Is R+L=J Confirmed On ‘Game Of Thrones’? HBO Reveals Jon Snow’s Father

“Game of Thrones” fans don’t have to wait until Season 7 to find out who Jon Snow’s father is. It seems that isn’t one of the secrets the HBO drama is trying to keep. In a post on HBO’s official Making “Game of Thrones” blog, a graphic reveals what many viewers suspected all along.

The theory for many years, referred to as R+L=J, explains that Jon Snow (Kit Harington) is actually the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark (Aisling Franciosi). The “Game of Thrones” Season 6 finale confirmed that Lyanna was Jon’s mother, but it didn’t really explain who his father was. Many viewers assumed that confirming half the theory meant the other half was true. Other fans refused to believe Jon is half Targaryen until the show explicitly said it. The Making “Game of Thrones” blog is pretty clear in this graphic.

The graphic shows that Jon Snow’s mother is Lyanna and Rhaegar is his father. Ned Stark (Sean Bean), meanwhile, is simply listed as his guardian.

Someone should probably tell the cast that they don’t have to play dumb anymore. Issac Hempstead Wright, who plays Bran, recently said that they still don’t know if Rhaegar is the man they’re looking for. “We still are pretty clueless as to the father, I think … And at this stage, it could even be Ned,” he told the Hollywood Reporter. “There could be a Cersei and Jaime thing going on there.” But it seems “Game of Thrones” isn’t going the incestuous route again for now.

Fans will have the opportunity to ask executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss more questions about Jon’s parentage when they head to San Diego Comic-Con, Entertainment Weekly reports. The showrunners will be there on July 22 with several cast members from the show.

“Game of Thrones” Season 7 does not have a premiere date yet.