ASOIAF Meta
Because Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss know more than any of us, in these posts I rely on a mix of book and show evidence in an attempt to understand the larger themes of the story and the narrative from the perspective of reconstructed fantasy tropes. Since GRRM has said that he is not interested in writing an external battle against good and evil, and because he has referenced power as a corrupting force in his interviews, I believe that the show has dropped strong clues, backed by book evidence, that Dany will be the final antagonist. I also believe that Jon will marry his cousin Sansa - although this theory exists independent from the others.
DANCE FORESHADOWING
Daenerys as the last dragon - interpreting Dany’s dragon dream in Book 1
The inevitable romance and conflict - TV critic on the unnaturalness of the Jon/Dany pairing
Jon will lose an eye
Jorah warned Dany - Political!Jon book foreshadowing. Pardon the sarcasm.
To go forward is to go backward - Dany may return to her default state as a conquering antagonist in Daenerys VI (AGOT).
Is Dany reliving Qarth all over again?
Tolkien’s story of brother/sister incest
Who she really is - Ygritte/Dany as the “violent/conquering” type, and why it may foreshadow tragedy for Dany
Wide Sargasso Sea/Jane Eyre parallels - is GRRM offering a more feminist interpretation of the madwoman, just like Jean Rhys gave Antoinette more depth in the Wide Sargasso Sea?
Dany’s humanity going forward - I argue that Dany is on a slow, downward slide with each plot point representing an incremental loss of concern for human life.
Will Dany be eaten by a dragon? - foreshadowing for a very gruesome death, but this meta shouldn’t be taken too literally. The idea that dragons will be her downfall is the larger point.
What’s behind Dany? - why is she afraid to look back?
Different puppets, same strings - Tragedies rely on protagonists becoming someone they try not to become. In trying so hard to escape the past, they end up copy/pasting it. Show!Tyrion’s statement that “children are not their fathers” is contradicted by book foreshadowing from Tyrion himself
Going to Westeros doesn’t make her a hero (not my meta)
It’s a story about the decisions people make - summary of fandom reactions to a Jon vs. Dany ending
Another dance - Ned protecting Jon from Robert’s wrath will be relevant again once Jon’s cover is blown
The scouring of Winterfell - GRRM praised the ending of the LOTR for its pyrrhic victory. While the Shire was saved from Sauron and Orcs, humans destroyed it anyway. What does this mean for Winterfell?
Becoming comfortable with violence - on the evolution of Dany’s character and her growth (mostly book meta)
Fire is always changingÂ
Chapter order in ADWD - a few notes about when Jon follows a Dany chapter
Ice (bad) vs. fire (good) doesn’t really fit the story
A man seducing a woman is an inverted trope
I will not trust you but I need you - Pretty much Jon in S7
A politician in five acts
Dany is Mance+Stannis
Jon’s efforts to form an alliance - Jon never got off the clock. He was always doing a job.
They made him Lord Commander - and King in the North
A tale of two voiceovers
Jon Snow is playing cyvasse (and a response) - GRRM does love his game metaphors.
Every political ship in Game of Thrones
Aragorn mixing sex and politics - a funny thought
Amuse the queen in the bedchamber - strong Political!Jon foreshadowing
Jon as a deciever predicted in 2013
Everything before the word “but” - analyzing Jon’s dialogue in S7
Jon’s quest is a farce - Quentyn and Aegon were thrown in a quest for hand of “the most beautiful woman in the world.” Well guess what - Jon Snow isn’t on that kind of quest, even if Dany thinks he is.
Jon has doubts about an ally
Varys’ betrayal and what that would mean in S8 - If Varys does betray Dany as many predict he will, then he’s not going to be played by her for a fool.
Foreshadowing for Queen Sansa / Foreshadowing for King Jon
POWER
Comparing the throne rooms
Westeros’ graduating class - who I think will make it to the end
No one will burn - Jon acting like a king
Nonetheless they were slaves
Tell me again what you saved - Mirri’s lesson
Plato on tyranny - and the eerie parallels to Daenerys
Going to Westeros doesn’t make her a hero (not my meta)
The world lashing back (not my meta)
No Targaryen baby at the end - in the past the lords of Westeros have removed a Targaryen infant heir from the line of succession
Blood swords - the Valyrian steel swords have a dark backstory
Ways in which Targaryens appear to be exceptional (and how the narrative undercuts this)
POV TRAPS and PROPHECY TWISTS
Beware the perfumed seneschal - It’s not just Varys. Too obvious.
No POVs react to Dany in present-time - a curiosity in POV structure for Dany’s chapters. What does it mean?
The word “exult” - interpreting Dany’s dream fighting the Usurper’s host armored in ice
Fandom reactions to Dark!Dany
The final twists make us reconsider everything these narrators told us so far
The ASOIAF/Smaug connection - building on a contemporary theory in the fandom. Azor Ahai is a destroyer, not a savior
3 treasons: All by One Person? or All in Dany’s head?
Self-defeating vs. self-fulfilling prophecies
The optimistic moment - audiences understandably fall for it, but need to watch for it
Blue flower in a wall of ice: Odd Shae/Sansa wording, The Oracle at the Houses of the Undying, Sweet for Dany, Cold for Jon
Anti-saviors - why the 3 heads of the dragon theory is a step backwards for the fantasy genre
Why does Dany see the Red Wedding? - a meta on Starks and hostage situations
Great stone beast
HONOR
They’re all liars here
Jon as white/black/grey - when linked to characterization, these are the “colors of truth.” This also comes up with Ned
Jon Snow’s Top 10 Lies
Jon, Sansa, and Arya are the only Starks to go South and survive
Jon fooled Mance
Jon’s enemy is too easy - it can’t just be the Others/White Walkers. Everything he does is morally perfect if this is his main antagonist.
Jon lies no matter what he does
Family, duty, dishonor - Jon is Robb’s foil
A Targaryen cannot be trusted - is this referring to Dany? Or Jon?
A turncloak would tell you what you wished to hear
Once a man turns his cloak
Switching sides like a sellsword
Like mother, like son - a meta exploring how Jon is like Lyanna
Fake ID’s - a list of all the pretending that’s going on across the series
Political!Jon again
Sparkling clean Gary Snow would be dead by now - The game itself is neither good nor bad. It’s about the struggle of ideals vs. realpolitik.
ROMANCE
Tywin and Joanna - foreshadowing another cousin power couple?
On Jon Snow’s Type
Another Grey Girl Meta Part 1 Part 2 - Yes, I believe Sansa is the grey girl.
Knights Watch - Sansa’s biggest crush so far in the story is Loras Tyrell, a sworn member of the King’s Guard. Who else is a sworn member of a knightly order?
The rose and the direwolf
All notable references to cousins in the books
Littlefinger, Jon, and Sansa - its set up like a love triangle with Sansa in the middle. Of course we know she’s not going to choose Littlefinger. But she will use him.
Lord Byron inspiration - Byron’s own torrid affair with his half-sister could be a an echo of a future Jon/Sansa romance
Foreshadowing in the Vale
The cruel and the weak
Broken betrothals in ASOIAF and in the show
Is Jon even a brother? - Jon is usually forgotten in the story as a brother to Sansa, even in other people’s POVs
Who is missing from this list?
Jonsa on Westeros.org (not my meta)
It’s not just about duty anymore - its seems important that Sansa is there after Jon’s death, because if it wasn’t for her he’d be on a beach in Dorne somewhere, brooding.
Who is Florian in the story?
Jon/Garlan Tyrell parallels - Jon and Garlan both fight 3 a time on the practice field, and Sansa takes note of the latter
Response to a Robb/Jon theory
The Corn King - others have made this observation about Jon
Maidenpool’s significanceÂ
Jon apparently has no need for blushing maidens like Alayne
WORDS FROM GRRM
Commentary on resurrections
On who got Dany right
On grey characters
With great power comes great responsibility
The fantasy POV trap
Are dragons a force for good?
On Targaryen inbreeding
On dragons 1 2
Jon Snow: GRRM’s self-insert Byronic hero
Statement on Meereen/Iraq War
On weak political institutions in Westeros
On a great house ending
On subtleties in writing 1 2
On Sansa
On unpredictable plots and challenging reader expectations 1 Â 2
What a good king should be
On Targaryen fire immunity
Critiques of Tolkien imitators
On rationalizing morally questionable actions
Unreliable narrators
Is Dany destined to rule Westeros?
Two heroes fighting
