Blackfyre Rebellions: House Targaryen’s greatest enemies
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- čas přidán 23. 09. 2023
- In the Game of Thrones books, the Blackfyres were the greatest enemies of House Targaryen for a hundred years. What happened in the Blackfyre Rebellions and the War of the Ninepenny Kings? Why did Daemon Blackfyre rebel against King Daeron II? How were Bittersteel, Bloodraven and Shiera Seastar involved? Is Young Griff a Blackfyre? What do the Blackfyre Rebellions mean for the fate of the Iron Throne and Westeros in the end of ASOIAF?
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Images from The World of Ice and Fire used with permission from Random House.
Aegon I and Torrhen art by Chase Stone: www.chasestoneart.com/
Targaryen kings art by Amok: amokanet
Aegon I art by Magali Villeneuve: www.magali-villeneuve.com/
Robert Baratheon, Daenerys Targaryen art by Hongqi Zhang: www.artstation.com/hongqizh1437
Prince Daemon Targaryen, Bittersteel, Second Rebellion art by Marc Simonetti: art.marcsimonetti.com/
Bloodraven and Shiera art by Bella Bergolts: www.deviantart.com/bellabergolts
Rohanne of Tyrosh art: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Myriah Martell art by vvHoHvv XX: www.artstation.com/artwork/oO...
Redgrass Field and Mystery Knight graphic novel art by Mike S. Miller: / underdogmike
Shiera blood bath art by chillyravenart: www.deviantart.com/chillyrave...
Bittersteel Shiera Bloodraven, “brother I loved…” art by NaomiMakesArt: NaomiMakesArt naomimakesart
Barbra Bracken Melissa Blackwood, Bloodraven art by ProKrik: www.deviantart.com/prokrik
Quentyn Ball art by Manre-Art: www.deviantart.com/manre-art
Redgrass Field, Barristan Maelys art by Jose Daniel Cabrera Peña and Dhian Prasetya: www.artstation.com/thrax
Gwayne Corbray and Daemon Blackfyre art by Fadly Romdhani: www.artstation.com/fadly_romd...
Three-eyed crow art by Katie Hallaron: www.artstation.com/katiehallaron
Jaehaerys Daeron Duncan the Small art by Karla Ortiz: www.karlaortizart.com/
Bittersteel, Maelys, Rickard art by Mike Hallstein: mike-hallstein.deviantart.com/
Ninepenny Kings art by drafturgy: drafturgy
Salladhor Saan art by Oznerol-1516: www.deviantart.com/oznerol-1516
Maelys art by Andréa Boloch: www.artstation.com/balduck
Quellon art by klaradox: klaradox.de/en/
Illyrio art by Tiziano Baracchi: www.deviantart.com/thaldir
Young Griff art by Borja Pindado: www.artstation.com/borjap
Young Griff art by Paolo Puggioni: www.artstation.com/paolopuggioni
Myles Toyne art by gaystannis: gaystannis.tumblr.com/
Serra: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Iron Throne art by Enrique Corominas
King Bran art by Fredrick Runtu: www.artstation.com/fredrickruntu
Great Bastards art by l-livas-l: www.deviantart.com/l-livas-l
Quaithe art by Lauren K. Cannon: www.artstation.com/navate
References & further reading:
History of Westeros: • The Blackfyre Rebellio...
Steven Attewell: towerofthehand.com/blog/2015/...
Butterfly: nobodysuspectsthebutterfly.tu...
Mythological Weave of Ice & Fire sweeticeandfiresunray.com/201...
Good Queen Aly: goodqueenaly.tumblr.com/post/...
BryndenBFish on Daenerys and Young Griff: warsandpoliticsoficeandfire.w...
Westeros.org forums: asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php...
Special thanks to Patrons Cameron Weiss, Michael Appell, Ryan Steele, Triangle Wine Company, Harry, Shane Veglia, Ria McDoodle, Brian Sentient, Tim Cunniff, NotGac, Cara Heller.
0:00 Aegon IV and Daemon
2:51 King Daeron
04:37 Bittersteel and Bloodraven
06:29 First Rebellion
08:34 Second Rebellion
10:34 Third Rebellion
12:01 Great Council
15:01 Fourth Rebellion
16:15 Ninepenny Kings
19:11 Young Griff
23:34 Slayer of Lies
25:59 Green King
The fact that Egg named one of his kids “Duncan the small” after Duncan the tall has to be the best detail in the entire series
it's for sure the sweetest detail!
Pity that son turned out to be so shortsighted and caused so many problems for his family.
@Kevin Neutzling just like his namesake. Man Egg really just knew that name would be perfect
Think we can all agree that George RR Martin is probably one of the coolest people when it comes to things like this. He's created a world filled with drama and history over hundreds of years.
There's only really Tolkien who has done it better, having done the same but over millennia. But even then Tolkien's writing is more like the Bible, where as GRRM writes like modern historians.
Most of its just ripped from actual history
@Dan Haggerty like most fantasy buddy.
The Epic of High Lord Ambatakum was especially poignant.
@Dan Haggerty and most of Tolkien is just illogical craddle-stories
I completely buy into Young Griff being a Blackfire. It just makes so much more sense than him actually being Aegon.
And it would've been better if (unlike Joffrey) Griff knows he's a Blackfyre, but is pretending to be a Targaryen to not get himself killed, we saw how Robert reacted when he knew that Dany was pregnant, imagine how he would react if he discovered that his best friend/Hand of the King and his Master of Whisperers were hiding a Targaryen prince and a Blackfyre pretender behind his back!
@Pedro Lucas Targaryen or Blackfyre I don't care man...I want them back on the throne
@Buzz Kill "Black or red, a dragon is still a dragon" - Illyrio Mopatis
@Pedro Lucas hell yeah...I want the dragons back... Enough of these usurpers acting tough
I fucking want griff to be Aegon so bad
Hearing the theory of Bran becoming king as a puppet of the Three-Eyed Raven makes me think that George told D&D, "Bran will be king in the end," but didn't elaborate beyond that.
Yeah, that would explain alot. Kinda feel bad for D&D but also angry that they couldn’t just get the agency to write their own story they thought would fit.
Bran being king is probably best ending, but being a puppet is honestly a turn off
@mohd shahariar how is that a good ending?
@Middycuddly No one will likely be king, there is a high chance of a long term peace era, that is if Bran is of conscious mind
@mohd shahariar I've always preferred the theory that Bran will become increasingly evil and depraved in his quest to get the Iron Throne and he's basically unrecognizable by the end
The Targaryens’ greatest enemy was always themselves. The Dance of the Dragons, the Blackfyre Rebellions, Robert’s Rebellion, the inevitable Dany/Faegon conflict. Their lust for power was always their undoing, even at the brink of extinction.
Brilliantly well put
Not only their lust for power, their irresponsible actions have caused major damage, in fact many kings and their heirs were irresponsible, which is why there was so much chaos.
You don't say? Almost as if that's the points of their conflicts in the story.
A house divided cannot stand
@Merritt Animation true
Gotta give it to Golden Company for staying loyal to their commitment of putting a Blackfyre on the throne
Well, their word _is_ as good as gold.
well they are mercenary, as long you pay them they will be loyal
@I am not Bob Dylan they are loyal to Blackfyre not for money
I think it's more driven by Bittersteel's hatred for Bloodraven and the fact that he felt cucked by Bloodraven for having Shiera Seastar 😂😂😂😂
Some contracts are writ in ink, and some in blood. I say no more."
I swear I know more about the Targaryen dynasty than real history at this point
It certainly helps in books there's no radical revisionists that can talk back to you in real life. Its just the print, and what you can get from it.
@Vance Xentan (Formerly Treize) facts
Happens to the best of us
Same
I can't believe the show completely omitted the Young Griff plotline. This is the first time I'm hearing of it and I want to see a show/movie adaptation of it. Come on, an exiled prince who's supposedly the last of House Targaryen's biggest rival/obstacle and has the biggest potential to win the Game of Thrones before Daenerys even sets foot on Westeros, that's made for the silver screen!
We have this whole backstory to the blackfyres for a reason, perhaps.
This plot line in the books, believe it or not, was very controversial. Many thought it was pointless and questioned why GRRM is bringing in a whole new claimant to the throne. When he was cut from Season 5 it was regarded as a good call. I was always one of those that defended Young Griff.
And then Season 8 happened, and everybody realised "Oh, I guess Griff is more important to the story then we thought" there was a post in the subreddit basically saying that removing Young Griff is the source for Dany's plotline falling apart. Turns out the incredibly meticulous author has an intent of grave importance for a character that was foreshadowed several books ago lol.
To toot my own horn a little, it was a great hit of vindication. Better than heroin.
I and MANY others think that Varys the Spider is a secret Blackfyre. He shaves his head to not give his platinum hair away. "Varys" sounds like a Targaryen name. Varys is POSSIBLY Shira Seastars son. Varys got his balls cut off in a bloodmagic ritual because of his kings blood. And Varys plot is all for young Griff to take the iron throne for the Blackfyres
Been honest the blackfire plotline was kind hard, before reading "the dunk and egg tales" and "world of ice and fire" it was a little hard to keep up with only the information in the original series. The blackfires in the TV show would seems like almost a retcon
@Randell Goering Varys could possibly be a Blackfyre because of what you said but not the son of Shiera Seastar because he would be too old. Instead the brother of Serra, the possible Blackfyre wife of Ilyrio
I’d love to see the full Blackfyre rebellion war after HOTD is finished. I feel it’s a time that’s so well developed and fleshed out it’s needed!
Would be cool if it continues all the way to baratheon rebellion.
@Ahmad Tarek it probably will
I agree
They could always just keep Hot D going and transition from the dance of dragons to the blackfyre rebellions, it's only like 2 generations between them. They'd just need maybe a few episodes or a season at most to cover the distance.
It might not be the most intense season but it'd still be decent viewing. And then the blackfyre rebellions would be really intense again. I think that'd work better than to adapt it into another separate spin off about the targaryans
I think HOTD is going to be a anthology series with the current story being two seasons. We could well see the Blackfyres in season 3.
The fact that Quentyn Ball joined Daemon the moment he didn't have his way shows how wise Daeron was to not accept him to kingsguard.
Yea I’m just 😊😊
The dude sent his wife to the silent sisters based on the promise of it. I couldn’t feel bad for him after that
after the reveal of Aegon the Conquer's dream of ice and fire in HoTD, and Bloodraven's connection to prophecy, magic, and the old gods, i believe that Daemon Blackfyre was the brother he loved (by all accounts Daemon was a pretty great guy) but Bloodraven killed him to preserve the Targaryen dynasty in order to ensure the birth of the prince who was promised, which is an amazing layer tragedy
Sacrificed his honor for the realm
If this is not the human heart in conflict with itself, then I don't know what it is!
I’m rewatching this video for the umpteenth time, and I came up with a tinfoil idea, cause recently someone on the ASOIAF Reddit posted how many Targaryens were alive at one time during the 300 years, and basically Aegon IV single-handedly doubled the amount of Targaryens alive, so my tinfoil idea is what if he knew about the Prophecy? And he figured that the best defense would be to have as many Targs around to mount a defense, but of course he was also despicable, and bitter, so the tactic wasn’t exactly based in good faith
That is probably just a HotD thing, given the show isn't canon and the Prince that was promised turned out tk be a load of horseshit im the show
@The_Drop Bear its an idea in the books though, in an interview with grrm, he mentioned how some people think this is the reason for aegons conquest, whether it is true in the books will probably never be confirmed, but the big man himself has confirmed it is an idea
Damn. even 50 years after his age Daemon was revered as 'the wonder and the terror of his age'
GOALS.
Dam straight 😎
*I thought the greatest threat to Targaryens was "kind of forgetting" about their enemies while their enemies certainly haven't forgotten about them.*
Right! LOL!!
Damn dragon harpoons!
Shhhhhhhhh! We don't talk about that horrendous show here. The show never happened, remember?
The price of arrogance. When you've been on top for so long you start to "kinda forgot" the rock piling up underfoot that will trip you
LOL!
Oh?. I thought it was the Faith and Old town were the Greatest Enemies.
I like how Blackfyre is essentially an allegory for how one's greatest enemy is often the one of their own making.
To think that bloodraven was the mentor to Bran who eventually get the iron throne is incredibly bizarre and I hope we get more information about this in the books if it eventually leads in that direction
Blackfyre also had a good claim through his mother. Daena was from the senior line while Aegon the unworthy and his father came from the Junior line. Lots of people thought Daena should have been queen after all her brothers died, not her uncle.
Daemon could easily be the heir to the throne If Viserys II and Daeron I married Aegon IV to Daena instead of Naerys and Baelor!
@Pedro Lucas That would have made more sense lol
Daemon Blackfyre is pure Targaryen!
His name should be Daemon Targaryen!
The biggest piece of evidence no one seems to acknowledge is how Elia cowered with the fake baby and either didn’t notice it wasn’t her son, or was so dedicated to the bit she ignored her real daughter who was cowering in a nearby room
damn, knowing daemon in the heat of battle helped his wounded enemy get to safety only to be peppered with arrows by his half brother kind just hurts man
It be your own people sometimes.
He was the true king and young griff will sit on the iron throne
Fun fact: Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar Targaryen were literally second cousins. Robert’s Rebellion was kind of just another familial civil war.
That's pretty much every civil war during feudalism. It's the reasons the Ottoman Sultans slaughtered all their siblings when they inherited the throne.
@redrave404 After a while, they just house arrest their siblings in these buildings and palaces. So, if the current Sultan died without any (male) heirs or the kid in question is on the young side, at least you have a couple of appropriately aged 'spares.' Also on the plus side, not many people want to commit familicide, even if it's for the 'good' of the realm, so this was a 'compromise' of sorts.
@Pirates Rock You're forgetting the little detail that those spares would be inexperienced and often go mad during their life long confinements.
@delli delli Sure, it’s not a Perfect System but by the 1600s, The Power base of Istanbul were getting sick of seeing/hearing about the News of how their new Sultan killed their helpless little brothers. Fratercide, as an official state policy, just doesn’t fly anymore by the 17th century.
This conversation is strangely interesting
Just one thing I thought was unclear. It is said in the books that Bloodraven's intentionally targeted the twin sons of Daemon BlackFire. Because he knew the Daemon would not abandon his children. And that's what happened, after Bloodraven's and his archers had killed his children, Daemon refused to let go of the bodies, which made it easy for Bloodraven's to kill him with his archers.
Bloodraven was also the last wielder of the darksister sword. When Brann finds him in the cave, if I'm not mistaken, he also finds the sword. Another thing the series ruined...
Wow that is so freaking sad….
Just where does the author get all these sadistic stories from 😢
This game of thrones novel should be made into a series. Hopefully it would be written by competent writers who care more about sticking with the original material than their own ego.
Amen to that.. rayan condal seems trustworthy.
That would be nice
There even fucking up house of the dragons with there ego and going away from the story kindab
@Noah Pancakes HotD is written by Martin lol
According to him HotD is how it happened, while the books (well...the few pages we get of it) are inaccurate/biased retellings
Hehe Hehehe guess what
A lot of people interpret the "mummer's dragon" to mean a fake dragon, but what if it literally means "Varys' dragon" as in this Targaryen is merely his puppet, could be that Aegon really is potentially the son of Elia and Rhaegar, but he is utterly Varys' instrument whether aware of it or not.
note: mummers' dragon vs mummer's dragon
the spelling suggests that we're looking at a specific mummer, not mummers in general
Huh. I never thought of that but it still doesn't explain the golden company.
Introducing Griff as another antagonist in a post cersei, post white walker story could have been a cool pivot in the final season.
They had a good set up. The golden company was introduced.
That or crazy lovecraftian Euron.
@Markus Haahr Euron is the final baddie, he is Harkoon the hero, the lightbringer who will bring the long night
Glad to see that Bloodraven grew his eye back after half a century
He doesn’t have an eye. In fact there’s a weirwood branch in his eye socket
"So Bittersteel was bitter". This is the kind of deep analysis and critical thinking that keeps me coming back to this channel lol.
Homeless Harry is homeless
Some say he is also made of steel.
Halfman is half the size of a man...
The mad king is well mad lol
I really want the feud between Bloodraven and Bittersteel to come to fruition somehow, with the Golden Company maybe facing off against the Old Gods in some way
I'm thinking Young Griff didn't get enough Westerosi History lessons if he thinks it's normal that the Golden Company supports him.
Who would they support? There was no longer a Blackfyre since its supposed to be extinct. If the Golden company wants to return to Westoros and get their lands back only a Targeryan claimant can do it. Blackfyre or true Targeryan Aegon is one of their best bet to finally come home
@Ryan Juguilon I'm pretty sure they hate Targaryens, why would they fucking fight for the people they were trying to destroy and who essentially exiled them or flat out destroyed their houses. They didn't fight for Viserys or Daenerys (whom they met), why would they fight for Aegon if he's a Targaryen like them. This makes it all the more suspicious...the fact that they were kept apart is very interesting in that regard.
@Ryan Juguilon they want Westeros for blackfyre
The thing is young griff actually is a good kid and might actually be a great king whether he's a blackfyre, targaryen or some common valyrian bastard doesn't change the fact that he's a good dude and also really good at rallying people to his side like he did with the golden company leaders remember they were ready to say "screw this we're not gonna fight for you" but then young griff said some words and suddenly they were like "hell yeah we'll fight for you" and the men of the golden company really seem to like him and even if the leaders (whom he personally had to rally) believe he's a blackfyre, the bulk of the golden company think he's targaryen.
i mean wasnt tyrion able to convince him to invade westeros before he was ready just using reverse psychology?
@Kree Lesley just cause he's good doesn't mean he's a tactile genius, I mean he's still a kid
@Mike Trujillo tactical
@Charlie Ricker fair
@Mike Trujillo Not being a tactical genius makes him bad, as he can be manipulated easily by anyone who's gonna be there with him in King's Landing.
Young Griff should have been included in Game of Thrones. They should have had added more seasons to do so
Agreed, there are several characters and storylines that were cut that would have been great and provided material for more seasons
100%
Plus lady Stoneheart
The Ninepenny Kings are probably my favorite (incredibly minor) group of characters. I think I'm always fond of outlaws and outcasts who gripped power and use it to smash at Lords.
But I'm aware they would've been just as bad if not worse if they had won.
I often don't like when authors lie how they had it all planned from the beginning and fill their stories with retcons, but seeing how neatly the War of the Ninepenny Kings brings all the fathers and grandfathers of so many characters together and ties seamlessly into the main story just blows my mind
deh Actually, if you watch a lot of his interviews, GRRM says he know where the story will end and he knows the fate of the characters, it's just the journey he is still walking through with them. I think what really sets him apart is the ability to have a plan, wonder around to it, yet still get there. It creates such an organic story.
@Raven Echoseven … which is why it’s taken 11+ years for another book.
@Raven Echoseven Right, I guess we are still pretending that Martin hasn't written himself into a corner he doesn't know how to get out in a satisfactory manner, hence why he is never going to finish the books lol
There's no way it was planned but at the same time its almost shocking how much it all links
Yeah. Another thing great about GRRM is that he actually takes (or took) fan theories into account when filling in back stories or lore for other houses.
If someone had a great idea, he'd accept it as canon. He even hired a superfan to be his loremaster and point out where things contradicted with previously established material.
I come back to this channel's content more than any other GoT channel. Just the perfect balance of info, thoughtful analysis and a dash of humor. Well done
The Blackfyre rebellions are so interesting. I wish there was a show dedicated to them like HOTD
We're getting more spin-offs in the next year or so
14:52
While yes, the Blackfire Rebellion could've been stopped had Daemon at least been imprisoned, I still feel that killing Aenys and Haegon Blackfire (especially Aenys) was a bit much. Haegon maybe, since he had just surrendered and maybe the idea of rebellion was still heavy in his mind, but he killed Aenys after essentially betraying him by breaking his promise, which is enough to incite rebellious thoughts in others.
Plus aenys wasn't even being violent, he was trying to claim the throne peacefully.
@mapping shaman that too only when no other male heirs were left
This whole thing kind of reminds me of the war of the roses. Two different lines descended from a king fought over the English throne for thirty years, and it eventually ended when the two lines married into each other and became one.
So I think that the Targaryen-Blackfyre conflict could possibly end with a marriage between Griff and Dany. It would lend legitimacy to both of them as monarchs.
I personally believe that it all comes down to the topic that GRRM likes best: Lust for power is always the undoing of those who wield it, even at the brink of extinction, they'd rather destroy the place than to loose or not have their way and be forced to make compromises.
“This was 20 years after the first rebellion and these guys were still fighting over who got to root their sister” what a phrase lmao.
Dude, I love your channel. You explain so much stuff. Your theories make so much sense. I have read all the books except the World of Ice and Fire. After seeing your break down of all this and piecing together the information from the books, It actually makes me more angry at the TV show for sucking so bad. I am so excited for the books to be finished to see how GRRM meant it all to end. There are so freaking many story lines left out of the show that I can't wait to see how they are actually supposed to work out. I can almost 99% guarentee you are correct about the BlackFyre thing. It will be interesting how this will all play out in the books with Denarys, Aemon BlackFyre and Aemon Targareyan (Jon Snow). Plus there is all the Tyrion possibly being a secret Tragareyon as well. I am so excited for it all.
I truly love watching and learning from your videos. Your work is appreciated, and thank you for the time and effort you put in to every one of these videos.
I think they should have kept Young Griff in the show. I was very disappointed they didn't. It would have fixed a lot. It would have made Varys betrayal understandable and part of his end game. It would have given Daenerys an actual rival, as Jon didn't even want the Iron Throne. It would have cemented the hatred of Targ rule as once again, they're fighting each other and everyone else suffers. By removing Young Griff, it openned many, many plot holes and Daenerys' turn to the darkside made little sense.
Can't wait for more videos on Targaryen history. Would love to see a video on Maegor the Cruel and Jaherys the Consilliator
Read Fire & Blood if there’s no video
this is seriously very well put together and makes things very very understandable where it can get muddled in certain areas
It’s funny how Robert is technically still Aegon the Conqueror’s descendant in that opening
Yes and Stannis who is still alive !
Wasn't the first Baratheon Aegon the Conqueror's brother?
@Felix Hirschenhauser half-brother, ye
@Felix Hirschenhauser it’s implied yeah
Tbh his grandma was a targaryen
I love your theories and support them completely. It makes so much sense, why would the Golden Company go back to Westeros with a Targaryen Prince? Only for a Blackfyre.
This story can be said to be a lot more interesting and nuanced than the dance is, really hope to see the blackfyre story on screen
That, sir, is the most understandable and clear video about the Blackfyre Rebellions I've seen, compare to other ones on CZcams that are very theoric and not precise at all
And the Blackfyre era is absolutely amazing, they should do series on it, after House of the Dragon because it's an even more interesting period, with less dragons but more plots and battles, that are way more interesting to me. And come one, Brynden Rivers only by himself is already worth a TV series, his life is just a whole show just by itself and he had the most incredible journey in the history of Westeros I believe, probably in the top 3 most powerfuls "humans" in the history of this universe, with all his skills, his knowledge and longevity, and most people don't even know this character, what a shame.
Please HBO, make a Blackfyre sequel.
*(**25:31**)* I love that animated House Targaryen sigil that shows each of the three dragon heads breathing fire in succession, ending with their necks bending down into the proper placement, as the whole thing slowly rotates counterclockwise! I'd be really interested to know where you got it from! Did you create it yourself or get it from some other source?
ive watched this video probably 6 times and still learn somthing everytime...i love this universe and honestly if they made this into a movie or like a small series that would be amazing
House targaryen: "no one can defeat me"
House targaryen but slightly different: "think again"
Robert Baratheon be are you sure about that
House Targaryen but in dark mode
@Faisal kamal Targaryen but dark mode
More like house Targaryen - only I can defeat me
they did say the only thing that can bring down the house of the dragon is itself
Can you make a playlist that has all your videos based in the thrones universe in chronological order? Would be cool to try and wrap my head round it in order 😂 great video as always!
Guys like Griff and an independent book- like Euron would have given the Series the plots and tension it would have needed. It was only about action and war. The end was more or less foreseeable. This would have given material for a great season 7 and 8 i think.
I always thought, that Euron didn’t learn that much on his tours and kinda wasted them.
I mean, he could have had an army full of people and techniques around the world.
In the book, he is a smart and scary unpredictable person.
Daeron sounds based af. He stabilized the relationship with their enemy Dorn and kept the insane faction daemon in check!
Personally I like the idea that in fact in a cruel twist of fate Dany is the mummers dragon, that her heritage is a lie and she doesn't realise until the last minute. As targeryan dreams usually lead to their downfall as they misrepresent the information to fuel false ambition.
The term 'slayer of lies' could also have a double meaning which I've not heard anyone else mention thus far. Yes it could refer to someone who slays a liar. But it could also refer to a liar known to kill, that her slaying is based on lies.
It seems to me like that could be a more convincing and shocking twist which would reframe the characters actions up to that point in a very fascinating way.
Bloodraven's idea of "sacrificing honor to save the realm" remembered me of Jaime, when he stabbed Aerys through the back, killing the king he swore to protect, to save the city, throwing his honor in the mud in the process.
"They don't want Aegon to be king cause he travelled with this hedge knight... And got these crazy ideas that peasants should have rights and stuff..." I can't believe how hard I laughed at this LOL
Kinda like the scene from S8E6 where Sam suggested letting the smallfolk elect the next king lmao
@Nicholas Kenneth that was actually a good bit among that mess didn't they say something like "hahaha sure and then let the donkeys vote?" 😂
@De Van Man but why did yara laugh? The iron islands have democracy
@Leon Russell To be fair, it is only ship captains who participate in the voting process in an Ironborn Kingsmoot
@Leon Russell They really don't. They're, at best, an oligarchy.
Your videos and overall dialogue is sensible, impressive and entertaining. I hope you never stop with your videos. You have charisma my man! Keep it coming... I will never stop listening
The full story of the Blackfyre rebellions is almost better than the main story, even cooler if they overlap through Young Griff
When Brynden said he had a brother he loved, a brother he hated, and a woman he desired, I found it odd that he didn't say sister when referring to Shiera Seastar and it's also in past-tense like he was over it. Pretty weird that he didn't have a kid with her if they loved each other that much. Maybe there might be more drama between the four of them like if Daemon was also inserted into the love triangle, Brynden would have a reason as to why he killed the brother that he loved after possibly finding out he had an affair with his woman Shiera. There might be an undisclosed Blackfyre bloodline if Shiera had a kid as well. Even though Brynden said that when you pardon rebels, you only plant the seeds of the next rebellion but spared the offspring of his lover and brother, possibly because the child was a female and could not lay claim to the throne or due to some lingering attachment or uncertainty of her origin. Maybe the kid, who shares a name that closely resembles her mother Shiera, was actually Serra Targaryen, wife of Illyrio and mother of the young griff, Aegon Targaryen. It would be poetic irony as to why Brynden would hate the Blackfyre bloodline so much and maybe explain as to why he wanted to raise Bran as his successor if he never had any true heirs from his bloodline.
I did not see Blood Raven being the three-eyes crow, that blew my mind.
For some reason, I think the Targaryen lore is much better after the Dance of Dragons and after they loose their dragons, it's much more fun seeing the Targaryens face to face on the same level with the other lords, it gets boring with them resolving everything with OP dragons 😆
Nah dragons are goat,house of the dragons on show really showcase that
Still think “beneath the gold, the bitter steel” is one of the hardest lines of the books
"Ours is the fury" still the best for me
@Odin Alebaf Ours is the Shiera Seastar
How many eyes has Lord Bloodraven? A thousand eyes, and one
@David H that's how many drinks king Bobby b has in one day
Fire and Blood are my favs
For the first thing, this for sure proves that George Martin is a damn genius. I think he is my favorite writer after all, how he created all this is beyond my understanding. ASOIAF is the greatest fictional world for me
I can just imagine bittersteel riding into combat with the tune of "Guess who's back, back again. Bittersteels' back, Tell a friend" playing in everyones head
It would make too much sense if Serra, and possibly Viserys, are descended through the female Blackfyre line through Bittersteel. Bittersteel desired his sister Shiera (who bears a similar name to Serra, maybe Quaithe/Shiera was influential in Viserys and Serra's early life?), but Bittersteel eventually married his niece, a daughter of Daemon Blackfyre. So there's the female line of Daemon's combined with Bittersteel, the Golden Company's founder and another Targaryen Great Bastard who was in line for the Iron Throne.
there is so much to this series it's incredible I haven't been this excited about a series or a book series or anything like that since I got into Star Trek I was a kid
Man, English teachers the world over have been waiting for this. “Why was his name bittersteel, what is the author trying to say?”
“Bittersteel was bitter”
"Duncan The Small, who is probably named after Duncan The Tall" Another solid theory!
Theory? I thought it was a well-known fact.
@szbszig you missed the joke
Big if true!
@Shadriand wow maybe George should make some prequels about this!
George R.R. Martin has been surprisingly quiet on this. No bullshit, it's actually _not_ confirmed.
EDIT: I mean he's been asked specifically and refused to confirm or deny if Duncan the Small is named after Duncan the Tall.
This is why I love bloodravens character. He did what he had to. He knew there were still rebellious elements out there, who still hated Daeron and the loyalists. He didn't give a fig about what people thought of him, and used fear to keep further death from happening.
As for young Griff, I don't think dorne is going to support him. They have something else going on underneath. Dorne is very very intriguing. Oberyn and doran Martell have spun something very very deep. I have a feeling they will get Storms end though, since it's completely undefended. And I think Dany will be wary of Griff, for already several prophecies have already come true. Or maybe shierra was trying to gaslight her.who know.
I truely think Bloodraven has passed on, assimilated into nature, basically turned into an old god. He probably wants bran to carry on his struggle against the blackfyre or maybe he wanted to finally rest.
My theory is that the TV ending was partly what George has planned for the books, only that the TV show doesn't have Young Griff. So instaed of Cercei being the one who Daenerys fights and eventually loses her shits about, it's this supposed other Targaryen with a better claim than her. The main thing Dany strives towards is her "rightful" throne, so having it taken up by somebody who may have a better claim would piss her off. if then rumor came to her that this new King is not, in fact, her brother's son, but some Blackfyre descendant, it would make sense to me that she could be driven into doing really really nasty things in the name of "legitimacy". It would make a lot of sense and it would round out her character much more smoothly if she got continously more pissed at the whole situation.
im in the middle of reading asos and struggling for motivation to read more due to a lot of the chapters being very similar to scenes in the show, but after this video i fell a huge boost in my drive to keep reading and reaching adwd and the prequel books maybe i'll finish all of them before twow. actually no. i'll definitely will finish before then. ill aim for the house of dragons release to finish them
This is absolutely fantastic. Awesome work!!!
27:04 Hasn't that already been confirmed? Bran's actor, Isaac Hempstead Wright did say that he found the idea of King Bran ridiculous but Dumb & Dumber told him that it comes from George himself and not something they made up themselves.
Daenerys is gonna make a mess of things isn't she? Slaying aegon is gonna slay more than just one lie, especially the ones she's been telling herself about her own house's role in this story.
And which one is that? Or which of those?
Aegon will become the king of his people while dany see as warmongering dragon queen
@Fauzan Abdul Kahfi That's why Aegon should've been on the show. It would've been so tense to see Aegon "The Champion of The People" vs. Daenerys "The Liberator of Slaver's Bay" fight in a brutal conflict that would've explained her actions in S8E5.
@G filmer I hear what you're saying. But I think that having Dany go mad after hearing some bells and then burning everyone alive is way more poetic and has superior writing talent.
@Caleb Winfield Daenerys knows that Dothraki use bells to associate themselves with victory. If anyone associates bells with defeat and will go mad and burn KL, it's gonna be Jonny C.
Varys is a Blackfyre, and his machinations to put Young Griff (Aegon...maybe) on the throne are ultimately noble, i feel.
You make some very good points in this vidoe, and I simply cannot see how all of this can be resolved in just two books. This might be why GRRM is struggling so much to complete them. Let's not forget that we also have the Northern conspiricy and the White Walkers to resolve as well.
The fact that all of this is just background lore and took place decades before the main series is just staggering. I still struggle to comprehend how one man - Martin - can be responsible for all of this.
I want the next book so badly but I know that even if it is eventually released there definitely won't be a final book
This was a great reminder of how much better the books are, how much more rich and compelling the story is told, then the rushed final seasons of the show.
So ultimately House Targaryen's greatest enemy is themselves, because Daemon Blackfyre is technically a Targaryen if he was legitimized by Aegon 4, and Bobby B's grandma was a Targaryen. I think the Targaryens would benefit from some family therapy tbh.
Rhaenyra: He stole my throne!
Aegon II: Lies!
Rhaenyra: It's in the will idiot!
Therapist: What makes you think that it was in the will?
*Hands will over*
Therapist: It appears Rhaenyra is the only one in the will
Alicent Hightower: Dangit
Therapist: But, let's forget about the will, why don't we talk about how we feel
Rhaenyra: I feel betrayed
Alicent: You're the betrayed one, I was the one that married your push over father and I didn't get anything out of it
Rhaenyra: You got to queen for 23 years you ungrateful b[censored by the network]
Alicent: Says the one who trained her sons to act like savages. They took Aemon's eye out!
Rhaenyra: He was asking for it!
Therapist: Why did I take this job?
@G filmer lol
@Faris Dzu Khairil Rizki For some reason the pilot didn’t air ‘til after because of the network’s meddling
@Sára NěmcováTherapist: so can you explain how hard your marriage is?
Aegon I: I married both of my sisters
Visenya: He married me first
Aegon I: Oh what does that have to do with anything?
Therapist: Please calm down
Rhaenys: Shut up
Visenya: You shut up!
Aegon I: Both of you knock it off... both gave me sons
Visenya: That isn’t even a boy
Aenys: Hey
Maegor: Shut up nerd
Visenya: Look at him. He’s peeing himself because he can’t stand up for himself
Rhaenys: Shut up
Visenya: I will when you admit that girl is no prince
Aegon I: She said shut up! Don’t you ever talk to my son like
Visenya: Son, that’s no son, I gave you a son. His name is Maegor
Maegor: I ate a living a squirrel
Aegon I: I don’t like him!
Visenya: You see, he chooses and her “son” over me every time. Isn’t that called favoritism?
Therapist: It is. Aegon, why don’t you like her?
Aegon I: I never loved her. My daddy forced me to marry her
Therapist: Oh
Aegon I: If I had the opportunity, I’d instead marry her to my brother
Therapist: Wait you have a brother?
Aegon I: Yes and his name is Orys
Orys: Hello there
Therapist: How many people are in this family?
Aegon I: A lot
Therapist: Why did I drop out of college?
Great video as always. Yes, the matter of Young Griff and whether he's the "Mummer's Dragon" or the "Dark Flame" is my favourite sub-plot in the ASOIAF series. Maybe one day before I'm a senior citizen we'll find out? Lol.
This video was so well done! Thank you for making and sharing it!
Aegon is likely a descendant of Bittersteel and Calla. Daemon married his daughter off to Bittersteel and Bittersteel bore the sword after Daemon died. It’s likely he had a kid and passed it down to him.
Your videos help because all these names sound the same and having you lay stuff out and the corresponding art really helps me keep it together
The whole situation with Danny, Aegon and Jon raises the perfect succession crisis to poke fun at how bloody stupid monarchy is and proves Varys point of power resides where men think it resides, and everyone who argues irl for any character because they are the rightful heir is missing the whole bloody point. It’s being raised in house of the dragon also. Who should rule, the kings only surviving child, his daughter. Should it pass over her to the kings oldest sons son. If the female line is to be considered then who has first dibs Griff or Danny. Should the marriage annulment put Jon on the throne, which goes back to the start of the blackfyre crisis. Bastard pretenders ancient bloodlines and claims. Real answer, who tf cares. They are all children less than 20 years old who’ve never spent a day in the capital or in the heart lands of the kingdom learning the culture and society. It also applies to the succession of the lord of winterfell with Lyanna versus Neds children and blahdee blah. Jon’s “I dun want it” is like the only morally sensible and not selfish thing to do. Only just resolution that involves the least incest if Aegon is a blackfyre, marry Danny, combine your forces. They’ve both been raised by Illyrio and it’s honestly the only plan that makes sense as to why he’d keep Danny alive if he has Griff.
A whole Blackfyre TV show would be awesome. I can't wait for the Daenerys vs. Young Griff conflict in the books
Yowatsapp 05 no, Aegon is alive, he took Storm's End and will soon face the Tyrell troops in Winds of Winter
Yowatsapp 05 No, him and Jonny C. are gonna kill Cersei... hopefully...
@G filmer i hope so too, tommen's kingship is very weak, Aegon/Young Griff could overthrow him
@Ziral The Lannister Lion has lost its claws.
@Ziral I'll take a Blackfyre King over a Lannister Queen anytime!
When making your point that maybe blood and rights don't matter to rule, I remembered this quote about young Griff, how is befit to rule: "Aegon has been shaped for rule before he could walk. He has been trained in arms, as befits a knight to be, but that was not the end of his education. He reads and writes, he speaks several tongues, he has studied history and law and poetry. A septa has instructed him in the mysteries of the Faith since he was old enough to understand them. He has lived with fisherfolk, worked with his hands, swum in rivers and mended nets and learned to wash his own clothes at need. He can fish and cook and bind up a wound, he knows what it is like to be hungry, to be hunted, to be afraid. Tommen has been taught that kingship is his right. Aegon knows kingship is his duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for them"
We really needed another 5-6 seasons of Game of Thrones. The entire Young Griff plotline is amazing.
I wonder what would have happened if the Blackfyre rebellion doesn't happen and the Blackfyres just become a cadet house of the Targaryens. How would that change things.. would they have tried helping house Reyne during the Reyne rebellion? Would they eventually have helped the Targaryens in the usurper war or would they have joined the Rebellions? Would they stay a minor house or would they have at some point become a larger major house of Westros like adding the stepstones to the Seven kingdoms or marrying into a house like the Lannisters or Baratheons
Ngl I’d kinda love it if Young Gfriff ended up king, with or without Daenerys or Jon or anyone else. I think it would be a really cool twist and honestly not awful for the realm if he is truly as good as he is said to be.
What I like is that the Targaryens were technically correct and the rightful heirs to the throne, but were actually acting way more like villains than the Blackfyres ever did. Bloodraven literally pulled three Walder Freys on the Blackfyres, first with Daemon I, then with Haegon, and finally with Aenys.
If fAegon in the future books reveals he's a Blackfyre and if Westeros discovers what happened to Quentyn alongside the fact that the Westerosi are still bittered by Aerys and Rhaegar's infamous and dishonorable actions, I wouldn't be surprised if the Westerosi starts to support the last Blackfyre instead of the last Targaryen!
That virgin vs chad format had me rolling with laughter
Dude same 😂😂
yeah it was lovely lmao
That was freaking priceless!
Yeah, ngl, that made me laugh.
That's what I'm living for
Am I the only one here, hoping that we get a show for this war? I really hope so.
Always wanted this adapted, but after coming back to it I realized that we would be rooting for the group that’s gonna end up loses anyway. Shame. Save us Young Griff!!!!
Okay so like this is the 3rd time i have watched this video and it only just now hit me how important Bloodravens quote of "He had a brother that he Loved" I too have always thought he meant Daemon adding to the Tragedy and pushing Bran toward doing what needs to be done for the greater good but the implications of stating he only has 3 close siblings implies that Daeron WASNT his brother and WASNT his sibling and that Daeron really was a Bastard of Aemon the Dragon Knight and Daemon was the True heir but Bloodraven knew of the prophecy and knew that preserving Aemons line was important to stopping the Long Night in the future.
I feel like Jon will end up having his heritage revealed, for a time will sit on the iron throne as the white walkers approach, he’ll lead the realm against the true threat as a war-time king to unite the kingdoms, but in the end when the conflict is over, it won’t end with a “and Jon snow was the best king there ever was and all of Westeros lived happily ever after :)” I feel like most likely he will leave the throne behind. I’d like it if Jon finds out that Aegon isn’t Aegon at all, but a blackfyre, but keeps his mouth shut to keep the peace and leave the kingdom in the hands of a kind and deft political mind
I want this as a series. Start with Aegon IV and show all that and what lead into the Blackfyre
One of the saddest things of this whole story is that Daeron and Daemon were friends and that it was because of Angora Bittersteel that this whole thing ever happend.
And I believe the reverse will happen with fAegon and Dany during TWOW and ADOS (If he survives until the end), Daeron and Daemon started as friends but ended up as enemies in the First Blackfyre Rebellion while Dany and fAegon will start as enemies but will (probably) end up as allies or friends during the New Long Night!
There is a theme of betrayal with GRRM- watching house of dragon and knowing the friends that Rhaenyra and Alicent were
Tywin and Aerys (the Mad King) were friends as well. And their friendship ended because of a bunch of gossip. Robert's Rebellion would have never have happened if they stayed friends.
@Rob It ended because Aerys was insecure and kept fucking with Tywin, and also because of the Joanna love triangle.
@Queen B tbf though alicent and rhaenyra weren’t besties in the books. alicent was quite a bit older than rhaenyra
If this is becomes a prequel. I could only imagine the amount of drama and politics. It'd be an Emmy material.
Legit house of dragons is insanely good I can only imagine blackfyre rebellion being as good tooo
can you imagine a show based on this would be glorious
I really wanna know how they got from expanded understandings of family bonds (Aegon & Orys being close and not threatened by each other from my understanding, each sibling being trusted fully and entirely with specialized duties, bastards being raised as trusted seconds instead of as dynastic threats, for example) to a more narrow and competitive idea of familial culture. This and other evolutions of how the Targaryens treated each other with each generation is interesting in terms of assimilation and the notion, "remember who you are". In trying to soften the ascension of their rule, they seem like they shot themselves in the feet by adopting too much of Westerosi(mostly Andal influenced) culture. Embracing the Seven, raising their children under the influence of the Seven(and seemingly abandoning their true religion which probably had answers or insight to their power), diminishing the influence and potential of their women (which is huge in terms of preserving notions of godhood, passing on cultural tradition, and maintaining a dynastic power that relies on generational successors being worthy out of a small gene pool), not preserving knowledge of dragons (and most likely other magics, like blood magics) through the generations, are some of the betrayals to themselves I can think of at the moment.
The main thing I can come up with is that the first few (Aegon, Visenya, Rhaenys, Orys, mostly in this reference, but also those likely supporting them, maybe early Velaryons, Celtigars) were too small in number and too busy with the managerial side of ruling to effectively pass on or preserve their culture, religion, magics, that by the time of even Aenys and Maegor, they were reduced to a quite significant pettiness like of Westerosi lords, and I Me Mine throne grasping instead of dynastic security, which was further aggravated by each generation following in rivalries, deep insecurites(paranoias) and the occasional true madness.
Some of this maybe we'll never know, because it requires unveiling a lot of the mysteries surrounding Valyrians, during and post cataclysm that we just don't have canon for yet. But I'm wondering!
Thoughts?
If you need a parenthetical in every sentence, then you need to figure out how to write better sentences
Aegon I. had a dragon, Orys hadn't. Also Aegon's parentage wasn't dispute, unlike Daeron's.