Top Ten Tuesday: A Song of Ice and Fire: Characters I Have a Love/Hate Relationship With

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish.

So I am fairly obsessed with both the book series A Song of Ice and Fire and its HBO counterpart, Game of Thrones. I’m used to a new season coming out at the end of March, so imagine my not-so-happy feelings at learning I would have to wait all the way to April 24! And I realize that this is not really a problem or issue in the way that other, more real things are, but it was disappointing nevertheless.

Instead of writing up a list of characters I hate (there aren’t that many), I thought I’d put some of the more well known characters on a spectrum from hate to love and see what we get. I’ve tried to keep commentary to a minimum as I know some people aren’t caught up with the books/series. If you haven’t read these books/seen this show, and you like fantasy then just quietly pick up the first book. You’re welcome.

Loathe, Revile, Detest:

  • Joffrey Baratheon evil little cockroach
  • Ramsay Bolton a new level of evil, scarier than white walkers

Hate:

  • Gregor Clegane scary dude
  • Cersei Lannister I know you’re in a rough position, but I just can’t make myself like you
  • Petyr Baelish vile
  • Stannis Baratheon he may be the rightful heir, but he’s a nut
  • Tywin Lannister for someone who cares a lot about family, you’ve sure done a terrible job with yours…
  • Roose Bolton only slightly less scary than his son
  • Melisandre and I disagree about basic things–like she calls what she does sacrifice, and I call it murder

Dislike strongly:

  • Theon Greyjoy I have some sympathy for the guy, but it would be a lie to say I liked him
  • Lysa Arryn so annoying

Fed up with:

  • Catelyn Stark just. stop.
  • Jorah Mormont please. stop.

Frustrating:

  • Jaime Lannister I want to like him, but he drives me nuts
  • Robb Stark we were finally getting somewhere before you started making really dumb decisions

Ambivalent:

  • Daario Naharis and pretty much every other person Daenerys comes into contact with who’s not on her staff she meets some real winners..not
  • Myrcella Baratheon not enough information to form an opinion, but she seems cool
  • Tommen Baratheon poor kid was always destined to be a pawn

Has their moments:

  • Sansa Stark why does she have to be so frustrating sometimes?
  • Margaery Tyrell there’s certainly more to her than meets the eye
  • Sandor Clegane the Hound is harsh but sometimes likable
  • Lord Varys so wise
  • Oberyn Martell I really admire how developed this character is in proportion to how much page/screen time he gets

Mostly good vibes:

  • Khal Drogo pretty cool dude
  • Eddard Stark died too soon
  • Davos Seaworth one of the most honorable characters
  • Grey Worm tough and loyal
  • Jeor Mormont a great commander

Wish I could hug them (or on second thought, maybe not):

  • Bran and Rickon Stark those poor little Stark boys…
  • Ygritte— it’s no wonder that Jon fell in love with you
  • Brienne of Tarth can’t think of anyone more deserving of the title ‘knight’
  • Bronn makes me laugh
  • Missandei is a good juxtaposition to Daenerys and smart and spirited in her own right
  • Samwell Tarly I feel like if I was a man of the night’s watch, I would definitely be Sam–he’s probably one of the characters I identify with most

These characters make the series:

  • Daenerys Targaryen hail to thee, mother of dragons
  • Tyrion Lannister you complex wonder, you
  • Jon Snow words cannot describe my deep love for you
  • Arya Stark determination, grit, resilience, and general awesomeness–what’s not to love?

If you’ve read the books, or seen the show, does your list align with mine? Which characters do you disagree about? Did I leave off one of your favorites/least favorites? Let me know in the comments.

7 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: A Song of Ice and Fire: Characters I Have a Love/Hate Relationship With

    1. As I said, my list was by no means exhaustive. There are plenty of characters that didn’t get included on this list for the sake of brevity. That said, Rhaegar is only a character seen through others (as he is dead before the start of the series), so I don’t have too much of an opinion of his character–I lean towards the positive, but it wouldn’t be fair to judge without getting to see him in action before he died. And as far as Quaithe is concerned, I also feel that I don’t have enough information on her to judge. She seems to be a fairly benevolent force, despite Daenerys’ misgivings, but she comes from the same place at Melisandre, so who can say? What are your opinions on these characters?

      Liked by 1 person

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