For eight seasons, Game of Thrones gave us dragons, politics, betrayal, and more decapitations than any HR department could handle. But beneath all the chaos was a bigger question that split the fandom harder than the final season did: who was the real hero of Westeros?
Some say it was Jon Snow, the brooding boy who knew nothing but still tried to do everything. Others insist Arya Stark deserved the crown for stabbing evil right in the eye socket. And then there are the few brave souls who still defend Daenerys Targaryen’s moral meltdown. Let’s break it down.
Jon Snow: The Brooding Idealist
Jon Snow started as the classic underdog. Bastard-born, quiet, perpetually freezing. He embodied honour like his uncle Ned, but with slightly more personality. Jon did everything a hero should: he fought for the living, united enemies, and even came back from the dead for overtime hero duties.
But here’s the thing, Jon’s biggest flaw was also his greatest strength. His relentless morality made him admirable, but it also made him predictable. He was the guy who’d save the world, then refuse to rule it because feelings. If this was a job interview, he’d ace the teamwork section but fumble the leadership question.
Hero score: 8/10 – Strong resume, poor career progression.
Arya Stark: The Assassin Who Lived
Arya’s story arc was basically a revenge playlist that went viral. She trained, she fought, she face-swapped. While other characters argued about chairs, Arya was out there ending apocalypses. Killing the Night King with a literal drop move was peak TV.
However, Arya’s detachment from Westerosi politics means she’s less the hero of the realm and more the hero of personal freedom. She saved everyone, sure, but she didn’t care to rule or rebuild. Instead, she peaced out to explore like she’d just unlocked the DLC.
Hero score: 9/10 – Saved humanity, then ghosted it.
Tyrion Lannister: The Brain Behind the Throne
If wit were a sword, Tyrion would have been unstoppable. He navigated the most dangerous political game ever invented, mostly while drunk and under constant threat of execution. His evolution from self-serving cynic to weary moralist made him one of the most human characters on the show.
Tyrion didn’t fight monsters or command armies, but he fought something trickier, power itself. Even when his plans failed (and they often did), he kept trying to inject reason into a world allergic to it.
Hero score: 7/10 – Less slayer, more survivor.
Daenerys Targaryen: The Liberator Turned Tyrant
Daenerys began as the ultimate empowerment arc. She broke chains, freed slaves, and carried herself like destiny was her birthright. For most of the series, she was the beacon of hope. Until, of course, she started turning cities into barbecues.
Her downfall wasn’t out of nowhere, though. The warning signs were there: her obsession with destiny, her intolerance for opposition, and her occasional habit of solving problems with fire. She was the tragic hero, one who believed too strongly in her own righteousness.
Hero score: 6/10 – Started strong, finished like a history textbook warning.
Brienne of Tarth: The True Knight
Brienne never wanted fame or a throne. She wanted honour, and she actually lived it. In a world where every vow was just a future excuse, she kept hers. She defended the weak, stood by her convictions, and was knighted by Jaime in one of the show’s few genuinely emotional scenes that didn’t involve dragons or death.
Brienne represented the ideal Westeros needed: loyalty without agenda, courage without ego. She didn’t slay kings or rule kingdoms, but she was the rare person who didn’t lose herself in the process.
Hero score: 9.5/10 – The hero Westeros didn’t deserve but desperately needed.
Samwell Tarly: The Quiet Catalyst
No one talks enough about Sam. He wasn’t flashy, but without him, Jon wouldn’t have known his heritage, the Night’s Watch would have fallen sooner, and the world would have lost its only decent librarian.
Sam’s bravery came in the form of intellect and compassion, two things Westeros didn’t value enough. He wasn’t a fighter, but he made survival possible for everyone else.
Hero score: 8.5/10 – The brain behind every brawn.
So… Who Was the Real Hero?
If you define heroism as saving lives, Arya wins. If it’s moral integrity, Brienne takes the crown. If it’s endurance through trauma, Tyrion’s your man. But if we’re talking about who truly changed the game, the one who embodied courage, honour, and growth without falling to ambition, Brienne of Tarth quietly takes it.
She didn’t seek power. She just did what was right, and somehow, in a story filled with dragons, wars, and betrayals, that made her the rarest thing of all: a good person who stayed good.
Seven Swords Takeaway
Maybe that’s the real trick Game of Thrones pulled on us. It made us look for heroes in crowns and dragons, when the true one was kneeling in armour, keeping her promises while everyone else burned theirs.
