10 Most Shocking Game Of Thrones Moments
2. Ned Dies
When Game of Thrones first started, Sean Bean was the biggest name in the cast, and his character reflected that. While the series had a huge cast that it liked to flit between ever episode, Ned was the closest thing the series had to an archetypical main protagonist back then.
He was the hero we needed back then, too. In this vast world full of characters morally ambiguous at best, and bankrupt at worst, he was our compass.
TV shows don't tend to kill off their main character. So even when we saw Ned going deeper into the murky secrets of the Lannisters, and then thrown in a cell, we assumed he'd be fine. Heck, even when his head was on the chopping block, and Ser Ilyn Payne raised his sword, it still seemed a safe bet there'd be a last-second swerve.
Nope.
If Bran's fall was the moment that showed how far Game of Thrones might go, then this was the one that confirmed it and then some. The one that screamed nothing was too shocking, and no one is safe.