10 best moments from the Game of Thrones series premiere

The crypts of Winterfell

When King Robert Baratheon arrives in Winterfell, he has his old friend and lord of Winterfell Ned Stark accompany him to the crypts under the castle. This is the first time we get details about what led Robert and Ned to where they are now, as well as about how deep their friendship runs.

Specifically, we hear a little more about the civil war waged years ago by the Starks and Baratheons against the Targaryens, who held the Iron Throne at the time. In the first episode, Robert visits the resting place of Lyanna Stark, to whom he was betrothed. For years, the kingdom believed Prince Rhaegar Targaryen kidnapped and killed Lyanna. During the conflict, Robert killed Rhaegar at the Battle of the Trident.

During this episode 1 scene, Robert tells Ned that he dreams of killing Rhaegar every night. “The Targaryens are gone,” Ned tells him.

“Not all of them,” the king says.

The episode then cuts to our introductions to Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen, the supposed last two Targaryens and children of the Mad King Aerys II. But it also hints at the Westeros-changing truth of Jon Snow’s parentage as the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne.