Here’s How All of Those Game of Thrones Theories Panned Out

Warning: This post contains spoilers for both the Game of Thrones TV show and George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Following Sunday’s explosive finale, the sixth season of Game of Thrones has all too soon come to an end. From Jon Snow’s resurrection to Arya’s defeat of the Waif to Cersei’s massacre of the Faith, the past 10 episodes have been an eventful ride — they have also incited more fan speculation than ever before. And now that Thrones has surpassed the books in plot, no detail was too small for a theory about how it would affect the future of the series.

But while viewers’ suspicions ranged from the more outlandish — Hodor being evil — to the now confirmed — R+L=J — they have all been interesting to discuss. So before we spend 10 long months thinking about what lies ahead for the residents of Westeros, let’s take a look at how several of this season’s predictions turned out — starting with the ones that were correct.

The Mad Queen

Theory: Cersei’s insistence that she would burn cities to the ground to keep her children safe, Qyburn’s mention of the truth behind a “rumor” and Bran’s vision of wildfire exploding in a tunnel all foreshadowed Cersei’s decision to ignite the Mad King’s store of wildfire under King’s Landing to rid the city of the High Sparrow and his Faith Militant.

Source: Reddit

Likelihood of truth: 100%

Explanation: All hail Queen Cersei.

The Lord Commander’s new clothes

Theory: Jon’s transition from the black of the Night’s Watch to the brown armor of the Starks foreshadowed him taking up his family’s cause and defeating Ramsay to retake Winterfell.

Source: Reddit

Likelihood of truth: 100%

Explanation: The Stark banners have been unfurled over Winterfell once again.

Dany dreams of Dothraki

Theory: A vision Daenerys had in the House of the Undying foretold that she would take control of the dosh khaleen and the Dothraki people.

Source: Reddit/Book readers

Likelihood of truth: 100%

Explanation: Due to the fact that the Redditor’s theory was based on a line pulled from Martin’s A Clash of Kings rather than the events of the show, this scene played out differently than was predicted. However, after Dany emerged from the burning temple of the dosh khaleen unscathed, the end result was the same.

The return of Benjen

Theory: Benjen Stark would return in episode six to save Bran and Meera from the horde of wights.

Source: Reddit

Likelihood of truth: 100%

Explanation: Benjen rode in on horseback and rescued Bran and Meera from a horrifying end.

The Dawn prophecy

Theory: The “bleeding star” referenced in Martin’s Prince That Was Promised prophecy refers to “Dawn,” the bloody sword of Ser Arthur Dayne that was picked up by Ned Stark after the battle outside the Tower of Joy. The conclusion of the scene would reveal that Lyanna Stark gave birth to Jon Snow in the tower, making him the Prince.

Source: Reddit/Book readers

Likelihood of truth: 95%

Explanation: The finale not only all but confirmed that Jon is the son of Lyanna and Rhaegar Targaryen, but also made a point of showing Ned setting “Dawn” next to Lyanna’s bloodied sheets.

Valonqar

Theory: The last line of Maggy the Frog’s prophecy for Cersei — “And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar [High Valyrian for “little brother”] shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you” — foreshadows Jaime being forced to murder Cersei after she has gone mad with power.

Source: Book readers

Likelihood of truth: 85%

Explanation: All of the other aspects of the prophecy have already come true — and we can’t say Jaime looked too happy when he saw Cersei being crowned on the Iron Throne.

Bran’s mad mistake

Theory: Bran’s meddling in the past is what drove the Mad King insane, sparking Robert’s Rebellion and setting Westeros on a path to ruin.

Source: Reddit

Likelihood of truth: 60%

Explanation: Based on the fact that Bran’ abilities were the cause of both Hodor’s condition and his death, it seems as though his time traveling will likely play an important role in the grand scheme of the show. On the other hand, after centuries of Targaryen inbreeding, the Mad King could very well have ended up insane on his own.

Tyrion Targaryen

Theory: Tyrion’s immediate bond with Rhaegal and Viserion not only indicates he is one of the prophesied figures known as the three heads of the dragon — i.e., he will eventually be one of the three people who rides Daenerys’ three dragons — but that he is actually a Targaryen rather than a Lannister.

Source: Book readers

Likelihood of truth: 50%

Explanation: Although the show has yet to delve into that particular prophecy, Tyrion’s lifelong love for dragons and isolation among the Lannisters both seem to lend credence to the idea that his father is actually Aerys “The Mad King” Targaryen. In fact, Tywin even hinted at it himself as he sat dying on the privy in the season four finale — “You’re no son of mine.”

The bloody dragon

Theory: The blood stain left behind by Jon Snow’s corpse in the courtyard of Castle Black was meant to look like a dragon, hinting at his secret Targaryen parentage.

Source: Twitter

Likelihood of truth: 15%

Explanation: Even though R+L=J has now been virtually confirmed, it’s unlikely that blood spatter — which really didn’t look too much like a dragon — had anything to do with it. If nothing else, it doesn’t seem like something that will be revisited.

Tommen’s telltale confession

Theory: The mysterious secret that Tommen told Cersei after talking to the High Sparrow revolved around the Tyrells’ involvement in Joffrey’s murder.

Source: Reddit

Likelihood of truth: 10%

Explanation: While there’s still an off chance Tommen knew this and told Cersei about it at some point, after the events of the following episode, it seems more likely the revelation was about Margaery’s walk of atonement.

Hodor the Horrible

Theory: Hodor was an agent of the Great Other — the Lord of Light’s evil counterpart — sent to bring Bran north of the Wall for some yet-to-be-revealed purpose.

Source: Reddit/Book readers

Likelihood of truth: 0%

Explanation: “Hold the door.”

Hodor the Warg

Theory: Hodor was a warg who drove himself mad by staying inside his animal too long.

Source: Reddit

Likelihood of truth: 0%

Explanation: Bran warging into Hodor was what caused the gentle giant’s condition — and also his death.

The Shaggydog conspiracy

Theory: The direwolf head that Smalljon Umber presented to Ramsay was not actually Shaggydog’s, indicating that Rickon and the Umbers had conspired together to overthrow Ramsay as Warden of the North.

Source: Twitter/Reddit

Likelihood of truth: 0%

Explanation: The Umbers not only fought alongside Ramsay in the battle for the North, but watched as he shot Rickon through the heart with an arrow.

Littlefinger’s Pink Letter

Theory: The Pink Letter — i.e. the letter sent to Jon by Ramsay in episode four — was actually written by Littlefinger.

Source: Reddit/Book readers

Likelihood of truth: 0%

Explanation: Thrones director Dan Sackheim quickly squashed this theory, stating that, “This I can tell you without any concern [of spoilers]. That letter was written by Ramsay.”

A girl is someone

Theory: The person the Waif stabbed on the bridge wasn’t Arya at all, but Jaqen H’ghar posing as Arya to test the Waif.

Source: Reddit

Likelihood of truth: 0%

Explanation: Arya really did get stabbed.

Varys the betrayer

Theory: Varys’s confrontation with the Red Priestess Kinvara led him to believe that Daenerys was not the right ruler for the realm, making him intent on sabotaging Dany’s journey to Westeros.

Source: Reddit

Likelihood of truth: 0%

Explanation: Varys was actually off doing the one thing that could make the Dorne storyline interesting again — allying Ellaria and the Sand Snakes with both Grandma Tyrell and the Mother of Dragons.

Cleganebowl

Theory: The Hound would return to King’s Landing as the Faith’s champion to fight his brother, the Mountain, to the death in a trial by combat for Cersei.

Source: Book readers

Likelihood of truth: 0%

Explanation: Cersei was denied a trial by combat, forcing her to result to…other methods.

Lady Stoneheart lives

Theory: The appearance of the three members of the Brotherhood Without Banners — including Lem Lemoncloak — who murdered Septon Ray and his community hinted at the introduction of Lady Stoneheart, the zombified version of Catelynn Stark.

Source: Reddit/Book readers

Likelihood of truth: 0%

Explanation: Beric Dondarrion is still alive, meaning that he never sacrificed his life to reanimate Catelynn’s corpse following the Red Wedding. Unless the show has very different plans for her resurrection, the Stoneheart ship has sunk.