The 10 Worst 'Game of Thrones' Characters Of All Time
We’d like to think that when Obi Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker
that he'd never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Mos Eisley Spaceport, he was really talking about the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Of course, as any Game of Thrones fan will tell you, some of the show's best characters are vile wretches, precisely because their flagrant disregard for decency is captivating to watch. Unfortunately, even a show as high in quality as Game of Thrones has had its share of lousy characters. Whether they've long overstayed their welcome or are just plain boring, these 10 are the most poorly-developed characters that Westeros has ever coughed up.
Melisandre
The Red Priestess still has the potential to do a full 180 and reveal herself as the important figure she seems to think she is in the show's final seasons, but until then, we're really growing tired of whatever it is Melisandre is up to. Introduced in season two, Melisandre quickly proved herself a force to be reckoned with, using magic to birth a shadow monster in order to kill Stannis Baratheon's brother Renly. Since then however, she really hasn't done much of note besides lead Stannis into complete ruin. While it's interesting to speculate whether Melisandre actually knows what she's talking about or is a total snake oil saleslady, her incredible shadow birth now feels like an event from a different show. We haven't seen her do anything else that firmly establishes her power as a priestess of light, other than carry out some blood sacrifices in order to kill several characters (that may or may not have just turned out to be coincidences). Until she actually proves what her purpose is in the overarching plot, we're find with not seeing much of her in season six.
The Mountain
Ser Gregor Clegane, AKA "The Mountain That Rides", is without a doubt the biggest brute in Westerosand that's part of the problem. We can buy that The Mountain is a merciless dullard who only knows how to swing a sword really hard, but when his brother Sandor "The Hound" Clegane is written with so much depth in mind, it makes you wish that The Mountain would at least receive some attention in this department too. The Hound makes a big deal out of his childhood trauma suffered at the hands of his cruel older brother, but it doesn't land with as much impact as it could have when the two characters never even share a scene. As a result, The Mountain simply becomes a one dimensional monster that fans can direct their anger at for killing off Oberyn, who was easily one of the most interesting characters in Game of Thrones history. We're honestly not sure if there will even be any discernible difference between the new "zombified" Mountain and his former self, considering there was no personality there to begin with.
Shae
The prostitute that won (and eventually betrayed) Tyrion Lannister's heart, Shae is easily one of the most annoying characters to ever appear on the show. Jealous and vain, Shae constantly chastised Tyrion after he takes her to King's Landing for failing to spend all of his time with her. Despite Tyrion's repeated and completely understandable explanations for why the then-Hand of the King couldn't spend all his time in bed with a woman who's only interested in his money, Shae never seemed to get the message and became a constant grate on the nerves. Things got even worse when Tyrion was forced to marry Sansa Stark, as Shae's jealousy seemed to reach new levels of absurdity. The final Shae-related atrocity was her one-two punch of betrayal against Tyrion, testifying against him in Joffrey's murder inquest and sleeping with Tyrion's father Tywin on the side. Fittingly, her death was the one of the show's most satisfying, with Tyrion breaking his chains by literally choking her with one. Now that's great writing!
Lancel Lannister
Given that power-hungry figureheads like Tywin and Cersei receive the lion's share (pun intended) of the spotlight when it comes to House Lannister, it's all too easy to forget about minor players such as Lancel, the self-righteous dweeb who is kind of terrible no matter what end of the morality spectrum he's sitting on. The nephew of Tywin Lannister, Lancel started out as the sheepish squire to King Robert Baratheon and was quickly revealed to be sleeping with Robert's wife (and his own cousin) Cersei. He was also involved in Cersei's plot to have Robert killed, deliberately making him drunk while on a hunt. He later disappeared for awhile after being severely wounded in the Battle of the Blackwater, only to return as a religious fanatic of the Sparrows. Since his return, Lancel has been more intolerable than ever, emitting a dead-eyed stare while condemning the actions of his family and other members of the King's Landing court. That's the kind of moral inconsistency that puts you on family "do not call" list. Unfortunately, his flipflopping doesn't endear him to viewers either, as we could really care less what happens to him at this point.
Olly
Jon Snow's young steward is currently so universally-reviled by Game of Thrones fans, the next season might as well just be called "Everyone Hates Olly." Look, we can understand that Olly was more than a bit perturbed by Jon's decision to allow the Wildlings safe passage through the Wall, considering that he witnessed his parents being killed by a group of them only a season earlier. To be fair though, Jon offers Olly reasonable explanations for his actions, but Olly refuses to listen. It may seem a bit cheap to call Olly one of the show's worst characters merely for turning against a fan-favorite character, but regardless, he's just poorly written to boot. Giving Jon a death glare for an entire season is a good way to telegraph your eventual betrayal from a mile away and if that wasn't enough, he kills Ygritte, who may or may not have killed Jon at the time. Maybe while he was busy plunging a knife into his Lord Commander (and essentially, adoptive father), he should have given some thought to the fact that he killed Jon Snow's lady love. You're the worst, Olly.
Hizdahr zo Loraq
It's never a good sign when you have to refer to a character as "that guy" because you can't recall his name. Such is the reality of the ill-fated Hizdahr zo Loraq, the posturing aristocrat from Meereen who repeatedly (and annoyingly) pesters Daenerys Targaryen to re-open the gladiatorial fighting pits in a bid to appease the city's masses. We're pretty sure we'd relent on any firm stance too if this guy was in our throne room everyday making demands, which seemed to be Hizdahr's primary function for most of the fifth season. The show's writers seemed to be trying to drop hints that Hizdahr was actually working with the Sons of the Harpy insurgency group to try and murder Daenerys, but given the forgettable nature of the character, it was hard to muster up any interest one way or the other in this possible subplot. Luckily for everyone, Hizdahr was killed by the Sons of the Harpy near the end of last season, which proves his innocence but also proves that he was just as boring as we suspected. Hizdahr zo Loraq you will definitely not be missed.
Talisa Stark
In retrospect, it feels kind of cruel to highlight Robb Stark's love interest as one of the show's worst characters when she suffered such a brutal, undeserving death. While Talisa may have been the victim of one of Game of Thrones‘ most gut-wrenching death scenes (no small feat, to be sure), it doesn't excuse how uninteresting she was for pretty much every moment leading up to it. While Talisa's marriage to Robb was the main catalyst for the events that would unfold at the infamous Red Wedding, the third season was clogged down with scenes between the two lovers, notable for how out of place they felt in comparison to pretty much every other plotline. Game of Thrones is a show about death, destruction, and political backstabbing, not courtship romances that feel ripped out of a fantasy-themed soap opera. Talisa remains a sympathetic, tragic Game of Thrones character but she'll also always be one of its dullest too.
The Sand Snakes
How did this show mess up a group of characters with a name that cool? Prince Oberyn Martell was one of the best additions to the fourth season, so we reasonably expected that his illegitimate daughters a group of take-no-prisoner warrior women called the Sand Snakes would be just as awesome. When we first see Oberyn's three oldest daughters Obara, Tyene, and Nymeria Sand they are depicted as highly skilled warriors who are eager to avenge the death of their father. Unfortunately, their potential is quickly squandered through a combination of bad characterization and the show's own mishandling of depicting their prowess in combat (their one fight scene is easily one of the show's worst). Out of the three Sand Snakes, the only one who actually makes any kind of impression is Tyene and that's only because she seems to get naked at every opportunity. The Sand Snakes are pretty much a lock to return next season, but we now kind of wish they would just go get lost in the desert instead.
Ros
While viewers who never read George R. R. Martin's books probably wouldn't have been able to guess that Ros the prostitute was invented for the show, given HBO's preoccupation with full-frontal nudity, it makes perfect sense. Ros was clearly created to not only increase the breast count of the show's early seasons (got to do something to bring in the viewers), but also as a thinly-veiled way to give certain other characters more of a role than they had in the books. Littlefinger in particular benefited from Ros's inclusion, given he owns the whorehouse where she works in King's Landing. The main problem with Ros is that she is never able to ascend above her nefarious origins, as she is presented as little more than eye candy for the show's male viewers. While attempts are made to give her a more important storytelling function, acting as a spy for Varys at one point, not much comes from this before she is unceremoniously murdered off-screen by a sadistic Joffrey, who uses her for crossbow target practice. In the end, we knew her body well, but didn't really get to see her as a human being.
Ramsay Bolton
The Bastard of Bolton is not only the worst Game of Thrones character in terms of being the most evil person in Westeros, but is also just the worst character, period. Ramsay has essentially become the show's primary villain, but the problem with this is that having a clear-cut villain has never been something that Game of Thrones is about The show's ability to feature a cast of characters that are primarily all morally grey is part of the reason it's such a hit (well, that and dragons). Ramsay, however, is more like a cartoon villain who has somehow spent the last three seasons making life miserable for everyone but himself, including the show's viewers. It's fine to have a sadistic character with a predilection for torture and mutilation (lord knows we do), but there's a point where all the shocking body violence simply drags the rest of the show down with it. Even worse, Ramsay is sort of a moron who miraculously seems to have giant armies at his disposal for whatever problems come his way. When his own father's demands to stop torturing folks go unheeded, you know you're dealing with a grade A psychopath. At least Joffrey's indignant cruelty was entertaining to watch. Nothing about Ramsay is in the least bit entertaining and that is why he is the worst Game of Thrones character, period.
