20. Bronn (Jerome Flynn) on Game of Thrones 2013-2014 Rank: UNRANKED Bronn has always been on the edge of my top rankings. I very much enjoy his screen time on GoT, but there generally isn't much of it. Especially in the last couple of seasons when he was no longer Tyrion's bodyguard. Bronn's storyline this season involved being recruited by Jaime Lannister to help recover his niece (pronounced "daughter") in Dorne. Myrcella was promised to Trystane Martell. Since Trystane's uncle, Oberyn, was killed in King's Landing the previous season, Jaime and Cersei fear for Myrcella's life. Anyway, Bronn tags along with Jaime and has a fun series of adventures which mostly went fine for him. |
19. Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) on Game of Thrones 2013-2014 Rank: UNRANKED Poor Davos. He has been loyal to Stannis Baratheon for a while and was even named Hand (ironic considering Stannis did to his actual hand). Davos also became sort of a family member by befriending Stannis's daughter. This past season Stannis grew desperate in his battle for the throne and sacrificed his daughter to the God of Light. Soon after, his army was defeated in a battle against the Boltons at Winterfell and he was killed by Brienne of Tarth. Davos was sent to the Night's Watch prior to these events knowing something bad was about to happen. Now he has to face Melisandre who we blames for everything bad that has happened to Stannis. |
18. Jorah Mormont (Iain Glenn) on Game of Thrones 2013-2014 Rank: UNRANKED Like Davos, Jorah Mormont has been a mostly loyal HAND to his desired ruler to be. In the previous season, Jorah's past as a spy for Varys (spymaster under King Robert) caught up with him and Daenerys relieved him of his duties. He spent the season trying to win back her trust as he truly believes in (and loves) her. He eventually worked his way to Daenerys (with Tyrion Lannister) and proved he is still valuable to her. Unfortunately during his travels he became infected with Greyscale and is currently keeping it a secret. His time may be fleeting. |
17. Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) on Game of Thrones 2013-2014 Rank: UNRANKED The wildling Tormund was reluctant to trust Jon Snow in the previous season when Snow claimed to be on the Wildlings' side. Then Snow did in fact turn on the Wildlings and captured Tormund and his people. It has been Jon Snow's intention however to strike a deal with the Wildlings and align against the White Walkers. Reluctantly, Tormund agreed and he brought Snow (now the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch) north of the wall to rally the Wildlings for their cause. Tormund is an intimidating force and proved helpful in Jon's cause. |
16. Rumpelstiltsken/Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) on Once Upon a Time 2013-2014 Rank: 10 (-6) I do enjoy the character of Rumpelstiltsken (or Gold), but he can be so frustrating. He originally was a great villain, and later I wanted to believe in his desire for good. Unfortunately he couldn't fully commit and wound up losing his son Baelfire (who gave his life for his father) and his beloved Belle (who couldn't trust him anymore). This season Rumpel joined forces with a few evil women (Maleficent, Ursula and Cruella) in his pursuit for his happy ending. He believed the only way to do so was to bring down the so-called heroes. In the end he was relieved of his "Dark One" status and will probably not be the same. |
15. James Cole (Aaron Stanford) on 12 Monkeys 2013-2014 Rank: NEW SHOW James Cole thought he was just one of the lucky few who was immune to the virus that wiped out most of the human race. He learns however that he was destined to help the human race when a doctor in the past leaves a recording to seek him out for help in the future (his present). It turns out the doctor (Cassandra Railly) met the time-travelling Cole who teamed up with her to try to prevent the virus. The time travelling is all a bit complex and it's hard to say if there is any chance of preventing the virus if Cole already travelled back in time and the virus still happened. I digress...Cole is a reluctant hero who knows his place is to give his life in order to prevent the virus. After one season, he is so far unsuccessful (which means more episodes). |
14. Dyson (Kris Holden-Ried) on Lost Girl 2013-2014 Rank: 12 (-2) Through everything that has happened over the course of the series, Dyson has always stayed true to himself and his loved ones. He even managed to befriend Lauren, who he long battled for Bo's affection. With recent losses of his Hale and Kenzi, Dyson's bond with his small group (really a family) has only grown stronger. |
13. Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) on Game of Thrones 2013-2014 Rank: 22 (+9) As Jon Snow's biggest supporter, Samwell played a big part in getting Jon into the role of Lord Commander. The Night's Watch sadly do not respect him, even though he has proven to be a very brave member of the Night's Watch. He has become a protector for wildling Gilly and her baby. This season he even had the luxury of becoming intimate with Gilly for the first time (with any woman). With the concluding events of last season (See Jon Snow), it is unclear what will happen to Sam. |
12. Robin Hood (Sean Maguire) on Once Upon a Time 2013-2014 Rank: UNRANKED Robin Hood is an incredibly likeable character on OUAT. It doesn't hurt that I already like the actor, Sean Maguire, from two previous short-lived shows (Krod Mandoon and The Class). Regina had been slowly on her way to the side of good, but Robin only helped in the process...sort of. It was revealed that Robin was Regina's destined true love when she had a chance in the past to meet him. She did not, but fate eventually brought them together. Unfortunately things got complicated when it seemed Marian, his former wife and mother of his child, was still alive. He left Storybrooke to "save her" from an ice spell but in the end, it turned out it was Regina's sister Zelena posing as Marian. It was figured out and Regina and Robin Hood can now be together...even if Zelena is expecting with Robin's child. |
11. Jaime Lannister (Nikloaj Coster-Waldau) on Game of Thrones 2013-2014 Rank: 13 (+2) Jaime is such a difficult character to deal with as a fan of GoT. He has become incredibly likable, except for the discerning fact that he is in love with his sister and has a few children with her. On top of that, his sister is one of the least-likable people on GoT (Cersei). Even still, he is charming and cares a lot for the people he loves. This season he was sent off to collect his neice (daughter) as I mentioned in Bronn's description above. He ended up succeeding and was brining Myrcella back to King's Landing when he had a touching moment with her accepting her as his daughter (and her accepting him as her father). One of the most touching moments of the season was instantly followed by one of the most tragic moments of the season as Myrcella tragically died in Jaime's arms, thanks to poison for Ellaria Sand. |
10. Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) on Daredevil 2013-2014 Rank: NEW SHOW In this first season of Daredevil, it seemed nobody had anything easy. Good or bad, each character had major challenges to overcome. Foggy's big challenge, besides struggling to start up a private law practice, was dealing with the knowledge of his best friend and partner not only being sort of not blind (as he always believed), but that he moonlights as a vigilante. Foggy found this out late in the season and took a couple episodes to come to terms with it. It seems he has overcome is negative feelings and ready to move forward. |
9. Dwight Hendrickson (Adam Copeland) and 8. Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) on Haven 2013-2014 Rank: 15 (+6), 14 (+6) After two season as Sheriff, I think it's safe to say Dwight has proven himself as a leader in Haven (as opposed to just a fixer in his early appearances). Dwight may even be a better man for the job over the former Sheriff as Nathan has been distracted of late. In fact, this past season Dwight and Nathan clashed often on their views of how to handle Mara. Even through these challenges, they kept the town for completely falling apart and still managed to save Audrey. I guess now that they've dealt with Mara their next challenge will be Duke. |
7. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) on The Walking Dead 2013-2014 Rank: 20 (+13) Rick has been on a downward trend on my rankings over the last few years. While some characters emerged from the background to become more awesome and likable characters, Rick was moving in the opposite direction. At one point he even took up gardening and passed on his leadership. Of course once $#@! hit the fan again, Rick reclaimed his role as leader of the group. That led to the group arriving at Alexandria, a sort of safe haven where it seemed they could relax and settle down. While Rick wanted to let his guard down, he naturally couldn't and found flaws in their system, ultimately planning on overthrowing the makeshift government. The final events of last season ended with him looking like he finally convinced his new neighbors of what must be done. |
6. Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour) on Haven 2013-2014 Rank: 9 (+3) Duke has always been an unlikely hero throughout the several seasons of Haven. He is basically a criminal, though not in the violent sense. Deep down he is a nice guy who wants to do good and even though his primary concern is himself, he has started to care more for other people. This past season he spent too much time with the evil Mara, and she started convincing Duke that he was destined for something else and that his so-called friends did not have his best interests in mind. Though she was mostly playing Duke, there was some shred of truth. In the end he did the right thing, though his uncontrollable Trouble came to a boiling point and the final scene of the season found him releasing a countless number of Troubles into the world. |
5. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) on Game of Thrones 2013-2014 Rank: 1 (-4) Tyrion had quite the adventure this season. He escaped King's Landing (after murdering his father) thanks to the help of Varys. They travelled the narrow sea and found themselves in Pentos. A recently banished Jorah Mormont spotted Tyrion and captured him, thinking if he brought a captured Lannister to Daenerys she would forgive him. His plan was a bit misguided, as Tyrion was trying to get to Daenerys himself to offer his assistance in taking the throne. In the end they ended up in the presence of Daenerys and she has accepted Tyrion's help. The final moments found Daenerys taken far away by one of her dragons and Tryion left to maintain order in her city of Meereen. |
4. Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) on The Walking Dead 2013-2014 Rank: 4 (-) Daryl consistently seems like the person with the biggest heart on The Walking Dead even though he doesn't like to show it. Unfortunately he also seems to have some of the hardest losses, culminating this season with the death of Beth. A special bond grew between them and aside from Beth's sister, Daryl was affected the most. When the group found safe haven in Alexandria, Daryl found it more difficult than most to settle in. He was lucky enough however to befriend a couple who relate with him. Of course if trends continue, they will probably meet their end just as Daryl let's his guard down. |
3. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) on Game of Thrones 2013-2014 Rank: 3 (-) For non-readers of the Game of Thrones series, there have been several shocking moments throughout the series. The end of this season brought one of the more shocking. Typically as a viewer you can see imminent doom coming to many of the characters. Jon Snow however had just seemed to be settling into his own and ready to be a leader. I guess that should have been an indication of doom to come. After Jon becomes Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and (mostly) successfully works out an alliance with the Wildlings, it all comes crashing down as his fellow Watchmen turn on him and murder him in the courtyard. It was however the one death I watched and thought "he's not really dead, something is going to happen." I had reasons to believe that, with the big number one being that Melisandre just showed up and we've all seen what her and the Lord of Light can do. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm however not writing him off just yet. |
2. Killian/Captain Hook (Colin O'Donogue) on Once Upon a Time 2013-2014 Rank: 11 (+9) Much like Regina on the female side of this list, Killian (aka Captain Hook) has gone from villain to hero throughout a couple seasons of Once Upon a Time. One big difference between the two baddies however is that Killian was never really a true villain and had charm to be likable even when making questionable decisions. He's has truly turned the corner however, leading up to his confession of love to Emma. Unfortunately for him, his beloved has just become the new Dark One to save the people she loves. This will probably not bode well for him in the coming season when some people will be reasonable when dealing with Emma and he follows his heart and doesn't give up on her. |
1. Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) on Daredevil 2013-2014 Rank: NEW SHOW There are a few very strong shows and even more strong male characters in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror category, and most of them have established themselves over multiple seasons. It makes it that much more impressive that a new show (and more specifically a new character) shows up and goes straight to the top of my list. In fact across the three categories and two genders, this is the only case in which a character from a new show is number one. Matt Murdock is a lawyer from Hell's Kitchen who as a boy was blinded in an accident with a truck carrying hazardous materials. He would figure out that although he was blind, his senses were accentuated to a point in which he can mostly "see," though no one knows that. As he grew up, he trained himself to fight and eventually become a vigilante. Throughout most of the first season his vigilante character is unnamed and is just known as a masked man. By the end of the first season, his best friend knows his secret and he has legitimately found himself an arch nemesis in Wilson Fisk. They have an epic fight in the final moments of the season and Fisk is captured by the police. That and Matt finds himself with a brand new, red suit lined with kevlar. |
21. Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) on The Walking Dead
22. Trick (Richard Howland) on Lost Girl
23. Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) on The Walking Dead
24. Sgt. Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) on The Walking Dead
25. Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) on Daredevil