Ever since the start of Game of Thrones, one fan theory permeated every discussion of Jon Snow’s parentage. Known as the “L + R = J” theory, fans thought Jon wasn’t Ned Stark’s bastard son, but actually the son of his sister Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. This was proven true late in the series, with Jon’s actual name being Aegon Targaryen.
Aegon is a name that ripples throughout House of the Dragon, most notably in Aegon I’s prophecy claiming the “prince who was promised” would unite the realm against a threat from the North. King Viserys believed this to be sacred truth. But could he have had a vision of the actual Prince Who Was Promised, setting up Jon Snow’s sequel series?
King Viserys is delusional on his deathbed, calling his second wife, Alicent, by his first wife’s name. In his last gasps, he mentions The Song of Ice and Fire prophecy. Unfortunately, only he and Rhaenyra knew about it, so Alicent was understandably confused. When he mentions “Aegon” and “the prince who was promised,” Alicent thinks he’s referencing their son, not the future Jon Snow.
His last words are implied to be meant for Rhaenyra, who he mistakenly believes is in the room with him. When he says, “It is you. You are the one. You must do this,” he is presumably insisting that Rhaenyra take the Iron Throne as he intended and safeguard Aegon’s prophecy. But bear with us for a moment: What if Viserys was speaking to Jon Snow directly? And what if Jon heard him?
Targaryen prophecies are shown to be powerful; just look at Helaena mentioning a “beast beneath the boards,” only for a dragon to crash Aegon’s coronation later in the same episode. Viserys, as explained by Daemon in Episode 10, is a fervent believer in visions and prophecies. It may seem like a stretch to introduce what amounts to time travel to Westeros, but this is a world where magic can birth monsters and bring the dead back to life. Knowing the power of the Targaryens, it’s not entirely beyond the realm of possibility. If Aegon the Conqueror can have visions of future Targaryens, why couldn’t those future Targaryens have visions of their ancestors?
We know Jon eventually lived up to the prophecy and united Westeros against the Night King. Maybe he received these strange words of encouragement from Viserys in a dream or vision offscreen. Of course, there would be no evidence for that... unless Jon happens to mention as much in his upcoming spinoff series, which was announced back in June.
Yes, the greatest evidence for prophetic time travel in Westeros could be the need to link spinoffs separated by centuries together. Jon could spend his new series trying to reconnect with the Targaryens who preceded him. This would make sense, since his Targaryen identity wasn’t something he had time to grapple with during Game of Thrones. The only other Targaryen around was Danaerys, and he had to do her in for the good of the realm.
House of the Dragon is showing us the Targaryen’s past, but Jon Snow’s spinoff could show the Targaryen’s future North of the Wall. Maybe he’ll rebuild what used to be the world’s most powerful family by bringing them back to their roots. Or maybe he’ll just have some more creepy visions.
House of the Dragon Season 1 is now streaming on HBO Max.
