Books

If Jon Kills Dany, This GoT Prophecy Could Be A Clue About How He Does It

by Charlotte Ahlin
Courtesy of HBO

In the book series, A Song of Ice and Fire, there is a much-referenced prophecy about Azor Ahai, a magical person who is meant to emerge from the chaos, satisfy a few cryptic requirements, and take down the Big Bad, freeing everyone from an eternity of general unpleasantness. But what can this prophecy tell fans about how Jon will kill Dany?

On the TV show Game of Thrones, there is a very similar prophecy about Azor Ahai. In fact, Melisandre made it her life's mission to find Azor Ahai and help him or her take down the Night King. That seems to be the reason she died after Arya Stark iced the Night King at the Battle of Winterfell. Mission complete — right?

Melisandre's death before the reveal of Azor Ahai has led to a great deal of panicked discussion among Game of Thrones fans: Is Arya the new Azor Ahai? Is "No One" Azor Ahai? Could Jon or Dany still be Azor Ahai? Was the real Azor Ahai just the friends we made along the way?

It seems like the show is just junking the prophecy entirely — but it could still be true, and if so, Jon might have to kill Dany.

The original Azor Ahai supposedly won against the Magical Evil Threat by creating a special sword called Lightbringer. At first, he tried to temper this sword in water, but it shattered. So he made another sword, and tried to temper it in the heart of a lion. It shattered once more.

Finally, he decided to temper the sword by driving it through the heart of his wife, Nissa Nissa. This time it worked, and he used the sword to defeat the monsters and win the day.

So the Azor Ahai myth is less about being the chosen one for the sake of being the chosen one. It's about sacrificing the person you love the most for the sake of the rest of humanity.

In the show, there may not have been a Chosen One who defeated the Night King, but the story could still boil down to the two Targaryen monarchs forced to choose between their love for each other and their love for the realm.

Which means, in keeping with the prophecy of Azor Ahai, that Jon would stab Dany through the heart.

I have to say that Jon isn't necessarily my top choice for king. He is an irresponsible pet owner, bad at keeping secrets, and was already murdered by his employees that one time for being a terrible leader. Like so many politicians, his main strength is that he is a white man. Meanwhile, poor Dany is slogging her way through a clunky villainous turn, spurred on by the contrived deaths of her friends and dragons. She is in "Mad Queen" territory. She is the Big Bad. Dany also has a prophecy hanging over her head, about how she's going to be betrayed once for blood, once for gold, and once, finally, for love.

So if Jon is going to play out any part of the Azor Ahai myth, he might end up killing his beloved and the Big Bad in one single stroke.

Melisandre thought that the biggest threat to humanity was the Night King — but then again, Mel has been wrong before. Maybe Jon will find himself forced to go up against water — the Greyjoys — a lion — the Lannisters — and, finally, Dany, in order to put a stop to the final threat to Westeros.

George R.R. Martin's whole series is loosely inspired by the Robert Frost poem "Fire and Ice" (note that the series opens with a King Robert on the throne). The poem describes the world ending in both fire and in ice. There's already been a close encounter with the icy apocalypse of the White Walkers. Could Dany be the fiery threat that must be stopped as well? And when the time comes, will Jon be able to do it?