How Aegon & Rhaenyra Tore Westeros Apart

[@Marfy_]

the dance isnt about who the rightful heir is, its about who your favorite war criminal is

[@iamkonner4813]

Bloody Ben fans stand up

[@shutitdown7069]

In this case, Aemond is my King

[@bintangyudha4777]

Uooogh red kraken based

[@christinerobbins9376]

Daemon!!!😂

[@farnesetbh8487]

Except Rhaenyra is the rightful heir

[@rexblade504]

I like how Corlys multiple times attempted to convince both Aegon and Rhaneyra to end the war in very effective solutions that would make everyone happy but both had gone power hungry and refused. Unlike the show the book really shows that neither were good or deserved to rule.

[@7eddiii]

why would rhaeynera end the war when she didnt start it thats like saying israel should call a ceasefire like what they didnt start this shit they are just defending themselves

[@Spongebrain97]

The book does though seem to lean that Rhaenyra was most deserving of it before the war actually began but that goes away by the time the war gets out of control. So hopefully season 2 does highlight the downward spiral of Rhaenyra who was more level headed in season 1

[@christiedenham1265]

She was more level headed in season 1 bc she had family and her kids and so on in season 2 she's lost everyone just about that she loved and it happened all bc of her ex best friend wanted her son/sons on the iron throne that was given rightfully by the king to his daughter and that's it period

[@enakorac7759]

​@@Spongebrain97 well you somehow see how all the Targaryens have no control over their dragon blood once it takes over filled by hate and fury... The same can be seen in the Game of Thrones, Deni was happy being a Kalisi. Haven't they feared so much for her return and claim to the iron throne, she probably wouldn't push Drogo to promise her the throne, he would have never gone crazy on attacking every single village, in need of having enough to be able to trade for ships to get the Horde overseas, he wouldn't be poisoned by the priestess that was raped inside her temple that was burned afterwards, Deni would give birth to a healthy baby boy and had no time to think about the iron throne. Also, afterwards she always tried to go for a less bloody solution and to spare as many lives as possible, before riding into a war... But every single time either the agreement she made wasn't held up or she was betrayed. The false queen Cersei, that sacrificed everything just to be able to sit on the Iron throne, also betrayed Deni... Not only didn't she send anyone to help defend the living from the dead army, but she attacked Deni's troops while they were returning tired from the battle, killing one Dragon, that was already wounded. She loved them like her children... One was taken by the Dark King, even turned into an undead dragon.. and after she lost so many troops, defending the whole kingdom from the darkness and fall of all living things, she lost the 2nd one, because Cersei wasn't true to her word. Cersei even went so far, to kill her friend (and Grey worm's love), by beheading her in front of everyone and even using all people that are around as a living shield, holding them between the outer gates and the gates of the red castle. The people were all terrified when they saw the Dragon, even though it flew several times over them, only attacking the walls, Cersei's armies, not one person was aware of how much she already helped the entire kingdom by helping the united North win against the darkness, not one single person knew she was there to help them have a better life. Even before the last battle, Cesei could have spared all those people in the city, by only giving up the throne. As the last of the Lannister heirs, she and Sir Jamie, could have accepted Deni as the legitimate queen and promised to answer if called upon to defend the kingdom, go home and take the Lannister castle, living their remaining lives in peace with their child (probably even children), she still would be Queen and people would have at least respect for her. But no... She saw it more important to sit on the iron throne and every single life she can sacrifice, should be sacrificed for her blind ambition. She never cared about people, she actually never cared about how anyone feels as long as she has it her own way. ( Killing her son's wife in the crypt,even though she knew exactly how much he loved her. She couldn't stand that the people loved and appreciated her as their Queen, more than they have ever Cersei.) Even though this is a fictional tale, all the greed, blind ambition, the hunger for a higher position, always wanting more is embedded in our history and was the downfall for many of the greatest civilizations, probably of many more we don't even know that ever existed.

[@raven7978]

​@@Spongebrain97her son and dragon are dead they stole her crown wtf you think ppl do have a limit

[@Argos-xb8ek]

The foolishness of this war cost House Targaryen and technically House Velaryon everything.

[@lemonadelemon1960]

Yep.

[@jjs1300000]

Pretty much

[@concept5631]

By the time of the War of the Five Kings House Velaryon was a two-bit, backwater version of what it once was. Corlys is shaking furiously in the heavens.

[@jjs1300000]

@@concept5631 They lost all of their wealth and prestige.

[@justicedunham4088]

@@concept5631House Velaryon was only powerful under Corlys. They were “technically” Valyrian, but had no dragons and were by no means wealthy. Corey’s in one lifetime built their wealth and their seat of power, but it collapsed still within his lifetime.

[@randomgirl2282]

Aegon and Rhaenyra’s face off was literally Clown to Clown Communication, Clown to Clown Conversation

[@kikima258]

😂😂for real jace and daeron would have made far better rulers than the both of them combined

[@KaiHung-wv3ul]

@@kikima258 Yeah they were the most likeable on both sides. BTW, in some versions both died by a rain of crossbow bolts in battle, Jace at the Gullet and Daeron at Tumbleton, coincidence?

[@ilbb7055]

​@@kikima258 Jace good ruler? Jace's actions directly lead to the worst failures of the Blacks by handing dragons over to smallfolk with no reason to be loyal to the Black cause. He made his team lost. Addam,the lads,ect... Were the true MPV

[@ilbb7055]

Aemond and Rhaenyra* you meant. Book!Aegon II was smart and had brains which resulted on him winning the Battle of Dragonstone, decisive victory for the Greens

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Aegon roasted her though.

[@madambutterfly1997]

It's pretty fucking pathetic how easily and quick the targaryens were turned against each other. Less than 150 years into their Rule and they've already lost their greatest asset

[@pg1448]

Agreed! And it's so absurd that they did sacrifice the dragons, the ancient source of their power and glory, in a war over the iron throne, the hollow symbol of power the conqueror created just 130 years ago. Like was it really worth it to sacrifice the dragons over the question of wether a brother or a sister sits on that damned chair? Did nobody in the midst of the slaughter come to their senses and realize what an idiotic self destruction this actually is?

[@madambutterfly1997]

@@pg1448 my question is a marriage between Aegon and Rhaenyra would have resolved everything. Better yet, Jaehaerys should've just put Rhaenys on the throne. Has the grandchild of his first born the throne should have passed her regardless of what tradition demands. Agnatic succession is utterly stupid.

[@cambr3lla]

@@madambutterfly1997unfortunately jaeherys would never have done that. he was too set in his ways. but it was on viserys to set rhaenyra up for the throne better. the books said he considered having rhaenyra or daemon as his hand after strong died, but he didn’t want to cause conflict with the hightowers. he should have been less passive and had one of them and then that side of the family could prove that they were prepared to take control of the realm, rather than sitting on dragon stone waiting for the king to die

[@UnfazedPhoenix]

Yep. Thanks a lot, Otto Hightower. And Viserys the Pathetic.

[@williamhermann6635]

Direct result of having the arrogance to think they could rule a kingdom as wild as Westeros.

[@jiebolJ]

“It turns out that a chair made of pointy sharp swords, is pointy and sharp.” 😂😂😂

[@captainziggy82]

Always cracks me up haha, same chair that cut Aegon the dragon

[@christhegh0st708]

It’s hard to tell who would be a better ruler. Aegon didn’t truly want the throne and wasn’t fit to rule. And while Rhanerya was those two things: the decisions she made was riddled in grief, rage and hatred: she wasn’t in her prime as an ruler. We never truly seen them govern to an high enough degree to choose who would be a better ruler.

[@ixavdacity]

Rhaenyra wasnt fit to rule either

[@ideozublake8036]

daemon would’ve been the perfect ruler. smart, was a warrior and commanded respect

[@Drpavel564]

@@ideozublake8036 Daemon wouldve been assassinated the very first day he becomes king.

[@youknownothingjonsnow4821]

​@@Drpavel564I think ALL the lords would have banned together to hire the assassin.

[@Moompl]

@@youknownothingjonsnow4821 Julius Caesar style 😂

[@ashleygolden1994]

I think in hindsight, Viserys was not fit to be a king to begin with. But since the realm was not ready for a queen ruling, he should’ve left Damon as his heir and should NOT have married again. Then when the time came, should’ve married rhaenyra to Damon to reinforce that his child will be queen and his brother king. I don’t think too many ppl would’ve contested this. But Viserys not being formally fit to rule in the beginning and every decision he made afterwards lead to this bloodfest.

[@debamlyabanerjee4067]

First of Daemon would be a terrible ruler he is good warrior but not a good ruler here are some terrible political decisions he made he tried to give rossby and stokeworth to hugh and ulf by wed them to those lords daughtets and another thing he did he wanted to give stroms end to ulf a drunk fool and casterly rock to hugh a blacksmith viserys should named aegon his heir and should have trained him for running because a son can do better job the a daughter and a brother making aegon heir would have solved everything if he named aegon his heir the war would have never happened

[@leomagnusson5254]

Daemon would be a paranoid and sadistic king he would make Aerys II look like Santa claus by comparison

[@kwabenamoe7740]

❤ I love your suggestion

[@AncientChi]

Daemon and rhaneaya would have made perfect rulers

[@debamlyabanerjee4067]

@@AncientChi Daemon and rhaneyra are the worst rulers

[@kofiopoku8847]

There's this phenomena that Grr Martin creates with his writings such that he creates a scenario where each opposing character (which in this case Aegon and rhaenyra) are both right on who deserves to sit the iron throne aswell as giving the reader a chance to choose a side. But the trick here is None of them ( Aegon and rhaenyra) are in the right to rule westeros. Grr Martin knows this so its easier to kill off characters we've grown to like by progressing the plot.I think Martin has fallen into his own trap with the winds of winter. He's grown to understand the characters he's made and logically speaking, none of them are easier to kill making it harder to progress with the plot no matter how hard he tries to control their destinies. This is why it's taking so long. He writes an arc of a character then later questions himself wether it's what the character would do or not, then ends up throwing the sheet away or rewriting as he said himself.

[@thatoneblackdude3333]

To suggest both Aegon and rheanyra are equally right is factually wrong rheanyra was chosen by the king who's word is law and goes above all else her cause is objectively correct , Aegon being perferd by precedent isn't right nor equal to rheanyra because all that is , is personal preference aka a opinion not law nor just or right .

[@Lumistrocity]

​@thatoneblackdude3333 this is blatantly incorrect, jahaerys set a precident to name your own heir when he named his second son heir instead of rhaenys, but then the great council set a precident of male's before females, so by precident set during jahaerys reign they both had "valid" claims in theory

[@merbearlorelei]

I've been thinking for a while that GRRM has written himself into a corner, and it was made worse by the last season of the show and how poorly it was received. I think there's a snow dragon's chance in the 14 flames that he'll finish it.

[@yusufraage8554]

@@Lumistrocity If the greens were in the right why didnt they order another council of 101 or atleast make that an option for Rheanyra she wouldnt go for it but atleast the greens would let the realm know that they tried to make peace. Why did the greens steal the treasury when they are in the right. Why crown the Usurper before the last king was cremated. There are many more reasons why the greens were in the wrong but I got no time for that.

[@thatoneblackdude3333]

@@Lumistrocity no they didn't the great council was ment to be a one time thing for emergencies , rheanyra was chosen by the king and his ruling goes above everything it was just an excuse for the greens to justify usurping her .

[@lasloapollo4312]

Daemon is the true winner with all of his 4 childeren surviving.

[@alessiodandolo1460]

But ended up marrying his former enemies: a lyseni, the granddaughter of Vaemond Velaryon and a Hightower... And I have a theory that Alyn Velaryon could be Vaemond's bastard, protected by Corlys... But Daemon with Hightower grandchildren, that makes me laugh.

[@lasloapollo4312]

@@alessiodandolo1460 i guess it was an acceptable pay off when you consider both his sons were kings

[@gooby214]

@@alessiodandolo1460 The Lysene people are superior.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

​@@lasloapollo4312 not when one of them rejects dragons.

[@lasloapollo4312]

@@fightingmedialounge519 well the dragons were all dead. So i dont think it matters that much to him.

[@ahallofgaming802]

From the standpoint of family, this is one of the saddest stories of all time.

[@lekhikalekhak]

Hatred so strong, family killed family... even the dragons couldn't escape... saddest thing.

[@JohnnyDominion]

In the end nobody won, the Greens won the war but lost the prize, the Iron Throne. While the Black's lost the war eventually gained the prize the fragile pieces of what was left of it. Aegon III, son of Rhaenyra lived the rest of his life as a broken man.

[@RapaxGuardian]

I'm team 'Everybody Sucks' but also I love all the Dragons and Helaena. Vhagar is best girl.

[@CrusaderChris]

Team Smallfolk 💪

[@yusufraage8554]

Team black all the way, let the killing begin. I cant wait to see Otto losing his head, the gold cloaks turning on the greens, the hour of the wolf and Alicent going insane after her whole bloodline is extinguished and she is the only one left. All the pain and sorrow they put Rheanyra through is gonna come back on her a million times worse. Rheanyra is gonna die thinking she lost all her kids but Alicent she is gonna die knowing every one of her kids and grandkids are dead.

[@gooby214]

@@yusufraage8554 Nobody cares about your fanaticism for the black political party. You sound like a puppet. Smart people know that both sides are garbage and don't deserve to win, and the final fates of these whiny rich people are worthless. Who cares what happens to Rhaenyra, Otto, and blah blah blah? They all should've been whiped out anyway.

[@TheTrollingMaster-xr9el]

@@yusufraage8554actually Alicent dies of winter fever plague a few months before her granddaughters assassination.

[@yusufraage8554]

@@TheTrollingMaster-xr9el source

[@leroydsouza69]

The Crusader telling it how it is. Fans will die on each of the factions hills spouting their virtues. Truth is both of them left the realm and their families in a ruined state. None of them were fit to be monarchs.

[@kap2652]

⁠@@LauraGS564she was why wrose at ruling then aegon she had no sense of duty she had kingslanding and left it to rats and let 5 dragons be slaughtered like sheep had bastards and lied had alicent and Helena raped took money from the poor to throw parties tried to have her own allies killed out of jealousy aegon was better at ruler his Council been ruling for years in peace and in fire and blood Aegon demand to be crowned she was called maegor with teats for a reason

[@thatoneblackdude3333]

@@kap2652 Aegon barely ruled so not really , nether did Aegon , that was show only the video is about the book , alicent and halaina were not raped that was just a dumb story from mushroom which has no actual basis , only some of the money was used to throw a party and Aegon 2 did the same thing after aemond killed luke , no out of fear of betrayal that was vary much real given w of her allies betrayed her , she's called that for raising taxes its a unfair and unjustified nickname given to her due to misogyny.

[@kap2652]

@@thatoneblackdude3333 but was team black soooo I think he telling the truth he was always by her side the aegon in the child pits had no basis and hotd went with it did you really just say only some of the money was used people was starving and she increased taxes 3x it’s said no even the whores was safe when aegon throw his party people wasn’t staving and he didn’t increase taxes she was executing people daily and feed them to dragons then when the people needed leading she abandon them it’s not misogyny if you think so your just a fool she took king landing and ruled as a tyrant that’s just facts

[@Voidwurm1701]

​@@LauraGS564 Both were terrible.

[@stephenjenkins7971]

​@thatoneblackdude3333 Misogyny has nothing to do with the nickname, it was the cruelty that she exhibited to the small folk which INITIALLY welcomed her as a savior. Aegon kept his purges to the upper class, Rhaenyra extended it to the lower class. So they feared her like Maegor.

[@giacomoromano8842]

After reading about the Dance, all of a sudden going the High Sparrow rout of "fuck the nobles, let's have a theocracy of the people!" Doesn't sound so bad...

[@BIGluisluis]

Well, Iran is a sensational country

[@justicedunham4088]

If only the seven were not the only Gods to probably not exist in Westeros. It’s debatable if any of the other Gods exist, and GRRM is an atheist, but their followers perform magic. The question is if that magic is natural to the world or comes from a God

[@williamruth7586]

​@@justicedunham4088the seven is basically a fake religion, never seen a septon raise someone from the dead.

[@deenman23]

gotta love how george wrote this story just to pass the time between the major books,and it ended up better than the main story

[@jay-1800]

Both of them probably would’ve went on to become unremarkable rulers. I do think Rhaenyra would make the better ruler if her ascension was uncontested. Mainly down to Aegon being so unlikable. I really want to see how season 2 handles Aemond’s return to Kingslanding following the Lucerys incident. Otto scorns him and his mom prays for the mothers mercy but Aegon celebrates. Also based on the way they’ve treated Aemonds character in the show I think there will be more malicious intent behind Aemond and Vhagar’s actions at Rooks Rest

[@yusufraage8554]

He is gonna brag that killing his 12 year old cousin was a win because he took out a dragon rider or else he will look weak, Aemond is stupid but not stupid enough to tell people that he couldnt control his dragon. Remember he was the last dragon rider to connect with a dragon he is still insecure out that.

[@thalmoragent9344]

​@yusufraage8554 Yeah, it'll be an accident, no one will believe him, so he will do what Tyrion told to Jon. "Wear it like armor"

[@thalmoragent9344]

Aegon may not celebrate, maybe he just believes Aemond's explanation when no one else does

[@michaelnkomphela8231]

@@yusufraage8554 lol. Loser.

[@Shannon-vv6rr]

but him killing Luke and Arrax was toned-down for the show so how will he be more malicious than the books? In the books he wanted to kill Luke, he made no mistake, Vhagar wasn't out of control, she was following exactly what he wanted, and Aemond even found Lukes body after him and Vhagar chomped him and carved Luke's eyes out after to 'present them as a gift'

[@033MMAFiend]

In hindsight, Rhaenyra’s demise was not giving Rosby & Stokeworth to her dragonriders (HH & UW). Lesson : Inspire loyalty amongst supporters through generosity, lavish gifts, and rewards lest they withdraw their support, or worse, support your rivals.

[@iamkonner4813]

Considering what she gave Hugh and Ulf I’d say she did that exactly. I think her bigger fault was underestimating their ambitions, it’s not mentioned in the video but Rhaenyra also considered giving them the Westerlands and Stormlands but I think it was Corlys who talked her out of it. If she thought about them correctly she would’ve done that and won the war.

[@danika9411]

​@@iamkonner4813 I think one problem was also not checking the personality and background properly before sending them to claim dragons, especially dragons that are stronger than your own. They just let everyone try to claim dragons 😅

[@iamkonner4813]

@@danika9411 Jace was pretty desperate so I’d agree, I think the bigger issue with the handling of the Dragonseeds though was underestimating Hugh and Ulf’s ambition.

[@danika9411]

@@iamkonner4813 Yeah, they didn't think they would be that bad.

[@iamkonner4813]

@@danika9411 Yeah, they sort of just saw two people born in Dragonstone as bastards so of course getting knighted and granted some small lands would be enough.

[@subrahmanya9020]

I wonder how dragon eggs were hatching before the dotd but after they stopped hatching despite the fact that 3 missing dragon could've lived a fue decade keeping magic alive in the world.

[@wingy200]

Preston Jacobs did a four part series 7 years ago about dragon hatching called Genetics of the Dragon on his channel. It's not super exciting, but it's informative.

[@kikima258]

yes it's realy weird how they stoped hatching and literaly needed blood magic to hatch again when they would do so without it before. my best gess is that they were poisoned by the maesters or aegon the third and the ones that got to danny were healthy ones

[@christinerobbins9376]

GRRM did a companion book that kind of touches on this; it goes back to the blood mages of old Valyeria using blood magic to originally bind the dragons to humans and after the Doom of Valeryia that magic kind of ebbed out of this universe over time. When Dany sees the red comet (dragon's tail) in the sky (in the Red Waste) it is a heralding of the return of that magic and once again requires blood magic (this time from from Mirri Mazz Duur) in order to bring her petrified dragon eggs to life. Prior to this, her eggs were simply pretty stones.

[@DustinZubor]

​@@kikima258I think they hatched because dragons were thriving. I think there was like 18 at one point. So when most of the dragons died at the dance I believe the eggs would no longer hatch.

[@PatchesNjose]

I think you need an adult dragon to warm up the eggs or something.

[@Mjh213199]

Absolutely loving your Targaryen King series!!!

[@CrusaderChris]

Thank you, more to come!

[@Alejojojo6]

The Throne NEVER cut Aegon the Conqueror. That image is from the letter the Dornish sent him when her wife and Meraxes were killed. He grapped the letter so tightly he began to bleed from that hand.

[@HubertHumphreyWasHere]

If you think squeezing a piece of paper can make your hand bleed like that then I have a beachfront property on Jupiter to sell you.

[@NihilTruth]

​@@HubertHumphreyWasHereWho said the paper cut him? Nails dug deep into one's hand can pierce far enough to bleed.

[@Alejojojo6]

@@HubertHumphreyWasHere You have never cut yourself with a piece of paper? Wow... They can be very sharp. Maybe you'll be the one needing that property in Jupiter after all 😅🤣, and perhaps I can sell you one in Mars too...

[@TheShadowcomet]

I really pity Rhaenyra and Aegon, they were put up against each other and they paid a high price in their children. When they were young none of them wanted to rule. Rheanyra wanted to ride and fight with her Dragon, the cool stuff and Aegon did not saw himself fit for the role (in a sense he was really mature in his self jugdment) and never wanted the responsibility. And giving Rheanyra grew in the responsibility if Vyseris simply let Deamon become King or letting him marry Rhaenyra from the start there would be no discussion and if Otto and Alicent would not have put Aegon in a role he did not wanted or was fit for to begin with. They could have been great siblings. Both of them made mistakes while Rhaenyra should have been more understanding of what happend between Luke and Aemond and not been only about the badmouthing of her sons maybe Aemond would never grew to hate Luke like that. Aegon should have never been celebrating Lukes death. He learnt what it meant to lose a child.

[@t-rizzle0509]

💯 agree. Aegon knew he would suck as a king and Rhaenyra, while not wanting the crown initially, grew to accept the responsibility in honor of her father. If Viserys wasn’t so spiteful towards Daemon and kept him as heir, he could’ve simply allowed him and Rhaenyra to marry. PROBLEM SOLVED.

[@jamiswamp]

I’ve always pondered on who would’ve made the better monarch, should each of them reign in peactime. I’ve leaned towards Rhaenyra, but both of them had very bad education in this specific matter. Also they did some crimes and treasons in their youth, so I’d say there is like a 51% versus a 49% each of them would be a good ruler. It all comes circling back to Viserys I, in the end.

[@myasuniverse1327]

I think Rhaenyra was raised for the throne, like her whole life she was at the small council as a cupbearer or a member. I'm not trying to say she would have been a perfect ruler, but I would say she would've been well prepared and educated and had the right temperament for it. What I also like about the show is from the first episode. It was titled " Heirs of the Dragon" and in that episode without actual titles or war we see Rhaenyra and Daemon (potential heirs of the time) as they are, naturally. The scenes that stand out to me for Rhaenyra to be a good ruler. Rhaenyra's scene with Alicent and at the tournament. Rhaenyra could've been an amazing queen and though her bad choices in her youth, they still aren't morally unforgivable. However, it is known. Targaryen don't do well with loss, and I think it is sad to say that The Great Rhaenyra we could've had, died with her sons.

[@bailey316]

Saying this under the video with the quote about aegon casually watching young kids fighting and pleasuring him is kinda crazy ngl 😭😭 Rhaenyra might not have been the best queen ever but she loved her sons and wouldn’t cause harm for enjoyment

[@yasmina3999]

​@@bailey316 1. It was stupid to canonize this testimony, since Mushroom is known for his dirty rumours. I'm sure they won't canonize what he says about Rhaenyra wanting to send Alicent and Helaena to brothers to be raped till they give births to bastards 2. Even though, Aegon has a better small council and his own good qualities.

[@maxpotapenko4632]

I'd say Aegon actually. Viserys didn't care to educate Rhaenyra on how to actually rule prob bc he didn't know that himself. So to me it all comes down to who surrounds the monarch: Aegon would have Otto and Alicent whispering to his ear. Alicent is a fool and Otto is a practical man, sure, he's unlikable, but he actually wants what's good for the realm, he tried to prevent the Dance, but nobody listened. Rhaenyra on the other hand has Daemon who's just a bloodthirsty maniac however sexy and cool he is. Sure, she also has Corlys, but Daemon would undoubtedly have a strong say in Rhaenyra's decisions. Viserys' best decision was to actually listen to Otto and keep his maniac brother as far away from the throne as possible. EDIT: also on the side note, Aegon did not exactly yearn for the throne. Yes he was the second child and understood that he likely wouldn't be king, so it's possible that's why, however a fact is a fact. Aegon could as well have just kicked back and let the Small Council run the country, which wouldn't be terrible tbh bc again, Otto wants what's best for the country

[@ezzo77]

​@maxpotapenko4632 I don't think Otto cares for the country that much. He only cares for his own interests. It would work as long as the country's interests aligned with his but as soon as they don't he will push for his interests above the country's.

[@7deuc2e38]

I never thought about this but it made no sense for Jace to send Aegon and Viserys overseas to an unknown situation that was undoubtedly far more dangerous than just sending them to the north when he had such a bond with the Starks. They would have been isolated and almost guaranteed to be safe

[@margaretconnor5623]

It might have been the winter that prevented him from doing so. Winter had come and it was why the Starks said they came to die for the dragon queen. There wasn't enough food so they rode south with the intention of dying to give their families a better chance at making it through the winter. It's possible Jace didn't want to risk his brothers being killed by the harsh northern conditions in winter

[@7deuc2e38]

@@margaretconnor5623 that's a good point though if that's the case then just send them to the Vale, they wanted a dragon rider and Aegon had Stormcloud. Seems a safer bet than just hoping they'll make it overseas

[@olafharoldsonnii4713]

Is Viserys dead?

[@fkaluis]

ty sm again for using my art 😢❤ great video like always, chris !

[@CrusaderChris]

Appreciate you as always! Such amazing art

[@mtnk096]

The biggest mistake was Viserys marrying Alicent.. that was already a tragedy foreboding 😂 their father always kept making bad decisions...what to expect with this outcome it was already inevitable. He should just let Rhaenyra marry Daemon and gave him the iron throne.

[@debamlyabanerjee4067]

Viserys should have named his son as his heir because women can't took the iron throne and daemon would be a terrible ruler 😁 if viserys named his son as heir then war would have never happened

[@andorea11]

Daemon NEVER should've been an opción, terrible ruler

[@leannewilson6042]

​@@andorea11In those times LOYALTY was everything, it kept people alive or got people killed...the 2 most loyal people to Viserys was Daemon and Rhaenyra..yet they were the furtherest from him.

[@yoonkook5222]

Honestly are you serious? Daemon would be a bad king, he doesn't care about the smallfolks, he only likes blood and war.

[@jenniferjames3354]

​@@debamlyabanerjee4067 should have betrothed Aegon to rhaenyra

[@TrackerNeil]

Great summary! I think Jaehaerys I bears a good bit of the blame for the Dance. He threw the question of succession to the Great Council, but he never clarified or bounded their decision. Thus, some lords thought that, in selecting Viserys, a precedent of male primogeniture had been set, and some disagreed. That was really the heart of the Dance, and the Conciliator could have prevented it by simply making the decision himself and telling those who disagreed to take it up with Vermithor. The Targaryens were at the height of their power in Jaehaerys' day, which was a good time to get Westerosi used to the idea of a female monarch. That said, Rhaenyra didn't do herself any favors by (probably) dallying with Harwin Strong and having three sons by him. Getting the realm to accept a ruling queen was tough; asking them to swallow the notion of a bastard on the Iron Throne was quite an expectation.

[@TheNewGuy21]

Keep up the great work Chris!

[@krishna5084]

I think both Princess Rhaenyra and King Aegon the elder would have been an improvement over their father Viserys if they had ruled during peace time. I personally believe Aegon would have been a better monarch.

[@thatoneblackdude3333]

@@LauraGS564 Aegon 2 would be a beta Aegon 4 during peace time .

[@pg1448]

@@LauraGS564 ​ often those who don't feel entitled to power or desire it turn out to be more qualified and worthy to wield it. Rhaenyra has never demonstrated a sense of duty or responsibility in her life, always just entitlement and carelessness for the consequences of her actions. Aegon wasn't a worse leader in war times than her, so I don't see why he would be worse in peace times.

[@youngveteran6368]

@@pg1448 the guy literally fought his war HIMSELF ( not just telling people to do stuff) then was incapacitated THEN captured dragon stone THEN returned to kings landing to put down the disarray within the city, it took rhaenyra 2 sons and a daughter to get off her ass and do what aegon did. The guy was a leader when he needed to be and he will forever go down as one of the best dragon riders in the ASOIAF universe, not to mention he had arguably the better small council seeing that the one he had has been ruling for a long time.

[@thatoneblackdude3333]

@@youngveteran6368 no he fought in only 1 official battle were he almost died , was incapacitated for most of the war , most of that was done by his men and lords so no , riding on a dragon and going into battle doesn't make you a leader he did all that only to die a failure and his bloodline dying out not exactly praise worthy , the most badass dragon rider ? Are you joking? You greens need to stop overhyping Aegon 2 he was a fucking loser hard carried by his lords and aemond , Aegon the conqueror burned harren hall with his dragon, vasenya took the vale with hers , rhenys took the stormlands with orys on hers , magor burned the faith milatent with his ,jaehareys and his sons won a war in a single day with there's , daemon won the war in the step stones and killed vhagar with his . What did Aegon do ? Only die in the first battle ge gets in and is comatose for half a year , get his ass kicked by baela and get a crippled, kills his defenseless sister and then gets killed by his own men and you think that's praise worthy why are you standards so low?

[@yusufraage8554]

@@youngveteran6368 No, he fought one battle and that battle crippled him for the rest of the Dance, Aemond took over command and burned the riverland. Rheanyra just had a still born, lost her son and she had the Deamon worth 10 dragon riders.

[@myasuniverse1327]

I believe Rhaenyra could've been an amazing queen, and though she did commit bad choices in her youth, that's all they are. they aren't morally unforgivable compared to other characters. She was also raised for the throne from a young age, even before being named, she was well loved and had the right temperament. However, it is known. Targaryen don't do well with loss, and I think it is sad to say that The Great Queen Rhaenyra we could've had, died with her sons. Viserys and Otto to me were the real issue, Viserys was too oblivious to realize that not only did he have to prepare his daughter to rule but to prepare the kingdom and his other children as well, for her ascension. Like imagine if the man talked with Aegon, and the others throughout their lives; and instead of fighting they ruled together. Otto was a greedy bastard, who really tried and found out, like even Aegon had enough of him. The man succeeded and lost at his own plan.

[@jorgemoya1341]

I find that rhaenyra should be as guilty as otto tho, because ambition is the same motivation that keeps her wanting the throne, she doesnt know how to rule and also doesnt respect tradition, nor politics, nor relationships and if she can she walks over people as long it benefits her. She could have abdicate the throne and let the hightowers rule as they have been doing for the last 15+ years, even that was best for the realm since there was prosperity but she wanted the throne.

[@muhammadpasha313]

@@jorgemoya1341 i agree with you , another aspect of rhaenyra not being fit to rule comes when she becomes a hypocrite, in the matter of succession of lords rosby and stokeworth , choosing to follow tradition over the exact circumstance she was fighting for

[@concept5631]

Compared to Aegon II everyone except Aegon IV and Aerys II looks good.

[@ugly_larva]

i loved seeing those beautiful purple eyes in the intro, thank you

[@kingkongchief1177]

Rhaenyra was the rightful heir. She was chosen by the king to be the heir and made all the lords of Westeros swear fealty to her. The kings words are law. Otto and Alicent caused the dance of the dragons to happen. All they had to do was send a raven to Rhaenyra and tell her that her Father is dead and to come to kings landing as the new ruler of Westeros. But no they chose treason and power instead. And if Rhaenyra truly saw Aegon and her other siblings as a threat and wanted them dead she would’ve pulled a Cersei and killed them already. But she didn’t because he she didn’t wanna kill her own siblings. She even tried to wed her eldest son to her half sister Halaena to show Alicent and Otto that she wanted peace and love between their families and that she was sick of the fighting between them.

[@xytech7432]

Rhaenyra wasn't the rightful heir, that was Daemon. She became the heir when her father chose her and MADE all the lords swear fealty. If they didn't they probably would of been branded as traitors. The king was dead, his words mean squat and many of the lords that did swear fealty are dead. Plus there's Aegon now who is the kings oldest son. Rhaenyra has proven time and time again not to be good at politics, insulting potential allies, birthing bastards and passing them as legitimate. So take a female ruler, make them not so bright, and have there closet confidante and later husband be someone as unstable as Daemon. And you can see why many lords aren't really OK with this.

[@bluebay1031]

@@xytech7432 She *was* though? Like if you wanna talk in terms of political norms and the standard line of succession? Sure, it was Daemon. But at the end of the day, the current ruler (if capable) has final say on who the heir is. If he chose Rhaenyra before his death and ailing mind, then yes, she is the rightful heir. Especially considering there’s no actual law that prevents a woman from ascending the iron throne, just social tradition and perceived inferiority of the sex. Pretty much every king that chose their heir before they died in GOT had that choice accepted, regardless of how others felt about the aforementioned choice. Rhaenyra’s no different. Viserys said she was his rightful heir, so that’s what she is. (This is also ignoring the fact that Aegon wasn’t particularly skilled as a ruler either, both due to his only ambition to ascend being the falsified threat of death, he never actually wanted to rule or had any interest in it until Alicent convinced him he’d literally fucking die if he didn’t due to manipulations by her pos father, and due to having someone like Otto hissing in his ear)

[@xytech7432]

@bluebay1031 When Viserys was alive, Rhaenrya was the rightful heir. The moment your dead however, your words and wants don't matter. You're dead you get no say. And the kings job is to look out for the kingdom. The moment you stop doing that, you stop being the king and you lose credibility. Him choosing Rhaenrya broke a very important and closely followed tradition. Traditions especially in medieval world were more important then laws. The inherentance and succession traditions were inspired by real life ones. Traditions valued above laws. Aegon didn't really want to rule, he was nothing but a puppet to 2 strong politically smart proven rulers. Rhaenrya wasn't a good ruler. She multiple times made horrible decisions and actively hurt her rule. And her right hand is Daemon, a hot headed sadistic killer.

[@mackmitchell94]

@@xytech7432yes I guess Rhaenyra has proven herself bad at all those things. Aegon has proven himself great at raping women, fathering way more bastards than Rhaenyra ever did, getting wasted off wine, jacking off out of windows, and putting his own children into fighting rings where they fight til the death . As bad as I guess Rhaenyra is at politics, she’s still 1000 times better than Aegon lmao, that’s where the argument goes out the window . So why is it that the Hightowers want Aegon on the throne if he’s so shit? Because he’s a Hightower, and because the fools thought that sorry POS would actually listen to them once he became king lmao. “It’s hard to put a leash on a dog, after you’ve put a crown on its head”. Otto Hightower plotted all those years just to be dismissed by that shitty king and then get beheaded by Daemon (which was long overdue) when Rhaenyra took kings landing anyways . Alicent groomed her sons all those years to be POS just to die alone locked in Maegors holdfast missing her children she helped get dead and hating the color green .

[@xytech7432]

@mackmitchell94 Aegon has never pissed off powerful peoole she needs to be allies, he has never slept with a person as important as a king guard, he has never tried to pass his bastards as true born, what he does have is competent people in his corner who will be the ones leading. Aegon is weak, easy to please, and has stated that they don't want to be king. He is a puppet. Rhaenrya wants to rule, wants to be in control even when she has proven to be bad at it. She wants to put bastards on the 2 most powerful seats in the kingdom. Both are horrible people. But only one has people who can and will lead while also potentially teaching him.

[@zo7034]

The algorithm as blessed me with your video.

[@ivelinaivanova3334]

Hey man, great video! Thanks for using my Rhaenyra art in your video!

[@MrLamont1975]

Rhaenyra nor Aegon II were fit to rule. They both had their faults that disqualified them. The kingdom was doomed regardless. Neither had the ability to lead properly. Both their councils ran amuck behind their backs due to their lack of leadership and control.

[@shi.budgets]

Once Viserys had a son he should have named a new heir. The guilt he felt over Aemma clouded his judgement when it came to Rhaenyra.

[@captainahab9602]

Facts

[@BostonsF1nest]

I didn’t realize until rewatching HOTD for the third time that Aegon married his sister. They mention it very briefly in the show. That’s why I was totally confused when Halaena got up and gave that toast at the final dinner

[@vanillatwilight5291]

what's crazy is that aegon and rhaenyra only directly interacted once before he killed rhaenyra lol....

[@iamkonner4813]

I think Rhaenyra would’ve made the better ruler, she before the Dance was actually focused on her role, she didn’t have any of Aegon’s bad behaviors. Plus, I believe she had better councilors guiding her than Aegon had.

[@alessiodandolo1460]

Rhaenyra is a real disaster ! Aegon is not brilliant but he has the merit of fighting his own battles. And the best advisors are clearly on the side of the Greens, with Alicent, Otto, Tyland Lannister, Larys Strong, Orwyle and even Jasper Wylde.

[@iamkonner4813]

@@alessiodandolo1460 Alicent would make a terrible advisor, she ultimately aided in sending King’s Landing downhill in the show, Otto is actually incompetent during and before the dance in both book and show, he was only ever able to convince Viserys of one thing and that was making Rhaenyra the heir, he failed at gathering allies on his side having to give up major concessions while losing three lord paramounts, Tyland I forgot about, in the book he’s pretty good, Orwyle is untrustworthy and bad at his job, Larys is crazy, Jasper doesn’t have enough to determine an opinion on. Aegon fought two battles, won the first because of Vhagar, and the second battle was just between him and Moondancer who was way smaller than the injured Sunfyre. Criston was his best council, Rook’s Rest was his idea.

[@alessiodandolo1460]

@@iamkonner4813 Otto managed to rally the Triarchy, have you forgotten the Gullet ? It is also his diplomacy patiently carried out for years which ensures the Greens the support of the Lannisters, and the alliance proposed to Borros Baratheon is his idea. Alicent is described by all as an intelligent woman, and she has the courage to try to defend the capital against six dragons, where Rhaenyra does not have the courage against the protesters. Tyland scattered the Royal Treasure, indirectly causing the ruin of Rhaenyra. Larys allowed Aegon to escape the capital, found the perfect hiding place, and is likely the real person responsible for Rhaenyra's final demise. It is heavily implied that he is the originator of the rumors against her and a long-time ally with Ser Perkin. You can downplay Aegon's fights, he didn't run away from any of them. Rhaenyra did nothing, not used Syrax once in battle, nor at the Gullet, nor even at the Dragonpit, too scared by peasants and prefered sending others to their deaths for her own cause. She herself indicates that Borros Baratheon is a very proud man but does not even think of offering him something in exchange for his support... Silly daddy's girl ! In fact, Rhaenyra's only truly good advisor is Corlys, and she never listens to him.

[@iamkonner4813]

@@alessiodandolo1460 Otto only gained the Triarchy by giving up major concessions that would permanently effect the kingdom negatively. Both he and Alicent ordered the treasury split up in three, essentially bankrupting King’s Landing. He wasn’t even able to get his liege lords support, yeah I know Lord Tyrell ws only months old but Otto wasn’t able to convince the Tyrell Regent to join until way after his death, plus many of the Reach’s vassals like the Tarly’s, Caswell’s, Beesbury’s, and Ambrose’s rebelled and kicked some Hightower ass until Daeron showed up. Otto’s time as Hand to his last two kings were complete failures. What was Rhaenyra supposed to do with Syrax. She had gotten older and slower after her time on Dragonstone. Strategically it was best for her to send out the more fierce and capable dragons, that’s why Joffrey was only ever sent as guard to Lady Jeyne.

[@Rahim.ali80]

@@alessiodandolo1460could it be hard to form an alliance with the Triarchy to fight against ‘Daemon Targaryen’ wife the man who prevented their rule over the Step Stones especially this time it’s more assistance & knowing this isn’t really your war so in contrast you don’t have to go all in. His diplomacy during the reign of Viserys isn’t all that special at all, majority of the Houses of Westeros wanted to get rid the Targaryens & their dragons as their rulers. House Lannisters went from being Kings to Lords a House with their noble status & rich history of wealth power & the fear of lesser houses & even the fear of houses of their status always kneeled to them as Kings not Lords, add to that with the help of the Maesters who don’t need arrows, swords or axes to kill someone by deteriorating their health even more when their supposed to be healing them . Get Alicent to seduce Viserys after his first wife funeral their son will be king, as long as Viserys continue to be always spineless you can continue to lesser the favor Viserys will give Corlys meaning the Lannisters can gain more profits in their own ports, Daemon is constantly being sent away by Viserys. Lannisters get richer the blood of a Hightower on the throne no more dragons & Targaryen & now the Maesters can do what they always wanted to do control Westeros everyone wins. All three were already wealthy crooks & murderers it’s just another day in the office. Far as speaking up for Rhaenyra not fighting in the war she’s a female it’s a rare thing in Westeros for a girl of Noble/Royal birth to train with a master of arms & if you never fought or been trained to fight you wouldn’t rush to get in there & start fighting on dragon back or not

[@alessiodandolo1460]

Anyone in Otto's place would have acted the same way. Corlys Velaryon would have been even more ambitious and opposed to Rhaenyra if Laena had married Viserys. Alicent did her duty towards her children and she is not responsible. The real culprit is Viserys. His decision to keep Rhaenyra as heir is the source of the problem, and nothing required him to do so. He decided to force the entire kingdom to swear loyalty to her, he decided to remarry, and he decided to disregard the usual rule of succession. Rhaenyra's stupidity and Daemon's ambition did the rest.

[@Mcherri]

Maybe but Coryls had one thing that Otto didn’t and that is loyalty he remained loyal through and through.

[@alessiodandolo1460]

@@Mcherri I guess you didn't read the book to say that... In any case, loyalty is not a quality if it leads to blindness and ruin. Ned Stark was loyal, and he died for it. Maybe if he had been willing to get his hands dirty, he would have survived and his family would not have been massacred or scattered. Corlys is loyal... for a time only, and with the disastrous results we know for House Velaryon.

[@jorgemoya1341]

​@@Mcherrihe is loyal because he his family is legally bound to the targaryens

[@debamlyabanerjee4067]

​@@Mcherriloyal if laena had a son with viserys then corlys would have done the same thing that otto did

[@percyweasley9301]

"Anyone in Otto's place would have acted the same way", maybe we should learn now that was wrong.. Rhaenyra would have been better than child fighter Aegon...

[@revolversnake126]

fuck it i dont want to wait 2 years to see what happens.

[@-_--qn4mu]

So aegon winsin the end , but what cost and and sunfere is so loyal to him poor baby boy 😢

[@Aburg76]

27:04 love the freezeframe

[@hclw3589]

Aemond really fucked them by trying to get daemon coles army would never have been ambushed if he didn’t decide to stay in the river lands.

[@Darth_Nox13]

Doesn't matter, both sides lost in the end

[@soyusmaximus7176]

I blame Viserys. He had so many opportunities to prevent what was coming, but insisted on sticking his head in the sand and ensuring war.

[@barbiquearea]

Aemond indiscriminately burning much of the Riverlands on Vhagar really ended up damaging the Greens in the end. Once he and Daemon did a mutual kill over in Harrenhal, now his brother Aegon had to deal with an army of angry Riverlanders who wanted revenge for the devastation Aemond caused. I think even if Aegon offered them pardons, it wouldn't have worked because the Riverlands now hated the Greens.

[@NRTHK-wv9sb]

it doesnt make sense to me how despite aemond constantly burning them, they still have full armies to continue fighting with, when green forces like the lannisters and baratheons, cannot rally more men after a 1 or 2 battles

[@Some_Call_Me_Pietro]

I'd say the Battle of the Gullet wasn't lost by the Black, but it was certainly a pyrrhic victory.

[@debamlyabanerjee4067]

it was lost because the blacks lost there only source of wealth greens have the hightowers who controlled old Town, both house lannisters who controlled casterly rock and lannisport, redwynes who controlled Arbor and geens Also holds Kingslanding treasure blacks only had valeryons wealth with hightide burned all the wealth gone with it

[@dasauce9147]

I love how people will look at this and the rest of lore and conclude that Otto Anti Christ is responsible for everything despite the bad choices made by everyone😂

[@JanelleMatthews]

It was Otto's ruthless ambition, Viserys' weakness, and Alicent's envy and malice towards Rhaenyra that caused the destruction...Rhaenyra was a victim of the three.

[@jacksonperez5615]

Acting as if Rhaenyra is innocent is insane

[@concept5631]

​@@jacksonperez5615 They never said she was innocent, just that she was the victim.

[@ajibolarahman5434]

I guess parading bastards shamelessly, and without consequence, something that would have been severely punished were she not a princess makes her a victim.

[@martinsmith8019]

Rhaenyra wanting to be queen and heir, but also having bastard children as her line of Succession is what caused ultimate chaos.

[@karthiknarayanan3705]

Rhaenyra was a victim of her own stupidity. She was a pampered child and just like her father weak, indecisive, politically brain-dead and driven by emotions. ​@@concept5631

[@dionysius-germanicus_digna3740]

Can’t blame Aegon II for being bitter by the end, there’s no way he would have accepted taking black after going through it all. Larys and Corlys set him up to look unreasonable for their benefit. Corlys should have been executed for his part in the Dance, he didn’t even try and do justice for his mutilated nephews and instead favoured his bastard.

[@walkerlamebrain]

Rhaenyra would've been a great queen IF only the greens didn't collude to usurp her throne.

[@howdidmynamechange945]

Damn jace knows how to take charge

[@UsiQuotidiani.18]

Let’s admit that is all Viserys fault, he had a very simple line of succession, he messed up giving the crown to his daughter and later filling the court with his son supporters, like man what

[@felipebattisti8507]

Your videos are so cool. Westeros nerds are served

[@alexiospeverell]

Honestly, I think that during the Dance Jacaerys was the best suited, followed by Baela and Rhaena.

[@xxkatanyaxx]

I think it was Alicent and Viserys fault, also Otto's. The Hightower was reaching too much for that throne, and Viserys, like you said, could have given the throne to his daughter when he was deathly ill. But you know, greed only kills stupidity.

[@edwardmortimer8643]

Naming Rhaenyra as Hand would have been a good move…..nice idea

[@debamlyabanerjee4067]

Naming aegon as heir would be better because rhaneyra can't rule a son inherents over a daughter

[@dionaulmer9326]

@@debamlyabanerjee4067 why shouldnt a woman rule?

[@debamlyabanerjee4067]

@@dionaulmer9326 because it is the westeosi tradition

[@dionaulmer9326]

@@debamlyabanerjee4067 tradition is not law

[@debamlyabanerjee4067]

@@dionaulmer9326 then why male heirs get everything

[@queenxx1690]

They made Aegon so lame whitewash Rhaenyra and Alicent, we did not even get to see Sunfyre or Dreamfyre

[@heyitzaimee]

nobody really cares about them being whitewash we just wanna the dragons at this point 😂

[@queenxx1690]

@@heyitzaimee who are we ? Without good story and character you will not enjoy cgi dragons. Also this one episode 7 which was so dark you could not see anything not even faces of actors they need to work on their night episodes because it was long night 2.0

[@heyitzaimee]

@@queenxx1690 most of the fandom want to see aegon and healena dragons now

[@queenxx1690]

@@heyitzaimee You will see Sunfyre but Dreamfyre I would not be so sure

[@Spooooderman183]

Since when has aegon been not lame lmao

[@umardurrani1021]

It is pretty wild to think Targaryens ruled longer without dragons than with…

[@alondramorelos1978]

Such awesome quality videos. Subscribed for sure

[@angryyoungman66]

Actually spoilers only makes me more excited to see how they gonna adapt it in the show 23:00 "If they search the seven hells , mayhaps" Aegon is a bad @$$ 😎 such a sigma line

[@frankisin]

I enjoyed this vid a great deal, even came back to watch it twice. Please cook up something for when the series wraps up 😂

[@slayer3805]

“This was not cool beans for the blacks” is a wild statement 😂

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

The other thing is though, if Aegon didn't want to be king, which he categorically didn't, at any point before his coronation he could've abdicated his claim to the throne. It's far from unheard of in the history of Westeros, and it gets him out of his big problem. This was a general thing with Alicent's children actually, if their greatest concern was survival from Rhaenyra considering them a threat, they could and should have abdicated and removed themselves from consideration the same way someone like Maester Aemon did

[@pg1448]

So just so Rhaenyra can safely sit the throne her brothers would have to freeze their asses off among common criminals or become maesters or go into exile? Gee I wonder why they didn't consider that option.

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

@@pg1448 Is that not exactly what they demand her to do the moment they try to seize power?

[@pg1448]

​@@whensomethingcriesagain Not really, she and her sons would have been given castles and lordships to live a relatively comfortable existence

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

@@pg1448 Lol no, that was a trick. Alicent wanted them to leave because she knew the only alternative was killing them all to remove their rival claim, but Otto never had any interest in doing anything other than having them all killed, so he altered the deal to try and keep them in a position where he could do that.

[@lilliesinthegard32]

The reason they didn't was the fear. Fear that Rhaenyra or Daemon most likely would have them killed for being a threat to her legitimacy on the throne, surely some common folk and a few houses would have questioned the fact that the first born son was not the one being crowned, and then Aegon would be a threat, Rhaenyra would have to get rid of him and Aemond and Daeron to avoid people continuously questioning her possition. That was what they were thinking, Alicent too. And it was understandable even more after what happened with Aemonds eye and how Rhaenyra got awah with it, so their fear only grew. Also understandable given the time period and universe they were in, this stuff happened in real life too. Cleopatra had her sister exiled, then a little later, she had her killed so she wouldn't be a threat to her throne, even when the sister didn't even try to take the throne

[@mfundonkosi6927]

Alicent Hightower was a pot stirrer along with her father. The Hightowers also bare responsibility.

[@Reneebenson]

Her father groomed her , other she would have stayed friends with rheyna

[@AlwaysAC]

@@Reneebensonin the show. In the books they are never friends.

[@dionysius-germanicus_digna3740]

Corlys tried to do the same with Laena only Viserys wasn’t interested in her. There’s no point saying Otto groomed her when in awoiaf Otto pushing his daughter to be a king’s marriage prospect is actually considered normal and good.

[@RayGainbows]

Havent read the books but i love spoilers. They tend to make me actually want to read them. Im obsessed with ASOIAF

[@mattavery7581]

In the dance it wasn't about who won but who's left afterwards.

[@gameinspection4999]

I wanna say the fault lies with Otto Hightower and viserys. Viserys because he set Rhaenerya up for failure. Otto because he more or less pushed this conflict. Like if otto *really* wanted his family safe he could have just ya know. Married Allicent off to another noble house and not be worried about whats going on with the iron throne. The dude was a second son and wanted power anyway he can. Even at the cost of the realm, his house, and his daughter. Also the greens undermining viserys set the precedent for undermining the kings last words. By crowning Aegon despite the kings last wishes they basically allowed people to do whatever they wanted. This is more or less how cersei was able to get away with ripping up Roberts will in front of everybody. Despite his will being sealed. Because if aegon can be crowned despite the entirety of the realm and lords knowing and swearing to it. Then cersei ripping up some paper isnt a problem. Tbh Rhaenys would have been a great ruler had she been given the chance. I honestly think Aemond and Helena would have been fine. Or Jace and Baela.

[@Milwaukhehe]

Aemond would have been Joffrey so scratch him out

[@punyaslokmohapatra7528]

Tbh Rhaenys would have been horrible ruler... RIP VIZZY. T 😢

[@marksjoga]

Daemon mouth sync was pure gold bro

[@BrotherKevinHunter]

It makes more sense to me that the rightful heir was Rhaenyra, as much as I like the greens. Clearly her father wanted her on the throne, and took obvious steps to solidify her succession, it’s as simple as that.

[@CrusaderChris]

Viserys took steps to solidify her succession very early on, and then naively believed his wishes would hold. He could have made it a lot easier for Rhaenyra by naming her Hand first, by codifying a royal inheritance law, by forcing the Greens to publicly swear fealty to her later in life, etc. Instead, his inaction directly led to the Dance. I think Viserys was great at keeping the peace, but very bad at maneuvering for peace in the future.

[@angryyoungman66]

And it would've been even better if Viserys the dumb , never married Alicent , and never had children with her

[@lilliesinthegard32]

If he took obvious steps, he would have at least taught her enough politics and decorum and how to gain the respect of the other houses because she is quite bad at it

[@wradBrad]

I want to be team black for daemon but rhaenyra ticks me off.. she spent her entire life doing whatever she wanted, not taking her position seriously, giving birth to strong children, then just expects to sit on the iron throne?? Like yo you don't deserve it homegirl. But i despise more people on green than i do black. Its weird. I dislike rhaenyra, but love everyone else on the black roster. But i think aegon should rule, and despise everyone on green, except aemond. He so cool.

[@axolotl1777]

Fr she wants the freedom to do whatever she wants and the privileges of being royal

[@garrisonjones1827]

Small voice in the background: perhaps this dance could have been avoided if everyone just sat down at the table, talked and expressed their grievances to one another, then none of this would have happened

[@CrusaderChris]

It’s too bad Westeros hasn’t invented family therapists yet

[@garrisonjones1827]

@@CrusaderChris Even with therapy, is there any psychologist willing or mentally prepared to handle that family

[@bluey8302]

Yea, None was truly meant to rule because even during war, they could have made peace but insisted on the death of their enemies which led to more suffering and war.

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

I always felt that G.R.R.M wrote The Greens to be too powerful once Ulf and Hugh and their dragons joined them, and then just kinda asspulled the way Addam managed to kill not just them and their dragons, but Daeron the Daring and his dragon on top of it. That never made a lick of sense. Daeron alone should've been way too much considering how experienced a fighter and dragonrider he was at this point.

[@Rengokuo4o6]

I'm guessing Addams had the bigger dragon?

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

@@Rengokuo4o6 Nope. Seasmoke (Addam's dragon) was about the same size as Tessarion (Daeron's dragon), but less battle tested and less agile. Vermithor (Hugh's dragon) was also three times Seasmoke's size. Add Silverwing (Ulf's dragon) to the mix, and there's just no fucking way that Seasmoke wins this. It's ridiculous. Smaller dragons have stalemated or killed bigger ones at times, but those are rare cases like Caraxes fighting Vhagar, which Caraxes only managed due to the experience of his rider and the fact that Vhagar had gotten old and slow despite her vast size. So how Addam on Seasmoke managed to kill the two strongest dragons present and even the rider of the last is just baffling. Daemon himself wouldn't have managed that realistically.

[@merykhan97]

They were both victims and both would've made horrible rulers. What saddens me is the lost potential during the war. All the princes killed would've contributed to the dynasty and the royal family and their dragons would've survived. I believe the downfall started the day prince Baelon lost his life and Otto was named hand (sus, very sus). the war was inevitable the second Viserys married Alicent. His choice should've been a lady from a smaller family loyal to Rhaenyra and the crown. Even then, giving her 3 sons was a recipe for disaster. Rhaenyra's downfall started the day she messed around with Criston while insulting every possible lord who was a marriage candidate. She could've had a suitable father to her heirs and focused on diplomacy and politics. That again was Viserys mistake. He didn't teach her the necessary things an heir needs to know to rule. The last blow was Rhaenyra leaving to Dragonstone. That gave Alicent and Otto every possible opportunity to cast away any support she had in KL and replace them with green loyalists. They had full control of the treasury and later the council. They even supported attacks against Lucerys publicly leading to more doubts now that the Queen publicly sided with the man calling a prince a Bastard. The legitimacy of her children and her claim was publicly put to question and that lead many lords to break their oath and side with Aegon. I feel bad for all their children but the war was the obvious eventuality.

[@shanocampo30]

If Rhaenyra rewarded Ulf the White and Hugh Hammer with marriage to the daughters of Rosby and Stokeworth, they would have been loyal and the Battle of Tumbleton would have been avoided and the blacks would win the war.

[@Yusufal-stalin]

There’s only so many marriages you can offer

[@KaiHung-wv3ul]

@@Yusufal-stalin Well, yeah, but SECURING THE LOYALTY OF YOUR DRAGONRIDERS are prbably near the top of the to-do list.

[@alessiodandolo1460]

There is no certainty that Rhaenyra would have won the war if the Blacks had avoided or even won the Battle of Tumbleton. Who would have given Rhaenyra any chance of turning things around after the Honeywine ? Who would have given Aegon the slightest chance of victory after the Fall of King's Landing ? There are always unexpected events. Even if the Blacks had avoided the battle at Tumbleton, Rhaenyra's financial situation would have remained critical, Aegon would still have seized Dragonstone and King's Landing would have ended up hungry with the Riverlands on fire and the Reach in the hands of the Hightowers.

[@merykhan97]

I doubt it very much. But I do believe it would've delayed their betrayal. Who knows, perhaps them or their offspring would've demanded their rights to the throne, Blackfyre style.

[@KaiHung-wv3ul]

@@merykhan97 I guess, but it is probably better to fight one civil war at a time rather than fight both them and the Greens at the same time. Or, you know, have them team up.

[@thalmoragent9344]

Honestly, disregarding all the elders and parents (Viserys, Otto, Corlys and the like), I'd say the Dance could've ended a few times before it did. Neither sibling backed down. It was a war of essentially annihilation, and time and time again, peace was offered. Some out of desperation, some out of just being tired of war, others for the opportunites opened up, often via disaster. House Targaryen and its allies/enemies all played a hand into the cascade/windfall of bad or misguided decisions that ended up being the second most bloody conflict Westeros has ever seen, second only to the first Long Night. Overall, Rhaenyra made obvious mistakes, and Aegon's personal morals aren't to be all that admired. And in the end, the spilled blood of the Dragon just kept on pouring, since they didn't bother speaking much before the death of their father. So divided since near the start, and across much of their lives. So, nothing much in terms of fond memories bound them together like a family typically would have amongst siblings.

[@ahmedelbeltagi658]

Rhaena would have been the best ruler out of all the characters if she had been chosen over Viserys

[@priscillateo1691]

Agree!!

[@T00FAST4L0VE]

Rhaenys Targaryen did not bring the Velaryons the ability to fly dragons. Only those with the blood of the Dragon can do that. That means no Corlys. No face slice Vaemond. Only Rhaenys’ children have the blood of the dragon and can therefore bond with them… fly with them. All that dragony stuff.

[@stiltmansstilt1014]

Aegon literally didnt want to rule

[@user-yn5vm4uq7b]

Otto Hightower navigated everything which is now happening. Otto is an excellent manipulator. Otto never loved Daemon as Visery's heir because Daemon was the only person who could come in between the throne and his plans. If Daemon was still heir then the matter was settled. But Otto deceived Viserys to disinherit Daemon and instead make Rhaenera his heir when Otto himself knew that that was impossible in their customs. Otto adviced Viserys to make Rhaenera heir and deceived the King to marry his own daughter, Allicent, when he knew that the strongest match was Laena Velaryon. Infact, even if King Viserys had decided not to remarry, the wisest thing he could have done was to marry Rhaenera to Prince Daemon so their son would become the next King with Daemon/Rhaenera rulling as Regent till their son come of Age. Instead Viserys allowed himself for Otto to infiltrate his rule with Deception. It was only a matter of time that Allicent was going to give the king sons who would become a torn in Rhaenera 's rule. Only if King Viserys has listened to sound counsel from Lyonel Strong, the Grand Maestor and Married sea snakes daughter, he would have saved the realm for this f.....King dance. Prince Daemon was absolutely right! Viserys was weak and Otto saw that and capitalised on that to deceive Viserys. Otto should have been killed when Viserys found out of his Deceptions and Treachery. Instead, he brought him back again to be his hand to finish what he started. What a foolish decision and weakness by King Viserys ...

[@DarkKing009]

House Hightower: Machiavellian merchant princes vs House Targaryen: eugenics sorcerer-kings.

[@Throgman33]

Nearly sead Aegon being carried up to the throne is gonna be a funny juxtaposition to his father (also nearly dead) still being able to climb the throne.😂

[@TheCandyHole]

They both sound like bad rulers in peacetime. Rhaneyra is entitled and Aegon is spiteful, neither of them considered the realm in their dance. I'd only edge on Aegon being better because he respected the Targaryen line and didn't try to put Strong bastards on the iron throne.

[@justinsherman1069]

Agreed, logically, one would think the issue would have been discussed and addressed. Once a male child was born.

[@saltybenserk]

Didn't you forget about Rhaenyra wanting Nettles dead ? That's a big part of why Daemon wanted to die fighting Aemon, because Rhaenyra was out of her mind.

[@Baytudka]

Well losing 5 of your children and getting your right stripped from you can have that effect on people

[@stalwartteakettlepotato9879]

7:10 just imagine a stark warg dragon rider king. That would be something to see. And mybe we will get to see it soon enough.

[@Aioki.Germany]

I always hate hearing about the storming of the dragonPit

[@dr1052]

Very good video here's a sub and like keep up the great work 🎉

[@endor8witch]

you mean how viserys and his daughter rhaenyra tore the kingdom apart because of their incompetent and unplanned reign handover...

[@lonemotheo1964]

Corlys was a horrible hand

[@debater452]

Rhaenyra was a terrible ruler

[@mbison3931]

If only Viserys bethroted Rhaenyra to Aegon 2, then all this would have been avoided.

[@fy90s]

that is crazy. props to the writers of House of The Dragon turning that into a show. Good luck.

[@supremeturtle1186]

Basically everything is Criston Cole, Otto,and Allicent Hightower fault. Visors gets an honorable mention for being to passive

[@debamlyabanerjee4067]

You are worng it's viserys and rhaneyra and rhaneyras bastards fault why this war happened foolish king viserys named a woman as heir when he had 3 sons rhaneyra had 3 bastards and tried to put them in the link of succession Ser criston , queen Alicent and ser otto did there duty to the kingdom if viserys named aegon as his heir the war would have never happened

[@debater452]

Rhaenyra shouldn't have been making bastards and claiming them to not be bastards. Also she married Deamon who is a lunatic

[@Heavens-Humanaterian-Army]

Well dam thanks for the heads up..its depressing..and everyone I likded is dead..not so excitded for season 2 now.😢

[@jancecharlesaustin3733]

Great video, dood.

[@jjs1300000]

I’m team green, and Rhaenyra could never have a stable rule for two reasons. 1. She married Daemon, a man who is accused of murdering of his first wife and being depraved and cruel. He’s the reason Rhaenyra was named heir in the first place. 2. All of her children are bastards, Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey are known through the seven kingdoms to be illegitimate.

[@dionaulmer9326]

And Aegon is better? hes a r@pist

[@PatrickCebron-yg8jg]

Rheanyra was having bastards, no go ,she was wrong

[@TimberlakeTigerGirl]

As long as Laenor claimed the boys as his, they weren't actual bastards.

[@ikram-258]

​@@TimberlakeTigerGirlthis is not how legetimacy works in westeros

[@TracySkinny]

viserys set everyone up for failure

[@ReginaFalange.1]

Hi mate, I love your videos - can’t go wrong with a lore deep dive. You’re quite funny too - all good stuff. The only thing is the music in the intros, it’s a bit jarring IMO. Anyway, great content mate 😊