Rickon Stark is the youngest child of Lord Eddard Stark and Lady Catelyn Stark. He is a strong-willed child and is only a toddler when the events of A Song of Ice and Fire begin. Rickon watches as his mother, father, and siblings leave and finds it hard to adjust to life without his family. He and his brother, Bran Stark, remain at Winterfell until it gets captured by the ironborn, Theon Greyjoy. Rickon tries to act like his older brothers, Robb Stark, Bran, and Jon Snow. He loves his sisters and usually begs for sweets from Jon Snow, his bastard half-brother.
Rickon Stark Personal Details
- Name: Rickon Stark.
- Parents: Lord Eddard Stark and Lady Catelyn Tully.
- Year of Birth: 295 AC in Winterfell.
- Allegiance: House Stark.
- Culture: Northmen.
- Religion: Old Gods of the Forest.
- Siblings: Robb Stark, Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Bran Stark.
- Titles: Prince of Winterfell.
- Eye Color: Blue.
- Hair Color: Auburn.
Appearance and Personality
Rickon is a young toddler and takes after his mother, Catelyn’s appearance, with bright blue eyes and auburn hair. He has an easy smile and breathless laughter, though he is stubborn and strong-willed. He is energetic and runs around but does not climb the walls like his brother Bran. Though his family thinks of him as a baby, he mimics his older brother’s actions.
Biography
Rickon was born as the third son of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully. He likes to play, and after getting a direwolf, it becomes his best friend. Rickon was a young toddler of three when his father left Winterfell for King’s Landing. However, everything goes wrong as Eddard gets arrested and Robb marches out against the Lannisters.
Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire
A Game of Thrones
After Eddard kills Will, a man of the Night’s Watch, a litter of direwolf pups gets found by Jon Snow. Though Eddard orders them to get killed, Bran pleads with him to spare them. The direwolves get brought to Winterfell, and though Rickon gets scared of the pups at first, he eventually names his Shaggydog.
King Robert Baratheon travels to Winterfell and asks Eddard to become the new Hand of the King. Though he tries to reject the request, Eddard eventually agrees. Meanwhile, Rickon’s brother, Bran, gets thrown from a tower window after seeing Jaime Lannister sleep with his sister, Cersei Lannister. With Bran’s condition, Rickon follows Robb around crying.
After agreeing to become Hand of the King, Robert suggests to Ned Stark that Sansa Stark marry Prince Joffrey Baratheon to merge their families. When Ned agrees, Sansa and her sister, Arya, get taken to King’s Landing. When Catelyn receives a message from her sister about House Lannister killing Jon Arryn, she heads to King’s Landing for answers, leaving behind a disabled Bran with his brothers Rickon and Robb.
Rickon plays with Greywind, Shaggydog, and Summer, the direwolves of his brothers. He gets upset when Robb leaves Winterfell to attend to matters in the North. When Eddard gets arrested and imprisoned in King’s Landing, Robb calls the North to arms and marches south to save his father and sisters.
When he learns his brother is leaving, Rickon hides in the crypts of Winterfell and tries to fight when some men try to get him. Shaggydog gets chained, making the toddler even sadder. Later, Bran dreams of his father in Winterfell’s catacombs and travels into it with Maester Luwin and Osha. A message then arrives of Eddard’s death. Robb becomes King in the North.
A Clash of Kings
Young Rickon gets upset at the arrival of Big Walder and Little Walder. However, they become friends and play games like come-into-my-castle and monsters-and-maidens. Bran gets upset at him for showing the Frey boys the crypts of Winterfell. Rickon refuses to have his hair cut. Rodrik chains Shaggydog for biting Little Walder. Later, Jojen Reed explains that he had green dreams of the Stark brothers and Reek flaying boys.
Theon takes Rickon and Bran as hostages after he becomes a turn cloak and captures Winterfell. With help from Osha, the Stark boys hide with their direwolves, Hodor, Meera Reed, and Jojen Reed.
With no result from searching for them, Theon kills two boys and claims they are the Stark boys. The news of their death reaches Catelyn, Robb, Jon Snow, who was in Castle Black, and Arya. Ramsay Snow sacks Winterfell. During the event, Rickon and the group escape. Osha leaves with him and Shaggydog and takes them to White Harbor.
A Dance with Dragons
Though most of Westeros believes that Rickon and Bran are dead, Wex Pyke reveals to Lord Wyman Manderly that they survived the sack of Winterfell. He states that the Boltons killed Rodrik Cassel, and Osha headed to Skagos with Rickon.
When Davos reaches White Habor to convince Lord Wyman Manderly of Stannis’s cause, the lord reveals that he has to take Rickon to Last Hearth as he is the heir of House Stark. Meanwhile, Ramsay Bolton plans on killing the Stark siblings with his hounds should they return.
Appearance in Adaptations
In HBO’s Game of Thrones, Rickon got portrayed by Art Parkinson. He appeared in seasons 1, 2, 3, and 6 and starred in 14 episodes. He watched as Robb marched to fight the Lannisters, and when Bran consoled him, telling him their brother would return, he replied that they would not.
Death
After reaching Last Hearth, he gets betrayed by Smalljon Umber, who hands him and Osha to Ramsay Bolton. Osha gets killed, and Rickon’s dead direwolf gets sent to Jon and Sansa. Jon declares war against Ramsay, and Rickon appears on the battlefield with his hands bound. Ramsay cuts his ropes and tells him to run. Jon begins racing towards Rickon, knowing what Ramsay is about to do. Just as he is about to reach him, an arrow strikes Rickon, and he falls to the ground.
Rickon: The Young Wolf
Though there is little focus on Rickon, his story is somewhat tragic. At just the age of three, he watched his family divide because of the brutal politics of Westeros. As Catelyn’s youngest child, he was not ready for the world but got forced into it anyways. Though he witnessed his home get burnt by the Boltons, he remained strong; this makes him one of the most resilient characters in A Song of Ice and Fire.
FAQs
Is Rickon Stark alive in the books?
After he escapes from Winterfell with his Brother, Bran, and friends, Rickon splits ways and travels with Osha and Shaggydog. He arrives in Skagos and takes refuge in House Umber.
What happened to Rickon Stark in GOT?
When Rickon and Osha arrive at Last Hearth, they become guests of Smalljon Umber. However, he betrays them and gives them to Ramsay Bolton. Ramsay sends a message to Jon and Sansa, stating he has Rickon. When Jon arrives on the battlefield, Ramsay makes Rickon run to his half-brother. Knowing Ramsay planned something, Jon races to his brother, but Rickon gets shot by an arrow.
What happened to Rickon’s direwolf?
In HBO’s Game of Thrones, Rickon’s direwolf gets killed by Ramsay. When he sends a message to Jon, he puts the direwolf’s head as proof he had Rickon.
How old is Rickon in A Song of Ice and Fire?
When Robert Baratheon arrives at Winterfell, Rickon is a toddler of three. His mother, Catelyn, leaves him and travels to King’s Landing to learn about Bran’s attempted assassination. Rickon gets attached to his older brother, Robb Stark.
Why has Rickon not been utilized in A Song of Ice and Fire?
The primary reason for Rickon not being a primary character is his age. In ‘A Dance with Dragons,’ he is still a little boy. However, in ‘Winds of Winter,’ his character may get explored more by George R. R. Martin.