Legion88

Mh it seems that some people here claim Rhaegar wasn't exactly a good fighter because he didn't beat Bobby B, the melee King (prime Robert was a monster, y'all) Again, how exactly this dude is overrated? You all can't even admit he wasn't a fodder lol Facts are Rhaegar injured Robert so severely he could not campaign after the fight, stated even by Ned. They started out on horseback and ended up on foot, sword versus hammer. It was a good fight :/

....overrated. This guy died before the series even started and he's still one of the most overHATED characters in the series. This fandom don't know how to be normal about him. People refer to Barristan, Ned, Jorah, etc as unreliable narrators regarding Rhaegar, cause it's really based on nothing but the fact that they don't think of Rhaegar as the cartoon villain fandom wants him to be. George gives us these POVs thinking of this character whose existence is intentionally vague and people are like "well...this doesn't align with what I think, so they have to be wrong". Wtf? I think a lot of people go into the books with preconceptions of the story and they're unwilling to change their minds. Imo, i don't think that Rhaegar was perfect or something, but he clearly wasn't the "spawn of satan" and he wasn't a rapist. I think it's clear his relationship with Lyanna was consensual.

Rhaegar and Lyanna's relationship was consensual and they're not the worst people on Westeros. It's absolutely lovely how in asoiaf fandom the ONE event that encapsulates the absolute VILENESS of Targaryens/Rhaegar's usurpers (Elia and her children's death) has become all about Rhaegar's failings. I love how Robert, Aerys and the Lannisters are getting a pass. Character are supposed to fuck up and create conflict, their actions are a way for the author to explore a theme. Every single character in this book makes mistakes that have horrible unintended results. Reducing what Rhaegar and Lyanna means for the narrative, and Jon's themes of love vs duty in particular, to just "Rhaegar Bad" is just a bad faith way of engaging with the story.

There's so much potential in this. Something that i wanted to see in the show...

She actually dressed up like Rhaegar Targaryen to spite Robert's spirit. WTF “The queen wore a high-collared black silk gown, with a hundred dark red rubies sewn into her bodice, covering her from neck to bosom. They were cut in the shape of teardrops, as if the queen were weeping blood.” Coincidence? or one final fuck you to Robert? Because damn, she's.... petty.

Probably Rhaegar. I'm not his stan or something, but i'm shocked at how evil, one-dimensional/cartoonish villain Rhaegar is being portrayed in the fandom. Like how does he get ALL the blame for starting a war and being responsible for his wife/children death and Aerys/Lannisters and co who actually DID THE DEED, get away with literally everything? it's strange. And we still don't know anything about this guy (i hope GRRM is gonna finish the books). I think that once a fandom sets an agenda on how each character should be perceived and interpreted, most people won’t go against it. Imo, GRRM is a better writer than that.