History EnsembleDarkhorse / ASongOfIceAndFire

** For that matter, his daughter Shireen is also well-like for being essentially her father without all the bad qualities: an IronWoobie WideEyeIdealist princess that loves her family and manages to melt the base's heart in every single scenes she appeared.

** Prince Oberyn Martell in particular manages this, [[spoiler:despite the fact that he ''dies'' in the same book he's introduced]], due in large part to his colorful backstory and witty banter with Tyrion. His badass duel with the Mountain definitely helped, since even though it got him killed, Gregor died far more painfully.]]

* Sandor Clegane and Bronn, though not necessarily ''more'' popular than the main characters, are indeed unexpectedly popular. Despite being the biggest definition of a JerkassWoobie (and we do mean {{Jerkass}}) Sandor's sympathetic backstory and moments of kindness definitely help him, as well as being a prime {{Badass}}. Bronn is immediately solidified as a {{Badass}} by killing an armored knight in single combat despite being lightly armored himself and provided good humor while he's partnered with Tyrion. Then there's his continual rise in power; though modest compared to say, Littlefinger, it's very impressive (and amusing when he continues to be a thorn in Cersei's side).

** Prince Oberyn Martell in particular manages this, [[spoiler:despite the fact that he ''dies'' in the same book he's introduced]], due in large part to his colorful backstory and witty banter with Tyrion. His [[spoiler:{{Badass}} duel with the Mountain definitely helped, since even though it got him killed, Gregor died far more painfully.]]

* Septon Meribald, a peasant soldier turned preacher, is well liked for explaining the effects of war on the peasantry, especially his "Broken Men" speech where he tells Brienne and Podrick how peasant soldiers end up as outlaws after being taken from their homes by their lords to fight in their wars and resorting to banditry to survive after they're abandoned with no hope of getting back home.

** Arianne Martell reached this status due to an embodiment of female empowerment and being a foil to Cersei Lannister for realizing her flaws. Because of her absence and her storyline completely altered to Ellaria’s RevengeBeforeReason in the show, many fans and TV critics believe that her presence could have made the Dorne arc much better than [[IdiotPlot what the show presented]]. It helps that George R.R. Martin released another preview chapter for the upcoming sixth book two weeks after the controversial change in the Dorne arc in Season 6 premiere which many find Arianne to be a better character to represent the Dornish POV rather than Ellaria and the Sand Snakes.
* Asha Greyjoy, partially due to her ActionGirl appeal, partially due to utterly {{Troll}}ing the then-[[TheScrappy disliked]] Theon, and partially due to being one of the few ironmen that isn't StupidEvil..

* Sandor Clegane and Bronn, though not necessarily ''more'' popular than the main characters, are indeed unexpectedly popular. Despite being the biggest definition of a JerkassWoobie (and we do mean {{Jerkass}}) Sandor's sympathetic backstory and moments of kindness definitely help him, as well as being a prime {{Badass}}. Bronn is immediately solidified as a {{Badass}} by killing an armored knight in single combat despite being lightly armored himself and provided good humor while he's partnered with Tyrion. Then there's his continual rise in power, though modest compared to say, Littlefinger, it's very impressive (and amusing when he continues to be a thorn in Cersei's side).

* Hodor Hodor Hodor. GentleGiant - possibly the nicest in the series - , and also very powerful, what's not to love?

* Sandor Clegane and Bronn, though not necessarily ''more'' popular than the main characters, are indeed unexpectedly popular.

** Prince Oberyn Martell in particular manages this, [[spoiler:despite the fact that he ''dies'' in the same book he's introduced]], due in large part to his colorful backstory and witty banter with Tyrion.

* Asha Greyjoy, partially due to her ActionGirl appeal.
* Syrio Forel and Jaqen H'ghar to the point that [[spoiler:some readers insist that they're the same person]].
* Dolorous Edd, a tertiary character who counts with a facebook fan page
* Wyman Manderly earned this status [[BestServedCold in]] [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies grand]] [[ImAHumanitarian style]] in ''A Dance with Dragons''.
* Hodor Hodor Hodor.

** Ashara Dayne only gets a few mentions but is still very well-liked. [[spoiler: A popular fan theory is that she's actually alive and has been living in exile as Septa Lemore]].
** Like his sister, [[LongDeadBadass Ser Arthur Dayne]] is very popular, Ned describing them as the greatest of the Kingsguard and respecting them even though they almost killed him.

** [[AmazonBrigade The Sand Snakes]] also get a lot of love, particularly for being the {{Badass}} daughters of the fan-favorite Oberyn.

* Rolland Storm, [[HeroicBastard the Bastard of Nightsong]], oddly enough for a character whose most badass feats happen off page. However he helps save Stannis at the Blackwater, is a devout worshiper of the Warrior despite the influence of the Queen's Men, and helps Davos smuggle Edric off Dragonstone. [[spoiler:Despite Dragonstone falling while he was its castellan, we hear the Tyrells suffered heavy losses and its still unknown what happened to Rolland. Many fans are hoping he somehow escaped and will eventually claim Nightsong from the guy who killed his brother.]]

* Wyman Manderly earned this status in [[BestServedCold grand]] [[ImAHumanitarian style]] in ''A Dance with Dragons''.

* Prince Oberyn Martell also manages this, [[spoiler:despite the fact that he ''dies'' in the same book he's introduced]], due in large part to his colorful backstory and witty banter with Tyrion.

** House Martell in general is very popular in the fandom, rivaling fan favorites like the Starks and Targaryens in popularity.

* Rodrik Harlaw, for being a bookworm among a society which disdains literacy, for being one of the most intelligent characters in the series who sees the true cost of war, and speaking back to [[EvilOverlord Euron Greyjoy]] despite knowing how dangerous they are, and helping his niece Asha escape Euron. Especially prominent as the Ironborn are in general quite disliked among the fandom, though Rodrik knows how impractical their culture is in trying to base itself on piracy.

* Rodrik Harlaw, for being a bookworm among a society which disdains literacy, for being one of the most intelligent characters in the series who sees the true cost of war, and speaking back to [[EvilOverlord Euron Greyjoy]] despite knowing how dangerous they are. Especially prominent as the Ironborn are in general quite disliked among the fandom, Rodrik knowing how impractical their culture is in trying to base itself on piracy.

** In a series where nobody ever seems to make the right decision, Stannis is known for listening to well-liked characters who function as his voice of reason, such as Davos, Jon Snow and Asha Greyjoy, and admitting when he made mistakes.
* Bloodraven also has a good deal of fan-following, right from his background mentions in "[[Literature/TalesOfDunkAndEgg The Sworn Sword]]" but his [[spoiler:appearance in ''A Dance With Dragons'' as a Humanoid Abomination]] made him one of the most speculated and interesting figures in the series.

** Like his sister, [[LongDeadBadass Ser Arthur Dayne]] is very popular.
** Lyanna Stark, Ned's late sister, is almost universally adored for being a spirited, rebellious tomboy.

* Rodrik Harlaw, for being a bookworm among a society which disdains literacy, for being one of the most intelligent characters in the series who sees the true cost of war, and speaking back to [[EvilOverlord Euron Greyjoy]] despite knowing how dangerous they are. Especially prominent as the Ironborn are in general quite disliked among the fandom, Rodrik knowing how bad their culture is.

** In a series where nobody ever seems to make the right decision, Stannis is known for listening to well-liked characters who function as his voice of reason, such as Davos, Jon Snow and Asha Greyjoy.

* Dacey Mormont, who, despite having relatively little screentime and a paragraph's worth of dialogue in ''A Storm of Swords'', gets a lot of fan love for her ActionGirl status as a Mormont and for her UndyingLoyalty to Robb Stark. [[spoiler: Possibly also in sympathy for her being rejected for a dance and her subsequent brutal death at the hands of Freys in the Red Wedding.]]

** Lyanna Stark, Ned's late sister, is almost universally adored for being a spirited, rebellious tomboy.

* [[PunchClockVillain Steelshanks Walton]] also has a few fans.

* Ashara Dayne only gets a few mentions but is still very well-liked. [[spoiler: A popular fan theory is that she's actually alive and has been living in exile as Septa Lemore]].

* Roose and Ramsay Bolton are beloved by a part of the fandom for their FauxAffablyEvil antics and general subterfuge, in addition to the conflict between their two styles of villainy, Roose being the ultimate example of PragmaticVillainy and a high-functioning {{Sociopath}} and Ramsay being AxCrazy StupidEvil. House Bolton even has its own [[http://www.reddit.com/r/dreadfort subreddit]].

* Roose and Ramsay Bolton are beloved by a part of the fandom for their FauxAffablyEvil antics and general subterfuge. House Bolton even has its own [[http://www.reddit.com/r/dreadfort subreddit]].

* Ellaria Sand, Oberyn Martell's paramour, possibly due to her status as an EthicalSlut as well as being one of the few people to flag the fact that [[spoiler: perpetuating the cycle of revenge against the Lannisters is only going to make the crapsack situation in Westeros worse and won't bring Elia, Aegon, Rhaenys, or Oberyn back from the dead]].

* [[AmazonBrigade The Sand Snakes]] also get a lot of love, particularly for being the {{Badass}} daughters of the fan-favorite Oberyn.

* House Martell in general is very popular in the fandom, rivaling fan favorites like the Starks and Targaryens in popularity.

* House Blackwood has a few fans due to being one of the few Houses in the south to worship the Old Gods, having quite a [[BadassFamily few historical members of note]] and its [[spoiler: present lord being the last Stark holdout in the Riverlands to surrender after the Red Wedding.]]

* Littlefinger is wildly popular, despite being one of the most scheming and villainous characters in the series, and in many ways the BigBad of the story ([[BigBadEnsemble or one of, anyway]]). It helps that he's quite witty as well as described as stylish. More than one fan has even expressed a wish to see Littlefinger come out on top in the game of thrones.
* Sandor Clegane is also extremely popular despite his violent and morally gray behavior. He, on the other hand, is repeatedly described as hideously deformed. [[LampshadeHanging Even George R.R Martin himself doesn't quite get the appeal]].

* Roose and Ramsay Bolton are beloved by a part of the fandom for their FauxAffablyEvil antics and general subterfuge. House Bolton even has its own [[http://www.reddit.com/r/dreadfort subreddit]].