Protecting Jon, if R+L=J is true (*Potential Spoilers*)

[Jon's Queen Consort]

I think the very next chapter at the Wall will be of a mysterious hooded figure scooping up Jon's body and fighting off a horde of angry crows.

That is what I call fanfic theory :P

[Melisandros Megas]

Ned is keeping a secret. Howland Reed, Arthur & Ashara Dayne are potentially in on it.

There is a huge interest in keeping the secret safe and keeping Jon close by and protected.

How come when he goes to the Wall, no one is keeping an eye on him, especially when he is stabbed?

Thanks for any thoughts.

Someone was keeping an eye on him, Howland's brother-in-law, Bowen Marsh. Except, his priorities changed and he turned on Jon instead.

[Roddy the Ruin]

That is what I call fanfic theory :P

thag is what I call AWESOME B)

[Not a kneeler]

This is the brilliance, and the density of Ned Stark. Given that R+L=J, Ned protected Jon by letting him go North. Ned was protecting him from Robert which is where he perceived the main threat. We know this was a legitimate fear because of Robert's reaction to Daenerys and what he wanted to do to her and her unborn child. Jon could not go south where someone might have been reminded of something and the secret may have leaked out. All along, the lies Ned told, the moral life Ned led afterward so that no one could question Ned's tale that he had had a illegitimate son were all the best way to protect Jon. The decision to let Jon go north seemed like a good one to Ned since Benjen was there to keep an eye on him, and the wall was the same as it always had been.

And here we have the density of Ned Stark because he never took the threat from the north seriously. He thought it was still just Mance Rayder acting up. He didn't believe in Grumpkins. Even though he had seen an increasing number of desertions from the NW and knew there was unrest among the wildlings, he never put things together. He went to his death thinking that he had sent Jon to a relatively safe place. Instead Jon walked into the maelstrom.

[dbunting]

Ned protecting Jon, was from Robert, not every living thing in the world. From what we have seen it's not like Ned had planned on Jon being revealed to the world ever.

[Mini Ghost]

Howland Reed has got a lot of explaining to do. People won't just believe his story. He cannot just say " Hey ya'll, Jon is really Rheagar's son." He can not prove it. Unless of course, he's hiding Jon's baby clothes with Targs initials. Maybe HR will die and people will never really know his secrets.

[Ghost of Groat]

Howland Reed has got a lot of explaining to do. People won't just believe his story. He cannot just say " Hey ya'll, Jon is really Rheagar's son." He can not prove it. Unless of course, he's hiding Jon's baby clothes with Targs initials. Maybe HR will die and people will never really know his secrets.

I think I understand your points but HR doesn't need proof. Proof is only useful if one is trying to prove something to someone. HR has no interest in proving JS is anything other than JS. And even if HR had it all on video tape from marriage, conception, delivery, and development there is no court, in which, to present this hypothetical evidence.

The minimum requirement to claim the IT is a superior military ability. A pleasant narrative could be of use in helping one rule after being crowned but is not strictly needed.