Every 'Game of Thrones' Main Character's First and Last Lines, Ranked

Image via HBO Published Aug 9, 2026, 9:59 AM EDT Born with Autism (formerly classified as Asperger syndrome), Tyler B. Searle has been obsessed with storytelling since he was old enough to speak. He gravitated towards fairy tales, mythology, the fantasy genre, and animated movies and shows aimed at family audiences. When not writing, Tyler enjoys watching more cartoons and reading fantasy books in his home in Ontario, Canada. Sign in to your Collider account No show dominated 2010s culture like Game of Thrones, HBO's adaptation of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. Set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, the series chronicles the lives of numerous noble families as they compete with and wage war against one another for political power. Yet, while they kill one another for the right to sit on the Iron Throne of Westeros, an army of undead musters in the frozen north, while an exiled princess living across the sea gathers her own army and raises three dragons. One of the biggest strengths of Game of Thrones was its morally gray characters. From the first lines that introduced them to whatever exit they were given in the disastrous final season, the main characters of Westeros hooked audiences thanks to their varying personalities, ambitions, and the moral justifications they would use to excuse some of the actions they took to achieve their goals. Even if the destination was lackluster, there is no denying they went on fantastic journeys that resulted in some of the greatest moments in fantasy television. The Game of Thrones characters are ranked here based on the strength of their overall arcs, the impact of their journeys, and how satisfying the contrast between their first and final lines ultimately feels. 10 Brandon Stark "Jon said he was a deserter." — "I'm sure it will." Image via HBO Of all the Stark children, none were arguably as important to the plot as Brandon (Isaac Hempstead Wright). Originally a boy who loved to climb and had ambitions of being a knight, he was paralyzed from the waist down after being thrown out of a tower by Ser Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). However, this allowed him to unlock his latent powers as a Greenseer, which sent him on a journey north to learn from the Three-Eyed Raven (Struan Rodger and Max von Sydow) how to master his powers and stop the White Walkers. Or, at least, that's what audiences hoped for, but the show had other ideas. Along with being completely absent from Season 5, Bran became one of the most superfluous characters by the end, contributing next to nothing in the final battle with the White Walkers, becoming an emotionless robot who gave cryptic advice, and yet somehow became King in the end because he had the best story. His last line is a bemused response to Tyrion Lannister's (Peter Dinklage) reassurance that the Small Council meetings will improve with time, a far cry from his introduction watching a man get executed for desertion. 9 Jaime Lannister "As your brother, I feel it’s my duty to warn you: you worry too much." — "Only us." Image via HBO Born the eldest son of the Lord of Casterly Rock, Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), Ser Jaime Lannister was his father's intended heir, but his life changed trajectory when he was chosen at the young age of 16 to join the Kingsguard of King Aerys II Targaryen (David Rintoul). He later killed Aerys when he was planning to blow up King's Landing, but was forever labeled as the "Kingslayer" and a man without honor. This caused him to adopt a cynical persona and sink deeper into an incestuous relationship with his twin sister, Cersei (Lena Headey). The main points of Jaime's story in GoT were his relationship with Cersei and his struggle to regain his honor, both of which were furthered through interactions with Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie). Thus, fans were not happy when Jaime backpedaled at the end and went back to die with Cersei in King's Landing. Sure, it means the twins both begin and end their time on the show together, but for Jaime, it feels as if all the progress he made to improve as a man was for naught. 8 Tyrion Lannister "It is true what they say about the Northern girls." — "I once brought a jackass and a honeycomb into a brothel." Image via HBO Martin has gone on record saying that his favorite character is Tyrion, the dwarf son of Tywin, who inherited his father's cunning mind. Unfortunately, Tyrion's birth killed his mother, forever earning him Tywin's hatred. This pushed Tyrion into a life of whoring and drinking, as seen in his introductory scene where he breaks off from the royal procession to Winterfell to have a tumble with a sex worker named Ros (Esmé Bianco). Over the course of the show, Tyrion is put through the wringer, experiencing so much heartbreak, betrayal, and abysmal treatment from his family that he goes on to kill Tywin and join Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) in her conquest of Westeros. Yet, by the end of the show, Tyrion feels like a shadow of his former self, having lost his knack for politics and becoming the character whose job it is to tell crass jokes. Thus, his final line in the show is his running gag of starting a dirty joke but never delivering the punchline. 7 Daenerys Targaryen "We've been his guests for over a year, and he's never asked us for anything." — "We break the wheel together." Image via HBO Named Stormborn due to the circumstances of her birth, Daenerys Targaryen is the last child of King Aerys II, and grew up in exile after she and her elder brother, Viserys (Harry Lloyd), were smuggled into Essos after Robert's Rebellion. She grew up in the shadow of her brother's cruelty until she was sold as a wife to the Dothraki Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) in exchange for an army Viserys could use to conquer Westeros. However, he got himself killed due to his own stupidity, and Daenerys was eventually able to find the self-confidence to seek the throne herself. Daenerys' initial journey was nothing short of inspirational, especially when she ended Season 1 not as the timid girl at the beginning of the season, but a powerful queen in the making with three newly hatched dragons. Unfortunately, the writers fumbled her big time by the end, having Daenerys go on a speed run and fall into madness that saw her murder innocent civilians, something she fought against during her time in Essos. By the time she has her final conversation with Jon Snow (Kit Harington), and he stabs a blade through her heart, she's little more than a tyrant with plans of global conquest, and fans were very unhappy to say the least. Even Emilia Clarke has expressed her dissatisfaction with Daenerys' fate. 6 Cersei Lannister "And you never worry about anything." — "Not like this." Image via HBO Tywin's eldest child, Cersei, was born with tremendous ambition, especially because she never understood why she and Jaime were treated differently despite being twins. She eventually became Queen of the Seven Kingdoms when she married Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), but it was a loveless marriage, and her children were ultimately fathered by Jaime instead. However, a prophecy from her youth hinted that they would all die, leading to her becoming paranoid and determined to crush anyone who might get in her way. Cersei's tale is a cautionary one about self-fulfilling prophecies and narcissism. Every attempt by her to acquire more power and keep her children safe only ensures that she will lose everything. Thus, it's fitting that we go from her worrying and scheming following the death of Jon Arryn (John Standing) to breaking down in tears as the Red Keep falls around her. Collider Exclusive · Game of Thrones Personality Quiz Which Game of Thrones House Do You Belong To? Stark · Lannister · Targaryen · Baratheon · Tyrell Five great houses. Five completely different answers to the same question: how do you hold power in a world that will take it from you the moment you stop paying attention? Eight questions will determine where your loyalties — and your nature — truly lie. 🐺Stark 🦁Lannister 🐉Targaryen 🦌Baratheon 🌹Tyrell FIND YOUR HOUSE → 01 Someone powerful is acting dishonourably and everyone knows it. What do you do? In Westeros, the answer to this question has ended more than one great house. ACall it out, openly and on the record. If honour means anything, it has to mean something when it's costly. BUse it. Information about someone else's dishonour is leverage — and leverage is power. CAct decisively to correct it — with or without the approval of those around me. DChallenge them directly. Strength settles disputes more honestly than courtroom manoeuvring. ENavigate carefully — build alliances, apply quiet pressure, and create a situation where the right outcome becomes inevitable. NEXT QUESTION → 02 What is the source of your power? Every house endures because of something. What is it for yours? AThe loyalty of people who trust me — earned over generations, not bought with gold. BWealth, intelligence, and the willingness to use both without sentiment. CA legacy so fearsome and a vision so total that opposition becomes unthinkable. DPhysical strength, military force, and the respect that comes from being the kind of person nobody wants to fight. ECharm, connection, and the ability to make powerful people feel that my success is also theirs. NEXT QUESTION → 03 Who do you truly fight for? Strip away the banners and the words. The honest answer tells you everything. AMy family and my people — those who depend on me and have kept faith with me through everything. BMy family — the ones who share my blood, even when they exhaust me, even when they disappoint me. CMy cause — a vision larger than any single person, including me. DMyself, and those few who've proven themselves worth fighting beside. EMy house — its name, its future, the position I intend to leave it in when I'm gone. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you deal with your enemies? A house's method reveals its character as clearly as its words ever could. AHonestly — I face them directly, and I give quarter when it's warranted. BThoroughly — I don't leave loose ends, and I don't make the same enemy twice. CDecisively — fire answers questions that diplomacy only delays. DHead-on — I'd rather meet a threat on the battlefield than behind closed doors. EElegantly — I prefer to make former enemies into allies, or at least into people who owe me something. NEXT QUESTION → 05 What kind of ruler do you believe in? Westeros is full of answers to this question. Most of them end badly. AA just one — someone who serves the realm rather than using it, who leads by example rather than fear. BA capable one — someone smart enough to navigate the game, ruthless enough to win it, and realistic about what winning costs. CA transformative one — someone who doesn't just rule what exists but reshapes what's possible. DA strong one — someone whose authority is beyond question because the alternative is obviously worse. EA wise one — someone who understands that the realm is fed by more than armies, and that a full stomach keeps more peace than a sharp sword. NEXT QUESTION → 06 You suffer a devastating loss. How does your house respond? How a house handles defeat tells you more about it than how it handles victory. AWe grieve, properly and together — and then we endure, because endurance is what we do. BWe adapt. We reassess. And we ensure that whoever caused this loss comes to regret it completely. CWe burn hotter. Setbacks don't soften us — they clarify what needs to happen next. DWe hit back. Grief and revenge are the same motion in our house. EWe regroup quietly, rebuild our position, and return when we're ready — on our terms, not theirs. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Which of these truths about Westeros do you most believe? Every house has a philosophy. This is yours. AThe lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Nothing matters more than the people you protect. BA Lannister always pays their debts — in gold or in kind. Reputation is built on consistency. CI am the blood of the dragon. Some destinies are written before the person who carries them is born. DOurs is the fury. When we move, we move completely — and we don't stop until it's done. EGrowing strong means knowing when to bloom and when to wait. Patience is its own kind of power. NEXT QUESTION → 08 The Iron Throne is within reach. What do you do? The answer reveals not just your ambition — but your character. AClaim it only if the realm needs me to — and rule in a way that makes it worth having. BEnsure someone who owes us sits in it. The power behind the throne is safer than the throne itself. CTake it. It was always meant to be mine — I feel that in my bones and in my blood. DSeize it — with both hands, without hesitation. Opportunity in Westeros does not wait to be asked. EPosition my house to be indispensable to whoever sits there — influence outlasts any single reign. REVEAL MY HOUSE → The Maester Has Spoken Your House Is…Your answers point to the great house whose words, values, and way of surviving in Westeros match your own. Bend the knee — or don't. That's very much up to you. 🐺 House StarkWinter is Coming — and you have always known it. You prepare not out of fear but out of duty, because the people who depend on you deserve someone who takes the long view. You lead with honour even when it costs you, because you understand that a reputation built on integrity is the only one worth having. Your loyalty to family and people runs deep — not as sentiment but as a code that doesn't bend when things get difficult. The North endures because Starks endure — not by being the cleverest players in the game, but by being the kind of people others are willing to follow into the cold. You are that kind of person. The pack survives. The lone wolf dies. You already know which one you are. 🦁 House LannisterYou understand the game — its rules, its exceptions, and exactly when the rules become the exception. You play it without illusions and without apology. You are sharper than most people realise, and you have learned to use that gap to your advantage. A Lannister always pays their debts — and you always keep your word, because your word is an instrument of power, and instruments must be kept in working order. You love your family with a ferocity that sometimes blinds you, and you know it, and you do it anyway. The lion doesn't concern itself with the opinion of sheep. Neither, in the end, do you. 🐉 House TargaryenYou carry a sense of destiny that is difficult to explain and impossible to ignore — the feeling that you are not simply participating in the world but meant to reshape it. You are capable of extraordinary things, and you know it, and that knowledge is both your greatest strength and your most dangerous quality. Fire and blood are not just words to you — they are a philosophy about what change requires and what it costs. The Targaryens at their best were transformative rulers who broke chains and defied the limits of what anyone thought possible. At your best, so are you. The dragon has three heads. You are one of them. 🦌 House BaratheonYou are a force — direct, powerful, and difficult to ignore when you enter a room or a conflict. You do not negotiate with challenges. You meet them. Ours is the fury — and yours is a kind of intensity that commands attention, respect, and occasionally fear from those who underestimate what's behind it. You value strength and straight dealing. You'd rather know where you stand in a fight than navigate a web of courtly whispers. The Baratheons built their house on the back of one of the greatest military victories in Westerosi history — and then struggled with what came after. The lesson of your house is that winning is not the end of the story. Governing is. You are learning that too. 🌹 House TyrellYou understand that power does not always announce itself — that sometimes it arrives with flowers, good wine, and a smile that doesn't quite reach the eyes. Growing strong is your house's motto, and you live it: patiently, strategically, always investing in the relationships and resources that will matter most when it counts. You are charming by choice and calculating by nature — a combination that makes you one of the most effective players in any room you enter. The Tyrells fed King's Landing and shaped its politics without ever sitting on the Iron Throne — and they were arguably more powerful for it. You know that the person who controls the food controls the kingdom. And you always know where the food is. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 5 Jon Snow "Go on, father's watching." — "You have your needle?" Image via HBO All his life, Jon Snow grew up as the black sheep of the Stark family, constantly reminded of his status as a bastard and hated by Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) as a reminder of her husband's infidelity. Thus, when Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) rides to King's Landing, Jon goes north to the Wall and joins the Night's Watch, an ancient organization that guards the Seven Kingdoms from the Lands of Always Winter. As he fights to unite the living against the army of the dead, it is eventually revealed that he is not Eddard's bastard, but the secret child of Lyanna Stark (Aisling Franciosi) and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen (Wilf Scolding), making him the true heir to the Iron Throne. Jon is the closest thing Game of Thrones has to a traditional hero: he's the unwanted son who goes on a quest that takes him to the end of the world, unites people because of his bravery and conviction, and is later revealed to be the long-lost heir who deserves the throne because of his character. Sadly, it was not meant to be, since Jon in the final season saw his storyline usurped by Arya (Maisie Williams) when she killed the Night King (Richard Brake and Vladimír Furdík), and is then banished from both the thrones of the North and the Seven Kingdoms to live beyond the Wall. At least his final line to Arya has a thematic link to his first line to Bran, for what consolation that gives. 4 Arya Stark "Move." — "Right here." Image via HBO The youngest Stark girl, Arya, couldn't be more different from her elder sister. While Sansa (Sophie Turner) was interested in traditionally feminine things, Arya was drawn to exploration and combat. After Robert Baratheon died, her father was imprisoned for treason, and Arya was forced to flee. Arya's travels take her across the war-torn Riverlands to the city of Braavos, where she is trained in the ways of the assassin cult known as the Faceless Men. Despite attempts to strip her of her identity, Arya ultimately returns to Westeros to help her family in the final conflicts before sailing west of Westeros. Fittingly, her first and last lines are linked to family, either telling Bran to move in a tone that can only come from a sister, or showing Jon that she still has the sword he got her. 3 Sansa Stark "Thank you." — "But they lost their king." Image via HBO The eldest of the Stark girls, Sansa, grew up on tales of heroic valor and learned about Andal culture from her mother. When her father was chosen to be Hand of the King, Sansa went south with him to King's Landing and was betrothed to Prince Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson). Unfortunately, she quickly learned that the world was a lot more complex and ugly compared to her storybooks, and had to quickly learn how to play the game of thrones to stay alive. Sansa's introduction seems so innocent in retrospect, with her receiving praise from Septa Mordane (Susan Brown) for her needlework and getting annoyed at her sister's antics. By the end of the show, she became a cold, hardened leader willing to conceal information from her family in the name of the greater good, and arguably wins the game in the end by becoming the queen of an independent North. Her last line refers to Jon Snow (Kit Harington) being sent back to the Night's Watch, while Sansa's own journey concludes with her securing the North's independence and becoming its queen. 2 Brienne of Tarth "Your Grace, I ask for the honor of a place in your Kingsguard." — "I think we can all agree that ships take precedence over brothels." Image via HBO The only daughter of Lord Selwyn Tarth, Brienne, was teased her whole life because of her size and masculine appearance. When she started getting into fights, her father let her learn martial skills, turning her into a formidable warrior. When the War of the Five Kings broke out, she initially pledged herself to Renly Baratheon (Gethin Anthony) due to a previous kindness he showed her, but after his death, she pledged herself to Catelyn Stark and made it her mission to protect her daughters Arya and Sansa. Brienne's character arc is one of upholding one's oaths and honor in a world that considers such things liabilities, and culminates with her receiving a knighthood from Ser Jaime Lannister and becoming Lord Commander of King Brandon Stark's Kingsguard. This mirrors her introduction, where she asked to join Renly's Kingsguard in order to serve him best, and leaves no doubt about her skill as a warrior. Too bad her last line in the show is rebuking Ser Bronn of the Blackwater's (Jerome Flynn) request that the crown prioritize rebuilding King's Landing's brothels, which is itself just a setup for a Tyrion joke. 1 Theon Greyjoy "It's a freak." — "Make every shot count." Image via HBO After his father, Balon Greyjoy (Patrick Malahide), failed to rebel against the Iron Throne, Theon (Alfie Allen) was taken as a political hostage and made a ward to Eddard Stark. Though he developed a close friendship with Eddard's eldest son, Robb (Richard Madden), Theon ultimately betrays the Starks and rejoins his father as he makes plans to declare independence and claim the North by right of conquest. His attempts to prove himself ultimately lead to his capture and torture at the hands of Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon), but he eventually claws his way back and spends the rest of his life trying to atone for his actions. Theon is one of the show's most tragic characters. The cocksure attitude he is introduced with is a mask to hide the insecurities he feels about both hating the Starks as his captors and yet wishing he could be one due to how much more support and respect he gets from them than his real family. Thus, his last moments are spent leading an honor guard of archers in protecting Bran from the army of the dead, until he is finally killed by the Night King himself.