The Most Underrated Characters in Game of Thrones

Over at Pop Trends, I wrote a piece about how some Game of Thrones characters are overrated and get undeserved love. Here I would like to do the opposite. I have noticed that there are many characters in the series who somehow manage to survive through impossible odds and come out on top, or who are just outright cool, but get little or no love. It is to those characters that I would like to dedicate today's ramblings on stuff:

The 5 most underrated characters in Game of Thrones

The criteria used for this is not so much who people should like but don't, as has been argued about Stannis Baratheon, or what characters that viewers already respect they should give more respect to, as has been argued about Littlefinger or Varys. It's about those characters who are integral to the success / failure of campaigns (because let's face it, campaigns are not about "OMG SHE HAZ DRAGONZ" or "JON IS LIKE TOTEZ HAWTZ" as much as it is about who the leaders surround themselves with) and don't get credit for their efforts, or characters where viewers just go like "yeah, not that important".

So... let's do it.

# 5. The Braavosi Men: Syrio Forel / Jaqen H'ghar

I know, I know, it's unfair to have two people share a spot. But both of these men are similar. Both of them are Braavosi men. Both of these men have unknown origins. In both of these cases we know only the name and title of each men (Syrio Forel, First Sword of Braavos, and Jaqen H'ghar, a Faceless One). They are both formidable with weapons. They both worship and serve the same god, Death. They both say the same to their god -  "Not yet", and they both live by the same motto: valar morghulis. As far as the story goes, they both heavily influenced the development of Arya as a character. It is thanks to what Arya learned from both of these men that she is alive. Both of them are cool dudes and served as Arya's mentors. It might even be said that somehow, despite superficial differences, that they are the same person...

Seriously tho, both of these dudes are seriously cool, and they don't get any recognition. So here is to you, Braavosi legion!

# 4. Sansa Stark

People don't really like Sansa. I don't really like Sansa either. She's naive to the point of being annoying, and almost as spoiled as Daenerys and Joffrey. Almost. But for all her flaws, she proves herself to be quite the survivor. After being stranded at King's Landing, Sansa is forced to play the game and survive as best as she can. By using her wiles and charm, she is able to "wing it" long enough for her to escape. That's what makes her underrated. I'm not saying we should like her more. She's a spoiled brat. But she should be given credit for being a survivor and recognized as such, because I honestly can't think of any other Stark who would have survived under Sansa's circumstances past season 1.
I know, I know, she set back our image of a strong woman by light years and tells girls all the wrong lessons - she falls for Joffrey (ugh) and her dreams are to be a trophy wife. But you have to give it to her - she's a survivor. 

# 3. Samwell Tarly

No one really hates Sam, but no one really likes him either. No one thinks much of him. He's just "that fat Night's Watch guy. But he's more than that. Out of all the Night's Watch men, he is the only one I can remember who does any actual rescuing. Despite his cowardice in the face of battle, he does care about others, and he can become brave when the situation calls for it, to the point where he kills a Whitewalker. 

More importantly, there are hundreds of men in the Night's Watch. There are dozens of old captain lords, dozens of new recruits who join their ranks routinely, and who knows how many actual Brothers. And yet every single time it seems that Sam is the only one  who knows stuff, because apparently Sam is the only one who knows how to read. The following scene happens various times:

A crow: "Hey here's a mysterious thing!"

Sam: "Oh, let me see, ah, that means exposition!"

Crow: "How do you know this?!?"

Sam: "I read it in the library at Castle Black."

Later on, Sam's dropping of knowledge becomes integral. For that, he deserves some credit.

# 2. Loras Tyrell

The Knight of the Flowers is heir to Highgarden and the title of Lord of House Tyrell. That makes him heir to the second largest accumulation of wealth in Westeros. Although he has not been shown to be a manipulative intelligence, as Littlefinger and Varys are, he is certainly no slouch when it comes to machinations. It is because of Loras' that Renly Baratheon takes up arms and makes a claim for the throne. Sure, it is partly because of his lust for the young Baratheon, but you can't really dislike his reasons: he understands that Renly would be a far better king than Joffrey and Stannis. This shows him as also kind and caring about "the people". He is also shown to understand how the game of thrones works, as he married his sister Margaery to his lover Renly in order to cement the relationship between House Baratheon and House Tyrell.

After Stannis cheaply kills Renly through magic, Loras has enough sense to line himself with Tywin against Stannis, who would have unquestionably come after him and House Tyrell in order to seek justice.

More importantly, he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, swordsman in all of Westeros. In the tournament, we see him easily and nonchalantly take down The Mountain, a knight feared for his strength and skill. In the books, they describe him as an even more formidable swordsman.

But what do the fans know him for? Being Renly's, and later Cersei', lover. That's it.

He should really get more credit than he is due.

# 1. Jorah Mormont

Also known as "Captain Friendzone", Mormont is burdened with the task of administering the army of the most overrated character in Game of Thrones, keeping the peace between other commanders when they are at odds, and advising Spoiled Dragonmother about how to approach strategy and tactics, because she has no idea what she's doing. On top of that, he has to clean up her messes whenever she fails at life (which she does quite often). It is Mormont who taught Khaleesi the way of the Dothraki. It is Mormont who taught her what little she knows about war. It is thanks to Mormont that she was not poisoned by Varys' poison. It was Mormont who adviced Dragon Mommy to not break the laws of the Dothraki and let the soldiers "collect their spoils", but she was stubborn and went crying to Kal Drogo with a line about how "dragons feast on horses and sheep alike", and when she broke tradition it was up to Captain Friendzone and Conan the Barbarian to keep her safe and back her up. When her decision backfired and Drogo was on the verge of death, it was Mormont who stopped Random Horselord from killing both Khaleesi and the witch she hired to "keep Drogo alive". Once Drogo died and Drogo's horde went off on their own way, it was Captain Friendzone who kept Khaleesi alive and took her and a few others successfully to safety. And once Miss Targeryan gets her army, it was The Mormontator who kept her army and commanders on point. In short, without Friendzone Mormont, Khaleesi is NOTHING. He is Dragon Mom's guardian angel and guardian.

But he doesn't get any credit because "OMG DENARYS IS LIKE TOTEZ AMAZEBALLZ!!!!11!!!ONE!", and "that creepy guy" is "just" some "dude who wants to get it on" but "was friendzoned because he's not good enough" (all quotes from conversations I've had with acquaintances). 

Not only does he deliver the goods and gets none of the glory, but he is treated as a creepy creep.

For that, he wins the seat of most underrated character ever.