Everything to remember about Rhaegar and Lyanna

There are few arcs in Game of Thrones that fall anything short of epic, but one of the most pivotal and gripping by far is the story of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.

The link between this then-prince of Westeros and young lady of Winterfell was the scandal of a century, but also a relationship that managed to entirely destabilize the seven kingdoms and whose ripples still affect every character to this day.

In honor of Game of Thrones Season 8 and the undoubtedly critical role of Rhaegar and Lyanna’s legacy, we look back on the connection that changed Westeros forever.

We didn’t realize its significance at the time, but we heard Rhaegar and Lyanna’s names way back in Season 1, episode 1 “Winter is Coming.” Lyanna is omnipresent to Robert Baratheon when he visits Winterfell after so many years, and he laments her death and alleged abduction at the hands of Rhaegar Targaryen to this day. 

The story as we first hear it is this: Lyanna was happily in love with and betrothed to Robert when Rhaegar, son of the Mad King Aerys Targaryen, kidnapped and hid her away. Robert started a war to retrieve his love, killing Rhaegar and taking his father’s throne. When Ned Stark finally found Lyanna, it was too late.

The skeletal facts are there, but the details make all the difference when it comes to these two. The truth, as we learn in Season 7, is that Rhaegar and Lyanna fell in love, a truth Robert denied during her life and well after her death. He was jealous and convinced himself of Rhaegar’s tyranny, a narrative that others quickly accepted given The Mad King’s reputation and the fact that Rhaegar abandoned his own wife and children to be with Lyanna.

Once united, the lovers married in secret, and Lyanna gave birth to a son in Dorne’s Tower of Joy whom Ned took back to Winterfell claiming as his bastard, Jon Snow. Ned never betrayed his sister’s secret that we know of, but the revelation is sure to come to light in Season 8. 

Because she was born into a prominent Westerosi family (and during a time of relative peace), Lyanna knew both Robert and Rhaegar while she was growing up. In the Year of False Spring from A Song of Ice and Fire, she hears Rhaegar’s music and is moved to tears. He’s already married to Elia Martell by then but gives Lyanna a crown of roses at the tourney at Harrenhal, all but igniting a rebellion right then and there. 

“[He] whispered in my ear, ‘Lyanna.’ Your sister was a corpse, I was a living girl, and he loved her more than me.”

This was never just the story of two young lovers; because their names are Stark and Targaryen, their every move impacts the throne. The tourney at Harrenhal would’ve scorched any Westerosi gossip magazine, but it would also monopolize the medieval equivalent of cable news because of the implications for Houses Stark, Baratheon, Martell, and Targaryen.

Rhaegar and Lyanna’s relationship was the spark that set Westeros ablaze, toppling domino after domino that led to the events of Game of Thrones. Rhaegar’s mother fled King’s Landing with Viserys (she was still pregnant with Daenerys), and her children grew up far from home with dreams of the Iron Throne. Back in Westeros, Robert would hold a candle for Lyanna until his own death, after 17 years of marriage to an increasingly bitter Cersei Lannister.

“I worshipped him,” Cersei tells Ned of Robert in Season 1. “When I finally saw him on our wedding day … it was the happiest moment of my life. And that night, he … whispered in my ear, ‘Lyanna.’ Your sister was a corpse, I was a living girl, and he loved her more than me.”

Abandoned by Rhaegar, Elia Martell was raped and killed by The Mountain during the Sacking of King’s Landing, which incited the deep enmity between Houses Lannister and Martell that we witness in Season 4. Oberyn died seeking justice for his sister, Myrcella died when Ellaria Sand avenged her lover, and Ellaria’s own story ended locked in a dungeon watching her daughter die slowly before her eyes. That entire horrific chain of events began with Rhaegar and Lyanna!

Of course, nothing carries the weight of this story more than Jon Snow’s very existence. Even as a Snow and as Ned’s alleged bastard, he cast aspersions upon the Lord of Winterfell, and the lie created a lasting wound in Ned and Catelyn’s marriage. Cat confesses in Season 1 to hating Jon and hating herself for that impulse. The last words he and Ned exchange are an unfulfilled promise to talk about Jon’s mother. Would Ned have told the truth? Did he think Jon was ready? We’ll never know.

What it means for Season 8

As a natural-born Targaryen (and not even a bastard!), Jon Snow has a stronger claim to the throne than anyone alive (even Daenerys, because patriarchy). He’ll have a tough time proving it since everyone who could corroborate the truth is dead and the Cerseis of the world will call him a liar faster than you can say “Dracarys.” 

Popular theory is that Bran will reveal the truth, which he only knows because of his sight as the Three-Eyed Raven, but Raven visions aren’t exactly something you can share with the whole class. Even official records like Sam’s at the Citadel won’t help since Cersei historically hates anything written on paper!

It took seven seasons and nearly 20 years before the events of Thrones, but the chaos set in motion by Rhaegar and Lyanna’s association will culminate in Season 8. The truth will come out and the throne will be more contested than ever, perhaps poised for another war.

We can’t wait.

Game of Thrones returns April 14.