Potential spoilers to follow. You were warned.
[dropcap size=small]G[/dropcap]ame of Thrones book readers have been browsing the YouTube comments section for five years now, waiting gleefully to spoil the story for show-watching passers-by. But they’ve been oddly quiet since season 5 of the show ended in June, and that’s because there isn’t anything left to spoil.
Give or take a few storylines, Game of Thrones has fully caught up with George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, and so pretty much everything you hear about what’s going to happen next is speculation. Here are 10 of the craziest, most imaginative, straight up unbelievable Game of Thrones theories that could actually happen.
10) Theon murdered his own son
Where better to start than some good old-fashioned Game of Thrones butchering?
Remember those kids Theon burned alive when he tried to take Winterfell? In A Dance with Dragons, Theon remembers the boys’ mother: ‘Theon did not want to think about their mother. He had known the miller’s wife for years, had even bedded her.’ Theon would have been 12 when the first child was born, but the second could well have been his.
And now he’s back in Winterfell, as Reek, and sleeping with the dogs. We do not sow!
9) Gravedigger
It is fact that a Game of Thrones character is not dead until you see them die. And even then sometimes they’re not dead. So we can pretty much assume The Hound is alive and well. The fight between Brienne and Sandor Clegane doesn’t happen in the books, he is instead injured at the inn (you know, where they have all the chickens). Brienne, who believes he has Sansa, is searching for him in the Quiet Isle where the Elder Brother, a brother of The Faith of the Seven (see: The High Sparrow), tells her that The Hound is dead.
But is he? The Elder Brother says he found The Hound and his untameable horse Stranger, and that he nursed him until his death, but on her way up the Quiet Isle, Brienne spots a gravedigger who matches The Hound perfectly. He is described as ‘half-crippled’, and as being bigger than Brienne. The gravedigger also stops his work to scratch a passing dog’s ear, because hound. Evidence for this being The Hound is in the details.
The Elder Brother does say that ‘The Hound is dead’, but this could refer to a metaphorical death, as the Brother says that he himself ‘died in the Battle of the Trident’, and emerged as a new person. The Brother never states that Sandor Clegane is dead either, only The Hound. All he’ll say about Sandor is that he’s ‘at rest’. Lastly, only The Hound can tame Stranger. There is just no way that the Elder Brother could have brought the horse to his stables, where Brienne finds him. If you believe this theory, The Hound is gone, but Sandor Clegane is living peacefully as a converted member of The Faith of the Seven, which really is the least he deserves after growing up in the shadow of his brother Gregor, but more on that later in the list.
8) Daario Naharis: Benjen Stark?
Did we see Benjen Stark die? No. So he’s obviously another dude. George Martin shot down the other popular theory that Benjen is Coldhands in a written conversation with his editor on a Dance with Dragons manuscript. So could he be Daario Naharis?
This theory suggests that Benjen is a Targaryen supporter working with Varys, possibly because he knows of Jon Snow’s true parentage (see: number 5 on this list). He became First Ranger of the Night’s Watch to learn about the White Walkers and their weaknesses, and knowing that he wouldn’t be allowed to leave, he escaped while on a mission. He travelled to Essos to find Daenerys, whose dragons are the only hope of defeating the Walkers, and disguised himself so that Jorah didn’t recognise him; Jorah is from the North, so would have recognised Benjen Stark. In the books, Daario dyes his hair and beard blue and wears bright colours. He claims he is a Tyroshi, and that’s the sort of thing they would do because they’re weird, but he could be an undercover Stark. The dates add up.
7) Bolt-On
Is Roose Bolton an immortal who wears other people’s skin to disguise his agelessness? What?
In A Game of Thrones, Old Nan tells Bran a story about a Bolton man who loved a woman with ‘skin as white as the moon’. So a White Walker, right? The man gave the lady White Walker ‘his seed’, and they produced a child. Bolt-On suggests that Roose Bolton was that child, and that he grew to the size of a man before he ceased to age.
The Boltons are from the Dreadfort, which is just a short trip from Braavos, you know, where they steal other people’s skin. Roose, whose name sounds conveniently like ‘ruse’, would have to repeatedly change his identity to stop everyone getting suspicious. And why would Roose legitimise Ramsay? Ramsay supposedly killed Roose’s other son, and Roose clearly has no love for his remaining son, so did he legitimise him so that he could steal his skin? Ramsay is the only one of his children to share his pale eyes, and he will go on to become Warden of the North. Could Roose have killed his other son, who didn’t have similar enough eyes to him, and spared Ramsay so he could eventually kill Ramsay and steal his identity?
Also he’s creepy.
6) Ser Pounce is Azor Ahai
Now, this theory is insane, but so is George Martin, so you never know.
We should all know about Azor Ahai, or The Prince that was Promised, by now. According to prophecy, the only hope against the army of the dead is a hero, born beneath salt and smoke, wielder of an ancient, flaming sword called Lightbringer: Azor Ahai. Now, Jon Snow is probably Azor Ahai. It could also be Dany. It could even be both. Or someone else entirely. Like a cat.
King Tommen’s black cat Ser Pounce was likely taken from the Red Keep, where stray kittens hang out and play poker, and given as a gift by Queen Margaery. Among the other black cats known to have lived in the Keep is the only one Arya couldn’t catch; a one-eared tomcat that is known to have snatched food from Tywin Lannister’s hands. The tomcat is described as ‘the real king of the castle right there’, by a gold cloak in A Game of Thrones. Ser Pounce was among the next generation of cats from the Red Keep, so if he is the tomcat’s son, and the tomcat is a ‘king’, Ser Pounce is a prince. Cersei also promised Tommen a kitten in A Feast for Crows, making Ser Pounce literally The Prince that was Promised.
Let’s look really seriously at the evidence. The dragon Azor Ahai rides into battle must have three heads. Ser Pounce has two cat siblings – Boots and Lady Whiskers. The salt comes from the salty sea that the Red Keep overlooks, and the smoke from the torches that light the Keep. As for the sword I’m out of ideas, but Ser Pounce is going to save the world. You heard it here first.
5) R + L = J
Rhaegar Targaryen + Lyanna Stark = Jon Snow; this theory has become so popular that it’s basically fact at this point. The evidence for this one is endless, and you can find it all over the Internet, so I’ll make this quick.
The tourney of Harrenhal. Rhaegar declares Lyanna the most beautiful woman present (over his wife, Elia Martell). He ‘kidnapped’ Lyanna before she was married to Robert Baratheon, and Robert’s Rebellion began. The Tower of Joy. Ned found Lyanna in a pool of her own blood, and he made her a promise. To raise the child she had just birthed? Rhaegar’s child? Winterfell. Jon is said to most closely resemble Arya, who is Lyanna in looks and in spirit. And so on.
If this is true, which it is, Jon is half Targaryen (fire) and half Stark (ice): the Song of Ice and Fire. Also, nobody seems to have a bad word to say about Rhaegar, even Ned. It’s unlikely he would have kidnapped Lyanna. What if they married? Jon Snow would be legit Jon Targaryen, Dany’s nephew, and rightful heir to the Seven Kingdoms.
But Jon is dead? Right…? The last word Jon speaks before his death, at least in the book, is ‘Ghost’, and Jon, who is at least half Stark, is a warg, even if he doesn’t know it. If he warged into Ghost right before his death, and was reborn, free from his oath as a Watcher on the Wall, he could return as Azor Ahai. Present at his ‘death’ were Bowen Marsh’s ‘tears’ (salt), his ‘smoking’ wound, Jeor Mormont’s Valyrian steel (flaming) sword, and if he is the son of Rhaegar, he has the dragon’s blood. Ser Pounce might be a badass cat, but surely Jon is Azor Ahai.
4) Jon Snow is a twin
The newest theory to hit Reddit, this one starts off something like R + L = J, but what if Jon wasn’t the only one born to Lyanna that day? What if he had a twin sister, and she was adopted by the only other man to have survived the Tower of Joy? And what if Howland Reed named his daughter Meera? Can you see where I’m going with this?
Meera Reed looks something like Jon, they were both born the year Lyanna died, and the theory would explain why Ned and Howland, supposed ‘great friends’, never visited one another; they were keeping the Targaryen twins safe. So what does this mean? Is Meera the prophecised third head of the dragon? Could she be Azor Ahai? Why are you asking me?
One thing that’s certain is that Jon isn’t staying dead. There are way too many things to clear up for him to be dead.
3) Tyrion Targaryen?
Everyone’s a Targaryen! It would sort of make sense that the three heads of the dragon were made up of the three main characters: Dany, Jon and Tyrion. Tyrion is already in league with Dany and supports her claim, but riding a dragon requires blood of the dragon. Could Tyrion have it?
Well, Aerys II Targaryen, Dany’s father and the Mad King, had a thing for Joanna Lannister, Tyrion’s mother and Tywin’s wife. A king gets what he wants, and Ser Barristan even tells Dany in Dance that Aerys took ‘liberties’ during Tywin and Joanna’s bedding ceremony. So Aerys could have slept with, or raped, Joanna, who died giving birth to Tyrion. This could be an important detail. Dany, Jon and Tyrion’s mothers all died in childbirth; if the theories are true, it could be because they were non-Targaryens giving birth to ‘dragons’.
Book Tyrion’s pale-blonde hair more closely represents the silver of Targaryen hair than the gold of a Lannister’s, and he is one of only five known characters to have had dreams of dragons, the others being Dany, Aemon, Daeron and Daemon, all Targaryens. It would also give Tywin further reason to hate and abuse Tyrion. It gives a whole new meaning to the lines, ‘you are no son of mine’ and ‘since I cannot prove you are not mine’. When Aerys appointed Jaime as a member of the Kingsguard, leaving Tywin’s bastard dwarf as his only heir, it’s no wonder Tywin disowned Tyrion and sacked the Mad King’s city during Robert’s Rebellion.
2) CLEGANEBOWL
You know how the High Sparrow has Cersei on trial for, like, everything? And how she thinks she’s better than Tyrion? Cersei will demand a trial by combat, like her younger brother, and will choose Robert Strong (zombie Mountain) as her champion. The Brothers of the Faith of the Seven need a champion. How about a newly-converted Brother of the Faith of the Seven, and The Mountain’s literal brother: Sandor Clegane?
But wait – Sandor is at peace if you believe the Gravedigger theory. Why would he make a return to King’s Landing just for Cersei’s life? Maybe because he can’t truly find peace while his brother continues to live? Or has his new found peace caused him to sympathise with his brother, to the point that when he hears of the pain Gregor is in since being reanimated, he wants to put him out of his misery? #CLEGANEBOWLCONFIRMED
1) The White Walkers aren’t the bad guys
This last theory is another from Reddit. It’s long, amazingly-detailed and so George Martin it hurts. You can find the full post right here, but I’ll leave a shorter version for those who aren’t fully caught up with their Thrones mythology below.
Old Nan recounts the story of the Last Hero, who everyone is just sort of assuming is Azor Ahai under a different name. The Others (White Walkers) were being attacked by dragons and such, so they came from the north and messed everyone up. Only a few men survived, and somehow they were able to fend off the Others, with the help of the Last Hero. However, the tale ends with the Others closing in on the Last Hero, who is defenceless. It is not said that he defeated or even fought the Others off, and there is no flaming sword involved. The Last Hero and Azor Ahai are different people.
The theory suggests that Azor Ahai was the ‘bad guy’, the one who started everything off by attacking the Others, and that the Last Hero was a diplomat, who formed a peace treaty between Men and the Others by proposing a giant Wall of ice be built to separate and protect both sides. The agreement was sealed by way of a marriage. The Last Hero married a White Walker queen, and the Others retreated to their side of the Wall, where they stuck to their side of the deal. Men, however, did not. The Wildlings came to reside north of the Wall, and the Night’s Watch ranges on the Others’ territory. The Others are attacking Men not out of a mindless thirst for blood, but because Men couldn’t keep their word.
So, who will be Azor Ahai, and who the Last Hero this time around? Daenerys will be Azor Ahai, the ‘villain’. Her quest for the throne will cloud her judgement, push her over the edge (Targaryens are known for descending into madness – as Barristan puts it: ‘Every time a new Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin and the world holds its breath to see how it will land’), and she and her dragons will threaten to destabilise the world by attacking the Others. Her eldest brother Rhaegar, who read obsessively to expand his knowledge of history, could have known about the peace treaty, could have known that the only way to keep Man from being wiped out was balance between ice and fire, so he ‘abducted’ Lyanna to stop his sister from destroying mankind. Starks have an affinity for ice, from Ned’s sword to their house motto, and it is likely that Lyanna, like the rest of the Starks, was a descendant of the marriage between Man and Other. The Last Hero is that man Jon Snow again. Jon will restore peace not as one of the dragon heads, but as Rhaegar’s Song of Ice and Fire…
TL;DR: Dragons are bad and Jon is important.
Game of Thrones returns to HBO in April.
