Game Of Thrones: 10 Things From The TV Show That WON'T Be In The Winds Of Winter

In The Show:

Rickon Stark, along with his savage direwolf Shaggydog, splits up from Bran and co after the fall of Winterfell in season 2, and heads off with Osha to find sanctuary with the Umbers at The Last Hearth.

This turns out to be a poor decision, however, with Smalljon Umber later betraying them all to Ramsay Bolton and executing Shaggydog for good measure. The heinous Ramsay dangles Rickon as bait during the Battle of the Bastards, luring Jon Snow into charging into the open field in an attempt to save his youngest sibling, before filling Rickon full of arrows.

Infuriated viewers had screamed at Rickon to try a simple zig-zag, but their cries went unheeded.

Why It WON’T Happen In Winds:

For starters, book-Osha opts not to take Rickon to The Last Hearth with the Umbers, perhaps unconvinced as to the protection they could provide. Instead, she decides that the island of Skagos, famed for its native cannibals, would be a far safer haven.

In A Dance With Dragons, Davos Seaworth is dispatched by Lord Wyman Manderly to retrieve Rickon from the treacherous isle so as to challenge the Boltons and their ill-gained claim over Winterfell. Exactly what Davos will discover when he gets there is unknown, but it’s hard to see Rickon finding his way into Ramsay’s clutches at this point.

Rickon Stark doesn’t have much of a story in either medium, truth be told, but it’ll still be quite a shame if he resurfaces after being absent for so long only to be immediately killed.