Game of Thrones Season One Ultimate Unofficial Guide: The Game of Thrones Season 1

the kingdom at the time.
What We Learn
     Daenerys is relying on Jorah for all of her information about the Dothraki people and their way of life. Should he be fully trusted? Does Daenerys have a choice?
     Queen Cersei is unhappy to hear that Bran lives and her paranoia worsens, making us wonder what she will do next.
     Robert and Cersei’s firstborn son died as a baby from a fever.
     Jon knows nothing of his mother. We learn that her name is Wyla.
     Jon shares close relationships with his siblings and father, but has never been welcomed or accepted by Cat.
     The Targaryens were responsible for the deaths of Ned’s sister, brother, and father. We do not know why at this point.
     There is more to Tyrion than meets the eye.
     Prince Joffrey is a liar and a coward.
     A spiritual connection exists between Bran Stark and the direwolves, leaving us to speculate how this will come into play as the story progresses.

Introducing . . . The Guardians of The North
    The Stark family is the central focus of the opening episodes of Game of Thrones and the family through whose perspective we see the story unfold. At the head of the Stark family is Eddard, or Ned, Stark. He is married to Catelyn “Cat” Stark, who is from the Tully family of the Riverlands. Together they have five children, Robb, Sansa, Arya, Brandon, and Rickon.
    Ned is a loyal and decisive man who lives his life by a traditional code of honor and duty. He naively expects that others live by the same honorable values, a trait which leaves him blind to the measures taken by those vying for power. He was thrust into the leadership position he holds in The North when his father and brother were unexpectedly executed by the Mad King Aerys. Ned stands firm in his loyalty to King Robert and trusts him like a brother. When information is presented that his father-figure, Jon Arryn, might have been murdered, his sense of loyalty and duty compel Ned to accept the position as Hand of the King to Robert, enabling Ned to protect his friend from foes. Although it was hard for Ned to leave his family for King’s Landing, especially with the uncertainties of Bran’s health, he did so nonetheless simply because it needed to be done.
    Ned also has a son named Jon whom he sired out of wedlock while away on a king’s mission when he and Catelyn were first married. Jon has grown up with the social stigma of being a bastard and carries the region’s surname Snow instead of Stark. Cat has always resented his presence in her household, resulting in constant emotional conflict regarding Jon. Ned loves Jon as his son, but is forced to control his emotions towards Jon out of respect for his wife. He knows he was morally wrong in fathering a child with another woman while bound in marriage to Cat, but did what he felt was right by bringing the baby home with him to raise as his own.
    Catelyn, or Cat, Stark is a wonderful mother and true wife. Like Ned, she also holds fast to traditional values of honor and duty. Although originally engaged to Ned’s older brother Brandon, Cat fulfilled her duty of joining the family houses by marrying Ned after Brandon was executed. She and Ned have sown a real working relationship and have grown to deeply love each other. She hates the circumstances of Ned leaving, but understands why he must go. Left in charge of Winterfell, she rises to the task and begins thinking like a warrior when her family is threatened.
    Robb, their eldest son, is heir to Winterfell and has grown up fast in order to be able to fulfill all the duties necessary of a man-to-be in his position. He is bound by duty and honor, like his parents, and looks after his younger brother, Bran. Robb looks up to his father and realizes there are many qualities and responsibilities to inculcate in being a Stark male. He has a strong relationship with his half-brother Jon because they are close in age and grew up together. Robb has counted on Jon’s support his entire life and knows that despite Jon’s being older, he has no claim to their father’s inheritance due to his status as a bastard. Robb names his direwolf Grey Wind.
    The Starks’ eldest daughter, Sansa, splendidly fulfills the role expected of a young noble lady. She believes in chivalry and tradition and embodies quite a romantic perspective of the world. Sansa does what is expected of her and falls in love with the idea of someday becoming queen of the realm, an idea that blinds her to the