How the GoT books deepen the revelation of Targaryen by Jon Snow in the crypts

Like most northern homes, the Starks are a traditional family. Honor comes first, since it is sometimes a priority to say betrayal instead of keeping one's head on one's shoulders.

But there is much more to the Guardians of the North than honesty; with tradition come rituals and perennial praxes. These customs are particularly visible in the crypts under Winterfell, which extend well beyond the castle walls and are home to more than 8,000 years of stark history. They are also a side of Game of thrones further explored by the books of George R.R. Martin. The emotional mythology of the author makes the big moment of the premiere of season 8 between Samwell Tarly and Jon Snow, aka Aegon Targaryen, even more upsetting. The HBO series may have gone beyond the sources in terms of literal adaptation, but Martin's writing always informs every frame in the series.

Crypts are a mysterious place, juxtaposing an omnipresent feeling of terror and sadness with an aura of royal majesty. Here are the ancestors of the Stark House, the most important of which have been immortalized in spectacular busts. In Martin's inaugural novel, Song of Ice and Fire, A game of thrones, the following exchange takes place between Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon:

"Ah, damn it, Ned, did you have to bury him in a place like this? She deserves more than darkness …

"She was a Stark of Winterfell. This is his place.

"She should be on a hill somewhere, under a fruit tree, with the sun and the clouds over her and the rain to wash her."

"I was with her when she died. She wanted to go home, rest next to Brandon and her father.

She is Lyanna Stark, Ned's sister and Robert's fiancée. This conversation was actually taken care of by HBO Game of thrones pilot, although he is a dead character, we will not see him before a flashback of season 6. From the beginning, the strange crypts of Winterfell have been discreetly significant, as well as this bust of Lyanna, which technically should not have been built. Ned actually broke Stark's tradition when he commissioned statues at Brandon and Lyanna Stark, as it was a tribute usually reserved for householders.

This exchange between old friends is directly related to Jon's relationship with the crypts. In A game of thrones, Jon tells Samwell Tarly:

"I know I have to go, but I do not want to. I'm afraid of what could be waiting for me. "

This feeling is reflected again in the third novel of the series, A storm of swords. Here, Jon dreams of walking in the crypts and being rejected by the busts of Stark. It's remarkably similar to Ned's dream in A game of thronesduring which the lords of stone fix it while their werewolves roar; perhaps they are unhappy with him for raising a Targaryen boy. Despite this, Lyanna murmurs in the midst of chaos: "Promise me, Ned," referring to the secret that Ned kept until his untimely death in the executioner's block.

Later in A storm of swordsJon reiterates his dream, this time confiding his fears to Sam:

"All my dreams are crypts, stone kings on their thrones. Sometimes I hear Robb's voice and that of my father as if they were at a feast. But there is a wall between us and I know that no place has been reserved for me. "

The irony is that Jon generally attributes this feeling of detachment to the fact that he was a bastard. Despite his subconscious gravitation towards the crypts, he still imagined his family at rest and had no place for him. On the contrary, Jon's isolation from the crypts stems from his position as legitimate heir to the Iron Throne.

In the first episode of Season 8, Sam talks to Jon about his biological parents under the watchful eye of Ned, the man who raised him as his, tarnishing his reputation to honor a dying wish, as well as Lyanna, Jon's real mother.

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It's a dramatic irony, of course. The fans were already aware of Jon's affiliation and many suspected him well before the series revealed it. But thanks to John Bradley's breathtaking performance as Samwell Tarly, this revelation breaks through Jon's reality. Before that moment, he was a bastard. He was hated by Cat Stark, which he had closest to a mother, and made fun, at least early, of Sansa, his older half-sister. Jon was close to his older brother, Robb, and young Bran, Arya, and Rickon saw him naively as an ordinary brother. He was the bastard of Ned Stark, the singular shame of the most honorable man of Westeros. Throughout his journey, he was, as Sam says in the last episode, "Aegon Targaryen, sixth of his name, Protector of the Kingdom, all that".

But he is not a bastard, and it is vital that he discovers in the crypts. So much has been said about them that it is unlikely that anyone will know what is below the highest floor. Old Nan told Arya that they were full of dog-sized spiders and rats, and it would seem that the lower layers of her multi-level structure collapsed into decay. However, there is something vaguely and powerfully magical in the crypts. They emit a strange sense of ancient power, something that constantly manifests itself in influencing the dreams of the Starks.

The most magical of all, however, is the following passage from The world of ice and fire, Historic Companion of George R.R. Martin's Book Series:

Mushroom testified that the dragon Vermax had left a clutch of eggs somewhere in the depths of Winterfell's crypts, where hot spring waters flowed along the walls, while his rider was treated with Cregan Stark at the beginning of the Dragons Dance.

It's a bit unlikely that Mushroom, who was a fool at court during several Targaryen reigns, was right to say that there were dragon eggs under Winterfell – even if it would fit well with the revelation of the true Jon's parentage. Despite this, it is very likely that the tomb of Ned, Jon or Lyanna has at least some significance. Although Sam has a diary of High Septon that mentions the cancellation of Rhaegar Targaryen's marriage with Elia Martell, as well as Rhaegar's and Lyanna's subsequent marriage, all that remains to be done about Jon's birth is green light from Bran. For some people, this might be enough. For others, the revelation that Jon was still a Targaryen, as well as his alliance with Daenerys, could cause a break between Jon and the Stark bannermen.

However, it seems that this will not be the only flaw to form this season. One speaker noted that Bran probably sent Sam into the crypts immediately after he learned of the death of his father and brother. Despite his nonchalance, Bran's language has become meticulously deliberate with respect to time. In an instant, the three-eyed raven can go from "it's not the moment" to "there is no time". In our previous article on the importance of Bran, we had considered the possibility that Bran is the most essential person in Game of thrones. Maybe he knows something that will prove Jon's Stark / Targaryen lineage. Some people think that Rhaegar's harp is buried in the crypts; Others are of the opinion that Howland Reed will head north to confirm the Tower of Joy series of events. Be that as it may, Bran's statement that "the time has come" for Jon to know it was anything but inactive.

That's why the long-awaited crypt scene is perhaps one of the most important points of the first episode of Season 8. Jon discovered what Bran thought was the right place at the right time, thanks to none other than his best friend, who had just learned that his father and his brother had died at the hands of Daenerys. Combine this with the unfinished threat of the Dragon Queen regarding Sansa's allegiance and you'll get a very confused and confused Jon – or, we should say, Aegon. This season we will witness the Battle of Winterfell between the undead and the undead, but there may be more pressing concerns about leadership, the just reign and the iron throne.

Cian Maher is an independent writer who sometimes spends more time replaying games than playing new ones, which is obviously problematic, but also very entertaining. If he could talk about Pokémon and Overwatch forever, he would probably do it.