re: Is it Possible Maester Aemon knew who Jon's real Mother was? (Spoilers maybe)

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Which is something I don't get. The Starks are one of the biggest and oldest houses in the world. So pretty much every major player in Westeros had either a)known Ned or b) known how honorable Ned was.

I find it incredibly hard to believe that of all the very smart lords in Westeros at the time, Jon Aryn especially, who knew Ned better than anybody, would believe that Ned would've cheated on Cat. That just doesn't really add up to me.

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I see 2 things behind it 1) people are not likely to believe someone like Ned is lying, and 2) everyone likes to see the pious fall. So people are more than willing to believe Mr Honor is secretly shitty like everyone else.

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But Benjen wasn't an outsider. He was a legitimate Stark. I wouldn't consider that to be an outsider at all.

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He took the black thought. That is de facto outsider status.

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I think it was believable he would cheat on cat because he was away at war.

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Agree
From what I got from Robert's story is banging wenches is just something everyone does during war. You are away from your family for years and high off of battle.

True

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I find it incredibly hard to believe that of all the very smart lords in Westeros at the time, Jon Aryn especially, who knew Ned better than anybody, would believe that Ned would've cheated on Cat. That just doesn't really add up to me.

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Really the Lord I find most unbelievable that didn't figure it out would be Tywin. He knew that with Aerys dead, the Kingsguard should no longer be protecting Rhaegar's wife and should have instead left to go find Viserys. The fact that the 2 most important and deadly members of the Kingsguard were there wouldn't go unnoticed by Tywin and would have figured out immediately why they were there.

Plus Tywin's own wife died in childbirth. I don't think Tywin would have thought about it for more than a second before figuring it out.

Maybe Jon Arryn did figure it out but said nothing knowing that Ned would never tell the boy of his heritage for fear of Robert's wrath, but Tywin sure as hell would have said something to Robert about it, because neither were willing to risk the son of Rhaegar Targaryen come of age and take the throne back from him.

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2. I don't think Benjen woudl treat Jon differently If he was Ned or Lyanna's kid. I think either a) he relates to him as a sorta outcast b) relates to him because he knows Jon always wanted to join the watch OR c) has a great relationship with all his nieces and nephews, and we just perceived Jon's as a stronger relationship because the book is third person narration and everything is based on the POV character's perception of things. Jon is the POV character and he look sup to Benjen and feels a strong commonality with him as an outsider, so thats the nature their relationship takes on in our minds as well.

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Ned was actually the sibling furthest from Lyanna, and Lyanna and Benjen were very close. They didn't dislike each other or anything, it's just Ned and Lyanna didn't see eye to eye. I don't think Lyanna would worry about a promise from Benjen or Brandon regarding Jon, but it was paramount that she got that promise from Ned to put her own son over his personal honor he prized so much. Getting that promise meant a lot, and I'm sure Benjen figured that part out as well if he didn't outright tell him. Jon never got to know his mother, and being close with his sister he feels he owes it to Jon more than his other nephews and nieces.

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Ned was actually the sibling furthest from Lyanna, and Lyanna and Benjen were very close. They didn't dislike each other or anything, it's just Ned and Lyanna didn't see eye to eye. I don't think Lyanna would worry about a promise from Benjen or Brandon regarding Jon, but it was paramount that she got that promise from Ned to put her own son over his personal honor he prized so much. Getting that promise meant a lot, and I'm sure Benjen figured that part out as well if he didn't outright tell him. Jon never got to know his mother, and being close with his sister he feels he owes it to Jon more than his other nephews and nieces.

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I think a dying mother is going to ask anyone who is there to promise to protect their child. I don't think this was some big moral dilemma for Ned either. He knew he had to protect and care for Jon, which is why he brought him to Winterfel and raised him among his own children. He could have given him the real bastard treatment and it woudl have been just as effective, but you can tell he actually loves his nephew. He isn't just humoring him because of a promise.

I am somewhat convinced he woudl tell Benjen, because he would feel like Benjen should know what really happened to his sister, and he could trust him because he is a Stark. So, I am not going to completely shut out this the idea that Benjen knows, but I feel like it wouldn't be a secret if it kept going from there.

The book establishes that polygamy was a common Targaryen practice.

You can't just leave tToJ if you're Howland Reed and not say, "Who the frick is that?" To the baby in Ned's arms.

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ou can't just leave tToJ if you're Howland Reed and not say, "Who the frick is that?" To the baby in Ned's arms.

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Like I said, I think Howland knows, but the Reeds are crazy loyal Stark Bannermen