8
‘Game of Thrones’ Theories That Actually Make Sense
The rise of internet communities acting as companions to popular
franchises has spawned a culture of fan theories in its wake. Whenever you gather a
bunch of like-minded movie and TV-watchers in one place together, their
collective brainpower has a tendency to suss out even the deepest of mysteries.
Weeks before Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit
theaters, one Redditor even guessed at a large portion of the main story,
having pieced together theories and evidence from various corners of the web.
It’s within the Game of Thrones fandom though where we
see the best and craziest iteration of this culture.
Fans of both George
R.R. Martin’s original novels and the HBO series are some of the most astute
and observant in all of geekdom. Years before Jon Snow’s Targaryen lineage was
revealed in Season 6, there was already a theory known popularly as
“R+L=J,” correctly citing Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark as Jon’s actual
parents. Even that’s just the tip of the iceberg, so let’s look at some of the
more prevalent theories leading into the final seasons of Game
of Thrones.
1. Varys has
been pulling all the strings since Day 1
This particular theory (of course) comes from another clever
Redditor, pointing toward the former Master of Whispers as the true
puppet-master of Westeros. According to
/u/gmnitsua, “Varys is playing the best game out of
anyone. He conspired with Illyrio to get Daenerys married to Khal Drogo.
Varys conspired with him to get her dragon eggs. Varys conspired with Jorah
from the beginning.” He goes from there to describe how Varys orchestrated
for Tyrion to lose his trial back in Season 4, as a way of pushing him toward
Essos as an advisor to Daenerys. To round it all out, he closes with an apt
observation: “You aren’t actually the king if you’re just playing a game of
chess.”
2. Game
of Thrones is a story being told by Sam
This one comes straight from a Game of Thrones actor,
posited by John Bradley, who’s played Samwell Tarly since first appearing in
Season 1 of the show. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter,
Bradley notes that the presence of the gyroscopes from the GoT intro
in the library of the maesters is far from a coincidence.
I think it could mean
any number of things. One theory is that what we’re seeing now and how we’re
experiencing Game of Thrones is Sam telling the story of Game of Thrones. If you
take the logic of the story now, the story of Westeros and the story of the
battle for the Iron Throne, it would be a book in that library. The visual
motif of that is you’re about to be told a story — the sense of an idea of
being told a story, and people gaining that knowledge, the way Sam is absorbing
knowledge in the library.
This carries a handful
of implications for the Game of Thrones endgame.
First off, the story would carry a distinct bias based on what Sam heard and
saw himself. Second, it would be generally biased toward Jon, Sam’s best friend
and closet confidante. And finally, it could hint at one of two outcomes: Sam
telling it to a group gathered around a campfire in the aftermath of a White
Walker takeover, or to a classroom in Old Town years following a happy ending.
3. The Prince
That Was Promised
In the mythology of A Song of Ice and Fire, there’s a prophecy surrounding the return of Azor A’hai,
or “The Prince That Was Promised.” The legend says that Azor was one of
the last great heroes the world ever had, having vanquished the Others with his
flaming sword, Lightbringer. The prophecy tells us that he’ll be reborn one day
“amidst salt and smoke,” and many believe that this points to Jon Snow as the
future savior of Westeros against the impending White Walker invasion. That
said, it’s also not entirely gender specific in its wording, leaving the door
open for Daenerys Targaryen to fill the role (and who herself was “reborn” on
Khal Drogo’s suspiciously smokey funeral pyre).
4. Tyrion is a secret Targaryen
Given Tyrion Lannister’s status as a lifelong outcast in his own
family, it certainly would make sense if he was from a different lineage
altogether. It’s also a theory that doesn’t have a ton of concrete
evidence per se, but it still holds at least a little bit of water. Before
crossbow-ing his “father,” Tywin cryptically tells Tyrion that he’s “no son of
mine.” This could be a simple insult spewed at a disowned son, but
what if it’s more literal than that?
Figure in the fact that
Tyrion is described in the books as having the same silvery-blonde hair as
Targaryens and some of the pieces begin to come together. It’s also rumored
that the Mad King was infatuated with Joanna Lannister, so if he forced himself
on her at any point, that would explain the disdain Tywin has had for Tyrion
throughout his life, especially given that Joanna died giving birth to him. And
not for nothing, Daenerys’s dragons took an immediate shine to Tyrion in Season
6 (pictured above).
5. The
three-headed dragon
Despite being more rooted in the books than the HBO series, the
“three-headed dragon” theory still makes sense for both. In Daenerys’s vision
in the House of Undying, she sees Rhaegar with his young son Aegon, calling him
“The Prince That Was Promised,” and going on to prophesy that “the dragon
shall have three heads.” Many have translated this to mean that the “three
heads” are each of Daenerys’s dragons, and that she’ll ride them into battle
alongside two other yet-to-be-determined Targaryens. We now know Jon is a
member of the family, and if Tyrion turns out to be the same, that officially
rounds out our three dragon-riders. This also comes with the added benefit of
fulfilling the Azor A’hair prophecy, albeit translated in a far different way
than it was originally worded.
6. Jaime is destined to kill Cersei
Many of the most prevalent Game of Thrones theories
are based on prophecies, and this is no exception. When Cersei Lannister was a
young girl, she encountered a soothsayer in the swamps known as Maggy the Frog. Maggy told
Cersei that she would have three children, that those children would all die
prematurely, and that she would be queen only until a “younger, more beautiful”
one took her place.
So far, that’s all
basically come true, making the final prediction of her death at the hands of a
younger brother less a theory and more an inevitability. Jaime, as her younger
twin, fits the bill, and has a motive now that Cersei has indirectly killed
their last living child, while seizing the Iron Throne for herself in the
process. Additionally, it wouldn’t be the first time the man known as the
Kingslayer has betrayed and murdered a monarch.
7. Cleganebowl
Of all the theories floating around right now, the one
concerning a potential “Cleganebowl” is the one fans seem to want most. Sadly
though, the most logical version of this was dashed at the end of Season 6. The
predominant thinking was that the Faith Militant would call upon the
recently-redeemed Sandor Clegane as their champion in Cersei’s trial-by-combat,
putting him toe-to-toe with his zombified brother, Gregor. This never ended up
happening, but there’s still reason to hold out hope with both Cleganes still
among the living. It’s really just up to Game of Thrones to
give the people what they want.
8. Meera and Jon are twins
It’s unclear how this would affect the character balance in Game of
Thrones, but it’s worth talking about nonetheless. Both
Meera Reed and Jon Snow have the same curly locks, are roughly the same age,
and come from families with close ties. We know the only person with Ned Stark
when Lyanna died giving birth was Meera’s father, Howland Reed. As the theory
goes, Lyanna gave birth to twins, leading to a Luke/Leia scenario for Ned and
Howland, where Jon and Meera were separated. It’s still unclear what Meera’s
role is past “that girl hanging out with Bran while he goes on spirit quests,”
and a secret Targaryen lineage would go a long way toward giving her more to
do. Admittedly, not everyone can be a secret Targaryen, so take this one with a
grain of salt.
No comments:
Post a Comment