Jon Snow's real name and history have been revealed on Game of Thrones!NOTE: The following post contains spoilers for the Game of Thrones season 7 finale.

Who is Aegon Targaryen?

The last time Eddard Stark saw Jon Snow, he made a promise. œThe next time we see each other, we'll talk about your mother. Eddard leveled with his adoptive son after he unleashed a fusillade of questions about his mother: œIs [she] alive? Does she know about me? Where I am? Where I'm going? Does she care? It's an rare moment of vocal insecurity from Jon Snow, and it speaks to the significance of bloodlines, heritage, and legacy in Game of Thrones.

Though Ned would never see his boy again, that scene remains one of the most heartfelt and mysterious moments in Game of Thrones, thanks in large part to Sean Bean's performance. Even then, when the show was in its infancy, the pathos in Ned's promise hinted at something darker and more secretive than viewers might have imagined. Their conversation will surely haunt Jon's mind when he learns the truth of his birth.

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Though his foster father kept him in the dark all those years, Ned never lied to him: œYou are a Stark. You might not have my name, but you have my blood. Finally, after a biblical seven seasons of waiting, we have learned the truth. Though he has lived his whole life in the shadow of the pejorative "Snow" title, Jon is no bastard. He's not Eddard Stark's son. He's not illegitimate. He is Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. His other titles (of which there will be many) are just icing on the cake.

Ned and Jon on horseback in Game of Thrones

Though he took a knee for Daenerys, he will be forced to stand in season 8. He is Aegon Targaryen, the sixth of his name, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm. He is the Song of Ice and Fire, the King of the North with dragonblood DNA.

For theorists of George R. R. Martin's books and show, this is a tremendous victory. The R+L=J theory caught the internet by storm years ago, and while we've known that Rhaegar plus Lyanna equals Jon Snow since season 6, we only just learned how the equation came to be

Contrary to the libelous accusations of Robert Baratheon, Rhaegar Targaryen never kidnapped Lyanna Stark. Following the Tourney of Harrenhal, the besotted couple ran off with one another and made a covert home for themselves in the Tower of Joy in Dorne. As Gilly recently discovered at The Citadel, this elopement happened after Rhaegar lawfully annulled his first marriage to Elia Martell, with whom he had two children, Rhaenys and Aegon, his first son (more on the name issue in a moment).

After ending his first marriage, Rhaegar and Lyanna were married in a forest setting not unlike the secret wedding of Robb Stark and Talisa Maegyr. Their marriage was presided over by the Maester of the Citadel in Dorne. As Robert's Rebellion raged on, the couple absconded to the Tower of Joy, where Lyanna would receive protection from Arthur Dayne and his loyal Kingsguard. Though Rhaegar was killed by Robert Baratheon during the Battle of the Trident, his lineage lived on through the birth of his second son, Aegon Targaryen.

Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar Targaryen fighting in Game of Thrones.

This raises several questions about Rhaegar's sense of ethics. He not only abandoned his first wife and their two children, but he stole another man's betrothed bride-to-be, impregnated her, then gave his second son the same name he and his first wife gave their first son? That's questionable at best, but with a little background on Rhaegar's obsession with prophecy, it makes a bit more sense.

Kit Harrington as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones

Since he was a child, Rhaegar was fascinated by the legendary call for "The Prince That Was Promised," and he seemed to believe that the Azor Ahai savior (the one who would return to save Westeros) must be named Aegon Targaryen. When Daenerys had her visions in the House of the Undying, she saw Rhaegar tell Elia Martell:

"Aegon. What better name for a king? He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire. There must be one more. The dragon has three heads."

Rhaegar is actually the pioneer of the phrase, "the song of ice and fire." That's the first time George R. R. Martin's book title had ever been directly referenced in the story. Rhaegar was equally driven to fulfill the œdragon has three heads prophecy, and by fathering Rhaenys and Aegon with Elia Martell, he believed he had achieved two-thirds of the order. At the end of Daenerys' vision in the House of the Undying, however, Rhaegar seemed to look directly at her and say, "there must be one more...the dragon has three heads."

Why, then, did he give both of his sons the name of Aegon? There are several possible reasons for Rhaegar's curious approach to child-rearing.

On the one hand, his decision to dole out the same name twice may have been a failsafe if the first Aegon died prematurely or didn't grow up to be a King-worthy man. On the other hand, given his love for Lyanna and his decision to annul his first marriage to Elia Martell, Rhaegar had effectively turned his first two children into bastards. Because the original Aegon Targaryen lost his surname in the annulment, Rhaegar needed a new, legitimate Aegon to take his place.

Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) standing infront of Drogon on Game of Thrones

Either way, Rhaegar was safe to hedge his bets before Rhaenys and Aegon were both murdered by Gregor Clegane (i.e. The Mountain). As part of Tywin Lannister's coup d'état at King's Landing, every Targaryen was indiscriminately slaughtered, and Elia Martell and her infant children bore the brunt of the kill order. While this eliminated Rhaegar's progress towards fulfilling his precious prophecies, he and Lyanna were able to keep hope alive via their newborn baby.

Skipping ahead to the world of Westeros as fans know it, as opposed to what Rhaegar might have believed, Jon Snow did turn out to be a head of the dragon, as is his aunt, Daenerys (Rhaegar's sister). Should Jon and Daenerys (miraculously) have children in season 8, their eventual offspring could even become the third head of the dragon (though several fan theories point to other characters who might fit that role, most notably: Tyrion Lannister). Of course, given that season 7 ended with Jon and Dany in the throes of passion, it remains to be seen how the Mother of Dragons will react to the news that Jon is actually the rightful heir to what she perceives to be her throne.

Indeed, Jon has had a claim to power since the moment he was born, but he spent every day of his life viewing himself as a second-class citizen. Even Tyrion, no stranger to public scorn, empowered him to accept his station in life and convert it into a source of strength. Against all odds, the designated ruler is also the humblest leader in all the land. He has made it abundantly clear: he doesn't like his job, and he doesn't want to lead. Feelings be damned, it's his fate to do so. He is Aegon Targaryen. He is the Prince That Was Promised.

He is the song of ice and fire.

NEXT: Game of Thrones Season 8 Spoilers We Know So Far