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The standard thinking when it comes to television is that the audience should like a show's characters; that way, they'll be more inclined to tune in every week to spend time with those characters. So maybe one of the reasons I like Game of Thrones so much is because holy shit, so many of its characters are repugnant. Granted—and, so far, more in the books than the TV show—those pulling the stories' strings generally do a pretty good job of making you come around to characters you initially hated, and vice versa, but still: Game of Thrones is filled with hate-worthy (and fine, love-worthy) characters.

In fact, looking through io9's batch of new images from the show's second season, I found myself sticking all the characters pictured into, with a few exceptions, two categories: "HATE" and "LOVE." (Fun party trick: Ask any of my ex-girlfriends how "emotionally mature" I am!) So join me, won't you, on a journey to Westeros... and a journey into HATE and LOVE.

ARYA STARK:

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BALON GREYJOY:

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BRIENNE OF TARTH:

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CATELYN STARK:

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CERSEI LANNISTER:

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DAENERYS TARGARYEN:

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DAVOS SEAWORTH:

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JOFFREY BARATHEON:

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JON SNOW (THIS ONE'S FOR THE LADIES):

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LADY MELISANDRE & STANNIS BARATHEON:

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RENLY BARATHEON (THIS ONE'S FOR THE GAYS):

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ROBB STARK:

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BRAN STARK & HODOR:

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THEON GREYJOY:

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SANSA STARK:

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Do you disagree with any of my choices? That is certainly your prerogative, even though you are probably wrong.

SPOILER WARNING: Shit's getting all sorts of spoilery in the comments, so if you haven't read the books, quick! Go read the books, then come back here once you're done! See you in a few months.