i'd never heard of the joffrey had a food allergy theory and i'm very amused by it. i mean with 77 courses it's possible he ate some ingredients he'd never tried before. but yeah we'd never know
It would be funny if LF actually did none of the crimes he’s accused of but just takes credit and gains power for it (besides shoving Lysa out the moon door)
It's kind of a rebuke of the "great man" view of history. That kind of aligns with the themes of the books. Still, someone's gonna hold the special sword. Gonna be fun finding out!
"We haven't seen [Euron] do anything but drugs" really is a thing to remember if that whole dragon-binding kraken-invoking shit doesn't work for him in Winds of Winter.
I get the feeling it'll work too well, and backfire on him. It's been hammered home repeatedly that magic is not a toy in ASOIAF, and the level of sorcery Euron is trying to pull off may be far beyond his abilities.
One that I personally like is that Bran accidentally makes Arys Targaryen Mad. He shows him the threat of the Others, hence why he says "burn them all"
@@00dude3 what do you mean by coherent? That man was everything but coherent. I agree that he wasn't having seizures or rocking in the floor like Hodor in the show or in Queen's Crown or as Thistle as she was possesed by Varamyr (so I don't think that theory is true) but still "coherent" is not something that Aerys was....
No I think It was Blood Raven. Probably went into his dreams also. Also telling him about plots making him distrusting but I think Aerys just thinks it's his own thoughts and doesn't realize someone is telling him he just hears voices.
UnTommen is another candidate for the Valonqar. The theory goes that after dying either Tommen becomes a wight if the White Walkers ever get far enough south, or that Qyburn revives him on Cersei's orders. Then, the undead Tommen fulfills the prophecy by killing Cersei. It fits the language of the prophecy better than any other candidate, since the prophecy is discussing Cersei's children at that point (Gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds. And when your tears have drowned you, the Valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you), but other than that there isn't much to go on. I like it though.
@@eduardocherry7268 not only A little brother, but of Cersei's children he's THE little brother, that's why linguistically Tommen makes the most sense.
i think it'd be more likely that he does that without dying first. after seeing how crazy his mom really is, all of his pent up aggression and fear will be taken out on her
@@hecticsconeI doubt a living tommen would be strong enough to strangle cersei though. She could easily push him off. The only way it would make sense is if he ordered someone to do it. But ultimately to me it only makes sense if he's undead.
I think one of the first Sansa chapters in A Feast For Crows Littlefinger says something like, "We'll serve them lies and arbor gold", "We'll tell them lies that they want to believe more than the truth." In reference to convincing Nestor Royce to become his ally. Then in the Cersei POV chapters she serves Taena Merryweather and other political players arbor gold, and Taena is nearly always lying to her.
Varys + Illirio = FAegon is basically just an extension of Aegon is a Blackfyre, and that he's Illirio's son and Aegon's mother was a relative (sister) of Varys. He keeps his head clean shaven to hide his Valyrian hair coloring.
In GRRM's interview with History of Westeros he kind of confirmed that the Valyrians caused the Doom. I found this interesting because he was cagey about other things and sometimes feigned innocence or ignorance about other theories.
When they say "Bloodraven is going after Bran's body", I think they're wording it wrong. They're not talking about just possessing him physically; as you said, there's a bunch of far more mobile people around that he could mindsteal. Instead, the Theory is that Bran's potential actually surpasses Bloodraven's. While Bran is not yet more powerful, he has far more natural ability and will one day be the superior greenseer. I think this is incredibly likely; Bran is only 9 years old, and is already incredibly advanced. By contrast, Bloodraven is fairly well mentioned, and we have no evidence that he started having this kind of power at any point leading up to the Blackfyre Rebellions, or even after. There *is* the "Thousand Eyes and One" thing which I do think could hint to him starting to have some skinchanging ability, but he would not be able to skinchange peopl, and I don't think he was advanced because with how nosy people are in Kings Landing, if he was overly powerful they would have noticed. Which means in my opinion he did not truly blossom until he went beyond the Wall. But regardless, the theory says that Bran will be the superior greenseer. Brynden is not just looking to steal Bran's body, he's looking to "absorb" him, for lack of a better word. He will take Bran's body as his own and join it to the tree (wherein mobility won't matter anyway) and will use Bran's potential with his own experience to become incredibly powerful. Bran will thus either be annihilated, or will be forced to the very depths of his mind (narrative link to Bran himself doing this to Hodor despite recognising how deeply uncomfortable it makes Hodor) and has to fight back to get Control.
Also I don't think it's Bloodraven who wants to occupy his body, it's the Hive mind of the weirwoods and the Children of the Forest who serve it. Honestly, if that's the case they will probably prefer sickly/crippled people. By the way, has anyone ever wonder how Bloodraven ended up there, tied to the tree? Those motherf***rs abducted him, I am pretty sure of it, they were calling him through dreams and once there they took him. I can't believe anyone would chose to stay there tied to a tree, but well that's just me.
This gave me a new theory idea, weirwoods enhance abilities like greensight or skinchanging, which is why it is mostly seen in the north, a place with a lot of weirwoods. Like the first men blood is only the basic condition and weirwoods are some sort of catalyst
Would Sandor killing Gregor not still work given that Gregor is now undead? Rather than using violence as a tool of anger and revenge, Sandor killing his brother could be a final act of love and a way for him to make peace with his brother and their past.
I go back and forth on which of the two of them sent it pretty regularly. I think the focus on Mance and the notable deviations from Ramsay’s previous letters are what have made me think it’s more likely to have been Mance.
I also think a lot of the phrases in the letter are codes: Tell his red whore, the use of Crow, False King. The only catch is Reek, it’s unlikely Stannis or Mance would call Theon that, but maybe that’s a bait for the reader. George’s plot lines are like 5D chess sometimes.
A theory I came up with myself is that Lann the Clever was a dwarf. Lann and Tyrion are both Lannister tricksters and both really clever, so it parallels the two. Also, being a little person is sometimes genetic, so it would show that the Lannister’s have that gene. Lastly, it creates an interesting wrinkle with Tywin, despising Tyrion because he’s a monster and no true Lannister, despite the fact that (if my theory is true) Tyrion would be closer to a real Lannister than Tywin.
Being a little person is an autosomal dominant trait. Meaning that it cannot "skip" a generation (further reading: achondroplasia). Interesting thought nonetheless! Though I think it would have been documented
Mance Rayder= Arthur is a "What" lol he was literally at winterfell when king Bobby went to make Ned the Hand, you would think somebody would have seen the sword of the morning there posing as a bard and be like "dude what?"
That and also Stannis literally talking to him at the Wall and just let it be. There were people who even tried to convinced me that Stannis accept it just as if nothing and even included Mance Dayne in his plan to conquer the North...
Danny is the "obvious" Azor Ahai - she represents the classical Arthurian prophecised hero - she matches all the signs in a clean way (too clean for George who likes his prophecies to manifest in a way the reader won't expect). Stanis is the contrived Azor Ahai, he only matches the signs because Mel manufactures them (you can't force a prophecy). Jon is the secret prince that was promised, which probably makes him the truest one
I'd like the very last chapter of the series to be set 7,000 years in the future where a young boy is listening to the tale of how a single hero saved the world.
I think the V+I = fA is in reference to the fact that Verys and Illaryio may have "made" fAegon and shaped who he was and what he was supposed to do, as another player in the game. Not that they literally birthed him..... Hard truths cut both ways, Sir Quinn.
Well regardless, the idea that Verys has some involvement in fAegon is fairly sound, given his involvement with Dany at least. Surprised there weren't any Coldhands theories on that board. Or Night's King stuff.
I think the implication is that Varys is actually secretly a woman with Eunuch as a cover, but yeah still a tad strange, as Varys would definitely still have been in KL at the time of (f)Aegon's conception.
What are you talking about? Euron Greyjoy being Daario Naharis is absolutely possible. The TV show has shown us an exemple of the Ironborn's teleportation powers
Bloodraven being the three-eyed crow is an issue because Bran asks him if he is and Bloodraven ignores him as if he didn't understand the question. One possibility is that Bloodraven doesn't know what shape he takes in Bran's dreams. Another possibility is that time-travelling Bran is the three-eyed raven. Bran seems to get different dreams with different patterns, so it's possible that they're from different people.
I’m kind of shocked A+J=J/C didn’t even get ranked. There is a TON of evidence to show that Aerys had an obsession with Joanna. It’s said that he made comments about preforming the first right at her and Tywin’s wedding and it definitely seems like something happens just before Tyrions conception causing her to be send back to the rock. And I think it would be poetic for Tyrion to be Tywin’s only real child. I think both A+J=J/C and A+J=T are both on the lower end of possible
I’m kind of there on if anyone’s a secret targ it’s them and not Tyrion, it would be the ultimate irony for him to be Tywin’s only true son, and for Jaime and Cersei to inherit their incest drive along with their children having a claim to the throne
I always thought Tyrion was more likely the mad king's get. Tywin says something like "and since I can't prove you're not my son... speak to me no more of your rights to Casterly Rock." And in blood and fire there's another Targ with mismatched eyes. But the incest thing and the irony of J&C. What if NONE of them are Tywin's kids?
@@DadReadsAndCooksMeat I could get down with none of them being his. But I really could go either way. I think it’s poetic and ironic if Tyrion is his only true born son. I also think Tyrion’s obsession with dragons and dragon imagery makes him more of a targ candidate than Jon if you go by symbolism.
I’d probably put Cerci and Jamie being Aerys’ kids in Unlikely as opposed to What?! because we’ve been informed a couple of times that Aerys did lust after Johanna and was a bit improper towards her on several occasions. I really doubt that it’s the case, but there’s at least enough textual evidence that it wouldn’t be that out of left field if revealed.
I realized that after I recorded, I totally agree with you. The what was mostly because I had thought it was saying that Aerys and Joanna ARE Cersei and Jaime initially.
@@QuinnTheGM I think it's a very legit theory because it would fuck over Tywin a lot, as in, his only real child would be Tyrion, which he tried to have killed. Tywin's beloved legacy a lie. Also, it would fit in with Jaime being AA.
@@bierwolf8360 I think Tywin that is sooooo worried about the family and his legacy is in fact esterile and not only Cersei and Jaime are Aerys rapy sons but Tyrion as well. That's the you're not son of mine line for. Don't remember if in the books he says it as well, think he does.
@@Pigraider268 I think the theory of Tyrion Targaryen explains it. Don't remember, read it a long time ago. The only thing I'm doing here is combine the A+J=J+C with the Tyrion Targaryen one, because I think, again, Tywin is sterile.
Meera Reed is John snows twin sister. Lyanna died giving birth to twins. They separated them to keep them safe. Howland took Meera. Meera looks nothing like jojen. She has stark like features and has lyanna’s skills. In the cave she will most likely being acquiring dark sister. She is the literal dark/hidden sister. The dragon has 3 heads. Rhaegar thought Jon would be a girl. Thinking that it was like aegon and his 2 sisters. BGG. Jon’s name will be Aemond like his great uncle and the dragon knight and not Aegon. The horn of winter says it will wake giants from the earth. It will not bring down the wall but raise the dead starks up from the crypts of winterfell to fight the nightking. Jon will get to see his mother and maybe Ned. Cat will find out Jon’s not Ned’s son and will redeem herself by bringing him back. Bloodraven will talk to Jon inside of ghost or Jon will sense his presence.
Future readers of these books after we have all the answers will never understand the joys and frustrations of trying to solve the myriad of mysteries he has given us. I hope that when we finally do get answers that there won't be a mass deletions of posts and videos by those who turn out to be wrong. Future sociologists will have a treasure trove of data to be gathered in the way that people dealt with these debates.
That's the thing, my friend. What makes you think that isn't that what GRRM has ever wanted? Maybe he'll deliver to us TWoW, but let the final completely open to have us discussing his works through ages. I think it can backfire to him cause we are mortals, and next generations would never pick and unfinished saga but still, I can picture him laughing at us from the Great Beyond.
@@luciamota1249 My own theory is that GRRM is fucking with us. He's already finished both books, but is refusing to release them until he's dead. He saw the mess when GOT ended terribly, and doesn't want to deal with fan drama if/when his own work fails to satisfy his fans, who have been a massive pain to him for over a decade now. I think he's got a lot of spite toward a large portion of his fan base at this point, and no reason to even try to please them. So we're only going to get WOW and ADOS posthumously, and George gets the last laugh.
Except I don't think George will give us the ultimate answers, just more clues and stuff to chew on. The enormous work he put in crafting these puzzles and leaving them open-ended and ambiguous would sort of be undone if he just laid out concrete answers in the end.
@@millibillionthi agree with this but I also think we should get a little bit more information. Many of the magical mysteries of the series are pretty integral like the inconsistent seasons and the motives of the others
@@neuralmute Honestly that's not a bad theory... I don't believe he's finished both books, but he could very well just be stalling until his death for their release. Personally I believe that, with all the evidence, time, and content meant to be in Winds that the books must be done or nearly done. He might just be chilling and creating A Dream of Spring, Fire and Blood part two, and more. That'd be great.
I like the theory that Euros is skin changing the dusky woman. It's a bit tinfoil because of the logistics, but it's also right up Euron's alley to do something so screwed up
@@ivanacvetanovic7611 were talking about thr 3 eyed crow in Bran's vision. No doubt the old guy under the tree is Bloodraven, lured to the cave and trapped inside in his own way.
"Grand Northern Conspiracy" and "Southern Ambitions" are good examples of how people go overboard with trying to connect all possible dots, when there really is just hints at general, opportunistic scheming. It's a issue with all sorts of theories about any topic.
I recently read a theory that literally debunks Rickard Stark's southron ambitions explaining that the one who actually was making all the marriages was Hoster Tully, but simply cause he was trying to stop Walder Frey from becoming too powerful in the area with all the alliances he made marrying all his prolific family. It made a lot of sense to me.
I love how some of these make so much sense and have been part of my headcanon for years, and others are the most insane and unhinged takes imaginable.
One theory I like is that Meera and Jon are siblings...Meera and Jon are the same age, both Ned and Howland were at the tower of Joy, and Bran thinks Meera reminds him of Arya (who in turn looks like Lyana Stark)...
17:16 N+A=J The thing that deals ned and ashara for me is the beginning of the book. GRRM hides things in his writing. Several times Jon is said to be his father's son. Also ned thought in Edard 2 or 3 that he never thought of reigar in YEARS! How could he do that, if he's raising his son? These are very common things that he does in his writing.
The faceless men causing the doom of valyria is actually practically confirmed. So Jacquen does take credit for it when talking to Aria, however, it seems like this is almost a secret not known amongst a wide amount of people. An external group also determined that the most likely cause was the death of many fire mages. These same fire mages prophesized that the gold of casterly rock would lead to the doom. Prophecies can often be self-fulfilling, so the valyrians never took money from the Lannisters. Despite the Lannisters offering them quite a large sum of it for a valyrian steel blade. However, we know that the Lannister still ended up with of valyrian steel blade within 100 years before the doom. We know that the faceless men take longer amounts of time for higher profile targets, and what's a higher profile target than an entire nation. Let alone the most powerful nation on the planet. So, who hired the faceless men? It would need to be someone who could reforge valyrian steel, have a storage of the stuff and distaste for dragons/magic. They would also need to know the lannisters wanted a blade. Who else do we know very likely killed the targeryon dragons? The maesters. Marwin tells us that they killed all the dragons, perhaps he ment more than just the targeryon dragons.
There's 2 theories that I really like and think they have some credibility that were not on this list but you might enjoy : preston jacobs' purple wedding theory and lml's a+f=doom/the doom was an inside job/abolition.
My personal favorite theory is Stannis wrote the pink letter to get Jon and the Free Folk to fight for him. Once Jon deserts his choice is to fight for Stannis or die, going back isn't an option. Stannis has wanted Jon as his Lord of Winterfell to rally the North behind for a long time, he also has no reason to believe there's an alternate play that gives him the North with Rickon and Bran believed to be dead. He has all the information and some sort of motive. I don't think Jon dying was his plan but maybe he left Melisandre behind for a reason. Even if Ramsey had caught Mance the likelihood of him also catching all six (Or at least knowing about all six) of the free folk woman sent with him in such a such a short time is incredibly slim. Mance it really doesn't make sense for it to be him unless it's at least under Stannis' direct instruction.
I initially thought that it was Stannis, though it really just doesn’t seem like Stannis’s style. What’s more, it already seems like Stannis is going to best the Boltons without aid (see the Night Lamp theory).
@@QuinnTheGM I don't doubt Stannis can beat the Boltons without aid but to what end? Why would the North fight for him in the South just because he beat the Boltons? He needs a figurehead to rally them behind because their loyalty right now is to hating the Boltons- not to Stannis himself. He has no reason to believe Rickon is alive and Arya is believed to be Lady Bolton now so she's not a reliable FF figurehead. He needs a Stark to lead the North and Jon is the only candidate he knows of.
On the Cersei poisoning Joffery theory. I have thought that a possibility for a while, and it's a case of "unreliable narrator". As she is so egotistical and unhinged, Cersei blames Tyrion for Joff's death because it should have been him dying instead (before tasting his own slice of pie, Joffery jams his fingers into Tyrion's slice and eats some of it). Her hubris is so extreme that she can't fault herself for the error, it's Tyrion's fault for not eating his pie before Joffery had a chance to touch it. However, there are too many things indicating a group effort incorporating the all important hairnet and amethysts. Also, George being somewhat of a hippy feminist vibes well with Olenna the aged woman being the one getting her hands dirty in the murder.
I honestly think Jaime and Cersei being halftargaryen is completely legit theory. "Whenever Targaryen is born gods flip a coin" It would make so much sense insanity in Cersei her love for fire and siblings incestuous preferences
I love the idea of Dany going East to Ashai and learning how to better control her dragons. Then continue East to battle Euron at Oldtown. Kraken v Dragon battle 🤞
I think that might've been the initial plan, but George ended up increasing the distance to Ashay as he developed the geography of Essos and he left Dany for too long in Slaver's Bay at this point for him to have the time to still take her further east.
I hope we atleast learn more about ashaii. It seems to me to be the most important location for the story in the wider world outside of westeros and western essos. Since it seems like one of the most magical places in the world and is where melissandre is from I'd hope there'd be some hints there as to what is really going on with the magic in the world.
I really think that the theory around 'ASOI&F is scifi post-apocolypse' is just nuts. It's a clear 'Absolutely not', there is definitely examples of fiction where that *is* the case, but it is evident in how certain aspects of the fantasy operate. Technology *looks* like technology. We never see a red priest pull out a magic stethoscope before reviving them, and the dragons are pretty clearly flesh and blood creatures that have existed for a long time (long enough that their bones have been fossilized). If there was an intent to have the series be set in a distant post-apocalypse, there would be more clear signs and hints of that. It seems far more likely that this is just a low-fantasy setting that takes place on a timeline where magic has its ups and downs in popularity/accessibility.
Definitely agree with you there. I think the thing that people use to explain the absence of technology away is potential mutations brought on by radiation, but I don’t think that’s the case despite loving the X-Men.
Hell no! I put my hands on fire about Dawn being a damn jedi lightsaber!!!! The clues are there in the description!!!!! xD Jokes aside I really enjoyed PJ's theory about it, specially situating ASOIAF in the interregnum period of the 1000 worlds cause I really wanted this world as a part of all other worlds by George, but I think he already denied it :( I was creaming when I read The Pale Child Bakkalon mentioned in the Forsaken chapter but everyone broke my heart saying it was just a cool easter egg.... I wanted the freaking weirwoods being a Hrangan mind but no, those were just dreams.... 😞
Sci fi doesn't need to be technology, GRRM has numerous stories involving psionic powers and telepathy which he himself says are indistinguishable from magic.
My personal favorite is that Osha and Tormund are brother and sister Also, I am pretty sure that Hot Pie is Tom Seven's son (because he said that all his children sings very well and Arya is impressed by how good Hot Pie is at singing)
After rereading Dance with Dragons last year, I feel like I had an epiphany after reading the prologue. I used to be 100% sure that Jon was going to get resurrected in the next book. But I now think that the ADWD prologue is straight up foreshadowing what will happen to Jon; in his last dying moments he warged into ghost. I mean Jon’s direwolf is named “Ghost”. It all just makes so much sense. Jon will not get resurrected because his consciousness never died, only his body did. However it he will probably slowly forget himself as that’s what happens when you’re warged too long.
28:51 First I'm hearing of it, but if I had to guess. Stannis' wife would be their queen and is their relative, so independently sabotaging Renly's armour on the eve of the battle would make it so he's more likely to die in the fighting, and so minimalise casualties during the fighting. Renly falls, Stannis accepts their surrender and fealty, and they confide in Selyse about their contribution for favour.
New subscriber here. I really liked your tier list and actually agree with most of your choices. Something strange that I don't see people bring up about Syrio Forel is why was he in King's Landing at all? It's mere days after Arya talked to her father about swordsmanship that he became her instructor. So he must have been around before then. I can't help wonder why. It may support the Syrio = Jaquen theory though. We still don't know why Jaquen was even in the black cells.
I have often wondered about Syrio. He's not just any waterdancer, he's the "first sword" of Braavos. That seems...important? Was he lying on his resume? If not, why's he in the west slumming as some barbarian girl's private tutor? Jaquen being in the dungeons is pretty sus too. Getting caught at murder seems pretty amateurish for a professional magical assassin. If Jaquen is Syrio though, that means he was there for Arya all along, but why? So many questions...
@elijahalbiston3105 I don't think so either. There's the theory that Littlefinger hired him to take Ned out and Jaquen put himself in the cells basically, but that doesn't make sense to me either. Why not pretend to be a guard and poison Ned instead, then just leave?
Not saying this outcome is likely, but imagine an end to magic as a major ASOIAF plot point. If it happens in a Thanos-snap kind of moment...all glamours disappear (likely exposing various Faceless assassins), all types of wights would de-animate, and who knows what other effects (spells woven into objects/places). If the only way to stop the Others was to press the End-Magic button, would Bran choose to do it?
22:44 It might not just be about navigation, per se. Bran is the oldest living true born son of Ned Stark, so both his abilities and claim to the north may be important to Bloodraven. As well as the Winterfell Godswood.
@@QuinnTheGM Yea hence I wanted to go back to see if Qyburn actually did have the hand. Seems like the text implies that Bolton let Vargo Hoat use it as he will but I'm gonna keep rereading.
I think Euron is Azor Ahai, and its going to be just the worst possible thing. He's born amidst salt and smoke, he's going to take the sword Red Rain from his bannerman, I think he's going to stab his lover with the sword to gain power, and I think ultimately he'll do the same ritual that the bloodstone emperor did and become a second night king, south of the wall, before we even get to meet the first.
Personally, I believe Euron Greyjoy is Azor Ahai, as I believe Azor Ahai is actually the secret/twist villain of the story, and not the hero, and like on the show, I believe Jaime will kill Euron, but it will be to save the world from the Mad God King Euron, rather then...whatever the hell that stupid fight in the show was.
I've been rereading the series, and I think there's a hint dropped in COC that Jaime will actually surpass his previous skills now that he's fighting lefty. It's in one of the Jon chapters where he's out scouting with Qhorin Halfhand, and it mentions how, after losing most of the fingers on his right hand, Qhorin trained and trained until he was far more skilled fighting left handed than he had even been before his right hand was maimed. I really don't think GRRM put a detail like that in the story by accident!
@@neuralmute that's a really interesting detail to notice well spotted! I agree George doesn't drop hints like that without a purpose and I'd love Jamie to end up that good now he's learnt the value of humility and regained his honor
I agree with the majority of your thoughts on these various theories. There are just a few that I think are unlikely that you felt were possible. It is interesting that the theories about the Pink Letter include just about every potentially good suspect. InDeepGeek has a good video that debunks the idea of Jaqen being Syrio. He is really good at laying out whether various theories are true or not through a very logical perspective. I do think that several aspects of the television show influenced peoples thoughts on that particular one. Just like the people who thought that Jon Snow and Meera Reed could be siblings. This was primarily based on the fact that the two actors had similarly colored and curly hair! Which is a very silly thing to base a theory on IMO. It is interesting how the television show influenced a number of people about book theories. I do think that Jaqen does show back up in the prologue to Feast as the Alchemist. And I do like another InDeepGeek theory that wasn’t included on your list. He believes that Ashara Dayne married Howland Reed and is probably living at Greywater Watch. He lays this out by looking at the story of the Knight of the Laughing Tree as a “how I met your mother” story that Howland told his children. I recommend that video for anyone who wants to know more about the details of that idea.
im pretty sure the Ned + Cat = Jon is meant to indicate some switching at birth went on between Jon and Robb. Meaning Jon is heir to winterfell but doesn't know it, and Robb was Lyanna's son but never knew it.
For him to be the Valonqar, all that is required is to choke Cersei with that hand. So I would say no. Definitely the most surprising-yet-plausible theory for me out of the lot
The taking of brans body would make show Bran make way more sense. In the show.. Bran is still Bran when he gets to The Wall and talks to Benjen. The next time we see him..he's passed through the Wall..and he's a completely different person. A robot almost. If it was just bc he became the "3 eye Raven" on the show..then..why was he *still* normal Bran at the Wall with Benjen??.. Idk. Either way.. I'm ready to read the books and to stop guessing at so many theories.. So ready to weed them down a bit..
This is pretty much my forever theory. It makes so much sense. Incest, Cersei's huge crush on Rheager, her paranoia and obsession with wildfire, Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella also being Targs/Blackfyres. Not to mention the implications it has for house Lannister, with the irony of Tyrion being Tywin's only true born son.
@@jennywilliams1455 exactly, it would be far the greater way of doing it. Tyrion has always been the odd one out, shunned by Tywin. It also ties in better with Jaime being AA
Yeah the whole 'fAegon' theory literally has to be true otherwise it shatters all of Varys's actions over the past 20 years of that universe. Whether certain characters learn it is true is another question but without him being a Blackfyre, it doesn't work.
@@QuinnTheGM Maybe, but since the 3EC would be his persona in the Weirnet, seems to me that it would be his first identity. Also All crows are liars - Old Nan 👀
I don't like it either. George basically spoon fed us the idea that Bloodraven is the 3EC, and that isn't his style. I think he gave us what appears to be a softball so that we wouldn't be wondering what became of Bloodraven. Same thing goes for Sarella.
@@spideregg This is what happens when so many years pass and you start overthinking things and saying that theories where you have to connect the dots are "spoon fed" just because they actually make sense.
One theory that I've seen recently which wasn't mentioned, is that the pink letter wasn't written by Mance, Stannis, or Ramsey. It was actually edited by the Nightwatch folks against Jon to make it as inflammatory as possible, trying to get further justification killing him "for the watch"
Lyanna as KotLT is actually pretty garbage albeit very popular. Ned is almost certainly KotLT based on the booming voice and him being the only stark of his generation we see with any relationship with weirwoods.
I think Dany's visions of a blue rose in a wall along with Rhaegar equally point to Dany being Rhaegar & Lyanna's daughter. It wouldn't really make sense for Ned to say he hadn't thought about Rhaegar in years if he was secretly raising his & Lyanna's son. Swapping a baby Dany for a baby Jon at Starfall fits in the timeline and explains why House Dayne hold Ned in high esteem.
If Ned had done a baby swap with Rhaegar’s daughter, an act that would be punishable by death, wouldn’t that cause him to think of Rhaegar MORE? Ned doesn’t think about Rhaegar much, because he didn’t know the guy and he never even met Jon. But he constantly thinks about his sister, the mother of the child he’s protecting, because SHE was the one he had a bond with, and SHE was the one he made the promise to. Rhaegar was irrelevant, just the baby daddy.
@@emilybarclay8831 But Ned specifically thinks about 'broken promises' in the black cells, though its unclear what he's referring to. Ned did protect and raise Jon, so if the promise to Lyanna was about Jon then it wouldn't really be broken. Both Jon and Dany's births have a lot of question marks surrounding them and I'm not sure if the details we think we know can be trusted. GRRM is a slippery writer. If he had shunted (R+L=) Daenerys off to the Daynes to protect her rather than looking after her himself then that would qualify as a broken promise because he can't personally assure her safety. This is also after Varys tells him that the plans for assassinating Dany can no longer be stopped. I don't agree with your position that a babyswap at Starfall would cause him to think about Rhaegar more than actually raising his son in secret, this would also be a death penalty offence were it to be found out.
It's interesting that some theories, like the tragedy at Summerhall being to birth dragons, ARE still theories. I definitely thought that was confirmed in cannon to be true. 😅
I don't get the "Varys shaves his head to hide his Targarien features", he is Lyseni (at least supposedly), those features are common there, even with the commonfolk
I just came up with a prediction that I think would be really amazing and heartbreaking: When Dany invades King’s Landing, the bells will probably cause JonCon to go crazy and try to burn everything (this isn’t my prediction, just context). At this point, I think JonCon’s greyscale will spread rapidly over his body as he gives in to madness. And in order to save his city and his kingdom, Faegon hugs JonCon to calm him down, knowingly dooming himself to greyscale in the process. Tears stream down Faegon’s face, the dampness letting greyscale get a foothold in the trails they leave. “Father, please, don’t do this.” JonCon raised Faegon as his own. It’s only fitting that he sees him as a father. In the end, love is not the death of duty. Faegon fulfills his duty by expressing his love for his father. But that’s just a theory.
the main thing that sticks out to me was the entire chapter leading up to bran eating the paste even though itnseems to be his perspective over the course of living in the cave for a long time but the line about the crescent moon being as thin as a blade is reoccurring over the entire chapter
Saying ASOIAF being a post-apocalyptic story is unlikely is kind of ridiculous, given that we are told there was a literal apocalypse (the Long Night). The thing up for debate is the nature of that apocalypse, and what civilization was like before it. Also we know the world was way more advanced before, given the many structures and technologies that they are no longer capable of understanding/replicating.
GRRM has literally stated it’s not a sci-fi post-apocalyptic story in the sense that there was no hyper advanced technologically superior race that was destroyed and forgotten
I believe in and support "ASOIAF is set in the Lovecraft universe". Many popular fantasy stories are. It also forms the basis for most of my personal theories (which are pretty kooky by most standards). Proof for it being Lovecraftian is mainly due to name drops and more outlandish parallel concepts (I hereby focus mostly on the church of starry wisdom), but it's mainly conjecture - the motivation for going this way is the fantastical conclusions it allows
"This is going to go above Ned being a pigeon" is a hell of sentence
The Boltons are full of Vampire references because the Starks are Werewolves and there's the classic feud.
ohhhh now wait a minute 😗
😮all the pieces matter
🤯. THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!
Weirwolves***
Damn you just destroyed my belief in that theory
i'd never heard of the joffrey had a food allergy theory and i'm very amused by it. i mean with 77 courses it's possible he ate some ingredients he'd never tried before. but yeah we'd never know
Its the second funniest purple wedding Theory, right After everyone at the wedding Was involved in killing joffrey
"Your Grace, my gift to you is a delicacy from the Yi Ti Empire. They call it, 'peanut butter'"
It would be funny if LF actually did none of the crimes he’s accused of but just takes credit and gains power for it (besides shoving Lysa out the moon door)
haha i love that
@@herbertschulz4313
@@herbertschulz4313A murder on the Orient Express kinda situation.
I find it hilarious that “the real Azor Ahai was the friends we made along the way” is a legitimate opinion many fans have.
It isn't a legitimate option; it is called a joke
@@pyropulseIXXI Building lasting friendships by enduring horrific trauma together is no joke. It's every &'kgq
It's kind of a rebuke of the "great man" view of history. That kind of aligns with the themes of the books. Still, someone's gonna hold the special sword. Gonna be fun finding out!
Yes😊😊😊
@@kaemonbonet4931 agreed
"We haven't seen [Euron] do anything but drugs" really is a thing to remember if that whole dragon-binding kraken-invoking shit doesn't work for him in Winds of Winter.
It would be pretty interesting to have a mysterious villainous character be revealed to not know what they're doing at all.
I think it would be really fun if we get a…nothing happened moment with Euron
@@stephengrigg5988eh,it would fit more for TV show Euron then book Euron.
I get the feeling it'll work too well, and backfire on him. It's been hammered home repeatedly that magic is not a toy in ASOIAF, and the level of sorcery Euron is trying to pull off may be far beyond his abilities.
See I think Euron is playing with shit he doesn't quite understand but Euron = Fraud feels far-fetched, ignoring some pretty serious stuff around him
If there's one theory we can be confident in it's The Pounce that was Promised.
It Is Known.
@@QuinnTheGM it is known!
It is known!
@@QuinnTheGM😂
One that I personally like is that Bran accidentally makes Arys Targaryen Mad. He shows him the threat of the Others, hence why he says "burn them all"
He doesn’t say that in the books.
@@dingo1547what does he say then?
except it's nonsense, read Jamie's chapters in the books and Aery's was coherent when he died.
@@00dude3 what do you mean by coherent? That man was everything but coherent.
I agree that he wasn't having seizures or rocking in the floor like Hodor in the show or in Queen's Crown or as Thistle as she was possesed by Varamyr (so I don't think that theory is true) but still "coherent" is not something that Aerys was....
No I think It was Blood Raven. Probably went into his dreams also. Also telling him about plots making him distrusting but I think Aerys just thinks it's his own thoughts and doesn't realize someone is telling him he just hears voices.
UnTommen is another candidate for the Valonqar. The theory goes that after dying either Tommen becomes a wight if the White Walkers ever get far enough south, or that Qyburn revives him on Cersei's orders. Then, the undead Tommen fulfills the prophecy by killing Cersei.
It fits the language of the prophecy better than any other candidate, since the prophecy is discussing Cersei's children at that point (Gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds. And when your tears have drowned you, the Valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you), but other than that there isn't much to go on. I like it though.
I read about this theory after the video, it’s certainly an interesting one.
Tommen is a little brother technically
@@eduardocherry7268 not only A little brother, but of Cersei's children he's THE little brother, that's why linguistically Tommen makes the most sense.
i think it'd be more likely that he does that without dying first. after seeing how crazy his mom really is, all of his pent up aggression and fear will be taken out on her
@@hecticsconeI doubt a living tommen would be strong enough to strangle cersei though. She could easily push him off. The only way it would make sense is if he ordered someone to do it. But ultimately to me it only makes sense if he's undead.
I think this ranking needs a row for "No way, but this is so fun, I wish it were true"
like the Tyrion is the time travelling fetus of Dany and Drogo who also had sex with his mother theory?
Ashara Dayne and Raeghar Targaryen swaped places via glamour by the second half of Robert's rebellion. I'm not mad. It was revealed to me in a dream!
Could you imagine Ser Pounce riding a dragon over Kings Landing?
Could you imagine Ser Pounce breaking the wheel?
Pounce would bat the wheel off the table and it would break.
King Pounce, First of his name, King of the Andals, Rhoynar, First Men, and Cats
I think one of the first Sansa chapters in A Feast For Crows Littlefinger says something like, "We'll serve them lies and arbor gold", "We'll tell them lies that they want to believe more than the truth." In reference to convincing Nestor Royce to become his ally. Then in the Cersei POV chapters she serves Taena Merryweather and other political players arbor gold, and Taena is nearly always lying to her.
GRRM wrote the Pink Letter
so that's why he hasn't finished Winds of winter
No, no, he has a point 🤔
He did actually 😊
It's been a while since I've gone through it, but has anyone suspected Littlefinger of penning the letter? 🤔
GRRM wrote ASOIAF.
Varys + Illirio = FAegon is basically just an extension of Aegon is a Blackfyre, and that he's Illirio's son and Aegon's mother was a relative (sister) of Varys. He keeps his head clean shaven to hide his Valyrian hair coloring.
In GRRM's interview with History of Westeros he kind of confirmed that the Valyrians caused the Doom. I found this interesting because he was cagey about other things and sometimes feigned innocence or ignorance about other theories.
When they say "Bloodraven is going after Bran's body", I think they're wording it wrong. They're not talking about just possessing him physically; as you said, there's a bunch of far more mobile people around that he could mindsteal.
Instead, the Theory is that Bran's potential actually surpasses Bloodraven's. While Bran is not yet more powerful, he has far more natural ability and will one day be the superior greenseer. I think this is incredibly likely; Bran is only 9 years old, and is already incredibly advanced. By contrast, Bloodraven is fairly well mentioned, and we have no evidence that he started having this kind of power at any point leading up to the Blackfyre Rebellions, or even after. There *is* the "Thousand Eyes and One" thing which I do think could hint to him starting to have some skinchanging ability, but he would not be able to skinchange peopl, and I don't think he was advanced because with how nosy people are in Kings Landing, if he was overly powerful they would have noticed. Which means in my opinion he did not truly blossom until he went beyond the Wall.
But regardless, the theory says that Bran will be the superior greenseer. Brynden is not just looking to steal Bran's body, he's looking to "absorb" him, for lack of a better word. He will take Bran's body as his own and join it to the tree (wherein mobility won't matter anyway) and will use Bran's potential with his own experience to become incredibly powerful.
Bran will thus either be annihilated, or will be forced to the very depths of his mind (narrative link to Bran himself doing this to Hodor despite recognising how deeply uncomfortable it makes Hodor) and has to fight back to get Control.
Also I don't think it's Bloodraven who wants to occupy his body, it's the Hive mind of the weirwoods and the Children of the Forest who serve it. Honestly, if that's the case they will probably prefer sickly/crippled people.
By the way, has anyone ever wonder how Bloodraven ended up there, tied to the tree? Those motherf***rs abducted him, I am pretty sure of it, they were calling him through dreams and once there they took him. I can't believe anyone would chose to stay there tied to a tree, but well that's just me.
So basically bran has a higher midiclorian count?
This gave me a new theory idea, weirwoods enhance abilities like greensight or skinchanging, which is why it is mostly seen in the north, a place with a lot of weirwoods. Like the first men blood is only the basic condition and weirwoods are some sort of catalyst
Would Sandor killing Gregor not still work given that Gregor is now undead? Rather than using violence as a tool of anger and revenge, Sandor killing his brother could be a final act of love and a way for him to make peace with his brother and their past.
was thinking that aswell. I believe Cleganebowl could be thematically fitting, if executed in the right way
Perhaps it's fitting in that Sandor is the gravedigger and Gregor is a walking corpse.
@@millibillionth you just blew my mind, cant believe i never connected that.
Would make even more sense thematically if Sandor used fire to kill the undead Mountain too
@@jacobrichards3635 it would also fit with the whole Frankenstein theme
Only Mance has enough enough data to write the pink letter but Ramsey has the motive. It’s an issue
I go back and forth on which of the two of them sent it pretty regularly. I think the focus on Mance and the notable deviations from Ramsay’s previous letters are what have made me think it’s more likely to have been Mance.
@@QuinnTheGM i still think mance's motivation for writing this letter seems shaky
I also think a lot of the phrases in the letter are codes: Tell his red whore, the use of Crow, False King. The only catch is Reek, it’s unlikely Stannis or Mance would call Theon that, but maybe that’s a bait for the reader. George’s plot lines are like 5D chess sometimes.
But when you look at Ramsey's other letters their completely different from how the pink letter was written
@@kingtreck7117 yup. Both sides have big points against them
A theory I came up with myself is that Lann the Clever was a dwarf. Lann and Tyrion are both Lannister tricksters and both really clever, so it parallels the two. Also, being a little person is sometimes genetic, so it would show that the Lannister’s have that gene. Lastly, it creates an interesting wrinkle with Tywin, despising Tyrion because he’s a monster and no true Lannister, despite the fact that (if my theory is true) Tyrion would be closer to a real Lannister than Tywin.
Being a little person is an autosomal dominant trait. Meaning that it cannot "skip" a generation (further reading: achondroplasia). Interesting thought nonetheless! Though I think it would have been documented
Mance Rayder= Arthur is a "What" lol he was literally at winterfell when king Bobby went to make Ned the Hand, you would think somebody would have seen the sword of the morning there posing as a bard and be like "dude what?"
Fair, though I mostly reserved “what?” for theories I’d straight-up never heard of before.
That and also Stannis literally talking to him at the Wall and just let it be. There were people who even tried to convinced me that Stannis accept it just as if nothing and even included Mance Dayne in his plan to conquer the North...
For Azor Ahai, I’m guessing there’s a trick and there’s more than one, or it’s all just a metaphor.
I’ve always been partial to the thought that Jon is Lightbringer, with Rhaegar as Azor Ahai.
@@QuinnTheGM That’s a good one! I assumed that Jon/ The Night’s Watch were since their vows mention being the sword in the darkness
It's definitely a trick. GRRM is an atheist author and would not make his existential story come down to prophets / prophecy
Danny is the "obvious" Azor Ahai - she represents the classical Arthurian prophecised hero - she matches all the signs in a clean way (too clean for George who likes his prophecies to manifest in a way the reader won't expect). Stanis is the contrived Azor Ahai, he only matches the signs because Mel manufactures them (you can't force a prophecy). Jon is the secret prince that was promised, which probably makes him the truest one
I'd like the very last chapter of the series to be set 7,000 years in the future where a young boy is listening to the tale of how a single hero saved the world.
I think the V+I = fA is in reference to the fact that Verys and Illaryio may have "made" fAegon and shaped who he was and what he was supposed to do, as another player in the game. Not that they literally birthed him..... Hard truths cut both ways, Sir Quinn.
When it comes to theorizing about ASOIAF, nothing’s off the table
Well regardless, the idea that Verys has some involvement in fAegon is fairly sound, given his involvement with Dany at least. Surprised there weren't any Coldhands theories on that board. Or Night's King stuff.
I think the implication is that Varys is actually secretly a woman with Eunuch as a cover, but yeah still a tad strange, as Varys would definitely still have been in KL at the time of (f)Aegon's conception.
@@dr0g_Oakblood Varussy??
There is a theory that Varys is a Blackfyre and he had a sister, Saera (?) who eventually became Illyrio first wife and they birthed FAegon
What are you talking about? Euron Greyjoy being Daario Naharis is absolutely possible. The TV show has shown us an exemple of the Ironborn's teleportation powers
And Daario being a shapeshifter
Bloodraven being the three-eyed crow is an issue because Bran asks him if he is and Bloodraven ignores him as if he didn't understand the question. One possibility is that Bloodraven doesn't know what shape he takes in Bran's dreams. Another possibility is that time-travelling Bran is the three-eyed raven. Bran seems to get different dreams with different patterns, so it's possible that they're from different people.
I’m kind of shocked A+J=J/C didn’t even get ranked. There is a TON of evidence to show that Aerys had an obsession with Joanna. It’s said that he made comments about preforming the first right at her and Tywin’s wedding and it definitely seems like something happens just before Tyrions conception causing her to be send back to the rock. And I think it would be poetic for Tyrion to be Tywin’s only real child. I think both A+J=J/C and A+J=T are both on the lower end of possible
Wouldn't it be beautiful if after all that, it turns out that Joffrey actually had a legitimate claim on the throne?
I’m kind of there on if anyone’s a secret targ it’s them and not Tyrion, it would be the ultimate irony for him to be Tywin’s only true son, and for Jaime and Cersei to inherit their incest drive along with their children having a claim to the throne
@@GRB-tj6uj He'd be a bastard so not really
I always thought Tyrion was more likely the mad king's get. Tywin says something like "and since I can't prove you're not my son... speak to me no more of your rights to Casterly Rock." And in blood and fire there's another Targ with mismatched eyes. But the incest thing and the irony of J&C. What if NONE of them are Tywin's kids?
@@DadReadsAndCooksMeat I could get down with none of them being his. But I really could go either way. I think it’s poetic and ironic if Tyrion is his only true born son. I also think Tyrion’s obsession with dragons and dragon imagery makes him more of a targ candidate than Jon if you go by symbolism.
I’d probably put Cerci and Jamie being Aerys’ kids in Unlikely as opposed to What?! because we’ve been informed a couple of times that Aerys did lust after Johanna and was a bit improper towards her on several occasions. I really doubt that it’s the case, but there’s at least enough textual evidence that it wouldn’t be that out of left field if revealed.
I realized that after I recorded, I totally agree with you. The what was mostly because I had thought it was saying that Aerys and Joanna ARE Cersei and Jaime initially.
@@QuinnTheGM I think it's a very legit theory because it would fuck over Tywin a lot, as in, his only real child would be Tyrion, which he tried to have killed. Tywin's beloved legacy a lie. Also, it would fit in with Jaime being AA.
@@bierwolf8360 I think Tywin that is sooooo worried about the family and his legacy is in fact esterile and not only Cersei and Jaime are Aerys rapy sons but Tyrion as well. That's the you're not son of mine line for. Don't remember if in the books he says it as well, think he does.
@@Dadordemiel No that wouldn't make sense. It is said Aerys was using the law of First Night on the wedding night and Tyrion is younger then twins
@@Pigraider268 I think the theory of Tyrion Targaryen explains it. Don't remember, read it a long time ago. The only thing I'm doing here is combine the A+J=J+C with the Tyrion Targaryen one, because I think, again, Tywin is sterile.
Meera Reed is John snows twin sister.
Lyanna died giving birth to twins.
They separated them to keep them safe. Howland took Meera. Meera looks nothing like jojen. She has stark like features and has lyanna’s skills.
In the cave she will most likely being acquiring dark sister. She is the literal dark/hidden sister. The dragon has 3 heads. Rhaegar thought Jon would be a girl. Thinking that it was like aegon and his 2 sisters. BGG.
Jon’s name will be Aemond like his great uncle and the dragon knight and not Aegon.
The horn of winter says it will wake giants from the earth. It will not bring down the wall but raise the dead starks up from the crypts of winterfell to fight the nightking. Jon will get to see his mother and maybe Ned.
Cat will find out Jon’s not Ned’s son and will redeem herself by bringing him back.
Bloodraven will talk to Jon inside of ghost or Jon will sense his presence.
A part of me likes to believe George is on these theory videos probing for fan reactions. This story would be awesome! Wow
I thought this was going to be SW after the first few lines
The whiplash of kindof sane theories, and then 'Varys is not a merman'
Future readers of these books after we have all the answers will never understand the joys and frustrations of trying to solve the myriad of mysteries he has given us. I hope that when we finally do get answers that there won't be a mass deletions of posts and videos by those who turn out to be wrong. Future sociologists will have a treasure trove of data to be gathered in the way that people dealt with these debates.
That's the thing, my friend. What makes you think that isn't that what GRRM has ever wanted? Maybe he'll deliver to us TWoW, but let the final completely open to have us discussing his works through ages.
I think it can backfire to him cause we are mortals, and next generations would never pick and unfinished saga but still, I can picture him laughing at us from the Great Beyond.
@@luciamota1249 My own theory is that GRRM is fucking with us. He's already finished both books, but is refusing to release them until he's dead. He saw the mess when GOT ended terribly, and doesn't want to deal with fan drama if/when his own work fails to satisfy his fans, who have been a massive pain to him for over a decade now. I think he's got a lot of spite toward a large portion of his fan base at this point, and no reason to even try to please them. So we're only going to get WOW and ADOS posthumously, and George gets the last laugh.
Except I don't think George will give us the ultimate answers, just more clues and stuff to chew on. The enormous work he put in crafting these puzzles and leaving them open-ended and ambiguous would sort of be undone if he just laid out concrete answers in the end.
@@millibillionthi agree with this but I also think we should get a little bit more information. Many of the magical mysteries of the series are pretty integral like the inconsistent seasons and the motives of the others
@@neuralmute Honestly that's not a bad theory... I don't believe he's finished both books, but he could very well just be stalling until his death for their release. Personally I believe that, with all the evidence, time, and content meant to be in Winds that the books must be done or nearly done. He might just be chilling and creating A Dream of Spring, Fire and Blood part two, and more. That'd be great.
I like the theory that Euros is skin changing the dusky woman. It's a bit tinfoil because of the logistics, but it's also right up Euron's alley to do something so screwed up
I buy it. Victarion shares so much to her too
The theory is that Bloodraven is not the 3 eyed crow. When asked about it by Bran, he seems confused at the notion.
My thought is that that line is talking about how much he’s been depersonalized but becoming a magic tree-man.
Could be, but the theory that it's future Bran leading himself and others through their dreams is pretty great too.
@@leftofyou A one eyed albino who talks about a brother he hated? Why would that be Bran rather than Bloodraven?
@@ivanacvetanovic7611 were talking about thr 3 eyed crow in Bran's vision. No doubt the old guy under the tree is Bloodraven, lured to the cave and trapped inside in his own way.
@@leftofyou You really think there's some other Three-Eyed Crow? That is really unnessarily overcomplicating things.
"Grand Northern Conspiracy" and "Southern Ambitions" are good examples of how people go overboard with trying to connect all possible dots, when there really is just hints at general, opportunistic scheming. It's a issue with all sorts of theories about any topic.
Wholeheartedly agree. Just because there are many little pieces doesn’t mean there’s an interconnected whole.
I recently read a theory that literally debunks Rickard Stark's southron ambitions explaining that the one who actually was making all the marriages was Hoster Tully, but simply cause he was trying to stop Walder Frey from becoming too powerful in the area with all the alliances he made marrying all his prolific family. It made a lot of sense to me.
I love how some of these make so much sense and have been part of my headcanon for years, and others are the most insane and unhinged takes imaginable.
One theory I like is that Meera and Jon are siblings...Meera and Jon are the same age, both Ned and Howland were at the tower of Joy, and Bran thinks Meera reminds him of Arya (who in turn looks like Lyana Stark)...
17:16 N+A=J
The thing that deals ned and ashara for me is the beginning of the book. GRRM hides things in his writing. Several times Jon is said to be his father's son.
Also ned thought in Edard 2 or 3 that he never thought of reigar in YEARS! How could he do that, if he's raising his son? These are very common things that he does in his writing.
The faceless men causing the doom of valyria is actually practically confirmed.
So Jacquen does take credit for it when talking to Aria, however, it seems like this is almost a secret not known amongst a wide amount of people.
An external group also determined that the most likely cause was the death of many fire mages.
These same fire mages prophesized that the gold of casterly rock would lead to the doom.
Prophecies can often be self-fulfilling, so the valyrians never took money from the Lannisters. Despite the Lannisters offering them quite a large sum of it for a valyrian steel blade.
However, we know that the Lannister still ended up with of valyrian steel blade within 100 years before the doom.
We know that the faceless men take longer amounts of time for higher profile targets, and what's a higher profile target than an entire nation. Let alone the most powerful nation on the planet.
So, who hired the faceless men?
It would need to be someone who could reforge valyrian steel, have a storage of the stuff and distaste for dragons/magic. They would also need to know the lannisters wanted a blade.
Who else do we know very likely killed the targeryon dragons? The maesters.
Marwin tells us that they killed all the dragons, perhaps he ment more than just the targeryon dragons.
There's 2 theories that I really like and think they have some credibility that were not on this list but you might enjoy : preston jacobs' purple wedding theory and lml's a+f=doom/the doom was an inside job/abolition.
I’ve seen the first one, and I like it quite a bit! I’ll have to look into the second.
The purple wedding one is on there with Tyrion being the target. I like that theory video a lot.
My personal favorite theory is Stannis wrote the pink letter to get Jon and the Free Folk to fight for him. Once Jon deserts his choice is to fight for Stannis or die, going back isn't an option. Stannis has wanted Jon as his Lord of Winterfell to rally the North behind for a long time, he also has no reason to believe there's an alternate play that gives him the North with Rickon and Bran believed to be dead. He has all the information and some sort of motive. I don't think Jon dying was his plan but maybe he left Melisandre behind for a reason.
Even if Ramsey had caught Mance the likelihood of him also catching all six (Or at least knowing about all six) of the free folk woman sent with him in such a such a short time is incredibly slim.
Mance it really doesn't make sense for it to be him unless it's at least under Stannis' direct instruction.
I initially thought that it was Stannis, though it really just doesn’t seem like Stannis’s style. What’s more, it already seems like Stannis is going to best the Boltons without aid (see the Night Lamp theory).
@@QuinnTheGM I don't doubt Stannis can beat the Boltons without aid but to what end? Why would the North fight for him in the South just because he beat the Boltons?
He needs a figurehead to rally them behind because their loyalty right now is to hating the Boltons- not to Stannis himself. He has no reason to believe Rickon is alive and Arya is believed to be Lady Bolton now so she's not a reliable FF figurehead. He needs a Stark to lead the North and Jon is the only candidate he knows of.
On the Cersei poisoning Joffery theory. I have thought that a possibility for a while, and it's a case of "unreliable narrator".
As she is so egotistical and unhinged, Cersei blames Tyrion for Joff's death because it should have been him dying instead (before tasting his own slice of pie, Joffery jams his fingers into Tyrion's slice and eats some of it). Her hubris is so extreme that she can't fault herself for the error, it's Tyrion's fault for not eating his pie before Joffery had a chance to touch it.
However, there are too many things indicating a group effort incorporating the all important hairnet and amethysts. Also, George being somewhat of a hippy feminist vibes well with Olenna the aged woman being the one getting her hands dirty in the murder.
lol jon is his own father got me rolling
"Varys is not a Merman" I wish he was though. Lol.
I honestly think Jaime and Cersei being halftargaryen is completely legit theory. "Whenever Targaryen is born gods flip a coin" It would make so much sense insanity in Cersei her love for fire and siblings incestuous preferences
except that saying doesn't really make sense, because less than half the Targs went mad. far less than half.
re-reading the Cersei POV chapters and honestly, with all the references to wildfire and revenge fully convinced she is the Mad King's daughter
@@godemperorofmankind3.091And most of them went mad for absolutely legit reasons
I love the idea of Dany going East to Ashai and learning how to better control her dragons. Then continue East to battle Euron at Oldtown. Kraken v Dragon battle 🤞
That’d be interesting! Though I feel like there might be another undiscovered continent in the way.
I think that might've been the initial plan, but George ended up increasing the distance to Ashay as he developed the geography of Essos and he left Dany for too long in Slaver's Bay at this point for him to have the time to still take her further east.
@@millibillionth I can see what you mean. Scrapping the 5 year gap probably ended this possibility
I hope we atleast learn more about ashaii. It seems to me to be the most important location for the story in the wider world outside of westeros and western essos.
Since it seems like one of the most magical places in the world and is where melissandre is from I'd hope there'd be some hints there as to what is really going on with the magic in the world.
I really think that the theory around 'ASOI&F is scifi post-apocolypse' is just nuts. It's a clear 'Absolutely not', there is definitely examples of fiction where that *is* the case, but it is evident in how certain aspects of the fantasy operate. Technology *looks* like technology. We never see a red priest pull out a magic stethoscope before reviving them, and the dragons are pretty clearly flesh and blood creatures that have existed for a long time (long enough that their bones have been fossilized). If there was an intent to have the series be set in a distant post-apocalypse, there would be more clear signs and hints of that. It seems far more likely that this is just a low-fantasy setting that takes place on a timeline where magic has its ups and downs in popularity/accessibility.
Definitely agree with you there. I think the thing that people use to explain the absence of technology away is potential mutations brought on by radiation, but I don’t think that’s the case despite loving the X-Men.
Hell no! I put my hands on fire about Dawn being a damn jedi lightsaber!!!! The clues are there in the description!!!!! xD
Jokes aside I really enjoyed PJ's theory about it, specially situating ASOIAF in the interregnum period of the 1000 worlds cause I really wanted this world as a part of all other worlds by George, but I think he already denied it :(
I was creaming when I read The Pale Child Bakkalon mentioned in the Forsaken chapter but everyone broke my heart saying it was just a cool easter egg.... I wanted the freaking weirwoods being a Hrangan mind but no, those were just dreams.... 😞
Low fantasy is set on Earth. High fantasy has it's own world. It has nothing to do with the tech/magic level.
Sci fi doesn't need to be technology, GRRM has numerous stories involving psionic powers and telepathy which he himself says are indistinguishable from magic.
My personal favorite is that Osha and Tormund are brother and sister
Also, I am pretty sure that Hot Pie is Tom Seven's son (because he said that all his children sings very well and Arya is impressed by how good Hot Pie is at singing)
Have you seen any videos on that, or is this a personal theory?
And then I remembered google existed
After rereading Dance with Dragons last year, I feel like I had an epiphany after reading the prologue. I used to be 100% sure that Jon was going to get resurrected in the next book. But I now think that the ADWD prologue is straight up foreshadowing what will happen to Jon; in his last dying moments he warged into ghost. I mean Jon’s direwolf is named “Ghost”. It all just makes so much sense. Jon will not get resurrected because his consciousness never died, only his body did. However it he will probably slowly forget himself as that’s what happens when you’re warged too long.
28:51 First I'm hearing of it, but if I had to guess. Stannis' wife would be their queen and is their relative, so independently sabotaging Renly's armour on the eve of the battle would make it so he's more likely to die in the fighting, and so minimalise casualties during the fighting. Renly falls, Stannis accepts their surrender and fealty, and they confide in Selyse about their contribution for favour.
Ahhh makes sense. I tried to research that one after the fact and came up with nothing, but i like this explanation!
Queen Selyse wrote the Pink Letter.
Perfect sort of light content I need in the morning whilst getting ready for work. Thanks, man! Will update later with more substantial comment, lol.
New subscriber here. I really liked your tier list and actually agree with most of your choices.
Something strange that I don't see people bring up about Syrio Forel is why was he in King's Landing at all? It's mere days after Arya talked to her father about swordsmanship that he became her instructor. So he must have been around before then. I can't help wonder why. It may support the Syrio = Jaquen theory though. We still don't know why Jaquen was even in the black cells.
I have often wondered about Syrio. He's not just any waterdancer, he's the "first sword" of Braavos. That seems...important? Was he lying on his resume? If not, why's he in the west slumming as some barbarian girl's private tutor?
Jaquen being in the dungeons is pretty sus too. Getting caught at murder seems pretty amateurish for a professional magical assassin.
If Jaquen is Syrio though, that means he was there for Arya all along, but why? So many questions...
@@cam1772fsu Arya is a literate skinchanger without her warg. Those are pretty valuable traits for a guild of Assassin’s.
I think how and why Jaqen was in the Black Cells will never be answered tbh
@elijahalbiston3105 I don't think so either. There's the theory that Littlefinger hired him to take Ned out and Jaquen put himself in the cells basically, but that doesn't make sense to me either. Why not pretend to be a guard and poison Ned instead, then just leave?
In the Forsaken chapter, which I just read today, Euron tells Aeron that he pushed Baelon off the bridge.
Honestly, they should ALL be "we'll probably never know" since the series will never be finished.
Not saying this outcome is likely, but imagine an end to magic as a major ASOIAF plot point. If it happens in a Thanos-snap kind of moment...all glamours disappear (likely exposing various Faceless assassins), all types of wights would de-animate, and who knows what other effects (spells woven into objects/places). If the only way to stop the Others was to press the End-Magic button, would Bran choose to do it?
That’s an interesting proposal! I think bran would push that button, however, I doubt the three-eyed-crow would.
22:44 It might not just be about navigation, per se. Bran is the oldest living true born son of Ned Stark, so both his abilities and claim to the north may be important to Bloodraven. As well as the Winterfell Godswood.
Yeah I never heard about that Jamie's hand thing. Guess I should go back and re-read some Storm of Swords chapters.
Main point there being that Qyburn both has Jaime’s hand and resurrected the Mountain.
@@QuinnTheGM Yea hence I wanted to go back to see if Qyburn actually did have the hand. Seems like the text implies that Bolton let Vargo Hoat use it as he will but I'm gonna keep rereading.
Keep up the good work! Love your content. You should go hard and make a 4 hour theory post (like alt shwift x)
My favorite theory is that azor ahai is actually Trey Anastasio, lead singer and guitarist of the band phish.
Great tier list, loved the video
I think Euron is Azor Ahai, and its going to be just the worst possible thing. He's born amidst salt and smoke, he's going to take the sword Red Rain from his bannerman, I think he's going to stab his lover with the sword to gain power, and I think ultimately he'll do the same ritual that the bloodstone emperor did and become a second night king, south of the wall, before we even get to meet the first.
Great video!
My favorite ASOIAF theory is Li’l Finger is the best rapper in Westeros.
Azor Ahai is the Neravarine. But seriously, I like the idea that anyone meeting the criteria can become Azor Ahai.
“Walk as they walk until they walk as you walk.”
it's more of a concept than a real thing.
The Pounce that was Promised
Personally, I believe Euron Greyjoy is Azor Ahai, as I believe Azor Ahai is actually the secret/twist villain of the story, and not the hero, and like on the show, I believe Jaime will kill Euron, but it will be to save the world from the Mad God King Euron, rather then...whatever the hell that stupid fight in the show was.
I would love my boy Jamie to be Azor Ahai but if he is he really needs to learn to use that left hand!
why do you think it's Jaime?
I've been rereading the series, and I think there's a hint dropped in COC that Jaime will actually surpass his previous skills now that he's fighting lefty. It's in one of the Jon chapters where he's out scouting with Qhorin Halfhand, and it mentions how, after losing most of the fingers on his right hand, Qhorin trained and trained until he was far more skilled fighting left handed than he had even been before his right hand was maimed. I really don't think GRRM put a detail like that in the story by accident!
@@neuralmute that's a really interesting detail to notice well spotted! I agree George doesn't drop hints like that without a purpose and I'd love Jamie to end up that good now he's learnt the value of humility and regained his honor
Brynden Rivers or Bloodraven is the old man in the cave that Bran met. But the Three-eyed crow is a different entity completely 31:18
My dad considered Arbor Gold to be the equivalent of Oranges in The Godfather.
I agree with the majority of your thoughts on these various theories. There are just a few that I think are unlikely that you felt were possible. It is interesting that the theories about the Pink Letter include just about every potentially good suspect. InDeepGeek has a good video that debunks the idea of Jaqen being Syrio. He is really good at laying out whether various theories are true or not through a very logical perspective. I do think that several aspects of the television show influenced peoples thoughts on that particular one. Just like the people who thought that Jon Snow and Meera Reed could be siblings. This was primarily based on the fact that the two actors had similarly colored and curly hair! Which is a very silly thing to base a theory on IMO. It is interesting how the television show influenced a number of people about book theories. I do think that Jaqen does show back up in the prologue to Feast as the Alchemist. And I do like another InDeepGeek theory that wasn’t included on your list. He believes that Ashara Dayne married Howland Reed and is probably living at Greywater Watch. He lays this out by looking at the story of the Knight of the Laughing Tree as a “how I met your mother” story that Howland told his children. I recommend that video for anyone who wants to know more about the details of that idea.
im pretty sure the Ned + Cat = Jon is meant to indicate some switching at birth went on between Jon and Robb. Meaning Jon is heir to winterfell but doesn't know it, and Robb was Lyanna's son but never knew it.
wouldn't fit because Rob was born before and got the Tully's genes, also Ned came to Winterfell with baby Jon
If Robert strong has Jaime's hand, does he also have the skills Jaime's right hand had with a sword?
Thats not how skills work. Swordfighting is mostly hand-eyecoordination, and happens in the brain
@@herbertschulz4313 yes I know. Thanks for blowing my mind🤯
For him to be the Valonqar, all that is required is to choke Cersei with that hand. So I would say no.
Definitely the most surprising-yet-plausible theory for me out of the lot
I think the unTommen one is that Tommen will become undead via Qyburn and will be the Valanquar.
The taking of brans body would make show Bran make way more sense.
In the show.. Bran is still Bran when he gets to The Wall and talks to Benjen. The next time we see him..he's passed through the Wall..and he's a completely different person. A robot almost. If it was just bc he became the "3 eye Raven" on the show..then..why was he *still* normal Bran at the Wall with Benjen??.. Idk. Either way.. I'm ready to read the books and to stop guessing at so many theories.. So ready to weed them down a bit..
Everyone thinks Tyrion is a targ but I see more parallels with Jaime and Cersei being targs
This is pretty much my forever theory. It makes so much sense. Incest, Cersei's huge crush on Rheager, her paranoia and obsession with wildfire, Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella also being Targs/Blackfyres. Not to mention the implications it has for house Lannister, with the irony of Tyrion being Tywin's only true born son.
@@jennywilliams1455 exactly, it would be far the greater way of doing it. Tyrion has always been the odd one out, shunned by Tywin. It also ties in better with Jaime being AA
Yeah the whole 'fAegon' theory literally has to be true otherwise it shatters all of Varys's actions over the past 20 years of that universe. Whether certain characters learn it is true is another question but without him being a Blackfyre, it doesn't work.
Surprised the Northern Conspiracy wasn't higher but I get what you mean by it's probably just not on the scale people think it is.
alright, hear me out
since i didnt see this theory there:
Wyman wrote the pink letter
I came up with that theory after this video lol
I think that Bloodraven isnt the 3EC. He has no clue what Bran means when he asks if he is him
My thought is that that line is meant to show how depersonalized Bloodraven has become in his time connected to the trees.
@@QuinnTheGM Maybe, but since the 3EC would be his persona in the Weirnet, seems to me that it would be his first identity. Also All crows are liars - Old Nan 👀
I don't like it either. George basically spoon fed us the idea that Bloodraven is the 3EC, and that isn't his style. I think he gave us what appears to be a softball so that we wouldn't be wondering what became of Bloodraven. Same thing goes for Sarella.
@@spideregg This is what happens when so many years pass and you start overthinking things and saying that theories where you have to connect the dots are "spoon fed" just because they actually make sense.
"Tyrion is a Targaryen time-travelling fetus"
Whoever invented this theory was drinking far worse things than Euron.
Why is Theon being castrated a possible theory, isn’t it pretty much heavily implied in the text many times, did I miss something?
yeah should be in Basically Confirmed imo
Wow looks like I gotta start reading the books. These theories fascinate me
One theory that I've seen recently which wasn't mentioned, is that the pink letter wasn't written by Mance, Stannis, or Ramsey. It was actually edited by the Nightwatch folks against Jon to make it as inflammatory as possible, trying to get further justification killing him "for the watch"
Theory; No one poisoned Joffrey, he really did just choke.
The Three Eyed Raven warged the boar that killed Robert.
Lyanna as KotLT is actually pretty garbage albeit very popular.
Ned is almost certainly KotLT based on the booming voice and him being the only stark of his generation we see with any relationship with weirwoods.
Great video. This needs to be revisited after HOTD season 2.
I think Dany's visions of a blue rose in a wall along with Rhaegar equally point to Dany being Rhaegar & Lyanna's daughter. It wouldn't really make sense for Ned to say he hadn't thought about Rhaegar in years if he was secretly raising his & Lyanna's son. Swapping a baby Dany for a baby Jon at Starfall fits in the timeline and explains why House Dayne hold Ned in high esteem.
If Ned had done a baby swap with Rhaegar’s daughter, an act that would be punishable by death, wouldn’t that cause him to think of Rhaegar MORE?
Ned doesn’t think about Rhaegar much, because he didn’t know the guy and he never even met Jon. But he constantly thinks about his sister, the mother of the child he’s protecting, because SHE was the one he had a bond with, and SHE was the one he made the promise to. Rhaegar was irrelevant, just the baby daddy.
@@emilybarclay8831 But Ned specifically thinks about 'broken promises' in the black cells, though its unclear what he's referring to. Ned did protect and raise Jon, so if the promise to Lyanna was about Jon then it wouldn't really be broken.
Both Jon and Dany's births have a lot of question marks surrounding them and I'm not sure if the details we think we know can be trusted. GRRM is a slippery writer.
If he had shunted (R+L=) Daenerys off to the Daynes to protect her rather than looking after her himself then that would qualify as a broken promise because he can't personally assure her safety. This is also after Varys tells him that the plans for assassinating Dany can no longer be stopped.
I don't agree with your position that a babyswap at Starfall would cause him to think about Rhaegar more than actually raising his son in secret, this would also be a death penalty offence were it to be found out.
It's interesting that some theories, like the tragedy at Summerhall being to birth dragons, ARE still theories. I definitely thought that was confirmed in cannon to be true. 😅
Euron, for sure is one of the big villains of the books.. i think he will summon Krakens in A Wind of Winters
Aria is dead and the faceless god is controlling her. She drank the koolaid, the waif was a figment of her imagination.
i think the three eyed crow is a distinct entity, maybe even the great other, or an aspect of it, or some other eldritch entity
I actually think we will get more info on the doom. If arya stays at the house of black and white, I bet she’ll get more expo on it.
I don't get the "Varys shaves his head to hide his Targarien features", he is Lyseni (at least supposedly), those features are common there, even with the commonfolk
Littlefinger Debt Scheme, Karl fookin' Tanner was TV Show Azor Ahai
I hope your finals went well!
Ha! Forgot this video was right before finals. They did go well!
Jaqen Hagar was hired by little finger to kill Ned as a back up.
I just watched a video about that, I forget who made it! I agree with that.
I just came up with a prediction that I think would be really amazing and heartbreaking:
When Dany invades King’s Landing, the bells will probably cause JonCon to go crazy and try to burn everything (this isn’t my prediction, just context).
At this point, I think JonCon’s greyscale will spread rapidly over his body as he gives in to madness. And in order to save his city and his kingdom, Faegon hugs JonCon to calm him down, knowingly dooming himself to greyscale in the process. Tears stream down Faegon’s face, the dampness letting greyscale get a foothold in the trails they leave. “Father, please, don’t do this.”
JonCon raised Faegon as his own. It’s only fitting that he sees him as a father.
In the end, love is not the death of duty. Faegon fulfills his duty by expressing his love for his father.
But that’s just a theory.
Exodus Theory is the greatest theory I have ever heard. Paradigm-shifting.
the main thing that sticks out to me was the entire chapter leading up to bran eating the paste even though itnseems to be his perspective over the course of living in the cave for a long time but the line about the crescent moon being as thin as a blade is reoccurring over the entire chapter
25:15 “it’s in my top five books of the series” in a five book series!! 🤣🤣
A theory I've never seen mentioned but would fit - Euron currently possesses Brightroar, and possibly has Gerion Lannister captive.
Saying ASOIAF being a post-apocalyptic story is unlikely is kind of ridiculous, given that we are told there was a literal apocalypse (the Long Night). The thing up for debate is the nature of that apocalypse, and what civilization was like before it. Also we know the world was way more advanced before, given the many structures and technologies that they are no longer capable of understanding/replicating.
GRRM has literally stated it’s not a sci-fi post-apocalyptic story in the sense that there was no hyper advanced technologically superior race that was destroyed and forgotten
I believe in and support "ASOIAF is set in the Lovecraft universe". Many popular fantasy stories are. It also forms the basis for most of my personal theories (which are pretty kooky by most standards). Proof for it being Lovecraftian is mainly due to name drops and more outlandish parallel concepts (I hereby focus mostly on the church of starry wisdom), but it's mainly conjecture - the motivation for going this way is the fantastical conclusions it allows
I think so to😊
also the deep ones