Perhaps the Red God has been guiding the characters from the beginning.

Game of Thrones isn’t just about politics and epic battles. George R.R. Martin’s world often explores the nature of the divine. One of the key figures in the story is the Lord of Light (aka R’hllor/Red God), who, according to legend, will be reborn to end the reign of the Night King.

Viewers have long awaited the appearance of the ancient deity, or at least its incarnation in Jon Snow, though the show has skipped that storyline. But Redditor VinnieONeill thinks it was something else. The fan theorizes that the Red Priestess (Melisandre) misinterpreted the messages in the fire regarding Stannis Baratheon.

The fan notes that this theory is most applicable to the show, as Martin has been finishing the penultimate book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series for over a decade.

The user believes that the Red God specifically sent Melisandre to the heir to the Iron Throne, knowing that only Stannis would believe the priestess’ words. Baratheon was blinded by his belief in his right and did everything he could to win the war.

The Redditor thinks the calculating R’hllor had to set things up so he could defeat the Night King. Melisandre convinces Stannis’ forces to head north, Baratheon saves the Night’s Watch, and then the priestess meets Jon Snow.

The Lord of Light needed someone with real power and a claim to the throne. When the priestess and the future Targaryen meet, the writers try to convince the audience that Snow is the embodiment of the Red God, the one called to end the darkness.

But the Redditor says that this is another R’hllor trick. The deity has used Jon as a link between the key figures in the realm. It is Snow who convinces Daenerys, originally focused on taking the Iron Throne, to come into confrontation with the Night King.

And it seems to the fan that the Lord of Light deliberately created a chain of events that culminated in the resurrection of Jon, who was killed by his own people. Snow managed to rise from the dead, form an alliance with Daenerys, who had three dragons, and save the world from the threat of the Night King.

But none of this would have been possible if Melisandre, who listened to the Red God, hadn’t fallen in with Stannis once and then led his entire army north.