The Mad King's Small Council (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Aerys Targaryen II was one crazy king
Here's his advisors from the asoiaf/game of thrones world
Thumbnail Tywin Lannister art by - fabioleone.artstation.com/
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[@hermesvargas2275]

I believe that the fact that both Aerys' Kingsguard and Small Council are some of the best ever is meant to be a warning against absolute power as even if he was surrounded by wise and just men nothing can stop an absolute tyrant.

[@williamhermann6635]

Excellent point. And to add to it, look at what become of Jaime's legacy after doing what was best for the realm.

[@thalmoragent9344]

@@williamhermann6635 Jamie also never told anyone, nor explained the dead pyromnacers it seems. Jamie easily could've did what he did, and then wait for the others to arrive and not sit smugly on the Throne like he evidently did. The hate Jamie gets would, in part, still be there sure, but he'd be left a lot more leeway and understanding had everyone known the truth of it all

[@williamhermann6635]

@@thalmoragent9344 I respectfully disagree. The world George created seems to have little room for context or nuance when it comes to duty and loyalty. Even Ned, one of the most understanding and compassionate characters in the story, gives Jaime zero respect despite the fact that Jaime killed the maniac who murdered Ned's father and brother. One would think Ned would be grateful or at least respectful of the act. If Ned cant see past the construct of blind loyalty then I doubt too many others would either. Very simple culture in that aspect.

[@Chadius_Thundercock]

It’s ironic that arguably the worst king in Westeros history was able to make arguably the greatest council and kingsguard

[@waxerwaer9700]

@@williamhermann6635 I'm a show only person at the moment, but in the first season Ned is angry at Jamie because Jamie did nothing when the two Starks were killed. He (and 500 other people) stood in the court and watched one Stark be burned alive, and the other strangle himself. Jamie only killed the mad king, when the Tywin stormed the city and sacked King's landing. Jamie didn't kill the mad king when he was burning people alive, or when he was fighting the civil war. Jamie only killed the mad king at the last minute of the war. So Ned (and most other people) took Jamie's actions as a last minute turn to get on the winning side. He protected the mad king when it was safe, and stabbed him in the back once his power was about to be taken.

[@annieandelsieofarendelle3294]

I gotta give Tywin this, he actually held it together pretty well as Hand given everything Aerys did to him and his wife.

[@durrangodsgrief6503]

Considering tywins personality he probably brought that on him self with his attitude

[@durrangodsgrief6503]

Considering tywins personality he probably brought that on him self with his attitude

[@hexaldecima6839]

@@durrangodsgrief6503 Yeah, the common and nobles saw him as the true ruler of the realm.

[@beesmitty3435]

Tywins philosophy when giving joffery council on the war was: Show your enemies fire and steel, but when they bend the knee you help them up. Thru Tyrion's eyes tywin is a monster, thru your average noblemen or even smallfolk tywin was seen as competent and fair if not harsh and stern

[@durrangodsgrief6503]

@lethabo maunatlala but he acts as if the very personification of authority, his actions in the river lands, the way he handled the rains and tarbecks even ellia and her children Tywin can be great but he has a habit of causing unnecessary strife and goes against the authority of others without impunity even how he handled Robb he could very well have had him and his wife apprehended but chose his wounded pride which would have caused non stop rebellions in the north and caused a massive fall off in Lannister respect and ruined the houses reputation for his good qualities their are thousands of worse ones

[@misabelrodriguez1163]

Hope you can make this a series and we can have all the rulers councils. Can we also see Cersei's council?

[@amanimckenzie32]

Cersei doesn’t have a Small Council, she was never a monarch, only a regent. At least in the books.

[@PointnShootMovies]

Tommen is still alive in the books

[@yujiro424]

​@@amanimckenzie32 She still had control and selected the members of the council. Purposefully filling it with incompetent yes men to feed her ego while believing that doing so would protect her power from competent people that she viewed as threats.

[@purplepanda8805]

@@amanimckenzie32 Ok then, "Tommen's" small council if you prefer

[@kungalexander829]

​@@amanimckenzie32she still assemble her own small council during after tywin died

[@NtoTheM]

Basically, Barristan Selmy kinda is responsible for the Targaryen dynasty ending. If he hadn't saved Aerys and let Tywin storm the castle, Rhaegar would've become king and probably not end up in the position to meet, let alone fall in love with Lyanna Stark. The rebellion wouldn't happen and with a strong and popular head of their house the Targaryens would've continued their rule.

[@Brandonhayhew]

Rhaegar was obsessed with the prophecy. So did his great grandfather aegon the fifth. All this prophecy only lead to disastrous and disastrous. Prophecy never lead to better outcome. If he was king , his still obsessive over a prophecy. He wouldn’t be the best. None of the Targaryen was as good as Jaehaerys the first. The old king had No obsessed over prophecy but he was determined to be the best king

[@NtoTheM]

@@Brandonhayhew Well I reckon we will never really know whether the prophecy is truly bad or not, since the old geezer won't finish the damn series.

[@Brandonhayhew]

@@NtoTheM just go for cormac McCarthy. His novels are interesting. Like the Road and Blood meridian

[@mr.fahrenheit2157]

​@@Brandonhayhew Yeah the Old King wasn't obsessed by prophecy he was obsessed with westerosi tradition and it killed all the dragons in 30 years after his death lmao

[@Brandonhayhew]

@@mr.fahrenheit2157 that’s his legacy. The prophecy all killed off Targaryen power positions and ruined everyone around them. That was Viserys the first and he was stupid king. His second wife was a cause of that problem and so was his daughter. Each Targaryen is responsible for the way the realm became.

[@lukebarroso449]

The Mad King was terrible as a king, but you gotta admit, the man knew how to pick a great kingsguard and an amazing Hand of the King

[@alphagamer9505]

Did he picked the Kingsguard, other than Jaime I don't think Aerys himself choose any, I think the rest just came from Jaehaerys reign Though I might be wrong

[@lukebarroso449]

@@alphagamer9505 if thats true then the guy was just unnecessarily lucky 🤣

[@CommanderOfRussia1]

@@alphagamer9505Dayne and Barristan were both anointed during his reign, the two greatest. So was Darry

[@alphagamer9505]

@@CommanderOfRussia1 wasn't Barristan already in the kingsguard

[@CommanderOfRussia1]

@@alphagamer9505 Actually you are correct, he served Jaehaereys for a year before his death. The other two I’m certain weren’t kingsguard yet tho. So he anointed about half, considering the fiasco with Jaime. Aegon V gets credit for 3, and Jaehaerys gets one.

[@bensonfang1868]

The mad king’s master of coin, ships, and laws basically disappeared after the rebellion lol

[@pedroamaral8988]

That Fresh Prince of bel-air cutaway caught me by surprise! 😁 Excellent work as always!

[@robsop9512]

my friend, may i just say that your channel is (and has been) one of my favorites since i discovered it. you clearly have a deep love for the story, and you make it accessible and even more interesting to me. you, In Deep Geek, and a handful of others are absolutely aces IMO. thank you for your smart and thoughtful content about this massive story.

[@whycreate]

Jeeez very kind!

[@j-mez6956]

Small council video let’s goooo! I hope this can be a series

[@ramonemoore8395]

I’m sayin tho

[@KingMarineLord]

Lord Denys Darklyn was influenced by his lady wife, Serala of Myr aka The Lace Serpent. It'd be interesting to get a behind the scenes of the Defiance of Duskendale; POV from Tywin's perspective, Ser Barristan's, Denys' and maybe even Aerys'.

[@brianwagner7990]

My suspicion is that Tywin orchestrated the defiance of Duskendale that drove Aerys mad. That Barristan Selmy ruined Tywins plan

[@kevinneutzling8267]

The closest guess I can have for Staunton is based on what happened to Allister Thorne. It’s mentioned briefly that when Robert took control of the city he had Allister and some other of Aerys’s men given the choice between death or the Wall. Given Staunton’s reputation as the last living Aerys small council lickspittle this might’ve been his fate and he likely would’ve chosen death.

[@ramonemoore8395]

Was just lookin for some shi to watch then my boy drops a vid let’s goo🔥

[@NoicesVoicesAfrica]

One of my favorite KZbin channels! Always a joy to see your uploads!

[@whycreate]

Thank you, thank you

[@jjh2456]

One thing people have to understand about Mad King Aerys is that after Duskindale, there was no way he would ever regain any semblance of sanity. What was done to him during that time was horrible. If anyone had a brain a regency would’ve been set up immediately after this of some sort for the king.

[@mysteryjunkie9808]

Mental illness wasn’t well understood I think

[@thecajunphoenix]

The snag is, Aerys would have burned the regent alive as well. If there's one thing a power-hungry ruler doesn't want to give up, it's definitely the power and authority to make decisions.

[@jjh2456]

@@thecajunphoenix not really. Aerys didn’t become fire infatuated until well after Duskindale. The pyromancers didn’t come into his council for maybe a year or two before his death. Something needed to be done with Aerys immediately after Duskindale.

[@HIGHGROUND91]

Man you’re videos are always the best. Only channel that I get pumped for when I see a new video. I’d love if they came more often but you clearly put so much work into them. Quality like this takes time

[@nedisahonkey]

*your

[@HIGHGROUND91]

@@nedisahonkey lol… twat

[@GhANeC]

This was one of the hardest narrations of yours to understand from start to finish. And i usually like your voice.

[@youngveteran6368]

I know that there is not much known about daeron but I think he would be cool to do a video about on along with his cobalt blue and bronze she dragon tesarion. Good content btw👍🏽

[@martinmorales4645]

Excellent video! Thank you!

[@vforviblz]

just a small correction, Jaime killed Rossart BEFORE he goes into the throne room and kills Aerys. not after.

[@weskerrun4647]

I thought that as well- Aerys sees the blood on Jaime’s sword and demands to know whose blood it is, to which Jaime answers: “Rossart’s.”

[@sankarkrishnan407]

After failing five wars, Backfyres send Varys to Kings Landing. He was successful in his job. Now the Kingdom is ruled by aprovocative and stupid Queen. Things are turning. If the Young Griff align with Dany they have capture the the throne.

[@Brandonhayhew]

I don’t Dany would accept him as the rightful king. Even if he offered her a position as queen. She knows they just want her dragons for their own endgame. Dany had prophetic people telling her not to trust any of them

[@johnpotts8308]

Varys may have been fuelling the King's paranoia, but he wasn't lying about his subjects plotting against Aerys. It's possible that Varys intended to drive him further into madness, but he might have just been doing his job.

[@mysteryjunkie9808]

Is it really paranoia if everyone is out to get you?

[@only_fair23]

@@mysteryjunkie9808 It's like a cycle. Duskendale lead to justified paranoia, which lead to secrets in the council which led to more paranoia, which led to more secrets and even more paranoia.

[@Brandonhayhew]

They all were fueling the kings madness. Medieval nobles lords never reveal their real intentions

[@Divine_Chareka]

Jaehaerys I had the best small council

[@john56801]

That is a hell of a beard for an 18 year old.

[@SlermmMcderm]

Tywin was always my favorite character

[@jhonsnow4116]

Love the Chanel but got a question which army do you think wore the best amour for war I personally like the Starks theirs was simple and practical

[@shanocampo30]

Can you create lore videos about The Last of Us and Lord of the Rings?

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

"He had delusions of Tywin and Rhaegar coming after him." You had literally just said Tywin had no problem with him dying and we know Rhaegar was plotting to overthrow his father. They were certainly not delusions lol

[@stephenjenkins7971]

I think he meant literally seeking to kill him. Tywin was willing to sacrifice him, but not kill him. And Rhaegar was willing to overthrow him, not kill him. Even after he went mad.

[@Pantherblack]

Is there any exploration into why Varys was so loyal to Aerys?

[@multimediafan6777]

01:54 I think that they function more like representatives or attachés of there respective houses in terms of politics. There counsel comes more in the form of reliable sources of information than anything else...

[@freebird264]

I find it so tragic that Ser Barristan, one of the greatest knights in the history of Westeros, had to live with the fact that his greatest feat of saving King Aerys is what led to the death of thousands of lives to murder and war and he would've saved the realm if he had just let Aerys die so Rhaegar could become king early.

[@josephsmith6777]

He had a great all council and kings guard

[@marleymarsss]

Varys comes off in the show like he has the best intentions in the realm but no no, he put things in Aerys head against Rhaegar too. He knew Aerys was unfit to rule and let him do these things.

[@anonymousperson8475]

Considering Renly’s young age during the rebellion, could it be possible that Staunton was allowed to remain Master of Laws for a few years as well?

[@shanenolan5625]

Well the white bull . We know he took command of the royal armies after the death of the Lord barathon, early in the war of the nine penny kings, in the step stones. . Tywin, , arryn, stark , Tully, selmy , grey joy sll served under him .

[@Androx-murdok34]

Lyanna stark got her brother and father killed .

[@grissom2289]

I really enjoyed this video. But one thing confused me. I thought the king chose the Grand Maester. I know that the position was chosen by the high ranking Maesters of the Citadel after Aagons conquest, but it changed at some point in the story. The Maesters would always pick a high ranking since they were the most learned and qualified for the position. But in doing so the Maester would be quite old and only be able to fill the position a few years. At some point the Targarian king grew frustrated when three Grand Maesters died of old age in a short amount of time. So the king bypassed the leading Maesters of the Citadel and chose his own Grand Maester. Now that Im typing this, wasnt that Pycell?!

[@amanimckenzie32]

It never changed, The Archmaester Conclave at the Citadel still appoint the Grand Maester. The situation you are referring to is with King Aegon V (Aerys ii grandfather). What happened was that all the Grand Maesters the Citadel was sending were all too old and died within months of appointment. So King Aegon V requested that the Citadel send a young Grand Maester for the Small Council, they decided to send Pycelle. There’s no point in where the King/Hand appoints the Grand Maester, however, there is times where the King/Hand has removed the Grand Maester from office or reinstated them. In ACOK Tyrion removes Pycelle from the Small Council after finding out he was an informant to Cersei. Later in AFFC the Citadel send ArchMaester Gormon (Lord Mace Tyrell’s uncle) to serve as Grand Maester, however, Cersei stops this from happening by reinstating Grand Maester Pycelle back to his office.

[@BlackstreetBoys2Men]

I think Tywin was behind the tourney more than Rhaegar was he had just as much motivation

[@SHARKVADERS]

WC!!!!!

[@brendano4196]

Great video overall. Almost perfect except I do believe Jaime killed Rossart first. I believe the Mad King's last words was asking Jaime whose blood was on his sword. I could be wrong though.

[@DeathbornGamer]

I thought it was burn them all

[@vandsg7777]

PROLOGUE We should start back,” Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them. “The wildlings are dead.” “Do the dead frighten you?” Ser Waymar Royce asked with just the hint of a smile. Gared did not rise to the bait. He was an old man, past fifty, and he had seen the lordlings come and go. “Dead is dead,” he said. “We have no business with the dead.” “Are they dead?” Royce asked softly. “What proof have we?” “Will saw them,” Gared said. “If he says they are dead, that’s proof enough for me.” Will had known they would drag him into the quarrel sooner or later. He wished it had been later rather than sooner. “My mother told me that dead men sing no songs,” he put in. “My wet nurse said the same thing, Will,” Royce replied. “Never believe anything you hear at a woman’s tit. There are things to be learned even from the dead.” His voice echoed, too loud in the twilit forest. “We have a long ride before us,” Gared pointed out. “Eight days, maybe nine. And night is falling.” Ser Waymar Royce glanced at the sky with disinterest. “It does that every day about this time. Are you unmanned by the dark, Gared?” Will could see the tightness around Gared’s mouth, the barely suppressed anger in his eyes under the thick black hood of his cloak. Gared had spent forty years in the Night’s Watch, man and boy, and he was not accustomed to being made light of. Yet it was more than that. Under the wounded pride, Will could sense something else in the older man. You could taste it; a nervous tension that came perilous close to fear. Will shared his unease. He had been four years on the Wall. The first time he had been sent beyond, all the old stories had come rushing back, and his bowels had turned to water. He had laughed about it afterward. He was a veteran of a hundred rangings by now, and the endless dark wilderness that the southron called the haunted forest had no more terrors for him

[@not_averge]

Why did Tywin want him dead before he tried something bad ...

[@bussardfederchen]

Greetings

[@hirootaku9599]

Lesson learned : love is dangerous

[@KonEl-BlackZero]

So far I've learned that if Lyanna Stark had keep her panties up, her family would be alive and the Seven Kingdoms would be under the rule of the best king in centuries.

[@Primus_Phallus]

What if Barristan didnt save Aerys? What of Barristan defeated Rhaegar in the Joust.

[@melanoidmarkus]

👍🏾

[@eirikrvicente5987]

Gods he was strong then

[@micahbenecke6169]

bae wake up, in deep geek just uploaded

[@brendonferguson5726]

1:15 every “primitive” subject???

[@SuperNoobz22]

Tbh whoever came up with the idea for Ser Barristan to rescue the king was the biggest idiot in all of the 7 kingdoms.

[@AJK17.5]

He made the decision himself he was too honourable to not uphold his vow to protect his king

[@burundianfamily2982]

screw live action make this into a animated series with returning voice actors from GoT

[@mohammedmajali6569]

Why the fuck was Varys kept alive?

[@ziakiryu4079]

Tywin is the best king in the history of westros

[@Brandonhayhew]

Tywin is like the Ozymandias poem. No how hard work you do, in the end, your work will be undone and everything is worth nothing. Tywin legacy is another garbage just like Ottito Hightower

[@gabrieljorlert620]

No disrespect to you but you might wanna consider hiring a voice actor to speak during your videos and act out you script bc the topics of your videos are very interesting but you sound like you're falling asleep in every vid

[@thor.halsli]

I wonder how similar The Mad King's Small Council and Putin's Small Council is 😂

[@uroszeremski6680]

Oh sure, and westerns governments are Shire...

[@magnusthered4973]

Putin doesnt have a council so nothing at all

[@breezy6859]

As much as I dislike the Lannisters I respect Tywin. Tywin was a strong man standing by the Max King even after everything he did to Tywin and his family. You should read the books on Audible! You have a great reading voice.

[@spanishflea634]

The Valaryons being black (with blonde hair) in HotD is ridiculous.

[@DeathbornGamer]

Without book spoilers were rhaneryas kids bastards in the books too? Them not being black is what starts the whole spiral down

[@paulraines9635]

​@@DeathbornGamerIn the books, it was also obvious the three "Valaryon" boys were not Laenor's sons, simply due to their hair being brown. But it's all speculation due to the narrative format.

[@JoshuaHenelyThornhill]

This could be a series about all the known small councils and what made each of them special