Fair warning, if you haven’t yet seen the season five finale of “Game of Thrones” don’t read on if you are even slightly spoiler averse. If you have seen the finale but have not read the books, this discussion will be based purely on speculation with no basis in any direct reading of the text so nothing could be considered a spoiler. If you already know what R+L=J means or you’re interested to find out, follow me…
HBO recently announced filming locations for the sixth season of “Game of Thrones” and Spanish language site Movistar (via Buzzfeed) has honed in on one particular location from the list – Castillo de Zafra in Guadalajara, Spain. Images of the castle can be found here and many are speculating that the appearance of the castle points to one thing, the Tower of Joy.
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Tower of Joy plays a fairly pivotal role in the backstory of the current intrigue happening in Westeros. The tower itself is torn down before the first page of the first book but the event that resulted in a major character ordering the destruction of the tower is no less important than what has actually been depicted on the show or in the books.
Immediately before Robert Baratheon’s Rebellion, Ned Stark’s sister, Lyanna, was abducted by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. There is still some debate if Rhaegar abducted Lyanna or if she ran away with him but that is a story for another time. Either way, Robert plunged the realm into a civil war all in Lyanna’s name. Towards the end of the war, Lyanna was being kept at the Tower of Joy and was being guarded by three members of the Targaryen King’s Guard. One of the guards was a legendary knight named Arthur Dayne, considered to be one of the greatest warriors alive at the time. Dayne is also known as the Sword of the Morning because of his great sword named Dawn and his prodigious skill at wielding it.
What does all this have to do with the end of season five of the show? Patience, we’re getting there. Ned Stark rode to the Tower of Joy with six companions (one of whom was Jojen and Meera Reed’s father, Howland Reed) in an attempt to rescue his sister. During the ensuing fight, only Ned and Howland survived, even the legendary Arthur Dayne was among the deceased. Inside the tower, Ned found his sister dying. Before her death, Lyanna makes Ned promise her something – what that is no one really knows. A lot of book readers have a theory and that is where R+L=J comes in and how it ties to the end of season five.
The theory contends that Jon Snow is the offspring of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, hence R+L=J. The true parentage of Jon Snow has been a mystery in the books and on the show since the beginning. Everything we know about Ned suggests he isn’t the type of person who would be unfaithful to his wife but he is the type of person to take on another’s burden if he considers it honorable.
Season five was the first of the series to utilize flashbacks to illuminate aspects of the present storyline. It is a device that could be used again in season six to recount the events that transpired at the Tower of Joy. But if Jon meets the fate that he appears to in the season finale, what point would finding out his true parentage serve? The strongest reason would be that Jon in fact isn’t deceased or if he is, he won’t be for long. This would keep alive (no pun intended) some elements of another, more hotly debated fan theory, the Three Heads of the Dragon – again, a discussion for another time.
One other element that gives credence to Castillo de Zafra standing in for the Tower of Joy is a casting announcement uncovered by Watchers on the Wall. The announcement calls for a “Legendary Fighter”:
A man in his thirties or forties who is a great swordsman and a paragon of knighthood. He carries a hugely famous sword on his back. The show is seeking a very impressive swordsman for the role- the best in Europe, for a week of filming fight scenes for a season 6 role. His ethnicity/race isn’t specified, unlike many other roles.
The description asking for a great swordsman and a paragon of knighthood certainly sounds like Arthur Dayne and the relatively short filming time commitment could mean they would only be needed for one action scene. Additionally, the Tower of Joy is located in Dorne and Spain served as Sunspear last season so geographically, it would offer a similar look.
So does all this mean we’ll see a flashback in season six featuring a young Ned Stark, the Sword of the Morning, and Lyanna’s dying request? Obviously only time will tell but the pieces that we have fit together really nicely.
What do you think? Are you a believer in R+L=J? Do you have an opinion on the Three Heads of the Dragon theory? Do you think we should stop speculating and just wait for the show to come back? Let’s figure it all out in the comments below!
