We should have seen this coming. Sean Bean, the guy who ruined Game of Thrones by getting his head cut off and Lord of the Rings by trying to steal the ring, nearly ruined Game of Thrones a second time with this massive spoiler reveal.
It all went down during this Reddit AMA that happened about a year ago. Here’s the relevant exchange.
“Why did you not teach Jon Snow anything?” a redditor asks.
“HAHAHAHAH! Because he's not mine!” Bean replies, emphasis and capitals most definitely his. “Little bastard!”
As you know, Jon Snow is Rhaegar Targaryen’s bastard, which is part of the popular and confirmed fan theory R + L = J. But we didn’t pick it up when Sean Bean put it down. Someone did, though.
“It's actually a popular fan theory,” redditor chiliedogg wrote. “That Jon is the product of his sister's rape by the Mad King's son. Jon would have been killed by Robert, so Ned took him and claimed him as his bastard.”
So this Chiliedogg character knew all along and said nothing. Or most like they said something but people ignored them. Just like Sean Bean himself. Wheels within wheels.