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Skyrim

Jon Whitewolf

Jon Whitewolf né Snow | Jaehaerys Targaryen; Jonny

The Last Dragonborn, Grand Thane of Skyrim, Black Legate of the Imperial Army, Nightingale of Nocturnal, Grandmaster of the Thieves' Guild, Harbinger to the Companions

The Last Dragonborn, heir to the Iron Throne, savior of the world, and The Hero of the story.

Academic Athlete: He's prodigiously gifted in swordsmanship and cannot walk into a bookshop without buying half the contents.
Affectionate Nickname: Jon is sometimes referred to as "Jonny" by his friends, though mostly by Enzo.
Agent Peacock: Jon wears fancy, expensive clothes, braids his hair and puts "garish" decorations in it, enjoys his books and music and can Shout anyone he pleases into Oblivion. If you can't believe this, just ask the World Eater and the First Dragonborn how it went when they decided to piss off the guy.
Animal Motifs: Wolves and dragons.
- On one side, he's Jon Whitewolf, named after his beloved pet direwolf, whose maternal lineage uses a direwolf as heraldry. He also had a brief stint as a werewolf after joining the Companions.
- On the other hand, his paternal ancestry has draconic heraldry, supposedly has a soul of a dragon courtesy of Akatosh and he was acclaimed as the Last Dragonborn. In Chapter 10, he finds three dragon eggs buried in the Winterfell crypts, which he finally hatches in Chapter 23.
Anti-Hero: For all his inner nobility, Jon is leading the Thieves' Guild (Word of God mentions he joined them as he was desperate for cash after landing in Skyrim) and won't hesitate to poison someone he genuinely hates if a frontal assault is too perilous. He outright tells Ned that he's had to do some terrible things in Skyrim that would make his uncle see him differently if he ever knew of them.
The Bard: Acknowledged as such in Skyrim, he can sing and play the lute.
The Beastmaster: He wargs into his familiar Ghost most often, but is also able to warg into his dogs and birds.
Beautiful Singing Voice: A very distinctive one, inherited from his birth father.
Big Brother Instinct: Jon is extremely protective towards kids, shielding Tommen from his brother's bullying, discreetly rescuing Mycah the butcher boy from Joffrey and defending Arya from bandits.
Big Brother Mentor: Towards Arya, giving her lessons in magic and fighting or arranging for tutors if he can't be here.
But Not Too Bi: He offhandedly mentions his bisexuality yet his onscreen affairs concern women only.
Chocolate Baby: He actually doesn't look that much like Ned Stark. Sure, he superficially inherited the Stark features, but is too dark of hair and eye and far too beautiful when people look more closely.
The Chosen One: The Last Dragonborn who vanquished Alduin the World Eater, and it's hinted his adventures aren't going to end in Tamriel...
Claimed by the Supernatural: Several Daedric Princes have branded him with a tattoo in order to show he was their champion.
Cool Big Bro: The Stark children adore their swashbuckling brother who went adventuring in a strange country and came back wealthy and powerful with plenty of gifts for his family.
Dragon Rider: Has already done this in Skyrim^note, and given that he's hatched three Valyrian dragons, he might be able to do so with them in the future.
Dreaming of Things to Come: Something that immensely disturbs him. His current nightmares are trying to warn him of the Others awakening.
Experienced Protagonist: By the time he decides to visit Westeros for a last hurrah, he has fought in a civil war, slain the Dragon of the Tamrielic Apocalypse, and triumphed over his evil predecessor.
Fluffy Tamer: His menagerie includes his bigass direwolf Ghost, a gigantic bird of prey named Sweet Roll, and a litter of shadowcat kittens, among others. As of Chapter 23, he's now raising a trio of dragons.
Friend to All Children: He's mentioned to have fostered several kids in Skyrim, is very kind to a little girl selling foodstuffs, is adored by his siblings, and quickly wins the royal children's admiration.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Underwent this in his backstory, when he landed in Skyrim as a confused teenager who couldn't speak the language and only had his wolf and the clothes on his back. Five years later, everyone in Tamriel knows Jon Whitewolf's name and reveres or fears him as the Last Dragonborn.
Going Native: Jon has so fully integrated within Skyrim's culture that he finds himself experimenting a bit of a Culture Clash after going back to Westeros. Some people in his family feel rather unhappy about it.
Hearing Voices: Miraak's psychic remnant sometimes manifests as this in his mind. It's rather upsetting for Jon, as it gives him nosebleeds and Miraak likes reminding him that his grandfather Aerys heard voices too.
Heroic Bastard: Subverted. He believed he was this, only to learn his father Rhaegar had actually invoked the former Targaryen tradition of polygamy to take his mother Lyanna as his second wife.
Heroic RRoD: After the escape from King's Landing, Jon has to rest a lot after using one too many Shouts.
He's All Grown Up: His Stark features were rather too long for him in his childhood, so he looked ungainly and awkward. Now that Jon is a young adult, he developed the classic Targaryen Pretty Boy look.
Hidden Backup Prince: Varys considers him as this – Rhaegar Targaryen's lost surviving child, raised to be mindful of his duty and people, a powerful and charismatic warrior. Why, he's the perfect candidate to take the Iron Throne... except for the fact that he's not interested.
In the Blood: He inherited a predisposition for musical and martial talent from his father Rhaegar, along with a melancholic temperament. On a darker note, Miraak enjoys taunting him with the knowledge his paternal grandfather was Ax-Crazy, with the potential for Jon to have inherited his madness.
- He also has little qualm about burning men alive, although it was sheer pragmatism from the desire to survive Cersei's idiotic coup.
Jack of All Trades: How Serana describes his approach to magic. He dabbles in everything, but not much more than that.
Like a Son to Me: Enzo outright calls him the only son he would ever have.
Likes Older Women: He had his first time with Sapphire, something Robb and Theon tease him for, and is currently in a relationship with Really 700 Years Old Serana.
Line-of-Sight Name: Was accused of this when he first attempted to introduce himself as Jon Snow in Skyrim – because it was snowing that day. So he decided to invoke it for real and called himself Whitewolf because of Ghost, and this one stuck.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: His hair is long enough to be braided and he's noted to be extraordinarily beautiful.
Lost Orphaned Royalty: He was born Jaehaerys Targaryen, last claimant to the Iron Throne through the line of Rhaegar Targaryen. He stayed unaware of the fact until his fourteenth birthday as he was raised by his uncle.
Love Cannot Overcome: Platonic example. Robb tells Jon that if he really loved him and their family, he would stay in Winterfell. Jon calls him out on his bullshit.
Manly Facial Hair: Deliberately invoked in Skyrim as he wanted for all these big burly warriors to stop razzing him for his girly face so he grew a beard. He later shaves it all when he goes to King's Landing so he can be underestimated.
Meal Ticket: He's considered a very tempting bridegroom in King's Landing for being wealthy, from noble blood, and connected to the King and the East Empire Trading Company.
Meaningful Name: His birth name, Jaehaerys, is shared with two previous kings who are widely regarded as some of the greatest rulers Westeros ever had, and while Jon has no intention to become king, he's clearly a kind and caring leader.
Meaningful Rename: By casting aside his bastard name of Snow, Jon fully became his own man. He feels rather irritated and pissed off when people use it.
My Name Is Inigo Montoya: When he finally has Gregor Clegane at his mercy, he introduces himself as Jaehaerys Targaryen and announces he won't let the Mountain hurt his family again before messily slaughtering him.
Named After Somebody Famous: Twofold – Ned named his nephew after his Parental Substitute Jon Arryn, but his birth name actually is Jaehaerys Targaryen, a name that belonged to two of the dragon kings.
Nice to the Waiter: Much like Ned, Jon makes it a point to treat the common people with kindness. He doesn't even hesistate to defend a peasant girl from member of the Kingsguard.
No Badass to His Valet: Neither Enzo nor Serana are particularly impressed by some of his decisions, outright calling him stupid when they feel he needs a reality check.
Offered the Crown: Downplayed when High Queen Elisif offered to adopt him as her successor and heir as a Jarl – with the understanding he would be the most likely candidate for the crown. He refused.
- When Ned suggests he might want to seize the Iron Throne for himself, Jon immediately declines the possibility and declares he would go mad if he became a king.
Offscreen Moment of Awesome: How he fulfilled his destiny as the Dragonborn by protecting Skyrim from utter devastation, twice. And also managed to kill the very first Dragonborn inside the personal domain of a Daedric Prince.
Once Done, Never Forgotten: Enzo likes to remind Jon that he once slept with Sanguine while drunk.
Outside-Context Problem: Westeros is taken completely flat-footed when Jon Whitewolf comes back to the country. He can't be argued with, he can't be seduced, he can't be manipulated, he can't be bought, because there's nothing Westeros can give him.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's noted to be rather small for a man. He's also the Dragonborn.
Psychic Dreams for Everyone: He has recurring dreams of someone calling him down to the Winterfell crypts, which he thought were the ghosts of Winterfell, before finally realizing are actually the three dragon eggs buried there.
Rage Breaking Point: He's so angry to learn Sansa ratted the Stark party's upcoming departure to Cersei he outright slaps her.
Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: The Stark family are know for being brown-haired and fair of skin, but Jon pushes it further by having black hair and very pale skin.
Refusal of the Second Call: He's not interested in messing with Westerosi politics, he merely wanted to visit his family for Robb's birthday. When Melisandre starts to imply he's important to the Red God, he gets pissed off and curtly tells her to stay away from him.
Renaissance Man: An implied Master of All regarding weaponry, a master mage (no word on if he is the head of the College of Winterhold), Grandmaster of the Skyrim Thieves' Guild (making him a Stealth Expert), and as the Grand Thane of Skyrim and Black Legate, a skilled leader in both peacetime and war.
Revenge Before Reason: Averted. He may despise Tywin Lanister for ordering the deaths of his step mother and half-siblings, but does not include him in his targets for revenge for his stepfamily's deaths. When asked why, Jon states that even if he could get away with it scot-free, Tywin's death would cause too many innocents to be harmed.
Royalty Superpower:
- Downplayed regarding his immunity to fire. He can be burned, but generally withstands higher temperatures such as boiling water without breaking a sweat.
- He's also unbothered by cold, something that can be attributed to his Stark lineage linking him to the ancient Kings of Winter. And he shamelessly wargs into his vast menagerie.
- His prophetic dreams are a rather complicated example, as both the bloodlines he belongs to give him an affinity for divination. Word of God admitted it wasn't pure dragondreams or greendreams, but a mix of both.
The Runaway: After hearing exactly who his true parents were, Jon was so deeply upset he left Winterfell on a half-baked whim to go in Essos for meeting his paternal family. Five years later, he admits it was a terrible idea.
Self-Made Man: He arrived in Skyrim with nothing but his clothes and his direwolf, unable to even speak the language. Five years later, he's tremendously wealthy and all of Tamriel knows his name.
Shared Family Quirks: From Rhaegar, Jon inherited a love for music and books, a gift for swordsmanship, and a moody disposition.
Signature Hair Decs: Some of his female friends enjoyed to braid his hair with glass beads and colorful yarn, and he ultimately grew fond of the hairstyle – which Ned describes as "garish".
Stranger in a Familiar Land: After being moved back to his old room in Winterfell, he bitterly reflects this is a child's bedroom that doesn't fit him anymore.
Strong Family Resemblance: Subverted and played straight. In spite of infamously being the only Stark child besides Arya to inherit the Stark look, Jon doesn't look that much like Ned... because he actually takes after his birth father Rhaegar.
Try to Fit That on a Business Card: All hail Jon Whitewolf, the Last Dragonborn, Slayer of Alduin, Grand Thane of Skyrim, Black Legate of the Imperial Army, Nightingale of Nocturnal, Grandmaster of the Thieves' Guild, Harbinger to the Companions.
Voluntary Vampire Victim: He's utterly cool about letting Serana drink from him. She's quite touched by this.
You Killed My Father: The reason why he went to King's Landing was to bring justice to the ones responsible for his stepmother and older half-siblings' demises. He notably doesn't have that issue with Robert (who killed Rhaegar in a fair duel) or Jaime (because Aerys completely deserved to die).
Young Conqueror: He was acknowledged as the Dragonborn when he was barely fourteen years old. It's implied he became Black Legate around the same time.

Enzo Vlast

The Ebony Warrior

Beleaguered Assistant: Poor guy has to deal with his sworn liege stumbling into danger, refusing to mind his emotional well-being and adopting any dangerous beastie he can find.
Beware the Quiet Ones: Enzo won't speak if he doesn't think it's needed and is rather laid back. He's also big enough to rival the Mountain That Rides and went toe-to-toe with the Dragonborn himself.
Bodyguarding a Badass: Enzo is a giant of a man gifted enough to flatten anyone before him. He's currently serving the guy who singlehandedly stopped the Apocalypse by Shouting a dragon into Oblivion.
Bruiser with a Soft Center: The big scary giant enjoys doting on his shadowcat kitten, and Jon apparently found him sobbing over romantic Breton poetry.
Dark Is Not Evil: Enzo wears black armor, has black skin, is very imposing... and also extremely polite and amiable.
Friend to All Living Things: Enzo is delighted with his shadowcat kitten and is very happy to play-wrestle with Nymeria. He also chides Jon for training Ghost to be too serious.
Gentle Giant: After getting past the first impression of "Seven Hells, that guy's HUGE", he's perfectly personable.
Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Downplayed. Jon is the legendary Dragonborn and plenty capable in his own right. Enzo, however, does comes off as the more perceptive and wiser of the two.
Kindhearted Cat Lover: Jon persuades him to not protest against the teen adopting a litter of shadowcats by gifting him one of the kittens. He's later mentioned to spoil the beast.
Meaningful Name: He's a giant of a man who happens to be friends with the (unwilling) trueborn heir of Westeros. Enzo as a boy's name is of Old German origin and means "giant", associated with "king". Interestingly, the author didn't know that.
Named by the Adaptation: He was only known by his moniker of Ebony Knight in the game.
Nice to the Waiter: He quickly endears himself to the Winterfell and Red Fort's staffs for being so polite and respectful.
The Nicknamer: Enzo tends to refer to people by various nicknames. Some are endearingly affectionate, like calling Jon, "Jonny" and Arya, "Little One". Some of openly disparaging, like referring to King Robert as, "King Sload", with others falling in a more neutral middle ground like Lord Manderly's "Lord Walrus".
Original Character: In canon, 'Enzo Vlast' is a hidden final boss who only appears when you reach level 80, with no details about him other than he is a redguard. Here, he was an incredibly talented warrior and yet absolutely bored out of his mind, so challenged the Last Dragonborn to a duel to die well. Instead, after one of the most grueling and prolonged battles of Jon's life, he spared the man's life and Enzo swore Undying Loyalty to his saviour. He serves as Jon's spymaster, bodyguard, and babysitter, although he is seen more as a best friend/favourite uncle by the younger man.
Papa Wolf: Enzo isn't afraid to call Ned Stark out on the fact that he horribly botched raising Jon and is currently a threat to his liege lord's emotional welfare. Or use his charisma to turn as much of Winterfell against Catelyn as possible for badmouthing him.
Parental Substitute: His relationship with Jon has shades of this. Sometimes verges into Amazingly Embarrassing Parents, such as when Enzo declares Jon needs more sex to unwind.
Scary Black Man: He has a very impressive presence, not helped by his height and his ability to mince people with two slashes of his sword.
Spared by the Adaptation: He survived his duel to death with the Dragonborn when Jon refused to let him die from his injuries.
Stealth Hi/Bye: Which contributes to his scary factor, as people are freaked over such a huge guy moving so silently.
Strange-Syntax Speaker: Downplayed. But Enzo has a particular speech pattern where he rarely if ever uses contractions. While it isn't overly noticable, it does give his words a grand sort of feeling.
The Spymaster: Turns out to have quite the extensive information network within Skyrim and Tamriel as a whole. He was even building one in King's Landing, though it's too small for his liking (too small being sixty people).

Serana Volkihar

Action Girl: She can use Destruction magic and fight with a blade. She's also good at making use of her Vampiric Super-Strength to tear people apart bare-handed.
Big Sister Mentor: Arya is hinted to consider her this. After all, they connect easily regarding fighting and magic, and Serana is apparently slated to marry Arya's brother.
Blue Blood: The heir to a very powerful, influential vampire clan.
Boy Meets Ghoul: A vampiress who danced around her attraction for Jon for years before finally confessing.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: She has dark hair, a flawless pale skin... and a look in her eyes making Ned feel like a plump rabbit in front of a starving wolf.
Feminine Mother, Tomboyish Daughter: Serana enjoys wearing pants and has no use for courtesy, while her mother is more of a Proper Lady.
Head-Turning Beauty: Cersei has a lot less people staring at her whenever Serana is in the same room.
Insecure Love Interest: She really, really cares for Jon. She's also deeply messed up by her rape, unable to bear children (and Jon's greatest wish is to be a father) and fearful of outliving him – several reasons she tries to use to dissuade him from pursuing a relationship with her. The fact that none of these change his mind is what convinces her to finally agree to having a relationship with him.
Mayfly–December Romance: Serana was already old when her Love Interest Jon's ancestor Aegon the First conquered Westeros.
Mugging the Monster: The Lannister flunkies attempting to capture her dismiss Serana as a threat, calling her a little girl. Boy, did they regret it.
The Nose Knows: She quickly realizes Jon Arryn isn't naturally ill when she smells poison in the blood he just spat.
Older Than They Look: Canonically over 700 years old, at least. She doesn't look to be more than 20.
Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality: She would like to be intimate with Jon, but the first and last time she had sex was Molag Bal brutally raping her in order to turn the poor girl into a Daughter of Coldharbour, so she cannot handle more than kissing. Though oddly, she's got absolutely no problem stripping in front of him.
Properly Paranoid: Serana opposed Jon coming back to Westeros because she feared his maternal family would refuse to let him go back to Tamriel. Sure enough, Ned tried to do precisely that.
Rape as Backstory: How Molag Bal made her into a vampire. She's still traumatized, to the point she can't bear Jon doing more than kissing and holding her.
Second Love: Zigzagged. Jon fell for her the moment they met, but at the time she showed no sign of being interested, so he pursued his first relationship with Sapphire from the Thieves' Guild and later had several "friends". However, he never quite lost the torch he carried for Serana, and is ecstatic when she finally reciprocates.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Her interest for Jon was picked when he spontaneously offered to escort her back to her ancestral home in spite of barely knowing her, and was deepened by his various heroics.
Spanner in the Works: Any plan to tie Jon by marriage to Westeros is foiled by her presence, since she's very unlikely to take it graciously.
Tomboy with a Girly Streak: For all her Action Girliness, Serana isn't adverse to pretty dresses and often asks of Jon to play the lute for her – with her favorite song being about unrequited love.
Unknown Rival: She's aware that Cersei doesn't like her but she doesn't know how much, nor the fact it's caused by the other woman wondering if she might be the young and beautiful queen supposed to steal everything from her.

Valerica Volkihar

Lady Nightshade, Lady Poison

Abusive Parents: In the past, she was such a horrid mother to Serana their relationship took a serious hit, and they're still estranged nowadays.
Beware the Quiet Ones: Granted, she is far more talkative and interactional than other examples, but she isn't one to flaunter and boast, instead favoring to display her abilities by a few but emphazized sentences & actions. Once she cuts loose however, the full powers of her being a Daughter of Coldharbour turns most mortal beings into bloody pulp within the blink of an eye.
Blue Blood: The matriarch to a very powerful, influential vampire clan.
Dare to Be Badass: As Margaery laments she's "broken" after getting facial scarring and an Eye Scream in Cersei's coup, Valerica asks the Rose of Highgarden if she's going to weep or wreck bloody revenge against the ones responsible. Margaery chooses retaliation.
The Dreaded: To Shireen, who notes that however much Melisandre unnerves her, Lady Volikhar terrifies the young Baratheon girl.
Everyone Has Standards: She's considered callous by most and tends to be brutally honest with people, but even she's discomffited by how bluntly her assistant healer tells Loras that he should Mercy Kill Renly if the man doesn't wake up from his coma.
Feminine Mother, Tomboyish Daughter: Valerica tends more towards subtlety and enjoys gardening, while her daughter is more of an Action Girl.
Grande Dame: Rather haughty and proud. Even the Queen of Westeros doesn't escape her scorn (to be frank, she deserves it).
Iron Lady: The matriarch of a vampire clan who's not the least bit intimidated by anyone in the male-dominated Westeros.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: A familial variant with her daughter. She's not exactly happy to let Serana engage into saving people, but that's what Serana wants, and Valerica doesn't want to alienate her daughter further.
Jewish Mother: She insists for Arya to eat something when she meets the girl and bemoans Serana's habits in front of her embarrassed daughter.
Lady of War: She's notably more of a Proper Lady than her daughter, yet she might be even a more ruthless and dangerous enemy than her daughter and she very rarely drops her Grande Dame poise.
Master Poisoner: She cultivates toxic plants and is able to identify the Tears of Lys after hearing the symptoms, leading her to prepare a counteragent.
Mugging the Monster: Lannister guards try to arrest her. Valerica's answer is a Grin of Audacity and an invitation to Bring It – a few moments later, she splattered the guards all over the room.
My God, What Have I Done?: Downplayed, but her narration shows she somewhat regrets everything she did to Serana, mostly because it destroyed their relationship completely.
Obnoxious In-Laws: Even before Jon officially started a relationship with her daughter, he's rather wary of Valerica and reacts with dread when he learns she came to Westeros. On Valerica's side, she seems to respect Jon but it doesn't stop her from snarking at him.
Rape as Backstory: Like her daughter, she had to offer herself to Molag Bal when he was summoned by their cult when they were still mortal Nords. The act, which is described in-game as leaving almost none of the women alive, turned them into pure-blooded vampires called Daughters of Coldharbour.

High Queen Elisif

The High Queen: Of Skyrim.
I Owe You My Life: She's extremely grateful to Jon for saving her kingdom.
Rags to Riches: Mentions she was a mere tavern wench until she married into royalty.
Reasonable Authority Figure: She's an inspiring monarch who gives good advice to Jon regarding power and how to wield it.

The North

Eddard Stark

Lord Eddard Stark

Lord Paramount of the North, Warden of the North, Ned

Anti-Smother Love Talk: No less than three persons tell him to stop trying to force Jon to stay in Westeros and to accept the boy found success and happiness in another country. It takes him a while to listen to their advice.
Berserk Button: He doesn't take well people accusing him of selfishness. Criticizing his parenting also is a good way to quickly peeve him.
Broken Pedestal: Jon worshipped him until the day he realized Ned would rather keep him ignorant and vulnerable to the world's darkness than prepare him to stand on his own feet. The pedestal broke further when Jon learned their true familial relationship.
Character Development: It takes a while, but by the time Jon wakes up after the flight from King's Landing, he finally comes to terms with his parental issues and starts on the road to become a better person and parent.
Fatal Flaw: Surprisingly, he has several.
- His love for his family leads him to smother his children as he can't bear the idea to let them leave or expose them to ugly realities.
- He can have a nasty temper, leading him to show cruelty to his loved ones.
- His Honor Before Reason mentality would have become fatal if Jon and Enzo hadn't interfered.
Five Stages of Grief: Ned goes through this after Jon's disappearance, though not in the exact order. First he acted like nothing was wrong and that Jon wouldn't be gone for long, having his watchmen keep a constant lookout for the boy and reassuring his children that their brother would be back soon (Denial). When weeks and months started to pass with no sign of Jon, Ned started leading the search parties himself, offering large rewards for any information on his son (Bargaining). Then he raged, blowing up at Catelyn when she tries to make her children light candles for Jon in her sept and making the entire household avoid him (Anger). After the anger subsided, Ned grew distant, walking around in a daze, speaking to almost no one and not taking meals with his family (Depression). He finally seems to hit Acceptance when he resumed his duties and begun spending time with his family again, even making an effort to be closer to Theon.
Heel Realization: Catelyn outright calling him out on his plans to stop Jon (whom she cannot stand) from leaving Westeros again has shocked him into reexamining his opinion on the youth's best interests.
- After seeing what Sansa's extremely naive way of viewing the world caused at King's Landing, he seems to have reevaluated the way he should treat his children and resists the urge to coddle her.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: His relationship with Robert. Notably, there are very few scenes with Robert that Ned isn't also present in.
Hidden Depths: He's strongly hinted to resent Rhaegar to the point of denying he ever fathered Jon, punishing the Dragon Prince by refusing to let the son Rhaegar so badly wanted even know their relationship.
Honor Before Reason: Believes in honor being over everything else. However, this leads him to make great mistakes that someone more pragmatic would have easily averted. Enzo calls him out on it.
Horrible Judge of Character: Not as bad as some but it's clear that Ned chooses to see only the best in others.
Hypocrite: Ned chides Jon for lying and omitting important details of his life in Skyrim. Given what Ned has lied about, Jon understandably is having none of it and calls him out on it.
I Did What I Had to Do: Ned’s excuse for lying to Jon about his parentage during his childhood. Had anyone else known about his Targaryen heritage, Jon would have been most likely killed by Robert.
I Gave My Word: As befitting his honourable nature, once given he can be counted on to keep his promises. His last promise to Lyanna somewhat deconstructs this, as it makes him overproctective over Jon.
My Beloved Smother: He coddles his children to the point they're barely aware the world can chew them raw, and is very obstructive when it's suggested he might have to let them go away.
Nephewism: He raised his nephew by his sister Lyanna as his bastard son.
Papa Wolf: Lame pun aside, when someone he cannot stand looks a mite too interested in his kids, Ned suddenly feels a great desire to rip their throat with his teeth.
Parental Substitute: Not a very good to Theon. He's the first to admit this, as he would have to kill the Ironborn youth if the Iron Islands ever rebelled and as such couldn't bring himself to truly care for Theon. He started making more of an effort after Jon's disappearance though.
Parents as People: He deeply, desperately treasures his children and nephew and wants to protect them from the world itself, leading him to smother them and leave them unable to handle themselves in front of true danger.
Properly Paranoid: He besmirched his reputation by claiming he sired a bastard out of fear that his nephew's life would be forfeit if anyone suspected the child from having Targaryen blood. And sure enough, a Tyrell knight immediately tries to kill Jon when the young man publically reveals he's Rhaegar's last and surviving child.
The Scapegoat: Ned claimed he was the one who slew Arthur Dayne from behind, as he knew the Dornish would never dare to kill or harm the new Lord Paramount of the North and best friend to the new monarch, but would feel no such compunction towards Howland Reed.
Secretly Selfish: Underneath all his talk of honour, he acts extremely controlling towards his children. As Catelyn says it best:
"For someone so honourable, you are a selfish, selfish man, Eddard Stark."
Selective Obliviousness: Ned simply cannot accept or acknowledge the fact that Jon made a life for himself in Skyrim. It gets to the point that during an argument with Catelyn, he argues that Jon is too young to know what he wants despite the fact Jon has been constantly stating how happy and successful his life in Skyrim is.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: Smelling blood triggers him into full-blown panic. Poor guy really wasn't at his best when this boar gored Robert.
Someone to Remember Him By: Deconstructed. Several people noted that Ned seems to consider Jon a living reminder of his mother (without necessarily knowing who she was) but it led Ned to desperately try to keep the boy near him, without actually considering what might be the best for Jon. He also reacts with rage to any suggestion that the boy leaves Winterfell or people pointing out his unreasonable behaviour.
Too Dumb to Live: As pointed out by Enzo, him trying to meet Cersei in order to get a confession over her cuckolding Robert after Robert's death, without any backup nor any reason to expect she won't do anything would have gotten him killed. Fortunately, Jon paralyzed him before he could do it.
What the Hell, Hero?: Regarding his family, his decisions tend to be criticized a lot. Jon is rather unhappy with his smothering and trying to keep his parentage under wraps, while Sansa is infuriated to learn how much he wronged his wife by not being truthful with her.

Catelyn Stark

Lady Catelyn Stark née Tully

Cat

Affair? Blame the Bastard: Catelyn is horrendously insecure regarding Ned's love for her, seeing him raising Jon at Winterfell along his trueborn children as proof he would rather have his unknown lover as a wife. As she couldn't convince Ned to send Jon away, she slowly morphed into a Wicked Stepmother.
All for Nothing: Her jealousy towards Ned's unknown lover pushed her to be cruel to his bastard son, which alienated her from almost all of her children. And Ned never was unfaithful to her to begin with.
Berserk Button: Jon is a walking, breathing one for her. Any mention of the Dayne family is also guaranteed to infuriate her because of Ashara Dayne.
Character Exaggeration: Her dislike of Jon is cranked up several notches compared to canon, resulting in her being a much colder woman. Somewhat justified in that it's implied Ned took Jon's departure very hard and allowed his grief to bleed into his daily life, so Cat has had to live with Jon's shadow for years.
Entertainingly Wrong: She's utterly convinced that the reason Jon cut off contact was because he demanded something Ned was unwilling or unable to give, when in fact it was Ned demanding something that Jon was unwilling to give (namely, abandoning his life in Skyrim).
Everyone Has Standards: Much as she hates Jon, she refuses to believe the accusations Cersei throws at him in her letter to Winterfell.
Evil Redhead: Downplayed, Cat is far from evil but she certainly can be utterly awful.
Green-Eyed Monster: Even years after her death, she still fears and hates Ashara Dayne's shadow upon her family, as she was Ned's First Love and the one he initially wished to marry.
Hypocrite: Tells her children not to reject presents because it's rude, then rejects Jon's present to her.
Jerkass Has a Point: Catelyn is the only person in Winterfell to support Jon's decision to stay and live in Skyrim (from her viewpoint, he can't very well steal her children's inheritance in another country). She's outright aghast when Ned stubbornly tries to ignore Jon's wishes to force him to stay in Westeros.
Parents as People: After seeing how much she hates their beloved half-brother Jon for something he can't help, Robb, Arya and Bran sadly acknowledge Catelyn is far from being perfect.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: She perceives Ned treating Jon as a trueborn child as a reflection of ongoing love and loyalty towards Jon's mother. However, what she didn't take in account was the possibility of that love not being the romantic kind but brotherly instead.
Unknown Rival: She holds Jon for the bane of her existence. Jon himself feels more pity than anything towards her, reserving his hatred for more dreadful opponents such as the Thalmor and Alduin.
Wicked Stepmother: She was unrelentingly cold towards Jon Snow and constantly wished for him to disappear from her life. Unbeknownst to her, she's actually his Evil Aunt.

Robb Stark

All for Nothing: Has this reaction when he gets letters from Ned and Cersei that reveal the situation in King's Landing, as his attempt to protect Theon by lying about him dying are rendered moot by Cersei declaring war on the North for entirely unrelated reasons.
Anger Born of Worry: His knee-jerk reaction when reuniting with Jon following a five-year-long separation is to rip his brother a new asshole for running away... right before embracing him and tearfully confessing he missed Jon so, so much.
Angsty Surviving Twin: Downplayed as he's obviously not Jon's twin, but his reaction when the bastard ran away from Winterfell is very reminiscient of this, as he felt half of him was gone.
Arranged Marriage: On his nineteenth nameday, he's publically engaged to wed Alys Karstark.
Break the Cutie: His almost-twin Jon disappearing started the process, but the true breaking happens when he has to clean up after an Ironborn raid. After burying one corpse too many, Robb is reduced to sobbing while he clings to his direwolf.
Cool Big Bro: He deeply loves all of his siblings, the bastard very much included.
Cool Sword: Jon's birthday gift for him. It's made from ice-steel with sapphires in the handle.
Fiery Redhead: Robb has a very passionate, volatile temperament, and is as far away as you can get from The Stoic.
Manipulative Bastard: Downplayed and unintentional, but Robb tends to resort to emotional blackmail if something doesn't go his way.
Please, Don't Leave Me: Tells Jon to stay in Winterfell if he really loves Robb. It only manages to enrage Jon.
Pretty in Mink: Jon's homecoming gift for him is a hooded fur cloak.
Sadistic Choice: Poor Robb deeply loves his mother and bastard brother, who are unable to cohabit. He's extremely upset by the fact he will have to pick between them.
Spoiled Brat: Just a bit. As the heir Robb is used to being catered to and obeyed, so he doesn't deal well with people refusing him something he wants.

Sansa Stark

Distracted by the Luxury: She immediately forgets she's supposed to be hostile towards Jon when he gifts her several bolts of exotic cloth and a pouch of gemstones, and is quickly dazzled by King's Landing's opulence and decadence.
Dramatically Missing the Point: Sansa consistently misses various implications of people's words and actions.
The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Firmly the "pretty one", Sansa is vain, quite proud of her courtesies and far too quick to judge on the appearances. She also feels deeply jealous of Arya because in spite of all her efforts to be the perfect daughter and lady, Arya is favored by most people.
Green-Eyed Monster: It's made very clear Sansa is very insecure about how Arya is apparently more loved than her by their parents and their siblings.
Horrible Judge of Character: She thinks Cersei Lannister is The High Queen and Joffrey her fairy-tale Prince Charming. The only reason it doesn't end as badly as in canon is because Serana forcibly drags her out it.
The Ingenue: Deconstructed, as she's very easily manipulated by other people, along with being naive, used to getting her way and Innocently Insensitive.
Irony: Tells Cersei about her father's plans because she wants to stay at King's Landing and marry Joffrey. Among the consequences is Joffrey's death.
It's All About Me: Sansa certainly gives such a impression. King lies dying and her father is obviously upset? She wonders if Joffrey will marry her now that he's gonna be the king.
Jerkass Has a Point:
- She's infuriated to learn how her father lied to her mother, needlessly hurting her by claiming he had sired a bastard and not bothering to confess the truth even after growing to love her. Yes, Catelyn could have betrayed Ned over his hiding a Targaryen child, but she could have decided to support Ned instead, and Ned's refusal to come clean deprived her of any choice on the matter.
- She's also horrified to meet Jon's baby dragons, pointing that sure, they're cute now but they are going to grow up a lot and Westerosi dragons historically were flying nukes that really enjoyed burning and eating people alive.
The Load: Very little of what Sansa does actually helps her family, or herself even.
Loose Lips: She basically walks right up to Cersei and tells her of Ned's plans to discreetly move his family to safety out of King's Landing. Pretty much everyone who knows is furious with her for doing this.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Sansa runs to Cersei hoping the queen will convince her father to let her stay in King's Landing. Cersei uses that information to launch her coup immediately.
Never My Fault: When called out on how Cersei's coup is partially her fault, Sansa deflects any blame and stubbornly exclaims that is not her fault. Everyone from Ned to Jon to Arya calls her out on this.
No Periods, Period: Averted; Sansa wakes up menstruating and grumbles over her cramps and the bloodstains.
Not So Above It All: She does her best to emulate and please her mother, but will gleefully throw propriety and scorn away in front of Jon's shiny new gift to her.
Pet the Dog: She tells Septa Mordane her presence won't be required for the girl's talk with Jon – he's her brother, so she trusts him to not harm her.
Prophecy Twist: All indications are that she is the valonqar that Maggy the Frog warned Cersei of, as while Sansa does not kill Cersei, her actions effectively ruin Cersei's life and plans to reign as queen (Sansa's warning to Cersei ends up leading to the deaths of Joffrey and Tommen, with the former killing the latter and then being killed by Myrcella, ensuring that Cersei has no legacy to stand on).
Skewed Priorities: In the middle of a bloody coup she's more outraged about Serana ordering her to wear man's clothes – it would be so improper.
Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond: She's hinted to be upset over Jon seemingly loving her the least among the Stark children, with Bran accusing her of believing Jon is unable to love anyone just because he won't love her.
Spoiled Brat: Less obviously so than most examples but, dear God, yes. From insolently asking Jon to give her some of his jewelry to throwing a tantrum after her father berates her for her insensitive behavior, Sansa certainly is an overgrown brat.
Textile Work Is Feminine: She's outright squealing when Jon's gift to her is revealed to be fine cloth, and immediately starts to work on several dresses whom she plans to put in her trousseau.
Trademark Favourite Food: Everything sweet with lemon flavor, since Arya's reaction to lemon sweets is to muse her sister would enjoy it.
The Un-Favourite: She's the one Jon gets along the least among the Stark children. And she knows it.
- In fact, none of her siblings get along with her. Jon and Arya are just the most obvious about it. And as much as Sansa won't admit it, she's bothered by this.
Ungrateful Bastard: She puts far more emphasis on the fact that Jon slapped her for her stupidity in spite of the fact that she's likely still alive because of him. Something Ned points out.

Arya Stark

Adaptational Badass: She's currently learning magic from Jon and Enzo.
Affection-Hating Kid: Owing to the fact she's still a preteen, Arya feels disgusted when she thinks Jon is about to kiss Serana and can't wrap her head around marriage.
An Ice Person: Takes to use frost magic.
Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Arya believes Sansa is desperately fluff-headed, and that's precisely why she needs to protect her big sister.
Big Brother Worship: She absolutely adores Jon, outright braving her mother's fury to send him a letter begging him to please come for Robb's nameday. She's also ready to follow him into King's Landing.
Black Magician Girl: She's mainly interested in magic's offensive applications and she's rather scrappy, so yes, she fits the archetype. Though as Enzo discovers, she's got actually got more talent in alteration rather than destruction.
Child Mage: Downplayed, as she's only learning magic and is far from a fully-fledged practicioner.
Children Forced to Kill: Downplayed when she's almost killed by a brigand and stabs him in self-defense. She didn't kill him, but she still feels awful and needs a pep-talk from Jon and Enzo to snap out of a panic attack.
Combat Pragmatist: Enzo teaches her to be this, using Candle to stab in critical points and going for a Groin Attack. Then again, considering that she's quite small, she needs it. It becomes extremely useful when she's nearly kidnapped by the Lannisters.
Glass Cannon: She's still a preteen girl and can't outmuscle grown men, but she's quick and her ebony knife is way sharper than any normal one. In a pinch she can also use magic, but she also doesn't have the stamina to use it extensively.
The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: As she's focused on studying magic and self-defence, seeks answers when she has a question and is vaguely aware of the nasty undercurrents in King's Landing, Arya easily fits into the "smart one" slot.
Kid Has a Point: She bluntly asks her grieving father how King Robert dying would impact their sojourn in King's Landing – are they going to stay for the burial or immediately go home? Ned isn't happy with her lack of consideration but answers her nonetheless.
Little Miss Badass: She defends herself quite successfully during Cersei's coup, doling out painful injuries to the Lannister men trying to trap her.
Lonely Rich Kid: A rather subtle example, since she was rather friendly with other children at Winterfell but she never got really close since she was above them as the Warden of the North's younger daughter. She's stunned to realize that Myrcella is her first genuine friend.
Magnetic Hero: Despite having a personality that's almost completely opposite of everything Westeros society teaches, Arya is remarkably good at getting people to like her. Even Valerica (who has contempt for near anyone) takes a shine to her.
Odd Friendship: Catelyn laments Arya's tomboyishness and bluntness will scare and upset Myrcella into avoiding her, only for the extremely proper and feminine princess to enjoy Arya's company precisely because of that, feeling the younger Stark daughter is more genuine than the other ladies at court.
Rebellious Princess: She's not happy with the fact her parents want for her to become a Proper Lady and marry, expressing her doubts and fears to Serana.
Strong Family Resemblance: Very much a Stark in looks, although Jon comments she's got her mother Catelyn's nose.
Tomboy Princess: She's noticeably disappointed when she believes Jon's gift to her is a pretty necklace and wears dresses in King's Landing only because it's a condition for her to stay close from Jon.
What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Platonic version, Arya is rather confused and bemused by the intricacies of marriage, asking Serana for an explanation.

Bran Stark

Abled in the Adaptation: Here, Jon prevented him from doing the climb which would have left him crippled so Bran still can walk on his own.
Kid Has a Point: He utterly demolishes his mother's prejudiced argument against bastards by reminding her Bloodraven and Orys Baratheon were bastards and yet devoted to their trueborn Targaryen siblings until death, and pointing Aegon the Unworthy and Maegor the Cruel as trueborn heirs who were unfit to rule.
Locked Out of the Loop: He doesn't know the details regarding his parents' recent quarrel, but he can guess it revolved around Jon. Because of this, he holds a small grudge against his mother and refuses to consider she might have a good reason for her anger.
Not Now, Kiddo: An exhausted Robb trying to run Winterfell refuses to grant any credit to Bran's ramblings about a three-eyed crow appearing in his dreams.
Psychic Children: He's still having green dreams in which he meets the three-eyed raven.
Ship Tease: Yes, Meera Reed has very pretty eyes, but he's not looking at them. Honest.
Wise Beyond Their Years: He's perfectly capable of beating his own mother in a verbal sparring match, and when he was angry with Sansa, knew exactly what to say to make it hurt.

Rickon Stark

The Baby of the Bunch: For the Stark children.
Cheerful Child: After a bout of shyness when Jon reintroduced himself to him, Rickon is nothing but energetic and bouncing.
Children Are Innocent: He seems mainly unaware of the familial tension, being mostly preoccupied by his toys.
No Infantile Amnesia: Downplayed, Rickon does have recollections of Jon but they're extremely vague and need to be prodded a bit before identifying the new guest as his brother.

Theon Greyjoy

Adaptational Heroism: Theon betraying the Starks is pretty much impossible now, seeing how his father was murdered by Euron (who Theon is absolutely terrified of).
Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Ned's efforts to try and be a better parent to Theon made Theon more comfortable with his place in the Stark family.
Big Brother Instinct:
- Thirteen-year-old Theon didn't hesitate to punch a butcher in the face when he found the guy about to sexually assault eight-year-old Jon. He later explained to the younger boy how to identify these kind of people and avoid them.
- He flat-out kills one of his uncle's lackeys for insinuating his older sister Asha is currently suffering a Fate Worse than Death.
Everyone Has Standards:
- He was horrified and upset when eight-year-old Jon almost fell victim to a paedophile and took upon himself to explain the boy how to avoid becoming a target again.
- His uncle Euron's ravages shock him just as much as the contingent of Northern men he's traveling with.
- He was never truly friendly with Jon Snow, but the other Stark children's distress in front of the bastard's disappearance still upset him a lot.
Freudian Excuse: Theon is rather wild, sexually loose and insulting towards the Starks. He's actually acting out as he's painfully aware he's a hostage and Ned Stark couldn't bring himself to show the teen affection while he was supposed to kill Theon if the Ironborns rebelled again.
He's All Grown Up: Theon at thirteen-year-old is described as gangly, "thin as a stick". He later developed enough to become a bit of a casanova.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: An extremely snarky, irreverent and irritating young man who nonetheless jumps to defend the people holding him as hostage when they're under assault.
Oh, Crap!: His reaction when he learns the pirates currently ravaging the countryside are commanded by his uncle Euron.^note
Replacement Goldfish: Subverted. He furiously accuses Ned's desire to be kinder to him after Jon ran away as the man treating him like a surrogate, but Ned dissuades him, quietly stating that he wouldn't want anyone to replace Jon, and that he simply wants to try harder with Theon.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When the Ironborn raids are discovered, he decides he needs to escape before the Lannisters demand his head.

Wyman Manderly

Lord Wyman Manderly

Lord of White Harbour

Big Eater: His narration lavishly describes the rich supper he serves to his guests.
Big Fun: He's too fat to sit on a horse and extremely jolly.
Nice Guy: Jon remembers him being just as kind towards the bastard boy than the trueborn Stark children. Also, his main thought after realising he found Ned Stark's wayward son was to send a letter reassuring the Lord Paramount that Jon was safe and sound.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In his desire to quickly confirm one of his guests actually is the missing Stark child, he accidentally kidnaps Jon – which deeply upsets the people he was traveling around. To his credit, Wyman immediately apologizes when called out.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Wyman mainly focuses on his family and lordship's wellbeing and prosperity, but it's tempered by his genuinely kind disposition. He also tries to give parental advice to Ned Stark, telling him that letting your children grow up isn't a bad thing.
Smarter Than You Look: People tend to underestimate him because of his behaviour and obesity, but he is a very shrewd politician and businessman.

King's Landing

The Royal Family

Robert Baratheon

King Robert Baratheon, First of His Name

King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm

Abhorrent Admirer: A platonic variant. Robert feels immediate affection towards Jon (partially out of nostalgia for his own youth, partially because the boy is the son he would have wanted to have) but Jon himself feels horrendously awkward and fretful since he's the son of Rhaegar by Lyanna, and Robert wouldn't take this graciously if he learned it.
Adipose Rex: Which completely disgusts Enzo.
Attention Whore: Downplayed. There are specific people whose attention and approval Robert wants, most recently Ned Stark and Jon Whitewolf.
Dirty Old Man: He's openly cheating on his wife, paws at the maids and blatantly ogles Serana's cleavage in spite of her being betrothed and (seemingly) young enough to be his daughter.
Doomed by Canon: Suffers his demise through a boar goring him.
Expecting Someone Taller: Enzo is not impressed to see the King of Westeros is a pile of flesh wrapped in silks, disparagingly comparing him to a sload.
Fat Bastard: Robert is grossly obese, neglects his children, does a horrendous job as a king and was responsible for Ned hiding Jon away almost his whole life.
Homoerotic Subtext: Enzo and Jon seriously ponder about his relationship with Ned, Enzo outright asking if Jon's sure the King was in love with Lyanna rather than Ned.
- Cersei comments on his sudden affection towards Jon. If she didn't know perfectly well that Robert is strictly into girls, she would worry for the youth.
Irony: He's very affectionate towards Jon... who's the living proof that Robert's beloved Lyanna was in love with Rhaegar Targaryen, the man Robert passionately hates.
Jerkass Has a Point: He's very negletful to his own children, but he's got a very good point in telling Cersei that she should really stop coddling Joffrey so much.
Killed Off for Real: As per canon, he gets gored by a boar and dies of his injuries.
Loving a Shadow: He admits on his deathbed that Lyanna is more a fantasy than a girl to him nowadays. Sometimes he even wonders if she was real at all.
Nostalgia Filter: His quick fixation on Jon is hinted to come from the fact the youth reminds him of a younger Ned.
Parental Neglect: He shows no interest whatsover towards his (supposed) trueborn children, insisting on spending time with Jon instead.
Selective Obliviousness: He's blissfully unaware of the fact Jon really, really doesn't appreciate his attention.
Self-Proclaimed Love Interest: He still mourns and pines after his beloved Lyanna... who actually ran away with Rhaegar because she couldn't stand the idea of becoming Robert's wife.
Why Are You Not My Son?: On his deathbed, he admits Jon was every bit the son he would have wanted to have with his precious Lyanna and laments the fact it's not the case.
Why Couldn't You Be Different?: He's very open about expressing how much he wishes his children were more like Jon.
You Killed My Father: He personally slew Rhaegar Targaryen, ensuring Lyanna's unborn child would never know his father. Still, Jon feels rather ambivalent about hating Robert, as the guy killed Rhaegar in a fair fight.

Cersei Lannister

Queen Cersei Lannister

Awful Wedded Life: So awful that she doesn't even visit Robert on his deathbed.
Beauty Is Bad: One of the most beautiful women living in Westeros and one of the worst bitches people will have the misfortune to meet.
Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted. After Tyrion set her on fire for coming at him with a knife, Cersei is horribly burned on half her body and had to have her hair cut short.
Blatant Lies: She declares that Tyrion killed Tywin while the Starks killed Joffrey and Tommen and Jon Whitewolf killed Jon Arryn. Anyone with enough brains that wasn't there knows it's all codswallop and guesses right about the real turn of events.
Control Freak: She refuses to let her daughter not be constantly surrounded with Lannister cronies.
Driven by Envy: Her hatred for Serana is motivated by the fact the other woman is (seemingly) young, beautiful and arranged to marry a good man she loves.
Enfant Terrible: Even when she was a preteen, Cersei was already unhealthily possessive towards her twin and would slander or frame anyone she disliked to be exiled from Casterly Rock or beaten.
Entitled Bastard: Why would this bastard Snow be rewarded for saving Tommen? That's his duty to imperil his own wellbeing and life for his prince!
Evil Is Petty: She cannot stand the idea of another, younger woman getting to be happy when she's not — that's why she's so utterly awful with Serana.
God Save Us from the Queen!: Cersei is petty to an extreme and willingly supports her son's sadistic and murderous impulses. Jon Arryn actually seeks to expose her cheating as her being responsible for the Seven Kingdoms is a disaster in waiting.
Hate at First Sight: How she reacts when introduced to Serana, merely because the other woman is pretty and (seemingly) younger.
Hoist by His Own Petard:
- Her coup. She sought to secure Joffrey's reign, only to lose both of her sons within a couple of hours of its beginning.
- She tries to kill Tyrion, only to slip on Tywin's blood - which was there because she had just killed him. Also, with her father's death, she's all but ensured that the West won't be coming to support her any time soon.
Hopeless Suitor: She formerly entertained fantasies about becoming Rhaegar's wife. Judging by Elia's letter, he considered her as too much of a snake to ever think to take her as a possible spouse.
The Load: Tywin's opinion of her – she cannot control her spending, she cannot control her kingdom, she cannot control her son, she can't even bring new assets into the family.
Mama Bear: A dark example, she's willing to do absolutely anything to protect Joffrey.
Man on Fire: Tyrion ends up setting her on fire while escaping her coup. She survives, but is left horribly burned on one side.
My Beloved Smother: Towards Joffrey. She's even trying to cover his murders of two maids!
Outliving One's Offspring: In the space of a single day, she lost both her sons.
Parental Neglect: Ignores Tommen and Myrcella while doting on Joffrey. Even after both Joffrey and Tommen die, she only cares about the former.
Patricide: Personally kills her father via knife to the heart.
Privilege Makes You Evil: Cersei is beautiful, she's wealthy, she's got a highborn name and she's married to the King. It ensured people didn't say "no" enough to her, letting her grow up to become an entitled bitch who barely considers there's other humans in the world except for her.
Psychopathic Womanchild: Her interlude is startingly immature, as she's basically lording her family's name and influence and pitching a fit when something refuses to go her way.
Sanity Slippage: After murdering her father, losing both her sons to death and her daughter to disappearance, being burned on half her body and seizing the throne, Cersei's paranoia gets ramped up and she starts speaking to her own reflection.
Self-Made Orphan: Again, she kills her own father with a letter opener, and takes a lot of glee in doing so.
Smart Ball: She first refuses to believe Jaime's theory about Jon being Brandon Stark's offspring on the grounds that taking your orphaned nephew in and raising him would be the honourable thing to do so why would Ned lie about the familial relationship? Still, it doesn't last.
Smug Snake: Cersei believes herself a political genius surpassing her father. She's not even on the level under him.
Stealth Insult: She does things such as sending a red dress to Sansa (marking her as affiliated to the Lannisters instead of the Starks and clashing with the girl's auburn hair) or serving undercooked meat to Serana.
Stupid Evil: Cersei is considered to be one by many people and for good reason.

Joffrey Baratheon

Crown Prince Joffrey Baratheon

Asshole Victim: Stabbed in the heart right after killing his sweet younger brother? Myrcella deserves a reward for the deed, frankly.
Bad People Abuse Animals: Not only is he reported killing cats by the Red Keep's staff, everything points towards him slaughtering his potential bride's pet direwolf with a crossbow, probably out of spite for Nymeria scaring him earlier.
Big Bad Wannabe: He's built to be the spoiled, psychopathic brat-king the readers know and hate, only for being unceremonially killed before his coronation.
Big Brother Bully: Telling his brother he's going to be killed someday and the whole kingdom will rejoice over the death of a weakling? Yeah, Joffrey won't gain the "Bro of the Year" award.
- Culminates in him trying to imprison his siblings during the coup and accidentally killing Tommen in the resulting chaos.
Blood Lust: He doesn't enjoy fighting, but killing? That, he does. He started with animals but recently moved on people...
Cain and Abel: Cain to his siblings' Abels. Joffrey even kills Tommen during a fight... before being killed by Myrcella.
Death by Adaptation: Making an allowance for altered timeline, Joffrey dies barely a week after Robert's death, before he's even crowned.
Early Personality Signs: Jaime remembers he enjoyed biting and scratching his nannies to make them bleed. He really, really didn't get better from this.
Inadequate Inheritor: Joffrey is just too much of a sadistic, idiotic little shit for people to want him on the throne, and that's without his true incestuous origins coming out to light. So much so, that Jaime (his biological father) is resigned to kill him, lest he become another Aerys.
Karmic Death: Immediately after killing his younger brother, his own sister messily stabs him.
Killed Off for Real: Joffrey is killed by Myrcella, of all people, who stabbed him several times with Serana's dagger.
Prince Charmless: Jon Arryn outright begs Ned to make Sansa into a Silent Sister if he really cannot find her another groom than Joffrey.
Royal Brat: The poster boy. He recklessly indulges his sadistic impulses both on the belief it's his royal prerogative and because his rank covers his ass.
Screams Like a Little Girl: Played for Laughs. He screams as he falls into Ruby Ford and Jon – who's seen the entire thing – purposely asks if it was Arya who was screaming.
Teens Are Monsters: He's under eighteen and already a murderer.
Upper-Class Twit: He sneeringly disparages Jon's Self-Made Man status on the grounds that he's born a bastard and still is, just wealthier.
You Remind Me of X: Jon Arryn compares him to Aerys Targaryen. That's a big part of why he's intend to discredit Joffrey as a future ruler for Westeros.

Myrcella Baratheon

Princess Myrcella Baratheon; Myra Volkihar

Beware the Nice Ones: Myrcella is considered the nicest one of her siblings and she murders Joffrey for killing their younger brother.
Big Sister Instinct: Clearly has it for Tommen – seeing him die right in front of her pushes her to kill Joffrey in revenge.
Cain and Abel: A complicated example. She's much sweeter than Joffrey, but she is the one who kills him.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Compared to her mother and elder brother, Myrcella is basically a saint. And of course, her hair colour is important to the plot.
I Have No Mother: The consequences of Cersei's coup, not least of which was Tommen's death, and the realization that Cersei sees her as nothing more than a pawn to control the throne with has made Myrcella completely disgusted by her mother, refusing to be associated to her.
I Just Want to Have Friends: She wants genuine relationships, not just being surrounded by well-trained ladies repeating empty courtesies or her mother's lackeys. It leads her to latch on Jon Whitewolf in spite of his illegitimate birth and Self-Made Man status, and Arya because she's genuine and willing to speak with her without a care for her status.
Important Haircut: She asks Arya to cut off her hair and then dye it to both get rid of the blood on it and hide her true identity.
Inadequate Inheritor: Varys deplores the fact her gender and incestuous ascendents barr her from the throne, considering her the most worthy among Cersei's brood.
Last of Its Kind: Myrcella is the only one of the royal siblings to live through Cersei's coup.
Lonely Rich Kid: A variant – she's a princess who constantly interacts with lickspittles or courtiers. Both kinds fail to provide her the slightest emotional attachment and wellbeing, so she easily and eagerly latches on Jon and Arya for being nice and genuine to her.
Only Sane Woman: Compared to both her brothers, Myrcella is kind yet pragmatic and intelligent, to the point Varys laments her gender preventing her from being a serious candidate as ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
Rage Breaking Point: Seeing Joffrey cause Tommen's death drives her into a murderous frenzy, driving her to stab Joffrey while she screams her hatred for him.
Rejecting the Inheritance: Following her mother's failed coup, Myrcella isn't interested in being a Princess, or having a crown, or even being Cersei's daughter.
Wise Beyond Their Years: She quickly improvises a way for Jon to send her letters from Skyrim, telling him to adress them to Tommen instead in order to fool Cersei's vigilance.

Tommen Baratheon

Prince Tommen Baratheon

Big Brother Worship: Not for Joffrey, but for Jon, who's martial and brave yet very kind towards him.
Cain and Abel: Abel to Joffrey's Cain. He's even killed by his elder brother.
Death by Adaptation: For both the books (where he's alive) and for the show (where he lived much longer).
Death by Falling Over: Joffrey brutally shoves him away when the younger boy tries to physically attack him, only for Tommen to open his head on the courtyard's stone path.
Extreme Doormat: Extremely passive, he tends to hide and cry instead of defending his viewpoint.
Inadequate Inheritor: Compared to his eldest sibling Joffrey, Tommen is much more palatable as heir to the crown, but he's criticized for being too weak-willed and eager to please. And of course, he's not really a Baratheon.
Killed Off for Real: Tommen dies during the coup when Joffrey shoves him to the ground and the boy cracks his head on the stones.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: He finally stands up to Joffrey to help his sister. Joffrey brutally shoves him, killing him when his head hits the ground.
Non-Action Guy: He's skipping on his martial training because he doesn't wanna hurt anyone. Jaime disapproves and sends Jon to talk him around.
Sibling Yin-Yang: Contrasting with Joffrey, Tommen is a wimp, and much more sweet.

Other Baratheons

Shireen Baratheon

Lady Shireen Baratheon

Lady of Dragonstone

A Child Shall Lead Them: Still a preteen and the Lady of Dragonstone. Deconstructed as the Decadent Court considers her easy prey due to her youth, and she needs the protection of her mother and appointed regent to fend their ambitions off.
Berserk Button: She verbally snaps at Cersei for insulting Davos Seaworth's modest origins.
Break the Cutie: She's currently mourning her father and has to contend with ambitious courtiers trying to steal her inheritance by marrying her.
- Her mother was fatally wounded before her eyes as they got caught in a middle of a bloody coup.
Cute Bookworm: She's seen reading about mermaids and enthusiastically discuss them with Jon.
Generation Xerox: Stannis canonically became an atheist after losing his parents. After being left an orphan, Shireen starts to loathe the idea of religion.
Gut Feeling: She's terrified by Melisandre, comparing the Red Priestess to a predator in human skin, and feels horrendously uneasy around Valerica.
Heroic BSoD: Witnessing her mother's death traumatized the poor girl so badly that she spends all her time in her cabin on the ship, refusing to speak to anyone but Davos.
Inadequate Inheritor: For the Iron Throne. People would distrust her merely on the grounds that she's a girl and fell sick with grayscale as a toddler – even if she's cured now, people still are paranoid about her causing a plague.
Innocent Blue Eyes: Jon comments this is her only beautiful feature, calling their shade "striking".
Meal Ticket: The Lannisters tried to arrange a marriage between her and Lancel to gain Dragonstone. Fortunately for Shireen, her mother and regent Davos aren't inclined to agree to Cersei's demands.
Rage Against the Heavens: She fantasizes about destroying everything linked to the Red God and the Faith of the Seven on Dragonstone because the gods couldn't prevent her parents dying.
Strong Family Resemblance: To her cousin Gendry, since both of them have inherited the classic Baratheon look.
Two-Faced: Half of her face and part of her neck are petrified and scarred by grayscale.

Gendry Waters

The bastard son of King Robert Baratheon.

Inadequate Inheritor: As a bastard, many would label him as this, and he honestly agrees with them. He has no ambitions for the throne, and wholeheartedly believes he would be terrible at it.
Hidden Backup Prince: As one of the oldest of Robert's surviving bastards, a man, and the fact that all the adult Baratheons are...indisposed, Gendry automatically becomes this. Despite his lowly origins, he still carries King Robert's blood, making it all too feasible to elevate him to either the Iron Throne, or to lead Dragonstone or Storm End's. Indeed, for some he is more preferable than Shireen. Except while some would consider him a true successor, others would prefer him as a pawn.
- Even Shireen has guiltily considered having Gendry take up Storm's End.
Nice Guy: At his heart, Gendry is certainly this.
Ship Tease: With Arya, who takes offense to Gendry's plans to move to Skyrim to escape any expectations that he acts as a Baratheon.

Renly Baratheon

Lord Renly Baratheon

Lord of Storm's End

Convenient Coma: Averted. The injuries he suffers during Cersei's coup leave him in a coma that no one is sure whether he'll ever wake up from. One of Valerica's servants tells Loras that he should Mercy Kill him if he remains like that for more than a month. This is a serious issue, as the Seven Kingdoms are facing a succession crisis, and he is one of the potential heirs. Also it greatly complicates rallying the Stormlands against Cersei.
Inadequate Inheritor: He's widely held as a wimp so the very martial Seven Kingdoms wouldn't take his ascension to the Iron Throne with a smile. And his personal proclivities mean he's unlikely to sire a successor, which would result in a postponed Succession Crisis.
I Owe You My Life: He profusely thanks Jon for rescuing his lover from an infuriated Gregor Clegane.
Irony: In the books, he was the last male in the line of succession to the Iron Throne and was the first to die when he tried to take the crown by force. In the aftermath of Cersei's coup, he's suddenly become the first and he hasn't had to do anything.
Mistaken For Bi: Due to Renly non-stop singing praises to Margaery's beauty and skills, Jon concludes he's bi and in relationship with both the youngest Tyrells.
Secret Relationship: As Westeros is a deeply homophobic society, Renly has to keep his affair with Loras low-key.
Strong Family Resemblance: The reason why Gendry is easily pegged as the King's bastard? He's almost identical to Renly.
Transparent Closet: Jon quickly understands Renly is homosexual and in a relationship with Loras, courtesy of the way they look at each other.

Selyse Baratheon

Lady Selyse Baratheon née Florent

Death by Adaptation: For both the books and the show.
Dying as Yourself: Valerica offered to "cure" her fatal injury. However, Selyse could guess vampirism wasn't something she ought to want and waived the opportunity.
Excellent Judge of Character: Selyse barely veils her contempt for Littlefinger and refuses to give the Lannisters an opportunity to sink their teeth in Shireen.
Face Death with Dignity: Selyse knows her wounds are fatal but she will not let her daughter see her being afraid. Instead she calmly says her goodbyes and asks Valerica to Mercy Kill her to keep the Lannisters from interrogating her.
Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Gender inversion. She disapproves Shireen reading about mermaids, as she thinks her daughter ought to focus on her studies and prayers.
Grande Dame: Every time she appears in the narration, she's talking down her nose to everyone.
I Will Only Slow You Down: After taking a sword to the belly, Selyse understands she can't be moved without bleeding out and urges her daughter to flee King's Landing without her.
Killed Off for Real: Selyse is fatally wounded during Cersei's coup and killed by Valerica to spare her from interrogation.
Mama Bear: She flatly rejected the Queen for trying to manipulate her preteen daughter into a betrothal.
Mercy Kill: Valerica snaps her neck to make sure the Lannisters can't interrogate her before she dies from her wounds.
Parents as People: She talks harshly to her mourning daughter but on the other side, she's fighting teeth and nails to protect Shireen's inheritance from the likes of Littlefinger and the Lannisters.
- She acknowledges she wasn't the best mother to Shireen as she lies dying and regrets not doing better.
Take Care of the Kids: She commands Davos Seaworth to watch over Shireen after being fatally injured.
Together in Death: Might be implied as Selyse says she will now be by her Lord's side – without specifying if she means Stannis or the Lord of Light.

The Kingsguard

Jaime Lannister

Ser Jaime Lannister

The Kingslayer

Domestic Abuse: The way he submits to Cersei and desperately tries to keep her from blowing up at him is eerily reminiscent of gaslighting.
Dumb Blonde: He's not really interested in anything unrelated to fighting and it shows in his political incompetence.
Entertainingly Wrong: He actually correctly guessed that Jon Snow was Ned Stark's nephew instead of his son, but he's so enamoured by the idea of the very gifted Jon being related to his idol and comrade ser Arthur Dayne that he concludes Jon was sired on Ashara Dayne by Brandon Stark.
Everyone Has Standards: After learning Joffrey killed two maids on a whim, Jaime is completely aghast to see the teen is shaping up to become another Aerys and grimly resigns himself to kill Joffrey before he goes too far.
Glorified Sperm Donor: His interactions with his children by Cersei are very limited. Regarding Joffrey, it's perfectly understandable. Still, he worries enough about Tommen neglecting his martial training to send Jon to talk the boy around. When Tommen dies, he finds himself genuinely grieving for the boy.
Odd Friendship: He's a Lannister, the man who killed Jon's paternal grandfather, and yet the youth is perfectly okay with talking to Jaime and sparring.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He hates being called "Kingslayer", which makes his willingness to do worse by killing Joffrey (kinslaying) quite a shock.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: He understands how out of character it would be for the very tightlaced and stubbornly honourable Ned to actually have an affair, so it would be more likely for Jon to be his nephew than his bastard son. However, Jaime's own preconceptions about Jon's gift for swords and fondness for his late comrade lead him to point at the wrong sibling.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: After being on the frontlines of Robert's Rebellion, he firmly believes War Is Hell and desperately tries to steer Cersei away from unleashing a Civil War in her hunger for retribution against her perceived foes.
Shipper on Deck: He's rather taken in by his father's plan to marry his bastard cousin Joy Hill to Jon Whitewolf, feeling the girl deserves a husband who will be kind to her.
You Killed My Father: Averted, Jon is indifferent to the fact Jaime killed his paternal grandfather (who completely deserved it).

Barristan Selmy

Ser Barristan Selmy

Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, the Brave

Don't Call Me "Sir": Literally. After leaving King's Landing out of disdain for the current royal family, he has implicitly renounced his knighthood and as such wants to be merely called Barristan.
Intergenerational Friendship: He was old enough to be Rhaegar's father, and still feels a deep fondness towards the Silver Prince (even if he cannot openly show it). He later grows to enjoy spending time with Jon – Rhaegar's son.
Nice Guy: Quite affable and polite for a member of the royal delegation.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Cersei relieves him of his position as Kingsguard, he joins Jon.
Secret Secret-Keeper: The narration suggests he's aware of Jon's royal parentage and is keeping quiet out of fondness for the dynasty he formerly served.
Spotting the Thread: He's suddenly quite interested by Jon's features after hearing him singing.
Tell Me About My Father: He offers Jon to speak about Rhaegar, as the old knight was a friend of the Silver Prince and likely the only person to remember the man as more than a caricature.
You Remind Me of X: It's hinted he can see Rhaegar through Jon when the youth is singing or going plainclothes to do charity.

Courtiers

Jon Arryn

Lord Jon Arryn

Hand of the King, Lord Paramount of the Vale, Warden of the East, Defender of the Vale

Blood from the Mouth: He started to have this in the latest weeks, as a sign he won't live much longer.
Dies Differently in Adaptation: His death in canon is due to being poisoned by his wife, Lysa Tully. Here, while he is still poisoned, he's ultimately killed by being implaed In the Back via Gregor Clegane on Cersei's orders.
Feeling Their Age: He outright tells Ned he's tired and weary from being sick and old.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: How he's killed by the Mountain – impaled on a sword longer than most women are tall.
Innocent Blue Eyes: Jon Arryn is a genuinely affable man, for a Westerosi politician.
Killed Off for Real: Jon is killed by the Mountain during Cersei's coup.
Nice to the Waiter: The Red Keep's staff trusted him enough to complain about Joffrey and is worried to see him falling ill.
Parental Substitute: He loves Ned and Robert as his own children, and is loved by them in turn.
Scatterbrained Senior: Robert deplores the fact he's becoming that. However, it verges on Informed Attribute as he's still deeply aware of the political context and almost guessed the Family Relationship Switcheroo Ned pulled on Westeros.
Secret Secret-Keeper: He outright tells Ned how strange it is for his so-called bastard to actually be a Chocolate Baby, shows himself rather interested by Jon's eyes and the way he advices the youth to be careful is rather ambiguous, hinting he unraveled the Family Relationship Switcheroo.
Shipper on Deck: Inverted. He outright begs Ned to not condemn his daughter Sansa to become Joffrey's bride, telling him to find anyone else or to give Sansa to the Faith instead.
Spared by the Adaptation: Downplayed. Yes, he's still alive when the Starks come at King's Landing, but he definitely has a foot in the grave and as such his demise will come sooner than later.
- Ends up being averted during the coup in King's Landing.

Petyr Baelish

Lord Petyr Baelish

The Master of Coin, Lord of Fingers, Littlefinger

Abhorrent Admirer: Ned really doesn't like how much he pays attention to Sansa.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He presents himself as a likable fellow to Jon, but keeps calling him by his bastard name and blatantly seeks to manipulate him.
Evil Counterpart: Just like Jon, he's a Self-Made Man. But where Jon built his wealth and notoriety by helping people, gaining a whole country's love and admiration, Baelish made his name by exploiting people, and is despised to the point Renly jokes he can't even buy a friend.
No Sense of Personal Space: Jon feels rather uneasy about the degree of casualness his friendly claps involve.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Cersei mentions he managed to escape King's Landing in the confusion of the coup.
Self-Proclaimed Love Interest: He introduces himself to the Stark girls as a very good childhood friend of their mother. Which they find quite weird as Lady Stark never mentioned him once.
You Remind Me of X: Jon compares him to Thane Erikur – whom he hates for being a slimy, self-serving waste of a human being, so yep, that's very much unflattering.

Varys

Lord Varys

The Master of Whispers, the Spider

Cryptic Conversation: Loves to have those with people, though in some cases it's warranted – there are dangerous things that should not be discussed openly, after all.
Even Evil Has Standards: It's implied that for all his somewhat amoral plotting even he was disturbed by the brutality of Rhaenys' murder.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: More morally ambiguous than evil, but Varys is so used to playing the Game of Thrones that he cannot escape the mindframe it provides him. He already pegged Jon as the perfect prince to rule over Westeros, is already planning his ascension to the Iron Throne, and cannot imagine this perfect candidate refusing the crown because he's not interested.
Hidden Depths: Varys is shown to be genuinely mourning for Aegon – implied to be the son of Illyrio and a fake in this story.
Kingmaker Scenario: Poised himself to be this. After examinating several candidates, he settles on Jon as his ideal ruler and starts preparing the stage with small things such as drafting fake documents establishing the child of Lyanna and Rhaegar as trueborn.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Although he's not much of a hero, he does seek the greater good for the kingdom, and as such regrets having stoked the flames of Aerys Targaryen's paranoia, which ultimately contributed to Robert's Rebellion.
Pet the Dog: He genuinely mourned the loss of the fake Aegon as his friend Illyrio had just lost his infant son.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Cersei mentions he managed to escape King's Landing in the confusion of the coup.
Spotting the Thread: Downplayed as he already knew – or strongly suspected – Jon wasn't Ned's bastard, but hearing the boy sing and closely looking at his features truly convinced that yes, he is the last living child of Rhaegar.
Stealth Hi/Bye: Varys keeps showing up in places without any indication how he got there – probably by using Maegor's secret passages.
Xanatos Speed Chess: He's very good for rolling with the flow, settling on Jon Whitewolf as the best possible claimant to the throne after rejecting several other possibilities.

The Westerlands

Tywin Lannister

Lord Tywin Lannister

Lord Paramount of the Westerlands, Warden of the West, Shield of Lannisport

Affably Evil: He's rightly responsible for the death of Jon's parents (even if he didn't directly do it), yet he's also very respectful towards Jon, even shutting down his grandson when he tries to badmouth him.
Alas, Poor Villain: His death elicits a moment of sympathy, with his final thought being that he couldn't fulfil his wife's Last Request (which the ongoing events implies was for him to take care of Tyrion).
Control Freak: He can't stand to let anyone with ties to Casterly Rock escape his influence, even the little bastard girl his brother sired.
Dies Differently in Adaptation: In canon, he was shot by Tyrion with a crossbow, while here he is stabbed by Cersei with a letter opener during her coup.
Didn't See That Coming: Much like his fate in the books, he didn't anticipate that one of his own children would be willing to kill him. Only difference here is that it's at the hands of Cersei, not Tyrion.
The Dreaded: All of Westeros considers him as this. Even the Dragonborn can't help but feel on the edge when he first meets him.
Even Evil Has Standards: Learning that his eldest grandson started to entertain himself by murdering maids, Tywin gave Cersei an ultimatum: either Joffrey cleans his act up, or he's going to be disinherited (with a Implied Death Threat thrown in). The time limit is now growing close, and Tywin is grimly bent on upholding his part of the terms.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He's so used to think as a politician that it ultimately backfires on him when he tries to gain Jon Whitewolf as an ally. From Tywin's viewpoint, allying with the powerful, famed Lannister bloodline would be nothing but a boon for a young, ambitious man, but Jon wants nothing to do with Tywin since the man's ruthlessness disgusts him and he already has everything he could wish for.
Evil Cripple: He's mentioned to use a walking cane, probably due to his old age.
Evil Uncle: He doesn't really mistreat his bastard niece Joy, but he certainly resents his brother Gerion acknowledging the girl, supports her more out of pride than real affection and won't hesitate to use her as a pawn to secure an advantageous alliance.
Gold Digger: He wants to bring Jon to his side since he heard the youth was independantly wealthy and connected to the East Trade Company, two things that could help to revitalize Casterly Rock.
Greater-Scope Villain: Jon hates the Old Lion for being responsible of his half-siblings and stepmother's ignominious demise. The fact that he's killed by Cersei during the coup puts a stopper to him.
I Gave My Word:
- He gave Cersei two years to shape Joffrey into a better man or he'll be disinherited. Six months to the deadline, and Cersei has done the exact opposite, and Tywin strongly implies that the only reason he hasn't already done what he said he'll do is because he gave his word.
- His final thoughts imply he also promised his wife Joanna that he would take care of Tyrion, leading him to bitterly bemoan his failure to do so.
Impoverished Patrician: Casterly Rock's mines are completely dried, so the Lannister fortune is slated to run out – probably very soon, as Cersei's marriage isn't a model of frugality. That's why Tywin wants so badly to convince the now wealthy Jon to associate with him.
Jerkass Has a Point: He mercilessly rips into Cersei for being unable to rein Joffrey in and utterly botching any chance to gain a foothold on Dragonstone by antagonizing Shireen Baratheon.
The Mourning After: Valerica very pointedly notes how long it's been since Tywin's beloved wife Joanna's demise, and yet he still can't bring himself to remarry.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: His hatred of Tyrion is very well known. The fact that he actually internally admits to himself that he's the most competent of his children here is a sign of how much trouble the Lannister family could be in.
Properly Paranoid: He refused to believe Doran Martell was ready to forgive his sister's gruesome murder, as the man likely was cooking some revenge in order to make his hot-blooded brother settle instead of going on a rampage.
Shipper with an Agenda: He's ready to sell his niece Joy Hill's hand in marriage as long as the groom can bring sorely needed money and connections to the Lannisters.
Surrounded by Idiots: He's pissed off by his children's utter political incompetence and refusal to shape up.
Villain Respect: He's quite impressed by Jon gaining wealth and notoriety in another country in spite of the deck stacked against him.

Tyrion Lannister

The Imp

The Alcoholic: Praises his man Bronn for saving his liquor before his life, and immediately makes friends with Jon when the youth gifts him brandy.
Commonality Connection: He rather enjoyed his discussion with Jon, bonding with the youth over their outcast status, books, and alcohol.
Demoted to Extra: So far, he's made few appearances within the story.
Frame-Up: Cersei frames him for Tywin and Joffrey's murders.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Cersei attempts to murder him, he immediately grabs his things and leaves the city with Bronn.
Throw the Dog a Bone: After the insanity at King's Landing and being fished up by people who have very good reasons to hate his guts, Tyrion get's two bones thrown his way: getting to see Jon's newly hatched dragons – something he had always wanted to do – and being reunited with his beloved niece Myrcella.

The Reach

Olenna Tyrell

Lady Olenna Tyrell née Redwyne

The Queen of Thorns

Actually Pretty Funny: Olenna bursts out laughing when she hears that Sam punched his father in the face to get him to take their family and leave King's Landing.
Apron Matron: The true and undisputed ruler of the Tyrell clan.
Brutal Honesty: She refuses to mince her words.
Doting Grandparent: Under her haughtiness, Olenna truly adores her family and is dismayed to see how badly her granddaughter was injured in the coup.
Everyone Has Standards: Olenna hasn't much in the way of kindness, but even she calls Randyll Tarly a thorough jackass.
Expert Consultant: Apparently, she tries to find these for any task she focuses on - she even had plans to consult a prostitute when Margaery is wed to know the best position for conception and pleasing a man, something Margaery did not want to know.
Manipulative Bitch: Very well-versed in the courtly games. She offers to help Jon in exchange of a favour from his part. Jon leaves feeling like he just had a meeting with Clavicus Vile.
Screw Politeness, I'm A Senior!: Olenna is very blunt and direct.
Villain Respect: Downplayed as she's more callous than truly antagonistic. She's amused when Jon snarks at her, praising him for not being a brainless wimp and encouraging Margaery to dance with him.

Mace Tyrell

Lord Mace Tyrell

Lord Paramount of Reach, Warden of the South, Defender of Mander

Big Fun: A replete lord with a jolly personality.
Doting Parent: Dumb as he might be, he genuinely cares for Loras and is extremely relieved to see his son escaped whole and alive from The Mountain that Rides' wrath. He's also horrified when Margaery is disfigured and maimed in the coup.
Papa Wolf: He swears Cersei will rue the day her greed for power caused injury to his daughter Margaery, and he means it.
Puppet King: To his own mother, no less. Though downplayed, since he can easily override her decisions if he wants.

Alerie Tyrell

Lady Alerie Tyrell née Hightower

I Owe You My Life: She expresses her relief and gratefulness to Jon for rescuing her son Loras' life.
Proper Lady: She looks every inch the part, dignified yet motherly.

Loras Tyrell

Ser Loras Tyrell

The Knight of Flowers

Agent Peacock: A skilled knight who's rather flamingly camp and very enamored with his male partner.
Beauty Is Never Tarnished: His hair is still perfect even after wearing his helmet and falling into the mud, to Jon's utter annoyance.
Entertainingly Wrong: He delicately inquires about Jon's mother possibly being a Tyrell when he notes the youth's wrist bears a tattooed rose. Jon ruefully explains the tatoo actually is a reminder of quite the drunken night.
I Owe You My Life: He's suitably effusive in his thanks when Jon, Enzo, and Sandor Clegane prevent the Mountain from stomping him into red paste.
Secret Relationship: As he cannot publically declare he's in a relationship with Renly Baratheon, he's forced to feign interest for noble ladies.
Transparent Closet: Jon quickly guesses his sexual preferences after meeting him, since he looks at Renly in a very significative way.

Margaery Tyrell

Lady Margaery Tyrell

Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted when she loses an eye in Cersei's coup, leaving her with an empty socket and very ugly scarring. Jon compares her face to a porcelain cracked mask, and she almost cries when she first looks at herself in the mirror.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Cersei calls her a snake disguised as a rose. She's far from impartial, but on the other side, Margaery has been raised by the Queen of Thorns.
Eye Scream: Loses an eye when a Lannister guard slashes her face with a sword during Cersei's coup.
Identical Stranger: Subverted. Renly tried to give Robert an interest in her by claiming she looked like Lyanna, but Ned confirms the only likeness they shared was dark hair.
Lovable Alpha Bitch: She appears well-versed in the courtly doublespeak and games. However, she seems to genuinely enjoy Jon's company.
Meal Ticket: Tywin seriously considers betrothing Joffrey to her in order to use the Tyrell fortune to wipe the crown's debts clean.

Sam Tarly

Samwell Tarly

Sam

Berserk Button: Don't you dare damage a book in front of Sam, even if you're the Dragonborn!
Commonality Connection: He meets Jon in the royal library, and they quickly bond over their bookworm tendences.
Cowardly Lion: He's the first to confess he's far from the martial ideal. He still immediately jumps into a fight to protect Shireen Baratheon.
Hidden Depths: Sam shows a surprising amount of spine where his family's safety is concerned and he managed to convince his family to leave the King's Landing before the coup started. He also races to help defend Shireen from the Lannisters – much to Valerica's exasperation.
Jock Dad, Nerd Son: Such an extreme case that Randyll Tarly outright seeks to disown him because Sam isn't martial enough for his tastes.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: What convinced Randyll that Sam was serious about them needing to leave King's Landing now? Sam punching him in the face.
Stress Vomit: His reaction when Jon flash-cooks several Lannister flunkies right in front of him. It's rather hard to blame him.
Throw the Dog a Bone: After hearing of his awful father, Jon outright decides to bring Sam with him to Tamriel.
- His father actually agrees that it's a good idea and even gives him some funds to be able to settle there comfortably.

Posthumous Characters

Rhaegar Targaryen

Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen

Prince of Dragonstone, the Silver Prince, the Last Dragon

Amazon Chaser: Lyanna disguising herself as the Knight of the Laughing Tree impressed him to the point he started a correspondance with her, leading them to fall in love.
Antagonistic Offspring: He intended for Harrenhal to hide a plot aiming to chase his dear demented dad from the Iron Throne. One wish he would have succeeded.
Elegant Classical Musician: He had a Beautiful Singing Voice and a preference for sad songs.
Family Eye Resemblance: The narration implies his youngest son inherited his dark indigo eye color, but Jon's black hair disguises the shade as a more bog-standard black.
Lineage Comes from the Father: Zigzagged; his blood relation to Jon certainly holds a lot of importance for the boy, but Jon being Lyanna's child is no less important.
Love Ruins the Realm: Just look what his affair with Lyanna brought to the Targaryen bloodline and Westeros as a whole.
Luke, I Am Your Father: The actual father of Jon, born Jaehaerys Targaryen.
Magnetic Hero: Still insanely popular in spite of his death and Robert Baratheon launching a smear campaign against him for almost two decades. Varys considers Jon Whitewolf as a serious contender for the crown merely on the grounds he's Rhaegar's last living child.
Marry Them All: He decided to resurrect the Targaryen tradition of polygamy in order to wed Lyanna without spurning Elia.
Obnoxious In-Laws: Ned really, really is unhappy with the fact Rhaegar swept his sister Lyanna off her feet and sired his nephew Jon.
Pretty Boy: The Seven Kingdoms unanimously ackowledged Rhaegar as prettier than his own wife.
Strong Family Resemblance: His preternatural beauty was inherited by his son.
Unperson: What Ned Stark tried to do to him – as he blamed Rhaegar for the whole mess that Robert's Rebellion was, the Northern Lord decided the Prince would have no place whatsoever in his son's life. To this end, Ned was ready to lie and claim he had slept with Ashara Dayne in order to indefinitely conceal the truth.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He just wanted to rescue an unhappy lady from an unwanted betrothal but only succedeed in unleashing a war that almost entirely wiped his family away.
Wanted a Son Instead: An inversion, one of Lyanna's letters mentions he's certain his third child is going to be a daughter. However, he died before learning the gender.

Elia Martell

Princess Elia Nymeros Martell

Good Stepmother: She was giddy over the perspective of Lyanna falling pregnant and giving her own children a baby sibling. Her death obviously prevented her from playing a role in Jon's raising, but the youth still cares about her and desires to avenge her death.
I Just Want to Have Friends: Elia wasn't happy in King's Landing's Decadent Court and longed for someone she could trust. She believed Lyanna would be the companion she craved.
Irony: Wrote Lyanna that their names would go into history books. If only the poor princess had known in which circumstances...
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: She encouraged Rhaegar to pursue Lyanna as she felt she would die soon anyway and wanted for her husband to find a Second Love and for her children to not stay motherless.
Nice Gal: Her reaction to her husband falling in love with another woman? She immediately embraces Lyanna as part of her family.
Not So Above It All: For all her kindness and tolerant nature, Elia still considered the Yronwoods as "bitter fucks" and discreetly gloated she had her brothers wrapped around her finger.
Politically-Active Princess: Elia willingly involved herself into her husband's affair, as she considered a Stark for princess consort was much safer for her family than Cersei Lannister, and tried to smooth the Martell reaction by formally acknowledging Lyanna as her sister-wife.

Lyanna Stark

Lady Lyanna Stark

Knight of the Laughing Tree

Action Girl: She avenged Howland Reed by disguising herself as the Knight of the Laughing Tree and dishing some ass-whooping on the dudes who assaulted her father's bannerman.
Cool Big Sis: Benjen certainly considered her as such. On her side, she loved Benjen enough to briefly consider naming her unborn son after him.
Death by Childbirth: A cruelly protracted one.
Despair Event Horizon: Her last letter – adressed to her unborn son – clearly shows she dove headfirst in this after losing her husband, her sister-wife, her stepchildren, her father and oldest brother, unwittingly caused a war and learnt she would probably die to birth her child.
Dying Declaration of Love: Her last letter is adressed to her unborn son, berating herself for her responsibility in the war and begging Jon's forgiveness while assuring him he was wanted and cherished by his three parents: Rhaegar, Lyanna and Elia.
It's All My Fault: She ultimately blamed herself on her deathbed for kickstarting the war that took the lives of almost everyone she loved and cherished.
The Lost Lenore: Ned is still haunted by his promise to care for her son, while Robert won't stop mourning her as his "lost One True love".
Marry for Love: She was engaged to wed Robert but decided she would rather have Rhaegar. It cost her everything, even her life.
Mysterious Parent: Jon wondered about her identity until he was fourteen years old and learned her name.
Runaway Bride: It had tragic consequences.

Miraak

Enemy Within: His soul being consumed by Jon doesn't stop Miraak from manifesting as a psychic remnant intent on corrupting the young man.
Hero's Evil Predecessor: As the First Dragonborn, he was this to every one coming after, but more notably to Jon.
Kick the Dog: Reminding Jon that his paternal grandfather was Axe-Crazy and as such, genetics are against him keeping his sanity.
Terms of Endangerment: He calls Jon his "little brother". Coming from the bloodthirsty conqueror who sold himself to a Daedric Prince, this is understandably a relationship that Jon doesn't want.
You Can't Fight Fate: His voice enjoys taunting Jon with the prospect of losing his mind – after all, Miraak did become a monster, Jon's grandfather Aerys did become a monster too, so it doesn't bode too well for the youth...

Supernatural Beings

The Daedric Princes of Oblivion

Eldritch Abomination: Ancient beings who didn't took part in the creation of the existing world, with mindsets beyond mortal comprehension, practically immortal and armed to the metaphorical teeth with powers that make the existing world turn upside down in agony.

Characters / A Dovahkiin Spreads His Wings

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