All 8 Starks in Game of Thrones, ranked from worst to best

5. Catelyn Stark

Catelyn is the Stark that I’m most conflicted about. There are so many reasons to love her, and yet I still feel frustrated with her at times. Let’s start with the good. A central character in Game of Thrones, Catelyn loses a lot in a short amount of time, including her husband and almost all of her children (or at least, that’s what she’s led to believe). It’s easy to empathize with her and understand why she becomes bitter. I’m sure I’d react the same way.

Catelyn is depicted as a strong and determined character, something I really admire about her. I love the way she carries herself and presents her ideas to the men in her life who hold all the power. She has such a love for her family…except for Jon Snow, that is. And that’s the one thing that’s holding me back from placing her higher on this list.

One of the things Game of Thrones does best is developing morally ambiguous characters who aren’t exactly good or bad, and while Catelyn is typically an honorable woman, her treatment of Jon Snow is shameful. Angry at Ned for betraying her and fathering a bastard (or so she thinks), she takes it out on Jon instead of her husband. Jon is an innocent kid who did not choose to be born, but he’s also an easy target for Catelyn. It’s disheartening to see her stoop so low.

This definitely makes her a more complex character, but it also makes me like her less.

4. Ned Stark

If Ned Stark had more screen time, I’m sure he’d be higher on this list. A man of honor and integrity, Ned is a dependable leader and a fantastic father and husband. But his strong sense of duty leads to his downfall once he becomes Hand of the King to his friend Robert Baratheon and relocates to King’s Landing.

Ned can’t stomach the Lannister family’s lack of morals, and after he discovers that Cersei’s children were actually fathered by her twin brother Jaime and not her husband King Robert, he cannot let them get away with it. He attempts to remove Joffrey from power, but the Lannisters spin the narrative and he ends up in prison for treason, and is eventually killed.

Ned Stark does eventually acknowledge Joffrey as king, but only so the Lannisters will spare the life of his daughters. And though Joffrey executes him anyway, Ned is honorable to the end. While it’s a shame he dies so early, we can see his influence on his children throughout the rest of the show. He’s a great character whose death is a catalyst for the war to come.