Game of Thrones time again folks. Spoilers lie ahead blah blah blah, so if you haven't seen the latest episode, stop reading now.
On we go...
Understanding history is important. Not just in life but in Game of Thrones too. It can explain all kinds of things and in Westeros, it helps to explain almost everything.
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The third episode of the sixth series, 'Oathbreaker', aired this evening and in it, the Three-Eyed-Raven took Bran Stark to a point in history that has implications for almost everything that's happened in Westeros since.
If what we expect to be confirmed is made official, there are a few 'mic-drop moments in waiting' that will be bigger than anything that's happened in Game of Thrones to date.
The flashback takes us to the Tower of Joy, where Eddard Stark (Bran's father) takes on Ser Arther Dayne to rescue his sister Lyanna who we were introduced to in Bran's first flashback in the second episode last week.
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Arthur Dayne is beaten and Ned hears a scream inside the tower but that's where the flashback ends - at the most crucial point.
But what does it all mean?
Well, to seasoned Game of Thrones fans, they'll have a pretty good idea already but for the rest of you, allow us to help you out...
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The theory goes that Jon Snow is not Ned Stark's bastard son, but is in fact the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. You know, the old R+L=J theory we've heard so much about. If Bran's flashback continued for but a minute longer, it would have confirmed one of the earliest fan theories to come out of the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' books - Jon Snow is a Targaryen.
Should Jon Snow be a Targaryen, it means he has a claim to the Iron Throne. The only problem is, anyone with any sort of influence in Westeros who could have confirmed this, is dead. Rhaegar Targaryen, Lyanna Stark, Eddard Stark, Ser Arthur Dayne, even Robert Baratheon... all dead.
The only person who could now confirm Jon Snow as the child of Rhaegar and Lyanna is Howland Reed, who went with Ned Stark to the Tower of Joy to rescue her. In the books, he is the only person to survive that mission, along with Ned. However, he rarely leaves the bog-filled lands of the Neck that he rules, so he's become relatively pointless but for his son and daughter, Jojen and Meera, helping Bran get to the Three Eyed Raven.
Credit: HBO
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Why is this significant?
Well, should Bran have another flashback, revealing what we all expect to be true - that Jon Snow is a Targaryen - there will be three people alive and able to confirm Jon Snow's claim to the Iron Throne - Bran, Meera and Howland Reed.
A week ago, while Jon Snow lay lifeless at Castle Black, the revelation that he is a Targaryen wouldn't have meant very much.
They may both be Targaryen but they have absolutely no idea who one another are - Daenarys' claim to the Iron Throne is just as legitimate as Jon Snow's, only there's no guarantee their shared lineage will make them allies.
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As a Targaryen, he could probably control a dragon or two as well, and so when Daenarys does eventually cross the narrow sea to make her claim, who's to say Jon Snow might not be there waiting to steal her thunder and her dragons.
Mic. Drop.
Can you imagine a Jon Snow vs Daenarys Targaryen situation actually unfolding? That would be bigger than anything that's ever happened in Game of Thrones and would make for a hell of a finale as and when D.B Weiss and David Benioff decide to finish it all.
Alternatively, Jon Snow might borrow a dragon to defeat the white walkers and not actually abandon his post up on The Wall. That too would be fucking epic.
So you see, it's not just the unraveling of one of the most famous fan theories the Eddard Stark flashback scene implicates, but what might happen now Weiss and Benioff are free from the shackles of sticking as closely as possible to the books.
They've got free reign to do what they want and the options they have to choose from are all amazing. Things are hotting up in Westeros and I've got a feeling this season is only going to snowball more and more.
However, this is Game of Thrones, there is every chance something way out of left field will happen and every prediction even the most ardent of GoT fans could never have thought up. After all, Valar Morghulis, right?
Words by George Pavlou
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Game of Thrones