paper bag heart

With that out of the way, my interpretation of the theory is that because the tourney does not go as expected (massive understatement) due to Dunk's actions, plans to marry Sansa off will not go as expected due to a Dunk stand-in's actions. Though the original theory puts Sandor in this position, the original theory was written before GRRM confirmed Brienne as Dunk's descendant in 2016. Since then, the theory originator has validated the possibility of Brienne as the Dunk stand-in on multiple occasions.

My enjoyment of Briensa and distaste for S*nsan aside, I truly believe that Brienne is the best answer as the Dunk stand-in because she is the clearest narrative heir to Dunk in the series. That's not to dismiss Sandor's Dunk-isms -- I think he's probably also a Dunk descendant and I'm not sure how his gravedigger persona wouldn't come to mind while reading the opening of the Hedge Knight. He's certainly the Dunk to Arya's Egg.

But he's not the one who wandered the riverlands in a fruitless search for a maiden (just as Dunk once did in Dorne for Tanselle) while carrying a shield modeled off of Dunk's, nor is he the one in a romance with one of Rohanne Webber's descendants. In the same way that characters like Arya and even Podrick are undeniably Egg-like but Dany is still undeniably the character with the most significant Egg parallels, I think that Brienne is undeniably the character with the most signficant Dunk parallels.

Sandor and Brienne are foils in such a way that positions Sandor as the deeply imperfect knight who is still a truer knight than the rest of the Kingsguard while positioning Brienne as the true knight of Sansa's prayers. I've written about their status as foils, specifically in relation to Sansa and to knighthood, more extensively here. Neither of them are actually knights and they certainly do not resemble the handsome knights from the songs that Sansa is so fixated on at the beginning of the story. Sandor helps break down that belief for Sansa but the fact is that she explicitly does not think of him as a true knight (albeit, she says he is truer than the rest of the KG but that's not saying much), and that is before he holds her at knifepoint.

Brienne, on the other hand, has been described by GRRM as "Sansa with a sword." She espouses and lives by the belief that true knights defend the weak and innocent no matter the cost to oneself. Mycah alone is proof that Sandor has not lived up to that ideal like Brienne has, even if Sandor being the one to carry out his death is something that supports the overall theme of the impossible nature of true knighthood in a world of unjust commands. When Brienne faces her own dilemma at the end of AFFC, she resists the urge to succumb to death and choses to sacrifice her love for Jaime to save Podrick's life. I'll caveat that she has not been tested quite as much as Sandor has, but what we have seen from her is promising.

Like Sansa, Brienne ended up holding onto a bloody Kingsguard cloak during ACOK that was "should have" gone to Barristan Selmy, who is more or less viewed in-universe as the truest living knight. Each of them are young girls with great ideals about knighthood that are as soiled as the cloaks in their possession. Like Sansa, Brienne was introduced in a book where she met a stand-in figure for a dead parent at a tourney who (either internally or externally) expressed concern for her song-based worldview. These parent figures are both friend and foe to the girls and they also happen to have a significant history together, for what it's worth. Like Sandor at the Hand's tourney in AGOT, it was the unconventional Brienne who won over the knight-from-a-song Loras Tyrell.

I think this is a good point in this essay for me to bring up the Hedge Knight's August 1998 publication date, just three months before ACOK's original November 1998 publication date in the UK. GRRM has indicated that he worked on ACOK and THK simultaneously; while he says that THK was one of those stories that writes itself, he also said that he was struggling to write ACOK and past his deadline. Seeing as ACOK is the book where Brienne is introduced, one has to wonder if the characters of Brienne and Dunk were conceived around the same time. I also have to wonder how many other ideas from ACOK were influenced by THK and vis-versa.

Long before GRRM shared that he originally planned to kill Sansa, I've suspected that this was at least he case in his original outline, if not in AGOT. So for a while I have had this idea in my head that Brienne was at least in part introduced as someone for GRRM to keep in his back pocket in case he decided to let Sansa live, as he has since said he might. I can't know what he was thinking but to me, this insight into GRRM's writing process adds more credence to the idea of Brienne being set up as Sansa's true knight and Dunk's heir apparent. Of course, her character has grown into so much more than that but this is just what's pertinent to the subject at hand.

But it's not Dunk that J*nsas see as a Dunk stand-in! you cry. It's Valarr!

Fair enough! But 1) I've never seen J*nsas include Sandor in their Ashford theories 2) Jon's not Valarr, either 3) Dunk is the only winner we know of due to the trial of seven and we don’t even know if the second day of the tourney went ahead 4) Other J*nsa theories like the Girl in Grey theory or the much-touted moment where Jon is the hero who beheads Janos Slynt per Sansa's wishes* position Jon as Sansa's hero/protector when there is stronger evidence to suggest that Brienne will fill that role, and I'm sorry but I've had more than enough of this fandom giving women's roles in the story to Jon. But sure, let’s reduce Brienne to a vehicle to facilitate the nonsensical girl in grey theory. The focus on Jon is especially ridiculous when you consider that Dunk is the main character and Valarr is so irrelevant that he dies off page.

Jon can't be Valarr because then the theory falls apart. Without the idea that Joffrey is a Baratheon because he believes he is one, we lose the argument that all of Sansa's betrothals/almost-betrothals/husbands are represented by the champions in the tourney. Jon does not believe that he is a Targaryen and I sincerely doubt that he would ever think of himself that way, even after learning the truth about his parentage.

You know who does believe he's a Targaryen, though? Young Griff. And frankly, I see way more of him in Valarr than I see Jon. The most obvious thing that Jon has in common with Valarr is his hair color; that's an incredibly shallow reading, sorry. I've also seen people argue that Valarr being described as "the black prince with the white guardian," evoking Ghost and Jon... but the white guardian in question is a member of Kingsguard in white armor. Because that's what the Kingsguard wears. And black is one of House Targaryen's two main colors. I'm sorry but that actually made me laugh out loud. By that logic, any Targaryen close enough to the throne at any time since the formation of the Kingsguard = Jon. And he dies, I guess? Like Jon? Again, by that logic, damn near EVERYONE is Jon Snow! Sorry, but if you think those comparisons are remotely significant after reading the Brienne section, I can't help you. If it weren't for this theory and the bastardization of it, I don't think Jon would ever get compared to Valarr outside of dark-haired Targaryen compilations.

There's not a lot to Valarr as a character, honestly. While he seems like a more or less decent guy, he is a bit of a spoiled prince who only jousts against easy wins, leaving his actual prowess in question. And then he dies off-page from a deadly disease before he can take the throne. That doesn't sound like Jon to me, but it does sound like Young Griff who, notably, is currently being exposed to a very deadly disease via JonCon. With Euron and Young Griff both headed for Old Town AND the ticking time bomb that is greyscale, I think there's a good chance that, like Valarr, Young Griff dies before he takes the throne. And like Valarr, Young Griff will likely be someone who does not stick around for as long as a miraculously as a prince (or someone who presents himself as such) would in another story. That is so the opposite of Jon Snow who is presented in a much more humble way.

Ever since Quinn the GM suggested that some of GRRM's original five-year-skip plot points meant for Sansa might have gone to Arianne, I have not been able to stop thinking about it. Let's think again about the Hedge Knight's publication date of 1998. GRRM published ASOS in 2000 believing he'd write a five-year skip, which he announced at Philedelphia WorldCon in 2001. As he wrote AFFC, however, it became clear that this would not work for the story he was telling. Arianne, introduced in AFFC, is now on her way to evaluate Young Griff to see if he is who he says he is and worthy of a marriage alliance. Put it all together and I think Quinn is absolutely right.

That begs the question: Even if GRRM wrote the Ashford Tourney's list of champions as a cheeky nod to Sansa's future suitors back in 1998, does that even matter in 2026? I'm not convinced that it does. But does Brienne as the true knight and champion of Sansa's prayers still matter in 2026? I think it does, especially after seeing how much the Dunk and Egg stories mean to George as the first season of AKOTSK has rolled out. The fact that GRRM has also said he planned on killing Sansa but "might" let her live also adds to this, imo, for the reasons I outlined above. Even if I'm completely wrong about GRRM seeing Brienne as a way out of the death he originally planned for Sansa and Brienne never manages to rescue her and she dies, it's the living, breathing validation of Sansa's faith in true knighthood that exists within Brienne that matters.

Even if there’s no reason to believe this is evidence of any ship, it doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t enjoy their ships. It’s fine and even freeing to ship something and have no expectation of it being canon.