Fan Theories and Shipping in A Song of Ice and Fire

First, a definition. Shipping refers to a preference for a certain relationship. If a ship is "canon", that means it actually appears in the source material. Buffy/Spike was canon. Willow/Spike never was, but I still shipped it.


As I'm beginning to read A Clash of Kings, I wanted to record some of my thoughts. I read the first book, A Game of Thrones, in a bit of a vacuum. But when the TV show started, I began to enter the fandom. I started reading reviews of the show, some by people who had read all the books, some by people who were coming to the story with fresh eyes. And this led me to more things. The fandom (and every fandom, really) produces everything from stunning artwork to hilarious mash-ups with Arrested Development.

Check out the rest of Michael Komark's art

Watching the TV series also clued me in to details I'd missed on my read of the book. I had never picked up on the fact that Renly is gay until it become rather obvious in his scene with Loras. It's possible this doesn't get hinted at until later books, so maybe I missed nothing. But when the prologue of the second book mentioned Renly's new rainbow guard, with each of seven knights dressed head to toe in one of the colors of the rainbow, I laughed and laughed.

Stepping into the online fandom also clued me in to some popular ships and theories. There are pretty vocal contingents who think that Jon and Arya are destined to be together, or that Jon and Dany would make a great couple. There's a smaller faction that seems to ship Sansa and The Hound, though I also have a vague idea that Sansa develops a crush on The Hound at some point. So I guess that's canon at least.

I kind of want to talk about the two Jon relationships, though, because they involve a theory that I'm considering more of a possibility the more I read. Though that could just be because I kind of want Jon and Arya to get together.

Now you might be thinking, but Jon took a vow of celibacy! Or ew! Jon and Arya are siblings! Well, hear me out. Then you can judge all you want. First off, screw the celibacy thing. There are at least five armies involved in at least two wars by the beginning of the second book. Jon may or may not ultimately uphold his vows (though he does seem to have a lot of that Stark honor). Second, the people in Westeros are no stranger to incest. The twins, Jaime and Cersei have three kids together and Viserys was all set to marry his sister, Dany, until Khal Drogo came along. But, there's also a possibility that Jon and Arya don't share a father.

See, we haven't found out who Jon's mother is. Ned took that secret to his grave. But Ned's also an incredibly honorable man, and when you look at his life and choices, it seems less likely that he cheated on his wife in their first year of marriage. Especially since he straight-up never did it again. In a world where everyone cheats on their spouses with prostitutes and family members, Ned didn't. And when you consider that Rhaegar had kidnapped Lyanna to make her his wife and Ned was one of the last people to see Lyanna before she died.

The theory is that Jon is actually the son of Lyanna Stark and the Mad King's son, Rhaegar Targaryen. Ned took that secret to his grave to protect Jon. Had Robert ever learned Jon's true lineage, he would have had him killed as surely as he was trying to kill Dany. Probably moreso, because he would have hated Jon with the same intensity that Snape hates Harry. I hadn't paid this theory much mind until the last episode of Game of Thrones nodded to it by talking about Lyanna's imprisonment. Given that, and Ned's flat out refusal to discuss Jon's mother with anyone, including Robert his best friend and King, I think this theory is a definite possibility. It could still become canon before the series finishes. I also think it adds a nice twist and an extra layer of deception to everything happening in Westeros.

If this is true, it would mean that Jon and Arya are cousins, not siblings. At least that's a step in the right direction. They're still blood relatives, but marrying cousins was a bit more common back in the day (and is still legal in some places). However, this theory also plays right into the Jon/Dany shippers. This theory means that Jon is a dragon as much as a wolf. The Targaryens have been inbreeding for generations because of their blood pride. If there's a chance that Dany can marry another dragon and make another generation of baby dragons, I'm sure she'll take it.

This is all just speculation, of course. I've only read one book, and I could very well be proven wrong. But Arya is now on her way to the Wall. She's supposed to get dropped off at Winterfell, but I hope she makes it all the way to the Wall and reunites with Jon. Then again, he's heading north to fight the zombies White Walkers, so he probably wouldn't even be there when she arrives.

I should just go read the book.