So, how's Jon going to be introduced to Rhaegar?

[JonCon's Red Beard]

Maybe in the next book, Jon will finally find out who his real father is. Or even in aDoS. Who tells him? Not relevant. Maybe Howard Reed, Jaime Lannister, Jon Connington, Benjen, Dany, the Ghost of Ned Stark, Rhaegar's Head on the Sky, Darth Vader... let's call him "Jim". With what the books have presented so far, we would be having this conversation:

Jim: No, Jon... Rhaegar was your father.

Jon: NOO-- wait...  Rhaegar Targaryen? The Prince I've never mentioned or never actually thought about in the past three years??

Jim: Yeah, that one.

Jon: I don't know how to feel about this.

 

Jon has NEVER thought about Rhaegar in any relevant way ("They said it was Donal Noye who'd forged King Robert's warhammer, the one that crushed the life from Rhaegar Targaryen on the Trident", that's all I found). That, narratively is a bit absurd because we don't know what Jon thinks about him and we need his reactions, either positive or negative to such revelation. 

So, I suppose that the idea of Rhaegar Targaryen as Prince and alleged kidnapper/lover/whoknows of his "father"'s sister is something that Jon will be introduced to any time soon after he's brought back and before he finds out.

How? Some ideas:

Someone who met Rhaegar eventually gets to the Wall and talks about Rhaegar. I think this can be possible, but at the same time, I'm of the idea that Howland Reed will get to the Wall and talk about Lyanna, so, it would be repetitive. No Jim

Jon finds out information about Rhaegar already in the Wall. We know he sent letters to Aemon and Aemon must have left a few. This opens the possibility of Jon seeing as either a good man or an idiot: "wow, at least someone cared about the Others, too bad he died" or (a more probable) "so, he knew about the Others and told no one but instead run away with my aunt?? Idiot".

More suggestions?

[purple-eyes]

Maybe in the next book, Jon will finally find out who his real father is. Or even in aDoS. Who tells him? Not relevant. Maybe Howard Reed, Jaime Lannister, Jon Connington, Benjen, Dany, the Ghost of Ned Stark, Rhaegar's Head on the Sky, Darth Vader... let's call him "Jim". With what the books have presented so far, we would be having this conversation:

Jim: No, Jon... Rhaegar was your father.

Jon: NOO-- wait...  Rhaegar Targaryen? The Prince I've never mentioned or never actually thought about in the past three years??

Jim: Yeah, that one.

Jon: I don't know how to feel about this.

 

Jon has NEVER thought about Rhaegar in any relevant way ("They said it was Donal Noye who'd forged King Robert's warhammer, the one that crushed the life from Rhaegar Targaryen on the Trident", that's all I found). That, narratively is a bit absurd because we don't know what Jon thinks about him and we need his reactions, either positive or negative to such revelation. 

So, I suppose that the idea of Rhaegar Targaryen as Prince and alleged kidnapper/lover/whoknows of his "father"'s sister is something that Jon will be introduced to any time soon after he's brought back and before he finds out.

How? Some ideas:

Someone who met Rhaegar eventually gets to the Wall and talks about Rhaegar. I think this can be possible, but at the same time, I'm of the idea that Howland Reed will get to the Wall and talk about Lyanna, so, it would be repetitive. No Jim

Jon finds out information about Rhaegar already in the Wall. We know he sent letters to Aemon and Aemon must have left a few. This opens the possibility of Jon seeing as either a good man or an idiot: "wow, at least someone cared about the Others, too bad he died" or (a more probable) "so, he knew about the Others and told no one but instead run away with my aunt?? Idiot".

More suggestions?

it really depends on who is going to tell him. 

if it is JonCon, maybe he will say: what the hell, why this son of rhaeegar had no any silver beauty of his father! where is his blowing silver hair? where is his brilliant indigo eyes? where is his beautiful and tall body?

Then he started to tell Jon that Rhaegar must name him for himself, his hidden love in Joncon, blalblabla.......

 

 

[John Doe]

I don't think his reaction to Rhaegar as a person are that important, he never knew the man. Being of royal blood, or Eddard not being his father will matter to him more.

[TRLR]

Maybe in the next book, Jon will finally find out who his real father is. Or even in aDoS. Who tells him? Not relevant. Maybe Howard Reed, Jaime Lannister, Jon Connington, Benjen, Dany, the Ghost of Ned Stark, Rhaegar's Head on the Sky, Darth Vader... let's call him "Jim". With what the books have presented so far, we would be having this conversation:

Jim: No, Jon... Rhaegar was your father.

Jon: NOO-- wait...  Rhaegar Targaryen? The Prince I've never mentioned or never actually thought about in the past three years??

Jim: Yeah, that one.

Jon: I don't know how to feel about this.

 

Jon has NEVER thought about Rhaegar in any relevant way ("They said it was Donal Noye who'd forged King Robert's warhammer, the one that crushed the life from Rhaegar Targaryen on the Trident", that's all I found). That, narratively is a bit absurd because we don't know what Jon thinks about him and we need his reactions, either positive or negative to such revelation. 

So, I suppose that the idea of Rhaegar Targaryen as Prince and alleged kidnapper/lover/whoknows of his "father"'s sister is something that Jon will be introduced to any time soon after he's brought back and before he finds out.

How? Some ideas:

Someone who met Rhaegar eventually gets to the Wall and talks about Rhaegar. I think this can be possible, but at the same time, I'm of the idea that Howland Reed will get to the Wall and talk about Lyanna, so, it would be repetitive. No Jim

Jon finds out information about Rhaegar already in the Wall. We know he sent letters to Aemon and Aemon must have left a few. This opens the possibility of Jon seeing as either a good man or an idiot: "wow, at least someone cared about the Others, too bad he died" or (a more probable) "so, he knew about the Others and told no one but instead run away with my aunt?? Idiot".

More suggestions?

I think before he can even think about Rhaegar, he has to know who his mother first. Has Jon ever thought about Lyanna? I'm not so sure. I don't think he ever thought about "his father's sister" either. 

[Danelle]

Weirwood.

Bran will show him who his parents were via weirwood.

[katb93]

Weirwood.

Bran will show him who his parents were via weirwood.

Seems the most logical way. That way there's no doubts, he can see it for himself. 

[joluoto2]

Howland Reed: Hey, Jon. Did you know Ned was not really your father but that you're actually the son of Rhaegar Targaryen. Not that it matters, since I have Rob's will here that legitimises you as Ned's trueborn son. Just thought I should let you know.

Jon: WTF?

[WhitewolfStark]

In the overall scheme of things, Rhaegar matters far more to Dany than he does to Jon, given what's been set up in the books thus far. Which makes sense--because to Dany Rhaegar's the one relative of hers who she can still idolize without any hint of negativity attached to him. Likely also, if R+L=J, her idolization of Rhaegar makes it easier to work with Jon later down the line.

Personally, if Sansa and Bran's thoughts on Rhaegar having kidnapped and raped their aunt are anything to go by (Bran I know definitely states that, and Sansa IIRC does as well--though it's been a while admittedly), Jon'll likely think much the same as them and think himself a rape baby initially. And after that initial reaction is over, Jon likely adjusts to whatever the truth of the matter is where he'll likely care more for how it'd affect his deceased mother who he's spent most of his life wondering about than Rhaegar himself.

Personally, I think Lyanna being his mother would matter far far more to him than who the sperm donor was. Jon's made it quite clear that he considers Ned to be his father--and even if that's no longer biologically true, he's the father that raised him and who he cares for. I don't think Jon's going to get that torn up about daddy issues to find out that the man who raised him wasn't the man who sired him, as Ned was a father to Jon in all the ways that mattered.

Rhaegar becomes more of an afterthought, with such a worldview--a twist on the traditional reveal of such a literary trope, where usually the father is made a tremendous deal of while the mother is an afterthought--I think Jon's going to have the opposite reaction. Rhaegar will be the afterthought, while Lyanna will matter far more to him.

[joluoto2]

You hit the nail when you said the most important thing coming out of it would be Jon finally learning who his mother was.

[Ibbison from Ibben]

I suspect Jon/Ghost will be having some major coma-dream sequences, courtesy of Bran and Bloodraven. But since Bran doesn't show any sign of knowing about R+L=J (apparently the wierweb is having trouble accessing Westeros.com, damn tech glitches!) Jon will probably need help from someone, most likely Howland Reed.

[SevasTra82]

Most likely via Howland Reed.  

But honestly, I want to know the stipulations surrounding HOW he tells him.  I find it hard to believe that HR will just say "Jon, he is your father" and then Jon going "WTF?".  Seems very...underwhelming for such a big reveal.

Maybe one of the Dragons will "take" to Jon and will confuse the hell out of Dany and everyone?  IDK.

[Victarion Chainbreaker]

Bran already opened Jon's third eye while he was sleeping. I imagine that Bran will access Jon's psyche when it's in Ghost, and when Jon is resurrected he will remember the full history of his parentage as if it had been a dream.

[Red Man Racey]

 

<snip>

Jon finds out information about Rhaegar already in the Wall. We know he sent letters to Aemon and Aemon must have left a few. This opens the possibility of Jon seeing as either a good man or an idiot: "wow, at least someone cared about the Others, too bad he died" or (a more probable) "so, he knew about the Others and told no one but instead run away with my aunt?? Idiot".

More suggestions?

Too bad Sam isn't still at the Wall to find those letters while rummaging through Maester Aemon's things and it will take too long for Sam to forge his chain before he can come back to the Wall as master and find them then. Although, does Maester Aemon ever say anything that would hint that he knows the truth behind Jon's parentage? He and Jon did talk more than a few times so it seems like there would be at least some clue that pointed towards Aemon's knowing.

[Ferocious Veldt Roarer]

Am I the only one visualizing Jon as Buster Bluth, exclaiming "my father is my uncle"?

Anyway, I see no need of formally introducing Rhaegar to Jon. First, we know who he was, and Rhaegar's an historical figure, so Jon knows who he was, too, even though he doesn't spend his time contemplating leading actors of Robert's Rebellion.

Additionally, despite having the general idea, we've yet to learn a lot about Rhaegar (like, a single fact between the crowning of the QOLAB at Harrenhal, and Rhaegar riding out to meet Robert at the Trident). Mayhaps we and Jon will discover that together.

[Krugal]

It's a good question, and as I believe Jaime will act as Kingmaker for Jon (btw, I like that you put him as the second alternative after HR himself) I think it will be Jaime who discusses these matters with Jon. Jaime should be able to give a fairly honest view on Rhaegar and it would be an interesting dynamic conversation between the two antagonists (or at least Jon considers Jaime an enemy). And of course them discussing Ned and his choices should make for some interesting reading as well.

[JonCon's Red Beard]

Weirwood.

Bran will show him who his parents were via weirwood.

My question wasn't "how" he would find out. That's irrelevant. It's what opinions he has about these two people before the revelation.

Like, if someone tells me my real father is Prince Charles, I DO have already an opinion of him and I would react something like "the guy who cheated Lady Di? Well, he's not that bad". But if I'm told my father is some Arab prince whose name I can't even pronounce and I have no idea who he is, my first reaction is going to be "who???".

Jon already know who Rhaegar and Lyanna are, surely. He probably knows the basics of who Lyanna is and he probably believes her to be, like many, a victim of the circumstances (remember that if Bran believes she was raped, probably also does Jon). But so far, looks like Jon knows nothing about Rhaegar except the fact he was the Prince who fought Robert after he took his father's sister and was killed. He knows him as a historical character, not as a person.

What I am saying or questioning is how Jon will be introduced to the idea of Rhaegar and his opinions of him BEFORE he's told Rhaegar is his father. If Bran just tells him "Look, he's your dad!", that would be the first time, in text, Jon mentions it. I suppose that Martin would want us to know Jon's opinion of Rhaegar BEFORE he knows he's his father so he can be conflicted about him.

For example, let's say Jon indeed finds some letters sent by Rhaegar to Maester Aemon and he reads they discuss the others. The reactions could be:

"Oh, looks like the Prince knew about the Others. My father never spoke about him, but looks like everybody liked him and he was right this time. And he speaks of prophecies or such like Melisandre. What an oddball, too bad he wasn't the King, though".

or

"I can't believe this idiot man knew all about the real danger and rather escaped away with my aunt and abandoned his duties and got killed. We're lucky he wasn't the King because that would be another King ignoring the real threat".

We need to know what Jon thought about Rhaegar before he knows he's his father and so far, looks like no one close to him could talk to him about the Prince, nor there is any circumstance that merits discussing Rhaegar either (unlike Lyanna: they are in the North and there is many ways her name can be brought to the conversation). Jon is just going to pull the conversation out of nowhere about Rhaegar: something HAS to happen that makes Jon think of Rhaegar Targaryen. What is that "something"?

[King Viserys Targaryen IV]

Weirwood.

Bran will show him who his parents were via weirwood.

I think Bran/ the 3 Eyed Raven shows Jon his mother, an already pregnant Lyanna, marrying Rhaegar in front of a Weirwood.

 

Followed by random scenes of Ned by the Heart tree in Winterfell asking the old gods what to do abut Jon. About his guilt over lying to Cat and Robert. His guilt over having Jon live a bastard life instead as the Royalty that he is. Trying to keep Lyanna's promise and the price he has paid.

[Victarion Chainbreaker]

I doubt you'll like it, but here's your answer:

The old man seemed to sense his doubts. "Tell me, Jon, if the day should ever come when your lord father must needs choose between honor on the one hand and those he loves on the other, what would he do?"

Jon hesitated. He wanted to say that Lord Eddard* would never dishonor himself, not even for love, yet inside a small sly voice whispered, He fathered a bastard, where was the honor in that? And your mother, what of his duty to her, he will not even say her name. "He would do whatever was right," he said … ringingly, to make up for his hesitation. "No matter what."

"Then Lord Eddard* is a man in ten thousand. Most of us are not so strong. What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms … or the memory of a brother's smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.

[purple-eyes]

My question wasn't "how" he would find out. That's irrelevant. It's what opinions he has about these two people before the revelation.

Like, if someone tells me my real father is Prince Charles, I DO have already an opinion of him and I would react something like "the guy who cheated Lady Di? Well, he's not that bad". But if I'm told my father is some Arab prince whose name I can't even pronounce and I have no idea who he is, my first reaction is going to be "who???".

Jon already know who Rhaegar and Lyanna are, surely. He probably knows the basics of who Lyanna is and he probably believes her to be, like many, a victim of the circumstances (remember that if Bran believes she was raped, probably also does Jon). But so far, looks like Jon knows nothing about Rhaegar except the fact he was the Prince who fought Robert after he took his father's sister and was killed. He knows him as a historical character, not as a person.

What I am saying or questioning is how Jon will be introduced to the idea of Rhaegar and his opinions of him BEFORE he's told Rhaegar is his father. If Bran just tells him "Look, he's your dad!", that would be the first time, in text, Jon mentions it. I suppose that Martin would want us to know Jon's opinion of Rhaegar BEFORE he knows he's his father so he can be conflicted about him.

For example, let's say Jon indeed finds some letters sent by Rhaegar to Maester Aemon and he reads they discuss the others. The reactions could be:

"Oh, looks like the Prince knew about the Others. My father never spoke about him, but looks like everybody liked him and he was right this time. And he speaks of prophecies or such like Melisandre. What an oddball, too bad he wasn't the King, though".

or

"I can't believe this idiot man knew all about the real danger and rather escaped away with my aunt and abandoned his duties and got killed. We're lucky he wasn't the King because that would be another King ignoring the real threat".

We need to know what Jon thought about Rhaegar before he knows he's his father and so far, looks like no one close to him could talk to him about the Prince, nor there is any circumstance that merits discussing Rhaegar either (unlike Lyanna: they are in the North and there is many ways her name can be brought to the conversation). Jon is just going to pull the conversation out of nowhere about Rhaegar: something HAS to happen that makes Jon think of Rhaegar Targaryen. What is that "something"?

why does he need to think about rhaegar before he knows his parentage? 

In reality, Those adopted kids usually heard about their real parents as total strangers. Then they judged them by what they knew about them. 

Rhaegar obviously was remembered in winterfell as a rapist and evil prince  who deserved to be killed by strong and valiant robert by raping their beloved lyanna to death. Why would jon think differently? 

He would hear about his parentage, then thought he is a raping baby. 

After that, he may figure out more things then found it is possible that rhaegar and lyanna eloped together. 

Honestly, grrm may even leave him in confusion that if he was made by raping or happy eloping. Like people have two opposite thoughts over rhaegar's affair. This is how history works. No clear cut. Truth is missing. 

 

 

[RobOsevens]

As others have said the important thing for Jon will be learning who is mother was. And if it is Lyanna then he may understand why Ned did what he did. 

The Rhaegar part will affect him less as Jon has a duty to do and he will try to save the world/realms of men and basically be the hero regardless of his Targ heritage, this may just win him some legitmacy in the eyes of others but not for himself.