R+L = J

Jon Snow is dead… or is he? Fans are working overtime to come up with theories about why Jon Snow can’t be dead, and how he will survive — from Melisandre’s opportune presence at the time of his death to the theory about Jon’s parentage which, incidentally, is one of the most discussed fan theories from the Game of Thrones/ Song of Ice and Fire series. According to the theory, Jon is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen and not Ned Stark’s. Lyanna had been kidnapped by Rhaegar. During Robert’s (Baratheon) Rebellion, Ned reached the Tower of Joy to find his sister in a “bed of blood” (maybe a reference to childbirth). She died soon after and Ned returned with a bastard son. Fans presume he claimed Jon as his own to protect Jon from Robert who was killing all Targaryens. Ned also mentions making a promise to Lyanna on her deathbed. Was the promise to keep Jon secret and safe? If this theory about Jon’s parentage is true, then being burned on a funeral pyre (that is what the Crows do to their dead to prevent them from becoming undead) may actually bring Jon back. Remember how Daenerys Targaryen sat in the funeral pyre of Khal Drogo only to emerge unscathed with three hatched dragons?

Azor Ahai

Azor Ahai is a legendary hero who, according to various prophecies, is supposed to be reborn to fight against the enemy of the R’hllor or the Lord of Light. The prophecy says, “a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him.” There is also the reference to a “Prince that was Promised”, who some believe is interchangeable with Azhor Ahai, and others believe is a separate entity. The Prince that was Promised was supposed to be born from the line of Prince Aerys and Princess Rhaella Targaryen. So far there are three favourite possibilities — 

 

Stannis Baratheon: Melisandre, a priestess of the Lord of Light, believed Stannis was Azhor Ahai. Stannis wields a magic sword that was forged by plunging a blade through a burning statue of the Maiden at the Sept at Dragonstone (the burning statues make the smoke and the waves on the shores of Dragonstone make the salt); Stannis was named the Lord of Dragonstone after Robert’s Rebellion, Dragonstone being a place of smoke and salt and Stannis’s paternal grandmother being Rhaella, which means he has the “Blood of the Dragon”, which some consider another element of the prophecy. But he died at the end of season five of GoT; at least we think he did!

 

Daenerys Targaryen: The prophecy about Azhor Ahai being a man, Maester Aemon believed was erroneous. Daenerys was born on Dragonstone (“amidst salt”), reborn as the “Mother of Dragons” on Khal Drogo’s funeral pyre (“amidst smoke”), where her three petrified dragon eggs also hatched (“to wake dragons from stone”). The Red Comet also appeared in the sky on that day (“when the stars bleed”).  She is also Aerys and Rhaella’s daughter.

Jon Snow: Whenever Melisandre calls for visions of Azhor Ahai she sees visions of Jon and snow. In the book, A Dance of Dragons, Jon’s circumstances of death were different and by a long stretch could be seen to match the prophecy, whether it was his wounds “smoking in the cold”, the “salt” in the tears being shed by Bowen Marsh and the “bleeding star” could be Ser Patrek’s star-studded cape, bloodied after he was killed by Wun Wun the giant. And if his Targaryen bloodline is confirmed and he emerges reborn from the fire then he would definitely fit the bill. 

The three-headed dragon

Do you remember what the Targaryen crest looks like? It has a dragon with three heads on it and leads directly into one of the prophecies and to another fan theory. While many believe that the messianic references in the books to Azor Ahai, The Prince that was Promised, and the Last Hero are one and the same person, others believe that they are three separate people. This belief is based to a great extent on the vision Daenerys has in the House of the Undying towards the end of the book A Clash of Kings where she sees her brother Rhaegar looking at her and saying “the Dragon has three heads”. In fact, Dany has three dragons and she herself just rode one. Will there be two others who will ride the other two? Jon Snow (given the theory of R+L= J) could be one but who could be the other? That leads us to the next popular fan theory.

Tyrion a Targaryen

Some fans believe that Tyrion Lannister is not Tywin’s son but the son of mad king Aerys Targaryen and Joanna Lannister, Tywin’s wife. That would explain why Tywin hated Tyrion so much. After all, in the books, Tyrion is described as having pale-blond hair, a Targaryen trait. Fans theorise further that Tyrion’s deformity may be the result of an abortion attempt by Tywin, which might have created complications for Joanna during childbirth, causing her death. If Tyrion is indeed half-Targaryen it would give his allegiance with Dany legitimacy and make him able to ride a dragon. Could he be the third head of the dragon? And can you imagine the awesomeness of seeing Peter Dinklage on a dragon?! 

Syrio Forel is alive

Remember Arya’s “dancing instructor” Syrio Forel? Well the last we saw of the Braavosi was when he helped Arya get away and took on the Lannister guards. He was allegedly killed by Ser Meryn Trant, but no one saw him die. Fans believe, and all GoT fans want it to be true — that’s how popular he was — that Forel is alive, and many even theorise that Jaqen H’ghar, one of the Faceless Men, is actually Forel in disguise. After all, didn’t he teach Arya what to say to the God of Death? “Not today!”

The Clegane brothers live

Sandor Clegane (The Hound) was left dying on a hillside by Arya. We did not see him die and fans (those who have read the books) theorise that he was saved by a Septon and taken to the Quiet Isles. In fact, in A Feast For Crows, Brienne of Tarth notices a “tall and swarthy” gravedigger who could be The Hound. Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane had been mortally wounded and treated by Maester Qyburn. We did not see him die either and the mysterious Ser Robert Strong who has made an appearance, might just be The Mountain resurrected. If Cersei has to undergo trial by combat against the Faith of the Seven, she will probably choose Ser Robert as champion and who would the Faith choose if not The Hound? Fans believe we will see the brothers clash soon.

Bran the time traveller

This one is a bit of a stretch, making Bran a time traveller who goes back in time, possesses Jaime and makes him (Jaime) push himself (Bran) off the tower to stop a bigger war. The theory claims that Bran in an alternate timeline has both legs but Westeros has been taken over by White Walkers. To stop the fate he travels back in time and sets the ball rolling for the present events. He can warg into animals, possess Hodor, see into the past through Weirtrees, so why not add time travelling to it?

Roose Bolton is an immortal

Here is another one that doesn’t make sense, really. Many fans think Roose is a vampire, living for many centuries. What do they derive this from? Well, the Bolton family does skin people alive and thanks to Arya’s work in the House of Black and White we know that human skin can be preserved and used as a mask. Also, his description is very vampirish — cold, calculating, unfeeling. 

Varys is a fish-monster

Here is one of the most ridiculous theories cooked up by fans, probably for fun. Lord Varys, according to some, is a sea-monster, specifically a Merling (referred to in the books), pretending to be human. Why? His smile has been described as “slimy” and he never shows his teeth (which, some fans think, are sharp and pointy), he is not afraid of Tyrion’s threat of throwing him into the sea and, Littlefinger says that he has full control over Varys, and Littlefinger owns a ship called the Merlin King... coincidence? 

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