If you haven’t watched last night’s episode, you need to skip this post now and come back to it later. MAJOR SPOILER ahead. Be warned.

So…

See?

I would have been hugely disappointed in the show, in the writing, in all of it if they hadn’t gone through with it. Because at that point, there was no other choice: Ned had to die. You can’t create a character like that, expect him to behave like that, decide his own road like that, and then make it a Hollywood ending and spoonfeed the weak. That is how you insult an audience.

No one could believe though that they’d actually kill off the Big Name, the lead actor. Many of you emailed me and refused to believe they’d actually dispose of Sean Bean, suggesting alternatives for him to be able to survive, all of which would have been a betrayal to how they’ve drawn the story so far. Could they actually kill off the Big Name?

They could. They did. And I love them for it. Besides, ugh, I hated Ned anyway. What a dumbass. And I also think it’s dumbass the people who don’t think GoT will survive without Sean Bean. Dude, Ned was the most boring part of the show. Every time he came on, I checked my Blackberry. His death is a good thing. It will bring great things. It will bring more tension, bloodthirst, intrigue, it will change people, it will damage them too. Think if Arya, think of how her spirit will be forever tied to that moment! It’s going to be awesome.

But enough time wasted on Ned and his lack of strategery. Robb Stark is the Lord of Winterfell now. Um, how hot is Robb Stark after battle, riding up to his mother after a major victory but all sad and noble for the men he lost? See, this is worrisome too. I like Robb so far. But Robb is too uncomplicated to stick around. Robb will always do the right thing. Robb will always have courage. Robb will conduct himself by a standard that is upheld by few and certainly not by those who play the Game of Thrones. Sound familiar? The one dimensional characters don’t last. Again, I’ve not read the books, and he may be around for another season, but Robb, aside from his looks, simply isn’t interesting enough to live. Please let him at least have a love scene before that happens though. And maybe, hilariously, with the, um, least aesthetically challenged daughter of Walder Frey (what’s up Filch!). Anyway, I’m sorry to be a downer about the Robb prediction. But unless he shows me some new layers, I just don’t think he makes it to the eventual end. They’ve already shown us that they’re not afraid to cut down the major players. And there’s a long list of people to save before him.

But the good news is that that applies to Joffrey too. Robb and Joffrey occupy two ends of the same spectrum. Like Robb, on the other side, Joffrey is just evil, and that’s it. Predictable. His mother however, though evil too, is a lot more artful about it. She has moments of compassion. She has shown us how she reacted to King Robert’s rejection, what scars it left, the bitterness that covered it, how she evolved from that. Joffrey then will not outlive his mother. There’s not much you can do with a piece of sh-t who just keeps throwing badness over and over again. No suspense in that either. I will throw a party when he dies. You can come.

So …

One more week.

It’s too bad Jon Snow is stuck up there with the undead. Does that mean he doesn’t get to make out with anyone for a while? Also I am worried about the Khaleesi. What if she has to make a choice between her kid and the Khal? You already know that I don’t really think there’s much more to the Khal’s story now. Khaleesi has to do this on her own. I’m just… really afraid of what that looks like.

I need to stop geeking out over this show. Also, I still wish I had a direwolf to fight all my battles.

Here are Emilia Clarke and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau at the Monte Carlo TV Festival closing ceremony this weekend.


Photos from Carlotta Arrivabe/Splashnewsonline.com and Pascal Le Segretain/Gettyimages.com