20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About Game Of Thrones

14. There's A Deleted Scene Showing The Mad King

The first episode of Game Of Thrones is a stellar introduction to the world of Westeros, setting up the key elements of the first season and the broader strokes of the overall series. It's hard to think much more could have been fit into the tight opening hour, but that's what almost happened. A scene showing the reign of the Aerys Targaryen, including the death of Ned's brother, Brandon Stark, was shot, but ultimately cut from the finished episode. The whole Mad King pre-history is one of the most enticing part of the show's mythology, and something many people would like to see expanded upon. Prequel perhaps? The show-runners had a rule starting out that they would never resort to flashbacks, hence why this moment was cut, but they look set to go back on themselves next year - Season 5 will feature some non-chronological divergences to the main plot.