Top Twenty Greatest Villains of A Song of Ice and Fire

Like my list of the Top Twenty Greatest Warriors its now time to turn the list to those loathsome and irredeemable villains.

As you'll see some are  truly the worst of the worst, especially by the time the "top" of the list is reached. You have to give a tip of the hat to Martin. some of these villains are simply vile.

Like the list for Greatest Warriors of the Westeros, I don't expect that everyone will agree, and that's fine. But in the commentary make your case as to why each is reprehensible or maybe worse that someone else.

Top Twenty Greatest Villains of the World of A Song of Ice and Fire

1. Aegon IV, The Unworthy - The decadent king whose selfish excesses and legitimized bastards sowed generations of war.

2. Maegor I, The Cruel- A brutal tyrant who ruled through terror, blood, and the suppression of the Faith.

3. Euron Greyjoy - A chaotic, ambitious pirate king whose dark ambitions and cruelty threaten the entire realm.

4. Aerys II, The Mad King - The paranoid, fire-obsessed ruler whose cruelty and madness helped spark Robert’s Rebellion.

5. The Brave Companions (The Bloody Mummers) - A mercenary company of sadists and turncloaks who left a trail of mutilation and horror.

6. Maelys the Monstrous - The deformed Blackfyre pretender whose brutal claim nearly plunged the realm into another civil war.

7. Ramsay Bolton - A sadistic psychopath whose cruelty and psychological torment make him one of the series’ purest monsters.

8. The Mountain, Ser Gregor Clegane - A towering brute whose strength and unrelenting savagery made him a living weapon of terror

9. Joffery - The spoiled, sadistic boy-king whose casual cruelty and insecurity made him a walking disaster.

10. Cersei - The paranoid, power-hungry queen whose schemes and vindictiveness leave ruin in their wake.

11. Roose Bolton - A cold, calculating lord whose quiet ruthlessness and betrayal helped destroy House Stark.

12. Walder Frey - The treacherous, weaselly lord whose betrayal at the Red Wedding shocked the realm.

13. Craster - The wildling patriarch who practiced extremely questionable acts with his daughters and sacrificed his sons to the Others

14. Daenarys Targaryen - * - Hero at first turned villain who destroys Kings Landing on her dragon.

15. The Mountain's Men - Ser Gregor’s band of rapists and killers who spread fear and atrocity across the Riverlands.  

16. Biter - A cannibalistic brute whose animalistic violence left a lasting mark of horror.

17. Petyr Baelish, Littlefinger - The master manipulator whose ambition and chaos-making reshape the game itself. Perhaps the finest player of the Game of Thrones.

18. The Tickler - The sadistic interrogator whose methods of torture became infamous in the Riverlands.

19. Amory Lorch -The child-murdering knight responsible for the deaths of Elia Martell’s children.

20. Viserys Targaryen - The bitter, entitled Beggar King whose cruelty and delusion made him a danger to all around him.

* I include the television version of Daenerys here. There is simply no way to explain away her decision to destroy King’s Landing after the city had already surrendered. The turn was built throughout the later seasons, some fans still refuse to accept it, but the evidence is right there on screen. In the books she has not crossed that line (yet), so this ranking reflects the completed show arc.

In time I'll perhaps build out individual pots on all twenty.

 How about you? Insights as to what I got wrong or right on this list? Let me know in the comments.