'Game of Thrones': Dive Into 7 Crazy Fan Theories

Fri, April 15, 2016 at 2:00 PM UTC

Our long wait is (almost) over. A year after the Season 5 finale that launched a thousand fan theories, Game of Thrones is preparing to enter new territory in its sixth season, which debuts Sunday, April 24 on HBO. For the first time in its history, the series will venture completely off book, as the writers have lapped the release of author George R.R. Martin’s final two novels. So now, both readers and newbies will be on the same proverbial page when we return to Westeros, Dorne, and points beyond.

As viewers count down the days to Game of Thrones’ return, we here at Yahoo TV are launching our official countdown: #GoTIsComing. Check back here every day over the next month as we explore all of our favorite (and a few of our least favorite) people, places, and things about television’s most addictive show. From Direwolves and Dragons to the shows most hideous deaths and imperiled characters, we’re going to indulge or GoT obsession with the same fervor that Cersei imbibes alcohol. So raise a glass and toast the impending arrival of a long, cruel, and bloody Westerosi winter.

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The first book in George R. R. Martin’s potentially unending fantasy epic came out two decades ago, in August 1996. As he fed the beast with more and more words — more novels, short stories, a fake history book — fans created more and more theories about how A Song of Ice and Fire would come to a close. When the TV series premiered in April 2011, it provided a way to crosscheck these ideas. If a character wasn’t featured in the television series or a certain moment didn’t happen, how important could it possibly be to the final payoff?

We took a look at some of the theories back in 2014, and while a few are unchanged, we have new evidence to support some of the ideas and completely dismiss others. The lack of a new book — A Dance With Dragons came out in July of 2011, and there’s no release date for the sixth book in the series, The Winds of Winter — has resulted in the theories getting more elaborate, more weird, and more fun.

Since it’s possible some of these are accurate, full spoiler warnings from this point on. The television series is now diverged from or ahead of the book in so many ways that there’s no way to know for sure, but better safe than sorry.

R + L = J

This is somewhere beyond a theory and pretty close to canonical barring a giant twist, but the core mythology of the show is likely to be revealed this season. The basics: Rhaegar Targaryen (older brother of Daenerys, killed by Robert in the Rebellion) did not kidnap Lyanna Stark (sister of Ned), but instead the two ran off together as lovers (Rhaegar was married to Elia Martell, sister of the Viper, at the time, which complicated things). They had a child together, and Lyanna, who died shortly after her son’s birth, made her brother promise to keep the boy safe. Ned did this by saying the infant was his own bastard son, Jon Snow.

Some information to back this up: When Ned went to “rescue” his sister, he was confronted by members of the Kingsguard, including perhaps the greatest swordsman in the history of Westeros, Ser Arthur Dayne. Because Lyanna wasn’t royalty, there would be no reason to protect her, but if she was carrying the child of the Targaryen Crown Prince? Well, that would be a different story.

Other support for this would include Sean Bean (who portrayed the late, great Ned Stark) explicitly telling New York magazine, “I’m obviously not Jon Snow’s dad. And you need that to be revealed at some point, don’t you?” There has also been confirmation that one of the Season 6 flashbacks will take place at the Tower of Joy, where we will presumably see young Ned make a vow to his sister to protect baby Jon by hiding his true lineage.

Could this scene from the Season 6 trailer be a flashback of Ned Stark pulling out his sword at the front of the pack?

The Hound Is Alive and Well

We can also file this one under “almost certainly true.” In the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, Brienne encounters a gravedigger in her travels across Westeros. (In the books, Brienne doesn’t duel Sandor Clegane, nor does she end up at Winterfell.) An Elder Priest informs her that The Hound is dead and that Sandor is at peace, which is some very careful and specific language. While she’s talking to him, she notes a large, limping gravedigger with his face covered who stops to pet a dog. The dreams of many fans that we will get to see Clegane Bowl (The Hound vs. The Mountain) seems to be possible with the elder Clegane brother, Gregor, reanimated as Cersei Lannister’s Frankenstein protector, Ser Robert Strong.

Actor Ian McShane essentially confirmed this in interviews, first saying, “My character really is like an ex-warrior who’s become a peacenik, so I have a group of peaceful… sort of a cult who… I bring back a much-loved character who everybody thinks is dead.” In a later radio appearance, the host pressed McShane and said, “It could only be The Hound or Jon Snow!” His reply? “I’ll leave you with that one. I think you might guess which one that is. It’s not the latter. It might be the former.”

Additional Targaryens

If you are of the belief that all three of Dany’s dragons are going to make it to Westeros, and if you are also of the belief that you need Targaryen blood to ride them, then we need to scrounge up another Targaryen. We have Daenerys, we probably have Jon (from his dad’s side), but we need a third. Maester Aemon is dead of old age, and Dany’s brother Viserys is gone via Khal Drogo’s pot of gold, so who is the third?

One possible option is Tyrion. It’s mentioned that Mad King Aerys, who reigned over Westeros prior to Robert Baratheon taking control, had eyes for Tywin Lannister’s wife Joanna. We also know that Tywin hates Tyrion, which could exclusively be because of the “Drunken dwarf who killed Tywin’s beloved wife during childbirth” thing or perhaps it’s because Tywin knows Aerys cuckolded him.

There is another option that hasn’t appeared in the series yet, which is that one of Rhaegar’s sons survived the sacking of King’s Landing. Dany’s nephew, Aegon, appears in the fifth book of the series, having been safely smuggled to safety by Varys years earlier. The young dragon also has the services of the Golden Company, an elite group of sellswords that are poised to help him retake Westeros.

There are two main issues with this theory. The first, and most important, is that we’ve yet to see Aegon introduced in the series, and none of the casting notes imply that’s going to change in the next 10 episodes. If he’s not an important enough character to show up in the series, he’s probably not important to the endgame of the overall story. The second is that Aegon could actually be a false Targaryen, which is not unprecedented in the history of Westeros.

One other potential dragon rider theory that doesn’t involve any additional Targaryens: Bran becomes so powerful that he’s capable of warging into the dragons and controlling them. Considering Bran’s current position — surrounded by an army of ice monsters — having a dragon or three to help out would not be a terrible idea.

Azor Ahai/The Prince That Was Promised/The Last Hero

The various religions of Martin’s world have versions of a figure who will return to save the world. The red priests and priestesses who worship R’hllor, such as Melisandre, refer to Azor Ahai, a legendary hero who forged a magical sword, Lightbringer, to fight the forces of darkness. There are also references, mainly by Targaryens, to the Prince That Was Promised. In the north, it is a man known as the Last Hero, who helped defeat an invasion of White Walkers centuries prior to the events of the series and then disappeared. It seems fair to roll all of these legends into one character who will help defend Westeros from the Night’s King and his army.

So, who will this hero be? Melisandre thought it was Stannis, but his Lightbringer was a fraud and he died at the hands of the Bolton forces on the show, so no go there. Other options? You’ve got Jon Snow, who upon his inevitable resurrection will be in possession of Longclaw, a badass sword that could easily serve as a Lightbringer equivalent. In the books, Maester Aemon suggests to Sam on his deathbed that the prophecy was misunderstood and that Dany is actually the Princess That Was Promised. She doesn’t have any kind of magical blade at the moment, but there are enough scattered across the globe she could acquire, plus there’s the whole “having dragons” advantage when it comes to fighting the darkness.

The most impossibly cruel theory is that Jorah Mormont is Azor Ahai. Why is this the meanest possible thing to do to poor, poor Jorah? Well, part of the Ahai legend is that in order to complete the creation of Lightbringer he had to plunge it through the heart of the love of his life, Nissa Nissa. If Jorah had to kill the love of his life (Dany, who could always succumb to the madness that runs in her family) in order to follow in his father’s footsteps as Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, it would be a perfectly evil Martin price to pay in order to save the world.

Syrio Forel Will Return… Please?

The general rule for this series is if a character dies off the screen or off the page, they aren’t necessarily dead. (And even if they do, there are magical avenues to resurrection.) Forel, former First Sword of Braavos, was Arya Stark’s sword instructor in King’s Landing. When Cersei unleashed the Lannister guards to imprison the Stark supporters and secure the capital, Forel helped defend Arya from Meryn Trant. By the time Arya had fled the room, Forel’s sword had broken, so it was assumed — and implied by Martin and perhaps confirmed by Maisie Williams — that the Braavosi was dead, sacrificing himself for the young wolf.

But a) We’ve never seen a body and b) Since Forel was from Braavos, it’s possible he was a member of the Faceless Men (although that would have conflicted with his other official, public role), meaning he could even be Jaqen H’ghar, who has aided Arya throughout the series. If he’s not H’ghar, here’s hoping Forel shows up for a final battle to help out his Needle-wielding trainee.

High Septon Howland Reed

This is our favorite insane theory by a mile, as it’s almost certainly impossible but if it’s true, the reveal will be fist-pumpingly glorious. Howland Reed was a longtime, trusted friend of Ned Stark who fought in Robert’s Rebellion and sent his kids, Jojen and Meera, to assist Bran and Rickon after Winterfell was taken over by the Greyjoys. But Howland himself hasn’t been seen in years, neither in books nor series, which would make him a pretty terrible friend. Unless, of course, he has been working to aid the Starks in less obvious ways.

Basic rundown is this: It wouldn’t make sense for Reed to completely abandon his Stark and Baratheon allies over the course of the series, as he was a vital ally and valuable part of the rebellion. But what if Reed was playing the long game, inserting himself in a position of power where he could help restore order to the realm? No one knows the origins of the new High Septon (played in the series by Jonathan Pryce) who’s clashed with Cersei in King’s Landing, but we do know that he hasn’t taken it easy on the Lannisters and has raised his own army. Could he be waiting to crown a certain son of the Starks and Targaryens king of the land?

Roose Bolton Is Immortal

Hey, if we’ve already got ice zombies, reanimated corpses, women birthing smoke monster assassins, giant spiders, and giant wolves, why not vampires too? Short version: Roose has been around forever and is the only Bolton patriarch, and the reason his family flays is so he can acquire new skin to wear — just like the Faceless Men — for the next half century or so of life.

This isn’t probable, plausible, or possible, but we love the idea of a spinoff series all about Roose dealing with the ups and downs of being immortal.

So: How do you think the story of Westeros ends? More fire? More ice? Healthy mix of the two?

Game of Thrones Season 6 premieres Sunday, April 24 at 9 p.m. on HBO.

Read more of our #GoTIsComing coverage:

‘Game of Thrones’ Peril-o-Meter: Who Dies Next?

‘Game of Thrones’: 11 Classic Tyrion Lannister Insults For Every Occasion

‘Game of Thrones’: Everything You Need to Know About the Direwolves of House Stark

‘Game of Thrones’: 10 Characters Who Were Recast

‘Game of Thrones’: 10 Best Dragon Moments

‘Game of Thrones’: 10 Characters We Want to Come Back to Life

‘Game of Thrones’: 10 Characters Who Really Need to Die

‘Game of Thrones’: Bran Stark Is Back (and He’s All Grown Up)

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