Theories on Benjen Stark

[Ser Quork]

A theory of mine is that Osha killed him way back in aGoT or at least she knows what happened to him but she ain't telling. When we first meet Osha, she's travelling with a couple of NW deserters, Wallen and Stiv, and I think they were in Benjen's last ranging party, before he disappeared. One of them says something like, "The boy [bran] is a Stark alright. Only a Stark would threaten when other men would beg". That's downright ominous to me. And then later on Osha says that she killed a crow once.

Oooo - this is a great theory. I like it (although I wouldn't like it to be true - I'm holding out for Benjen to be in the Land of Always Winter).

I think that when he and his group were attacked by the Others Othor & Jafer were slain. That scared Stiv and Wallen into desertion while Benjen fought on (hence Stiv remark about the starks when they attack Bran). I tend to think Benjen survived and will be found alive by Stonesnake. Stonesnake will bring him up-to-date (as much as he can), then they have a long and perilous journey back to the wall...or to a certain cave.

Let's hope so!

[myufa]

No, Osha and I think another woman were wildlings, but Wallen and Stiv were NW deserters. They were travelling together

Would a deserter really go near Winterfell, where deserters have been beheaded. Only wildlings would risk it because they aren't known members of the watch and can easily mix in with the small folk.

[~No One~]

Who are the three?

I only know of Howland Reed

He's the other of the two :) I'm assuming Benjen knows, and joined the NW because of it. I'm going to say that 3-eyed raven knows too. Dudes got connections.

[jon stark I]

GRRm said we would see Lands of always winter so Benjen might be heading there all this time.

[Ibbison from Ibben]

I figure that Benjen is in "comfortable confinement" as an unwilling guest of the CotF. (The cloak that the dragonglass blades and the horn that Jon found beneath the Fist of the First men was no doubt his.) His task will be to escort Bran back to to Castle Black.

[myufa]

I figure that Benjen is in "comfortable confinement" as an unwilling guest of the CotF. (The cloak that the dragonglass blades and the horn that Jon found beneath the Fist of the First men was no doubt his.) His task will be to escort Bran back to to Castle Black.

No doubt? BR was LC of the watch I'm sure he's got a cloak or two. And it's likely he warged into ghost to show the location of HIS cloak and horn and dragon glass

[The Broke Howard Hughes]

If Waring and Greenseeing runs in the Stark blood maybe Benjen found his way to his own three eyed raven's cave.

[Jonathan N]

OK, I know it is completely and utterly crackpot theory, but what if Jon wargs into Ghost after being stabbed and finds Benjen in his direwolf form? I know, super unlikely.

Regardless of how exactly Benjen resurfaces, I am a firm believer that he does have a role to play in the series.

[acg515]

The only chance that I think Benjen Stark has to come back into the storyline is if he shows up somehow at Hardhome, because that seems like where the Wall plotline is headed, and from what the Red Priestess says, it doesn't sound like it is going to end well. Idk how they are going to explain him being away for 3 years but I hope it isn't some kind of dumb explanation.

I think that the best way to deal with Benjen Stark is to never explain his death. In remote places, people just disappear and die and no one ever finds the bodies. It's very possible that Benjen Stark could have been injured in a non-combat related way - avalanche, falling and breaking a leg, bear mauling, etc. In any of those cases, he could have ended up dying and never being found. It's possible Others killed him but I think that it would be kind of lame if he showed up as a wight. I prefer him just being gone and no one ever knowing what happened to him, like just a mystery that no one will ever solve.

[Crow's eye in the sky]

Benjen and his best friend Gerion are living Meeren pretending to be people that they aren't

[Lord Reaper oOo]

Cant buy the Osha theory. Too crackpot for me.

I want to believe he is alive. Killing a Stark off page doesn't seem right.

[rozemarijn]

I don't think Benjen was present in Jon's (or was it Bran's?) 'Feast for the dead' dream. Everyone present was known to be dead but I don't think Benjen was there. If he was dead then surely he would have been sat with Ned etc. He's alive somewhere in the land of always winter..

It was Theon. http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/Prophecies/Entry/1815 he saw Robb and Greywolf dead before he knew they were.

[Ibbison from Ibben]

No doubt? BR was LC of the watch I'm sure he's got a cloak or two. And it's likely he warged into ghost to show the location of HIS cloak and horn and dragon glass

The cloak was in pretty good shape. It was probably fairly new when it was buried. Any cloak of BR's would have been 45+ years old. (He went MIA in 252.)

Given how much effort LC Mormont put into finding Benjen, I agree with those who think Mormont sent him out with the mission of attempting to find and contact the CotF. Benjen likely succeeded, but was not allowed to return, since he would be needed for another task by the CotF later on.

[Free Northman Reborn]

Bloodraven imprisoned him deep in the cave.

He did so as part of his grand scheme to get Jon as King in the North and then as King on the Iron Throne.

Jon could not become Lord Commander if Benjen was around. Similarly, Jon cannot be Robb's heir if Benjen is around. Why would Robb legitimize a bastard if he could just name his trueborn uncle as his heir? The Night's Watch obstacle applies to both, so in Robb's situation a trueborn Stark would make far more sense than his bastard brother.

So Bloodraven had to remove Benjen from the scene while the events of the War of the Five Kings played out. But once Jon ascends the Throne, Benjen will be free to return and play his part.

[Theon {HUNGRY WOLF} Stark]

Would a deserter really go near Winterfell, where deserters have been beheaded. Only wildlings would risk it because they aren't known members of the watch and can easily mix in with the small folk.

Most likely Walen and Stiv were wildlings,who were wearing the cloaks of NW men they killed. Wildlings don't trust them black crows,forget traveling with them all the way to wolfswood.

[Snoop Arryn]

A theory of mine is that Osha killed him way back in aGoT or at least she knows what happened to him but she ain't telling. When we first meet Osha, she's travelling with a couple of NW deserters, Wallen and Stiv, and I think they were in Benjen's last ranging party, before he disappeared. One of them says something like, "The boy [bran] is a Stark alright. Only a Stark would threaten when other men would beg". That's downright ominous to me. And then later on Osha says that she killed a crow once.

I like the idea, but given how much trouble Jon got when running with the free folk, IDK if wildlings would just team up with Black Brothers that quickly. Possible I guess.

Also, we know 2 of the members of that ranging are in fact dead and became wights. They attacked Jeor.

Assuming they were with the ranging party until "it" happened, (even though we don't know what "it" was) you'd think that if Wallen and Stiv were in that party, they might want to explain what happend. Especially if they recognized Bran as a Stark and a relative of Benjen, who they'd obviously know. But then again, I guewss they could have deserted before "it" happened.

[Daemon Blackfyre IV]

Guys Benjen Stark is the last hero searching for years for the children in the cold

[tristansmommy]

I'd be disappointed if he didn't show up again, after all this time being "missing"- or just showed up as a wight leading an army of the dead. At this point, with so many more-important characters dead, and having already seen Ned's head on a spike.. well, the image of Benjen as a wight simply isn't that shocking or impactful. So here's hoping he's coming back as something/one more interesting or useful.

That's an interesting point about Osha's party- and it does seem ominous, what he said to Bran. Still, it seems a little anti-climactic...

Whenever I read posts on here, it always amazes me how much knowledge people seem to have about these stories that goes beyond what I remember. I really need to re-read the books (well, I currently am) but can anyone give me a quick list of other stories/books that take place in the ASOIAF world? I got the world book for Christmas... but I've heard about these Dunk and Egg stories? Just wondering... =)

[myufa]

Cant buy the Osha theory. Too crackpot for me.

I want to believe he is alive. Killing a Stark off page doesn't seem right.

You mean like killing Ned and Rob? Killing Starks is extremely important to the story. Every time one dies it leads to something huge. Maybe we will find out something about Benjen's death later that makes it more significant.

I have a kind of crackpot theory that when Starks die it's like a super sacrifice and it alters everything. Eventually they will all die which will cause crazy dramatic events that lead to the conclusion of the story. If Jon is dead it will surely mean some big changes at the wall. Maybe it will trigger the Other invasion. In fact maybe Benjen's death triggered the dramatic events of the ranging in the beginning of the novels.

[Ser Cold Fingers]

Not a bad theory at all and would obviously have implications for Osha if Bran and Rickon found out.

I do think Benjen is dead. Doesn't the (warged) raven say "Dead" when Jon mentions Benjen and what happened to him? The mystery is how he died, but if Osha was involved then that would explain why it's been unexplained up to this point.

Mormont's Raven reacts a little differently when Jon & Mormont discuss Benjen.

Shameless plug to this exact conversation. Subtle Clue that Benjen is Dead?