Renowned for its willingness to kill off major characters, Game of Thrones established this precedent early on in Season 1 with the swift demise of the Lord of Winterfell, Ned Stark. Portrayed by Sean Bean, Ned Stark embodies principles of honor but finds himself entangled in royal political machinations. But he might not be dead after all.
Upon assuming the position of Hand of the King to Robert Baratheon (played by Mark Addy), he unravels the truth about Queen Cersei Lannister’s (Lena Headey) secret, discovering that her children were fathered by her own twin brother, Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj-Coster Waldau). Tragically, Ned Stark falls victim to Cersei’s plots and is beheaded for treason.
Is Ned Stark Coming Back With Jon Snow Spinoff
As part of a Reddit thread on peculiar theories linked to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, a now-deleted Reddit user shared a list of notably eccentric ideas. Among these was the notion that Ned Stark warged into a pigeon just before his execution.
The suggestion that Ned might have transferred his consciousness into either a pigeon or a sword sparked a lively and passionate discussion.
One Reddit user wrote:
“But wait … What if Ned managed to split his personality, and warged both Ice and a pigeon? Could he have decapitated himself at the wedding? Probably not but let’s treat it like it’s confirmed GET HYPE!!!”
Setting aside the sheer absurdity of this idea, it’s worth noting that the Stark family possesses the ability to warg in Martin’s books. Jon Snow, portrayed by Kit Harington in the show, wargs into his direwolf, Ghost. On screen, Bran Stark, portrayed by Isaac Hempstead-Wright, frequently shares a mental connection with his direwolf, Summer. Whether Ned has this capability remains uncertain, but the likelihood of him transforming into a pigeon that is eventually baked into a pie is highly improbable.
Another user wrote:
“You gotta love this s*** because it clearly won’t be outright denied by anything in the books. I mean, why would it, it’s pure insanity. But that is what will allow the theory to live on even after the series is finished.”
Unfortunately, this theory is unequivocally unfounded. Ned Stark is unquestionably deceased. His demise serves as a crucial plot point in propelling George R.R. Martin’s narrative forward.
GOT Showrunners Kept Adding Fake Deaths To Prank Actors
Similar to the fans who were uncertain about which characters would survive the show’s unpredictable twists, the actors were also in the dark. Given that everyone involved was contracted for all the seasons, Sophie Turner revealed that the element of the unknown prevailed.
Reflecting this uncertainty among the cast, the showrunners, Benioff and Weiss, devised fake scripts that included the demise of specific characters, adding an element of intrigue and surprise for the actors.
Alfie Allen shared a comparable encounter, disclosing that David Benioff and Dan Weiss deceived him into believing that his character would meet his end in the second season of GOT. Thankfully, this turned out to be false, as Allen continued portraying Theon Greyjoy throughout the show’s eight seasons.
