One of the best things about watching a show is being able to indulge in the fan theories. Viewers of Chelsea Handler's Netflix talk show heard a theory from John Bradley-West, who plays Samwell Tarly. Fans who tuned in caught him talking about a theory that could kill any claim that Cersei Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen have on the Iron Throne.
There were hints that House Stark and House Targaryen might band together back during this season's trailer, but this theory could render that irrelevant. On Chelsea, Bradley-West explains that incest isn't something that is celebrated on the show — in fact, it's just as frowned upon in the world of Game of Thrones as it is IRL. But it turns out that incest could be a way to eliminate rivals from claiming the throne.
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In his theory, Bradley-West explains that because of the history of incest in the Targaryen family — which drove Dany's father mad and was on full display between her and her brother Viserys in the first season — social norms dictate that being born of incest would negate her claim to the throne. And, by that same logic, because Cersei and Jaime Lannister's incestuous relationship, all of Cersei's children would not have claim to the Throne because they are all products of incest between herself and her brother Jamie. The Lannister family is known in the world of Westeros to be as guilty of historical incest as the Targaryens, so Cersei's claim could also be vacated.
Dany, who returned from across the Narrow Sea at the season premiere, looks likely to claim the Iron Throne for her own this season but, by Bradley-West's theory, if anyone realized it out that Cersei or Dany partook in any incestuous activities, then they would be deemed unfit to rule and would have to let go of any claim to the Iron Throne. That is, in fact, exactly why the Lannisters killed Ned Stark in season 1, to stop him from telling anyone that all the children who were supposed to be Robert Baratheon's were actually...not. Clearly making this claim is a deadly choice, so it's hard to imagine who might.
The only son of Ned Stark's that we know to be alive is Jon Snow, but he's illegitimate himself, so his own claim on the Throne could be voided. The audience knows that Bran is alive, so that might make his claim to the Iron Throne could be the most valid in all of the land.
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With this information, the fight to see who will be the next one to sit at the Iron Throne became that much more exciting.
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