Game of Thrones theorycrafting (wacky edition): Is Tormund Lyanna Mormont’s father?

And now it begins: the endless theorizing over what will happen in Game of Thrones Season 7. To be fair, there are some great theories out there. We’ve discussed some of them in two recent episodes of the Take the Black podcast. However, there are some wacky ones floating around, too.

Take, for instance, a piece recently ran in The Inquisitor, which pulled from Reddit, that hotbed of Song of Ice and Fire fandom. It proposes a theory regarding the supposed parentage of Lady Lyanna Mormont, our new favorite Game of Thrones character: that Tormund Giantsbane, a known braggart who has told a tall tale or two about bedding a bear, is her father.

Maege Mormont, Lyanna’s mother, seen briefly in Season 1.

This theory first began to turn heads back in 2013, on the Westeros.org message boards. As the theory goes, Tormund Giantsbane impregnated Lyanna Mormont’s mother, Maege, at some point during the never-ending clashes between wildlings and northmen. As you may recall, Maege Mormont died fighting for Robb Stark, something Lyanna reminds both Jon and Sana of when they seek her support.

Although it’s not talked about on the show, in the books, Maege Mormont is known as the She-Bear. All the members of the Mormont clan are closely associated with bears, residing as they do on Bear Island. In the books, Lyanna’s sister Alysane even claims that the Mormonts are sired by bears.

Tormund’s braggadocious ways are more pronounced in the books. Still, they cropped up in “The Watchers on the Wall,” when he talks about bedding a she-bear named Shiela. Might he have been covering for Maege out of respect, or because he was so drunk he didn’t remember or learn her name?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsLcf7rmhgs

With plenty of time between now and Season 7, there’s enough tinfoil evidence for this theory to pick up steam. But what do you think? Did Tormund sneak over to Bear Island and have a torrid affair with Maege Mormont? True or not, it would make for a fun reunion scene between father and daughter.