[Winterfell — Locations]
Jon spent the next seventeen years being raised in Winterfell as Eddard's illegitimate son, alongside his trueborn children with his wife. Understandably, Eddard never told anyone, including Catelyn or Jon himself, who his mother was or even if she was still alive. When pressed by Robert, whom he couldn't deny an answer, Ned vaguely claimed that Jon's mother was a lowborn woman named " Wylla " that he met during the war. Eddard never treated Jon much differently from his trueborn children.
Despite sharing a happy marriage, Jon's presence at Winterfell would serve as a constant source of friction between Eddard and Catelyn. Catelyn never mistreated Jon, but she was cold towards him and avoided him whenever possible, viewing him only as a living reminder of the one time that Eddard had dishonored her. Catelyn would later confess to her daughter-in-law Talisa about how Jon caught the pox when he was a child, and she stayed with him through the night and prayed to the gods to let him live out of guilt for previously praying for his death, accepting that the boy was not to blame for her husband's sin, though it was still not enough to make her love Jon, something she would eventually come to regret.
Due to his bastard status, Jon grew up feeling like an outsider at Winterfell. Although Ned would see that he was well-treated, Jon's attendance at Winterfell's more "formal" occasions was restricted and he would even be barred from sitting inside at the Lord's table with his family so as not to offend important guests. Otherwise, Jon still lived better than many bastard-born children and was well-raised by Eddard as his own. He was loved by his father and siblings, was never hungry or poor, lived in his father's castle, and had a noble's upbringing. Jon received a highborn education from Maester Luwin and a young lord's martial training from Winterfell's master-at-arms , Ser Rodrik Cassel .
Jon speaks alone with Tormund, who reveals that the remainder of Mance's army probably fled back to Hardhome , a large fishing village on the coast. Jon requests that Tormund go there and negotiate with the remaining wildling chieftains, to let them pass through the Wall on Jon's terms. Tormund agrees, so long as Jon accompanies him so that the wildlings will know it is not a trap. Jon borrows several of Stannis's ships for the journey (as he is marching inland and won't be using them). Later, as Stannis prepares to leave Castle Black for Winterfell with his army, Jon thanks him for his help, promises him he will have his ships back, and watches Stannis depart for Winterfell to take his childhood home back from the Boltons.
A day later, Jon packs his belongings. Edd chastises him for abandoning the Night's Watch despite the threat of the White Walkers looming, and reminds Jon of the oath he swore. Jon retorts by saying that he already died, and that he couldn't stay after what was done to him. His half-sister, Sansa arrives after escaping Ramsay with help from Theon, along with Brienne of Tarth and Podrick Payne . Jon is initially stunned when he sees Sansa but they tearfully embrace. Shortly thereafter, Jon and Sansa talk inside while Sansa eats. The two share their lives since leaving Winterfell, and reminisce about their childhoods. Sansa regretfully mentions how awful she was to Jon during their youth, and that she felt guilty about it for years. Jon shrugs it off as childhood mischief, though he forgives Sansa after she presses the issue. The pair acknowledge that their last haven is Winterfell, and even then, the Boltons are currently occupying it, but Jon is reluctant to fight again after everything he's been through.
However, Jon fails to convince Robett Glover to pledge his allegiance to them, as he cites Robb's failures to protect the North from the Ironborn and Jon's allegiance with the wildlings. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Jon remains adamant that they attack Winterfell before Ramsay gathers more men or the weather turns against them. Behind Jon's back, however, Sansa sends a letter calling for help.
Jon nearly suffocates as he is pushed beneath the tide of wildlings that are pushed into one another, but he eventually claws his way out, just in time to see Petyr Baelish and Sansa arrive with reinforcements courtesy of House Arryn. The Knights of the Vale quickly flank the encircling Bolton army, which is decimated. Jon makes eye contact with Ramsay as he retreats from the battlefield and chases him. Ramsay returns to Winterfell and closes the gates, confident that their opponent is not equipped for a siege of Winterfell, as long as they remain within the gates, and he readies his archers.
Upon arrival in the North, Jon and Daenerys, along with their combined forces, march through Winter town on their way to Winterfell. The townspeople cast Daenerys many suspicious looks, and Jon reminds her that Northerners have a long-established distrust of outsiders. Upon arriving at Winterfell, he introduces her to Sansa. Jon and Daenerys later ride Daenerys's dragons, Jon riding Rhaegal and Daenerys riding Drogon. They find a waterfall where Jon used to hunt as a child and they share an intimate moment.
The Stark and Targaryen forces prepare to fight the dead near Winterfell. Bran offers himself as bait to lure the Night King for an ambush in the Godswood of Winterfell, and it is decided the dragons will protect Bran in the godswood. Later, when Jon is visiting Lyanna's statue in the crypts, Daenerys finds him. They share a moment and when she mentions her brother raped Lyanna, Jon tells Daenerys that Rhaegar didn't rape her, they were in love. Jon takes her hand and reveals his true parentage to her. Daenerys is skeptical and claims it is convenient that this came from Bran and Sam, Jon's brother and best friend. They are interrupted by sounds of horns which signal the arrival of the Night King's army.
During the Battle of Winterfell , Jon rides atop Rhaegal and leads him in fighting the dead. He and Drogon battle the Night King and the undead Viserion with Rhaegal being heavily injured. Rhaegal is able to land on the ground but falls unconscious due to his injuries while landing, and Jon is knocked off from the dragon's top. He is wounded during the battle and is pinned down by Viserion. He manages to pull himself out and makes his way to Godswood to fight the Night King. On his way, he notices the army of the dead obliterating everyone fighting at Winterfell. Just when he is about to be overrun by the Wights himself, they seem to fall off to the ground one by one as the Night King is defeated by Arya.
Eddard refuses to reveal who Jon's mother is, which wounds and haunts Jon. Jon often wonders about his mother and why Eddard will not say anything about her. While Jon loves and is loved by his family, he feels a sense of alienation from them because of his bastard status and the coldness of Eddard's wife. Catelyn views Jon as an interloper in her family and resents that Eddard brought Jon to live at Winterfell with her true-born children, fearing it means Ned still carries a torch for Jon's mother.
At the feast to welcome King Robert, Jon is unable to sit with his family as he usually does because Catelyn fears that the king or queen would take insult at sharing a table with a bastard. Instead, Jon sits with squires at another table. This coincides with the visit by his uncle Benjen, and (emboldened by having more than he is used to drinking) makes Jon realize that his future may lie outside Winterfell's walls. His uncle frustrates Jon by telling him to wait a few years before deciding, but when Eddard decides to go to King's Landing, Catelyn refuses to allow Jon to remain behind at Winterfell. Catelyn was relieved because when Jon joined the Watch he forsook any right to inheritance, and could never challenge her own sons for Winterfell. Nor did Catelyn have to pressure Jon into joining: he went to the Wall of his own volition, albeit because he had been raised on legends of the former glories of the Night's Watch.
Jon is tempted by Stannis's offer to make him Lord of Winterfell, but feels guilt and shame over this due to his love for his lost trueborn siblings, whom Jon believes have all passed away (later, in A Dance with Dragons , Jon becomes aware Sansa is alive, although he does not know her current whereabouts, and tells Stannis that Winterfell belongs to her by right). Jon likewise has reservations because he is an illegitimate son and is bound by his oath to the Watch. Stannis assures Jon he can legitimize him, and Winterfell can be rebuilt. As for the oath: Melisandre tells Jon "R'hllor is the only true god. A vow sworn to a tree has no more power than one sworn to your shoes. Open your heart and let the light of the Lord come in. Burn these weirwoods, and accept Winterfell as a gift of the Lord of Light." Jon thinks it over, recalling how when he was very young, too young to understand what it meant to be a bastard, he used to dream that one day Winterfell might be his. Later, when he was older, he had been ashamed of those dreams. Now, in order to claim his father's castle, he must turn against his father's gods. The more Jon thinks about it, he grows to loathe the notion of destroying the weirwood of Winterfell. He looks at Ghost, whose white fur and red eyes remind him of a heart tree, and Jon remembers finding the direwolf pups in the late summer snow with Robb - five grey, black, and brown pups for the five trueborn children and a sixth one, "white as snow." This is what makes him reject the legitimization offer. Had Jon accepted the offer, it is doubtful the people of the north would have accepted him as their Lord - who is both an oathbreaker and a defiler of the old gods.
Daenerys leads the remnants of her khalasar across the Red Waste , hoping to find shelter in the far lands of the east. She tries to feed her newborn dragons, but they refuse the raw meat she offers. She regards the dragons as her sons. The mare Drogo gave her as a wedding gift dies of exhaustion and Daenerys decides to send her three bloodriders, Rakharo, Aggo and Kovarro , with their remaining horses to explore in three separate directions, knowing that they are her last hope. She then stares at a red comet in the sky above (elsewhere, at Winterfell , Osha believes this comet is, in fact, an omen for the dragons owned by Daenerys).
Inside the Chamber of the Painted Table at Dragonstone, Daenerys holds a meeting with her advisors, as well as Jon and Davos. Daenerys extends her relief to Jon at his discovery that his half-siblings Arya and Bran are still alive and at Winterfell after years of believing them dead. Jon, having received Bran's warning of the Night King marching towards Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and fearing that the Night King will make it past the Wall, states that he must go home to Winterfell and prepare to fight the army of the dead. Daenerys questions his ability to do so with the modest amount of men sworn to fight for him, and Jon requests her help once again. She refuses, noting that Cersei wins if she abandons her cause to take the Iron Throne. Unsure of how to proceed, Tyrion presents the idea of bringing evidence of the army of the dead to Cersei, in the hopes of convincing her to join the fight against the White Walkers. Jon decides to lead an expedition north of the Wall to capture a wight and bring it south to King's Landing. Daenerys, at first, doesn't agree with Jon's departure but is convinced by Tyrion's confidence in the mission.
In the Chamber of the Painted Table, Daenerys and her court discuss logistics. It will take the Dothraki a fortnight to reach Winterfell, and the plan is to have Jon and the Unsullied cross the sea by ship and meet them at White Harbor . Jorah Mormont points out that the North is not really safer for her than anywhere else, as someone with a memory of Robert's Rebellion and an idea of becoming a hero could easily take her out with a single crossbow bolt. He suggests she fly to Winterfell to avoid any potential unpleasantness. Jon counters that Daenerys ride with them so that the North can see her as a liberator and ally. After a moment's consideration, Daenerys decides to sail north with Jon. Jorah, suspecting a different reason for her decision, throws her a look, which she notices but avoids.
Upon arrival in the North, Daenerys, Jon, and their combined forces march through Winter town on their way to Winterfell. The townspeople cast her many suspicious looks, and Jon reminds her that Northerners have a long-established distrust of outsiders. Immediately following this exchange, Drogon and Rhaegal fly overhead, startling the townspeople and causing Daenerys to smile proudly. In Winterfell's courtyard, Jon introduces her to Sansa, and the two women exchange a civil but tense greeting.
Daenerys and Jon come upon the two dragons in a bone pit outside Winterfell's walls. She mounts Drogon, planning to take him for a ride, and suggests that Jon mount Rhaegal. After much trepidation, Jon does so, and the dragons take the pair on a wild ride over the snow-covered landscape, Daenerys being somewhat pleased with Jon's almost instant connection with her dragon. Eventually, they land near a waterfall in an area where Jon used to hunt as a youth. Away from all concerns about the coming battle, Daenerys and Jon share an intimate moment.
When Jaime arrives at Winterfell, Daenerys is once again seated at the high table with Jon and Sansa. The two women harshly berate the Kingslayer for his past actions and question whether his loyalty to their cause is genuine. Only when Brienne vouches for Jaime does Sansa trust him, and Daenerys allows his sword to be returned to him.
When the survivors from Eastwatch bring the news that the army of the dead will be at Winterfell's gates within a day, preparations inside the castle begin to move forward at a feverish pace. Daenerys meets with all the prominent commanders and heads of houses to discuss battle strategy, and later finds herself in the crypts with Jon. While standing in front of Lyanna Stark's statue, Daenerys recounts how everybody told her Rhaegar was decent and kind but that he kidnapped and raped Lyanna. However, Jon reveals Rhaegar did not rape Lyanna and they were in love. He tells Daenerys the truth about his parentage and she is stunned. She immediately questions the validity of the story. When Jon assures her that it's true, she realizes that Jon actually has a better claim to the throne than she does. Before either can discuss the matter further, a horn sounds three times to signal the arrival of the army of the dead.
They escape as the Night King hurls an ice spear at Drogon. When Jon is surrounded by newly risen wights, Daenerys saves him with Drogon, burning through wights and creating a path for Jon to rush into Winterfell to help Bran and stop the Night King. She urges Jon to go and after he runs to stop the Night King, wights climb onto Drogon, and Daenerys falls off while Drogon flies away. Daenerys takes hold of a discarded sword and slays a few wights who come her way or Jorah's. However, she is also protected by Jorah, who dies defending her, leaving Daenerys sobbing while Drogon wraps around them after the Army of the Dead falls.
After the battle, which saw a living victory, Daenerys mourns the dead outside Winterfell, lighting a pyre. She kisses the dead Jorah's forehead and whispers something to him. Daenerys later celebrates at the feast inside Winterfell. Tormund makes a toast to Daenerys, "To the Dragon Queen!" and Daenerys stands up herself, toasting Arya Stark as the "Hero of Winterfell." However, despite her initially celebratory mood and the smiles she exchanges with Jon, Daenerys's mood grows downcast when Tormund begins to praise Jon and she finds herself lonely and envious over Jon's popularity with the wildlings, looking around at the groups of people around her.
Several days later, Jaime arrives at Winterfell after realizing Cersei wasn't sending her forces to assist them. Tyrion vouches for Jaime, saying he knows him. Daenerys replies, "Like your sister?" but Tyrion explains Jaime came anyway, knowing how he'd be received. Daenerys is furious with Tyrion for not expecting Cersei's betrayal, but is mollified by Jorah. While preparing for the battle, Tyrion, Podrick, Jaime, Brienne of Tarth , Tormund and Davos Seaworth engage in drinking, with Jaime knighting Brienne. Tyrion watches the White Walkers' arrival from the battlements of Winterfell.
Tyrion survives the Battle of Winterfell and some time later, he mocks Jaime for sleeping with a bigger woman . They are, however, caught unawares by Bronn, who has been sent by Cersei to kill both her brothers. Tyrion has his nose busted by Bronn who hesitates to kill them, believing Daenerys still has a good chance of winning, and states he has been promised Riverrun as a reward. Tyrion reminds him of his promise to double the price anyone paid to murder him, and promises to make him the Lord of Highgarden after the war, upon which he relents.
King Robert decides to travel to Winterfell and ask his best friend, Lord Eddard Stark , to become the new Hand, as well as proposing that his son Joffrey marry Eddard's eldest daughter, Sansa . Cersei, Jaime, and a retinue of courtiers accompany him. When the royal party arrives at Winterfell (the seat of House Stark ) a month later, Eddard presents his household to Robert and Cersei, who is greeted much more formally than Robert.
Just before departing Winterfell, Jaime talks to Jon in the courtyard. Ostensibly, he thanks Jon for his service joining the Night Watch, but in reality he is mocking him, as those from the south see it as waste of time (ironically, Jaime's Kingsguard vows are also for life and prevent him from marrying, but he still gets to live in the capital city and not exiled to the frozen gloom of the Wall). The parties depart Winterfell. Jaime is with the group traveling south to King's Landing.
He is taken to Daenerys, where he reveals to everyone present that Cersei was lying about sending her army to assist against the dead. After Brienne vouches for him, he is spared and allowed to fight in the Great War . He later apologizes to Bran who doesn't hold any anger towards him. During a drinking game before fighting the undead, Jaime knights Brienne after she insists that a woman can't be knighted. Jaime assists the Stark and Targaryen forces in fending off the wights during the Battle of Winterfell . Jaime and other survivors are forced to retreat into Winterfell, before the dead are exterminated due to the death of the Night King .
When Jaime releases Tyrion from his cell on the eve of his execution for killing Joffrey, it is the first time the brothers have spoken since they were at Winterfell together. Jaime confesses that he is saving his younger brother partly out of guilt. He reveals that Tysha , Tyrion's first wife, was not a whore. Jaime did not pay her to sleep with Tyrion and he did not arrange for he and Tyrion to rescue her from a gang of rapists. She was in fact all that she appeared to be, a humble crofter's daughter whom they only met by chance on the road. Jaime says their father forced him to tell Tyrion that she was a whore to teach him a lesson. Enraged by this revelation, Tyrion slaps Jaime so hard it knocks him backwards. Out of spite (or perhaps in order to hurt Jaime), he lies that he really did kill Joffrey, and also reveals to Jaime that Cersei has been sleeping with Lancel Lannister and Osmund Kettleblack (in reality Osney Kettleblack), and maybe others. Tyrion leaves, vowing to return and take revenge on his family.
Arya is distracted from her training exercises by news of Jory 's death and her father's injury while fighting Jaime . Syrio teaches her how to ignore her troubles to focus on fighting. Later, Eddard brings his daughters together to tell them he is sending them back to Winterfell. Sansa and Arya are both upset. Arya does not want to leave Syrio's training. Sansa is incensed, feeling that losing a dancing instructor is nothing compared to breaking her betrothal to Joffrey. Eddard says not to worry, he will choose another man for her to marry, one strong and gentle and brave. Sansa says she doesn't want someone like that; she wants Joffrey (to Arya's amusement). She wants to have his blonde babies, like Joffrey her "golden-haired lion ." After the interjection " Seven hells ", Arya asserts that he will be a stag like his father. Sansa replies that Joffrey is nothing like Robert. This prompts Eddard's sudden realization that Joffrey is not Robert's son and thus not the heir to the throne.
On her way to Winterfell, Arya makes a small campfire in the woods. As she warms herself by the fire, she is suddenly ambushed by a large pack of wild wolves, which startles her horse. Surrounded, Arya pulls out Needle to defend herself, though the wolves do not attack, and Arya finds herself face to face with a now fully grown Nymeria , much to her astonishment. She pleads for her Direwolf to come with her to Winterfell, but Nymeria instead retreats with her pack back into the woods. Arya realizes that Nymeria is no longer the same and that she has also changed herself since they last saw each other. Softly, and with a small smile, she murmurs, "That's not you" , echoing what she said to her father years ago when he suggested that someday she would marry a powerful lord.
Arya Stark finally returns to Winterfell. She rides up to the gates and dismounts, but the guards don't believe her when she identifies herself as Arya Stark, convinced that Arya has been dead for years. Arya asks that they send word to Maester Luwin and Rodrik Cassel , who can prove her identity (not knowing they are both dead). The guards brush her off, telling Arya there is nobody by those names at Winterfell. Arya asks for Jon, but they say he actually just left Winterfell, so Arya asks who is in charge of Winterfell. The guards respond, "Lady Stark," who Arya realizes is her sister. They try to brush her aside, but she dodges them with her assassin's reflexes, and insists that one way or another she's getting in. She explains to them that if she is Arya, they'll be in a lot of trouble for stopping her, and if she isn't, she won't last long in Winterfell anyway. Mildly concerned, they agree to at least let her in the courtyard, but insist that she stay put while they send for Sansa so they can disprove her identity. As soon as they take their eyes off her, however, she slips away. The two guards go to inform Sansa and try to wave the incident aside as just some impostor, but she instantly realizes it must be Arya, and knows where she has gone.
Arya later watches in the great hall as Sansa addresses Lords Glover and Royce over their concerns with Jon's absence. Glover says that perhaps they should have chosen Sansa instead due to his feeling that the King in the North should stay in the North while Royce says that the Vale came to Sansa's aid during the Battle for Winterfell. In response, Sansa kindly dismisses their notions, once again pledging her loyalty to Jon. In their late mother and father's chambers, Arya confronts Sansa about her apparent inaction towards Glover and Royce, claiming that she should have taken their heads for defying Jon's rule. Sansa reminds her sister that this would likely lose the support of both House Glover and the Vale and that they need to work together in order to survive. Arya is adamant that they should have been executed. Suspicious of Sansa and her relationship with Littlefinger, Arya begins to spy on him, following him to Sansa's bedchambers where he hides a rolled parchment inside of her mattress. Arya, unaware that the letter, written by Sansa after their father's imprisonment in the Red Keep in which she pledges her loyalty to Joffrey and the crown and urges Robb to submit to his rule, has been planted on purpose by Baelish in order to manipulate her, falls for his scheme and reads the letter, growing suspicious of her sister as she is also unaware that Sansa was coerced into writing the letter by Cersei. From the shadows, Littlefinger watches with satisfaction as Arya leaves the room.
Arya stands among the residents of the winter town as they watch Jon, Queen Daenerys Targaryen, and their combined forces march through the town to Winterfell. She notices Gendry among the entourage, but he doesn't appear to notice her. When Drogon and Rhaegal fly overhead, roaring, Arya is the only person among the crowd who doesn't appear startled or frightened; on the contrary, she is visibly fascinated by the dragons. She is not present in Winterfell's courtyard when Jon and Daenerys arrive before the Stark entourage, and Sansa replies that she is "lurking somewhere" when Jon inquires about her.
Arya is present when the bodies of those who fell during the Battle of Winterfell are set to be cremated. After Jon finishes his eulogy, she is handed a torch and goes to burn the pyre where Beric was laid. In the subsequent celebrations, Arya chooses not to participate, not entirely welcoming as being hailed as the "Hero of Winterfell." Gendry later seeks her out and finds her practicing her archery, narrowly avoiding getting hit by one upon doing so. He tells Arya that Daenerys legitimized him and he's now the new Lord of Storm's End. Gendry also kneels, and confesses to Arya that he loves her, and wants to marry her and have her become the Lady of Storm's End.
As Sandor leaves Winterfell, he hears the sound of another horse approaching him and sees Arya. Arya moves to ride alongside Sandor, who inquires why she was leaving. Arya vaguely hints her intentions and Sandor likewise does. It becomes clear to both of them that they intend to seek their long-awaited respective revenge on Cersei and the Mountain, whilst having no intentions to return to Winterfell. The two proceed to ride towards King's Landing, reminiscent of when they were together years before. The two arrive at the camp of the Northern army the night before battle is set to begin. They are initially stopped by the Night Guard, but are allowed to continue when she states that killing Cersei may prevent a siege.
Arya's list logically only contains those whom she knows have committed crimes against her or her family. Despite committing great crimes against her family, Littlefinger was never included in her kill list; after Bran revealed his betrayal towards their father Arya did kill him, but on Sansa's orders. Roose Bolton was never included because she was unaware that he was present at the Red Wedding, much less that he personally killed Robb. She is also unaware of the fact that Roose's son, Ramsay , sacked Winterfell (and later killed Rickon ). Arya also hasn't included Theon Greyjoy for taking Winterfell in the first place and (allegedly) killing her brothers Bran and Rickon, because she wasn't aware that it happened while she was on the run. News of the capture of Winterfell only became widespread enough for her to hear of it after Ramsay recaptured the castle (in early Season 4) and supposedly killed Theon, thus he was never added to her list.
Arya is nine years old when King Robert arrives at Winterfell. She is a tomboy who wants to learn how to fight with a sword and ride horses, to the horror of her more demure older sister, Sansa, with whom she has a quarrelsome relationship. She is encouraged by her half-brother Jon, to whom she is close. Sansa and Arya are so unalike that Sansa once asked their mother if her real sister was stolen by a grumkin and Arya was left in her place. Arya is the only one of the Starks' trueborn children who resembles their father in appearance. Jon also inherited the Stark look, like Arya and their father, which once caused Arya to wonder whether she was also a bastard, but Jon assured her that she is trueborn. Arya has Eddard's long and solemn face, her hair is lusterless brown, which results in her being called Arya Horseface by her sister and her sister's friends. She is also known as Arya Underfoot by the Winterfell staff, as she is always curious and always where she isn't supposed to be. In the TV series, she is a good shot with a bow. In the novels, she does not know how to use a bow and isn't strong enough to even pull back the string, but wishes she could. She does, however, skilled in household management and horseback riding (in contrast to Sansa).
Arya technically gained the title of "princess" when her brother Robb was declared the new King in the North . While her brothers Bran and Rickon use the title of "prince" among the Northerners at Winterfell, Arya's storyline takes her on the run through the Riverlands as it is torn apart in the war between the Starks and Lannisters, so that she is usually keeping her true name a secret, let alone her title. Thus she normally isn't referred to as "princess", or at least not in her surroundings. Robb, Catelyn, and the Freys refer to her as a "princess" when brokering their marriage-alliance.
The World of Ice & Fire source book released in 2014 revealed that Arya was named after Eddard's maternal grandmother, Arya Flint, from the northern mountain clans. The main novels did mention that Eddard's grandmother was from the mountain clans but didn't state her name. These clans have no connection to the hill tribes of the Vale whom Tyrion encounters on the way from the Eyrie; they are minor Houses loyal to Winterfell who live in the northwestern highlands. They are a hardy folk, both due to their rough lands, and because they are located near the coast, vulnerable to attack by sea from both the ironborn and the wildlings. Like House Mormont , also located just off the northwest coast and vulnerable to these attacks, many women in the clans often have to take up arms to fight off raiders. These clans join Stannis in his military campaign against the ironborn and the Boltons .
Even after escaping the capital and returning to her childhood home of Winterfell , she endures further hardship at the hands of House Bolton . After escaping from Winterfell with the help of her father's former ward , Theon Greyjoy , and her sworn-sword, Brienne of Tarth , Sansa reunites with Jon at Castle Black . Along with the support of the Free Folk , the knights of the Vale , and certain Northern houses, the two of them retake Winterfell from Ramsay Bolton , and Sansa becomes the Lady of Winterfell , whilst Jon is declared King in the North .
When her brothers find an orphaned litter of direwolf pups, Sansa adopts the gentlest one and names her Lady . King Robert Baratheon visits Winterfell to offer Sansa's father the position of Hand of the King . Robert also offers to betroth his son Joffrey to Sansa. Sansa, who is very taken with the handsome young prince, thinks this is a splendid notion. She longs for the excitement of the capital and begs her parents to agree to the match until they do so. Eddard takes the office of Hand and decides to take his daughters with him to the capital.
Sansa and Septa Mordane are embroidering, and Sansa speaks very rudely to her. Joffrey visits Sansa and gives her a present, a pendant identical to Cersei's. He also apologizes for the incident on the Kingsroad and kisses her, winning back her favor, as well as expressing his fondness towards their marriage and Sansa's future as Queen. Unbeknownst to Sansa, this was done at the suggestion of Cersei, who had recently informed Joffrey that the North must be kept under their control through his marriage to Sansa. Sansa is later told by her father that he is sending her and Arya back to Winterfell, and her betrothal to Joffrey is to be broken. Sansa refuses to accept this. She tells them that she loves Joffrey, she will be his queen and give him beautiful blonde-haired children. Sansa says Joffrey will be a great king and a golden lion. When Arya points out that Joffrey isn't a lion, but a stag like his father, Sansa angrily says Joffrey is nothing like Robert. This inadvertently leads Eddard to realize that Joffrey and his siblings are not Robert's true children. Eddard tells Sansa and Arya that they are returning to Winterfell, over Sansa's furious protests.
After settling into the Eyrie, albeit with discomfort, Sansa wanders into the courtyards alone, as the snow falls around the Vale. The snow, reminding her of home, prompts her to build a snow castle resembling Winterfell. She has a short-lived friendly conversation with Robin before she snaps at him for ruining her snow castle. This results in a heated confrontation between the cousins, which ends in Robin running back inside, crying after Sansa slaps him. Petyr presents himself shortly afterward, and Sansa questions him as to why he really had Joffrey killed. She allows herself to smile slightly when he claims that he did it for Catelyn, the only woman he ever loved. Sansa is shocked when he kisses her on the lips, which Lysa witnesses. She summons Sansa to the High Hall, where she sits over the open Moon Door. Sansa begins to grow concerned when Lysa comments on how far the drop is to the ground. Lysa, enraged over Petyr's interest in Sansa, threatens to have her killed and nearly manages to push her out of the Moon Door to her death before Petyr intervenes. Sansa watches as he tells Lysa that he only ever loved Catelyn, before pushing her to her death.
Sansa and Baelish eventually arrive at the ruins of Moat Cailin , where Sansa learns that they are actually returning to Winterfell and Baelish's plan is to have her marry Ramsay Bolton , the recently legitimized son of Roose Bolton , the current Warden of the North. Sansa is initially reluctant to marry into yet another family that betrayed hers, but Baelish pacifies her by claiming it will be an opportunity for her to avenge her family.
They arrive at Winterfell, where Baelish introduces Sansa to the Boltons. Roose and Ramsay greet Sansa politely, and after a tense moment during which she is repulsed merely by looking at Roose, Sansa greets them with courtesy, while Myranda , Ramsay's secret mistress, eyes Sansa with jealousy. She is later brought back to her old room by a servant, who welcomes her home and tells her that "the North remembers." While walking through Winterfell's courtyard, Sansa unknowingly passes Theon Greyjoy , who had been her father's ward she and her siblings grew up with at Winterfell. Theon hides his face from her as she passes.
Settling into life at Winterfell, Sansa visits the Stark family crypts, re-lighting the votive candles and cleaning up the offerings left by visitors prior to Winterfell's fall. Littlefinger finds her regarding the statue of her long-dead aunt Lyanna Stark . Littlefinger, with minimal commentary, tells Sansa of the events at the tourney at Harrenhal, where Rhaegar unhorsed Ser Barristan Selmy , passed by his wife , and gave Lyanna a crown of flowers blue as frost, all to the shock of the crowd. He then tells Sansa that he's been recalled to King's Landing and that keeping Cersei waiting much longer would be unwise. Littlefinger explains parts of his master plan to Sansa: Stannis will inevitably take the North, and when he does, he will need a Stark at Winterfell. Littlefinger is certain Stannis will declare Sansa the Wardeness of the North. Even if Stannis fails, Ramsay is already betrothed to Sansa, and thus Sansa, who has learned to manipulate from the very best, can take control of House Bolton from within.
Sansa's maid brings a message to her. Consoling Sansa that she still has allies in the North, she tells Sansa to light a candle in the highest window of the Broken Tower if she's ever in trouble. As Sansa wanders around the castle, she runs into Myranda. Myranda puts on a friendly façade, talking to Sansa about her mother's demise. To help Sansa "remember" how things used to be while her family was still living in Winterfell, Myranda leads Sansa down to the kennels. In the kennels, Sansa finds "Reek" asleep in one of the cages. Awoken by Sansa's arrival, he just shakes his head when Sansa calls him Theon. He warns her that she shouldn't be down there. Seeing Reek in such a pitiable condition, Sansa angrily storms away.
On the night of her wedding, Myranda draws a bath for Sansa, during which she advises Sansa not to bore Ramsay, and tells her about the fates of Violet , Tansy , and a third unseen girl named Kyra , examples of girls who Ramsay murdered for sport. When Myranda mentions that both she and Ramsay killed Tansy by hunting her, Sansa becomes angry, asking Myranda how long she has been in love with Ramsay and if she really expected Ramsay to marry her. She coolly tells Myranda that she is a Stark of Winterfell and will not be intimidated so easily by her, and dismisses her to finish her bath herself, though she is visibly shaken by Myranda's story.
A bemused Myranda briefly lowers her arrow and admits Ramsay needs her alive in order to secure his hold on the North. But Myranda adds Ramsay doesn't need Sansa in one piece to do that, just the "parts" that he needs to produce his heir. Myranda maliciously nocks her arrow again and prepares to at least maim Sansa with it. Before she can release it, however, Theon grabs Myranda, making her fire and miss, and throws her off the battlement, killing her instantly on impact. Theon and Sansa then escape Winterfell by jumping off the side of Winterfell's walls, hoping to survive the long fall by landing in the deep snow.
Sansa, Brienne, and Podrick arrive soon at Castle Black where they find Jon. At first, both "siblings" are too stunned to even speak when they see each other, but quickly share a loving embrace after their long and tragic separation. As Jon offers Sansa food, they reminisce about their happy childhood and how they both regret ever leaving Winterfell. Sansa apologizes to Jon for her dismissive treatment of him while growing up, to which Jon responds that there is nothing to apologise for. When they resolve to stick together, Sansa says the only place they can go now is home . She then asks him to help her reclaim their home from the Boltons. However, Jon tells her that he is tired of fighting, that he had done nothing but fight since he left home, and that he was killed for it. Although Sansa appears to accept his choice, she tells him that she will reclaim Winterfell and the North, with or without his help.
As Sansa and Jon share a meal with Eddison Tollett , Tormund , Podrick, and Brienne, a messenger arrives from Winterfell with a letter from Ramsay. In the letter, Ramsay states that he has Rickon prisoner at Winterfell and if Sansa is not returned, he will slaughter every wildling under Jon's protection, let his men rape Sansa, and feed Jon and Rickon to his dogs. Ramsay signs the letter 'Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North,' prompting Sansa to reveal Ramsay killed his father.
When Tormund asks Sansa how many Ramsay has in his army and Sansa recalls 5,000, Jon asks Tormund how many he has who are able to fight. Tormund replies that they have only 2,000 men and women in shape to fight, not enough to match Ramsay's five thousand. Sansa tells Jon that the houses of the North will unite behind him as the son of the last true Warden of the North and they need to go back to Winterfell to save it and their brother. Jon agrees to take Ramsay down so they save Rickon and take back their home.
After Winterfell is breached, Sansa enters the Winterfell courtyard and witnesses Jon defeat Ramsay in single combat, though Jon momentarily goes into a wild frenzy and begins to pummel Ramsay, he spares Ramsay out of respect for Sansa. With the Stark banners hanging in Winterfell once more, Sansa sees Rickon's dead body, concluding to ask Jon where Ramsay is. Sansa confronts a bloodied and bound Ramsay in the kennels. He tries to goad her by telling her how she will never be rid of him because he is "part of [her] now." Although Sansa does not deny his implication that she herself will always remember him, she calmly retorts that his house is about to become extinct and that all memory of Ramsay to the rest of the world will soon disappear, just before an ominous growl from one of his hounds reveals his impending doom. Ramsay responds that his dogs are loyal to him, but Sansa reminds her husband that he revealed he had been starving his dogs for seven days. The dogs approach Ramsay and he desperately attempts to order them to heel but after a brief moment of hesitation, one of the hounds bites him. As they begin to tear Ramsay apart while he screams, Sansa walks away with a small smile.
With Winterfell firmly under Stark control, Sansa joins Jon on the ramparts as he watches an exiled Melisandre heading south. He tells her that he is having the Lord's chambers prepared for her. Although she protests that he should have it, Jon refuses, telling his sister he is not a Stark. Sansa tells Jon that he is a Stark to her, but he still refuses, telling Sansa that she deserves it as the Lady of Winterfell and because the Knights of the Vale came because of her, resulting in their victory. Jon asks her about Littlefinger and whether they can trust him, to which she insists that they cannot. Sansa apologizes for not telling him about the Knights of the Vale. While he understands why she didn't tell him about Baelish, Jon insists that they have to trust each other completely now that they have so many enemies. He kisses her on the forehead and when he turns to leave, Sansa calls him back. She smiles as she tells Jon that a white raven arrived from the Citadel , announcing the arrival of winter as their father had always predicted. Jon returns her smile.
She is later approached by Littlefinger to see if she is truly "safe" and "happy." Sansa confirms her safety in Winterfell, but Baelish continues to question her in regard to her happiness. Just as he is about to speak again, Sansa dismisses him. Brienne arrives and asks her why Petyr is still at Winterfell. Sansa explains that without his help, Winterfell would still be under Bolton control, and assures Brienne that she already knows what Littlefinger really wants.
They are interrupted by a guard who tells Sansa that she has received a visitor, who turns out to be her younger brother Bran, accompanied by Meera Reed . Following a tearful reunion, the two siblings retreat to the Godswood where Sansa tells Bran how she wishes Jon was there with them at Winterfell. Bran agrees, noting that he needs to speak to Jon. When Sansa points out that Bran is the rightful Lord of Winterfell since he is the last remaining trueborn son of Ned Stark, Bran refuses the position, stating that he is the Three-Eyed Raven and thus can't be any sort of lord. Sansa remains as the Lady of Winterfell. Sansa is utterly confused with this prospect, leading Bran reveals he has visions , trying to explain Brynden Rivers 's teachings, although this just makes Sansa even more baffled at Bran. Almost eerily and without emotion, Bran demonstrates his newly-acquired power to a skeptical Sansa by describing the night of her horrific marriage to Ramsay. This startles Sansa, who quickly excuses herself and she walks away in shock and tears.
Two guards inform Sansa that someone claiming to be her sister Arya is trying to gain access to Winterfell. They brush the girl off as an impostor, revealing she asked for Luwin and Rodrik Cassel . Sansa instantly realizes it must be Arya and knows where she has gone. Sansa finds Arya where she expected, in the crypts looking over their father Ned's grave. They are happy to see each other but so much has happened to both of them in the past few years that they are at first awkward, unsure of what to say. Arya asks if she has to call Sansa "Lady Stark" now, to which Sansa firmly insists "Yes" - and then laughs. They smile and hug, though still a bit unsure. Arya notes that Jon left her in charge and smiles when Sansa says that she hopes Jon will be back soon - he will be so happy to see Arya, remembering how happy Jon was to see her when they were reunited.
Later, in the Winterfell throne room, Sansa oversees a meeting of the Northern lords. Complaining that the King in the North should stay in the North, Robett Glover and Yohn Royce propose that she take power in the absence of her half-brother Jon. However, Sansa insists Jon is their true ruler who is doing what he believes is right for their people and that she is merely his regent. Following the meeting, Sansa confides her frustration in the Northern lords with Arya. Arya thinks that she should not let the lords get away with insulting her and suggests assassinating them. Sansa disagrees with Arya's idea to kill the troublesome lords, preferring a more diplomatic approach so as not to lose their support. Arya tells Sansa to admit that she is harbouring thoughts of permanently ruling Winterfell if Jon doesn't return. Disturbed and disheartened by Arya's suspicions of her, Sansa tells Arya that she has "work to do."
The following morning, Maester Wolkan informs Sansa that they have received a letter from Cersei. Sansa meets with Brienne, who advises her not to leave Winterfell. Instead, Sansa decides to send Brienne as her representative since she could reason with Jaime. Brienne warns that it is too dangerous for her to leave Sansa alone at Winterfell with Petyr. Sansa insists that her guards and men are loyal to her but Brienne warns that Petyr might be bribing them behind her back. Brienne offers to leave her squire Podrick Payne, whose swordsmanship has improved, but Sansa insists that she can take care of herself.
Arya replies that when they were young they always aspired to be other people. Sansa wanted to be a queen while Arya herself wanted to be a knight. In the end, neither of them got what they wanted. Arya says that the faces allow her to become someone else and toys with the idea of assuming Sansa's face and status. Arya approaches Sansa with her dagger and muses at the prospect of becoming the Lady of Winterfell . However, Arya relents and leaves a disturbed Sansa alone with the dagger.
Sansa and Petyr discuss Jon's decision to bend the knee to Daenerys. Sansa feels betrayed by Jon, and Petyr suggests that Sansa would make a better ruler than Jon. Sansa tells Petyr that Arya would turn against her if she tried to usurp Jon's power, and Petyr goads her, planting the idea that Arya wants to kill Sansa and take her place as Lady of Winterfell.
Sansa stands on Winterfell's ramparts as the combined Stark and Targaryen forces march towards the castle, and stares in cautious awe as Drogon and Rhaegal fly overhead. She greets Jon as he arrives in the courtyard, and mentions that Arya is "lurking somewhere" when Jon notices her absence. He introduces her to Daenerys as the Lady of Winterfell, and the two women exchange a civil but tense greeting.
When Jaime arrives at Winterfell, Sansa - now clad in armor - is once again seated at the high table with Jon and Daenerys. The two women harshly berate Jaime for his past actions and question whether his loyalty to their cause is genuine. Only when Brienne vouches for Jaime does Sansa trust him, and Daenerys allows his sword to be returned to him.
Impressed by her logic, Tyrion sardonically remarks that they should have stayed married. Sansa humorously acknowledges that he was the best relationship she ever had, but his loyalties to Daenerys would mean that they could never remain together, which is taken as an offence to Daenerys by Missandei . As the army of the dead breaches Winterfell's walls, the Night King reanimates all that have fallen in the battle so far, and his spell extends to the many Stark bodies housed in Winterfell's crypts. In the crypts, the living scramble to escape and Sansa ends up hiding behind a large stone casket with Tyrion. The two look desperately into each other's eyes, and Sansa pulls out the dragonglass dagger given to her by Arya.
When she lived at Winterfell with her family, Sansa grew up as the eldest daughter of a Great House, trying to emulate her mother's example of a "proper lady" from the southern courts. Sansa's devotion to the traditional, refined "feminine virtues" caused friction between her and her blunt, tomboyish younger sister Arya, with whom she had a sibling rivalry. As a little girl, Sansa naively believed in the tales and epic romances in which every princess gets her honorable knight in shining armor to sweep her off her feet. Sansa was infatuated with the traditional romances about mythical figures like Jonquil , and historical figures like Duncan Targaryen . Her greatest goal in life was to be married to a heroic and handsome prince, sitting around with other noblewomen eating lemon cakes while gossiping about the goings-on at court.
The numerous tragedies she has suffered, and the crimes against herself and her family, have also darkened her personality turning her more ruthless, though not quite cruel. This shows when she refuses to take Theon's arm when he comes to escort her to the Godswood to marry Ramsay and coldly asks if he thinks she cares what Ramsay will do to him if she doesn't. She also later expresses approval of what Ramsay did to Theon, now Reek, and declares she would do the same. Once reclaiming Winterfell, Sansa feeds her abusive husband, Ramsay to his own hounds, even smiling as it happened.
However, despite all the suffering that she has been through, Sansa appears to have retained a certain degree of compassion that is also demonstrated in her multiple attempts at reaching out to Theon after Theon admits that he did not kill Bran and Rickon and they are alive. After Theon helps her escape from Winterfell, Sansa once again sees Theon as a surrogate brother and promises she will not let Jon execute him when Theon fears Jon will have him killed for his crimes. Sansa also becomes more compassionate and a loyal sister to Jon and apologizes for being "awful" when they were children. When she faces Myranda for the last time prior to her escape from Winterfell, Sansa was about to allow the psychopathic girl to shoot her so that she could die with as much of herself as was remaining. She has also become significantly more brave, courageous and is developing nerves of iron.
Sansa's sufferings have made her stronger and more mature, but also more war-like. Caring less for the traditional feminine virtues she used to praise as a child, Sansa moves against Ramsay in order to take back Winterfell and the North, and outright rejects his conditions for saving her brother Rickon, knowing full well he would never keep his word and instead tells him that he will die the next day. Her experiences with the Lannisters have enabled her to watch in grim satisfaction as Ramsay is torn apart and eaten by his own hounds. This contrasts her visible horror in Season 1 upon seeing the violence when she first arrived in King's Landing, where she is distressed at Gregor Clegane's violence against Ser Hugh and Loras Tyrell and faints when her father is abruptly beheaded in front of her. Sansa is also effective as Lady of Winterfell and Jon's regent, devoting her efforts to maintaining order and preparing the North for winter, for which she earns the respect of many Vale and Northern lords.
Sansa's Season 5 story arc diverged significantly from that in the books. Littlefinger does not arrange for her to marry Ramsay Bolton, whom she never meets, and indeed she does not even leave the Vale. Instead, she is betrothed to Harrold Hardyng, Robert Arryn's presumptive heir, should the weak and sickly Robert die prematurely, as Littlefinger expects (perhaps he intends to "help" Robert die). His plan is to wed Sansa to Harold, and for Sansa to reveal her identity to everyone present during the wedding, in order to gain the support of the knights in the Vale for winning her birthright back. Littlefinger says nothing about the Boltons or any military campaigns, since his plans will take several years to come to fruition - the marriage cannot take place before Robert dies, Sansa is widowed and Cersei is done, and there is no way to know in advance who will hold Winterfell and rule the North at that future point.
In the books, Sansa's storyline in season five is played out by her best friend Jeyne Poole , who is forced to masquerade as Arya Stark. Jeyne's story is almost identical to Sansa's season five storyline, although it is not Brienne who offers Jeyne her help if she needs it (indeed, Brienne has not met the Stark girls by the point the books reached). Instead, it is Mance Rayder who infiltrates Winterfell as a bard to rescue her on the orders of Jon, Sansa's half-brother. Also, Jeyne never tries to escape Winterfell on her own and does not attempt to force Theon into helping her as she is mentally in a much worse state than Sansa is in while Sansa is married to Ramsay in the show. In the books, while Jeyne is being tormented, Sansa is safe in the Vale, surrounded by friendly people like Myranda Royce and Mya Stone (the elder of Robert's bastards).
Eddard is taken to the front steps of the Great Sept of Baelor . He spots Arya crouching beside the statue of Baelor the Blessed and signals Yoren , who is also present amidst the gathered crowd. Having relented to Varys' request in order to save Sansa, Eddard makes the false confession that he intended to seize the throne for himself and recognizes Joffrey as the rightful king. Joffrey, however, ignores his mother's counsel that Eddard be exiled and orders his immediate execution. Before Ser Ilyn Payne swings the Lord of Winterfell's own sword Ice , Eddard notices that Yoren has taken Arya. Sansa, distraught, is restrained as Payne decapitates Eddard before the shocked Cersei and council can intervene while the baying crowd cheers. Before he dies, Eddard mutters a few last unheard words. Yoren is able to smuggle a devastated Arya out of the city.
When Bran is on the other side of the Wall , he wargs into a Heart tree and sees a vision of his father sitting in the Godswood of Winterfell with his sword Ice , and in the black cells of the Red Keep.
Bran later returns to the vision of the Tower of Joy, picking up from Ned entering the tower. He arrives at a room where he sees her sister Lyanna lying in a bed and a slice in her stomach. Ned calls the present maidens for help but Lyanna stops him and tells him to take care of her recently born son, fathered by Rhaegar. Lyanna whispers to her brother that her son's name is Aegon Targaryen and pleads for Ned to promise that he'll protect her child, knowing that Robert will kill her son if he finds out of his Targaryen blood. As Ned takes her baby into his arms, Lyanna passes away. To protect his sister's son from Robert, Ned returns to Winterfell with his infant nephew, names him ' Jon ', and claims him as his own illegitimate son, raising Jon as his own child alongside his trueborn children.
Upon Arya 's return to Winterfell, she manages to sneak away from disbelieving guards and into the crypts. She looks upon the statue of her father, and is then reunited with Sansa, where they both discuss how the statue doesn't resemble Eddard. Sansa says that there is no one left who would remember his face and therefore make an accurate statue, to which Arya says that they are still alive and remember him.
At Petyr's surprise trial in Winterfell, Bran reveals Baelish's betrayal of Eddard in shocking detail. Arya subsequently slits Littlefinger's throat with his own dagger, avenging her father. After the trial, Sansa and Arya rebuild their bond and Sansa repeats Ned's words about how the pack survives. Both girls confide that they miss him.
Unlike the show, Ned's bones are sent to Riverrun as part of a plot orchestrated by Tyrion to free Jaime. Afterward, Catelyn assigns a retinue of Stark men, under the command of Hallis Mollen , to deliver them to Winterfell. However, with Moat Cailin held by the ironborn , the whereabouts of the retinue and their cargo remains unknown. Lady Dustin , who resents Ned (even after his death) for not bringing her late husband's bones to be buried in his ancestral home, intends to pay Ned back by feeding his bones to her dogs.
Robb also had a " bastard half-brother", Jon Snow , with whom Robb shared a close relationship. Jon is actually Robb's cousin by blood, as Jon is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen . Robb was also close to his father's ward, Theon Greyjoy , whom he counted as his best friend outside of the family. Robb had been trained from childhood to wield a sword and wear armor by Winterfell's master-at-arms Ser Rodrik Cassel , and was highly proficient with both for his young age. He lived at Winterfell with his family.
He welcomes King Robert Baratheon to Winterfell with the rest of his family. He helps his mother maintain discipline during the feast, removing his sister Arya when she starts flicking food at Sansa, despite his amusement. Robb displays an antipathy toward Joffrey from the beginning, noting that he is a "right royal prick," and is visibly annoyed when Sansa looks at Joffrey in admiration.
Robb bids farewell to Jon during his departure to the Wall , stating that he'll be all in black the next time they meet, which Jon agrees with, stating that the color suits him well. Due to Bran's being left comatose in a fall, his mother's refusal to leave an unconscious Bran's side, and his father's departure for King's Landing , Robb must help Maester Luwin run the castle, making new appointments to the castle's staff. Because of Catelyn's absence in her care for Bran, Robb deals with the confusion and tears of his youngest brother, Rickon, which he reveals to his mother before a fire breaks out in Winterfell. While Robb attends to this, an assassin breaks in and almost kills Bran, but is stopped by Summer . When Catelyn and Ser Rodrik decide that threats from the Lannisters necessitate their departure for the capital, Robb is left in command of Winterfell. Robb visits a recovering Bran and has to tell him that he will never walk again. Bran says he would rather have died.
They are shocked when news arrives that Theon has betrayed Robb and attacked Winterfell. He asks Roose if there is as news on Bran and Rickon; he says not, but tells him that Rodrik is dead. Robb is furious, but agrees to let Roose's bastard retake the castle. He insists that the safety of his brothers is paramount, and demands that Theon be brought before him, so that he can execute him personally.
They are interrupted by news that Catelyn has released Robb's key prisoner: Jaime. Robb is furious at the betrayal, and orders Catelyn kept under guard. He sends men to find Jaime, and devises a plan for Ramsay: offer mercy to Theon's men if they deliver him, so they will abandon him, allowing him to retake Winterfell with minimal bloodshed. Talisa comforts Robb, revealing more of her past.
Robb's host marches on Harrenhal, greatly anticipating the battle ahead, only to find the castle abandoned and the Northern prisoners slain . Robb and his new wife find but one survivor: a maester named Qyburn . Robb then orders his mother imprisoned within the fortress. Robb later receives two letters, relating to the death of his grandfather Hoster Tully and the destruction of Winterfell, as well as the "deaths" of Bran and Rickon. Robb informs his mother before setting off for Riverrun.
Robb angrily shouts that they were only boys and that Karstark can't blame Catelyn for his treasonous killing of prisoners of war. Karstark stands firm and says the only treason is in letting their enemies go when in war, they should be killing them - if Robb's father ever taught him that. Blackfish punches Karstark over this remark, but Robb tells him to leave Karstark alone. Karstark has utterly lost faith in Robb and says that the King in the North will just give him a scolding, though he should probably call him "the King Who Lost the North" after he allowed Winterfell to fall. Robb orders all of Karstark's men hanged, and to hang the watcher last so he can "watch" the others die. Rickard Karstark himself is sent to the dungeons.
Emotionally crushed by the deaths of Robb and Catelyn, Sansa refuses to eat, despite pleas from Shae . When Tyrion attempts to comfort her, she reveals to him that she can no longer sleep, but instead lies awake all night thinking about how her mother and brother died, having learned that the Freys had sewn Grey Wind's head onto Robb's decapitated corpse and later flung Catelyn's corpse into the Trident to rot. Tyrion tells Sansa that he did not know Robb very well, but the brief time he met him in Winterfell was enough for him to believe that Robb was a good man.
Robb had a surprisingly keen mind for warfare and strategy, a trait that takes Tywin completely by surprise. Tywin had originally seen Robb as a stupid child who hadn't the slightest idea of the violence of war and after his first taste of battle would "run back to Winterfell with his tail between his legs." The Lannisters were quite surprised when Robb led a stunning surprise attack in the Battle of Whispering Wood to crush the western half of the Lannister armies under Jaime. Tywin also did not expect Robb to have the determination to send hundreds of his own men to their deaths in a feint to the east. Sansa mentions to Joffrey that Robb is known to fight with his army's vanguard and commands his forces where the fighting is thickest. As such, Robb's tactical prowess and bravery in battle results in the Northerners seeing Robb as a larger than life figure and he is quickly known as the "Young Wolf" for his ferocity in battle. Robb's actions create lore throughout the Seven Kingdoms that tell tales of him riding his direwolf into battle and even transforming into a wolf himself. Tywin mentions to his war counsel at Harrenhal that Robb's men worship him and that he doubts Robb will lose unless drastic measures are taken to ensure this.
Robb wins every battle, but fails at everything else, as he himself admits more than once, due to a series of unwise decisions: he loses his brothers, Winterfell, the North, his most important captive , a large number of troops at Duskendale and at the Ruby Ford (due to Roose Bolton's treachery), the Freys, the Karstarks - and also the Boltons, as he finds out too late. As a result, some people call him "The King Who Lost the North", though only Rickard Karstark uses that derogatory nickname to Robb's face.
Robb, however, is so absorbed in his vendetta against the Lannisters that he turns a deaf ear to the reports about the invasion, indifferent to the suffering of the common folk whose villages are ravaged by the ironborn. Even when he receives reports about the Fall of Winterfell, he does not send even one soldier back (unlike in the show, Roose Bolton never suggests to Robb to send Ramsay, and the "liberation" of Winterfell is performed without Robb's knowledge or consent), because, as he explains to Catelyn, he foolishly trusted Theon to act rationally and spare his brothers - and was indifferent about the safety of the servants with whom he lived for years. This is his third serious mistake in a row, which, combined with the aforementioned two former mistakes, seal his fate.
Bran was born and raised at Winterfell. He has an older brother Robb , a younger brother Rickon , two older sisters Sansa and Arya , and an older "bastard half-brother", Jon Snow , who is actually Bran's first cousin by his aunt Lyanna Stark . Bran was named for Ned's elder brother, Brandon , who was brutally executed by the Mad King along with Bran's paternal grandfather Rickard Stark . He is only called "Brandon" by his mother when he has done something wrong. Bran dreams of being a knight of the Kingsguard , and his favorite hobby is climbing the walls of Winterfell , using its old rooftops and passageways to get around.
Bran survives the fall, but is left comatose, forcing Ned to leave him in Winterfell. While he is unconscious, an assassin attempts to kill him. Catelyn struggles with the man until Summer arrives and rips out the would-be assassin's throat. Summer then stands guard at the end of Bran's bed. Bran awakens with no memory of what happened some weeks later, at the same moment as his father is forced to kill Sansa's direwolf, Lady .
Bran begins to have a recurring dream in which a Three-Eyed Raven flies into the crypts of Winterfell. He is awoken to meet with Tyrion , who has stopped at Winterfell on his way home. Out of his regard for Jon, Tyrion has designed a special saddle that will allow Bran to ride despite his injuries.
Bran takes a lesson on the sigils and mottoes of the Great Houses from Maester Luwin , who is confident that Tyrion's saddle will work. Luwin also suggests that Bran could learn to use a shortbow from horseback, in the manner of the Dothraki . Bran bitterly analyses the irony of house words and refutes Luwin's assertion that his mother will return home soon, but Luwin relents that he cannot tell him why she has left Winterfell.
Robert Baratheon dies after being injured by a boar while hunting in a drunken state. Ned challenges the legitimacy of Robert's heir, Joffrey , with evidence of Cersei's infidelity and is arrested. Bran says farewell to Robb when he leads the Stark armies to war in response. He also tries unsuccessfully to reassure Rickon that Robb will return. He prays in the godswood for their safe return. Bran is joined by Osha, now a servant of Winterfell, who tells him that Robb's army is marching the wrong way and the true threat lies to the north, Beyond the Wall .
Bran continues to experience strange dreams as he is tutored in leadership at Winterfell by Maester Luwin. He dreams that he is Summer as the direwolf roams the Godswood and sees his reflection in the pond there. He has Osha accompany him out to look in the pond himself and is reassured that his waking reflection is his own, aware of the red comet above him. Osha tells him multiple theories that she had heard, before stating that it is a symbol of the return of dragons to the known world . However, Bran states that all the dragons are dead.
Bran dreams of the Three-Eyed Raven again and seeks advice from Osha. She questions him further and he reveals another dream about the sea flooding Winterfell and drowning Winterfell and its people, including Ser Rodrik Cassel . She does not offer any explanation and leaves abruptly. After providing two orphans to a farmer in return for room and board, Ser Rodrik brings news that Torrhen's Square has been besieged and Bran orders him to take the remaining garrison to relieve the siege.
Bran is awoken by Theon, who tells him that he has seized Winterfell. Theon tells Bran that he should yield the castle to protect his people. Bran reluctantly complies with a public announcement. Rodrik is captured on his return from Torrhen's Square. He insults Theon, calling him a traitor to Ned, and spits at him. Theon is pressured to execute him by his men. Theon ignores Bran's pleas and carries out a botched execution. Osha tells Bran that his dream came true; the Iron Islands (represented as the sea in the dream) have come to Winterfell. Bran escapes with Osha's help. They are accompanied by his brother Rickon, their direwolves and Hodor .
They flee as far as a nearby farm. Theon tracks them with hounds but loses their scent at the farm. He returns to Winterfell with two charred corpses, displaying them publicly and claiming that they are Bran and Rickon. Meanwhile, Bran and Rickon doubled back, using a stream to mask their scent and are hiding under Theon's nose in the crypts of Winterfell. Bran overhears Luwin telling Osha that the bodies must be Jack and Billy, the two orphan boys that he had previously assigned to assist a shepherd .
Bran continues his training under Brynden. He and Brynden watch a vision of his late father Ned and his uncle Benjen Stark as young boys training in the grounds of Winterfell by a young Rodrik Cassel. Bran also witnesses his late aunt Lyanna Stark as a young girl and a much younger Hodor. Through the vision, Bran learns that Hodor used to be a stable boy named "Wylis" before he became simpleton, who is carefully protected from harm by a middle-aged Old Nan. While Bran longs to stay in the vision, he is pulled out by Brynden, who warns him that he may become too enamored with the past to want to return to reality. Bran finds Meera outside the cave, viewing the world beyond; still grieving over the loss of Jojen. Meera tells Bran that she was having trouble coping with their apparent inaction to the coming war. In response, Bran reminds her that it is no longer safe anywhere outside, to which Meera continues to spurn him. After Bran leaves, Leaf tells Meera of her importance to Bran's future.
The Night King arrives with three other white walkers and an army of wights outside the cave, while Bran and Brynden are in a vision of the past of his father's departure from Winterfell to the Vale. Meera tries to awaken Bran, and wights dig into the cave and a White Walker enters. Meera kills the White Walker with a dragonglass tipped spear and several of the Children die fighting. Brynden advises Bran to listen to Meera's voice, pleading to warg into Hodor, which now echoes in their vision. Bran sees a young Wylis and wargs into him, resulting in Bran warging into present-day Hodor as well. Hodor, under Bran's control, assists them in their escape out the cave. Summer stays to defend them against the wights, and is stabbed to death. The Night King then enters the cave and kills Brynden, causing him to disintegrate in the vision with Bran. Leaf sacrifices herself to halt the wights advancing toward Meera, Bran, and Hodor. Hodor, still controlled by Bran, and creates their escape. Hodor, now himself, held the door to hold the wights from killing everyone, and was slowly being overwhelmed. Meera carries Bran’s unconscious body away into the Northern winter. Desperate and scared, she screams "Hold the door." Still in the vision of the past of Winterfell, Bran sees young Wylis collapse after his mind returns to his body. Young Wylis keeps screaming "hold the door" repeatedly until it slurs into "Hodor;" Bran's possession of young Wylis in his vision of the past breaks young Wylis’s mind and he hears the echoes of Meera's screams, which made his mind simple and only capable of repeating a form of the last words he heard before his death, "Hodor." Bran can only look on remorsefully as he realizes what he has done to Hodor.
Bran then travels to Winterfell, and arrives soon after Jon leaves for Dragonstone. Sansa runs to Bran and embraces him, not having seen each other since Sansa left for King's Landing. Sansa and Bran later talk by the weirwood tree in the godswood of Winterfell. Bran states his intent to talk to Jon when Sansa mentions him. Sansa initially believes Bran would be Lord of Winterfell, but Bran tells her that he is now the Three Eyed Raven, and that he must learn about current and past events. To convince her, Bran tells Sansa about her white wedding dress she wore when she married Ramsay Bolton, which takes Sansa by surprise and unsettles her.
Later, Bran wargs into a flock of ravens to do reconnaissance on the army of the dead, discovering they are dangerously close to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea . Unfortunately, the Night King spots him and promptly dispels the warged ravens. Once out of his trance, Bran orders Maester Wolkan to send out carrier ravens. One of these is sent to Jon, who learns of Bran and Arya's return to Winterfell, their survival also being mentioned in the letter.
Bran is among those who greet Jon and Daenerys in Winterfell's courtyard when they return to the North. Having last seen Bran in a coma before leaving for the Wall, Jon rushes to embrace him. Following the tense exchange between Daenerys and Sansa, Bran states that they have no time to waste; the Wall has been breached and the Night King has taken control of Viserion. Soon after, Jaime returns to Winterfell and is shocked to see Bran. After a tense meeting with the council, who decide to spare Jaime's life, Jaime apologizes to Bran for what he did to him. Bran replies that he is not angry, much to Jaime's astonishment. Bran learns that he is seen to be the main target of the Night King, as, being the new Three-Eyed Raven, he holds the memories and history of mankind and this is what the Night King wants to wipe away. During the Battle of Winterfell , Bran sits in the godswood with Theon Greyjoy and the rest of the Ironborn forces guarding him. At some point he wargs into a crow and observes the unfolding battle from above. After a long siege, the wights finally overwhelm the majority of Bran's escort, leaving only Theon as the sole surviving defender. As the Night King finally stands a few feet away, Bran calls to Theon, telling him that he is a good man, and thanking him for his efforts. With those last words he witnesses Theon making one last ill-advised charge against the Night King, who quickly disarms and kills Theon with the tip of his own weapon. The Night King finally crosses the gap between them, and Bran raises his gaze to meet the Night King's stare, the two finally meeting face-to-face at last. As the Night King reaches for his weapon, he senses something amiss and manages to catch Arya, who leaps out of nowhere in an attempt to catch him unawares. After a brief struggle, Arya manages to plunge the blade given to her by Bran into the Night King, causing him to explode and pull the life out of every member of his army present at the battle. Arya briefly meets Bran's gaze, relief clear on her face.
Before the incident of his fall, Bran was an extremely curious and adventurous boy. He was noted by his mother, and by his brother Robb, to have done a great amount of climbing around the walls of Winterfell and having never fallen. After his fall, Bran turned towards melancholy, citing that he would rather be dead than be unable to walk. However, Bran became happier once Tyrion gave him the designs for a special saddle, since he also loved riding as much as he did climbing.
Before his disability, Bran shows some skills with a sword when Robert Baratheon visits Winterfell by befriending and sparring with Tommen Baratheon . Eddard also initially intends to take Bran to with him to King's Landing, along with Sansa and Arya, in the hopes that he will form a strong bond with the king's sons to foster good relations between their families in the next generation, much like Ned's close friendship with Robert did. Catelyn, however, wishes for Bran to remain in Winterfell with her and prays to the Seven Gods for something to keep Bran from leaving. Bran is later shoved out of a tower window by Jaime Lannister after he catches Jaime and Cersei together, and rendered crippled from the waist down, forcing Ned to leave him behind after all and leading Catelyn to blame herself.
Like in the television show, much of Bran's storyline in the second novel initially deals with his learning to rule Winterfell and his growing skinchanging abilities. But Bran's role is primarily in learning to rule as well as Northern politics and diplomacy, while the decision making is left to Rodrik Cassel and Maester Luwin . Bran also has to play host to two of Walder Frey 's grandsons who are now being fostered at Winterfell as part of the pact Catelyn made to bring House Frey to Robb's side in the war. A harvest feast is held at the castle now that autumn has begun, and the remaining Northern nobility who haven't gone south with Robb come to Winterfell with various food offerings and to discuss political issues with Rodrik, Luwin, and Bran. Jojen and Meera Reed also attend the feast and reaffirm the crannogman 's oath of fealty to House Stark.
After the celebration has ended, the Reeds remain in Winterfell and befriend Bran. Jojen has magical gifts similar to Bran's and repeatedly attempts to discuss them and the future with him, only for Bran to put him off because he is afraid of acknowledging his own abilities, though he knows he is skinchanging into Summer when he sleeps. Jojen has prophetic visions or green dreams which he shares with Bran. In the television show, the prophetic dreams are given to Bran since the Reeds are not introduced until the third season. One of Jojen's visions is of the sea coming to Winterfell, drowning a number of the castle's household. This comes to pass when Theon captures Winterfell while Rodrik is distracted by the attack at Deepwood Motte . Theon frees "Reek", a Winterfell prisoner who had served the presumed dead Ramsay Snow, while committing crimes. Theon takes him as one of his men. Not long after being forced to yield the castle to Theon, Bran, Rickon, the Reeds, and Hodor escape with the help of Osha the Wildling. They end up circling back to hide in the castle's crypts while Theon attempts to recapture them. When Theon fails to find them, "Reek" suggests they kill the sons of a miller and pass them off as Bran and Rickon. The children only leave the crypt after Ramsay Snow , who had been posing as Reek, sacks Winterfell and takes Theon prisoner. They find a dying Luwin in the godswood. He advises them to split Bran and Rickon up for safety. Osha takes Rickon while the Reed siblings take Bran. In the series, the younger Stark brothers aren't separated until the end of the third season.
The next day, Sam and Jon welcome the arrival of Edd, Beric Dondarrion and Tormund to Winterfell, who inform the two that Last Hearth has fallen to the White Walkers, and that they'll be at Winterfell before the next sunrise, forcing Winterfell to immediately prepare for battle.
That evening, against Jon's advice, Sam volunteers to help defend Winterfell, due to his combat experience. Later, after overhearing an argument between Jorah and Lyanna Mormont , Sam provides the former with his family's sword, Heartsbane, since it is made of Valyrian steel and will be much more useful in the hands of Jeor Mormont's son. Sam then joins Gilly and Little Sam in Winterfell's crypt.
However, Sam later decides to participate in the Battle of Winterfell , armed only with two dragonglass daggers. He is nearly killed by a wight in the heat of battle, but is saved by Edd, only to watch in horror as Edd is quickly killed by another wight. Sam manages to retreat inside Winterfell, but breaks down and cries as the living are slowly overwhelmed by the Army of the Dead. Fortunately, Arya Stark kills the Night King, saving Sam and other survivors of the battle.
Following his father's failed rebellion against the Iron Throne , Theon is taken as a ward (initially hostage ) to Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell . After Eddard's execution in King's Landing , Theon pledges his loyalty to Eddard's eldest son, King Robb Stark , in the subsequent War of the Five Kings , but ultimately betrays Robb and sides with his father in invading the North . Theon takes Winterfell from Robb's brother, Bran , but eventually is betrayed by his own men, which leads to his capture by House Bolton . He is tortured and forced into servitude by Ramsay Snow , who turns him into a broken pet named Reek . Theon, however, redeems himself by helping Ramsay's wife (and Robb's sister), Sansa Stark , escape from Winterfell and find refuge with her "half-brother" Jon Snow . The two later retake Winterfell, defeating Ramsay and House Bolton.
Slowly returning to his former self, Theon returns to the Iron Islands, where he learns of his father's death at the hands of his uncle, Euron Greyjoy , who is later elected King of the Iron Islands at the kingsmoot on Old Wyk . In retaliation, Theon flees with Yara to seek out an alliance with Daenerys Targaryen in Meereen , where they pledge their forces to her. Despite abandoning Yara during the assault on the Targaryen fleet , he later appeals to the remaining Ironborn on Dragonstone to rescue her from Euron's custody, a mission they complete successfully. While Yara sails to retake the Iron Islands, Theon returns to Winterfell with a group of Ironborn to fight for House Stark in the Great War . Theon perishes defending Bran from the Night King during the Battle of Winterfell , redeeming himself at last.
Robb summons his banners to war when word comes of Lord Eddard's arrest. Theon tells Robb that it is good that he is afraid because it shows he is not stupid. As Theon dines with Robb and his bannermen later after they arrive at Winterfell, he witnesses Greatjon Umber threatening to withdraw his men from the host when Robb refuses to let him lead the vanguard. Robb counters the Greatjon by saying he is welcome to do so but as soon as he is finished with the Lannisters, he will march back North to route the Greatjon from his keep and hang him for an oathbreaker. As the Greatjon moves to draw a weapon, Theon rises from his chair to defend Robb but Grey Wind darts down the table and bites off two of the Greatjon's fingers. When Robb mercifully offers the Greatjon drew his weapon to cut his meat for him, the Greatjon calls his meat "bloody tough", which draws laughter from the rest of the men including Theon. As the northern army marches south, Theon advises Robb at strategy meetings and greets Catelyn when the army meets her on the road. When a Lannister scout is captured, Theon obscures their maps and battle plans, to Greatjon Umber 's amusement.
Despite his attempts, Theon is unable to find the escapees. Unwilling to appear weak, he has Dagmer murder two boys, Jack and Billy , from a farm and burn their bodies. Unknown to Theon, Osha led Bran and Rickon into the Winterfell crypts after realizing that Theon would never give up the chase. Theon displays the corpses of Jack and Billy at Winterfell and claims they were Bran and Rickon. Theon sends word to Yara to bring him 500 men as reinforcements.
She arrives with just twenty men and warns him that everyone in the North wants him dead because of his killing of the Stark boys, and he is too far from the sea to supply or reinforce his position. Yara tells him about how she remembers him as a child, demanding but sweet. She urges him to abandon Winterfell, return to the Iron Islands, and not to die so far from his home, but he refuses to give up his prize. Feeling some guilt over the deaths of the two farms boys, his asks Dagmer to pay the farmer for his grief. Dagmer tells Theon that after killing the orphans, he also murdered the farmer and his wife.
As Theon rides east, an arrow narrowly misses his head, and Theon sees that his captors are following him. After a harrowing chase the former Prince of Winterfell is knocked from his horse by a blow from a flail. The men hold Theon in place as the leading torturer prepares to rape him. Theon's pleas for them to stop fall on deaf ears but then the leader is pierced by an arrow. Ramsay has returned and swiftly kills all his men. Ramsay helps Theon to his feet and tells him to come with him, because he is far from home and winter is coming.
The young man makes a proposal: If Theon guesses correctly who he actually is Theon is the victor, but if Theon begs his tormentor to remove his finger he wins. Theon then asks if winning said game will secure his release. Ramsay then mocks Theon's naïveté stating there is no happy ending in store for him. Theon does guess correctly that he is still in the North. However when the former prince of Winterfell supposes that Ramsay is a son of Rickard Karstark he is revealed to be wrong. Ramsay slowly flays his captive's finger stating that Theon first should have asked if he was a liar. Theon begs for the finger to be cut off which delights Ramsay since Ramsay has won the 'game'.
Ramsay sends Theon's severed penis to his family in Pyke with a letter detailing his Sack of Winterfell and his demand that the Ironborn withdraw from the North or Ramsay will send them more of Theon's body parts. Balon refuses to surrender, saying that Theon was a fool for disobeying his orders and attacking Winterfell and that, as his castration means that he is no longer capable of producing heirs, he has no value whatsoever. However, Yara defies her father and prepares the fastest ship in the fleet and the strongest men on the Iron Islands to sail on the Dreadfort and rescue Theon.
Reek walks through the partially-repaired Winterfell and is clearly shaken when he sees freshly flayed corpses being hung on the castle walls, which reminds him of the burned corpses of Jack and Billy . Later, while Ramsay and Roose Bolton discuss their delicate position as the new Wardens of the North , Reek serves them their food. When his childhood friend, Sansa Stark , arrives in Winterfell, Reek watches her arrival from a distance. Later, as Sansa explores the courtyard, Reek avoids her but appears to be struggling not to call out to her.
This insecurity eventually leads him to question which is his true family: the Starks or the Greyjoys. When Robb sends Theon to Pyke to convince his father Balon and sister Yara to help the Starks fight against the Lannisters, Balon and Yara are initially successful in using their family bond to sway Theon to their side to instead fight the Starks and not aid them against the Lannisters. Even though Theon agrees to go along with his father's plan, this still causes a great deal of conflict in Theon and he almost warns Robb of Balon's plan before deciding against it. Theon tries to become a ruthless Ironborn raider to gain his biological father's approval and find a true home but the conscience that he developed living with the Starks makes it difficult for him to live up to these expectations. When he seizes Winterfell, he promises Bran that no one will be harmed if Bran surrenders - which is something an honorable northerner would promise but no true Ironborn would ever do - but minutes later, Theon shatters his promise by beheading Ser Rodrik Cassel when Cassel spits in his face, an unforgivable act among the Ironborn. In his time "ruling" Winterfell Theon mostly acts reckless and impulsive, attempting to keep order with iron hand desperate to not look as a fool at the eyes of his family and his own men.
The seizure of Winterfell shows that Theon has tactical skills, but also that, like his father, he is a total ignorant in strategy. He fails to consider what Yara explains him very bluntly: that Winterfell is surrounded by hostile forces and too far from the sea, thus the Ironborn garrison cannot be reinforced and eventually will be destroyed. Yara urges Theon to leave Winterfell, but he foolishly insists to keep his "prize", refusing to understand how poor his position is.
Even throughout Theon's "rule" of Winterfell, he is shown to be in a constant battle with himself, implying he knows deep down that invading his childhood home for his father was far from the right thing to do. Maester Luwin even points out to Theon that all of this is just an act to live up to his father's expectations and that Theon himself must know that his betrayal at Winterfell is wrong. Theon resignedly admits to Luwin that he is correct, but that he can't stop because he has already come too far to be forgiven, and refuses to join the Night's Watch, where all of his crimes would be forgiven, out of shame (and partially out of fear that Jon Snow might kill him in retribution for allegedly murdering Bran and Rickon). It is only after Theon becomes a prisoner of the Boltons and realizes that his father has no intention of rescuing him that he admits to himself and to Ramsay Snow that Ned Stark was his "real father" and laments Ned's execution in King's Landing.
At one point, Theon notices a statue of a past Stark king from centuries ago in the crypts of Winterfell named Theon Stark, and remarks that he was his namesake - though it isn't clear if this was specifically true or if Theon was just speaking generally ("Theon" is not an uncommon name in history).
Theon's initial raid at Stony Shore is the start of the overall ironborn invasion. The outcome is luridly described: bodies have been looted and mutilated. Of the fishing village, nothing remained but cold ashes that stank when it rained. The men had been put to the sword, all but a handful that Theon had allowed to flee to bring the word to Torrhen's Square . Their wives and daughters had been claimed for salt wives , those who were young enough and fair. The crones and the ugly ones were raped and killed. If they had useful skills and did not seem likely to cause trouble, they were taken to be thralls . After this "victory", Theon proceeds to capture Winterfell.
The conquering of Winterfell occurs similarly to the show, except that three of the servants are murdered (in compliance with Jojen 's dream): Alebelly the guard, Mikken and Septon Chayle. Theon murders Chayle himself, not for resisting, but because "you and your gods have no place here now."
At Theon's order, a tavern wench named Kyra is brought to Winterfell. Theon keeps her as a bedwarmer. As Theon's position at Winterfell deteriorates, he becomes so furious and frustrated, that takes it out on Kyra: he climbs on top of her and rapes her very brutally with a fury he'd never known was in him; by the time he finishes, she is sobbing, her neck and breasts covered with bruises and bite marks. Then he shoves her from the bed and tells her to get out.
When Theon took Winterfell, he freed a prisoner named Reek - actually Ramsay Snow in disguise. Theon accepted Ramsay at his service, unaware of his true identity. It was Ramsay, not Dagmer, who advised Theon to kill two unnamed miller's sons as a cover-up for the escape of the Stark boys (the mother of the two unnamed boys was also killed at Theon's command). After Asha left Winterfell, leaving Theon with only seventeen men, Ramsay suggested to bring reinforcements; and Theon reluctantly agreed, though he did not fully trust him.
Ser Rodrik rallied reinforcements and besieged Winterfell. Theon went to parley with him, after ordering his men to put a rope around Beth Cassel's neck. Theon spoke arrogantly to Ser Rodrik, demanding him to swear fealty to Balon as the king and to Theon as the prince of Winterfell. Filled with disdain at Theon's arrogance and the way he treated Beth, Rodrik called Theon a "viper" and "Theon Turncloak" (the latter phrase has become Theon's derogatory nickname). Theon threatened to hang Beth and an additional hostage every dawn and dusk. Returning to Winterfell, he was aware of his hopeless situation: hanging Beth would provoke the storming of Winterfell, and failing to hang her would hollow out future threats. Maester Luwin suggested to Theon that he surrender and take the black. Theon liked this suggestion, albeit not as the selfless act of redemption as Luwin intended. Instead, Theon fancied himself becoming the chief of rangers, or even the glorified Lord Commander. As Lord Commander, Theon believed he could captain ships, and have sex with many wildling women. While he reminded himself that Benjen Stark and Jon Snow both voluntarily joined the Watch, he fails to consider that Jon might kill him for the latter's atrocities.
Ramsay returned with 600 Bolton men - they were welcomed by the other Northerners, but promptly turned on their allies. What followed was not a true battle but a massacre as Rodrik and his army were killed in their own camp. Having broken the siege, Ramsay rode into Winterfell - only then did he reveal his true identity to Theon. Without provocation, Ramsay punched Theon with a mailed fist so hard that it broke his jaw, then ordered his men to kill the remaining ironborn, as well as the Stark servants and commoners of the castle, and to burn everything. As he faded out of consciousness, Theon watched helplessly as the Dreadfort soldiers killed Black Lorren and Maester Luwin . The last thing he saw was his horse Smiler, screaming and rearing, his mane on fire.
In A Feast for Crows , Theon is mentioned several times. Most of the ironborn, including his sister Asha presume he is dead, but are uncertain since his body was never found. Ramsay never sends a taunting letter to Balon in the books, so no one knows if he is even alive, or if he is, where he is being held. Ramsay does send a warning message to Asha, to which he encloses a piece of Theon's skin (not any body part) without specifying Theon's status, but it happens much later. Neither Asha nor anyone else ever intend to try to rescue him. Asha herself actually did return to Winterfell with a few soldiers after the Bolton army withdrew, in the hope that Theon may have survived by hiding, but all they found were badly mutilated bodies, which convinced Asha that Theon was probably dead. Even if she knew that he was alive, and specifically at the Dreadfort, the Boltons' castle is so strong (and located on the other side of the entire continent) that it was actually logistically impossible to mount an assault on it with a few longships.
In A Dance with Dragons , it is finally revealed Theon is alive and has been imprisoned in the Dreadfort since the Sack of Winterfell. Theon's torture by Ramsay is only revealed in flashbacks throughout the fifth novel, but the TV series chose to present these events in the chronological order that they happened. Had they done it in the order that the books did, Theon would have disappeared after the Season 2 finale, and only reappeared again in the Season 5 premiere. The books don't directly state that Ramsay castrated Theon, though it was vaguely implied that he had.
In one aspect Theon has not changed at all - morally. He muses that he should have died with Robb, but it is his only regret. Other than that, he does not feel even the slightest remorse or regret about of the atrocities he committed (like the extremely brutal rape of Kyra), and does not feel any sorrow about any of his victims. He does not take responsibility for any of his vile deeds and never blames himself for his predicament, only others - his sister, father, Ramsay. He even blames the servants of Winterfell for not assisting him to hunt down the Stark boys, thinking how much he was "kind" to them. Generally, he sees himself as a poor innocent victim who never harmed anyone and does not deserve the suffering he has been through.
Theon's lack of remorse is shown also in his POV chapter of the sixth book: first, he convinces himself that Ramsay forced him to kill the miller's sons. This is a lie, because at that point of the story - Ramsay was not in a position to force Theon to do anything; he suggested that but Theon was the one in charge, and he made the decision, thus the blood of the boys (and their mother) is on his hands, not Ramsay's, but Theon wouldn't admit that. Second, he assures Stannis that the North remembers the Red Wedding, the sack of Winterfell , Deepwood Motte and Torrhen's Square - but leaves out the atrocities that he performed (the harrying of the Stony Shore and the capture of Winterfell ).
Joffrey is stated to be 17 years old in the TV series at the time of the Battle of the Blackwater, as stated in " The Prince of Winterfell ." Most of the younger characters in the TV series were aged-up by about two years compared to their book counterparts (i.e. Sansa states that she is 13 years old in the first episode of Season 1, but is 11 in the first novel). Making Joffrey 17 years old in the TV series drastically increases his age relative to the other characters, however, as he is stated to be only 13 years old during the Battle of the Blackwater in the novels (the Tournament he holds in the beginning of book/Season 2 is to celebrate his nameday ). This would make TV-Joffrey 16 years old in Season 1, which is stated to be 17 years after Robert and Cersei were married at the end of Robert's Rebellion (which was increased from 15 years ago in the TV series). Cersei also states that she became pregnant with a son by Robert at the very beginning of her marriage who died in infancy. Assuming that Cersei's first son died even a few days after birth, this requires a nine month pregnancy, plus another nine month pregnancy before Joffrey was born (assuming she became pregnant quite soon after her first son died), meaning Joffrey could have been born no earlier than sixteen and a half years before the beginning of the narrative - drastically increasing Joffrey's age to sixteen years old in Season 1 strains the plausibility of this timetable, and drastically increasing his age by four years instead of two like the other characters may have been a dialogue error in "The Prince of Winterfell", in order to make a forced comparison between Joffrey and how Jaime was such a skilled warrior at seventeen that he became the youngest man ever to join the Kingsguard. Another possibility is that Tyrion meant that Joffrey was almost 17 and that he was actually 16 during Season 2.
After assassinating his younger brother Renly using bloodmagic , due to Renly also having claimed the throne despite being the youngest brother, Stannis almost succeeds in taking King's Landing at the Battle of the Blackwater , but is ultimately repelled by the armies of Tywin Lannister and House Tyrell . As his wars drag on, Stannis falls further and further under the sway of the red priestess Melisandre . After saving the Night's Watch from Mance Rayder 's wildling army in the battle for the Wall , Stannis marches on Winterfell . With conditions growing desperate, Stannis ultimately chooses to burn his daughter, Shireen Baratheon , to melt the snows away and clear his path to Winterfell.
Stannis leads his meager force to Winterfell and orders them to prepare for a siege, but his general says there's no need: the Bolton army is meeting them on the open field. As the Bolton cavalry charges at his army, Stannis raises his sword as the armies clash. Stannis fights bravely, but the remnants of his host stand no chance. As the battle winds down, Stannis takes out two more Bolton soldiers , but his leg is severely wounded in the process.
When preparing to march on Winterfell, the Stark army camps at the same location that Stannis had his forces camp out when planning his own invasion of Winterfell. Later, Jon and Sansa debate over Davos, and Sansa criticizes Stannis's defeat at the Battle of the Blackwater, his kinslaying of Renly, and his death, all while Davos was his advisor (though all Davos did was persuade Stannis not to take Melisandre to the Blackwater; he played no role in Renly's death, and was not present at the battle in the ice).
A released sample chapter from The Winds of Winter depicts Stannis holding Theon as his captive, preparing for battle with the Boltons after having discovered the Karstarks' treachery and sentencing his prisoners Arnolf and Arthor Karstark to death, but it is currently unknown if this chapter takes place before or after Ramsay sends the letter to Jon. Stannis plans to execute Theon as a punishment for the atrocities he committed against the North, the actual (the savage harrying of the Stony Shore and the capture of Winterfell , which cost the lives of many innocent people) and the alleged (the murder of the Stark boys), to gain more support from the North. Stannis also makes a deal with Tycho Nestoris , granting him access to the Iron Bank 's coffers to finance his war effort, and sends Ser Justin Massey to escort Tycho back to Braavos, where he must hire at least 20,000 sellsword s. Justin is instructed to do the same even if Stannis dies at Winterfell, and keep fighting to put Shireen on the Iron Throne.
Littlefinger warns Sansa that she isn't fooling anyone and that Joffrey will not let her go despite setting her aside. He stresses that, if anything, she is in more danger than ever, as she still remains captive, and now has no protection from her engagement. Lord Petyr tells her that she reminds him of Catelyn and offers to take her home to Winterfell but she is reluctant to trust him.
The next day, after Sansa slaps Robin for ruining the snow castle of Winterfell she made in the Eyrie's courtyard, Littlefinger approaches her and calms her down, stating that Robin should've been disciplined by his mother long ago and that he will deal with Lysa. When Sansa states she will never see Winterfell again, he counters that a lot can happen between "now and never" and that she must demolish her old home if she wants to build one anew. Sansa insists to know why he killed Joffrey.
However, when the party arrives at the ruins of Moat Cailin , Sansa realizes that Petyr intends to marry her to Ramsay Bolton , the son of Lord Roose Bolton , who betrayed and murdered her brother and mother. Despite Sansa's reluctance to marry into another family that harmed hers, Petyr persuades her to go along with the plan, citing it as a chance to avenge her family. They subsequently ride through Moat Cailin, and arrive at Winterfell .
Later on, Petyr finds Sansa in the crypts of Winterfell paying her respects to her deceased family members. Petyr recalls about how Rhaegar Targaryen kidnapped Sansa's aunt, Lyanna, which started Robert Baratheon's rebellion against the Targaryen family. Petyr then tells Sansa that he has to return to King's Landing on Cersei's request. Sansa expresses unease about being left alone in Winterfell, but Petyr tells her not to worry, since Stannis Baratheon is garrisoned at Castle Black and will most likely make another try for the Iron Throne, which will require him to retake Winterfell, destroy the Boltons and win the Northern Lords to his side, and out of respect for Ned Stark's support of his claim, Stannis will rescue Sansa and name her the new Warden of the North, and if Stannis is killed or does not even come, then Petyr suggests Sansa can destroy the Boltons from within. He kisses her on the lips again and departs.
Baelish returns to King's Landing to find the city under the rule of the newly-reestablished Faith Militant . Lancel Lannister , a member of the religious cult known as the Sparrows , warns him that his days as a brothel owner in the capital are over; Littlefinger flippantly dismisses the warning and informs Lancel he is in the capital to meet Cersei, obliging the Sparrows to let him pass. At his meeting with Cersei, after questioning her wisdom of letting the Faith Militant reform and alienating House Tyrell with the formers arrest of Ser Loras, Baelish informs her of the Boltons' plans to marry Sansa to Ramsay. Angered at the Boltons' betrayal, Cersei agrees with Baelish's plans to lead an army of Vale knights to Winterfell to reclaim the North for the Lannisters, as the warriors from the Eyrie are trained to fight in winter (the weather is starting to turn at this point), but only once the Boltons and Stannis Baratheon have battled over the North and weakened both armies. In exchange, Baelish asks to be appointed as the new Warden of the North once Winterfell is taken and both the Boltons and Stannis are defeated. Cersei agrees and tells him to return that night to have the King sign a royal decree promoting him.
When failing to rally enough houses to their side, Sansa secretly writes Baelish to take him up on the offer she previously rejected. Baelish arrives with the Vale Knights of House Arryn just when the Stark force is about to be massacred in the Battle of the Bastards , and the Vale forces easily wipe out what remains of the Bolton army. Baelish is present when Wun Wun smashes down the door to Winterfell and witnesses Jon defeat Ramsay in combat. House Stark is subsequently restored as Lords of Winterfell and Ramsay is executed.
He later confronts Sansa to see if she is truly "safe" and "happy." She tells him she is safe in Winterfell , but he continues to question her in regards to her happiness. Sansa dismisses him. Just before he tries to resume speaking, Sansa dismisses Petyr again as Brienne arrives.
After trying and failing to manipulate Bran, Petyr formulates a plan to separate the Stark sisters, starting with Arya. Arya herself becomes increasingly suspicious of Petyr and begins shadowing him in order to figure out his plan. He engages in conversation with a common girl, before giving her money for her information. Arya follows Petyr around Winterfell and watches him from the battlements as he eerily converses with Yohn Royce and Robett Glover . Petyr then receives Maester Luwin 's copy of Sansa's letter to Robb, asking him to surrender to Joffrey, from Wolkan , who assures him that there is no other copy in Winterfell. Arya retrieves the letter after investigating his chambers. However, Petyr watches from the shadows as Arya exits, showing that he knew all along of her spying on him, and was counting on her to find the letter. Petyr smiles, hoping this will turn the hot-tempered Arya against her sister.
Following this, Sansa receives a letter from Jon, stating his pledge to Daenerys Targaryen. Petyr then talks of rumors of the Dragon Queen's beauty, making Sansa believe that Jon wishes to marry her. Petyr is also told that Arya had previously worked as a Faceless Man in Braavos , to which he plays on the idea of Arya being a ruthless assassin. Petyr then tells Sansa that he always imagines the worst possible ideas a person has in their mind. He then implants the idea that Arya has come to Winterfell after discovering the letter and her marriages to Tyrion and Ramsay, after which she would become Lady of Winterfell.
On the basis of the above acquaintance, Petyr was sent to foster at Riverrun, where he met Hoster's own daughters, Catelyn and Lysa . Lysa developed a crush on Petyr, but Petyr preferred the older, more unobtainable Catelyn. When Catelyn was betrothed to Brandon Stark of Winterfell Petyr challenged Brandon to a duel of honor for Catelyn's hand, but was soundly defeated. After he had recovered sufficiently from his injures, Lord Hoster had Petyr returned home.
When the Mad King arrested Brandon Stark for threatening Prince Rhaegar, Varys and the rest of the Small Council urged the King to pardon Brandon on the grounds that he was the heir to Winterfell and the Prince had abducted his sister . However, the King refused to heed their advice and had both Brandon and his father brutally executed . This led to a rebellion that ultimately toppled the Targaryen dynasty .
Later, as Jon and Daenerys inspect the new defenses being put up around Winterfell, Varys, Tyrion and Davos view them from afar, remarking that a marriage-alliance might help cement their alliance, especially in terms of appeasing the Northmen's distrust of Daenerys. Varys surmises to say that due to the youth of the two, the three old men are not applicable in making that decision (unaware that Jon and Daenerys have already begun a relationship en route to Winterfell).
When Davos interrupts Melisandre's conversation with Jon in the hall of Winterfell and challenges her about Shireen's death, she shows remorse at the sight of her burned wooden carving and confesses her culpability. Though she argues that she burnt Shireen at the command of her parents, when Jon asks her for any last defense, Davos denounces the order as evil and threatens to execute her personally. Jon exiles her from the North for her crime of infanticide, after which she is seen riding south from Winterfell.
Melisandre had the power to magically summon fire while chanting in Valyrian. She managed to cast an incantation in Valyrian which ignited the swords of the Dothraki before the Battle of Winterfell and again to ignite the trenches surrounding Winterfell to ward away the wights from entering the fortress.
However, despite in many of her dreadful flaws, Melisandre's true and only goal in life was to ensure that fire would defeat ice and thus prevent the destruction of mankind by taking part in the efforts to destroy the white walkers. Even after being banished from Winterfell by Jon Snow for murdering Shireen, Melisandre still remained truly loyal to Jon Snow and his cause, as she knew that he was needed to defeat ice and death for good. She bravely and honorably returned to Winterfell before the Battle of Winterfell to use her magical powers to help keep the dead away, which proved to be advantageous in the battle, and was even the one who instructed Arya to finally slay the Night King and his army of the dead for good, by telling her to defy the god of death. She also showed no fear of dying, as she informed Varys after being banished from Winterfell that she would purposefully return to Westeros one final time to die, and after the dead are all destroyed, she walked off into the snow, removing her bewitched ruby choker, and succumbed to old age and died peacefully, having realized she had served her divine purpose in the world and probably allowing her to be finally with the Lord of the Light in the afterlife.
She was betrothed to marry Brandon Stark of Winterfell , but he was brutally murdered along with his father, Lord Rickard Stark , by the Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen , after his Prince Rhaegar purportedly kidnapped Brandon's sister Lyanna . Catelyn instead married Brandon's brother, Eddard . Though they barely knew one another when they wed, they have formed a strong and loving marriage.
Catelyn and Eddard have five children together: Robb , Sansa , Arya , Bran , and Rickon . Eddard's illegitimate son, Jon Snow , also lives alongside her trueborn children with Eddard in Winterfell . Catelyn resents this and it is the only source of friction between her and her husband.
A raven bears news of Jon Arryn's death to Winterfell , where Catelyn tells Eddard the bad news. She also tells him that King Robert Baratheon , and much of the royal court rides for Winterfell. Eddard realizes that Robert means to name him Hand of the King in Arryn's place, a prospect that does not thrill him.
As the royal court approaches Winterfell, Catelyn spots Bran's direwolf and remarks on how fast the direwolves grow. She catches Bran climbing Winterfell's walls and Bran is excited that he saw the king arriving. Catelyn scolds him, "How many times have I told you? No climbing!" and has Bran promise her that he'll stop. Bran bites his lip and promises. Catelyn softens and notices how Bran always looks at his feet when he lies. She tells Bran to run and tell his father that the king is close.
Littlefinger fetches Eddard to meet his wife. Lord Eddard is furious when he realizes he has been brought to a brothel. Thinking it is a bad joke, he assaults Baelish, and is stunned when Catelyn makes her presence known and tells him to stop. After hearing her news, he vows to find the truth and expose the Lannisters to Robert. Littlefinger agrees to be his ally in this, citing the affection he once bore Catelyn as a youngster. Despite a plea to her husband to see her two daughters, Ned emphasizes the danger of her duration, affectionately sending her back to Winterfell.
Catelyn finds Robb's army camped in the Westerlands. She interrupts him talking to Talisa Maegyr and warns him that he is not free to follow his heart. Roose Bolton brings troubling news from Winterfell; Theon Greyjoy has betrayed Robb and seized the lightly defended castle. Theon has taken both Bran and Rickon hostage. Robb denies Catelyn's request to treat with Theon and says that he will execute the traitor. Roose convinces Robb to let his bastard retake Winterfell.
Lord Roose Bolton delivers two messenger- raven missives, each of which brings bad news. First, Catelyn's father Hoster Tully has finally died after a long illness at his castle of Riverrun . Second, Roose delivers a letter from his bastard son Ramsay Snow , falsely stating that the Ironborn torched Winterfell and put all of its inhabitants to the sword, and then fled all before his force arrived there. There has been no sighting of Bran or Rickon, and though Robb hopes that they are still alive, there is a strong possibility that they are dead. Moreover, there has been no word of Theon, and if he took the boys captive the Greyjoys haven't sent out any demands. This double-blow reduces Catelyn to tears and she laments that she had not seen her father in years. She is horrified at the thought that Bran and Rickon were in danger while she was away and could not protect them, and are now likely dead.
At Riverrun in the Riverlands , the castle-seat of House Tully , the funeral of the recently deceased Lord Hoster Tully is held on the banks of the Red Fork of the Trident . In Catelyn's old chamber in the castle, she mourns with her uncle Brynden over her father's death. She asks him if he made peace with his older brother, whom he had been fighting with for the past thirty years. Brynden explains that he did: on his deathbed, Hoster told him to stop calling himself "the Blackfish" as it was a stupid joke created over thirty years ago by Brynden to symbolize his bad relationship with his older brother, and it wasn't very funny to begin with. Brynden emotionally laments that he's been calling himself "the Blackfish" of the Tully family for so long that he's practically forgotten his own name. Catelyn is happy that her uncle was able to make peace with her father before he passed, and is upset that she couldn't have been there. She reminisces that she watched from this window in her childhood whenever her father left, but now he won't be coming back. She tearfully wonders if her sons Bran and Rickon similarly watched for her return at Winterfell when she failed to arrive to save them. Brynden insists that neither he nor Robb have given up hope that the boys may be alive and in hiding, and urges her to be strong for Robb.
Eventually, Brienne catches up with Sansa sitting at an inn with Littlefinger. Although they are surrounded by guards, Brienne approaches them and reveals to Sansa that she swore an oath to Sansa's mother Catelyn to keep her safe, but doesn't mention her run-in with Arya in Baelish's presence. Baelish counters by telling Sansa that Brienne, a complete stranger, swore oaths to protect both Catelyn and Renly Baratheon and failed at both, which prompts Sansa to reject Brienne’s offer. Despite this second setback, Brienne remains steadfast in her pledge to Catelyn and continues to follow Sansa all the way back to Winterfell.
After Jon, Sansa and their allies retake Winterfell from the Boltons, Bran and Arya also return. As Brienne witnesses Catelyn's last three living children reunited, Podrick says that Catelyn would be proud of her since she kept her vow, though Brienne says she did next to nothing.
In contrast to the show, Ned does not want to become Robert's Hand, stating that his place is in Winterfell; Catelyn presses him to accept the office, claiming that a refusal will put them in great danger, and that he has to become the King's Hand in order to find out the truth of Jon Arryn's death. Ned is persuaded by her arguments, though reluctantly. Following Ned's death, Catelyn realizes he was right after all; she deeply regrets persuading him to act against his will, thinking that his death was her fault.
Brienne swears an oath of fealty to Catelyn, becoming her sworn sword. They travel back to Robb's camp in the Westerlands . Catelyn is devastated by news that her home Winterfell has been captured by the turncloak Theon and her sons made his captives. Robb, still in the midst of fighting for the Riverlands , plans to send word to a vassal in the North , the bastard of one of his commanders Roose Bolton , to free them and leaves to negotiate the surrender of the Crag .
Arya is wary and refuses, suspecting she is working for the Lannisters after the Hound points out the golden Lannister lion on Oathkeeper's hilt. He sneers that there is no safety for Arya, as all her adult relatives are either dead or captured, and Winterfell is a ruin. When the Hound cites that, if she is unaware that nowhere is safe then she is unfit to protect Arya, she retorts that he is embracing such a fact and protecting her anyway. Both warrior draw swords at this.
Brienne and Podrick finally reach Winterfell and take a room at a nearby inn in the winter town . Podrick muses that Sansa is home now, but Brienne counters that a Winterfell full of Boltons is hardly safe at all. When a servant comes to bring food, Brienne engages him. Although reluctant to trust southerners, the man listens to Brienne when she says she is sworn to Lady Catelyn and is impressed when she says that her death does not release her from her vows. Brienne then reveals that Sansa is in Winterfell and she needs the old man to get a message to her.
This is not possible because Jaime is laying siege to Riverrun. Brienne convinces Jaime to let her negotiate with the Blackfish so that Brynden and his men can leave the castle at night to travel to Winterfell. Before she leaves, she points out that, if she is unsuccessful, then she will be compelled by honor (to Sansa's family) to fight against Jaime. Jaime voices his hope that it does not come to that. She then offers Oathkeeper back to him, stating that it was given to her for a purpose, and that purpose has been fulfilled.
Brienne later tutors Podrick in the Winterfell courtyard rather sternly, but is struck by Podrick when Tormund appears and momentarily distracts her. Brienne punches Podrick to the ground without hurting him seriously and rebuffs Tormund's advances. She sees Petyr Baelish talking to Sansa on the ramparts and approaches Sansa, causing Baelish to leave. Still distrusting Baelish, Brienne asks Sansa why he is still at Winterfell. Sansa reveals that Baelish led the relief force that helped Jon Snow defeat Ramsay, though Brienne quips that Baelish is after something else.
She is also present during Jon's second meeting, at which he announces his departure to Dragonstone and Sansa's control over the North, delighting Brienne. After Bran returns to Winterfell, and reunites with Sansa, the two are reunited with a recently returned Arya in the godswood. They proceed back to Winterfell's castle courtyard together, Brienne and Podrick see them from afar, all three of Catelyn's surviving children reunited. Pod says Catelyn would be proud of Brienne, but she chides that she did next to nothing. Pod says he disagrees with "my lady", and Brienne starts to correct him that she does not consider herself a "lady," but then stops halfway and just thanks him for the compliment.
Brienne, Jaime, Jorah Mormont and Grey Worm lead the Northern and Targaryen forces to fight the dead in the open during the Battle of Winterfell but are quickly overwhelmed, Brienne herself being saved by Jaime during the initial onslaught. As they are forced to retreat into Winterfell, they try to fend off the wights trying to breach the walls of the castle. However, the undead army is obliterated with the death of the Night King at the hands of Arya.
Brienne never finds Sansa and thus does not travel to Winterfell to rescue her, nor does she kill Stannis. She does meet up with Jaime again while he is pacifying the Riverlands, but has no involvement in the siege of Riverrun . In the TV series, her storyline has been somewhat merged with that of Mance Rayder , who infiltrates Winterfell to rescue Arya from Ramsay (unaware that it is a disguised Jeyne Poole), although unlike Mance, Brienne ultimately does not enter Winterfell.
Jon recognizes Sandor from the latter's visit to Winterfell years ago, while Gendry openly distrusts the men of the Brotherhood. When Beric gives a speech claiming that the Lord of Light brought them together, a bored Sandor cuts him off and asks Jon if they are coming with them. Jon agrees and says they are all on the same side because they are still breathing. Sandor joins the rest of the Brotherhood, Jon, the wildlings (led by Tormund Giantsbane), Gendry, and Jorah Mormont , in leaving Eastwatch and traveling north of the Wall.
In preparation for the fight to come, Sandor goes up on the walls of the castle and drinks alone until he is approached by Arya, who asks him why someone like him, who is used to only fight for himself, has now joined a greater cause. Sandor recalls that he did fight for her once. They are then approached by Beric Dondarrion , who begins to speak about the Lord of Light before Sandor interrupts him, threatening to throw him off Winterfell's ramparts. Once Arya is gone, Sandor remains drinking with Beric while waiting for the battle to begin.
During the Battle of Winterfell , Sandor is initially on the frontline of the infantry, which falls under attack after the Dothraki cavalry was eliminated by the wights. Sandor fights off many wights but is forced to retreat with the rest of his troops as there are far too many enemies. Sandor is left distraught when the trench is set on fire, which causes his pyrophobia to resurface to the point that he refuses to fight any longer, claiming to Beric that they cannot defeat death. However, Sandor musters the courage to resume the fight upon seeing Arya struggling against a group of wights.
There were a few times when the Hound showed compassion: he offered Sansa to take her back to Winterfell, which she declines; during the Hand's Tourney, to stop his brother (a man he hates beyond any calculation) from needlessly butchering Loras; in respect of Arya, despite having initially a captor-prisoner relationship, he becomes protective and even trusting of Arya, implying a significant bond has grown between them, and this is reflected later on when Arya tells the Waif that she had taken him off of her list. During the Battle of Winterfell, he immediately goes to save Arya.
During the War of the Five Kings , Winterfell is seized by the Starks' enemies, first by the Ironborn , and later by the Boltons. Eventually the Starks liberate Winterfell. In the subsequent Great War , Winterfell is the site of the great battle between the Army of the Dead and the Starks and their allies.
After word reaches Robb that his father has been arrested in King's Landing, he calls the armies of all the Northern bannermen. Robb departs Winterfell to lead his army to war in the south and leaves Bran in charge as acting lord of Winterfell.
House Greyjoy invades the North . The treacherous Theon captures Winterfell . Theon's men turn against him and hand him over to the Boltons. After killing the Ironborn, Ramsay Snow orders to destroy Winterfell . The castle is put to the torch and most of her people to the sword, with few if any survivors. All of the wooden parts of the castle are burned out, though the core stone structures remain intact.
Robb Stark, who is at Harrenhal at this point in time, receives word of the destruction of Winterfell at the hands of the Ironborn, not knowing it was actually the Boltons who secretly committed the act. Following the Red Wedding , Roose Bolton intends to relocate to Winterfell.
The combined armies of the living prepare the defenses of Winterfell against the oncoming army of the dead. The White Walkers soon arrive in the night with their army of the dead, leading to a great battle . As a result of this battle, Many battlements were destroyed, along with many of the gates and one of the walls, as well as some damage to the towers. The tombs in the crypts beneath Winterfell also received due to the dead inside bursting out to attack the living.
For the television series, a variety of locations were used to create Winterfell as it appears on screen. For the pilot, Doune Castle in Scotland was used for some exterior shots and the great feast held when King Robert Baratheon and his party arrive. Castle Ward in County Down , Northern Ireland was used for the scenes of sparring in Winterfell's castle yard and the arrival of Robert's party at Winterfell's gates. The rest of the castle, including the other interiors and the scenes involving Bran climbing the walls, were filmed as interiors at the Paint Hall studio facility in Belfast . For the first season itself, Castle Ward was the principal filming location for the Winterfell scenes. Doune Castle was not revisited. One of the only full scenes from Doune Castle to survive from the pilot is the scene in the crypts of Winterfell when Eddard and Robert visit Lyanna's grave. All subsequent appearances of the Winterfell crypts from Season 2 onward were filmed in the cellars of Shane's Castle in Northern Ireland.
As of the end of Season 5, Winterfell is one of three locations (the others being King's Landing and Castle Black /the Wall ) to be featured in every opening credits sequence, regardless as to whether the location is actually visited in the episode (this includes Season 3 and virtually all of Season 4 during which Winterfell is never visited nor seen at all).
As explained in the Blu-ray commentary, the main Winterfell set was greatly expanded in Season 5. The original sets from Seasons 1 and 2 primarily consisted of the outer courtyard, the feast hall, and one interior bedroom which could be redressed (for Eddard and Catelyn's room, Bran's room, etc.), but otherwise there wasn't an extensive interconnected interior set. For Season 5, the production team constructed a complex of staircases, corridors and bedrooms, all added on top of the existing courtyard and feast hall.
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Winterfell is a huge castle complex spanning several acres, consisting of two massive walls with a ditch between them and a village located just outside. The complex consists of many buildings and keeps, some ancient and decrepit, some in good repair. According to legend, Winterfell was built by Bran the Builder eight thousand years ago.
The crypts underneath Winterfell are massive - larger than the entire castle complex above ground. This is a testament to just how long the Starks have held Winterfell: according to tradition, there should be eight thousand years' worth of tombs in the crypts. According to tradition, while all Stark family members are buried in the crypts, statues are only made for those who were head of House Stark (either as kings or later as lords). There have been some exceptions over the generations, and Eddard himself had statues made at the tombs of his older brother Brandon and his sister Lyanna. The most ancient tombs are in the lower levels, and the more current ones closer to the surface. Many of the lower levels are half-collapsed and unexplored. With their vast size and lack of active use, it is quite easy for someone to hide in the crypts for weeks or even months at a time, as Bran, Rickon, and their followers did during the Sack of Winterfell, provided that they bring sufficient supplies with them. According to legend, when the infamous wildling rogue Bael the Bard seduced the daughter of a Stark lord, they hid out in the crypts for nearly a year undetected, long enough that when the daughter one day reappeared in her chambers she had with her the infant son that she had with Bael.
Dorne is one of the nine constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms . It is the southernmost part of the continent of Westeros , located thousands of miles from Winterfell and the North , and has a harsh desert climate. The Dornishmen are ethnically distinct from the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, being largely descended from Rhoynar refugees who intermarried with the local population of Andals and First Men roughly a thousand years ago. As a result, they have very different customs and traditions compared to the other regions of Westeros.
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Harrenhal is a colossal castle consisting of five massive towers (the Tower of Dread, the Widow's Tower, the Wailing Tower, the Tower of Ghosts, and the Kingspyre) and immense walls. It occupies three times as much land area as Winterfell , though the buildings are far larger. Its godswood spans 20 acres, its stables hold a thousand horses, and its kitchens are as large as Winterfell's great hall. The main hall contains some 30 hearths.
Osha , one of the wildlings taken prisoner at Winterfell, reveals to the Stark household that she and her companions were fleeing South to escape the Walkers. She also reveals the Walkers are nocturnal and sleep in the day and hunt at night. When her words are dismissed by Maester Luwin due to the belief the Walkers are long dead, she reveals that they were only sleeping and "they're not sleeping now."
Following the Breaching of the Wall , Jon Snow called for the remaining members of the Night's Watch to come to Winterfell to help defend against the Night King and the Army of the Dead , since the Wall no longer serves any defensive purpose. With the extinction of the White Walkers in the Battle of Winterfell , the Watch's purpose has been fulfilled, but continues to serve as a quarantine for the banished, poor and unfortunate.