49. Jon Arryn

Jon Arryn was the Hand of the King before Ned Stark, and the whole series basically starts because his death leads King Robert Baratheon to bring Ned Stark to King’s Landing.

Time of death: Season 1, episode 1, "Winter Is Coming"

Cause of death: Poisoned by Lysa Arryn (his wife) and Littlefinger (Petyr Baelish)

Sadness ranking: 4. We never see him alive or even see his real eyes, but he seemed like a nice enough guy who was trying to reveal Cersei and Jaime’s little secret and protect the realm.