Don’t panic, don’t panic! Well, maybe panic. I don’t know what Game of Thrones fan theories you subscribe to, so for all I know you absolutely HATE this one and will be ecstatic the moment you hear that George R.R. Martin shot it down.
But don’t worry…it’s not the theory about who Jon Snow’s real parents are. That one’s safe and sound because it’s probably true and if it’s not and he dies I’m going to flip shit and break things.
Anyhoo, Reddit user _honeybird visited the Cushing Library at Texas A&M and found a page from A Dance With Dragons that not only has notes from Martin’s editor, Anne Groell, but completely kills the theory that Coldhands is actually the dead version of Benjen Stark. You know, the guy who was literally around for like 6 pages and then went off beyond the wall to never be seen again.
- Via Reddit
You can see Groell’s note asking if Coldhands is Benjen, to which Martin replies to with a giant red “NO.”
To be fair, it wasn’t a very good theory anyway. Coldhands (who doesn’t appear in the show) is said to be very, very old, and Benjen Stark only went missing a few years prior to when we’re introduced to Coldhands.
So where’s Benjen? Probably dead, just like everyone else in the goddamn books. If you haven’t heard from a character in a while there’s a 99% chance they’re either dead, dying, or you’re just not going to hear from them ever again because fuckkk youuuuu.
[H/T Vanity Fair]