*Spoiler* HBO: Game of Thrones Thread 2 *Spoiler*

Ned Stark being the main character & being killed at the end of the first book is one of the main reasons the book & the series as a whole is a sucess because it was realistic and not the normal expected fictional setup. This is something that is played up through out the book series Characters both good & bad can die or have other unexpected things happen to them as it would in real life.