What is hidden in Winterfell Crypts?

[@os8856]

What is hidden there? The manuscripts of the winds of winter 😢

[@VivaCubaRoja]

Even the three-eyed crow doesn't know where those manuscripts are.

[@Mcelly58]

The copy of Branden Stark’s mixtape

[@JoeKurr619]

😐😐😐😐

[@katleinzimmerman8783]

scripts lost in the crypts 😭

[@lburrsshinyhunts2253]

Maybe they burned with Winterfell

[@michaellee4276]

Brandon Stark likely died moments after his Father Rickard died. So him having a statue as a former Lord is appropriate. (having inherited the position for several seconds)

[@matthewparker9276]

Iirc aerys killed Brandon and his friends and made their fathers watch.

[@eric2500]

As the heir, he would have whatever secret the Starks knew that was parallel to Aegon's prophecy vision for the Targs...

[@pedrojorge1912]

Brandon strangled himself as he tried to reach his sword to save Rickard, that was slowly being "cooked" by Aerys' pyromancers. In the way Jaime describes the scene to Catelyn in ACOK, I had the impression that Brandon must have died before Rickard, although the text isn't clear about the order: _(...) When the fire was blazing, Brandon was brought in. His hands were chained behind his back, and around his neck was a wet leathern cord attached to a device the king had brought from Tyrosh. His legs were left free, though, and his longsword was set down just beyond his reach._ _The pyromancers roasted Lord Rickard slowly, banking and fanning that fire carefully to get a nice even heat. His cloak caught first, and then his surcoat, and soon he wore nothing but metal and ashes. Next he would start to cook, Aerys promised… unless his son could free him. Brandon tried, but the more he struggled, the tighter the cord constricted around his throat. In the end he strangled himself._ _As for Lord Rickard, the steel of his breastplate turned cherry-red before the end, and his gold melted off his spurs and dripped down into the fire. I stood at the foot of the Iron Throne in my white armor and white cloak, filling my head with thoughts of Cersei (...)_

[@theesundancekid]

I thought he was saying there was a statue of Benjen down there and I was like wtf

[@WinterfellCrypts]

There's nothing inside me. I swear.

[@smokedravioli3208]

only one way to be sure😈

[@maylabrown4584]

Not yet 👹

[@Gojira-vb2py]

In deep geek for sure

[@kyleschan3451]

Oh no he's dead inside! Must be a wight!

[@Edwin-iw8gb]

​@@maylabrown4584😂

[@ingloriuspumpkinpie9367]

Is Robb getting a statue in the crypts?He is definitively deserving of one.

[@SSquirrel1976]

Considering the Starks don't control Winterfell currently in the books, and we have no idea what was done w/his bones, we are probably a long way from there being a statue of him. He will end up down there eventually tho, esp if Sansa ends up as the ruler of a new separated North.

[@pathutchison7688]

Yea yea yea. I’m working on the statue. It’s just I have all these other spin off statues, and I’m famous now and I’m always going between kings landing and the free cities for feasts in my honor. I’m also morbidly obese and obscenely rich.… I’ll finish the statue some time in 2025.

[@JLchevz]

Surely yes

[@retriever19golden55]

Where are Robb's bones? And Grey Wind's?

[@retriever19golden55]

​@@pathutchison7688 Best comment!

[@ewokpants4891]

It could simply be due to the Night King's actions, that part of the crypt was never maintained or blocked off intentionally to erase him from history - as a narrative tool it works to prevent in-world people from having access to evidence that would otherwise reveal solid truths about the Stark house origins from the Age of Heroes (one of the many mysteries Martin intends to remain so)

[@BeteBlanc]

I'm going to disagree with one point. It's Jon who says he doesn't belong. The statues are menacing and we interpret it as a rejection of his being there. This interpretation is based in other theory about his parents. The menace of the statues could be founded in his own belief he doesn't belong there, or it could be them upset because he's questioning it and they don't want him to leave. He's not told to get out, he's possessed by a feeling he has to keep going. In a strange way it mirrors Dany's dream of running through a Hall of kings. The statues may be ready to prevent his leaving, or are urging him deeper. Be careful you don't let assuming prevent you from considering other reasonable motives the way Mel does.

[@JLchevz]

Vermax leaving Dragon's eggs in Winterfell is likely yet another hint at Jon's parentage. Rhaegar, a dragon, had a baby with Lyanna who was from Winterfell, and now Jon was there at the beginning of the books. Jon is the dragon egg.

[@Alexandre_Juliao]

As a Brazilian, this tale about the Night Queen makes me wonder, if G.R.R. Martin knows the story of Inês de Castro, the Corpse Queen of Portugal. I won't retell it here, but is a story that wouldn't be out of place in "Song of Ice and Fire". It even gave rise to an old saying: "Inês is dead now", meaning something that is over for good, and there is no turning back. Which isn't a very accurate anology, since Inês story didn't end when she died.

[@wumbojet]

I know George based a lot of the story on English history with sprinklings of Greek history for the historical aspects of the world, but it wouldn't surprise me if he used other European country's stories.

[@SweetheartQuest]

possibly most of what he has wrote he just based it off real events and real people very very little of GoT was imagined by him its sort of a fantasy retelling of human history mainly european

[@wumbojet]

@SweetheartQuest yeah no, only the vague political situations and other winks and nods are taken from history, they're all massaged and twisted enough to not be 1:1

[@Wolfeson28]

I really like the theory of Rhaegar's harp being hidden in Lyanna's statue. Most of what I've seen about this comes from a series of blog posts I read years ago (sadly, I cannot remember the poster's name), but it was very well though-out stuff. Rhaegar's harp is something of a Chekov's Gun, because it is mentioned almost every time Rhaegar is brought up, by multiple different characters, and the harp itself is consistently described as unique - either "silver-stringed" or simply "silver". It does, as mentioned here, seem to simply fall out of the narrative - there is, for example, no mention of it being taken as a trophy following the Battle of the Trident. But the other logical place for it to have been left is at the Tower of Joy, where Ned could certainly have found it and brought it back to Winterfell along with Lyanna's bones. It would be both thematically and practically perfect to hide the harp in Lyanna's tomb/statue - it would be safe from Robert ever finding it, and it would be exactly where Jon might eventually go to find out about his parentage. Plus, there's the symbolism that Jon "has a song" due to his parentage. As Rhaegar himself is seen saying in one of Dany's visions "he has a song, his is the song of ice and fire". Rhaegar was talking about his son Aegon in that vision, but it seems virtually certain that Jon - Rhaegar's child with a Stark, and thus literally a son of ice and fire - is actually who that song would pertain to. So the well-known musical instrument of Jon's true father would be a perfect symbol to reveal Jon's true parentage to him.

[@Akuma2584]

IMO there must allways be a Stark in Winterfell to stop the Ice Queen's magic. That's why Winterfell was swallowed by snow when the starks left, they keep the Crypt collapsed because the Ice Queen is still "alive" and trapped down there. The others are coming to free her and that is where Jon will have his big prophesized fight and win and die wich will lead into a dream of spring. All of this is just headcannon of course!

[@sleepingbee8997]

Oooh, that's a good theory. I like it!

[@MiljaHahto]

But why would they have buried the Ice Queen there?

[@Akuma2584]

@MiljaHahto since it’s all built by Brandon the builder like the Wall, maybe it has the same magic working to trap her down there. There were no dragon glass weapons or Valiryan steel swords back then to kill her with so they trapped her there and let it be a problem for the future generations should the Stark loose Winterfell and thereby break the spell.

[@saleembarmania5295]

Robert Deep of House Geek.

[@taureansynner6993]

The rightful King of the Fantasy World 🙂

[@firstneosapiens]

Robert Geek of House Deep.

[@firstneosapiens]

Geek Deep of House Robert

[@no_nameyouknow]

Really enjoying this series deep dive on the Stark family. This is great stuff, I've been a fan of your channel for a while now but you have outdone yourself with these. Kudos!

[@timmyruzicka7860]

I think there is Bran the Builder and other old Stark greenseer kings, hooked up to the weirwood roots Bloodraven style and being kept alive by the weirwood blood sacrifaces in the godswood. After thousands of years, they turned to stone, but might be still active in the spiritual realm... and oh boy am I interested in what they want to tell Jon.

[@Dani_1012]

I see Jon having vivid visions just like Daenerys had inside Drogo's Pyre of the Emperors of the Great Empire of the Dawn, but he could have visions from the past Kings of Winter or even from more ancient beings from the Age of Heroes or older

[@carlrood4457]

I know it was fairly simultaneous, but it's possible Brandon died AFTER Rickard and would technically have been lord for those few seconds/minutes.

[@akiramasashi9317]

The *real* scripts of everything post season 4 are hidden in there.

[@DashingPirate]

One day Dumb & Dumber will confirmed that seasons 5-8 were written by AI.

[@akiramasashi9317]

@@DashingPirate I think an AI might've done a better job. Even a first-gen one.

[@brettwentworth8351]

I’m sorry guys I have to come clean. I’m in the winterfell crypts. I’ve been trapped in writing purgatory for eons please save me

[@MrBlitsBlits]

The crypts are a feeding field for the wearwoods to power themselves and power the wall and the defences of winterfel. Kings blood is powerful.

[@Lucifer_Abysseum]

i really love this series ! It makes me very interested in the lore around Winterfell, and all those theories are definitely intriguing. The crypts being more than they seem, the heart of Winterfell and the heart of the falling winter, all that, its so eerie.

[@merkeljohn]

As I am about to watch a NJ Devils hockey game, it strikes me that they are named for the Jersey Devil, a local cryptid, who was “rumored to be the 13th child of a local woman…” in GRRM’s home state of NJ. Never thought to link that with the 13th lord commander of the watch, but it’s definitely a story and legend GRRM would have know.

[@rodchallis8031]

Didn't expect to find another hockey fan here.... hmmm..... I wonder if there's a link between my ability to be a Leaf fan, and my ability to still be patiently awaiting Winds....

[@planyourlifetoday1269]

I always thought the closed off parts would be like Bloodraven’s cave, where the early Starks have merged with the weirwood roots

[@conniesuper9892]

Thank you for your work over the years!If we never get WoW,you and other very talented content creators are keeping the heart beating for ASOIAF and the great love for the story we've shared all these years. Have a Happy New Year 😊 Many thanks,sir!❤

[@taidee]

Robert, the master at work, and what a wonderful job you’re doing, thank you

[@genlob]

I think GRRM has already told us what's beneath Winterfell - a CotF tree town, like High Heart, Storm's End and Blood Raven's cave. The old Stark spirits are just like the dreamers Bran sees in the cave, trapped in petrified weirwoods. This is where it all started and where it will all end.

[@jordanvickaryous-remenda876]

I've been enjoying this series!

[@GeoffBrown-rg7yq]

Excellent........ Back to normal..... 👍👍👍

[@imtired6104]

Thank you for these videos, very intriguing!

[@DudeManDude-ot5fv]

What if the night king is still alive down there and they collapsed to trap him in there and started putting swords on the tombs to prevent the night king from raising them from the dead?

[@earthknight60]

People need to stop saying that Jon is not a Stark. He is a Stark, that's literally half his parentage.

[@Dani_1012]

You're right, though I've noticed bastards are rarely acknowledged as either parentage most like due to shame from legitimate family and social stigma

[@humzakhalid7902]

ive always thought of the "giant snake breathing fire" or what ever bran says he sees through summers eyes is just a tower or winterfell collapsing after burning to the core, the wolves dont have a real grasp of what they see as mans doing...so the sight of a pillar of smoke and dust rising out of a falling tower and the fire being blown out of the top as it falls can be seen as that in summers eyes

[@allendilen8260]

It's obvious, Strong belwas!

[@chadbailey3623]

I think the collapsed section may be to block a tunnel that leads from the bottom of the Winterfell crypts to somewhere north. It could be that the Others bypassed the Wall to invade Winterfell (maybe aided by Night’s King).

[@Dani_1012]

Ooooh I've never heard of this possibility before, I like it

[@lars_travolta]

Rhaenyra did send 4 eggs away so we're missing a dragon I think!

[@WarrenEBB]

I'm guessing it will turn out the Others are exiles from the Winterfell Crypts. agreeing to stay north of the wall in exchange for something. Perhaps in exchange for a Stark always being there to rule. If John's ultimate end is to wander up north of the wall - it would have a nice symmetry if the starks of old also agreed to leave winterfell and stay north of the wall.

[@ghostdreamer7272]

But why were they disturbing things before the Starks left, like in the prologue? There is definitely some connection, though.

[@carlrood4457]

I suspect there's a tunnel to The WALL. It's probably meant to be a fallback position for the Night's Watch.

[@mikedunlock]

Another video about the crypts? I dig it

[@Reepicheep-1]

Nay, they dug it.

[@mikedunlock]

@@Reepicheep-1 nice :)

[@MrNicoJac]

I hope that when GRRM inevitably dies, his editors and agents still publish whatever scraps they have. At least we'd get _some_ closure about what he was intending.

[@laurelinepierre7742]

I think there are tunnels down there. Connecting Winterfell to a vast network of underground tunnels such as the ones in Moletown, under the wall, etc. And they blocked the access to stop something from coming through.

[@MrNicoJac]

Winterfell is.... how many miles south of the wall?? Excavating a tunnel that long is impossible - you'd need ventilation or else people would just suffocate before walking through, and all the dug up dirt would've been noticed, and it would have taken centuries of labour...

[@martavdz4972]

​@@MrNicoJacWell, ventilation shafts can be made narrow and hard to notice, and it would have been possible to build long tunnels if they went full medieval. It sometimes took decades or even centuries of very slow work to build something important in the Middle Ages. I actually agree with you, though - it's possible but unlikely.

[@sleepingbee8997]

That was my thought as well. That they somehow connect to the caves underneath The Wall that that one King-Beyond-The-Wall went missing in.

[@maruty2108]

Brandon was technically lord for a few moments and Lyanna became an actual princess, maybe Ned thought it was suitable for her to have a statue and also to give Jon something to remind him of his mother eventually.

[@ulvetid.01]

Ive always thought the NK was named after a norse god. Sound familiar? Explains why he wont go into the crypts as well. 'Hodr is known in Norse mythology as the god of winter and darkness. He is responsible for the coming of winter, cold weather, nighttime, shadows, the winter solstice, and battle-hardened warriors.'

[@carlrood4457]

While anything in the crypts might be a clue to Jon's parentage, it won't be the sort of proof that would convince anyone not named Stark. It's like Howland Reed. His word isn't going to convince anyone south of The Neck. Crannogmen simply don't have that kind of respect. Also, proof of his parentage does not equal proof of legitimacy.

[@darkaxel1991]

I wonder if the crypts connect to a tunnel network that runs north of the Wall.

[@williamst.romain7393]

My own opinion is that it's the black rock of the Bloodstone Emperor and it's how the Wall was created.

[@voivod0160]

The crypts would be a gnarly dungeon in an RPG

[@mithrandir3300]

I'm a simple man. IDG posts, I hit play.

[@tylerbarrett6652]

... and then there is that interview that's out there when GRRM was answering a question as to why Hodor was afraid to enter the crypts.... just that one time. If not afraid, then just obstinate about not going in there. SOMETHING happened or was happening at that time... and it has to do with the crypts. What was it? Did GRRM leave us ANY clues at all? Also... simply the existence of the hot springs indicates that there is volcanic activity there. You'd think it would have more of an effect on the crypts... but the temperature doesn't seem strange to any of the characters... warmish when it's cold out.... coldish when it's warm out.... doesn't seem strange - but if the volcanoes were the source of the magic/power for Valyria... then what sort of magic/power does the volcanic activity at Winterfell generate? Related to that.... the huge explosion/fire at Hard Home... like an erupting volcano or something - If volcanic activity is a common thread then we should investigate every mention of it, shouldn't we? I wish we had better answers... and time just keeps on slipping away without the next book or two being published. very sad.

[@martavdz4972]

I've been to medieval crypts many times and they have fairly steady temperature, so that's probably why none of the characters wonder about that.

[@tylerbarrett6652]

@@martavdz4972 - That's kind of my point... If there is volcanic activity underground enough to generate hot springs... then it SHOULD be noticeably warmer in the crypts. So... is something cooling it down? Or are they just too far away from the hot springs for any effect to register? I'm just looking for clues to solve the mystery of those crypts, you know?

[@R0CKDRIG0]

What scares Hodor, Bran and Rickon is probably the soul of Ned Stark returning to the crypts, or the crypts emitting some sort of energy in relation to his death, not a secret dragon that has no place on the story.

[@heferus6144]

I think the sword of the first hero is down the crypts somewhere.

[@BenBebbington]

Maybe there's one dragon egg there that's been saved for Jon by Lyanna

[@sleepingbee8997]

The idea that the lower levels are empty due to White Walker shenanigans or the Starks there being disgraced is interesting, but I don't feel like it fits. Surely, if that happened it would be part of Old Nan's story. I also agree that a dragon is far fetched, though dragon eggs make more sense. I wouldn't be too confused over the Starks keeping dragon eggs hidden after all this time. They don't seem like the type to go plundering their ancestor's tombs for treasure. I also definitely think it's something tied in to Jon's story, but it's not confirmation of Jon's parentage. Ned would never leave something so dangerous as that just lying around. The only one Ned trusted with Lyanna's secret is the one who's key to Jon finding the truth: Howland Reed. I think if there is anything to be found in the Winterfell Crypts, it would be very very old, and something useful to Jon himself. The most epic option would be the Horn of Winter, because who else would have it besides Bran the Builder himself? The most far-fetched answer would be a Valyrian steel sword. This one seems unlikely, since those crypts might be older than the Valyrian empire itself, and neither Jon nor the Starks really need another Valyrian sword (Besides to kill Others with) but it would be fun. The most mundane but useful answer would be a huge hoard of Dragonglass/obsidian weapons. Imagine if the tradition of iron swords is a relatively new one, and that older Starks had dragonglass weapons in their tombs. It would make perfect sense, and could totally turn the tide of a battle if Jon suddenly had access to hundreds of obsidian daggers and spears, and thousands of obsidian arrowheads.

[@JLchevz]

Great video!

[@user_miike]

i am a firm believer that vermax or even silverwing left an egg or two down there. or a third option could be that rhaenyra sent jace with a clutch of eggs to bargain with since all he could offer to cregan and lord manderly were betrothals.

[@firstneosapiens]

Hi Robert, great content, thank you. Even squid game captured by your the radar. We expect a large cover of the new Witcher book.❤

[@billmiller4972]

If the oldest parts are are the deepest ones and newer ones are built above them, then there is a natural end for the burial rites. Being when the dead need to be buried in shallow graves.

[@sleepingbee8997]

Just raise the castle up higher, duh

[@peteryoung8873]

I suspect that there will be a ring on the finger of the statue. Something easy to overlook but also oh so telling.

[@hazking9590]

The Starks are the weeping angels of old

[@thecocktailian2091]

It is sad, though with full solace, that these little investigations and considerations are all we may ever see from Westeros. Robert you are a worthy torch bearer for the fables of Westeros, I hope George the Maker acknowledges your efforts. Worthy of a mention in a tome kept in Old Town and the citadel.

[@andrewgoss9013]

After GRRM made his, "I may not finish the series," announcement, I promised myself I was going to stop watching these things. But here I am. Perhaps you should finish the books. I'd buy that.

[@maxwellschott6660]

My question is how did the Starks who dug the crypt know how far down to dig?

[@marceloz923]

here is my take, I don't bliv they dug rather, the tunnels might have more to do with the weirwoods, the tunnels under winterfell itself, the tunnel Sam came through beneath the wall and the tunnels the three eyed raven reside in all have ancient weirwood trees, now how the weirwood go abt making them is beyond me

[@plebgeneral8606]

It's important to remember that Ned was the second child and not always the heir to Winterfell. If we take Bran's experience as heir as an example, Ned would not have been taught or mentored in the running of Winterfell until he was named heir, which would have been after his father and brother died. This would also indicate that Ned probably doesnt know any of the Stark secrets regarding the crypts, other than the common knowledge of the kings of winter being buried down there. Its probably the reason why he buries his brother and sister down there, because his brother was the family head for a short time, and Lyanna was his sister and he was head, so he could do it.

[@JerseyWolf]

What is hidden there? I guess we will have to wait for either HBO or Netflix to tell us once G.R.R announces that they are the cannon for all endings, prequels and other questions.

[@judsonbates1359]

Kianna has a statue because Ned knows she was a queen.

[@Leader1934]

Can you reupload your old a song of ice and fire videos that you removed?

[@FrogAnalyst]

It’s me, I’m in there.

[@TheJCJexe]

Do 7 Wonders of Westeros and 7 Wonders of Essos.

[@Dan-ud8hz]

It's where the Starks grow their shrooms.

[@lyarrastark6254]

The Winterfell crypts are intriguing, but I don't expect there is a literal dragon down there.

[@glamourweaver]

I really like the idea that those legends are just foreshadowing Jon going down into the crypts a Snow, and rising out of them a Targaryen. Echoes of “a dragon hatching” on the Mystery Knight.

[@esabria]

It could just be confirming everyone is a secret Targaryen, wigh a cadet branch or a visitor marrying into the Starks and magick them up lol

[@Richard_Nickerson]

What about the serpent Summer sees fly out of the ruins breathing fire?

[@magister343]

I don't think a literal dragon is likely, but I do think it is far more likely than statues coming to life.

[@Ray_D_Tutto]

@@glamourweaver Like in the show with Sam telling him.

[@ThommyofThenn]

Hail to the Robert, hail to the Deepgeek. This is the whole of thy viewership.

[@goober2832]

I think Lyanna got a statue because she was a queen of Westeros After the mad King died. The mother of the Future King and Queen of Love and Beauty

[@eric2500]

Neither of those is a Stark thing.

[@Marihl1354]

I like the theory that they're gonna get up and fight the walkers.

[@Dani_1012]

For more possibility, the books are getting more and more magical as the story progresses, so I don't see this as too far fetched either. If dragons are theorized to have the souls of their riders and the human sacrificed inside them, then the Winterfell Statues can have magic in them too. I believe all of the magic laying dormant in Westeros will wake soon, the maesters have tried hard but you can't forever suppress magic, not in a world where it's very much real

[@DanJonesShow]

Have you ever considered doung videos on Skyrim and the Elder Scrolls? Lots of lore to explore there

[@dr.rotwang]

Older brother Brandon should have a statue as he was technically Lord of Winterfell, even if only briefly. Lyanna it could be argued would get one as she was married to Rhaegar, the crown prince, and this would have been given a title of Princess. Not a Lord of Winter but certainly high up enough to warrant a statue.

[@Alamo-cz5xc]

Lyanna's statue looks pretty rough considering its only been there for 15 years.

[@debbralehrman5957]

Thanks👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@lonelytraveler6335]

Never read the books or watched the show. But maybe there is a dragon egg down there, one for Jon Snow.

[@Dani_1012]

Forget the show and READ the books, you will have a blast

[@Lance_Manyn]

Do we know the history of the Night's Watch oath? Is there a connection between the "I shall take no wife" section of the oath and the actions of the Night's King during his "taking" of his queen?

[@matttubenitup]

I wonder if his dream is also a foresight into when he’s dying after being stabbed? His spirit goes down to rest in death, but he still has a role to play, which is why he is resurrected?

[@timschrade5084]

Perhaps Ned kept his word to Lyanna in keeping quiet about Jon's true lineage, but he was trying to show Jon instead.

[@lexington476]

0:07 zombies, ghouls, ghosts, spiders, general monsters, and for Indiana Jones; lots and lots of snakes 🙂.

[@Clan.Bourbon]

You conclude there is no dragon in the crypts. Probably. If there was it would have starved to death long ago due to the lack of a food source. On the other hand, Mushroom's assertion Vermax left as clutch of dragon eggs at Winterfell is less uncertain. Of course, we are talking about Mushroom, so take this with a grain of salt, maybe more than one, but if true, and as stated, things have been hidden down there and lost perhaps this is what is beckoning Jon Stark's Targaryen blood to the crypts. Unlike the Game of Thrones series, in A Song of Ice and Fire, he has not ridden one of Daenerys' dragons, so perhaps Vermax' hidden clutch of eggs have become Jon's cradle egg and are calling to him.

[@Arkantos117]

I don't see there being too much in the crypt environment that could cause statues to degrade.

[@Richard_Nickerson]

Why does no one talk about how Bran saw a dragon come out of the ruins of Winterfell through Summer's eyes? Summer sees a snake fly out of the ruin, breathing fire. Was it just poetic? Nothing really indicates that, with the singular exception of the fact that NO ONE ever talks about it, including Bran. Why do we never talk about this? Ok, he addressed this, but extremely briefly & only to dismiss it.

[@carlrood4457]

Because George dismissed it as "Signs and Portents", i.e. not something literal. It's probably an allusion to Jon.

[@igorlopes7589]

It's just how Summer's lesser brain interpreted the burning of winterfell

[@retriever19golden55]

Another analyst addressed this, Michael Talks About Stuff, I think (but maybe Alt Shift X). The dragon Summer saw may have been Sheepstealer, coming to take Old Nan away. Theory is that Old Nan has either been a Child of the Forest all along (the Child who rode Sheepstealer), or Old Nan has been "replaced" by the Child using a glamor (always knitting, to disguise the wrong number of fingers?), so the Child can wait for and watch over "the Bran boy." When Old Nan is told the boys burned by Theon are Bran and Rickon, and Winterfell is subsequently sacked, she is wracked by grief and returns to the forest on Sheepstealer, her years of wandering and waiting for the Bran boy wasted again. After all, there's been no mention of Old Nan being found dead, or turning up at the Dreadfort with other captives from Winterfell.

[@retriever19golden55]

I found it. It's Michael Talks About Stuff, the video is Old Nan is a Child of the Forest Using Glamors and Working With Blood Raven, from about a year ago. Good stuff.

[@Richard_Nickerson]

@@retriever19golden55 Ha I'll watch that

[@WarriorGirl_113]

I believe that Ned had his brother Brandon & sister Lyannas statues there in honor of their status if they hadn’t met an early demise. Brandon the Lord of Winterfell and Lyanna the next Queen of the Seven Kingdoms 😊

[@starbelly2000]

Seeing as GRRM's writing often includes mirrors (tales of the bard and blue rose against Lyanna and her crown of roses, etc.) it could be worth looking into the similarities to do with the current era and the story of the Night King. A Stark, a brother of the ruler of Winterfell, joined the Night's Watch and fell in love with a corpse queen, only to be brought down by their brother. Could this story be repeated in Benjen's arc, or possibly Bran, Rickon (brothers of Robb), or Jon (believed brother of Robb)? Perhaps Benjen has disappeared into the north and fallen in with the Others. Of course, there are many possibilities.

[@Dani_1012]

I like the idea that Benjen might be joining the Others for whatever reason, another faithful follower to this old deity of the frozen north

[@pathutchison7688]

What bothers me is that none of this is gonna matter. We will probably get “winds of winter”, but “A Dream of Spring” will remain a dream forever. And if some other author finishes it, it won’t be cannon in my brain.

[@marceloz923]

I fear u may be right but here is my hope, the winds of winter is done and GRRM is buying himself time to get into a dream of spring.

[@GRB-tj6uj]

There have to be notes laying around about the major plot points (the famous letter outlining his plans for ASOIAF has sections blocked out). One day we will at least get the outline of how the story is supposed to finish.

[@tomharrington1453]

I struggle for the right words, and the best I can come up with "its wrong for GRRM to start a story with such intriguing mysteries and not finish it". I don't want say its "evil" or "cruel". But it is wrong. I want to know what is in the Crypts of Winterfell. I want to know what The Others want. I want to know what is on the Isle of Faces. I want to know who Quaith is. The possibility that we will never get an answer is disappointing and frustrating.

[@terryeaster1]

Rob to recognize John. I'd like to know what he knew, him being Rob

[@davidjohnson6999]

Going really tin foil here, but: 1) Could the bottom of the Crypts be The Heart of Winter, itself? or could the Crypts connect to it in some physical way? 2) Could Ned building the statues of Lyanna and Brandon have broken some ancient pact with The Others causing their return?

[@CurtTweedle]

I know what is hidden in the Winterfell crypts. The wifi password. ;)

[@bupdragon4694]

I think you're missing a basic thing here... if there's a dragon underneath Winterfell then it makes sense that it'd be some sleeping giant that might straight up have been stone the whole time. You had the stone eggs up for most of this video lol

[@halbeliebe]

I wonder if George RR Martin had wanted dragons or eggs to be there but has by now been convinced not to follow it up because it might be too obvious?

[@Djynni]

If someone who isn't a Stark and is definitely not even close to that family (like Mushroom) "knows" that Vermax left a clutch of dragon eggs at Winterfell, where did they get that information? If not from the Starks it would have to be from Jace / the Targaryens. If they knew the eggs were there after all the dragons were dead, they definitely would want them. Doesn't seem a likely story.

[@julianhart2247]

What is hidden inside the crypts of Winterfell?… Tony Stark and the Arch reactor, It is known.

[@johny0008]

Maybe Jon will have dream about "meeting his parents or mother in the crypts" and only statue of woman there will be Liana.

[@myra-n3d]

Wolf's Den still stands God's Wood and all. Currently used as a prison among other things. In White Harbour.

[@benjaminattwell1430]

The original pilot lies down there sealed in a tomb guarded by hideous statues

[@DiakosDelvin]

The REALLY odd thing is how the newest graves are on the higher levels. People are cheap and lazy and will only excavate more levels when necessary, and usually start filling in from the top, so unless Starks carve statues only to move them further down as time passes and moving all older one ahead as well...

[@Konve]

I find it odd that, in the beginning, the Starks would have delved the first level so deep. They (probably) didn't know their lineage would go on for thousands of years, making enough room above for future levels. But it may just be a logical mistake on the writer's part.

[@eumaies]

The weir wood net exists outside of time and likely had some role in planning all this.

[@BloodravenRivers]

42nd thumb great work my good maester

[@Valkanna.Nublet]

There's one important thing that stops me from believing there's a live dragon down there: What does it eat? We know that dragons eat a lot, so much that it's just not possible for them to survive on rats alone, at least not once grown larger than a cat. So in order for there to be a live dragon there there also needs to be a herd of other animals that it can feed on, and that just adds the questions about what that herd eats.

[@andrewgoss9013]

Hmmm, you just made me wonder.... what the hell did Smaug eat?

[@martavdz4972]

​@@andrewgoss9013He went out from time to time and hunted any animals he could find. I remember IDG saying so in one of the LOTR videos.

[@andrewgoss9013]

@@martavdz4972 Ah. Never mind.

[@alexstewart9747]

I’m not holding out for George to tell us at this point.

[@spi6455]

He put a statue of his sister because she protected John from the spirits of the Starks past.