Who Sired Jon Snow, and Other Theories of the Game of Thrones Universe

If you watch/read Game of Thrones (or A Song of Ice and Fire) as intensely as I do, you’re probably all too aware that the fifth season, after a long 300+ day wait, has returned. You’re probably also aware that at least one of your exams is going to be put aside in favour of watching Tyrion make his characteristic quips, Arya doing something badass, and Bran wandering for entire seasons without doing anything remotely interesting. But Bran aside, what makes this show so interesting is the elaborate world that George R. R. Martin has created, with twists and turns that usually end fatally for the characters. Needless to say, fantasy worlds and elaborate plots tend to be discussed intensely online, and here are some of the most popular theories about your favourite characters. 

Warning: Massive potential spoilers ahead, and many guaranteed spoilers

R+L=J: No discussion of theories is really complete without at least mentioning R+L=J, a long-time fan favourite. What this one posits is that Rhaegar Targaryan and Lyanna Stark are the true parents of Jon Snow. Prince Rhaegar stole Lyanna from her engagement to Robert Baratheon, and set off a war that would knock the Targaryens from their centuries of ruling. However – Lyanna was known to be unhappy with her engagement, given Robert’s tendency to drink and engage with women as he pleased, and Rhaegar’s taking of her is genuinely shown to be romantic, not abusive. Ned Stark, in the books, often refers to Jon as his blood, not his son. To get to Lyanna after she was taken, he and six others had to fight through three out of the seven Kingsguard knights – sworn to protect the royal family. Now, no offence to Lyanna, but a Prince’s lover does not warrant nearly half of a royal Order to follow her around. But an heir to the throne would. He mentions a “promise” that he made to Lyanna before she died (for unknown reasons, but a “bed of blood” is mentioned – labour complications?), and that he had been “living lies for 12 years” – Jon just happens to be 12 years old. It makes sense that Ned would have known that a Targaryen bastard would be in immense danger, and it fits in perfectly with his noble character to shame himself rather than risk losing his only nephew and child of his beloved sister. Plus, most of all, this would make Jon “the son of ice and fire” and another potential rider of one of Daenerys’ dragons!

Tyrion’s Father: Everyone loves Tyrion, largely in thanks to his wit and Peter Dinklage’s fantastic portrayal of him. So it wasn’t long before someone came up with the idea of Tyrion seated firmly on the back of a dragon spewing fire.

That’s this guy right here

This theory suggests that Tyrion’s father is NOT Tywin Lannister, who has never shown even an inkling of love for him or really anyone else other than his wife Joanna, who died birthing Tyrion. Tywin’s hatred of him seems to go…deeper than that. To quote Tywin, while he was denying Tyrion his birthright as Lord of Casterly Rock: “I cannot prove that you are not mine, and men’s laws force me to suffer you…” So what if he was unsure if Tyrion was his son at all? But then who would be Tyrion’s father? None other than Aerys “The Mad King” Targaryen, a king so crazy he brought five great Houses together (a feat in itself, given how much they all hate each other) to kill him. Aerys was known to be fond of Joanna, making lewd comments at her, taking liberties at a bedding ceremony, and Ser Barristan says as much to Daenerys. The idea here is that Aerys raped Joanna, but nobody could do anything about it because well, he was the King. Tyrion was born from this, and this was the first ever reason for Tywin to hate his guts. Tyrion mentions to Jon Snow, off-handedly in the first book that he “always wanted a dragon” and he “used to sneak off and start fires” because he was fascinated with fire. Tyrion’s hair is said to be partially black but also pale blonde – this is important. Lannisters have golden hair, this is well known – but it is Targaryen’s who have pale-blonde, almost white hair. When we last saw Tyrion, he was off to meet Daenerys (you should know that – it’s on posters all over the city), and maybe, just maybe, he’ll tame a dragon while he’s at it.  

Azor Jonhai: If you’ve only watched the show, you should not read this one. This gets into territory that’s covered ONLY in the books so far. While the idea of Azor Ahai isn’t covered well in the show (a brief mention in Season 2), he’s supposedly the hero that will save Westeros from the eternal winter. This theory suggests that Jon “Knows Nothing” Snow is this hero, given Rhaegar’s prophecy that his son would be the hero to come. As fans of the books will know, Jon Snow suffered a tragedy at the end of Book 5, and his fate remains uncertain. But what if Jon Snow does die? What would be the most likely thing to happen to his body? Well, with all the White Walkers moving around, they’d probably burn his body to make sure he doesn’t come back under their control. And if Melisandre were to do that…well, sometimes more than smoke rises from the flames.  

The internet says it’ll look like this

“Southron Ambitions”: This theory really ties everything together, from Robert’s Rebellion to the present day intrigue. Alright, so anyone who’s seen even Season One of the show, knows that Robert Baratheon lost his betrothed, Lyanna Stark, whose sibling Ned was fostered with Robert at House Arryn and would eventually become engaged to his brother’s betrothed Catelyn Tull. Jon Arryn (who married Lysa Tully) eventually arranged a marriage with Robert and Cersei Lannister (whose brother Jaime was originally promised to Catelyn). Now, everyone knows that Game of Thrones is all about sex, but this is a little weird. Namely because it’s not incestuous, not even a little bit.

Oh hey guys, what are you doing here?

Lords don’t marry their children to each other, in fact they usually married them to their cousins or their bannermen. Why on earth would five of the most powerful Houses in Westeros want to give their children to each other – children who would very likely be caught up in the inevitable war between the Houses? Simple. Alliance. Aerys was a terrible king by all accounts, and it made sense well before the Rebellion broke out, for these lords to prepare a pact that would eventually take out the Targaryens or at least Aerys. However, things didn’t go as planned, Robert was young, impulsive, and not in on the plan. Rhaegar it seems, was the same. The fighting broke out, people died, and then all these connections would bring instability, the exact opposite of what was intended. Cersei driving Robert insane, Jon Arryn trying to maintain peace and failing, and instead of a peaceful transition to Rhaegar, the rightful heir, Robert and Tywin murdered every Targaryen or Targaryen loyalist they could. When Jon Arryn died and the war that had been building up for so long finally broke out, there was no other choice but for every House to be drawn into the fighting – they all had something to lose. It’s a great story, and certainly believable since it doesn’t really change, but explains the plot of this wonderful series.

I’ll be watching with the rest of you to see what comes next. 

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