Game of Thrones, season six: Did we just get a new clue?

GAME of Thrones viewers have been wondering about the same fan theory for years now. Actor Ian Hempstead-Wright just gave them something new to mull over.

AS THE new Game of Thrones season draws closer, we’re seeing more and more promotional material.

First there was a broody poster of Jon Snow; then a 40-second teaser trailer.

Now the show’s stars are giving cryptic, intriguing interviews.

The most recent titbit comes courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, which spoke to young actor Ian Hempstead-Wright. He didn’t appear at all in season five, but you may remember him as that crippled Stark kid Bran, who is most notable for his power to “warg” inside the heads of animals — and other people.

The first point we need to make is that Hempstead-Wright has undergone a puberty-driven transformation to rival that of Neville Longbottom. And he’s had a haircut. Good for him.

The new, improved, Neville Longbottom-ish Bran, via Entertainment Weekly.

Having said that, we’re particularly interested in something Hempstead-Wright said during the interview regarding his character’s ability to look backwards and forwards through time.

“Previously Bran’s seen tiny glimpses of the future or past but he’s never been very much in control of the situation,” he told EW.

“Now we’re given looks into very important events in the past, present and future of this world and Bran is beginning to piece them together like a detective, almost as if he’s watching the show.

“Equally, he’s now discovering how crucial he could be in the Great War. It’s quite Inception-y.”

Game of Thrones fans have been obsessing over the past — things that happened off screen, before we were introduced to the world of Westeros — for ages. It sounds like Bran’s storyline is about to give them the answers they crave.

So, if Bran does have an important flashback, what will it show us? There are already some tantalising clues.

We know the show has been filming at an old tower called the Castillo de Zafra, in Spain. It closely resembles a location described by George R.R. Martin’s books: the Tower of Joy. We know a much younger Ned Stark once fought a battle there, just after the Targaryen dynasty came crashing down.

Fans suspect something else happened at the Tower as well. If they’re right, it will have huge ramifications.

THE THEORY: R+L=J

We’re supposed to believe Jon Snow is the product of an extramarital fling between Ned Stark and a random lowborn woman named Wylla, but that story makes as little sense as a White Walker in drag.

Ned valued his honour above pretty much everything else, including his penis. No one seriously thinks he abandoned his principles for a bit of nookie on the side, particularly when there are other, more believable (and juicy) theories about Jon’s lineage. The predominant one argues that Jon is actually the child of Ned’s sister, Lyanna, and the Targaryen prince Rhaegar.

The war that unseated the Targaryen dynasty and placed Robert Baratheon on the throne was triggered by Rhaegar’s apparent abduction of Lyanna. She was betrothed to Robert at the time, and he wasn’t happy. Think Helen of Troy.

Now, here’s the important part. After Rhaegar’s death at the Battle of the Trident, Ned found his sister in the Tower of Joy, lying in “a bed of blood”. Before she died, Lyanna made him promise something. The nature of that promise has not yet been revealed.

According to the theory, Lyanna willingly ran off with Rhaegar and died giving birth to their child — hence the “bed of blood”. She made Ned promise to keep Jon’s lineage a secret.

It’s entirely possible that we’ll witness this pivotal scene through a flashback from Bran in season six, finally proving the theory right. If so, we’ll learn that Jon is a Targaryen, with a legitimate claim to the Iron Throne.

Granted, he doesn’t have any dragons, and he’s pledged himself to the Night’s Watch for life, and his own men just stabbed him to death. So that could be a problem. But we think he’s coming back.

Contain yourself, Ellaria. All will be revealed, through Bran’s eyes, when Game of Thrones returns in April.