What did Lyanna say to Ned Stark? (HBO)
There was one moment in Game of Thrones that fans were particularly looking forward to, and it happened tonight. But true to Game of Thrones fashion, part of that scene was left a mystery. We’re going to delve into the most frequently asked question about the Tower of Joy scene. This post will contain spoilers through the Game of Thrones season 6 finale, along with spoilers if potential theories are proven correct.
Here’s what you need to know.
When Ned Stark opened the door and entered the Tower of Joy, he saw his sister, Lyanna Stark, in bed, covered in blood, and dying. It turns out that she had just given birth. But while Bran is listening through his warging abilities, it becomes very difficult to hear what she said.
Thanks to closed captioning and alert fans, we have a better idea.
What Was the Baby’s Name?
First she said, “His name is…” and then the audio softens. Because the camera transitioned from the baby to Jon Snow at the end of the scene, we imagine she said “Jon.” However, some fans believe that it doesn’t look like she was saying the words Jon. Some actually believe she said his name was “Aegon” or “Aerys” or even “Aemon” — some type of Targaryen name. One person on Reddit who said they could read lips mentioned that it looked like the name started as “Am—.” But they couldn’t make out the rest.
Fans on this subreddit speculated that the directors didn’t let us hear Lyanna say Jon’s name for practical reasons. First, it would be likely that his name would not be Jon. Rhaegar would want to give him a Targaryen name. But if they actually said a Targaryen name on the show, and not Jon, fans would have been really confused. So it was just more practical and straightforward to not say his name at all and transition to Jon instead.
After this part, we were treated to a few muffled sentences. My guess is that she may have told Ned that she and Rhaegar secretly married. If they did, then Jon wouldn’t be a bastard child at all and would have a legitimate claim to the Iron Throne. But this is just pure, hopeful conjecture.
If Robert Finds Out…
After a few more muffled words, closed captioning revealed that Lyanna said to Ned: “If Robert finds out, he’ll… You know he will Ned. Promise me you’ll protect him. Promise me.” Some astute listeners believe she said “he’ll kill him.”
Fans theorize that this can mean only one thing. Robert would only kill Lyanna’s baby if the baby wasn’t Robert’s and especially if the baby posed a threat to Robert’s claim to the throne. So if the baby was, for example, Rhaegar Targaryen’s son, then Robert would especially want the child dead.
This does not, however, tell us if Lyanna went willingly with Rhaegar or if she was kidnapped. But a fan favorite theory is that she went with Rhaegar willingly because she loved him.
Remember, they didn’t actually show us the name of the baby in the closed captioning, nor what Robert would do if he found the baby, or a few other choice things that Lyanna said. (Although, considering the transition from the baby to Jon Snow, that part is pretty much confirmed.) But there could still be some type of twist thrown in. If we find out any more details, especially from people who can read lips, we’ll add the information to this story. So bookmark this story and check back later tonight or tomorrow when we’ve added more details.
