15 most disliked characters in the Game of Thrones universe

Some of the most iconic characters in the Game of Thrones universe are also some of the most disliked by fans. From committing heinous war crimes to being mildly annoying, these characters have done more than enough to get in the audience's bad books.

They say, "Every good story needs a villain." A Song of Ice and Fire has several of them, but not always in the conventional sense of the term. In the list below, you'll find a few characters whose actions were perhaps fueled by more complex motivations, while the rest are just cruel for fun and games.

Here are the 15 most disliked characters from Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. The names are chosen based on fan sentiments surrounding the characters regardless of the weight of their actions.

15. Olly

Olly can barely be considered a bad guy given his age and backstory, especially when compared to some of the other characters on his list. Yet, he became one of the most hated characters for messing with the fans' favorite love story.

Olly is a Northern boy who joins the Night's Watch after his family is killed in a wildling attack south of the Wall. In the assault, his father is killed by Ygritte, who is Jon Snow's love interest. Initially a sweet and homesick boy, Olly is believed by almost no one when he brags about his archery skills. But he puts his money where his mouth is by putting an arrow straight through Ygritte's heart during the Battle of Castle Black.

The image of Ygritte dying in Jon's arms, reminiscing about the time they spent in the cave, lives rent-free in the minds of fans who are simply unable to forgive Olly. As if that was not enough, Olly later lands the final blow on Jon during the NIght's Watch mutiny and orchestrated murder. Almost no one felt bad when Jon came back to life (thanks to Melisandre) and hanged Olly with three others as punishment for their treason, except maybe Jon himself, who didn't sign up to for the job of executing children.

14. High Sparrow

Given power by Cersei Lannister, the High Sparrow is a giant red flag from the beginning. Pretending to help the smallfolk of King's Landing, this questionable cult leader is every sanctimonious zealot you've ever met. The decision backfires on Cersei, who herself is pretty high on the list of hated characters. But despite making the Queen Regent tread the infamous Walk of Atonement, the High Sparrow fails to gain any brownie points with the fans thanks to his holier-than-thou persona and draconian methods.

Hiding behind the charade of bringing down nobles who sinned, the High Sparrow and his Faith Militant sect commit unspeakable prisoner abuse. Among their captives was Ser Loras Tyrell, the heir to Highgarden and Margaery's brother. Margaery confronts the High Sparrow at the Sept of Baelor for mutilating Loras and responds with one of his trademark passive-aggressive answers. His story soon comes to an end as Cersei blows up the Sept of Baelor up with wildfire hidden underneath.

The High Sparrow does deserve credit for dishing out some long overdue punishment to Cersei. Ultimately, he remains a character soaked in self-righteous cruelty and therefore incredibly easy to hate.

13. Melisandre

Melisandre remained a complicated character till the end of her story. A devoted follower of the Lord of Light, she wields magic as and when the plot demands. We first see her as part of Stannis Baratheon's retinue. She advises him in the ways of R'hllor, which seemingly involves Stannis committing adultery and murder.

Renly Baratheon was not a huge fan favorite by any means, but the way Melisandre murders him with her shadow baby to remove him from Stannis' path got her a lot of flak from fans. What truly turned her into a villain for us is burning sweet, innocent, and ever-curious Shireen Baratheon at the stake for the so-called greater good. It did not help Stannis' cause in any way.

The Red Woman redeemed herself in the fans' eyes by resurrecting Jon Snow and later helping Jon and Daenerys' armies to defeat the Night King at Winterfell.

12. Lysa Arryn

Lysa Arryn is deranged and despicable from the get-go. Her shrill voice, questionable breastfeeding of her grown son, and blatant misuse of her power as the Lady Regent of The Vale make it very easy to dislike her. Things only get worse after Petyr Baelish brings Sansa Stark, her niece, to the Eyrie.

The audience soon finds out the reason behind Lysa's endless bitterness. She was in love with Baelish who only ever had eyes for her sister Catelyn. But that did not stop him from using Lysa's affection to orchestrate a chain of events that essentially kickstart the story of Game of Thrones, including the murder of her own husband, Jon Arryn.

But before fans could feel bittersweet towards her, Lysa sees Baelish kiss Sansa and threatens to throw her niece down the Moon Door. Baelish interferes and convinces her to let Sansa go. Lysa yells at the conniving man, "I lied for you, I killed for you," but to no avail. Pretending to get close to her, Baelish admits that he has only loved one woman his entire life — Catelyn — and pushes Lysa down to her death.

11. The Waif

Just like her real name, we never find out whether the Waif truly hated Arya Stark or it was part of the extreme training it takes to be one of the Faceless Men. She seemingly torments the young girl for her own hidden purposes (or pleasures) right from the first time they meet. She batters and bruises Arya over the next several months, not letting up even when Arya is blinded.

The Waif remains steadfast in her hatred after Arya fails in her mission to kill Lady Crane and seeks permission from Jaquen H'ghar to kill her. She pursues Arya through the streets of Braavos and stabs her without hesitation. She goes out of her way to be a contradictory character, breaking her own rules without any defined purpose.

Her face shows up on the wall in the Temple of the Many-Faced God, which can only mean that Arya bests her in the end. In hindsight, it may have been the weak writing behind the Waif's pointless cruelty that triggered the hate from the fandom. She simply feels like a plot device to complete Arya's arc as a Faceless assassin.

10. Craster

This one doesn't require much explanation. Craster has very little screen time, but his actions easily earn him a spot on this list. Living beyond the Wall, he is technically immune to the laws of Westeros. He freely exhibits his immoral behavior to the Night's Watch folks while refusing to give them warm food or blankets.

He is almost single-handedly responsible for supplying the Night King with babies whom he then turns into his White Walker generals. He also "marries" and repeatedly rapes his young, definitely underage daughters, and forces them to carry newborn sons.

His crooked attempt at playing it safe and gaining protection from the Night King is diabolical, even by Game of Thrones standards. He meets a sudden but quite satisfying end at the hands of Karl Tanner during the mutiny at Craster's Keep.

9. Viserys Targaryen

Not the one played by Paddy Considine in House of the Dragon, who is loved and revered by one and all, but Harry Lloyd's Viserys Targaryen, who managed to gain a solid number of haters in the few episodes of Game of Thrones that he was in. From slapping his sister around to selling her to Khal Drogo in exchange for a Dothraki army, Viserys is our introduction to the streak of madness in the Targaryens.

Egoistical, violent, and abusive, Viserys' fate gets signed and sealed when he crosses the line one day and threatens to kill Daenerys' unborn child. In a drunken fit of rage, he holds a knife to his pregnant sister's belly, demanding the horde he was promised from Drogo in front of a tent full of Dothrakis, a mistake he did not live long to regret.

Drogo, menacingly scary and calm, promises Viserys "a golden crown that men shall tremble to behold," and pours a pot of molten gold all over his silver-white head. Viserys writhes for a few seconds before falling to the ground with a thud. It is the first major death of the series and remains one of the most satisfying ones to this day.

8. Euron Greyjoy

Fans don't even love to hate Euron Greyjoy. Theon's uncle isn't disliked because of his actions, but rather the lack thereof. He is a boisterous killer who makes his presence known in the show by killing his brother and taking the Iron Islands for himself.

But ever since, he doesn't do much except make somewhat hollow promises to Cersei in a haughty manner. Although he is responsible for the death of Rhaegal and tries to kill his niece and nephew, Yara and Theon, he is unlikeable mostly because of his annoying arrogance and never-ending greed that isn't backed up by much.

7. Walder Frey

While not the engineer, Walder Frey executes one of the most infamous moments on Game of Thrones and possibly television in general. The old man, played brilliantly by David Bradley, is already a lecherous and prideful tyrant when we meet him. Then comes the fateful night known as the Red Wedding when he sips wine as his men kill a pregnant Talisa, butcher Robb, slit Catelyn's throat, and massacre House Stark.

Walder Frey does not do much else for the rest of the show. But this one deed was enough to make him one of the most hated characters on the show. Although the Lannisters helped orchestrate the murders and Roose Bolton delivered their kind regards to Robb, Walder Frey was the main culprit of the Red Wedding.

He meets an end fitting for his crimes at the hands of "Faceless" Arya Stark. Watching him get infiltrated and murdered within the same walls he laid waste to the Starks in is incredibly satisfying to watch.

6. Petyr Baelish aka. Littlefinger

Speaking of satisfying deaths, Petyr Baelish possibly edges out Walder Frey. Inarguably the most devious and conniving character on Game of Thrones, Littlefinger uses everything at his disposal — smarts, spies, slaughter — to achieve his goals. He is one of the few characters on the show who act almost entirely for selfish reasons, even hurting and betraying the two people he claims to have genuinely loved: Catelyn and Sansa.

A Machiavellian mastermind, Littlefinger is the one responsible for setting the story of Game of Thrones in motion, at least on the political side, by creating a rift between the Starks and the Lannisters. He gets Lysa to poison Jon Arryn, which paves the way for all the chaos that ensues, and we all know what Petyr Baelish think about chaos: it's a ladder he wants to climb.

Despite his actions, Baelish was a character that commanded some respect among the fans. He persistently keeps the audience on their toes with his manipulations, web of lies, and a growing list of betrayals. Fans love to hate him, which is why it felt so satisfying to see him beg for mercy from Sansa, the same woman he claimed to care about and then betrayed. The look on Baelish's face (props to actor Aiden Gillen) when he realizes his little games have caught up with him is priceless. Arya even uses the same dagger to slice his throat that was used in the attempted assassination of Bran, a poetic justice.

5. Alicent Hightower

To be honest, there are other characters on House of the Dragon who deserve fan hate far more than Alicent Hightower. As far as the show is concerned, she did not even mean to usurp Rhaenyra. She only misunderstood her dying husband, although it goes without saying that she wanted her son on the throne anyway.

But Alicent's actions draw an intense level of disdain possibly because of her shared past with Rhaenyra. In the books, she is not really besties with Rhaenyra. But in the show, they were soul sisters growing up, even though their personalities clashed. But they drift apart slowly after Alicent gets married to Viserys, and eventually she betrays Rhaenyra.

Alicent is not quite hated for her actions but rather the false sense of virtuousness she attaches to her transgressions. The audience sees through her at every step, just like Rhaenyra does, and calls her out for it when the two collide head-on after Aemond loses his eye. At the end of House of the Dragon season 2, Alicent attempts to make it up to Rhaenyra, seemingly realizing her mistakes, but only after the Small Council dismisses her bid to rule in Aegon's stead.

Forever a pawn and foot soldier of the Red Keep's patriarchy, Alicent, played brilliantly by Olivia Cooke, teeters on the precarious divide between a victim and a villain, and fans hate her for failing to decide which side she wants to be on.

4. Ramsay Bolton

Ramsay Bolton was a true villain, rotten to the absolute core. While his father Roose has his moments, stabbing knives into kings and all that, Ramsay's inhumane cruelty outdoes him by miles. The illegitimate heir of House Bolton is simply a sick, deranged man who takes joy in flaying and maiming anyone and everyone he doesn't have a use for in any other way.

He torments Theon Greyjoy to the point of insanity, turning Theon from a disliked character in his own right into a fan favorite. He also kills his father followed by his stepmother and baby half-brother, after the latter's birth threatens his position as Roose's successor. But then his ambitions stretch too far and come back to bite him eventually, as often happens. He cuts a deal with Littlefinger and marries Sansa Stark, only to rape, abuse, and torture her in her own home, Winterfell. But by then, she wasn't the naive little girl who wanted to marry a prince.

Ramsay would have won the battle against Jon's army and continued his terror up north if not for Sansa. She gets Littlefinger to arrive with the Knights of the Vale just when things start to look dire and then dishes out a very well-earned death to Ramsay, feeding him to his own hounds. He has zero redeeming qualities, but at least we can thank him for the incredible episode that was "Battle of the Bastards."

3. Cersei Lannister

Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister, in my humble opinion, is one of the best-acted TV performances to date. She portrayed the golden-haired, sour-hearted Lannister queen so impeccably that some pea-brained fans started calling Headey the 'b-word' if they recognized her in public.

From hating an infant Tyrion to taking full advantage of Sansa's naivety, Cersei is a villain from the beginning. Many of her early actions are seemingly fueled by her love for her three children. But it is also her actions that eventually get them killed. Their deaths turn her even more bitter and vengeful, but now with the powers of a Queen.

Smug with a glass of wine in hand, Cersei commits one atrocity after another without remorse. Her incestuous relationship with her brother Jaime and everything that goes wrong because of it are only the tip of the iceberg.

Be it losing all three of her kids in quick succession or having to suffer the Walk of Atonement, her short-sightedness often brings her great grief. You almost feel sorry for her at some points. Almost. After all that and finally refusing to help fight the White Walkers in the end, Cersei deserved a more devastating death than she was given.

2. Criston Cole

This one probably has a bit of recency bias to it. But the fan sentiment towards Ser Criston Cole has been vividly interesting. He begins his journey on House of the Dragon as a handsome love interest for a young Rhaenyra and seems to be a kind and soft-spoken man whose only flaw is breaking the Kingsguard's celibacy oath. But all it takes for all that to change is a rejection from Rhaenyra.

Cole murders Laenor Velaryon's lover Joffrey Lonmouth and later Lord Beesbury in fits of unexplained anger. He becomes devoted to Alicent and remains utterly bitter about Rhaenyra over the years. He calls the woman he once wanted to marry all sorts of names, including the 'Bitch Queen' and 'Whore of Dragonstone.'

The character only gets more insufferable in the second season of House of the Dragon. The hate got so out of hand that Fabien Frankel, who plays Cole, had to disable Instagram comments. The slurs aimed at Rhaenyra aside, Cole is also an incredibly selfish manipulator often pulling strings from the shadows. But that describes almost everyone in this universe. Perhaps the reason he is so hated is that he hides it all behind the shroud of the "nice guy" image of righteousness, a trait he somewhat shares with Alicent.

1. Joffrey Baratheon

Nothing described Joffrey Baratheon better than when Tywin Lannister said, "Any man who must say, 'I am the King,' is no true king." Cersei's golden-haired firstborn was too spoilt and sadistic for his own good. He gained all the powers in the Seven Kingdoms with neither the brain nor the brawn to bear it. One could argue that his parental situation made him such a bitter young boy, but Joffrey seemed to have a viciousness of his own. Neither of his siblings turned out as twisted as he.

Joffrey is annoying and petulant from the beginning, so much so that when Tyrion slaps him in the second episode of the series, it is already quite satisfying. Then he goes ahead and executes the beloved Ned Stark and finds every occasion to terrorize Sansa Stark.

Joffrey truly believes all of Westeros is his to torment, as he tells the Small Council moments before Tywin puts him in his place. His lack of tact is almost as strong as his taste for violence, which makes Joffrey a ticking time bomb. Almost everything that came out of his mouth was infuriating. It is only because of the people around him that he avoids being killed in the series for as long as he did. Thankfully, Olenna Tyrell had the experience to outwit the undeserved protection Joffrey had and poisoned him at his own wedding. When it comes to satisfying paybacks in Game of Thrones, it does not get better than a purple Joffrey Baratheon choking for air.

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