Latest Game of Thrones episode makes us rethink the “Prince that was promised” theory

July 24th, 11:36pm July 24th, 11:40pm Vanessa CateVanessa Cate is a writer and editor for Stage Raw and @THISSTAGE magazine. She is the founder and artistic director of True Focus Theater and fantasy performance group Cabaret le Fey. She is also a diehard geek and fantasy lover.

The latest Game of Thrones season 7 episode saw Melisandre turning up at Dragonstone to give advice to Daenerys Targaryen. After Jon Snow banished her at the end of last season, viewers wondered what was next for the Red Priestess. Would she ride off into obscurity (hopefully leaving her necklace on while she did so)? After the major pay of bringing Jon Snow BACK TO LIFE, it seemed doubtful. South being the only place to go, the two most likely destinations were Kings Landing or a Targaryen interception. Knowing about her her obsession with fire, Melisandre trying to meet Daenerys seemed the most likely choice of all.

The latest episode proved that this fan theory was right on the money. Melisandre addresses the Mother of Dragons in Dragonstone (a place Melisandre knows intimately).

It is not so much that Melisandre is there that is the big shocker. The big revelation instead is what she says. “I believe you have a role to play,” Melisandre says in her first meeting with the Dragon Queen. “… As does another.”

Melisandre has always been obsessed with the Prince That Was Promised. When we first met her in Season 2, she seemed certain that Stannis (the Mannis) Baratheon was the Chosen One. Obviously, after a thorough defeat and death (ValarMorghulis) that wasn’t the case. The resurrection of Jon Snow – who Melisandre had always been a little too into ever since their first introduction – seemed to re-ignite the fire within her. Jon Snow now seemed to be a prime candidate to be Azor Ahai.

Elsewhere in the world, however, other Red Priests were quick to embrace the Mother of Dragons as the prophesized leader who would save the realms of men. The fiery motif made for a perfect fit, as were certain other elements of the prophesy.

A few quick notes about the prophesy of Azor Ahai. According to Melisandre (and assumedly the Lord of Light), he shall be born amid smoke and salt. He shall wake dragons out of stone. He shall draw from the fire a burning sword, Lightbringer. And he shall appear when the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers.

As with most prophecies (such as the one Cersei receives at the beginning of Season 5), there are multiple ways to interpret what is said, and both Jon and Dany fit the bill in some way.
Of course we have all assumed that Azor Ahai would be one person. The archetype has been told time and time again across religion and fantasy (Jesus, Neo, Harry Potter, etc.).

What the latest episode could be implying, however, is that the Chosen One may not be one person at all, but TWO. Put Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen you are certain to make A Song of Ice and Fire. Another important moment from the episode is when Missandei translates Melisandre’s prophecy correctly and points it out to Daenerys that the word prince has no gender and it can be both prince and princess. That just clears the path for Daenerys to be the contender for the Prince that was promised and not just Jon and looking at what Melisandre said, it could also be both of them.

Together, Jon and Dany fit almost all of the descriptions. Dany was reborn as the Mother of Dragons out of salt (her tears) and smoke (Khal Drogo’s funeral pyre) at the beginning of Season One. At that same time, she awoke dragons from petrified eggs. Jon Snow has a badass sword, which was arguably pulled from the fire in the books when he saved Lord Commander Mormont from a Wight, and we’ve seen what it can do to a White Walker at Hardhome. The Red Star could refer to the red comet that accompanied the birth of Dany’s dragons. It could also reference Ned Stark’s defeat of Ser Arthur Dayne, whose Sword of the Morning was forged from a fallen star.

It seems inevitable now that Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen will meet, and probably join forces. What is most important, though, is that it’s the role of the Chosen One to save the realms of men. With the Night King and the Army of the Dead making their way south, the real proof will be in who puts a stop to the White Walkers, if anyone.

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