The episode lays the foundation for Ned as the ultimate honorable hero, readying us to be devastated and shocked over his death later in the season. In just a few scenes, we as an audience have to become attached enough to them and their bond to root for them and want them to be reunited over the course of the next eight seasons. Most importantly, perhaps, is the fact that this is the only episode where we see all the Starks together in one place, and at home. It might be a little overwhelming when you first watch it (anyone else initially think Theon was one of the Starks for a few episodes?), but the character work done here has long-reaching consequences. It earns its place in the top 20 episodes because, like 'The Queen's Justice', it does a lot of heavy lifting - here introducing the world and the vast array of characters. After a notoriously disastrous first attempt at a pilot that was so bad it will apparently never see the light of day, Benioff & Weiss went back to the drawing board, recast some roles, and produced 'Winter is Coming'.
