Nothing gets by Game of Thrones fans. The show and book series have spawned countless fansites, where detail-oriented watchers and readers scour George R.R. Martin's work in search of clues to the future of the series and the mysteries of the past.
And when I say nothing gets by Game of Thrones fans, I mean nothing. Take Game of Thrones showrunner David Benioff's choice of shirt, for instance. Benioff appeared with show co-creator D.B. Weiss in a recent interview promoting Game of Thrones in IMAX, and fans have latched onto what they say is further proof that one of the longest running and most widely believed fan theories revolving around the identity of Jon Snow's parentage is true: R+L=J.
You can clearly see R+L on Benioff's shirt, just above the logo of a polo player, reminiscent of a Ralph Lauren shirt. But what does it mean? The R+L could simply mean Ralph Lauren, and Benioff is trolling the world. Or it could be yet another clue pointing towards the popular fan theory moving from theory and into fact.
It's even more convincing when you throw in the recent discovery of another R+L easter egg lurking way back in season one of the show. In season one, episode four, during a conversation between Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly, Jon is talking about his bastard surname "Snow" and how Jon never knew his real mother. When Jon moves his head, the letter R+L can be seen carved into a wooded column in the background.
Seems pretty convincing, no? And it's even more convincing considering Benioff and Weiss know how Game of Thrones will end. In fact, when cementing the deal between HBO and Martin for the creation of the show, Martin reportedly asked Benioff and Weiss after a three hour conversation who they believed to be Snow's real mother, as a sort of test as to the pair's knowledge of the source material. They answered, and Martin found their response to his liking. The rest, as they say, is history.
So what is R+L=J? Well, if you really want to know...WARNING: POTENTIALLY GIANT SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD IN LINK. CLICK AT YOUR OWN RISK.
You can read up on the theory here. Don't say I didn't warn you.
The pieces in the books all seem to fall into place, and Benioff's shirt choice and the easter egg in season one add even more reason to believe this fan theory eventually being proven correct. Alas, we won't know for sure the mystery surrounding Jon Snow's heritage until Martin finishes his book series, which doesn't look to be happening anytime soon.
