Game Of Thrones Fan Theory Says Sansa Might Marry Jon Snow

Game of Thrones fandom is one that loves a good fan theory. That the series' most popular fan theory, dubbed R+L=J, was confirmed as true by Game of Thrones Season 6 will probably only fan the flames of that fandom.

Another fan theory, explained in the video below by Alt Shift X, ties into the R+L=J theory, which revealed that Jon Snow is actually the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, suggests that Jon may end up married to Sansa Stark, who we now know is Jon's cousin and not, as previously suggested, his half-sister.

The crux of this theory relies on a pattern that seems to repeat itself in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, on which Game of Thrones is based, and Martin's prequel novellas collected in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The pattern specifically appears in the first novella of the series, "The Hedge Knight."

In "The Hedge Knight," the titular knight Dunk, later called Ser Duncan the Tall, attends the Ashford tournament, in which knights compete to be named one of the champions of Lady Ashford. The final five champions, in order, are Lyonel Baratheon, Tybolt Lannister, Leo Tyrell, Humphrey Harding, and Valarr Targaryen.

In A Song of Ice of Fire, Sansa Stark goes through an unfortunate series of doomed betrothals. First, she is promised to Prince Joffrey Baratheon. Then, after Ned Stark is killed and Joffrey reneges on the betrothal, House Tyrell plots to marry Sansa to Willas Tyrell (in Game of Thrones, Willas is replaced with Loras Tyrell). When the Lannisters learn of this ploy, they promise Sansa to Tyrion Lannister instead. Finally, after Petyr Baelish rescues Sansa from King's Landing, he sets her up to be married to Harold Hardying, the heir to the Vale of Arryn.

The four men who have, at one point or another, had Sansa promised to them match four of the five champions from the Ashford tournament. Though the pattern doesn't exactly match up – the houses don't appear in quite the right order, and Joffrey isn't a true Baratheon – fans think the pattern is too close to be a coincidence. And if the Ashford tournament is predicting Sansa's suitors, that means the next in line should come from House Targaryen.

Finding a Targaryen suitor would be a unique challenge for Sansa since House Targaryen was all but wiped from Westeros during Robert's Rebellion. As far as anyone knows, Daenerys Targaryen is the sole surviving Targaryen but, despite Dany's flirtations with Asha Greyjoy in Game of Thrones Season 6, homosexual marriage isn't recognized as legitimate by the culture and crown of Westeros.

In Martin's novels, there's another option. While Rhaegar Targaryen's children with Elia Martell were said to have been slaughtered by Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane during the last days of Robert's Rebellion, Varys claims to have saved Rhaegar's son, Aegon, and spirited him away to safety, where he's been raised to become the ideal king for Westeros. As of A Dance With Dragons, the fifth and latest novel in A Song of Ice Fire, Aegon is moving to conquer Westeros and reclaim the Iron Throne for House Targaryen independently of Dany. However, there have been many hints that Aegon may actually be an imposter, and the fact that Aegon seems to have been cut from Game of Thrones entirely has added to the idea that his entire character is a red herring. That said, if Joffrey, a false Baratheon, is good enough to satisfy the requirements of the Ashford tournament's pattern, who is to say that even a false Targaryen wouldn't do the trick?

But arguably the more likely option, and the one that appears to be more relevant to Game of Thrones is that Sansa will end up married to Jon Snow, whom we now know is of Targaryen blood. Doing so would, in theory, unify Jon and Sansa's causes fully and help alleviate the tension caused by Littlefinger whispering to Sansa that she should be the one taking the lead of the forces of the North. It would also give Jon a claim both to the Iron Throne, as a Targaryen, and to the North, as the husband of a trueborn Stark (with Stark blood of his own).

The tricky part comes from the personal relationship. Biologically, Jon and Sansa are cousins, which sounds too close for comfort for modern audiences. However, it's important to keep in mind that marriage between cousins isn't terribly uncommon in Westeros, with Tywin and Joanna Lannister being a prime example.

However, Jon and Sansa were raised as siblings, and while they're not particularly close, lines from Martin's novels do provide evidence that they view each other through that lens. That said, there was an early draft outline of A Song of Ice and Fire in which Martin had Jon Snow and Arya Stark falling in love, so it isn't like this kind of thing hasn't crossed Martin's mind.

This whole theory, to us, seems a bit too much like numerology. Fans seem to be looking for a pattern and seem to be willing to ignore some of the theory's cracks – like Joffrey's true lineage, and the incorrect order of the champions – in order to find one. That said, marrying a Targaryen could put Sansa in the kind of position of power to fulfill Maggy the Frog's prophecy of another, younger and more beautiful queen being Cersei Lannister's downfall. Considering how cruel Cersei has been to Sansa throughout the series, this would poetic justice.

Game of Thrones Season 7 is now in production and will air on HBO in 2017.