How did you figure out R+L=J?

[Ser Muradin the Small]

I'm fully aware that this has been done to death, so sorry, but there's a point to be made.

I started reading the books right before the show came out. I had the sense that Ned wasn't actually Jon's father and thought that Lyanna might be his mother, but at first I thought Robert was his father. I then thought about it more and concluded it was Rhaegar, not Robert, and did some digging online. I discovered quickly that it was the most popular theory among more dedicated fans, and when I read the collected evidence, I found a ton of stuff I hadn't even noticed. It was rock solid for me from then on. So I stumbled upon the idea itself on my own, but didn't get into the deeper meat until going online.

Something like yours. I too started just after the show started, and finished all 5 books in one go. After a few months I was just having a random thought one random morning about who could it be, and started thinking possible crackpots. Started with Jon being Brandon's son, then moved to Lyanna, realized "OMG THIS MIGHT BE THE BIGGEST PLOT TWIST EVAAA!!". Went to the wiki, found out it was the most popular theory on his parentage. Read the entire Tower of the Hand essay about it on my now crappy Nokia Xpressmusic( I am a very patient guy :P).

Around a year ago I had the sudden urge to review my findings on...a bigger screen. And thus found this forum :D

[Merlmaid]

I googled "Jon Snow fanart" and got the suggestion "Lyanna Stark fanart". -> instant epiphany

[Lord Lannister]

I googled "Jon Snow fanart" and got the suggestion "Lyanna Stark fanart". -> instant epiphany

Google knows everything.

[Ladysnowmaiden]

I spotted it on my first read, had taken Jon to be Ned's son as fact up until Ned's imprisonment. It was the words 'bed of blood' that was my lightbulb moment! Once I had figured out Lyanna died after childbirth everything else fell into place.

[UVA]

Now I see what kind of inattentive reader I was when I first read the books.

I feel this way as well, and as someone trained to read carefully, I feel doubly embarrassed. I think my first thoughts on R+L=J were triggered by my husband (who'd read the books as they were released). He's had more time to distill it. I remember something did not smell right about the anonymity of Jon's mother, like why was this such a guarded secret? Why did Ned shut down any discussion of Jon? Why did Ned repeatedly refer to the promise he made Lyanna? It was only after the theory was mentioned did the clues, hints, and symbolism all slap on the table like a dead fish. These seemingly out of place clues tied together Rhaegar, Jon, Lyanna, and made sense of Ned's actions only if the theory was true.

[OmnomnomPomelo]

Watched the 1st season of HBO show, then was looking after characters on awoiaf.wikia.org and I found theories about Jon...I read them -.-

[The Once and Future King]

On my first read of got I knew Ned wasnt the dad and Lyanna was the mom. I originally thought King Bob and only realized Rhaegar when Ned was already in Kings Landing.

Would love for ned to bw the dad though just to flip me on my rear

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

Thanks all. The point I was trying to make is that there are plenty of people who independently either figured it out on their own or at least figured out that the truth was more complicated than we've been led to believe by the top-level plot. This is in response to another poster who refused to believe that people could independently reach the conclusion and said that it only exists because of Internet confirmation bias. Yet if so many people could draw that conclusion without looking it up online first, that suggests that there's more to it than some forum circle jerk, as that poster had asserted.

[JonSnow4President]

Wish I could add to it Apple.

Sadly, I watched the Game of Thrones honest trailer after watching the first few seasons. At the very end, he says "And for my book reader friends, R+L=J). I googled it, and came to this site. At the time, I kind of thought it was a stretch (remember, I hadn't read the books yet).

I read the books this May/June though, and with the idea in the back of my mind, it was obvious as all get out.

[Ser Muradin the Small]

Thanks all. The point I was trying to make is that there are plenty of people who independently either figured it out on their own or at least figured out that the truth was more complicated than we've been led to believe by the top-level plot. This is in response to another poster who refused to believe that people could independently reach the conclusion and said that it only exists because of Internet confirmation bias. Yet if so many people could draw that conclusion without looking it up online first, that suggests that there's more to it than some forum circle jerk, as that poster had asserted.

Is it the same guy who was asserting that R+L=J is so obvious that it can't be true without offering context? :P

Wish I could add to it Apple.

Sadly, I watched the Game of Thrones honest trailer after watching the first few seasons. At the very end, he says "And for my book reader friends, R+L=J). I googled it, and came to this site. At the time, I kind of thought it was a stretch (remember, I hadn't read the books yet).

I read the books this May/June though, and with the idea in the back of my mind, it was obvious as all get out.

Yeah, that trailer went viral. I was more surprised he actually read the books xD

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

Is it the same guy who was asserting that R+L=J is so obvious that it can't be true without offering context? :P

No, guy who says Ned is Jon's father because "the book says so."

[Snark_Tamer]

I put it together with how Dany thought about Rhaegar and "his love" and then her vision in the House of the Undying with the Blue Rose at the Wall, so I THOUGHT it was true in my first read of... I think it was Storm of Swords, but my reread of Game of Thrones really solidified it--Ned's memories of his promise to Lyanna.

[Danelle]

I read the books in 2012 but I hadn't watched the show.

The first time I read Ned's GOT chapter, where he dreams the events at the TOJ,

I thought that it made sense for Jon to be the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna.

Besides, although Ned only appears in GOT we know enough about him and his personality to deduce that he wouldn't father a bastard while he was already married to another woman.

Later in COK, Dany's vision about the blue rose at the wall was another major clue.

[Elm Tree]

My ex told me, then I forgot, and I thought of it later and claimed I found out on my own. I still can't recall him telling me, but I suppose he's right. I do remember getting very excited thinking about it while laying in bed.

[SJC]

Thanks all. The point I was trying to make is that there are plenty of people who independently either figured it out on their own or at least figured out that the truth was more complicated than we've been led to believe by the top-level plot. This is in response to another poster who refused to believe that people could independently reach the conclusion and said that it only exists because of Internet confirmation bias. Yet if so many people could draw that conclusion without looking it up online first, that suggests that there's more to it than some forum circle jerk, as that poster had asserted.

Honestly, I was surprised when I first came to the forums and found that the subject is debated. I was confident that Lyanna is Jon's mother after Ned's and Robert's chat in the crypts (which I think was in Ned's first AGOT chapter), and thought Rhaegar was the most likely suspect for Jon's father. After Ned's fever dream, I was equally confident that Rhaegar is Jon's father.

Still, I could easily see someone not catching R+L=J on a first read, we all read differently and bring different things to the books, after all. It is the occasional determination to dismiss the clues after the fact that is quite puzzling.

[Ser Duncan The Average]

Hi all, long time lurker first time poster.

I found out about R+L=J completely by accident. I was a fan of the show but I hadn't read the books yet (since I wanted to avoid spoilers) so I was barely familiar with the characters of Lyanna and Rhaegar and had no clue that they might be Jon Snow's parents. Until one day when I was surfing through some memes online and one of them had a picture of Keanu Reaves looking shocked and thinking "what if Lyanna and Rhaegar are Jon Snows Parents?"

After I saw it I sat there for like thirty seconds just staring blankly at my screen then started swearing when I realized it was probably true, damn you internet hiding spoilers for everything everywhere.

[Isobel Harper]

It first occurred to me during my first reading of AGoT. It was less of a suspicion and more of a "Haha, what if Jon's really a secret Targaryen prince?!" I held it in the back of my mind while reading the rest of the books, but didn't truly consider it until I found the R+L=J theories on here.

:idea: