Young Griff Theory

[Buried Treasure]

1 hour ago, briantw said:

Varys could easily have been lying.  

Personally, I've always figured the kid is Illyrio's.  Why else is he always giving the kid gifts, and why was he so sad when he was unable to make it to the river in time to see him?  I'm guessing Illyrio's wife was a Blackfyre and so Young Griff technically does have dragon's blood, he's just not Aegon.

I find it too convenient to think that Illyrio would have had a boy child of just the right age that he could be handed over to Jon Connington as a convincing fake. Finding a fake that fits the bill by searching the entire continent in the first years after the Sack? Sure. Find a suitable fake in his own household? A bit much.

Taking care of Aegon for years is plenty of reason for Illyrio's fondness. Foster fathers can love their kids too. Illyrio would have had custody of Aegon up to age six, and it is possible that Jon C and Aegon lived in Illyrio's manse for a time afterwards too.  

 

9 hours ago, Neolaina said:

You're not wrong regarding your analysis of how LF might approach this. But think about it in a metatextual sense. If Varys was lying to Kevan, who was he trying to deceive? Pycelle's corpse in the next room over? Kevan, before he kills him anyways? The reader?

In this specific case, for the former two, that would be bad writing. Pycelle's dead, and Kevan's about to be dead. The deception would hold no value. There's literally no reason for him to lie. 

There is as much reason to lie to a dying man as to speak to him at all. The only purpose is to tell the man why he had to die, and what Varys tells Kevan - that 'Aegon is here' is true regardless of whether the baby whose got his head smashed was also Aegon. The true identity of Aegon does not lie in that scene because Varys puts no emphasis on the rightfulness of Aegon's claim, instead he talks about how this living Aegon will win, and the narrative that will be used to defeat the Lannisters.

[Ygrain]

11 hours ago, Neolaina said:

You're not wrong regarding your analysis of how LF might approach this. But think about it in a metatextual sense. If Varys was lying to Kevan, who was he trying to deceive? Pycelle's corpse in the next room over? Kevan, before he kills him anyways? The reader?

IIRC, LF tells "Alayne" that she must never slip her role, not even when she is alone. And Varys is not alone, there are the little birds, who, his as they may be, are still witnesses.

There was also this interesting theory that the way Aegon is described sounds like an ideal king for the poor and thus a candidate whom High Sparrow might want to support. The theory went that there may have been someone, an associate or a spy, for whose benefit Varys pulled his little act. I find this explanation highly plausible because we are going to receive a mummer's dragon "among cheering crowds", i.e. receiving support of smallfolk, and HS's word would indeed sway them for Aegon, possible also together with a "divine sign" of burning Red Keep with wildfire (another splendid theory, taking note of the fact that the conditions of that part of the dungeon which Varys didn't want Tyrion to see - damp air and no fire - suspiciously resemble conditions for containing wildfire. Jaime mentions a stash of wildfire under the Red Keep but it is not mentioned among the stashes that have been recovered, and wildfire as a sign of Targaryen restoration is the next best thing to dragonfire, I suppose)

 

11 hours ago, Neolaina said:

Ygrain, thanks for that. After my rather large dinner today, I needed something I could break into, to write about. Much obliged <3

Always happy to oblige :-) It's just that I only trust Varys as far as I can throw him :-)

[MGraham]

The whole Illyrio/Blackfyre thing has always seemed a huge leap to me. Remember Illyrio gave Daeny and her brother gifts, support and shelter as well, his only motive is money and power.

We have never seen any suggestion that Vary's littlebirds are disloyal. Equally it would not be natural for Vary's to refer to Aegon as "Aegon the son of Rhegar and true heir to the iron throne" when he speaks about him. Calling him Aegon is enough.  People are twisting the facts to suit their own theories.

[Ygrain]

1 hour ago, MGraham said:

The whole Illyrio/Blackfyre thing has always seemed a huge leap to me.

Then you perhaps have an explanation why the whole Blackfyre issue has been included at all? I mean, if the Blackfyre heritage plays no role at all, then the whole info dump on it, the Golden Company etc., is just a waste of space.

1 hour ago, MGraham said:

Remember Illyrio gave Daeny and her brother gifts, support and shelter as well, his only motive is money and power.

The only reason why he did that was to get rid of them. Dany was sacrificed as a coin to buy Drogo (Illyrio expected her to die in the Dothraki sea) and Viserys was a useless idiot whom Illyrio goaded by going with the Dothraki by telling him that he shouldn't.

1 hour ago, MGraham said:

We have never seen any suggestion that Vary's littlebirds are disloyal.

FWIW, nor have we seen any suggestion that they are all loyal to Varys at any cost.

- Not the point, though. The point is that we are explicitely told that if you assume an identity, you must never ever slip out of your role, not even when you are alone. Varys would be breaking this rule.

1 hour ago, MGraham said:

Equally it would not be natural for Vary's to refer to Aegon as "Aegon the son of Rhegar and true heir to the iron throne" when he speaks about him. Calling him Aegon is enough. 

Quite the contrary. If you have swapped the baby prince, raised and groomed him to rule and now you are finally bringing him home, this is exactly what you should be saying. Just broken into more syntactic segments. It would also be pretty logical to add some details how the oh-so-clever Tywin never knew, how the babe was smuggled out under everyone's collective nose and the like.

 

[MGraham]

37 minutes ago, Ygrain said:

Then you perhaps have an explanation why the whole Blackfyre issue has been included at all? I mean, if the Blackfyre heritage plays no role at all, then the whole info dump on it, the Golden Company etc., is just a waste of space.

This is a fantasy world invented by a writer. Not every detail in Dune or The lord of the rings proved to be crucial to the plot, they are used to build a Rich and diverse world. How are the possibly going to prove one way or the other whose Aegon's parents where unless Vary's confesses which seems unlikely. If he win's he can write history himself, if he doesn't he can be dismissed as a fake.

37 minutes ago, Ygrain said:

The only reason why he did that was to get rid of them. Dany was sacrificed as a coin to buy Drogo (Illyrio expected her to die in the Dothraki sea) and Viserys was a useless idiot whom Illyrio goaded by going with the Dothraki by telling him that he shouldn't.

Not so. He was not trying to "buy" Drogo to no end. He was trying to illicit his support for Viserys and then Dany. The GC themselves where aware of this plan and state their frustration at the constant changes. It was not Illyrio's plan for Aegon to hijack the GC and invade Westeros, but for them all to join Dany and invade together.

37 minutes ago, Ygrain said:

FWIW, nor have we seen any suggestion that they are all loyal to Varys at any cost.

True BUT who could the little birds realistically give this information to? They would most likely betray Vary's to Cersei OR Littlefinger or possibly the Tyrells. Think about that. Cersei already thinks Aegon is a fake and a second hand account from a child about the words of Vary's is unlikely to change her mind.

Littlefinger probably doesn't care about Aegon's parentage, he only cares about what can be turned to his advantage. If he announces to all the world that Aegon is real, or a fake, no one would care anyway. LF is not Stannis or Ned Starks whose honesty is widely known.

Similar for the Tyrells. If they see advantage in siding with Aegon they will. After all they didn't care much about the questions raised about Joffrey's legitimacy.

Also remember if they betray Vary's, they know he killed Kevan, a much more important secret than his exact wording describing an exiled "prince"

37 minutes ago, Ygrain said:

- Not the point, though. The point is that we are explicitely told that if you assume an identity, you must never ever slip out of your role, not even when you are alone. Varys would be breaking this rule.

This is littlefinger, not Vary's. Most of what Vary's says relates to what (he see's) as is best for the realm. It's actually very rare for us to see Vary's lieing. Yes he's a schemer and i'm sure he's a great liar, but what we see him say to Ned Stark, Tyrion, Littlefinger and Kevan is normally the truth as he see's it.

37 minutes ago, Ygrain said:

Quite the contrary. If you have swapped the baby prince, raised and groomed him to rule and now you are finally bringing him home, this is exactly what you should be saying. Just broken into more syntactic segments. It would also be pretty logical to add some details how the oh-so-clever Tywin never knew, how the babe was smuggled out under everyone's collective nose and the like.

No this is what you want him to say. That would be rubbing it in Kevan's face by insulting his brother, very out of character Vary's. You act as though Kevan would have no knowledge of the circumstances of Baby Aegon's alleged murder where in reality I'm sure he knows a lot more than us.

Earlier in the chapter they have already been talking about the GC's invasion of the Stormlands and they they are led by a Targaryen pretender. Vary's gives this pretender a name and Kevan some information about the boy. Kevan is dying and you expect Vary's to give away his entire plan like a bond villain, along with the back story of how his plan had worked so far. Ain't nobody got time for that!

[Guest jasonothegreat]

16 hours ago, Neolaina said:

You're not wrong regarding your analysis of how LF might approach this. But think about it in a metatextual sense. If Varys was lying to Kevan, who was he trying to deceive? Pycelle's corpse in the next room over? Kevan, before he kills him anyways? The reader?

In this specific case, for the former two, that would be bad writing. Pycelle's dead, and Kevan's about to be dead. The deception would hold no value. There's literally no reason for him to lie. To further substantiate this, Varys is usually pretty good to ensure his surroundings are safe from curious ears before he starts dropping truthbombs. The one exception to this rule is Arya stumbling upon Varys and Illyrio, an event I'm not even sure Varys is aware of having happened. Considering the presence of his birds, and the outro to that epilogue, it's clear he felt he was in a safe zone.

As for using this scene to deceive the reader, it wouldn't be logically consistent. At this point in the story, at this point in the book, yes, Varys lying to a man about to be dead would truly serve no purpose than to deceive the reader. Usually, when someone lies to another who's about to die, the reader would be aware, either because they know the truth - which at this point in the story, we didn't - or because we're about to find out the truth, after the deception.

Varys would, effectively, be breaking the fourth wall solely to fuck with us, given there aren't any survivors - in all fairness, that we yet know of - to this scene. Think about it: What literary function would Varys lying to Kevan serve, leading to Kevan's death, and then the chapter just ends? Doesn't really do anything. I'd leave us confused, because of the deception, and give absolutely no purpose to the scene we'd just witnessed. 

 

But What i've realized in that chat between Kevan and  Varys is that Varys doesn't lie, he tells Kevan  how his death would tear apart everything he managed to mend and then explains how Aegon would be a better King and the Greatest King. He never makes a dragon reference or specifically makes any indication that Aegon is a Targaryen or Blackfyre, Even when Kevan says the boy is dead Varys never said that Rhaegar's son is Aegon or that he is actually the little Princeling, instead he only continues talking about how Aegon is the best a King can be. So in a sense, Varys never lies

[Neolaina]

5 hours ago, Ygrain said:

IIRC, LF tells "Alayne" that she must never slip her role, not even when she is alone. And Varys is not alone, there are the little birds, who, his as they may be, are still witnesses.

My problem with that is, we've seen Varys slip, in his conversation under the Red Keep. Little birds or not, there is precedent with Varys. While Littlefinger plays by his rule, I'm not so sure Varys is as ironclad with following it.

 

11 minutes ago, jasonothegreat said:

But What i've realized in that chat between Kevan and  Varys is that Varys doesn't lie, he tells Kevan  how his death would tear apart everything he managed to mend and then explains how Aegon would be a better King and the Greatest King. He never makes a dragon reference or specifically makes any indication that Aegon is a Targaryen or Blackfyre, Even when Kevan says the boy is dead Varys never said that Rhaegar's son is Aegon or that he is actually the little Princeling, instead he only continues talking about how Aegon is the best a King can be. So in a sense, Varys never lies

A very important point to remember.

[Ygrain]

4 minutes ago, Neolaina said:

My problem with that is, we've seen Varys slip, in his conversation under the Red Keep. Little birds or not, there is precedent with Varys. While Littlefinger plays by his rule, I'm not so sure Varys is as ironclad with following it.

But that's him talking with his co-conspirator, the same as LF talking with Alayne about her wedding Harry in Stark colours.

[Guest jasonothegreat]

3 hours ago, MGraham said:

The whole Illyrio/Blackfyre thing has always seemed a huge leap to me. Remember Illyrio gave Daeny and her brother gifts, support and shelter as well, his only motive is money and power.

We have never seen any suggestion that Vary's littlebirds are disloyal. Equally it would not be natural for Vary's to refer to Aegon as "Aegon the son of Rhegar and true heir to the iron throne" when he speaks about him. Calling him Aegon is enough.  People are twisting the facts to suit their own theories.

But he also never uses a Dragon metaphor, which is fairly common when speaking of Targaryens or Blackfyres for that matter. Varys makes no indication at all that Aegon is a Targaryen and even avoids saying he, Aegon, is the babe that was supposedly killed, when Kevan tried to ask

[Neolaina]

1 hour ago, Ygrain said:

But that's him talking with his co-conspirator, the same as LF talking with Alayne about her wedding Harry in Stark colours.

Which then suggests that even Littlefinger doesn't follow his own rule. *grin* How did he put it? "[...] not even when [she is] alone."

My point's this: Varys lets his guard down when talking to Illyrio, and is caught - unbeknownst to him - by Arya. Littlefinger subsequently breaks his own rule of maintaining a facade even when alone, as evidenced by your own example. These men aren't flawless in their deception, and as manipulative as they may be, they are capable of erring.

[briantw]

4 hours ago, MGraham said:

The whole Illyrio/Blackfyre thing has always seemed a huge leap to me. Remember Illyrio gave Daeny and her brother gifts, support and shelter as well, his only motive is money and power.
We have never seen any suggestion that Vary's littlebirds are disloyal. Equally it would not be natural for Vary's to refer to Aegon as "Aegon the son of Rhegar and true heir to the iron throne" when he speaks about him. Calling him Aegon is enough.  People are twisting the facts to suit their own theories.

See, I think the mistake here is that a lot of people seem to be taking Varys' words about his true motivations at face value.  He claims to be motivated by peace in the realm and saving the children.  If that's true, though, why did he go out of his way to poison Aerys' mind?  We can assume from the viewpoints of Selmy and Connington that he did just that, particularly leading up to the tournament at Harrenhal.  Why not instead help Rhaegar depose Aerys?  We knew from multiple viewpoints that most felt that Rhaegar would have been a good or even great king, certainly miles better than Aerys and better than Drunken Bob as well.  The obvious best thing for the realm would have been for Aerys to die and for Rhaegar to assume the throne, so why would Varys not facilitate that outcome instead of feeding Aerys' paranoia?

What if, instead, the plan of Varys and Illyrio all along has been to put a Blackfyre on the Iron Throne?  We know, or at least are told, that they were good friends long before Varys went to Westeros.  If Illyrio did indeed marry a Blackfyre woman, perhaps his motivation is honor her memory by putting her son on the Iron Throne, which has been the dream of the exiled Blackfyres forever.

[Lost Melnibonean]

Here's the passage...

The eunuch set the crossbow down. “Ser Kevan. Forgive me if you can. I bear you no ill will. This was not done from malice. It was for the realm. For the children.”

Some have interpreted this to signal that Varys's monologue was for the benefit of his little birds. I don't buy that, though. Varys's monologue is for the benefit of the reader. Why lie to a dying man, you ask? Better to ask why say anything to a dying man? This is an evil monologue. 

I have children. I have a wife. Oh, Dorna. Pain washed over him. He closed his eyes, opened them again. “There are … there are hundreds of Lannister guardsmen in this castle.”

“But none in this room, thankfully. This pains me, my lord. You do not deserve to die alone on such a cold dark night. There are many like you, good men in service to bad causes … but you were threatening to undo all the queen’s good work, to reconcile Highgarden and Casterly Rock, bind the Faith to your little king, unite the Seven Kingdoms under Tommen’s rule. So …”

Now the author has told us why Varys has killed Kevan. There really is no need to go on unless the author wants to know something more. Keep in mind that Young Griff has been reveled to be Aegon, son of Rhaegar. The suggestion that he someone else, is best on hints in the text. But the casual reader should assume that Aegon is the son of Rhaegar. 

A gust of wind blew up. Ser Kevan shivered violently.

“Are you cold, my lord?” asked Varys. “Do forgive me. The Grand Maester befouled himself in dying, and the stink was so abominable that I thought I might choke.”

Ser Kevan tried to rise, but the strength had left him. He could not feel his legs.

“I thought the crossbow fitting. You shared so much with Lord Tywin, why not that? Your niece will think the Tyrells had you murdered, mayhaps with the connivance of the Imp. The Tyrells will suspect her. Someone somewhere will find a way to blame the Dornishmen. Doubt, division, and mistrust will eat the very ground beneath your boy king, whilst Aegon raises his banner above Storm’s End and the lords of the realm gather round him.”

“Aegon?” For a moment he did not understand. Then he remembered. A babe swaddled in a crimson cloak, the cloth stained with his blood and brains. “Dead. He’s dead.”

The following  response leaves very little room for ambiguity. And cuts right to the heart of the issue. If Aegon is The Blackfyre or a pissed prince, the author is not ready to reveal it. 

“No.” The eunuch’s voice seemed deeper. “He is here. Aegon has been shaped for rule since 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 that kingship is his duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for them.”

Kevan Lannister tried to cry out … to his guards, his wife, his brother … but the words would not come. Blood dribbled from his mouth. He shuddered violently.

“I am sorry.” Varys wrung his hands. “You are suffering, I know, yet here I stand going on like some silly old woman. Time to make an end to it.”

And here I think the George pokes fun at himself for writing an evil monologue. 

[Ygrain]

27 minutes ago, Neolaina said:

Which then suggests that even Littlefinger doesn't follow his own rule. *grin* How did he put it? "[...] not even when [she is] alone."

My point's this: Varys lets his guard down when talking to Illyrio, and is caught - unbeknownst to him - by Arya. Littlefinger subsequently breaks his own rule of maintaining a facade even when alone, as evidenced by your own example. These men aren't flawless in their deception, and as manipulative as they may be, they are capable of erring.

Yeah but note how cryptic Varys is and how identity of the people he is speaking about is easily mistaken by the listener: "he has the bastard" is understand by Arya as a reference to Jon Snow, when, in fact, Varys means Gendry. So, is the Aegon that Varys is speaking about necessarily the same Aegon that Kevan thinks?

[Rob Storm]

Not sure whether this is correct or not but simply responding to the OP: as we know Illyrio is always gathering children/little birds for Varys.  It is very possible that while acquiring these little birds, one was a silver haired Valyrian looking child that gave Varys/Illyrio an opportunity.  Whether that was in a pleasure house, who knows.  

[DasallmaechtigeJ]

21 hours ago, Neolaina said:

You're not wrong regarding your analysis of how LF might approach this. But think about it in a metatextual sense. If Varys was lying to Kevan, who was he trying to deceive? Pycelle's corpse in the next room over? Kevan, before he kills him anyways? The reader?

We should also keep in mind that his little birds are in the same room with him. I know it sounds like an off-shot, but he might walk that extra mile and keep his disguise up in front of his birds, just in case. It is not impossible that someone gets a hold of them and makes them "speak" in some fashion. Also, as pointed out earlier, someone so accustomed to lying as Varys might have difficulites telling an important truth, even if telling it doesn't make any difference...

[Ser Hyle]

4 hours ago, briantw said:

See, I think the mistake here is that a lot of people seem to be taking Varys' words about his true motivations at face value.  He claims to be motivated by peace in the realm and saving the children.  If that's true, though, why did he go out of his way to poison Aerys' mind?  We can assume from the viewpoints of Selmy and Connington that he did just that, particularly leading up to the tournament at Harrenhal.  Why not instead help Rhaegar depose Aerys?  We knew from multiple viewpoints that most felt that Rhaegar would have been a good or even great king, certainly miles better than Aerys and better than Drunken Bob as well.  The obvious best thing for the realm would have been for Aerys to die and for Rhaegar to assume the throne, so why would Varys not facilitate that outcome instead of feeding Aerys' paranoia?

What if, instead, the plan of Varys and Illyrio all along has been to put a Blackfyre on the Iron Throne?  We know, or at least are told, that they were good friends long before Varys went to Westeros.  If Illyrio did indeed marry a Blackfyre woman, perhaps his motivation is honor her memory by putting her son on the Iron Throne, which has been the dream of the exiled Blackfyres forever.

Maybe Varys knew more than the fanboys Selmy and Connington, enough to know that Rhaegar would also make a poor king because he was motivated by fulfilling prophecy more than the peace and prosperity of the 7 Kingdoms. Active prophecy fulfillment didn't work out so well for Aegon V and the rest at Summerhall. It also likely drove Rhaegar to want to put a child in Lyanna at the expense of plunging the realm into turmoil and rebellion.

[briantw]

4 minutes ago, Ser Hyle said:

Maybe Varys knew more than the fanboys Selmy and Connington, enough to know that Rhaegar would also make a poor king because he was motivated by fulfilling prophecy more than the peace and prosperity of the 7 Kingdoms. Active prophecy fulfillment didn't work out so well for Aegon V and the rest at Summerhall. It also likely drove Rhaegar to want to put a child in Lyanna at the expense of plunging the realm into turmoil and rebellion.

I would disagree that that is what plunged the realm into turmoil.  What plunged the realm into turmoil was Aerys killing two Starks and demanding that Robert and Ned come to King's Landing, presumably to be killed as well.  Robert wasn't ready to start a war over Lyanna alone.  Aerys being crazy is what caused the war, and Varys undoubtedly fed into that insanity.

[Ygrain]

3 minutes ago, briantw said:

  Aerys being crazy is what caused the war, and Varys undoubtedly fed into that insanity.

BTW, isn't it a bit strange that with having Aerys' ear, Varys was unable to dissuade him from such a destabilizing act as burning Lord Paragon and murdering his heir? Doesn't Aerys' paranoia about Brandon et al. scheming to kill Rhaegar sound more like the ideas that Varys was planting?

[briantw]

Just now, Ygrain said:

BTW, isn't it a bit strange that with having Aerys' ear, Varys was unable to dissuade him from such a destabilizing act as burning Lord Paragon and murdering his heir? Doesn't Aerys' paranoia about Brandon et al. scheming to kill Rhaegar sound more like the ideas that Varys was planting?

No doubt.  I'd also wager that Varys is the reason that Jaime ended up in the Kingsguard, which removed Lord Tywin's heir from the board and also prevented him from making an alliance with another major house.  Similarly, Aerys shunning Tywin's proposal to marry Cercei to Rhaegar ultimately led to the downfall of the Targs in Westeros.  Why marry Rhaegar to a woman from Dorne when Dorne was already their staunchest supporter?  Strategically it made little sense when there were other alliances that could benefit the Targaryens much more at that point in time.

I see no reason that Aerys would have kept Varys around at all if he didn't at least put some value on his opinions.  Everyone else who displeased him at court was either murdered or exiled, after all.

[Dorian Martell]

On 3/26/2016 at 6:02 PM, jasonothegreat said:

snip

All of this has been dealt with and written about in countless poste over the course of the 5 years since the book has been out.  Varys has never lied, simply omitted. Is he telling the truth to Kevan, yes. Is it the whole truth? Until the books show otherwise, yes. Both Varys and Littlefinger are playing the game. The last chapter in each book are a literary device to reveal the plots and machinations to the reader. As for the kids, Aegon was a babe, and far more easily hidden than a growing girl who has been seen around court and  known personally by royalty and aristocracy. Varys often dresses as a woman, and knows all the secret passages in the red keep. 

On 3/26/2016 at 6:59 PM, Lost Melnibonean said:

If not Aegon, who is The Blackfyre? 

The Golden Company. Every hint at "the blackfyres" returning, the dagon changing from black to red ect, all fit symbolically with its birth as an army for the pretenders to now, after 4 decades now backing a targ. Of course, there could be some non-blackfyre who is Daemon's  heir on the female line, but like I said above, if it is true, then the books will reveal it 

16 hours ago, Buried Treasure said:

I find it too convenient to think that Illyrio would have had a boy child of just the right age that he could be handed over to Jon Connington as a convincing fake. Finding a fake that fits the bill by searching the entire continent in the first years after the Sack? Sure. Find a suitable fake in his own household? A bit much.

Taking care of Aegon for years is plenty of reason for Illyrio's fondness. Foster fathers can love their kids too. Illyrio would have had custody of Aegon up to age six, and it is possible that Jon C and Aegon lived in Illyrio's manse for a time afterwards too.  

 

There is as much reason to lie to a dying man as to speak to him at all. The only purpose is to tell the man why he had to die, and what Varys tells Kevan - that 'Aegon is here' is true regardless of whether the baby whose got his head smashed was also Aegon. The true identity of Aegon does not lie in that scene because Varys puts no emphasis on the rightfulness of Aegon's claim, instead he talks about how this living Aegon will win, and the narrative that will be used to defeat the Lannisters.

Bing. Also, as said above, the speech in the epilogue is a literary device to inform the reader of the plot of the two secret players. It is the same as LF divulging his plans to Sansa at the end of Feast