10 Things About Game Of Thrones Season 1 Everyone Forgets

Whenever Game of Thrones comes up in conversation, it’s usually about the problems with the characters’ endings that upset many viewers in the last season. However, there was once a time when Game of Thrones first premiered and was an unexpected smash hit for HBO, revitalizing the fantasy genre for a mainstream audience and changing the television landscape as we know it. Looking back on that first season, it feels like a completely different show from the one that its eighth season left off with.

Like any show, Game of Thrones changed a lot as it became more and more successful, especially once it surpassed the events in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books. Though you can’t really blame the show for having to make it up as they go along in those later seasons, there are a lot of details and foreshadowing in that first season that you may have forgotten about. As it turns out, the showrunners kinda forgot about them, too.

Game of Thrones season 1 has a lot of moments viewers will never forget, from the murder of Ned Stark, to the quippy wisdom of Tyrion Lannister, and the fiery uprising of Daenerys Targaryen. Whether it’s the way the characters look, the overall tone of the series, or big hints towards future events, these are ten things you definitely forgot about the series’ debut season.

Time Passes More Quickly Than You Remember

There’s One Easy Way To Tell How Much Time Is Passing Between Each Episode

Among the major criticisms of Game of Thrones‘ later seasons is the passage of time being all over the place, with characters traveling across Westeros within a few scenes. In the first season, moving from point A to point B takes several episodes, as evidenced by Ned and his family spending the entire second episode on the road to King’s Landing, or Tyrion and Bronn spending the eighth episode making their way to Tywin Lannister’s encampment.

However, it’s not always that slow-paced in the first season, as evidenced by the direwolf pups found by the Starks in Game of Thrones‘ first episode. Though they’re found as merely newborns, by only the second episode, they’ve grown large enough to defend the Starks against attackers, such as Bran’s assassin or the petulant Prince Joffrey. A few episodes later, Jon Snow’s direwolf Ghost is already large enough to intimidate other Night’s Watch members into laying off bullying Samwell Tarly.

The White Walkers Are Supposed To Be The Real Threat

The Show’s First Scene Should’ve Been More Than A Red Herring

It feels so obvious for so much of Game of Thrones that the petty squabbles for the Iron Throne pale in comparison to the danger Westeros is ignoring from beyond the Wall. And yet, the entire White Walker army is defeated in the span of a single episode in season 8, which is quite underwhelming given these zombie-like creatures have the honor of being introduced in the very first scene of the series, way before we ever meet Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, or Daenerys Targaryen.

Of the many reasons the White Walkers’ ending doesn’t work in Game of Thrones probably has to do with the show betraying the promise of this first scene, in which several Night’s Watch rangers are ambushed by Wights. Even the mystery of the strange pattern of limbs gets answered in season 6 as just reminiscent of the stone patterns present when the Night King, the first White Walker, was created.

Most Of Game Of Thrones Season 1 Is A Murder Mystery

The Show’s Decline In Quality Might Be From Losing Sight Of Its Original Tone

Tonally, the later seasons of Game of Thrones feel like a Marvel movie, with high-budget action sequences and quippy dialogue. Season 1 of Thrones, however, kicks off with the death of Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King and a former friend of Ned Stark. When asked by King Robert Baratheon to replace Arryn, Ned is encouraged to look into the suspicious circumstances of his death at King’s Landing, unraveling a larger conspiracy regarding the Lannisters.

Many of the most iconic moments in season 1 of Game of Thrones happen as a result of this central murder mystery, but the truth about how and why Jon Arryn died, and who sent an assassin after Bran Stark, isn’t fully revealed until several seasons later. Part of this intrigue was what made Game of Thrones so easy to binge-watch in those early years, rather than just tuning in for the spectacle of it all.

Some Game Of Thrones Characters Look Completely Different In The First Season

It Took A While For The Show To Settle On Their Characters’ Iconic Looks

Obviously, we all remember how different Peter Dinklage looked as Tyrion Lannister in the first season, especially the pilot, in which his hair is as bright and blonde as his siblings’. However, several other characters are just as unrecognizable, given their appearances in future episodes. There’s a brief appearance from Beric Dondarrion, future leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners, though he’s played by a different actor and doesn’t have the iconic eye patch he sports in season 3 onward.

Another Game of Thrones character recast was Gregor Clegane, a.k.a. The Mountain, who was played by two different actors in seasons 1 and 2 before Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson took over the role in season 4. Additionally, some leftover scenes from the pilot feature several jarring continuity errors in the ways characters look, from Ned Stark having slicked-back hair in the crypt scene with King Robert, or The Hound’s incredibly poor-looking wig at the end of the first episode.

Sansa Stark Is Very Unlikable

She Really Came A Long Way Before Becoming Queen Of The North

Although Sansa Stark has Game of Thrones‘ best ending, she is difficult to root for in the first season. Credit where credit’s due, Sophie Turner brilliantly played Sansa as the eldest Stark daughter who believes in fairy tales, charmed by the prospect of being Joffrey’s princess. As a result, she doesn’t treat her family well, especially when it comes to Arya and Ned.

Obviously, you can’t help but feel for Sansa after she’s forced to witness Joffrey sentence Ned to death, and is then taunted with the sight of her father’s head on a pike in the season 1 finale. From that point on, the average viewer feels very deeply for Sansa and roots for her to overcome her terrible circumstances, though prior to that, it’s easy to blame her for turning her back on her family in the name of being in love with a guy she barely knows.

Jon Snow’s Parentage Is So Obvious In Hindsight

The Show Waited Over Six Seasons To Tell Us What Ned Stark’s Expressions Told Us In One

One of the biggest mysteries of Game of Thrones is the parentage of Jon Snow. Although it’s firmly established that Ned is a man who believes in honor above all else, his guilt about siring a bastard haunts him. Nevertheless, knowing the truth that Jon is actually the son of Ned’s sister, Lyanna Stark, and Rhaegar Targaryen, it’s hard not to see how strongly the show foreshadows this in the first season.

Though Jon Snow’s parents are dead before the events of Game of Thrones, few characters are mentioned more in the first season than his mother. However, Sean Bean’s performance gives so much away in every scene related to Lyanna, especially how strongly Ned reacts to Robert’s hatred of Targaryens. Jon even tells Robb at one point that black has always been his color, just like a true Targaryen.

Jorah Mormont Is Initially Sent To Spy On Daenerys

Even The Most Trustworthy Of Characters Have Dubious Pasts

It’s easy to eulogize him as the most devout ally of Daenerys Targaryen, but let us not forget the actual circumstances of Jorah Mormont’s exile in Game of Thrones. Jorah is introduced in the first episode as a Westerosi guest at Dany’s wedding, but unbeknownst to her, he’s actually been sent by King Robert to spy on the young Targaryen in exchange for a pardon. It’s only over time that he comes to love Daenerys that he intervenes in an assassination attempt on her life.

Though his care for Daenerys is genuine, there are definitely moments in which she should’ve been way more suspicious of Jorah’s behavior. Upon learning that she’s pregnant, Jorah pretty obviously makes a leave to go spread word of it to King’s Landing. Thankfully, for Jorah, Daenerys doesn’t notice.

Maester Aemon Connects To A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms

The Targaryens Are Part Of Jon Snow’s Character Arc From The Very Beginning

Those watching A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms might be wondering about Egg’s identity and Game of Thrones history. Look no further than Maester Aemon, whose reveal as a Targaryen in season 1 not only plays a major role in Jon Snow being devoted to the Night’s Watch, but foreshadows the future of HBO’s latest series set in Westeros.

Though Aemon has yet to appear in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, he’s notably the older brother of Egg, a.k.a. Aegon Targaryen. In season 1, he reminds Jon that he remained at Castle Black even as his family was slain during Robert’s Rebellion, a tragic reminder of what making a vow to the Night’s Watch means. Egg isn’t mentioned in the original series until Aemon’s death in season 5, but if you know where Egg’s story is heading, it’s an even more tragic moment.

Bran Has A Personality

Becoming The Three-Eyed Raven Doesn’t Exactly Make Bran Shine As A Character

There are a lot of clues that Bran Stark was going to be king at the end of Game of Thrones, but the actual execution of it is pretty underwhelming, given that Bran spends several seasons as a monotone exposition spewer. When rewatching the first season, you’d be surprised to see just how likable and interesting he is, even at his youngest.

In the first episode alone, Bran is introduced as the impressionable but free-spirited son of Ned and Catelyn, who shows great potential as an archer and as a climber. Nevertheless, he’s crippled from being pushed out a tower window by Jaime, and as the Three-Eyed Raven story progresses, Bran’s childlike wonder is slowly drained in favor of becoming an all-knowing deity.

Ned Stark Is Truly The Show’s Main Character

Sean Bean Leaves, But The Character Never Stops Being Relevant

It’s a point of pride throughout the run of Game of Thrones that they are bold enough to kill off their main character at the end of the first season. However, even in death, Ned Stark remains central to the entirety of the story, from his influence on the series’ major conflicts, the worldviews of his children, and especially in his long-kept secret about Jon Snow’s true parentage.

If anything, Game of Thrones stumbles in its final seasons by rushing to a conclusion and not respecting where the show began, as an examination of how the honor of one man can trigger the downfall of entire houses, dynasties, and prophecies. Though many fans believe Jon Snow fails Ned Stark’s legacy at the end of the series, it’s hard to imagine he’d have had the resolve to assassinate a maddened Dany if it weren’t for Ned’s just influence, for better or worse.

Release Date

2011 – 2019-00-00

Showrunner

David Benioff, D.B. Weiss

Directors

David Nutter, Alan Taylor, D.B. Weiss, David Benioff