If you’re not watching HBO’s GAME OF THRONES, you’re not just missing out on one of the most ambitious and engaging series to hit the small screen in quite some time, you’re depriving yourself of something that has unfortunately become akin to an endangered species in this spoiler-obsessed internet culture.
The surprise. (Editor’s Note: Stop reading now if you have yet to see Sunday’s episode!)
Remember those? Those increasingly rare television moments that illicit genuine, honest-to-goodness, gut-wrenching reactions as you reach for your remote to replay a scene you did not for the life of you see coming. We do. Which is precisely why — in addition of course to the copious amount of sex and violence fantastic performances and plot twists — last night’s episode of GAME OF THRONES solidified our love affair with a series in which anything, and we mean anything, can happen.
“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.”
Evidently, we weren’t the only ones who should have taken Queen Cersei Lannister warning from earlier in the season to heart. So too should have Ned Stark (Sean Bean), whose story came to a shocking conclusion during the closing moments of last night’s episode. Yes, in executing author George R. R. Martin’s vision, the producers had no choice but to kill the [literal, see above poster] central figure of HBO’s multi-million dollar marketing campaign, a character who many naturally assumed would remain front and center throughout the entire series. Shocking! Unbelievable! Incredible! Suffice it to say, there are no words. Well, except to say how glad we are we decided to hold off on reading the books on which the series is based on prior to the start of the series. 
