17 Game-Changing Game Of Thrones Fan Theories
*WARNING*: Spoilers up through A Dance With Dragons. You should only click here if you read the books, can't wait for the next seasons, or enjoy wild speculation.
He's the M. Night Shyamalan of killing people unexpectedly. His long-running series A Song of Ice and Fire is filled with deep, expansive plot lines and hidden messages. The first book in the series, A Game of Thrones, was published in 1996, during the fledgling days of internet message boards. But this did not stop fans from gathering and trading an array of theories on what would happen next. Now, 18 years later, the series has become a worldwide phenomenon with the advent of the HBO series Game of Thrones, and the flurry of speculation has reached a peak.
And George R.R. Martin declared in a recent interview with The Telegraph that some of those fan theories are correct. So with such a rich history at our fingertips, let's look at the most awesome, convoluted, twisted, and crazy theories that have come out of this masterpiece.
1. R+L=J
So let's start off with the fan theory that has been talked about so much, it has its own equation and is pretty much canon at this point. The mystery of Jon Snow's parentage is hardly a mystery at all.
But in order to explain who his parent's are, we have to backtrack a little to the inciting incident for Robert's Rebellion. After winning the Tourney at Harrenhal, the victor, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, surprised everyone when he crowned Lyanna Stark the Queen of Love & Beauty over his own wife. This eventually lead to her abduction by Rhaegar, or, more likely, the two lovebirds running off together.
The two spent months together in the Tower of Joy in northern Dorne. But when the War of the Usurper was finally in full swing, Rhaegar had to leave to go join the fighting, dying on the Trident to Robert's hammer, with Lyanna's name on his lips.
The interesting thing about this though is that, when Rhaegar left the tower, he left three members of the Kingsguard behind to defend it. This doesn't make sense if it was just Lyanna in the tower, as the Kingsguard protect the royal bloodline, not the mistresses of the prince. So it is safe to assume that Rhaegar knocked Lyanna up. Also, continuing on with the theorizing, non-legitimized bastards of the royal bloodline don't normally receive Kingsguard protection. Meaning that our favorite bastard Jon Snow may be no bastard at all, and actually be the trueborn son of Prince Rhaegar and Princess Lyanna.
After the Sack of King's Landing, Eddard rode to raise the Siege of Storm's End, and from there rode with seven companions to the Tower of Joy. Defeating the three Kingsguard cost everyone except Ned and Howland Reed their lives. Ned found Lyanna in a "bed of blood" and she made him promise her something, something that would haunt him for the rest of his life. The "bed of blood" may refer to a maternity bed, one in which Jon was just born. The promise may have been for Ned to care for Jon, and to keep his Targaryen heritage a secret. Robert and Tywin were on a little bit of a murdering spree at that point when it came to Targaryens.
And to top it off, when David Benioff and D.B. Weiss met with George R.R. Martin to discuss adapting the books for HBO, they were given a question to see if they were actual fans. That question was about Jon Snow's parentage, and they got it right. So, that means that we have all of the evidence that we need in only the first four books. Now all we need is someone to make it to Greywater Watch and meet with Howland Reed, the only living person who knows what happened at the Tower of Joy.
Probability: Thirteen Blue Winter Roses out of Ten Dented, Ruby-Encrusted Breastplates
2. The Wall was built by the White Walkers.
This theory comes from an off-hand comment by George R.R. Martin at an event where he stated that White Walkers use magical ice as weapons, and are able to do many other things with it as well. The ice of the Wall is magical, incredibly dense, and said to have a life of its own.
This lead to an explosion of theories, such as the White Walkers built the Wall to keep men out of the north because of the proliferation of weapons that could kill them. During the Long Night, the First Men and The Children of the Forest discovered that dragonglass (obsidian) and dragonsteel (Valyrian steel) were able to kill the Others. Obsidian was available in abundance at places such as Dragonstone, while Valyrian steel was not nearly as rare then as it is at the present. So, the theory goes, the White Walkers fled north to the Land of Always Winter and built the Wall to deter men from following. The Night's Watch only took up residence afterwards, tunneling the gates, building their castles, and adding enchantments to the existing wall.
This theory could also be supported by a quote from Samwell in A Feast for Crows, where he says, "The oldest histories we have were written after the Andals came to Westeros. The First Men only left us runes on rocks, so everything we know about the Age of Heroes and the Dawn Age and the Long Night comes from accounts set down by septons thousands of years later. There are archmaesters at the Citadel who question all of it."
Other theories include the White Walkers built the Wall as a Trojan Horse, and are able to either disenchant it, or possibly even destroy it.
Probability: Not a White Walker's Chance in the Doom of Valyria
3. Patchface is a prophet of the Drowned God.
The shipwreck that claimed the lives of Robert, Stannis, and Renly's parents had only one survivor, a sharp-witted jester named Patchface that the Baratheons had bought while in Essos. The man who washed up days later on the shore and was changed and had become a halfwit from a supposed lack of oxygen.
He becomes a companion to Stannis's daughter and speaks in seemingly nonsensical rhymes. However, these inane words seem to have a prophetic nature, foretelling events such as the Red Wedding and the Frey Pie incident.
Drowning and coming back to life is a major part of the religion of the Drowned God, the deity of the Iron Islands, and many of his prophecies begin with the phrase, "Under the sea," perhaps referring to the land of the dead.
Probability: Seven Disney-Themed Prophecies out of Ten
4. Syrio is alive/is Jaqen H'ghar.
The supposed end of Arya's beloved dancing master happens off-page and off-screen in both the book and the show, lending a glimmer of credence to this theory.
The idea that Syrio is Jaqen H'ghar, the criminal that Arya saves, comes from the unlikeliness of a Faceless Man being captured and thrown into the black cells. These assassins can change their appearance and are highly skilled, paid immense fortunes for the killing of even someone as lowly as a merchant. Jaqen's skill is clearly shown when he is able to infiltrate Harrenhal during wartime, kill three people, and escape without anyone even considering his involvement. Petyr Baelish comments to Ned Stark, saying that if they hired a Faceless Man to kill Daenarys, she would have been dead for sure, and she is in the middle of the greatest Khalasar and is its Khaleesi.
What this theory purports is that Syrio/Jaqen escapes his fight with Meryn Trant, and afterwards heads down to the black cells, kills the original Jaqen, and locks himself inside in order to be picked up by the Night's Watch. This would also account for the murderous Rorge and Biter's fear of Jaqen. Seeing him break into the black cells, kill a man, and then change into that man would be enough to freak anyone out. Jaqen's intense interest in 'Arry/Arya before he had even met her, his revealing his true identity as a Faceless Man to her, and his gift of passage to Braavos would also be explained by this.
The main problem with this theory is, if Syrio is Jaqen, what was he doing training Arya in King's Landing? Faceless Men are assassins and only leave the temple to fulfill a contract. He could have been using his training of Arya to get close to someone, such as her father, but it is unknown, and may never be known.
Probability: Four Wishful Thinkings out of Ten
5. Melisandre will heal/bring Jon back from the dead.
A Song of Ice and Fire has already shown the restorative power of the Red God is indeed strong. Beric Dondarrion was brought back to life numerous times by Thoros of Myr, as well as a long-dead Catelyn Stark. The red priest that Victarion finds is able to heal his wounded, infected hand, making it stronger than it was before (as well as looking extremely badass).
With a significant number of wildlings still at Castle Black, numerous Queensmen, and and any members of the Night's Watch still loyal to Jon, it should be a snap to recover his body and have it brought to Melisandre. And let's not forget Jon's warging power which means he is able to store his consciousness in Ghost until his body is healed, similar to other skinchangers such as Haggon, Orell, and Varamyr. This would also hopefully prevent the loss of memory and humanity that we see in others who have been resurrected, namely Lady Stoneheart.
Probability: Seven Mutineers' Stab Wounds out of Ten
6. Cersei will be killed by Jaime.
Cersei is screwed up in the head in many ways, but a single incident from her youth haunts her and drives her to commit many of these otherwise insane acts. When she was a young girl, she and a friend had their fortunes told by an old eastern witch named Maggy the Frog. Cersei's prophecy was that she would marry a king, who would father sixteen children while she would only give birth to three. Maggy also told her that another queen, younger and more beautiful, would depose her, and afterwards, once all her children were buried, her valonqar would choke her to death. Valonqar, as we all know, means little brother in High Valyrian, which Cersei always took to mean Tyrion, while the younger queen is Margaery Tyrell (but I think it's Daenarys).
However, the alternate explanation of this prophecy is Jaime kills Cersei. The two are twins, but it was Cersei who arrived first, with Jaime being born right after. The two have been drifting apart since Jaime was freed from Stark captivity, with Cersei seeing enemies all around, while Jaime attempts to broker peace and set the kingdom right. The two who were once inseparable have never been more at odds.
And how poetically Shakespearean would it be if Jaime strangled Cersei with the gold hand that she had made for him?
Probability: Six Medieval Melodramas out of Ten
7. Tyrion is actually half-Targaryen
The late Tywin Lannister's late wife, Joanna Lannister, was an intelligent and beautiful woman. She served as her husband's close confidante and advisor, ruling the house while helping him to rule the kingdom. However, it was not only Tywin who had eyes for Joanna; the Mad King Aerys also wanted her. Not out of love or need, but out of desire and want, even going so far as to take liberties with Joanna at her wedding during the bedding ceremony, where all of the male guests undress the bride and the female guests undress the groom.
Now Joanna would never willingly cheat on her husband, but it is entirely possible that Aerys at some point had his way with her. If Tywin knew or found out later, the enmity between the two would have grown to the point that Tywin would see the wholesale slaughter of the Targaryen dynasty as a sort of revenge. Tywin also claims that he was never able to prove that Tyrion wasn't his, implying that he tried. With such a great marriage to the late Joanna, this means that he either didn't trust her fidelity (unlikely) or had some knowledge of her being taken by force. You could also then take another meaning from his last words, ""You...you are no...no son of mine." (though this was probably just him being a dick [albeit Tyrion had just shot him with a crossbow while he was trying to take a dump]).
What this all would (hopefully) mean is that Tyrion is one of the three heads of the dragon that was prophesied when Daenarys went to the House of the Undying, and account for the path to Dany that he is on now (I say Tyrion gets Rhaegal).
And on a physical note, Tyrion has light blonde hair (pretty close to the Targaryen white), mismatched green and black eyes (Lannister's have green eyes and Targaryen eyes can appear so purple as to be black), and finally, children of the Targaryen dynasty seem to have an ill effect on their mothers (Rhaella dying giving birth to Daenarys, Lyanna dying giving birth to Jon, Elia going barren after two children).
Probability: Three Soap Opera Love Triangles out of Ten
8. Aegon VI is a fake.
This Targaryen heir burst on to the scene in A Dance with Dragons, claiming to be the son of Rhaegar Targaryen who was supposedly killed by Gregor Clegane during the Sack of King's Landing. According to Varys, he has him switched with a common-born babe and spirited away to Essos, where the Spider's chum Illyrio raises him to be the best of kings. He is trained in language, math, fighting, and history, and lives and works with the smallfolk in order to better know his subjects. Varys says to Kevan Lannister (right before he has him killed) that, "Aegon has been shaped for rule before he could walk...He can fish and cook and bind up a wound, he knows what it is like to be hungry, to be hunted, to be afraid. Tommen has been taught that kingship is his right. Aegon knows kingship is his duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for them."
The one major problem with this plot is, how could Varys have known that the fake Aegon (dubbed the Pisswater Prince) would be mangled to such a state as to be unrecognizable? This has lead some to believe that Aegon is one of two things:
1) The son of Ashara Dayne. While reportedly throwing herself off a tower and over a cliff after giving birth to a stillborn daughter, her body was never recovered. And as we know, if we don't see a body, it probably didn't happen. And if we see a body, it still might have not happened, because Varys.
2) A male Blackfyre, long thought to be extinct in the male line. The members of this exiled branch of House Targaryen would still have the same features as the main branch of House Targaryen, and Varys could have potentially found one as a babe and raised him up to believe himself to be Aegon. This is also supported by the fact that the Golden Company, founded by a supporter of House Blackfyre, so readily supports him.
Other criticisms of Aegon come from a more emotional perspective: some readers want Tyrion (as discussed elsewhere) to be the third head of the dragon, and some just don't believe that GRRM would bring in a new Targaryen player so late in the game. But then again, when has ol' Georgie ever played by the rules?
Probability: Three Confusing Lines of Succession out of Ten
9. Jon/Dany/Stannis/Aegon VI is Azor Ahai/the Prince That Was Promised.
Azor Ahai is a legendary hero that will be reborn to drive back the Others during the next Long Night. The Prince That Was Promised is a hero that will save the world from darkness. The similarity of these prophecies has lead those who've studied it to believe that they are speaking about the same person. Maester Aemon and Melisandre use the terms interchangeably.
The signs that will herald the birth of the hero are thus:
- The birth of a prince or princess.
- The prince or princess will be of Targaryen blood (a woods witch said the child would be born to the line of Aerys II and his sister Rhaella [ew]).
- Born amidst salt and smoke.
- A bleeding star in the skies (also mentioned is being born beneath a bleeding star).
- Waking the dragons from stone.
- Possibly the murder of a loved one.
Now let's look at how those apply to each of our potentials:
Jon Snow - As we saw from the first theory in this list, R+L=J, the Lord Crow is potentially a Targaryen prince from the line of Aerys and Rhaella. We know next to nothing about his birth but we do know about his rebirth. Death and other formative moments are treated as rebirth in ASOIAF, and, at the end of the fifth book, while Jon is being stabbed to death right after making a game-changing decision, all the signs are there. The salt is Bowen Marsh's tears as he stabs his Lord Commander, the smoke is the steam rising from Jon's open wounds, and the bleeding star is the blood of Ser Patrek on his heraldry, which is a blue star on a silver field. And in addition, he indirectly causes Ygritte's death by warning Castle Black of the wildling raid. Probability: Yes.
Daenarys - She is a princess, daughter of Aerys II and Rhaella. She was first born surrounded by the salty sea on Dragonstone, then reborn as the Mother of Dragons after rising from Drogo's funeral pyre, providing the smoke. She hatched three petrified dragon eggs, waking them from stone. And on that morning after rising from the funeral pyre, a red star appeared in the sky. She also smothers her still-"living" husband. Probability: Definitely yes.
Stannis - Melisandre attempts to force the prophecies to come true for Stannis, having him attempt to forge Lightbringer on Dragonstone while the red comet blazed overhead. The smoke from the burning statues of the Seven and the salt from the sea were meant to fulfill the requirements, but Maester Aemon notes that the Lightbringer that Stannis forged gives off no heat and therefore cannot be true. Probability: I really hope not.
Aegon VI - Rhaegar believed he was the prince that was promised, and Rhaegar was super smart. So maybe. Probability: Rhaegar is always right.
10. Jojen was feed to Bran by the Children of the Forest.
This theory utilizes some very chilling excerpts from Bran's time with Bloodraven. In order to waken his full powers, Bran is given a bowl of paste to eat, in which he notices some veins of red. He assumes that it is just weirwood sap, but can't help but notice that it looks like blood, and is initially revolted by its taste. While in the weirwood, Bran also sees people being sacrificed to the the Old Gods and can taste their blood.
Magic comes with a price in Martin's books, such as Melisandre's sacrifices for Lightbringer, Dany's unwitting sacrifice of her unborn son to "save" her husband, and the burning of her husband's body and a witch to wake the dragons. Jojen, with his powers of greensight, would be a potent sacrifice.
Jojen's green dreams also showed him the moment of his death, which would happen sometime after he delivered Bran to the Children. He began to grow more sullen and withdrawn the further north they traveled, and when Bran asked Jojen and Meera if the Children were going to kill him, Meera said, "Jojen, you're scaring him." Jojen replied, "He is not the one who needs to be afraid."
Finally, in the last chapter we have from Bran's perspective, he goes looking for the Reeds and is unable to find them.
Probability: Four Potential Cannibalisms out of Ten
11. Coldhands is Benjen Stark.
A theory that relies mainly on emotions, Coldhands is the wight that saved Samwell Tarly's bacon and guided Bran's party to the Children of the Forest. He is clearly a Crow, being described as wearing the mottled blacks and grays of the Night's Watch, plus he addresses Sam as "Brother".
And with cool Uncle Benjen missing, readers want to look for a meaning in his death/disappearance, and see Coldhands as an acceptable replacement. The Child of the Forest, Leaf, says, "They killed him long ago." Benjen only disappeared two years prior, and who knows what a long time means to the Children of the Forest, a race that lives for hundreds of years. Leaf claims to be over 200 years old.
None of this has deterred the tinfoil hats, but we may never know his true identity.
Probability: Two Hands Full Of Congealed Blood out of Ten
12. Littlefinger will see his ambitions ended by Sansa's hand.
Everyone, who isn't a fellow sociopath, wants Littlefinger to get his comeuppance, and Sansa seems to be the one best positioned to do it. She has become his protege and confidante, with him even expositioning all over her about Jon Arryn's demise.
The clearest evidence that we have is a prophecy from the Ghost of High Heart. She says to the members of the Brotherhood Without Banners that she dreamed, "of a maid at a feast with purple serpents in her hair, venom dripping from their fangs. And later I dreamt that maid again, slaying a savage giant in a castle built of snow." The purple serpents in the hair was the poison that Lady Olenna used to kill Joffrey, showing that this prophecy is indeed about Sansa. The next line makes little sense when talking about Littlefinger, until you realize that the Mockingjay symbol he has adopted is not his family's sigil. House Baelish's sigil is the head of a titan, an otherwise giant and savage creature. The Eyrie also sits atop the peak known as the Giant's Lance, and with winter coming, as it always is, the castle will be covered in snow.
Littlefinger is like the Sith Master whose end will eventually come at the hands of the apprentice he trained. Sansa has shown great promise in navigating the intricacies of the game of thrones, once she stopped crying over being married to the coolest guy in Westeros. Sansa doesn't seem to be one to get her hands dirty when murdering someone, and it will be incredibly interesting to see what sort of web she weaves. This "slaying" may even be metaphorical, where Sansa deposes Petyr as the Lord of the Vale and banishes him back to his little Finger. That would be all too sweet.
Probability: Six Stabbings I Want To See Happen out of Ten
13. Balon Greyjoy was murdered by his brother Euron.
Another prophecy by the Ghost of High Heart, who correctly predicted the Purple Wedding and the resurrection of Catelyn Stark, goes thusly,
"I dreamt of a man without a face, waiting on a bridge that swayed and swung. On his shoulder perched a drowned crow with seaweed hanging from his wings."
Balon supposedly fell off one of the rope bridges that spanned between the towers of the Pyke during a violent storm. This prophecy suggests that it was instead a Faceless Man that was hired by one of the ironborn.
The most likely suspect is Euron "Crow's Eye" Greyjoy, Balon's exiled brother, who arrived at the Iron Isles soon after Balon's death, despite not having any way of knowing that his lord brother had died (unless he had been the one that hired the Faceless Man that is). As mentioned by the small council of Robert Baratheon while debating how to deal with Daenarys, a Faceless Man comes with a high price tag, even for a lowly merchant. The price to kill a lord of a great house must have been exorbitant, and Euron, with his ships bulging with plunder from his days raiding while in exile, would have been able to pay this price.
Probability: Nine Kinslayers out of Ten
14. The Hound is alive and well.
For the last time, if we don't see a character die on screen, then they're definitely not dead. Unless they are, because that happens sometimes too. But not in the case of the Hound, who has found himself on the Quiet Isle as the gravedigger for the local monks.
The Elder Brother of the order says he spoke to the Hound as he died, and seems to know quite a bit about him for only having a brief moment before he passed. The monk, who was relating this tale to Brienne of Tarth, also may have been speaking metaphorically about the death of Clegane, as he claims that he himself "died" during the Battle of the Trident, representing his change from a warrior to a man of peace.
This means that Sandor has become a novice on the island, and the gravedigger that Brienne sees matches the physical description of the Hound. He is larger than Brienne, and wears a scarf that can cover the burns on his face. The gravedigger walks with a limp, still healing from the injury that put him on the island.
And the nail in the coffin for most of the tinfoil hat fans, he is also seen bending down to pet a dog, a clue left by Martin, alluding to his old life as the Hound.
Probability: Nine Penitents I Don't Care For out of Ten
15. Southron Ambitions
This theory is something to behold. Completely implied, convoluted, and incredibly expansive, Southron Ambitions evolved out of a comment by Barbrey Dustin in A Dance With Dragons, where the northern lady cursed Ned's father Rickard and his "southron ambitions". Stefan Sasse sussed out the details, writing a lengthy essay over at the Tower of the Hand.
The very summarized summary of this conspiracy is that five of the great lords plotted to intermarry their children and thereby gain more power in the ruling of the Westeros. These five lords, Jon Arryn, Tywin Lannister, Rickard Stark, Hoster Tully, and Steffon Baratheon, all fought together during the War of the Ninepenny Kings, forging a bond not normally seen between the heads of the great houses.
This led to betrothals between their heirs, with Brandon Stark engaged to Catelyn Tully, Jaime Lannister to Lysa Tully, and Robert Baratheon to Lyanna Stark. Their parents on the other hand only married the children of their own bannermen, so this seems to break tradition.
Robert and Ned were also sent to foster at the Eyrie with Jon Arryn, an unusual occurrence. If a feud were to ever break out between the Vale and the North, or the Vale and the Stormlands, Arryn would have two hostages that he could use to threaten his opponents. This sort of deal would only happen between lords who consider themselves fast friends, and have nothing to fear from each other.
To get the full scope of this theory, head on over to the Tower of the Hand.
Probability: Eight Shadowy Implications out of Ten
16. Rhaegar was planning on dethroning his father, The Mad King Aerys.
The Mad King was a paranoid man, who trusted only his closest advisers (not always correctly *cough*Pycelle*cough*). This paranoia even extended to his own son, who he suspected of plotting to overthrow him. The Tourney at Harrenhal was set up by Lord Whent, but was such a rich affair that it was may have been funded behind the scenes by a rich benefactor. This benefactor was could have been Rhaegar, or a combination of northern lords, all who were looking for an excuse to meet and plot a peaceful coup/transition which would see Rhaegar put on the throne. Combined with the conspiracy above, it begins to make even more sense why Tywin would have been pushing so hard for Cersei to be married to Rhaegar, attempting to secure the last puzzle piece needed by engaging his daughter to the new lord.
The plot came to a crashing halt however when King Aerys showed up unannounced at the tourney. This didn't allow the lords to stop and collaborate, and afterwards Rhaegar started his Lyanna obsession, which led all the way up to the War of the Usurper. And a small quote from Rhaegar that further lends credence to this theory is when he was leaving King's Landing to fight at the Battle of the Trident, he told Jaime Lannister that there were changes that were going to be made when he got back. If Rhaegar had won, or even survived the battle, he probably would've tried to sue for peace, allowing the rebels to depose his father if he could ascend the throne. I hate getting into what ifs, but it would've been a much more peaceful world if that had happened.
Probability: Eight Coups We Wanted out of Ten
17. The Grand Northern Conspiracy
If you had trouble reading all of the Southron Ambitions' essay, then you're probably not going to like this one. Awesomely-titled and in seven parts, this series details the supposed fate of the breakaway Northern Kingdom after the death of The Young Wolf, Robb Stark. Examining the final days of the King in the North from his mother's POV, as well as the reactions of his bannermen after his death at the Red Wedding, a Tumblr/Reddit user named Yeade discovered what may be the start of the Starks' late-game comeback.
The basic premise of the essays is that, when creating his will, Robb legitimized his bastard brother Jon Snow and declared him his heir. This will is held by one of his bannermen and guides all of their actions under Lannister control. Everything that they do, from cooperating with Stannis or deceiving the Boltons, is done to eventually allow for Jon Snow to take up the mantle as a Stark. They are playing the game of thrones and positioning their enemies and reluctant allies to take a fall, while the true King in the North and will break his vow's to the Night's Watch and take up his place in Winterfell.
To read all of the essays and see the staggering brilliance behind it, click here.
Probability: George R.R. Martin will like this more than what he originally had planned and include it.
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