Benjen Stark

[Lady Beyond the Wall]

Benjen is vanished. Dead. No longer a character in the story. Disappearing....it's just more interesting than out right dying.

[Buckthorn]

This topic is getting old. Benjen Stark is dead, nuff said!

[jenerationx]

I have nothing against Benjen but I really, really don't want him to suddenly appear one day and be like, HAI GUISE so I've been out here all alone with the cold and the wights all this time and somehow managed to survive, because I'm a Stark and basically all of us except maybe a couple exceptions just DO THAT.

And yet for him to be gone this long, with no other soul seeing him and no body, I'm afraid that's exactly what's going to come to pass. Or it will be anticlimactic when they do find his body, or is a wight, because it's been so long that's a natural assumption to make, if we're talking realistically.

Therefore my hope is that we don't get a clean, neatly bow-tied conclusion to this, and his whereabouts/what happened to him is just never known.

As for Benjen being Cold Hands, even if you discount the "he died long ago," which IMHO discounts Benjen unless you're talking reader time of how long he's been gone (since 1996!), I just don't buy that Bran wouldn't be able to recognize his uncle.

[Honest Bill]

Yeah i would have though Bran would recognise him. Although, was Bran laying in bed crippled at the time when Benjen came to Winterfell? I can't remember. Maybe Benjen hasn't visited Winterfell since Bran was too small to remember? I'm not sure. I don't know if they mention that in AGOT.

Also the night's watch clothing he wears is interesting.

[TheTowerOfJoy]

I have nothing against Benjen but I really, really don't want him to suddenly appear one day and be like, HAI GUISE so I've been out here all alone with the cold and the wights all this time and somehow managed to survive, because I'm a Stark and basically all of us except maybe a couple exceptions just DO THAT.

And yet for him to be gone this long, with no other soul seeing him and no body, I'm afraid that's exactly what's going to come to pass. Or it will be anticlimactic when they do find his body, or is a wight, because it's been so long that's a natural assumption to make, if we're talking realistically.

Therefore my hope is that we don't get a clean, neatly bow-tied conclusion to this, and his whereabouts/what happened to him is just never known.

As for Benjen being Cold Hands, even if you discount the "he died long ago," which IMHO discounts Benjen unless you're talking reader time of how long he's been gone (since 1996!), I just don't buy that Bran wouldn't be able to recognize his uncle.

Agreed, which is why I've come up with an admittedly crackpot theory that Benjen has been imprisoned by the Others in some sort of attempt to get him to become the next Night's King.

[sightofthesun]

The optimist in me thinks he is still alive. I read a theory that he is part of the GNC which would be nice but the realist in me knows he is dead. Or we'll never find out either way.

[Greymoon]

He's at Hardhome.

[TheTowerOfJoy]

He's at Hardhome.

Do you think he's dead there, hiding, or did he get on the ship to Braavos?

[Ser Greg of House House]

I suppose Benjen could return and have some importance.

You see, Rickon is still too young to rule. If the NW is destroyed, which is very possible, I believe they would be released from their vows. Then Benjen could take Winterfell.

Not a theory, but it's a possibility. If we need a Stark ruling Winterfell before Rickon comes of age, he would be a perfect choice. It could be Sansa, but she's having her own arc and I bet it will take some time. It can't be Jon. He refused Winterfell once, I guess it would be silly if he got another chance. Also, he probably has a darker path ahead.

[Queen‍‍‍‍‍‍ Alysanne‍‍™]

Valar Morghulis , Benjen Stark is gone ^_^

[TheTowerOfJoy]

I suppose Benjen could return and have some importance.

You see, Rickon is still too young to rule. If the NW is destroyed, which is very possible, I believe they would be released from their vows. Then Benjen could take Winterfell.

Not a theory, but it's a possibility. If we need a Stark ruling Winterfell before Rickon comes of age, he would be a perfect choice. It could be Sansa, but she's having her own arc and I bet it will take some time. It can't be Jon. He refused Winterfell once, I guess it would be silly if he got another chance. Also, he probably has a darker path ahead.

I definitely see him as a possible ward to Rickon or Sansa (whoever ends up reclaiming Winterfell). Of course, he could also be dead, or could be a prologue/epilogue character to give the reader a view into what's going on with the Others.

[TheTowerOfJoy]

Valar Morghulis , Benjen Stark is gone ^_^

While it's true that all men must die, it's also true that not all men must die today.

What do we say to death? Not Today!

[Prince of the North]

I have nothing against Benjen but I really, really don't want him to suddenly appear one day and be like, HAI GUISE so I've been out here all alone with the cold and the wights all this time and somehow managed to survive, because I'm a Stark and basically all of us except maybe a couple exceptions just DO THAT.

Yes, I have always believed, regardless of whether Benjen is still alive or not, that he's certainly not alone north of the Wall. I mean, I think all it takes is reading Bran's chapters in ADwD to see just how incredibly brutal conditions are north of the Wall and they're getting worse all the time. No, I find it very hard to believe anyone is surviving up there for long alone. What's he eating? Where's he sleeping? Who's keeping watch while he sleeps? How's he traveling (the snows are quite deep)? Now, I guess he could be getting some help (i.e. Bran's thinking that the CotF would help him) but there's been no indication of that yet.

As for Benjen being Cold Hands, even if you discount the "he died long ago," which IMHO discounts Benjen unless you're talking reader time of how long he's been gone (since 1996!), I just don't buy that Bran wouldn't be able to recognize his uncle.

You know, I actually do discount Leaf's "long ago" statement as being any kind of proof that Coldhands can't be Benjen because it actually takes a pretty big assumption about what Leaf meant in order to believe it absolutely rules the possibility out. And I completely understand the thinking that Bran would recognize his uncle...but Coldhands does keep his face covered all the time :dunno:

[Greymoon]

Do you think he's dead there, hiding, or did he get on the ship to Braavos?

I think he's alive there, and that Cotter Pyke will bring him back to the Night's Watch. But Benjen will be much changed... I think he's been living with the wildlings all this time, because his fellow rangers got killed/attacked by white walkers and he could not risk traveling on his own. When the wildlings decided to go to Hardhome Benjen, was forced to follow and survive like them..that means not only that he knows the true enemy but also, that's he's been eating dead people and might possibly be 'traumatized' or at least a little damaged psychologically...I expect the wildings at Hardhome are in a bad spot right now...dead men rising from the sea?

Further, Benjen will return to a world, where all his family has been murdered, war has ripped his country apart, and his own brothers plotted the assassination of his nephew. He's gonna be soooo pissed…a true wild wolf.

[Muggle]

he sacrificed him self the wall and for that reason his love protects the wall and the others will never pass

this isnt harry potter

[Dr.Santa]

I think if we ever see him again, it will be as a wright attacking the wall. That would really screw with Jon. I also don't think he is CH. I would like to see him alive again, but I don't think it is going to happen.

[Katkara]

I think it's possible that he's with the wildlings at Hardhome. As far as I know, there is absolutely no evidence for that, but I don't think there's any evidence at all about where he might be...

Still, I hope he is at Hardhome ;) Maybe he'll have one or two POV chapters, to describe the situation beyond the wall.

[jenerationx]

how incredibly brutal conditions are north of the Wall and they're getting worse all the time. No, I find it very hard to believe anyone is surviving up there for long alone. What's he eating? Where's he sleeping? Who's keeping watch while he sleeps? How's he traveling (the snows are quite deep)?

I know! It kind of defies belief that he'd still be alive. And if he is, why has he never sought out the Wall again, or Craster's, where he knows the NW sometimes takes shelter? Is he on his own little mission this whole time? Not impossible but a bit hard to believe since it's not really the Benjen Stark show.

You know, I actually do discount Leaf's "long ago" statement as being any kind of proof that Coldhands can't be Benjen because it actually takes a pretty big assumption about what Leaf meant in order to believe it absolutely rules the possibility out. And I completely understand the thinking that Bran would recognize his uncle...but Coldhands does keep his face covered all the time :dunno:

True. I could suggest that Bran might recognize CH's voice, but that's getting to be a bit of a stretch, especially as Bran's a kid and wasn't around Benjen all the time.

In that case, I do have to go back to the "he died long ago" statement, not to be contrary (okay, maybe a little, but also for the sake of discussion) but because it's the last remnant of evidence we have to make any kind of educated determination. The "person" who says it is Leaf, one of the Children of the Forest. She claims to be at least 200 years old. My natural assumption (could be wrong) is that someone who's been around that long's idea of a "long" time is even longer than a human would think. For someone that old to say that CH died a long time ago, to me, seems to indicate a really long time.

[Brynden Bloodraven Rivers]

Let's remember that Leaf might lied. What's the guarantee that what she said was true?

[jenerationx]

Why in the world would she lie about something that to her would be innocuous? What does she care if Bran & co might recognize him as Benjen Stark?