Jon Snow and Cersei Lannister Have an Interesting Connection on 'Game of Thrones'

And it has to do with his real parents.

George R.R. Martin's obsessive world-building is what made A Song of Ice and Fire such a beloved fantasy saga long before the hit HBO show. The man has crafted thousands of years of history and family trees, which the books only begin to outline and the show hardly touches. Fans of the books have spent years inside the heads of these characters, given a different perspective and insight than those who have watched the show.

And as the main characters of this show have dwindled to a select living few, some of these details and connections between them become even more important. One Reddit user pointed out a strange connection between Cersei and Jon Snow:

We know that Jon and Cersei will meet at the Dragonpit. For Cersei Jon not only is Ned's 'bastard' who became KitN but much more and she doesn't even know. When Tywin Lannister was Hand of the King to Mad King Aerys, he wanted his daughter Cersei to be married to Prince Rhaegar but Aerys refused and married Rhaegar to Ellia Martell. Cersei always fancied and wanted to marry Prince Rhaegar. She even asked Maggy the witch "will I marry the Prince?". Maggy the witch replied "No,You will marry the King". Now Cersei did marry the King and that King was Robert Baratheon. We know that he was to marry Lyanna Stark. He loved her even after her death and never loved Cersei. So Jon is basically the son of the Prince she always wanted to marry and the woman her husband loved till his death.

In other words, Cersei was in love with Rhaegar Targaryen, who was Daenerys' brother and the son of the Mad King Aerys. Robert Baratheon was supposed to be married to Lyanna Stark, but Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark ran off together to Dorne where they eloped. It's this love entanglement that Gilly accidentally described from a book in Episode Five. Cersei eventually married King Robert, as Maggy the Witch predicted. And although Cersei was initially interested in Robert, the king called her Lyanna on their wedding night (bad move, bro) and she lost interest. In A Feast For Crows, Cersei points out that she always imagined Rhaegar while her and Robert were having sex.

So, what does this mean in terms of plot of the show? Very little in all likelihood, since Game of Thrones is moving far too fast to get into any of these nuanced backstories! However, as we've learned, these small grudges held by certain characters could have major repercussions on the realm. Remember, the Red Wedding happened because Robb Stark didn't marry one of Walder Frey's daughters.

Certainly, Cersei doesn't know who Jon Snow's real parents are, but what would she do if she found out this bastard from the North who's challenging her crown is the child of the man she loved and the woman her husband always loved? This could be the key that either brings Cersei's wrath or her sympathy. And, if nothing else, it shows the stunning detail that George R.R. Martin put into crafting these characters and their motivations.


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