Data Explains the Sexiest and Noblest 'Game of Thrones' Characters
Some you might expect, but data shows more than a few surprises.
Who cares about who sits on the Iron Throne? People want crowd-sourced data to tell us who the most Good, Evil, Ugly, and Beautiful people are on Game of Thrones.
In an interactive chart from the New York Times, anyone can rank 50 of the show’s characters on a matrix that includes varying degrees of attractiveness and moral goodness, revealing who the most moral, evil, ugly, and beautiful characters are.
As of now, 194,216 New York Times readers and 338 Game of Thrones fans were surveyed, and the results were aggregated and plotted onto the matrix. The New York Times credits Toph Tucker and Anitra Sprauten for coming up with the idea for this matrix, and their results only sparingly clash with what the majority of responses decided. But, the actual data, extracted by Jeremy Singer-Vine tells an interesting story. Some of the results are surprising, while some you bet expect. Here are the big findings.
The survey has been open for several weeks, and the last few episodes in Game of Thrones’ Season 7 seemingly impacted some of the characters in subtle ways. In some cases, this is quite surprising. Bronn’s noble actions and amicable demeanor in the finale, tipped the scales and put him on the “good” side of things rather than neutral.
Here are the 12 main takeaways from the data, with percentage ratings based on the aggregated survey results:
Daenerys the Unburnt Mother of Dragons Is Totally Hot
Jon Snow isn’t the only one enamored with the Dragon Queen, because Daenerys Targaryen tops the list as the most beautiful character on the show with positive responses just shy of 90 percent. Margaery Tyrell came in second around 86 percent with Missandei closer to 85 percent.
Surprising Nobody, Everybody Finds Jon Snow Attractive
For men, Jon Snow came in as the hottest, at 83.5 percent which is still less than the three best-looking female characters. The next most attractive male was Jaime Lannister — surprising nobody — at 79 percent, with Daario Naharis edging out Robb Stark with his 77 percent.
Hodor Hodor Hoooodor? (Fans Think Hodor Is the Most Moral Character)
Innocence has its benefits because the dimwitted Hodor comes in as the “most good” character on the entire show at a whopping 95 percent. As a loyal, unassuming giant, Hodor looked after Bran Stark for a long time on the show before sacrificing himself in a pivotal Season 6 scene. The unassuming and nerdy Samwell Tarly is second at 93 percent, flanked by Shireen Baratheon, Stannis’ gentle daughter plagued by Greyscale. Jon Snow, Ned Stark, and Brienne of Tarth make up the next three characters with positive morals.
Ramsay’s Sadism Is More Evil Than the Night King
Despite the Night King being a magical manifestation of evil itself, fans reacted more strongly to the sadism of Ramsay Bolton, calling him 96.3 percent evil to the Night King’s even 96 percent. Joffrey Baratheon (or should we just say Lannister?) was just a fraction behind the Night King with his mother Cersei at fourth. The Mountain came in fifth, which suggest that fans react less strongly to the poorly-defined evils of the undead villains on the show.
The Mountain’s Ugly Undead Mug Is Super Ugly
There’s seemingly a correlation between ugliness and being evil undead characters. Who knew? Gregor Clegane, aka the Mountain, comes in as the absolute ugliest person in Westeros at 88 percent with the Night King only slightly behind. It would appear that the Hound was right when he said to his brother, “You’re even fuckin’ uglier than I am now.” Coming in third, the horribly scarred Hound is only at 79 percent.
Daenerys Has Hooked Up With Two of the Hottest Guys
Being the most beautiful has its benefits: Daenerys Targaryen has gone to bed with two of the three most attractive men in Westeros. Too bad one of them is her nephew.
Height, Age, and Weight Are Predictors of Unattractiveness
Brienne is the only female character regarded as unattractive on the show. For men, higher ages and greater weight impacted perceived attractiveness, which is to say that people don’t like older and/or overweight men. Outside of characters with glaring physical abnormalities, older and fatter men were ranked as the least attractive. Sorry Qyburn, High Sparrow, Robert Baratheon, and Hodor.
Littlefinger: Hot or Not? Nobody Knows.
People can’t seem to decide if the following characters are attractive or not: Littlefinger, Ramsay Bolton, Tywin Lannister, Olenna Tyrell, Yara Greyjoy, Bran Stark, Jeor Mormont, and Davos Seaworth. Interestingly enough, almost all of the major houses are represented here, except for Baratheon and Tarly. Stannis comes in as just slightly unattractive and Randyll Tarly isn’t ranked. Every family’s got one, right?
Foreign Warlords Like Khal Drogo Are the True Chaotic-Neutral
Perhaps because his culture is so vastly different from that of Westeros, Khal Drogo was regarded as a true morally neutral character at a perfectly even 50/50 split. Other almost neutral characters include Jaqen H’ghar, the Faceless Man assassin that worships the god of death, and Jaime Lannister, who consistently grapples between doing the right thing and siding with his evil sister-lover.
Robb Stark’s Dead Wife Gets Snubbed
Talisa Stark, Robb’s wife, didn’t even make the cut for the survey, which is a crying shame because she was easily one of the most beautiful characters before her death at the Red Wedding. What gives?
Most Game of Thrones Actors Are Attractive and Good
The greatest overall density on the spectrum lies in the top-right quadrant, meaning that a majority of characters on the show are deemed decently attractive and also somewhat good.
Nun-Looking Elderly Tyrell Matrons Are the True Neutral
Olenna Tyrell is the only character to fall almost perfectly in the middle as neither good nor evil but also neither attractive nor unattractive. She always acted in self-interest and was only cruel to people that deserved it. She also only ever shows her face. But, objectively speaking, the actress who plays Olenna Tyrell — Dianna Rigg — was once the post popular “it” girl in all of Great Britain when she played Emma Peel on the spy show The Avengers. So, maybe Game of Thrones fans should reconsider how hot Olenna really is?
The survey is still open, so vote on the characters now while you still can.
