Theory Riboku's Death Theory (Contains History Spoilers)

[Nidai_Kitetsu]

Dear Kingdom Enthusiasts,
This is my first Kingdom thread in this forum. The last Kingdom thread I made was "Shin vs Ouhon" back in OroJackson days. This will be a short theory on how Hara will wrap up Riboku's story. I will start with some historical spoilers. If you dont want to spoil yourself, please stop reading here.


True history regarding Riboku's Death
Historically, Riboku remains undefeated. So Qin decided to bribe the Zhao court to expel Riboku. The plan succeeded. Riboku was expelled from his position and soon thereafter gets executed. There are different opinions on how Riboku was executed. He either (1) gets beheaded or (2) is forced to commit suicide. The first option is from Shiji - records of the Grand Historian, which Hara typically follows.


Kaine's Fate
The death flag for Kaine raised significantly since Riboku declared he would marry Kaine =>

Spoiler

Some believe Kaine will fall in battle before Riboku's execution happens. Others argue its Riboku's fate that's sealed, not hers,because of Gyouun's dream =>

Spoiler

I'm leaning towards them going out together.

Game of Thrones Inspiration
I have got a hunch that Hara will draw the inspiration from Game of Thrones (GOT). Spoiler alert for GOT incoming! In GOT, Robb Stark and his family were brutally murdered during a wedding ceremony at Walder Frey's castle. Robb promised to marry one of Frey's daughters, but later broke the marriage pact as he fell in love with another woman. Once Robb ditched the pact, Walder Frey came up with another marriage proposal for his daughter with Robb's uncle Edmure. However, this time the Freys' planned to kill Robb's family during the wedding ceremony. This wedding is famously known as "red wedding".

I am thinking Hara might pull a similar stunt where the corrupt Zhao court arranges a ceremony for Riboku-Kaine marriage at Kantan before they move back to Ganmon. The ceremony turns into a bloodbath and Riboku-Kaine gets murdered.


Why Game of Thrones, you ask?
Well, it turns out Hara is a big GOT fan. He personally insisted that Sei Kyou has to follow Joffrey from GOT for Kingdom's live-action film adaptation:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/in...game-of-thrones-to-series-showrunners/.150281

You could also see more GOT inspirations throughout the series. Like Shi Ryou giving off Brienne of Tarth vibes with that strength and stature, or Souou's antics reminding me of Tormund and his crush on Brienne. The Zhao king's assassination felt like a nod to grand maester Pycelle getting killed by children. In addition, check out ShunSuiJu's armor =>

In GOT, the Starks also had wolf sigil. Lets not forget the Starks were also from the North!

Some tags:
@Lee Ba Shou @Cichy @RayanOO @Warchief Sanji D Goat @TheKnightOfTheSea @Jailer @Pirao @MarineHQ @Owl Ki @SakazOuki @FutureWarrior123 @Peroroncino

 

[TheKnightOfTheSea]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Kingdom/comments/142aear

Spoiler

Riboku has an interesting depiction in this account, and I really hope Hara takes inspiration from this. To summarize, a man named Han Cang accuses Riboku of concealing a dagger before the Zhao King. When it came time for Riboku to receive his punishment, he explains his innocence by revealing that the "concealed dagger" was actually some sort of tool bound to his wooden arm (Riboku gets a prosthetic later?).

I believe Shin cut off Riboku's arm, so he'll be indirectly responsible for his death. Shin will not be satisfied by this however, and I also believe Ousen will pull some strings

 

[Pirao]

Spoiler

Kaine has to survive for Riboku's line to continue, as it did historically. So she has plot armor at least until she bears RBK's child.

 

[Elder Lee Hung]

Kaine cannot die before she births the #KingdomMiquella, so unless this happens right before Riboku’s historical death, I’m not on board.

Also, I don’t think the royal family would deign themselves to have to deceive Riboku to execute him. In GOT this worked because:

1. House Stark was more powerful than the Freys, so they had to use deception to lure them to their deaths. The royal family of Zhaonis explicitly more powerful than Riboku and his faction, they don’t need to deceive him.
2. Walder Frey did actually want to marry one of his daughters off to the Tullys, another very powerful House, and he used the opportunity to secure an alliance for his family and to rid himself of the Starks in one go. From our perspective as the reader, the Stark’s murder was devastating and by far the most important aspect of the Red Wedding, but from Walder Frey’s perspective, the most important thing he did that day was secure yet another political alliance for himself. Plus he earned the Lannisters favor.

I’m not opposed to a theory like this, and I think it could work if done correctly, even if it did seem a bit plagiarism-y, but I don’t think it works in this context. I think Hara has already established the lead up to Riboku’s death with his faction wanting to install him as the King of Zhao and would rather Hara go this route.

 

[Pirao]

Riboku's descendants were the Li clan of Zhaojun, an important family during the Sui and Tang dynasties that produced many government officials.

https://www.story.com/story/historical/dynasty-of-the-five-clans
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/赵郡李氏

 

[Warchief Sanji D Goat]

Very nice GOT references. If Hara makes Riboku's death the same way as the red wedding then that would be insane and tragic fate.

However, I don't think Kaine will die. She mentions to Karyo Ten in Sanyou Aftermath arc about if you don't have a home, you can always reach out to us. This will bites her in the ass and she has nowhere else to go after Riboku's death.

Spoiler

I do think that Kaine will get pregnant with Riboku's child and go with Prince Ka to Dai.

 

[Nidai_Kitetsu]

even if it did seem a bit plagiarism-y

True, its not exactly original, but it sounds better than a boring execution for Riboku - he deserves better

2. Walder Frey did actually want to marry one of his daughters off to the Tullys, another very powerful House, and he used the opportunity to secure an alliance for his family and to rid himself of the Starks in one go. From our perspective as the reader, the Stark’s murder was devastating and by far the most important aspect of the Red Wedding, but from Walder Frey’s perspective, the most important thing he did that day was secure yet another political alliance for himself. Plus he earned the Lannisters favor.

Yes, some argue the main reason Freys killed Robb was to gain Lannisters favor. That said, I believe Walder wouldnt have orchestrated red wedding if Robb was married to one of his daughters.