DoctorSwerve Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I believe Benjen took the black because he knew of Jon's true parentage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dornishman's Wife Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I believe Benjen took the black because he knew of Jon's true parentage.I'm a bit slow today, can you explain why that would make him take the black? I mean, he did take it long before Jon Snow appeared on the wall, and Jon seems to have had the idea by himself to the point of surprising the adults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorSwerve Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I think that Benjen didn't let his family know about the Lyanna/Rhaegar romance and felt guilt for how things ended with Lyanna's death. Going to the Wall could have been his own punishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorSwerve Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I think that Benjen knew about the romance much longer than anyone else did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodymime Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 "6) When, specifically, did Benjen join the NW? Was it a couple of years after Ned returned, or immediately?It was within a few months of Ned's returning. The reason being that there always was a Stark at Winterfell, so he had to stay there until Ned returned. GRRM refused to say the reason why Benjen had to join the NW"http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Month/2005/05/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Elvin of Clymer Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Can't say for sure, but if the Lyanna/Rhaegar romance was consenting & Jon's parents, and Benjen knew, by taking the black he would seem to avoid any direct royal interrogation. Interesting that GRRM refused.I like all the Lyanna ideas but I still feel he must have something he regrets or feels responsible for, also (and this may be influenced by the show) he always felt a little sad about something. Staying home at Winterfell would mean not the simple hard, war changed Westerosi that I always pictured him.I guess being in the Night Watch could develop that side of him to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodymime Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Well in another SSM he does say Benjen's reason will be revealed so it's still part of the story one way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Elfor the Landstander Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I always enjoy a good speculation, so here we go.What do we really know about Benjen anyway?He was the First Ranger. That in itself doesn't necessarily mean anything. It shows he's capable of leadership, if nothing else.He was close to Lyanna. Again, brothers and sisters are usually close, so there's nothing new here. He was close to Ned too, for that matter.He was close to Jon. This is the most important info here. Considering he was (is?) a member of the Night's Watch, his visits to Winterfell couldn't have been frequent. And yet, he managed to develop a strong bond with his brother's bastard. We don't know much about his relationship with the other Stark children, but Bran, Arya and Sansa barely ever mention him in their POVs. So this is significant.He tried to dissuade Jon from joining the Night's Watch. This isn't very significant. I doubt anyone from the Night's Watch would recommend that life to someone they cared about. But it further illustrates how much he cared for Jon.Based on this info, I'd guess his motive for joining the Night's Watch is related to Jon. I can't say for certain if he knows about Jon's true parentage, but there's definitely something behind his affection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tagganaro Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Wow, that's all really interesting. Never really thought much about why Benjen was in the NW, I guess I just assumed as younger brother it was relatively normal for them to join the NW with such a small chance of inheritance. But with the timeline the way it is, with him leavling right after Ned got back, that does make me wonder.It also gets me thinking- Benjen continues to get mentioned in every book pretty much, and if what Bloodymime says is true that would make sense. In many ways, he's something of an important character. I've also heard speculation that he could be the Hooded Man at Winterfell as well, if he's not Coldhands. Remember, there must always be a Stark at Winterfell lol. Maybe he sensed there were no Starks there and headed back haha. But yeah, definitely some great points. Interesting how close of a relationship he seems to have with Jon as compared to the other Stark children. Kind of a weird relationship for a lord's brother to be that close to his bastard and seemingly not as close to the trueborn....Would make much more sense in all honesty if Benjen knew Lyanna was Jon's mother and was in on the secret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodymime Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 "[Why did Benjen join the Night's Watch?]Good question. One day you will get an answer. But it will not be today."http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Month/2008/07/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordDolorousEdd Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I've wondered about this as well. One possibility: he was on the wrong side during Robert's Rebellion.If he was on the wrong side other side of the rebellion why would he have been invited to the feast when king robert was in the north... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 The North is huge, the Starks are very highly respected there, and Benjen was the only adult Stark by blood besides Ned. He would've been extremely useful for Ned to have around to help him govern the North if he was even slightly competent, and he certainly seemed a smart and capable man. So I think there's something more to his decision to go to the Wall than just "He wasn't the heir so he went to the Wall". Yeah, he wasn't the heir, but he was still one of the very few Starks alive at this point and had better options than the Wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Elvin of Clymer Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Great point Ser Elfor, about how Benjen & Jon would build a strong relationship w/out Benjen @ Winterfell, definitely would need some extra help to become as warm as it seemed in GoT.Totally agree, Tagganaro, I felt that way, sort of believed him to be coldhands for awhile, never really spent anytime on his origins or noticed that it has never been pinpointed or explained in the story, sort of a noticeable hole in the story now that I think about it. Though completely reasonable in the context of the story, people aren't asking NW's why they joined and Ned would know already, he and Jon wouldn't ask and they are the only characters who really actually interact w/ him (Tyrion to, but obviously Benjen wasn't friendly w/ T)Its not a perfect comparison, but if anyone has ever watched "The Third Man" w/ Orson Wells & Joseph Cotton (James? or is that blues player?) they constantly allude to a character for the 1st 3/4s of the movie, he then has about 10 minutes of screen time, but extremely memorable w/ an incredible build up of anticipation. Great movie!I feel the, Where is Benjen? is using a similar device, and aside from Howland, I bet Benjen has the the most info from the rebellion,Jon's parentage, ToJ etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodymime Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 The North is huge, the Starks are very highly respected there, and Benjen was the only adult Stark by blood besides Ned. He would've been extremely useful for Ned to have around to help him govern the North if he was even slightly competent, and he certainly seemed a smart and capable man. So I think there's something more to his decision to go to the Wall than just "He wasn't the heir so he went to the Wall". Yeah, he wasn't the heir, but he was still one of the very few Starks alive at this point and had better options than the Wall.I agree, after having their House nearly wiped out it's hard to see him just up and leaving just because there's a newborn Stark for a backup especially now after we see that SSM saying he left just months after Ned came back from the war. Robb wouldn't even be a year old yet right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceGal Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Lyanna could have confided in Benjen about Rhaegar, and Benjen blames himself for keeping silent since that silence probably led to the death of Lyanna, Rickard and Brandon Stark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledlevee Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 We don't know much about Benjen really, so this is pure speculation, and it seems so obvious to me that someone else has probably speculated it before, but is it possible Benjen was a warg or greenseer? It definitely seems to run in the family. If he had greendreams, he may have seen something that led him to joining the night's watch. I like what someone said about him being close to Jon and this being key. Perhaps he realized that Jon's destiny involves being in the far north somehow, so he decided he needed to be there too for some reason. Of course, this is only significant if Benjen is still alive. I propose that he's still alive, in the far north close to the Land of Always winter (if he's not Coldhands, of course), and he's up to something that will have a major impact on Jon. This also works if he's Coldhands, I guess. Perhaps he led Bran to Bloodraven so Bran could learn Jon's true parentage through the Wierwoods (hearing Ned praying about it) and later pass this info to Jon. If Benjen was a greenseer and he saw something similar to this happening, he probably knew he needed to be at the wall in order for important future events to take place. If Jon is Azor Ahai and he is the one who will defeat the Others, then this all makes sense. That would definitely be a big enough deal that Benjen would leave everything and join the Night's Watch. Of course, Benjen couldn't have known the exact specifics or he would have probably just told Jon himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallant Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 We might hear from Benjen about Jon Snow's parentage, and never ever see the mysterious Howland Reed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Which Tyler Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I'd always thought he'd... defiled Ashara, and needed to atone. No real evidence for it, beyond the usual - Baristan says "A Stark" had gotten her with child, I think we know that he disappeared for while at the same Tourney; still can't see Ned doing the deed.My guess is that rumour simply attributed it to the wrong Stark male; and that maybe it was less salubrious than being a mutual thing; or possibly really was love, and that he took the black when she (allegedly) topped herself.Also possible that both Ned and Ben fancied her, and that she only returned the feelings towards Ben. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhaquentis Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 We might hear from Benjen about Jon Snow's parentage, and never ever see the mysterious Howland Reed.I thought about that too; maybe Howland will give us some more information about Lyanna and the past but not enough. Benjen was the one who was very close to her, more than wild Brandon and certainly more than honorable Ned, so if he is still alive (in a way) we might have a pretty epic revelation. Jon and Benjen were close after all; he seemed to consider Jon as family more than Ned did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billch797 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 We are told there must always be a Stark in Winterfell. There is no mention outside of this thread of a need to always have a Stark at the Wall.In the tv series Ned tells Jon that's there has always been a Stark on the nights watch or something to that effect. By the way, in which book is all this about Rhaegar and the Laughing Tree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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