What began with Stannis killing his own brother in his delusional quest to be king ended with him savagely burning his own innocent daughter, Shireen, alive in an attempt to cast a spell that would put him over the top. Despite warnings to be more politically savvy, Ned confronts Cersei about what he's learned about the legitimacy (or not) of her children. Gilly tended to a wounded Sam and became his first sexual encounter after he attempted to save her from Night's Watch goons. Janos Slynt had an especially fun arc for Game of Thrones fans to watch. His death at the hands of Ellaria and the Sand Snakes will allow Dorne to finally enter the war against the Lannisters, so at least there's that. Sure, she was killed horribly by Cersei because she made a classic "Game of Thrones" miscalculation -- and I really should bump her down for that -- but, nah, she was too much fun.
Pyatt Pree & Xaro Xhoan Daxos HBO During Daenerys Targaryen's time in Qarth in Game of Thrones' second season, she ultimately butts heads with these two unsettling, power-hungry lords, who initially attempt to win her favor before stealing her dragons, killing her friends and imprisoning her to control the dragons to their whims. Insider asked thousands of "Game of Thrones" fans to vote for the best characters and performances on HBO's hit series using two simple matchup generators and asking readers on social media to weigh in on it. As it turns out, however, Joffrey is not the only detestable GoT character (go fig), but is joined by multiple members of his family as well as a slew of other morally flexible citizens of the realm of Westeros. Leave it to Game of Thrones to gradually turn a kindly, old, blind bookworm into one of the show's most fascinating characters. Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) has done many terrible things, but none more heinous than betraying Ned Stark in a move that costs the latter his head. Of course, that became more difficult as the Lannisters began to fight among themselves, and the conflicts between Tyrion and Cersei proved too thorny for him to navigate. In their brief time together ranging beyond the Wall, he served as a mentor and father figure to Jon Snow, even sacrificing himself so Snow could pretend to defect to their captors. His complicated feelings towards the Starks, his resentments, and desire to assert himself as heir to the Iron Islands lead not only to his betrayal of the Starks but also to his own destruction as a man. She taught the future queen an important lesson in the show's first season: To not trust anyone, especially people whose villages were burned and who were raped by your hubby and his vicious Dothraki. And his sense of humor never wavered: Edd is always ready with a morbid crack or a fart joke, whether patrolling the Wall with his brothers or facing imminent death. And now his watch has ended. Tall, kills a lot of men, is single and celibate, takes no crap from anyone and doesn't play the game.
Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) promised the gods she'd love Jon Snow. Yet Qyburn is ultimately just a pawn in the battle for the Iron Throne, which puts him lower than those who profit and gain from his lurid talents. However, his bad deeds clearly haunt him until the day he dies at the hands of Brienne of Tarth. Remember when Varys (Conleth Hill) supported that plot to have Dany assassinated? Orell (Mackenzie Crook) may not have buckets of blood on his hands, but his intentions are almost always terrible -- especially where Jon Snow is concerned. He's one of few characters still standing as Game of Thrones enters its seventh season, and here's hoping he stays that way. The good maester might still be with us today if he hadn't been so openly derisive of Qyburn, who he clearly underestimated. By Ken W. Hanley BuzzFeed Contributor Facebook Pinterest Twitter Mail Link With House of the Dragon, the bloody and scandalous power struggle of the fantasy world of Westeros has returned to critical and fan acclaim, reigniting many people's fervent passion for HBO's Game of Thrones universe. Son of a King and a brother to another, we first meet Maester Aemon as a soft-spoken old man in his twilight years, still serving the Night's Watch under Lord Commander Mormont.
At the height of Robert Baratheon's Rebellion, he extended his services to the late King's brother, Stannis, in bringing food to Storm's End when it was under siege. Though she's had many great traveling companions, Jaime Lannister is her best. Joffrey Baratheon HBO / Alamy We all knew Joffrey Baratheon would be high on this list. With no more books to adapt, the show's producers were able to finally reveal that Benjen was, in fact, the mysterious rescuer. Even Joffrey had a bit of gray in him. Locke chops off Jaime Lannister's hand, forces Brienne of Tarth to fight a bear for entertainment and loves torturing those who cross him. Leaf sacrificed herself -- blowing up a bunch of wights in the process -- to help Bran escape in Season 6. Loyal, lethal, and hard to kill (the Sons of the Harpy sure tried), Grey Worm is key member of Dany's ever-expanding squad. Euron Greyjoy Helen Sloan / HBO / The Hollywood Archive / Alamy Coming in hot toward the end of Game of Thrones' run as the oddly charismatic, yet clearly demented usurper of the Greyjoy throne, Euron kills women with a smile on his face, torments almost all his in his company (including allies) and even kills one of Daenerys' dragons during his limited time on the series.
Locke cuts of Jaime's hand after he and Brienne are captured in Season 3. Even putting aside Sean Bean's star power, which was an important part of the show's first season, the character of Eddard Stark does so much to set the tone of the show. Tywin is perhaps the best example, and practitioner, of the political players in Westeros. Syrio the "water dancer" made a big splash in Game of Thrones' first season, even if he did wind up skewered on the end of Meryn Trant's big sword.
It helped that she took a small army of wights down with her. Whether Daenerys Targaryen proves to be a savior out of legend or a conquerer who is bad news for Westeros, there's no denying she is one of the most monumental characters on Game of Thrones. The Waif essentially served one purpose in Braavos's House of Black and White: To continuously piss off Arya Stark. So we're just going to focus on the 49 characters who are or were the most important, in our humble opinion. Perhaps most famous for her screaming reaction to the sight of her lover Oberyn's head getting squeezed to a pulp by Gregor Clegane, Ellaria has been filled with the need for revenge for a while now as one of the sole voices shouting "Death to the Lannisters" down in Dorne. Ever the wild child, Rickon grew more aggressive and unruly as the Starks' lives continuously unraveled in the early seasons.
It's Catelyn who realizes the deception at the Red Wedding, though too late, and we witness its horrors through her eyes. Theon earns the audience's anger when he betrays the Starks and takes over Winterfell. The look on his face... right before he gets disintegrated by wildfire. He appeared in two episodes of the first season as a newly knighted knight. Many spoilers, obviously. Despite Queen Cersei being left out front, waiting. Olenna agrees to take the poison, but not before delivering one last blow, taking the credit for Joffrey's assassination: "Tell Cersei I want her to know it was me. 'Luther: The Fallen Sun' Primer. But any leader, religious or otherwise, who supports torture and public humiliation is at least a little bit evil himself. Is there anything worse than someone who's apparently born bad? Alicent Hightower HBO Max / Ollie Upton / THA / Alamy This one is fairly low on the rankings as it's not quite clear how villainous Alicent could become, with her moral standing leaning toward "complicated" rather than straightforward good or evil. In a world where many fall and few rise, Qyburn went from being a disgraced and exiled former maester to being Cersei's go-to guy for all things inhumane and unethical. He had many redeeming qualities, from his adorable cat, Ser Pounce, to his love of having sex with Queen Margaery, to which many viewers felt they could relate. Was a hot blond dude, but now (after a casting change) is just a regularly attractive brown-haired dude who was banished from Dany's bed because who cares about love anyway?