Game of Thrones season 7: The intriguing, alternative theory around Cersei's prophesy

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Last season in Game of Thrones we saw Cersei Lannister take her seat on the Iron Throne, but any self-respecting fan will know that it's unlikely she'll have an easy time of it in the forthcoming seventh series.

A previous flashback saw Cersei receive a prophesy from Maggy the frog that she would die at the hands of the 'Valonqar' - the term for 'little brother' in High Valyrian - and we are yet to find out which character will fill that role.

There are obviously already plenty of theories that make a lot of sense, but a new one recently appeared on reddit that could also work.

dremling writes: "To quote the end of Cersei's prophecy: 'When your tears have drowned you, the Valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.'

"Since the Valonqar is Valyrian for the 'little brother', most people think that Jaime, or maybe Tyrion, will kill Cersei. I think that in a show as unpredictable of Game of Thrones, this is too obvious. The Valonqar means 'the little brother', not Cersei's little brother. So Cersei's murderer could be anyone who is a little brother.

"But saying this in Valyrian suggests that the person will have Valyrian blood. The Targaryens have Valyrian blood.

"Jon Snow is a Targaryen. He is the little brother of Rhaenys and Ageon. He wants to kill Cersi. I think it is very likely that he does."

While this idea does have some weight to it, it hasn't really convinced anyone at The Independent's culture desk.

Here are three of our favourite contenders for the role of 'Valonqar'.

Tyrion Lannister:

Consistently called 'little brother' by Cersei, has plenty of reasons to want to kill her himself, and has already made a habit out of killing Lannisters. There is also a popular theory that Tyrion is a Targaryen himself.

Jaime Lannister:

He is Cersei's twin brother but was born after her. They shared an incestuous relationship but we have yet to see how Jaime will react when he returns to find that Cersei is basically responsible for the death of their (until recently) only-surviving child.

Arya Stark

While the majority seem happy to interpret 'Valonqar' to mean 'little brother', others have suggested that it could be another case of a gender-neutral word in High Valyrian and could also mean 'little sister' or 'little sibling'. Jon Snow refers to her often as 'little sis'.

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for the latest news, features and video on TV, Film, Music and Art.