New descriptions for Game of Thrones Season 6 episodes 2 and 3 are oblique, obscuring the plot revelations ahead, but also loaded with clues as to what may be in store. While there’s a lot to process in the new official descriptions for episode 2 “Home” and episode 3 “Oathbreaker,” the most consequential hints seem to point to an upcoming reveal of Jon Snow’s parentage, finally making the widely held R+L=J fan theory a reality.
The Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 2 “Home” description reads:
“Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) trains with the Three-Eyed Raven (Max von
Sydow). In King’s Landing, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) advises Tommen (Dean-
Charles Chapman). Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) demands good news, but has to make his
own. At Castle Black, the Night’s Watch stands behind Thorne (Owen Teale). Ramsay
Bolton (Iwan Rheon) proposes a plan, and Balon Greyjoy (Patrick Malahide) entertains
other proposals.”
That’s pretty vague. It looks like we’ll be getting an introduction to Bran’s greenseer powers, which allow him to witness past, present and future events. The episode will also show us heightened tensions at Castle Black, hopefully leading to violence between Alliser Thorne’s traitorous men and the wildlings. Things are about to get even more intense at Castle Black, with Ramsay Bolton plotting to march on the castle.
The description for Episode 3 “Oathbreaker” is even more enigmatic, but also highly charged with likely spoilers:
“Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) meets her future. Bran meets the past. Tommen
confronts the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce). Arya (Maisie Williams) trains to be No One.
Varys (Conleth Hill) finds an answer. Ramsay gets a gift.”
Who knows what Daenerys meeting her future will entail, but “Bran meets the past” could be the big moment we’ve been waiting for. Previous Game of Thrones trailers have shown numerous clips of a young Eddard Stark fighting Targaryen men. This can only mean one thing: Bran will witness the assault on the Tower of Joy in the closing days of Robert’s Rebellion .
After King Aerys was overthrown, Eddard Stark and six companions stormed the Tower of Joy, where members of the Kingsguard were holding Lyanna Stark (Eddard’s sister, promised to Robert Baratheon, was either kidnapped or ran off with Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, prompting the rebellion that would overthrow the Mad King and install Robert Baratheon on the Iron Throne). After killing the Kingsguard, Eddard and Howland Reed climbed the tower to find Lyanna Stark, bleeding to death.
It is widely presumed by readers of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series that Lyanna died giving birth to Jon Snow (Rhaegar + Lyanna = Jon). Knowing that a Targaryen child would threaten Robert Baratheon’s claim to the throne, Eddard Stark claimed Jon as his own bastard son.
With episode 2 introducing Bran’s new powers and episode 3 taking Bran into the past for one of Game of Thrones biggest secret reveals, it looks like Jon Snow’s parentage is likely to turn out exactly as consequential as fans have long suspected.
While nothing in these descriptions hint at Jon Snow’s return, the next two episodes of Game of Thrones Season 6 look to show that Snow is more important to the future of Westeros than ever before.
