(Spoiler Alert: Major plot details for “Game of Thrones” ahead)
On this week’s “Game of Thrones” episode, we saw Sansa write a letter seeking aid, without any hint as to its contents or recipient. Jon Snow is planning to attack Ramsay soon to avoid getting snowed in like Stannis’ forces did last season, but despite his and Sansa’s best efforts to rally troops, they’re clearly outnumbered.
It’s widely believed by fans that Sansa’s letter is linked to her secret connections to Littlefinger, but it wasn’t known for sure who she was writing to. She could have been writing to Riverrun to get Ser Brynden and the Tullys up north faster. On the other hand, she could be writing to Littlefinger as a last ditch plea for help, despite the bitterness she feels towards him for putting her in harm’s way to advance his schemes.
Thanks to an eagle-eyed and computer-savvy fan, we now know the answer. Reddit user CreepyPancakes used Photoshop to flip, zoom and enhance a still shot of Sansa writing the letter to take a peek at its contents.
The blurry nature of the upside-down shot makes some words difficult to read, while others are blocked by Sansa’s pen. Still, there’s more than enough to figure out the whole message (guessed words in brackets):
“…[You promised] to protect me…Now you have [a chance] to fulfill your promise. [The Knights] of the Vale are under your command. Ride [north] for Winterfell. [Lend] us your aid and I shall see to it that you are rewarded.”
Who’s in charge of the Knights of the Vale? That would be Littlefinger, who has manipulated Robin Arryn to gain control over his house’s forces. Sansa angrily rejected Littlefinger’s offer of aid from House Arryn earlier this season — after all, he swayed her into marrying Ramsay, and look where that got her.
Still, Sansa isn’t too proud to reconsider accepting a helping hand. She initially rejected Brienne’s help, but now she’s her most trusted confidante. When your ancestral home is being held by a raping, murdering monster, you’ll take all the help you can get.
Sometimes “Game of Thrones” fans come up with brilliant ideas about the series’ future — for a sampling of those good ones, click here. Other times, they aren’t so good. Check out some of the weirdest fan theories below.
14 Dumb and Debunked 'Game of Thrones' Theories (Photos)
This season of "Game of Thrones" has been a godsend for fans who love to craft theories about what big twists lie ahead. Bran, Tyrion, and Sansa have all been the subjects of theories with major ramifications. But for every "Tyrion Targaryen" theory, there's another one that has either been disproved by recent events or is so preposterous it would make Robert Baratheon roar with laughter.
HBO
One theory that doesn't hold water suggests that Lord Varys is a merman. Either he's lying about being a eunuch to hide his identity or he was turned into one by the sorcerer that castrated him. The key evidence is a throwaway line from the books where Varys did not flinch at Tyrion's threat to throw him into the water.
A theory that lasted for a while suggested that Hodor was the Great Other who controlled the White Walkers, the icy counterpart to the Lord of Light which some fans believed Winterfell had been built to contain. This theory got debunked when the true origin of the word "Hodor" was revealed ... right as the White Walkers killed the poor stable boy.
There have been a bunch of theories suggesting that Ned Stark survived his execution by warging out of his body just before his execution. These theories suggest he's warged into Tywin, Joffrey, and even his greatsword, Ice. Of course, Tywin and Joffrey are now dead and Ice was melted down into new swords. Ned's long gone.
On the "Song of Ice and Fire" subreddit, there's a theory that suggests that Tyrion is Drogo and Daenerys' son thanks to some fetus switching in the first season courtesy of Mirri Maz Duur and some time travel magic. It has to be read to be believed.
The most popular GoT theory is the "RLJ" theory that suggests Jon Snow is the child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, a fact Ned Stark hid to protect Jon. A much more icky version of this theory is that Jon is the product of an incestuous relationship between Ned and Lyanna. Apparently some fan thinks that incest isn't just the domain of Lannisters and Targaryens.
Jorah Mormont has been competing for the attention of Queen Daenerys with Daario Naharis, but one crazy theory suggests that the two are the same person, a la "Fight Club." The idea of the handsome, powerful Daario being a Tyler Durden-esque illusion that Jorah unconsciously uses to sleep with Dany is funny, but totally impossible.
Another Daario theory suggests that he is Benjen Stark, who ditched the Night's Watch as the White Walkers advanced and traveled to Essos to find a new life. Instead, events this season have revealed that Benjen has been beyond the Wall all this time, ready to serve Bran.
Roose Bolton was once believed by some fans to be a half-human, half-Other, skinchanging immortal who used the magic of the Faceless Men and the skins of the enemies he flayed to disguise himself over the centuries. Ramsay's treachery this season brought an end to that theory.
This season, we are learning more and more about Bran's warging powers, which has led some to wonder just how much of an impact he has on the past. But some theories take this too far, such as one that suggests that Bran has warged into every single character in the story and has influenced their actions.
If you know anything about internet fandom, you know about "shippers," fans that love creating romances between unlikely characters. One shipping theory suggests that Robert Baratheon had a secret relationship with -- or at least held feelings for -- his foster brother, Ned Stark.
If you go looking around long enough, you'll find theories on a wide range of characters secretly being Targaryens. Along with Jon and Tyrion, there are theories that Sam Tarly, Mance Rayder, and even Hodor are the blood of the dragon.
After Arya was stabbed by the Waif, there were growing murmurs around a theory that claimed the Waif wasn't real, but rather a figment of Arya's imagination. Now that Arya killed her and put her face on the wall, it's clear that the Waif is no Tyler Durden.
HBO
At the start of season 6, some fans were wondering whether Sansa was pregnant with Ramsay's child after being raped. Some preview photos and dialogue stoked the theory, but as the story went on, it became more and more unlikely that this theory would become reality. The theory was finally shut down by Liam Cunningham in an interview.
But perhaps the wildest "GoT" theory ever devised is the one that imagines Westeros as J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth thousands of years after the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Along with Gandalf's sword seemingly making its way into the Iron Throne, fans of both series have turned to maps and "The Silmarillion" to imagine a scenario where the geology of Middle-Earth warped into Westeros and Essos.
Not every ”Game of Thrones“ fan theory is as plausible or well-built as ”R + L = J“
This season of "Game of Thrones" has been a godsend for fans who love to craft theories about what big twists lie ahead. Bran, Tyrion, and Sansa have all been the subjects of theories with major ramifications. But for every "Tyrion Targaryen" theory, there's another one that has either been disproved by recent events or is so preposterous it would make Robert Baratheon roar with laughter.