The strongest story arcs. The best one-liners. The most shocking demises. Whether they win or die, whether they're hero or villain – or like most people on this show, somewhere in between – each character on Game of Thrones can employ an entire arsenal of factors to win the game that matters most: the battle for being crowned the series' best character. As David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' smash-hit fantasy saga returns to HBO for its seventh season this weekend, we're counting down the 40 most memorable characters from worst to best. In a cast so sprawling that some heavy hitters didn't even make the cut (also: sorry, Podrick Payne, we still love you!), who is the one true king or queen?
40. The Night King
We begin our countdown of Game of Thrones coolest
characters with its coldestcharacter. Transformed into a demonic
killing machine a millennia ago by the magical Children of the Forest in order
to stop their slaughter by humankind, the Night King turned against his makers.
Now he and his fellow White Walkers – along with the army of zombies whose
numbers grow every time he raises his slain enemies from the dead – are ready
to unleash eternal winter on Westeros. Only the Wall stands against the
regent's dark reign. And once he drops one of his signature cocky "come at
me bro" gestures ... oh, it's on.
39. Walder Frey
Plenty of Game of Thrones villains are great
players, and are recognized as such. But gods damn it, Walder Frey was the
architect of the Red Wedding, the most shocking event in the series! Inviting
people to celebrate your daughter's nuptials and then murdering them at the
reception made Lord Walder one of Westeros's worst men … at least until Arya
forced him to eat his own kids before slitting his throat. No more wedding
plans for him.
38. Yara Greyjoy
Her father Balon was a crusty old buzzard. Her uncle Euron usurped
her claim to rule the Iron Islands and is now out to kill her. Her brother
Theon was pushed to the brink of insanity by their enemies. But somehow, this
sea-faring warrior woman has maintained her devil-may-care attitude and a
drive to do better than the mediocre men surrounding her. Who better to serve
as admiral for the war fleet of Daenerys Targaryen, who's been through the
exact same thing (only she had dragons)?
37. Wun-Wun
He was a giant among men. Literally. Wun-Wun was the only member
of his ancient, towering race to survive the wildlings' battles against White
Walkers, Night's Watchmen and Stannis Baratheon alike – as well as the only one
to cross south to supposed safety beyond the Wall. He wound up battling
fiercely for the cause of his one-time enemy Jon Snow, giving his life to
defeat Ramsay Bolton and defend the North against its many enemies. He may not
have been human, but he was one hell of a guy.
36. Tormund Giantsbane
Don't let the last name fool you: This tall, red, and fearsome
wildling warlord joined Wun-Wun and Jon Snow in their assault on enemy-occupied
Winterfell and lived to tell the tale. Now he sits high in the King in the
North’s council – when he's not making goo-goo eyes at the equally formidable
Brienne of Tarth, that is. He's come a long way from the crotchety killer he
was when we first met him.
35. Jorah Mormont
If you've ever said the word "Khaleesi," you've got the
dulcet tones of Ser Jorah to thank. (We're launching a Kickstarter to get actor
Iain Glen to re-record the opening paragraph of Nabokov's Lolita with
the K-word instead.) Dany's advisor-in-exile is doomed to pine for a
May-December romance that will most never happen – not while there are younger,
flashier swordsmen around, nor while he's dealing with a bad case of greyscale
plague. He's a strange, sad stand-out of a character.
34. Jaqen H'ghar
Technically, "a man has no name" – but for the purposes
of this list "Jaqen H'ghar" will have to do. As a member of the
mystical order of assassins known as the Faceless Men, he may well be the
single deadliest person we've encountered on the show, which is really saying
something. He helped Arya Stark escape captivity and trained her in his lethal
ways – then let her go free when he saw she could learn no more from him
because her love for her family was still too strong. Faceless? Yes. Heartless?
Definitely not.
33. Ygritte
Killing, climbing, flirting, skinny-dipping, making out on the
edge of the world, murdering innocent bystanders, getting shot full of arrows:
This foul-mouthed, flame-haired wildling taught Jon Snow everything she knows before
dying in his arms at the end of their star-crossed romance – and yet he still
knows nothing. Love, Westeros-style.
32. Tommen Baratheon
Alas, poor Tommen, we hardly knew ye. Ascending to the Iron Throne
after the death of his evil elder brother Joffrey, the second Baratheon boy
king was a far kinder, gentler ruler – and an extremely, uh, enthusiastic husband
to Margaery Tyrell, the queen he inherited along with the crown. But the
dueling machinations of his mother Cersei and the religious fundamentalist
called the High Sparrow divided his inner circle and reduced him to watching
helplessly as the woman he loved went up in flames. His subsequent suicide was
a body blow to all that is still decent in Westeros.
31. Davos Seaworth
The Onion Knight's such a stand-up guy that he made his continued
allegiance to Stannis Baratheon, the man who killed his own brother with a
shadow demon – and cost Davos' son his life – feel like what any decent person
would do. Following his boss's death, this former smuggler has stood by the
side of Jon Snow, the new King in the North, ever since. And he's encouraged
both his commanders to put the needs of the realm first the entire time.
30. Bronn
In the books, he's basically just the blackhearted sellsword
Tyrion hires as his bodyguard, who winds up displaying a knack for both killing
and surviving. On the show, the writers and actor Jerome Flynn have teamed up
to make him a serial scene-stealer, with a roguish Errol-Flynn-gone-feral
charm. Whether he's partnering with Tyrion or sparring with the Imp's big
brother Jaime, everybody loves Bronn!
29. Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish
There's something very American Psycho about
King's Landing's stealthiest schemer, and it's not just his penchant for
delivering monologues while naked women perform for his enjoyment.
Littlefinger's mask of sanity is convincing enough to put him in charge of both
the bank accounts and boudoirs of Westeros' most powerful
people. Beneath it? A void of vengeance and boundless ambition. Keep your eye
on this guy, if you can stomach it – especially now that he's wormed his way
back into Sansa Stark's good graces.
28. Robert Baratheon
A brash, blustery aristocrat who rises to the top on a wave of
popularity but finds out he's much better at winning power than knowing what to
do with it? Where have we heard that story before? Such was
the life of the late king of Westeros, a Falstaffian figure who clung to his
former glory like a high-school football player gone to seed. Eventually, his
kingdoms fell apart and even his closest advisors schemed to help speed up his
removal from the throne. His victory was his tragedy.
27. Gregor 'The Mountain' Clegane
Head-crusher, horse-decapitator, brother-burner, blue-faced
zombified killing machine – with a resume like that, only a family as screwed
up as the Lannisters would hire this guy to be their head of security. (To be
fair, Westeros has no House Trump.) After nearly dying during his duel against
the Red Viper of Dorne, whose noggin he pulped like a grapefruit, the Mountain
rose again thanks to the dark arts of Cersei's minion Qyburn. Now he stands by
her side as she sits the Iron Throne, ready to dispense the Queen's injustice.
He may or may not ever get another showdown with his baby brother the Hound,
but his awful awesomeness is, as they say, confirmed.
26. Missandei
Meet the Mother of Dragons' right-hand woman. Missandei was an
enslaved translator who helped Daenerys overthrow not just her
"masters," but those of the entire Slaver's Bay region. Now she's one
of the Targaryen queen's most valued advisors – and a potential love interest
to the quiet eunuch general Grey Worm. Here's hoping they survive the winter and
live on to dream of spring together.
25. The High Sparrow
Jonathan Pryce was one of the series' biggest casting coups, so
it's fitting his fundamentalist character pulled off a coup of his own.
Empowered in an ill-advised move by Queen Cersei as a bulwark against her
rivals in House Tyrell, he and his fanatical followers brought the system to
its knees and ruled King's Landing in the monarchy's place – at least until
Cersei blew them all to seven hells. All the while, Pryce's chilling holy man
smiled and spoke softly. If the gods are on your side, who needs to yell?
24. Hodor
Bran Stark's enormous guardian was a man of few words – and we found
out how he became that way in one of the show's saddest sequences. So we'll
honor his legacy by keeping this brief. We've got three words for you: "Hold the
door."
23. Khal Drogo
A Genghis Khan in guyliner, Drogo began as a brutal barbarian and
ended at the hands of an infected wound and black-magic medicine. But in
between, he developed into one half of the show's most rapturous romance (not
to mention its most unlikely and, perhaps, disturbing, considering the manner
in which it began). Given Jason Momoa's magnetic, sumptuously shirtless
performance, who wouldn't eat their hearts out for that?
22. Viserys Targaryen
The John the Baptist to Joffrey Baratheon's Jesus Christ,
Daenerys' big blonde brother was the first royal douchecanoe Game of
Thrones rowed downstream. But unlike his larger-than-life successor,
Viserys got a moment or two to seem human: first breaking down about his
loveless, hunted life, then begging for said life before his brother-in-law
boiled his brain with molten gold. He was no dragon, but he was a heck of a
character.
21. Bran Stark
In any other series, this adventurous little boy turned paraplegic
psychic would unequivocally be the main character – half Luke Skywalker, half
Professor X, all Joseph Campbell hero's-journey archetype. Instead, he gets
pushed out a window, and then pushed to the margins of the story as bigger,
bolder characters fight and die for the throne. His growing powers of telepathy
and time travel are part of a much longer game, against a far deadlier enemy –
and he's only just begun to play.
20. Oberyn 'The Red Viper' Martell
He's sexy (and serpentine) – and he knows it. He's Prince
Oberyn Martell of Dorne, the bisexual brother of the southern region's timid
ruler, and his lust for life and skill for killing alike made him a breakout
star during Season Four. Actor Pedro Pascal invested him with an intelligence
and warmth that kept him from getting cartoonish, making his skull-shattering
death at the hands of the Mountain one of the show's most shocking moments.
19. Stannis Baratheon
What if you were the rightful king of Westeros, but nobody cared?
That was the predicament of the late King Robert's unsmiling sibling. His
brother Renly, his rival Robb Stark, both of Jaime and Cersei's sons (yes, even
Joffrey) – all of them are more appealing than this so-called Lord of Light.
Actor Stephen Dillane made every ounce of Stannis's resentment visible
onscreen, whether he was fighting to save the realm from the wildlings or
sacrificing his own daughter to his cause. Only in death, at the hands of
Brienne of Tarth, did he seem to find peace.
18. Theon Greyjoy
Prince of all families, master of none. Raised as a
foster-son-slash-hostage by Ned Stark, the once-swaggering heir to the Iron
Islands built up a lifetime of resentment. He betrayed his foster brother Robb
and seized Winterfell for his own – until all sides abandoned him and he wound
up at the tender mercies of the Bastard of Bolton. His transformation into the
traumatized "Reek," and his redemption by helping Sansa Stark escape
from their tormenter Ramsay, made for one of the show's most unexpected and
satisfying storylines. Now he rides with the Mother of Dragons.
17. Melisandre
Blood, fire, sex, magic: The Red Woman's not just a powerful
sorceress, she's a human Voltron formed from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' back
catalogue. Sometimes it seemed like her constant trou-dropping was intended to
distract from how obviously wrong she was about Stannis
Baratheon being the messiah – a fact she learned to her horror when the
sacrifice of his daughter failed to produce a victory. But the shocking
revelation that her youthful glamor is an illusion – and her show-stopping
resurrection of Jon Snow from the dead – prove she still has a part to play in
the war against the darkness.
16. Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane
He's not the most terrifying killing machine in the Lannisters'
employ, or even in his own family; that would be his truly insane and gigantic
older brother the Mountain, a.k.a. the guy who burned half his face off. But he's
got a penchant for protecting children like Sansa and Arya (when he's not
killing children, that is), and he slices through the system's hypocrisy like a
sword through a would-be rapist's midsection. He's both as fierce and as
vulnerable as his namesake – and now, after getting left for dead by Brienne
and Arya and returning to the fight as a member of the do-gooding Brotherhood,
we'll see which side of his personality wins out.
15. Varys
He's the spider at the center of a web of spies, the nest to which
countless little birds flock to sing their secret songs, the mixed metaphor at
the dark heart of Westerosi politics. But Game of Thrones' most
potent eunuch is also witty, wise, and the closest thing to a friend that Ned
Stark and Tyrion Lannister had in King's Landing; he's now providing that same
kind of support to Daenerys. And thanks to actor Conleth Hill's distinctive
delivery, all of his on-screen appearances are freaking delightful.
14. Samwell Tarly
Because every epic fantasy saga worth its salt needs a portly,
adorable sidekick named Sam. Please note, however, that long before Jon Snow
discovered his destiny, it was his timid, bookish brother in the Night's Watch
who was rescuing women and children, killing White Walkers, and generally
learning the true nature of the secret threat to the Seven Kingdoms. Now he's
got a girlfriend, a baby, his father's stolen sword, and a ticket to join the
Seven Kingdoms' braintrust, the maesters. This guy's going places.
13. Margaery Tyrell
She doesn't want to be a queen – she wants to
be the queen. Between that ice-cold declaration and her
red-hot sex appeal, you'd be forgiven for thinking Lady Margaery is a
junior-varsity Cersei. But her care for the peasants, her brother Loras, her
grandmother Olenna and her fellow fiancée-to-Joffrey Sansa Stark all appear
legitimate. They just also happened to be great politics, which is part of what
made Margaery one of the game's most powerful players – and made her
imprisonment by the High Sparrow and death at the Lannister Queen's hands so
tragic.
12. Jaime Lannister
If these rankings were based on who had the most metal nickname,
the Kinglsayer would win in a walk. But as it stands, going from sisterfucking
and the attempted murder of a child in the pilot episode to saving the life of
his former enemy Brienne (not to mention the population of King's Landing) by
the end of Season Three is a transformation that takes him right to the top
twelve. His attempts to balance his newfound morality with his desire to
protect his crumbling family have been fascinating and heartbreaking to watch..
11. Tywin Lannister
Combining the malevolent mastermind vibe of the Emperor with the
Oedipal menace of Darth Vader, Tywin was the dark father of the Lannister clan.
And if his merciless treatment of his children had any redeeming quality
whatsoever, it's that he was even more Machiavellian toward their enemies. Do
the ends justify the means? Perhaps they do if they help create a character
this coldly compelling. But his son Tyrion didn't see it that way, and paid him
back for a lifetime of abuse with a crossbow to the gut.
10. Ramsay Bolton
Like an experiment in creating a character with no redeeming
qualities whatsoever, the psychopathic son of backstabbing Lord Roose Bolton
was sick enough to make Joffrey Baratheon look like Eddard Stark. But actor
Iwan Rheon's gleeful, almost giddy style turned him into the closest thing
Westeros had to a bona fide supervillain. Eventually, his victim Sansa Stark
gave him a taste of his own medicine by giving his dogs a taste of him.
His crimes were hard to watch, but the character himself never was.
9. Brienne of Tarth
Even in a series full of outcasts, this woman warrior stands out
from the crowd, and not just because she's a solid twelve inches taller.
Trapped in a body built to do things people of her gender aren't supposed to do
in this society, she seems to seek escape by pairing up with other misfits – a
closeted king, a widow stuck in a war, a knight who's lost both his honor and
his hand, a kidnapped young woman who's been through too much, a bastard King
in the North. Despite a lifetime of indignities, she's open enough to connect
with all of them – which is how she connects with us, too.
8. Arya Stark
On the one hand – the one holding the sword, most likely –
watching a sweet little tomboy turn into the Punisher of Westeros before our
very eyes is as much fun as Game of Thrones gets, especially
given actor Maisie Williams' precocious talent. On the other hand, she's a
child gradually losing all respect for human life – a slow-motion tragedy, and
one of the series' most complex character arcs. Now a fully trained assassin,
she's returned to the battleground to avenge her still-beloved family, making
her Westeros's number-one wild card.
7. Eddard Stark
He was the biggest character, played by the biggest actor, at the
center of the biggest storyline and all the promo posters and trailers and
commercials…and none of that could save him. Ned's dead, baby, and while his
surprise execution is what made Game of Thrones part of the
pop-culture pantheon, it's his hangdog sense of duty and honor — he died
because he respected the value of the lives of freaking Cersei and Joffrey! —
that made us care about him, and the show, in the first place.
6. Joffrey Baratheon
In the annals of television history, has their ever been a better
demonstration of the "character you love to hate" concept? This
sniveling, sociopathic inbred bastard had Ned killed, Sansa beaten, babies
murdered, whores tortured and audiences booing. For TV's most vivid villain,
crime paid – at least until those crimes caught up to him and he wound up
poisoned at his own wedding feast. Perfectly portrayed by Jack Gleeson, who
retired from acting after leaving the show, King Joffrey is no more. But his
status as a great bad guy is forever.
5. Cersei Lannister
As a woman, the matriarch of the Lannister clan battles for a
place at the table in a world made for men, by men. As a mother, she'd do
anything to protect her inbred brood, though her schemes have led directly to
their deaths. As a player of the game, she coined the show's catchphrase: "You
win or you die." And she'd rather die than give you control. Now she sits
the Iron Throne herself, her enemies dead and her most loyal followers – Jaime
and her fearsome undead bodyguard the Mountain – are by her side. Reign in
blood, Your Grace.
4. Sansa Stark
If a Disney princess had night terrors, the story of Sansa Stark
might be what woke her up screaming. Ned's elder daughter has had all her
illusions about the world, and her safety in it, shattered. But her quiet,
innate political shrewdness and emotional strength have enabled her to escape
situations that likely would have cost every other Stark their heads. She
avoided destruction by Joffrey, Cersei, Littlefinger and Ramsay alike –
becoming a fan favorite in the process – and now she will either make or break
her half-brother Jon Snow's reign in the North. Sometimes, lone wolves do survive.
3. Tyrion Lannister
The wildly popular character, the Imp is almost
always the smartest guy in the room. But what matters is that he's almost
always the most decent dude there, too, struggling to do the
right thing despite his ruthless family and his own more than slightly sketchy
nature. Can he make up for his most unforgivable lapse, the murder of his
ex-girlfriend Shae, by helping the Mother of Dragons carve a path of freedom
and conquest through the civilized world? Whatever the answer may be, this much
is for certain: He's horny, he's funny and he's never less than fascinating.
2. Jon Snow
So, wait: You're telling us one of the three main characters of
the epic-fantasy series is a sullen teenage outcast who wears a lot of black
and worries about girls? Vacate the Iron Throne, we need to sit down. But Lord
Snow, played by brooding heartthrob Kit Harington, has come along way from his
pouty origins. He battled to save the realm from the invading wildlings, then
fought just as hard to save his former enemies from the White Walkers and their
zombie hordes – a decision that cost him his life at the hand of his racist
underlings. And famously, it didn't end there. Jon was resurrected by the Red
Woman, recaptured his ancestral home Winterfell from mad Ramsay Bolton and got
crowned by his grateful subjects. Yet not even he knows the real truth: He's
the secret son of a Targaryen prince, making him not only the King in the North
but the Blood of the Dragon. His is the Song of Ice and Fire.
1. Daenerys Targaryen
She's the heir to a powerful, dysfunctional family with even more
powerful and dysfunctional enemies. Her story is a non-stop confrontation with
complex ideas about sex, war, gender, race, politics and morality. She's played
by Emilia Clarke, an actor who went from unknown to star overnight. Oh,
and she's a fireproof messiah with a trio of flying nuclear dinosaurs at her
disposal. Now, after six seasons of waiting, she's headed to Westeros to take
back the Iron Throne, and quite possibly save humanity from extinction at the
cold hands of the White Walkers in the process. The Mother of Dragons is the
human embodiment of everything that makes Game of Thrones great.
Bow down.
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