See how the 'Game of Thrones' characters changed from the pilot episode all the way to the series finale
Kim Renfro  Â
- The "Game of Thrones" pilot aired exactly 10 years ago this month.
- We took a walk down memory lane with all the major characters who were on the show from the start.
- You can see how the young stars aged from the pilot all the way through the series finale.
Ian Phillips and Megan Willett contributed to a previous version of this article.
At the start of the series, Jon Snow was the bastard of Winterfell.
He was raised believing he was the bastard son of Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, and Warden of the North.
Jon volunteered to "take the black" and join the Night's Watch after Eddard Stark was named the Hand of the King.
Now Jon knows his birth name was really Aegon, and he's the trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. But he exiled himself in the final scene of the show.
Over the course of seven seasons, Jon rose to prominence and became Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, was assassinated by his own men, resurrected by the red priestess Melisandre, fought to take back Winterfell, and crowned King in the North.
In season eight, he renounced his title after bending the knee to Queen Daenerys Targaryen, and helped lead the fight against the Night King and Army of the Dead.
But then Jon killed Daenerys, distraught over her intentions to rule all of Westeros and the world at the cost of innocent lives. In the final scene of "Game of Thrones," Jon went Beyond the Wall to presumably live among the wildlings in exile for the rest of his life.
Bran Stark, the second-youngest son of Eddard and Catelyn Stark, was a kid who loved climbing and dreamt of being a knight.
During one fateful climb, he accidentally witnessed Jaime and Cersei Lannister committing both incest and adultery, and was pushed from the top of a tower. When he woke from his coma, Bran had lost the use of both his legs.
Bran eventually traveled beyond the Wall and was trained to use his newly acquired abilities of greensight and skinchanging. Then he was crowned the King of the Six Kingdoms.
After calling himself the Three-Eyed Raven and using his greenseeing abilities to see into the past, present, and maybe even future, Bran reclaimed his name as a king.
In the series finale, Tyrion proclaimed Bran Stark to be the most logical ruler for the remaining six kingdoms of Westeros, and he was crowned King.
When we first met her, Sansa Stark was ready to fulfill her dreams as a highborn lady.
Sansa, the eldest daughter of Eddard and Catelyn Stark, adored love stories and longed to leave Winterfell for the excitement of the capital in the south.
She was eager to marry Prince Joffrey, and follow the path of a highborn girl just as her parents had raised her to do.
Now Sansa is the Queen in the North, and one of the most politically savvy characters left alive.
After the harsh reality of King's Landing, two arranged marriages, and countless acts of violence and abuse levied against her, Sansa managed to retake Winterfell and have both Ramsay Bolton and Littlefinger killed.
Now she's the Queen in the North, having successfully won the independence of her homeland following the brutal war against the Night King and Cersei.
For her coronation, Sansa wore a stunning gown with six key references to her family and past woven into it.
At the start of the series, Arya Stark was the tomboyish younger sister who hated everything Sansa loved.
While Sansa dreamed of fairy tales and embroidery, Arya preferred archery and combat. She was gifted a sword, Needle, by Jon Snow and taught to fight after Ned Stark finally caved to her wishes.
Now Arya is a trained Faceless Man assassin and skilled fighter traveling the world beyond Westeros.
Arya was forced to grow up quickly following Ned's death and her escape from King's Landing. She traveled undercover, eventually went to Braavos to hone her murder skills, and returned to Winterfell.
Arya was the one who finally killed the Night King, defeating the White Walkers once and for all. In the series finale, she set sail for the unknown lands to the west of Westeros, ready for a new adventure.
Tyrion Lannister was known in the Seven Kingdoms for his quick wit, and love of both wine and women.
Derisively called "The Imp" by those who didn't respect him, Tyrion identified himself as someone with a fondness for "cripples, bastards, and broken things." He tried to make friends in places where the rest of his family would only see foes.
Tyrion rose to power when he served as Hand of the King to Joffrey, but after many years (and tragedies) he's now Hand once again under King Bran.
After being wrongfully accused of murder and sentenced to death by Tywin Lannister, Tyrion killed his father and fled Westeros to go team up up with Daenerys.
He was trying to help Daenerys save the realm and then claim her place as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, but his plans failed again and again until the kingdom was once again in disarray and Daenerys was dead.
Now Tyrion is living out his days trying to fix the mess he helped make by serving as Hand of the King once more.
Daenerys Targaryen started out meek, treated like a pawn by her brother Viserys in his quest to reclaim the Seven Kingdoms.
She was raised to believe her brother Viserys was the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, but they had been exiled after King Robert's rebellion.
The young Daenerys spent season one gaining more autonomy and learning how to rule as the Khaleesi of a great Dothraki tribe led by Khal Drogo.
After fighting to abolish slavery in Essos and amassing an army of loyal followers, Queen Daenerys was killed in the throne room by Jon Snow.
Daenerys underwent many phases of growth as she conquered cities in Essos and acquired her army of Unsullied and Dothraki bloodriders.
But before she could take the Seven Kingdoms, Daenerys turned her sights north to help Jon Snow fight the Army of the Dead. Once that battle was won, Dany wound up attacking King's Landing with full force, destroying swaths of the city and killing civilians along the way.
Jon Snow murdered her in the Red Keep, convinced she was too dangerous a ruler to live anymore.
Like Dany, all the other characters from the "Game of Thrones" pilot met their deaths by the time the credits rolled on the HBO hit series. To see the lucky ones who survived, including a few you probably forgot about, read our list here.
READ MORE ARTICLES ON
Popular Right Now
Advertisement