--- title: Game of Thrones: Meera and Howland Reed Play a Role? description: Meera Reed may have left Winterfell to journey home, but it seems likely we haven't seen the last of Bran Stark's longtime protector. canonical: https://time.com/4890155/game-of-thrones-meera-howland-reed/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-07T20:08:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:53:37.945Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Meera Reed Still Has a Role to Play in 'Game of Thrones' og:description: It won't be the last we see of her family og:url: https://time.com/4890155/game-of-thrones-meera-howland-reed/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe2ec977a8e4da1f/6988d567cf40a80688c48845/got_2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: game-of-thrones-dragonstone-meera-reed og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meera Reed Still Has a Role to Play in 'Game of Thrones' twitter:description: It won't be the last we see of her family twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe2ec977a8e4da1f/6988d567cf40a80688c48845/got_2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Meera Reed Probably Still Has a Major Role to Play in _Game of Thrones_  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 7, 2017 8:08 PM UTC  Ellie Kendrick in Game of Thrones Ellie Kendrick in Game of ThronesHelen Sloan/HBO  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 7, 2017 8:08 PM UTC **Warning:** This post contains spoilers for[_Game of Thrones_](http://time.com/game-of-thrones-2017/). Meera Reed may have left Winterfell to journey home in [season 7](http://time.com/4889264/game-of-thrones-jaime-lannister-dead-survive-dragon/) of _Game of Thrones_, but it seems likely we haven’t seen the last of [Bran Stark](http://time.com/4889240/game-of-thrones-bran-stark-littlefinger-chaos-conversation/)‘s longtime protector. “I don’t want to leave you, but when they come I need to be with my family,” she told Bran, referring to the White Walkers. “And you’re safe. Well, as safe as anyone can be now. You don’t need me anymore.” However, Bran responded rather numbly to her goodbye, offering only an indifferent thank you for her years of sacrifice. “That’s all you’ve got to say?” she asked in disbelief. “Thank you? My brother \[Jojen\] died for you. Hodor and Summer died for you. I almost died for you.” But while Meera may be upset over how deeply Bran was changed by his [transformation into the Three-Eyed Raven](http://time.com/4882189/game-of-thrones-bran-stark-sansa-three-eyed-raven/), her return to [Greywater Watch](http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Greywater%5FWatch) — the ancestral seat of House Reed — could potentially set in motion a chain of events crucial to the series’ end. We know that Meera is the daughter of Howland Reed — the only survivor of the [showdown at the Tower of Joy](http://time.com/4393286/game-of-thrones-tower-of-joy-arthur-dayne-theory/) other than Ned Stark. It was once revealed during a[ season six flashback scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JfQkN2la7o) that Howland stabbed [Ser Arthur Dayne](http://time.com/4322414/game-of-thrones-flashback-ned-stark-tower-of-joy/) in the back to prevent him from killing Ned in the battle — despite the fact that Ned always claimed he had personally defeated the legendary knight. Considering [what else happened at the Tower](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5krxJdnknE), Howland may be the only person alive who could testify that Jon Snow is not Ned’s illegitimate son but the child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen — for those unwilling to take the word of a teenage boy claiming to be an all-knowing prophet. **MORE:** **To stay up to date on everything** **_Game of Thrones_** **, follow our all-encompassing** [**Facebook**](https://www.facebook.com/WiCnet/?utm%5Fsource=time&utm%5Fmedium=article&utm%5Fcampaign=wicfacebook)[ **page**](https://www.facebook.com/WiCnet/?utm%5Fsource=time&utm%5Fmedium=article&utm%5Fcampaign=wicfacebook) **and sign up for our** [**exclusive** ](https://pages.email.ew.com/game-of-thrones?utm%5Fsource=time.com&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcampaign=gameofthronesnewsletter)[**newsletter**](https://pages.email.ew.com/game-of-thrones?utm%5Fsource=time.com&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcampaign=gameofthronesnewsletter)**.** Howland apparently never told his children about his role in Robert’s Rebellion, but they seemed to be aware of his close friendship with Ned. Jojen even told Bran that the only time he ever saw his father cry was when he learned of Ned’s death. However, Howland hasn’t left Greywater Watch — a moving castle that can’t be reached by raven — since the Rebellion. If Meera returns home and tells her father of everything she has seen and learned, he may realize it’s finally time to reveal the truth about Jon’s parentage. Or perhaps — as [Reddit user ekky13](https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/38s3ue/spoilers%5Fall%5Fwhat%5Fis%5Fhowland%5Freed%5Fdoing/)7 speculates from details in George R.R. Martin’s _A Song of Ice and Fire_ series — he has just been waiting for his moment all along. --- > “” --- Howland Reed hasn’t appeared on the show in the present day yet, but it feels like it’s time for him to finally show his face. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4890155/game-of-thrones-meera-howland-reed/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4890155/game-of-thrones-meera-howland-reed/"},"headline":"Why Meera Reed Probably Still Has a Major Role to Play in Game of Thrones","datePublished":"2017-08-07T20:08:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:53:37.945Z","description":"\"When they come I need to be with my family\"","url":"https://time.com/4890155/game-of-thrones-meera-howland-reed/","keywords":["Television","game of thrones","TV"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe2ec977a8e4da1f/6988d567cf40a80688c48845/got_2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe2ec977a8e4da1f/6988d567cf40a80688c48845/got_2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"game-of-thrones-dragonstone-meera-reed","caption":"Ellie Kendrick in Game of Thrones","creditText":"Helen Sloan/HBO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4890155/game-of-thrones-meera-howland-reed/","name":"Why Meera Reed Probably Still Has a Major Role to Play in Game of Thrones"}}]}] ```