R + L = J v 71

[Ygrain]

What you call cliché, an author with a deep understanding of classical themes would call archetype.

Now that is a thought worthy of the ending of this thread.

[MtnLion]

But, it still isn't locked, Ygrain. Has anybody reported it, yet?

I think that I managed to.

[Han Snow]

I have, and I'm not any closer to believing it, never have. I don't think Aegon is real either; the only true Targ that's left is Dany, and she may even still be barren.

Strange as it sounds, this forum isn't actually the whole world. Everybody here is aware of this theory, but that's maybe one percent of all the readers. And not a random sample, either, but the most nerdly ones. But outside this forum live millions of so-called "casual" readers. You know, the types that would read a book once and consider it enough; those who have this so-called "life" I keep hearing every now and then (which sounds really nice, although kinda alien). For most of those, Jon Snow is Ned's bastard son by an unknown mother, as was for me after my first read.

You don't hide a red herring, you put it right under your reader's nose and make it dance and, if possible, sing. Hiding encrypted between the lines is something this creature simply does not do.

Everyone I know who watches the show knows about it, along with everyone who has read the books. It's one of the first things to come up when people start talking about the series.

It's not encrypted at all, it was easy to find and it just remains totally unstated in the series. You'd have to have awful reading comprehension to not notice the whole "Ned's secret" thing and not at least try and guess what his promise might be. It's pretty obvious from that scene something fishy is intended.

All your arguments in this thread are as valid as me claiming that there are tiny fury aliens living in tree tops after I took a drunken leek in the park and saw a squirrel or two moving about.