How many people were outraged when Ned Stark...(spoilers)

[lucky_sharm]

was executed? Apparently there were some strong reactions to this development. Like this for example:


Some people even vowed never to watch another episode because of that. What I'm wondering is...why? Why are people so outraged that a main character died? When you actually revisit the previous scenes that Ned Stark was involved in before he was captured in the throne room, he basically dug his own grave. Both Renly and Littlefinger offered their allegiances and he turned down both of them.

 

[Bat Vader]

Honestly, I was pretty much expecting it. Mainly because they picked Sean Bean to play the part.

Spoiler

Since we all know that Sean Bean dies in everything.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

I was fine with it. I don't like any of the Starks except Arya and Sansa. I especially didn't like Ned, he was an idiot. Like you said, he dug his own grave.

I was also expecting it to happen, since at the beginning of the show/book when they found a direwolf litter, the parent has been killed by a stag. With the series's reputation for killing off main characters (and the house symbols), I didn't think it could mean anything else.

 

[Johnny Impact]

When I read the books, Eddard's death was the moment I realized Ice & Fire was going to be different from other series. The only man ruled by personal honor -- the guy we're supposed to root for, the guy who "wins" in most fiction -- is beheaded with his own sword on the whim of a foolish boy.

I wasn't outraged. I took a minute to think, then realized I was pretty sure I liked the series better for making characters suffer realistic consequences for their actions. I miss Eddard, but I miss other characters who died, too.

 

[Requia]

I've been reading the books for far too long now (At this point I'd be ecstatic to only wait 4 years between books). So it wasn't exactly a shock, though getting to watch the utter horror on the SOs face when it happened was pretty amazing.

 

[MHR]

Cuz some fools want the good guys to win all the time. Their personal values and world views unravel when faced with something different. There's lots of idiots, it's as simple as that.

The value of tragedy, and more importantly, unique storytelling eludes them.

 

[DugMachine]

Because those who are 'outraged' just aren't suited for that type of story that song of ice and fire is. The good guys don't always win and everybody has their own personal agenda in the end. Trust no one whole heatedly, basically.

I was shocked when Ned died in the books and even in the tv series it still stung as he's such an honorable man but it truly was his down fall. Luckily I know...

Spoiler

Joffrey gets what's coming to him, that smug little shit

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

A character I liked died? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

These are the people who didn't read the books before watching. Or didn't know who Sean Bean was.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

I was not shocked. Not because of the Sean Bean factor (he survived Silent Hill, after all, and I read the book first), but because he was the only completely honest, honorable member of the cast. Well, until Brienne of Tarth. But he was just an idiot as well.

Spoiler: Spoilers about Cersei and Ned's fate

Yeah, confront Cersei, telling her you know that the father of her kids was Jaime, then finish it by threatening her. Seriously, it was just the two of them. You could easily just, you know, tell Robert, the king you are serving, and have him "handle" his wife. Instead, you try to give her an "honorable" out, and you get decapitated. Brilliant fucking job.

 

[SlaveNumber23]

I was quite surprised when it happened as most popular shows/books etc won't pull a move like that and kill off an established main protagonist so early on in the series. To be honest I didn't really care though, I hated the character, he was boring and far too much of a 'good guy'[footnote]I absolutely despise characters who are portrayed as purely good and selfless.[/footnote], the characters I usually enjoy the most are antagonists. It was a pleasant surprise really, what I love about the series is that it does something different and I'm really impressed that the tv adaptation doesn't compromise staying true to the books[footnote]Well I haven't read the books yet but from what I can gather the tv show stays pretty close to the books, at the very least I can say they didn't waive Ned's death in favor of something more generic.[/footnote].

 

[The_Echo]

I wouldn't say I was shocked to any degree, but given that I haven't read the books, I was surprised that such a then-central character was just... gone, with no real time to mourn him.

I think that was the point when the show said to us "So, nobody's safe. Just saiyan."

But I can't say one less Stark is a negative. Obviously the throne belongs to House Targaryen.

 

[Legion]

Honestly, I was pretty much expecting it. Mainly because they picked Sean Bean to play the part.

Spoiler

Since we all know that Sean Bean dies in everything.

That was my exact reaction as well. Which is a damn shame as he is one of my favourite actors. He also played the part perfectly.

So no, I wasn't exactly outraged. Although once I started to read the books I got kind of annoyed that George R. R. Martin seems to have something against the family. I mean, give them a break, they are one of the few decent people in the series entire frigging world.

I was more sad about the wolves though.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Honestly, I was pretty much expecting it. Mainly because they picked Sean Bean to play the part.

Spoiler

Since we all know that Sean Bean dies in everything.

Except Troy, somehow he gets through that with barely a scratch.

 

[Bat Vader]

Honestly, I was pretty much expecting it. Mainly because they picked Sean Bean to play the part.

Spoiler

Since we all know that Sean Bean dies in everything.

That was my exact reaction as well. Which is a damn shame as he is one of my favourite actors. He also played the part perfectly.

So no, I wasn't exactly outraged. Although once I started to read the books I got kind of annoyed that George R. R. Martin seems to have something against the family. I mean, give them a break, they are one of the few decent people in the series entire frigging world.

I was more sad about the wolves though.

Yeah, the Starks have been beaten and kicked around pretty badly throughout the series. They keep forgetting to call in the one Stark that could turn everything around in their favor.

Spoiler

 

[Fluffythepoo]

They lied to him!

Honestly, I was pretty much expecting it. Mainly because they picked Sean Bean to play the part.

Spoiler

Since we all know that Sean Bean dies in everything.

Except Troy, somehow he gets through that with barely a scratch.

Well in fairness Odysseus life starts sucking the moment he leaves troy.. like sucking hardcore

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

When I read the books, Eddard's death was the moment I realized Ice & Fire was going to be different from other series. The only man ruled by personal honor -- the guy we're supposed to root for, the guy who "wins" in most fiction -- is beheaded with his own sword on the whim of a foolish boy.

I wasn't outraged. I took a minute to think, then realized I was pretty sure I liked the series better for making characters suffer realistic consequences for their actions. I miss Eddard, but I miss other characters who died, too.

Pretty much this. I'm a bit of a fantasy genre nut (at least back then anyway) and was so sure I had the plot figured out from the get-go. Then Ned got knicked and I had to re-evaluate everything - and it was then that I realised how much A Song of Ice and Fire had over other fantasy series' that I'd read.

 

[ToxicOranges]

"OH NOES I WON'T WATCH ANOTHER EPISODE"

Fine. Don't. The series has been out since 1995 anyway; in theory you can't spoiler anything except the contents of a Dance with Dragons, but even then, that's been out for a while. Eddard Stark had to die for the character development of Rob Stark, Littlefinger, Renly, Joffrey, and the War of the 5 Kings to actually begin!

 

[Scarim Coral]

Sure I was pissed when that happened but that in turn made it competely different from the many stories out there (not the cliche/ sterotype/ trope). Also it only made me even more keep watching it to see what his childrens can do without him althought they're now taken their own paths in life.

 

[Fractral]

I thought it was awesome. It made the first book for me, and kept me reading to see if the 'bad guys' would get their comeuppance. Sure, it was sad and all, but because of it Arya became even more kickass than she was before.

Spoiler

and then it made Joffrey's and Tywin's deaths all the sweeter.