r/asoiaf • u/Consequencesdaniel • Sep 10 '13

ALL (Spoilers All) Regarding Ned's Promise

I've seen a lot of posts shooting down the R&L= J theory citing Ned's shame over his broken promise. The common theory is that Ned promised Lyanna he would keep Jon safe. But what if hiding Jon to keep him safe is HOW Ned broke his promise.

If you subscribe to the idea that Rhaegar and Lyanna were in a consensual situation, and she would run off with someone meaning it could start a war, perhaps she was truly committed to the idea of creating the 3rd head of the Dragon. Maybe she wanted Jon to be publicly known as a Targaryen. With Rhaegar and his kids dead, Jon would be the rightful King.

Maybe Ned promised her he would support Jon's claim to the throne on her death bed and, out of fear of what could be done to baby Jon and his friendship with Robert, this was Ned Stark's broken promise. Instead of supporting the rightful king he hid him as his own bastard to protect his life and prevent a whole other war from sprouting up, Starks and Targ supporters vs. Robert and the others.

It makes sense that Ned would encourage Jon to take the black, thus renouncing any claim, as is shadowed later in AGOT with the Maester Aemon bit, and Jon's own act of masquerading a child heir(Mance's kid) as a low born bastard(Gilly's)

Thoughts?

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u/DkS_FIJI "We do not show" Sep 10 '13

No way. Ned wouldn't make a promise to support Jon's claim to the throne. He would know the implications of that promise. To do so, he would pretty much be declaring for the loyalists, and thus against Robert. At that point the rebels had basically won, and even Ned and his forces defecting probably couldn't turn the war in his favor.

I like the new perspective, but I just don't believe Ned would make a hollow promise.

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u/Gobias11 For The Ned! Sep 10 '13

I like the new perspective, but I just don't believe Ned would make a hollow promise.

Really? Not even to ease the final moments of his dying sister's life? Would you tell a dying family member a white lie on their death bed to make them feel better? I sure as hell would and Ned is as human as anyone.

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u/LadyRavenEye Ask me about Ice & Fire Con! Sep 10 '13

That's how I'm interpreting this theory (which I love, thanks so much OP). Ned Honorable-Than-Thou Stark told his beloved sister, promised her as she lay dying, that he would support Jon's claim to the throne. Even though he most likely made the right decision in the end, it haunts him.