What George R.R. Martin Told a Game of Thrones Director About Jon Snow and Daenerys Way Back in Season 1

Warning: This post contains spoilers for season seven of Game of Thrones.

This season of Game of Thrones has answered some viewers’ prayers with a long-anticipated meeting between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen — and subsequent growth in their relationship with each episode.

And Sunday’s penultimate episode of Thrones clearly showed that a romantic relationship is blossoming between the two, with both of them making grave sacrifices for the other and an emotional moment at the end of the episode where they held hands.

But years ago during the filming of the show’s first season, director Alan Taylor — responsible for Sunday’s episode and the penultimate episode in season one where Ned Stark was executed — learned directly from George R.R. Martin that Jon and Daenerys’ relationship was perhaps the driving force behind the entire enterprise.

“When we were shooting Season 1 and no one had seen the show yet, we were in Malta. Back then, there was not a lot of secrecy because nobody was paying attention, and George R.R. Martin came to visit and he was being quite open about his plans,” Taylor told the New York Times.

“He said something: That it really is all about Dany and Jon. I was surprised because at the time, you know, I thought, well Robb Stark’s going to be king next, probably,” he continued. “And who knows where this story’s going? But it was absolutely clear to him that within this sprawling scale the whole story was coming down to this partnership.”

And while the romance between the two heroes hasn’t yet been explicitly stated on the series, Taylor confirmed that viewers have something to look forward to.

“But yeah, it’s gonna happen,” he told the Times.

Perhaps their romance isn’t as pure as some would expect. Last season the show revealed that Jon is not Ned Stark’s illegitimate son, rather the son of Ned’s sister Lyanna. And fans have theorized — and the show has heavily hinted — that Jon’s father is Rhaegar Targaryen, who is Daenerys’ eldest brother.

When asked about “the incest thing” between the two of them, Taylor said: “Oh, you know, it’s worked for Cersei and Jaime. Nothing went wrong there.”

The finale of Game of Thrones‘ seventh season airs Aug. 27 at 9 p.m. on HBO.