Game of Thrones will presumably end with a new “Prince Who Was Promised” or Azor Ahai arising to save Westeros from the Night King and his undead White Walkers. While many think it might be Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) or Jon Snow (Kit Harington), there is some evidence that it could be someone else.
In George R.R. Martin’s books, the Prince Who Was Promised was referred to as Azor Ahai, the name of a mythical hero who saved Westeros the last time the White Walkers attacked. During the show, the Red Witch Melisandre (Carise van Houten) has been searching for the one who will save Westeros, and has thought it was Jon Snow.
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According to Inverse, the legends from Martin’s books say the Prince (who could be male or female) Who Was Promised is “born amidst salt and smoke, under a bleeding star.” Azor Ahai is also described as using the Lightbringer, a flaming sword. Azor used two swords before finally finding a third that took on the power of his wife’s soul after he drove it through her heart.
Inverse suggests there are reasons to believe Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is actually the Prince Who Was Promised. First, Jamie had a mental breakdown after he lost his hand, similar to Azor’s first sword, which broke. He later abandoned his sister Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) to side with Jon and Daenerys, which was like stabbing a lion in the heart since the Lannister House crest is a lion. While Jamie does not have a wife to kill like Azor, he did have a romance with Cersei, and he could kill her in the end.
A Reddit theory last year also suggested Jamie was the Prince Who Was Promised because of a Valyrian mistranslation. “The Lord of Light is a farce. Valyrian words for gold and hand are aeksion and ondos. Valyrian words for lord and light are aeksio and onos,” the Reddit user wrote.
Which character has a golden hand? That would be Jamie.
Inverse also suggested there is evidence to prove Daenys’ right-hand man Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) could actually be Azor Ahai. The preview for Season 8, Episode 2 shows Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) giving Heartsbane, the Valyrian steel sword that has been in Sam’s family for generations. There are also two-year-old Reddit theories that suggest the Heartsbane plays a key role in ending the Night King’s reign of terror and other old theories picked Jorah as the dark horse candidate.
The Azor Ahai story also involves the person stabbing their beloved in the heart. If Jorah is going to be the Prince Who Was Promised, he would need a reason to stab Daenerys. He might have to kill her in order to save everyone else in Westeros.
The next episode of Game of Thrones airs on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO, and we will find out if either of these two characters can live long enough to be the Prince Who Was Promised.
Photo credit: HBO
