Game Of Thrones Theory: Ned Stark Didn't Die - He Escaped In The Wildest Way

"Game of Thrones" is notorious for killing off major characters. Season 1 set this standard by swiftly executing the Lord of Winterfell, Ned Stark. Played by Sean Bean, Ned Stark is a man of valor who ends up entangled in royal intrigue. When he becomes the hand of the king, Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), he learns that Queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) cheated on King Robert: All three of her children were fathered by her twin brother, Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj-Coster Waldau). Sadly, Ned becomes the target of Cersei's machinations and she beheads him for treason.

Or, does he? Despite the fact that he almost certainly loses his head, some enterprising Redditors have wild theories about how Ned could have escaped right before the execution. 

In a thread about the strangest theories surrounding George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, one now-deleted Reddit user posted a list of a few really weird ones, including that Ned warged into a pigeon before being beheaded. (Within this universe, "warging" means entering the minds of animals.) Another Redditor, u/spidersgeorgVEVO, elaborated: "The real funny thing is that there are two theories of what Ned warged into at his execution: Ice, or a pigeon around the Sept of Baelor. Then that pigeon was put in Joffrey's [Jack Gleeson] wedding pie and Joffrey decapitated Ned with his own sword a second time. I'm not sure which of them is more insane."

The idea that Ned could have put his mind within either a pigeon or a sword got a spirited conversation going. Redditor u/whimsically_engaged stated: "I love the pigeon one. I want to belieeeeve." Meanwhile, u/spidersgeorgVEVO had another thought: "But wait ... What if Ned managed to split his personality, and warged both Ice and a pigeon? Could he have decapitated himself at the wedding? Probably not but let's treat it like it's confirmed GET HYPE!!!"

Putting aside the sheer ridiculousness of this theory, it's important to note that the Stark family can, in fact, warg. In Martin's books, Jon Snow (played by Kit Harington on the show) wargs into his direwolf, Ghost. On-screen, Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) spends a lot of time within the mind of his direwolf, Summer. Whether or not Ned can do this is its own question, but the odds of him turning into a pigeon that's later baked into a pie are ... quite slim.

All in all, u/thelaughingmagician- summed it all up pretty succinctly: "You gotta love this s*** because it clearly won't be outright denied by anything in the books. I mean, why would it, it's pure insanity. But that is what will allow the theory to live on even after the series is finished."

Sadly, this theory is definitely nonsense. Ned Stark is sincerely dead. His death needs to happen to move George R.R. Martin's narrative forward. After Joffrey has Ned beheaded for treason — against the direct advice of his mother Cersei and every person counseling him — a war begins in Westeros, spurred by Ned's death and the vacant Iron Throne left by Robert Baratheon.

Ned's eldest son, Robb Stark (Richard Madden), wars against Lannister factions — aided by his mother and Ned's widow, Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley). Robb dies as well after betraying one of the Stark families' closest allies by marrying for love. Catelyn follows him as the rest of the Seven Kingdoms squabble over who gets the throne. Ultimately, Lannisters, Starks, Baratheons, and Targaryens are left to figure out who will sit atop the Iron Throne ... but the point here is that Ned's death is imperative to the war. Really, this is what throws readers and audiences for a loop when the guy who seems like the main character dies so soon. If you're still bummed about his death, though, it's nice to think he could be a pigeon peacefully existing in Westeros.