Poll: Game of Thrones - Who is the most evil character?

[thejboy88]

Title says it all. Of all the characters who have done bad things in Game of Thrones, and there are a lot, which would you say is the most evil overall? Now, I fully realise that the word "evil" is going to vary from person to person, and you may well think that what some of these people did was in some way justified. And if that's the case, feel free to comment on it.

And before anyone asks, the list I've made here is based entirely from what I've seen of other people's opinions, who gets the most hate, who did things that fans consider the most unforgivable acts, etc.

Also, I apologise in advance if this thread has been done before.

 

[Silvanus]

My vote goes to Roose Bolton.

In the words of Reek, Roose Bolton has "more cruelty in his pinky toe than all the Freys combined".

Ramsay is a complete psychopath, but would lack the intelligence and forethought to be anything more than a murderous thug if he were on his own. Roose combines that cruelty with enough calculation to terrorise thousands of people.

I eagerly await the day Stannis Baratheon cuts his creepily impassive head off.

 

[Fox12]

Well, evil doesn't necessarily mean effective, so I'll go with Ramsey. He just revels in it. Who are the cruel leaders we remember most? Caligula, Nero, and other psychos. They didn't last too long, but their cruelty made them infamous. Ramsey is like that, only he's less powerful, so he can't hurt as many people as he'd like. He burns his candle from both ends, so to speak.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Pretty much any Bolton for me due to their psychological behavior and culture.
Ramsey hunting women as if they were foxes, the cruelty to Theon Greyjoy (sure he was a dick for his action but even I think he doesn't deserve that abuse to the point that he broke him mentally) and the Bolton skinned people in general, heck it's even their banner!

Sure I still hate Joffrey but he is a great big coward at heart. Take away his power or place him anywhere that his authority means nothing than you can pretty much beat him to a pulp! Taking on Ramsey will result in him either torturing you or skinning you alived!!!

 

[Pinkamena]

Ramsay Snow probably. He's insane, nothing more to say on the matter.

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

Roose. Unlike Ramsay- his calm demeanor makes him so much more sinister. He's invariably a psychopath, but he hides it so well.

Spoiler: Hey look its some spoilers

He's a fucking turncoat- He raped Ramsay's mom over the hanged corpse of her husband- he flays people, I mean, its his fucking sigil. Fuck Roose Bolton.

 

[Flutterguy]

Well Craster seems a pretty good pick, perpetually breeding with your own daughters and granddaughters and making human offerings to the draugr.

Melisandre, the red woman, who uses sacrifice and black magic to achieve, well, I'm not sure what her end goal is. That uncertainty makes her seem all the more evil.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Got to be Roose Bolton. While the likes of Joffrey and Ramsay are more outwardly crazy and sadistic, Roose is probably just as bad but has a calmness amd intelligence to him that makes him come acress even more unsettling.

Close second would be...

Spoiler: Warning pontential book spoilers

Howland Reed. The guy knows stuff and he's keeping all it to himself. Tell us what you know God damn it!

 

[Johnny Impact]

I'm going with Joffrey.

Plenty of these guys maim/kill/whatever to send messages, get back at their enemies, and make their own positions stronger. But this is nearly always calculated. They don't only do evil. They are prepared to make allies and treat others well when it suits their purposes. Joffrey, on the other hand, is pure evil. He is enemy to the whole world. He doesn't maim, kill or humiliate for a goal, he does it because it's fun. He's basically the Joker: no plan, no goal, no justification, nothing but pure unadulterated sadistic madness in unlimited quantity. The only reason he didn't kill thousands is he lacked the patience to understand anything.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

George R R Martin clearly.
He just doesn't give a fuck! But I do look forward to the grief he'll cause when he inevitably kills off Daenerys and Tyrion(because of course he will!)

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Ramsay Snow, regardless of the reach of his cruelty, is probably one on one the most evil person to be at the mercy of. His father is a close second but loses because he can blend in with the noble crowd effortlessly to further his goals.

 

[Ishal]

My vote goes to Roose Bolton.

In the words of Reek, Roose Bolton has "more cruelty in his pinky toe than all the Freys combined".

Ramsay is a complete psychopath, but would lack the intelligence and forethought to be anything more than a murderous thug if he were on his own. Roose combines that cruelty with enough calculation to terrorise thousands of people.

I eagerly await the day Stannis Baratheon cuts his creepily impassive head off.

In the show, and the books, I am indeed a fan of the Mannis.

However, I'm not about to get all excited for something like what you suggested.

If past events have taught me anything, it's that characters like Stannis rarely ever come out on top in the end. I just can't see it ending well for him. Plus, Roose.. I can't hate the guy. He took care of the Stark problem, which was a long time coming. Roose is just your typical northerner, except he doesn't have the honor the Starks did. He's what I'd expect from a Vasal lord from the North in the setting.

I'd say Joffrey or Cersei are the most evil. Maaaaybe Tywin, due to his influence and reach. I'll go with Cersei.

 

[Casual Shinji]

It's a toss between Roose and Ramsey. Roose is the more disciplined evil, while Ramsey is of the unhinged variety. Even Cersei and Tywin value something. Both father and son Bolton seem to do evil just because they can.

Of the two, I would probably go with Roose. Ramsey is a horrid monster, but he still needs to answer to his father. Roose has more free reign.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Going off book and show, Ramsay. His particular strain of psychopathy is off the charts. The sheer delight he takes in outsized human cruelty is boggling.

On show alone, probably Roose. They've toned Ramsay down quite a lot.

PS - Thread needs Gregor Clegane. And if you're going by books and show, should have Vargo Hoat as well. Ramsay would still be first, but they'd not be far behind.

 

[Shock and Awe]

Probably Roose Bolton. He really has every evil trademark. He is cruel beyond measure, he is a traitor of the worst kind, he is a murderer, he is fighting against the wishes of the people, basically everything about the guy is bad. Hell, most other people have some positives running for them, but Bolton? Mans a bastard covered bastard with bastard filling.

 

[DementedSheep]

Form the books not the show (since I don't watch the show so I don't know if they changed him or made others worse somehow) is there really any contest for Ramsay? Joffery wasn't that sadistic although TBF that might be more from a lack of creativity and I doubt even Cersei would let him do the shit Ramsay dose.
I always laugh when people say there are no "evil" characters in ASOIF/GoT and everything is grey because there are quite a few characters who just sadists with no redeeming features even if Ransay is the worst of them.

 

[Silvanus]

In the show, and the books, I am indeed a fan of the Mannis.

However, I'm not about to get all excited for something like what you suggested.

If past events have taught me anything, it's that characters like Stannis rarely ever come out on top in the end. I just can't see it ending well for him. Plus, Roose.. I can't hate the guy. He took care of the Stark problem, which was a long time coming. Roose is just your typical northerner, except he doesn't have the honor the Starks did. He's what I'd expect from a Vasal lord from the North in the setting.

True Northmen know honour! Even Lord Karstark's schism with Robb was rooted in duty. Roose knows nothing of it.

There's an argument to make for that, but there's also an argument to be made that Roose actually has a purpose for his actions, he is actively trying to achieve goals. It's not evil for the sake of evil, which in my mind is worse, and so I chose Ramsey. The fact that he's a complete psychopath that just revels in it because that's what he truly enjoys makes him worse than someone who has an end goal in mind. Say what you will about a leader that oppresses his population in order to maintain his power and keep order, it is still a step up from simply torturing and killing on a whim for the love of torture and killing, no matter how small of a step that actually is. There's a reason cold calculating evil with purpose can effect far more people than a purely irredeemable evil, and that's because there are enough people who benefit and can respect the former that their influence can reach far further. As deplorable as their actions may be, those actions are at least specifically targeted for reasons they are able to rationalize.

That's true in some instances, and I'd apply that logic to Tywin. Tywin terrorises some and benefits others. Roose, on the other hand-- I don't believe he bothers with rationalisation, even to himself. His own sake is all that matters to him, and he's perfectly aware of it. Nobody benefits but him.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Ramsay is a complete psychopath, but would lack the intelligence and forethought to be anything more than a murderous thug if he were on his own. Roose combines that cruelty with enough calculation to terrorise thousands of people.

The thing with Ramsey (at least from his depiction on the TV show, which I increasingly try to judge entirely separately from the books) is that quite a lot of his actions only make sense if we assume that he genuinely has no understanding of how people work, which would perhaps explain why his only way of being able to relate to people is by establishing a position of absolute power over them. I'm not sure if it's just the actor, but whenever he's not torturing or threatening someone he always comes across as incredibly insecure. This would make sense because until recently he was a bastard, effectively stuck in this strange limbo space between being a noble and a commoner and thus never really accepted in either world.

Roose in my mind is worse because he doesn't need that power over people. He has nothing to prove to himself in that regard, he has no insecurity or doubt. He just does it anyway, because he sees it as his right.

The problem with this judgement, of course, is that in the world of ASOIAF it is his right. Being cruel is, at least among nobles of Roose's calibre, entirely acceptable and even a bit admirable.

So with that in mind, my vote for the most evil character in game of thrones actually goes to:

The feudal system.