All the insane ‘Game of Thrones’ theories we hope are true
There are still roughly eight months to go before Game of Thrones returns to HBO. Just because it’s roughly eight months away does not mean we’re going to stop thinking about it for the time being. Oh no. Quite the opposite. During this off time for GoT, we’ve got plenty of time to sit back, relax, and drive ourselves into a frenzy over what may or may not happen next season. Crazy theories are coming. Warning: Spoilers ahead.
With a stack of books, and five seasons streaming on HBO, we’ve got a lot of GoT material to work with. There have been clues scattered throughout the pages and the screen so far, and now it’s up to us to figure out what the heck they mean, and how everything will turn out in the end. Like, does Jon Snow come back from the dead? That’s just the tip of our GoT iceberg here. The theories only get crazier from there.
Just to reiterate, here’s a big spoiler warning for anyone who doesn’t want to be spoiled from the books, or the show. Both are going to be cited here, so you’ve been warned.
1. Jon Snow and Daenerys are related.
We’ll start off with a simple one. It’s still crazy. This theory is such a prominent theory, its even got a name: R+L=J. Rhaegar Targaryen + Lyanna Stark = Jon Snow. Those are his real parents, and Ned Stark swore to his dying sister, Lyanna, that he’d keep Jon safe.
If this theory is true, that makes Jon Daenerys’ nephew, since Rhaegar and Daenerys were brother and sister.
NEW THEORY ALERT. Going off of the idea of R+L=J, now we’ve got R+L=J and M. Who’s the M? Meera Reed, whose father was there when Lyanna died, she looks a lot like Jon, doesn’t know much about her mother, and just happens to be traveling with Bran Stark right now.
3. Benjen Stark has a secret identity.
Think alllll the way back to Season 1. Remember Benjen? He’s Ned’s younger brother, and he disappears north of the Wall, and isn’t seen again. So what’s the crazy theory here?
The theory is that Benjen reappears as someone else: Daario, Daenerys’ right hand man. In the books, Daario is described as having blue hair, including a blue beard, and that’s an odd choice. Maybe it’s because he’s trying to disguise himself?
When we first meet Daario on GoT, he looks like this. Then next season, he looks like this. That’s kinda a big difference. Maybe it’s because the show figured out the secret Daario/Benjen, connection, and needed to recast Daario so he looked like Benjen during Season 1?
3a. Actually, Daario is Euron Greyjoy.
Basically, whatever way you want to slice it, Daario is someone else, and he’s important. He could be Euron Greyjoy, a character we haven’t met on the show, but he has been mentioned before. The basis for this theory lies in the books, and is easily explained in this 20-minute video. (JK, not easily explained, but it does make sense if you pay attention!)
4. Tyrion is a Targaryen.
There was a lot of heavy beef between Tyrion and his dad Tywin, and it might be because they’re not actually related. Not even going off of the idea that Tyrion looks nothing like his siblings (Jamie and Cersei, on both the show and in the books), but Tywin on many occasions has made vague statements about the fact that he’s not Tyrion’s dad.
So who is his dad? King Aerys Targaryen, who Tywin worked for, and who also happens to be Daenerys’s dad.
5. Brienne is going to be the end of Cersei.
GoT did its first-ever flashback at the beginning of Season 5. In it, we saw a young Cersei talk to Maggy the Frog who told her that “another younger, more beautiful [will] cast you down and take all you hold dear.” Immediately, I know I thought of Margaery, and then of Sansa. But what happens if it’s really Brienne? Though we love Brienne with our whole heart, the people of Kings Landing aren’t as fond of her. She’s — jokingly — called “Brienne The Beauty.” Hey, that’s all we need to hear to start thinking about Brienne kicking butt and taking names.
6. Hey, how about some time travel?
Oh, you want time travel? We’ve got GoT time travel theories. There are actually two time travel theories out there. One, that Daenerys is a time traveler and has come back to warn her past self of what lies ahead.
The other is that Bran is a time traveler, and in the post apocalyptic GoT world, he’s still got his legs and was never pushed out of that window by Jamie. But Bran wants to change the past, and stop the post apocalyptic future, and he realizes that he needs to get pushed out of that window to save humanity. So he goes back in time, possesses Jamie, and pushes his past-self out the window.
7. Howland Reed is the High Septon.
Remember Howland Reed? We were just talking about him the other day, when the idea that Jon Snow has a twin out there, and it’s Meera Reed went totally viral. We’ve never actually seen Howland on the show before, OR in the books. Still, he’s an important character, since he was one of Ned’s dear friends and has been mentioned a handful of times.
What do you think would happen if Howland Reed was actually the High Septon? We met him last season, and he’s the guy who REALLY had it in for Cersei. This could be all part of a big revenge plan against the Lannisters, and if it is, I’d say it’s working.
8. Ned Stark is still alive.
According to this theory, just before his death, Ned might have switched places with someone. Meaning, Ned’s not the guy we saw lose his head. A hundred different people could have stepped into Ned’s spot at the last second (including, Howland Reed), but what happens if a Faceless Man was actually the one we saw beheaded? The Faceless Man would have looked like Ned, after all. Would anyone have really known?
9. The White Walkers are the true heroes.
We’ve been looking at them all wrong. We also don’t know anything about them so maybe beyond the Wall everything is great. This Medium article points out the reasons we should switch to Team White Walkers.
10. Jon Snow isn’t dead.
It’s like picking petals off of a flower. He is dead, he isn’t dead. He IS dead, he ISN’T dead. Is. Isn’t. And this goes on and on and we’re driving ourselves crazy over it, but we’ve GOT TO KNOW.
Melisandre is currently at the Wall. Jon Snow could come back as Azor Ahai, the guy who first defeated the White Walkers. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess. I say he’s dead right now, but he’s coming back. What about you?
(Image via HBO.)
