The Most Hated Characters in Game of Thrones

Because I'm on a Game of Thrones binge, I decided today to write about the most hated Game of Thrones characters. Why? Because there are a LOT of hateful characters in the series. It would be no understatement to say that in the series there are more dislikable character than on any other. However, besides Joffrey, no one really agrees on what character to dislike or hate more than whatever other character. In that spirit, then, let's make a countdown: The most dislikable Game of Thrones characters. There are so many, however, that to just do a top 5 would be a disservice. Let us then rank them in five tiers. I should note that while many other characters may fit into each tier, I will only focus on the few most dislikable ones.

This is a sister post to the most likable characters over at my page.

*WARNING: SPOILERS GALORE!*

Tier 5 - The Dumb Ones: Sansa Stark, Catelyn Stark, Renly Baratheon

These characters are the ones that we don't <REALLY> hate, but we really hate when they do or say stupid things, specially in critical moments. They are the ones that make us shout "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" at the screen.  

In this trio, Renly Baratheon is the least of the offenders. He is a likable guy. He seems to care for the people, and he isn't specially proud or snobby or pedantic. He isn't violent, and while he doesn't care much for battle, he is more than willing to step up when needed. He has a good heart, and he has a good thing going with his Tyrell boyfriend. So, WHY did you have to listen to the whole "you should be king" idea, Renly? Renly knew he didn't have any claim to the throne. His claim was as valid as Mormont's claim to the throne. But yet, he does make a claim, knowing that the legitimate ruler, Stannis Baratheon, will assert his right. That stupid decision of making a claim to the throne rather than standing by his brother and serving as his consciousness is what gets him killed. And, honestly, we didn't want to see him die.

Between the two Stark ladies, Sansa can be said to be the slightly less dislikable one. Sure, Sansa falls for Joffrey, and most of her time on-screen is spent wailing or moping or saying dumb things while trying to get by, and sure we all hate that dumb "I don't get it" look she gets whenever someone tries to explain something to her. But to her credit, she is supposed to be about 15 years old in Season 4, which makes her about 13 when she falls for Joffrey and spews that whole "I'm in love and will do anything for my prince" thing that made us all roll our eyes and scoff at her. Still, if it hadn't been because of her whole "I love my handsome prince so much that I will lie for him" (seriously, why didn't she stand by her sister during the whole Joffrey thing in the first episode? That was poor of her), she would have been just an unremarkable character not of any note. Kind of like her little brother Rickon, who we all know exists somewhere, but doesn't really matter yet.

The worst offender in this category, really, is Catelyn Stark. She is a dedicated mother and a dedicated wife. Although she might have some resentment towards Mr. John Snow, her resentment is justified. Still, she never let that get in the way of being a mother to him. Why dislike her? Because she freed Jamie "Kingslayer" Lannister. Robb Stark, Catelyn's son, was leading the war. He had captured Jamie, the son of the opposing commander, and an important commander and powerful fighter in his own right. What does Catelyn do? She lets him go, because he told her that he would try his best to return the Stark girl (Sansa) from King's Landing where Joffrey was holding her. That was a dumb move. More importantly, she's not 13. She's a grown woman. She has no excuse to act that way. For that, we bequeath her the position of worst offender of the fifth tier.

*Note: I'm giving Daenerys Targaryen an honorable mention here for all the reasons explained here*

Tier 4 - The Betrayers: Theon Greyjoy. Littlefinger. Walder Frey

While in the previous tier we had those who we could potentially like again, or at least understand, in this tier we have people who perhaps at some point were likable, but then betrayed us by doing some sort of horrible act on someone we like.

The least of the offenders here is Walder Frey. He betrays Robb Stark by selling him out to the Lannisters, and in a horrible event called The Red Wedding he has his soldiers perform unspeakable acts including murder. And this he did while on a celebration meant to cement his alliance to Robb Stark. Still, he was somewhat betrayed first, and although his actions are inexcusable, his anger is understandable and his betrayal, while not justified, is ultimately not as outrageous as the other two. 

Littlefinger, on the other hand, betrayed everyone, and we hate him for the way in which he did it. He could have built goodwill towards the viewer by actually siding with Ned. Viewers were hopeful. He gave us hope that Joffrey and Cersei would not have their way. Then he crushed that hope. When he betrayed Ned, he betrayed us. Despite all his charm and calm and cool demeanor, we hate him for what he did. And when the truth is revealed about John Aryn, we hate him even more. He betrayed viewers not once, but twice, and that makes us the viewers hate him to no end.

But we don't hate Littlefinger as much as we hate Theon Greyjoy. Everything that Theon learned, he learned from the Starks. The Starks raised him as one of their own. They gave him everything he could ever want. The Stark children treated him as a brother, and Ned treated him like a son. How does he repay them? By bringing an army of Iron Island folk and invading Winterfell. That is a really low move, and it manages to land him as the worst offender of our circle of betrayers.

Tier 3 - The Ill-Natured: Ramsay Snow, The Hound, Melisandre

In this section we include people who de don't like off the bat because of their actions and behavior. They are the ones that gross us out and make us feel uncomfortable about them. We don't like them, we know they're nasty folk, and we want to stay away from them.

Of these, the least offender is The Hound. Now, viewers have reason to hate The Hound from episode 9 where he stops Sansa from killing Joffrey. From there on, we sometimes applaud him for a few of his actions, such as when he rescues Sansa from being raped, but condemn him for others, such as HOW he rescued Sansa from her rape. From there on, he goes downhill. He becomes nothing more than Joffrey's slave, doing his bidding, butchering the innocent. Even after he begins roaming the countryside with a kidnapped Arya he manages to apply his philosophy of life of "do evil" by killing a farmer and stealing his gold after the farmer offered him food and shelter. His actions are essentially similar to those of the betrayers, but rather than betraying a single character or house, he betrays humanity as a whole.

Still, despite his overall chaotic nature, Melisandre is far more disliked. Melisandre is a religious fanatic who worships the Lord of Light, an demonic fire god. She is the one who, through sorcery, killed the well-liked Renly Baratheon. She is the one who persuades Stannis Baratheon to show complete disregard for humanity. She does not hesitate to rule with an iron fist and kill not only her enemies, but those she would deem an inconvenience, or even those who would not share her faith. Don't believe that the Lord of Light is the one true god? To the pyre with you! That kind of zealotry is unconscionable, and is what makes us dislike Melisandre to no end.  

But we have to give the prize of the worst of the ill-natured to Ramsay Snow. For what little we know of him, Ramsay seems to be a psychopathic lunatic who gets off on hurting and killing others. We are introduced to Ramsey shortly after he has captured Theon Greyjoy. Ramsey is torturing Theon. It is not the fact that he is torturing the betrayer of the Starks that gets viewers to hate him - at first viewers even think that Greyjoy has it coming. It's the torture methods he uses and how much he seems to enjoy doing the torture. His eyes shine with glee, and his smirk turns almost inhuman as he gleefully chops Greyjoy's extremities into tiny pieces. It is this kind of behavior that lands him as the worst of the ill-natured.

Tier 2 - The Greedy, Prideful, and Abusive - Viserys Targaryen, Jamie Lannister, Cersei Lannister, Tywin Lannister

On the second tier we have those sociopath who have the power to make the world better, but instead use it to harm others and further acquire power. They are worse than those in the previous tier, as Melisandre at least had a guiding ideal / philosophy, and Ramsey and The Hound, ill-natured as they were, do not engage in the harming of others in as massive a scale as these as these do. More importantly, when Hound or Ramsey DO hurt others, they are straightforward about it. They don't put forward massive machinations that could endanger Westeros itself in order to acquire more power. The ones on this list, in short, are the cold, calculating, inhuman people who would trade the world for a bit of power.

And we start this circle off with the Lannister family. Tywin Lannister is a cold and calculating dude who won't hesitate to send all of Westeros into war if it means that his family can acquire more power. And he does as much. Rather than use diplomacy, he uses underhanded tactics and manipulation in order to start many wars. It was thanks to him that Baratheon was able to go to war against the old Targaryen king. It was partly because of him that the north went to war. It was because he wanted to keep Joffrey on the throne that Renly and Stannis had to take up arms. But still, that doesn't make him as bad as his incestuous twin children, Cersei and Jamie. Just as with the parent, Cersei and Jamie are power-hungry sociopaths who do not hesitate to throw the world into chaos if it means they can have more power. On top of this, however, they are also willing to commit terrible deeds, such as tossing an innocent boy off a balcony, to keep secret their incestuous relationship.

But even then, Cersei and Jamie aren't really as bad as Viserys, a highly underrated villain. People tend to forget about him because Joffrey is worse, but Viserys... let's just say that anyone who is willing to sell his sister to someone he considers inferior (Kal Drogo) and then tells her that he would let Drogo, his army of 40,000 men, and their horses rape her if it meant he could have his crown doesn't deserve any empathy. Furthermore, his constant disdain for anyone other than himself lands him squarely at the center of this circle.

Tier 1 - The Worst of Them: King Joffrey

To say that Joffrey represents the worst of humanity would be an understatement. He is a psychopath, as those in tier three, a sociopath, as those in tier two, and suffers of every flaw that exists. He is proud and egocentric, greedy beyond description, a glutton, and wrathful. He cannot contain himself. Even when he knows that other actions are best not only for the world or for his family but for himself, he still chooses the sadistic answer. And on top of that, he is a coward.

Jeoffry is the one who tries to kill a young boy for pleasure, then lies when the kid flees. Joffrey then has the kid butchered. Joffrey is the one who orders Ned Stark's execution despite having promised that he would do otherwise, and that letting Ned live would be best for the kingdoms and for himself. He is the one who forces his wife-to-be to look at her father's impaled head. He routinely murders and tortures people for fun and never shows any remorse. He is truly the worst of all humanity.

And for that, we denounce and reject him.

Does it make us evil that we loved when he died by poison? I don't know. Maybe. What I DO know, however, is that this scene...

...it makes me happy.