A few seconds before being executed in King's Landing, Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell and former Hand of the King of King Robert Baratheon, whispered something impossible to understand. But now, several years after his moving death on the screen during "Game of Thrones" season 1, we know what Ned was saying.
Sean Bean, the actor who played the role of Eddard in the TV show, revealed his character's last words in an interview with the Huffington Post.
Watch the scene of Eddard's execution in the 'Baelor' episode
Here you can rewatch the thrilling scene in which Lord Stark dies in "GOT" season 1 episode 9, "Baelor." The Lord of Winterfell, as you certainly recall, was sentenced to death by the young King Joffrey Baratheon, and executed in King's Landing, while his daughters Sansa and Arya were present.
The most popular theories about Eddard's last words
Some fans have thought Ned's final words would be a confession of Jon's heritage, other fans thought he might be whispering "I kept my promise" (the promise he made to his sister Lyanna about her son); someone used Lord Stark's murmur as proof in the crazy Eddard-Stark-is-still-alive theory. Now we know that all these theories were wrong. As a matter of fact, only a few fans (like Quora user Barb Hix) guessed it right.
What Ned actually said on the scaffold
Sean Ben revealed the truth about Eddard's final words: it was a prayer. "What would you do if this were really gonna happen?" said Bean. "You probably would pray. You probably would murmur some words and you would keep it quiet.
You would keep it to yourself".
Even if this time there's no mystery, we consider Bean's explanation quite satisfying since it reminds us of how important the Old Gods were for Bran, Arya and Sansa's father. In the "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series, we are told that Ned spent a good amount of time in the Godswood of Winterfell, praying near the weirwood tree.
So it makes perfect sense for a fairly religious man like Eddard to pray to the Old Gods in his last moments - the Old Gods, which are worshipped by the people of the North.
When will the next season of 'Game of Thrones' air?
That's all for now. "Game of Thrones" season 8, as most of the fans already know, isn't going to be aired in 2018. The next season of the show, which will consist of six episodes, will probably premiere in Spring 2019. According to some rumors, the show may come back in April 2019.
