Are the worst villains the best or are the best villains the worst? With the promise of greater opposition on the horizon for Westeros, let’s see how Game of Thrones’ long list of evil men and women stack up against each other. 

10. Walder Frey

Basically a worse version of Filch from Harry Potter.

Shameless and lecherous, Walder Frey is the Troll under the bridge who must exact a toll for crossing. With no regards to oaths and loyalty, Walder sides with whoever holds his interest and gets the most out of it. Even when sworn to the Tullys he weaseled his way out of fighting, earning the name “the late Walder Frey” and when still on Rob Starks side he took advantage of his desperation to make a deal for crossing the Twins. No mastermind or risk taker without someone there to back him up, Walder commits an utter betrayal of sacred vows and religious trust by turning on the Starks and selling out to the Lannisters. Inviting the Starks into his home under the false flag of trust and butchering them all without remorse. A villain whose entire motivation was that he did not get his payment ended up paying the steeper price himself.     

9. Littlefinger

Just by looking at him you know you can't trust him.

The sneakiest, slimiest man in Westeros. Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish is a plotter in the shadows, tricking or getting others to carry out his plans, minimizing the risk to himself while putting others in harm’s way. With no true allegiance to anyone, Littlefinger plays both sides to get what he wants and often commits heinous acts to pave his way to the top. Even to those he cares about such as Catelyn and Sansa, he doesn’t seem above selling them out to reap riches and power. With a few silvery words and misdirection, Littlefinger is able to shift others into distrusting one another the way he got Cersei to distrust the Boltons by placing Sansa with them and more recently by trying to incite conflict between the Stark sisters. He is the snake coxing Eve to take the apple. With control of the Vale and his constant whispering at Sansa’s ear, what other tricks is he planning to unleash and what is his ultimate end goal?    

8.  Tywin Lannister

The most intimidating non-monster in Westeros.

The stoic lion who cares more for legacy than family; Tywin Lannister is the alpha of the pride, taking control and charge against the wolves.  A man who is feared as much as he is respected, Tywin showed Westeros that he is not to be opposed by orchestrating the war and the fall of the North’s rebellion. With his dangerous need for keeping his family name at the top, Tywin sought to it by marrying Sansa to Tyrion and even going as far as trying to behead Tyrion for a crime he did not commit. He was a proud and fearsome man, impossible to step up to without being shot down, Tywin excelled at being the pillar of the Lannister’s successes until his death.

7.  Cersei Lannister

Worst. Queen. Ever.

A Queen who doesn’t need dragons to be feared. Cersei is closer to the Mad King then his own daughter; ruling with wickedness, burning people with wildfire, and on the verge of becoming mad herself. Cersei is the last and worst combatant for the Iron Throne, with no regard to the consequences or how high the cost of her actions; different than all other fiendish characters, Cersei enacts her cruel ploys with just as much evilness but added elegance. To her, it’s not the physical torment that matters most, she destroys people on personal levels and makes others suffer for her lion’s share of agony. It’s not a matter of if, but when she dies, will it atone for everything she has caused, or will she fulfill the Mad Kings last words of “burn them all”?

6. Gregor Clegane

A mountain of a man.

 An unthinking beast who rampages and kills without much provocation, Gregor Clegane is the lion’s lion; serving as the Lannister’s mad hound to kill indiscriminately and savagely. Apart from towering over everyone and using that stature to his bloodthirsty advantage, he is responsible for a handful of major deaths and tragedies which include his own brother suffering from a burnt face and the previous Queen, before Cersei, as he raped and murdered her (Elia Martell). As bad as he was, he got worse. With his resurrection as the Zombie Mountain, he became unfeeling and Cersei’s personal monster to be set upon all of her enemies. If CleganeBowl is happening, then Sandor will have a hell of a time taking out his undead brother.

5. Roose Bolton

A vicious hound but never a wolf.

Roose Bolton is tame compared to his son, but that’s not saying much considering how rabid Ramsay was. When your own sigil is a tortured and skinned man, you can’t be the most trusting guy. Roose Bolton was a snake waiting to strike and betrayed The North to put himself on top. When the men under you such as Locke, who chopped off Jaime’s hand and put Brienne in a pit with a bear, and your own bastard son turn out to be so sadistic that has to be due to them emulating you. He was basically the restrained version of Ramsay until his role as dog handler was no longer needed.

4. Euron Greyjoy

Can give Redbeard a run for his money.

Euron Greyjoy proved himself a huge threat in a matter of two episodes. After remaining absent since the first half of season 6, Euron came back full force with an armada ready to conquer the seas. Almost insane, the man is revered as the most feared pirate and is both equal parts cruel and fearless; Murdering his brother to assume the Salt Throne, wiping out Daenerys’ fleet (capturing and mocking the Greyjoy siblings in the process), and demanding to marry Cersei all while insulting Jaime about it. The least amount of screen time compared to other villains but already worse parts of Joffrey and Ramsay just with the added ability to properly lead his people and take charge in a battle.   

3. Night King

Looks like a blue Dath Maul.

The biggest threat to the living, the Night King encompasses all the terrors that come with the dark winter. Commanding an army of strong, hard to kill corpses, the Night King will without a doubt be the biggest and worst opposition for our surviving heroes. With just a small taste of what awaits Westeros with the massacre at Hardhome and his most recent travesty of killing Viserion, the Night King should be at the top of the list by series end, but not enough has been shown of him to justify that yet. After six full seasons, he’s still taking his time with getting to The Wall when characters seem to fly all around the map.     

Night King kills Viserion

2. Joffrey Baratheon

You know you're terrible when your own mother has trouble loving you.

Westeros second most hated bastard. The False Baratheon was the first taste of what the show had to offer in terms of terrible people. At first as appearing as a spoiled child, it wasn’t long until we found out that he was a sadist who was now in control of the kingdom. It might be due in part of being an incest child that Joffrey turned out to be so unbalanced, but his actions and lack of empathy for anyone made him one of the most dreaded characters on the show.  The introduction of worse things to come, Joffrey Baratheon’s rule was an era eagerly wanting to be forgotten.

Joffrey turning into an evil king

1. Ramsay Bolton

Sadism and power, never a good combo.

It’s honestly a struggle to decide who is the worst of them all, but Ramsay Bolton comes at the top due to his start and finish. He was just inventing ways on how someone could be hated so much, Ramsay was the worst parts of all the others to the max; cruel, sadistic, cunning, vicious, and worst of all: he had power. After taking control of The North, Ramsay sought to it to be the darkest time before the oncoming Long Night, his treatment of loved characters and the lack of humanity in him leaves him so despised without any hint of understanding or looking for redeeming qualities from the audience. The way he departed was what made this character at the top; he was evil and got what he deserved.

Ramsay Bolton’s 5 Most Evil Acts

 

Being a villain is subjective, to someone the opposing person is the villain due to being against them. With all the baddies and heroes now finally on the field, how will oncoming events shake up the list? Is there redemption for anyone? Will heroes become worse than the people they’re fighting to win?

 

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