re: Game Of Thrones S5:E10 "Mother's Mercy" BOOK READER THREAD

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Meera Reed is Jon's twin sister, and the third head of the Dragon. Lets break down the pros and cons.

Pros: Meera was born in the same year as Robb and Jon, and we know nothing whatsoever about her mother. We've assumed up to this point that her mother is Howland's wife, Jyana, but we know nothing about this character except her name and that she exists (because Jojen has to come from somewhere, and I don't buy the theory that he's Howland in disguise).

Meera's physical description is very similar to Lyanna's and Arya's. She's slim and flat-chested, attractive without being traditionally beautiful. She's got the martial prowess that Lyanna had, and her cheerful but fiery personality is reminiscent of what we know about Lyanna.

The odds of Lyanna dying in childbirth seem more likely if she had twins.

Howland certainly owes Lyanna a debt, which we know thanks to the story of the Knight of the Laughing Tree. Him taking a second child and hiding it at Greywater Watch could certainly have happened in the time between the TOJ and Ned returning to Winterfell (Ned returning with TWO bastards would have been a real stretch, and having the children in the same place would have put them in much worse danger if their true parentage was discovered.). Is there a more perfect place to hide someone who doesn't want to be found than Greywater Watch? The northern houses that could propose marriage alliances with the Starks seemed to be at least interested (the Karstarks wanting to marry Alys to Robb), but despite Howland having a daughter of the exact same age, he shows zero interest in such an arrangement (Close friends/allies with children of the same age generally seem very interested in marrying their kids off to each other...but not here...). It gives the dragon a third head in a very "neat" way, which seems much more up Martin's alley than making Tyrion a bastard or having Bran warg into the third dragon.

Cons: The biggest hole in this theory, no doubt, is that Meera has green eyes. No Starks have green eyes (Lyanna and Jon both have gray eyes), and no recent Targaryens have had green eyes either (1/2 of Shiera Seastar doesn't count). However, wouldn't giving Meera gray (or violet) eyes give this away way too soon? Howland Reed knows some magic thanks to his time on the Isle of Faces, and crannogmen have been described as being able to "blend in" to the neck. Changing her eye color to throw the readers off the scent isn't something I'd put past Martin, if he really wanted this to be a surprise.

She doesn't show up in any of the prophecies. There's no foreshadowing or prophecy that mentions twins (AFAIK). Bloodraven or the COTF might sense her importance (she's in their cave, after all), but if she seems significant to them, they aren't showing it. She's short (which I don't remember being particular of Lyanna), but could this be a byproduct of growing up in the (presumably cramped) Neck? If she's stuck in that cave north of the wall when winter hits, how is she going to become relevant to the story anytime soon? No easy answer here.

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