Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed) remains as immersed in the world of Westeros as the rest of us die-hards during the off-season. She continues that streak today by taking part in fans’ most sacred ritual: theorizing. Over at Inverse, Kendrick tackles the popular fan theory that connects her to another curly-haired Northerner.
The theory that Jon Snow and Meera Reed are actually long-lost siblings (separated by Ned’s wishes to keep them safe and entrusted by Howland Reed) ignited a spark throughout our community. Kendrick offers her thoughts on the possibilities:
I don’t really get as involved in them [fan theories], purely because it would drive me mad, because I’ve got no way of knowing whether it would be true or not. Because we genuinely don’t get told; the secrecy is so intense. Sometimes I wish I could give people answers when they’re like ‘is this theory true?’ and I’m like ‘I dunno, it might be?’ I mean, that Jon Snow and Meera theory, it would be lovely for me if it were true, because it would be a really interesting thing for Meera. But I haven’t been told anything about it. I think what we’ve been told about Jon’s parentage would imply that it kind of disproves the theory. But it’s impossible to know with these things.
The theory was mostly debunked by the season 6 finale “The Winds of Winter” but this is Game of Thrones and twists are always on the horizon.
Kendrick also touches on the backstory narration she did for the Blu-ray/DVD release of season 6 for the Great Tourney at Harrenhal.
I knew a little bit about all that stuff, because I read some of the books. […] And my god, those guys have done their research. They know all of those worlds totally inside out — so it’s great to be a part of the project which allows people who are interested in those worlds to really find out more.
Of the side stories, I’m really intrigued by Meera and Jojen’s parentage. Who the crannogmen are, who Howland Reed is — because we haven’t really seen him. I’ve got no idea, but I hope we get to a place where we can find out more about their backstory. It’s so mysterious. And in the books, Meera has a trident and a net — that’s how she fights people — and they eat frogs, they’re like these crazy kind of characters in the books. I want to find out about the crannogmen and the weirdness going on with them.
Be sure to check out the full interview at Inverse where Kendrick jokes about the more eccentric fan theories out there and the surprise reveal in “The Door.”
Where do you stand on the Jon/Meera theory? Let us know below!
Hold the Door!
My theory is the House Reed reunion. Jojen is dead but his father has not been informed about it. If Howland is to appear, it has to be this season. We know that Meera is going to Winterfell. So it is possible that Howland is called there along with other Stark loyals where he has a somber reunion with his daughter who gives him the news about Jojen.
This can then lead to the big reveal about R+L=J and so on.
I’m not down on the Jon and Meera twin theory, but I’m going to sit here in my little corner of “Howland and Ashara made Jojen and Meera” truthers and just wait for TWOW 😛
Amar,
Or Meera could go home and come back with her dad, say, in S8.
Isn’t this theory dead already?
Hmm, given that Meera and Jojen are described as looking extremely similar in the books, and given that casting of siblings rarely takes into account appearance, there is not much to this conjecture.
Besides, by this logic (“if curly-haired, then siblings”), shouldn’t we infer that all of the hobbits were siblings? Or that all curly-haired people are my siblings? Given the ubiquity of curly hair (siblings can have both straight and curly hair), this whole line of reasoning is extremely specious.
(Still, it doesn’t top “The High Sparrow is Howland Reed” for illogic! Hey: is it something about the Reeds that inspires people act like this? :D)
Much like vampires in B-movies, some conjectures never die no matter how spectacularly they are staked. And even if the book does not explicitly debunk it, then it is assumed to be true and hidden in the lines!
The whole Jon has a hidden twin theory is pure fan-fic. Theres no hints or clues, no setup, foreshadowing or evidence & Meera doesn’t even look like Jon in the books.
R+L=J is the only thing the clues point to.
Indeed, what is nice about the R+L=J hypothesis is that there are not a whole lot of direct clues pointing to it. Instead, it’s a classic parsimony argument: all of a sudden, a dozen or so indirect clues (that seem to have other explanations) are explained by one idea. The best mysteries are like this: it’s not a smoking gun pointing to one answer, but the answer is like that piece of the puzzle that links 4 other pieces that seemed otherwise unconnected.
Ser Onion Knight,
Wimsey,
Also there’s the fact that… Well, we saw the birth last season and there was no second baby there, unless Meera was hiding under the bed 😛
Frankly, I hope Meera and Bran get to Castle Black asap, because by this point even the Seven Gods up in their seven heavens must be able to smell them.
In other words, they must really Reek.
Obviously this just shows that Meera was a very resourceful young lady even as an infant. Indeed, what she was doing under the bed was devising the schemes to have her “father” impersonate some random Septon who would eventually become the High Septon, and also get some baby born in Kenya made president of the US…… 😉
Wimsey,
;-[) Speaking of GOT and politics, anyone else thinks it’s weird that the president-elect literally lives in a tower?
Catspaw Assassin,
Not really. Saruman, Sauron… Trump has some good and like-minded company.
Have to say that I have never bought the R+L=J+M theory; Jon and Meera are described very differently in the books, with Jon as having an atypical Stark look and Meera that of an atypical crannogman/woman. Jon as Rhaegar and Lyanna’s son, as the son of ice and fire, works so well, I think, because he is one of a kind; if Meera (or anyone else, for that matter) was his twin, then that would detract from this unique bloodline he has. For me, this is mostly a theory that owes a lot to casting two actors with similar hair to play Jon and Meera.
I have to say, though, that I do hope we will meet the present-day Howland at some point in seasons seven and/or eight. Even if Jon is in denial when Bran tells him what happened at the Tower of Joy, Howland can give first-hand testimony. He can also expand on Bran’s account of events.
This theory seems to have started because of two main reasons. One she and Harington look similar, but an irrelevant thing since Meera and Jon have minor physical similarities in the source material. Second, their ages. The evidence points to her birth the same year as Jon Snow. Keeping the timetable in mind it suggests either Howland returned from the war to find a newborn infant waiting for him, or he returned home with a newborn infant. Given the Eddard chapter in AGOT where he states the Rebellion lasted for at least a year or longer, unless crannogmen babies take more than 9 months, it indicates Meera’s conception and birth occurred during the Rebellion. However, of course given the Rebellion timetable, Howland was away from Greywater Watch to have conceived Meera at that location, which adds to the mystery. The lack of knowledge of the mother adds intrigue.
In my mind the theory remains bogus. No secret twins. Though, my mind remains opens with the Howland/Ashara = Meera theory. That one stands intriguing due to the timetable, though has problems too. I suspect the adaptation won’t divulge her birth story and remain an offscreen thing. The source material will handle the oddness and mystery surrounding her birth.
Luka Nieto,
d(-_^)
Obligatory Meera is a badass comment <3
I see everyone talking about seeing a present day, Howland Reed but in the show it doesnt look like he wouldve survived much longer after his wounds at the TOJ scene.
To be honest, the “how is so-and-so connected to so-and-so?” Vader/Luke kinda trope is way less interesting than answers to questions about, say, why Hot Pie doesn’t appear more often, and what the heck was that sheathed thing Wun-Wun had strapped to his chest and never used during the Battle of the Bastards, a yoga mat?
Luka Nieto,
Who is Trump? I could not find him in the books. Must be some Frey hair…
When it comes to D. Trump, imagine Craster and Ramsey had a baby.
But much better to think happy thoughts, like Arya and Sansa having a giggly girlish snowball fight, Jon recalling the good times being shot full of arrows by Ygritte, or my personal favorite, Brienne and Pod snogging in a booth at the Inn of the Kneeling Man.
In other words, think of anything other than the narcissistic pear-shaped Cheeto.
😉
Catspaw Assassin,
Yeah, and there’s the Bran’s bowel issue that has never been discussed. Maybe that’s a good thing…
Everything dies, baby that’s a fact. But maybe everything that dies someday comes back.
JD89,
Based on how Jojen talked about his father, he apparently survived the TOJ battle and was still alive.
JD89,
There were nurses inside the tower, so likely they patched him up really good. Jojen also mentions his father being alive in season 3 so…..
Not to mention he conceived Jojen and Meera with his wife, so of course he has to be alive for it to work lmao. That’s how reproduction works there.
Inga,
And based on how reproduction works since it took two to conceive his kids lmao.
Ser Onion Knight,
I think in the books Jon and
Well, covering the lands in a second darkness is a stated goal of his choice to run the Environmental Protection Agency…..
R’hllor’s less-talented and more mean-spirited younger sibling…
greenColleen,
Assuming that you are joking (er, I hope so!): that is funny as hell!
I think that while R + L = J and M is unlikeley, it remains possible. In the texts, Jon and Meera are listed as being the same age. That is the best (and shaky at best) evidence that I have seen for Jon and Meera being fraternal twins. The HBO Relationship Infograph does not have Meera Reed shown, so we can not use that as conclusive proof. It could be that the baby/Jon introduction scene was incomplete; the midwife only brought out the male child first, and we have not yet seen the second female child, Meera.
I remain eagerly awaiting the next installment from Martin, hoping to find out the fate of Young Griff/Aegon; and if Septa Lemore is really Ashara Dane. Tyrion’s description of Septa Lemore’s eyes do not mesh with other descriptions, but Martin has admitted that he made errors about character eye color. I also want to know about young Lord Edric “Ned” Dayne, the Squire to Berric Donnarrian. It seems unlikely to me that the Lord of Starfall would name his first son anything even remotely resembling the name of the man responsible for the death of a beloved brother, Arthur, and the disgracing and suicide of a beloved sister, Ashara.
Moon-Pale Maiden,
I’m on the Howland-Ashara ship too.
But this is still a classic negative evidence argument. Basically, the support for the idea becomes “why don’t know that it’s wrong.”
At this point, there should either be direct evidence supporting the idea, or it should simplify things. Jon being Lyanna’s son did not have direct evidence, but it simplified things by providing one explanation for a number of separate issues. Meera being Jon’s twin has neither any direct supporting evidence nor any simplifying qualities.
One, “Edric” and “Eddard” are pretty different names. Two, there is no reason to think that anyone knew or thought that Ned “dishonored” Ashara. Indeed, it is quite possible that it was Ned’s brother who did the dishonoring, anyway.
The backstory here is all pretty irrelevant as it does not involve affect of the main characters: and, yes, stuffing narratives with extraneous background details is bad for storytelling . The important thing in all of this is Jon is going to learn that his adoptive father dishonored himself publicly in one way and privately in another way in the name of greater honors: preserving his sister’s memory, not making it known that Robert’s Rebellion had been fought on false pretenses, and (probably above all else) sometime saving one little boy is worth more than doing “right.” In the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, that’s going to provide the spin on the curveball Jon is going to throw at the world.
That’s less of a ship than a rotting log on the bottom of a lake, surely!
Shadow Shifter,
Good to hear! Yeah, it actually makes a lot of sense. I used to be very anti-Brandon and Ashara, but recently I’ve adapted to believe the following events
-Ashara and Brandon conceived Allyria Dayne together and the Dayne family passed her off as the youngest daughter
-Ashara and Howland conceived Meera and Jojen together
I really can’t wait for TWOW, hopefully we can get some more info on it all.
JD89,
Must’ve been fixed up by Lady Crane.
Moon-Pale Maiden,
There is zero evidence for any of these things. Nor do any of these ideas simplify anything: on the contrary, they now demand explaining away contradictory facts in the narrative.
Alba Stark,
What I think will happen is Bran will tell Jon, he will not believe it but will have a New “Dragon Dream” and will piece things together other time. This is when he will investigate and request Howland Reed to verify; and or discover something in the crypts via said Dream.
Wimsey,
I dont buy into the theory of Meera and Jon being siblings, but the theory is born of more then just curly hair. With the way Martin writes, it is a plausible theory. Again, I personally dont think it is going to play out like that, but I wouldnt be surprised if it did.
Now Howland Reed as the High Sparrow. Thats just ridiculous. lol