THE SPOILERS ARE COMING, THE SPOILERS ARE COMING!
Game of Thrones Season 6 is a mere few months away, and as I’m sure you’re aware, we were recently treated to three mini-teasers with voice-overs from three different actors, one for each of three great Westerosi Houses. Let’s take a closer look at the teaser for House Stark.
Now, why would HBO choose to show the tattered banner of House Stark on what appears to be the battlements of Winterfell, with the voice of Ramsay Bolton telling some mysterious someone that “Winterfell is mine, come and see,” when Ramsay is a Bolton and not a Stark? Is this some sort of misdirection? Of course it is. Spoilers have it that Season 6 will climax with an epic showdown between Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton, unofficially dubbed the Battle of the Bastards. I think Ramsay’s claims will set the stage for that conflict.
Let’s take a look at something from A Dance with Dragons that I believe is directly referenced in Ramsay’s little speech: the Bastard Letter, or the Pink Letter:
"Your false king is dead, bastard. He and all his host were smashed in seven days of battle. I have his magic sword. Tell his red whore.Your false king’s friends are dead. Their heads upon the walls of Winterfell. Come see them, bastard. Your false king lied, and so did you. You told the world you burned the King-Beyond-the-Wall. Instead you sent him to Winterfell to steal my bride from me.I will have my bride back. If you want Mance Rayder back, come and get him. I have him in a cage for all the north to see, proof of your lies. The cage is cold, but I have made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell.I want my bride back. I want the false king’s queen. I want his daughter and his red witch. I want this wildling princess. I want his little prince, the wildling babe. And I want my Reek. Send them to me, bastard, and I will not trouble you or your black crows. Keep them from me, and I will cut out your bastard’s heart and eat it.Ramsay Bolton, Trueborn Lord of Winterfell."
Notice the bolded “come see.” I believe this is an altered part of the Bastard Letter that will make its way into the show. With both Stannis and Mance dead on TV, they’ll probably be left off the letter. We’re not entirely if Ramsay caught wind of what Stannis did to Shireen, but in the likely event he did, she’ll be left off, too. You can also cross off Mance’s force of spearwives, as they have never existed on the show.
So, I could see the Battle of the Bastards, or as I like to call it, Bastard Bowl 2016, kicking off with the show’s version of the Bastard Letter, which might look a little something like this:
"Your false king is dead, bastard. He and all his host were smashed in seven hours of battle. I have his magic sword. Tell his red whore.Your false king’s friends are dead. Their heads upon the walls of Winterfell. Winterfell is mine, come and see.I want my bride back, and I want my Reek. I want the false king’s red witch. Send them to me, bastard, and I will not trouble you or your black crows. Keep them from me, and I will cut out your bastard’s heart and eat it.Ramsay Bolton, Trueborn Lord of Winterfell"
Jon and Ramsay are going to have to meet on the field of battle, and only one will emerge victorious. The Battle of the Bastards has the potential to be as big as “Hardhome” and “Blackwater”—we could be in for a “The Watchers on the Wall” type episode…and wouldn’t that be a treat?
Game of Thrones Season 6 is coming, and the Battle of the Bastards is coming with it.