The Big Picture
Before David Benioff and D.B. Weiss could get George R. R. Martin’s approval to make Game of Thrones they had to answer Martin’s question about Jon Snow’s parentage. The popular theory that Jon Snow’s real parents are Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, known as R + L = J, was already circulating among fans before Game of Thrones revealed it. The show, however, failed to give meaningful consequences to Jon Snow’s true parentage, rendering it ultimately pointless and disappointing for fans.
The debates surrounding Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) parentage have raged long before George R. R. Martin’s “A Song Of Ice And Fire” was adapted into a show. While the books weren’t quite as popular as the show, they enjoyed a small but loyal niche of fans who dissected, analyzed and discussed every little detail of the story in great length. And one of the most debated and contested conversations orbited around Jon Snow’s parentage. After all, Jon Snow was a curious case. As the story went, he was born out of Ned Stark’s (Sean Bean) illegitimate relations with a random woman named Wylla during Robert’s Rebellion. If it was any other man, there would be no further discussion, but Ned Stark is considered the most honorable man in all of Seven Kingdoms. It was a difficult story to swallow, for characters of the show, and also the fans. And so, the fans got to work, directing their focus to a puzzle, the solution to which would later prove crucial to the adaptation of books into a show.
George R. R. Martin Quizzed the Would-be Showrunners
Image via HBO
There was a time when it felt like learning the identities of Jon Snow’s parents would unlock the mysteries hidden within the world of Ice and Fire. And perhaps there was some truth to that vague feeling. Back in 2006, screenwriters David Benioff and D. B. Weiss set up a meeting with George R. R. Martin, hoping to adapt his books into an HBO show. From the onset, it was an extremely difficult and ambitious project. Back then, Weiss and Benioff had only a few scripts and novels credited to them with very little directorial / showrunning experience. And to adapt Game of Thrones, they had to convince Martin to sell the rights, convince HBO to produce it and get the pilot picked up.
There was a long journey ahead of them, but before they could do any of it, they had to sit down with Martin for a meeting that spanned 5 long hours. And in that duration, Martin really dug into Weiss’ and Benioff’s knowledge and passion for “The Song Of Ice and Fire.” Specifically, though, there was one question he wanted the two to answer, and if they got it right Martin would happily agree to make the show. The question was “who is Jon Snow’s mother?” Weiss and Benioff had discussed the topic before, and they had reached an interesting conclusion, and when they told Martin their answer, he didn’t say anything but offered them a telling smile. It’s hard to know what the outcome of the meeting would have been had they gotten the question wrong, but Weiss maintains that Martin was impressed with their obsession with the books, and that getting the answer right helped nudge Martin towards the show.
What Is ‘R + L = J’ Theory?
Of course, Benioff and Weiss weren’t the first people to crack the code. ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ had an exceptionally dedicated fandom, and given how dense the books are with their prophecies and misdirections, the fans had begun outlining detailed theories as far back as the 90s. But the most popular, and the most accurate, theory was R + L = J, meaning Jon Snow’s (J) parents are actually Rheagar Targaryen (R) and Lyanna Stark (L). In 1997, a netizen with the username Rodrick Su made a list of moments from the book that felt incomplete and posted it to a Usernet group. And the fourth item on his list was, “it is wholly consistent that Jon Snow is the offspring of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Ned probably keep this a secret because Robert Baratheon is obsessed with killing off all Targaryen, especially any offspring of Rhaegar.”
The same theory was put forth by many different individuals, and gradually it became so popular and alive that when the show finally revealed Jon’s parentage, the fandom was already prepared. In the show, it’s Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) who first learns of Jon Snow’s heritage using his greenseer abilities, traveling back to the past and witnessing the battle at Tower of Joy where Lyanna (Aisling Franciosi) gave birth to Jon. Later, Samwell Tarly (John Bradley West) goes through the archives at the citadel and uncovers the papers that document Lyanna and Rhaegar’s marriage which proves that Jon Snow was never a bastard but the true heir to Iron Throne through Targaryen lineage. And so, in 2019, Game of Thrones’ penultimate episode decisively declared that the fans had been right all along. But it wasn’t a sense of victory at having made the correct guess that covered the fandom, rather there was intense anticipation as to what this new piece of information could mean for the show.
The Show Rendered Jon Snow’s Parentage Pointless
Image via HBO
By being part Targaryen and part Stark, Jon Snow perfectly encapsulated the title of the books, A Song of Ice and Fire. The revelation of such a powerful fact whose discussions spanned for decades demanded utmost gravity, but the tragedy is that it hurriedly brushes over this precious information and does almost nothing with it. There were no moments of introspection, no shifting loyalties and no meaningful consequence resulting from the grand revelation. Jon never even hinted at wanting to rival Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) using his heritage, and neither did he take the throne. He ended up back at the wall alongside the wildlings, taking the empty promises of his heritage with him. The story and his arc might as well have ended the same way if Jon was indeed Ned Stark’s bastard.
The show was in such a rush to be just done with itself that it utterly disappointed the anticipation that had been building up for decades. It’s true that the final season of Game of Thrones has received an unprecedented amount of hatred from fans, and though some hold very harsh opinions on the creators of the show, it’s things like this that really put fan’s rage at the final season of the show into perspective. Having invested themselves emotionally and intellectually into a story for so long only to be met with a bungled, sloppy conclusion devoid of any catharsis would drive anyone mad.