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Would Ned have ever told Jon about his parentage ?


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Do you think that Ned ever had the intention of telling Jon the truth about his mother and of him not being his biological father, or was it a secret he preferred to take to the grave and thought that it was better for Jon and all of his children to not know the truth ? 

In which circumstances could you see Ned ever tell Jon the truth about his parentage ?

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2 hours ago, Willam Stark said:

I think he was waiting until he was an adult to tell him, but changed his mind in the black cells.

Had he survived, he would have old him the truth once he arrived at Casteblack.

True

 

The interesting part is Im wondering if that leaves any legal grey area with oaths etc!

If jon signed up being lied to that he was a bastard with 0 rights to anything  thats  one thing BUT  once he knows he has a right to the throne (or  at least  is a lord)  thus didnt know what he was swearing away due to neds lies ....does the old oath hold ? 

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5 minutes ago, astarkchoice said:

If jon signed up being lied to that he was a bastard with 0 rights to anything  thats  one thing BUT  once he knows he has a right to the throne (or  at least  is a lord)  thus didnt know what he was swearing away due to neds lies ....does the old oath hold ? 

Yup the oath stills holds, no matter what happens.

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Ned was and honorable man. I have to believe he meant to tell Jon the truth the next time he saw him though I do think Ned saw that at a point far in the distant future.   Surely Ned has considered this conversation over the years.  But what could he actually tell him?  "You are my blood, just not the way you think, Haha!"  How could he possibly explain Jon's parentage to him without sending him away from Westeros, from Joffrey presumably or swearing him to secrecy without Jon being in the Nights Watch?    Not unless Ned was sure Jon would be safe.  

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It's possible he had intended to tell Jon sometime in the distant future.  Possibly after Jon was married with children and a purpose.  I doubt he would want Jon to even consider being a claimant for the throne.

Once Jon joined the Nights Watch and Ned went to KL, Ned may have considered telling Jon when they next met.

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7 hours ago, astarkchoice said:

True

 

The interesting part is Im wondering if that leaves any legal grey area with oaths etc!

If jon signed up being lied to that he was a bastard with 0 rights to anything  thats  one thing BUT  once he knows he has a right to the throne (or  at least  is a lord)  thus didnt know what he was swearing away due to neds lies ....does the old oath hold ? 

One main reason Ned didn't say anything to Jon was probably because he didn't want Jon to make a play for the throne in the first place, or have anyone do so on his behalf.

So as far as Ned is concerned, the Nights Watch is the perfect solution.  Though I do think Jon's interest was a complete surprise.

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I kinda sorta think that Ned never had any intention of telling Jon. Ned was too traumatized and stressed out with Lyanna dying and having to care for her newborn son. Jon knowing is dangerous for everyone. 
 

But I also like to think that if Ned had never went to KL and Jon still went to the NW and after taking that oath Ned would have told Jon. 

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I think Ned always intended to tell Jon ‘someday’, but life in WF was proceeding happily enough, Cat’s attacks on Jon aside, and so I think it possible he’d have put it off indefinitely waiting for the right moment. Depends a lot on what his promise to Lyanna specified re: Jon being told. 
 

But with JA’s death and word Robert was coming North, suddenly life went from plodding, pleasant and more less predictable to rushing up at him before he could get his bearings, and then next thing Jon’s talking NW while he’s having to divide his household, handle a likely Lannister plot, and deal with an almost murdered child, and I think he was just overloaded and saw the NW as the ultimate hedge that let him out off at least that decision to a later day. 
 

Whether he ends up telling Jon…depending on what happens in KL, maybe, and I think down in the cells he came to some kind of resolution, but as we know that came too late, and besides, once Jon is permanently pledged to the NW, would it hurt or help him to tell? And how much had he resolved to tell; telling what we know to be (almost certainly) true, or say going with the rape legend and saying he’s the result of that. That way he preserves Lyanna as a mother to Jon while creating a barrier to the implications of being a ~ love child. Ned has no particular loyalty to Rhaegar’s legacy. Again, unless that was part of ‘promise me’. In which case I can see why Ned would always find a reason why now was not the right time to tell Jon. 

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I doubt it.

Jon’s future was to be life at the Wall, or life on the streets.  That was the choice he faced, when Ned went South.

It’s in Jon’s very first chapter, that unlike his siblings, he has no prospects.  Realistically, I think he could have found work as a soldier, but he would have been living on his own wits.

Jon had a claim to the Iron Throne, which would conflict with any children Sansa bore Joffrey.

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