The most loathed characters in ‘Game of Thrones,’ ranked
Game of Thrones was packed full of sex, violence, gore… and some of the most despicable characters you can possibly imagine.
These guys were the worst of the worst. In some cases, they killed or tortured fan favorites and/or caused tremendous pain for the audience. But they were all played so well by their actors, who really made us loathe them! Here’s a rundown of the people who fans hated the most.
Littlefinger/Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen)
To be fair, some people like Littlefinger. There’s an element of cool to him and he got some great lines. But just as many hate him. He’s a slimy, traitorous, power-hungry creep who tries to manipulate Sansa and is the one responsible for marrying her off to the monstrous Ramsay. When Sansa sentences him to death and has Arya slit his throat, it’s immensely satisfying.
The Sand Snakes: Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers), Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and Nymeria (Jessica Henwick)
Oh, the poor Sand Snakes. They suffered terribly in the translation from book to show and no one likes them very much. One particular line about “bad pussy” went down in history as one of the show’s lowest points. Basically, they were just dull and generic vengeance-seekers with little in the way of individual personalities. They may not have done as many terrible things as some of the others on this list, but boy are they loathed as a representation of bad writing.
Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie)
To be honest, Lysa is on this list mostly due to the breastfeeding scenes, which are desperately uncomfortable. But enough about those. Lysa just sucks. She murdered her husband, she’s obsessed with Littlefinger, and she almost pushed Sansa out of the Moon Door to her death. No one was particularly upset when she went through the Moon Door instead.
Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk)
Seafaring warlord Euron Greyjoy is mostly hated because he’s absolutely nothing like how he was in the A Song of Ice and Fire books. In the books, he’s far more terrifying. On the show, he’s just another asshole. He’s supremely arrogant and incredibly cruel, but he fails to really make a splash (see what I did there?) in the show.
Viserys Targaryen (Harry Lloyd)
Not to be confused with the other Viserys, the one from House of the Dragon. This Viserys is the brother of Daenerys, and he marries her off to Khal Drogo against her wishes, caring nothing as to what would happen to her and also outright leching on her. After that, he proceeds to be such an abusive dick that eventually, Drogo kills him by dumping molten gold on him. And no tears were shed.
The Mountain/Gregor Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson)
The Mountain, a.k.a. Gregor Clegane, was a pretty iconic villain, but an absolutely horrible person. Like many men in the Game of Thrones universe, he was a rapist, and he was utterly unrepentant about it. Then he kills Oberyn Martell, played by the internet’s boyfriend Pedro Pascal, in a very gruesome way. There are no redeeming features to the Mountain.
Craster (Robert Pugh)
The wildling Craster is surely one of the biggest monsters in the entire Game of Thrones story. He takes his daughters as his wives and offers up their children—his children—to the White Walkers. He’s a rapist and abuser and his scenes will make you shudder just thinking about them. The only reason he isn’t higher up this list is because he doesn’t have as much screen time as some of the other villains.
Walder Frey (David Bradley)
Walder Frey is the man responsible for the Red Wedding, one of the most tragic and violent scenes in the whole of Game of Thrones history. He also has very young wives who he cares nothing for, and just thinking about those poor girls is enough to make you wish Arya had gotten to kill him more than once. She did bake his sons into pies, though, so there’s that.
Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson)
This obnoxious boy-king has never been told “no” a day in his life. He’s an entitled, arrogant, selfish prick who had Sansa’s father Ned killed and put her through hell. The lives of other people meant absolutely nothing to him. When he died via poison it was gruesome, and Cersei’s reaction was upsetting, but there was no doubt he’d gotten what he deserved. He would be number one on this list if not foooorrr…
Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon)
A brilliantly played character and a horrific nightmare of a person. Ramsay tortures, rapes, and murders his way through Game of Thrones and frankly, he made the audience downright uncomfortable at times. He affected many people the audience liked, such as Theon, Jon, and Sansa.
Thankfully, like Joffrey, Ramsay got what he deserved, and it was all because of Sansa. It’s impossible not to cheer for her as she coldly sets Ramsay’s own dogs on him. Goodbye, you absolute bastard of a bastard.
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