That Crazy Jon Snow Twin Theory Might Be Real

We laughed at it before, but it actually makes sense now.


Take a walk down memory lane with us, back to August 2015. We scoffed at an "absurd" Game of Thrones theory about how Jon Snow and Meera Reed—two seemingly unrelated characters, mind you—could actually be twins. At the time, the theory was only getting traction because they had similar haircuts.

But now we're starting to feel a bit silly—and not just because Snow and Reed are both around the same age and could have easily visited the same barber.

Now that we've seen season six in its entirety, the theory is starting to have legs for a couple reasons:

• Bran's vision of the past revealed how his dying aunt Lyanna handed baby Jon Snow to Ned Stark.

• The only other person with Ned that day at the Tower of Joy was Howland Reed—who had earlier saved his life. Howland Reed is Meera's father.

• While we didn't see a second child, it's possible that Lyanna (like a pseudo-medieval Princess Leia) gave birth to Jon's younger sibling moments after the scene we witnessed.

• With Ned having to pretend Jon is his own son to protect him from the Baratheon and Lannister armies, maybe he pleaded with his pal Howland to help him out and take in a child of his own (like a pseudo-medieval Bail Organa)?

As far as we're aware, Howland is alive and well somewhere around the Neck. And why else have they bothered to keep Meera in this whole time when her brother Jojen got summarily despatched two years ago? Especially as they made sure to remind us of her existence moments before the big Jon Snow baby reveal. Surely they haven't kept her around purely to drag Bran's body about? But then again, just ask Hodor what his whole life was building up towards.

Last year, we actually spoke to Ellie Kendrick, the actress who plays Meera Reed, about the possibility that her character is related to Jon Snow, and she said: "I genuinely don't have any idea as we don't get told anything! I don't know. I think people might just be thinking that because we've both got curly hair. In the books, our characters are described quite differently."

"Hey, I'd love it to be true because it would mean great things for my character, but I'm holding back on speculation for now. I think what's been going on in George RR Martin's brain is so much more a complex wormhole than we could possibly imagine. I think there's definitely a mystery to Meera and Jojen and their parentage, but I think it'll unwind itself eventually."

She added: "I can only dream. To be honest, I don't think Meera would be all that good on the Iron Throne! She's a little bit of a socialist at heart, I don't think she'll be able to rule with the iron fist that the throne requires."

It all sounds a bit Luke/Leia, but we'd love to see Bran's face if this turned out to be true in the next installment of his flashback tour.


Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
More From Culture