In honor of Sunday’s series finale and because I’m on a GOT kick, I’m revisiting what makes the show so successful. I’m now in the middle of watching season 6, so still no spoilers, please. For those of you keeping track, yes, I’ve watched a season and a half since my last post. No shame.

Today let’s talk about character development.

In addition to the elaborate world-building discussed last week, GOT crushes it at creating believable characters. Arguably a hero’s journey (re: Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen) or decisively not (re: Circy Lannister), for years people have been captivated by what will happen next. Why? Because we care about these characters.

Take Ramsey Bolton, for example, a man who makes my skin crawl. I would have no problem if the creators killed him off, something I think is inevitable in season 6. Which begs the question, why would I rejoice in this character’s death?

It’s because the writers have made him so believably psychotic, so villain-like, that I want justice for poor Sansa and even Theon. However, though Ramsey is as close as you can get to pure evil, he has maybe one redeeming quality. For a while, we see him expressing pride when he impresses his father. Then again, given how that turned out, maybe he has none.

Now, take Daenerys, a character who I adore. She has done some awful things, right? Like she straight up kills a lot of people. But, she does it in the name of helping slaves and common folks. Sure, she wants to sit on the iron throne, but her motivations go beyond just having power to creating a better world. We see her mess up and make mistakes and murder people, yet she’s still likeable. Why is that? How can a character who kills frequently still be likeable?

Two things come to mind: tragic backstory and just motivations. We know that she had a difficult upbringing, that she had to hide from assassins and hang out with her crazy brother. And we see her liberating people who have been enslaved. Her goal is sitting on the iron throne, her motivation is creating a better world, and the change she goes through is realizing she has to act in morally grey situations, like killing a bunch of Khal in a sacred temple. Maybe her fatal flaw is justice or that she cares too much? I’m not sure yet. Regardless, GOT does a great job creating complex characters who make hard choices.

When I think about character building, I think about these things: backstory, goals, motivations, fatal flaw, conflict, and epiphany. Essentially it boils down to what does the character want abstractly and concretely? What prevents her from reaching her goal? What is her fatal flaw? How will she change or decisively refuse to change and what are the consequences? Then it’s about filling in the details like hobbies, interests, and strengths.

GOT crushes it at character development because their characters are complex. They make mistakes. They decide between tough choices. They have backstories and goals and motivations. They are believably human.

What other things do you consider when creating characters?