HS=HR: is the High Sparrow secretly Howland Reed?

In Game of Thrones / ASOIAF, is the High Sparrow actually Howland Reed in disguise? Will Howland reveal Jon Snow's secret parentage?

This video contains major spoilers for Books 1-5.

Created with Toon Boom Studio 8.1, a Wacom Intuos Pen Tablet, and a Blue Yeti microphone.
Game of Thrones images and videos from HBO's Game of Thrones. Pretty sure this constitutes fair use.

Thanks to María Mariño Costa for Spanish subtitles.

[natevajo]

Howland Reed was at the tourney of Harranhal, as was Jaime and Mace Tyrell, surely they would recognize him. Also Howland and Ned would be approximately the same age, the HS is way older

[TheCooPeer]

I love how most of these fan theories are based on evidence like "they both had brown hair and were not that tall". lol

[jamesdooling]

I really HATE that GoT never once showed the Reed's home and homeland. The swamps of the Crannogmen was as neat in my mind as the Eyrie.

[slitor]

"Howls Moving Castle" HAH! Whoever came up with that kudos.

[dannymcbee]

Heresy.

Dolorous Edd is the rightful king of Westeros.

[-BlazeK-]

Howland Reed was Ned's close friend and they fought together. You'd think poeple would recognize someone that was in the spotlight during the war.

[danieltanure]

Here's my two cents: it seems to me Samwell Tarly's the one being set up to reveal Jon's parentage to the realm. He's Jon's friend and he's a student of history, after all, and could come across the story of Lyanna and Rhaegar and dope it out in the same manner that the fans of the books did. He's on his way to becoming a Maester in the citadel, a job for which he has distinct aptitude, so maybe it wouldn't be implausible for him to become an influential Maester or even Grand Maester, which would give him plenty of legitimacy to confirm Jon's claim to the throne.

I haven't read the books, though, so I may be missing something big...

Is that already a theory anyway? Is there something in the books that may put a damper on it?  It seems pretty plausible to me.

[maximuscesar]

This thing of the High Sparrow being a cranogmen is solid, but him being Howland himself is a stretch. For the reasons you pointed out.

[AXKoRnRocks]

Brans visions should hurry the hell up.

[michaelhenman]

How about Frey Pies? It's not a long or complicated theory but it is certainly worth talking about.

[Raw_Salad]

When Cersei allowed the High Sparrow to have a standing army I had a freaking Grinch smile. I mean come one, why would you let someone buy that amount of power and this someone has already shown his distaste with the current royalty. You said this is short term power but I dont believe there was a time limit for the militant. The conditions allow this militant to grow, and if handled correctly they can easily snatch power since they have a freaking army in the city of power (westeros)

[KellieDoll]

You are the island of reason in the sea of insanity. Excellent video, as always.

[seabearpig]

Another great video, please don't ever stop! I was never really into all the theories in A Song of Ice and Fire but your videos have gotten me really into them. I haven't been this invested in a series since lost, thanks!

[AshesOfGravity]

Love the videos mate. It would be awesome if you did a "State of the game" video about where every faction and character is and what they're doing at by the end of ADWD (or last known point in the story).

[andchi]

High Sparrow is way too old. Howland Reed is about the same age as Ned Stark, that is, about 45 years old. So that would have to be one hell of a disguise. So unless he's a faceless man, I remain extremely skeptical towards this theory.

[jrpone]

Even If Jon is a Targaryen, why would he WANT to rule the Iron Throne, He's never shown interest in High Born life let alone going to King Landing or the Iron Throne. He's like the male counterpart to Arya, He's a true Northerner, more concerned with white walkers, wildlings and the Night Watch. Why woulg GRRM spend so much time associating and developing Jon with the North only to have him suddenly show interest in the Iron Throne? I can see him Ruling Winterfell and the Kings of Winter being reinstalled but Im not convinced Jon will rule the Iron Throne.

[MilA-ehgf]

Am I the only one who loves the Howl's moving castle pun?

[Lilyium]

Even if the theories seem a little far fetched, they are super fun to watch. Keep up the good job Alt Shift X!

[joeschmoe]

Howland has been suspiciously absent through the entire story

[iCandyman]

You deserve way more Subscribers than you currently have. Your videos are very thorough and well researched. Please never stop these videos my friend.