8 TV Shows That Killed The Main Character Early
3. Game Of Thrones - Ned Stark (Lifespan: Nine Episodes)
Game Of Thrones takes great pleasure in building up likable, sympathetic heroes that audiences adore, and then killing them in the cruellest ways imaginable. Google The Red Wedding for more information.
The show made this clear in the first season with poor Ned Stark. He tried to be a good Hand of the King, but when that King is douchey little Joffery that's easier said then done. Ned is sentenced to death when he learns the icky truth about Joffrey’s paternity, but is promised mercy if he confesses to treason. He reluctantly agrees to avoid a potential war but Joffrey reneges, and Ned is publicly beheaded.
Sean Bean dying is never a huge surprise but Ned was billed as the lead character and the show’s moral centre. Killing him in such a heartbreaking way sent shock-waves, with his death serving as a stark - pun intended - reminder that in the world of Game Of Thrones it was the good that suffered and the evil who prospered.
Which is something fans have learned the hard way, year after year.