‘Game Of Thrones’ Star Iwan Rheon Weighs In On Jon Snow, Ramsay Bolton’s Face Off In Episode 9

Fans of the HBO series “Game of Thrones” are gearing up for what might be the most epic battle in the show’s six seasons on air. Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) — both the illegitimate sons of once-prominent men in Westeros — are slated to confront one another in Season 6, episode 9.

Much of the most recent season, as well as the one prior, has been building up to this moment, but there is much more to it than meets the eye. As Rheon, 31, pointed out in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, his character and Jon Snow have more in common than either would likely care to admit. Both came from similar beginnings and have managed to climb the ladder from lowly bastards to important figures in their respective paths in life. The actor added that he has always wanted Bolton and Snow to face off because of this fact, adding that the bastard of House Stark is “the antithesis” of the hopeful Warden of the North. Rheon gave no clues away about who may win, but noted that this battle will be major on more levels than one.

“Anyone who has asked me, ‘Who would you like Ramsay to meet?’ My answer has always been, ‘Jon Snow,’” he said. “He’s the antithesis of Ramsay. They’re almost a yin and a yang. They both come from such a similar place and yet they’re so different. And even though they’re enemies, they’ve both risen so far as bastards, which is almost incomprehensible, and now they’re both facing each other. They couldn’t be any more different, yet more similar.”

Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton’s battle may not be the only big thing to occur during Season 6, episode 9. According to a Reddit theory, Varys (Conleth Hill) — who left Meereen on a secret mission in an earlier episode — may be plotting against Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). The user, Ariskov, reminded readers that Varys is and always has been loyal to the realm. He then recalled a Season 2 episode where Varys denounced Stannis Baratheon’s (Stephen Dillane) claim to the Iron Throne due to his links to the Lord of Light. As you may recall, Daenerys was recently visited by Kinvara (Ania Bukstein), another red priestess, which Ariskov suggests may have raised questions for Varys about Daenerys’ right to preside over the seven kingdoms. The Redditor even went as far as to speculate that the “Grandmaster of Secrets and Whispers and Birds” may be planning to sabotage the mother of dragons.

“Varys repeatedly says that he serve[s] the realm,” Ariskov wrote. “He ignores all kinds of right[s] to rule, names, laws and only keeps the peace [and] interest of the realm as [his] sole criterion. It doesn’t sound right that he would help a vengeful conqueror. Let alone a vengeful conqueror who is the [prophesied] savior of the religion he hates and fears.”

The finale two episodes of Season 6 are sure to see plenty of bloodshed, but the question remains — who will be the next to die? With so much on the line, “Game of Thrones” fans have taken to placing bets on the next major character death. According to a press release from Boyle Sports, characters like the Hound (Rory McCann), Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Daenerys Targaryen and Varys don’t have much to fear. Everyone else, however, is on the chopping block. Ramsay Bolton is currently favored as the next to die with odds of 1/3. Not far behind is Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) at 11/4 and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) and Tommen Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman) with odds of 9/2. Aoife Heffron, a PR executive at Boyle Sports, discussed the odds, explaining why Cersei is so high on the list.

“Being the King of the Iron Throne puts Tommen Baratheon firmly in the firing line to be axed next, but at 11/4 it is his mother, Cersei Lannister, who is in danger of being killed off, which is not a stretch after he sentenced his own mother to trial and could see her sentenced to death,” Heffron said.

“Battle of the Bastards” is slated to air Sunday, June 19 at 9 p.m. EDT. Tune in on HBO.