Game Of Thrones: 10 Stupidly Easy Decisions That Would've Solved Everything

5. Joffrey Spares Ned

In addition to the personal sufferings of the Stark family that occurred as a result of Ned's decision to warn Cersei, political tensions between the noble families grew, and the possibility of a peaceful resolution was nearly irreparably obliterated. Luckily, the remaining members of the Small Council concocted a scheme that would both appease Robb as he led an army from the North and get rid of Ned as an inconvenience in the Red Keep. Ned would confess to treason to save Sansa, thus validating Cersei's children as legitimate heirs to the throne. He would then receive a royal pardon and be sent to the Wall for the remainder of his life. It was surprisingly straightforward for King's Landing, and all that it would have taken to spare the smallfolk of the Seven Kingdoms a bloody conflict was a king with a deft hand and sound mind. What they got was Joffrey. Instead of adhering to the terms of the deal as worked out by a team of much older and wiser advisors, Joffrey demands that Ser Ilyn bring him Ned's head, an act that would send the North into outright rebellion against the crown and plunge the Seven Kingdoms into a war that would needlessly consume lives and destroy livelihoods all over the continent.