10. Ned's Head On A Spike
The Moment: Such is the narrative mastery of Game Of Thrones that it managed to successfully trick you into being surprised when Sean Bean died. Pulling off what other shows never could (we're looking at you Heroes), the unequivocal main character Eddard Stark was beheaded at the climax of the penultimate episode of the first season. As sudden as Ser Ilyn's strike was, however, an altogether goreless affair. It's the most shocking moment before The Red Wedding and while it may show more than in the book, there's still a sense of being in Arya's shoes, being forced not to look.
Why It's So Sickening: As if we needed more subtle hinting that Joffrey's a bit of a dick, the next episode we got to see the aftermath, with Ned's head, starting to rot, gleefully paraded out before us and a grieving Sansa. It's a flash moment (and that really only adds to it's power), but the image sticks because it is so defining for the fate of the series; Ned was the only truly good character and seeing him so ignominiously thrown aside works as a fitting summary of the show's first season.