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Rickon, the Black Wolf.


OberynBlackfyre

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I know this theory has been chewed on a couple of times but I just wanted to add my theory to the list to see what people thought.

Well firstly, I do feel that Shaggy Dog tells a lot about who Rickon is, was, and who he will become. So far the direwolves have matched their owners in a pretty dead on kind of manner.

Not only the pain he has experienced, but the fact that where he is going is said to have some of the most ruthless Northmen I feel is a huge tell of how he will be brought up.

Truly, I do not think that he will be evil or anything, but he certainly will not be forgiving. I think this is needed because he will, in the end, be The Lord of Winterfell. I believe he will come back, a risky military leader like Robb, and become the Black Wolf, leading an army that utterly destroys any southron lord or people who wronged his family.

I really believe this will happen only because I know GRRM said he is not going to do the five year leap, but that still does not mean he won't cover more than five years with the next two books. Like chapters have shown, the story being told at hand could be what happens in a day, or what happens over a period of months, depending on what character he is telling the POV from.

And he's going to do all this as a 4/5 yr old?

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And he's going to do all this as a 4/5 yr old?

Probably not. Which is why, bar a time jump, I think Rikkon must be one of those dangling plot threads left dangling after the seventh book run is up. He might emerge as a force or heir, but I don't think he'll get to be the Black Wolf/King of Winter returned until he's older.

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Probably not. Which is why, bar a time jump, I think Rikkon must be one of those dangling plot threads left dangling after the seventh book run is up. He might emerge as a force or heir, but I don't think he'll get to be the Black Wolf/King of Winter returned until he's older.

I think you forgot about a certain onion knight.

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He would the Stark equivalent of Joffrey/Ramsay

I agree with this 100%

In fact, I think he will be worse than both.

Rickon is undergoing the most important stages of his mental development and has experienced nothing but confusion and suffering. He's going to grow up with a cynical point of view and seek to act in the ways he was damaged as a child.

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I agree with this 100%

In fact, I think he will be worse than both.

Rickon is undergoing the most important stages of his mental development and has experienced nothing but confusion and suffering. He's going to grow up with a cynical point of view and seek to act in the ways he was damaged as a child.

At least that will make the Starks less cut and dry. With the exception of Sansa and Catelyn, they're all so likeable

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  • 4 months later...

I'm not bringing forth anything new to this conversation, but I still want to say something. Rickon's is one of my favourite future storylines and I can't wait to see what will happen to him. I'm sure he is bound in the north, and I pray he'll inherit Winterfell eventually. He will be of importance in the future, otherwise he would'be been killed ages ago or never been born.

What concerns me a lot is what will happen to his Stark identity as he grows older. He was only three when abandoned by his family (save Bran), and when he was taken away from Winterfell. By now, I'm sure Osha will be like a mother to him, perhaps even more so than Catelyn ever was - as due to his extremely young age I doubt he'll ever remember his real parents. And should he ever return in Winterfell (after being fostered somewhere else for years..?) I'd assume he just wouldn't feel at home there, not truly.

I cannot help but laugh at the idea of him turning into a second Joffrey. Growing up not knowing his real family will affect him deeply, that's for sure. He is confused, scared, and angry at all the people that abandoned him, but that's the anger of a three-year-old. He has no idea of what is happening around him, the only thing he understands is he's losing all his important people and the safety of his home. In time his Winterfell memories will start to fade, and that's probably what'll happen to his 'rage' as well - it will slowly dull out (I'm not saying it will completely disappear, though) and be replaced by the sorrow of never knowing your parents, etc. As for revenging his losses in the future, that'll depend on whether and when Lord Manderly will find Rickon, and what he is planning to make out of him. So, I believe it's a matter of who will raise him in the future, and how. In any case, I believe he won't grow up to be the likeness of his father or his mother or his brother Robb. The way Shaggydog behaves strongly suggests that there is a certain roughness to him, as the direwolves are known to project the Stark kids. (Although losing his family members one by one overwhelmed him emotionally and intensified his uncontrollable temper, but later it began to settle down a bit.) I think his essence is hot-headed, fierce, stubborn, wild... But how he will be dealing with enemies, justice, honor, and that sort of things is really in the hands of the people that he'll grow up with.

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but that still does not mean he won't cover more than five years with the next two books. Like chapters have shown, the story being told at hand could be what happens in a day, or what happens over a period of months, depending on what character he is telling the POV from.

I doubt that, only because the 5 books released thus far only cover roughly 3 years. I doubt he'd do that many jumps in 2 books, a timeskip would be mandatory.

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I'm not bringing forth anything new to this conversation, but I still want to say something. Rickon's is one of my favourite future storylines and I can't wait to see what will happen to him. I'm sure he is bound in the north, and I pray he'll inherit Winterfell eventually. He will be of importance in the future, otherwise he would'be been killed ages ago or never been born.

What concerns me a lot is what will happen to his Stark identity as he grows older. He was only three when abandoned by his family (save Bran), and when he was taken away from Winterfell. By now, I'm sure Osha will be like a mother to him, perhaps even more so than Catelyn ever was - as due to his extremely young age I doubt he'll ever remember his real parents. And should he ever return in Winterfell (after being fostered somewhere else for years..?) I'd assume he just wouldn't feel at home there, not truly.

I cannot help but laugh at the idea of him turning into a second Joffrey. Growing up not knowing his real family will affect him deeply, that's for sure. He is confused, scared, and angry at all the people that abandoned him, but that's the anger of a three-year-old. He has no idea of what is happening around him, the only thing he understands is he's losing all his important people and the safety of his home. In time his Winterfell memories will start to fade, and that's probably what'll happen to his 'rage' as well - it will slowly dull out (I'm not saying it will completely disappear, though) and be replaced by the sorrow of never knowing your parents, etc. As for revenging his losses in the future, that'll depend on whether and when Lord Manderly will find Rickon, and what he is planning to make out of him. So, I believe it's a matter of who will raise him in the future, and how. In any case, I believe he won't grow up to be the likeness of his father or his mother or his brother Robb. The way Shaggydog behaves strongly suggests that there is a certain roughness to him, as the direwolves are known to project the Stark kids. (Although losing his family members one by one overwhelmed him emotionally and intensified his uncontrollable temper, but later it began to settle down a bit.) I think his essence is hot-headed, fierce, stubborn, wild... But how he will be dealing with enemies, justice, honor, and that sort of things is really in the hands of the people that he'll grow up with.

I cannot wait to read what will happen to Rickon and taking his rightful place as Lord of Winterfell or perhaps King in the North (I can't see Bran returning to Winterfell) and a 5 year jump wouldn't be too bad. I think Rickon will take his rightful place as Lord of Winterfell... eventually, though Manderly, Davos, Stannis etc. Also Rickon (through Shaggydog) comes across as the wild stark, similar to Brandon Stark - hot-headed, fierce, stubborn, wild.

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Maybe Rickon will eventually just be a vehicle for continuing the Stark Line. I believe Arya is going to die; Jon in NW / A Targ; Bran is LG; this only leaves Sansa who is also in quite a delicate position.

Quite interested to see the Davos and Osha dynamic if they meet :)

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I'm not bringing forth anything new to this conversation, but I still want to say something. Rickon's is one of my favourite future storylines and I can't wait to see what will happen to him. I'm sure he is bound in the north, and I pray he'll inherit Winterfell eventually. He will be of importance in the future, otherwise he would'be been killed ages ago or never been born.

...

I cannot help but laugh at the idea of him turning into a second Joffrey. Growing up not knowing his real family will affect him deeply, that's for sure. He is confused, scared, and angry at all the people that abandoned him, but that's the anger of a three-year-old. He has no idea of what is happening around him, the only thing he understands is he's losing all his important people and the safety of his home. In time his Winterfell memories will start to fade, and that's probably what'll happen to his 'rage' as well - it will slowly dull out (I'm not saying it will completely disappear, though) and be replaced by the sorrow of never knowing your parents, etc. As for revenging his losses in the future, that'll depend on whether and when Lord Manderly will find Rickon, and what he is planning to make out of him. So, I believe it's a matter of who will raise him in the future, and how. In any case, I believe he won't grow up to be the likeness of his father or his mother or his brother Robb. The way Shaggydog behaves strongly suggests that there is a certain roughness to him, as the direwolves are known to project the Stark kids. (Although losing his family members one by one overwhelmed him emotionally and intensified his uncontrollable temper, but later it began to settle down a bit.) I think his essence is hot-headed, fierce, stubborn, wild... But how he will be dealing with enemies, justice, honor, and that sort of things is really in the hands of the people that he'll grow up with.

Good post, I agree with all of that. I don't think Rickon is going to come back "evil" or defective the way Joffrey and Ramsay were, although he will bear the effects of a hard childhood. But I'm with Aderyn, I want to think that his trauma will ease over time. After years alone on Skagos, assuming the world isn't wiped out in the Second Coming of the Long Night, Rickon will probably have some family around him--Arya's a sure bet to live through the story, Bran will be with the Old Gods for Rickon's whole life [and longer], Sansa is likely to survive and be a queen or at least the Lady of a major house, and Jon might still live on. Plus, as we've seen, most of the northern lords haven't forsaken the Starks, so hopefully there will be some capable lords, ladies, and leaders to advise and guide Rickon during his rule and/or regency.

And he will need it--boy lords are the bane of any house--and there's reason to believe that Rickon will become a hardened, merciless kind of person. It's impossible to know now what the post-Long Night II Westeros will be like, but a hardened, merciless Lord of Winterfell might be the kind of ruler that the North will need. Many of the Kings of Winter seem to have been men like that, but I'm hoping that the positive influence of his surviving siblings and his surviving bannermen will mold him into a just, capable ruler.

Also, you can file this under "Crackpot" if you want to, but I'm predicting Osha becomes the new Old Nan.

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  • 2 years later...

Really loved this quote from a fanfic so decided to resurrect this thread : 

"He had no home. A wolf without a pack. He had become rage and fear, anger with no drive, and a lust for revenge. They called him the young wolf reborn, but the men knew better. He is wildness and neglect given form. He is winter with all its ruthless fury, and he is coming for you."

The Wild Wolf Reborn.

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  • 7 months later...
On 11/24/2015 at 0:38 AM, GeorgeIAF said:

Really loved this quote from a fanfic so decided to resurrect this thread : 

"He had no home. A wolf without a pack. He had become rage and fear, anger with no drive, and a lust for revenge. They called him the young wolf reborn, but the men knew better. He is wildness and neglect given form. He is winter with all its ruthless fury, and he is coming for you."

The Wild Wolf Reborn.

That quote is awesome!!

 

 

But yeah the way that they describe Shaggydog I think definitely gives us a window into Rickon's mind.  I mean like many people have said- he's at a very young age and therefore not capable of expressing himself all that well.  However since we can infer that the direwolves are linked to their masters in terms of demeanor (Ghost being silent/white, Summer being very cautious, Nymeria being a great leader and savage, etc) we can definitely see that Rickon is going to be at least a LITTLE angry/damaged because of everything that happened to his family. 

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8 hours ago, OberynBlackfyre said:

That quote is awesome!!

 

 

But yeah the way that they describe Shaggydog I think definitely gives us a window into Rickon's mind.  I mean like many people have said- he's at a very young age and therefore not capable of expressing himself all that well.  However since we can infer that the direwolves are linked to their masters in terms of demeanor (Ghost being silent/white, Summer being very cautious, Nymeria being a great leader and savage, etc) we can definitely see that Rickon is going to be at least a LITTLE angry/damaged because of everything that happened to his family. 

Rickon Shaggydog Stark reached adulthood as a direwolf before he started forming permanent memories as a boy. Based on Bran, Arya, and Varmyr chapters, I think he's probably sexually active as a wolf, and loves the taste of warm blood in his mouth. His boyskin is being raised on an island of cannibals. Jojen warns Bran against the dangers of forgetting who you are, but Rickon never was anyone. People who lose their parents that early don't remember their faces or personalities. If Rickon wants to avenge Ned, it will only be because it's what others expect of him. He seems to have learned a healthy attachment style from his early childhood experiences, and even after losing his father, he's still able to make fast friends with the likes of the Walders. When he lost Winterfell, he gained the forest, and in his boyskin Osha and the Skagosi are likely taking good care of him.

All that's to say that I don't think Rickon is going to grow up to be some broken boy. I think he's developing into a whole other thing. We don't need to wait ten years for Rickon to be old enough to ride a unicorn into battle. We need to wait one night for him to ride into battle as  a wooly rhinoceros.

Beyond his inhumanity, what's really going to shape Rickon as a person is the Long Night. Will his two favorite skins feast on wights so often, that when the dawn breaks he has no taste for other meats? Maybe. Perhaps some son of Roose and Walda will wear his boyskin with pride, having vanquished the Cannibal King. But a guy who literally doesn't remember a time he didn't have an alpha female and a pack of children doesn't need to live long to restart the Stark dynasty. Jon met a wildling boy who was a father at thirteen, and Rickon will be betrothed in tWoW.

Rickon is, without a doubt, the craziest character in this series. His is the story I'm most looking forward to, truth be told, because whatever happens, we'll all be left saying, "what the hell!"

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On 24.09.2012 at 9:34 PM, OberynBlackfyre said:

 

Hmmm I think he could be that merciless, but never that evil. I think he will love very few people, but still know how to love.

Heh you want to tell me that Ramsay didnt love? What about reek? And joffrey loved cersei...

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