Earlier today, Game of Thrones released a plot-filled trailer for the upcoming season. There is a TON to pull apart – from Zombie Clegane to Sansa Stark”s new attire and life outlook to Varys and Tyrion having a run-in with a new Red Priestess. But for right now, I”m going to focus on Tyrion, because a long-running fan theory might be coming home to roost.
WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR GAME OF THRONES BEYOND THIS POINT. I”M SERIOUS.
Take a look at the trailer to remind yourself:
In order for this theory to make sense, we have to start at the beginning. From unknown origins, there is the prophecy of the “Prince that was promised.” Author George R.R. Martin has a lot of fun subverting the prophecy tropes of high fantasy, most notably with the red comet. Different characters – both PoV and secondary – saw the comet as a portent of tidings good or ill based on their circumstances. The “Prince that was promised” is supposed to be Azor Ahai reborn…aka the Red God”s avatar…aka Westeros Jesus. Said prophecy is also tangled up with a Targaryen prophecy that states “The dragon has three heads.” One could say it”s an allusion to their House sigil…or that the sigil is in remembrance of the prophecy. Either way, “The dragon has three heads” indicates there will be three Targaryen heirs that will save the world whilst riding their three dragons.
The only three dragons in the known world are Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.
Three dragons. Three dragonriders. “The dragon has three heads.” The math adds up. But there”s a problem. Dragons are very selective about their humans, forming a life bond with their riders. Riders who need to have Targaryen blood (probably because Targaryen”s are descended from humanoid dragons but that”s an entirely different article). Everyone knows Daenerys is the last Targaryen. Except she”s not.
Let”s not beat around the bush here. Jon Snow is really Jon Targaryen. One of the conditions for GRRM to allow David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to even make Game of Thrones was they had to know who Jon Snow”s real parent are. For those of you not in the know, Snow”s mother is Lyanna Stark and his father is Rhaegar Targaryen. That promise Ned made to his sister was to keep Jon”s parentage a secret, lest King Robert find out and have him killed. There is solid evidence that Jon is also Azor Ahai, but that”s another story altogether.
So now we have Dany who is already bonded to Drogon and the possibility of her nephew Jon eventually bonding with another. My money would be on Rhaegal as he is the green dragon. As green as the North in spring. But who is the third head? Tyrion Lannister.
That, of course, would mean Tyrion Lannister was actually Tyrion Targaryen. Which is both completely feasible and alluded to by GRRM in the text. A short history: When Tywin Lannister was the Hand of the King, the king in question was King Aerys II. Aerys was better known as the “Mad King.” All those centuries of sibling-marriage left some pretty large lesions on the family DNA. Anyway, Aerys had a thing for Tywin”s wife Joanna. He went so far as to joke about using his king privilege to take Joanna”s virginity on her wedding night and got overly handsy during the bedding ceremony. Aerys continued to lust after Joanna for years. It became bad enough that Queen Rhaella dismissed Joanna from her service. Needless to say, there wasn”t a lot of love lost between Tywin and his employer.
The largest piece of evidence as to Tyrion”s true parentage comes from Tywin Lannister himself. Throughout the series, Tywin repeatedly tells Tyrion variations of “You are not my son.” On a surface that could be construed as Tywin”s disappointment with Tyrion”s physical appearance and bitterness that his youngest son”s birth led to the death of his wife. Or it could be literal. Tyrion is not Tywin”s son. If instead the youngest Lannister”s sire was an inbred king? That could account for his appearance, including his green and black eyes and blonde and black hair.
How does this all tie in with the latest Game of Thrones trailer? Tyrion is finally in a position to deal with the dragon. In the novels, he has yet to get that far. Instead, poor Prince Quentyn of Dorne is sacrificed on the altar of hubris while trying to “tame” Dany”s caged children and thus hammering home that dragons choose their riders, not the other way around.
That HBO chose to have Viserion – the GOLD dragon – come out of the darkness to spit fire at the camera could”ve been a coincidence. Or it could be because Tyrion”s mother is still of House Lannister (she was Tywin”s cousin) and it makes sense to have him ride the golden dragon.
Of course, an alternate reading of the piecemeal history left behind by George R.R. Martin could be read that both Jaime and Cersei are Aerys Targaryen”s children and Tyrion the only true Lannister heir. The truth died with Joanna but may live again if Tyrion can tame Viserion.
Game of Thrones returns to HBO on Sunday, April 24, 2016.