A Song of Ice and Fire is a fandom that is stuffed full of theories about what has happened over the course of the series as well as what will happen in the future. In part, this is because there is so much material for people to pour over, meaning that it provides rich grounds for speculation. However, the significant wait times between books should be noted as well, meaning that often, fans don’t have much to do besides mulling old material some more. Given the surge of interest in A Song of Ice and Fire from Game of Thrones, it should come as no surprise to learn that some of the most outlandish theories are sometimes dug out of the fandom for mining new material.
What Are the Theories for Ned’s Survival in ASOIAF?
There is a wide range of outlandish theories that can be found in the A Song of Ice and Fire fandom, with examples ranging from Rhaegar being Mance Rayder to Howland Reed being the High Septon. However, one of the most entertaining is the idea that Ned Stark somehow managed to survive his execution in spite of the fact that it was witnessed by hundreds and hundreds of people.
In brief, the theory is that the Faceless Man who calls himself Jaqen H’ghar was paid off so that he would be executed in place of Ned Stark, who was in the Black Cells wearing Jaqen H’gar’s face until Syrio Forel switched places with him so that he would be in the Black Cells when the Night’s Watch came recruiting, thus explaining why he and Jaqen H’ghar speak the same phrases. Of course, this is far from being the sole theory about Ned’s survival, as shown by another example suggesting that he managed to skinchange at the moment of his execution.
Is This Plausible or Not?
Simply put, we have no reason to believe that a Faceless Man can be paid off to assume someone else’s place for their execution. After all, the Faceless Men are not motivated by cash so much as their faith in a God of Death, meaning that such a mission would run counter to their most important beliefs. Furthermore, no one in King’s Landing with the exception of Littlefinger expected Joffrey to call for Ned’s execution because the plan was to neutralize the North by having him confess to treason before sending him to the Wall, meaning that no one would have had the chance to call for a Faceless Man even if that had been an option.
As for Syrio, his fate seems rather simple and straightforward even though it is never seen in either the books or the TV show. After all, A Song of Ice and Fire is a setting in which the three greatest knights of their age died against seven men at the Tower of Joy, so it should not be unusual for a single man with a broken wooden sword to have fallen in combat against a fully-armed and armored knight as well as numerous Lannister soldiers. Furthermore, the theory explains nothing about why Syrio would consent to switch places with Ned, while its explanation for why he speaks the same phrases as Jaqen H’ghar is wholly unnecessary. After all, both Syrio and the Faceless Men come from the Free City of Braavos, so of course they would have cultural similarities.
Regarding the second theory, it is possible but at the same time, it is meaningless. In brief, there seems to be a bloodline-based component to skin-changing, so when all of the Stark children are skin-changers, it is not impossible for Ned to have had that talent as well, though never used to the same extent. However, even if he had skin-changed into an animal at the moment of his execution, that is meaningless because we know what happens to skin-changers who skin-changes into animals when their human bodies die, which is to say, their consciousness vanishes at a rapid pace because animals aren’t meant to host human minds.
Finally, it should be noted that Ned’s survival makes no sense whatsoever from a storytelling perspective. It serves no purpose whatsoever. Instead, it destroys Ned’s character as depicted in the books and TV show by raising serious questions about where he has been while his family suffered. As a result, the most sensible conclusion is that theories of his survival are implausible at best, meaning that they shouldn’t be trusted unless new material comes out with shocking revelations.
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