All men must die on "Game of Thrones," but one may be dying a lot sooner than expected. (And it's not who you're thinking of.)
The Internet is buzzing with rumors that Jon Snow may not make it through the Season 5 finale, which events in the books and comments Kit Harington made to The Huffington Post seem to support. Even so, the twist is so largely speculated on that it may not live up to the level of shock the cast has promised this year. But thanks to a new theory, it appears the writers have another surprise in store that will shock book readers and non book readers alike ...
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After Stannis sacrificed his daughter Shireen in Episode 9, "The Dance of Dragons," the Internet started noticing parallels between his story and that of Agamemnon, a king from Greek mythology who commanded forces against Troy in the Trojan War.
Wired goes into the details, explaining that Agamemnon had to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to appease the gods, too. Oh, he also has a mistress, Cassandra, who just so happens to have the gift of prophecy.
(Is this starting to sound familiar? Cough, cough, Melisandre ...)
As if that wasn't enough, in some versions of the story, Agamemnon's daughter is saved from the sacrifice after being switched with a deer, aka the symbol of House Baratheon and the gift Davos gives to Shireen in the episode.
Also in some tellings, Agamemnon and Cassandra are both killed by Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife. (For those wondering, yes, Cassandra sees her death coming, but realizes there's nothing she can do about it.)
All of this has caused Reddit user dadozer to predict a major twist coming on the show:
[Jon Snow's ambiguous death] doesn't seem to match the level of shocker we're being prepared for from cast and crew members. However, Stannis seemingly winning the Battle of Ice, capturing/killing the Boltons, and then a brooding, insane Selyse killing Stannis and Melisandre would be a twist literally no one would see coming.
Stannis has also drawn comparisons to the real life Richard III, who was betrayed by one of his supporters in battle. Davos was obviously close with Shireen. Will the princess' death be a catalyst for him to join with Selyse and take Stannis down?
There's some debate about Stannis' real status in the books, but he's thought to still be out in the snow with his forces, so being murdered by his wife (and possibly Davos) would be pretty shocking for all fans of the series. But could any of this really happen?
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Uh, heck yeah it could.
George R.R. Martin has made it clear that his A Song of Ice and Fire series has been inspired by stories from history and literature. (It is known.) For instance, The Red Wedding is based on the Black Dinner and Glencoe Massacre, and the Wall was actually inspired by Hadrian's Wall, so mirroring Agamemnon's story is not out of the question.
Also, a lot of this is contingent on Stannis sacrificing Shireen. Though it hasn't happened in the books yet, David Benioff's comments on HBO's "Inside the Episode" for Episode 9 confirm that George R.R. Martin actually told the show writers this is supposed to happen.
Furthermore, Queen Selyse's last second remorse over her daughter's death may have finally made her realize that Stannis is actually not the mannis, perhaps causing her to take some action.
Can we really see Stannis and Melisandre's fate in the flames? Who knows? But with a season that's promised to be "more shocking than the Red Wedding," don't be surprised if now his watch has ended. (Aka, he dead.)
Image: Giphy
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