All 15 Targaryens from Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, ranked worst to best

Ah, the ever-intimidating yet fun task of ranking characters from the world of George R.R. Martin. In a universe filled with power plays, heartbreak, and moments of unexpected heroism, it’s always fun to look back at our favorites (and least favorites) and see where they stand against each other.

How can you compare a cunning queen to an exiled princess, a noble knight to an idiotic brother? My assessment is based not only on their actions throughout Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, but also their reputations among fans and the depth they add to the story. But at the end of the day, the judgments are very subjective.

Before we begin, be warned that this list will include MAJOR SPOILERS for House of the Dragon, as I will be considering what these get up to not only during the first season of the show, but also on the pages of George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.

Let’s get started, shall we?

15. Viserys Targaryen

Ah, Viserys Targaryen…where do we even begin?

From the get-go, our blond-haired ex-prince-but-would-be-king-again-eventually-maybe decided that playing the role of a moody, egotistical, arrogant jerk was his go-to move. His obnoxious and blood-boiling treatment of his sister Daenerys, his overwhelming sense of entitlement, and the smugness that he constantly wore on his face were quite the toxic cocktail. Redeeming qualities? Sorry, they aren’t applicable to him, unless you count the fact that he dies screaming in pain.

It wasn’t just Viserys’ arrogance and cruelty that had us all rolling our eyes every time he dared to open his mouth. Nope, it was his complete lack of strategic thought and inability to adapt to his surroundings. Viserys couldn’t adapt to life among the Dothraki if his life depended on it, which it did, as we all remember. The fact that not everyone would he met bent the knee just because he demanded it drove him mad. He dies early on in Game of Thrones and wasn’t missed.

14. Helaena Targaryen

Helaena Targaryen’s life is the kind of stuff that bards cry over at inns. As we see in the first season of House of the Dragon, she’s a young mother to a set of twins, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera. In Fire & Blood, she also gives birth to a son, Maegor, all by her abusive brother-husband Aegon. Before her life is over, she’ll have to go through the trauma of being told to choose one of the twins will die, but for the twin she chooses to be spared and the other killed instead. She eventually takes her own life in her misery. It’s a very dark and sad moment.

Helaena was nothing like the other Targaryens of her time: she was kind and innocent. In House of the Dragon, she’s a Dreamer, one of the few Targaryens who get glimpses of the future, which she speaks about in riddles at the most random times. Nobody pays close attention to her words… but they should.

Here’s to Helaena Targaryen: the forgotten heroine, the Targaryen who could have been so much more.