Balon Greyjoy/Theories

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 Theories may be removed if ... 
  1. Stated as questions or possibilities.
  2. More appropriate for another article.
  3. Illogical or previously disproven.
  4. Proven by canon source, and moved to main page.
  5. Speculative and lacking any evidence to support arguments.
  6. Responding to another theory (use discussion page instead).
  • This does not include responses that are also standalone theories.
  • Usage of an indented bullet does not imply the statement is a response.

Balon Greyjoy died while crossing a bridge at Pyke during a storm. The rope bridge had been swaying and twisting in the wind, and as Balon crossed, the storm ripped it in pieces and Balon fell to his death. Balon washed up ashore two days later, bloated and broken, with his eyes having been eaten by crabs.[1][2][3][4][4]

Balon's exiled brother Euron returned to the Iron Islands the day after Balon's death.[3] Balon's daughter Asha is convinced that Balon had been murdered by Euron,[5] and quite a number of readers has speculated that this was done using a Faceless Man.[N 1]

Supporting evidence

The following arguments are frequently used in favor of this theory:

  • Stannis Baratheon and Melisandre burn three leeches filled with king's blood during a ritual in an attempt to magicallyensure the deaths of the three kings he is fighting against: Robb Stark, Joffrey Baratheon, and Balon Greyjoy. Both Robb and Joffrey are later murdered, making it more likely that all three targets of the spell were murdered.
  • Euron Greyjoy had been exiled by Balon, never to return to the Iron Island for as long as Balon lived.[5] Euron returned to the Iron Islands a day after Balon's death to claim the Seastone Chair,[1][4] which could suggest he was expecting Balon to die.
  • The Ghost of High Heart stated in a vision that she "dreamt of a man without a face, waiting on a bridge that swayed and swung. On his shoulder perched a drowned crow with seaweed hanging from his wings."[6] Readers have interpreted this to refer a Faceless Man ("a man without a face"), who specialize in murders that look like an accident,[7] and who was hired by Euron, who is nicknamed the Crow's Eye ("drowned crow with seaweed hanging from his wings").
    • It is expensive to hire a Faceless Man. The higher the social standard of the target, the more expensive it becomes.[8] It has been suggested that Euron paid for this service using the dragon egg that he claimed to have received from a Myrish wizard and to have thrown into the sea during one of his foul moods.[9]

Notes

  1. 6907 out of 9070 votes (76.2%) during a poll held in 2015 across five platforms (Results: Reddit, Westeros.org, Tower of the Hand, Watchers on the Wall, Facebook).

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 45, Catelyn V.
  2. A Storm of Swords, Chapter 54, Davos V.
  3. 3.0 3.1 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 1, The Prophet.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 11, The Kraken's Daughter.
  5. 5.0 5.1 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 18, The Iron Captain.
  6. A Storm of Swords, Chapter 22, Arya IV.
  7. A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 64, The Ugly Little Girl.
  8. A Game of Thrones, Chapter 33, Eddard VIII.
  9. A Feast for Crows, Chapter 29, The Reaver.