9. Ned's Execution
HBOThroughout the entire first season, Ned Stark was our hero, the lens through which we viewed the fantasy world of Westeros. And despite the fact that he's played by Sean Bean (as a wise man once said, Sean Bean starring in something is, in itself, a spoiler), anyone who hadn't read the books was kind of assuming that he wouldn't die so early on in the show's run. What kind of sick freak kills off the most noble character in the entire show, anyway? Oh. Right. Up until the very last minute, we can't bring ourselves to believe that he's actually going to be executed. For one cruel second, we think that Joffrey is going to be merciful (yeah, right) and just have him sent to the Wall. But good people don't last long in Westeros, and Joffrey makes the call to have him beheaded. It's a viciously brutal scene both in the sense of physically watching Ned get his head chopped off, but also emotionally, when his daughters see it happen. This was the moment that we realized anything could happen on Game of Thrones, and it's safe to say that Ned's execution stole our innocence.