The Fate of Syrio Forel

[MyrcellasShale]

One theory that I have is that Syrio Forel never died. There is no confirmation of his death, as Arya never saw the result of his fight with Meryn Trant. The way I see it there are two possibilities, one of which is running, but as we all know, the First Sword of Braavos does not run, however we can't rule that option out. The other is that Trant never killed him. and Syrio is in the dungeons as I type. While this option also seems unlikely, it could be possible that Ser Maryn saw value in Forel and chose to keep him alive. I know there's not much more to say but if you want to share your opinion that would be great

[JonTargaryen']

Would honestly be great if he's still alive! A badass he was.

[Ser Wilfred]

Is it possible he could have been shipped off to the wall at all, and he hasn't been recognized as anybody up there yet?

If that is the case, he would have to hide his sword fighting skills in order to not raise suspicions of his past

[The Mountain That Flies]

The Lannisters were outright slaughtering all Stark men, even if they put up no resistance. Why would they spare the life of a guy who actively fought back (and humiliated a few of them, at that)? Meryn Trant is never portrayed as a nice or compassionate person, and he would have had little compunction to spare Syrio's life after eventually beating him.

Furthermore, what purpose would holding Syrio captive serve? He's not going to offer sword lessons to anyone in the royal family, and why risk sending him to the Wall, when he could escape en route and trouble you some more?

We're never going to have definitive proof (such as a dead body), largely because too much time has passed. But there's really no reason to doubt Syrio's fate was getting run through Ser Meryn's sword.

[Arataniello]

The recently released World app lists a place of death for Syrio Forel. That is about as much hard evidence/confirmation that we have that he is dead.

Believers in the "every minor character is Syrio as a Faceless Man" are going to say that 'Syrio' was just a role played by a Faceless Man, and therefore the place of death only refers to the character, rather than the FM himself.

[Bini]

The recently released World app lists a place of death for Syrio Forel. That is about as much hard evidence/confirmation that we have that he is dead.

Believers in the "every minor character is Syrio as a Faceless Man" are going to say that 'Syrio' was just a role played by a Faceless Man, and therefore the place of death only refers to the character, rather than the FM himself.

Spot on.

And they will say that even after checking the Jaqen H'ghar article and seeing it doesn't list a "Place fo death" for him, even though that faceless's "Jaqen" persona died there. People just grasp at whichever straws they find.

Just a random assumption, but I doubt GRRM ever intended for this to be such a lasting matter of debate... I think the series will end and we'll never have explicit confirmation of his death, and the syriobelivers will argue that forever.

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

The recently released World app lists a place of death for Syrio Forel. That is about as much hard evidence/confirmation that we have that he is dead.

In addition to now truly having a place of death for Syrio, there's also this:

In 2005, GRRM pointed out that Syrio seems to have been left in a hopeless situation when he was last seen, and suggested readers should "draw your own conclusions" based on this (SSM), which seems to imply that Syrio Forel was in fact killed. More recent reports (but, it should be said, unconfirmed) indicate GRRM does not understand why he gets asked the question repeatedly, pointing out that Syrio is not immortal; if accurate, this seems to more heavily imply that Syrio Forel is dead.

Syrio was left in a hopeless situation (broken wooden sword, no armor, no shield, going up against a knight in armor, with a sword). All those sworn to Stak were killed, even those who couldn't fight (like Septa Mordane). Why would Syrio, in Ned's employment, be left alive, after attacking so many men?

GRRM says: He was in a hopeless situation, he is not immortal, draw your own conclusions. I don't understand why everyone asks if he's still alive.

That very very very heavily implies that Syrio is truly dead

[Leonardo]

One theory that I have is that Syrio Forel never died. There is no confirmation of his death, as Arya never saw the result of his fight with Meryn Trant. The way I see it there are two possibilities, one of which is running, but as we all know, the First Sword of Braavos does not run, however we can't rule that option out. The other is that Trant never killed him. and Syrio is in the dungeons as I type. While this option also seems unlikely, it could be possible that Ser Maryn saw value in Forel and chose to keep him alive. I know there's not much more to say but if you want to share your opinion that would be great

Or he knocked him out and THEN walked off. Not running away from a fight

Then again he may be the type to defend Eddard to the death, as he was of Eddard's household. His number 1 priority still would have been keeping Arya safe though.

[SexyBelwas]

As much as I want this to be true, I have to admit that I seriously doubt it. Meryn was a pretty ruthless guy, there's no way I could see him sparing Syrio, and of course, Syrio would never run from a fight.

But GRRM has pulled off crazier character revivals before, so maaaaybe he's not dead...

[Pib_Juju]

I certainly hope he's dead. He was a fun character, but the best thing about him is his dignified last stand.

[vordy]

My theory is that Jaqen H'ghar IS Syrio Forel....that Syrio Forel was defeated or surrendered to Sir Meryn Trant and for whatever reason spared and jailed....then when the Night's Watch came for prisoners, he changed appearances in his cell so they wouldn't think him important and then send him to the wall...therefore being with Arya and the others when she escaped.

[Nymeria_Stark]

My theory is that Jaqen H'ghar IS Syrio Forel....that Syrio Forel was defeated or surrendered to Sir Meryn Trant and for whatever reason spared and jailed....then when the Night's Watch came for prisoners, he changed appearances in his cell so they wouldn't think him important and then send him to the wall...therefore being with Arya and the others when she escaped.

Good point, although I had already started to think that Syrio could be a Faceless Man. We all know he's from Braavos, but we really don't know anything more other than that Arya, when she was leaving for the Wall, happened to meet Jaqen who happens to be a Faceless Man. So, Syrio = Jaqen?? Well, given the twists and shockers we've seen so far, impossible doesn't exist in the mind of GRRM.

[Lord Reaver]

Why is this thread here ? There's one of these threads on the main forum about every week.

And no, it's not a good point, it's been suggested before a thousand times, and it remains as ludicrous now. I'd point out how, but frankly, I can't be bothered. Instead I suggest people who are interested go read one of the many, many similar threads.