These people are the best at being the worst. The world of Westeros is hardly navigable by moral compass, and these House of the Dragon characters have thrown theirs away entirely. Here they are, the biggest jerks in the series, ranked.
10. Vhagar
Honestly, Vhagar needs to chill. Her old master Laena Velaryon was in a bad spot mentally, reeling from the loss of her son. She went to Vhagar to kill herself by dragon, and what did Vhagar do? HELPED HER ALONG—Dragonfire without even a second thought. Laena was dead for all of three seconds before that scaly bastard switched sides after getting subdued by Aemond. A ten-year-old kid? Really? No loyalty. Then, later in the series, she loses control and EATS one of her draconic kin along with the Targaryen prince riding him. Unscrupulous.
9. Alicent Hightower
Alicent Hightower started off as an innocent sweetie pie, but she’s now a player in The Game. Anyone who knows the history of Dance of the Dragons knows just how far into moral turpitude this woman backslides in exchange for political power. She’s already plotting against her former bestie Rhaenyra with her bestie’s ex, Ser Criston Cole, and soon she’ll be helping to plunge the realm into absolute chaos, a civil war that will kill tens of thousands. We can’t blame her entirely, though. After all, she learned from the best. Her father.
8. Vaemond Velaryon
Vaemond Velaryon isn’t evil per se, but he simply lacks tact, decorum, and above all, common sense. It’s the thing that gets him killed. While the rest of the court knows when to let sleeping dragons lie, Vaemond can’t seem to let the idea of Rhaenyra’s children being bastards go. Yes, everyone knows it. No, they’re not going to do anything about it. Just shut up and let those sweet little boys grow up believing they’re legitimate. Could Vaemond do it? No, he couldn’t. And what price did he pay for his flagrant disrespect of Princess Rhaenyra and the Targaryen dynasty in front of the entire court? Death by Daemon.
7. Daemon Targaryen
Daemon Targaryen is a totally lovable bad boy with an emphasis on bad. “Oh but he’s such a supportive uncle-husband to Rhaenyra”? Hush. Do you know what he did to his last wife? He paralyzed her and then bludgeoned her to death with a rock. His bloodlust doesn’t stop there. As Commander of the City Watch, he spent the entire first ten minutes of episode one abusing authority with some broken windows policing, murdering and torturing anyone he even suspected of committing crimes. And finally, he groomed his niece. Ew.
6. Aegon II
Aegon II is the worst, but fecklessly so. He’s not strong. He’s not clever. He’s not even mature. He’s the definition of a spoiled rich kid. All he does is go out drinking and chasing women. He has no regard for The Throne, no capacity to rule, and nary a thought for any of his subjects to be. He’s a child born in the lap of luxury in a world where most live and die in the dirt. And despite this, he thinks that the Iron Throne should be his!? Spurred on by his mother, he’s content to plunge the kingdom into what will become the most brutal civil war in the history of the Known World. Boo hiss.
5. Otto Hightower
Otto Hightower isn’t winning any Dad of the Year awards any time soon. Despite serving as Hand of the King to his old friend Viserys I, he conspires against the former king’s wishes and attempt to seat his own grandson on the throne, rather than Rhaenyra. I’d like to say that his loyalty lies only to his family, but not even that is true. He all but packaged and sold his daughter Alicent in order to curry political power with King Viserys, manipulating the grief-stricken king into marrying her after the death of his beloved queen. He appears like a wise, trustworthy, and loving person, but in reality he’s just another snake in the grass like the rest of them.
4. Aemond Targaryen
Aemond Targaryen is the stuff of which great villains are made. Intelligent, shrewd, powerful, he is everything that his older brother Aegon II is not. At a young age, he’s solidified a reputation as a talented fighter with a copious amount of bloodlust. He bullied Rhaenyra’s children mercilessly, even going so far as attempting to kill them when they fought back and cut out his eye. His gleeful torture of Rhaenyra’s children continued into adulthood, which ended up in the accidentally-on-purpose death of Lucerys and his dragon Arrax. What a dick.
3. Crabfeeder
Crabfeeder doesn’t have much to say, but his actions speak for him. He’s a right bastard. Prince Craghas Drahar was a Myrish prince-admiral of the Triarchy who decided to test the might of Westeros by waging a campaign of murder in the Stepstones. Why is he called Crabfeeder? Well, ol’ Craghas has a penchant for tying captured prisoners to stakes on the beach, where they are then eaten alive by carnivorous crabs or drowned in the tides. Yuck.
2. Ser Criston Cole
Ser Criston Cole started out as a Himbo Hero, but soon sank into the degeneracy that mires most everyone in King’s Landing. He was Rhaenyra’s friend. Confidant. Lover. Then Rhaenyra was married in a political move that she had little control over. She’s a queen; it’s what she’s gotta do. Did Cole understand? No. He got huffy and jealous and decided to turn against his former lover entirely. Once a staunch supporter of the Queen To Be, he attempted to orchestrate her downfall along with the rest of the realm’s unscrupulous types. Anyone who disagreed with him? He bashed their head into a table until they died. RIP Lord Beesbury. The Realm didn’t deserve you.
1. Larys Strong
Larys Strong is a kinslayer, the worst, most unforgivable sort of person in all of Westeros. He started out as intelligent and well meaning, a Tyrion Lannister of another era, but he soon revealed himself to be an out and out bastard. He orchestrated the death of Himbo #1 Harwin Strong, the sweet and doting father of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s children. How did he do it? By setting up a deadly fire that killed his own brother and their father. While appearing loyal to the vulnerable Alicent Hightower, he soon reveals that his loyalty has a price: feet stuff. No kink shaming here, but making someone an unwilling participant in your fetish in exchange for political favors is not exactly behavior that anyone should emulate. It’s gross. Larys, you’re gross.
