Who is the most intelligent teenager in the series?

[Sullen]

Agree with the ones who said Jojen.

Jojen is not as smart as he is omniscient and wise, there is a considerable difference between the two.

[Castellan]

Arya is not yet a teenager, is she ? She thinks and acts like a child and is a child.

[Éadaoin]

I love the idea of Margaery being a mini QoT but it's so hard to know if she actually is.

From your list I'd say Arya, Jon, and Sam, all for different reasons. I'm terrible at narrowing things down.

Also, lol at Dany being on this list, but not Sansa.

[RedChick]

Surprised that some people make Arya out as some tactical genius in this thread. She had her fair share of stupid and impulsive moments as well (if Sandor didn't stop her, she would've been slaughtered at the RW; along with freeing Jaqen she also freed Rorge and Biter, etc).

I also find this question rather vague because people are smart in different ways that's already been described and defined in this thread. A person can be intelligent in one area and be unintelligent in a different area.

[Martini Sigil]

I'd vote Dany... She aquired an army and conquered a few cities... managed to avoid getting killed in Qarth... she seems to make a lot of observations and decisions that are wise beyond her years

... and I'll give Margaery honorable mention for playing Joffery like a violin.

[l2 0 5 5]

I'm going with Robb. I know he made some crucial mistakes such as marrying Jeyne, sending Theon to Balon, and the Karstark debacle, but he faced harder and more complicated decisions than the other listed characters. Robb faced the obstacle of governing the North and Riverlands whilst warring, and I think he did a pretty good job of it; so good of a job that Frey/Bolton/Lannister had to sink to the lowest of lows to eliminate him because of how competent he was.

I don't know why Loras and Sansa are even listed. Loras may be brave, but I wouldn't call him intelligent (unless he fooled Cersei with his mission to Dragonstone, and being injured, but that is speculation at this point), and Sansa hasn't done anything intelligent. Telling Cersei about Ned's plan is the exact opposite of intelligent, actually. I believe Sansa will grow intelligent with all of her experiences, but not right now. Arya gets a second to Robb with her pure survival skills for being such a young character, and being on the run as a wanted person.

[Pod The Impaler]

For being book smart, I would say Samwell Tarly. Not socially smart, perhaps, but you can see him learning for enjoyment.

For all the quiet way about them, Podrick Payne and Missandei seem to be very perceptive and quick to learn.

Arya (if she counts as a teen) is probably the most razor-sharp and street-smart - her sort of intellect seems to shine through. She is quite impulsive, but also insightful and perceptive.

(Really, the Stark kids seem to all be average or better.)

Dany is quite smart, as well. Many foes seem to think of her as a bimbo, but she can be quite clever, which they find out the hard way.

I'd also like to put in a word for "Alleras", who does seem the cleverest student at the citadel, at least until Sam gets there.

However, I think once Bran hits his teens, he might beat them all and just raw intellect.

[Tetrarch42]

Well it really depends how you wish to define "intelligent".

In terms of thier level of education? Likely Aegon or Sam - both are ghighborn and have been learning from maesters much of their life. Sam devours books of all kinds.

In terms of quantifiable, concrete intelligence like IQ? This is really tough to say, Arya seems like a natural problem solver and noted at one point that she was good with numbers (but bad with needlework).

In terms of real world practical experience? Jon Snow has been through a great deal, from a highborn bastard, to a naive Night's Watchman, to a reluctant leader, to a pragmatic and intelligent political force in the civil war (and he's killed a wight). On the other hand, Arya has been all over Planetos, spoken to everyone from high lords to homeless peasants, become inducted into a top secret magical assasin's guild, etc, etc. Kind of a toss up. Daenarys might be a contender in this category as well. The rest of them have lead sheltered existences by comparison.

[Littlefingers In The Air]

It doesn't matter who the smartest teenager is. They all pale in comparison to the great one.

[Arthur Dayne's Honor]

It doesn't matter who the smartest teenager is. They all pale in comparison to the great one.

Arthur Dayne? I mean he is pretty frickin awesome but we don't know about his smarts.

[C0bR]

It doesn't matter who the smartest teenager is. They all pale in comparison to the great one.

Didn't you challenge Brandon Stark to a duel when you were a teenager? All those kids have a headstart on you in terms of brain power, Baelish.

[Littlefingers In The Air]

Getting my ass handed to me by Brandon was a part of the plan.

[Tetrarch42]

It doesn't matter who the smartest teenager is. They all pale in comparison to the great one.

Fair enough. Littlefinger may let his emotions get the best of him when Sansa is involved though, then he may well end up very stupid, and very dead.

[Arthur Dayne's Honor]

Getting my ass handed to me by Brandon was a part of the plan.

i can't wait til Sansa cuts your pedo dick off with the Catspaw

[The Mountain That Flies]

I also find this question rather vague because people are smart in different ways that's already been described and defined in this thread. A person can be intelligent in one area and be unintelligent in a different area.

Very much agreed. Literally every character in the series, including the teenagers, is able to do at least one thing very well. Sometimes it's because they were well trained (such as Aegon, Robb, Marge, and Jon), and sometimes it's due to certain circumstances that have pushed them (such as Sam, Arya, Dany, and Sansa). Many of these characters would have failed miserably if forced the deal with each others problems, while others would have found their skills translated quite well. Furthermore, we haven't seen all the characters tested to equal levels, since Aegon really hasn't had anywhere near the battle/leadership experience Robb or Jon has, Dany, Margary, and Sansa have had to navigate completely different political realities, and Arya and Sam's challenges have no clear counterparts.

If intelligence can be measured as the ability to comprehend, recall, and practically apply information, my vote would go to Dany. The sheer scope of the problems she's resolved can only really be challenged by Jon, and he had formal training to fall back on. She shows herself to be an incredibly quick study at languages, deals reasonably well with no less than three wildly different political atmospheres, and basically invents dragon training. She's made a lot of dumb mistakes, but she's also the only person in history to sack Astapor, which she did by being clever. Out of any of the characters on this list, I think she could have had the best odds of success in anyone else's circumstances.

[Riptide]

Can we stop talking about about Arya? The word "teenanger" loses all meaning if we count her as one. I vote Jon Snow.

[space]

arya is a clear cut #1 in my eyes here

right below her are marg (i know i will get some hate for this) and dany

sam is very book smart but he's just way way way too social/street/life stupid to get any real credit

[Ludd]

Obviously it depends on what you mean by intelligence

If it is book learning and capacity to be an academic/scientist type the clearly Sam Tarly is the winner. He is the classic geek who today would be a rocket scientist.

In terms of capacity to make wise judgment calls of men and strategy, along with a goodish grasp of book learning, then Jon wins. He was wiser than Robb in his assessment of the deserter Gared and of Theon and in his assessment of the pups. He has excellent war strategy skills (as does Robb) but is probably overall a better judge of character. But hey the whole story is that Jon and Robb were pretty evenly matched in ability with perhaps Jon having the slight edge.

Sansa is NOT intelligent at this point in the story although she may well develop it. She is tricked and manipulated by everyone around her and is oblivious to reality. Sure she is NOW learning and ask again in 4 years and we may find her outshining her siblings but as of now she is only a beginner in intelligence and wisdom

[Drexyon7]

I can't even piece together how people think Arya is the smartest.

She essentially found a genie and somehow blew it...if any non Stark pulled that they would go down as one of the dumbest characters.

On topic: Missandei, Sam, Sarella, and Robb top the list.

[Petyr Patter]

Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly are the top candidates in my mind, albeit for different reasons. Jon's advice to Stannis? Might just have won the war for the North. His other great iniative, drafting wildlings into the service of the Night's Watch appears to be a winner, though time will tell.

Sam, obviously has a great reservoir of knowledge from his reading. However, he's also the one who cooked up the scheme to get Jon elected Lord Commander. On the otherhand, he failed to notice Jon had ordered the baby swap until Maestar Aemon spelled it out for him.