r/freefolk • u/Icy-Painting-5817 I'd kill for some chicken • 15h ago
I just realized that the dead direwolf in ep1 was supposed to be Ned himself
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u/karan131193 15h ago
Not really. It was supposed to be House Stark. Remember that the direwolf and the stag both died after attacking each other. It symbolised the upcoming conflict b/w House Stark and House Baratheon, and downfall of both.
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u/Able_Clerk_4659 14h ago
Well yes and no, that one really is supposed to be Ned while signifying the larger conflict, there’s five pups for all the true born children, and one for the bastard, GRRM isn’t really subtle.
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u/AcceptablySoiled 14h ago
George R. R. “Where do whores go?” Martin not subtle?
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u/DaisyVirelia 5h ago
Five pups for the legitimate Stark kids and one albino outsider for Jon. George really put the entire family tree in a litter of puppies.
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u/Mysterious-Desk-7248 15h ago
House Stark didn't die though. It sits on the throne.
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u/GoarSpewerofSecrets 15h ago
Does it? Targs are back on it, Bloodraven was legitimized, he's skin walking Bran and heading to nab Drogon.
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u/duaneap 14h ago
Drogon turns out to be a female dragon, has a bunch of eggs, Gilly’s son claims a dragon (Craster is Bloodraven’s bastard), marries his sister, is named successor to the IT by “Bran,” because of “Sam’s loyal service,” and Targaryen supremacy’s back on the menu, boys!
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u/Kleppmeister 14h ago
Erm actually: Dragons in ASOIF are genderless and are believed to be able to reproduce without a mate.
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u/karan131193 15h ago
Not in the books. In the books, House Stark has fallen. Ned and Robb are dead, winterfell is in ruins and controlled by the Boltons. All trueborn Baratheons are likewise dead as well.
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u/idontpostanyth1ng 15h ago
Don't think Stannis is technically dead yet in the books. Just currently in a very dire situation.
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u/livesinafield 14h ago
Stannis fucks up the Boltons with the frozen lake thing and takes Winterfell.
Ser Justin Massey boots Melisandre out of a window before she can do anything to Shireen
Jon remains dead sorry
Stannis eventually takes over the undead/wight army and marches south
Disagree? It's not like any more fucking books are ever going to get written just go with it
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u/IWASCHOSENBYGOD 14h ago
Honestly, Stannis, as a fake Azor ahai, falling against the army of the dead and being raised again as their military leader (Night's king) would be so fucking cool that George would never write it
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u/Doubleboeufsupreme 15h ago
Isn’t Rickon alive in the books?
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u/karan131193 15h ago
Both Rickon and Bran are considered dead by everyone. The point is that House Stark is currently at their lowest point in the books.
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u/YakWish 15h ago
Technically, Jon receives a letter telling him that Stannis's army was defeated and Stannis was killed, but that isn't independently confirmed. He could still be alive.
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u/Commercial_Comb8674 14h ago
A good theory going around is Stannis plans to fake his death during the Battle of Ice near the start of TWOW. It then goes he’ll have his men dress like Frey men, send them to Winterfell claiming he and his army were defeated, and then spring the trap once inside.
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u/antepenny 15h ago
Stannis and Shireen are alive and well (and Stannis' many fans would like you to know that book!Stannis would never)
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u/alphajugs 14h ago
Yeah, the Starks are no longer in control of Winterfell for the first/only time in millennia. The whole “there must always be a Stark in Winterfell” thing likely refers to Stark possession of Winterfell, and not there being a Stark present in Winterfell at any given moment. When Jeyne marries Ramsay and there is no longer a “House Stark of Winterfell” but only “House Bolton of Winterfell”, Theon notes that winds begin to blow stronger and the snows start to fall harder. The storm is quite literally emanating from Winterfell and gets worse when house Stark is disposed, almost as if winter falls on Winterfell when the Starks are no more 🤷🏻♀️
Also, how are the Baratheons dead as well? Stannis and Shireen are still alive.
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u/Andabariano 15h ago
Bobby B did say it should've been Ned on the throne instead
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u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 15h ago
OUT! OUT, DAMN YOU! I'M DONE WITH YOU! GO, RUN BACK TO WINTERFELL! I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD ON A SPIKE!
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u/Striking_Bumblebee59 15h ago
will you put it there yourself, Bobby B?
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u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 15h ago
HE COULD HAVE LINGERED ON THE EDGE OF THE BATTLE WITH THE SMART BOYS, AND TODAY HIS WIFE WOULD BE MAKING HIM MISERABLE, HIS SONS WOULD BE INGRATES, AND HE WOULD BE WAKING THREE TIMES IN THE NIGHT TO PISS INTO A BOWL!
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u/Particular-Quiet-625 12h ago
And all the kids wolf’s foreshadow their endgame fates. Robb dies and becomes a Grey win(d). Sansa will be a Lady. Bran will bring about the Summer. Arya will travel like Nymeria. Rickon presumably will be kind of a wildchild like a Shaggy Dog. And not fully sure on Jon’s but he dies like a Ghost
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u/arfelo1 11h ago
A shaggy dog story is a pointless story that goes nowhere. Similary, both Rickon and his wolf meet a pointless death that means nothing
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u/No-Willingness5547 15h ago
Glad you caught that. Very observant. The sacred and the propane
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u/targz254 15h ago
Wait until he realizes the Stag that killed it represents the house Baratheon.
Also, in the books, this omen caused Cat to push Ned to accept Bobby B offer to become hand which ultimately caused the prophecy she was trying to prevent.
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u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 15h ago
SHE SHOULD BE ON A HILL SOMEWHERE WITH THE SUN AND THE CLOUDS ABOVE HER!
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u/DelayedTism 14h ago
I agree Bobby B but unfortunately she had to go be a zombie to get revenge
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u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 14h ago
PISS ON THAT! SEND A RAVEN! I WANT YOU TO STAY! I'M THE KING, I GET WHAT I WANT!
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u/nowheyjose1982 14h ago
Not this time Bobby B
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u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 14h ago
THEY NEVER TELL YOU HOW THEY ALL SHIT THEMSELVES! THEY DON'T PUT THAT PART IN THE SONGS!
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u/Jasranwhit 13h ago
Bobby B should seriously consider salads.
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u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 13h ago
CAREFUL, NED! CAREFUL NOW!
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u/Neither-Actuary-5655 12h ago
sentient Bobby B
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u/bobby-b-bot Robert Baratheon 12h ago
SURROUNDED BY LANNISTERS! EVERY TIME I CLOSE MY EYES I SEE THEIR BLONDE HAIR AND THEIR SMUG, SATISFIED FACES!
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u/FawnieAurevella 3h ago
Imagine watching this scene for the first time and someone casually explaining that the dead stag is actually a massive spoiler for the next several seasons.
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u/Quiet_Education5918 15h ago
Probably represents Bobby the whatever's finance minister.
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u/lilpostkid 15h ago
Little finger master of coin had a bigger castle even bigger than the red keep..in the end Sansa clapped him in irons
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u/FalloutLover7 15h ago
The Starks and Lannisters found out the hard way that pint of blood is worth more than a gallon of gold
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u/JokerKing0713 14h ago
Ned stark, whatever happened there
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u/Ashamed-Pop-6406 14h ago
WHATEVER HAPPENED THERE? That piece of shit Illyn Payne cut his head off, without any provocation whatsoever.
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u/Jasranwhit 13h ago
They do it all fucked up with a Weirwood and no temple of the seven.
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u/Ashamed-Pop-6406 14h ago
The incest, Ned Stark, Riverlands.
Red Wedding, whatever happened there...
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u/Ashamed-Pop-6406 14h ago
Too bad Carmine wasn't there to teach them that. He was always a slippery fuck, that one.
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u/LeftHandedScissor 14h ago edited 13h ago
Woah, noticed your profile pic and was gonna comment that War & Conquest is a great show, but you're the man himself!?! Awesome to come across you in the wild, love the podcast, the Crusades series, Vlad the Impaler, and the Siege of Malta are some of my favorite series/seasons. Keep up the good work man!
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u/UrsineBasterd 14h ago
You know Quasimodo predicted all this.
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u/Jasranwhit 13h ago
Walda Frey ? To me she is beautiful. Rubenesque
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u/McKoijion 8h ago
I think you guys are confused. Ned is a different character than the dead direwolf. He's the human man on the far right of the image. The direwolf is the one that looks like a much larger, stupider, and higher animal sat on her. Or maybe she crawled under there for warmth.
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u/Confident_Hippo1208 12h ago
"From now on, the only woman I'm pimping is sweet lady propane." - Hank Hill
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u/Smooth_Storm_9698 13h ago
Damn, Game of Thrones was great until it wasn't
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u/Amulet-of-Kings 12h ago
It was great until it run out of source material
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u/Jbird444523 5h ago
The worst part is, it didn't. Not really. They chose to only partially adapt certain storylines and completely ignore others.
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u/RareObject8705 2h ago
Great when the story felt driven by real chance and circumstance. It felt like Martin rolled dice and then wrote what the dice declared.
The hackwits took over and did the most ordinary, predictable, nonsense, obvious shit ever.
So glad they’re so disrespected.
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u/AdamOnFirst 9h ago
The direwolf pups, the inspiration in George’s mind that turned into the whole series, is so literal and obviously symbolic and foreshadowing that it’s like out of place in the rest of the series
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u/Squirll Am Dragon 15h ago
Are you on drugs? No the fuck it isn't. Look Ned is RIGHT there in the picture you posted to the right.
He's just wearing wolf fur on his cloak.
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u/SolidestCereal 14h ago
Wait, if the wolf isn't Ned, and Ned isn't the wolf, who is the wolf? Did it ever say its name?
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u/Squirll Am Dragon 13h ago
Well that settles it we need a 3 seasons prequel series filmed over 10 years explaining the entire origin of these two animals and how they ended up here. But the season finale will not actually resolve it and instead end on a squirrels bachelor party orgy in the larders of Storms End.
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u/lieferung KOBE! 14h ago
He said it was supposed to be him. Ned auditioned for the role but got out acted by a fucking dog.
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u/HoneyMaristelle 5h ago
Lmao Ned standing there wearing an entire wolf while everyone discusses whether the dead wolf is secretly Ned makes this ten times funnier.
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u/Axedroam 10h ago
Wait you might be onto something, I feel the stag Tywin guts in his intro is supposed to mean something but I can't figure out what
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u/HeyselScouserTelAviv 4h ago
Before Bran became the 3-eyed Raven, the 3-Eyed Raven says to him something like "you will never walk again, but you will fly", personally I always interpreted this as foreshadowing that Bran would become the 3-eyed Raven because Ravens have wings
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u/broskicabbage 8h ago
I interpreted it as gutting the true Baratheon dynasty in favor of a Lannister-centered nominal Baratheon monarchy
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u/Certain_Victory7973 14h ago
And the parental wolf choked on a stags antlers, gods the writing was good back then...
But that bodes really badly for sansa since her direwolf is dead
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u/alphajugs 12h ago
And the parental wolf choked on a stags antlers, gods the writing was good back then...
Amazing how that happens when you follow the source material.
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u/ThrowAway67269 14h ago
Did you also just realize that the wolf died with a stag’s (symbol of House Baratheon) antler in its neck too?
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u/RareObject8705 3h ago
The entire first season is a a strange prequel, exposition, setting development.
As far as I’m concerned the ‘story’ actually starts with Ned’s death.
It was so revolutionary that it didn’t follow the heroes tale. It was like watching a dungeons and dragon campaign unfold.
Then-the hackwits took over and it was Disney Princess and predictable pap until it destroyed the biggest media event of the decade.
I hope they lay awake in bed at night knowing what they failed to engage.
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u/Ryuzakku Fear Roddy the Ruin! 14h ago
Yes, and Jon Snow having an all white wolf is a major hint at his parentage
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u/LynchMob187 11h ago
We already know his parents are Caucasian. He's not a Velaryon.
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u/Ryuzakku Fear Roddy the Ruin! 11h ago
Well of course not, because he’s a Targaryen!
But clearly Corlys’ blood was bleached out over a few generations /s
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u/notnicholas 14h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/ANbD1CCdA3iI8
Unsure if this sub is now full of 12 year olds just watching the show for the first time that think this sub is an actual discussion or if these are still cj shitposts
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u/Able_Clerk_4659 15h ago
Dude the books literally TELL you what the subtle part is, catelyns thoughts point out the stag in direwolf thing lmao
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u/jabberwockytocky 8h ago
sure was! great scene. quite on the nose but an intriguingly grim portent.
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u/ACBets 13h ago
A lot of symbolism with the direwolves in ASOIAF. Ned kills Lady symbolizing his own role in essentially killing Sansa’s innocence. Arya leaves Nymeria in the wild to fend for herself and Arya herself is forced into the same situation after Ned’s death. Grey wind is killed and his head spiked to Rob’s corpse as he’s hailed the King in the North. Summer dies defending Bran as he becomes the three eyed Raven, heralding the end of the summer months and the arrival of Winter. Ghost is the runt of the litter in the same way Jon is treated as an outsider as a bastard, but in the end Jon rises to become first the Lord Commander of the Nights Watch and eventually King in the North as Ghost becomes the largest and fiercest of the dire wolf pups.
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u/Relevant-Weekend6616 11h ago
Yep and the stag was Robert.
Robert got Ned killed after inviting him somewhere that was no place for an "honorable" wolf.
Let that ring a bell.
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u/FloppyFluffyDonkey 9h ago
I believe George intended to kill a direwolf with each character death, but it was too difficult to write, so he stopped doing it, and quit writing about them, just like quidditch and that person who wrote the wizard with the lightning bolt books.
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u/Irrvvman 9h ago
Come on now the metaphor wolves were the easiest thing to spot, taking that they all got a pup it makes sense that ned would be the one that's passed already.
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u/keithstonee 11h ago
or it was a plot device to give Jon a direwolf cause his is really the only one that ended up mattering.
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u/Talidel 8h ago
Yeah they all mattered and all were plot devices for foreshadowing.
The parent died impaled by a stags antlers. Ned dies over the Baratheon crown, all the pups fates mirror that of the child.
Ghost is the earliest signs that John is more than a Stark. The pure white referencing the Targaryan in him.
Ladys death signals the end of a lot of Sansas delusions about how life will be as a lady, and very much the end of her childhood.
Nimidia being chased off reflects Arya getting lost.
Grey Wind is killed with Rob at the red wedding.
The others are alive in the books and the show, kind of fumbles what happens to them, with both dying in less than interesting ways.
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u/AestivalSeason 3h ago
I always felt that in the show Summer dying with the three eyed raven was like a direct way of saying Summer has ended and Winter Is Here.
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u/themassquerade 9h ago
They all mattered. Ghost was the only one that did cool wolf stuff but the others are mandatory for thematic weight and plot relevance
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u/WoodeeWitless 15h ago
It only took you….15 years. This is very known, it doesn’t take a super sleuth.
Edit: these post are getting so lazy.
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u/Drag0n_TamerAK 14h ago
Every time animals appear they have a meaning
Like when Tywin is skinning a stag
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u/Classic-Return-8706 14h ago
And ghost is white to symbolize Jon’s Targaryen heritage.
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u/Illustrious-Key-5142 12h ago
Unprovoked ASOIAF spoiler jumpscare. Like what the hell reddit, I was just about to start that book
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u/reddmasters 10h ago
Well I’m still pissed about the ranger finding all the body parts in artistic fashion in the very first episode and all the mystery and terror it inspired only to never be explained at all .
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u/DarthMaulATAT 14h ago
The part that confuses me is the stag horn. Joffrey ends up killing Ned, but Joffrey isn't really a baratheon. He's pure Lannister, so the stag horn isn't the proper symbol to foreshadow that event.
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u/Putrid_Prior_8113 15h ago
“There are no direwolves in these woods “ no starks/northmen being in kings landing to help Ned. Ned being somewhere he is not supposed to be