If there ’s two thing fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire book serial can concord on , it ’s that 1 ) author George R.R. Martin is weave an incredibly dense tarradiddle where far more happens ( and has happened ) than what ’s just on the Thomas Nelson Page , and 2 ) that no role is safe from GRRM ’s homicidal playpen .
In regards to the former , fans have spent the last 17 years since A Game of Thrones was first publish reading between the lines , trying to figure out the series ’ many , many mysteries . One sharp fan by the name of Full - Faced Braavosi took the metre tocompile all the theories , both likely and insane , over at the mega-fansiteWesteros.org ; we thought we ’d take the luck to verify all you ASoIaF referee are caught up on every fan theory you absolutely need to know .
Warning : Spoilers for all five books ahead ! And penetrate the link at the end of each subdivision for more contingent and discussion over atWesteros.org .
Who Are Jon Snow’s Parents?
It ’s the question all A Song of Ice and Fire readers ask themselves in book one , and never halt require . The most prevalent theory is that Prince Rhaegar Targaryen , who abduct Eddard ’s baby Lyanna and the making love of Robert Baratheon ’s life and inadvertently started the rebellion that depose the Targaryens , had sex with Lyanna – perchance consensually , maybe not – and Lyanna died giving birth to Jon . Knowing that Jon would be in considerable peril if his half - Targaryen blood were revealed ( remember , Robert was driven to kill every last Targaryen on the planet ) , he act the male child was his own bastard , and have him to Winterfell , tell nobody the truth . Although Ned is fantastically secretive regarding Jon ’s blood , he does remember making Lyanna a promise on her death seam , which was likely to keep Jon secret and secure .
This stock seems likely to most readers – so likely , in fact , that some people trust it ’s too obvious to be straight . Other buff have theorized that Jon is genuinely Ned ’s child , perchance with some random woman , or possibly with Ashara Dayne , whom Ned was rumor to once love . The question is whether Ned ’s honor is large enough to have preclude him from engender a bastard — certainly Catelyn and Ned ’s friends were shocked at the idea Ned had cuckold – and as shown in GoT , Ned is honorable to a mistake . So although it seems unlikely , if he did lapse , his ignominy might be the cause he ’s so quiet about Jon ’s parentage . But if his mother is Ashara Dayne or some random chick , that does n’t really excuse why he would n’t at least tell Jon .
sure enough , George R.R. Martin have a go at it his head games , but the idea that Rhaegar and Lyanna are Jon ’s dependable parents draw the most narrative sense . And it seems unbelievable that Martin would be hint at the closed book so much only to unveil Jon is just Ned ’s regular ol’ bastard . ( For more particular and theories continue reading here . )
Who Is Azor Ahai?
Azor Ahai ( also normally name the Prince That Was Promised ) is the fabled hero who defeated the Others long , long ago , and is say to come again to fight back the Others again when they return , with his sword Lightbringer by his side . The cerise priestess Melisandre clearly believes Stannis Baratheon is Azor Ahai , and want everyone to know it . However , Melisandre ’s vision of Azor Ahai do n’t seem to be nearly as Stannis - oriented as she seems to think , and most reader imagine if one character fits the bill , it will be Jon Snow , despite – or perhaps because of – his current , uh , situation , which would make being “ reborn ” rather … uniquely appropriate .
But it might not just be one character . In The House of the Undying , Daenerys see a prognostication / vision of Rhaegar name his son Aegon , claiming he will be the Prince That Was Promised – but then he also say “ The Dragon shall have three head . ” Could that means Azor Ahai is not one person , but three ? That would hint that Daenerys and Jon Snow are two of the Dragon ’s head , but then who would be the third ? There are two possible answers below . ( For more , continue say here . )
Might Tyrion Lannister Actually Be a Targaryen?
We all know “ dragons ” adequate “ Targaryens ” in A Song of Ice and Fire . Daenerys is already a Targaryen , and as per above , most people think Jon is , too . So what about the third most important character in the serial , Tyrion ? Some readers believe that the Mad King Aerys is Tyrion ’s genuine Fatherhood , having force himself on Tywin ’s wife Joanna , with Tywin never know , or perhaps even being a unforced pander . GRRM mentions at one point that Aerys definitely find Joanna attractive . Jon describes Tyrion as having hair so blonde as to be blanched , which sounds a lot more like Targaryen ’s haircloth color than the Lannister blonde ; plus , Tyrion has one green eye ( very Lannister ) and one black eye … while Daenerys ’ oculus color is described as to be so violet it ’s practically black . Last but not least , Tywin himself narrate Tyrion he ’s “ no son of mine , ” although confessedly , that ’s immediately after Tyrion shoots him with a crossbow , so perhaps he was just being crappy .
The biggest reasonableness for this hypothesis seems to be Tyrion ’s prominence in the story , which equals Jon Snow and Daenerys , create them the three master booster . Tyrion being a surreptitious Targaryen would easily explain why GRRM has followed his story so closely , even when he take flight King ’s Landing at the end of A Storm of Swords , and essentially leaves the “ Game ” for quite some metre . Besides , the next most obvious Targaryen candidate is Aegon ( more on him below ) , who only present up in the most recent book , and has had no peak - of - horizon chapters .
On the other hand , someone claiming Aerys found Joanna spicy is just validation he take her for her own . And Tyrion being a Targaryen would negate all the howling issues he ’s had with his sire and Lannister siblings , and that would be an tremendous barren . ( For more , continue reading here . )
What Is Varys’ Deal?
We all bonk what Littlefinger wants – power . But what about the eunuch Varys ? He does at least as much political maneuvering as Littlefinger , but his intentions are not nearly so clear . He secernate the imprisoned Ned that he ’s trying to help the hoi polloi of Westeros , which is a place he decidedly did n’t need to rest in . But if he ’s tell the Sojourner Truth , how does he design to help the people ?
Arya hears him plat with Illyrio Mopatis in GoT , planning for the Targaryen - extend Khals to attack while Westeros is already at warfare , and the possibility of needing to vote down Ned . Illyrio is the one who we d Daenerys with Khal Drogo , theoretically throw Viserys a cavalry of barbarians ( we all know how that worked out , but still ) . He also help warn Daenerys that Robert had broadcast assassinator after her . More significantly , Varys is reportedly the person who evidently inspirit Prince Rhaegar ’s infant son Aegon VI out of Westeros to be raised by Illyrio . It seems quite obvious that Varys is a Targaryen supporter , albeit one that actualise King Aerys was too mad to prevail . The real doubt is whether Varys truly puts the smallfolk onward of the Targaryens – and if it comes down to Aegon or Daenerys , who would he pick ? ( For more , persist in study here . )
Is Aegon VI Real?
The biggest gamechanger in A Dance with Dragons was the supposed reaching of Aegon , Prince Rhaegar ’s lose son , who was reportedly shoot down as a baby by The Mountain ( along with all the other Targaryens they could get their hands on ) at the end of Robert ’s Rebellion . It ’s not at all impossible to consider that someone switched infants before the Mountain ’s rampage , and spirited Aegon off . Supposedly Illyrio has spend time and money raise Aegon in closed book , train him to be the estimable king potential , having him work with the the great unwashed and experience life as a commoner so he ’ll be sympathetic to the predicament of the smallfolk . If Varys ’ ( and Illyrio ’s ) real goal is to aid the people , building a king from the ground up is a fairly smart move .
Certainly , Aegon believes himself to be legitimate . Many ASoIaF fan do n’t , mostly because 1 ) they do n’t trust that GRRM would bring in another Targaryen this recently in the game , and 2 ) they really want Tyrion to be that third head of the dragon . And in Daenerys ’ prophetic dream about Rhaegar say the dragon has three mind , he mention his infant Aegon , specifically put forward the child is one of the school principal . It would be an odd affair for a prophetic dream to get amiss . And last but certainly not least . Varys state the dying Kevan Lannister that Aegon VI is tangible , and he ’d have utterly no reason to lie to a world indorse from death .
There ’s a more elaborate hypothesis here , about Aegon – and possibly Varys – -being a Blackfyre , a part of the Targaryen family that break up off over 100 years ago , tried to take over the pot , and was illegalize and ( purportedly ) destroyed . GRRM has been hash out the Blackfyre uprising in his “ Dunk and Egg ” short stories , but whether that means the Blackfyre blood will trifle a part in the ASoIaF Scripture stay to be understand . ( For more about Aegon ’s authenticity , understand here , and for potential Blackfyre association , read here ) .
Was Balon Greyjoy Murdered?
The king of the Iron Islands is currently Euron Greyjoy , one of the heavy assholes in the intact series ( and that ’s saying something ) . He gained the throne when King Balon was walking along one of the high bridges that connected the island jolting spire , and he descend off to his decease . briefly afterwards , his sidekick Euron coincidentally arrives even though Balon had exiled him and there ’s no way he should have been able to know about Balon ’s death . The leading theory is that Euron , who had been navigate and pirate in the East , hire a Faceless Man to assassinate his crony , making it count like an accident ( their specialty ) . He had the means , the motive and the opportunity . Plus , the old seer woman known as the Ghost of High Heart says , “ I dream of a piece without a face , waiting on a bridge that sway and swung . On his berm rest a drowned crow with seaweed hanging from his wings . ” So most fans believe it ’s jolly much a lock . ( For more , continue reading here . )
Is Syrio Forel Alive?
Everyone wants Syrio Forel , Arya ’s awesome “ dancing teacher ” from A Game of Thrones , to be alert . That ’s how awesome he is . In truth , he does n’t give-up the ghost “ on pageboy , ” so to speak — he sends Arya away , and takes on the armed Lannister guards ship to capture Arya with a wooden grooming brand . It ’s dire , but Syrio is the First Sword of Braavos , so it ’s not completely inordinate to imagine he still beat the guard , and then went on his festal way . But yield that Syrio is Braavosi , and Arya ’s next adult friend is the Braavosi assassin Jaqen H’ghar , who takes an odd interest in Arya and who can also magically change his face , a lot of hoi polloi think Jaqen might have been Syrio , still follow over his charge . This would signal a very early interest in Arya by the Faceless Men , the highly skilled league of assassins that Arya has end up with , but for no known reason . Still , such is the awesomeness of Syrio . ( For more , keep study here . )
What Is Jaqen H’ghar Doing?
When Jaqen leaves Arya ( with the Braavosi coin and the idiomatic expression “ valar morghulis , ” which eventually wreak her to Braavos and the Faceless Men ) , that ’s not the last we see of him . It is undoubtedly Jaqen in the prologue to A Feast for Crows , who – in the pretense of the Alchemist , the human face Arya go through him change into right before he left her – murders the tiro Pate at the Citadel … the same Citadel where Sam Tarly has run to become a Maester and research the Others … and who meets the same Pate , live and well . So Jaqen is definitely at the Citadel , disguised as this Pate . examine as the Citadel is the most learned place in the populace , it seem Jaqen is trying to learn something … or to prevent someone else from learning something . The literal question is if he ’s act for someone specific , or on behalf of all the Faceless Men ? ( For more , continue reading here . )
What Was the Real Reason for Robert’s Rebellion?
There ’s no real promiscuous way to resume the awing devotee theory usually refer to as “ Southron Ambitions , ” but the simple rendering is that there was a spate more going on in Westeros before Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna Stark and kickstarted Robert ’s Rebellion . In fact , Rickard Stark , Ned ’s beginner , may have had a grand program to unite the kingdom against the Targaryen rule on his own , create relationships with Houses Tully , Baratheon , Arryn , and even House Lannister in preparation for this warfare . It all went to hell when Rhaegar stole Lyanna and Aerys burn Rickard and Ned ’s pal Brandon awake , but seriously , understand this admittedly protracted hypothesis here , and fix to have your mind bollocks up .
Remember , there are many many more theories – none quite as major as these , and not all of them entirely sane – over at Westeros.org .
This post was originally published on January 25th , 2013 .
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