Most memorable 'Game of Thrones' faces, according to algorithm (pictures)

While you might remember young King Joffrey for his sadistic acts, his facial and other features also make him the 12th most memorable character in the HBO series "Game of Thrones," according to MIT scientists.

MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab developed an algorithm in 2013 that pinpoints subtle features in images that make faces more memorable, at least as reported by human volunteers who viewed pictures from a database of 2,000 images.

With the Season 5 finale of "Game of Thrones" coming up Sunday, MIT number-crunchers applied the formula to pictures of "Game of Thrones" characters and then ranked them according to a memorability score culled from the human volunteers. Keep clicking through the gallery to see who's the most memorable in Westeros.

Tyrion Lannister ranks as the 11th most memorable character, visually, which seems low given his unique stature among characters -- and his awesome scars.

No real surprise here. It just kind of makes sense that a guy who crushes skulls with his bare hands might be memorable. But Gregor Clegane, better known as "The Mountain," who fights for Cersei Lannister to decide the fate of her brother Tyrion in Season 4, also has a look that makes him the 10th most memorable character on the show.

Oh great Stark father, you are not forgotten. Ned ranks as the eighth most memorable character, according to MIT's algorithm, tied with another, somewhat controversial family member...

Our hero! Of course you remember one of the few guys on "Game of Thrones" worth cheering for. It probably helps that actor Kit Harington, who plays the bastard Lord of the Night's Watch, has conventionally good-leading-man looks.

So much sadness in that solemn Stark face. The surname surely fits. The tragic Sansa Stark is the seventh most memorable character from a list that begins to include an increasing number of blond people as we near the top. Interpret that how you will.

Tied for fourth-most-memorable face, along with two of his far more powerful friends from Kings Landing, it's interesting to see the mercenary fighter Bronn so high on the list when the lady knight Brienne of Tarth doesn't make the top 12 at all.

By plenty of accounts, Cersei Lannister is both beautiful and terrible, so it follows that she would be memorable as well. She's tied for No. 4 on the list compiled by MIT according to an algorithm that assesses the memorability of faces based on subtle differentiations in features.

Jaime Lannister looks so much like your typical leading man that he should almost be rendered most forgettable, but now I just sound jealous. The dude is also the king-slaying, metal-handed guy on a mission who's in love with his sister in a really creepy way. So yeah, I guess he is pretty memorable.

Score one for the elder generation of leaders with the Lannister patriarch coming in at the third most memorable character, according to MIT's algorithm. Unfortunately for his legacy, it's going to be tough to remember much beyond that last image of him meeting his end on the commode.

She seems plucked straight out of "Mean Girls" to climb the social ladder of Kings Landing. As such, Queen Margaery looks and plays the part well and comes in at the second spot for most memorable from the series.

Probably no surprise here that one of the show's most popular characters is also its most memorable, according to computer science. But, really, having three frickin' dragons also has to figure in to the khaleesi ranking at the top of this list, right?