Me at the beginning: Such a random little tale, why make a video about it? Me at the end: Holy shit, this story started the events of Game of Thrones.

Only George R.R. Martin would kill Rhaegar, the single most important character in A Song of Ice and Fire, before the series actually begins.

"This was like the biggest highschool housepart in all of Westeros . . . who got the most drunk? Who hooked up with who? Who was plotting to overthrow the government?" Damn, Alt-Shift-X has had some crazy house parties.

Yeah, I remember those sweet highschool parties where we plotted to overthrow the government.

The thought of Ned having his brother ask Ashara to dance because he was shy is so heartwarming

"Lyanna was great at riding" I'm sure Rhaegar would agree.

"Who got the most drunk, who hooked up with who, who was plotting to overthrow the government..." So basically Robert Baratheon was the real MVP of the Tourney of Harranhal.

Maybe the fact that Rhaegar (whose wife Ellia attended the tourney) crowned Lyanna in front of all the court was not just a love thing. He in fact was crowning her with the only title a woman could get, because he considered her to be the true winner of the tourney.

I love that Rhaegar, Ellia, Lyana and Robert all have this super complicated love web going on, and Jon Connington is just kinda there with the unrequited love

- you know Varys was lit that night; gossip like a mf. Medieval romper on.

"Maybe it's Ned " Ned : " I don't fight in tournaments"

The fact that Ned never told Bran the story always reminded me of what the Stark children always say about Lyanna: "Father never talked about her".

Silly, small of stature but a good, agile fighter with a booming voice? It was Ser Pounce! =3

"You never heard this tale from your father?" "Your lord father never told it to you?" Ned has been consistently taciturn with all matters Lyanna. Why not with this tale too?

One other piece of evidence that points to it being Lyanna: the Reeds are surprised that Ned never mentioned the story to Bran. Ned knows it was Lyanna but buries all the memories of her deep to protect the promise he made to her: keep Jon Snow safe. Also, to Howland Reed it was just a cool thing that happened to him, but to Ned it was the start of a tragedy that would end in the deaths of basically his entire family.

So, what you're telling me is that everything that happened is ALL HOWLAND REED'S FAULT

Anyone in the seven kingdoms: *Exists* King Aerys, “The Mad King”: You’re my enemy!

Turns out it was actually Quaithe, as usual

I mean... I feel like it was always implied that it was Lyanna who did it, from the start. Lyanna rescues him at the start, Lyanna wants him to stand up for himself, she's described as a "She-Wolf" and from what we know about her is a lot like Arya, and the idea of Rhaegar being sent after the night only to discover it was Lyanna Stark creates a nice start to their relationship. I never got the impression it was supposed to be Howland.

Jon's identity, killing the greatest knight to ever live, his children helping Bran to save the world, the plot to put Jon on the throne, and now being the catalyst for Robert's war. I love how this seemingly ordinary crannogman is somehow at the center of everything.

I'd never heard the time travel theory before, but I think it might now be my favourite But yeah, it was probably Lyanna

I actually never questioned that it was anyone other than Lyanna. It just makes too much sense. It gives a good excuse for Rhaegar to fall in love with her.

it’s worth noting that Lyanna saves Howland from the squires by beating them with a wooden tourney sword.

a man simply cannot ignore a game of thrones video

its funny cuz i remember the chapter when Jon flees from the wildlings to get back to castle black, he rids off on the horse like a beast, and then thinks to himself later on that he shouldnt have been able to do that....i always saw that as a connection to Lyanna since she was half a horse lol

I'd always thought Ned's dislike of the Tourney of the Hand was just the stated one- that it was too expensive. But I'd think he surely knew what Lyanna did at Harrenhall. The tourney in King's Landing would have just been a painful reminder of the past.

The Knight of the Laughing Tree was Lancel, Osmund Kettleblack, or even Moon Boy for all I know. . .

The amount of badasses on that single tournament...wow. I would've loved to see that on the show.

Man, I can't believe it took me 20 years to realize the significance that Rhaegar was sent to search for the mystery knight and then later crowned Lyanna. The crowning always seemed a bit odd to me. Like he just did it because she seemed odd or whatever with no previous contact. And then later she ran off with him just because of the crowning? But if they met because of this story it suddenly all connects. And the fact that Ned never told Bran the story was also a bit of a mystery to me. Sure, it might have been painful to talk about his dead sister, which is what I've always assumed, though it seemed a bit weak as an explanation. But if it's actually the literal reason why Lyanna ran off with Rhaegar, and the origin of Jon Snow and "Promise me Ned"... Well, thank you for clearing up that little mystery for me.

Using Jon Arryn’s image of his funeral rites while talking of the biggest party ever had me chuckling, which evolved into uncontrollable laughter as I imagined him getting so wasted that he passed out in some corner and Robert put two stones over his eyes, while Ned watched from a distance, not wanting to take part in the prank but almost laughing himself

I wish you'd have added Leana Stark's words as she saved Howland: "That's my father's man you're beating!" Leana barely has any lines in the series, but when she speaks it really nails her character and how similar she is to Arya. Had Leana lived, Arya would be her favourite niece! Regardless, love you're videos and always rewatching them to find more and more details. Cheers for all the good work, you deserve the success!

JUST DROP THE DAMN TRAILER BEFORE I PISS MYSELF DAMNIT!

So beautiful. I didn't even think that Rhaegar might have actually found the Knight of the Laughing Tree. It would in fact fit perfectly if it was Lyanna and they had their first 1 on 1 meeting. I am now convinced. Thanks so much, Alt Shift X and in general for another great video.

I love the whole Lyanna story, but the idea of Bran going back and being a knight for a day is so freakin cute.

Is no one going to say anything about the fucking brilliant animations :O I'm psyched here. Good Job +Alt Shift X

It's Jaqen because reasons

I don't think Ned asked Brandon to ask Ashara for him, I think Brandon saw that his little brother was looking at her and just decided to try to set his little brother up like a good big brother would.

GRR doesn't ever write a "little tale" he is always 100 steps ahead of everyone and every which way the story could go. He NEVER makes a mistake. One thing builds on another, one thing is part of another, one thing affects 10 things. GRR is simply "THE MAN"!!!

I always thought it was Ned, dressing up in such a way that he wouldn't be recognised to avoid the fame while still defending someones honour sounds just like him. However, I agree now that Lyanna fits the wider story the best.

I thought it was obvious that it was Lyanna, GRRM loves female warriors

Lyanna was an absolute badass.

0:22 "...who hooked up with who, who is plotting to overthrow the goverment" you know, the usual.

When I first heard this story, my first thought was 'Yeah, that's Lyanna.'

"Everyone was there", and in order to fill out the rectangle you include Eon Hunter, like anyone cares about him haha.

I was bored and thinking about going outside but then I saw your upload.. you saved my life. Thanks.

I've heard this theory before and I always thought it was Lyanna. You made a great point that I hadn't considered before about Rhaegar actually knowing she was the knight but keeping it a secret.That made so much sense and I think you just blew my mind. Further evidence (although circumstantial) that she was the knight.

Obviously Lyanna was a great rider, just ask Rhaegar.

Another point that supports Lyanna as the Knight: as was told Jojen was quite surprised that Eddard never told the Stark child's the story of the Knight, but he doesn't know or didn't connect that Eddard never spoke about Lyanna, so if Eddard knew that Lyanna was the Knight he wouldn't have spoken about it.

thanks for the high quality content, sir

Lyanna beeing the Knight of the Laughing Tree would also fit well with Ned never telling his son the story, as he was always really reserved when the talk was about his sister.

Ned is somber as an adult, but their are references in his conversations with Robert that as a kid he enjoyed goofing off a little, he and Robert talk about a food fight the two started once at the Eyrie. The tale also makes it sound like every Stark did something that made Howland love the family all the more (Lyanna beats of the squires and tends to his wounds, Benjen offers to get him horse and armor, Brandon offers to take on the Squires personally) However when we get to Ned all he does is give Howland a tent to sleep in, that alone doesn't sound much compared to his siblings and not really worth Howland going to the TOJ to repay him for, and thinking Ned is so awesome rather than just the shy brother to some awesome siblings. Unless you consider that night Howland leaves the tent to go pray to the old gods, Ned in the bed next to his possibly awoke and slipped out to listen in and decided to avenge Howland himself. This would fit with our understanding that every Stark helped or offered help to Howland and his undying loyalty to Ned later on, especially going to the tower of joy with him. The final piece of evidence is Bran never having heard the tale from Ned, would a guy like Ned boast to his kids the tale if he was in fact The KOTLF? Additionally, the tourney indirectly led into Robert's Rebellion where most of his family died and he himself almost died, so recounting the tale would definitely dredge up some bad memories for Ned, especially given the number of times the Reed kids claim Bran must of heard it. All that said I am pretty sure Lyanna was in on Eddard's plan, maybe even helped him get the armor to wear and once Aerys wanted the KOTLT captured and unmasked, Lyanna might of agreed to be the cover to make Rhaeger think twice about turning over the rider to his father, after all she cried at his harp play so more reason for him to think twice about following his bat-shit crazy dad's order and him naming her queen of love and beauty was to reward her for her bravery in his own way. The following is pure speculation, but we never hear of Aerys reaction to this but if he freaks out over the KOTLT, Vary could of done some digging and come to the conclusion that Lyanna was the Knight, word might of gotten out to Rhaegar that the King was going to have Lyanna arrested and he was left with taking the least worst option and met with Lyanna at Harrenhall to hide her away (as well as possibly fulfilling the dragon must have three heads prophecy by knocking her up) so a war did not break out. Brandon Stark destroys that plan in his bonehead move to go down to Kings landing and the rest is history. I could be wrong and Lyanna is the KOTLT, which makes sense since GRRM is a self described feminist and it's hinted that there is more to Lyanna than being a damsel in distress or hopeless romantic. *Disclaimer this explanation to Ned being the KOTLT is not mine, I read it once on Rawrist's channel* Also it sounds interesting that Bran would of warged into the KOTLT to be a knight for a day, but looking at what happens to Hodor and Thistle, those experiences screw with the mind of the person being warged into leaving brain damage, I can't imagine Howland Reed would be able to fight in Roberts Rebellion then go down to TOJ and help kill Arthur Dayne with the kind of brain damage we see in the show as a result of warging. So unless the KOTLT is someone not on the list of suspects and ended up with severe brain damage after the tourney than Bran warging back in time to participate can be ruled out.

the beginning was my favorite description of the tourney at Harrenhall ever oh my god that's hilarious

A fun review, I enjoy how you seemingly did why you said in the review, you gave us and obvious answer only to delve into the ones that are more likely, Lyanna being my prediction for years.

I really really hope it was Lyanna now; that would fit beautifully with the whole helping out Howland thing

I assumed from the first reading that Lyanna was the Mystery Knight. Clearly he knew no-one but the Starks there, and ofc Prince Rhaegar going after "him" and allegedly not finding "him" allows for secret meeting between he and Lyanna

Who remembers Gendry??

Absolutely love how broken down, sited and informative your videos are. So cool to take such a deep look into the stories and characters. Thank you for what you do

as soon as you mentioned the Stark boys being the knight, I was shaking my head like "No, no, no. Lyanna fits more." and yep

I just picked up on the fact that the Isle of Faces wedding was basically confirmed at the end of season 7. Wow.

I'm glad GRRM kept the identity a secret, because it's nice to believe that Bran got to be a knight for a day and it's possible that the tragedy that was Rhaegar and Leana's relationship all began because Rhaegar was sent to find her

I'm a bit late to the party but I love all of your game of thrones videos. I'm going deep down the rabbit hole watching them all.

This is instantly one of my favorites. Keep up the great work.

@ Alt Shift X - BRAVO, sir. I absolutely enjoyed every second of this video. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. This kind of stuff helps me understand GRRM's world so much more deeply with each new episode.

I DEMAND a prequel Movie about shit like this, before rebellion and the rebellion.

The knight of the laughing tree was actually Ser Pounce warging into Hoster Tully from the future.

You are my absolute favorite ASOIAF-youtuber, your videos are just great. Loved the visuals in this one.

I've read this theory before and pretty much know what you're going to say from the title alone but having you read it and explain it is a whole different experience. I love you.

THANK YOU FOR FINALLY MAKING THIS ILY

Bran warging into Howland doesn't work -- remember in S01, Bran can't even hit a target with an arrow at close range. I like the Lyanna/Laughing Tree theory much better.

Thank you. We have started watching your videos at our house, and just.... wow. Thank you for making this content.

Yes!!!! I've always wanted to really sit down and look at this event deeper and never got around to it. THANK YOU!!!!

The issue with bran warging into howland reed is the lack of knightly experience aside from some swordyard training before brans fall.

We all know it's really Euron

you are doing an awesome job and even though it might sound strange, your voice is extremely nice to listen to while u present ur thoughts and ideas. Keep it up, there are not many on youtube who can compete on your level!

Keep using that beautiful art, it makes the videos top notch!

I refuse to watch any other trailer summary videos until I see the one from Alt Shift X

Omg I SO want a prequel series about Rhaegar Targaryan! And another about Aegon :)

You and Preston have made me rethink (and reread) more than my overly neurotic mind would have! And I sincerely Thank You!!!

I swear this Video shows the brilliance of George RR Martin's Story ,If it is true that Thats how Lyanna and Rhaegar fell in love He should really get an award for being the best writer in the world and You Alt-Shift-X are on heck of a guy !! XD I literally Make Tea and Download the Video HD so I can Enjoy what you made XDD Thank you always for your vids !! We love You :D

I've only just discovered all of these amazing videos (and I'm in love), but I'm starting to realise how incredible the fans of GoT are... In the video, you mention a theory some fans came up with about how Lyanna and Rhaegar could have gotten married on the conveniently close Isle of Faces, all so that Bran would be able to have a vision about it in the future etc. etc., and now, after finished all of GoT up until S07, I know that's ACTUALLY WHAT HAPPENED. Similar things have happened in other videos where you talk about or mention fan theories and they end up being relatively, if not almost completely, accurate. GoT fans are SO GODDAMN SMART!!

Damn, all of these theories are pretty great. I almost don't want a definitive answer now. But it'd also be really cool to see the Tourney of Harrenhal in the last season.

New trailer breakdown please! There are many out there already but you are by far the best and I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Those animations are so good. Thanks for the High quality content mate

also: i dont think you've mentioned this but: if lyanna stark was the knight of the laughing tree, then it would mean that the mad king's fear that the knight is his enemy, is true. lyanna starks' participating possibly caused rhaegar to fall in love with her, causing her to be stolen away, which would in turn cause robert's rebellion and.. the death of the mad king. so. there's another point for it being the case

In the books this is fantastic...in the show it may get a one minute flashback. Not many hours left and a lot of questions to answer

These videos are *so good*. I thought I knew my Fire and Ice lore but I always learn a lot watching these videos.

what a damn good theory! and the build up you follow in the story is amazing!

Ayyyyy I love these vids

I've been watching some of your older ASOIAF theory videos to keep me fresh since it's been a few years since I read the books (I've read them multiple times, been a big fan for years and years now...twow pls come soon), and this video has me considering something I hadn't before. Maybe Bran won't see Lyanna and Rhaegar's wedding (I've been dubious about the theory they're married, I think the love story is going to be much more sinister and strange with Rhaegar being obsessed and determined and desperate for another child) but will only see their meeting after the Harranhal turney. This might narratively be used to reveal to the audience the "truth" about Lyanna loving Rhaegar (she's probably smitten right away) rather than being taken by him per Robert in GOT. This makes sense when you consider this plot point is likely one of the first and strongest GRRM has planned since early drafts of GOT, and probably couldn't have even predicted then that by 2022 his "trilogy" wouldn't be complete with an additional 8 seasons of television completed lol. That also allows room narratively for Howland Reed to still be the one to reveal the truth to Jon, and reveal more concrete details. Bran's perspective will reveal the mythical (he's a tree god in training) and romantic (he's a naive child still) twist to the audience, and Howland Reed will reveal the practical and realistic information to Jon (and the audience by proxy) later by explaining the events of the Tower of Joy. I can't believe I'm writing ASOIAF theory in a YT comment probably few people will see on a 5 year old video, but this series is in my heart even if it's dormant for years at a time while waiting the next book lol

Great video. I always thought Lyanna was too obvious in that 'what would be the best surprise" kind of way, which brought me back to Ned, as the foundation of the Howland /Ned friendship, as you mentioned.

I don't know how many times I've watched this video. Always enjoyable. Been a long time sub. Thank you for this channel.

MY LORD this is fantastic content

Lyanna stark is the Knight of the Laughing Tree.

Hi. I started watching GOT very late., but boy am I hooked! Thanks for taking us through the interesting stories that make up the background for the series. love your work and research on it.

Of all the people making these theory videos, yours are the best. Very good, precise and multi-faceted analysis! Thank you!

Benjen goes to to be first ranger, thematically of course Lyanna makes the most sense but don’t discount my boy Ben like that man, I think it very well could also have been him

Please, PLEEEAAAASE make a video about the season 7 teaser trailer, I'm dying over here!

your videos make me smile alt thx

Excellent quality content, as always. Thanks 👍🏼

It always felt kinda wierd to me that Howland Reed, being part of an important house in the north, went south as if he were a peasant.