Fans of the hit HBO series Game of Thrones rank the show's best families on Ranker, including the beloved Starks and the controversial Targaryens.

HBO's House of the Dragon finally has a release date, which has some fans revisiting their old show, while others still remain skeptical after their heartbreak during the last season of Game of Thrones. Due to the slow-building hype for the new series, it seemed a good time to revisit which family houses the fans loved the most.

With one of the greatest fantasy worlds ever created filled with many groundbreaking characters and so many contradicting values among each house, it's hard to choose a favorite. Fans on Ranker used their easy system to vote publicly on the best houses in the series, with many receiving highly mixed reviews.

10 House Greyjoy

As the main representative of the Greyjoy house in Game of Thrones, Theon didn't do any favors to the sea marauder leaders of the Iron Islands. Like many other characters in the show who went through transformative redemption arcs, many fans are still mixed on Theon, as his crimes in season 2 are almost irredeemable.

Theon's reputation, as well as the failure of Euron's character in the show, resulted in the large downvotes for the house. Yara was a fan favorite for many, and the house had one of the best musical scores in the series, which at least earned the house some votes on Ranker.

9 House Baratheon Of Dragonstone

Like Theon Greyjoy, Stannis Baratheon was another character who many believed to be irredeemable at his end. Unfortunately for Stannis, his actions were made to be far more cruel and heartless than his book counterpart, leaving many fans to believe that was the original intention of his character.

House Baratheon of Dragonstone had some other notable characters as well, such as Shireen, and the loveable Sir Davos Seaworth, that likely earned the flaming stag banner the votes it has. Stannis began as a character many rooted for, in his war against the Lannisters in season 2.

8 House Tully

House Tully was a relatively under-seen family throughout the series. Its main representative, Catelyn Stark, was very popular among fans for her powerful on-screen presence and her dynamic with Robb Stark. Edmure and Brandyn Tully also made appearances, with the latter becoming a fan favorite among minor characters.

Though the fish banner doesn't command the same respect as a Dragon, Lion, or Wolf, the Tully house has a long history in Westeros, with a code centered around family and honor. House Tully was an immensely valuable asset to House Stark during the War of Five Kings, and their achievements are rarely detailed in the series.

7 House Lannister

The hatred for Cersei, Joffrey, Jaime, and even Tywin cements House Lannister as one of the main villains of Game of Thrones, but no one can deny the show wouldn't be the same without them. The Lannister house gives the series the dysfunctional family dynamic, with some of the show's most iconic characters and actors going head to head in intense drama scenes.

The battles of the Lannister family are what the show was all about, and part of what made it so great. The Lannister power dynamic is one of the most consistent plotlines throughout all eight seasons, which is part of why Tyrion had one of the best Game of Thrones character arcs.

6 House Martell

Many fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series consider the Dorne plotline to be one of the worst parts of the series, as its complex political intrigue was simplified to minimalize the world of the show in order to come to an ending. But the plotline didn't start off badly.

When Oberyn Martell was introduced to the show in season 4, it felt as if he was ripped right out of the pages of A Storm of Swords, with Pedro Pascal delivering an awesome performance that put him on the radar in Hollywood. Doran Martell and the Sand Snakes were also well cast, but unfortunately, their stories were given minimum screen time.

5 House Baratheon Of Storm's End

House Baratheon of Storm's End fades out early on in the series, leaving the Stormlands to essentially go unmentioned until the very end when Gendry is legitimized. Fortunately for the Baratheons, both King Robert and Gendry are immense fan favorites. Renly's brief storyline also gained him some popularity as the shortest stint of any of the five kings.

King Robert has some of the best lines in the series, and Gendry's disappearance for four seasons became a meme among fans during the show's run time. The meme caught on so much that the writers even worked in the line "I thought you'd still be rowing" to his re-introduction scene in season 7.

4 House Tyrell

The King's Landing plotline reaches its peak after the arrival of the Tyrells. When they're present, along with all of the Lannisters in the third and fourth seasons, the amount of political intrigue and backstabbing is at its highest. Margaery Tyrell is one of the strongest characters in the show, and Olenna Tyrell had some of the shadiest burns.

Other than the two Matriarchs, the family was represented by Mace, who was commonly used as comic relief, and Loras, who was considered one of the best sword fighters in the series. They almost all suffered their fate at the hands of House Lannister in seasons 6 and 7.

3 House Mormont

Since House Mormont isn't one of the main families in Westeros, it's surprising it earned such a high position. The Mormonts of Bear Island were represented by Jeor Mormont, the original Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, who served as one of Jon Snow's main mentors early on.

Jorah Mormont was also a fan favorite, for his devotion to Queen Daenerys Targaryen until his bittersweet end in the Battle of Winterfell. Lyanna Mormont was the latest to join the cast, as she became beloved in season 6 for her outspoken and intelligent personality at such a young age. The three favorites earned House Mormont a ton of upvotes.

2 House Targaryen

Though Daenerys Targaryen was one of the show's most iconic characters and a GoT character who was ahead of their time, there are many more reasons for the great Targaryen's popularity. There are few houses with a phrase as cool as 'Fire and Blood,' and it's especially hard to go wrong with dragons. The family has such a great history and backstory that an entire spinoff series is going to be devoted to it.

The symbolism of the Targaryen dragon stayed consistent throughout the whole series, as many of the most important theories and prophecies revolved around the Targaryen characters, including the late reveal of Jon Snow's parentage.

1 House Stark

In a show with mostly morally grey characters, fans could usually rely on the Starks to have a code of honor, loyalty, and strong morals. Starting with Eddard as the main character in season 1, the plotlines of his children branched off far and wide, from overseas in Bravos, to leagues beyond the Wall in the North.

While the Targaryens have dragons, the Starks have their dire wolves, and though many of them don't make it through the events of the show, they were widely beloved and an excitement to see on screen. The Stark family had some of the show's most iconic characters.

NEXT: The 10 Saddest Deaths On Game Of Thrones, According To Reddit

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