Game Of Thrones' 10 Strongest Night's Watch Members

The Night's Watch is one of the prominent factions in the Game of Thrones universe, and has had several powerful members over the centuries. As the shield that guards the realms of men, the Night's Watch was integral to all eight seasons of Game of Thrones. The same can be said for the A Song of Ice and Fire books, with Jon Snow being the primary character driving the story atop the Wall.

Unlike the major houses in Game of Thrones' world, not every member of the Night's Watch is a trained warrior or, in many cases, an honorable person. Most Night's Watch members are actually criminals who have been sent to the Wall as punishment, meaning the power level of most in the organization is not all that high. Nonetheless, over the millennia, there have naturally been some standout members of the military order.

Some of these are shown directly in Game of Thrones, while others are only hinted at. Interestingly, one of the most powerful members in the Night's Watch's history has a mysterious, unclear backstory in the Game of Thrones TV show, though the books shed a little more light on the subject. With all that in mind, here are the 10 most powerful Night's Watch members in the Game of Thrones universe, ranked on aspects such as their military might, influence, leadership, or reputation.

Grenn

Grenn, primarily due to his feats in combat, comes in as the 10th strongest member of the Night's Watch. Admittedly, Grenn does not have much in the way of influence or leadership, but he is a loyal man who was chosen by Jon Snow, a higher-ranked member of this list, to be one of his right-hand men. Throughout Game of Thrones, Grenn proves his strength. He is chosen to become a Ranger of the Night's Watch, the most prestigious, battle-hardened sect of the organization, after training personally with Jon.

Grenn then survives several conflicts, be it the attack on the Fist of the First Men by the army of the dead, the mutiny at Craster's Keep, or the subsequent assault on the latter to punish the traitors. Grenn also fights in the Battle for the Wall, with his death, ironically, only proving he deserves a spot on the list; Grenn dies defending the Wall's central tunnel from "Mag the Mighty," a king among the giants north of the Wall. Not only does this highlight Grenn’s skill in battle, but his bravery, loyalty, and commitment to the Night’s Watch.

Eddison Tollett

Eddison Tollett, better known simply as Edd, is very similar to Grenn in many aspects. He befriends Jon Snow, trains with him, and becomes a Ranger of the Night's Watch. Edd also fights in the same aforementioned conflicts Grenn does, only going one step further to survive the Battle for the Wall. Herein lies why Eddison ranks above Grenn, despite the latter's feat of defeating a king of the giants: the former's leadership and influence.

Although Grenn may be a better fighter than Edd, the latter's other characteristics make him more powerful on the whole. During the Battle for the Wall, Edd is chosen by Jon to take temporary command of the Rangers atop the Wall, proving his tactical prowess. Edd then accompanies Jon on future adventures, surviving the trip north of the Wall to Hardhome and staying loyal to his friend after Alliser Thorne's mutiny.

After Jon departs the Wall, Edd becomes the acting Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, remaining in that position until season 8. Even after the Wall is destroyed, Edd survives and fights in the Battle of Winterfell. Edd's longevity, battle skills, and, most of all, his ability to be a leader rank him above Grenn as the ninth most powerful member of the Night's Watch in Game of Thrones.

Qhorin Halfhand

Qhorin Halfhand ranks only this low due to Game of Thrones' lack of focus on him. A lot about Qhorin is told, not shown, throughout the two seasons of the show in which he appears, but these things are important enough to earn him a spot as the eighth most powerful Night's Watch member. Admittedly, most of this is down to his skill as a warrior. Qhorin Halfhand is a Ranger, largely considered the most experienced and skilled in the entire order at the onset of the series.

To prove this, Qhorin Halfhand survives more than a year stranded beyond the Wall alone. Moreover, Qhorin is as skilled with his left hand as he once was with his right, the latter losing half of its fingers and lending the Ranger his moniker. Qhorin also would have killed Jon Snow, were it not for the former's ploy to sacrifice himself and embed the latter among the Wildlings' ranks. This immense military might, as well as the reputation it inspires, gives Qhorin a spot as one of the Night's Watch's strongest members.

Samwell Tarly

Addressing the obvious, Samwell Tarly would be nowhere near this list if it were curated solely on power in battle. Nonetheless, Sam's other strengths earn him a worthy spot as one of the Night's Watch's most powerful members. Again, Sam may not be a master fighter, but he has bravery and wits, which saw him become the first man to kill a White Walker in millennia, also allowing him to discover the creatures' deadly weakness for Dragonglass.

Sam also killed a Thenn during the Battle for the Wall. However, it is not Sam's battle prowess that ranks him this high, but his influence. Beyond the Dragonglass discovery, Sam was responsible for influencing the entire Game of Thrones franchise via his discovery of Jon Snow's heritage, his knowledge from becoming a maester, and his eventual seat on the Small Council as Grand Maester. This gives Sam some of the biggest achievements of any Night's Watch member in history, even beyond the feats in battle of Edd, Grenn, and Qhorin, with his influence and reputation only matching that.

Alliser Thorne

Alliser Thorne, despite his shortcomings as a decent person, is a powerful member of the Night's Watch. As master-at-arms, Alliser is responsible for training new recruits, proving his strength in battle. His exploits at the Fist of the First Men and the Battle for the Wall only support this. During the latter conflict, Alliser leads the men at the top of the Wall before bringing reinforcements to Castle Black, rallying his brothers to push back the Wildlings.

All of this, and his appointment as First Ranger in Game of Thrones season 5, proves Alliser has military strength and leadership skills worthy of a spot on this list. That said, his influence is based more on fear and cruelty, rather than true loyalty. This ranks him below more of the experienced leaders of the Night's Watch, especially given his eventual mutiny against Jon Snow.

Mance Rayder

Mance Rayder's position on this list is certainly interesting, given that most of his feats that warrant him a spot come after he deserted the Night's Watch. Still, Mance was once a Ranger of the Wall, meaning everything shown in Game of Thrones counts towards his power. The fact that he was a Ranger alone puts him above 95% of the Night's Watch's members, as a prestigious fighter who is a first defender of the Wall.

After that, though, Mance Rayder took on new levels of influence and reputation. Mance became the King Beyond the Wall, aligning over ninety Wildling clans, all of whom despise each other, under the common goal of surviving the coming winter. This alone speaks to the sheer level of influence Mance Rayder has, which even impacts the Wildlings' staunchest enemies. Mance's influence affects Jon, who tries to carry on his work by bringing Wildlings south of the Wall.

Qhorin and Grenn, whose ranking is tied mostly to their battle strength, likely couldn't face up to Mance Rayder. While Edd is a leader and Sam has a great deal of reputation by the time of Game of Thrones' ending, neither of them could have managed to unite warring clans filled with giants, greenseers, and Thenns under a single banner and been made a king of the ungovernable.

Benjen Stark

Benjen Stark could be ranked below Mance Rayder, should you value the latter's influence over the former's. That said, Benjen Stark has elements that result in me ranking him as a more powerful member of the Night's Watch. For starters, Benjen Stark was the First Ranger of the Night's Watch, not simply a Ranger as Mance was. This puts Benjen's individual strength level above Mance's, as well as giving him immense influence over the Night's Watch itself.

Such was Benjen's reputation that the Great Ranging was ordered by Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. This was one of the greatest expeditions ever made by the Night's Watch north of the Wall, with one of its three goals to find Benjen Stark and bring him back to the Wall. Rarely in Game of Thrones does a character hold this much weight.

Years later, it was revealed that Benjen Stark was alive, having survived north of the Wall alone the entire time. This outranks Qhorin's survival of a year in the wilds and is arguably more impressive than Mance's survival, given the latter had a massive Wildling army at his command. Eventually, Benjen was killed by the army of the dead, but only after years of resistance and influence, such as saving both Bran Stark and Jon Snow, thus shaping the future of Westeros.

Jeor Mormont

The Lord Commander of the Night's Watch at the onset of Game of Thrones, Jeor Mormont is easily one of the most powerful members of the group. Nicknamed the Old Bear for his immense strength and size, Jeor's physical prowess outranks Grenn, Edd, Qhorin, Sam, Mance, and maybe even Benjen. Where Jeor's true power lies, though, is in his leadership. Upon joining the Night's Watch, Jeor quickly rose through the ranks to become Lord Commander.

He held this position for over a decade, commanding respect from his men constantly. Jeor's influence and reputation were so great that he successfully rallied his men for the aforementioned Great Ranging. Also, throughout Game of Thrones, characters hundreds of miles from the Wall spoke highly of him. His death is what caused the ranging north of the Wall to bring his murderers to justice at Craster's Keep.

Finally, Mormont's influence on Jon Snow allowed the latter to eventually become Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. How Jeor shaped Jon led the young wolf to become one of the most influential, respected characters in Game of Thrones, alone giving the Old Bear a high ranking as one of the Night's Watch's most powerful members.

Brynden Rivers

Admittedly, Brynden Rivers is incredibly unlucky not to be first on this list. In terms of sheer power level, he certainly would be. However, Brynden Rivers' power comes from supernatural, magical elements of the Game of Thrones universe. This means he is not as skilled a combatant as the character in the first spot. In terms of influence and reputation, though, the two are arguably tied.

For those unfamiliar with the Game of Thrones books, you may know Brynden Rivers as the Three-Eyed Raven. The show never confirms that these two are the same person, but several hints, including some in Game of Thrones' spin-off, House of the Dragon, are provided. In the books, Bryden Rivers is outright confirmed as the Three-Eyed Raven who lives beyond the Wall.

With his Three-Eyed Raven powers, Brynden Rivers is arguably the most powerful being in the entirety of Game of Thrones. His sight can transcend the past and the future, even leading up to helping Bran become king, at least in the show. Before this, he was also Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, before disappearing. If it were possible, Brynden Rivers and Jon Snow would be tied as the two most powerful Night's Watch members ever, occupying the magical and political sides of the spectrum.

Jon Snow

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From the beginning of Game of Thrones, Jon Snow is presented as a natural leader with exceptional skill as a warrior. He is chosen as Jeor Mormont's personal steward, hinting at how promising Jon's future could be as a leader of men. Jon also trains his friends in combat, including Edd and Grenn, allowing them to become two of the Night's Watch's better fighters. Jon survives the Fist of the First Men, leads the assault on Craster's Keep, and survives the Battle for the Wall.

During Mance's attack on the Wall, Jon is chosen by his comrades to lead in the emergency situation, showcasing his level of influence and reputation as one of the better warriors and tactical minds in the Night's Watch. Moreover, this shows the loyalty Jon inspires, rather than the fearful obedience Alliser does. Afterwards, Jon is elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, again showcasing every facet of his power.

Jon then goes on to fight against the army of the dead on several occasions, leading the people of Westeros to victory at the Battle of Winterfell as King in the North. All of this happens beyond his time in the Night's Watch, but Jon, being one of the true heroes of the entire Game of Thrones show after humble beginnings as a Night's Watch steward, proves himself to be the most powerful member of the entire organization.

Release Date

2011 – 2019-00-00

Showrunner

David Benioff, D.B. Weiss

Directors

David Nutter, Alan Taylor, D.B. Weiss, David Benioff