Like almost everyone on the planet, I am glued to my television on Sunday nights. The reason? It’s a simple one….Game Of Thrones. The epic fantasy television show created by HBO, and based off the books A Song Of Fire And Ice by George R.R. Martin is probably the best television series I’ve ever seen. It’s deep, incredibly violent, and the character development is absolutely amazing. There’s a reason why the premiere and finale of each new season usually sets records for viewership. It’s an engrossing story, and I highly recommend it to everyone who hasn’t watched it yet. If you are a real Game Of Thrones fan, you know that theories about where the story is going are a dime a dozen. Most of them are poorly thought out, and have little chance of actually being true. These 13 theories below however, they are actually grounded in quite a bit of fact, or at least educated speculation. I know we are all sad we have to wait another year to watch this amazing series, but take a look at these 13 Game Of Thrones theories and get your Game Of Thrones fix for the time being.
1. R+L=J: We’ll start with the big one that was actually confirmed on the season 6 finale. The R+L=J theory posits that Jon Snow is not really Ned Stark’s bastard son. He is actually the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. In the Game Of Thrones universe, it is believed Rhaegar was a terrible person who kidnapped, raped and ultimately had a son with Lyanna Stark which caused her death. This set in motion a chain of events that has led us to the point we are at in the story Robert Baratheon, who Lyanna was betrothed to, made it his mission to wipe out every Targaryen in Westeros. He accomplished his mission, but it might have all been for the wrong reason. As we’ve moved further into the story, we learn that Rhaegar may not have kidnapped Lyanna at all. In fact, the two were most likely in love, and decided to elope. Lyanna made Ned promise to look after her son, knowing that Robert would not let him live if he knew he had Targaryen blood in his veins. So Ned being the good big brother he is, raised John Snow as if he was his bastard son from the war. This revelation that Jon is a Targaryen is what fans have been waiting for, and means that he actually has a claim to the Iron Throne. Jon could literally be the embodiment of the book series title A Song Of Fire And Ice. He has the ice of the Stark bloodline, as well as the fire of the Targaryen in him. This was a huge moment for the show, and all of its fans.
2. Dragons Are Living Under Winterfell: While this may seem absurd, there is actually some evidence that this might be true. Winterfell is heated by water from hot springs, and in our science based world that would pretty much be the end of the discussion. This universe has dragons and undead in it however, so is it really so far-fetched to think that there might be dragons doing the heating? The theory may seem a little to out there still, but there is a rumor in the North that Winterfell is actually sitting on a clutch of dragon eggs. Queen Alysanne Targaryen’s dragon supposedly laid eggs in the bowels of the keep. Jon Snow being back in Winterfell could cause the dragons to stir awake because of the Targaryen blood inside him.
3. Bran Stark, Bran the Builder, and The Mad King: Brandon Stark is one of the more interesting characters on the show. We all know that he has a pivotal part to play in the upcoming war with the White Walkers. Yet, he always seems to screw things up when they are at their most crucial. Not to mention he is responsible for Hodor’s death (thanks for holding the door buddy). This theory can get a little confusing because it involves time loops. It is believe that he may be behind some of the characters from the past behavior. Some fans think that he may have caused The Mad King to go….well mad. The theory is that the Mad King’s order to “Burn them all” was actually caused by Bran’s irresponsible warging and messing with the time loop. Bran also saw a vision of The Mad King during his escape from the White Walkers. In theory, he could be responsible for the deaths of so many of his family members, as well as countless others. It is also theorized that he may even be “Bran the Builder”, the man who built Winterfell. While Bran may not be able to change the past, he may be able to influence others to keep it on track. This is one of the more out there theories in my opinion, and I don’t necessarily buy into it.
4.
Azor Ahai is “The Three-Headed Dragon”: Azor Ahai is someone who isn’t mentioned a ton in the show, but it is thought to be “the prince that was promised.” Other times however, they seem like completely separate entities. Azor Ahai is thought by many to be Daenerys Targaryen, but there is also a different though. What if Azor Ahai is actually three people, or the “three-headed dragon?” The tales of Azor Ahai mention a “three-headed dragon”, and many people don’t think this is a literal dragon. They believe it may be describing three different dragon riders. Two of them should seem obvious at this point, one being Daenerys and the other being Jon Snow now that we know his actual lineage. Who could the third one be though? Well that’s what our next theory delves into…
5. Tyrion Is A Targaryen: This has been on the minds of a lot of people for a very long time. A fan favorite in the show for his sharp wit and incredible intellect, it may seem far-fetched that Tyrion could be a Targaryen. There is some evidence that he could be however. It’s no secret that The Mad King had the hots for Tywin’s wife Joana, but it is still unclear on how Tyrion would have been conceived. It’s possible The Mad King forced himself upon Joana, or Tywin set up some kind of sick affair between them in order to have a “son” of Targaryen blood. You can’t really put anything past Tywin, so you can’t really dismiss this theory. There is also the part in the show where Tyrion goes to see Drogon’s younger siblings. He is able to touch the dragons as he tells them a story about how even as a young boy, he felt an affinity for dragons, even confessing to wanting one. There is also the little tidbit when Tyrion is about to shoot his father, and Tywin states that Tyrion is “no son of mine.” All these things make the possibility that Tyrion is a Targaryen, and possibly the third of the three-headed dragon a possibility.
6. Bran Will Take Control Of The Dragons: We’ve already discussed that Bran can warg into, and pretty much take control of any human or animal. Being a greenseer, that’s just what he does. Well what if the stories about the dragons underneath Winterfell turn out to be true? They would be wild dragons, able to be tamed by anyone, even a Targaryen. If Bran were to warg into them however, it would be fairly easy to make them do his bidding. There is also the rumor that there is an ice dragon waiting to be awakened by The Night King. Imagine if The Night King were to fight a Bran controlled dragon? Pretty awesome to think about.
7.
Meera is Jon’s Sister: I’ve never really thought about this theory before, but it has some plausibility to it. It’s never been specified that Jon was an only child to Lyanna and Rhaegar. Imagine if they had twins? Ned wouldn’t have wanted to keep both children, so he may have given Meera to Howland Reed to raise as his own. There is also some similarities to the way they look. I personally don’t believe this theory, but anything is possible in this world.
8.
Jaime is “the Valonqar”, Daenerys is the “Young Queen”: This is actually something I’ve never heard about. Apparently when Cersei was a little girl, she visited a witch in the woods named Maggy the Frog who prophesized that Cersei will be attacked, and possibly killed, by “the Valonqar.” For those of us who don’t speak High Valyrian, the Valonqar loosely translates to “little brother” or “little sibling.” The logical choice for this “little sibling” would be Tyrion. A reason why Cersei always has always had a very venomous attitude toward him. The translation for High Valeryian is not gender specific however, so it could actually mean anyone’s little sibling. Arya Stark and Sandor Clegane come to mind. The mainstream thought though? That the “Valonqar” is none other than the person she trusts most in the world, her brother Jaime. The witch also spoke of a “young queen” who would take Cersei down and destroy everything she holds dear. The new queen would be younger, and much more beautiful. This can also explain Cersei’s disdain for Margaery and Sansa. Daenerys seems like the logical choice for the young queen though. She is younger, far more beautiful and has an army that is ready to conquer Westeros.
9. Syrio Forel is Jaqen H’ghar: Wouldn’t this make for an amazing twist! We all remember Syrio as the First Sword of Braavos. He is charged with instructing Arya how to fight, but unfortunately is slain while giving Arya the time to escape King’s Landing. It would seem his fate was sealed when he only had a wooden sword to use against members of the elite King’s Guard. According to one theory though, he may have actually made it out alive and all the way back to Braavos. How you ask? Well what if Syrio is really Jaqen H’ghar? Both Syrio and Jaqen seemed to take an interest in Arya’s well-being. They are also both from Braavos (obviously), which could be a coincidence. Though it feels like almost nothing in Game Of Thrones is a coincidence. Everything has a reason for happening. Plus the fact that The Faceless Men can use people’s faces at will to disguise themselves. This would be a very cool theory to come to fruition.
10. The Maester Conspiracy: This is one of the more pointless theories in this list, but it’s a theory nonetheless. Everyone knows that the Maesters are a bunch of old coots who cling to the ways of science. They tend to reject magic, and everything that it stands for. With magic now being so prevalent in the 7 kingdoms, there is a theory that all the Maesters are actually planning to overthrow the royal families. How this would be accomplished is anyone’s guess, but I very much doubt they have the power to make it happen.
11. The White Walkers Built The Wall: This theory was actually thought up by a superfan of both the books and the television show. It hypothesizes that the wall was actually built by the White Walkers (also called The Others). The creator of the theory actually believes that the army of the dead aren’t just mindless beasts serving a single master, but are a people of culture and reason. He believes that the a treaty was reached between humans and the White Walkers, and that the walkers actually built the wall to keep the two cultures separate. A breach in the treaty, in the form of humans venturing beyond the wall angered the Night King, and gave him reason to breach the wall and push the humans back. While this is a cool theory, I really don’t think this is the case.
12. The Faceless Men Are Everywhere: The Faceless Men are a group of assassins that operate in the shadows all over the world. They are actually quite influential, because who they kill can affect the destiny of entire nations. Now imagine if they had agents in almost every important place in the world. These agents would try to place people in positions that will benefit the cause of the Faceless Men. Well that is a theory that is being thrown around. Some have theorized that Missandei is actually a Faceless Man. Wouldn’t that be an interesting twist?
13. Daenerys Is The Ultimate Villain: This one may be hard to conceive, but it’s plausible. Daenerys has always seemed like a force for good. She wants to end slavery, she seems to treat her citizens with compassion and respect. There have also been times however, where she has shown a lack of restraint and mercy, like when she crucified the masters for example. Could her whole story actually be setting us up for an incredible twist….where she is actually the ultimate villain? Think about it for a minute. We know now that Jon is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. This simple fact throws quite a big wrench into Daenery’s plan. She now has competition for the throne, which I don’t think she is going to take to well. Could her sometimes unchecked rage and lack of mercy actually push her into the realm of a villain, much like her father The Mad King? Could the ending of this incredible saga involve Jon and Daenerys actually fighting each other for the Iron Throne? While it seems like this would be a very unsatisfactory ending, George R.R. Martin really doesn’t really seem to care about our feelings.
The season 6 finale was probably one of the best episodes of the entire series. Whenever a season ends, I find myself depressed….because I REALLY don’t want to wait a whole other year to find out what happens. Luckily, we have these juicy theories to talk about, debate and hold us over until next April. This next season is only going to be 7 episodes, so they are going to have to pack a TON of stuff into each episode. Hopefully we will find out if any, all or just a few of these theories were on the money. In the end though, only one thing is certain in this epic adventure. Valar Morghulis….