10 best moments from the Game of Thrones series premiere

Ned Stark executes the Night’s Watch deserter

Will, a ranger of the Night’s Watch, is executed by Lord Ned Stark because he deserted his post. Though Will tells Ned and the other men he fled because of the White Walkers, the lord of Winterfell dismisses his claim, saying the White Walkers have been gone for centuries.

Present to watch the execution are Ned’s sons Robb and Bran, his (so far as we know at the time) bastard son Jon Snow and the Starks’ ward Theon Greyjoy. This is the first time young Bran witnesses his father carry out “the king’s justice,” and he’s feeling a bit squeamish. His brother Jon tells him not to look away. “Father will know if you do.”

Bran gets a short lesson in leadership from his father, who tells him the Starks follow the old ways when it comes to justice. “The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword,” Ned tells him. This establishes the harder, Northern way of life that will be held sacred as the Stark children are scattered to the winds later on.