10 Annoying Game of Thrones Characters Fans Still Can’t Stand 6 Years Later

Game of Thrones featured many great characters that captivated audiences over its 9-year run, including a host of memorable heroes and villains. After all, few fans of the series could ever forget the witty Tyrion Lannister, the extremely ruthless Ramsay Bolton or the sharp-witted, highly entertaining Olenna Tyrell.

However, while all the actors in Game of Thrones were superb, some characters were either utterly useless or downright annoying. Many character arcs and important moments focus on things that made many fans scratch their heads and wonder why they had to endure these characters’ presence in the first place.

10. Harry Strickland Is a Glorified Extra With an Unspectacular Ending

Portrayed by: Marc Rissmann

The Golden Company was hyped up through many of Seasons 7 and 8 in many conversations, preparing the audience for their appearance when Cersei finally hired them to have a larger army to face off against Daenerys. After the ruse with Euron, pretending to go home to the Iron Islands, he returns to King’s Landing with the legendary army under the lead of Captain Harry Strickland.

The leader has a few lines when he meets Cersei after arriving, and he has another scene where he stands in front of his army at the city’s gates. Moments later, Daenerys bursts through the massive walls of Drogon, burning the entire useless army to a crisp with Strickland surviving for a couple of minutes longer. As he faces the northern army, the Dothraki, and the Unsullied, he turns to run away, only to get stabbed by Grey Worm’s spear. Strickland was essentially nothing but a featured extra.

9. Kinvara’s Mysterious Character Arc Goes Nowhere

Portrayed by: Ania Bukstein

Kinvara, another high-ranking priestess from Ashai, came to Mereen at the invitation of Tyrion, acting Hand of the Queen to Daenerys, who has been missing ever since she escaped the arena on Drogon to flee from the Sons of the Harpy. Tyrion believed that a Red Priestess could be beneficial in persuading those who opposed Daenerys. Mereen is part of the continent Essos, the home of those who worship the Lord of Light.

Kinvara’s introduction seemed to allude to an exciting future storyline because she proclaims that Daenerys is the chosen one by the Lord of Light. Varys, also present at that meeting, expresses his skepticism and points out that Melisandre was wrong about Stannis. Kinvara’s response is quite elusive as she hints at knowing what the sorcerer did to Varys when he was a boy. Varys, shaken by this revelation, becomes a bit uneasy. Kinvara tells him that she knows what the voice in the flames said but won’t tell him. Many believed Kinvara would play a larger part in upcoming episodes, but she didn’t. Additionally, the scene was useless because it led nowhere. Varys never found out what the voice said, and neither did the audience.

8. Rickon Stark: The Adorable Stark Boy Who Became a Plot Device

Portrayed by: Art Parkinson

Rickon Stark, the youngest of the Stark children, was an adorable little boy when he was introduced. Although he never had a significant role, it seemed like the showrunners didn’t know how to utilize him effectively.

After he left his brother Bran with Osha, he vanished from the series until Smalljon Umber captured them and presented them to Ramsay as a gift. In the Episode “Battle of the Bastards,” Rickon is used as a mere plot device to antagonize Jon when Ramsey sends him across the battlefield only to shoot him down with an arrow, and Rickon dies.

7. Tommen Baratheon Died a Sweet but Utterly Useless King

Portrayed by: Dean-Charles Chapman

Tommen was a nice boy but a terribly weak king. Tommen became King after his brother Joffrey was killed and had little time to prepare for his new role. With the death of his grandfather Tywin, he only had Cersei and his new wife, Margaery, who both constantly took advantage of his goodness to manipulate him. When both women end up in a cell of the Faith Militant, Tommen seems utterly unsure of what to do and subsequently does nothing.

Despite having the Kingsguard, soldiers, and the power of a king, he allows the High Sparrow to make the decisions. After Cersei returns from her humiliating walk of atonement, Tommen expresses regret but again falls into the trap set by the High Sparrow. Margaery pretends to be “enlightened,” and persuades Tommen to trust the High Sparrow. Tommen exhibits a lack of agency throughout his reign, which ultimately contributes to his decision to commit suicide.

6. Doran Martell Proved to Be a Smart Ruler But Had a Lack of Foresight

Portrayed by: Alexander Siddig

Doran is the ruler of Dorne. The audience meets him when Jaime and Bronn try to sneak in to bring Myrcella home after Cersei receives a veiled threat from Dorne, expressed in the delivery of her daughter’s necklace. While Doran seems intelligent and eager to keep the peace, which is quite a departure from the Dornish mentality, he lacks foresight.

Ellaria, his late brother’s mistress, is clearly vying for power, and Doran does nothing to prevent it. Instead of banning her from the castle and stripping her of influence, he allows the situation to fester, culminating with his death and his son Tristane.

5. Bronn Was a One-Dimensional Hustler With Unjustified Rewards

Portrayed by: Jerome Flynn

When Bronn is introduced in Episode 4 of Season 1, he appears to be an ambitious sellsword trying to elevate his status. Due to his witty banter with Tyrion and later Jaime, he quickly became a fan favorite, but in time, he became a very one-dimensional character. Every scene he is in revolves around demands for more money or complains about the unfulfilled riches he was promised.

Despite his extensive journey with Tyrion and later Jaime, none of these friendships seem to mean anything to him. In Episode 4 of the last season, he arrives at Winterfell with a crossbow, intending to kill Jaime and Tyrion—at least that’s what he is ordered to do. Instead, he uses it to bargain for Highgarden, one of the most prestigious castles in the realm, and Tyrion grants him this demand without having the authority to do so. Then he leaves, presumably to hide somewhere until the war for Westeros is over. In the final episode, Bronn is not just Lord of the Reach but also Master of Coin, which seemed to be purely fan service.

4. The Waif Was a Spiteful Combat-Robot For No Reason at All

Portrayed by: Faye Marsay

The Waif is Jaqen H’ghar’s right hand, whom Arya meets in Braavos during her training to become one of the Faceless Men. Arya is obviously not suited to becoming No One, as evident throughout the entire Braavos storyline. While the audience never learns anything substantial about the Waif, her blatant hatred towards Arya seems mind-boggling.

Throughout her time in Game of Thrones, the Waif seems to relish inflicting pain on Arya just because she can. The Waif acts like a fighting robot, running through the streets like the Terminator to kill Arya. The Waif is another one of those one-dimensional characters that are annoying for no good reason.

3. Bran Stark Suffered the Most From Game of Thrones’ Later Seasons

Portrayed by: Isaac Hempstead Wright

Bran Stark’s storyline seems interesting at first, but as the story unfolds, it takes a strange turn. Once Bran has become the Three-eyed Raven, he’s robotic and boring. Even Bran’s predecessor, who had been the Three-eyed Raven for a very long time, seemed to have more emotions than the young Stark. During the battle against the Night King, Bran does nothing of significance.

Despite his warging abilities, there is no attempt to manipulate the Night King or perhaps attempt to warg into Viseryon, who is now an ice dragon. Bran just uses the ravens to scout the Night King, but that’s all he does. When Tyrion asks him if he would accept to become King of the Seven Kingdoms, he famously says, “Why did I come all this way,” leaving audiences flustered since he previously proclaimed he could never be Lord of anything.

2. The Sand Snakes Are Bratty Trio Nobody Missed After Their Demise

Portrayed by: Tyene (Rosabell Sellers), Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes) & Nymeria (Jessica Henwick)

The entire Dorne storyline is an epic disappointment, but the Sand Snakes, Tyene, Obara, and Nymeria, daughters of the late Oberyn, are the icing on the cake. While all three have considerable combat skills, they never feel like a genuine threat due to their annoying personalities. These three girls bicker and compete with each other in such childish ways that it’s hard to watch.

Without any backstory in Game of Thrones, the audience cannot sympathize with them. When Euron attacks Yara’s ship and kills Obara and Nymeria in a fight, their deaths are supposed to sadden the audience, but due to their lack of good character development, it feels rather meaningless.

1. Euron Greyjoy Was Transformed Into a Cartoonish Pirate With an Insufferable Personality

Portrayed by: Pilou Asbaek

Euron Greyjoy is a fascinating character in the book and probably one of the most dangerous men in Westeros. Book Euron is a sinister pirate with an obsession with black magic. He drank Shade of the Evening, the same potion the warlocks of Qarth use, that colors the lips blue. With his pale skin, dark beard, and signature leather eyepatch, he presents quite a striking figure. They call him Crow’s Eye – partly for the malicious black eye he keeps hidden, and partly for his bright blue “smiling eye” that matches his blue-stained lips. His brothers absolutely despise him. Euron has a peculiar charm that draws all sorts of colorful characters to his crew. Euron excels at exploiting people’s weaknesses and breaking even the strongest wills.

Many fans of the books were excited to see Euron when he finally appeared in the show but soon discovered that he was very different from the character in the books. Show Euron felt like a comical Disney villain with a pompous attitude and insufferable dialogue. While he was menacing and did a lot of damage to Dany, he didn’t come across as scary or mysterious, but simply annoying. Euron’s actor Pilou Asbaek admitted his own disappointment in a subtle comment on a post:

“Loved the idea of him being more like a “dark lord” a man working in shadows. Like supernatural stuff. But end of the day you are hired and you follow the vision set out for you.”

Sadly, none of this came to pass because Benioff and Weiss wanted him to come across as a “medieval rockstar”, which was a gross misinterpretation and ultimately a huge letdown for the fans.