Spoilers *** ( Well I think, I haven't read any of the books and I don't know where everyone is in terms of watching or reading, but I'll just place this here to be on the safe side)
Personally, I am going to disagree. I don't think Ned Stark was particularly brave at the end. I think Stark was a mix of both high character and arrogance. That combination IMHO made him pretty tragic. I don't think Ned Stark was completely naive and completely incapable of playing the "game" of politics, I just don't think he wanted to do it. He had plenty of warning from all directions from multiple people, I think his arrogance prevented him from using the full skill he had or from truly learning what he needed to protect his family.
What about his sons, now thrust into war?
What about his daughters, did he really need someone to remind him, a seasoned soldier whose own father and brother were slaughtered by a mad king, that their lives were at stake too?
What about his men? All those guards and his nanny and the sword trainer ( who might still be alive...) and the 2000 men that Robb Stark sent to the slaughter as decoys and all the people at Winterfell?
IMHO, if Ned Stark really loved his family, he would have realized he was ill suited and said No to King Robert ( What was Robert going to do? Kill his best friend Ned? Ned to could say No regarding an assassination but not No to the job? ) Or if he loved his family, he would have capitulated much sooner. Again, his father and brother were killed while other men did nothing, it's not like he had zero idea of the possible consequences to family.
I think Ned Stark is a good and moral man, I also think he was extremely arrogant. What honor is there in having one daughter on the run, the other held hostage and teetering on death and his son leading an understrength military force with little experience along with his crippled son at home?
IMHO, one of the advantages to the TV series for those of us who did not read the book is the storylines are somewhat predictable in nature ( I enjoy GOT and think it's well made and well written and entertaining, but it's still a TV show, it requires set up and payoffs and basic use of "Chekov's Gun", i.e. things are introduced for a reason to help develop later characters or storylines or plot points) IMHO Ned Stark is like Vito Corleone from the Godfather, it requires his death to drive the story forward. ( Sadly, this sort of sets Robb up to be a bit of "Sonny Corleone" as well) Mufasa from The Lion King was also another example of a character that probably had to bite it to drive a story. Wasn't it obvious that Steven Seagal had to die in Executive Decision for the movie to push forward? ( What, it would taken him 55 minutes to storm the plane if he was able to get onto it?) Also something was going to happen to Drogo and the witch would have had to be prominent ( Otherwise why make it a point to introduce the witch character?) Also a health and committed Drogo would make it a short series. He'd invade otherwise and the show and books series would probably be over.
My guess on Jon Snow, based on the current set up, is he's part Tarygarean. Ned Stark's character construction is too rigid, too arrogant, too morally upright to cheat on his wife. He's like the less bright version of Lucious Vorenus from Rome. Why would he lie to his wife and kingdom and family for? Well it means Snow must be part Stark ( Ned tells him he has Stark blood, but that could mean many things and still be true) And it was evident that the Tarygarean children were slaughtered after the Mad King fell, so Ned Stark would have motive and reason to believe that anything other than deception would mean the death of Jon Snow as an infant. And Ned Stark has shown that he will surrender his "moral code" when a Stark child's life is in danger and he realizes it. ( Sometimes it appears it takes him quite some time to realize it)
My guesses on other things, based on my viewpoint of setup/payoff
- Tywin Lannister is going to have to eat it eventually to create breathing room for the Lannister children to develop, find other storylines. Clearly the massive conflict between his midget outcast son will be his undoing.
- Robb, IMHO, is as good as dead before the end of the series. I suspect the development of his jilted whore loving caddy/buddy ( Theon?) and the setup of his arranged marriage foreshadows it. ( In a world where alliances are brokered through marriage, that promise he made to cross a single river is going to bite him in the ass later)
- Dany obviously is going to hatch those three dragon eggs and rebuild herself an army to invade, just not very fast, otherwise the series would end pretty quickly ( As it appears the Mothraki are superior in military terms)
- Jon Snow will eventually take over the Nightwatch, with his "Samwise" as the heavy set facilitator/broker for his rule. In order to legitimize Snow, he's going to have to marry into a power base to be a formidable future character. My guess is Dany down the road.
- Joffery is not going away anytime soon. But in order for the series to continue, he can't stay on the throne forever, otherwise there is no battle for the throne to last seven books. He's gotta last long enough to encourage war with the surviving Baretheons and Starks. He's either going to discover his true father or he's not. A dead Joffrey creates no conflict for his midget uncle, his real father, Sansa and his mom to understand she didn't have the control over him that she thought. I suspect though when those conflicts are exhausted, then Joffrey is going to have to get his ticket punched. ( I sort of feel for the actor who plays him, Joffery is a really one dimensional character and they picked the most punchable teenage face they could find. I mean he even surpasses Bradley Cooper and Adam Scott for actors who have faces that just scream ********* that needs to get hit by a brick)
- Cat Stark is a dead woman walking IMHO. She was too foolish to either help or protect her husband ( Cersei might be a sociopath, but at least she doesn't make her situation worse, well besides let her brother wreck her in the pooper) and I suspect that's just enough to get you killed. She also drove away Jon Snow, the only person who seemed to have any potential for real military leadership and competence. If my guesses on Snow's paternity are true, then she's also guilty of not being able to read between the lines. Mike Corleones mother died for effect in Godfather Part II, I suspect Cat Stark will have to die the same way, to change some dynamic in her children's maturity.
I rather enjoy the fact that Ned Stark had to die and his family had to suffer. Not because I want to root for the creepiest kid on TV in Joffrey ( The kid's hair even has a certain ********* factor to it, it's that bad) , but I think it's good storytelling and honest to depict that "not playing" the game is still a choice in itself and that it has heavy repercussions. We are all unfortunately shaped in some way by our parent's successes and mistakes, and most conventional TV and movies like to wash that all away, but I'm glad GOT does not. Personally I don't think Ned Stark and his family deserve a "satisfying" revenge kill on Joffrey. IMHO, Ned is tragic because he didn't quite "get it" until the very end. That because he had a certain vision of how things should work, that others should feel and think and act that way as well. At some point, its not about character, it's just about pride. I'm glad Martin made Ned Stark fallible. You can't play the game just on your terms.
Emilia Clarke, wow, she's like Piper Perabo's super hot little sister who snuck back into line when they were handing out fabulous ta-tas during creation and got a second helping. I can't blame Drogo for wanting to mix his surfer girl a double protein shake.
IMHO, I think HBO legitimately tries to push this series to 70+ episodes if they can to profit from syndication and increased DVD sales. One advantage that this series does have based on it's revolving cast is they might be able to attract better quality actors for shorter stints on the show and hanging onto a core cast tends to become prohibitively expensive for most shows ( House, Greys Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Lost, lots of shows start to push the limits of their budgets because of core cast bloat) My guess is Snow, Dany, Arya and the midget Tyrion are the only current core long term characters ( The Snow and Dany actors don't seem well known, Dinklage is trapped into niche/novelty parts, and this is a goldmine for him and Arya over age will probably have to be replaced)
I would have had a lot more respect for Ned if he picked a side and stuck on it. If his honor meant that much to him, then he should have let his family die too. Or he should have surrendered everything if his family meant more than his pride and dignity.
IMHO, Cersei and Joffrey, despite being utter douchebags, didn't kill Ned, Ned in many ways killed himself.
Check out the books though its worth it.
