Spewing theories and speculating the ‘real meaning’ behind certain scenes is second nature to ‘Game of Thrones’ fans. So obviously, when this scene happened right in Season 1, besides tears and heartbreak, there was also an avalanche of conjectures and suddenly everyone was frikkin’ Sherlock Holmes.
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Unless you are one those who read the books, no one saw this scene coming. The mighty Ned Stark losing his head just like that because of a spoiled, psycho brat? It was preposterous. But it happened nevertheless and everyone felt like their hearts had been ripped out from their mouths.
© Arya Sansa
But then, those with eagle eyes spotted something–something that could have massive significance, something that could change the course for many major characters.
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That’s right. Ned mutters something to himself, which later sparked a row of speculations. Some believe he said “I kept my promise” in reference to Jon Snow’s lineage, while some are absolutely convinced that it was “Valar Morgulis”. Regardless, everyone was sure that those last words had tectonic, earth-shattering implications.
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So, in a recent interview, Sean Bean, who played Eddard Stark finally revealed what his last words were and boy, do we feel stupid for coming up with those incredible theories! So brace yourself and read ahead.
“I couldn’t be too specific, because I don’t know if religion [like that] was around in those days, whatever they were. I just thought, “What would you do if this were really gonna happen?” You probably would pray. You probably would murmur some words and you’d keep it quiet. You’d keep it to yourself.”
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WTF! Praying? He was only praying?? No special last message, no secret code, no answer to a mysterious question? The poor guy was only praying before the blade sliced his neck! Clearly, Sean empathised with the fans, who were bound for a rude shock after this revelation and he tried to pacify them.
“It’s quite subtle in that many people wouldn’t pick it up. It was an interesting thing to do for me at that point. There’s not much you can do really, you’ve got your head on a block. That’s about the only thing you can do is murmur,” he said.
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So, I guess now this serves as a lesson in not going overboard with our imagination when it comes to theories and speculation. Fine Ned, we learnt our lesson! Thanks!
But wait a minute…which God was he praying to? Old Gods? The New Gods? Lord Light? Or some other force of nature? Great, here we go again. Sorry Ned, some things will never change.