Rickon Stark
This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. (October 2022) |
Rickon Stark | |
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A Song of Ice and Fire character Game of Thrones character | |
First appearance |
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Last appearance |
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Created by | House Stark |
Relatives |
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Origin | Winterfell, The North |
Rickon Stark is a fictional character in the
Character description
Rickon is the fifth and youngest child of
Storylines
Novels
Rickon Stark is not a point of view character in the novels and is mostly a background character.[4] His actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of his older brother, Bran.
A Game of Thrones
In
A Clash of Kings
Following Ned's death, Rickon is largely unsupervised as Robb and Catelyn leave for war and his sisters are held captive at King's Landing in 1998's
A Dance with Dragons
In
Family tree of House Stark
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Notes:
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TV adaptation
Rickon Stark is played by
In an interview with IGN, Parkinson spoke about his return and death, saying: "Whenever I was told that I was coming back for Season 6, before they sent me through the scripts and stuff, they sent me through a ring just to say, 'Listen, so that you don't get a shock whenever you read the scripts, just know that you die this season.'"[12] He continued, "Whenever I came back, I was excited to come back, and the scenes all seemed pretty amazing. I was so happy to re-embrace the character."[12]
Parkinson has said that his fellow castmember
Remarking on the character's exit and death:
It was sad at first, but once I realized how I was going to die in it, then it was cool. It was a cool death, and it was always going to be a good death, so at the same time, I was pretty happy.[12]
Season 1–3
Rickon Stark is Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn's youngest child, naturally aggressive, and strong-willed. His black direwolf Shaggydog shares these qualities. When Theon Greyjoy captures Winterfell in Season 2, Rickon hides in the crypts with Bran, Hodor, and the Wildling woman Osha. After Theon can't seem to find where Rickon and Bran are, he has two farm boys killed and burned, to pass their charred bodies off as the Stark boys'. After Winterfell is sacked and burned, Rickon, Bran, Hodor, Osha, and the direwolves travel through the North.[15] In Season 3 before they reach the Wall, Rickon, Osha, and Shaggydog split up from the rest of the group and head to Last Hearth, the seat house of the Umbers.[16]
Season 6
Following Lord Greatjon Umber's death, Rickon and Osha are betrayed by Greatjon's heir Smalljon and handed over to the new Warden of the North, Ramsay Bolton, in order to secure an alliance with the Boltons against the wildlings Jon Snow has let through the Wall. To prove Rickon's identity, Smalljon kills Shaggydog and presents his head to Ramsay. Ramsay kills Osha, locks Rickon in the dungeons, and sends a letter to Jon at Castle Black demanding the return of Sansa Stark (his wife) and threatening to kill Rickon if Jon does not comply. In retaliation, Jon gathers an army of Stark loyalists and marches on Winterfell, now occupied by House Bolton.[17]
As the armies prepare for battle outside Winterfell, Ramsay brings out Rickon and orders him to run to Jon in one of his sadistic "games", shooting arrows at Rickon in order to lure Jon into the open. Jon charges out to save Rickon, but Rickon is shot through the heart and dies almost instantly.[18] In the aftermath of the ensuing battle, Rickon's body is recovered, and Jon buries him in the crypt, alongside Ned's remains.[19]
Because many Northern noble houses were plotting against the Boltons in the books, the show's decision to have them betray Rickon led to fan theories that the direwolf head Smalljon Umber showed to Ramsay was fake and the Umbers would turn on the Boltons. Parkinson dispelled the rumours, confirming the direwolf head was intended to be real.[20][13][17] Rickon's death scene referenced his first appearance in the series pilot, where he laughs at Bran's poor archery shot before handing off arrows to the archer and running to stand by the target.[21]
References
- ^ "Game of Thrones Cast and Crew: Rickon Stark played by Art Parkinson". HBO. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
- ^ a b Game of Thrones, Chapter 19: Jon II.
- ^ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 28: Bran IV.
- ^ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 16: Bran II.
- ^ Game of Thrones, Chapter 14: Catelyn II.
- ^ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 46: Bran V.
- ^ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 69: Bran VI.
- ^ Martin, George R. R. (September 29, 2010). "News on the HBO Series". livejournal.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
- ^ "Game of Thrones: Cast". HBO. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
- ^ "Art Parkinson Confirms Rickon, Osha Still AWOL". winteriscoming.net. 6 October 2014. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
- New Zealand Herald. AAP. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d Schwartz, Terri (June 21, 2016). "Game of Thrones: Art Parkinson Reflects on Rickon Stark". IGN. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- ^ The Huffington Post. Archivedfrom the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ^ a b Mendelsohn, Tom (May 10, 2016). "Game of Thrones: Actor Art Parkinson discusses Rickon Stark's surprising return to our screens". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ^ Swift, Andy (May 21, 2012). "'Game Of Thrones' Recap: The Stark Boys' Fates Are Revealed". Hollywoodlife. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ^ Collins, Sean (June 3, 2013). "'Game of Thrones' Recap: Red, Red, Red". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ^ a b Shepherd, Jack (May 11, 2016). "Game of Thrones season 6 episode 3: Rickon Stark actor confirms fate of Shaggydog". The Independent. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ^ Haysom, Sam (June 21, 2016). "'Game of Thrones' star sums up all our thoughts about his character in 1 simple tweet". Mashable. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ^ Hibberd, James (June 19, 2016). "Game of Thrones recap: 'Battle of the Bastards'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
- ^ Wigler, Josh (May 9, 2016). "'Game of Thrones' Star on His Surprising Season 6 Comeback". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ Hooton, Christopher (July 1, 2016). "The Game of Thrones moment you missed that makes Rickon Stark's death even more cruel". The Independent. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
Bibliography
- Martin, George R. R. (1996). Game of Thrones (UK ed.). Voyager Books. ISBN 0-00-224584-1.
- Martin, George R. R. (1998). A Clash of Kings (UK ed.). Voyager Books. ISBN 0-00-224585-X.