HM=HM

[aryagonnakill#2]

Good Guy Garlan, While Theon not describing the HM in any way or identifying him for the reader may make it seem like Theon does not know him, the HM immediately recognizes Theon, so that is why most people assume they know each other.

[Good Guy Garlan]

Good Guy Garlan, While Theon not describing the HM in any way or identifying him for the reader may make it seem like Theon does not know him, the HM immediately recognizes Theon, so that is why most people assume they know each other.

Yeah, but Theon has been around the castle. People saw him deliver Jeyne at the wedding, they saw him all the time at feasts and dining times and whatnot, and they saw him wandering around. Pretty much everyone in Winterfell knows the turncloak by sight.

[aryagonnakill#2]

I could be wrong but "How is it you still draw breath" indicates to me that the HM had not seen Theon alive since before the sack of Winterfell, and that the person did not even know he was alive.

[Good Guy Garlan]

I could be wrong but "How is it you still draw breath" indicates to me that the HM had not seen Theon alive since before the sack of Winterfell, and that the person did not even know he was alive.

Yeah, good point, but it can also be like, "That mummer's farce of a wedding is over, why are the Boltons keeping you alive still?" or something like that. Or maybe the HM had been itching to say that to Theon, but that was the first time they were alone face to face.

[sarah.jenice]

I tend to think we will never know the identity of the HM, or Coldhands for that matter. But that doesn't mean we can't have a lot of fun going over and over the text trying to find clues as to who they are. Oh Winds of Winter, please blow in before we go mad speculating! 

[pettes]

I could be wrong but "How is it you still draw breath" indicates to me that the HM had not seen Theon alive since before the sack of Winterfell, and that the person did not even know he was alive.

I thimk its meant more like the nearly exact same phrase Sansa says to Theon in the show. A "Why are you still alive when better people are dead" thing

[aryagonnakill#2]

The Hooded Man actually excites me as much about other mystery people as he does himself.  George really didn't give us enough to figure this out, which means he does not want us to figure it out yet.  So I personally think arguments like "George would have told us what color Lemore or Varys eyes are" are proven invalid, as we have a clear case of George giving us what may be hints, but not giving us enough to figure it out when clearly he could.

[three-eyed monkey]

Good Guy Garlan, While Theon not describing the HM in any way or identifying him for the reader may make it seem like Theon does not know him, the HM immediately recognizes Theon, so that is why most people assume they know each other.

Exactly. Plus the Hooded Man seems offended by Theon on a personal level. False is all you were, the accusation of kinslaying, how is it you still breathe? I think it is someone who knew Theon from Winterfell. That's how I read it anyway. If that is the case then Hal or Harwin would fit best. Harwin was still with Lady Stoneheart late in AFfC. I know there's a theory that LS sent him to Winterfell when she heard about Arya's wedding. That's a possibility, but we know for sure that Cat sent Hal to Winterfell, so there's one less assumption required.

[Good Guy Garlan]

Exactly. Plus the Hooded Man seems offended by Theon on a personal level. False is all you were, the accusation of kinslaying, how is it you still breathe? I think it is someone who knew Theon from Winterfell. That's how I read it anyway. If that is the case then Hal or Harwin would fit best. Harwin was still with Lady Stoneheart late in AFfC. I know there's a theory that LS sent him to Winterfell when she heard about Arya's wedding. That's a possibility, but we know for sure that Cat sent Hal to Winterfell, so there's one less assumption required.

Well, it's not necessary for the HM to know Theon from before to feel that kind of contempt. I mean, look at Rowan the spearwife and how pissed she gets when Theon utters the Stark words and about his supposed kinslaying. And they never knew each other before.

[three-eyed monkey]

Well, it's not necessary for the HM to know Theon from before to feel that kind of contempt. I mean, look at Rowan the spearwife and how pissed she gets when Theon utters the Stark words and about his supposed kinslaying. And they never knew each other before.

Theon is widely despised, no doubt about it. But Rowan only got pissed with him when he accused her of killing Little Walder.

I suppose the line "False is all you were," is the crux of it for me. Past tense, as opposed to false is all you are. Past tense refers to the past, a time when Theon was supposedly a friend of Robb and the Starks.

[aryagonnakill#2]

^ I think thats a really good point.  It always makes me think of the moment Theon actually swears fealty to Robb when he is crowned and makes me think the person was there.  Since prior to that he had never sworn fealty to Robb, and had in fact been a captive.

[pigpiginsunspear]

Good theory, really well done.

 

I cannot explain why, but I feel like Hallis is not slick enough to pull this off.  Again no evidence to back this up.  I think receiving help from the Reeds explains how he was able to do this though.

[pigpiginsunspear]

I'd feel GRRM would be cheating if he's someone Theon knows/knew because of this bit:

"When they found themselves face-to-face their eyes met briefly."

I think this implies Theon saw his face and still didn't recognize him, which means it's a stranger to him. So I lean towards Raynald Westerling, as crackpot as it may be.

 

I don't think I follow. Why would this imply he is a stranger?  Reek has been through a rough time, I don't his memory is that clear. Also, the HM is hooded, its presumably dark , etc.  I don't think the HM has to be a stranger.

[spoon89]

Question on how the Kinslayer accusation works into this.

 

The accusation of Kinslaying requires that you be blood kin to the victim and relatively close in the blood, since due to all the intermarriages between families it would quickly become impossible to kill someone in battle and not be a kinslayer. Since Theon was a hostage, he's not kin to Bran and Rickon. So where can this accusation come from? I know of only three possibilities.

Theon did have sex with the Miller's wife, the mother of the two children killed and substituted for Bran and Rickon. He had three Ironborn (Gelmarr the Grim, Gynir Rednose and Aggar) and R_Reek with him when the children and miller's wife were killed. The three Ironborn shortly meet their ends at the hands of R_Reek and Farlen is blamed and executed by Theon. Theon also killed Ralf Kenning as a mercy due to his horrible state when he took Moat Cailin.

So we have the possibility that one or both of the Miller's children are Theon's which would make him a kinslayer, that one of the Ironborn killed at Winterfell was a relative and the accuser is of the belief that Theon killed those Ironborn and he's related to one of them, or that Ralf Kenning was kin to Theon which is possible because house Kenning is on Harlaw (Theon's mother is of house Harlaw).

 

Personally I think that it's the first case, which would make it a case of unknowningly commiting kinslaying, simliar to Lord Stark killing Bael the Bard (whom he did not know was his father). This implies a lot of intimate knowledge of Theon and his sexual escapades, plus figuring or knowing that a substitution of the bodies had occurred and figuring out where the bodies came from. 

[vuk]

I think Hooded Man called Theon Kinslayer because he really killed his kin - his sons to be precise. This was described in detail as a part of huge essay about oncoming battle on ice. Theon had sex a couple of times with miller's wife so those boys he killed maybe were his sons and that is the main reason why he is called "kinslayer" by Hooded Man. Thus this essay suggest Robet Glover to be a Hooded Man.

[Night'sQueen]

Great OP, this is the best theory on the HM that I've seen. I wonder if GRRM will ever reveal the HM identity (and so many other things) either in the books or in Q&As after all the books are out.

 

Theon is widely despised, no doubt about it. But Rowan only got pissed with him when he accused her of killing Little Walder.

I suppose the line "False is all you were," is the crux of it for me. Past tense, as opposed to false is all you are. Past tense refers to the past, a time when Theon was supposedly a friend of Robb and the Starks.

 

I agree with your interpretation and the importance of the past tense.

 

So if you are correct and it is Hallis, do you then assume that Ned's bones have indeed been placed in the crypt?

[~~~~~~~~~~~~~]

Hallis Mollen is the Hooded Man in Winterfell, there to do his duty as Captain of Guards and fulfil the last order Lady Stark gave him by returning Ned’s bones to the crypt.

 

The Hooded Man.

 

Outside the snow was coming down so heavily that Theon could not see more than three feet ahead of him. He found himself alone in a white wilderness, walls of snow looming up to either side of him chest high. When he raised his head, the snowflakes brushed his cheeks like cold soft kisses. He could hear the sound of music from the hall behind him. A soft song now, and sad. For a moment he felt almost at peace.

 

Farther on, he came upon a man striding in the opposite direction, a hooded cloak flapping behind him. When they found themselves face-to-face their eyes met briefly.

 

 The man put a hand on his dagger. "Theon Turncloak. Theon Kinslayer."

 

"I'm not. I never … I was ironborn."

 

"False is all you were. How is it you still breathe?"

 

"The gods are not done with me," Theon answered, wondering if this could be the killer, the night walker who had stuffed Yellow Dick's cock into his mouth and pushed Roger Ryswell's groom off the battlements. Oddly, he was not afraid. He pulled the glove from his left hand. "Lord Ramsay is not done with me."

 

The man looked, and laughed. "I leave you to him, then." ADwD, A Ghost in Winterfell.

 

The Hooded Man puts his hand to his dagger, his first instinct being to kill Theon. He then levels two charges against Theon, Turncloak and Kinslayer, in reference to Theon’s betrayal of Robb, and the Starks in general, and the supposed murder of Bran and Rickon. These sentiments seem very pro-Stark to me. In fact, the charge of kinslaying is interesting because everyone knows that Theon is a Greyjoy, not a Stark. Perhaps only someone who knew how close Theon had been to the Starks would make such a claim.

 

False is all you were, suggests to me that the Hooded Man knew and even trusted Theon, or at least considered him true, before he turned his cloak and slew his “kin”.

 

But wouldn’t Theon recognise the Hooded Man if it was Hal? Maybe he would. It was dark, snowing so heavily that Theon could not see three feet in front of him, and the man was hooded. Even when face to face their eyes met only briefly. I think Theon only glanced at the man and then looked away, possibly in shame, and he did not linger long enough to describe any of the man’s features. It is a fair question though.

 

Hallis Mollen.

 

Robb arrived before her food. Rodrik Cassel came with him, and her husband's ward Theon Greyjoy, and lastly Hallis Mollen, a muscular guardsman with a square brown beard. He was the new captain of the guard, Robb said. AGoT, Catelyn III.

 

Hallis Mollen was promoted to captain of guards at Winterfell by Robb after Jory Cassell went south with Ned.

 

Sometimes he would ride out with Hallis Mollen and be gone for days at a time, visiting distant holdfasts. Whenever he was away more than a day, Rickon would cry and ask Bran if Robb was ever coming back. Even when he was home at Winterfell, Robb the Lord seemed to have more time for Hallis Mollen and Theon Greyjoy than he ever did for his brothers.

...

 

Robb was seated in Father's high seat, wearing ringmail and boiled leather and the stern face of Robb the Lord. Theon Greyjoy and Hallis Mollen stood behind him. A dozen guardsmen lined the grey stone walls beneath tall narrow windows. AGoT, Bran IV.

 

Robb spent most of that day locked behind closed doors with Maester Luwin, Theon Greyjoy, and Hallis Mollen. AGoT, Bran V.

 

Hal was trusted by Robb and just happens to be mentioned in conjunction with Theon on several occasions in AGoT. It seems he was close with both.

 

Hallis Mollen went before them through the gate, carrying the rippling white banner of House Stark atop a high standard of grey ash. AGoT, Bran VI.

 

Hal Mollen rode beside her, bearing the banner of House Stark, the grey direwolf on an ice-white field. ACoK, Catelyn II.

 

A loyal Stark man, Hal is given the honour of carrying the House Stark banner when Robb marches south in AGoT, and again later when he accompanies Lady Stark to Renly’s camp.

 

"It should not be long now, my lady," Hallis Mollen said. He had asked for the honor of protecting her in the battle to come; it was his right, as Winterfell's captain of guards, and Robb had not refused it to him. AGoT, Catelyn X.

 

The Captain of Guards seems fully committed to his duty, as seen when he guards Lady Stark while Robb gave battle at Whispering Wood. Later, in ACoK, Hal is called upon once more to fulfil his duty as captain of guards. This time he is to escort Lord Eddard’s bones back to Winterfell.

 

"I am grateful for your service, sisters," Catelyn said, "but I must lay another task upon you. Lord Eddard was a Stark, and his bones must be laid to rest beneath Winterfell." They will make a statue of him, a stone likeness that will sit in the dark with a direwolf at his feet and a sword across his knees. "Make certain the sisters have fresh horses, and aught else they need for the journey," she told Utherydes Wayn. "Hal Mollen will escort them back to Winterfell, it is his place as captain of guards." ACoK, Catelyn V.

 

It made her wonder where Ned had come to rest. The silent sisters had taken his bones north, escorted by Hallis Mollen and a small honor guard. Had Ned ever reached Winterfell, to be interred beside his brother Brandon in the dark crypts beneath the castle? Or did the door slam shut at Moat Cailin before Hal and the sisters could pass? ASoS, Catelyn V.

 

From Riverrun Hal went north towards the Neck and Moat Cailin, and has not been seen or heard from since. Like a lot of readers, I’m assuming that Hal and Ned’s bones, unable to pass Moat Cailin due to the presence of the Ironmen, found refuge with the Crannogmen. The question is what happened then? To get to Winterfell without passing through Moat Cailin and using the Kingsroad, Hal had two obvious options, either one of which may have proven fruitful,  provided he had guides to lead him through the swamps.

 

East lies White Harbour. Lord Manderly clearly has a pro-Stark agenda and Hal and Ned’s bones could easily have been accommodated in the great column that left White Harbour for Winterfell, which included “Forty wayns full of foodstuffs. Casks of wine and hippocras, barrels of fresh-caught lampreys, a herd of goats, a hundred pigs, crates of crabs and oysters, a monstrous codfish …”

 

West of Moat Cailin would lead Hal up into the Barrowlands. Lady Dustin’s allegiance is not as clear to the reader as Lord Manderly’s. Personally I think she’s in the pro-Stark camp, so I don’t think she’s being fully truthful with Reek in this passage, as he is Ramsay’s creature after all. I don’t disagree with the theory that she went to the crypts to verify Wex’s story, but the trip may have served another purpose too. Could she have wanted to see for herself the final destination of the bones she was about to deliver?

 

Theon did not understand. "His … his bones …?"

 

Her lips twisted. It was an ugly smile, a smile that reminded him of Ramsay's. "Catelyn Tully dispatched Lord Eddard's bones north before the Red Wedding, but your iron uncle seized Moat Cailin and closed the way. I have been watching ever since. Should those bones ever emerge from the swamps, they will get no farther than Barrowton." She threw one last lingering look at the likeness of Eddard Stark. "We are done here." ADwD, The Turncloak.

 

In Summary, Hallis Mollen has returned to Winterfell with the help of first the Crannogmen, and then Lady Dustin and/or Lord Manderly, to fulfil his duty and complete the task assigned to him by Lady Stark before she was murderedm and return Lord Eddard's bones to theie rightful place in the crypts of Winterfell.

I really like it.  You have it mapped out beautifully.  All of it makes sense and all of it is possible.  Great job!

[three-eyed monkey]

Great OP, this is the best theory on the HM that I've seen. I wonder if GRRM will ever reveal the HM identity (and so many other things) either in the books or in Q&As after all the books are out.
 
I agree with your interpretation and the importance of the past tense.
 
So if you are correct and it is Hallis, do you then assume that Ned's bones have indeed been placed in the crypt?

In the next book I think it will become clear in hindsight who the Hooded Man was. I think it is a hint that not everything is as it seems in Winterfell and that there are plots and subplots unfolding all around. I don't think the bones are in the crypts yet, but plans to have them returned are at quite an advanced stage as Hallis Mollen is there.

Good theory, really well done.
 
I cannot explain why, but I feel like Hallis is not slick enough to pull this off.  Again no evidence to back this up.  I think receiving help from the Reeds explains how he was able to do this though.

Yeah, I agree that Hal is probably not slick enough to pull it off alone. I think Lord Manderly and Lady Dustin are probably the slick operators behind the plot. Cat once mentioned that Hal had a loose tongue, so he may even be a liability of sorts, but as he was the one charged with returning the bones in his capacity as captain of the guard I think he was given a part in the plot. It would be harsh to exclude him and deny him a chance to fulfil the last command Lady Stark gave him.

Hal is a relatively minor character, but GRRM said that every character, major and minor, sees themselves as the hero of their own story. Hal mission is to return Lord Eddard's bones to the crypts. It was a quest bestowed upon him by Lady Stark, who he had the honour of protecting before she sent him north with the Ned's remains, and has since been murdered when he was not there to protect her. I think he would be pretty determined to succeed, given the circumstances.

Question on how the Kinslayer accusation works into this.
 
The accusation of Kinslaying requires that you be blood kin to the victim and relatively close in the blood, since due to all the intermarriages between families it would quickly become impossible to kill someone in battle and not be a kinslayer. Since Theon was a hostage, he's not kin to Bran and Rickon. So where can this accusation come from? I know of only three possibilities.
Theon did have sex with the Miller's wife, the mother of the two children killed and substituted for Bran and Rickon. He had three Ironborn (Gelmarr the Grim, Gynir Rednose and Aggar) and R_Reek with him when the children and miller's wife were killed. The three Ironborn shortly meet their ends at the hands of R_Reek and Farlen is blamed and executed by Theon. Theon also killed Ralf Kenning as a mercy due to his horrible state when he took Moat Cailin.
So we have the possibility that one or both of the Miller's children are Theon's which would make him a kinslayer, that one of the Ironborn killed at Winterfell was a relative and the accuser is of the belief that Theon killed those Ironborn and he's related to one of them, or that Ralf Kenning was kin to Theon which is possible because house Kenning is on Harlaw (Theon's mother is of house Harlaw).
 
Personally I think that it's the first case, which would make it a case of unknowningly commiting kinslaying, simliar to Lord Stark killing Bael the Bard (whom he did not know was his father). This implies a lot of intimate knowledge of Theon and his sexual escapades, plus figuring or knowing that a substitution of the bodies had occurred and figuring out where the bodies came from.

The kinslaying accusation is interesting, especially as it's not just the Hooded Man who calls Theon a kinslayer.

I'm familiar with the theory about the miller's kids being Theon's and I think it's possible. Theon would have been quite young when he bedded the miller's wife, and I doubt he resisted boasting to his friends about it afterwards. So someone from Winterfell, like Hal, would be best placed to put it together, if indeed the kids were Theons.

[edd tollett:(]

I'd feel GRRM would be cheating if he's someone Theon knows/knew because of this bit:
"When they found themselves face-to-face their eyes met briefly."
I think this implies Theon saw his face and still didn't recognize him, which means it's a stranger to him. So I lean towards Raynald Westerling, as crackpot as it may be.

The seashell Knight! I hope he still alive but idk bout him being the hoodedman. Who ever it is had to know him pretty well, to recognize him so easily. Remember, Asha didn't even recognize that quickly.

I don't think it's HM either though. If it was HM, he probably would have mentioned all the snow or how cold it was, lol. He is very loyal but not very smart. My guess is he's still at greywater watch, with ned's bones.

[edd tollett:(]

I could be wrong but "How is it you still draw breath" indicates to me that the HM had not seen Theon alive since before the sack of Winterfell, and that the person did not even know he was alive.

I agree