10 Best Redemption Arcs in Game of Thrones

2024/01/18

There are few true heroes in . Each person has their own perspective, which they perceive as the right one, and only the person who sits on the throne has the power to turn their personal opinion into the objective ethical truth of the land. Every character plays the game, and none are immune to the corruption it breeds within them. However, some are able to muster up the inner strength to rise above their circumstances to make a positive change.

Redemption in is about more than just making up for one's past mistakes. Sometimes, it can simply be about restoring something that was once lost due to an evil done to the person.

Often, it is this latter form of redemption that the Starks seek. For others, like the Lannisters, redemption is about a person making things right again, regardless of whether the evil was done by them personally or as a result of their family history.

10 The Hound Learns Compassion From Arya

One of the biggest complete 360-degree turnarounds in comes by way of the Hound, Sandor Clegane. He begins the series as a heartless and hardened warrior who cares little for other people.

Eventually, Sandor goes through a series of humbling experiences that ground him. He's outcasted from the kingdom he once served, captured by the Brotherhood Without Banners, nearly killed by Brienne of Tarth, and even

. It's only through being beaten down so many times that the Hound is able to step back to contemplate his life thus far, and rediscover that there's still hope for some people, himself included.

9 Tyrion Lannister Does What's Right

The GoT fandom remains divided about certain elements, like Ned Stark's death and Daenerys and Khal Drogo's relationship.

Tyrion is too smart for his own good, especially when his "own good" is often directly correlated to the destructive whimsy of the rest of his family.

Most of Tyrion's self-destructive tendencies are derived from the fact that he was never really valued as an equal by the people closest to him. The only one who truly sees any hope for him is Shae, but her position as a prostitute makes it impossible for the two to end up together without Tyrion leaving everything he's ever known behind.

From being constantly put down for his appearance to being betrayed and ultimately killing the one person he ever loved, Tyrion constantly finds himself wrestling with what's right and wrong. That's what drew him so strongly to Daenarys: she was a person who stood up for the disenfranchised and the outcasts, and that was a truth Tyrion believed he could get behind.

When she showed her true colors in the end, Tyrion's ability to recognize it and stand up for what he knew was right came from a courage that could have only arisen after all the hardship he faced throughout his life up to that point.

8 Brienne Restores Her Honor

Game of Thrones has characters like Oberyn Martell or Ygritte, who have a big impact on the show despite only appearing in a few episodes.

Brienne of Tarth is initially introduced when her lord, King Renly Baratheon, is killed by the ghostly spawn of Melisandre and Stannis Baratheon. Despite her boundless sense of duty, there's nothing Brienne can do to stop it, and she is forced to go on the run after being accused of his death. Her inner conflict is worsened by the reality of her appearance: in Westeros, women can't be knights.

Brienne grew up ridiculed for her appearance, making her all the more anxious to prove her worth as a knight after the one person who gave her a chance was killed on her watch. In hopes of restoring her honor, Brienne embarks on a quest to avenge her fallen master and carry out the will of Catelyn Stark, the last person to whom she has sworn fealty.

In the end, not only does she win back her honor through unyielding perseverance, but she is even finally officially knighted by Jaime Lannister.

7 Jaime Lanister Chooses Humanity Over Love

Jaime Lannister's decadence is highlighted in the very first episode of the series when he pushes Bran Stark out a window for witnessing Jaime's affair with his sister, Cersei. It's later revealed that Jaime is an infamous knight known as the Kingslayer, given that name for his murder of the King whom Jaime served as Kingsguard at that time.

Through his impromptu partnership with Brienne, Jaime slowly shows the underlying goodness which he ordinarily has no use for in King's Landing. Brienne's strong sense of justice and chivalric duty rub off on Jaime in a powerful way, and he even almost becomes something of a heroic character in the process. This all culminates in Jaime leaving King's Landing to go fight alongside Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow against the Night King, despite Cersei's disapproval.

6 Jon Snow Makes the Most Difficult of Decisions

Game of Thrones has many free cities in Essos, from Braavos to Volantis. But what are the stories of the nine free cities in the franchise?

Jon Snow was born with the greatest birthright to the Iron Throne but was always seen as a bastard. Because of this, the road he traveled throughout his life was not easy. All the respect he earned was entirely due to the strength of his character rather than that of his name.

Unlike most other characters who were left to redeem themselves because of their wicked actions, Jon is forced to fight his way up from the bottom.

The one truly unfortunate — yet understandable — decision Jon does make is to place all his trust in Daenerys Targaryen, despite the constant urging from those around him to reconsider. Ultimately, Jon pays the price for his mistake when he's forced to watch thousands of innocent people slaughtered at the Battle of King's Landing. In order to make right on his lapse of judgment, Jon Snow is left with no other choice than to kill Dany, a decision that may even hurt him more than it hurts her.

5 Samwell Becomes His Own Kind of Hero

, Samwell Tarly is the character to whom he most relates. That's because he's "." Like Samwell, Martin is more of a lover than a fighter; he refused to go to the Vietnam War because he saw it as a stupid conflict. He also relates to Samwell in that he reportedly had a rough relationship with his father growing up.

Samwell was always seen as a weakling and coward as a member of the Night's Watch. His resolve was tested when he met Gilly, who showed Sam just how courageous he could be when it came to protecting those who had been cast out, just as he had been by his own family.

Samwell's defining moment comes when he cures Jorah Morant from Greyscale disease by conducting a surgery so dangerous that

would risk it. In a world like Westeros, where bravery is so often associated with war and combat, Samwell's personal brand of heroism is one that most are unable to initially identify.

4 Theon Greyjoy Remembers Who He Really Is

Theon Greyjoy loses himself more than any other character as he's disassociated from his prior identity due to the trauma inflicted by Ramsay. From that point on, he refers to himself as Reek, and he even refuses to be rescued by his sister, proclaiming that he "loves" Ramsay.

This is surprisingly similar to Sansa Stark, who is forced to claim she loves various men solely because she is at their mercy. That's why Sansa and Theon become so close — they understand each other. In risking his life to rescue Sansa, , and he eventually becomes even braver than he ever had been before.

3 The Red Witch Is Instrumental in Defeating the Night King's Army

The magical characters of Game of Thrones like The Red Woman and The Night King make the fantasy show stand out and keep the narrative interesting.

The Red Witch, Melisandre, was one of the primary antagonists of the early seasons. She served as Stannis Baratheon's main advisor, to alter the fates of Stannis' enemies from afar.

As went on, she slowly seemed to become less malignant in the use of her powers, with the true turning point being when she resurrected Jon Snow. In a final redeeming act, Melisandre imbued every member of the allied forces of the North with flaming swords: the perfect weapon to use against the dead.

After the Night King's army was defeated, Melisandre removed her necklace, the one thing preserving her life at that point, and she collapsed into dust with her purpose finally fulfilled.

2 Sansa Stark Takes Control of Her Life

Sansa was a character who was difficult to watch throughout the series because of her terrible luck with husbands. She is the greatest example of a victim of a preordained marriage and the worst-case scenarios that it could lead to.

Sansa is continually pushed in every direction in her life by men, so when she is finally able to take her fate into her own hands by having Littlefinger killed, it marks a turning point for her character.

When Sansa is finally crowned Queen in the North, it's clear that she has regained power over her situation, though it's somewhat bittersweet considering all she had to go through to get there.

1 Bran the Broken Becomes King of the Six Kingdoms

In the books, the Three-Eyed Raven was actually a Crow, and he was an ex-member of the Night's Watch. The members of the Night's Watch have been referred to as "Crows" as an insult, thus giving the Three-Eyed Crow in the books a different meaning entirely.

Bran endures endless trials and struggles to finally find his way to the Iron Throne.

He is crippled in the very first episode of the series, and he overcomes overwhelming odds as he stares down death directly time and time again.

From the midst of all his pain, Bran emerges as the Three-eyed Raven, giving him knowledge of all things in Westeros, past and present. In a way, by choosing Bran as the king, the people of Westeros arrive at their own redemption. Instead of choosing one who played the game the best or destroyed all their enemies with the most ferocity, the people chose the wisest among them all to rule in the end.