(This goes without saying but for the sake of saying it, SPOILERS AHEAD.)
Season 5 of Game of Thrones is coming and with it some major fan theories about the fate of the show’s main characters. We may have already figured out the spoilers the new GoT trailer just dropped on Sansa’s return to Winterfell — when it comes to that sneaky lovable bastard George R.R. Martin, you just never know — but now it seems it’s time to revisit one of the more well-known and all but confirmed theories about our favorite Watcher on the Wall.
The true lineage of Jon Snow is still a mystery on the show (and in the books) but some sharp readers think they have it figured out. If you aren’t aware of the R+L=J theory, you’ve probably been living under a rock for the past few years, but we hold no judgment against you and you’re welcome to catch up with this little video. The thinking that Jon Snow isn’t the bastard son of Ned Stark but is really the lovechild of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen is so solid in its foundations that even the beheaded former Lord of Winterfell himself, Sean Bean, has dubbed it true.
Still, when it comes to trying to figure out the inner workings of Martin’s heavily homicidal imagination, it’s good to gather all of the facts. Enter this deductive Reddit user, who has put plenty of time into finding every way possible to support the idea that Jon Snow is really a Targaryen by studying the Stark family tree:
I’ve searched for this theory over the boards and, while the connection has been made, I think a very key aspect of Jon’s naming has been overlooked.
So, all of Ned Stark’s sons are named after someone very important to him….
Robb Stark = Robert Baratheon (best friend)
Jon Snow = Jon Arryn
Bran Stark = Brandon Stark (brother)
Rickard Stark = Rickon Stark (father)
Why Jon Arryn? Ned’s relationship to Arryn parallels the relationship he feels with Snow. Jon Arryn raised Ned like a son even though he was not. Furthermore, when the king (Aerys) called for Ned’s head, Lord Arryn raised his banners in rebellion and defied the king to save him. No doubt Ned is defying Robert by hiding the Targaryen’s claim to the throne.
The power of a name can’t be denied and according to this assumption, the fact that Ned Stark may have named Jon after Jon Arryn, the man who served as a stand-in for his own father and who protected him from King Aerys, is telling of Ned’s relationship with the boy.
Who knows nothing now, Martin? (Except for Jon Snow, he’s still totally in the dark about all of this the poor guy.)
H/T MTV News
