One of the reasons that Game Of Thrones became such a popular series because of the complex nature of the characters themselves. While there are clear heroes such as Jon Snow, and obvious villains like Cersei Lannister, the vast majority of the characters all blur the lines between them with shades of gray.
There's a lot of characters that elicit a real blend of both positive and negative emotions from the audiences. In many instances, fans wind up reacting to characters in the exact opposite way they're meant to, loving the villains while hating characters who are supposed to be heroic.
Hero Fans Hated: Stannis Baratheon
Stannis Baratheon seemed like a hardworking character at the start, and he was at least an acceptable option for the Iron Throne. However, Stannis ends up becoming desperate to succeed and there's seemingly nothing he won't do to achieve that, which is why fans began to sour against him.
Seeing him go against Davos Seaworth despite his loyalty wasn't a storyline audiences liked due to Davos' popularity. However, it was the moment he decided to sacrifice his daughter that truly turned everybody against him.
Villian Fans Loved: Jaime Lannister
Jaime Lannister's character was truly compelling and complex. At the start, Jaime was pompous, arrogant, and his desire to be as underhanded as possible is clear. However, throughout the series, he goes on a real redemption storyline which changes the audience's perception of him as a person.
The way he helps save Tyrion and then develops a great connection with Brienne helps to make Jaime somebody audiences truly admire. He sticks with the rest of the heroes in the battle against the white walkers, but the fact he returns to Cersei cements him as a villain. Yet, because he does have his redemption arc, he ended up being loved.
Hero Fans Hated: Catelyn Stark
The Stark family are the true heroes of this series, with all of them really pushing to try and do the right thing overall. This is something all of the characters learned from Ned Stark, who acted as a moral compass for them. But that didn't always stretch to his wife.
Catelyn Stark was a great mother, to everybody other than Jon Snow. While he wasn't her child officially, the manner in which she treated him had a huge impact, and that is something that turned a lot of fans against her, as she completely shut him off through no fault of his own.
Villian Fans Loved: Euron Greyjoy
While Euron Greyjoy was always presented as somewhat of a loose cannon, he also brought a lot of comedy to the series. Euron's funny comments always left people entertained, mainly because it was so over the top.
His facial expressions were always a lot of fun as well, and simply because of his charisma, Euron managed to entertain plenty of fans along the way. While he was never someone that audiences wanted to see end up on the Iron Throne, he did provide entertainment.
Hero Fans Hated: Bran Stark
Bran Stark's journey to becoming the three-eyed raven is one that should have been more exciting than it was. The character suffered from the show not exploring his abilities in as much detail as it could have, which led to a lot of fans starting to dislike the character.
The fact he stopped appearing for long stretches and then returned didn't help matters either, as it didn't allow audiences to grow with the character. His role in the death of Hodor was heartbreaking, so many fans weren't pleased that he ended up on the throne.
Villian Fans Loved: Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen is a complicated character, as she is seen as one of the biggest heroes throughout the vast majority of the series. However, her actions at the end of the show which saw her destroy King's Landing and many innocent people within it saw her end as a villain rather than hero.
However, because many saw her actions as one of frustration after she had been pushed to her limits, Daenerys still remained a fan favorite for many. With the great work she does throughout the series in relation to ending slavery, it's easy to understand why she ends up being loved regardless.
Hero Fans Hated: Jaqen H’ghar
Jaqen H’ghar is a key character in relation to Arya's personal storyline, as he essentially gave her all of her incredible assassin abilities, which was crucial to her journey. However, his mysterious nature and his lack of straightforward answers led to him becoming a frustrating character.
He's someone who is supposed to be seen as a hero simply because he helps Arya so much. However, his decision to make Arya go blind in order to teach her was something that led to many fans just disliking him from the start.
Villian Fans Loved: High Sparrow
The High Sparrow was somebody who knew how to play the game, blending religion into everything that he did. He would plot slowly and calmly behind the scenes in order to try and take down the wealthy, and he hurt the Lannister family deeply.
Because Cersei Lannister and her family were so despised by audiences, the fact that the High Sparrow was able to get an advantage over her is something that did make audiences enjoy him to some degree, even if he was obviously a hateful hypocrite.
Hero Fans Hated: Doran Martell
Oberyn Martell was a great character within Game Of Thrones who brought energy and excitement throughout his trip to King's Landing. However, his brother, Doran Martell ended up being a character that a lot of fans didn't like.
A big reason for that was the fact he didn't match those same levels of passion that Oberyn had. Once Oberyn had been killed, Doran never seemed to be in desperate need of revenge which is what audiences had hoped to see in order to make him a stronger character.
Villian Fans Loved: The Night King
The Night King brought something completely different to the show in comparison to other characters, and there was a real cool factor about him and the rest of the White Walkers that made them enjoyable. People ended up liking the mystery that surrounded the White Walkers, even if there wasn't a great deal of payoff for it in the end.
The Night King wasn't around to play politics like many of the characters, and that's something that really made him stand out. Whenever the Night King was on screen, he made an impact, and that in itself was enough to have many fans rooting for him.