Game of Thrones: A look at Jon Snow's parentage

In the final episode of Game of Thrones season 6, Bran travelled via flashback to the Tower of Joy and confirmed something long suspected with regards to Jon Snow’s parentage. In turns out that Jon Snow was in fact, *pauses for dramatic effect*, not Ned Stark’s son after all. He was actually the child of Lyanna Stark, Ned’s sister. The show didn’t however fully confirm Jon’s father, although HBO then went on to do so rather unexpectedly here in the show’s official online blog.

I’m about to go into some detail here on who this mysterious father almost definitely is, so if you wish to remain completely in the dark, and have somehow managed to avoid finding out from your annoying friends who read the books, look away now.

For many people, the theory than Jon’s actual parents are Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targyaryen is nothing new. The idea of R+L=J, as it became known, has done the rounds on online forums for some years now. However in purely TV show terms, it has been something of a slow burner with nothing but nods and winks littered here and there until season 6 really tackled the matter head on.

During Bran’s vision flashbacks in “Oathkeeper” we saw a young Ned fighting alongside Howland Reed (Jojen and Meera’s dad) at the Tower of Joy seeking to rescue his sister as she was being held by two of the Kingsguard under orders from Rhaegar. In the season’s finale “The Winds of Winter”, we then see another of Bran’s visions, this time where young Ned discovers his sister lying in blood-soaked sheets with a young child in her hands. She whispers the baby’s father to Ned and forces him to make a promise to ensure its safety. That baby is of course Jon Snow.

For those who are a bit unclear on their Targaryen family history, Rhaegar was the eldest son of the Mad King Aerys II who was overthrown during Robert Baratheon’s rebellion, and is also therefore Daenerys and Viserys’ older brother. Robert Baratheon loathed all Targaryens with a passion however and after killing Rhaegar with his trusty hammer and ascending to the Iron Throne, he set about ensuring that Rhaegar would not be remembered in a positive light. It is held by many others however that the young Prince may not in fact have been such a bad guy after all.

We saw noble old Barristan Selmy in the season 5 episode “Sons of the Harpy” speaking fondly of Rhaegar to Daenerys, painting him as a caring and cultured man with a common touch. This suggests quite strongly that Rhaegar’s reputation was unfairly skewed after his passing in a case of history being re-written by the victors. Baratheons and Starks in particular came to despise the Targaryen family, with Jon himself surely raised on the stories of how his aunt was kidnapped and raped by Rhaegar and the Mad King brutally murdered his grandfather and uncle. Granted though those last two are completely true and certainly don’t paint the Mad King in a very good light.

Rhaegar was actually married to Elia Martell, a character who we know better as sister to Oberyn Martell aka the Red Viper, who we saw unsuccessfully attempt to avenge his sister’s death in season 4. Despite his marriage to Elia however, after winning a tourney at Harrenhal Rhaegar handed his victor’s crown not to his wife but to Lyanna Stark. Lyanna was at this time betrothed to Robert Baratheon who was madly in love with her.

Rhaegar’s apparent pursuit of Lyanna, coupled with his “abduction” of her shortly after the tourney, led to the outbreak of Robert’s Rebellion which ultimately ousted the Targaryens from power and created the Westeros as we found it way back in season 1. It was reported that Rhaegar kidnapped and raped Lyanna, but it’s also widely held by many that the pair were in fact in love and Lyanna went with Rhaegar quite willingly.

So, let us assume for now that Jon is indeed half Stark, half Targaryen. What does this mean for the show going forward?

For starters let us not underplay his importance to proceedings; he is literally Ice and Fire. He is a blend of Stark and Targaryen, a heady mix that cannot be understated.

If he is indeed part Targaryen, it could well also mean he is also able to both ride dragons and survive in fire. Two factors that could very well come in handy in the battles to come, be they against human foe or the White Walkers.

Jon is of course also Daenerys’ nephew, so while one may assume the two would find a lot of common ground, it could potentially become a slight point of contention. The whole show has seemingly been building towards Jon the noble warrior being King of the North while Daenerys returns to reclaim the Iron Throne in the South. Jon has shown no interest in the goings on in King’s Landing thus far and seems content with what he has. However what happens if he does decide to press his claim for the Iron Throne?

Logic dictates that since they are pinned as the show’s two young, noble heroes, that he and Daenerys are set to become loyal allies, if not more. Bear in mind of course that Targaryens have always been fairly flexible when it comes to the whole inter-family relations thing.

However what if Jon decides that he should be the one to rule? He is Rhaegar’s son after all, while Daenerys is “only” his sister. Some would argue that puts him ahead of her in the pecking order. Granted he could still be a bastard, but seen as the Targaryens are known to take multiple wives, it’s feasible that under the eyes of Targaryen law (for want of a better term), Lyanna and Rhaegar may have married before he was born. Could this lead to conflict between he and Dany at a later stage? In all probability I don’t think this is too likely. Pitting these characters against each other would require the audience to pick a side and given that they are the show’s two main heroes, this would unwisely split allegiances. However, it’s certainly not beyond belief.

Finally though,his parentage also calls into question Jon’s claim to Winterfell and the North. After all, he is now no longer one of Ned’s children. Despite a bastard boy being able to stake a claim ahead of a daughter in Northern circles, one would imagine Sansa, and Bran for that matter, both hold a stronger claim than a mere cousin. Given how put-out Sansa appeared during Jon’s coronation, and with Littlefinger sure to be in her ear, it’s certainly likely that this revelation may course some instability.

As it stands, only Bran knows Jon’s true mother, and even he is yet to fully confirm the identity of the father, so on the show at least we’ve got a bit of a wait until that cat is fully out of the bag. Word spreads surprisingly fast in Westeros though, so expect it to be out there in the ether before too long once Bran puts the remaining pieces into place.

How this major revelation will impact the series as a whole remains to be seen. Personally I think Jon is unlikely to contest his aunt’s claim to the Iron Throne, but certainly would not be surprised to see it affect his claim on the North. Meanwhile though, when the White Walkers do finally come a knocking, it’s would be mighty handy to have a second hero around who is able to handle a dragon.

(All Images courtesy of HBO)