Game of Thrones was notable for its many tragedies. No character, no matter how important, was safe from the clutches of death. And no house endured more tragedy than the Starks. When the story began, there were many in that noble family, but their numbers were slowly whittled down.

Events such as the Red Wedding saw horrors visited upon the Starks. And yet, despite everything, they were the house that walked away with the most at the end of the Game of Thrones. As Ned Stark himself said, a message that was passed down to his children — "When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives."

11 Bran Stark Became King

Bran Stark started off as an incredibly tragic figure. He was pushed from a tower by Jamie Lannister after he discovered the knight engaged in intercourse with his sister, Cersei, and Bran's injuries ensured he would never walk again. But after that incident he discovers he has special powers and embarks on a journey that leads to him becoming the Three-Eyed Raven and the holder of memories.

At the Great Council in the Dragonpit, Tyrion Lannister endorses Bran as King, saying that he has the best story out of all of them. Bran becomes Bran the Broken, King of the Six Kingdoms, and arguably the "winner" of the whole series. Although he did suffer along the way, and lost many members of his family, he got pretty much the best tragedy-to-reward ratio among the Starks.

10 Arya Stark Survived Against All Odds

Young Arya Stark grew up a tomboyish child more suited to sword-fighting than sewing, and those talents serve her well after her father's death forces her to flee King's Landing. Unfortunately, she also lost her mother and oldest brother during the events of the Red Wedding, but she avenged them by serving Walder Frey a pie made from the bodies of his sons. She also trained to be a Faceless Man, and during the course of this she suffered much hardship.

Eventually, after having come through unfathomable danger and killed many men, Arya was reunited with the remnants of her family. And after the destruction of King's Landing and the Great Council, she decided to embark on an adventure much less bloody than her previous ones. After bidding farewell to her siblings Sansa, Bran and Jon, she set out on a ship to discover what was west of Westeros. Whether she succeeded in her quest or not is ultimately left up to the audience.

9 Jon Snow Came Back From The Dead

Jon Snow spent his childhood thinking he was the bastard son of Eddard Stark, and he was emotionally abused by Caitlyn Stark, who saw him as a symbol of her husband's infidelity. Being a bastard, a child set apart from the rest of his family, was hard for him. And as a young adult, his life as a member of the Night's Watch is upended by the White Walkers. Jon proves himself in battle but he suffers many losses during the course of his journey, including that of his lover Ygritte.

By the end of the show, Jon has lost a great deal — parents, uncles, siblings, friends, Daenerys — but he does have his life, having come back from the dead after having been fatally stabbed by members of the Night's Watch. He also remained more or less a true hero in an extremely dark and unforgiving world.

8 Benjen Stark Sacrificed His Life to Protect the Realm

Benjen Stark lost a brother, a sister and a father during Robert's Rebellion, so his early life was marked with tragedy. He joined the Night's Watch, and became an inspiration for his nephew Jon Snow. But he lived a hard life, and then death came for him. While searching for missing men beyond the Wall, he goes missing himself, and his horse returns without him.

In the episode "Blood of My Blood," the audience finally learns what happened to Benjen. He was stabbed by a White Walker, but the Children of the Forest saved him with dragon glass. After that, Benjen existed in a sort of limbo state. And he chose to heroically sacrifice what was left of his life to save Jon, getting him onto a horse before wights descended, in the episode "Beyond the Wall." It was a good, though tragic, end for a brave man.

7 Eddard Stark Is Killed In Front Of His Daughters

Eddard "Ned" Stark was one of the most honorable people in Westeros, but that didn't save him. He saved his daughters by confessing to treason and was then unexpectedly killed as Sansa pleaded and Arya looked on in horror. He goes out at least knowing that he did right by his children, but Ned didn't in any way deserve such a fate.

His death also affected the audience because Ned Stark had seemed like he was going to be one of the main characters of Game of Thrones. From then on, viewers of the show weren't about to let their guard down — the death of a beloved character could strike at any time. It was a harsh lesson for the audience about what exactly they'd signed up to.

6 Lyanna Stark Triggered A War

Robert's Rebellion began when Rhaegar Targaryen supposedly kidnapped Lyanna Stark. In truth, Lyanna was in love with Rhaegar and bore him a son, Aegon Targaryen, a child who would grow up to become Jon Snow. But because of Robert's rage, the child had to be forever hidden. Lyanna's brother Eddard swore to protect the boy.

Lyanna died in childbirth, a sad death for a headstrong woman. But worse, she died not knowing for certain if her child would ever be safe. She trusted Eddard, but she knew there were forces beyond his control. And furthermore, as Tyrion points out in "The Last of the Starks," Robert's unreciprocated love for Lyanna got countless people killed.

5 Talisa Stark Barely Lives Long Enough to Become Part of House Stark

Talisa Stark was an independent young woman who left behind a life of luxury to become a field nurse. Robb Stark fell in love with her and proposed marriage, but Talisa should never have agreed to the match. Her love for Robb, and his for her, triggered the events of the Red Wedding.

Everyone killed at the Red Wedding suffered terribly, but Talisa's death is rendered all the more horrible by her killers stabbing her in the womb, where her unborn baby was growing. She dies knowing her unborn child is dead too. And her death is considered a footnote at best to the deaths of the other Starks — later, she's called a "foreign whore" by a lord.

4 Robb Stark Made a Stupid Mistake

Robb Stark made one bad decision and he ended up paying for it in the most horrific way possible — as did plenty of others. Instead of marrying one of Lord Frey's daughters, he chose to marry Talisa Maegyr. Robb was a heroic man and a good military commander, but he should have listened to his mother.

Robb suffers horribly at the Red Wedding. First, he sees Talisa be stabbed in the stomach in front of him. He knows he's lost both his wife and his baby when he goes to his death. A more unpleasant death could scarcely be conceived of for a family man. Robb is stabbed to death by Roose Bolton, and then, to add insult to injury, his corpse is desecrated.

3 Rickon Stark Dies at a Young Age

Rickon Stark's life is tragic because he barely got the chance to actually live it. He was only a child when his father was killed and his family separated, and he didn't have the ability to deal with it properly or the skills to survive in the wider world. After Winterfell falls, he and Osha are sent to the Umbers, but eventually, Rickon is handed over to Ramsay Bolton.

Ramsay uses Rickon to hurt Jon Snow all the more. He tells Rickon that he will be spared if he can make it across the battlefield to his brother, but Rickon — still just a child — can't do it and is shot through the heart just before he reaches Jon. He had a life of heartbreak followed by a painful death, and he did nothing to deserve it.

2 Sansa Stark Was Made to Suffer Constantly

Sansa begins Game of Thrones as a naive and foolish young girl. But she's forced to change and evolve as terrible events unfold around her. First, her father is executed in front of her as she screams and pleads for his life, and from there her situation is a more and more precarious one. She's put in danger of death many a time, forced to be a child bride to Tyrion (who does not abuse her), informed of the deaths of her family members, and finally, Littlefinger gives her to the demonic Ramsay Bolton.

Ramsay outright rapes Sansa in one of the show's most horrible scenes. Sansa's life becomes a living hell until she's able to escape, and that trauma haunts her. Although she eventually becomes Queen in the North, she had to undergo the worst that life could possibly offer before she got there.

1 Catelyn Stark Died the Worst Death in Stark History

Of everyone killed at the Red Wedding, arguably Catelyn Stark suffered the most. She saw her son and daughter-in-law die in front of her, was unable to do anything about it, and then had her throat slit. At this point in her life, her husband was dead and she believed that every single one of her children were dead or lost as well. She died with nothing.

Catelyn also went down killing a girl, Walder Frey's much younger wife, something she would never have done in ordinary circumstances. Everything about Catelyn's death is agonizingly tragic — except for the fact that three of her children survived her, giving hope for a better future in the North.