10 Best Game of Thrones Characters Ranked Worst to Best
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With new Game of Thrones spinoffs announced recently, we’re looking back at one of the biggest TV shows ever.
Join us as we count down the ten best characters in Game of Thrones’ history. HBO’s epic fantasy drama may have premiered over ten years ago, but we still think about these guys daily.
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You know where you stand with Bronn, a man motivated by one thing: gold. That’s refreshing in a world beset by duplicitous backstabbers who switch allegiances on the fly. Jerome Flynn’s sellsword merely sells his sword to the highest bidder - the clue’s in the name.
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The worst (human) villain in Game of Thrones history belongs to a family that flails its enemies alive. Its house banner is literally a man getting his skin ripped off. His vile ways are what makes season six, episode nine’s Battle of the Bastards so gripping. Simply, everyone was dying to see his demise, and Jon Snow delivered by feeding him to his own dogs.
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The most honorable knight in Westeros doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. She vows to protect the Stark children for mother Catelyn, and she does just that, even besting the mighty Hound in one-on-one combat. Plus, Gwendoline Christie’s character even manages to turn Jaime Lannister back into a good guy. That takes some doing.
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While Brienne of Tarth is nothing if not virtuous, she still has blood on her hands. The same can’t be said of John Bradley’s Samwell Tarly, the entirely pure-of-heart best friend to Jon Snow. He puts others first, and even manages to survive the full eight-season run, showing that not everyone in Westeros has to be downright awful.
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Master manipulator Petyr Baelish, otherwise known as Littlefinger, lies his way through life. Everything he says is to advance his position in some way. Aiden Gillen’s slimy character manoeuvres himself into an advisor role to Sansa Stark, but Sansa works out his true nature by season seven, revealing his crimes in a dramatic trial and having sister Ayra slit his throat.
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Where Littlefinger lies his way to the top, Varys is more about controlling those around him. His biggest attribute is his network of spies and informants Varys like to call ‘little birds’. It’s Conleth Hill’s slippery, unassuming character who you feel wields the true power in Westeros. That is, until Daenerys orders her dragons to fry him.
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Oberyn Martell is responsible for one of the most memorable deaths in Game of Thrones’ history, getting his entire head crushed like a watermelon by The Mountain in a trial by combat. The Red Viper of Dorne only lasted a single season, introduced and eliminated in season four, but Pedro Pascal’s performance oozed charismatic charm.
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Few manage to play the game like Olenna Tyrell. She’s the oldest character on this list, which goes to show her superior powers of durability. This is a world where most people don’t live past 50. Olenna’s greatest feat is meticulously organizing the assassination of Joffrey Baratheon in season four when she poisons him at his own wedding, later revealing her involvement in season seven.
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Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen is a character so good, one out of every 16,477 baby girls born in 2021 were named Daenerys, according to Datayze. She has the ultimate hero’s journey, starting as a naïve weakling at the mercy of the world before discovering her true strength (along with an army of warriors and three powerful dragons) and bending that world to her will.
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One of the richest and most complex TV characters ever. Peter Dinklage rolls both hero and villain into his performance as Tyrion Lannister, a dwarf who uses intelligence to overcome prejudice. He has the smarts of of Varys, the integrity of Daenerys, the selflessness of Samwell, and the bravery of Oberyn. That’s why Dinklage took home an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors’ Guild award and more for his unforgettable performance.
