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Bran's Flashback On 'Game Of Thrones' Reveals A Huge Clue That Could Explain Jon's Lineage

by Megan Walsh

On the second episode of Game of Thrones Season 6 ("Home"), Bran Stark made his first appearance after a year of absence. As nice as it was to see one of the baby Starks alive and well, the circumstances of his return were even better. Bran is much farther along in his psychic abilities than he was the last time viewers got a look at him, and he can now successfully use his warging powers to access visions of the past. The show revealed this by having Bran walk around in the Winterfell of years ago, getting a peek at his own father as a kid. But the flashback was a lot more than an excuse to see some cute Stark kids; Bran's flashback on Game of Thrones revealed a huge clue that could explain Jon's lineage.

In the flashback, Bran got to see his dad Ned teaching some sweet sword moves to Ned's little brother Benjen, as well as Ned's sister Lyanna riding in on horseback. Not only did it provide a nice look the sibling dynamics, but gave viewers their very first glimpse of Lyanna Stark, who might end up being pretty important if certain theories turn out to be true. However, within that brief, mostly happy scene, there was something really interesting that perceptive fans were quick to take note of.

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While training Benjen, Ned gives the kid some advice and ruffles his hair affectionately. That scene was actually a word-for-word, gesture-for-gesture parallel to a scene of Jon Snow training Ollie, the Judas of a Night's Watch member who stabbed Jon at the end of Season 5. The recreation of the scene is a little too exact to be a throwaway, but what exactly does it mean?

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It's possible that fans are meant to see a direct connection between Ned Stark and Jon. Both of them are honorable men who were ultimately betrayed because of it, but perhaps this connection goes deeper than that. There's always been a question as to whether or not Ned is actually Jon's biological father, and this could be a hint that he is. The exact dialogue could be a generational echo effect. Then again, it could also prove their similarities. Perhaps Jon will end up sharing the same fate as his late maybe-father and lose his life for a second time. Or maybe it hints at something unresolved between Ned and Benjen that will come into play later on; perhaps Ben betrayed his brother as Ollie betrayed Jon.

At first the scene seems to recall the pilot, where Jon and Robb taught a much shorter Bran how to shoot arrows. The memory of that scene is certainly echoed in Bran's face, and in his later assertion that while in the vision he was "home." It's possible the flashback was intended to give viewers a glimpse of happier times to show how much things had changed, and also to reassert the familial connection between all the remaining Starks. Then again, it could be a hint that Bran is going to reveal some major Jon Snow information going forward – such as who his parents really are. The possibilities are endless.

The details of the flashback were simply too perfectly recreated for it to be meaningless. Whether the parallel is between Jon and Ned or Ben and Ollie, there is definitely something there. Even if it's unclear exact what that is, it links Jon to the Starks in a way that's impossible to ignore. He may end up having some Targaryen blood, but he'll always be a Stark, too.