Well, if nothing else, Sunday night’s episode of Game of Thrones (“The Mountain and the Viper”) reaffirmed that old sports adage: “Always play to the whistle.” Having read the book, I saw it coming but, at the same time, I didn’t see it coming.
And so, coming off that shockingly gruesome instalment, I thought it might be nice to follow up my list of My Top 10 Favorite Game of Thrones Characters –
June 1, 2014: My Top 10 Favorite Game of Thrones Characters!
– with a list of My Top 10 Most Hated Game of Thrones Characters.
And, hey, whaddya know! One character has the distinction of appearing on BOTH lists!
10. Bran Stark
Every time this kid appears onscreen, my eyes glaze over and I redirect my attention to far more interesting pursuits – like surfing the net on my handy iPhone. Something about getting somewhere and visions and a big tree…? I don’t care.
9. Theon Greyjoy
He was weak and pathetic even before he fell into the clutches of Ramsay Snow. Can’t muster much sympathy for a guy who murdered two innocent farm boys. But not Bran Stark.
8. Stannis Baratheon
A dull milksop whose ambitions far surpass his limited skill set. Fortunately for him, he’s got a witch in his corner.
7. Tywin Lannister
Worst Dad Ever!
6. Viserys Targaryen
This petulant whiner’s actually reminded me of someone I know. His “crowning” was well-deserved.
5. Robbin Arryn
Forget those precocious and loveable tykes from the Adam Sandler romcoms; THIS kid is what you can look forward to if you have children.
4. Ramsay Snow
Admit it. You too knew this guy in high school and predicted he would someday end up, in his father’s basement, honing his torture skills.
3. Gregor Clegane (The Mountain)
From an honourable mention position to a Top 5 finisher, all on the strength of a single episode!
2. Cersei Lannister
The only character to make both lists, she is that rare someone I love to hate and, alternately, hate to love.
1. Joffrey Baratheon
Not even death mitigates my intense dislike for the sadistic little weasel.
Honorable mentions: Lysa Arryn, Roose Bolton, and Walder Frey/Balon Greyjoy (who I keep thinking are the same guy).
Agree? Disagree? Care to weigh on last Sunday’s episode? The series as a whole?
Thanks to those who took the time to post a comment on this months Book of the Month Club selection, Evening’s Empires. I had a feeling the opinions would be mixed.
Anything else on your mind? Do tell.
Not a big fan of kids, eh?
I posted the first paragraph of this on the June 1 thread, but I’ll repost it here:
I don’t know why I continue to watch GOT. Every character with some redeeming traits gets killed off, and in the most gruesome ways possible. Good guys don’t win. Bad guys win all the time. The more despicable and conniving you are, the farther ahead you get. The lesson this show teaches is that morality never pays. So not only is it depressing to watch (b/c your favourites keep getting killed off), but it’s potentially damaging to our social fabric, which is fragile enough as it is.
At this point, I think I’m only watching because everyone else is, and it’s nice to have a common interest to discuss and debate. But honestly, if they suddenly stopped producing this show, I’d secretly feel relieved that I didn’t have to be subjected to it anymore.
Anything else on your mind? Yes. The new NCIS::New Orleans. I adore Scott Bakula, but I am concerned about the over-the-top accents (having been to NOLA many times, I’m familiar with the drawl) That, and an apparent dearth of black characters – hardly typical of New Orleans.
I wouldn’t say that I hate Bran but his character arc so far has been pretty dull. I expect big things from him, though.
We haven’t seen enough of The Mountain to get to know his warm, fluffy, saving-drowning-kittens-from-the-river side. I felt the fight with Oberyn was pretty close to the book:
I tend to agree with most of the rest of your list.
I think my least favourite character is Sansa Stark. Again, ‘hate’ it such a strong word. I don’t hate her, I just don’t care about her. She’s a born victim. Meekly being pushed and pulled by other people and never standing up for herself. I don’t deny that she’s brave. Having to go through what she’s gone through shows she’s got courage. We see some signs in the latest episode that she’s beginning to learn the game and that she can manipulate people for her own gains so she might redeem herself in my eyes. The question is whether that will happen before she inevitably gets killed off.
I respect your list, but as a Ser Davos fan, I have to also be a King Stannis Baratheon fan.
@ kathode & Katydid
EIDOLON
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eidolon_(apparition)
Dacoit
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?rd=1&word=dacoit
I pretty much agree with your entire list (with maybe a few changes in position) except Bran. Ramsay Snow would be #1 on my list (he is the most chilling villain I have seen portrayed on film). Great series with the unexpected always around the corner. I will be seriously bummed if Peter Dinklage gets the axe however. I need to start reading the source material.
The Red Witch could choke on a pickled beet as far as I’m concerned.
@ Bailey – LOL! I was thinking the exact same thing! Good thing Joey isn’t a breeder. 🙂
das
I don’t hate Bran but agree on the rest, lol.
I feel exactly the same way. It’s hard to believe Sansa and Arya share the same genes. But why does Sansa finally grow a pair in defence of Littlefinger, of all people? Is she that dim that she doesn’t realize he’s the most dangerous person she’s ever met? (Not to mention creepy! That kiss: EW!!!) Wouldn’t she be better off if he got tossed through the Moon Door too? I don’t understand what she thinks she’s gaining by covering for him.
That’s my problem in general with Sansa. We never really get inside her head in the show. The book had whole chapters written from her POV, but in the show, there’s been little opportunity for us to get to know what’s going on behind her eyes. Arya had her friends and now the Hound to talk to. Bran had Osha and now the Reeds. Sansa has had no one to reveal herself to.
This is an example of where the show really should’ve diverged more from the book; there needed to be a character to whom Sansa could open up, so that we could know her better and see something of her other than her victimhood. There could have been more of a relationship with Shae, for example, or with Old Lady Martell (I forget her name at the moment). Heck, with Tyrion even! I thought the producers might be going there, because at Joffrey’s wedding Sansa and Tyrion shared a joke, and they seemed to be getting along much better as a couple than they did in the book. They could have bonded over their shared persecution complexes. But no. That relationship went nowhere, and then Sansa was spirited away by yet another person she can’t open up to. So she remains an empty shell of a character.
I thought I left a comment about Tyrion on a previous post, but either I failed to press Post Comment, or I wrote something Joseph didn’t care for, possibly a spoiler? Probably the first, I think my mind is going.
I’m glad they chose not to chop off Tyrion’s nose as they did in the book. I really wouldn’t want to watch that. Besides, like you I like the Tyrion character. He’s one of the few characters that I consider to be a halfway good person, especially considering his parents and siblings. At least that’s still alive, besides Arya who is a fun character to watch. I loved how she laughed when she found out her aunt was dead. Sansa Stark just started to show she has a brain after all, and isn’t just a lump of flesh dressed up in silly clothes.
Will the Mountain live? He was stabbed in the guts, wasn’t he? That’s usually a nasty ugly ending, a slow, painful way to go. On the other hand, perhaps he will eat a doctor whole so he can perform surgery from the inside. Like an incredible voyage thing, except without the shrink ray.
LINE NOISE:
I would point out that we’ve heard about the Mountain a few times. He was the one who burned his brothers face for playing with his toy. And rumor has it he kills women, children and babies, and is a bit of a rapist.
In the book, by this point the mountain had been going around village to village killing indiscriminately for enjoyment, if I remember correctly..
While we’re on the subject of The Mountain and Sunday’s gore-fest:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/06/03/no-you-cant-crush-a-mans-skull-with-your-bare-hands/?wpisrc=nl%5Feve
I have only been able to see the whole of the first season and a couple of episodes on long haul flights. I am in much agreement of Kathode. But the character I leased liked and was not on your list was the Wife of Ayron Stark. She was a self seeking emotionally driven person. I felt rather disturbed when she went to gather support from her sister. The king of the two bridges was a most despicable type but a seemingly realistic character. His elimination of the Stark clan was rather Nibelungenlied like. Too much throat cutting. Not sure if I will get the second season on my return trip to Thailand.
Just for fun
“15 Hilarious Attempts to Make Horrifying Food Look Fancy”
http://offbeat.topix.com/story/12253?utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=12253
@Bailey:
I liked Octo-dog…
Any thoughts? Yeah. I was recently stuck watching broadcast TV and my choices came down to The Six Million Dollar Man, hockey with teams other than the Blackhawks, and I Spy. I chose the first.
It’s basically a Sci-Fi superhero show. Those types of shows have their own technological mythology to explain how impossible things can happen, but there was one thing I couldn’t figure out:
What did they make Steve Austin’s jeans from?
He’s wearing typical 1977 tight jeans with the slightly flaired, mini-bell bottoms, but he can run at 60 miles an hour in them without bursting into flames? Sure, it’s in slow motion, but he strains to bend over and pick up a car due to their tightness, but running at 60 miles an hour causes no undue friction? Did they give him any another bionic body part(s) where the friction would be greatest that they failed to mention?
I’m thinking a special NASA designed crotch-heat-shield installed in a pair of Sears Toughskins could explain it. Sears had money back then, but I don’t think “Synergy” existed in that period of TV history. 🙂
(I keep thinking of the Degree antiperspirant they used as a live advertisement on Eureka to keep the show going)
Does anyone know what the +/- three digit number that runs through the intro from test flight to surgery stands for?
I like Roose Bolton. He does exactly what he says he’s going to do and thinks before he leaps. I love what that actor does in the role, he doesn’t get big speeches but you always see the wheels working upstairs, same with Tywin. I loved Tywin’s many chats with Arya; if Arya had been a Lannister she would have been Tywin’s favorite. I love little Bran but I agree his storyline is stagnating in the woods, plus Bran’s best scenes were with Osha; Osha is way more interesting than the tree huggers Bran hangs out with lately.
Remember… You did ask. Unfortunately; I have nothing to contribute concerning the Game of Thrones. I haven’t had time to watch the program yet. You see… I am about to turn a very LONG STORY into one bite from a whole pie. It goes like this: Growing up I was super hyper; but no one knew anything back then about ADHD, and dear old mumsy would not have believed it anyway. Zip forward… the exact number of years is top secret… In 2007 all 3 of my God-daughters were diagnosed with ADHD- Their mother… after ‘XX’ years is more like a sister… recognizing many of her children’s traits in herself, asked her own doc… Well yes, she is the reason they have it… Genetics… However genetics can not explain why my God-daughters had many of my habits too! .It was our standing joke… The girls were hers, and mine… not from their mom and dad, since he didn’t have any habits or behaviors in common with them.
How that could have worked- I haven’t the slightest idea… I do know that I no sooner mentioned it to my doctor, and the verdict was a resounding… “Of course you are, I thought you knew that.” That was that question answered… All of us ADHDer kids; even full grown models like me…. have a handful out of a triple handful of symptoms. I was medicated… but was still having a hard time focusing…
Until my Doc suggested a new medication that wasn’t an amphetamine sulfate, like Adderall. It is still a stimulant, but not of the same family, is what I understand. Wow- what a difference! There’s a whole world out there I never noticed before! It did not take me long to build the coping skills I needed… But catching up with the rest of the world has been a real “B” word.
It was rather intimidating at first… At my age I am just now discovering all kinds of things I like in the world… and as for TV programming- That has been the biggest challenge of all- especially as I dearly love Sci fy… But I never had the patients to sit and watch a program all the way through until recently, that is. Thanks to Netflix and another like it, I have caught up on all the Star Treks, The Stargates, loads of movies, and documentaries released in the last few years,
But I find I am not just interested in the stories themselves… I am also interested in the actors and actresses that played their parts so well, the writers, producers, and directors are of equal interest to me. Or maybe it is my natural curiosity; now with a focused mind, that is driving this… Whatever it is I am having a marvelous time… I am discovering new things every day… Which is as exciting as it was when I was a kid… OK- I can not express exactly how wonderful all this is without revealing my age…
At the age of 54, I feel so Alive, and Vital, and as filled with awe, as any 8 year old girl learning about the world she lives in… At the age of 52, I developed my very first “Movie Star Crush”… and it is still going strong… But my interest- almost insatiable curiosity about the creative process that makes a story come to life on the big or little screen- Now that surprises me. I am from southern Cali. and used to seeing a movie star here and there once in a while. Celebrity has never impressed me… and as a human behaviourist, I can spot the creeps, creepers, ghouls, and every kind of deviant you can imagine- even when they are playing the part of a good guy. I know exactly how – “similar and different” people are from one another. Which is to say, all other variables set aside- no one is “Better” than another. (Shhhh,,,, don’t tell the guy with the bad combover… it might give him a heart attack!)
Happily; I found your blog while looking for information on one- Mark Savela… he was a Stargate Special Effects Supervisor; and is the Creator of… and shot a short for… A new Sci fi program called Echoes- Starring none other than my “Movie Star Crush”- Mike Dopud, ( He started as a stunt men on the first Stargate series, and played small parts in SG-1, and Atlantis, then a recurring supporting actor role on the cancelled SGU) The short Mr. Savela made is Brilliant! But that is not the reason I had been researching his career. I’ve been looking for contact information on everyone, and anyone whom had a hand in SGU, in the hopes of talking someone into continuing the story.
It has great potential, and is a very compelling story on it’s own…. Since I have no idea if you have seen it, I won’t reveal much about it- Just these 2 things… They are searching for “The Destiny of all things” far out into the universe; and as a sociologist/human behaviourist- I am sure I could tell them how to fix the few small things behind the low viewership. It’s an entirely knew Stargate program… different from the first two in approach… and the writers just missed a few things is all. If you are trying to portray “Real Human conflict’- without hyped up drama like the newer Battlestar Galactica… then you have to allow “Real Human interaction, and behaviour” to dictate a certain amount of the story line. You can not simply decide character reactions based on an unchanging plot plot line. People change, people grow… and no where is it more true than in a protracted traumatic/crisis.
Wow- I carried on a bit, didn’t I? Sorry about that! When my mind is focused on a subject… I can not stop my fingers! “_ I never did tell you what made me read your blog… after I found it I mean…. It was your first post back in December of 2007. and my answer to that post is… Heck yeah, Laser guns, and world domination…. COUNT ME IN. Ciao
BTW- I can be found on FB and Google Blogger. I have a couple other projects in the works… so who knows what the future holds.