SPOILER ALERT: 'Game Of Thrones' Season Finale Stuns

“Fire and Blood,” the season finale to HBO’s Game of Thrones had its fair share of cliffhangers – Arya is now “Arry,” an orphan boy sent to work as a slave at The Wall in order to save her life, Jon is marching out beyond The Wall with his brothers, while Robb has been declared the King of the North by his army, and Daenerys Targaryen appears to have hatched some baby dragons, after killing both her husband Khal Drogo and the witch Mirri Maz Duur.

But the biggest twist came with the death of the series’ leading man, Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark, played by Sean Bean (pictured). “It comes as a shock to everybody — everybody, except this young little brat that’s sat on the throne,” Bean told Access Hollywood. “I thought it was a very dramatic ending, a very dramatic thing to do, to kill….” In his final moments as Lord Stark, Bean turns against everything he’s stood for and admits to a false treason to save the lives of his children.

Keeping his character's fate a secret was difficult for Bean, who had to constantly dodge reporters’ questions. “I was just talking to someone else, and they were saying, ‘So when do you start the next one?’ and I said, ‘Well I’m not sure at the moment,’” Bean said. “You can’t give it away, can you?”

Game Of Thrones has climbed steadily in the ratings since its mediocre debut, with last week’s episode winning 2.7 million viewers. HBO renewed Game Of Thrones almost immediately after the premiere. Season Two, based on the second book of A Song of Ice and Fire, "A Clash of Kings," begins filming July 25, and will premiere on HBO in Spring 2012.