We all knew “Winter is Coming,” so it makes sense in Game of Thrones Season 6 that the Starks, who have been prepping for Winter FOREVER, will finally get some wins!

The Starks have never exactly fared well on Game of Thrones. Ned was beheaded. Theon betrayed them. Ramsey burnt down Winterfell. Cat and Robb and Robb’s pregnant wife and the Stark army were all brutally slaughtered at the Red Wedding. Sansa was raped. Jon was stabbed to death by the Brothers of the Night’s Watch, and left to bleed out in the snow. Not to mention, Sansa’s dead direwolf, Robb’s dead direwolf, Arya going blind, Bran being crippled, and all of the Stark children being scattered across multiple continents. It sounds even bleaker when you lay it all out like that.

But fear not (or at least fear less), the Starks may be due for a comeback in Season 6. The last book of A Song of Ice and Fire was going to be titled A Time for Wolves, the title has been changed to A Dream of Spring to avoid possible title spoilers like The Return of the King. Since the direwolf is the sigil of House Stark it seems like the Starks could be on the rise. Maybe it starts now, fingers crossed.

[size=14pt]Here’s how things could be looking up for the scattered Starks. (Some minor book spoilers ahead!)[/size]

1. Sansa Stark



At the end of Season 5, Sansa and Theon jumped off the walls of Winterfell into what I guess was an abnormally large snow bank. In the books we know that Theon and Jeyne Poole (a character they merged with Sansa in the show) survived and made it to Stannis’s camp. But since Stannis is dead on the show that isn’t going to happen. There are a few ways the Sansa plot line could go in Season 6 following her escape with Theon.

In simplest terms, there are two outcomes Sansa’s and Theon’s escape. One, they could be recaptured by the Boltons, or two, they could make their way to Petre Baelish. However, Petre is far away and Sansa probably wouldn’t be much better off with him than with the Boltons. So instead let’s look forward to some scenarios that take a little more fortuitous convergence.


Before Season 5 began there was a lot of talk that Sansa would take over the role of Lady Stoneheart, a character cut from the show (despite an abnormally long black screen before the credits rolled on Season 4 that had book readers waiting for the zombie’s appearance). Sansa and Theon could at this point flee South, where they could run into the Brotherhood Without Banners.

The Brotherhood held Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie hostage for part of Season 3, and their leader, Beric Dondarrian, dueled the Hound with a flaming sword. The Brotherhood Without Banners was formed by the group Ned Stark sent out to execute the Mountain way back in Season 1. If Theon and Sansa stumble upon the Brotherhood, Sansa could become their leader taking over for Lady Stoneheart and possibly marching on Winterfell, or just executing Freys. If Sansa does take over for Lady Stoneheart, her run in with Brienne probably won’t happen, but who knows. Maybe Sansa will feel the light of R’hllor before meeting Brienne.

2. Jon Snow… or is it Jon Stark?



At the moment Jon is dead, but we he probably won’t stay dead for long (Kit Harrington in costume and on set, y’all). Jon died and if he is resurrected would be free of any obligation to the Night’s Watch and the Wall.

So what’s a risen Jon to do? Well, for starters he knows the Boltons have seized Winterfell, and he’s probably in a hurry to get there. Maybe he runs into an escaping Sansa? Bran is also wandering around somewhere in the north, and we know he’s going to show up this season. Maybe it’s the Stark men-who-left-Winterfell-as-boys (The Prodigal Starks? There’s a sitcom I want to see. But I digress…) who will come back full of power and fury to unite the North once again.

But Jon’s a bastard, you might be thinking, he can’t reign over Winterfell. True, but aside from theories about Jon’s true noble parentage, in the books, Jon was legitimized by Robb before his death at the Red Wedding, so we could see Jon as the King in the North next season.

3. Crazy Uncle Benjen



You may have forgotten Benjen Stark since he vanished beyond the Wall about three episodes into the series. Benjen was Ned’s brother, and was the one who inspired Jon to join the Night’s Watch. The expedition beyond the Wall in Season 2 and 3 was partially to find Benjen. The Night’s Watch used the promise of Benjen to lure Jon Snow to his death.

He has to come back at some point. Most show watchers have already forgotten about Benjen, so his return as a wight or just his corpse would have no emotional impact on the audience. So there are really only two options: Either Benjen is now a high ranking White Walker, meaning the conflict with them will be more personal for Jon, or Benjen is alive and could return to explain important plot points from the past.

By now you’ve probably heard about the R+L=J fan theory. It is one of the most widely believed and supported fan theories. If you haven’t you can check it out below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHqzFwodZqQ
In short, it claims that Jon’s parents are Rhaegar Targaryen (Dany’s brother who died fighting future King Robert Baratheon during Robert’s rebellion) and Lyanna Stark (Ned’s sister who was supposed to marry Robert). Ned made a promise to Lyanna in the Tower of Joy, where he found her dying in a bed of blood. Accoring to the R+L=J theory, the bed of blood was from childbirth and she wanted him to protect Jon, by blood one of the Targaryens Robert was trying so hard to exterminate. We’ve gotten several hints that the Tower of Joy scene will be a flashback in Season 6, but we need a character who was there to prompt it and tell other characters about it.

In the books, we know that Holland Reed was the only other survivor aside from Ned at the Tower of Joy, but the show is constantly combining characters so Benjen could take over the role. He might turn up in either Bran or Jon’s plot lines and explain the truth of Jon’s parentage, giving him an even greater claim to the throne, potentially better than Dany’s.

4. The Return of Bran



Bran was missing in Season 5, but he’s coming back for Season 6. Since his last appearance, disappearing into a creepy cave with a mystical old man with secret powers, he has presumably learned more about green seeing and his warging abilities. Bran could use his powers to influence other events in Westeros, as far South as the weirwood trees grow. Meaning he could take part in a second battle at Winterfell, or any other number of conflicts in the North.

How powerful Bran’s powers are remains to be seen, but he could, in theory, communicate with his siblings, as each of the Stark children have shown some sort of warging abilities since acquiring their direwolves. However, if Bran is going to warg into a dragon, it is more likely to happen beyond this season. Damn, just when you were getting interesting…

5. Remember Rickon?



You may have forgotten about Rickon, the youngest Stark, because he’s been missing from the show for two full seasons. However, in the books there are hints he is coming back soon, which means it is likely he will also reappear on the show.

In A Dance with Dragons, Ser Davos is sent to White Harbor by Stannis in an attempt to win allies. He is basically tasked with a side assignment to find Rickon Stark on the Island of Skagos, where he is rumored to be hiding with Osha. Since Stannis is dead this won’t play out the same way, but if Davos joined team Stark in support of Jon, Jon might ask Davos to find Rickon for him.

On the show they could age Rickon up since so much time has passed and he could become a more important player in the Game of Thrones. But since Martin abandoned his planned time jump to take place between A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows, Rickon probably won’t do much in the books.

6. Arya Kidding Me? No.



When we last left Arya she was blind in the House of Black and White. In the books, it was part of her training and temporary. So Arya will probably regain her sight soon in Season 6. As for her plot the rest of the year, it would be a lot of waiting around if Arya didn’t leave the House of Black and White by the end of Season 6. Whether she is expelled or becomes a full fledged Faceless Assassin remains to be seen, but likely Arya will continue to cross names off her ever dwindling list.

We have to remember that George R.R. Martin is the mastermind behind this and he has not been kind to the Starks so far. Theoretically any of these things could happen, but it won’t be smooth sailing. It never is on Game of Thrones. Even if all of this happens it will be slow and may take most or all of the season to get there. Any of the characters listed above could very well die through out the course of the final three season, along with dozens of other characters. But remember, that’s what drew us to GoT in the first place. Valar Morghulis.

Oyinbo films are not predictable, nice write up.

Well done.

you're good op

Op, you're good; I don't think Stannis is dead though.

I can't wait to see season 6 come next year April. Shout out to all the fans of Game of Thrones, Vikings and the Walking Dead

April is too far

Games of Thrones....

The king of TV series. If it's not GoT, it can never be GoT. Can't wait!!!

Walking dead? That yeye film wey just dey kill better people

abdulaz:
I can't wait to see season 6 come next year April. Shout out to all the fans of Game of Thrones, Vikings and the Walking Dead

Samiceman:
Walking dead? That yeye film wey just dey kill better people

no mind them joor