<Li> Jump up ^ Martin, George R.R. (2000). "Chapter 28: Sansa". A Storm of Swords . pp. 382--393 . ISBN 978 - 0 - 553 - 89787 - 6 . </Li> <P> In January 2007 HBO secured the rights to adapt Martin's series for television . When the pilot went into production in 2009, one of the first casting announcements was Sean Bean as the "lead" Eddard Stark . As the show premiered in 2011, the Los Angeles Times called Bean's Ned "the strong and brooding headliner of the series ." </P> <P> As in the source novel, Ned is beheaded in the ninth episode of season 1, "Baelor". Though praising the character's demise for its role in propelling the story, James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly later noted that: </P> <P> This is probably the first time a U.S. drama series has ever killed off its main character in the first season as part of its master creative plan...it's just...not done . You don't cast a star, put him on bus stops and magazine ads marketing the show, get viewers all invested in his story, and then dump him nine episodes later just because it arguably makes the story a bit more interesting . </P>

When does stark die in game of thrones