2014-2015 TV Review: Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Female Characters

It's the end of the Summer which means it is almost Fall.  Though that can mean many things, in this case it refers to the soon to be beginning of the new Fall TV season.  If you've been following this blog over the last few years, you'll know that I enjoy ranking TV shows and  characters.  You'll also know this is my fifth year writing posting these rankings.  And of course pretty much every year I fall behind.  Let's face it, I do have somewhat of a life and it does not involve being a full time (or part time for that matter) TV blogger.

But I enjoy doing this so I continue to post.  After five years of rankings, I'm enjoying looking back at the history of these rankings.  It's fun to see not only what I once enjoyed watching, but also how my feelings have changed about characters who have been on television for multiple years.

Without further ado, I begin with the Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror category...more specifically the women.  And yes, I'm a nerd.  Enjoy!

10/9.  Tamsin (Rachel Starskin) and Bo (Anna Silk) on Lost Girl
2013-2014 Rank: Unranked & 12 (+3)

I continue to fall behind on Lost Girl, probably because I started from behind (a couple years too late).  I am catching up through this past season (Season 5.1), but I have enough to know Tamsin and Bo belong in my top 10.  Bo has been through a lot over 4+ seasons, and sadly at the start of this season she had to say goodbye to her best friend Kenzi.  OF course Kenzi would be up here if she didn't leave the show at the beginning of the season.  It was good to see Tamsin return however and the two have worked well together (though she's no Kenzi).

8. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) on Game of Thrones
2013-2014 Rank: 8 (-1)

At the end of the previous season, Arya found herself completely on her own for the first time when she walked away from The Hound (who was dying). Arya used the coin given to her by Jaqen H'ghar to hitch a ride on a boat travelling the narrow sea to Braavos.  In Braavos Arya eventually found her way into The House of Black and White, the headquarters of the Faceless Men (a guild of assassins) and a temple for the Many-Faced God. Arya spent the most of the season training with Jaqen H'ghar to become a member of the Faceless Men. While in Braavos, Arya spotted one of the names on her list (Ser Meryn Trant) who killed her former instructor Syrio. Arya couldn't control her emotions and broke a code by killing her nemesis. When she returned to The House of Black and White, Arya was punished by apparently going blind. That'll put a damper in her spirits.

7. Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull) on 12 Monkeys
2013-2014 Rank: New Show

The new show 12 Monkeys, based on the Terry Gilliam film of the same name (though slightly different spelling), begins in a future after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth's population. There are a small group of people (mostly scientists and their security forces) who have discovered an opportunity to travel back in time in order to make an attempt at preventing the outbreak. I'm only giving a summary of the show now because the catalyst in the events of the show is a doctor named Cassandra Railly. She was alive during the outbreak and recorded a message for the future to seek out James Cole for help. Of course the first season of the show finds Cole travelling back in time (prior to the outbreak) and first having to convince Dr. Railly that he is a time traveler. Due to a series of events she soon believes him and becomes Cole's main ally in the past for trying to prevent the outbreak. The season however ends with a cliffhanger that finds Dr. Railly travelling to the future (Cole's present).
tgggf

6. Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) on Game of Thrones
2013-2014 Rank: 8 (+2)

Over the course of five seasons of GoT, many characters have come and gone. It seems those who are closest to gaining power are the ones who perish. Daenerys has been biding her time, though it wasn't her initial intention. Her seemingly meteoric rise in the first few seasons have calmed over the last two and is has been mostly unexciting. I have found myself more interested in the other storylines of late and even found myself not that excited at her closing moments of season 5, especially compared to how she has closed out previous seasons. The coliseum scene was thrilling, but where she ended up not so much. I guess she's going to find herself back in the hands of the Dothraki, though we don't know if it will be as a captive or otherwise. I have a feeling she will continue finding ways to survive and ultimately find her way to Westeros, even if it is slowly. 

5. Michonne (Danai Guira) on The Walking Dead
2013-2014 Rank: 6 (+1)

Michonne has continued to be something of a badass in The Walking Dead world. She has accepted Rick and his group as a family and will do whatever it takes to protect them. After finding a sort of haven in Alexandria, Michonne accepted her role as a deputy alongside Rick. When things started to not go Rick's way, Michonne appeared to be siding with the governing bodies of Alexandria. Of course it turned out she was just protecting Rick and helping him see they needed a bit more patience with their new neighbors. In the end, Michonne was ready to throw down for her family.

4. Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) on Haven
2013-2014 Rank: 1 (-3)

Technically Audrey wasn't even in the first half of Haven's fifth [half] season, aside for a few fleeting moments. Audrey's alter ego, Mara, gained control of her body and wanted to wreak havoc on the people of Haven. Nathan fortunately (and sometimes annoyingly) wouldn't give up on Audrey and figured out that she was still within Mara. With the help of Duke, they managed to pull Audrey from within Mara and Audrey was on her own again. Only she wasn't her complete self and was no longer immune to the Troubles. As the season went on, it seemed Audrey was slowly dying off. Unexpectedly, Mara's mother showed up and had some sort of power to make the two identities one again and Audrey was back to normal in the end. The same can't be said for Duke...which I'll get to in the next post.

3. Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) on Game of Thrones
2013-2014 Rank: 5 (+2)

Brienne's code of honor seems to be unlike any other in the GoT world. She once swore her allegiance to Renley Baratheon, then swore to murder his brother Stannis when she witnessed a shadow with his face murder Renley. She then ended up beside Catelyn Stark and swore to find and protect her daughters Sansa and Arya. To do so she was to trade Jamie Lannister's life for theirs, only to find upon their arrival to King's Landing that the girls had both escaped. She then befriended (or fell for) Jamie during their time together and because she protected him and got him home, Jamie forged a new Valarian sword for Brienne crafted from Eddard Stark's blade. The new sword was aptly named Oathkeeper. Brienne eventually found Arya, who would have rather stayed with The Hound and escaped. Then she found Sansa in the company of Lord Baelish, again being thwarted by the girl's reluctance to go with her. Even with all of that, she remained outside of Winterfell where Sansa was married to Ramsay Bolton hoping to eventually rescue her. Nothing ever seems to go quite Brienne's way, though she found her last moments of the season with a wounded Stannis in her sights. She finally had an opportunity to hold true to one of her promises and appeared to finish him off. Maybe things are looking up for Brienne.

2/1. Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) & Regina Mills (Lana Parrilla) on Once Upon A Time
2013-2014 Rank: 10 (+8) & 14 (+13)

I really thought after a season or two that Once Upon a Time would either be cancelled or just overstay its welcome. In my opinion, it has continued to get better finding new and interesting challenges for our heroes (and villains for that matter). One of my favorite things about this past season was a gradual opposite paths that the two main characters have experienced. Emma, who started this series as a hero ("savior" to be exact) has started moving towards the dark side. In fact it was the main goal of Rumplestiltskin and his companions (Maleficent, Ursula and Cruella) this past season. Regina on the other hand has been continually moving towards the light, even when it seems like she's about to regress. Now everything will be completely turned on its head next season as Emma sacrificed her "good" (by becoming the new Dark One)to protect Regina and everyone else. The new season should see an all new Emma Swan who will probably prove to be the most evil character we've seen to date.

Next 10:
11. Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) on The Walking Dead
12. Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) on Daredevil
13. Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) on Daredevil
14. Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) on Game of Thrones
15. Kenzi (Ksenia Solo) on Lost Girl
16. Katarina Jones (Barbara Sukowa) on 12 Monkeys
17. Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) on The Walking Dead
18. Desiree Dupree (Angela Bassett) on American Horror Story: Freak Show
19. Snow White/Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) on Once Upon a Time
20. Ethel Darling (Kathy Bates) on American Horror Story: Freak Show