Can we expect Rikon to die in this episode?

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

I think it will be towards the end that he dies. Otherwise his dead hanging flayed body would just go a bit too rotten for the big battle.

[Nerevanin]

That would be stupid af if they brought him back after two seasons (?) just kill him right away. Yes, from Ramsay's perspective it would be the only logical thing to do. Of course, he can use him for negocitation with Jon or Sansa or whoever but imo it would be pretty stupid of Ramsay to let go a Stark, especially after he wanted / wants to go to Castle Black and kill Jon who is a barstard. But it would a huge waste from the story's perspective to kill Rickon just after he came back. I suppose that he might die eventually but surely not in S6E4.

[Petyr Targaryen]

Honestly, I'm still not entirely sure that the Umber's are completely turning their cloaks here. Let's look at the evidence:

1) Ramsay remarks that the Umbers are famously loyal and SmallJon says, "to the Starks".

2) The Umbers refused to pledge their banners to Roose previously. So why would SmallJon suddenly pledge fealty now? He says that he needs the Boltons' help to fight the army of Wildings coming south. While that may be true, it seems quite possible that SmallJon is only using that as a pretense to get Ramsay out in the open. SmallJon probably heard all kinds of things from his father about Roose and it may be that SmallJon is a lot less intimidated by Ramsay.

3) SmallJon also refuses to kneel for Ramsay. He completely sweeps this under the rug by bringing out Rickon and not saying another word about swearing an oath to Ramsay. Ain't that suspicious?

Now yes, he brought Rickon to Ramsay. And yes, he killed Shaggydog. But so what? I don't think this necessarily means anything definitive. Ramsay may try to flay or kill Rickon because his claim to the North is stronger than his own. But SmallJon could easily say, let's keep him alive to draw out Jon.

The North remembers and they know no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark.

[ToTheWolves]

Episode 9

[dornishdame]

I don't see Ramsay giving up his new hostage lightly.  He wants Sansa back and Jon Snow dead.  With Rickon, he has a bargaining tool.  If Rickon is going to die (and this is a show that brought Myrcella back after 3 seasons just to kill her off a few episodes later) then it will be after Ramsay has got something out of holding him hostage.  And look at Theon - Ramsay didn't kill him outright either. 

[LifeRuiner]

Just curious, why is everyone talking about Episode 9?

Anyway, I read an interview with the actor who plays Rickon. It's clear from his words that Rickon has an arc bigger than an episode. He says that Rickon has grown up strong-willed and independent and that he has a lot of fight in him. He also says that this is the new, feral Rickon. Maybe this new Rickon was ready to sacrifice Shaggydog for a long game. 

Also, Ramsay has killed so many people lately that it'd make for a better story for someone (who we for sure think is a goner) to survive him. 

So my money is on Rickon living. 

[nickdt]

12 hours ago, Battle Kitten said:

Whenever a direwolf dies, a Stark goes.  So, I bet he dies this season but not until later.  

this theory was already debunked when Robb died before Grey Wind. 

[Zenthious]

10 hours ago, Channel4s-JonSnow said:

I think it will be towards the end that he dies. Otherwise his dead hanging flayed body would just go a bit too rotten for the big battle.

Agreed. I don't think he has any value alive at this point in the story the way the tv show worked out. Ramsey has everything he wants but Sansa, and I think he is even under the false impression that he could remain as Warden of the North without her. So long as Rickon lives there are people who might declare him King of the North.  I think that means he's the one who gets flayed and burned before the battle for Winterfell. Right in front of Jon which is meant to be demoralizing. Ramsey just doesn't know that Jon is undead and will have less emotion about it as a result.

[Other May I?]

I've always felt that Rickon is too unimportant to kill off yet.
All the Stark children are iconic and vital to the story, except Rickon, who has basically contributed nothing to the plot thus far.
I'm guessing GRRM included Rickon for a reason, and as that reason isn't clear yet, I maintain that he cannot be killed off yet.

[northernfaithful]

On 5/10/2016 at 6:40 PM, Morgred said:

ok so:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

when battle of bastard begin, and both armies meet them in the ground ramsay let rickon free  to join his family. When he will be almost with jon ramsay will shot him from bow and kill him

that's what i heard 

very, very sad

but another question what will manderly do? maybe that will be the moment when they turn against the boltons

Makes better sense..

Spoiler

I can see this playing out..Ramsey saying.."go ahead..run to your bastard brother.."  then Zing!  And Jon in his outrage charging the battlefield

 

[King Edd of House Tollet]

Since they're emphasing in Bran's arc that he will leave the cave, then he is the one who will probably become the new lord of Winterfell. So, Rickon loses his raison-de-être, to be the last Stark available to be in Winterfell

 

In the books, though, with Manderly and Davos support, I Believe Rickon will be much more succesful than his show counterpart

[420faceless]

10 hours ago, Other May I? said:

I've always felt that Rickon is too unimportant to kill off yet.
All the Stark children are iconic and vital to the story, except Rickon, who has basically contributed nothing to the plot thus far.
I'm guessing GRRM included Rickon for a reason, and as that reason isn't clear yet, I maintain that he cannot be killed off yet.

I agree.  He's a Stark and he won't just be killed off like a nobody.  All the Starks have a part to play in coming to their full power.  There'd not really even be a point for him being in the books or show just to be killed by someone who really isn't as smart as he thinks he is like Ramsey. 

It's also constantly said Ramsey doesn't have the patience for the long game and acts impulsively, which is basically what he's doing with torturing others, going straight to battle and killing off his own family, acting like a base animal.  He's not any kind of mastermind, just a cruel sadist who likes fucking with victim's heads.  However, he doesn't have the tactics for larger game politics.

I believe that Rickon has been offered to Ramsey as a hostage so the rest of the northerners hear he's there as hostage in order to make the north rise up against Ramsey.  Ramsey is not in control here in any way.

[Kiwi]

12 minutes ago, 420faceless said:

I believe that Rickon has been offered to Ramsey as a hostage so the rest of the northerners hear he's there as hostage in order to make the north rise up against Ramsey.  Ramsey is not in control here in any way.

That's a fair point. But considering that the Umbers had Rickon for a while now, wouldn't it be safer to spread the news and gather up Stark loyalist at Last Hearth, rather than Winterfell, without risking Rickon being killed by Ramsey? If there's a conspiracy here, it's a risky one. But the rewards are also high, considering that getting into Winterfell with undercover Stark loyalist army, would save them a lot of trouble with the siege on Winterfell. And that would be a decent end for Ramsay, seeing how he killed off the only smart member of his family.

[GeorgeIAF]

Rickon will not die ... the bow thing is straight up bullshit. The Umbers will turn on Ramsay.

[420faceless]

1 hour ago, Kiwi said:

That's a fair point. But considering that the Umbers had Rickon for a while now, wouldn't it be safer to spread the news and gather up Stark loyalist at Last Hearth, rather than Winterfell, without risking Rickon being killed by Ramsey? If there's a conspiracy here, it's a risky one. But the rewards are also high, considering that getting into Winterfell with undercover Stark loyalist army, would save them a lot of trouble with the siege on Winterfell. And that would be a decent end for Ramsay, seeing how he killed off the only smart member of his family.

Perhaps Osha is underestimated in the equation.

She's known for playing possum and then stabbing people in the throat shortly afterwards.  Maybe she's the trojan horse here.

When I consider other compelling theories of Rikon's role in the overall narrative of the story, perhaps his only real role in all of this is as heir to Winterfell in the coming spring.

Either way, I don't see any logic of him dying in either TV series or books.

[VVSINGOFTHECROSS]

On 5/10/2016 at 8:12 PM, Zoe Stark said:

That was definitely Shaggydog, friend. But, no, Rickon will likely stay alive for bargaining purposes or something else he might have up his sleeve. Ramsay isn't as brash as people think him to be. He's very meticulous with how he works and everything he does is for a reason. You could see his discomfort last season when he was told that he was going to get a brother, AKA Roose Bolton's legitimate son. He might have been a Bolton and not a Snow, but from that moment he knew he would have to kill both his father and the baby. He's planned every moment from when he first kidnapped Theon to now. A big setback for him was Sansa and Reek escaping, but he's been level headed over the course of it all. Ramsay is very interesting in the freaky, psycho killer way, but also in the ruthless and powerful ruler way, as well. 

Also, if another Stark dies, I will riot.

That's the thing Ramsay isn't that smart, he's a raving lunatic, and the show's just turned him into this thing that is completely different from the books.

[dbunting]

Now that Rickon has been reintroduced I don't see him being killed off. Ramsey should kill him though because his entire future is based on all the Starks being dead. He should cut off his head and send it and Shaggy dogs head to Jon at the wall. That would get Jon to come to him for sure. And who knows maybe he does this instead of the pink letter from the books? But that would mean the Umbers are truly against the Starks and that is not what SmallJon said.

The Umbers to me are clearly not going against the Starks or even Jon for that matter. They will not bend the knee or swear an oath because he knows they will break it.

Osha is also key here, she is hard and tough enough to withstand what they know Ramsey is going to do with her. She can handle herself and will play a part in the trickery when it's time.

[White Harbors Wrath]

19 hours ago, Petyr Targaryen said:

Honestly, I'm still not entirely sure that the Umber's are completely turning their cloaks here. Let's look at the evidence:

1) Ramsay remarks that the Umbers are famously loyal and SmallJon says, "to the Starks".

2) The Umbers refused to pledge their banners to Roose previously. So why would SmallJon suddenly pledge fealty now? He says that he needs the Boltons' help to fight the army of Wildings coming south. While that may be true, it seems quite possible that SmallJon is only using that as a pretense to get Ramsay out in the open. SmallJon probably heard all kinds of things from his father about Roose and it may be that SmallJon is a lot less intimidated by Ramsay.

3) SmallJon also refuses to kneel for Ramsay. He completely sweeps this under the rug by bringing out Rickon and not saying another word about swearing an oath to Ramsay. Ain't that suspicious?

Now yes, he brought Rickon to Ramsay. And yes, he killed Shaggydog. But so what? I don't think this necessarily means anything definitive. Ramsay may try to flay or kill Rickon because his claim to the North is stronger than his own. But SmallJon could easily say, let's keep him alive to draw out Jon.

The North remembers and they know no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark.

1. Karstark said "to the Starks", not Umber.

2. He's not pledging fealty now. He outright refused it. "I'm not kissing your hand", "fuck kneeling, fuck oaths". He simply is making common cause with a possible ally nearby. Allies in war are not always best friends. Why should the Boltons ally with this man/house that has no respect for him. A gift that helps Ramsays claim. Easy peasy.

3. You basically just repeated #2 again so see #2.

The north remembers? Who...Sansa's maid?

They know no king but Stark? Lyanna Mormont said that, not Umber...and the Mormonts are going to be siding with the Starks this season. I think you're confusing the book with the show.

[White Harbors Wrath]

27 minutes ago, dbunting said:

Now that Rickon has been reintroduced I don't see him being killed off. Ramsey should kill him though because his entire future is based on all the Starks being dead. He should cut off his head and send it and Shaggy dogs head to Jon at the wall. That would get Jon to come to him for sure. And who knows maybe he does this instead of the pink letter from the books? But that would mean the Umbers are truly against the Starks and that is not what SmallJon said.

The Umbers to me are clearly not going against the Starks or even Jon for that matter. They will not bend the knee or swear an oath because he knows they will break it.

Osha is also key here, she is hard and tough enough to withstand what they know Ramsey is going to do with her. She can handle herself and will play a part in the trickery when it's time.

You're going to be so disappointed.

[Yoren "The Wanderly Crow"]

On 5/10/2016 at 9:03 PM, DRS said:

Agreed that what ever happens to him will be in episode 9, The Battle of The Bastards.

To look at the end game, I have a hard time believing he dies though. There must always be a Stark in Winterfell. So lets take a look at who may survive, and where they end up at.

GRRM has stated that the ending will be bittersweet, so you know we will lose at least one or two of our heroes. There are going to be a few seats to fill, and sure, Jon could end up giving House Bolton to an ally like Giantsbane  But lets consider all of the houses that may end up leaderless.

House Bolton: Can not believe that The North would ever let this house be without a Stark ally

House Karstark: Book readers know that Jon has made end roads toward an alliance here. The show has not followed that plot line, so this house is undecided.

House Frey: The revenge factor makes one wonder who will be in charge on The Twins, The North Remembers.

House Umber: Really dont like where the show has gone here, but am willing to let this play out. Could there be a need for a change of leadership in this house?

House Mormont: Currently led by a 9 your old girl.

There are several other houses that I will not go into, but you all know who they are. Tradition is to unite through manage or flat out domination.

So, Who is to remain Warden of The North at House Stark?  If Jon lives is he a Stark? A Targ? Does he rule in KL? I do not see him as the Lord of Winterfell. Sansa will end up being a powerful Lady of one of the houses. The girl with no name will not end up being The Lady of Winterfell. Bran would be a good guess based upon him being the in charge when Theon took over, but does story lead elsewhere? The final Stark is Rikon. Knowing GRRMs penchant for plot twists, would it really surprise you if the least likely ends up being the Lord of House Winterfell?

There must always be a Stark in winterfell true, and if they kill of Rickon you would say its the end of the Stark line..yet Ben Stark could still be out there..after being at the highest point of the north with hidden wildings he returns at the final battle..ready to abandon his watch, help save the day and produce 20 heirs!!