u/TattooBubbleGum

Hivi miaka ya nyuma si ilifutwa hii kuchapa watoto (especially girls) fimbo za makalio? Or is it just something ilikua ikisikika mitaani na sio government kusema?

[SPOILERS SEASON 1)

I just came from the other post asking about the most tragic death in GoT and like any other post like this Ned Stark’s death is usually up there. We often only talk about the "Stark tragedy", “ how honorable he was” “how stupid he was” but today it struck me that the Stark children were essentially (and instantly) robbed of the right to grieve their father. In Westeros (or anywhere really), grief is sadly a luxury afforded to only those who aren't being hunted. The Starks were!

The moment Ned’s head hit the floor, his children ceased to be children and became political assets, fugitives, or soldiers:

Robb didn't get to grieve his dad; he had to put on a crown and lead an army. His "grief" was channeled entirely into a war effort. Even his decisions were never about honoring Ned’s memory it was all tactical survival.

Sansa had to mourn in secret while literally staring at her father’s head on a spike. She had to adapt her entire personality to please the people who killed him. For her, showing grief was a death sentence. I don’t know how she did it

Arya turned her grief into a list of names. She became a killer. She even became "No One" because being Ned Stark’s daughter was too dangerous. Being female, in that era, that young and in that specific situation is too hard for me to fathom.

Bran and Rickon were forced out of their home and into the wilderness. Their childhood ended so abruptly that their father became a distant memory now replaced by the immediate need for heat, food, and safety. Basic needs!

Even their mother —who arguably felt the loss most than any —had to spend her widowhood managing a rebellious army and trying to trade her daughters for her son. Oh Catelyn

The Starks never had a funeral. They never had a moment to sit and process the loss of the man who their love for him was so pure and true than any other family in GoT(in my opinion). Even worse they didn’t even get to run together -everyone was on their own.

By the time they finally reunited, they were such different, hardened people. Their once close bond seemed distant and even irreparable. The reunion itself was probably a survival tactic

Does it bother anyone else that they never got that closure?

TLDR; The saddest part of Ned’s death is that his family never got to mourn him