Speaking of pure souls seems weird when it comes to Game of Thrones. And yes, that seems like an obvious fact because it’s all about power, greed, control, and, of course, The Iron Throne. But, as we know, one can’t live without the other, so, in the same way, good can’t live without bad. They exist in the same world, and their ways of living make them truly what they are, good or bad.
Yet, among all the darkness I’ve seen in this series, some characters proved to become light for others. Most of these characters are not so strong, don’t have power, but still, they are kind and brave enough to help others and bring peace in the cruel times of war. These characters never chased the crown or glory.
This list is not about popularity or screen time, it’s about all the decent people from Game of Thrones who faced a lot and still managed to stay good in the series.
Game of Thrones Characters Nobody Hated
Hodor
Pure heart, pure soul.
- Episodes appeared: 23
Hodor (Kristian Nairn) deserves to be on top of the list when it comes to the purest souls and decent persons in Game of Thrones. He wasn’t mentally stable because of the visionary trauma he faced in his childhood, which we as viewers saw in the 5th episode of season 6th (The Door). That is indeed one of the best plots of the series that connected two timelines perfectly.
Hodor is among the best characters of Cinema that spoke only one word in the whole series.
As a child, when he had his vision, he was in Winterfell, and spent the rest of his life serving the Starks, who cared for him, raised him, took him under their protection, and, according to the timeline, he gave his life protecting Brandon Stark (Isaan Hemstead Wright). Being a gentle one, his death was one of the most emotional scenes of the show.
The only Stark child who get to know the real identity of Hodor was Bran. He even discovered his real name which was Wylis.
Catelyn Stark
A kind and brave mother.
- Episodes appeared: 25
Michelle Fairley was born for this role, truly. The way she portrayed the role of Lady Stark was splendid, and as a matter of fact, could be considered one of the best characters in the series.
She wasn’t only a loving mother but also a loving wife. And, when it comes to saving her family and children, she could travel the continents, take risky decisions, and hold anyone prisoner without a second thought if that person emits threatening vibes. She tried her best to save her family at all costs, even by waging war, but she couldn’t, and obviously, the reason was being too nice and gentle.
Catelyn Stark is one of the best mothers in Game of Thrones.
At one point, she looked like a fool and a too-quick-to-react kind of person when she took Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) as a prisoner, which was obviously a stupid move. She was aware of the fact that her husband and young daughters were still in Kings Landing, yet she arrested him without any proof, which became another major reason of war between the Starks and Lannisters.
Eddard Stark
A gentle father and an honorable leader.
Episodes appeared: 9
Lord Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) was one of the most powerful men in the kingdoms, and was also among the most caring and loving persons as well. It could be tough to believe that the man who owns a kingdom, has everything in his pocket, can command anyone, and still comes with a deeply sensitive and careful heart. But Ned Stark was, without a doubt, one of the purest souls in the show, who no one deserved.
He even raised his children just like him, which was a good thing, of course, but for them, that appeared to be a nightmare, as they had no idea about the true intentions of the cruel world.
The way he talked and challenged the Lannisters made a beautiful prediction of beating evil minds with good intentions, but obviously, that’s Game of Thrones, you can never expect what is coming. And the same happened at the end of the first season, when Lord Stark gave his life to false accusations by the Lannisters, which set off a whole new plot in the series.
It could be said without a doubt that seven kingdoms would be at peace if Ned Stark had ruled them.
Although all the Starks were really innocent, all the other houses took it as an advantage. But despite their innocence, Starks made a lot of mistakes, which made them really suffer at the beginning. But with each season, they got smarter and more clever, and that’s why by the end they became the rulers.
Brienne of Tarth
The toughest and bravest face of loyalty.
Episodes appeared: 42
Gwendoline Christie is indeed one of the best and most inspiring faces of the industry, and the way she handled Brienne’s character is amazing. At the beginning of the second season, she looked like an ugly beast, maybe that was the reason everyone was afraid of her, but she managed to transform herself into a pretty warrior.
Brienne was best known for keeping her oaths. This is why she even named her Valyrian steel sword “Oathkeeper.”
She proved that loyalty is above everything else. She wasn’t only brave, but fierce and honest too. Luckily, she was among the very few people in Game of Thrones who managed to achieve their purpose in life. So, without a second thought or any doubt, I say, she’s among the best pure souls of the series.
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Samwell Tarly
A kind person and loyal friend.
Episodes appeared: 48
Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) was among all the characters who suffered the most in the series. He wasn’t supposed to be at The Wall, even. The worst part is that he ended up at The Wall because of his own father, who wanted him to be tough and cold, which he could never be, as he favored his mother growing up because she seemed to be a nice lady.
It was Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) who protected Sam in the beginning, otherwise, he couldn’t even have survived the first season.
Despite all the suffering he endured throughout his journey, he proved himself a loyal friend and a brave lover. Although no women are allowed on The Wall, he took an initiative to protect Gilly (Hannah Murray) and her baby, and later he even adopted that kid and took Gilly under her protection. All these facts are proof that he was one of the bravest and purest souls of the series.
Shireen Baratheon
The most innocent victim.
Episodes appeared: 16
The saddest death in Game of Thrones was a result of madness and power for the throne. Shireen Baratheon (Kerry Ingram) was certainly the most suffering and innocent kid in the whole season. Her story from her childhood depicts a lot of suffering, including her greyscale infection, which shows us that she never had a normal life.
Maybe it was her father, Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane), who never settled in the whole show, and along with him, his family suffered the same fate.
As a viewer, I was concerned about what would happen to her if Stannis marches on Winterfell and is defeated, she should be in good hands and should be safe. But, as we spoke about this before, this is GOT, and you can never know what weird surprise is on the way. And, the same happened with the cute little princess, as she was burnt at the stake only for a stupid throne.
Davos Seaworth
A smart smuggler and honest servant.
Episodes appeared: 42
Davos (Liam Cunningham) is certainly one of the smartest characters in the show. Although he had a good heart and could be considered among the pure souls, the funny fact is, he was able to survive till the end only because of his sharp skills and wisdom. Otherwise, people like him usually didn’t end up in good health on the show like GOT.
He loved Shireen as a daughter, and he could have saved her if he had been present at the time of sacrifice, but Stannis was so out of his mind that he sent him back to The Wall to avoid any trouble.
It was a kind of pitiful thing for a man like Davos that he was so dedicated to serving such a cruel man. But that’s only one side of the story, he was actually a good and loyal friend and was pardoned by Stannis, who later saw him as a potential partner and hired him in his service. Still, he faced a lot while serving him.
Myrcella Baratheon
A gentle princess with a pure soul.
Episodes appeared: 10
Myrcella (Nell Tiger Free) was another innocent soul who just wasted herself being among cruel people. She’s one of the most famous and richest Lannisters who happened to have a short screen time. She truly was a good girl who deserved a good life, but due to her extreme political family background, she lost her life for no reason.
In my opinion, this is one of the most shocking facts of the GOT that Myrcella Baratheon was the daughter of a woman like Cersei, who was the cruelest lady in the series.
She was lucky at first only because of her uncle Tyrion, who saved her life from her other uncle, Stannis Baratheon, who could have taken her if he had been able to win The Throne. But the second time, she wasn’t even aware of what was going on. Even if she had survived the second time, there was no chance for her to live till the end of the series because her mother would have made sure of that.
Tommen Baratheon
The only King who wanted peace.
Episodes appeared: 18
He was the only peaceful king among all the others that appeared in the series. Tommen (Dean Charles-Chapman) was not even supposed to be a king, but he became one because his brother passed away. That wasn’t fair, actually, in my opinion. But, the Lannisters always thought of themselves as the smartest and superior to others, so they put the command of the seven kingdoms in a child’s hands who couldn’t even save his mother later on.
Maybe he didn’t have experience in ruling, but at least he got the perks of being a king. Still, he never took advantage of this opportunity, which made him really good and decent.
One thing is clear, he never wanted a crown, he was forced to wear it, and the worst part is that he was later forced to face all those tough situations that he never deserved. He wasn’t weak, as a matter of fact, he was gentle, which turned out to be an opportunity for their enemies, and that’s why the House Lannister had to face the toughest time of their lives during his reign.
Missandei
Kindness without borders.
Episodes appeared: 38
If gentleness has a second face, it will be Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) from the Isle of Nath, that’s why I describe her as a person who has a “kindness without borders” kind of nature. From the very beginning, when she was nothing more than a translator, we could see how gentle and caring she was. Despite living a life of a slave, she had no disappointment on her face.
It really breaks the heart for what happened to her at the end, and she was one of the core reasons Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) lost her senses and brutally burned the whole Kings Landing. But the sad part is, even if Missandei has survived, she wouldn’t be happy at all, as she firmly believed in the purpose of her queen and was too close to her.
Gilly
Survived without cruelty.
Episodes appeared: 27
It isn’t wrong to say that this girl is the luckiest in the whole GOT series. Gilly (Hannah Murray) was just an ordinary character when we first saw her at the Craster’s keep, but, later, once she was able to escape that hellhole, she began to live an actual life, like an ordinary human. Yes, I agree with the fact that she had been through a lot even after her escape, but at least she took a step for her life, which ended up in the form of a good life.
We don’t need theories or explanations, it’s a matter of fact that she was able to live and survive only because of Samwell.
Or maybe it was her child’s fate, who actually got lucky and was never handed over to the White Walkers. Otherwise, all of her sister’s boys were given to Walkers by their own father, or husband, whatever they call him. But that was another rare and weird fact about the series, that we come to see monsters like Craster (Robert Pugh). And as a personal opinion, he was worse than White Walkers.
Maestor Aemon
Wisdom without pride.
Episodes appeared: 11
Maestor Aemon (Peter Vaughan) was the wisest person on The Wall, who certainly couldn’t see, but could understand everything at his best. He was great grand uncle of Daenerys Targaryen. But the weird fact about their relationship is that they were the only two members of their dynasty and never saw each other.
Maestor Aemon was the reason Jon Snow was able to live after his wildling expedition where he broke almost all the laws. And he only spared him because he knew that people like Jon Snow are needed on The Wall.
He was the best decision-maker in the Night’s Watch and was certainly the reason most of those men were living in peace with each other. The best part about him was that he belonged to one of the most prominent families of Westeros, still, he had no pride and never led anyone down in serving him, which again made him one of the pure souls.
Podrick Payne
Loyalty without ego.
Episodes appeared: 35
Podrick (Daniel Portman) is certainly the best and most loyal servant in the series. While other squires were bought only for a few coppers, this man was given so many great opportunities of knighthood and even a Lordship, but he stood his ground in loyalty and never betrayed his masters.
His loyalty was proof that sticking to the same goal for a good reason can bring a lot of positive changes to your life.
While serving Lord Tyrion, this guy had a lot of fun, as he was serving one of the finest and most entertaining guys of the series. He experienced a lot of new things, especially the romantic ones. Afterwards, when he began serving Brienne, that was a new and opposite experience for him. That’s where he really proved his loyalty to his master. Doesn’t matter what his master says or how they react, he always serves with all his heart.
All these characters remind us of humanity and what it really feels like to be a human to other people. As a matter of fact, Game of Thrones punished good people and was cruel to all decent ones till the end. Very few managed to shape their destiny according to their own desires and will. Most of them were just gone, and their houses vanished as they played this cruel game.
