Aha! I found proof in the text that Syrio is NOT Jaqen!

[Monty501]

Got a new one for you... Syrio is a FM and is Meryn Trant.. Not any real vidence fr the.

[Artos Stark]

Is there anything in the text that actually supports the crackpot Syrio = Jaqen theory?

That would be much more suprising. Syrio is dead and I'm sure peopel want to believe he is alive but the guy is gone. He had a great act of courage in dying for Arya, I think that was his purpose in the books. He died so that Arya could live. I've seen plenty of evidence to point at him being dead (including GRRM confused about why people would even think he's alive) but I've seen nothing from the other side of the arguement.

[Dr. Pepper]

And Jaqen = the boar that killed Robert is not a good theory.

I actually think that could be a somewhat plausible theory....that Jaqen was hired to kill Robert and gave the boar basilisk vemon to do so. I mean, Varys and Illyrio appear to be interested in creating chaos in the kingdom. What better way to start than by killing the king and ensuring there is a war of succession going on? It's just as plausible as any other theory- FM aren't superhuman and can get into trouble, Jaqen was there to spy, Robert attempted to make a contract with a FM to kill Dany and didn't have enough to finance it and so he got mad and threw the guy into the black cells.

The one theory that doesn't hold weight is Syrio and Jaqen being the same person.

[Artos Stark]

I actually think that could be a somewhat plausible theory....that Jaqen was hired to kill Robert and gave the boar basilisk vemon to do so. I mean, Varys and Illyrio appear to be interested in creating chaos in the kingdom. What better way to start than by killing the king and ensuring there is a war of succession going on? It's just as plausible as any other theory- FM aren't superhuman and can get into trouble, Jaqen was there to spy, Robert attempted to make a contract with a FM to kill Dany and didn't have enough to finance it and so he got mad and threw the guy into the black cells.

The one theory that doesn't hold weight is Syrio and Jaqen being the same person.

I agree that the Syrio and Jaqen theory doesn't hold wait, I'm still waiting on someone to exptain to me where that even came from.

As for putting Basilisk venom on the boar's tusks, that would most definitely kill the boar before Robert even came along, am I wrong?

[Dr. Pepper]

As for putting Basilisk venom on the boar's tusks, that would most definitely kill the boar before Robert even came along, am I wrong?

Basilisk (and I may have the wrong poison name) is likely what Jaqen gave to the dog to kill Chyswyk. It makes animals go crazy with rage or something and attack when they otherwise wouldn't.

[corbon]

Is there anything in the text that actually supports the crackpot Syrio = Jaqen theory?

None, though people often falsely see some.

- There are some vague similarities in how they talk

They are both foreigners from northwestern essos, one from Bravos, one from Lorath. Many people get confused and think they are both from Bravos.

- How come a FM was in the black cells at all? How come he went halfway to the wall before escaping though his next task is clearly in the other direction (Oldtown). He must be wanting to go the wrong way, so must be protecting Arya...

Hey, guess what, FM are not invincible supermen. They have some great skills (1 apparently magical), knowledge and training, but they are still just men and women. Nothing to say they can't ever get caught.

- How come Jaquen Hagar knew Ary was Arya? He must have already known her....

Hey guess what, he's observant and listens properly. Arya gave away dozens of clues to her identity during the trip north.

- its too much coincidence, one extra-ordinary Bravosi dies in the red keep, another extra-ordinary Bravosi found in the red keep. They must be the same person...

Seriously? But anyway, hey, guess what, Jaqen is from Lorath!

- Syrio is at a really high skill level, Jaqen is also at about the same really high skill level. Maybe they are they same really skilled person...

Not worthy of a response frankly.

- From the show, Syrio references the god of death. OMG, must be a FM!

Yeah, and Syrio defies death in a very Bravo style, unlike the FM who worship and revere Death (which doesn't mean they don't try to avoid it)

The rest is basically, "Syrio is too cool and too awesome and too skilled to ever die, so he must be alive, and we need to see him again, so he must be another character since there is no clues toward his return".

BTW, some or all of the referenced posts might be people explaining how other people got to crack pottery. Just because I used these posts to reference doesn't mean that the authors of those posts are crackpot believers (just in case someone gets offended).

Also, please note, not being a believer (in fact thinking it is one of the stupidest theories on the board) means I'm not teh best person to state the case. But as best I can tell, these are the foundational arguments people use.

[mcb]

Well why shouldn't a faceless man be in the black cells? We see from Arya's chapters in AFFC and particularly in ADWD that they are not superhuman. They have a range of skills but they can get caught just like any criminal.

Certainly not just like any criminal. I doubt he was making a living by cheating at dice or picking pockets. There's certainly a story here: what was Jaqen (or whatever's his name) doing in KL, how was he arrested, why and on whose orders.