As Game of Thrones nears its conclusion, events that fans have been waiting YEARS to see are actually happening. Such as one of the most anticipated meetings of the whole damn series – that of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen.
WHICH IS FINALLY HAPPENING IN THE NEXT EPISODE OMG.
That's right. After two episodes of shifting the plot into place to enable the pair to meet, and each of them talking about the other for the first time onscreen in Episode 2, the Episode 3 preview has revealed we'll actually see them in scenes together next week.
This is HUGE. Many fans believe Jon and Dany are literally the ice and fire of A Song of Ice and Fire. The two have led pretty parallel journeys until this point.
Both their mothers died in childbirth, and they both grew up as underdogs amongst their more powerful family members – Jon as a bastard, and Dany as a girl. Each left the only family and home they'd ever known to enter a sort of exile, forging their own connections and becoming unlikely leaders by inspiring devotion in those around them.
Physically, they've spent much of the story at opposite extremes, with each of them closer to the more magical elements of the plot than any other character. They've both experienced betrayal, both had their first great love die in their arms, and they've both been "reborn" (Dany in the fire in Season 1, Jon resurrected by Melisandre in Season 6). Visually and thematically, there are so many ways Jon and Dany have been tied together from the very first episode (more on that here).
Then there's the fact that they're the last living Targaryens in Game of Thrones.
Sure, the show hasn't confirmed who Jon's real father is yet, but the fact that it's Rhaegar is pretty much canon. (You can read more about all the clues to Jon Snow's parentage here.)
Here's a quick refresher on how that makes Jon and Dany related:
All this means their meeting is kind of monumental, and not just as a family reunion of sorts. In fact – quite the opposite.
If Jon is Rhaegar's son, and was somehow legitimised as many fans believe he was, he has a better claim to the Iron Throne than Dany. So she could see him as a threat.
EXCEPT we know they're meeting without any awareness of Jon's status as a Targaryen. So actually, it seems far more likely they're going to be allies.
Tyrion has already laid the groundwork for this, and indeed both Jon and Dany want to be allies – even if Dany is insisting Jon must "bend the knee". It's unlikely Jon will want to do this – it certainly wouldn't go over well with the people of the North – so they may have to cement their alliance in other ways.
Like, say...marriage.
And no, this isn't just some shipper fantasy. It's been set up within the show. Dany left Daario behind in Meereen explicitly because he'd get in the way of her forming a strong marriage alliance in Westeros. And what stronger alliance could she make than with the King in the North?
I KNOW, I KNOW, they're related! But lol, this is Game of Thrones. When has that ever stopped this goddamn show?
I mean, Dany and Jon don't know they're related. And even if they did, Targaryens notoriously marry relatives to keep the bloodline "pure". Dany's own parents were brother and sister. Of course, that doesn't mean Jon and Dany will be into the idea – Jon especially – but wouldn't it be just like Game of Thrones to give these two long-suffering characters a new chance at love and happiness, only to tear it out from under them by revealing Jon's true parentage down the track? So much conflict, heartache, and incest! So very Game of Thrones.
But there's more to these two meeting than just a potential marriage alliance. As I mentioned earlier, many fans believe the pair are literally the song of ice and fire – and that either one or both of them are the prince that was promised.
