Some could argue that Neds revelation to Cersei should be at the top spot, but if most of what unfolds in Game of Thrones can be traced back to one event, then its this one. After Bran is nearly murdered in his bed, it is the lies of Littlefinger that lead Catelyn to believe it was Tyrion who was behind the attempt. As stated earlier, Catelyns trust in Littlefinger should definitely be brought into question, but once she starts down that road, the rest is on her shoulders. To make matters worse, after she has him in custody, Catelyn starts to doubt whether or not Tyrion was behind it, yet still continues on the course she has set, from which the pain and tragedy that follows stems. Look at it like this: Catelyn takes Tryion prisoner, claiming he tried to murder Bran because Bran had discovered something about the Lannisters, possibly having to do with Arryns death. Once word gets back to Tywin Lannister that his son has been taken, the head of House Lannister has the excuse to put his army in the field as a means of expanding and solidifying the Lannisters' hold over the kingdom. Jaime attacks Ned and his men in the streets of Kings Landing when Ned refuses to tell Catelyn to release Tyrion. Consequently Robb, who was already contemplating what to do about the Lannister troops knocking on the Norths door, now makes the fateful decision to call the Norths bannermen to arms and march south. As the two armies engage, Cersei sees her opportunity to strike and arranges for Robert to meet an unfortunate hunting accident. Once Joffrey is on the throne, he orders Neds death as a means of asserting his new found authority as king. Robb is then declared the King in the North by his supporters and the War of the Five Kings starts in earnest as Stannis, Renly, and Balon Greyjoy join in to fight for the throne. All of that from one act: Catelyn taking Tyrion prisoner. With just a little more thought, or a little less faith in what her heart was telling her and more faith in her head, Tyrion would never have been captured and Westeros may have been spared what is arguably the bloodiest conflict in its violent and tumultuous history.
I've been a huge sci-fi fan ever since going to see "Star Wars" at the tender age of 3 (and yes I actually do remember it! I love pretty much any intelligent and entertaining film and television series (some of my all time favorites are 2001, Lawrence of Arabia, Battlestar Galactica [SyFy], and The West Wing). Must thank the stars above for such things as HBOGO and Netflix (Am thoroughly enjoying Ripper Street btw). I've also been an avid comic book collector since childhood. I earned a bachelor's degree in creative writing with a second emphasis in film studies from Florida State University (Go Noles!) and definitely enjoy sitting back and watching pretty much any sports. I wish I had a joke to end with, but I don't so I'll simply say "The End."
