Game of Thrones: What were Ned’s last words before his death?

When it comes to killing off major characters, nothing beats Game of Thrones, and it all started with Ned Stark.

By now, everyone realizes that anyone and everyone will die on HBO’s biggest hit series, but in season 1 of the series, it was something that fans who had never read the George R.R. Martin books were unprepared for.

The fact is that Sean Bean was the most prominent name (at that time) in the Game of Thrones cast. That means that when Joffrey ordered Ned’s execution, most fans unaware of the books’ storylines expected him to get off. He even struck a deal to face exile as long as he declared Joffrey as the rightful king.

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Ned did as he was asked and Joffrey had his head removed from his shoulders anyway. Right before his death, Ned was mumbling something and there have been rampant rumors among the Game of Thrones faithful about what he might have been saying.

One theory even went as far as to claim that Ned said “Valar morghulis” — meaning “all men must die.” There are other theories as well, but it turns out that Ned’s final words during his Game of Thrones death were something much more basic and straightforward.

In an interview with Huffington Post, Sean Bean said that he was thinking of what he would do before his death and started saying a prayer. He also said that he mumbled the words because it was something you would “keep to yourself.”

"“It’s quite subtle in that many people wouldn’t pick it up. It was an interesting thing to do for me at that point. There’s not much you can do really, you’ve got your head on a block. That’s about the only thing you can do is murmur.”"

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On top of Ned’s final words, Sean Bean was also asked about the chance that his death was not as it seemed and that Ned Stark would return in the final season — alive and well. For those fans hoping for a miracle, Bean said that wouldn’t happen, calling it “strange” even to consider Ned coming back from the dead.

Game of Thrones returns to HBO for its final season in 2019.