Fans who’ve been rooting for the R + L = J theory were thrilled when they watched the last episode of season 6 of Game of Thrones.
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The most obvious similarity was intentional; Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have confirmed that Jon Snow being crowned King in the North at Wintefell was a purposeful callback to Robb Stark being crowned King in the North at the end of season 1. If you’re not caught up and don’t care about spoilers or are caught up to Season 6 Episode 10, then you are welcome to scroll past the spoiler free filler image and straight to the good stuff. It’s no wonder that the more casual Game of Thrones fans can get so confused tracking all the connections and bonds between characters. In the process, they revealed something the show seemed to keep a secret: that Snow’s father is Rhaegar Targaryen.
Since the very first episode of Game of Thrones, fans have wondered about the true identity of Jon Snow’s mother.
Certainly it has always stood to reason that Rhaegar would be Jon’s father – he’s the one who wanted Lyanna enough to steal her despite the fact he was married and Lyanna was betrothed to Robert, and he had kept her for many months before Ned finally arrived at the Tower of Joy to rescue her.
This would make sense as this was the name of two previous Targaryen rulers. Now that she’s killed him she can forget him, and she can move on with her life.
She was then either kidnapped by or eloped with Rhaegar (depending on who you’re talking to in Westeros) which led to Robert’s Rebellion. Which leaves viewers to hunt for the third Targaryen rider to complete the three-headed dragon theory. According to International Business Times, “A Reddit user even pointed out that all the three characters – Daenerys, Jon and Tyrion – have a common trait that their mothers died during childbirth”.
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Not only did Rhaegar Targaryen abduct Lyanna Stark, he also apparently impregnated her, and Jon Snow is their offspring.
