'Game of Thrones' season 6 finale confirmed the most popular fan theory

Game of Thrones fandom is currently having a meltdown.  A good one. Almost two decades after the R+L=J theory first surfaced, the show has finally confirmed the biggest and most popular fan theory of this series. R+L is indeed equal to J. 

If you have no clue what that is, point me to the rock you've been living under. It's a place all spoiler-phobic fans could use. Jon Snow's fate, his place in A Song of Ice and Fire, his 'knowing nothing'  and, most importantly, his parentage has hinged on the R+L=J theory. 

Depending on whose version you believe, it was either a love story or an abduction that sowed the seeds of the continuing political turbulence in Westeros. Sit back, folks. We're going back to a time when a Targaryen sat on the throne, when a war was ravaging Westeros and when Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon were still young and alive.

The events at Tower of Joy take place towards the end of Robert's Rebellion. Father of Daenerys, Viserys and Rhaegar, Aerys II Targaryen was called the 'Mad King' for his dangerously willful and erratic behaviour. Robert Baratheon begins a war challenging the rule of Aerys when his son Rhaegar abducts Lyanna Stark, Ned's younger sister. You'll remember that we saw a glimpse of young Ned, Benjen and Lyanna in the second episode of season six in Bran's vision of Winterfell.

This story has been told from several points of view. Rhaegar either kidnapped Lyanna or eloped with her and took her to a tower located in the Red Mountains of Dorne. He is said to have renamed it the Tower of Joy. At the time, Lyanna was betrothed to Robert and Rhaegar was married to Elia Martell (sister of Princes Oberyn and Doran of Dorne) with whom he had two children.

After Lyanna is taken, her brother Brandon goes to Aerys to demand justice. But the king holds him guilty of treason and summons their father Rickard to court as ransom He then publicly executes both of them. This leads the Starks to join an enraged Robert and declare war against the Targaryens. With the help of their mentor Jon Arryn, they unite the North and ally with House Tully against the throne.

Rhaegar is slain by Robert in the Battle of the Trident, a victory that tilts the war in favour of the rebels. His death is also mentioned in Bran's first vision of the Tower of Joy in episode three this season.

When Rhaegar leaves the Tower of Joy to join the war, he leaves behind three members of the Kingsguard (Ser Arthur Dayne, Ser Oswell Whent, and Lord Commander Gerold Hightower) to guard the tower and its inhabitants. Ned Stark leads six companions to fight them and rescue his sister. The fight ends in a victory for the Stark, but leaves him and Howland Reed (father of Meera) the only ones left alive. When they enter the tower, the books say Ned finds his sister in a "bed of blood", a term many interpret as blood from having given birth. The season 6 finale shows us this scene and confirms that Lyanna had indeed died of childbirth.

Here, Lyanna makes Ned promise her something and dies in his arms. In the scene from the finale, we hear fragments  of  her dying words to Ned, "If Robert finds out, he’ll kill him, you know he will.” She dies saying, "Promise me, Ned". Young Ned holds the baby in his arms. We see the baby open his eyes and look into the camera which then fades to Jon Snow's face as he sits at the hall in Winterfell. That fade out is all the confirmation fans have needed. Jon is Rhaegar and Lyanna's son.  Half Stark, half Targaryen.  The embodiment of ice and fire.

At the end of the war, Ned returns to Winterfell with a baby who he raises as his bastard. Having the right answer to who Jon Snow's mother is famously how DB Weiss and David Benioff got George RR Martin to let them adapt the series to TV.

This video helpfully compiles each time Lyanna was mentioned on the show:

To continue with what happened at the time, House Lannister remained withdrawn from the war till the very end. Tywin Lannister had stepped down as Hand to the King after Aerys made Jaime part of his Kingsguard and deprived Tywin of his heir. (The Kingsguard cannot marry or hold lands.) Later, the Lannister joins in by leading a host to King's Landing. A paranoid Aerys commands Jaime to bring him Tywin's head. Jaime instead slays the Targaryen, earning the moniker of Kingslayer.

During the war, Aerys had sent his son Viserys and his wife Rhaella who is pregnant with Daenerys to Dragonstone for safety. Rhaella dies in childbirth. After the war, the children escape and cross the narrow sea with the help of Targaryen loyalists. This is why we first meet Viserys and Daenerys at Pentos with family loyalist Illyrio Mopatis.

Aerys had, however, kept Elia and her children close to ensure Dorne's loyalty to the throne. When the Lannisters sack King's Landing, under Tywin's orders Gregor Clegane and Amory Loach kill Ellaria and her children. Tywin presents the dead bodies of the children to Robert. Robert assumes the thrones because none of the others in the Rebellion want to rule.

As promised to Lyanna, Ned doesn't reveal Jon's parentage to protect him from Robert's wrath. After the war, Robert wanted the entire Targaryen line wiped out. You'll remember he talks of having Daenerys and her child killed in season one.

The confirmation of Jon's heritage makes Daenerys his aunt and his claim to the Iron throne stronger than anybody else's. It also makes Game of Thrones fandom the most ecstatic people in the world right now.

There are still several bits that need more explanation. Did Rhaegar marry Lyanna or did he simply abduct her? Did Ned really not tell anyone else about Jon? Is Jon still a bastard? We'll have to wait another year for more answers, or at least until Martin releases Winds of Winter.

For now, rejoice. It's not every day a fandom gets its heart's desire.

This article was first published on May 9, 2016 and has been updated to reflect the events of Game of Thrones season 6 finale.