The former head of House Stark has spilled
the beans about his final moments on Game
of Thrones.
Even after seven more seasons of pain and
bloodshed, the death of Eddard Stark still
stings.
Played by Sean Bean, Ned Stark was originally
positioned as the closest thing the expansive
fantasy series had to a main character, making
it extra devastating and effective when he
met his maker at the end of the first season.
For those who don't exactly remember what
happened to Ned, he falsely confessed to treason
after Robert Baratheon died in a hunting accident
calculated by Cersei Lannister, and Cersei's
son Joffrey took the Iron Throne.
Ned questioned Joffrey's claim to the Throne,
then Cersei had him locked up and demanded
he own up to treason.
Though Ned's daughter Sansa and Cersei both
asked Joffrey to reconsider, the little tyrant
ordered Ned to death by beheading anyway.
"So long as I am your king, treason shall
never go unpunished.
Ser Illyn, Bring me his head!"
Just before the blade came down, the Stark
patriarch could be seen whispering a few words.
With none of his last words being audible
and the books providing no insight, viewers
have been left to formulate their own guesses
as to what the former head of House Stark
may have said as he shuffled off this mortal
coil, from the obvious possibility of the
series' favorite aphorism,
"Valar morghulis."
which translates to "all men must die."
Others have made more plot-specific suggestions,
like idea was that Ned was secretly stating
that Jon Snow wasn't his bastard son but the
child of his sister, Lyanna, and Rhaegar Targaryen.
In an interview with the Huffington Post,
actor Sean Bean finally revealed Ned's last
words.
They weren't an important message with grand
implications for the plot, nor a popular catchphrase.
In actuality, Ned said a simple, quiet prayer
just before dying.
Bean explains that he wanted to make Ned's
death seem as realistic as possible in a series
that features dragons and men coming back
to life and a frosty villain who can reanimate
corpses.
He said,
"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."
According to Bean, he didn't set out to give
fans something to speculate on, saying he
only spoke during the scene because it felt
right for the character.
He added,
"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."
The interview also confirmed that Bean has
indeed seen all of the online talk regarding
his many onscreen demises, including a rundown
from Nerdist that puts the actor's on screen
death count just behind the oft-murdered Kenny
from South Park.
According to the actor, he's pleased people
are amused at the unusual niche he's carved
out.
He said,
"Oh, I'll have to get some jobs.
Some dying jobs.
Yeah, I'm quite pleased with that.
I don't mind being slightly behind a cartoon
character."
On the sort-of-bright side, Ned Stark was
far from the last person to face an untimely
death throughout Game of Thrones' run.
Battle after battle after battle saw dozens
of major characters bite the dust, with the
final season including some of the most shocking,
impactful deaths of the entire series.
Another much-beloved hero was killed in the
exact same manner as Ned: a swift sword chop
to the neck ordered by a member of House Lannister.
That character had but one final word to say
before dying:
"Dracarys!"
But Ned had a small list to peak out.
With the way things are going on season 8
of Game of Thrones, we just hope Ned's prayer
included a wish for everything to turn out
fine in Westeros.
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