The Starks vs. Lannisters are one of the central quarrels in Game of Thrones. Ned Stark, the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, often finds himself at odds with Ser Jaime Lannister in the first season of the series. While it may seem like this feud starts with Jaime’s heartless act of pushing Bran Stark out of a tower, the animosity actually began years before the pilot episode.

As the unsung hero of Game of Thrones‘ first season, Ned acts as a portal into the world of Westeros and its complicated politics. Ned is designed as the moral compass of the series, so audiences are meant to dislike or love whomever Ned chooses to dislike or love. Almost immediately, Ned and Jaime get off on the wrong foot during a dinner at Winterfell when Jaime insults Ned for being “too old” for tournaments. It could’ve been playful banter between a Southerner and Northerner at first, but the conversation is a passive-aggressive product of a bitter history. In fact, most of the hatred actually stems from Ned.

Jaime Killing the Mad King Broke a Sacred Oath

The event that produced Ned’s strong resentment for Jaime occurred 17 years before the present day Game of Thrones timeline: King Aerys II Targaryen’s (also known as the “Mad King”) murder. The war known as “Robert’s Rebellion” features many betrayals, but the crux of it is that Prince Rhaegar Targaryen supposedly kidnapped and raped Lyanna Stark, Ned’s sister and Robert Baratheon’s betrothed. Ned’s brother and father were executed on Aerys’ order when they demanded justice, which further gave the Starks and Baratheons reason to declare war.

Jaime comes into play when his father, Tywin, called his banners to King’s Landing to secretly help the Starks and Baratheons. Knowing he was defeated, Aerys’ final act was to ignite wildfire underneath the city, killing millions of civilians. To save the city and its people, Jaime killed the king, earning him the nickname “The Kingslayer.” This may seem like an act that Ned would praise Jaime for, but it was in fact the opposite case. Jaime never told anyone of the wildfire plot, making it appear as though he killed the king out of glory and desire to put his house on the throne.

Jaime also didn’t help matters when he sat on the Iron Throne, laughing at the dead king’s body when Ned found him. In Ned’s eyes, Jaime is an oathbreaker that took no care in his vows; knights of the Kingsguard are sworn to protect the king, no matter how loathing the king is. Of course, if Ned knew the truth, perhaps he could understand that breaking his oath was the last resort for Jaime. But to Ned, if Jaime is so careless with the biggest oath a person can make in Westeros, why should he be trusted at all?

Seeing Jaime on the throne, so arrogant in his golden armor, also tainted the entire rebellion for Ned. The Lord of Winterfell’s intention in the war was to never overthrow the king and usurp him with someone else, but to rescue his sister and bring justice to his deceased brother and father. But seeing Jaime take the king’s death so lightly made Ned feel like an accomplice in the dethroning, as if he put the Lannisters on the throne himself. In some ways, it made Ned seem like a hypocrite to his house’s own values.

Starks and Lannisters Have Clashing Values on Game of Thrones

Long before the Sacking of King’s Landing and murder of King Aerys II, the Starks and Lannisters were polar opposite houses. Most houses saw the Lannisters as greedy and prideful opportunists, as opposed to the Starks’ well-earned reputation of being honorable oathkeepers. This is mainly due to the Lannisters being a Southern house and the Starks being a Northern house, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all Southerners are bad, and all Northerners are good. Northerners tend to value trust and honor more than Southerners because those are important qualities needed among leaders during harsh winters.

Northerners also disapprove of tourneys because they believe it mocks real fighting, which is saved for actual conflict. Southerners, like Jaime Lannister, participate in tourneys often during celebrations. Northerners also uphold the practice that the judge is also the executioner (meaning if Ned Stark orders a man to die, Ned must kill him), whereas Lannisters and other Southerners hire executioners for this purpose. While Northerners aren’t typically knighted because most men are trained in combat, Northerners still hold knighthood in high regards because it’s built on a sacred oath. Starks are raised to believe honor above all, so to see Jaime Lannister perform such a dishonorable act is beyond appalling to Ned.

Ned Stark Believed Jaime Lannister Tried to Kill Bran

Another obvious reason why Ned couldn’t bring himself to like Jaime is that he suspects Jaime tried to kill his son Bran. After finding out that Cersei’s children were illegitimately fathered by her brother Jaime, Ned takes an educated guess that Bran saw Cersei and Jaime together. To keep their relationship a secret, Jaime pushed Bran out of the window. This isn’t even a matter of Northern vs. Southern values. This is simply an angry father who could potentially lose a son because Jaime was willing to kill a child.

In the process, Jaime would’ve turned a blind eye to an illegitimate Joffrey Baratheon being put on the throne after Robert’s death, another breaking of tradition that Ned disapproved. At this point, Ned had more than enough reason to not show kindness toward Jaime. The so-called “knight” not only broke the most sacred vow to protect the king with his own life, but also attempted to murder Ned’s child. It’s just too bad Ned didn’t live long enough to see Jaime redeem himself in ways Ned would’ve been proud of.

Game of Thrones is available to stream on Max.