Why Was Game of Thrones' Most Despicable Character Tolerated for Decades?

Summary:

• Out of all Game of Thrones characters, the wildling Craster was arguably the most disgusting person.
• Craster bedded his own daughters for generations to get more “wives” and sacrificed his sons to the White Walkers.
• Despite despising him, the Night’s Watch couldn’t kill Craster because he secured the Crows’ supplies in the Far North and gathered intel for them.

For what it’s worth, Game of Thrones never lacked absolutely disgusting characters. From sadistic sociopaths like Joffrey Baratheon and Ramsey Bolton to traitorous cowards like Petyr Baelish and Theon Greyjoy, this show had them all… But arguably, the most disgusting person was still Craster, the “lord” of Craster’s Keep.

Craster Was GoT’s Most Despicable Character

Don’t get us wrong: we’re not justifying the dozens of other monsters featured in HBO’s iconic TV show. They’re all awful. But Craster… Craster is on a different level of inhumane. While other sadists and psychos got kicks out of “mistreating” their victims, Craster was the Ford of Beyond the Wall, turning his atrocities into a sustainable industry.

The master of Craster’s Keep married his daughters and fathered new daughters from them. Then, he married those daughters and had more daughters in turn. Somewhere amid this cycle of abuse and incest, Craster was also killing every male child he got, sacrificing them to the White Walkers as payment for staying away from the Keep, thus reenforcing their army.

Nothing about Craster is okay, and the Night’s Watch dealt with him all the time. The question is, why didn’t any of the Crows kill him for his atrocities long before the Mutiny at Craster's Keep?

Craster Was Untouchable Despite His Atrocities

Just like he did with his deal with the White Walkers, Craster also ensured his security when it came to the Night’s Watch. The master of the Keep acted as a middle-man for the Crows and the Free Folk: he kept the outpost for the Watch safe from the wildlings who wouldn’t touch their one in vain, thus guaranteeing the Crows’ only genuinely safe supply depot beyond the Wall.

Craster also provided the Night’s Watch with information about the Free Folk they couldn’t receive any other way. These two things made Craster all too useful to kill, even though most Crows were disgusted by what the despicable wildling did to his children. All in all, Craster managed to create a unique position for himself where he was untouchable for the Night’s Watch, the Free Folk, and the White Walkers alike.

And that’s why seeing him choke on his own blood was so satisfying: after decades of killing babies and abusing his children, Craster finally got what he deserved.