Most commonly known as Hand of the King, the position of the closest advisor to the leader of Westeros holds a vital role in Game of Thrones lore. While the ruling monarchs are almost exclusively male, certain scenarios do result in female characters having a claim to the throne. As such, Hand of the Queen has been a canonically relevant term in George R.R. Martin's fantasy universe. Regardless of whether a would-be king or queen actually sits on the Iron Throne, they still generally appoint a Hand to complete their royal reputation. The first Hand served under Aegon the Conqueror when he took Westeros for the Targaryens centuries before the events of Game of Thrones.
However, the rebellion set in motion by Mark Addy's Robert Baratheon, which ultimately ended the Targaryen dynasty, didn't dissolve the need or tradition for Kings and Queens of the Seven Kingdoms to appoint a Hand. So, Game of Thrones is filled with characters who fill this role. They aren't equal in how good they are at their job, though. The first-mentioned Hand in Game of Thrones is Jon Arryn, who dies off-screen before we get to meet him. He is not the last Hand, though. Let's rank the others based on how well they served their respective monarchs, but bear in mind that Hands from other Game of Thrones projects won't be considered here — only the original show.
7. Mace Tyrell
Played by: Roger Ashton-Griffiths
Mace only appears in 13 episodes of Game of Thrones, and he fails to ever make much of an impact. However, he does briefly serve as Hand of the King to Gethin Anthony's Renly Baratheon when the youngest surviving Baratheon heir pushes his claim for the Iron Throne. It's an arrangement that benefits both sides, with Mace offering up his daughter Margaery (Natalie Dormer) to wed the would-be king so she can serve as queen following Renly's speculative victory. When Renly dies via black magic, the Tyrell allegiance switches back to the Lannisters. Mace is then invited to join the small council as Master of Ships as a gesture of gratitude. In the books, Mace does also serve as Tommen's Hand of the King, but this isn't acknowledged in the HBO adaptation.
6. Kevan Lannister
Played by: Ian Gelder
Kevan serves as King Tommen's (Dean-Charles Chapman) Hand after the death of his brother Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance). Like Mace, Kevan is one of the least memorable Hands in Game of Thrones lore, notching up one less appearance than Mace with just 12 episodes. He leads the small council during an especially turbulent period but is largely victim to the toxic whims of his niece, Lena Heady's Cersei Lannister. As with Mace Tyrell, he is dispensed with when Cersei's plot to destroy the Great Sept of Baelor is successful, as he's one of many key figures inside when the building comes down on top of them.
5. Qyburn
Played by: Anton Lesser
Now we're getting into the territory of Hands who were actually good at their jobs. Regardless, Lesser's character is still near the bottom of the pile. He certainly had the most compelling backstory when compared to other Hands in Game of Thrones, as he was kicked out of the Citadel for his dark, experimental fascination with how medical care could be carried out rather than how it should be. His penchant for Frankenstein-like antics is on full display when he resurrects Ser Gergor (Hafþór JúlÃus Björnsson). While Qyburn is incredibly loyal to Queen Cersei for the freedom she gives him to carry out his experiments, he doesn't have the Seven Kingdoms' best interests at heart. So, he is far from ticking all the right boxes, and even ticks a few of the wrong ones.
4. Davos Seaworth
Played by: Liam Cunningham
As Hand to Stephen Dillane's Stannis Baratheon, Ser Davos is about as loyal as they come. His interests mostly overlap with those of his king, although it's in the liminal space in between that the problems start to arise. Stannis constantly ignores Davos' advice, only ever taking it when the sentiment matches that of his unofficial Hand, Lady Melisandre (Carice van Houten). In this instance, I think Davos is a rare example of being a better Hand than his ruler is a King. Ser Davos always tries his hardest to convince Stannis of the best course of action, and despite being punished for doing so, remains by his king's side. He has all the makings of an elite Hand, but his skills are wasted by a king whose ear belonged to someone else.
3. Tyrion Lannister
Played by: Peter Dinklage
Tyrion is one of the few Game of Thrones characters who survives the entire series, and is easily the most prolific character on this list. His epic arc brings him into the orbit of multiple monarchs, many of whom recognize the benefit of naming him their Hand. After a time filling in for his father as Joffrey's (Jack Gleeson) Hand, Tyrion crosses the Narrow Sea and switches his allegiance to Emilia Clarke's Daenerys Targaryen. After some time as a treasured advisor, Daenerys pins the iconic badge on his chest to make things official. His advice is not always perfect, but his ability to constantly reassess and learn from his mistakes is what earned him a third spell as Hand, when King Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) essentially sentences him to a lifetime of service to the crown for both his errors and his triumphs.
2. Eddard "Ned" Stark
Played by: Sean Bean
Infuratingly, Ned is the perfect Hand that's required at the moment he's asked to serve. King Robert clearly agrees, as he seeks out his immensely honorable friend to replace the late Jon Arryn as Hand of the King. If it hadn't been for Cersei being so solidly installed as the figure pulling all the strings in King's Landing, then perhaps Ned's time as Hand would have been far longer and more successful. He was loyal to Robert as well as hyper-aware of what was right and what was best for the Seven Kingdoms overall. Granted, we only got a brief glimpse of what could have been, but I think it's safe to say that Game of Thrones was making it glaringly obvious that the Lord of Winterfell was the right man to serve as Robert's Hand.
1. Tywin Lannister
Played by: Charles Dance
Tywin Lannister isn't royalty, but his house's ever-shifting allegiances through the centuries have allowed Dance's character to ascend to a position that almost makes him seem like the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. As Hand to the Mad King, Joffrey, and Tommen, the Lannister family patriarch always made sure to serve his king in such a fierce way that his family was always the biggest beneficiary of his hard work and cold decision-making. In other words, he was only such a great Hand in the name of immense self-interest. That said, the end result was the same. Despite being presented largely as one of Game of Thrones' primary villains, the show also makes sure to humanize him and establish him as the show's best-ever Hand of the King (or even Queen).
Game of Thrones is streaming now on HBO Max.
We're near the end of April, but the celebration for Game of Thrones' 15th anniversary continues! Follow along for more retrospective content looking back on the iconic fantasy series.
More Game of Thrones:
Add us as a preferred source on Google