‘Game Of Thrones’ Jon Snow Theory Confirmed? [Spoilers]
If you are a fan of Game of Thrones or A Song of Ice and Fire be warned. This post contains spoilers.
Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire fans who believe in the popular R+L=J theory, prepare for vindication. Screencrush reports that HBO announced two new filming locations for Game of Thrones Season 6 last week. One of them, Castillo de Zafra, looks suspiciously like the Tower of Joy.
The Tower of Joy hasn’t been mentioned in the HBO series Game of Thrones, but it is mentioned several times in the novel A Game of Thrones. Near the end of the war that ended the Targaryen reign, Ned Stark and a few trusted soldiers had a skirmish with three members of the Kingsguard at the Tower of Joy. Ned Stark dreams of the tower several times in A Game of Thrones, each time mentioning that he found his sister, Lyanna Stark, covered in blood and demanding a promise from him. A promise which he gave.
The popular fan theory, R+L=J, has long been that Ned Stark promised to shield the child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen from the wrath of Robert Baratheon. That child, according to the theory, is now known by the name Jon Snow.
The theory may not be as far-fetched as it sounds.
Several times in the novels, Ned Stark notes that Robert Baratheon’s anger at Rhaegar Targaryen extended to his entire family. We catch glimpses of it both in the novel and Season 1 of Game of Thrones, when King Robert tries to have Daenerys Targaryen, Rhaegar’s sister, killed before she can give birth. Game of Thrones Season 5 also offers new insight into Rhaegar through the eyes of Barristan Selmy and Petyr Baelish. They paint Rhaegar as far more gentle than Robert and Ned suggest in Season 1. Petyr even suggests that Rhaegar genuinely loved Lyanna Stark.
Of course, the are more production related reasons to suspect that Jon Snow’s parentage may be confirmed in Game of Thrones Season 6. As previously reported by the Inqusitr, casting notices for Season 6 included at least two northern lords.
“Lord of Northern Stronghold: This northern lord is ‘ruthless and calculating,’ and will appear in three episodes.”
Originally, the prevailing theory was that the Lord of Northern Stronghold was Lord Manderly. However, the character could be Howland Reed. Howland Reed has yet to appear in Game of Thrones or A Song of Ice and Fire, but he is the father of Bran Stark’s traveling companions, Jojen and Meera Reed. Howland Reed is also, since Ned Stark lost his head in Season 1, the only survivor of the skirmish at the Tower of Joy.
News for Season 6 of Game of Thrones has been particularly hard to come by, so don’t expect this mystery to be revealed until Game of Thrones returns in April, 2016.
[Image via HBO]
