We ranked the remaining 'Game of Thrones' leaders by their abilities — here's how they're doing this week
HBO
Warning: "Game of Thrones" spoilers ahead.
Leadership skills can really come in handy in Westeros, especially when dealing with fighting siblings, snowy hiking trips, and anti-dragon ice javelins.
A few weeks ago, we ranked the "Game of Thrones" characters based on their leadership abilities. So here's an update, based on all that's happened in this season so far.
A few notes: This list counts only characters who are still alive on the show, not in the books. So keep in mind that a bunch of people have died recently.
Also, this list takes into consideration only people who could be counted as "leaders" — some characters who aren't currently in leadership roles aren't on here, like Arya Stark, Jorah Mormont, or Sandor Clegane. The same goes for anyone who is basically out of commission at this point.
Lastly, this ranking looks into characters' track records but heavily favors things that happened this season. This list examines leadership ability, not overall power, importance, or title.
Here are the leaders of "Game of Thrones" that have survived the season so far, ranked from worst to best:
9. Petyr Baelish
HBOSuccessful people aren't necessarily good leaders.
Just look at Littlefinger. He seems to be making some big moves within the dimly-lit halls of Winterfell, passing around knives, planting scrolls, and pitting the Stark girls against one another. So far, things seem to be going his way. Arya appears just about ready to add Sansa to her infamous list.
Lord Baelish doesn't have to demonstrate much in the way of leadership abilities — he prefers to fly solo. He is a chaotic force unto himself.
But, when it comes to the Starks, the lone wolf dies and the pack survives. We can only hope Littlefinger's solitary style will ultimately catch up with him. With winter ravaging the North and the army of the dead on the march, no one has time for his games anymore.
8. Brienne of Tarth
Helen Sloan/HBOBrienne brought up some excellent points when Sansa chose to send her away this week. Namely, Littlefinger can't be trusted.
You can tell this valiant knight has the best interests of the Stark girls in mind. Plus, she's confident in her abilities to guide and protect Sansa and Arya. Keeping a strong warrior like Brienne around could dissuade some of Baelish's mind games — or potentially break up the seemingly looming fight between Arya and Sansa.
Hopefully Brienne will get more time to demonstrate her leadership smarts in the finale.
7. Cersei Lannister
HBOCersei's had a good season, so far.
Sure, Jaime's army got burned to a crisp, but it looks like her adversaries are currently more interested in ice zombie-related diplomacy than fighting at the moment. Cersei seems content to play along for now, which is a smart move. She's already eliminated several of her enemies, after all.
Now that Cersei is pregnant, she has even more of a motivation to fight for the future. And you can bet she has some tricks up her sleeves for the finale.
However, as Tyrion aptly pointed out, this Queen only rules through fear. That might be an effective short-term strategy, but her ruthless style is sure to burn her kingdom out in the long term. Her ruthlessness and penchant for torture haven't endeared her to many allies, outside of Qyburn and Jaime.
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