Waymar Royce, Jon 'One Eye' Snow, and Sansa Stark.
Has this been talked about to the death? Probably, but thinking about this all gets my brain whirring in ways you wouldn't even imagine - GRRM I love you sometimes.
*NOTE* A lot of the warging and waymar connections I found on @ladyofasoiaf incredible page! This post is more so a compilation that includes discussion of some other things.
The similarities (both physical and soon personality wise) between Jon Snow and Ser Waymar Royce are present from the first 25 pages of AGOT.
Ser Waymar is described as:
“the youngest son of an ancient house with too many heirs. He was a handsome youth of eighteen, grey-eyed and graceful and slender as a knife.” (AGOT, Prologue).
“Jon's eyes were a grey so dark they seemed almost black, but there was little they did not see. He was of an age with Robb, but they did not look alike. Jon was slender where Robb was muscular, dark where Robb was fair, graceful and quick where his half-brother was strong and fast.” (Bran I, AGOT).
*So to reiterate: Both are grey-eyed, graceful and slender. For many, the comparisons stop here, but they share more similarities.*
Both Jon and Waymar are conveyed as somewhat arrogant and entitled in the first book, particularly when Jon first joins the Night’s Watch. It's unknown as to how entitled Waymar truly was, as the only time we see him is through the biased perspective of Will the ranger:
“His cloak was his crowning glory; sable, thick and black and soft as sin. “Bet he killed them all himself, he did,” Gared told the barracks over wine, “twisted their little heads off, our mighty warrior.”They had all shared the laugh. It is hard to take orders from a man you laughed at in your cups.”(AGOT, Prologue).
“They’re not my brothers,” Jon snapped. "They hate me because I’m better than they are.“No.They hate you because you act like you’re better than they are. They look at you and see a castle-bred bastard who thinks he’s a lordling.”The armorer leaned close. “You’re no lordling. Remember that. You’re a Snow, not a Stark. You’re a bastard and a bully.” (AGOT, Jon III).
*dramatic teenage Jon is so funny btw.*
The Others are present in both Waymar and Jon’s storylines Jon fights a wight and wins, and Waymar has a similar face down with an Other, (though he fails). The infamous 'dance with me" line is iterated within similar contexts:
At first they don't believe in them:
"The wildlings are dead."
"Do the dead frighten you?" Ser Waymar Royce asked with just the hint of a smile." (AGOT, prologue)
"Jon could have told him. He knew, they all knew, yet no man of them would say the words. The Others are only a story, a tale to make children shiver. If they ever lived at all, they are gone eight thousand years. Even the thought made him feel foolish; he was a man grown now, a black brother of the Night's Watch, not the boy who'd once sat at Old Nan's feet with Bran and Robb and Arya." (AGOT, Jon VII).
Jon fights a wight and wins, and Waymar has a similar face down with an Other:
"The direwolf wrenched free and came to him as the wight struggled to rise, dark snakes spilling from the great wound in its belly. Jon plunged his hand into the flames, grabbed a fistful of the burning drapes, and whipped them at the dead man. Let it burn, he prayed as the cloth smothered the corpse, gods, please, please, let it burn. (AGOT, Jon VII).
"Ser Waymar met him bravely. “Dance with me then.” He lifted his sword high over his head, defiant. His hands trembled from the weight of it, or perhaps from the cold. Yet in that moment, Will thought, he was a boy no longer, but a man of the Night’s Watch.” (AGOT, Prologue).
“They are afraid. Warriors, spearwives, raiders, they are frightened of those woods, of shadows moving through the trees. They want to put the Wall between them before the night descends. A snowflake danced upon the air. Then another. Dance with me, Jon Snow, he thought. You’ll dance with me anon.” (ADWD, Jon XII)
In the prologue, Waymar is killed by the Others:
“Royce’s body lay face-down in the snow, one arm out-flung. The thick sable cloak had been slashed in a dozen places. Lying dead like that, you saw how young he was. A boy.” (AGOT, prologue).
And Jon dies in ADWD (while only being 16 years old, a boy in truth) in a cold environment, surrounded by snow, and ambushed by his brothers.
“Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger’s hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air, the wound was smoking. “Ghost,” he whispered. Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end. When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold …” (ADWD, Jon XIII).*
But Waymar comes back as a wight with ‘one eye.’
“Will rose. Ser Waymar Royce stood over him. His fine clothes were a tatter, his face a ruin. A shard from his sword transfixed the blind white pupil of his left eye. The right eye was open. The pupil burned blue. It saw." (AGOT, prologue).
So, to summarise – a cocky man of the Night’s Watch who resembles Jon dies, falling face first into the cold snow and comes back with one working eye.
This is where the comparisons get interesting, and things start to branch out for Jon. We'll connect to Sansa soon.
In ACOK, Orell is introduced; a wilding skin-changer who can warg into an eagle. Jon is required to kill Orell:
"It felt queer, picking a man to kill… Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the sleeper stirring, and knew he must finish his man quick. When the brand swung again, he bulled into it, swinging the bastard sword with both hands. The Valyrian steel sheared through leather, fur, wool, and flesh, but when the wildling fell he twisted, ripping the sword from Jon’s grasp…" (ACOK Jon VII).
Jon is then plagued by guilt ridden nightmares of being attacked by an eagle, which will soon manifest into the vengeful spirit of Orell: This also foreshadows Jon's future warging abilities, which grow stronger as the books progress.
“Then a sudden gust of cold made his fur stand up, and the air thrilled to the sound of wings. As he lifted his eyes to the ice-white mountain heights above, a shadow plummeted out of the sky. A shrill scream split the air. He glimpsed blue-grey pinions spread wide, shutting out the sun… “Ghost!” Jon shouted, sitting up. He could still feel the talons, the pain. “Ghost, to me!” Ebben appeared, grabbed him, shook him. “Quiet! You mean to bring the wildlings down on us? What’s wrong with you, boy?” “A dream,” said Jon feebly. “I was Ghost, I was on the edge of the mountain looking down on a frozen river, and something attacked me. A bird… an eagle, I think"…
"Skinchanger?” said Ebben grimly, looking at the Halfhand. Does he mean the eagle? Jon wondered. Or me? Skinchangers and wargs belonged in Old Nan’s stories, not in the world he had lived in all his life. Yet here, in this strange bleak wilderness of rock and ice, it was not hard to believe." (ACOK Jon VII).
Between these two Jon chapters (Orell's death and the eagle dream) comes an important Sansa chapter which has many parallels with Jon VI. Both Jon and Sansa have 'coming of age' moments (Jon killing Orell, Sansa's flowering) I'll quickly note them here, though first - here is the chapter ordering:
Jon VI - Sansa IV - Jon VII.
There are mirror interactions between Sansa/the Hound and Jon/Ygritte in Jon VI and Sansa IV: Credits to @istumpysk for these details once again. I came across these through the ASOIAF re-reads and what a gem those posts are.
“On the ground the sleeper sat up beneath his furs. Jon slid his dirk free, grabbing the man by the hair and jamming the point of the knife up under his chin as he reached for his—no, her—
His hand froze.” "A girl." -( Jon VI, ACOK)
"Just as if I was one of those true knights you love so well, yes. What do you think a knight is for, girl? You think it's all taking favours from ladies and looking fine in gold plate? Knights are for killing.' He laid the edge of his longsword against her neck, just under her ear. Sansa could feel the sharpness of the steel." (Sansa IV, ACOK)
“Even so, he did not think of the foes who were waiting for him, all unknowing, but of his brother at Winterfell. Bran used to love to climb. I wish I had a tenth part of his courage.” -(Jon VI, ACOK)
"The little bird thinks she has wings, does she? Or do you mean to end up crippled like that brother of yours?" (Sansa IV, ACOK)
“Jon lowered his sword. "Go," he muttered. Ygritte stared. "Now," he said, "before my wits return. Go.’’
She went.” -(Jon VI, ACOK)
"Sansa backed away from him. "You're awful."
"I'm honest. It's the world that's awful. Now fly away, little bird, I'm sick of you peeping at me.”
Wordless, she fled.”- (Sansa IV, ACOK)
Jon represents the concept of a true knight whereas Sandor forsakes the very concept of knighthood - protection of the innocent. These corresponding chapters are meant to contrast two experiences with knights and women. Jon adheres to the protection of women, despite encountering a wildling who he has been ordered to kill, his honour gets the better of him and he lets her go. Sandor however intimidates Sansa, a highborn lady who he is meant to protect and respect in accordance with his vows, he also lets her go, though not without intentionally frightening her. These contrasting chapters further attest to Jon Snow as the embodiment of a true knight, (in due course, the knight that is the unconscious unsung answer to Sansa’s prayers).
*Note how Sansa is referred to as Little Bird for much of her King's Landing arc, so this once again connects her to this bird/eagle motif that appears in Jon's chapters.*
In Sansa IV, she also wishes for a hero to come and rescue her (and that important theme of ‘there are no heroes’ appears which is later unconsciously and unknowingly rebutted by Jon killing Janos Slynt, and Jon honouring her claim. Sansa specifically wishes for prince Aemon the Dragonknight, among others.
In Jon VI, he hears the Blue Bard of Winterfell and the Stark maiden story from Ygritte:
The Blue Bard of Winterfell:
"All I ask is a flower,’ Bael answered, ‘the fairest flower that blooms in the gardens o’ Winterfell.”
"Now as it happened the winter roses had only then come into bloom, and no flower is so rare nor precious…"(ACOK, Jon VI)
Sansa's first flowering occurs in the next chapter.
"Sansa lowered her head. “The blood frightened me.”
“The blood is the seal of your womanhood. Lady Catelyn might have prepared you. You’ve had your first flowering, no more."
Sansa had never felt less flowery. “My lady mother told me, but I… I thought it would be different.” (ACOK, Sansa IV)
In this chapter Sansa laments her desire to be loved and Cersei warns her that “love kills." The next chapter involves Jon having that eagle dream dream I previously mentioned.
"Do you want to be loved, Sansa?”
“Everyone wants to be loved.”
“I see flowering hasn’t made you any brighter,”said Cersei. “Sansa, permit me to share a bit of womanly wisdom with you on this very special day. Love is poison. A sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same.”(ACOK, Sansa IV).
She has this revealing conversation with Cersei surrounding love, and we are explicitly privy to Sansa’s innate desire to love and be loved, something she has yet to experience. Though Cersei, twisted and sardonic and bitter as she is, denies this will ever happen for Sansa, and warns her of its danger. Is this ominous foreshadowing? Many antis interpret it this way, especially as it transitions directly into a Jon chapter, but it's a very on the nose explicit statement that contradicts everything Sansa believes in and stands for.
And Sansa isn't Cersei; we see that direct contrast during the Blackwater Battle, where Cersei tells Sansa the only sure way to rule is through fear, and Sansa internally believes love and devotion are surer routes (and we see that manifest through Sansa leading the women whilst Cersei abandons them). We know that Sansa doesn't really take Cersei's advice to heart anymore, and that she won't let her trauma turn her cold and bitter as it has for Cersei, even if this is a tricky road, I really don't believe the takeaway from ASOIAF is ahh yes everything is bitter and evil and awful and no one should believe in love and hope. GRRM has quite literally asserted he is a romantic person.
Briefly now, let's return back to the eagle imagery!
In ASOS Jon I, we have some more clues in relation to warg!Jon.
“The lad’s a warg, or close enough,” put in Ragwyle, the big spearwife.
“His wolf took a piece o’ Halfhand’s leg…
“What’s this?” he said. “A crow?” “The black bastard that gutted Orell,” said Rattleshirt, “and a bloody warg as well.”
(ASOS, Jon VII)
Jon’s chapter follows ASOS, Sansa I. Both Jon I and Sansa I share many parallels, which I shall list here: Importantly, they both meet the king-beyond-the-wall and queen of thorns alongside various linguistic similarities - I'll list them all here: credits to @istumpysk for these connections! they blew my mind.
“Beyond the spiked moat, two dozen men were taking their practice with sword and shield. With the castle so crowded, the outer ward had been given over to guests to raise their tents and pavilions, leaving only the smaller inner yards for training…
A fire was crackling in the hearth, and sweet-swelling rushes had been scattered on the floor. Around the long trestle table, a dozen women were seated" - (Sansa I, ASOS)
“Elsewhere two bearded youths in boiled leather were sparring with staffs, leaping at each other over the flames, grunting each time one landed a blow. A dozen women sat nearby in a circle, fletching arrows.” - (Jon I, ASOS)
“Outside its tall carved doors stood two guards in gilded halfhelms and green cloaks edged in gold satin, the golden rose of Highgarden sewn on their breasts”. - (Sansa I, ASOS)
“Here at least they found defenders; two guards at the flap of the tent, leaning on tall spears with round leather shields strapped to their arms”. - (Jon I, ASOS)
“Sansa knelt at the feet of her future queen. "You do me great honour, Your Grace."
"Won't you call me Margaery? Please, rise. Loras, help the Lady Sansa to her feet. Might I call you Sansa?" -( Sansa I, ASOS)
"Your Grace?" The king smiled. "That's not a style one often hears from the lips of free folk. I'm Mance to most, The Mance to some. Will you take a horn of mead?" - (Jon I, ASOS)
“Pale, elegant Lady Graceford was with child, and Lady Bulwer was a child, no more than eight.” The old woman called to Butterbumps. "Fool! Give us a song. A long one, I should think. 'The Bear and the Maiden Fair' will do nicely." - (Sansa I, ASOS)
“A dark young man and a pretty blonde woman were sharing a horn of mead. A pregnant woman stood over a brazier cooking a brace of hens, while a grey-haired man in a tattered cloak of black and red sat cross legged on a pillow, playing a lute and singing.” - (Jon I, ASOS) (side note but this last line also reads as a Rhaegar hint - the black and red clothes whilst singing = Rhaegar in Targaryen colours playing his harp. Oh George.)
"Sansa," Lady Alerie broke in, "you must be very hungry. Shall we have a bite of boar together, and some lemon cakes?"- (Sansa I, ASOS)
"Sit, if you like," Rayder said when they were gone. "Are you hungry? Tormund left us two birds at least." -(Jon I, ASOS)
"He will," Sansa lied. "He is very . . . very comely." - (Sansa I, ASOS)
“Jon had his lie all ready. "The Lord Commander sent me to the Halfhand for seasoning, so he took me on his ranging." -( Jon I, ASOS)
“Sansa realised that her mouth was open again. She filled it with a spoon of broth.” - (Sansa I, ASOS)
“He took a long draught of mead to buy time for his answer.”- (Jon I, ASOS)
“Courtesy is a lady's armour. You must not offend them, be careful what you say.” - (Sansa I, ASOS).
"Guest right or no, Jon Snow knew he walked on rotten ice here. One false step and he might plunge through, into water cold enough to stop his heart. Weigh every word before you speak it, he told himself.” - (Jon I, ASOS).
"The Baratheons have always had some queer notions, to be sure. It comes from their Targaryen blood, I should think." She sniffed. "They tried to marry me to a Targaryen once, but I soon put an end to that." - (Sansa I, ASOS).
It's also interesting that we have an allusion to Rhaegar in Jon's chapter....
“To see you safely wed, child," the old woman said, as Butterbumps bellowed out the old, old song, "to my grandson.” (Sansa I, ASOS).
A Sansa betrothal right before a ‘Jon’ chapter, both of them meeting unofficial/unconventional ‘kings’ and ‘queens,’ similar atmospheres, similar internalised feelings, and a referenced marriage to a Targaryen– interesting to say the least, especially when we consider that Jon is never far from when Sansa's five separate suitors are mentioned (see end of post for this!)…but I digress.
Willas has a bad leg, and so does Jon later in ASOS:
“Willas has a bad leg but a good heart,” said Margaery. “He used to read to me when I was a little girl and draw me pictures of the stars. You will love him as much as we do, Sansa.” (ASOS, Sansa I).
“If the mare had gone down, he would have been doomed. “A lucky thing my leg got in the way,” he muttered. He rested for a while to let the horse graze. She did not wander far. That was good. Hobbled with a bad leg, he could never have caught her.” (ASOS, Jon V).
In ASOS; Jon II , Jon’s eagle dream from ACOK comes true and he is attacked by Orell's eagle:
“He could still hear wings, though the eagle was not in sight. Half his world was black. “My eye,” he said in sudden panic, raising a hand to his face.
“It’s only blood, Jon Snow. He missed the eye, just ripped your skin up some.”
"The look Mance gave Jon was grim and cold. “What happened to your face?” Ygritte said, “Orell tried to take his eye out.”
“It was him I asked. Has he lost his tongue? Perhaps he should, to spare us further lies.”
Styr the Magnar drew a long knife. “The boy might see more-clear with one eye, instead of two.”
“Would you like to keep your eye, Jon?” asked the King-beyond-the-Wall. “If so, tell me how many they were. And try and speak the truth this time, Bastard of Winterfell.”
Jon almosts loses his ‘one eye’ because of this attack. After the eagle attack comes Sansa II, and these back to back chapters have many parallels but most glaringly:
“Willas has the best birds in the Seven Kingdoms,”Margaery said when the two of them were briefly alone. “He flies an eagle sometimes. You will see, Sansa.” (ASOS, Sansa II).
Sorry...but that is not a coincidence.
"I might get her with child."
"Aye, I'd hope so. A strong son or a lively laughing girl kissed by fire, and where's the harm in that?" - (Jon II, ASOS).
(Bonus point here, Tully children are described as having fire-like hair…)
"Robb and Sansa and Bran and even little Rickon all took after the Tullys, with easy smiles and fire in their hair." (Arya I, AGOT).
"Sometimes she sang in a low husky voice that stirred him. And sometimes by the cookfire when she sat hugging her knees with the flames waking echoes in her red hair, and looked at him, just smiling . . . well, that stirred some things as well." (Jon II, ASOS).
Right before Sansa's chapter as well....
Bonus to how Sansa's hair is described:
"I often sent away her maid so I could brush her hair myself. She had auburn hair, lighter than mine, and so thick and soft . . . the red in it would catch the light of the torches and shine like copper." (Catelyn VII, ACOK).
HANG ON JUST A MINUTE. Sansa's hair here is described as a lighter shade compared to Catelyn's. When I googled light auburn hair, this is what came up: This colour looks like dark honey.....
Okay okay, back to Sansa II, I got carried away here. Credits once again to @istumpysk for these pick-ups.
“If I give him sons, he may come to love me. She would name them Eddard and Brandon and Rickon and raise them all to be as valiant as Ser Loras. And to hate Lannisters, too. In Sansa's dreams, her children looked just like the brothers she had lost. Sometimes there was even a girl who looked like Arya.”- (Sansa II, ASOS.
“Rangers often shared skins for warmth, but warmth was not all Ygritte wanted, he suspected.”(Jon II, ASOS)
“And often one or two of them would be chosen to share Margaery's bed, where they would whisper half the night away.”(Sansa II, ASOS)
“Jon Snow, you know nothing. You don't go in with clothes." - (Jon II, ASOS)
“They are children, Sansa thought. They are silly little girls, even Elinor. They've never seen a battle, they've never seen a man die, they know nothing.” -( Sansa II, ASOS)
"She reminded him a little of his sister Arya, though Arya was younger and probably skinnier.”(Jon II, ASOS).
“Arya had been entirely unsatisfactory as sisters went.” - (Sansa II, ASOS).
“Jon turned at the sudden sound of wings. Blue-grey feathers filled his eyes, as sharp talons buried themselves in his face.” (Jon II, ASOS)
“Willas has the best birds in the Seven Kingdoms," Margaery said when the two of them were briefly alone. "He flies an eagle sometimes. You will see, Sansa.” (Sansa II, ASOS)
“his new cloak hanging heavy from his shoulders. It was made of unwashed sheepskins, worn fleece side in, as the wildlings suggested.” ((Jon II, ASOS) (Jon assimilating into the Wildlings - the enemy).
“A new gown?"she said, as wary as she was astonished. (Sansa II, ASOS)(Sansa assimilating into the Lannister family - the enemy).
Also in this chapter is Sansa dreaming of having children resembling and named after her lost family, which fits the other half of Jon’s dream later in ASOS:
Even the phrasing is similar, they both equate love with children while supposedly fantasising about their respective future betrothals. Sansa with Willas, and Jon with Val - though they don't follow through with it, it seems more about the desire for domestication than love itself:
“If I give him sons, he may come to love me." (Sansa).
"I would need to steal her if I wanted her love, but she might give me children." (Jon).
"She would name them Eddard and Brandon and Rickon…In Sansa's dreams, her children looked just like the brothers she had lost. Sometimes there was even a girl who looked like Arya.” (Sansa)
"I might someday hold a son of my own blood in my arms. A son was something Jon Snow had never dared dream of, since he decided to live his life on the Wall. I could name him Robb.” (Jon).
It is noteworthy that missing from Sansa's fantasy is Robb (and Jon), and that Sansa implies she wants both Stark/Tully looking children. Jon's fantasy includes Robb, which is the missing child in Sansa's fantasy.
This Jon quote (where he contemplates lordship, a family, and restoring burnt/broken Winterfell) also precedes the final Sansa chapter where she builds Winterfell in the snow. Beautifully connected.
SANSA'S CONNECTIONS TO WAYMAR:
Before we talk of the relevance regarding Jon almost losing his eye (don't think I've forgotten about that, and the comparisons to Waymar (and an additional historic figure later on in this post), let’s talk of Sansa’s connection to Waymar himself.
Waymar Royce is not mentioned much throughout the series; the most he appears is of course, the prologue of AGOT. He is mentioned 17 times throughout the rest of the books: 12 times in the AGOT prologue, 1 time in the ASOS prologue, 1 time in Bran IV AGOT, two times in Jon III AGOT and Jon III ACOK, and finally, one time in Alayne (Sansa) I AFFC.
In Bran IV, it is stated that Benjen Stark is out searching for Ser Waymar after his disappearance. In the ASOS prologue, Chett remarks on the Night’s Watch trying to find Benjen, Ser Waymar, and the other Night’s Watchmen who have disappeared. In Jon AGOT III, there is talk of trying to locate Ser Waymar, and again in Jon ACOK III. So essentially, the same concept is rehashed again regarding Waymar's disappearance.
Now, the final time that Ser Waymar is brought up again is in Alayne I AFFC, and in this chapter, the following (seemingly out of place) line occurs:
"Bronze Yohn knows me," she reminded him. "He was a guest at Winterfell when his son rode north to take the black." She had fallen wildly in love with Ser Waymar, she remembered dimly, but that was a lifetime ago, when she was a stupid little girl.” (Alayne I AFFC).
What does this tell us about Sansa? If it’s to reassert how she fawns over men throughout the series…well… that has been an established fact since her very first chapter of AGOT; Joffrey Baratheon and Loras Tyrell are prime examples of this. We also know that Sansa idolises/favours Southern beauty, particularly the songs, knights, and stories of the South of courtly love and gallant golden princes. In vast contrast to the ‘dreariness’ of the North, and what we can assume as a solemn rugged Northern look. I think many of us would have assumed that up until this point, Sansa is solely attracted to more Southern appearances.
Let's take a quick look at the history of House Royce, although they are of the Vale, not the North - they certainly share features with THE STARKS due to…
Lady Lorra Royce, married to Lord Beron Stark, mother to Donnor, Willam, Artos, Berena, Alysanne, Errold, and Rodrik.(Wiki of Ice and Fire).
Here's how some of the Royces are described:
“Ser Waymar was the youngest son of an ancient house with too many heirs. He was a handsome youth of eighteen, grey-eyed and graceful and slender as a knife.” (AGOT, Prologue)
"Last of all came the Royces, Lord Nestor and Bronze Yohn. The Lord of Runestone stood as tall as the Hound. Though his hair was grey and his face lined, Lord Yohn still looked as though he could break most younger men like twigs in those huge gnarled hands. His seamed and solemn face brought back all of Sansa's memories of his time at Winterfell." (Alayne I AFFC).
"Bronze Yohn had slate-grey eyes, half-hidden beneath the bushiest eyebrows she had ever seen. They crinkled when he looked down at her. "Do I know you, girl?" (Alayne I AFFC).
"Lord Nestor's daughter proved to be a short, fleshy woman, of an age with Mya Stone, but where Mya was slim and sinewy, Myranda was soft-bodied and sweet-smelling, broad of hip, thick of waist, and extremely buxom. Her thick chestnut curls framed round red cheeks, a small mouth, and a pair of lively brown eyes." (Alayne II AFFC).
Jon is arguably affiliated with the North the most out of all his siblings; in culture (the only stark child to keep to the old gods, has a direwolf that resembles a weirwood) appearance, and demeanour.
“Lannister studied his face. "Yes," he said. "I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers.” (Jon AGOT, I).
“Jon was never out of sight, and as he grew, he looked more like Ned than any of the trueborn sons she bore him. Somehow that made it worse.” (Catelyn AGOT, II)
And as Sansa has grown progressively disillusioned with the South and more affiliated with her Northern roots, it makes perfect sense for her to recall this infatuation before her dreams were swept up by the South. In fact, it establishes that Sansa’s first ‘love’ had an appearance most commonly associated with the North (even though he was from the Vale).
Sansa fell in love with a soon-to-be ‘black knight’ who greatly resembles Jon, had a similar personality to him, and died in a similar manner. Though I want to point to Sansa most likely falling in love with him due to his handsomeness rather than his personality; she would have been 10-11 and him 18 – though he may have ‘charmed’ her in some manner with his (courtesy?), it is almost an entirely ambiguous line – and also plays into Sansa’s consistent memory lapses.
JON WARGING INTO GHOST AND MORE 'ONE EYE' COMPARISONS:
It is heavily foreshadowed and theorized that Jon will warg into Ghost before being resurrected back into his original body. There are major hints in the ADWD prologue:
Varamyr, a skinchanging wildling, is shown warging into a wolf called ‘One Eye.’
“The trees had grown icy teeth, snarling down from the bare brown branches. One Eye ripped through the undergrowth, spraying snow. His packmates followed.” (ADWD prologue).
“One Eye. He was the oldest of his three, the biggest, the fiercest. Stalker was leaner, quicker, younger, Sly more cunning, but both went in fear of One Eye. The old wolf was fearless, relentless, savage.” (ADWD prologue).
Jon’s calls out for his direwolf Ghost as he dies:
“Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger’s hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air, the wound was smoking. “Ghost,” he whispered. Pain washed over him.” (ADWD, Jon XIII).
Interestingly enough - and this is just a bonus note, you can interpret it a variety of ways but…
"the wind was howling fiercely. It sounds like a wolf, thought Sansa. A ghost wolf, big as mountains." (AFFC Alayne II).
This line could potentially be around the same time that Jon dies, or sometime after it, since as we know AFFC and ADWD occur within the same timeline.
Bonus 'One Eye' Jon reference: (seriously what is it with GRRM and Jon having one eye??)
“Somehow Rattleshirt ended up on top, with Jon’s head in his hands. He smashed it against the ground, then wrenched his visor open. “If I had me a dagger, you’d be less an eye by now,” he snarled, before Horse and Iron Emmett dragged him off the lord commander’s chest.” (ADWD, Jon VI).
Okay, so to summarise everything I just compiled above: Ser Waymar Royce and Jon Snow are introduced within the first 25 pages of AGOT. Both Jon and Waymar resemble each other greatly and have a haughty (ish) attitude that is mocked by other Night’s Watch men. Both Jon and Waymar are brave and fierce, Waymar was a ranger, and although Jon was never an official ranger, he did go on a ranging with Qhorin Halfhand. Both battled an Other/Wight. Jon and Waymar are similarly dressed in all black. Waymar has the infamous ‘dance with me then’ line in relation to the Others. In a later book, Jon has the same line in relation to the Others ‘dance with me anon.’
Both Jon and Waymar die surrounded by snow, ambushed by Others/Brothers of the Night’s Watch. Both fall face first into the snow to die. Waymar returns as a wight with one working eye. Jon dreams of being attacked by an eagle and later almost loses his eye due to a skinchanging wildling. Jon then sports a permanent scar from where he almost lost his eye.
Sansa is described as having fallen wildly in love with Ser Waymar (which can potentially be connected to Jon falling in love with a “wildling” girl who also, resembles Sansa in appearance (red hair, blue-grey eyes, enjoys singing and cries at songs, which Jon is actually attracted to rather than her brutal nature.)
Jon and his dreams connected to the Orell the eagle, including the attack that later occurs, are followed/preceded by Sansa’s chapters with bird imagery. When Jon almost loses his eye, Sansa’s chapter that follows involves talks of her betrothed flying eagles (who is crippled with a bad leg), later Jon is shot in the leg and struggles to walk.)
The ADWD prologue involves a wildling warging into a wolf called ’One Eye’ which both foreshadows Jon’s death, and further connects to Jon’s ‘one eye’ connections - perhaps he may actually lose an eye in the future… who knows.
Let’s not forget that Jon’s death was also foreshadowed in ASOS; Sansa VI.
“Tell me, Alayne— which is more dangerous, the dagger brandished by an enemy, or the hidden one pressed to your back by someone you never even see?”
"There’s a clever girl.” He smiled, his thin lips bright red from the pomegranate seeds.” (ASOS, Sansa VI)
The next chapter is Jon IX (and yes this is the infamous "no one will ever marry me for love" chapter that follows into Jon).
Jon’s death and the threat of hidden daggers is further alluded to by Melisandre in ADWD, Jon I:
“Do not be so certain.” The ruby at Melisandre’s throat gleamed red. “It is not the foes who curse you to your face that you must fear, but those who smile when you are looking and sharpen their knives when you turn your back. You would do well to keep your wolf close beside you. Ice, I see, and daggers in the dark. Blood frozen red and hard, and naked steel. It was very cold.” (ADWD, Jon I).
(This is also a callback to Waymar fighting the Others in the AGOT prologue; the ominous setting is described "it was very cold." When Waymar battles.)
Similar to what Petyr tells Sansa in ASOS, Jon dies as a result of a hidden daggers pressed to his back, both physically and metaphorically – he is backstabbed by his brothers:
“Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger's hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. "Ghost," he whispered. Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end. When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold …” (ADWD, Jon XIII).
And now for the grand conclusion to my … thesis if you will? I was setting up all of this 'one eyed' Jon connections as a precedent for this final argument.
The holy scripture itself: JONNEL ONE EYE STARK X SANSA STARK
Check out the official post about this: - I've included some of their quotes since they say it better than I do.
The official Stark family tree was published in “The World of Ice and Fire” in October 2014 though the draft was posted to the Internet in May 2014.
There were a few differences made to tree such as a few marriages added in both nothing of true significance until...
A marriage between Jonnel ‘One Eye’ Stark and Sansa Stark.
'This was a clear deliberate decision, done towards the end of finishing the family tree.'
This marriage doesn’t influence the family tree in any way since they didn’t have any children. (many see this as ominous foreshadowing but it only further supports my point, why add this in if they don't have any direct descendants with each other?). And in any case, ASOIAF Jon and Sansa don't have to directly replicate this pairing, or it'd be too obvious. In fact, Jon and Sansa can be foils to this original pairing, since it involved Sansa's claim being cast aside due to Jonnel's, and I think it'll be the other way around in canon.
Sansa could have just been given some random spouse, married to a Karstark or an Umber or a Glover or something (any powerful Northern house to solidify her hold on the North).
'This change could only have two purposes then. A) To add another Stark x Stark marriage (which we already had two of, including Sansa’s sister who was married to Jonnel’s brother) and/or B) to have two people called Jonnel and Sansa be married.'
Because of how careful of a writer he is, and how much he loves his subconscious foreshadowing, GRRM is not oblivious to things like this. He isn't an idiot. He wouldn't be oblivious to the fact of two of his main characters are called “Sansa” and “Jon” and that they both just so happen to be Starks with a familial relation called Rickon and have been heavily involved in the Northern succession in some way (Robb planning to legitimise Jon in his will so it doesn't go to Sansa, Jon later being offered the chance to become lord of Winterfell from Stannis though later rejecting it and stating WF belongs to Sansa…Sansa's entire storyline - literally the entire reason everyone wants her is for her claim…)
The Sansa Stark married to Jonnel is the only other Sansa Stark who exists in canon, so essentially – where ASOIAF Sansa got her namesake from. It's thus an uncommon name that insofar, has only been given to two ASOIAF characters. (I mean GRRM may change his mind in the future and make a Stark history book dating back to the first men… who knows?)
There was also a Lonnel Snow with a mother named Wylla, the same name of the woman that Robert Baratheon and others thought was Jon Snow’s real mother. Lonnel/Jonnel - realllll subtle George. @sherlokiness great pick-up!
Jonnel Stark had a Stark mother named Lynara Stark, which you’ll notice is a combination of Jon Snow’s mother Lyanna and his sister/cousin Arya Stark. Jonnel’s half brother (Rickon Stark) was the ruling Lord of Winterfell, though after his death in the South, his daughter Sansa Stark was set to inherit after him, but her claim was superseded by Jonnel. To pacify the Northern succession crisis, Jonnel married his half-niece Sansa Stark, and although they had no children from this union (and Sansa later died) - it's something.
If you still aren't convinced and think literally everything I've written is absolute delusional crackpot rubbish and this is alll just a massive coincidence and GRRM did not intend for this at all then … okay…you're entitled to that view, I won't stop you from thinking that. The beautiful thing about literary fiction is that we all have our own very subjective interpretation of the source material "we look up at the same stars and see such different things" and literally no one can confirm what any of this means except for the man himself, so until then (and we're all guilty of it), we're going to continue our lengthy essays and interpretations.
Anyway, let me refer back to the Frey lineage: which features a Rhaegar Frey with a 2nd son/3rd child named JONos Frey by his second wife. Jon Snow is (heavily theorised) to be the son of Rhaegar Targaryen by Rhaegar’s (possible?) ‘second wife.’ Jon is Rhaegar’s third child, Rhaegar already having a daughter and a son (born in that order). Many people have pointed out this as a clue to Jon’s parentage, so by extension, Jonnel’s marriage to Sansa could also be viewed as a clue to something else happening in the future. It can then be inferred that GRRM has used lineages to foreshadow other things.
There is also the fact of GRRM going back to this draft and revising it by adding in this marriage. It serves no other purpose than to convey that the Starks are a-okay with incest-unions,(and don't we already know this through Ned's parents?). In any case, this was already represented with another marriage in the lineage that had children – so why would GRRM add it in?
When you couple this past marriage in alongside ASOIAF Sansa having marriage as a major motif in her arc, involved in five different betrothals that are never far from Jon’s chapters (I'll get to that I promise) her claim being used by other people to try and hold the North, some form of a succession crisis occurring in the North (who will rule when the Boltons are overthrown? Grand Northern Conspiracy type pondering etc) Jonnel being known as Jonnel ‘One Eye’ Stark and all those other connections to Jon Snow losing an eye (which are surrounded by Sansa chapters with bird imagery) well… it's certainly something. I will say that. You have to wonder if this is all coincidence, though judging by GRRM’s foreshadowing style? I really highly doubt it.
To reiterate my point about marriage though, here is how Jon is never quite far from Sansa's suitors:
Eddard I -> Jon I - (AGOT) – the betrothal between Joffrey and Sansa is first proposed in Eddard's chapter. This is then followed into Jon's first chapter of the series. 'Sansa looked radiant' + Jon's "vast dismay" at Joffrey reeks of some kind of weird jealousy.
ASOS Sansa I, in which Olenna tells Sansa that she plans to marry her to Willas (and talks of a Targaryen betrothal she was once involved in) is followed by Jon I.
ASOS Sansa VI, in which Lysa reveals that she wants a marriage between Sansa and Robert Arryn, is followed by Jon IX.
"How would you like to marry your cousin, the Lord Robert?” - (Sansa VI, ASOS)
“It is not me she wants her son to marry, it is my claim. No one will ever marry me for love.” (Sansa VI, ASOS).
As the audience is aware, Jon is (very likely) Sansa’s cousin, so this seems an illuminating question, especially when Jon's chapter is right after. The audience is put back into Jon's head right after marriage talk. There are of course discrepancies in this pattern: Her engagement and marriage to Tyrion Lannister, and Littlefinger promising her to Harry Hardyng.
But, in the first case, ASOS Sansa II is the first chapter that indirectly deals with Sansa’s betrothal and future wedding to Tyrion. Her measurements are taken for a gown, unbeknownst that it is for her impending wedding. This indirect reference follows Jon II. Jon’s POV is still right next to Sansa’s here. (This could be a stretch, but that's fine, it doesn't have to perfectly align!).
As for Sansa’s engagement to Harry Hardyng, it is first proposed in AFFC, Alayne II. Though, Jon is also consciously mentioned by Sansa in the very same chapter, just a few lines before Harry is introduced as a character. ( Interestingly, it is the first time Sansa consciously mentions Jon since ACOK).
“She had not thought of Jon in ages. He was only her half-brother, but still . . . with Robb and Bran and Rickon dead, Jon Snow was the only brother that remained to her. I am a bastard too now, just like him. Oh, it would be so sweet to see him once again. But of course, that could never be. Alayne Stone had no brothers, baseborn or otherwise."
"Our cousin Bronze Yohn had himself a mêlée at Runestone," Myranda Royce went on, oblivious, "a small one, just for squires. It was meant for Harry the Heir to win the honours, and so he did.”*
"Harry the Heir?" (AFFC, Alayne II).
Later in the chapter, Littlefinger proposes a betrothal between Sansa and Harry, thus finalising the pattern of Jon being narratively close to Sansa’s suitors.
(I also just wanted to add in that Sansa goes from Lady, to captive, to Lannister, to traitor, to bastard. And Jon, within roughly the same timeframe, goes from Bastard, to captive, to wildling, to traitor, to Lord.) So they effectively switch places - opposite social standing parallels going on here.
So there you have it! I probably left some extra clues out, but that is the major crux of it. I also want to note that you don't have to agree with how I've perceived any of this. I'm a literature major myself, so I just naturally will look for and pick up on these things. I have a lot of fun making connections between imagery, linguistics, themes etc and these sorts of deep dives get my brain whirring. I thought the way GRRM has connected all this is undoubtedly intriguing from a narrative standpoint, it seems on par with GRRM's self proclaimed foreshadowing style that is inherently subconscious, that's for certain.
GRRM on his use of foreshadowing:
"I just think of these things, and, you know, I put in things that I think I’ll pay off later, little hints and foreshadowing, as you do, and sometimes I do pay them off, and somtimes later in the book I go back and take out the foreshadowings, because I’ve sort of drifted away from them. But a lot of it takes place on a subconscious level […] a lot of my process takes place and I don’t know where it’s coming from, but ideas come to me, and concepts come to me, and I work with them."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0wWRnFR4vQ (source).
"There are some mysteries in these books. There are some things that I'm gonna reveal later on that I'm planting clues for. There are some later plot twists that I'm foreshadowing. There are things that are gonna happen in Book 5 and Book 6 and Book 7 where I've planted a seed for it in Book 1. But I don't necessarily want to give away my hand. So, what do I do when I plant the seed? Well, I plant the seed, but I try to do a little literary sleight of hand, and while I'm planting the seed, my other hand is up there waving and is distracting you with some flashy bit of wordplay or something that's going on in the foreground, while the seed is being planted in the background. So hopefully the seed is there, the foreshadowing is there, but maybe you won't notice it, because it's surrounded by so many other things."
(This quote is from a podcast episode that has been linked on here before, though it's since been deleted you can find discussions about it on the internet).
So what I personally find so fascinating about Jon and Sansa and all this is how implicitly it exists. It's exciting to peel back the layers of something, to dig deeper and make connections and then continue making connections until you come to this 'holy shit!' moment. I think the major argument is 'oh it's not stated as such in the text it's not explicit enough' but I really believe that is the point… you have to unveil a very surface level reading to get to the core and just as GRRM puts 'something that is going on in the foreground' (the explicit text i.e. something a character says or is just straight up stated on paper) is put in there by GRRM whilst he is planting another 'seed in the background.' He thinks (or maybe hopes) you won't notice the foreshadowing as it is surrounded by "so many other things;" it's pretty clear he wants us to get to the core of what he is saying or implying and figure it out ourselves which is just… yeah, writers would have A LOT of fun just sitting back and watching people doing that.
In any case , I hope you enjoyed this very convoluted post!
