10. Becoming The Hand Of The King
Because really, this is where it all started, right? If Ned had stayed in the north, more convincing signs of the White Walkers would have to reach him sooner or later, and who knows where the story would play out from there, but at the very least it would avoid the entire War of the Five Kings. When watching Game of Thrones, you have to think of Westeros as being the main character of sorts. Various characters have mentioned that they serve the realm, most notably Varys. The Westeros as the main character idea is what theyre getting at. Game of Thrones spend a lot of time looking at the nobles, but what it hasnt focused so much on is the commoners; those poor folk that make up the bulk of Westeros. Theyre the ones getting hit the hardest by the war, with Lannister troops burning crops and villages and the Ironborn in the north. Much of Neds own actions contributed to the start of the civil war, perhaps if he had denied Roberts initial invitation, no matter how hard it may have been, much of the tragedy (and the whole storyline), would have been avoided.