Who are the worst parents on Game of Thrones? Answer this and win a limited edition Moleskine.
Update: The winner of the Worst Parents in Westeros contest is abcabc.
# 18 abcabc Says:
July 7th, 2016 at 18:20 e
Craster is the worst parent for me. Imagine being his daughter or granddaughter. The daughters were raped and forced to bear his offspring. It might be confusing for the daughter because yes, she must have loathed the baby, but then there’s love too. And then if it turns out it’s a boy, it will get killed. If it’s a woman, well, she’s in for a lifetime of slavery. Craster is the worst because unlike the children of other GOT characters, his did not have the luxury of a friend’s company. They cannot leave. They were forced to be in that situation without recourse. Imagine all the things that hurt you never going away and knowing you will never escape.
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Jon Snow may be a bastard and an orphan, but given the state of parenting in Westeros, he may be one of the lucky ones. He was raised by the honorable Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, who was mean to him but admitted she was mean to him. Good parents are rarer than Valyrian steel in the Seven Kingdoms. There’s Tywin Lannister, who hated his youngest child Tyrion and withheld his affection from the twins. Cersei’s one redeeming quality apart from her cheekbones was her love for her children, but now she’s dead inside.
There’s bonkers Lysa Arryn, who breastfed Robin till he was ten and was moved to instigate the game by her enduring lust for Petyr Baelish. Stannis Baratheon loved his daughter Shireen and would not give up the search for a cure for greyscale (hope for Jorah Mormont), but had her burned at the stake. Walder Frey and Balon Greyjoy are just horrible. Randyll Tarly maltreated Samwell and wished him dead. We almost forgot the loathsome Craster, Gilly’s father.
Who are the worst parents on Game of Thrones? (Let’s limit the field to the TV show because if we bring in the books and the histories this discussion would go on for months.) Post your answer in Comments, along with a brief explanation of your choice. The winner will receive this limited edition Game of Thrones Moleskine pocket notebook.
Valar Morghulis.
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Our Worst Parents in Westeros raises an interesting set of questions.
What is a bad parent?
Is it possible to be a terrible human being but a good parent?
Is it possible to be a decent human being but a horrible parent?
How much responsibility do parents have over how their offspring turn out? There are nice people who have awful spawn, and there are monsters who somehow produce decent people.
What about redeeming qualities?
Nature or Nurture?
Are some people just bad?
Your nominees are:
Roose Bolton, for fathering Ramsay. Granted, Roose is a murderous traitor, and it’s hard to find redeeming qualities for a House that flays its enemies alive. But is Roose completely responsible for his monster son?
Craster, for raping and enslaving his daughters and granddaughters, and then giving all the male children to the White Walkers.
Randyll Tarly, for hating his fat, nerdy son Samwell (Samwell Tarly = Samwise Gamgee). Who nevertheless turns out to be a mensch.
Daenerys Targaryen, for sacrificing her unborn child to save her husband Khal Drogo. In her defence, the witch was not clear about the terms of the deal. Also I don’t think we can fault her for raising dragons rather than children. She can’t have children, plus you can’t conquer Westeros without an air force. (What about Aerys II Targaryen who wanted to burn everyone?)
Walder Frey, lecherous traitor who hosted the Red Wedding. Father to many, many unhappy children. But should responsibility for the Red Wedding not be shared by Roose Bolton and Tywin Lannister?
Mace Tyrell, for total cluelessness. On the other hand, his children had fabulous wardrobes and made their own choices. (Did Lady Olenna emasculate her son?)
Cersei and Jaime Lannister, incestuous twins, parents of the horror that was Joffrey. Myrcella and Tommen turned out okay, but were just pawns for Cersei. Shouldn’t Jaime be held accountable as well? Shouldn’t Robert Baratheon, who was officially Joffrey’s father? Then again, Cersei had Robert killed.
Melisandre, mother of the smoke baby that killed Renly Baratheon. Though she didn’t really raise it, just kind of farted it out. She is a murderous religious fundamentalist. Does she get points for bringing back Jon Snow? (One could argue that Jon would’ve come back anyway.)
Clegane, father of Gregor “The Mountain” and Sandor “The Hound”. Even as a child Gregor was a monster abetted by his father. But Sandor is an interesting character–there’s good in him, though it may be too late for redemption.
Eddard Stark, for leaving Winterfell and valuing his honor more than the lives of his children. In his defense, he confessed to treason in exchange for the safety of Sansa and Arya. The deal was for him to take the black, but Joffrey had his head cut off. (What about Catelyn, who left little Bran–whom their enemies had tried to kill twice//and Rickon to rule Winterfell?)
Lysa Arryn overindulged her son and turned him into a spoiled wimp who will be a pawn forever. Baelish used her to set the Game of Thrones in motion, endangering parents and children throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
Stannis Baratheon, killed his brother and his daughter in his futile quest to be king. And had no sense of humor.
Mommy Direwolf can’t really be blamed for dying. (May as well fault Lyanna Stark for dying in childbirth.) If the Starks hadn’t adopted the pups they’d be dead, too.
Keep sending your answers.
Number of people who have told me they are worried for Lyanna Mormont: 10.
Westerosi Parents of the Year shortlist:
Oberyn and Ellaria Martell seemed like cool parents, but their daughters turned out to be surly killers.
Davos Seaworth
Selwyn Tarth, whom we have never seen, allowed his daughter Brienne to be a warrior.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
July 5th, 2016 at 12:51
roose bolton for having sired the despicable ramsay (through rape, no less!)
kung ano ang puno, sya rin ang bunga.
July 5th, 2016 at 12:55
Tolstoy said, “All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” but Craster’s family is unlike any other. He is the worst parent, unless one is into incest or has an Electra complex.
July 5th, 2016 at 17:28
Randyll Tarly, for calling Sam fat as the latter’s about dig into the bread tray.
July 5th, 2016 at 17:32
Danaerys Targaryen is the worst parent ever. She even sacrificed her own child to save her husband which it didn’t work out. At mas gusto niya magpalaki ng dragon kesa sa bata. Katakot lang.
July 5th, 2016 at 17:48
Randyll Tarly, because he hates books and fat kids.
July 5th, 2016 at 18:04
Walder Frey because the Red Wedding is simply unforgivable. He is solely responsible for bringing his house down. Also, how did you like ’em pies, Lord Frey? His sons should be called The Sons of the Har-“pie”
July 5th, 2016 at 19:38
Mace Tyrell, as he is completely unaware of the schemes of his children (and mother), fails to stand up for them, and is ultimately unsuccessful to save them. Utterly useless.
July 5th, 2016 at 20:00
si cersei at jaime! di man lang nag-isip muna na marahil magiging autistic ang mga anak nila bago ‘mag-anuhan nang walang condom!’
ay, wala pa palang condom nuon–
‘mag-anuhan at iputok at pasabugin at i-pulandit sa loob’ na lang (‘ika nga ni Xerex)
July 5th, 2016 at 20:47
Definitely Melisandre. What kind of mother compels her baby, smoke or otherwise, to commit murder immediately after birth? She could have at least had the decency to name the child before sending him or her off to carry out patricide.
July 5th, 2016 at 21:35
Craster. I think I can live with a mean stepmother, a mother who spoils me to stupidity, a father who hates me or sacrifices me for his ambition — horrible parents in general — but I can’t stomach Craster and what he does, thinking about it makes me cringe.
July 6th, 2016 at 10:35
Whoever are the parents of Sandor and Gregor Cleagane are perhaps the worst parents in Game of Thrones. Their depraved method of parenting is no fluke as they were able to raise not one, but two killing machines.
July 6th, 2016 at 13:20
Ned Stark. For leaving Winterfell and provoking his own death, thus condemning his children to a life of grief and misery.
July 6th, 2016 at 17:39
Westeros is full of irresponsible parents. Heck, in such a cutthroat setting, Eddard and Catelyn could even be argued to be worse than Cersei. But if we take the “game” into consideration, I think none of the major players could come close to just how bad a parent Lysa Arryn was. By selfishly doting on Robin she has the distinction of raising the most ill equipped heir, destined to be forever a pawn who will most likely never have even a sliver of the courage and resolve Tommen had in his final act of defiance. Bran of course is a very close second, but at least in his defense (and to Eddard and Catelyn’s credit) he is far more likeable than the spoiled, whiny Robin.
If raising an ineffectual pawn was not bad enough, Lysa could also to be blamed for just how convoluted the struggle for the Iron Throne has become. By succumbing to Littlefinger’s machinations she put not just her son in danger, but all of the Stark children as well. And having failed to redeem herself through other children (unlike some of the other bad parents in Westeros), she therefore could be considered a complete failure in parenting.
July 6th, 2016 at 19:26
Craster. He eats his young. Eww. Or maybe he’s too selfish to do so. Still eww.
July 7th, 2016 at 10:26
There are good parents but awful human beings. And then there are just awful people in general.
It should be a tie between Lysa and Craster. She loves her son, pero spoiling and coddling him to death is the worst thing a well-meaning parent can do. Si Craster naman, incestuous rapist and child-killer. He doesnt even treat his children as his own! For him, they’re there for his convenience, the daughters to rape and the sons for his survival. What’s worse than being treated like that by your own father?
July 7th, 2016 at 12:04
For me Stannis Baratheon.
2. He had his brother murdered.
1. He allowed his daughter to be burned alive and for the worst reason. Yun na nga lang redeeming quality niya e, his love for his daughter.
July 7th, 2016 at 14:32
Momma Direwolf. For leaving 6 direpups in the wild. Ayan, nakuha tuloy ng humans.
July 7th, 2016 at 18:20
Craster is the worst parent for me. Imagine being his daughter or granddaughter. The daughters were raped and forced to bear his offspring. It might be confusing for the daughter because yes, she must have loathed the baby, but then there’s love too. And then if it turns out it’s a boy, it will get killed. If it’s a woman, well, she’s in for a lifetime of slavery. Craster is the worst because unlike the children of other GOT characters, his did not have the luxury of a friend’s company. They cannot leave. They were forced to be in that situation without recourse. Imagine all the things that hurt you never going away and knowing you will never escape.
July 7th, 2016 at 19:25
Tywin Lannister – his emphasis on the importance of family legacy and his micromanagement of their adult lives has left his children broken in various ways. Cersei has become a power hungry but politically unsavvy ruler (God save us from the queen!). Jaime will never realize his full potential (his upbringing has left him emotionally stunted). Tyrion bears no further discussion.
For best parent, agree about Selwyn Tarth. Also voting for Olenna Tyrell.
July 7th, 2016 at 19:26
Wait my vote for Olenna is for her grandparenting skills to Margaery. Huhuhu Margaery :(:(:(:(
July 8th, 2016 at 10:07
Craster. He forces his daughters to be his wives (I imagine not one of them volunteered to, you know, urgh) and he gloats/ boasts about it to the Night’s watch. The unfortunate Craster boys are offered as baby White Walkers as token of his safety beyond the wall. Other parents messes you up in someway but in Craster’s case , there’s really no going back from there. He’s the one person I would not mind Ramsay Bolton flaying and torturing for a long time.
July 9th, 2016 at 00:09
For me, the worst parent award goes to Stannis, because in the end I don’t think he was even a father anymore. All he had was a twisted righteous hunger for power.
Some monsters are aware that they are monsters and they own it. Righteous monsters, however, do not recognize it in themselves. That kind of monster is the worst.
July 10th, 2016 at 01:08
It has to be Craster. Incestuous rape, abuse, slavery, and murder of his kids? It’s hard to beat those combo points.