Petyr Baelish
Gillen's performance has received significant praise. Huw Fullerton of "Radio Times" praised his performance on the show. Writing for "The Huffington Post", Gil Kidron described the character as "gross...creepy...evil" and stated, "you should root for him to win." Kidron claims, "in Westeros he's a 99 percenter." Kidron writes Petyr is "doing it for himself", but "he's working tirelessly to destroy an old and decaying world that none of us would want to live in." In an article published in the "National Review", Grant Starrett claimed that every red-blooded American should root for Littlefinger. Starrett praised Baelish's rags-to-riches story, saying, "He epitomizes what could soon be called the Westerosi Dream." Meritocracy, social mobility, and an end to a failing system are all reasons to support Petyr Baelish for the Iron Throne, according to Starrett.