History JerkassWoobie / GameOfThrones

* Viserys Targaryen is a complete dick to everyone around him, including his sister.
** However, the reason he's such a jerk is because he's lived his life as "The Beggar King," a royal outcast forced to mooch off of others and beg for help in winning a throne that he's been told is his birthright. It doesn't help when his sister acquires a position of prestige and authority, yet he remains a useless beggar.

* Robert is an obnoxious oaf most of the time, but deep down, his excesses are the way he overcompensates for the unwanted life he's living. The bloody King of Westeros complaining about his station in life really says something about the overall malaise of the characters. [[spoiler:And then it turns out in the Season 7 finale that [[TheLostLenore the woman he loved]] never loved him.]]
* Viserys is a complete dick to everyone around him, including his sister.

* Theon is a {{JerkAss}} in early seasons but he also takes hideous amounts of shit from all sides and can't find a place in which he truly belongs. He wants to be a Stark but he can't because he's a Greyjoy, and his own father doesn't consider him a true Greyjoy because he was raised by the Starks. [[spoiler:By the third season, he's a helpless torture victim and no longer has any ability to be a jerkass.]]

* It is hard not to feel a little bit sorry for Lancel Lannister after all the abuse Robert gives him.

* They're pretty hard to come by, but there are some fan circles who feel some sympathy for Joffrey, at the very least because he is very much [[RoyallyScrewedUp a product of his environment]]. Joffrey's actor, Jack Gleeson, even supported this interpretation to an extent. Between Robert's neglect of him, combined with [[MyBelovedSmother Cersei's]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone own]] [[HeelRealization admission]] of spoiling him and enabling his psychosis, and being the result of an incestuous affair, it's not hard to see why he behaves the way he does.

* Cersei Lannister. Okay, so she's an incestuous, arrogant bitch who's responsible for at least half the shit that happens in the story --
but between Lena Headey's amazing acting, a more SympatheticPOV for Cersei overall, and because [[TraumaCongaLine Cersei really]] ''[[TraumaCongaLine does]]'' [[TraumaCongaLine suffer for her actions]], it's hard not to feel sorry for her at times. It helps that she is [[AdaptationalHeroism generally a hell of a lot more sympathetic than her book counterpart]]:

* Lord Rickard Karstark is very rude and disrespectful towards his king Robb and Robb's mother Catelyn, who is the window of Karstark's liege lord. It is atrocious to murder two innocent boys just because they were Lannisters, but it's all because he's a father in deep mourning for his dead son who was killed by Jaime Lannister when Jaime unsuccessfully tried escaping from the North's detainment. Rickard is a grieving father driven by the need to avenge his murdered son and it's plainly clear he loved his son dearly.

* Cersei Lannister. Okay, so she's an incestuous, arrogant bitch who's responsible for at least half the shit that happens in the story but between Lena Headey's amazing acting, a more SympatheticPOV for Cersei overall, and because [[TraumaCongaLine Cersei really]] ''[[TraumaCongaLine does]]'' [[TraumaCongaLine suffer for her actions]], it's hard not to feel sorry for her at times. It helps that she is [[AdaptationalHeroism generally a hell of a lot more sympathetic than her book counterpart]]:

** [[spoiler:And then Joffrey dies in Cersei's arms, choking on his own blood and vomit; Cersei's father shows her precisely ''no'' sympathy whatsoever for the loss of her son, and Jaime forces her to have sex beside ''Joffrey's corpse.'' Yeah, Joffrey caused a pointless and expensive war but, from Cersei's point of view, it's hard not to feel sorry for her as a mother who loved him all the same -- especially since her children were her one soft spot.]]

* Olly receives a lot of hate from the fandom for his part in betraying and murdering Jon Snow and while stabbing his Lord Commander in the heart was horrendous, he was a teenager who had witnessed his entire village (casualties including his parents) brutally raided by a group of wildlings. After seeing Jon, who he looked up to as a BigBrotherMentor, ally with and save the wildlings, some of whom were a ''direct'' part of the attack on his home village in which his parents were killed, it's understandable why he became so angry and bitter.

* Robert is an obnoxious oaf most of the time, but deep down, his excesses are the way he overcompensates for the unwanted life he's living. The bloody King of Westeros complaining about his station in life really says something about the overall malaise of the characters. [[spoiler:And then it turns out in the Season 7 finale that the woman he loved never loved him.]]

** However, the reason he's such a jerk is because he's lived his life as "The Beggar King," a royal outcast forced to mooch off of others and beg for helping in winning a throne that he's been told is his birthright. It doesn't help when his sister acquires a position of prestige and authority, yet he remains a useless beggar.
** Another thing that's often overlooked is that he managed to get Daenerys to her wedding day healthy, unharmed, reasonably innocent and with her virginity intact -- a very impressive feat in the CrapsackWorld they inhabit -- which seems to suggest there's slightly more to him than just being an asshole.[[note]] In the books, it's confirmed that Viserys used to be much kinder to his little sister.[[/note]]

* Theon is a {{JerkAss}} in early seasons but he also takes hideous amounts of shit from all sides and can't find any place in which he truly belongs. He wants to be a Stark but he can't because he's a Greyjoy, and his own father doesn't consider him a true Greyjoy because he was raised by the Starks, Theon can't find a family in which he belongs. [[spoiler:By the third season, he's a helpless torture victim and no longer has any ability to be a jerkass.]]

** By the time when [[spoiler:her second child dies and she laments how she felt that giving life to someone as good as Myrcella makes her think she's not a monster]], you just want to cry with her.
** [[spoiler:Well, the sympathy for her '''finally''' vanishes after she kills her son's near and dear ones in order to save her own hide, including Margaery and Kevan, the ones who were steering him out of his PuppetKing tendencies, and effectively [[DrivenToSuicide driving him to suicide]] as well. While it's easy to understand why Cersei's crossed the DespairEventHorizon at that point, as Tommen ''did'' abandon her to her fate and nobody is going to mourn after the High Sparrow, the fact that Cersei decided to go ''homicidal'' in response and killed many innocent people crosses her off the "Woobie" list forever.]]

* Selyse Baratheon is an uncaring mother and a religious fanatic who supports human sacrifice. This is all because her sanity was shattered by a string of miscarriages that left her unable to produce a male heir. Ultimately she repents of her disregard for her daughter too late, and suffers terribly for it, [[spoiler: eventually ending up [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]]]].

* Theon, who's a bit of an asshole, but also takes hideous amounts of shit from all sides. [[spoiler:By the third season, he's a helpless torture victim and no longer has any ability to be a jerkass.]]
* Lord Rickard Karstark, who is very rude and disrespectful towards Robb (who's his king) and Robb's mother (his liege lord's widow). However, it's all because he's a father in deep mourning for his dead son, who was killed by Jaime Lannister in his unsuccessful escape from the North's detainment. He's a grieving father who simply wants vengeance for his murdered son and it's plainly clear he loved his son dearly.

* Cersei Lannister. Okay, so she's an incestuous, arrogant bitch who's responsible for at least half the shit that happens in the story. But between Lena Headey's amazing acting, a more SympatheticPOV overall and the fact that [[TraumaCongaLine she really]] ''[[TraumaCongaLine does]]'' [[TraumaCongaLine suffer for her actions]], it's hard not to feel sorry for her at times. It helps that she is [[AdaptationalHeroism generally a hell of a lot more sympathetic than her book counterpart]]:

* Olly receives hate from the fandom for his part in betraying and murdering Jon Snow and while stabbing his Lord Commander in the heart was horrendous, he was a teenager who had witnessed his entire village (casualties including his parents) brutally raided by a wildling group. After seeing Jon, who he looked up to as a BigBrotherMentor, ally with and save the wildlings, some of whom were a ''direct'' part of the attack on his home village in which his parents were killed, it's understandable why he became so angry and bitter.

* Lord Rickard Karstark, who is very rude and disrespectful towards Robb (who's his king) and his mother (his liege lord's widow). However, it's all because he's a father in deep mourning for his dead son, who was killed by Jaime Lannister in his unsuccessful escape from the North's detainment. He's a grieving father who simply wants vengeance for his murdered son and it's plainly clear he loved his son dearly.
* The fans that dislike Daenerys tend to see her as this. It's undeniable that her childhood and teenage years have not been nice, at all.

** Her HeelRealization scene where she acknowledges that Joffrey is awful and that [[MyGreatestFailure it's]] [[CreateYourOwnVillain all her]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone fault]] is especially powerful; even ''Tyrion'', smug as he is, tries to comfort her in his own way.
** [[spoiler:And then Joffrey dies in her arms, choking on his own blood and vomit, her father shows her precisely ''no'' sympathy whatsoever, and Jaime forces her to have sex beside ''Joffrey's corpse.'', to be fair Joffrey caused a pointless and expensive war but from Cersei's point of view its hard not to feel sorry for her.]]

* Olly, despite the hate he get's for betraying Jon Snow, has actually a valid excuse for it, as he had to witness his entire village (casualties including his parents) brutally raided by Wildlings. After seeing Jon, whom he looked up to as a BigBrotherMentor, ally with the Wildlings, even some of them who where a ''direct part of the attack'', it's easy to see why he became so angry and bitter, as he himself felt betrayed too. There is also a fact that he is (unlike the other mutineers) just a kid, who was nonetheless hanged along them.

* Robert is an obnoxious oaf most of the time, but deep down, his excesses are the way he overcompensates for the unwanted life he's living. The bloody King of Westeros complaining about his station in life really says something about the overall malaise of the characters.

** [[spoiler:And then Joffrey dies in her arms, choking on his own blood and vomit, her father shows her precisely ''no'' sympathy whatsoever, and Jaime forces her to have sex beside ''Joffrey's corpse.'', to be fair Joffrey was a CompleteMonster who caused a pointless and expensive war but from Cersei's point of view its hard not to feel sorry for her.]]

** [[spoiler:And then Joffrey dies in her arms, choking on his own blood and vomit, her father shows her precisely ''no'' sympathy whatsoever, and Jaime forces her to have sex beside ''Joffrey's corpse.'']]

* Viserys is a complete dick to everyone around him, including his sister. However, the reason he's such a jerk is because he's lived his life as "The Beggar King," a royal outcast forced to mooch off of others and beg for helping in winning a throne he's been told is his birthright. It doesn't help when his sister acquires a position of prestige and authority, yet he remains a useless beggar. Another thing that's often overlooked is that he managed to get Daenerys to her wedding day healthy, unharmed, reasonably innocent and with her virginity intact--a very impressive feat in the CrapsackWorld they inhabit--which seems to suggest there's slightly more to him than just being an asshole.[[note]] In the books, it's confirmed that Viserys used to be much kinder to his little sister.[[/note]]

* Sandor Clegane becomes this, especially when he confesses to Arya his painful memory of Gregor scarring him, telling her that the worst part of it was the fact that it was his own brother and his father covered it up simply because of his family ambitions and the fact that he literally has no one. Arya feels genuinely sympathetic toward him on hearing this.
* Selyse Baratheon is an uncaring mother and a religious fanatic who supports human sacrifice. This is all because her sanity was shattered by a string of miscarriages that left her unable to produce a male heir. Ultimately she repents of her disregard for her daughter too late, and suffers terribly for it.

* Cersei Lannister. Okay, so she's an incestuous, arrogant bitch who's responsible for at least half the shit that happens in the story. But between Lena Headey's amazing acting, a more SympatheticPOV overall and the fact that [[TraumaCongaLine she really DOES suffer for her actions]], it's hard not to feel sorry for her at times. Her HeelRealization scene where she acknowledges that Joffrey is awful and that [[MyGreatestFailure it's]] [[CreateYourOwnVillain all her]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone fault]] is especially powerful; even ''Tyrion'', smug as he is, tries to comfort her in his own way. [[spoiler:And then Joffrey dies in her arms choking on his own blood and vomit, her father shows her precisely ''no'' sympathy whatsoever, and Jaime forces her to have sex beside ''Joffrey's corpse.'']] It helps that she is [[AdaptationalHeroism generally a hell of a lot more sympathetic than her book counterpart.]] By the time when [[spoiler:her second child dies and she laments how she felt that giving life to someone as good as Myrcella makes her think she's not a monster]] you just want to cry with her.[[spoiler:Well, the sympathy for her '''finally''' vanishes after she kills her son's near and dear ones for saving her own hide, including Margaery and Kevan, the one who were steering him out of his PuppetKing tendencies, and effectively driving him to suicide as well. While it's easy to understand why Cersei's crossed DespairEventHorizon at that point, Tommen ''did'' abandon her to her fate and nobody is going to mourn after High Sparrow, the fact that Cersei decided to go ''homicidal'' in response and killed many innocent people, crosses her off the "Woobie" list forever.]]

* Possibly Lysa Arryn, as well. Despite all her AxCrazy and dangerous behaviour, and trying to kill her own niece, in the end she is just a pathetic and emotionally broken woman, desperate for a bit of affection, and being played like a fiddle by Littlefinger.

* Cersei Lannister. Okay, so she's an incestuous, arrogant bitch who's responsible for at least half the shit that happens in the story. But between Lena Headey's amazing acting, a more SympatheticPOV overall and the fact that [[TraumaCongaLine she really DOES suffer for her actions]], it's hard not to feel sorry for her at times. Her HeelRealization scene where she acknowledges that Joffrey is awful and that [[MyGreatestFailure it's]] [[CreateYourOwnVillain all her]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone fault]] is especially powerful; even ''Tyrion'', smug as he is, tries to comfort her in his own way. [[spoiler:And then Joffrey dies in her arms choking on his own blood and vomit, her father shows her precisely ''no'' sympathy whatsoever, and Jaime forces her to have sex beside ''Joffrey's corpse.'']] It helps that she is [[AdaptationalHeroism generally a hell of a lot more sympathetic than her book counterpart.]] By the time when [[spoiler:her second child dies and she laments how she felt that giving life to someone as good as Myrcella makes her think she's not a monster]] you just want to cry with her.[[spoiler:Well, the sympathy for her '''finally''' vanishes after she kills her son's near and dear ones for saving her own hide, including Margaery and Kevan, the one who were steering him out of his PuppetKing tendencies, and effectively driving him to suicide as well. While it's easy to understand why Cersei's crossed DespairEvenHorizon at that point, Tommen ''did'' abandon her to her fate and nobody is going to mourn after High Sparrow, the fact that Cersei decided to go ''homicidal'' in response and killed many innocent people, crosses her off the "Woobie" list forever.]]

* Cersei Lannister. Okay, so she's an incestuous, arrogant bitch who's responsible for at least half the shit that happens in the story. But between Lena Headey's amazing acting, a more SympatheticPOV overall and the fact that [[TraumaCongaLine she really DOES suffer for her actions]], it's hard not to feel sorry for her at times. Her HeelRealization scene where she acknowledges that Joffrey is a CompleteMonster and that [[MyGreatestFailure it's]] [[CreateYourOwnVillain all her]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone fault]] is especially powerful; even ''Tyrion'', smug as he is, tries to comfort her in his own way. [[spoiler:And then Joffrey dies in her arms choking on his own blood and vomit, her father shows her precisely ''no'' sympathy whatsoever, and Jaime forces her to have sex beside ''Joffrey's corpse.'']] It helps that she is [[AdaptationalHeroism generally a hell of a lot more sympathetic than her book counterpart.]] By the time when [[spoiler:her second child dies and she laments how she felt that giving life to someone as good as Myrcella makes her think she's not a monster]] you just want to cry with her.[[spoiler:Well, the sympathy for her '''finally''' vanishes after she kills her son's near and dear ones for saving her own hide, including Margaery and Kevan, the one who were steering him out of his PuppetKing tendencies, and effectively driving him to suicide as well. While it's easy to understand why Cersei's crossed DespairEvenHorizon at that point, Tommen ''did'' abandon her to her fate and nobody is going to mourn after High Sparrow, the fact that Cersei decided to go ''homicidal'' in response and killed many innocent people, crosses her off the "Woobie" list forever.]]

* Cersei Lannister. Okay, so she's an incestuous, arrogant bitch who's responsible for at least half the shit that happens in the story. But between Lena Headey's amazing acting, a more SympatheticPOV overall and the fact that [[TraumaCongaLine she really DOES suffer for her actions]], it's hard not to feel sorry for her at times. Her HeelRealization scene where she acknowledges that Joffrey is a CompleteMonster and that [[MyGreatestFailure it's]] [[CreateYourOwnVillain all her]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone fault]] is especially powerful; even ''Tyrion'', smug as he is, tries to comfort her in his own way. [[spoiler:And then Joffrey dies in her arms choking on his own blood and vomit, her father shows her precisely ''no'' sympathy whatsoever, and Jaime forces her to have sex beside ''Joffrey's corpse.'']] It helps that she is [[AdaptationalHeroism generally a hell of a lot more sympathetic than her book counterpart.]] By the time when [[spoiler:her second child dies and she laments how she felt that giving life to someone as good as Myrcella makes her think she's not a monster]] you just want to cry with her.[[spoiler:Well, the sympathy for her '''finally''' vanishes after she kills her son's near and dear ones for saving her own hide, including Margaery and Kevan, the one who were steering him out of his PuppetKing tendencies, and effectively killing him as well. She manages to top '''Walder Frey and her own eldest son''' in StupidEvil competition. One hopes Jaime to take action against her before everything goes out of hand.]]