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Rickon Stark Returns To ‘Game Of Thrones’ But Fans Wish He Hadn’t

By Zakiya Jamal
Published on: 15:16 PST, May 8, 2016

Bran Stark’s return to this season of Game of Thrones was nothing compared to Rickon making a reappearance on the latest episode of Season 6. The last time fans saw Rickon Stark was when he and Osha left Bran, Jojen, and Meera to go to Last Hearth, the seat of House Umber, back in Season 3. Bran believed it was necessary to keep Rickon safe because if anything happened to Bran and Robb, Rickon would be the sole heir to Winterfell.

Rickon Stark Returns To 'Game Of Thrones' But Fans Now Wish He Hadn't
[Photo by HBO]
Unfortunately, Bran’s worries were deemed correct when Robb, along with his pregnant wife Talisa, and Catelyn Stark were betrayed by Roose Bolton and murdered at the “Red Wedding.” Bran believed the Lord of House Umber, Greatjon Umber, would help Rickon because Greatjon was a loyal bannerman to the Starks. However, as is often the case with the Starks, Rickon and Osha were betrayed.

Now that Ramsay Bolton is running Winterfell, he’s looking for allies in the North. Greatjon Umber has since died and now his son, Smalljon Umber, is running the Last Hearth. Although he refuses to kneel to Ramsay, he does present Ramsay with gifts: Osha and Rickon.

Rickon Stark Returns To 'Game Of Thrones' But Fans Now Wish He Hadn't
[Photo by HBO]
At first, Ramsay doesn’t quite believe that Rickon is actually who Smalljon says he is, but to prove it, Smalljon presents the head of Rickon’s direwolf, Shaggydog. And thus, another direwolf has died. When will they catch a break? For that matter, when will the Starks catch a break? As soon as Sansa escaped Ramsey’s clutches, Rickon then finds himself in the mad man’s hands. No Stark is ever safe.

Many fans have been anxiously awaiting the return of Rickon to the show, especially because it had been hinted that he may come back this season. But now that Rickon has returned, people are wishing he hadn’t because now everyone’s worried about what Ramsay will do to poor Rickon.

In a show like Game of Thrones, it’s difficult to hope for the best for Rickon Stark. Fans have watched Ramsay turn Theon Greyjoy into the mindless Reek, rape Sansa, kill his father without mercy, and then feed his stepmother and half-brother to his hounds. Ramsay lacks remorse and probably won’t think twice about hurting Rickon, especially if it benefits him in some way. And since Rickon is a Stark, there’s no doubt Ramsay will use that to his advantage.

Still, there may be a glimmer of hope for Rickon. At the end of the latest episode, Jon Snow left the Night’s Watch, announcing that his watch had ended. It’s currently not clear what that means for him or where he plans to go, but it’s probably fair to assume he’s heading to Winterfell. Where else could Jon possibly be headed?

Jon had been forced to stay at the Wall while he heard about his father’s death and then his brother’s death. He still believes Bran and Rickon are dead, and he has no idea what’s happened to Arya and Sansa. Now that Jon is free of the watch, he can do what he wants, and he probably wants to find his family and at least try to save whoever’s still alive.

So with Ramsay preparing to head to the Wall and Jon possibly heading to Winterfell, they may be on a head-on collision course, and although Ramsay has an army, Jon Snow has Wildlings and the Night’s Watch if he needs them. If anyone could save Rickon from Ramsay it would be Jon. Hopefully, Jon can get to Rickon before too much damage is done. We can only hope.

[Photo by HBO]

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