A new 'Game of Thrones' theory suggests an unlikely character could be the show's real hero

HBO

One of the biggest mysteries on "Game of Thrones" is who, exactly, the Prince That Was Promised is. Melissandre thought that Stannis Baratheon was the prophesied hero, but it turned out she was wrong, and Stannis died. So, who is it really?

The Prince might — according to a few fan theories — be Jaime Lannister, of all people. It's a stretch, but here it goes. 

The Prince That Was Promised is a mystical figure in the religion who worships the Lord of Light, Azor Ahai reborn, destined to save the world from darkness. The most popular candidates are widely considered to be Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow, but Jaime could be a dark horse.

According to various, cobbled-together prophecy fragments taken from the "A Song of Ice and Fire" books, the main qualifications for the prophecy are:

• They have the blood of the dragon (Targaryen)

• They were born amid smoke and salt

• Born beneath a bleeding star

The original Azor Ahai wielded the legendary flaming sword Lightbringer, and had to sacrifice the life of the love of his life to obtain the power needed to save the world. The Prince Who Was Promised might follow in his footsteps. 

So how does Jaime stack up? Well according to the Redditor rightslip, among others, pretty well. Sure, Jaime isn't a Targaryen, but he did spill the last Targaryen king's blood when he killed him. The bleeding star could refer to the seven-pointed star in the Sept of Balor — perhaps where Jamie will be when something transformative happens —and the smoke and salt could be fire and tears (whose tears they are might be a spoiler, so consider yourself warned).

HBOCersei knows that the Mad King had stockpiles of wildfire — and the big theory is that she's planning to use it to burn down part of King's Landing to eliminate the High Sparrow and his crew. Jaime's already killed once to stop someone from burning down King's Landing. Could he do it again, underneath a bleeding star amidst smoke, flames, salty tears, and kill the love of his life with a flaming sword?

Probably. 

Would it make him the Prince That Was Promised? Eh, our money's still on Jon or Dany.

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