‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7 Theories: Is Jon Snow the ‘Little Brother’ in Cersei’s Prophecy? [Spoilers]

Game of Thrones Season 6 saw Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) rise as the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. By the time she took the Iron Throne, at least two of the three prophecies Cersei had been told as a child, had come true.

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 7.

First a refresher:

During a flashback in Season 5, Episode 1 (“The Wars to Come”); a young Cersei goes with a friend to see a fortune teller, Maggy the Frog. During that session she is told three prophecies…

That she would marry a king:

“You’ll never wed the prince, you’ll wed the king.”

That she would be a queen:

“You’ll be queen, for a time. Then comes another, younger, more beautiful, to cast you down and take all you hold dear.”

That all of her children would die:

“The king will have 20 children and you will have three. Gold will be their crowns… gold their shrouds.”

As of Game of Thrones Season 6, almost all of these prophecies have come true. However, there was another prophecy from the books that was left curiously absent from the TV series. In the books, Maggy also foresees that Cersei will meet her end being strangled by an unidentified person.

“And when your tears have drowned you, the Valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.”

Translated: “Valonqar” means “little brother” in High Valyrian. Why was this prophecy left out of the Game of Thrones TV show and since it was left out, will it have any bearing on the outcome of Cersei’s story on the series?

If we assume it could somehow come true on Game of Thrones, than it is time to explore this theory and the “little brother.” When it comes to the prophetic possibilities, four characters stand out.

First of all, it is really important to note that Maggy did not say “your little brother” when referring to the younger male sibling, who would kill Cersei. She says “the little brother.” That means the Valonqar could be anyone’s, hence why the Lannister brothers are not the only “little brothers” on this list and The Hound and Jon Snow are on it too.

Time to get started…

Little Brother #1: Tyrion

When it comes to which character has suffered the most at Cersei’s hands, it is a toss-up between Tyrion (Peter Dinkalge) and the Starks. Cersei has never missed a chance to belittle, bully and verbally abuse her little brother, ad nauseam.

While things had always been tense between them, tensions in the relationship hit a fever pitch when Cersei came to believe that Tyrion was the one, who poisoned her precious Joffrey.

After being found guilty in a rigged trial, Tyrion was covertly set free by Jaime. He then fled King’s Landing. Now he is returning as the Hand of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), an aspiring queen who wants to replace Cersei on the Iron Throne. Cersei and Tyrion are headed for a showdown and only one of them will probably make it out alive.

So does Tyrion really have it in him to kill Cersei with his bare hands?

Tyrion has shown an ability to take lethal action in a rage, just ask Shae and Tywin. Given the context of the prophecy, it sounds like Cersei is in a very defeated state when the grim reaper visits: “when your tears have drowned you.”

What could Cersei do or say that is any worse than what she already has to earn Tyrion’s lethal ire? Since she is in a deflated state when she is killed, what could prompt a possibly victorious Tyrion to strangle her? It does not quite add up.

It is worth mentioning that Maggy used High Valyrian to say “little brother,” a possible clue as to the identity of Cersei’s killer. Tyrion fluently speaks High Valyrian.

Little Brother #2: Jaime

When Game of Thrones Season 6 ended it was with a death stare between siblings/lovers, Cersei and Jaime. Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) returned to King’s Landing to find his last child dead, half the city blown up, and his maniacal twin sister sitting on the Iron Throne. The events were clearly disconcerting.

Based on spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 7, it apparently does not bother him for long.

Thanks to Winter is Coming, we know that Jaime will lead a sack on House Tyrell‘s home base, Highgarden. A campaign he will perform as the leader of Cersei’s forces. He is clearly not that outraged by his sister’s recent activities.

Jaime can never stay mad at his sister for long. No matter what seems to happen, their toxic bond has brought him back to her, time and again. If there was anything that could have driven them apart, it would have been blowing up the Sept, murdering countless innocents, and causing the death of their son.

If that was not enough to drive Jaime out of his older twin sister’s arms than it is hard to imagine what could.

What could Cersei possibly do, that she has not already done though? What crime would be so terrible that it would finally push Jaime so far over the edge he would kill her? He seems highly unlikely to be the “Valonqar”, in question.

Little Brother #3: The Hound

One of the reasons it was earlier noted that Maggy did not say the “little brother” in question was Cersei’s is because of this suspect and the next. The Hound (Rory McCann) is the little brother of The Mountain, Cersei’s chief enforcer. His connection to The Mountain and The Mountain’s connection to Cersei puts him within striking distance of the new queen.

As reported by the Inquisitr, we know that The Hound will be on hand when Jon Snow (Kit Harington) brings a wight before Westeros and Cersei. Could he be the one who puts an end to her?

The question becomes why? It depends on what Cersei gets up to in Season 7 or 8. If you believe the alleged Season 7 plot leak, which was originally authored by Reddit user ‘awayforthelads,’ and later recompiled by ‘maureencreates,’ every indication is that Cersei will live to see Game of Thrones‘ final season.

Little Brother #4: Jon Snow

This is the biggest wild card “Valonqar,” hence why Jon Snow (Kit Harington) is listed last. If R + L = J, as was apparently confirmed in the Game of Thrones Season 6 finale (“The Winds of Winter”), then Jon is in fact the “little brother” of Rhaenys and Aegon Targaryen; Rhaeger Targaryen’s children by his wife Elia Martell.

Jon already has a bone to pick with Cersei. She played an integral role in the execution of his father Ned Stark (Sean Bean) and has been plaguing the Stark family ever since. With two seasons left, Cersei could add even more horrific deeds to her laundry list of sins.

If you believe the alleged Game of Thrones Season 7 plot leak reported on by the Inquisitr, Cersei plans to use the White Walker invasion to wipe out the North and all of her enemies. That puts her in direct opposition with the King in the North, Jon Snow.

Could Cersei do something so heinous that Jon would personally lash out?

Her past crimes notwithstanding, if Cersei also added the genocide of the North to her growing list of causalities, then yes. Jon has a breaking point and as seen in Season 6, that rests with his family, and the North is where they live.

In “Battle of the Bastards,” Jon violently lashed out against Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon), beating him within an inch of his life when he got his hands on him. Jon, who is usually calm, finally reached the end of his rope as he confronted the despot, who had raped his sister and murdered their little brother. It stands to reason that Cersei could similarly prompt Jon’s rage.

What is particularly telling about the incident with Ramsay Bolton is that Jon Snow chose to use his bare hands to attack Ramsay, instead of his sword. Cersei’s killer will also forego a weapon for his hands.

If Rhaeger Targaryen is indeed Jon’s biological father, that would mean his ancestors were educated in the tongue of High Valyrian. As previously stated, Maggy makes a point to say “little brother” in High Valyrian. Could this have been a major clue?

In summation

There is a reason Game of Thrones’ showrunners, David Benioff and Dan Weiss, chose to leave this part of Cersei’s prophecy out. Is it because it leads nowhere in George R.R. Martin’s books? Is it because Cersei will die at the hands of a new killer or in a different manner, altogether? Anything is possible. Find out if this final part of Cersei’s prophecy leads to anything or anyone, when Game of Thrones Season 7 premieres in summer 2017.

[Featured Image by HBO]