The 5 Worst Dads On Game Of Thrones

July 31, 2017

The 7th season of Game Of Thrones is finally upon us, and while there are many regrettable characters in Westeros and beyond, let’s focus here on the dads. The very bad dads.

We’re not talking bad like, “Oh that Charlie, he never spends any time with little Bobby and he hardly ever gives him positive encouragement.”

We’re talking like this guy had his son killed. Or at least tried to kill him. Or maybe he had his daughter burned alive at the stake. You know, cause it might (spoiler: didn’t) help win a battle.

5th Worst Dad: Balon Greyjoy / Randyll Tarly (Tie)

First of all: Are they the same dude with different hairstyles? Kinda looks like it.

The Case For Balon: On the one hand, he sucks. Part of being a good dad is protecting your kids, and he lost all his sons because he waged a war he couldn’t win. But, on the plus side, he’s actually pretty progressive because of his support for his daughter.

The Case For Randyll: He is by all accounts (in the books) a total badass. But he sent poor Samwell to the Night’s Watch just because the boy liked to read? Not cool, dad. Not cool at all.

4th Worst Dad: Walder Frey

Has there ever been a scene in which he doesn’t insult one or two of his sons? Probably not. And if part of being a dad is being honorable in any sense of the word, this guy fails the test. We can also picture him murdering his own child for leaving the door open and letting the cold in. Just the kind of extremely bad dad he is.

3rd Worst Dad: Tywin Lannister

Sure, you kind of like the guy. Anybody who can consistently put Cersei in her place deserves at least a little credit. And he definitely bonded with Arya in a weird way. But at the end of the day, his awful parenting is one of the main reasons we have so much drama in Westeros. Cersei hates him. Jaime was never good enough. And we still don’t even think Tyrion is really his son, which would be good because of all the shaming Tywin gave him before (spoiler deleted).

2nd Worst Dad: Stannis Baratheon

We’re going to make a rule: If you burn your daughter at the stake because you think it may help you win a war, you’re going to be on our worst dad list. Sorry dude. We don’t care if you technically should maybe be sitting on the Iron Throne. You’re still a horrible father. And you’d be the absolute worst if it weren’t for, well, this guy…

Worst Dad In Game Of Thrones: Craster

You know, the guy who sacrifices all his sons to the White Walkers and fathers all his daughters’ children while he’s at it. He is (was) the worst, and it is not even close.

Dishonorable Mentions

Aerys Targaryen aka The Mad King: He caused some trouble for his children, now didn’t he.
Robert Baratheon: Just how many bastards did this guy have?
The Night King: He’s kind of a dad to Craster’s kids, so that’s something. But he sure seems evil.