*Spoilers of the season six variety below*
A new season of Game of Thrones brings with it an ever-increasing amount of theories around the series and the future of its characters. It's a show that certainly knows how to deliver a good twist but there are many theories that appear to already be panning out to be true - Jon Snow being resurrected of course being the most obvious.
Episode three however has brought a new theory into play for fans of the show following the return of Rickon Stark. It has been three seasons since we last saw the youngest Stark when Bran sent him off under the protection of their new wildling mate Osha to head North to the house of their bannermen, the Umbers.
However this week's episode saw Smalljon Umber arrive at Winterfell to hand over the pair to Ramsay Bolton, aka the craziest mofo in Westeros. After seeing what he did to Sansa and Theon, we are all worried to say the least about what will become of these two, however, a new theory has given us hope.
It follows that this is actually a trick being played by the Umbers on Ramsay in order to get the Starks back in power in the North. Why is this plausible?
First off, out of all the families Bran could have sent his little bro to for protection, he chose the Umbers, implying there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that they would look after him. Also, given how long it's been since we last saw them both, we can only assume the family have until now.
Smalljon also refused to declare any allegiance to House Bolton, giving hope that his loyalty does in fact still lie with the Starks.
Another clue many are picking up on is the head of the direwolf, which fans are claiming is too small to be Rickon's Shaggydog and could easily be another direwolf, given that they are fairly common in the North.
Also, the fact that Smalljon is turning up now following the death of the more shrewd Roose Bolton... perhaps believing he would get one over more easily on Ramsay?
Smalljon's father, Greatjon, (got to love those names) appeared in earlier seasons and while he initially doubted that Robb Stark could lead, he was the first to announce him as King of the North and remained fiercely loyal to him.
So would Greatjon's son really have taken such a u-turn in his families allegiances? Smalljon claimed his reason for turning on the Starks was that Jon Snow had let the wildlings past the wall, but if he was really so against the wildlings, why has he protected Osha all this time? She was certainly wily enough to have escaped if she had been mistreated by them.
Saying all of that though, it's surely a tad risky to leave them both in the hands of such a mad man? We all know what Ramsay is capable of... everything, essentially.
We like this particular outcome the best though....
Is it all just an elaborate ruse? Only time will tell.
Read our review of this week's episode three of Game of Thrones here.
