I honestly thought Barristan Selmy was going to rescue him, or Ned would be reunited with Jon Snow at the wall and they'd finish the discussion Ned promised him they'd have.
It was the they flipped it with Joffery's speech:
"My mother and lady wife say I should spare him....but they have the hearts of woman- SER IILYN BRING ME HIS HEAD!!!!
"
Even in the next episode, I was expecting to see the nikka like it was a dream or it some shyt.
They sold the audience the rope a dope perfectly though because Sean Bean was the biggest actor on the show at the time so nobody would've thought they killed that nikka off so early. Even in the way they promoted the show, they were pushing it like Sean Bean was the the main dude so you would've thought he was untouchable....