Welcome to The Sorting Hat, our ongoing series in which we sort characters from all kinds of fandoms into the four Hogwarts houses. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we don’t, but as you can see we will discuss each character’s personality and traits until we come to a verdict, even if that means one of us is getting overruled.
We have wanted to sort the cast of Game of Thrones for a while, but it actually presented us with a bit of a challenge. It has the largest cast out there, a widely-varying list of people across two fictional continents, many of whom have come and gone over the course of the seasons we’ve already seen. It’s also adapted from a series of books, George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, and many things (including characterizations and inclusion in the storyline) have changed in translation, meaning that we had to make a decision to sort the characters from the show over the same characters from the books. Because the cast is so large, we’ve opted to break this into sections, starting with easily-delineated groups of people.
We made an effort to avoid major spoilers in our discussion, but couldn’t avoid them entirely (especially for the earlier seasons). So if you are spoiler-averse, only continue if you’ve watched all of season 6. There is also some light speculation about what is to come in season 7, but we have no official information about plotlines for future seasons, so all predictions are solely based on our own fan theories.
This first installment features the three houses most prominently featured in season 6 on the Westeros side of the sea: the Starks, the Lannisters, and the Tyrells.
The Starks
Ned
Lauren: Gryffindor!
Teija: So Gryffindor it hurts!
Sarah: Gryffindor, obviously.
Verdict: Gryffindor
Catelyn
Lauren: Ravenclaw is my gut.
Teija: I think Catelyn’s a Hufflepuff.
Sarah: I say Ravenclaw, since we are going with show Catelyn.
Teija: OK yeah, I can see both. TV Catelyn still has her “family first” thing going, but she is also basically the brains behind Robb’s operation.
Lauren: I think there’s an argument for Hufflepuff but at least on the show, Catelyn was very calculating.
Teija: I’ll cede to Ravenclaw.
Verdict: Ravenclaw
Robb
Teija: Gryffindor. He’s a mini-Ned.
Lauren: Yup.
Sarah: He totally is, and he charges in without thinking.
Teija: Brash decision first, deal with consequences later. Very Gryffindor.
Verdict: Gryffindor
Jon Snow
Sarah: I want to say Hufflepuff, a bit. But also Gryffindor.
Lauren: Also Gryffindor, I’d say? It’s a closer call.
Teija: I’m leaning Gryffindor, but he’s one of the quiet ones. A Remus Lupin as opposed to a James Potter.
Lauren: I think S6 Jon is more Gryffindor, due to circumstances. Battle of the Bastards Jon was very Gryffindor.
Teija: Considering you get assigned your house based on your potential and not on your life experiences, I would say that just confirms he belongs in Gryffindor.
Lauren: Gryffindor with strong Puff secondary.
Verdict: Gryffindor
Sansa
Sarah: Slytherin.
Teija: Yeah, Slytherin.
Lauren: I’m having such an internal battle with myself because of the “potential vs. life experience” argument. 11 year-old Sansa was not a Slytherin, I don’t think, but 18 year-old Sansa is.
Teija: She has always quietly learned from the people around her. From the very beginning she absorbs information and stores it. She holds her cards close to her chest. She is very shrewd and one could even say manipulative.
Lauren: I’m thinking of S1 Sansa, who just wanted to marry well and wear pretty things.
Teija: I think she has always had the capability to be this way and would have grown up to show these same traits, just that events in her life thrust “growing up” on her early.
Lauren: Is this the Stark version of a Slytherin? Was her ambition tied up in marriage and living well?
Teija: As Slytherin as you can get when raised by Godric Gryffindor himself?
Sarah: I just don’t think that wanting to marry and wanting pretty things makes her not a Slytherin.
Teija: The wanting to marry well indicates ambition. She wanted to be the one who did the “right thing” as her station in the system she was raised in demanded, which meant marrying well and making babies to further family lines. She was ambitious and wanted to do that as well as she could.
Lauren: I agree, I just don’t think we saw much cunning from early-seasons Sansa.
Sarah: I don’t think she needed to display it, but it was very obviously there.
Lauren: She just wasn’t very wily about it, that all came later. Would she have been wily if her life was not terrible?
Sarah: I think so, I think she had it in her all along, and she would have been sorted based on that.
Teija: I think the fact that she is wily shows that she had the capability for it all along. I don’t think a life experience would make a non-wily person suddenly wily. It’s a trait, not something you can hone.
Lauren: Okay. I’m comfortable going with Slytherin. I’m not sure that’s who she would have been if she hadn’t been apprenticed by Baelish, but I agree it’s who she is.
Teija: She was also showing these traits before Baelish showed up, though. She was doing it when she was under Cersei as well. Watching, learning, quietly stashing her newfound skills. I would argue she has even thrived, she is very adept at learning the game, she’s just doing it quietly.
Lauren: Yeah, maybe the fact that she survived under Cersei means she was Slytherin. She’s the only Stark that managed to survive in full view of the Lannisters.
Sarah: I think that says a lot about her, honestly.
Teija: Not only did she survive there, but she studied them, learned the way they work. She has Lannister Intel now.
Lauren: She’s the spy on the inside. HERCULES MULLIGAN.
Sarah: THAT’S RIGHT.
Teija: You could see it in visual cues, the way she carried herself, the way she dressed/did her hair, she made herself more Lannistery to fit in. This could also arguably be her younger self idolizing the people in King’s Landing and shunning her own background to look nice for the prince, but she continued to do it even after her father’s death. It may have been part surival, but it was also part learning.
Lauren: I think there was definitely a significant element of “survival mode” playing into those decisions, but the very fact that she was able to successfully survive makes me okay putting her in Slytherin.
Verdict: Slytherin
Bran
Teija: Bran… is… Ravenclaw? Or. Well, no…
Lauren: IS HE THOUGH? Bran does NOT THINK THINGS THROUGH.
Sarah: No, he does not.
Teija: Yeah, I knee-jerked because he’s all-seeing now, but it was a poor kneejerk and I want it stricken from the record.
Lauren: Bran is getting all the infodumps, but it doesn’t mean he knows how to use them.
Teija: True. I think he’s probably another Gryffindor, honestly. He’s not able to physically charge into things, but he is still reckless and brash, and does things without thinking them through.
Lauren: He definitely leaps before he looks.
Teija: And he also stubbornly does not listen to warnings. The Three-Eyed Raven tried to tell him, and he ignored it and did the thing, and then “hold the door” happened.
Sarah: I would say Gryffindor based on all of that.
Lauren: I’m with you on Gryffindor. These Stark men, I mean really.
Teija: Also, way to ignore your mother’s warnings about climbing.
Lauren: Way to ignore EVERYONE’S warnings about EVERYTHING.
Teija: It’s the Stark way! I don’t think it’s coincidence that the ones who survive are the ones who don’t take after Ned so clearly.
Lauren: I mean, Bran has survived, but he’s left a trail of bodies in his wake. “Oops, Sorry I Got You Killed,” the Bran Stark Story.
Teija: “Was I not supposed to warg into people?” (NO, BRAN. YOU WERE TOLD REPEATEDLY NOT TO.)
Lauren: I’d laugh, but it’s too painful.
Verdict: Gryffindor
Arya
Lauren: ARYA. What is Arya!?
Teija: A psychopath. But where does that put her?
Sarah: Well, yes. Slytherin, too?
Lauren: Or is she just an out-of-control Gryffindor?
Teija: She’s been on her murderpath since 1×09, writing her list. She’s probably what happens when a Gryffindor goes bad. This Gryffindor has been left in the fridge too long and has soured.
Lauren: Is she Harry Potter on a vengeance quest?
Sarah: Actually yes, I’d agree with that. She’s Harry Potter without Ron and Hermione to balance and ground him.
Teija: Yeah, she’s the Gryffindor who has been gravely wronged and has no stabilizing influence. She’s what happens when your brash stubbornness has no meter. Gryffindor turned to 11.
Lauren: Yeah, it’s Harry throwing Unforgivable Curses around having no idea what they can do.
Teija: Harry flinging Sectumsempra at Draco.
Lauren: Yup.
Teija: So Arya’s a grimdark Gryffindor, I think we’re agreed.
Verdict: Gryffindor
Rickon
Teija: SQUIB. I SQUIB THIS CHILD.
Lauren: Rickon is a prop!
Teija: TV Rickon had no characterization or plot, he was set decoration with no description beyond “wild.” He is unsortable. SQUIB.
Sarah: “Wild child with a puppy.”
Lauren: Rickon is like Crookshanks. Stark Pet.
Verdict: Squib
The Lannisters
Tywin
Teija: SLYTHERIN.
Lauren: SLYTHERIN.
Sarah: SLYTHERIN.
Verdict: Slytherin
Cersei
Lauren: ALSO SLYTHERIN.
Sarah: SO SLYTHERIN.
Teija: AGREED.
Verdict: Slytherin
Jaime
Lauren: Not Slytherin.
Teija: Hufflepuff, if not Gryffindor… but I lean Hufflepuff more.
Lauren: I’m not sure.
Sarah: Hufflepuff. He’s not a Gryffindor.
Lauren: Please give me your reasons.
Sarah: I think he’s more Hufflepuff with his loyalty to Cersei over everything. And he isn’t as brave as he’d like to appear. I think a lot of it is bluff.
Lauren: But family loyalty doesn’t determine sorting.
Sarah: True, but he also has his loyalty to his country.
Teija: He is definitely a “sit back, wait and see” person, the only time he’s ever done something that could resemble “brash” is when he killed Aerys.
Sarah: He killed the Mad King because he knew it was best for the country, not because he felt he had to do it for himself.
Teija: Yeah, he did it because he saw the Mad King destroying Westeros, he felt that it was the right thing to do.
Sarah: I wouldn’t even say it was brash. I think it was more a resigned, “This is what has to happen.” And I think he would kill Cersei for the same reason if he had to, despite his love for her, because his loyalty is to Westeros.
Teija: He doesn’t do anything without thinking first, so he shows some signs of Ravenclaw as well, but I’m still leaning Hufflepuff.
Lauren: I don’t think he’s been shown to be calculating enough to be Ravenclaw. And I do think there is definitely a brashness to him, but I’m comfortable with Hufflepuff.
Teija: I think he’s only brash when he feels threatened. It’s a defensive brashness, not a gung-ho stubbornness. A threat to his family or to his honor, and it’s important to note that he doesn’t personally think that killing Aerys was dishonorable. “Kingslayer” irritates him.
Sarah: I agree with that. It’s not Gryffindor brashness.
Lauren: Yeah, he’s proven that he can be reasoned with and persuaded to change his thinking, which is not very Gryffindor. I’m on board with Hufflepuff Jaime.
Verdict: Hufflepuff
Tyrion
Lauren: Ravenclaw.
Teija: Yeah, Tyrion’s a Ravenclaw.
Sarah: Ravenclaw. He does nothing without thinking it through from every angle.
Teija: He’s definitely proud of his mental acuity, and he’s shrewd, a natural politician.
Lauren: No contest.
Verdict: Ravenclaw
Joffrey
Lauren: VOLDEMORT.
Sarah: Slytherin, but the whiny baby Slytherin who the rest of the house hates, and excludes from all of their activities.
Teija: Yeah, he’s Slytherin’s resident pariah. The one who gets wrapped up in the worst stereotypes and is a horrifying result of the years and years of the causal loop.
Lauren: CAUSAL LOOP CASUALTY.
Teija: He’s the kid that comes in like, “So, when is our next Death Eater meeting, and when are we getting our dark marks? All hail the dark lord!” The kind of kid that gets it into his head that Voldemort had the right idea all along and talks in excitable whispers about “how can I make a horcrux?”
Lauren: I think we are agreed that Joffrey is the Worst Slytherin.
Sarah: Joffrey, the Next Dark Lord.
Teija: Somebody stop him!
Lauren: Ugh. I will admit he’s Slytherin, but I really don’t want to give him the password to our Common Room.
Verdict: Slytherin
Myrcella
Teija: Sweet, plotless, pretty child.
Lauren: She is the Rickon of House Lannister.
Sarah: I feel like we never knew enough about her.
Teija: She existed just to go to Dorne until they could bring her back just to kill her. She is exactly Rickon of House Lannister. It’s the same scenario.
Lauren: Instead of being the house pet, she’s more like a flower arrangement in the corner.
Teija: If we squibbed Rickon, I think we should squib her, too.
Lauren: Agreed.
Verdict: Squib
Tommen
Lauren: Poor Tommen.
Teija: Poor, sweet, little Tommen. All he ever wanted to do was please people.
Lauren: Hufflepuff.
Teija: I don’t see any indicators that he would fit into the other three, so he’s a Hufflepuff by default.
Lauren: He wanted everyone to get along and be happy and foolishly thought that was actually possible.
Sarah: He’s the closest to Jaime, I think, so Hufflepuff makes sense.
Verdict: Hufflepuff
Tyrells
Olenna
Lauren: Slytherin, I think.
Sarah: I think Slytherin.
Teija: Slytherin, yes.
Lauren: I think season 4 cements her as a Slytherin over a Ravenclaw.
Teija: She’s a master of the game, I think she’s very cunning.
Verdict: Slytherin
Mace
Teija: Super not cunning.
Lauren: Ugh, I don’t know. What are his defining characteristics, even?
Teija: Lots of bluster about his power, like that pathetic speech where he was led around on his horse by some guy and wearing ill-fitting armor.
Sarah: Being a father?
Teija: He liked to puff himself up and act important. Olenna was always the person really running things.
Lauren: Not Ravenclaw, he lets other people make his decisions for him. Not Hufflepuff, as he doesn’t seem to care about fair play or decency.
Sarah: He has to go somewhere, though. Maybe Slytherin based on family legacy? It’s what he would ask for.
Lauren: Not Slytherin, he’s not cunning at ALL.
Teija: I mean, all that puff about his power is pretty braggy. He’s a lazy Gryffindor, if anything.
Lauren: I lean on a default lazy Gryffindor.
Sarah: See, I don’t think he has any Gryffindor traits.
Teija: He has lots of bluster and chest-beating and bravado.
Lauren: Maybe he is a Slytherin, but maybe he’s like a Crabbe.
Teija: I mean, the trouble is we’re seeing him when he’s old and fat and content in his position, not his younger self, who presumably had to get there and maintain it.
Lauren: Well, did he even have to get there, or did his mom just do all the work for him?
Teija: True.
Sarah: And if his mom did all the work, I see him defaulting to Slytherin legacy.
Teija: Even with family legacy you still have to show the traits, though. Look at Sirius.
Sarah: Not everyone in Slytherin is cunning, it’s just one of their features. I think his bragging and bravado is all to hide his faults, which feels more Slytherin.
Lauren: I’m comfortable saying Slytherin for him, but like a Crabbe and Goyle Slytherin. The “I didn’t know you could read” part of Slytherin.
Teija: I can go with that.
Sarah: More worried about what sweets are for dessert.
Verdict: Slytherin
Margaery
Lauren: For Margaery, I say Slytherin.
Teija: Yeah, she’s a Slytherin for sure.
Sarah: No question.
Teija: There is not anyone on that show who has been depicted as more cunning or sly than she is.
Lauren: Or ambitious.
Teija: Yup. “I will be THE QUEEN.”
Lauren: She was going to be the queen NO MATTER WHAT.
Sarah: AND SHE DID IT.
Teija: She tied herself to three different potential and actual kings to get there.
Lauren: Yup.
Verdict: Slytherin
Loras
Lauren: Loras is not a Slytherin. I lean Gryffindor for him.
Teija: Loras feels like a Gryffindor to me. He was the Knight of Flowers, all that good, brave stuff. It’s hard to look at him in season 6 and see it, but that’s after he was beaten and broken.
Lauren: Thinking back to early-seasons Loras when he was with Renly, I think he is definitely a Gryffindor.
Sarah: I think Gryffindor at his core.
Verdict: Gryffindor
Check out the other installments in our Game of Thrones Sorting Hat series:
Part 2: Greyjoys, Targaryens, Boltons, and the Night’s Watch
Part 3: The North, the Wildlings, Essos
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