I’m sure everyone enjoyed the action-packed Battle of the Bastards, Game of Thrones’s bloodiest episode yet. After that, we are all gearing up for the Season Finale: The Winds of Winter.
While a lot is to happen in the episode (as we see in the preview), the big reveal that everyone has been waiting for (some, for almost 10 years!) is R+L=J.
[Possible Spoilers]
Popular Redditor jamieandclaire has a theory concerning the exact nature of the reveal: He thinks R+L=J is going to be unveiled in the crypts of Winterfell.
STORY SO FAR
Rickon was murdered by Ramsay Bolton in S06E09 (why didn’t he just run zigzag?). After breaking into Winterfell, Jon fights Ramsay and almost kills him.
Rickon’s body is then brought in. Jon promises, “I’m going to bury my brother in the crypt, next to my father.”
WHY THE CRYPTS
Here are excerpts from the Reddit post: The Forbidden Tomb in the Winterfell Crypts
Jon has dreamt recurring dreams of the crypts beneath Winterfell since he left home. Many people assume that there is something hidden there, and I believe rightfully so.
We know that Ned has his empty tomb already prepared before his death. Bran and Rickon go down to see it just before receiving the news of his beheading. In fact, we are told that there are numerous empty, unsealed tombs prepared for not only for Ned, but also for his children.
We are led to believe that the crypts are somewhat selective: Kings of Winter and Lords of Winterfell receive statues of their likeness, though an exception was made for Lyanna and Brandon. It’s possible that Jon Snow, being a bastard, would sadly not have a place reserved for him in the Stark crypts, but would be buried rather in the lichyard with the servants.
It’s also suggested that Jon’s dreams have him going very deep into the crypt, down the spiraling stairs with no torch to light the way, perhaps into places he had never been before. I believe that his dreams are leading him to some truth hidden in the lower collapsed levels of the Winterfell crypt.
Quick recap of the reasons why Jon’s prepared tomb is the secret in the Crypts, before I get into how it will play out:
- Jon’s nightmares are leading him into the depths of the crypts, into the closed off area beyond the collapse
- Ned also has nightmares of the crypts, leading us to believe he has angered the Old Kings of Winter somehow, and that this is likely related to Jon
- We know that there are tombs reserved in the crypt for the Stark children, of which Bastard Jon probably wouldn’t and shouldn’t have a place
- Jon’s recurring dreams telling him “There is no place for you here” leads me to believe that they are angry that a place has already been allotted for him
THE REVEAL
Jon, upon retaking Winterfell, decides to go down into the crypts to visit Eddard’s grave, but finds that Ned’s bones haven’t come to Winterfell yet. He instead passes by the future resting places of his siblings.
He stops for a moment, sad with the new knowledge that there is no life everlasting for him or his siblings. Then, remembering his nightmares (or perhaps finding some clue in Ned’s empty grave), he continues down to the lower levels of the crypt in the growing darkness.
His finds his way is blocked by rocks and rubble from the collapse. He considers going back, but something catches his eye beyond the obstruction. He begins pulling at stones, and sees another tomb, prepared and empty.
Clambering over the debris, he walks to the tomb and holds out the torch in the darkness, wiping away the dust from the slab.
And this is what he reads:
“Jon Snow
283-
Son of
Rhaegar Targaryen
of Dragonstone
And
Lyanna Stark
of Winterfell”
(Cut to the continuation of the Tower of Joy vision)
Even if R+L=J is not true (which it is), I do hope that they reveal Jon’s true parentage in this episode, leaving a cliffhanger for its implications in the next season.
Footnote: Link to original answer on Quora – What are your predictions for Game of Thrones season 6 episode 10 finale? by Tanmay Pereira Naik
Clichéd Musings 