Looking back at Game of Thrones: The best moments from season one

Way back at the beginning, when Game of Thrones was in its very first season, one innocuous scene quietly revealed the heart of the story.

Whatever your opinion of Game of Thrones’ final season, there is no denying the show has delivered some of the most stunning moments in television over the last decade.

Ahead the 10th anniversary of the legendary HBO series on April 17, we’re looking back and picking out the best scenes. First up is season one.

Many factors can contribute to a standout scene - a masterfully produced piece of action, some beautifully written dialogue, great acting, or even a hidden nugget of information crucial to the story.

There was a little bit of everything in the first season, and some very juicy foreshadowing. Read on for that, and watch the video above for our thoughts on the best scenes of the series as a whole.

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S1E1: Tyrion’s first piece of advice

In hindsight, Jon’s prominence in the early episodes really sticks out. He is supposedly the lowest of Ned Stark’s children, but is the focus of so many scenes, an early clue to his importance that many of us missed.

Tyrion Lannister finds Jon moping outside as everyone else in Winterfell feasts with the king, and dispenses his first great piece of advice in the show.

“Let me give you some advice, bastard. Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you,” Tyrion says.

“The hell do you know about being a bastard?” a cranky Jon replies.

“All dwarves are bastards in their fathers’ eyes,” says Tyrion.

In later seasons, Tyrion’s relationship with his own father becomes a central plot point. This scene is the first hint at that.

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"Wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you."

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S1E2: Ned’s last words to Jon

The last time Jon sees Ned Stark, he asks about his mother. We now know how important that question is.

“Is my mother alive? Does she know about me - where I am, where I’m going? Does she care?” Jon asks.

“The next time we see each other, we’ll talk about your mother,” Ned tells him, finishing the sentence with a sound that’s practically impossible to write. It’s something like: “Nnggh”. I’m doing my best here.

The moment lasts a mere fraction of a second, but is full of so much meaning. It’s a fabulous piece of acting by Sean Bean.

Jon, of course, never sees Ned again.

"The next time we see each other, we'll talk about your mother."

S1E5: Robert and Cersei’s heart-to-heart

Mark Addy’s performance as the drunken King Robert Baratheon provided some of the show’s biggest laughs and memes - “We’ve been sitting here for days! Start the damn joust before I piss meself,” - but there was always a subtle depth to the character.

It was on full display in a masterfully written scene Addy shared with Lena Headey. Unlike much of the show’s great early dialogue, this conversation was not lifted from the books.

Robert and Cersei discuss the hilarious fact that their bitter and resentful marriage is all that’s holding the realm together. Cersei says she loved him for some time before giving up on the relationship. He admits it could never have worked.

These are two deeply troubled characters. Robert’s mistreatment and neglect of Cersei played a big part in eventually turning her into a villain. And Robert’s unfulfilled obsession with Lyanna Stark drove him to alcoholism and depression.

“You want to know the horrible truth? I can’t even remember what she looked like. I only know she was the one thing I ever wanted. Someone took her away from me. And seven kingdoms couldn’t fill the hole she left behind,” he tells Cersei.

This scene is arguably the greatest addition the showmakers have contributed to George R.R. Martin’s story. It adds so much depth to both characters.

"Seven kingdoms couldn't fill the hole she left behind."

S1E6: Tyrion’s confession

Accused of conspiring to murder Bran Stark, Tyrion is imprisoned by Catelyn’s sister at the Eyrie. He decides to confess his “crimes” in front of the lords, ladies and knights of the Vale.

“I flogged the one-eyed snake, I skinned my sausage, I made the bald man cry into the turtle stew, which I do believe my sister ate. At least, I hope she did,” he says. As wanking innuendo goes, it’s pretty high quality stuff.

There is no particularly deep meaning. This is just classic Tyrion.

What a wanker.

S1E6: A crown for a king

Viserys Targaryen is a loathsome, cruel character, but even he has shades of grey. We just don’t really see them until his death scene.

For most of his life, Viserys has felt the pressure of being - in his mind - the last hope for his family to reclaim its throne from the “usurper”. He is driven to desperation. And that is why he ultimately sells his sister to Khal Drogo in return for the promise of an army.

When that promise goes unfulfilled, Viserys stumbles into Drogo’s tent, drunk and fed up. He threatens Daenerys and demands Drogo uphold his end of the bargain.

Drogo tricks him, responding that he will have a “golden crown”. A boyish, naive grin lights up Viserys’s face.

“Well that was all I wanted. What was promised,” he says.

Drogo proceeds to pour molten gold on Viserys’s head, murdering him. And for the first time, we see Daenerys’s unsettlingly calm response to violence.

“He was no dragon. Fire cannot kill a dragon,” she says, staring transfixed at the horrifying sight before her.

We don’t see a problem with her reaction. Why would we? Viserys abused Daenerys for years, and committed evil acts.

This is the trick the story plays on us - as long as Daenerys confines her violence to bad people, we cheer her on, never recognising how dangerous her bloodlust is.

"That's all I wanted. What was promised."

S1E7: Tywin Lannister’s first scene

The Lannister patriarch has already been built up as a fearsome character, and his first appearance on screen cements that view.

We see Tywin skinning a stag while he lectures Jaime on the importance of family, delivering the iconic line: “The lion does not concern himself with the opinions of the sheep.”

“Your mother’s dead. Before long I’ll be dead. And you, and your brother, and your sister, and all of her children. All of us dead, all of us rotting in the ground. It’s the family name that lives on, it’s all that lives on. Not your personal glory, not your honour, but family,” Tywin says.

It’s a succinct summary of his motivations, and a window into why all three Lannister siblings are who they are. Plus, Charles Dance plays him with immense authority.

"The lion does not concern himself with the opinions of the sheep."

S1E7: I did warn you not to trust me

The first of several stunning double crosses in the show, and one heck of a cliffhanger on which to end an episode.

Ned Stark believes Littlefinger has paid off the city watch on his behalf, when Baelish is actually in cahoots with Cersei.

The story’s supposed protagonist has been played, pure and simple.

“I did warn you not to trust me,” Littlefinger says in that smarmy, mocking tone of his.

"I did warn you not to trust me."

S1E9: Varys persuades Ned to confess

As you know, Ned ends up falsely confessing to treason, believing he will be allowed to join the Night’s Watch instead of being executed.

That only happens because Varys visits him in the dungeons of the Red Keep and convinces him to sacrifice his honour.

“You think I would trade my honour for a few more years of - of what?” Ned asks.

“You grew up with actors. You learned their craft and you learned it well. But I grew up with soldiers. I learned how to die a long time ago.”

Varys turns to leave, and then delivers the killer line.

“What of your daughter’s life, my lord? Is that a precious thing to you?”

This scene is particularly poignant now, having watched the series finale. Tyrion only manages to persuade Jon to kill Daenerys when he brings up Sansa and Arya, who will never be safe if Daenerys is left alive.

Jon might not be Ned’s son by blood, but he is in spirit. The only reason either man will throw away his honour is to protect his family. It’s a beautiful parallel.

"I grew up with soldiers. I learned how to die a long time ago."

S1E9: Love is the death of duty

This scene between Jon and Maester Aemon contains a stunning little revelation - Aemon is in fact a Targaryen who once refused the chance to rule - but more importantly, it also lays out the core conflict of Jon’s character arc, which is the tension between duty and love.

Jon wants to leave the Night’s Watch and help his brother Robb, but is bound by his duty. Later, he will want to stay with Ygritte, but duty will compel him to turn on her. And at the very end of the story, Jon will kill Daenerys despite his love for her, because it is his duty.

“Love is the death of duty,” Aemon tells him. Jon echoes those words to Tyrion as he agonises over his actions in the series finale.

“Sometimes duty is the death of love,” Tyrion says back.

At every turn throughout Game of Thrones, Jon sacrifices his own desires and happiness to do his duty, just as Aemon did before him.

“We all do our duty when there’s no cost to it. Honour comes easy then. Then, sooner or later in every man’s life, there comes a day when it is not easy. A day when he must choose,” Aemon says.

That day came for Aemon when he was already old. It was the day Robert’s Rebellion succeeded, and House Targaryen was thrown into ruin.

“What could I do when the ravens brought the news from the south? The ruin of my house, the death of my family. I was helpless. Blind. Frail. But when I heard they had killed my brother’s son, and his poor son, and the children - even the little children ...” Aemon says, fury entering the normally mild-tempered maester’s voice.

“You’re Aemon Targaryen,” Jon eventually discerns.

“I am a maester of the Citadel. Bound in service to Castle Black and the Night’s Watch,” Aemon responds.

This conversation is a formative moment for Jon, and if you’re paying attention, it tells you a lot about the future of his story.

"Love is the death of duty."

S1E9: The execution of Ned Stark

We all remember this scene, because it’s the one that really got most of us hooked on Game of Thrones, proving no character was safe.

It also firmly established Joffrey as the most hated character in the show until his own wonderful death in season four.

“My mother wishes me to let Lord Eddard join the Night’s Watch. Stripped of all titles and powers, he would serve the realm in permanent exile. And my lady Sansa has begged mercy for her father,” Joffrey begins, before the jawdropping twist drops.

“But they have the soft hearts of women. So long as I am your king, treason shall never go unpunished. Ser Ilyn, bring me his head!”

Ned at least gets to die knowing his daughter Arya isn’t watching.

"Ser Ilyn, bring me his head!"

Did I miss any of your favourites from season one? Tell me all about it on Twitter: @SamClench

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