1. Ned and Catelyn
Ned died at the end of season 1, so we never saw much of he and his wife together. And yet, for over eight seasons, Ned and Catelyn Stark remain the clearest example of a well-functioning couple on the show. That’s despite the pair’s never-settled dispute over Jon Snow, in which matter neither were blameless. (Ned lied to Catelyn about the baby’s origins, and Catelyn couldn’t bring herself to love the child despite her promises.) Whatever their problems, they managed to raise a brood of healthy, active-minded children dedicated to doing the right thing, even if it gets them in trouble or killed. They obviously did something right.
Keep in mind that Catelyn and Ned had already been married over a decade when we meet them in season 1, and they still clearly enjoyed each other’s company. How was their love able to last that long? Catelyn gives Robb some relationship advice in season 2:
"Your father didn’t love me when we married. He hardly knew me or I him. Love didn’t just happen to us. We built it slowly over the years, stone by stone, for you, for your brothers and sisters, for all of us. It’s not as exciting as secret passion in the woods, but it is stronger. It lasts longer."
Happily, we live in a time where most of us don’t have to accede to an arranged marriage, as Catelyn and Ned did. But she may have a point about building love slowly, stone by stone. Romance is precarious on Game of Thrones, but through couples like this, George R.R. Martin and the producers reveal their belief that it’s not only possible, but worthwhile.
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