Game of Thrones Season 8: What Will Happen When Jon and Dany Learn They’re Related?

One of the biggest questions heading into Game of Thrones‘ final season is what will happen when Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) find out they’re related? And in an interview with TV Insider, Harington, Clarke and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss shed some light on how that inevitable reveal will play out.

In Game of Thrones‘ Season 7 finale, Jon and Daenerys consummated their relationship after a season full of sexual tension (and after Jon had renounced his King in the North title and bent the knee to the Dragon Queen). But their relationship is even closer and more complicated than either of them realize. Jon Snow is not the bastard son of Ned Stark (Sean Bean) as he was raised to believe, but is actually the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen, Daenerys’ late brother. This technically puts Jon ahead of Dany in the order of succession. It also means Dany is Jon’s aunt. Given that Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) and Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) know all this, it’s only a matter of time before the star-crossed lovers find out, too.

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“From a dramatic standpoint, it makes things interesting, because the story is no longer about who Jon’s parents are,” said Weiss. “It’s about what happens when Jon finds out.”

Maintaining their strategic union is of the utmost importance because the Army of the Dead is marching toward them, but will they be able to work together once they find out about Jon’s Targaryen blood and claim to the throne? “Daenerys’ lifelong dream has been to avenge her family and claim her rightful seat on the Iron Throne,” Clarke said. “She truly loves Jon. Were she to find out about his title, it would cut deep.”

Meanwhile, Jon will not only have to work through his feelings about his true parentage, but also what this means for his relationship with Dany. “Jon is someone who plays by the book. He cannot lie,” Harington said. “Finding out about Dany would be very hard for him.”

That’s all pretty vague, but the fact that people involved in Game of Thrones are starting to talk even vaguely about the plot of Season 8 is exciting. Winter is almost here, indeed.

Game of Thrones Season 8 debuts in April on HBO.

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Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke, Game of ThronesPhoto: HBO