"R" + L = J

Remember also that Robert had mentioned to Cersie about bringing one of his bastard daughters to court.Cersie in true Cersie dashion did make a threat against the child and Robert backhanded her for it.But guess what,he didn't bring the child to court though.So he wasn't to stupid in seeing the threat in Cersie.Yes,and i will like to point out something that shouldn't go unoticed and that is Ned's motives and feelings in keeping Jon away.There was no way,just no way Ned was going to leave Jon surrounded by Lannisters.But i think playing into that was Jon being his sister's son and him making right through the son what he failed to do with the mother...Protecting.

Great essay! The biggest flaw I can see after a quick reading is what Ned thinks on Robert's deathbed. Their whole conversation revolves around Robert's children and yet Ned never thinks of Jon.

Ned gave him his answer. “You will, my lord.”
“Good,” he said, smiling. “I will give Lyanna your love, Ned. Take care of my children for me.”
The words twisted in Ned’s belly like a knife. For a moment he was at a loss. He could not bring himself to lie. Then he remembered the bastards: little Barra at her mother’s breast, Mya in the Vale, Gendry at his forge, and all the others. “I shall... guard your children as if they were my own,” he said slowly.

Where is Jon at the Wall? Shouldn't he be in there? Or when Robert muses about the evil nature of his firstborn son, Ned never stops to think on the perfectly fine son of Robert back in the North?

My son... you love your children, don’t you?”
“With all my heart,” Ned said.
“Let me tell you a secret, Ned. More than once, I have dreamed of giving up the crown. Take ship for the Free Cities with my horse and my hammer, spend my time warring and whoring, that’s what I was made for. The sellsword king, how the singers would love me. You know what stops me? The thought of Joffrey on the throne, with Cersei standing behind him whispering in his ear. My son. How could I have made a son like that, Ned?”
“He’s only a boy,” Ned said awkwardly. He had small liking for Prince Joffrey, but he could hear the pain in Robert’s voice. “Have you forgotten how wild you were at his age?”



I like your interpretation of the infamous Rhaegar-Lyanna flower scene but I think it works even better if it was Rhaegar who took her flower and not just some gossip he overheard.

Overtime Jon "became" Ned's son he grew to love him as such.It would have been harder to tell Robert as time went on.

IMO all the true clues point to Lyanna being killed by the sword,and that she was possibly mistaken as a boy.

Hahahah,dude you are killing me with that pic?

As to the objection of what Ned thinks on Robert's deathbed,i think that one is explainable without GRRM giving away anything

Short of actually saying "Jon Snow in the Night's watch" this is the best evidence.

"and all the others. “I shall... guard your children as if they were my own,” he said slowly.

Well a more fair statement would be that according to Cat Ned was fiercely protective of Jon.

However,it should be noted Ned when talking to Barra and remembering promises had internally remarked that "Ned Stark kept his promises." Then woe and behold while in the cell his promises were now broken....So what changed?

Robert died,and he made up his mind he was probably going to.

Speculation Ofcourse.

Basically, I would be excited if was a Baratheon because of the horned lord ideas, but the theory itself seems to be very short on evidence. I am one who thinks RLJ is fairly ironclad, and I also do not believe under any circumstances that the show and books will give a different answer. I really think all the RL=/J theories are just living in an alternative reality. We don't really need to debate that here, but that's where I stand. I think that ship has sailed, a long time ago, and surely now that the show is clearly going to route of RLJ. I basically won't spend any time debating it at this point, I see it as useless. I would have been excited if Jon was a Dayne for various other reasons having to do with my theory about the Daynes having a common ancestor to Valyria, but again I see no real evidence and no way of getting around all the evidence pointing to RLJ. I really don't think I can be accused of bias, since I have amble reasons to be excited about Jon Baratheon or Jon Dayne - but the evidence seems clear to me, and again, I don't see how the show and book would differ on something like that. 

LmL, I will answer you in more detail later, but was just wondering: what do you make of the theory that Jon's father was a Baratheon? Over in the "who's your daddy" essays, some fairly decent cases can be made for Robert or possibly even Stannis as Jon's dad. Not as much evidence as for Rhaegar or (my personal favorite) Ser Arthur, but since you ascribe such significance to the horned lords, and we know Jon's lineage is going to be a big deal, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

Basically, I would be excited if was a Baratheon because of the horned lord ideas, but the theory itself seems to be very short on evidence. I am one who thinks RLJ is fairly ironclad, and I also do not believe under any circumstances that the show and books will give a different answer. I really think all the RL=/J theories are just living in an alternative reality. We don't really need to debate that here, but that's where I stand. I think that ship has sailed, a long time ago, and surely now that the show is clearly going to route of RLJ. I basically won't spend any time debating it at this point, I see it as useless. I would have been excited if Jon was a Dayne for various other reasons having to do with my theory about the Daynes having a common ancestor to Valyria, but again I see no real evidence and no way of getting around all the evidence pointing to RLJ. I really don't think I can be accused of bias, since I have amble reasons to be excited about Jon Baratheon or Jon Dayne - but the evidence seems clear to me, and again, I don't see how the show and book would differ on something like that.