- 8. Rickon Stark and the Northern Lords
Last seen in the care of Wildling Osha (Natalie Tena) in the Season 3 finale, the youngest Stark (Art Parkinson) is a wild card who could invalidate Sansa’s claim to Winterfell as the only (known) survivor of House Stark. Both Rickon and Osha are confirmed to return this year. How this will complicate the politics of the region remain to be seen, but since men always inherit over women in Westeros (as was the case in our own Middle Ages), it could render Sansa’s marriage to Ramsay meaningless (cue sighs of relief from her legion of fans).
Following on the leads above, while the books have entangled the Stannis and Northern Rebellion storylines in their novel form, the showrunners chose to give them each their own season of development for the TV series, a smart and perhaps entirely necessary move to keep each season as focused as possible. As such, with Stannis gone, the year will shift focus to the Northern Lords, such as the Umbers and Karstarks and maybe more as they seek revenge for the Red Wedding. Tyrion told his father, “The Northerners will never forget.” This year will be prove him right.
