Top 5 Game of Thrones Characters

The driving strength of the smash hit series Game of Thrones is undoubtedly its fantastic roster of characters.  Here in no particular order are my top 5 Game of Thrones characters.  Warning Spoliers ahoy!

Tyrion Lannister is probably one of my favorite literary characters of all time.  He’s funny, but not a comic relief character.  If anything, he’s easily the smartest character in the series.  Nobody besides his father Tywin gets more awesome moments in the series.  He’s great at just about everything, court intrigue, economics, warfare, and actual combat occasionally.  His only hindrance is that no one seems to actually believe in him, which is something he is always ready to take advantage of.  He’s charming, cunning, and likeable.  For a series known for killing off main characters, I have a feeling Tyrion will be in it to the end.  He’s too damn popular.  With the readers anyways.

Littlefinger is probably second only to Tyrion in terms of cunning in the series.  From moment one you know you can’t trust and he’ll tell you that himself.  Why do I like Littlefinger?  Because he’s the character that you love to dislike.  He engineered a war over a woman he loved.  That takes balls.  In addition to being cunning, he can actually back up his plots.  It’s stated several times that he was extremely competent in both economics and diplomacy.  Also, unlike most of the other characters, Littlefinger is a lesser noble.  A noble still, but not someone anybody expected to become as wealthy and powerful as he did.  Littlefinger got to where he is because of his own ability.

Jon Snow is the closest thing this series has to an underdog.  He’s a bastard and that automatically puts him in a low rung in the social ladder of Westeros.  But does he let that get him down?  Well, not anymore.  Jon shows is a great example of those who have greatness thrust upon them.  He rises to the responsibilities as Commander of the Night’s Watch.  Also, he develops greatly as a character.  He starts out prideful, brash, and cocky. He then learns to temper that and do what he thinks is right.  If anything his selflessness is a weakness in a world that encourages the opposite. But he trudges on doing his duty and what he thinks is best.

 

Daenerys Targaryen is the opposite of Jon Snow in that she is someone who was born into greatness.  She was originally seen as little more than a bargaining chip for her brother to garner support for his future conquest of Westeros.  But she quickly demonstrated that she is a far better leader than he ever would be.  She’s young, impulsive, and immature but as the books progress she shows that she is willing to put her people before herself.  She learns quickly and manages to pull some fast ones on people much older and more experienced than her.

 

Finally Arya Stark has had one of the most interesting characters paths in the series. She starts out as the tomboyish odd-daughter out and develops into a faceless assassin.  Literally faceless.  She gets knocked down a few times along her way but always finds a way out.  She’s clever, and more capable than some other characters.   She is simply a badass.  She’s young, but surprisingly more mature than her older sister.  She’s got a good head on her shoulders and a strong knife in her hand.  She’ll be a major player in a few books and I’m looking forward to it.

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