Most Powerful Game of Thrones Characters, Ranked

Summary

• Game of Thrones characters vary in power, with some, like Tywin Lannister, wielding immense political clout.
• Robb Stark starts strong but ultimately loses the war against the Lannisters due to emotional misjudgments.
• Powerful characters like Cersei Lannister survived while strong men around them died, showcasing their cunning and ruthlessness.

HBO’s Game of Thrones is a storehouse of incredibly powerful characters who inflict heavy damage on their enemies and armies. These individuals have wealth, or formidable armies, dragons, artillery, influential allies, loyal and capable aides, or all of them. As Game of Thrones is a power struggle between noble families of Westeros, it is only natural that some Houses and their members wield more power than others.

While Game of Thrones has no dearth of highly influential, strong, and important characters, the fact remains: not all of them are equal in stature and power. The extent of each individual’s power varies. For example, between Tywin and Robb, the former, Tywin, had much more political clout, though Robb had a bigger army at his disposal. So, where does this comparison leave the rest?

10

Robb Stark

Starts Strong But Loses The War Against The Lannisters

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1

Robb Stark starts as a powerful character, rallying a large army behind him to free his father, Ned, from the dungeons of the Red Keep. The noble Houses of the North pledge their allegiance to him, and after Ned’s beheading, Robb is chosen by Northmen as King in the North.

Robb defeats the Lannister armies in the Battle of the Whispering Wood and the Battle of the Green Fork. His victories are a slap in Tywin’s face, and his army marches on. However, Robb lets his emotions cloud his judgment. He uses Walder Frey’s bridge but breaks his oath. Robb angers Lord Walder by setting aside Roslin Frey for a foreigner, and beheads Lord Karstark, after which his numbers fall significantly. In the end, Robb walks right into the Bolton-Frey trap at the Red Wedding, and his army is butchered at the Twins at the orders of Tywin.

9

Olenna Tyrell

A Strong-Willed Matriarch

• First Appearance: Season 3, Episode 2

The tart-tongued Olenna Tyrell spearheaded House Tyrell’s rise to power in the capital. She allied with House Lannister, in which the Tyrell armies aided the Crown against Stannis Baratheon in the Battle of Blackwater. Following this, Olenna and her grandchildren, Ser Loras and Margaery, became influential in King’s Landing.

When Margaery was betrothed to the imbecile monster, King Joffrey, Olenna plotted to kill him. She managed to take him out, paving the way for Margaery to marry his younger, naive brother, Tommen. Olenna eventually fell victim to Cersei’s machinations, and in the end, the Lannister armies sacked Highgarden. Jaime gave her a clean death. Yet, she went out like a true lady, telling him that it was she who killed his and Cersei’s vicious son using the Strangler poison.

8

Lord Baelish

Master of Coin And Master Manipulator

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 3

Once, Robert’s Master of Coin, Lord Baelish, dreamed of placing himself on the Iron Throne, with Sansa by his side, but she saw right through him. Though she took her sweet time recognizing his true nature and learning his machinations, she eventually had Arya end his life.

Baelish’s endgame was simple— he used people as a ladder to reach the top. A few of his victims included Ned and Catelyn Stark, and Lysa Arryn, among others. He sowed discord and built his empire on chaos. He benefited from Ned’s presence at court, Sansa’s naivety, Catelyn’s trust, Joffrey’s stupidity, and Cersei’s impulsiveness. He was given Harrenhal, became Lord Protector of the Vale through his marriage of convenience to the unstable Lysa Arryn, and had control over the little lord of the Vale, Robyn Arryn. Baelish only got so far, and his dreams remained unfulfilled.

7

Tywin Lannister

A Political Heavyweight In The Realms Of Power

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 7

Tywin Lannister was once the richest, most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms. The crown owed him a huge debt, forcing King Robert to bend to his will. Tywin’s loyalists, such as Ser Gregor Clegane, aka the Mountain, enjoyed impunity and were untouchable.

Tywin was a master strategist, a cunning politician, and a brilliant commander. He was a strong patriarch who wanted to leave a legacy for his children. He kept his enemies close and warned his daughter to proceed with caution. However, his lifelong animosity towards his youngest son, Tyrion the Imp, cost him his life. He sentenced Tyrion to death in Joffrey’s murder trial and was shot by a crossbow in retaliation.

6

Cersei Lannister

Survived While Strong Men Around Her Died Like Flies

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1

Married to King Robert Baratheon, Cersei was a cruel, ruthless, and fierce tyrant who cared only about her interests, the interests of her House, and her three children. When the then-Hand of the King, Ned Stark, confronted her about the illegitimacy of her children and urged her to flee the capital, she stayed put and retorted:

When you play the Game of Thrones, you win, or you die. There is no middle ground.

Cersei used Lord Baelish, provoked Ned into making one foolish decision after another, and weakened his position at court. While she ordered her cousin, Lancel Lannister, to keep filling Robert’s cup during the royal hunt, compromising his senses to a point where a boar ripped him open. With Robert dead, Cersei seized power and became the dowager queen, forming alliances that once again served her interests. She eventually became Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, but Daenerys Targaryen took the Iron Throne in the Battle of King’s Landing. Daenerys torched the city atop Drogon, while Cersei died underneath the rubble. That said, Cersei survived as the last of the wars and battles unfolded.

5

Lord Varys

The Spider Who Spied For The Realm

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 3

All throughout his life, Lord Varys did not swear loyalty to any one particular person but to the one he believed was fit to rule the realm. An eunuch, Varys, came from nothing but ended up as the Master of Whisperers on the Small Council in the Red Keep.

Varys employed a vast network of little birds who brought him news from all nooks and corners. He lost faith in one ruler after another, and Daenerys executed him for betraying her in the final hours of Game of Thrones. He held some of the most powerful positions in Westeros and later at Daenerys’ court. He was a true servant to the people, but nobles kept disappointing him.

4

Daenerys Targaryen

Ruled Essos With Love And Westeros With An Iron Fist

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1

Daenerys’ method of ruling and governance varied from that in Essos to Westeros, but she was born to rule, nonetheless. Her father, Aerys II, was killed by his Kingsguard, Ser Jaime Lannister, at the end of Robert’s Rebellion.

Daenerys lived in foreign lands with her abusive brother, Viserys. She believed the crown was his, but her marriage to the Dothraki warlord, Khal Drago, changed everything. Her journey began with Drogo’s death; she ruled over the remnants of his Khalasar as their Khaleesi, and became mother to three baby dragons born from petrified dragon eggs from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai. Her rise to power came to a halt in the aftermath of the Battle of King’s Landing. She became Queen of the ashes and lost her sanity. She did not want to stop anytime soon, until Jon plunged a dagger into her heart, ending her short-lived reign of tyranny.

3

Tyrion Lannister

The Imp Outlived His Family And Became Hand To Bran

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1

Tyrion Lannister started off Game of Thrones as a sassy character, entertaining with his brand of tongue-in-cheek humor. The fandom loved Tyrion’s presence around the Starks of Winterfell, his nephews and niece, sister Cersei, brother Jaime, and father, Tywin. However, there was much more to Tyrion than just being Thrones‘ funny one.

Tyrion had craved his father’s validation all his life. He was the smartest of all Lannisters, but also the kindest. He knew leadership required determination, and a dozen more qualities—and he had most of them. The Lannister victory at Blackwater Bay was partly due to his trick with Wildfire. He briefly served on the Lannister-led Small Council, but his father and sister discarded him after their victory. In the aftermath of the Purple Wedding, Tywin framed him for Joffrey’s murder. Tyrion was innocent; he managed to escape with Jaime’s help, eventually serving as Daenerys’ Hand. He nudged Jon to end her tyranny and helped the most powerful lords and ladies of the realm move forward with Bran as their new king.

2

Sansa Stark

Grew Into Her Power

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1

Sansa came a long way from being a little dove who dreamed of being Joffrey’s wife and giving birth to his children, to becoming Queen in the North. As a child, she believed her purpose in life was to marry the king and become another Cersei-like figure in the capital. But this idyllic dream began to fade slowly during the War of the Five Kings.

Sansa saw Joffrey and the Lannisters for what they truly were—monstrous people who stole her family from her, and had her father and brother beheaded. She survived the Lannister ally, Ramsay Bolton, in the North, used Baelish to win the Battle of the Bastards, and successfully brokered the North’s independence with her brother, King Bran. She was crowned Queen in the North—and that was that.

1

Bran The Broken

King Of The Six Kingdoms

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1

While powerful figures squabbled among themselves, Bran, who was paralyzed from the waist down, won Game of Thrones. He began his journey as the little lord of Winterfell, ruling in the older Starks’ stead.

Bran’s journey from a wanderer to the Three-Eyed Raven is incredible. He became the memory of the living world, played a pivotal role in defeating the Night King and his Army of the Dead, and ultimately took his place as King of the Six Kingdoms, remarking on his predestined role:

Why do you think I came all this way?