2) Ned Stark Loses His Head
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An early indication that Game of Thrones was not your usual show came with Ned Stark – ostensibly our gallant hero and main character – sent to the great beyond at the end of the first season. Ned was the good guy, one of the few knights of honor in Westeros – surely, we all thought, he was going to survive to see at least another season.
King Joffrey quickly put paid to that idea. Just as it appears Ned is to be pardoned by Joffrey and allowed to go free, the new king has a sudden change of heart – the former Hand’s head will roll, in front of an audience including his two daughters no less. It was a depressingly unexpected moment that set the viewer to get ready for more of the same.