A Crucial Game Of Thrones Character You Forgot Is Coming Back & Here’s Why It Matters

We all know and love the Stark children. Arya, Sansa, Bran, Jon, and Robb (R.I.P.) form the moral backbone of Game of Thrones, offering us a lens through which to view the insanity in Westeros. But do you remember Rickon Stark? He’s the lost Stark baby, one that we haven’t seen since season three. Unlike Bran, he doesn’t have psychic powers. Unlike everyone else, he isn’t a major pawn in the game…of thrones. Yet. Maisie Williams said that the least-known Stark would be returning this season in this interview with BBC Radio 1. A caller asked her if we would hear from Rickon this season. Williams initially equivocated. “Yes, we will indeed,” she eventually said. “Oh no, I'm literally going to get off the air and someone's going to email me!” We last saw Rickon, with travelling companions Osha and Shaggydog, in season three episode nine. They were heading for the Last Hearth. But the promo for the next episode teases a possible “gift” for Ramsay Bolton, the newest lord of Winterfell. If that were the case, it would be a deviation from the books. In A Dance With Dragons, Ser Davos sets out on a quest to track down Rickon around Skagos, an island filled with cannibals. That’s its own danger, but it’s much better than anything that might happen in Ramsay’s clutches. Rickon’s appearance is important because all Starks are important. They’re our view into the realm. And things are finally going ok for them, kinda. The last thing they need is their youngest member to be snatched up by the Boltons.