Theon Greyjoy

Ward and almost-son of the Starks, Theon is a Greyjoy raised by the family whose north he was meant to inherit rule over. He's cocky, sharp-tongued, and desperate to prove himself a man of action rather than a hostage, forever caught between the loyalty that shaped him and the blood he was born into.

Alfie Allen plays insecurity as swagger, so every joke and preening boast reads as armor. The show uses him to ask what a person becomes when raised as a possession, and Allen never lets you settle on judging him — his need to belong somewhere is too plainly, painfully real.