Jaqen H'ghar/Theories

Jaqen H'ghar's ability to change his face at will and his gift of the iron coin which brings Arya Stark to the House of Black and White, the home of the Faceless Men of Braavos, imply that Jaqen himself is a Faceless Men.

Jaqen takes on a new appearance when he is ready to depart Harrenhal,^[1] which matches the appearance of the Alchemist who strikes a deal with the novice Pate in Oldtown. It has been theorized that Jaqen, disguised as the Alchemist, kills Pate in the Prologue of A Feast for Crows, and has subsequently stolen the boy's identity.

Supporting Evidence

• The description of Jaqen H'ghar's new face ("His cheeks grew fuller, his eyes closer; his nose hooked, a scar appeared on his right cheek where no scar had been before. And when he shook his head, his long straight hair, half red and half white, dissolved away to reveal a cap of tight black curls.")^[1] matches the description of the Alchemist ("A young man’s face, ordinary, with full cheeks and the shadow of a beard. A scar showed faintly on his right cheek. He had a hooked nose, and a mat of dense black hair that curled tightly around his ears."),^[2] possibly indicating they are one and the same person.
• Pate appears to die at the end of the Prologue of A Feast for Crows, after he has bitten onto the gold dragon that the Alchemist had given him.^[2] This manner of death is comparable to the way the ugly little girl, a girl in training at the House of Black and White, kills her target by poisoning a coin and placing it in a bag he is about to receive, knowing that the target always tests the coins he is given by biting them.^[3] The target's heart "mysteriously gives out",^[3] which appears to be happening to Pate after biting the coin ("He was halfway down the alley when the cobblestones began to move beneath his feet. The stones are slick and wet, he thought, but that was not it. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. [...] His legs had turned to water.").^[2]
  • Additionally, the pattern seen in the fates of the prologue and epilogue POV characters suggests Pate dies at the end. Will (A Game of Thrones),^[4] Maester Cressen (A Clash of Kings),^[5] and Varamyr (A Dance with Dragons)^[6] die during their respective prologue chapters. Although Chett (A Storm of Swords) does not die during his own chapter,^[7] he is mentioned to have died in the battle that started in his chapter,^{[citation needed]} and which is further described only in memories. Both Merrett Frey (A Storm of Swords)^[8] and Kevan Lannister (A Dance with Dragons)^[9] die during their respective epilogue chapter.
  • In addition, while the prologue and epilogue POV characters of the first, third, and fifth novels are killed by violence, the prologue POV character from the second novel is killed by ingesting poison. Pate's death by biting a poisoned coin in the fourth novel's prologue might suggest a second pattern, where death by violence and death by poison alternate one another.
• The Pate who Samwell Tarly meets upon arrival at the Citadel acts differently from the Pate who appears in the prologue of A Feast for Crows. In the prologue, it is established that Pate hates his name, as it connects him to Spotted Pate the pig boy.^[10] However, when Pate introduces himself to Samwell Tarly in the final chapter of A Feast For Crows, he introduces himself as "Pate, like the pig boy".^[11]
  • As Jaqen H'ghar has demonstrated that he can change the appearance of his face at will,^[1] he should thus easily be able to copy Pate's physical appearance.

Questions

• Who hired Jaqen H'ghar and who is he meant to kill?
• How did this person pay the House of Black and White for the assassination?
• It is quite strange for a Faceless Man to end up in the black cells of the Red Keep. How and why did "Jaqen" end up in the black cells?

References