Entertainment

31st Aug 2017

Ranking the best characters from Game of Thrones Season 7

Paul Moore

Nobody could argue with this.

Winter is here and sadly that means that The Long Night without any new Game of Thrones episodes is coming. After an action-packed Season 7, we’ve decided to rank the characters that we felt made the biggest impact throughout.

Note: This ranking isn’t based on popularity, importance to the overall plot of the show, or the perception that they’re a bigger ‘star’. This top 20 is solely based on the characters that did the most with their time on screen and left a lasting impression from these 7 episodes.

25) Archmaester Ebrose

The North remembers: It’s clear that he took a shine to Sam at the Citadel and was proud of his protege’s accomplishments but when it really mattered, he wasn’t helpful when Sam needed him the most.

Sometimes, breaking the rules for the greater good is the best option. A Maester should know this, but there’s a warmth to that character that Broadbent delivered.

Best moment: The look of pride he gave Sam after learning that he cured Jorah’s greyscale. He might have to eat his words on this one though.

24) Qyburn

The North remembers: Cersei is still ruling over Westeros, so it’s fair to say that her Hand must be doing something right and he did.

During this season, we saw Qyburn inventing the scorpion crossbow that can bring down dragons, creating the poison to kill Tyene Sand and it’s very likely that he’ll be working on something ghoulish to defeat the army of the dead now that he has seen a wight at the Dragonpit.

Give the man a hand.

Best moment: Like a kid on Christmas morning.

23) Thoros of Myr

The North remembers: Everyone’s favourite alcoholic priest featured in scenes about the Hound having visions in the fire, reminiscing with Jorah about the Siege of Pyke and an epic fight against a zombie polar bear.

Standard for any man of the cloth. He suffered a good death beyond the Wall.

Best moment: Taking this insult with good grace.

https://twitter.com/theediscospider/status/890622503055314944

22) Dickon Tarly

The North remembers: In his very first battle, he emerged victorious in Highgarden and learned that grown men shit themselves before they die. A valuable lesson.

More importantly, he saved Jaime’s life during the ‘Loot Train’ attack and then refused to bend the knee to Dany.

Despite only having a small role, Dickon was extremely memorable. It’s also possible that he has the biggest shoulders in the Seven Kingdoms.

Best moment: We all got a laugh.

https://twitter.com/skyatlantic/status/894660721124007937

21) Littlefinger

The North remembers: The best schemer in Westeros is now dead but Gillen’s performance will go down as one of the most consistent and multi-layered in the history of Game of Thrones. After revealing his true desires to Sansa last season, we wondered how Lord Baelish would take the next step on that ladder of chaos.

Sadly, it turned out that his treacherous plan wasn’t that good – especially when compared to his previous efforts that have destroyed houses and plunged the Seven Kingdoms into chaos.

Still though, without him, there would be very little for Arya and Sansa to do during their time at Winterfell together. He’ll be missed but this season wasn’t a strong one for him, especially when compared to what came previously.

Best moment: Most fans were pretty pleased to see this.

20) Bran Stark

The North remembers: Bran is no more. Isaac Hempstead-Wright played his scenes with Sansa, Arya and Sam pretty well, but it’s clear that he’s not really concerned about the daily routine of life at Winterfell. His ‘regular’ conversations are vacant and almost robotic. Now that he’s the Three-Eyed Raven, his mind is focused on far bigger challenges.

This being said, Bran still has a massive role to play in The Great War because his greenseer skills will be invaluable, but it’s getting harder and harder to empathise with him.

He’s a vital character, but his arc is desperately tragic because there’s very little left of that boy who loved to climb. It’s also quite possible that he got played by the Night King during his warging visions. Are we all in agreement that Bran accidentally led Jon Snow and his suicide squad into a trap at the frozen lake?

Best moment: His final scene with Sam which reminded us that there’s still a small bit of humanity in there. Nice of him to give us a glimpse of Rhaegar also.

19) Beric Dondarrion

The North remembers: A character that was desperately underused in previous seasons but we finally got a glimpse at the Brotherhood Without Banners stalwart in action.

The scenes that he shared with the Hound were a joy to behold and his conversation with Jon beyond the Wall summed up things perfectly. “Death is the enemy. The first enemy and the last…The enemy always wins. And we still need to fight him. That’s all I know. You and I won’t find much joy while we’re here, but we can keep others alive. We can defend those who can’t defend themselves…Maybe we don’t need to understand any more than that. Maybe that’s enough.” Perfectly apt.

We’ve a strong feeling that he’ll survive the Night King’s attack on the Wall.

Best moment: What else could it be? One iconic shot.

18) Sansa Stark

The North Remembers: From the beginning, she clashed with Jon’s leadership and undermined his decisions in front of the Northern lords. Granted, we understand that she had a major role in winning the Battle of the Bastards and she ruled well in Jon’s absence, but the Arya-Sansa-Littlefinger arc felt very rushed and clunky.

People have been praising her ability to maintain the North’s loyalty in Jon’s absence, but she also did criticise Jon when he was ruling from the Great Hall thus creating seeds of doubt in his leadership.

As we now know, Sansa also required Bran’s help to decipher Lord Baelish’s schemes – check out more on that deleted scene here. Surely she knows her sister better than most?

Yes, it’s nice to see that Sansa’s learning from previous events and growing into a strong and confident leader, but her scenes with the other members of house Stark suffered from Bran’s aloofness and Arya’s plan to trap Littlefinger.

Her most revealing moment was when she openly admitted her admiration for Cersei. Watch this space.

Best moment: Ordering Littlefinger’s execution.

17) Samwell Tarly

The North remembers: Discovered the location of dragon glass (let’s ignore the fact that Stannis told him this years ago at Castle Black), cured Jorah’s greyscale, helped Bran solve the mystery of Jon’s true parentage and cleaned a river of shit at the Citadel.

It’s good to see that he has had enough of the Maesters’ adherence to the rules and regulations. Sam’s his own man and he’ll have a big role to play.

Best moment: The scene when Jorah knew that he was finally free to leave after his greyscale was cured. In those few moments, we were reminded of Sam’s decency, intelligence and loyalty. In many ways, he’s the most relatable hero in the story.

16) Theon Greyjoy

The North remembers: After taking positive steps to move past the Reek persona, Euron Greyjoy’s attack on Yara’s fleet saw Theon suffer a massive case of PTSD . After finding his way to Dragonstone, one scene has redeemed him and it was the best one in the season finale.

Alfie Allen really captured his character’s journey as he talked with Jon about Theon’s struggles with being both a Stark and a Greyjoy.

He’s no longer the ‘cockless coward,’ that his uncle imagines him to be, Theon is an Iron Born and his journey towards redemption has us absolutely pumped for Season 8.

Best moment: That scene with Jon Snow in the Dragonstone throne room will go down as one of the best moments in the season.

"So why you still talking to me?" has just become one of my fave #GameOfThrones lines

— Natalie Abrams (@NatalieAbrams) August 28, 2017

15) Ned Stark

The North remembers: Ok, we know what you’re thinking. How can a dead man – that isn’t the Night King – manage to resonate in the present moment? Well, the revelation that Jon Snow is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne has cast Lord Eddard Stark in a whole different light.

By protecting his nephew’s true identity and keeping a promise that he made to his dying sister, he sacrificed his friendship with his closest ally, Robert Baratheon.

Every decision that Jon Snow makes is crafted, molded and shaped by the valuable lessons that Ned Stark has passed down. It’s also worth noting that Arya and Sansa’s decision to work together, stay united and help each other is a tribute to Ned’s legacy.

“The lone wolf dies and the pack survives,” Ned Stark made sure of this and we’ve delved into more of that here.

Best scene: Arya and Sansa reminiscing about his memory on the battlements of Winterfell.

Ned in this episode #GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/oyYE751lns

— ℬℰ𝒜ℛ (@jorahknight) August 28, 2017

14) Gendry

The North remembers: He finally stopped rowing and became a valuable asset for Jon Snow and his suicide squad beyond the Wall. It’s clear that Gendry is a proud Baratheon and there was an eagerness, energy and positivity to all of his scenes.

He whacked those two gold cloaks in the face without hesitation, had the banter with Davos, offered his loyalty to Jon Snow without hesitation and most importantly, ran back to Castle Black without a thought of his own safety.

His skills as a weaponsmith could prove to be valuable with The Great War approaching. His return was worth waiting for.

Best moment: Just like Ned and Robert.

13) Olenna Tyrell

The North remembers: Truth be told, every scene with Dame Diana Rigg is a joy to behold. After instructing Dany to ‘be a dragon,’ it’s clear that everyone in Daenerys’ war chamber respected and admired the Queen of Thorns.

Who else can somehow manage to pick the perfect death and piss off Cersei in the process? In an ideal world, she would sit on the Iron Throne and have Lyanna Mormont as her Hand.

Best moment: What else could it be?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5IwHW38q7s

Clip via – cene Catcher

12) Arya Stark

The North remembers: After ensuring that winter came for House Frey, she broke all of our hearts by not killing Ed Sheeran. Shame.

After her brief reunions with Nymeria and Hot Pie, the girl that was formerly known as ‘No One’ managed to make it home.

Her initial meeting with Sansa at the Winterfell crypts was heartwarming and that sparring scene with Brienne was epic, but then things got really cluttered with the Littlefinger arc.

At least she was the one that slashed the dagger and ended his life. Bonus points for that!

This being said, Arya’s a badass and she always has been. We’re expecting even bigger things from her next season.

Best moment: A perfect opening. Cold, chilling, calculated and effortlessly cool.

11) Daenerys Targaryen

The North remembers: We’re certain that loyal members of Team Dany are about to burn us with dragon fire for leaving her out of the top 10, but hear us out.

After taking an eternity to cross the Narrow Sea, this season was her time to shine and reclaim what’s rightfully hers, the Iron Throne. Truth be told, she fluffed her lines right from the beginning.

Dorne and Highgarden were lost and it looked like Dany was reverting to the traits of her father. Don’t forget that she was tempted to fly her dragons to the Red Keep and unleash fire and blood. Jon and Tyrion advised her to do the opposite, but she became obsessed with stating her claim to the throne.

We all got tired of hearing her say ‘Bend the knee,’ and ‘I was born to rule the Seven Kingdoms.’ Remember Tywin Lannister’s famous words, “Any man who must say I am the king is no true king.”

This being said, Dany did have her moments this season with the most spectacular one coming when she obliterated the Lannister and Tarly forces during the ‘Loot Train’ attack. Her rescue operation beyond the Wall was also memorable.

As it says in the books “Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.”

She may have convinced Jon to bend the knee, but Dany’s reign could still go two ways.

Best moment: This. Epic. Shot.

10) Euron Greyjoy

The North remembers: The majority of characters in Season 7 were justifiably serious, stroppy, stressed and secretive. Thank God for Euron Greyjoy because his character was like some ‘no fucks given’ pirate that cared about nothing else. All that mattered to him was his desire to live every moment like he’s Keith Richards.

The King of the Iron Islands caught Yara, Ellaria and killed two of the Sand Snakes (thank you). He also teased Jaime about ‘the finger up the bum,’ tormented Theon and he didn’t give a shit about any of the characters that assembled at the Dragonpit. We loved that scene when he kicked-off the meeting by asking Theon to submit to his rule!

The man doesn’t give a shit about anyone and he’s not even intimidated by Cersei.

We loved him.

Best moment: What an entrance. Pure madness.

9) Tyrion Lannister

The North remembers: Can we all just take a moment and appreciate the fact that Tyrion is actually doing something of major importance again in Game of Thrones. There’s no denying that one of – if not THE – finest character and actor in the show was sidetracked by ruling in Meereen, but we’re delighted to see the youngest Lannsiter doing what he does best.

We’re told that he drinks and he knows things, but his plans came unraveled early on in the season and Tyrion had some soul searching to do. Those scenes when he stared down at Jaime on the battlefield and met with him in the crypts at King’s Landing were intense. Still though, nothing could prepare us for what was to come in the finale as the tensest reunion in the show happened, the meeting between Tyrion and Cersei.

Both actors played that beautifully.

Without his advice, it’s likely that Daenerys might have done something rash, but after that very cryptic end to the season, we’re curious about where Tyrion’s intentions lie.

It’s good to have him back at the top table again.

Best moment: Perfect, just perfect.

8) Bronn

The North remembers: As complex as the plot can get in Game of Thrones, isn’t it brilliant that Bronn is there to remind us that everything can be distilled down to one thing, cocks?

“Maybe it is all cocks in the end,” he said but that’s just one of the reasons why he deserves a castle and mountains of gold.

He saved Jaime from certain death, almost killed Drogon, (good if you support House Lannister) took the piss out of Dickon, had a lovely moment with Tyrion, reunited with Podrick and delivered the most withering put down of all-time.

Game of Thrones can get very serious and we need some comic relief. Nobody does it better than Ser Bronn of the Blackwater.

Now, what about his castle?

Best moment: This whole conversation. Vintage Bronn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2VXTXLjvpw

Clip via –Doran Martell

7) Jon Snow

The North remembers: Jon was never going to top his arc in Season 6 – from resurrection to the Battle of the Bastards, he was incredible throughout – but we saw a different side of the King in the North in Season 7.

Jon was calm, authoritative and commanding in his leadership, despite the fact that Sansa disagreed with most of his decisions.

It required a different element of bravery to accept Dany’s offer to visit Dragonstone and we all know what unfolded between them.

Aside from getting a new military ally and lover, Jon’s true claim as the heir to the Iron Throne has confirmed what many held to be true for a long time, he is the most important character in the show. Jon is a Song of Ice and Fire personified.

All this without mentioning another display of his remarkable skills with a sword when he took on the army of the dead beyond the Wall.

Jon is central to everything that goes on, but because he’s in a large majority of scenes, his impact can be diluted.

Don’t get us wrong, we love Jon, but there was more ‘bang for your buck per-minute’ from other characters in the show.

Best moment: That scene when he petted Drogon was amazing but we’re opting for this. Never mess with the King in the North.

6) Tormund Giantsbane

The North remembers: The unsung hero of the entire season. Ask yourself this, have you ever been bored when Tormund was on screen during Season 7? Not only is he a battering ram of a warrior, he’s also one of the funniest characters in the show.

He’s loveable, genuine and incredibly perceptive.

Tormund was the one who noticed that the Hound had “sad eyes” and spotted that Jon Snow’s refusal to bend the knee was because he has now spent too much time with the freefolk and Mance Rayder.

Ned Stark once said that you find your true friends on the battlefield and Tormund has now fought alongside Jon at Hardhome, the Battle of the Bastards and the frozen lake. Like Bronn, he’s an ally, warrior and comedian, all rolled into one.

All this without mentioning lines like…

Tormund: How many queens are there now?

Jon Snow: Two.

Tormund: And you need to convince the one with the dragons or the one who fucks her brother?

or…

Tormund: “You have to keep moving, that’s the secret. Walking’s good, fighting’s better, f*cking’s best.”

Best moment: A spin-off that everyone wants.

Clip via – Miselain

5) Ser Davos Seaworth

The North remembers: Without a doubt, he was the best adviser to any of the rulers in Westeros this season.

Liam Cunningham remarked how his character was a bit more upbeat and jovial this year- it was a joy to watch.

Aside from delivering the perfect meta joke about Gendry rowing, Ser Davos can always be relied upon to just cut through the bullshit, politics and ego that surround the game of thrones.

“If we don’t put aside our enmities and bound together, we will die, and then it won’t matter whose skeleton sits on the Iron Throne,” a perfect description of the shitstorm that’s brewing beyond the Wall.

This being said, we’re very much here for Davos’ one-liners like Jon Snow looking at Dany’s ‘good heart,’ his spontaneous use of the name Clovis and this superb introduction.

He’s the perfect wing man.

One of the most iconic scenes in TV history. Ice and Fire brought together at last❄️🔥 #GoTS7 #GameOfThrones https://t.co/G51TIKnWi0

— angela (@angelacrisantes) July 31, 2017

Best moment: Haven’t we all thought about trying some fermented crab since that scene?

https://twitter.com/Thrones_Memes/status/902803241389391872

4) Cersei Lannister

The North remembers: We’ve frequently said it but she’s easily the best character to play the game of thrones.

Lena Headey is a magnificent actress and as cruel as the Queen can be, it’s those rare moments of humanity that make us remember just how great Cersei is as a character. For example, look at the scene where she’s remembering Myrcella’s memory in the cell with Ellaria Sand. It’s heartbreaking – ironic as Cersei probably doesn’t even have a heart.

Despite Dany’s three dragons, Unsullied army and Dothraki horde, Cersei is still the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and she now has an army of mercenaries arriving from Essos to boost her ranks.

Be honest, you love her and hate her in equal measure. Hell, Sansa has even admitted to admiring her… in a very twisted way of course!

Tywin Lannister would be proud of her.

Best moment: Who genuinely felt that Jaime’s time was up? Nobody walks away from Cersei.

3) The Night King

The North remembers: Anyone see him being stopped? He’s got 100,000+ in his army, a dragon, potential greenseer ability and he’s absolutely badass with a spear. All this without mentioning the fact that he can raise the dead. With the North wide open, he’s going to have even more soldiers in his army.

Remember that every person they kill will instantly be turned. Not to mention horses, dogs and those ice giants.

Also, Jon and Dany’s plan on capturing the wight and uniting the Seven Kingdoms to face the Night King has failed because Cersei instantly double-crossed them.

Right now, the dead are coming and they’re looking far stronger than anyone.

Best moment: What else could it be?

2) Jaime Lannister

The North remembers: As stated previously, his arc has been one of the most fascinating, complex and redemptive features in Game of Thrones and this season really did belong to the Kingslayer.

At the beginning, he had doubts about Cersei’s inability to see the whole threat that was developing in front of them, but being a man with honour (how that has changed from Season 1) he followed her command.

His ability to learn from defeat ensured that the Lannsiters took the valuable supplies of gold at Highgarden, but what unfolded on the King’s Road was a massacre. Dany’s dragons and Dothraki destroyed Jaime’s men, but being the brave knight, he charged at the Mother of Dragons in a bid to end the war.

Some people called this foolish, others know the truth. Jaime is a changed man and it’s likely that he’s now accepting Olenna Tyrell’s final words.

His scenes with Bronn continue to be hilarious and we enjoyed his reunion with Tyrion – even though it felt a bit too rushed. He will have a massive role to play in The Great War.

Long may that continue.

Best moment: A man without fear.

1) The Hound

The North remembers: Make no mistake about it, The Hound embodies everything that’s great about Game of Thrones and he proved that once again in Season 7.

Can he fight? Hell yeah!