In the fight against Aerys II Tagaryen Kingsgaurd, Howland Reed is slashed across the chest by Dayne. At first, the viewer may believe that Howland Reed is dead, but he comes back to finish off Dayne and to check on the other bodies. Many times in Game of Thrones the viewer is led to believe that someone is dead but they return later.
This time, I believe Howland Reed may actually have died while the viewer believes he survived. Howland's daughter, Meera, is poised to take over for her father and become a powerful but pacifying leader of the House of Reed.
