A Game Of Thrones fan theory suggests Ned Stark is the reason why the White Walkers came back.
The fan has been doing some digging and came up with the idea that it might related to three House Stark sayings: ‘Winter is coming’, ‘the North remembers’, and ‘There must always be a Stark in Winterfell’.
If the ‘North forgets’ and there isn’t a Stark in Winterfell, then it could somehow trigger the White Walkers to wake up and launch an attack on the land of the living.
Reddit user mamamartin explained that Ned and his family journeying to King’s Landing in season one left Winterfell without a ‘blood Stark’.
They said: ‘If over time people stopped explaining why these three phrases are important and the North forgot and a Stark was not in Winterfell, then the Winter would come.
‘This happens after Benjen goes to the Wall and Ned’s brother and father die…He goes to war with Robert…and leaves Winterfell without a blood Stark. Ned Stark is the reason the white walkers woke up.
‘I believe that the reason there must always be a Stark at Winterfell is to keep the White Walkers Dormant.’
They went on: ‘Personally I think it has to do with the connections the WWs have with the Starks and that they are connected by blood.’
Another possibility, they said, is that the walkers were lying dormant in the crypts and ‘the iron swords rusting away’ added to the absence of a true Stark woke them, and they were forced to travel north to build their army before returning south.
It seems like a plausible idea, but another fan tyriontargaryan came up with some solid evidence to contradict it.
In the book series A Song Of Ice And Fire, Benjen remained in Winterfell during Robert’s rebellion, meaning a blood Stark was present with a young Robb and Jon Snow (who is actually a Targaryen as we now know).
‘I think the words “There must always be a Stark in Winterfell” are more about maintaining control of the North’, they said.
Tyriontargaryen added that Craster, the evil man who married and had children with his own daughters, was responsible for bulking out the Night King’s army as he sacrificed male children to the White Walkers.
Game Of Thrones returns for it’s final season later this year
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