Whether you love or hate the idea of Daenerys and Jon Snow getting together on Game of Thrones, the inevitability of this aunt and nephew hooking up became completely apparent to me during "Beyond The Wall." As a person who was firmly against this Targaryen incest plot, the showrunners were hitting fans over the head with it even more than before during the penultimate episode of Game Of Thrones Season 7. Sure, Dany (ahem, I mean, "my queen") was the one to pull away from their "I'm glad you're not dead," "I'm sorry your dragon died" hand-holding sesh, but the Targaryen incest boat seems to be moving full steam ahead and there's nothing for me to do but to 'ship this pair. Because, just like Jon and Daenerys (and in the words of REO Speedwagon), "I can't fight this feeling anymore."
While it's never wise to think you can predict what will happen on Game Of Thrones, the series is now making even reluctant viewers like myself feel the need to 'ship Jon and Daenerys. Before they had met, I could convince myself that these two extremely attractive people wouldn't be sexually attracted to one another. I had thought the pair could rule as platonic relatives and use their combined powers for good. But considering that whenever they are with each other they embark on super sexually-charged staring contests, it seems foolish to deny that this aunt and nephew want each other. (They don't know they're related, for what it's worth.)
Even if the Season 7 finale, "The Dragon And The Wolf," focuses on Rhaegar and Lyanna and brings Jon and Dany's incest to the forefront, I'm unfortunately 'shipping an aunt and uncle now. And if you're in the same boat, here's how to rationalize these complicated feelings.
They're Really, Really, Really Ridiculously Good-Looking
I've always understood the allure of wanting these two powerful, good, and — most importantly — completely gorgeous characters to hook up. But I resisted because of that whole aunt-nephew dynamic. Yet, if I live in the now and don't consider how deeply disturbed both of them are going to be when they do eventually find out they're related, I can focus on their beautiful faces smooching.
Lust For A Long-Lost Relation Is A Thing
There's a phenomenon called genetic sexual attraction (GAS), which occurs when long-lost family members meet. So unbeknownst to them, their attraction could be a result of them being kin. Unlike Cersei and Jaime, who have known each other their whole lives, I can be more understanding of Jon and Dany's strange urges knowing it's far from unheard of in situations like theirs.
It Is George R. R. Martin-Approved
As George R. R. Martin stated at a 2014 event, the Targaryens were from Valyria and so they have different cultural norms than Westerosi royalty. One of these is incest and Martin specifically referred to Targaryen nephews and aunts marrying. And if it happened once before, who's to say it can't happen again?
And Daenerys Seems Healthy
One of the major concerns with incest is that any resulting offspring could suffer from the shared genes. Daenerys' parents were actually brother and sister and as I don't think Daenerys is turning "mad" like her father, she hasn't shown signs of mental illness resulting from her incestuous bloodline to me. That means if Jon and Dany were to have kids (despite her thinking she can't), they might be healthy since they are only second-degree relatives rather than first-degree relatives. (Yes, I acknowledge my rationalizations are getting as mad as the Mad King by the minute.)
They've Both Been In Love Before
Although Jon was in the Night's Watch, he still had sex with — and fell in love with — Ygritte. And besides the love she had for her husband Drogo, Daenerys has also been intimate with Daario. With both Jon and Daenerys having previous romantic relationships, it makes them emotionally mature enough to know when something feels like the real thing. And that makes me 'ship this couple more than if they had never been in love before. Plus, all of us creepy 'shippers know the sex is gonna be ultrasexy.
It's In The Damn Title
As most fans know, the name of Martin's series is A Song Of Ice And Fire with the first book being called Game Of Thrones. With Jon representing the ice and Daenerys representing the fire, are fans who are resistant to these two hooking up stupidly ignoring the obvious? Maybe HBO changed the title of the show just to stop viewers from instantly predicting these two would end up together.
Even Jorah Knows It's Inevitable
Although Jorah presumably knows that Daenerys can't have children since he was present when Rhaego was stillborn, it still seemed like he was giving Jon and Daenerys his blessing when he said to Jon, "May [Longclaw] serve you well — and your children after you." Jorah also acknowledged his longtime love was lusting for Jon as she waited for him to return from beyond the Wall. So if Jorah can accept the inevitability of them hooking up, how can I not?
Of course, now that I'm 'shipping these two, Bran may drop the raven bombshell on them during the Season 7 finale that they are related and put this budding romance to a screeching halt. But Jon and Daenerys getting together feels like the key to the end of Game Of Thrones, and I've stopped letting the icky incest get in the way of embracing that.
