By Gemma Peplow, arts and entertainment reporter
Game Of Thrones does a baddie better than any other show.
First up: Joffrey, the loathsome boy king who ordered Ned Stark's beheading in season one and, eight years later, remains arguably the show's most hated character.
Considering his competition, it's quite a title. Walder Frey, Ramsay Bolton, Littlefinger, Cersei Lannister… the list goes on.
We also have Euron Greyjoy, the pirate villain who nails bodies to ships, but is also actually quite… charming?
In this, the final series, many fans will be rooting for inadvertent heir and brooding hero Jon Snow to claim the Iron Throne, but there will surely be just as many who want to see the ruthless Cersei crowned queen, or the evil White Walkers triumph.
Advertisement
Game Of Thrones is not about traditional goodies and baddies (with the exception of lovable underdog Samwell Tarly, and a few cases of pure unadulterated evil); the complex characters fans love to hate are one of the great things about the epic show.
Speaking to Sky News at the premiere of season eight in Belfast, Pilou Asbaek, who plays Greyjoy, said he would always choose to play the bad guy.
More from Game Of Thrones
Asked what he would miss most about his character now the show has ended, he said: "Him being so brutal and relentless and that he has no limits. I'm gonna miss that.
"You're working so much [on this show] and you're so much away from your family that it needs to be fun. With Euron Greyjoy he's such a fun character that even though I was away from my family it didn't feel so wrong because I had such fun doing it.
"Villains are always the best. You never want to be the hero; the heroes are boring, they always have to be politically correct. When you create a villain you've got to make them human."
And then, with a raised eyebrow, he adds: "He's not a villain – he's just misunderstood."
Hmm. We're not sure his niece and nephew would agree.
Asbaek also hinted at scenes to come, saying one episode of the final season "will be so spectacular it will blow your mind".
We know there will be deaths. So who will win the Game Of Thrones? Good or evil?
Many of the cast have suggested fans won't necessarily be happy with how the show comes to a close.
"We don't care about keeping people happy on this show, we never have," John Bradley, who plays good guy Samwell Tarly, told Sky News.
Sky News
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
