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  === Development and overview ===
  ''Publishers Weekly'' noted in 1996 that, despite the honest Ned Stark's intervention in court politics, "no amount of heroism or good intentions can keep the realm under control." From his very first introduction, Ned is portrayed as a noble hero and set up to be the heart of the story. With fifteen chapters devoted to his point of view, more than any single character in the novel, he is presented as a primary character in the series, and the main storyline of ''A Game of Thrones'', the drama in King's Landing, is told entirely from his perspective. In the ''London Review of Books'', John Lanchester writes that everything about Ned is designed to gain audience sympathy, from his strong sense of honor and moral compass to his compassion towards his wife and children. Readers are led to believe that Ned will be the main character of the series, but ultimately he is, from a literary perspective, a classic decoy protagonist. After struggling to keep himself and the kingdom on a moral path for the entire novel, the only option that remains to save his family is to put aside his honor; he does so, but is betrayed anyway. Calling Ned's execution "shocking", ''The New York Times'' noted in 2011 that the novel was "famous for dispatching a thoroughly admirable major character with whom readers have been identifying for most of the book". In an interview for ''Entertainment Weekly'', author George R. R. Martin commented on this misdirection:
  David Benioff, executive producer and writer of the HBO adaptation, told ''Entertainment Weekly'' that when he read the novel:
  In a review of the ''Game of Thrones'' TV episode "Baelor", James Poniewozik wrote in ''Time'' that "the execution of Eddard Stark is crucial to the story and its themes and everything that follows, but it's also a meta-message to the reader: don't take anything for granted here". James Hibberd of ''Entertainment Weekly'' stated that tricking the audience into thinking Ned is the hero and then killing him makes the series' story better. Writing that "the big twist here isn't that Ned Stark dies, but who the true protagonists of ''Game of Thrones'' are", Hibberd pointed out that the series' focus proves to be the "new generation" of leaders, in particular the Stark children but also Daenerys and even Tyrion. He noted: