Game Of Thrones’ Original Incest Story For Jon Snow Would Have Made The Show Worse
George R.R. Martin’s first draft for Game of Thrones’ books featured several abandoned storylines, including a different incest romance for Jon Snow.
You Are Reading :Game Of Thrones Original Incest Story For Jon Snow Would Have Made The Show Worse
Game of Thrones’ books originally featured a different incest plotline for Jon Snow, which would have exponentially damaged the show had it been used. Both Game of Thrones and the book series it’s adapted from subjected several main characters to incestuous storylines. The most notable example of this is of course that of Jaime and Cersei Lannister, highborn twins who were in love with each other and bore three children falsely proclaimed to be fathered by King Robert Baratheon. The Lannisters’ relationship was still extremely taboo in Game of Thrones’ universe, but was underscored by the historical line of House Targaryen, who wed brothers and sisters and cousins for generations to keep their dragon bloodline “pure.”
House Stark typically strayed from these relationships, only for Ned Stark’s (supposed) bastard son Jon Snow to fall in love with Queen Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones season 7. The beginning of their romance was appropriate for those in the show, but fans had figured out the season before that Jon Snow wasn’t the son of Ned Stark at all. Instead, he was the trueborn son of Daenerys’ brother Rhaegar and Ned’s sister Lyanna Stark, making him a true Targaryen and Daenerys’ nephew. Jon and Danerys’ romance disintegrated upon learning of his true parentage, with the two clearly still having feelings for one another but uninterested in continuing the Targaryens’ incestuous history. Jon Snow’s incestuous romance with Daenerys was unsettling, but George R.R. Martin’s original love story for the hero would have been even worse.
Per Insider, UK bookseller Waterstones leaked three photos in 2015 of George R.R. Martin’s original 1993 pseudo-outline draft when pitching his A Song of Ice and Fire book series. Martin’s original idea for the fates and storylines of Game of Thrones’ beloved characters were very different from what they eventually became, with one sticking out like a sore thumb. The most jaw-dropping detail of Martin’s first draft involved a different, even more unsettling incestuous relationship for Jon Snow. Game of Thrones’ book series nearly had half-siblings/cousins Jon Snow and Arya Stark fall in love, being tormented by their passionate feelings throughout the series while having to resist due to their kinship. This relationship is far more disturbing than Jon and Daenerys, with Arya and Jon falling in love while believing they’re siblings, instead of the series where the Targaryens became sickened upon discovering they’re related.
Martin’s letter outlines that they will be tormented “until the secret of Jon’s true parentage is revealed in the final book,” suggesting the two would finally requite their love once finding out they’re not actually related. It’s unclear whether Jon still would have been the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark in this draft – because, if so, he and Arya would still have been cousins. To make it worse, Arya and Jon would have been in the middle of a love triangle with Tyrion Lannister, who also harbored feelings for Ned Stark’s daughter. Jon and Tyrion became unlikely allies in Game of Thrones seasons 7 and 8 as they both join Daenerys’ cause before jointly recognizing her descent into the Mad Queen, so a bitter rivalry between the two would have erased their powerful outcasted allyship.
The idea of Jon and Arya being Game of Thrones’ central romance is unsettling to imagine, especially since the Starks were largely regarded as the most level-headed and honorable house of the series. Jon and Arya had one of the greatest platonic relationships in Game of Thrones, simply serving as a genuinely loving brother-sister bond in which they both felt to be the outcasts of House Stark. They were the only ones that truly understood each other, and Game of Thrones was better off with this dynamic being completely platonic and familial rather than romantic. Additionally, Arya would have had to be recast in Game of Thrones, and have had her age retconned, considering she’s typically portrayed as a child throughout the series – and indeed only turns 18 in season 8 – while Jon is thought of as a grown man in both the books and series. Game of Thrones featured several disturbing incest plotlines, which will be augmented in House of the Dragon, but a Jon and Arya romance could have ruined two of the show’s most beloved characters.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/game-thrones-original-incest-jon-arya-snow-show-bad/