of speed chess at once. His love of Caitlyn Stark and Sansa Stark is both weird and problematic. But, sometimes when serving himself and his own obsessions he can briefly do things that help our heroes along the way. Otherwise, Petyr Baelish is only looking out for number one. Beneath a calculating exterior from Aiden Gillen, there’s a real sense of inferiority, an air of a pathetic man who manipulated his way to the top. You can’t help but feel sorry for him. Almost.
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19. Lyanna Mormont
The coolest kid in Westeros. Lyanna Mormont has maybe 10 minutes of screen time in the closing episodes, but damn if they aren’t memorable. Bella Ramsey brings an unexpected intensity to the Lady of Bear Island. She fights and dies bravely after bringing her meager house to fight alongside the army of the living: "We are not a large house, but we are a proud one, and every man from Bear Island fights with the strength of ten mainlanders."
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18. Melisandre
Ah yes, the Red Priestess, whose religion is wrong almost as often as it’s right. Who and what is she exactly, we never really find out. Why was she randomly old when she took off her necklace, even though we’d seen her without her necklace before? These are the questions that Game of Thrones never really bothers to answer. But no one really watches Game of Thrones for answers exactly. It’s more about the shadow babies, and Carice van Houten’s spooky prophecies. And perhaps she is so memorable because the Red Priestess remains largely a mystery long after the show ended. And she brought Jon Snow back so there’s that too.
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17. Sansa Stark
In both the books and the show Martin and Benioff and Weiss struggled with writing Sansa’s character. Both often fall into easy tropes, and, at their worst, use horrible abuse and sexual assault to move her character arc forward. While much of the character building is unforgivable, there is some genius nuance to Sansa, who learns to weaponize the ways of the court, masters the art of deceit, and finds her rightful place as the Lady of Winterfell. Sophie Turner brings a quiet grace and power to the role, showing the subtleties of Sansa’s growth over the course of eight seasons. Now, if only she had been the one to end up on the Iron Throne...
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16. Varys
The Spider, the Master of Whisperers. He serves the realm, and the realm alone. In the books and the first few seasons of Thrones, the mystery of Varys seems to be building to bigger, stranger things. And while the show writers seemed to not have the time or interest to develop those threads fully—ending with him getting executed by Daenerys?—Varys as a whole remains one of the most fascinating characters in the series. Much of this is thanks to Conleth Hill’s slippery performance, never letting his presence overtake a scene—but making his influence known. Varys is also responsible for some of the most memorable lines in all of Thrones, making astute observations about the nature of power.
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15. Oberyn Martell
You don’t need me to tell you that a lot of people die in Game of Thrones. But the death of Oberyn Martell feels the most unfair. It’s the one that makes me the most angry. He won his duel with The Mountain. But he was robbed of his revenge (and also his head was crushed in his adversary’s hands, which is absolutely the most brutal death in the show). But also, The Red Viper of Dorne was just damn cool. That’s thanks to Pedro Pascal, who brought that effortless cool to the character book readers already loved. “Today is not the day I die…”
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14. The Hound
As we’ll see in the top half of this list, many of the best Game of Thrones characters are its villains. This is for a couple of reasons: Because pretty much all of our heroes die before their character arc is complete. And because in Martin’s world good and evil can sometimes be interchangeable—the characters we hate can have redemption and find their way back to the light.
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13. Daenerys Targaryen
Let’s get this out of the way immediately. Daenerys Targaryen’s evil turn in the final season is absolutely abysmal, lazy writing. And had she been given any conclusion that was even logical, she would be much higher on this list. Because, for 90 percent of the series, Daenerys was hands down the best Game of Thrones character. And it’s not just because she has dragons. (But also because she has dragons!) It’s because she has the dignity and strength to embrace her true self against all odds. She never stops fighting. She never gives up. She inspires legions through her actions and presence. Daenerys was the leader Westeros deserved, more deserving certainly than Jon Snow, and especially Bran Stark with his creepy Patriot Act powers.
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12. Podrick Payne
The most loyal squire in all of Westeros. He wasn’t the smartest. He wasn’t a particularly good fighter. But, he was faithful through and through. First saving Tyrion's life at the Battle of the Blackwater, then going on Odd Couple adventures with Brienne of Tarth. And, did I mention that he’s supposedly so good at sex that the women in Littlefinger’s brothel refuse to take his money? That’s certainly more than Jon Snow could say.
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11. Olenna Tyrell
You might have noticed that not many people grow old in Game of Thrones. And the few who do, well, that’s a pretty clear indication that they played the game just about as well as anyone could. And no one played the game with style, grace, and so effortlessly cool as Olenna Tyrell. She quietly and proudly instigated the assassination of a horrible child king when, in Season Four, she had Joffrey Baratheon poisoned at his own wedding. But, she didn’t reveal her involvement until Season Seven, when in her final moments she revealed her hand to Jaime: “Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me.”
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10. Ned Stark
The best characters are the ones you remember long after they’re off screen. And Ned Stark’s death not only haunted the entirety of the seven seasons that came after, it also changed television as we know it. Viewers who hadn’t read the books were stunned when Ned was beheaded in “Baelor,” the ninth episode of Season One. At that point, Ned was the primary protagonist of the show, and Sean Bean the show’s biggest star. His death defines Game of Thrones as a story where every single character could (and will) die at every given moment. And his death also set a precedent for an epic television series that doesn’t focus on one primary hero. Typical television, storytelling, and fantasy tropes of the hero’s journey were thrown out the door the moment Ned died. And George R.R. Martin proudly displayed his head on a spike as a warning of what was to come.
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9. Viserion
Daenerys' three dragons are all Very Good Boys, but Viserion ranks lowest because of his murderous misdeeds as a resurrected ice dragon. Tough luck, little guy.
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8. Drogon
You thought Drogon would be our favorite dragon, didn't you? Dany's Number One Boy is a fearsome beast and legendary battle weapon, but his aggressive, feral behavior leaves something to be desired. He snarled at his own mother! This dragon's manners could use some work.
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7. Rhaegal
The real superstar of Dany's dragon children is Rhaegal, a gentle giant who showed Jon Snow a good time and tried to rescue Viserion after he was speared by the Night King. Rhaegal deserved way better than the violent fate he ultimately met.
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6. Brienne of Tarth
The one true knight to be found in Westeros. A knight so pure and good that she managed to help guide Jaime Lannister back to the light. A character who makes her outlook on life known early in the series when she tells Jaime in Season Two: “All my life men like you have sneered at me. And all my life I've been knocking men like you into the dust." It’s rare to find a character so easy to root for in this series—especially because she holds true to her oaths, protecting the Stark children for Catelyn when they need it the most. But that stoic honor doesn’t mean Brienne is a static character. Beneath that knightly exterior, Gwendoline Christie brings an emotional honesty to Brienne, that makes her so deeply human.
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5. Tyrion Lannister
Television has never before had a character quite like Tyrion Lannister. A villain throughout the earlier episodes, the character goes through an astonishing transformation over the course of the series. Though in later seasons the television writers turned him into a caricature of what Martin created—Tyrion demands the audience question who is a hero, who is a villain, who is a leader, and who is deserving of power. Peter Dinklage delivers the finest monologues of the series as the verbose and intelligent Tyrion.
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4. Joffrey Baratheon
I can hear your blood boiling through the screen. Has there ever been a more hate-able character in a fantasy series or even TV for that matter? It’s true, unlike the best characters in Game of Thrones, Joffrey never undergoes much of a transformation from being a spoiled little shit prince to being a spoiled little shit king, but he does it so well. Actor Jack Gleeson’s sneering, whiny voice is forever seared into the anger receptors of our brains, along with the images of his privileged smirk.
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3. Jaime Lannister
Jaime’s path through Game of Thrones remains astonishing. In the early seasons he’s up there with his son Joffrey of the worst of the worst. But, by the end of the series he’s somewhere closer to Brienne of Tarth. I still find myself wondering how we got there. In a lot of ways, Jaime offers proof in this bleak fucked up world of Game of Thrones that we’re not all truly lost. Redemption is possible for even the worst of us. People can change, even if it’s only after our hand is chopped off, we’re held prisoner, then taught the ways of honor from the world’s most honorable person. One thing is clear, Benioff and Weiss absolutely failed Jaime and fans miserably in the unforgivable rape scene on Joffrey’s coffin that is not in the books. They didn’t give Jaime any sort of satisfying conclusion. But the groundwork that Martin put in place is more than enough to make him among the best characters on Game of Thrones. And much of this success is thanks to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s ability to pull off the arrogant asshattery of a Lannister and the subdued emotion of a man redefining himself.
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2. Arya Stark
Everyone loves Arya. There is no debate here. I wish I could say it’s because she killed the Night King—because she did kill the goddamn Night King—but Arya is so much more than that. She fucks up. She gets lost. She finds her way back, even if it’s not the way we expect. She travels to strange lands, meets bizarre people. Her story could have been the whole series. This could have been a show about Arya Stark and it probably would have been just as popular. But, this being Game of Thrones, she’s not the show’s central character, and is instead someone we’re waiting to see again, someone we’re excited to see change and grow and learn.
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1. Cersei Lannister
Cersei said it best: “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.” Truer words were never spoken in this show. And, love her or hate her, Cersei won the game of thrones until her final agonizing moments. Yes, the show writers let Cersei down in the same ways they let Jaime down, and Martin’s writing of Cersei is uneven at best. But, she’s the villain at the heart of this series from beginning to end. Chalice of wine in hand, Lena Headey captures a very human depth in Cersei—one that the show writers and Martin failed to put on the page. Cersei’s crimes are unforgivable, and there is no redemption to be found for her, but the thing that makes her so unique is that we truly understand what made her this way. She should have been Tywin’s rightful heir, she deserved the throne, and perhaps was the only one smart enough to sit there. But, being a woman in this deeply misogynistic world, she was never given the chance. Instead, she learned to take what she would not be willingly given. And we watch as Cersei manipulates, betrays, and fights her way to the top for herself and the people she loves. Long live the Mad Queen. In another story, you might have been our hero.
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