- A leaked copy of George R.R. Martin's original outline for A Song of Ice and Fire, the series on which Game of Thrones is based, reveals that Arya Stark and Jon Snow were originally supposed to fall in love.
- In that version of the story, Tyrion Lannister would also have fallen for Arya.
- In the final version of the series, Arya and Jon's relationship is purely platonic.
This post contains spoilers for Season 8 of Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones isn't afraid to dabble in incest (see: Jaime and Cersei Lannister and, more recently, Jon "Actually a Targaryen" Snow and Daenerys Targaryen), but George R.R. Martin's latest reveal is next level, even in Westeros.
Apparently, the author's original outline for A Song of Ice and Fire called for Jon to fall for another relative: Arya Stark.
Here's an excerpt from Martin's original outline, describing Arya's realization of her love for "half-brother" Jon:
"Wounded by Lannister riders, they will seek refuge at the Wall, but the men of the Night's Watch give up their families when they take the black, and Jon and Benjen will not be able to help, to Jon's anguish. It will lead to a bitter estrangement between Jon and Bran.
Arya will be more forgiving ... until she realizes, with terror, that she has fallen in love with Jon, who is not only her half-brother but a man of the Night's Watch, sworn to celibacy.
Their passion will continue to torment Jon and Arya throughout the trilogy, until the secret of Jon's true parentage is finally revealed in the last book."
And Jon wasn't the only GOT guy lusting after Arya Stark in the original plan for the books. Apparently Tyrion Lannister was also head over heels in love with her and it led to a bitter rivalry between him and Jon Snow. Per the outline:
"Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he's at it. His passion is, alas, un-reciprocated, but no less intense for that, and it will lead to a deadly rivalry between Tyrion and Jon Snow."
What a different show would that have been?
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