This minor Game of Thrones character might be the series' main villain, and he's only in five episodes

Game of Thrones features a few too many villains for comfort. The show is filled to the brim with irredeemable psychopaths like Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleason) and Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon), complex, tragic characters like Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), those at the center of great betrayals such as Walder Frey (David Bradley) and Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), intimidating and commanding figures like Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), and magical forces of nature acting as killing machines such as the Night King (Richard Brake, Vladimir Furdik).

While most characters on the show are far too layered to fit traditional archetypes, the series undeniably sports some of the best contemporary fantasy villains on TV.

However, amid all the big name baddies, one Game of Thrones antagonist slips through the cracks. Though he has limited screen time, only appearing in five episodes throughout the series, the show implies that this utterly despicable figure is also responsible for one of the main conflicts in all of Game of Thrones.

Meet Craster, the worst of the worst

When Jon Snow (Kit Harington) joins Lord Commander Jeor Mormont (James Cosmo) on an expedition north of the Wall with the Night's Watch, they stop at a small house belonging to a man named Craster (Robert Pugh). Mormont explains that the Night's Watch have made a deal with Craster, in which he provides them with shelter in exchange for being left alone.

Craster quickly establishes himself as one of the most despicable characters put to screen in Game of Thrones, even rivaling Joffrey. In addition to outright abusing his guests from the Night's Watch, Craster rapes his daughters, and when those daughters give birth to girls, he does the same to them. When Jon asks what happens to Craster's sons, he is met with silence.

After an attack from the White Walkers, Mormont and the Watch return to Craster's Keep without Jon, who has peeled off from the group in order to infiltrate the Wildlings' ranks. Craster then intentionally starves the Night's Watch, causing a few fed up rangers to stage a mutiny. Both Mormont and Craster are killed amid this uprising, while Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) escapes Craster's Keep with Gilly (Hannah Murray), one of Craster's daughters who he helped safely hide her newborn son.

What happens to Craster's sons?

Fortunately, Craster is killed relatively early, meaning fans don’t have to suffer through scenes that place his abuse front and center for long. However, Craster's shadow subtly lingers on Game of Thrones long after his demise.

In season 4, Jon, now having returned to Castle Black, leads an expedition north to dispatch the mutineers, who are still living in Craster's Keep, and similarly abusing his surviving wives/daughters. While at the keep, Karl (Burn Gorman) sends Rast (Luke Barnes) out to dispose of Craster's last son, leaving him in the middle of the woods.

The baby is then picked up by a White Walker, who takes him far north and presents him to the Night King. With one finger, the Night King transforms Craster's final son into a White Walker. It is implied that the rest of Craster's sons shared this baby's fate and have become White Walkers themselves.

Plenty of elements of the White Walker's story remain unexplained, even after Game of Thrones concludes. As such, Craster's sacrificing of his sons ends up as the best explanation as to how the White Walkers were able to garner such a powerful force after thousands of years of absence. Essentially, Craster, who sacrificed a total of 99 sons, helped repopulate the White Walkers, allowing them to return.

The White Walkers and their undead wights remain a persistent threat throughout Game of Thrones. They first appear in the pilot episode of the series, "Winter Is Coming," when a wight kills two Night's Watch rangers and causes a third to desert the Wall in fear. They show up occasionally throughout each season, finally showcasing their true horror in "Hardhome," in which Jon tries and fails to save a Wildling village from an undead attack, only for the Night King to then bring all human casualties back as wights.

The undead forces fight against the series protagonists a few more times, including when Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) and his party are forced to flee from the Cave of the Three-Eyed Raven (Max Von Sydow), and when Jon leads an expedition North to try to capture a wight to prove their existence to Cersei.

The war between the living and the dead finally comes to a conclusion in season 8 Episode 3, "The Long Night," when, after a grueling battle, Arya (Maisie Williams), kills the Night King, destroying every other White Walker and wight in the process, but not before the forces of the living suffered heavy losses, including iconic characters that fans have followed since the first episode.

Despite having been dead for many seasons by the time of "The Long Night," Craster is still somewhat responsible for the conflict. His "sacrifices" helped the White Walkers garner enough strength to mount their return, essentially betraying humanity.

For more from the world of Westeros, make sure to stream House of the Dragon seasons 1 and 2 and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 on HBO Max.

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