(F)Aegon or Aegon VI "the Unbashed" - Your initial thought

[BitsOfBrains]

I could totally see this never being resolved in the books.

I guess first read I believed he was legit because I was still taking everything at face value. On reread I think I am undecided.

[Hoodwinked]

I hope he is real, still don't know for sure. But the Blackfyre stuff or the Brightfyre theory really make me think.

[Isobel Harper]

During the Aegon reveal, I recalled having read theories on this forum about Aegon still being alive - and how I laughed at the idea as crackpot. Oops! ;)

It never occurred to me that Aegon could be a fraud until returning to the forums a couple of years after reading Dance and discovering various Faegon theories. Almost every piece of "clues" in the story regarding Aegon identity can be used both ways. I believe that, ultimately, the "Aegon question" Will never be fully resolved, and Aegon's role in the story will be to hammer home the idea if power resides where we think it lies. Who cares if Aegon is a Targaryen, a Blackfyre, or a Lysene bastard child when/if the boy is a good ruler?

[Nights Kings Queen]

Did I catch onto it? Going to admit something here, spoiled "aegon" was going to be in a dance of dragons. I'm a fairly new reader, only now am I about to finish my first re-read of AGoT, and so I looked up on the wiki about baby aegon (only meant to be harmless, didn't think anything would be spoiled). And then I read the description (was all I was intending to look at, only wanted to know if he looked like his dad) and then there's a line of a appearance of young griff. And so naturally I read the rest to find out what this was on about.

So when I did read a dance I was able to look at his story without falling into "this is the greatest turn ever" and could look at how vulnerable his pisswater prince story was.

So yes i did sense something was wrong and perhaps he was lying, but I didn't realize he was a blackfyre

[Nights Kings Queen]

I thought he was fake immediately, probably mainly because he had to do with Varys and Ilyrio. There is an internal thought in Jon Cons POV when they are sailing across the narrow sea that really does it for me too where Jon Con is thinking that Aegons eyes are the wrong color. It seems like a subconscious thought that he is not real.

I agree. The fact he is looking at these things and comparing them shows he may be secretly doubtful. But this is a last chance to repay the debt he feels he owes targaryens so he isn't coming to the conclusion.

Edit - I dont understand the belief we won't find out. Daenerys is called the slayer of lies with a vision appearing representing aegon. She will slay this lie. Their won't be any mystery

[The Fresh PtwP]

GRRM hits us over the head with how Aegon dies and how the body was so unrecognizable that I bought it and still buy RhAegon. I came to the boards and saw a majority of the readership think he's fake or a Blackfyre but nothing has convinced me. I'm open to the chance he is fake now, though... he's not just some fake blond kid he's either Illyrio's son, which I give a 30% chance (no Blackfyre/Brightflame connection) or Rhaegon-70% chance.

[TheDrunkenDornishman]

I thought he was real, until I thought about it, and things like the death of Maelys being the end of the MALE line of house Blackfyre, the mummer's dragon vision, and the "black or red, a dragon is still a dragon" line made me question it.

On a side note, if he is real, I'd prefer Aegon "the Unbroken" to "the Unbashed". After all, his mother was a Martell. (Unless he's fake. Which I kinda suspect :p )

[Lost Melnibonean]

I thought he was fake immediately, probably mainly because he had to do with Varys and Ilyrio. There is an internal thought in Jon Cons POV when they are sailing across the narrow sea that really does it for me too where Jon Con is thinking that Aegons eyes are the wrong color. It seems like a subconscious thought that he is not real.

There is no contemplation by Jon sailing across the Narrow Sea after he introduces Aegon to the Golden Company in The Lost Lord, we see him again at Griffin's Roost in The Griffin Reborn. Thevscene you're thinking ofvtskes place there.

[Lost Melnibonean]

So you thought he was the real Aegon the VI?

I sure did.

[Good Guy Garlan]

I thought there was something off from the moment he was revealed. It seemed awkward, forced, abrupt, I don't know, and I started to have doubts.

Then I read the theories, caught up on Dunk and Egg's Blackfyre background, and now I'm positive he's fake

[Lord Lannister]

I'm leaning towards him being fake, but my reasoning is completely speculative. It just doesn't make sense for him to be real if you factor in Illyrio and Varys' actions towards Viserys and Dany. Why would they support Viserys and Dany behind the scenes and trying to keep them under their influence if they had Aegon, who has a better claim the whole time?

Obviously they had a plan from the beginning to restore the Targaryen dynasty, in name at least, for whatever reason. They obviously went to lengths to keep Aegon safe from a young age while training him to be a leader. But when he's close to coming of age, they suddenly decide to back Viserys? Then Daenarys later on? Why would that be, unless it's because no one would question the circumstances of their birth and heritage.

It was only after Viserys died and Dany exiled herself in the middle of no where that Aegon suddenly came into their plans again. That makes me think he's probably a fake from the start and Illyrio went with a better deal when it came along, but resorted to the old plan when things didn't work out.

[Lost Melnibonean]

I thought there was something off from the moment he was revealed. It seemed awkward, forced, abrupt, I don't know, and I started to have doubts.

Then I read the theories, caught up on Dunk and Egg's Blackfyre background, and now I'm positive he's fake

By the end of the book, I was wondering if he was a fake. But I didn't realize what was up until I started mixing it up in here and read Dunk and Egg. I thought the original Varys and Serra Blackfyre theory was off, so I started arguing that Illyrio, not Varys was the Blackfyre. I know there were others who believed that too, but it sure felt lonely before Veltigar published (her?) Brightfyre theory. The Blacks and the Greens and successive rereads sealed the deal for me.

[Headless Wolf]

I thoight he was real but didn't really care much since I was still getting over the Red Wedding. When I went back and re read I still believed it, but this forum has me on the fence in regards to his legitimacy.