If you've watched Game of Thrones or read George R.R. Martin's book series upon which the HBO show is based, you have likely come to accept one core truth: the bad guys (nearly) always win.
If you are an honorable, kind, gentle-hearted person in Westeros, just give it a few days. Your head will be dipped in tar and mounted on a pike soon enough.
Game of Thrones is filled with unsavory characters who want nothing more than to watch the world burn and decapitate our beloved heroes as they do. From the "Mountain that Rides" to an insane king born of incest, Martin's world has no shortage of jerks who revel in being terrible people.
By no means an exhaustive list — the men below rank as some of the absolute worst Westeros has to offer.
SPOILERS BELOW FOR GAME OF THRONES SEASON 1-4. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Aerys "The Mad King" Targaryen
"Mad King" Aerys never appears in the show or the books, but he is mentioned often. There is, after all, a reason the realm rebelled to overthrow him — the guy was a lunatic. He became increasingly paranoid in old age and especially terrified of sharp objects — so much that he refused to cut his hair or nails. He had a fondness for roasting people alive, including Lord Rickard Stark. He strapped Rickard's son Brandon into a torture device where he slowly strangled to death as he watched his father burn.
Believing that Brandon and Rickon conspired against the throne when Brandon demanded justice for Prince Rhaegar's "kidnapping" of Lyanna Stark, Aerys called for the deaths of Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon – Lyanna's fiance – as well. When Lord Jon Arryn refused to turn the boys over to the king, Robert's Rebellion plunged the Seven Kingdoms into civil war.
Once defeat at the hands of Robert looked certain, Aerys planned to burn the entire city of King's Landing down – along with its hundreds of thousands of residents, rather than let Robert have it. He met his end at the hands of Jaime Lannister — but not before he ruined the entire country.
Joffrey Baratheon
This one is obvious. Is there a more hated person in all the Game of Thrones fandom? Jaime and Cersei's child of incest, Joffrey is as scummy as they come. He personally gave the order to execute Eddard Stark, regularly beats his wife-to-be, basically hates anyone who isn't him, and is into some seriously dark stuff — like clubbing whores to death, for example. And he barely even made it to puberty!
Tywin Lannister
The Worst Dad in All of Westeros award goes to none other than Tywin Lannister. Sure, he likes his children Cersei and Jaime well enough, but he loathes fan-favorite Tyrion, whom he blames for the death of his wife in childbirth.
Tywin even managed to convince Tyrion that his first wife, a commoner, was actually nothing more than a common whore paid to enjoy Tyrion's company. Then to drive the point home, Tywin commanded an entire garrison of men to have sex with Tyrion's "wife" and pay her for it. Turns out that the girl actually was Tyrion's wife, and Tywin is just a monster.
Oh, and he's also the mastermind behind the Red Wedding. There is that too. Tywin Lannister is not a good or even moderately okay person, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
Ser Gregor Clegane
The Lannisters sure have some winners on their side, huh? Joffrey, Tywin and this hulking brute of a man by the name Gregor Clegane. Called "The Mountain That Rides" due to his massive size, this "knight" is one of the most feared men in the Seven Kingdoms.
He personally raped and murdered the queen of Westeros during Robert's Rebellion and bashed the head of her newborn baby against the wall. He's cut down countless innocents over the course of the series, raiding and razing villages across the Riverlands during the War of Five Kings. He also smashed the head of fan favorite Oberyn Martell like a melon in trial by combat. His brother Sandor Clegane isn't much of a nice guy either, but he does have a few redeeming qualities. Gregor, on the other hand, is as evil as they come.
Roose Bolton
Roose Bolton is in many ways the Tywin Lannister of the North. Cunning, ambitious and willing to do whatever necessary to gain power, Roose is not an enemy to be trifled with. For starters, his house sigil is a man being flayed alive. That should probably be enough indication that Roose isn't a good person. He's also one of the main men behind the Red Wedding, where – in the show – he personally shanks Robb Stark to death. But as bad as Roose is, he has nothing on his bastard son...
Ramsay Snow
Ah, Ramsay Snow. Please go away. Forever. Aside from Joffrey, there is not a more messed up person in Westeros. He is fond of hunting people for sport and practicing torture of all kinds. He takes Theon Greyjoy prisoner, mutilates him and then psychologically tortures him into a character known as Reek.
As Reek, Theon has been transformed into a man who is somehow subhuman — in constant fear of Ramsay's wrath but at the same time seeking his love and approval. Even worse, Theon isn't the first Reek. He is just one of many. What happened to the Reeks who came before? It's probably best we don't find out.
Craster
This guy has sex with his dozens of daughters and then offers up their baby boys – who are also his sons – as sacrifices to the Others, who turn them into creepy zombie babies. This guy sucks.
Walder Frey
If you are wondering what kind of character Walder Frey is, let me enlighten you. When House Tully swore allegiance to Robert Baratheon during Robert's Rebellion and rallied their banners, Walder Frey waited until the pivotal battle of the war ended with a Baratheon victory to join in —even though the battle was practically happening on his doorstep, and in spite of being sworn to House Tully of Riverrun.
He earned the nickname "The Late Lord Frey" as a result. A decrepit old man most well known for fathering an absurdly large number of children between eight wives, Walder Frey conspired along with Roose Bolton and Tywin Lannister to murder the Stark army under the guise of a wedding celebration. Doesn't get much classier than that.
Victarion Greyjoy
Almost as a rule of thumb — if your last name is Greyjoy, you are probably the worst. Such is the case with Victarion. In addition to murdering, raping and pillaging like the rest of his countrymen, Victarion holds the special distinction of murdering one of his wives. Yes, he has multiple wives, one "official" one and multiple "salt wives," whom Ironborn men kidnap from various villages on the mainland they conquer. Why did Victarion murder this particular salt wife? Because she was raped by his brother, Euron, and he was embarrassed by it.
Euron Greyjoy
If you're thinking, "wow, that Victarion guy sounds awful, but his brother Euron must be just as bad," then you are 100 percent correct. After raping his brother's wife, Euron was banished from the Seven Kingdoms for the act. Not that he cared much.
He continued to sail the seas, raping and murdering as he saw fit until eventually returning to the Iron Islands to be crowned king. Great. He is also the captain of a ship named the "Silence." Why Silence, you ask? Because Euron removes the tongue from every crewman aboard the vessel so he doesn't have to listen to their backtalk.
Theon Greyjoy
Oh Theon. We know you didn't deserve to be tortured by Ramsay Snow. Nobody deserves that. But if we're being honest, you were kind of a jerk. Remember that time when you betrayed the family who raised you as one of their own? Or that time you took over their castle? Or how about that time you pretended to murder the two youngest Stark children, but actually just murdered two random kids (because that totally makes it better). Yeah, you weren't a nice kid, but even we wouldn't wish your current fate on you. We aren't that heartless.
Petyr Baelish
Master manipulator and backstabber supreme, Petyr Baelish – also known as Littlefinger – is without question the most cunning man in all of Westeros. In fact, he is the source behind many of the series' pivotal moments. A self-made man of low birth who rose to prominence in King's Landing as the realm's Master of Coin, Littlefinger manipulated Lysa Arryn into murdering her husband, the hand of the king Jon Arryn, and he also encouraged her to write a letter to Catelyn claiming the Lannisters were behind Jon's death. This would pit the Starks and Lannisters against one another and eventually lead to the War of Five Kings.
He betrayed Ned Stark by bribing the City Watch when Ned set out to arrest Cersei for putting Joffrey on the throne instead of rightful heir Stannis Baratheon — which led to Ned's execution at the hands of Joffrey. Littlefinger later murdered Joffrey and framed Tyrion for the crime. Upon stealing Sansa away to the Vale of Arryn, Littlefinger pushes Lysa off a mountain to take control of the Vale.
He is also super creepy, trying to make out with Sansa and always talking about how Sansa reminds him of her mother, Catelyn Stark — whom Littlefinger is madly in love with. There are some who admire Littlefinger's skill at playing "the game of thrones," but you are in denial if you think he is a good person.
Melisandre
Melisandre, "the red woman," doesn't look so bad on the outside. In fact, her heart is in the right place — all she wants is to help Stannis – the rightful heir – win the throne so he can save the world from the Great Other. Her methods for getting Stannis there, however, are less than savory. She murders people with shadow babies (yes, that's a thing) not once but twice and is also fond of burning non-believers and innocent children at the stake as sacrifices to her Lord of Light, R'hllor. Overall, not a great role model.
Every One Of The Bloody Mummers
This group of marauders – who actually prefer to call themselves the Brave Companions – are made up of some of the worst criminals and sellswords in all of Westeros and are employed by Tywin Lannister to ravage the countryside. Eventually they conspire with Roose Bolton to take over Harrenhal and murder all the Lannisters within. In the meantime, they rape and murder anybody they can get their hands on.
Janos Slynt
Janos Slynt is the captain of the Goldcloaks who betrayed Ned Stark at Littlefinger's behest. Slynt quickly makes a name for himself as a total jerk. He attempts to murder Ser Barristan Selmy on Joffrey's orders after Joffrey banishes the man from the kingsguard. He is briefly given control of Harrenhal, but is soon sent to the Wall, where he serves as a spy for the crown.
Slynt attempts to have Jon Snow put to death by labeling him a traitor and later forces Jon on a suicide mission to assassinate Mance Rayder. That doesn't work out as planned, because Jon survives and is elected as Commander of the Night's Watch. Slynt refuses to follows Jon's orders and is eventually put to death — but not before whining about it like a big baby.
Who is the worst in all of Westeros? Did we miss a character who deserves to be on the list? Let us know in the comments below.
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