Ways to introduce Aegon earlier into the story.

[Lockjaw of House Boltagon]

Confession time: I'm lowkey obsessed with this.

Whether you think he showed up too late or not, I thought it could be interesting to try and come up with ways he could've showed up sooner in the story, meaning in an earlier book.

I guess the requirements are that it has to be as realistic as possible, so nothing too farfetched like "Aegon fell from a meteorite on Walder's plate during the Red Wedding." And also, you have to keep the essential traits of the character and his backstory intact, but I'll leave that to your discretion. 

[Therae]

Maybe a JonCon POV anytime after we've learned that baby Aegon is supposed to be dead?

[Maxxine]

Insert him into Dany's POV. Still have the false identity of Young Griff and give him as a sworn sword to Dany and/or Viserys. He could possibly come along in Game or at the end of Clash with Barristan. This way he can get time with the dragons so if he gets one/steals one it works better. He could try to ingratiate himself to rule with Dany or betray her, whichever works. It would also take away the bit of retcon that comes along with aegon at least in my opinion.

[Lockjaw of House Boltagon]

34 minutes ago, Therae said:

Maybe a JonCon POV anytime after we've learned that baby Aegon is supposed to be dead?

That would be good, but what would he be doing in those chapters? I don't think Aegon and his crew had much to do before Tyrion meets them in aDwD.

4 minutes ago, Maxxine said:

Insert him into Dany's POV. Still have the false identity of Young Griff and give him as a sworn sword to Dany and/or Viserys. He could possibly come along in Game or at the end of Clash with Barristan. This way he can get time with the dragons so if he gets one/steals one it works better. He could try to ingratiate himself to rule with Dany or betray her, whichever works. It would also take away the bit of retcon that comes along with aegon at least in my opinion.

I thought about that, but it changes the plot too much. The implications of Dany meeting him sooner could be huge. He needs to show up sooner, just not in Dany's plot line, I think.

[Dorian Martell's son]

58 minutes ago, Ser Lockjaw of House Bolta said:

Confession time: I'm lowkey obsessed with this.

Whether you think he showed up too late or not, I thought it could be interesting to try and come up with ways he could've showed up sooner in the story, meaning in an earlier book.

I guess the requirements are that it has to be as realistic as possible, so nothing too farfetched like "Aegon fell from a meteorite on Walder's plate during the Red Wedding." And also, you have to keep the essential traits of the character and his backstory intact, but I'll leave that to your discretion. 

Aegon showed up at GRRM's house with a gun and held his wife hostage until he was back written into Thrones and he showed up at Dany's wedding 

[Lockjaw of House Boltagon]

Just now, Dorian Martell's son said:

Aegon showed up at GRRM's house with a gun and held his wife hostage until he was back written into Thrones and he showed up at Dany's wedding 

That would actually explain his sudden entrance to the story 

[Dorian Martell's son]

2 minutes ago, Ser Lockjaw of House Bolta said:

That would actually explain his sudden entrance to the story 

Exactly 

[JLE]

Either that or he's a fake that's supposed to be good enough to pose as true (and may even believe he is true). Another pawn who thinks he's a player.

[Therae]

15 minutes ago, Ser Lockjaw of House Bolta said:

That would be good, but what would he be doing in those chapters? I don't think Aegon and his crew had much to do before Tyrion meets them in aDwD.

I agree. Possibly JonCon could have given us a bit more information about Rhaegar & Co., maybe even Illyrio & Co., in his private musings, but otherwise there wouldn't have been much going on (obviously we're working from the premise that nothing changes--especially the doubt about his identity--in Aegon's story save when we are introduced to him). All things being equal, I am not sure there was a better place for it.

[Cataldo]

why would you want him to, he got to Westeros way before Dany

[Lockjaw of House Boltagon]

6 minutes ago, Cataldo said:

why would you want him to, he got to Westeros way before Dany

Because he showed up too late in the series, in my opinion. 

Also, slow day at work. 

[PCK]

Right after Storm as a look at the next wave of players & claimants, if there was ever another time. Keep in mind though, there's still plenty of story left to be told. His seemingly late appearance is really only a problem if he functions as a savior.

[Lady Blizzardborn]

Insert him into the story line earlier through subtle mentions from Dornish characters and Varys. 

Oberyn obviously can't change his approach with Gregor, especially if he thinks there is a chance Aegon is alive and will return to claim the throne, but he could have made some odd remark to Tyrion that in retrospect gets Tyrion and us remembering it as a possible hint.

Not having Doran as a POV for Dorne limits a lot. If he knew about Aegon, then part of biding his time was waiting for Aegon to grow up, as well as waiting to see whether it was really Aegon. There's a very good chance that the "friend in King's Landings" is Varys. If we had a Doran POV we could potentially have gotten some more mentions. It would be essential to keep Arianne from knowing it, and there's no reason for Doran to tell Areo. Really this is the whole issue with fitting Aegon in any earlier. The POV structure GRRM uses deliberately keeps us from knowing anything except what the characters know, or think they know; there's no need for JonCon's POV any earlier than he joins the cast; thus we really can't know about him any earlier without risking the hints being too obvious. A Varys POV for instance would give it away way too soon, and bringing him in too soon would be far worse than having him enter late.

[Lucius Lovejoy]

When Arya overhears the conversation between Varys and Illyrio in the bowels of King's Landing in AGOT they could have mentioned Young Griff by name.  Then in ACOK or ASOS he could have been name dropped in relation to people buying up the sellswords in the free cities as part of any of Daenerys' chapters.  I believe it was ASOS when Melisandre said she witnessed more pretenders to the throne that would challenge Stannis - maybe she is a little more specific about what she sees in the fires (a black dragon or a "dead" dragon child or a griffin or something).  Hint at him, but make it a little more obvious in hindsight that it is right now.

[The Great and Mighty Poo]

JonCon chapters of Aegon and crew roughly around the year 299 but alluding to who he actually is; always referring to him as his son or Griff.(Sell it to yourself before you can sell it to anyone else). Have minor slip ups from crew but nothing to telling then the big reveal with Tyrion. Also think how cool it would be to see Varys randomly show up in disguise and having the reader deduct who he is. 

[Lady Blizzardborn]

5 minutes ago, Lucius Lovejoy said:

When Arya overhears the conversation between Varys and Illyrio in the bowels of King's Landing in AGOT they could have mentioned Young Griff by name.  Then in ACOK or ASOS he could have been name dropped in relation to people buying up the sellswords in the free cities as part of any of Daenerys' chapters.  I believe it was ASOS when Melisandre said she witnessed more pretenders to the throne that would challenge Stannis - maybe she is a little more specific about what she sees in the fires (a black dragon or a "dead" dragon child or a griffin or something).  Hint at him, but make it a little more obvious in hindsight that it is right now.

I think AGOT is too early, but I do wonder what was said before Arya got within hearing range of Varys and Illryio. The AGOT hint already exists. What we need is a gradual buildup of clues. I think the Varys line about Elia and her babe is in ACOK, so from that point on is where we need more clues. Mel in ASOS would have been a great place to put a clue because she often misinterprets what she sees anyway.

 

[Maxxine]

2 hours ago, Ser Lockjaw of House Bolta said:

 

I thought about that, but it changes the plot too much. The implications of Dany meeting him sooner could be huge. He needs to show up sooner, just not in Dany's plot line, I think.

Well I feel like Dany wouldn't actually "meet" Aegon. She would meet Young Griff having no idea who he supposedly is. I don't think she would figure out & she doesn't have anyone as insightful as Tyrion to figure it out for her. It still would have implications but I think they would be interesting implications and seeing how she would react when she found out. But maybe putting him in her storyline in Game is too early. Waiting until the end of Clash would be better & it could make sense. Illyrio sending the person he really wants on the throne to the most powerful character to gain her trust so he can use that power to conquer westeros for himself.

[Praetor Xyn]

2 hours ago, Ser Lockjaw of House Bolta said:

That would be good, but what would he be doing in those chapters? I don't think Aegon and his crew had much to do before Tyrion meets them in aDwD.

I thought about that, but it changes the plot too much. The implications of Dany meeting him sooner could be huge. He needs to show up sooner, just not in Dany's plot line, I think.

He could be doing any number of things. Assuming it was JonCon's POV he could see that Aegon was getting instructions, write a letter to the leaders of the Golden Company or contacts in Westeros, etc.

I think the only reason he didn't show up until Dance was that GRRM didn't think of the character until then.

[Lockjaw of House Boltagon]

20 minutes ago, Praetor Xyn said:

I think the only reason he didn't show up until Dance was that GRRM didn't think of the character until then.

Yeah, I think so too.

34 minutes ago, Maxxine said:

Well I feel like Dany wouldn't actually "meet" Aegon. She would meet Young Griff having no idea who he supposedly is. I don't think she would figure out & she doesn't have anyone as insightful as Tyrion to figure it out for her. It still would have implications but I think they would be interesting implications and seeing how she would react when she found out. But maybe putting him in her storyline in Game is too early. Waiting until the end of Clash would be better & it could make sense. Illyrio sending the person he really wants on the throne to the most powerful character to gain her trust so he can use that power to conquer westeros for himself.

But then you'd have to come up with a way to set up the Dance of the Dragons, a reason for Dany and Aegon to fight each other. 

[Universal Sword Donor]

Ned dismounts his horse and approaches the base of the Tower of Joy, seeing Ser Arthur Dayne, Sword of Morning, emerge from a door well, hand on pommel.

Ned: I had thought to find you on the Trident, Ser Arthur.

Ser Arthur: Lucky for you as not, otherwise the Usurper would lie in the ground, not Rhaegar. Our king required our attention more than your rebellion.

Ned: Let me take Lyanna ho...wait your king? He required your attention? He was murdered at the hands of Jaime Lannister, your sworn brother.

Ser Arthur: Aegon, Rhaegar's son by Lyanna. Wait why do you have a kid? Why do you have five bodies slung over those horses?

Ned: Well there was a tavern maid in the riverlands with the biggest...never mind. My friends perished on the ride through Dorne. It's hot and dry AF here, but I'm here for my sister.

Ser Arthur: She's upstairs with her son, but I want to warn you she's quite ill. 

Cutscene to Lyanna's bed chambers. Ned and Arthur stand over Lyanna

Ned: Jesus he looks so Targaryen. There's no way I can hide him from Robert.

Lyanna: Ned promise me you watered my blue winter roses before you left.

Ned: Ah, Benjen said he would. I haven't been home in over a year.

Lyanna: You promised..... 

Lyanna dies from fever and being pissed at Ned

Howland Reed: Just spitballing here....

Ser Arthur and Ned jump up, hands on pommels

Ned: WEIRWOODS TAKE YOU HOWLAND. QUIT BEING SO CREEPY. WHY ARE YOU SO QUIET?

Howland: Sorry. As I was saying, why don't we just leave "Aegon" here because he looks Targaryen AF. We can take -- what was his name, Robert? -- with us north and present him as Lyanna's kid. But for god's sake do not call him Robert. That's just creepy.

Ned: You don't know Robert as I do. He's our king and muscled like a maiden's fantasy.

Howland: Yeah but I bet he won't moan your name the first time he bangs his new wife.

Ned: Fine his name is uh, Jon.

Howland: After your foster father, Jon Arryn?

Ned: Erm yeah, that's the ticket.

Arthur: Well we had better come up what to do with three KG and a baby.

Enter Oswell Whent

Whent: Sounds like a decent start to a mummer's play. smirks

Ned: We still need to get you out of Westeros. You'll need to make for Sunspear. Prince Doran has ever protected his own blood. We can say you perished in battle against my comrades. 

Whent: Might as well say you killed Arthur here 1 v 1.

Arthur: Quiet Whent. Sacrifices must be made by all. We will take Aegon to Dorne and then to Essos from there. Ned thank you for your help.

Ned thinking to himself. "I can't tell my wife that I cheated on her. She'd kill me."

End Scene