In Season 6, fans found out through Bran’s visions why Hodor only says “Hodor,” how the White Walkers came to be, and the show finally confirmed the popular R+L=J theory. Since then, fans have been wondering whether Jon Snow is still a bastard. He was the bastard son of Ned Stark, but is he the bastard son of Rhaegar Targaryen now? In the latest episode of “Game of Thrones” – “Eastwatch,” that question was answered by Gilly’s reading.
Annulment
At the Citadel, while Sam was studying and rewriting books and scrolls, Gilly was reading the diary of High Septon Maynard. It was mostly a list and record of irrelevant facts about Westeros, except for one detail.
Gilly asked Sam what does ‘annulment’ mean, he explained that annulment is when a man legally ends a marriage to marry another. Gilly read in the diary that High Septon Maynard annulled the marriage from ‘a Prince Ragger’ and married him in secret to another woman in Dorne.
Both of them paid no special attention to that revelation, but fans of the show celebrated. There can only be one Prince Ragger in Westeros, and that’s Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, and the woman he secretly married is Lyanna Stark.
Together, they went to Dorne, which is where the Tower of Joy is.
In the Season 6 finale “Winds of Winter,” it was shown that Jon is the son of Lyanna and Rhaegar. Lyanna died shortly after Jon’s birth, and Rhaegar died at the Battle of the Trident, under the hands of Robert Baratheon. Apparently, the revelation means that Jon is not a bastard of Rhaegar Targaryen, but a legitimate son, and heir.
It is known in Westeros that Rhaegar “abducted” Lyanna. She got pregnant and gave birth to a baby – Jon. Before she died, she asked Ned to promise her to take care of the baby and not to reveal his parentage. Ned being the honorable man that he is, told everyone (including his wife Catelyn), that Jon is his bastard son.
The prophecy
Rhaegar was originally married to Elia Martell and had two children, a daughter named Rhaenys and a son named Aegon. In the novel series, Rhaegar was a believer of prophecies. After Aegon’s birth, he wanted one more child to fulfill the prophecy of 3 dragon riders. But Elia could no longer have children after Rhaenys and Aegon.
In the episode, when Daenerys landed in Dragonstone on Drogon’s back, Jon came face to face with the dragon. Though Drogon roared at Jon at first, Jon stretched out his hand, and Drogon calmed down and allowed Jon to stroke him.
It is possible that Drogon is friendly with Jon because he recognizes him as Daenery’s friend. But it is also possible that Drogon smelled and sensed the Targaryen blood in Jon. Could Jon be a dragon rider soon? Probably Rhaegal, the dragon named after his father.