Game Of Thrones: The King’s Hands (Ranked Best To Worst)

The Hand of the King, a title widely associated with Tyrion Lannister, is a position that came with so much responsibility yet very little credit in Game of Thrones. The king’s hand was tasked with advising the king or queen they served, but the mistakes of the king were blamed on them as well.

The Mad King was obviously the hardest man to be Hand to as his most trusted Hand, Qarlston Chelsted, ended up being burned in Wildfire according to the accounts of Jaime Lannister. After the Mad King’s death, being Hand of the King or Queen became an easier job as it only involved being smart enough to ensure your master is properly advised. Not everyone in the show was good at the job like Tyrion.

10 Best of All: Tyrion Lannister (Joffrey & Daenerys)

Tyrion Lannister was always meant to be The Hand of the King, but many people judged him for his appearance rather than his brains. No one did the job of the Hand of The King better than Tyrion Lannister, but he never got the credit he deserved. He served Joffrey faithfully, covering his mistakes and bringing sanity to his small council despite all the strife and backstabbing.

He then moved to Mereen to serve Daenerys pitching him against his family’s interests in King’s Landing. Tyrion somehow managed to advise everyone he worked for to do the right thing and still blamed himself for the mistakes he made, some of which were not his fault. He was the only Lannister that fully lived up to his family’s name by paying all his debts, including the one to the realm.

9 Davos Seaworth (Stannis Baratheon)

Ser Davos Seaworth was a good adviser to Stannis Baratheon, but his advice was being wasted on the ears of a doomed man. Davos was caring and responsible, just like Tyrion; Always weighing all options and open to peace, unlike Melisandre, who was only bent on killing everyone on the other side. Davos also advised Stannis against relying on dark magic.

Despite giving the best advice and forging a strong alliance, Davos was blamed for all of Melisandre’s mistakes. He got a second chance as The Hand to Jon Snow, although he wasn’t given the job formally and managed to be part of the army that saved Winterfell and later, the realm.

8 Eddard Stark (Robert Baratheon)

Ned Stark was a fool, but he always answered the call of duty. It is unclear why Robert Baratheon didn’t ask for his help earlier, but he was the best adviser and protector any king could hope for. Eddard cared so much about Robert’s reign that he was willing to forego the party in his owner to reduce the weight on the crown’s finances.

Ned also looked into his predecessor’s death and was willing to clean King’s Landing of its treachery to smoothen Robert’s rule. However, he was too ambitious and too pure to live in the crooked city, leading to his death at the hands of crooked Lannisters.

7 Jon Arryn (Robert Baratheon)

Like Ned Stark, Jon Arryn was a good man of honor with a strong will to do what was right. He gave up the peace of the Vale, having been the lord of the Eyrie to come to King’s Landing and serve Robert Baratheon.

He was also the only man in Robert’s small council that didn’t have mixed loyalties, and the Lannisters killed him for it. He was also the first man to doubt the paternity of Cersei’s children seriously enough to do something about it. If he stayed alive longer, Robert’s fate could have been avoided.

6 Qyburn (Cersei)

In a different world, one without Tywin Lannister and Grandmaester Pycelle, Cersei would have made a great queen. Love her or hate her, Cersei was wise and knew how to maintain peace within King’s Landing. Cersei was also the only person smart enough to manage the complicated politics of the capital, and she couldn’t have chosen a better Hand than Qyburn.

Qyburn was a broken man with a faulty history who only needed someone to trust in his talents. In return for Cersei’s trust, Qyburn offered her his full loyalty beginning with swearing The Mountain to her service. He also created the scorpions to help her defeat the dragons and stood by Cersei’s side until the end. He was fighting for the wrong side, but he still did it faithfully as the Hand of the Queen.

5 Tywin Lannister (The Mad King & Joffrey)

Tywin is the king that ruled King’s Landing for years without sitting on the Iron Throne. He was the wisest man in the red keep who understood the politics of the Seven Kingdoms better than anyone else. There was no flashback on how he performed when he served as Hand to the Mad King, but he obviously did a bad job since the Mad King was being poisoned under his watch.

He was also too heavy-handed on the small council when he took the job as the King’s hand to Joffrey and failed to notice when Ollena Tyrell planned his assassination. He was too interested in his own affairs and power to notice when the politics changed.

4 Jorah Mormont (Daenerys)

Jorah Mormont failed his house when he converted old Joer Mormont’s house into a slave-trading syndicate, but he sought his redemption in good time. Just like Ser Davos, Jorah never got to be officially named as Hand of the Queen to Daenerys, but as she said later, she already considered him her Hand before Tyrion came along.

He protected Daenerys all the time before she conquered any significant lands and armies and continued doing it by advising and protecting her before he was infected with Greyscale. He was the only man that trusted enough to be the Hand to the Queen of nothing. He continued performing his job when Daenerys lost faith in Tyrion in Winterfell and stood by Dany’s side and died protecting her.

3 Orton Merryweather (Tommen)

Orton Merryweather was one ambitious but super-stupid Hand of the King. He was named the Hand to Tommen because Cersei couldn’t stand having another Tyrell in the Small Council, which was swiftly getting out of her control. He started his job well by identifying that the crown’s debts needed to be paid off but failed when he fell for Cersei’s seduction.

Merryweather failed to convince the High Sparrow that his accusations against Margery weren’t false and, as a result, got himself and Cersei arrested. If not for the fact that he cared enough to keep Tommen out of the mess, he would have made the worst Hand Tommen ever had.

2 Kevan Lannister (Tommen)

Apart from Tyrion, Kevan is the only other Lannister that didn’t deserve to die because he lived up to his house’s oath and protected his brother for as long as he was needed to. He actually liked Tyrion and was relieved when the poor imp returned from the Eyrie unharmed. However, he underestimated his niece and didn’t know just how power-hungry and damaged Cersei was.

He rejected the offer of being the Master of War from Cersei and accepted the role of the Hand of the King from Grand Maester Pycelle, which was a big mistake. He was also heavy-handed like Tywin and wanted to bring sanity to King’s Landing, but it was too ambitious of him. He ended up dying with the rest of Cersei’s enemies when she blew up the Great Sept of Baelor.

1 Worst of All: Mace Tyrell (Renly & Tommen)

Mace Tyrell was hand to Renly Baratheon, but the best description for him was an o”oaf,” just like his mother Ollena called him. He failed Renly and moved South to form an alliance with Tywin Lannister. Mace was a bad Hand to Renly Baratheon; He only secured the position because Renly Needed the Reach when he became king.

He then got the same position as Hand of the King to Tommen Baratheon after Cersei’s imprisonment by the High Sparrow. All times that Mace was Hand, he only served his personal interests, not even those of his house. His service and advice never helped any of the kings he served.

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