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Jaqen H'ghar Was Paid to Kill Jon


The Killer Snark

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This is something that jumped to my mind after connecting stray dots a few weeks back. I don't know if it's been brought up here, but I've since come across someone online who'd come to exactly the same conclusion, to a T, so I'm not the only one in any case but I know it's not a well-travelled theory. First, what was H'ghar doing going to The Wall? Someone like H'ghar would have committed some act that would enable him to get carried there, after being captured on purpose, since we can assume that a Faceless Man of his elite skill would not have been taken against his will by some City Watch. Or perhaps the right person in power made sure that he was placed in the cage. Now who would he possibly be contracted to kill at The Wall, which otherwise he'd have no purpose going to. The logical answer is Jon Snow, who might not know his parentage but someone else may have done some research. Someone like Varys, who kills off Kevan Lannister despite regretting the death of a good man because it's politic to do so to sow strife between the Lannisters and Tyrells, someone whose real purpose is to further the interests of Aegon who he wishes to marry Dany, though if Aegon is really a Blackfyre then Jon, as the son of Rhaegar, has a better claim to the throne. And Maester Aemon is a Targaryen, and Varys is unsure whether coming into contact with Maester Aemon will give Jon an interest in his own ancestry, which really isn't that hard to work out. However, the apparent death of Jon Snow overrules the order H'ghar has been given to kill him, since the Red Gods have already been satisfied even if Jon has warged into Ghost or if he'll be resurrected by Mel. Exactly why Jaqen has diverted his steps to Hightower, however, is a mystery to me.


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Seems more likely that he actually just got caught.


He seems to perform a very specifik mission in Oldtown, and it doesn't look like one were he's been hired to kill someone either.


My guess is he's on the prowl for information, for the FM, the Iron Bank or just himself being a renegade FM.


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It's an interesting thought. I definitely think Jaqen meant to be captured, but I don't know if I think he was hired to kill Jon. If Jon was the target, he decided not to bother, it seems. That doesn't seem likely considering how seriously the work of the Faceless Men is taken.


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My original theory was that H'Ghar was chosen for his target on account of a conspiracy among Aegon's supporters somewhere in Essos, based perhaps on a prophecy: but Varys, though he'd be acting somewhat out of character, is privy to the right information and rumours at court and is at King's Landing when H'Ghar is going to The wall. But I don't really fully believe in my theory. I just thought I'd put it out there in order to stir up some productive debate.


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Makes sense... for a handful of seconds. Then you start thinking about things, and stuff just gets dumb from there.



First and foremost, the choice of route. Assuming he started from Braavos, going via King's Landing to the Wall would be a tremendous detour. All to... meet the travelling recruiter there? You know, the Night's Watch have very little bureaucracy, all it takes to join them is to appear at Castle Black and say you're interested. That's pretty much what Sam did. You don't have to go via any of the travelling recruiters, and even if he had a compulsive desire to do it that way, he could have met up with Yoren practically anywhere else along the Kingsroad.



Second, at what point does it make sense to throw yourself in the Black Cells if you want to be recruited? It's not like the Night's Watch have any background checks either, Yoren would have accepted Jaqen as a recruit if he had simply walked up to him and asked. No need to go via the local prison, on the off-chance that the recruiter will swoop by. All he got for that trouble was the privilege of travelling in shackles.



Travelling with Yoren also delayed his progression a lot. He'd attract less attention, and be able to travel much faster, had he went alone by foot or horse instead of by cage-in-a-wagon. A cage-in-a-wagon that, by the way, was put on fire and would have barbecued Jaqen and his fellow prisoners hadn't Arya got that axe in time.



All this is even assuming Jaqen needed to join the Night's Watch to kill Jon. Seems like he'd be able to do the deed without taking the Black, brand himself as a dangerous criminal, or certainly without travelling to King's Landing. Even so, you probably wouldn't need an elite super-expensive super-assassin for the job. It's not like Jon is a high-profile target. Or for that matter, kill Jon once he's said his vows. He renounced all claims upon joining, and his theorized parent line were officially and thoroughly dethroned, meaning that he would have no backup whatsoever should he ever decide to claim the throne. Half the realm wouldn't support a Targaryen, the other half wouldn't support him on account of bastardy, and none would support an oathbreaker. This isn't a fairytale, where the entire population bows down as soon as "the lost prince" reveals himself, and the reigning powers happily give away their regency because the dude allegedly has the right parents.




All in all, this boils down like most conspiracy theories. Unclear motives, and needlessly complicated ways of achieving them. Better "theory" next time, please.


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As I said, I just threw this one out there because no-one else appeared to have done so. Here's the thing, though. Does anyone have a concrete theory of what H'Ghar was doing in a cage at King's Landing in the first place. Granted, if he had been caught unwillingly, the logical conclusion would be (albeit improbably) that he was caught committing murder. The murder of whom, and where?


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I don't believe it, we don't even know that Jon is part Targ, and even if he is then I'm sure that Ned and perhaps Benjen are the two people who know the truth. Plus, if he was contracted to kill Jon, what would be the point of doing something to get caught, (which might result in his death.) and then have to travel there in rough circumstances, why not just go there himself.

As I said, I just threw this one out there because no-one else appeared to have done so. Here's the thing, though. Does anyone have a concrete theory of what H'Ghar was doing in a cage at King's Landing in the first place. Granted, if he had been caught unwillingly, the logical conclusion would be (albeit improbably) that he was caught committing murder. The murder of whom, and where?

Whom, doesn't matter and where, I would imagine Kings Landing. You mentioned earlier that he would be able to evade capture because he could change face, but I believe there's more to it than just changing on a whim. Plus the faceless men are well known, so even if he did change appearance, once he's been caught he's been caught.

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Perhaps, like everyone else in Essos, he was simply unfamiliar with the terrain North of King's Landing, and felt getting there via the Night's Watch it might have made for a quieter passage. He can't be expected to be an expert in Western geography just because he's a Faceless Man. Remember, the scale of this continent is deceptive in terms of the map. It is not the size of Britain, but huge.


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Perhaps, like everyone else in Essos, he was simply unfamiliar with the terrain North of King's Landing, and felt getting there via the Night's Watch it might have made for a quieter passage. He can't be expected to be an expert in Western geography just because he's a Faceless Man. Remember, the scale of this continent is deceptive in terms of the map. It is not the size of Britain, but huge.

It doesn't make sense, The Wall is well known and I imagine 9/10 people would know how to get there, even if that wasn't the case and he decided to travel with the NW, he could just volunteer to join, Y'know rather than commit a serious enough offence that he's kept behind bars the whole trip there.

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True, but if he really wanted to appear completely inconspicuous, he'd get himself caught to get transport so no-one would think of him as a possible assassin, thus avoiding the suspicion of why someone with a Braavosi accent would be willing to join the Night's Watch.


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True, but if he really wanted to appear completely inconspicuous, he'd get himself caught to get transport so no-one would think of him as a possible assassin, thus avoiding the suspicion of why someone with a Braavosi accent would be willing to join the Night's Watch.

He's not the only Braavosi in Westeros, and I'm sure he could change his accent alongside his face. Plus it wouldn't matter, the Watch recruits rapists, thieves, murderers, etc. I doubt they're going to say "Well this guy has a strange accent, best not, to be on the safe side."

I can see you've thought about it and I don't want to burst your bubble but there isn't a single shred of evidence to support it, and even if there was, it's a theory based on another theory which hasn't been proved true at this point either.

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The only living person left that knows of Jon Snow's parentage is Howland Reed. Sending a faceless man to kill a simple bastard on the wall would make absolutely no sense whatsoever. And, as has already been pointed out earlier, there are much simpler ways to infiltrate/join the night's watch then Jaqar's route ... such as riding up to the wall and saying, "Hey, I have no future or am hungry or am a fugitive. Can I join?"



Toss this conspiracy theory out....

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Or was sent to kill Varys, gone rogue himself, only to be foiled by a more experienced and skilled mummer? I do wonder why a Faceless Man was in king's landing. It was by design unless J.H. is really rogue which, I don't know...just doesn't sit right when I look at the puzzle from enough, more distant perhaps, perspective.



I think Varys would have just had him killed if caught, however. You'd have to be 100% confident that you'd 'flipped' the man to set a face-shifting master assassin free again into the world. Once out of those dungeons what possible check could Varys had, sans a magical one, that would keep J.H. on his now-shifted path.


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