The top 10 deadliest characters in Game of Thrones

Only 8 days until Game of Thrones is back for season 7 and it’s day 3 of my attempts to post some blog content on a regular basis.  Unlike my last two blogs I’m not going to be looking at my favourite moments from a given season, instead I’m going to be taking a look at the 10 deadliest characters in the world of ice and fire. Let’s go!

I figured that this would be a pretty easy blog to write, after all it’s just a quick list of which characters have managed to slaughter the most people on the show. Of course, nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

Simply totting up kills turned out to be an incredibly reductive way of deciding which character deserves the title of “deadliest”. Bronn killed a large part of Stannis’ army on the Blackwater using wildfire but should that really count? Should Cersei’s efforts to destroy half of King’s Landing in season 6 also count? And what about the people she’s had killed on her orders?

Do Daenerys’ dragons count as characters in their own right or does she get credited with those kills? Jon Snow has killed dozens of Wights but should they be included in the final tallies and who deserves credit for his own murder? Seeing as he was resurrected shortly afterwards, should that even count?

What about legendary killers like Ser Barristan Selmy or King Robert Baratheon? Neither one racks up double digits in the show but we’re told a huge deal about their prowess in combat, with both being highly skilled fighters. Does the significance of a kill count for anything or is riding down a defenceless stable-boy equal to defeating an armoured knight in a duel?

In the end, I tried to choose characters that fitted my idea of what deadly actually means – skilled in combat, a knack for killing and unflinching when there’s an opportunity to deliver a killing blow. Think vipers, lions and wolves rather than mosquitos (malaria kills around 1,000,000 people a year), jellyfish (they kill triple the amount of people than sharks) or deer (seriously, they kill hundreds of people every year by causing car accidents).

But enough that’s enough about nature’s serial slaughterers, here’s my list of Game of Thrones’ deadliest killers:

10. Ser Jamie Lannister aka The Kingslayer

Sadly, for us we rarely got to see The Kingslayer at his most deadly. Yes, he did make short work of a few of Ned Stark’s men but by season 2 he’d been captured and by season 3 he’d lost his sword-hand. So why does he make the list?

A)    He’s easily regarded as the best swordsman in Westeros before he loses a hand and in his battle with the Stark soldiers he backs that reputation up, he even manages to hold his own against Brienne after months in chains.

B)      Jamie clearly has a knack for killing because he’s literally famous for shoving his sword through Mad King Aerys. Then he ends the first episode of the show by pushing Bran out a window.

C)      He’s got no scruples when it comes to landing the killing blow. Bran might not have died but Jamie didn’t hesitate to shove him out a window, he literally beat his own cousin to death so he could escape from the Starks and has used his golden hand to stop a sword, allowing him to kill a Dornish soldier.

9. Arya Stark, also known as ‘Arry, Lanna and Mercy

When I think of the word deadly my first thought tends to be assassin, which is a title that I think we can now grant to Arya.

She’s trained with the Faceless Men, has a thirst for vengeance and has proven herself a methodical, cunning killer. Without a doubt Arya has come a long way from accidentally stabbing fat little boys and killing nameless soldiers in a blind rage.

Now she’s got a list of names and the skills she needs to cross them off. And she's quite happy to do it in the most brutal fashion imaginable. 

8. Ygritte

Didn’t think that there were going to be many ladies on this list? You know nothing.

Ygritte may not have been able to pull the trigger (well, pull the bow-string) when she had Jon Snow at her mercy but she proved to be plenty deadly with an arrow throughout Game of Thrones. She notched up plenty of kills during the Wilding march towards the wall and the during the attack itself.

Also, I’m giving her bonus points because she killed Olly’s parents. Seriously, fuck Olly #fuckollyfuckollyfuckolly

7. Tormund Giantsbane

Or to give him his full styling - Tormund Giantsbane, Tall-talker, Horn-blower and Breaker of Ice, Husband to Bears, the Mead-king of Ruddy Hall, Speaker to Gods and Father of Hosts. Not to mention Best Beard in Westeros.

Whether he’s slaying wights from the army of the dead or black brothers of the Night’s Watch, Tormund has proved a force to be reckoned with and what’s more he seems to enjoy it too. Never more so that when he took on the Lord of Bones at Hardhome.

6. Jon Snow

Between his skills in combat, a natural gift for leadership, a Valyrian sword and a fucking direwolf, Jon Snow is not a man to be trifled with. And let’s not forget the fact that even death couldn’t stop him.

Deadly?

He’s got racked up plenty of kills including numerous wights, Thenns, Bolton soldiers, Night’s Watch traitors and of course a White Walker.

He’s stood and fought against the army of the dead, the army of the Free-folk and the Bolton army.

He’s killed with fire, sword, noose and hammer.

Oh, and he gets extra points for hanging Olly. Seriously, fuck Olly #fuckollyfuckollyfuckollyfuckolly

PS – He’s also a fucking babe.

5. Ser Gregor Clegane aka The Mountain aka Ser Robert Strong

There are a lot of people that would have put Cersei’s champion a lot higher on the list and they might have a point. I just don’t think we’ve seen enough of him onscreen to justify him coming any higher (he’s in good company though, Ser Barristan Selmy and Khal Drogo were kept off the list for the same reason).

Admittedly when we have seen Gregor Clegane he has been absolutely terrifying. Slaying horses with a single blow, killing fools for a bit of light training and crushing Oberyn’s skull with his bare hands.

And all that was before he became some unholy, undead un-Gregor who only exists to kill Cersei’s enemies. Which is pretty much everyone right?

4. Brienne Tarth aka Brienne the Beauty

Brienne is constantly underestimated by her opponents in Game of Thrones, I mean just look at Jamie’s face when he realises she’s got the better of him. That doesn’t stop her putting most of them in the grave.

From the moment we first see her tackle the renowned knight Ser Loras Tyrell and thrust a dagger through his visor, we know that Brienne is not a lady to be trifled with – even if the men of Westeros don’t.

She then spends the next five seasons slaying any idiot that crosses her, often holding her own against more than one foe at a time. And let’s not forget that brutal battle with the Hound, that gave new meaning to the phrase “fight like a girl”.

3. Daario Naharis

There have been endless rumours that Daario’s book counterpart is a Faceless Man, which hasn’t been helped by the decision to recast him after a single season of the show. Cocky, brash and lethal, he’s been pissing all over Daenerys’ enemies ever since season 3, including that one time he literally did that.

He prefers to fight with the curved arakh favoured by the Dothraki, and you know someone’s deadly when they like to fight with a “half-sword, half-scythe”, but he’s also comfortable with his prized pair of stilettos. His speed and mongrel style of fighting make him an unpredictable opponent and effective killer.

And he looks damn good whilst he does it. Which is probably why Daenerys chooses to make sweet love to him in one of the few sexy scenes that doesn't cater entirely to cis-men.

2. Ser Bronn of the Blackwater

You know what’s better than a stone-cold killer? A stone-cold killer with the blackest sense of humour imaginable and singing voice that’s almost as sweet as his one-liners.

Bronn is one of Game of Thrones MVPs, there’s just no doubt about that, his knack for violence helped Tyrion take the reins in King’s Landing and his knack for comedic timing has dragged the show through some its more ponderous episodes.

He’s cut his way through hill tribes, thrown Ser Vardis Egan through the Moon Door, killed all the known thieves in King’s Landing, fired the arrow that destroyed Stannis’ fleet and made short work of soldiers down in Dorne. I’d say he’s earned his inclusion on this list.

1. Sandor Clegane aka The Hound

The Hound is more or less the archetypal “dark hero”. A merciless killer with a tragic past and a heart of gold, a man who might not be traditionally moral but who has his own code to live by. He even gets his own nemesis!

Not only does he get plenty of kills throughout the show, he also gets some of the most memorable for example slaying Beric Dondarrion in single-combat or taking out three peasants whilst saving Sansa from a raping.

Sandor’s impressive size and strength means that he’s a formidable warrior, even managing to hold his own against Brienne despite suffering from the effects of a badly infected wound. Although he’s always loved killing, season 6 saw the first time he killed for something he actually believed in and I can’t wait to see him take the fight to the White Walkers in season 7.

Oh, and he really, really likes chicken.

There have been some truly dangerous killers that I’ve had to miss off this list, just off the top of my head there’s The Red Viper of Dorne , Yara Greyjoy, Jorah Mormont and Greyworm. Don’t hesitate to let me know who you think deserves the crown or inflate my ego by agreeing with me.

Tomorrow I tackle my favourite moments of season 3, which might possibly be my favourite season of Game of Thrones. Until then, keep it brutal.