By With families being at the forefront of the stories in Game of Thrones, it comes as no surprise that many of these families hold horrible patriarchs at the head. While we may occasionally find Good Fathers in Game of Thrones, it turns out a lot more of the Patriarchal figures in the series tend to be on the cruel side. Whether being too rough on their children, or completely absent altogether, these Game of Thrones characters all have their reasons for being terrible fathers.
10 – Walder Frey
What Makes Him A Bad Father:
– Dishonorable Man
– Terrible Temper
– Too Many Kids To Care About Any In Particular
Not only is this character a despicable human being for betraying guests rights in his castle and conspiring on the Red Wedding, he is also a terrible father to both his sons and daughters. Her daughter Roselyn Frey had just gotten married, and yet he has her husband imprisoned on their wedding night. When his sons lose Riverrun to the Blackfish, he belittles them for the idiots that they very well may be.
09 – Randyll Tarly
What Makes Him A Bad Father:
– Stubborn Close Minded
– Mean To His First Born
– Belittling To Those With Non-Military Mind
The Latest Bad Dad to appear on the show, Randyll held no punches in his introductory scene in season 6, shaming his son Samwell for his weight and his disposition for reading books rather than yielding books. After many attempts to “make a man” out of young Samwell, he threatened to have him killed if he didn’t join the Nights Watch and relinquish his title as heir to Hornhill over his younger brother Dickon. The ironic part over that, is that Sam did indeed kill a Thenn, and a White Walker; two kinds that one of the best military commander in the realm never got to do.
08 – Robert Baratheon
What Makes Him A Bad Father:
– A Drunk & A Cheater
– Relatively Absent To His 3 “Official” Children
– Completely Absent To The Many Bastards He Has Fathered
Bad as a father just as much as he was bad at being King. Just like winning a throne and ruling are two different things, the same can be said about fathering children and being a father to them. A drinking and whoring King Robert has fathered many bastards in his lifetime, the most prominent being Gendry in the TV series, Mya Stone and Edric Storm in the books. Having so many children out of wedlock while also not being the actual father of Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella grants him a spot on this list.
07 – Rhaegar Targaryen
What Makes Him A Bad Father:
– Dishonored His Wife & Children For A Fling
– Stole The Betrothed Of Another
– Irresponsibly Created A War That Ended His Family’s Dynasty, And Got His Wife & Children Butchered
While the character has died almost 20 years before the events in the story, it is his reckless behavior that not only started a Rebellion against his family’s dynasty, but also gets him on this list. Already married with 2 children to Elia Martell of Dorne, the future heir to the Throne decided to go on a love fueled fugue with a woman betrothed to another. He abandoned and ridiculed his wife (and children) by choosing Lyanna Stark over her after winning the Tourney at Harrenhall. While the love was reciprocal on both ends, it did start a war that toppled his family’s reign and troubled the realm afterwards. He also fathered a bastard, born at the Tower of Joy, that he left to be raised by his uncle, making him sacrifice his honor and lie to everyone about the kid being his own bastard.
06 – Jaime Lannister
What Makes Him A Bad Father:
– Absentee Father
– Children Born Of Incest
– Failed To Protect Two Of Them As They Died In Front Of Him
Another absentee father, but in Jaime’s defense, not by choice, since his three bastard children born were of incest with his sister. While Myrcella didn’t mind and showed her love to her real father before her death (in the show), Joffrey and Tommen have no idea why the hair on their head is golden. He already witnessed 2 of them die in front of him, powerless to do anything, it is only a matter of time before the third one takes his life and fulfills Maggy the Frog’s Prophecy to Cersei Lannister.
05 – Roose Bolton
What Makes Him A Bad Father:
– Mean & Dishonorable Man
– Raised A Monster That Would Be His Downfall
Not only did he father a bastard, he fathered a completely psychotic one. Raising that bastard in his tense and ruthless Northern keep at the Dreadfort, and having a flayed man for a sigil, made his son Ramsey become even more ruthless in order to remain relevant in his father’s eye. Despite one feel good speech he gives Ramsey in the fifth season about the day he was brought to him, he constantly undermines his son, until the inevitable happens, and he gets killed by his very own monster in Season 6.
04 – Balon Greyjoy
What Makes Him A Bad Father:
– Gave/Abandoned His Last Surviving Son As A Ward After A Failed Rebellion
– Shows No Love To His Last Surviving Son When He Returns
– Generally Mean & Dishonorable
The King in the Iron Islands had already lost 2 sons after a failed rebellion against the Iron Throne. His third and youngest one, Theon, was taken as a ward by the Starks, who raised him as one of their own. When Theon decided to turn cloak on the Starks and reclaim his seat as an Ironborn, did Balon show encouragement? Absolutely not. He belittled his last heir to the point of recklessly attacking Winterfell, and eventually getting captured by the Boltons. He didn’t even bother to rescue his son after Ramsey sent him a piece of him he had cut for pleasure.
03 – Tywin Lannister
What Makes Him A Bad Father:
– Cruel & Mean, Particularly To His Son Tyrion
– Doesn’t Approve Of Anything His Three Children Do
– Loving The Family Name Is More Important Than Loving His Actual Family
While Tywin Lannister was the most powerful man in Westeros, he was also a horrible father to his children. Putting his family first, as honorable as it is, made him completely blind to the fact that his son Jaime and daughter Cersei were having incestuous relations within their walls. His hatred for his son Tyrion, for which he blames the death of his wife Joanna to, was beyond sociopath level. He viewed his children as capricious fools with whims that had to be put in place and used strategically for the honor of the family name first and foremost. He met his demise after sentencing his son to death, and underestimating the friends he had in Kings Landing; shot with a crossbow while in the privy in his chambers.
02 – Stannis Baratheon
What Makes Him A Bad Father:
– Sacrificed His Only Daughter
– Sense Of Duty Overpowered His Love Of Family
While not a bad father at first, the “One True King” was so consumed by his sense of duty that, unlike Tywin Lannister, he sacrificed his family over it. He gives a heartwarming speech to his daughter Shereen on how she got Greyscale, and how he made everything possible within his reach to make sure she was healed, rather than sending her in Valyria to rot as a Stone(wo)man. That would have granted him a Father of the Year Award, if not for him sacrificing her to R’hllor, the Lord of Light, a few episodes later. While the sacrifice did not grant him victory, quite the contrary actually, it did melt the snow to allow Melisandre to return to Castle Black and resurrect the Actual Prince That Was Promised…
01 – Craster
What Makes Him A Bad Father:
– Stingy & Dishonorable Man
– Rapes & Impregnates His Wives, As Well As The Daughter They Give Him
– Throws His Sons Away For The White Walkers To Adopt.
Do we really need to explain this one out? The man is a Wildling bastard that lives North of the Wall with his own harem of wives/daughters. Indeed, he rapes and impregnates his wives, and the daughters that they give him once they become ripe for the taking. And his sons? He gives them to the White Walkers in exchange for an armistice beyond the Wall. So not only does Craster mistreat so many women of his own blood, he also compromises the realm of men entirely, by allowing the White Walkers to expand their numbers of immortal beings that can only be killed by Dragonglass or Valyrian Steel.
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