House Stark is one of the most loved houses in Westeros, with the northern house being the first family introduced to both book readers and show watchers, as well as being the most honorable house in the Seven Kingdoms. The Starks suffered some of the most heinous crimes in the series, with the infamous Red Wedding being the most prominent.
That being said, while the Starks are undoubtedly one of the most honorable houses in Westeros, they weren’t always this way. The Starks didn’t win the North by being honorable, they won it through vicious conflict and political scheming. While the current Starks may be honorable to an extent, they’re not all as virtuous as Ned Stark.
Jon Snow
While Jon Snow may not have ultimately defeated the White Walkers, he was certainly responsible for forming the army that would come to battle against them in the Battle of Winterfell. Additionally, some would also argue that the sacrifice of his love for Dany in favor of his family and Westeros was also heroic.
There's no denying thatGame of Thrones, even if he may not have defeated the big bad guy or even married the love of his life.
Arya Stark
The idea of a young girl turning her trauma into an internal drive to kill those who wronged her may not seem heroic to everyone. Sure, it may be just to some, but on the face of it, there isn't anything particularly virtuous about ing a cult of death worshipping assassins in order to get revenge on your family's tormentors.
However, Arya Stark deserves a place on this list for doing one thing and one thing alone - killing the Night King. By killing the Night King, Arya defeated the White Walkers and saved Westeros from certain destruction.
Ned Stark
Ned Stark was the central character of the first season of Game of Thrones, introducing fans to the world of Westeros and the political scheming and backstabbing that would eventually become commonplace in the series.
Ned Stark was undoubtedly the hero of the first season and while fans were expecting him to become the main character of the series, he was betrayed and killed in the ninth episode of the first season.
Robb Stark
Robb Stark was one of the most popular characters in the earlier seasons, playing the role of an archetypical fantasy hero. Robb took the war to the Lannisters to get revenge after they executed Ned Stark. He was a fierce warrior and commander, winning every battle he fought in the War of Five Kings.
That being said, while Robb would win every battle, he would lose the war after he was betrayed at the Twins by Walder Frey and Roose Bolton. The Red Wedding remains one of the most shocking moments, not only in Game of Thrones but also in TV history.
Catelyn Stark
Catelyn Stark was the wife of Eddard Stark and mother to the Stark children. She was originally intended to marry Brandon Stark, but after he was murdered by the Mad King, Cat was betrothed to Eddard Stark instead. A devoted mother, she would stop at nothing to protect her children and this was reflected in the show and books.
Catelyn was a wise, yet flawed character. On the one hand, if Robb had listened to Cat, he probably wouldn't have died at the Red Wedding. On the other hand, Catelyn freed Jaime Lannister against orders in a desperate attempt to get Arya and Sansa back.
Lyanna Stark
Not much is known of Lyanna Stark. While it's common knowledge (confirmed on the show but not in the books yet) that she is the mother of Jon Snow after Lyanna ran away with Raegar Targaryen and caused Robert's Rebellion in the process.
She did have a heroic side, potentially at least. There's a theory that Lyanna Stark was the mysterious 'Knight of the Laughing Tree' who competed in the Tourney at Harrenhal. The theory states that Lyanna competed as the knight in order to get revenge on some knights who treated Howland Reed poorly.
Benjen Stark
Benjen Stark was the black sheep of the Stark family. The youngest of Ned and his siblings, Benjen Stark would the Night’s Watch and eventually rise to the position of First Ranger. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Benjen, no one knows why he ed the Watch and, in the books at least, his whereabouts are unknown.
The show reveals Benjen Stark to be their version of Cold Hands, with the undead Benjen helping both Bran and Jon beyond the Wall. In the books, however, Martin has said that Benjen isn’t Cold Hands. Some have speculated that Benjen is indeed still alive in the books, heading into the Heart of Winter and set to give fans a POV chapter of what he sees.
Rickon Stark
Rickon didn’t really do a lot during the series. In the first seasons, he was a child so didn’t have much of a role to play in the story. Many speculated that Rickon’s story would mirror his direwolf’s name, Shaggydog. A Shaggydog story is a long one that has no satisfying conclusion.
In the show, Rickon certainly has this ending, with the youngest Stark being killed by Ramsay Bolton before the Battle of the Bastards. In the books, Rickon may be drawn into the ‘Northern Conspiracy’, with Davos heading to Skagos to get Rickon, some believe that Wyman Manderly will use Rickon as a figurehead to rally behind to reclaim the north from the Boltons.
Sansa Stark
Sansa Stark had one of the best character developments in the series. Starting out life as a naive girl with dreams of becoming a princess to a handsome prince, her experience in King’s Landing with the sadistic Joffrey facilitated her eventual change into the Queen of the North and one of the sharpest political players in the series.
During the series, Sansa moved from being a ive pawn in the Game of Thrones to become an active player. She saw her father die and her brother betrayed at the Twins, learning from this and making the north an independent nation at the end of the series.
Bran Stark
Bran Stark was one of the first characters that came into George RR Martin’s mind when formulating the story for A Song of Ice and Fire. The first image from Westeros that arrived in Martin’s head was the scene in which a young boy stumbles across a dead wolf and its puppies. Bran’s story takes him north, beyond the Wall, and gives fans an insight into the land of the White Walkers.
While Bran Stark doesn’t appear to do anything intentionally villainous in the show, he does use Hodor throughout the series, corrupting his brain in the process. Further, there is some ambiguity as to how much planning Bran did in order to become King, as well as how much of Bran is actually left.