In Episode 5 of House of the Dragon, Lyonel Strong took over Otto Hightower’s place as Hand of the King to Viserys Targaryen. Given that the viewers had been forced to watch Otto Hightower abuse his power by attempting to get his family on the throne and displace Rhaenrya, this piece of news thrilled fans as it seemed like Lyonel does have Westeros’ best interests at heart. The last time the viewers saw someone as pure-hearted was in Game of Thrones, after Eddard Stark’s accepted the role (which kicked off the events of the series).
Throughout eight seasons of Game of Thrones and the current episodes of House of the Dragon, along with a bit of historical book context when possible, much can be concluded about the different hands and their value to the Kings they served. Their political prowess was also considered by fans in a Reddit thread, started by user imvuzu, who decided to weigh in which Hands they thought were the smartest and most foolish.
Tyrion Lannister (Daenerys)
Throughout most Redditors rankings and opinions, Tyrion was split into two sections. As he served as Hand of the King in Season 2 of Game of Thrones to Joffrey Baratheon, and in the later seasons to Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion had two tenures in the role, both judged independently.
According to Redditor Financial-Series-985, “if Daenerys didn’t have Tyrion as Hand, she would have had the Iron Throne in the first episode of Season 7.” While Tyrion’s virtues did have their merit, it’s possible that he did let his personal feelings affect his judgment as Daenerys could have easily took King’s Landing with her three dragons. Maybe it’s because he still cared about his family, but his passive advice did give Cersei time to build up her army (which ended up being costly for the reign of Daenerys).
Kevan Lannister
Though not thoroughly fleshed out in the series, seasons 5 and 6 saw Ser Kevan Lannister, younger brother of Tywin, arrive at King’s Landing to serve as Hand to King, Tommen Baratheon. Audiences got a small taste of his conflict with Cersei, as he removed her from the meetings of the Small Council.
Redditor Tony_Uncle_Philly points out that “Book Kevan was incredibly shrewd, basically Tywin with less ambition.” While Kevan did show some potential as Hand after he attempts to rebuild what had been lost in the War of the Five Kings, unfortunately, he did make some foolish mistakes by making an enemy out of Cersei after not realizing her intelligence and how cunning she could be.
Eddard Stark
In terms of loyalty and honor, the Kings of Westeros couldn’t have found a better Hand than Eddard Stark. Unfortunately, it takes a lot more than that to be successful, and Ned just didn’t have the mind for the politics of King’s Landing. As a result, a number of Ned Stark’s worst decisions lower his political ability.
As Redditor CamberMacRorie sums up, “Ned was no dullard, I think he fully understood what he was up against and that he was out of his depth. He actively resisted having to play the game of southern politics.” This was true, and Ned tried his best to stay out of it and keep his honor. Unfortunately, he ran out of chips and allies.
Davos Seaworth
Davos isn’t mentioned in the original post, but one fan, Baratheoncook250 was quick to point out that “Davos was Hand, and he did a great job.” As a loyal servant to Stannis Baratheon, Davos consistently found powerful allies and brokered deals for his unwilling King.
While Stannis was not the best at compromising or asking for help, believing he was deserving of all things due to his right to rule, Davos kept him grounded and found realistic approaches to their war effort. He secured ships for the siege of King’s Landing and soldiers to replenish for their northern campaign.
Qyburn
Being the Hand of the King to Cersei would be a tall task for anyone – particularly as she acted purely out of emotion and spite, with no interest in the desires of common folk or even wealthy folk. However, considering that he is one of the few characters in the show Cersei trusts, the viewers can see that he must have seen that his intelligence was an asset.
As Redditor No_cricket4028 points out, one of the best thing was “redu[cing] the significance of dragons.” Not only that, but he also helped Cersei cement her power by making the revived Mountain her personal sentry to Cersei and create some pretty memorable inventions (which helped make GoT one of the best world-building shows).
Lyonel Strong
Listing the reasons for Lyonel Strong’s tenure as Hand of the King being a good one, Redditor minamartin describes him as “honest, rational, empathetic.” The character has had far less time than the rest so far to prove his worth as Hand, but his scenes on the small council give a good insight into his character.
Lyonel seems to be one of the honest characters who believe in good for the realm, making him and Viserys a good match for reasonable rulers. With seemingly less interest as a political climber than most others, Lyonel could certainly stay on to be a reliable second in command.
Otto Hightower
The one thing separating Otto from the other Hands in the shows is that he carried over his title from one ruler to the next, with this Redditor reminding fans that “he also served as Hand for Jahaerys before Viserys.”
Otto may have been displayed to be self-interested, but his cunning nature is a valuable asset to a ruler, and his manipulation to have his daughter become Queen and grandson to be heir shows an ambition and strength in political intelligence. With the Dance of Dragons so close, book fans know that Otto Hightower’s devious personality and cunning nature is only going to get worse from here on out.
Tyrion Lannister (Joffrey)
Thrown into a seemingly impossible task and forced to save King’s Landing from Joffrey’s ignorance, it’s not surprising that Redditor minamartin describes Tyrion’s tenure as “very creative with low resources.” He had to pull off an incredible strategy and rally men to get behind him.
This display of ingenuity is rarely recognized by his family members or peers, but Tyrion did save the city and also made cunning and exciting moves as Hand to eliminate potential threats and attempt to create peaceful relations. His acts as Hand certainly proved Tyrion was one of the smartest characters in Game of Thrones.
Tywin Lannister
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Also having served more than one ruler, Tywin was Hand of the King for Aerys Targaryen, then resumed his duties for Joffrey and Tommen Baratheon. Tywin was in a position of great power for a very long time, and by the events of Game of Thrones, his meer existence serves as a threat to the enemies of the crown.
Tywin is an expert commander, politician, and has a wealthy background to support the crown. Redditor The_Dream_of_Shadows describes Tywin’s style as “Ruthless, but relentlessly effective.” Tywin’s behavior puts his often childish family in line, enough to make them a major force to be reckoned with.
