In the game of thrones, you either win, or you die. Suffice to say, many people have died in Westeros all because some nobles are vying for an ugly iron chair. One way or another, a Game of Thrones character is bound to kill or at least hurt someone, unless it's themselves they want to be hurt or killed. This makes Westeros quite an unhappy place compared to other fantasy worlds.
It's usually major characters in the show who have done the most deplorable deeds. Such wrongdoings range from excusable to even heartbreaking or worse, unspeakable crimes. Even the characters we like the most are subject to doing pretty horrible things just to survive or get what they want or need. Of course, it's usually all for our entertainment, but here are some of the worst things every living major character has done in Game of Thrones. The dead ones are exempt since they already paid the ultimate price, obviously.
SAMWELL TARLY: STOLE BOOKS, WENT AWOL
That's not so bad, honestly. The worst crime Samwell Tarly did was simply steal some books from the Citadel and abandon his maester training. Out of all the living major characters in Game of Thrones, Samwell probably has the purest heart. Even the act of stealing books was very much justified since all of Westeros would have perished if Sam didn't do that.
That isn't to say Sam never killed anybody — he actually killed a White Walker, which is not exactly a crime. Other not-so-bad things Sam caused would probably be the fact that others, such as Eddison Tollett, a.k.a. Edd, died for him. Regardless, Sam has proven to be just as valuable as he is, perhaps even more so.
SANSA STARK: 'LOVED' JOFFREY 'BARATHEON'
A lot of people find Sansa annoying from the very first season of Game of Thrones. It's not her fancy princess mentality that makes her quite unlikable, no — it's her attraction to Joffrey Baratheon.
You see, Joffrey doesn't even have to speak for people to despise him. He's the evil and medieval version of Richie Rich. Of course, Sansa on puberty being shallow and materialistic, she never saw past Joffrey's good looks and wealthy status... until Joffrey had Sansa's father beheaded. That day, Sansa learned a valuable lesson: not all that's gold glitters.
ARYA STARK: LEFT THE HOUND TO DIE
One of the best parts of Game of Thrones Season 4 was Arya Stark and the Hound's buddy chemistry. Those two are seriously worthy of their own spinoff (we can only dream). However, how their duo ended was quite sad. Arya left the Hound to die after he was defeated by Brienne of Tarth.
Granted, the Hound was not really an innocent man and was on Arya's "hit list," but he still laid down his own life just to seemingly defend Arya from what he perceived as a threat. Even if the Hound only kept Arya around as a hostage for a reward, he still took care of her and never sold her out. It's a shame Arya thanked that quite poorly.
JON SNOW: BETRAYED THE WILDLINGS AND YGRITTE
Jon Snow only lied once throughout the show. When he did, though, it was heartbreaking. Jon not only betrayed the kind wildlings led by Mance Rayder who trusted him, but he also betrayed his first love, Ygritte. In the first place, one could argue that his loyalty had always been with the Crows or Night's Watch but that doesn't make his betrayal to the wildlings any less tragic.
Somehow, he still managed to redeem such a betrayal by saving what's left of the wildlings. Technically, Jon Snow died because of his decision and love for the wildlings, so let's forgive him... a bit.
TYRION LANNISTER: KILLED HIS OWN FATHER
Tyrion Lannister is someone who received more hateful judgment than necessary from Westeros all because of his appearance. From the moment he was born, his father, Tywin, loathed him because his mother died birthing him. The breaking point was when his father condoned his execution based on false accusations of him poisoning and assassinating Joffrey.
On top of that, his father also "stole" the woman he loved, even if she was a prostitute. Hence, we can easily excuse Tyrion firing a crossbow bolt into his father and killing him in the act of taking a dump. It was a necessary evil and a fitting retribution for Tywin Lannister.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN: BURNED SAMWELL'S FATHER AND BROTHER
Daenerys didn't get a huge following from across the Narrow Sea for nothing. She was seen as a savior and salvation for the many oppressed people outside of Westeros. That doesn't mean she was without any faults. Daenerys was a Targaryen, after all, and like her father before her, she has a penchant for burning things... living things.
It just so happens that those living things were two honorable (if not stubborn) men, Samwell Tarly's father and brother nonetheless. Daenerys could have easily imprisoned them as a show of compassion or at least spared the younger enemy, but she just had to prove that there was still a bit of Mad King in her.
EURON GREYJOY: KILLED HIS OWN BROTHER, TRIED TO KILL HIS NIECE AND NEPHEW
Being a noble younger brother in Westeros is bad luck-- you only get leftovers. For Euron Greyjoy, however, that doesn't matter. He wants the throne so he took it by shaking his own brother, King Balon Greyjoy, off a bride. As we all know, when a king dies, a rushed coronation takes place and it was either Euron or his niece, Yara.
It was a feudal time, of course, and people were sexist back then, so they chose Euron. That wasn't enough for him. He wanted to destroy any semblance of opposition so he set out to murder his niece and nephew. Someone ought to give this man a "worst uncle ever" award.
JAIME LANNISTER: CRIPPLED BRAN STARK
Often, it's not death which is the worst form of harm you can do to others. Ruining a person's life to the point where they'd "rather be dead" is worse. That's what Jaime Lannister did to a young Bran Stark that he uttered those sad words above.
Bran was an agile kid who loved to climb up walls and towers; Jaime took that away from him just to protect his and Cersei's own dirty secret. While this did lead to Bran becoming the Three-eyed Raven, that doesn't mean we should be thankful to Jaime for trying to end a kid.
BRAN STARK/THREE-EYED RAVEN: HODOR
Speaking of ruining a person's life while they're just a child, even Bran Stark/Three-eyed Raven is not exempt from such a disgraceful act. It was partly Bran who turned a young and hopeful child named Wylis (who aspired to be a knight) into the blundering oaf, Hodor.
It's even sadder when you think about it; Hodor acted as Bran's legs in his quest to become the Three-eyed Raven, he even died in the process. Walder could have been many things, but all his ambitions had to take a shattering backseat to a nobleman's destiny. Such is life in Westeros.
CERSEI LANNISTER: WHERE DO WE EVEN BEGIN?
Cersei went from a scheming queen to an even bigger scheming queen, only more evil. She has done many dreadful things and, it's really hard to select which one is the worst; all of them are equally despicable: she gave birth to Joffrey, she aborted all of Robert's babies to make room for Jamie's, she bombed the Sept of Baelor, she turned her back on Winterfell, she indirectly killed Robert (with wine), she funded Qyburn's disgusting research, and she caused the suicide of her own son-- all that on top of the incest.
Oh, but there's more of Cersei's evil in the books, so much more; she makes the Night King look like a charitable faith healer. Also, since the Night King is now dead and defeated (albeit prematurely), Cersei is now the top villain in Game of Thrones. For all we know, she's been planning for that all along.