Again this was way better explained in the book though I forget the exact reasons, so sorry for being of no help.

The arrangements of who was going and who was staying were made before Bran's fall.

The mother stayed with Bran(?) in a coma, that made sense. I just wasn't aware the rest of the family went with Ned, but if it's a proper ceremony they're going to, it makes sense.

In hopes that she would learn some manners at a southron court.

Bran was supposed to go too but the fall made that impossible.

Because that is the deal they made. The Dothraki live to conquer other civilizations.

I'll post this again for you and anyone else having trouble remembering names and associations.

http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content...eros-101-f.jpg

Better learn fast because you're about to have 12 or 13 new characters thrown at you next episode.

That is because the North is sparse

I think they just needed to have a goodbye scene. Ned hugs wife, yada yada yada. Then we know he's left and who he has taken with him.

This makes sense. But in the first episode, the wife makes a big deal of Ned leaving her to go work for the king. If everyone was going (before Bran's fall) why was she not?

The whole first part of the episode was one big goodbye scene.

The King & Ned talk about being on the road for a month and continuing on just the 2 of them. The whole traveling party is making travel slower than a few men on horseback would be. When Ned heard Ayra was found he said lets head back to the Inn, where the king is staying the night.

I was guilty of being preoccupied the first time I watch the first episode and missed some simple stuff, this is definately a series you need to watch with your full attentiion.

I agree that would have cleared a lot up. Luckily I'm reading the book for the first time now and am ahead enough that I can watch the episodes as they air. I keep thinking that had I not been doing this I would be crazily lost at points.

Evidently, not a very clear one.

Why would Ned take his tomboy daughter to live with her sister, that is betriothed to the prince, in the King's court instead of her staying in their backwoods kingdom with her brothers?

As has been mentioned in the show, the wolves grow fast. Also it has been at Bran had been in the coma or what not.

This is one of those things that was not really made clear in the episode or the books (Or my memory is just jogged), they never really made it clear why Arya had to go I don't think, some thoughts on the reasonings I've read are

On the sons

This wasn't really addressed in the show or the book, if it was in the book up to this point (first 200 pages?), then I missed it. (Editted: As been pointed out, it was a contract, doh!)

Dothraki is the horse people

And my own question

Ned is the Warden of the North and the Lord of Winterfell. He's basically the governor of the region (which is HUGE if you look at the map). If Ned is leaving for Kings Landing, someone will need to stay up north to govern the land/people there. The eldest son, Robb, had to stay up north to learn how to be a lord, and Cat had to stay to rule until he's ready. It was determined that the youngest son, Rikkon, was too small to leave his mother, so he stayed as well. The other three kids were supposed to go to Kings Landing with their father to appear at court and to learn how to be nobility. Bran's fall meant he had to stay in Winterfell as well.

So she can run things in winterfell along with Robb

wife was too busy being at Bran's side. The only one they really made apparent leaving was Jon (Goodbyes to Robb and Arya)

And Jon's only their half-brother. He seems like an A-OK dude to me.

even though just a half brother, Jon has a deep bond with the Stark children..especially with Arya, Bran and Robb

I've taken it as a custom of the times. The brother needs an army to take the throne and Drago is willing to give him the armies in exchange for his sister as his bride.

yeah I figured that..it was a arranged marriage.

More like a month or so. There have been lines about how fast the wolves grow. They aren't full sized yet as they are direwolves, and apparently they grow faster.


The old dude with the Starks who brings them messages and advice is a Maester. From a wiki-

The maesters are scholars, scientists, learned advisors to the nobility, and occasionally pseudo-religious researchers in the occult. Males of any age may begin training as a maester; females are not permitted to study or join the order. Noble families in Westeros sometimes send their younger sons to the Citadel. The maesters, like the brothers of the Night's Watch, are considered to be servants of Westeros and all its people and in theory have no political allegiance. After finishing his course of study, a maester is assigned to a castle, keep or other holding, and is loyal to the people of that place as a mentor, healer and advisor, regardless of changes in control of that holding. To this end a man who earns his chain is stripped of his family name and from that time on is known only by his title and first name. In practice some maesters hold over old allegiances and loyalties.

The collar signifies that maesters do not serve themselves, but are instead servants of all of Westeros. The collar consists of several links of different types of metal. These chains are formed from every metal known to man, but almost no maester will ever wear them all. Maesters do not remove the chain ever, not even when sleeping.

By Season 2 I have the wolves will have to be CGI