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Is F/Aegon headed for a Tragic End?


Craving Peaches
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I like Aegon. He seems like a decent, innocent kid who genuinely believes he is Rhaegar's son. Unfortunately, I do think he's doomed, and it's tragic. He's been taught from birth that it's his duty to reclaim his "grandfather's" throne. The poor kid never even had the chance to come up with his own dreams.

But he was taught how to be king by people who have never been king and have no idea how to be king. Of course he's going to fail. Varys thinks he knows what it takes to be king by observing Aerys Targaryen. How is speaking several languages going to help him in Westeros, where only the Common Tongue is spoken? How is learning about the Faith of the Seven going to help him rule the North and the Iron Islands? How is living like a peasant going to help him deal with lords he knows nothing about?

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7 hours ago, Mourning Star said:

I agree with a lot of the sentiment here  about Aegon, but I wasn’t reminded of Dany by Varys’s monologue, I was reminded of Jon.

You should be thinking about Jon as well! This is one of his countless parallels with Dany; that is, a ruling arc, and particularly what it means to be a true ruler.

But I'm going to strongly push back against the idea that you should be reminded of Jon instead of Dany. This series has never been about Jon vs. Dany; it is and will remain about Jon and Dany. Additionally, she should absolutely have come to mind.

 

I mentioned Jon in this context myself: 

On 2/25/2023 at 2:18 PM, Many-Faced Votary said:

Furthermore, it completely ruins the point to have the perfect ruler -- which we already know fAegon cannot be -- be some random tertiary or secondary character whom we didn't follow in any significant way for most of the series, who had everything handed to him, and who did not have a ruling arc or even a PoV. Ruling is hard and we can only do the best we can, and the idea is to do as much good as possible. Jon and Dany are the people who have had these arcs.

But I specified Dany as a contrast to fAegon because she explicitly is what Varys claims him to be, more so than Jon.

 

I'm going to briefly touch on this below. I do have my receipts, but I don't want this to get too long, nor do I wish to post an endless series of quotes, so limit the quotes along with the analysis.

Spoiler

It's worth nothing that Dany defends humanity against human evil, as Jon does against supernatural evil. There's no direct analogue to your quote because she swore no such oath, but there are plenty of characterizing indications such as this:

Blood and fire, thought Dany. The words of House Targaryen. She had known them all her life. "The blood of my enemies I will shed gladly. The blood of innocents is another matter. Eight thousand Unsullied they would offer me. Eight thousand dead babes. Eight thousand strangled dogs."

Daenerys II, A Storm of Swords

Noting also that before Dany comes to Westeros and wins the War for the Dawn with Jon, Bran, and all the others, her enemies in Essos are thematically linked to the Others: slavers, and what are ice wights if not slaves in death?

 

Now for fAegon...

fAegon was sheltered and pampered his entire life; Dany faced abuse from Viserys her entire life. As well as that, she was the one, in fact, who grew up hungry, hunted, and afraid.

That was when they lived in Braavos, in the big house with the red door. Dany had her own room there, with a lemon tree outside her window. After Ser Willem had died, the servants had stolen what little money they had left, and soon after they had been put out of the big house. Dany had cried when the red door closed behind them forever.

They had wandered since then, from Braavos to Myr, from Myr to Tyrosh, and on to Qohor and Volantis and Lys, never staying long in any one place. Her brother would not allow it. The Usurper's hired knives were close behind them, he insisted, though Dany had never seen one.

At first the magisters and archons and merchant princes were pleased to welcome the last Targaryens to their homes and tables, but as the years passed and the Usurper continued to sit upon the Iron Throne, doors closed and their lives grew meaner. Years past they had been forced to sell their last few treasures, and now even the coin they had gotten from Mother's crown had gone. In the alleys and wine sinks of Pentos, they called her brother "the beggar king." Dany did not want to know what they called her.

Daenerys I, A Game of Thrones

"When I was a little girl, I loved to play in the bazaar," Dany told Ser Jorah as they wandered down the shady aisle between the stalls. "It was so alive there, all the people shouting and laughing, so many wonderful things to look at … though we seldom had enough coin to buy anything … well, except for a sausage now and again, or honeyfingers … do they have honeyfingers in the Seven Kingdoms, the kind they bake in Tyrosh?"

Daenerys VI, A Game of Thrones

She didn't have tutors to teach her everything, but she learned through experience, empathy, her own resourcefulness and intellect, and seeking out knowledge. 

A princess, Dany thought. She had forgotten what that was like. Perhaps she had never really known. "Why does he give us so much?" she asked. "What does he want from us?" For nigh on half a year, they had lived in the magister's house, eating his food, pampered by his servants. Dany was thirteen, old enough to know that such gifts seldom come without their price, here in the free city of Pentos.

[...]

Dany said nothing. Magister Illyrio was a dealer in spices, gemstones, dragonbone, and other, less savory things. He had friends in all of the Nine Free Cities, it was said, and even beyond, in Vaes Dothrak and the fabled lands beside the Jade Sea. It was also said that he'd never had a friend he wouldn't cheerfully sell for the right price. Dany listened to the talk in the streets, and she heard these things, but she knew better than to question her brother when he wove his webs of dream. His anger was a terrible thing when roused. Viserys called it "waking the dragon."

[...]

"They are your people, and they love you well," Magister Illyrio said amiably. "In holdfasts all across the realm, men lift secret toasts to your health while women sew dragon banners and hide them against the day of your return from across the water." He gave a massive shrug. "Or so my agents tell me."

Dany had no agents, no way of knowing what anyone was doing or thinking across the narrow sea, but she mistrusted Illyrio's sweet words as she mistrusted everything about Illyrio. Her brother was nodding eagerly, however. "I shall kill the Usurper myself," he promised, who had never killed anyone, "as he killed my brother Rhaegar. And Lannister too, the Kingslayer, for what he did to my father."

Daenerys I, A Game of Thrones

 

"The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends," Ser Jorah told her. "It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace." He gave a shrug. "They never are."

Dany rode along quietly for a time, working his words like a puzzle box. It went against everything that Viserys had ever told her to think that the people could care so little whether a true king or a usurper reigned over them. Yet the more she thought on Jorah's words, the more they rang of truth.

Daenerys III, A Game of Thrones

"A queen must listen to all," she reminded him. "The highborn and the low, the strong and the weak, the noble and the venal. One voice may speak you false, but in many there is always truth to be found." She had read that in a book.

Daenerys I, A Storm of Swords

"Ser Barristan will have summoned a pair of sedan chairs to carry us back up to the banquet, but the climb can still be wearisome." Behind them, the great iron doors closed with a resounding clang. "Tell me of this other Daenerys. I know less than I should of the history of my father's kingdom. I never had a maester growing up." Only a brother.

Daenerys VIII, A Dance with Dragons

Dany notably befriends, and has in her councils, commoners and the lowest-born, and representatives of all sorts of cultures and statuses. This is a far sight further than Varys's claims about fAegon being among the common people. Furthermore, she has a number of scenes showing her physically laboring and such, another attribute Varys mentions.

 

But above all, Dany constantly reflects on what queenship is from the heart: sacrifice, duty, for the people, for the realm, to serve justice, to hear all, to protect those who cannot protect themselves. This is the crux of Varys's monologue, and the reason it's important to address completely: "Aegon knows that kingship is his duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for them." But Daenerys already lives those words.

This one is a long list of quotes. If it seems extra, it is meant to be; Mr. Martin blatantly intended for the reader to think about Daenerys during Varys's speech.

Spoiler

"A queen must listen to all," she reminded him. "The highborn and the low, the strong and the weak, the noble and the venal. One voice may speak you false, but in many there is always truth to be found." She had read that in a book.

Daenerys I, A Storm of Swords

He means well, Dany reminded herself. He does all he does for love. "It seems to me that a queen who trusts no one is as foolish as a queen who trusts everyone. Every man I take into my service is a risk, I understand that, but how am I to win the Seven Kingdoms without such risks? Am I to conquer Westeros with one exile knight and three Dothraki bloodriders?"

Daenerys I, A Storm of Swords

"I call that madness, not courage," said Arstan Whitebeard, when the solemn little scribe was done. He tapped the end of his hardwood staff against the bricks, tap tap, as if to tell his displeasure. The old man had not wanted to sail to Astapor; nor did he favor buying this slave army. A queen should hear all sides before reaching a decision. That was why Dany had brought him with her to the Plaza of Pride, not to keep her safe. Her bloodriders would do that well enough. Ser Jorah Mormont she had left aboard Balerion to guard her people and her dragons. Much against her inclination, she had locked the dragons belowdecks. It was too dangerous to let them fly freely over the city; the world was all too full of men who would gladly kill them for no better reason than to name themselves dragonslayer.

Daenerys II, A Storm of Swords

"I was alone for a long time, Jorah. All alone but for my brother. I was such a small scared thing. Viserys should have protected me, but instead he hurt me and scared me worse. He shouldn't have done that. He wasn't just my brother, he was my king. Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can't protect themselves?"

"Some kings make themselves. Robert did."

"He was no true king," Dany said scornfully. "He did no justice. Justice . . . that's what kings are for."

Daenerys III, A Storm of Swords

Her audience chamber was on the level below, an echoing high-ceilinged room with walls of purple marble. It was a chilly place for all its grandeur. There had been a throne there, a fantastic thing of carved and gilded wood in the shape of a savage harpy. She had taken one long look and commanded it be broken up for firewood. "I will not sit in the harpy's lap," she told them. Instead she sat upon a simple ebony bench. It served, though she had heard the Meereenese muttering that it did not befit a queen.

Daenerys VI, A Storm of Swords

"But how can I rule seven kingdoms if I cannot rule a single city?" He had no answer to that. Dany turned away from them, to gaze out over the city once again. "My children need time to heal and learn. My dragons need time to grow and test their wings. And I need the same. I will not let this city go the way of Astapor. I will not let the harpy of Yunkai chain up those I've freed all over again." She turned back to look at their faces. "I will not march."

"What will you do then, Khaleesi?" asked Rakharo.

"Stay," she said. "Rule. And be a queen."

Daenerys VI, A Storm of Swords

Safe. The word made Dany's eyes fill up with tears. "I want to keep you safe." Missandei was only a child. With her, she felt as if she could be a child too. "No one ever kept me safe when I was little. Well, Ser Willem did, but then he died, and Viserys … I want to protect you but … it is so hard. To be strong. I don't always know what I should do. I must know, though. I am all they have. I am the queen … the … the …"

"… mother," whispered Missandei.

Daenerys II, A Dance with Dragons

"It is not my place to choose your husband."

"It is not," she agreed, "but it is important to me that you should understand. My people are bleeding. Dying. A queen belongs not to herself, but to the realm. Marriage or carnage, those are my choices. A wedding or a war."

Daenerys IV, A Dance with Dragons

"Your Grace?" Ser Barristan prompted, gently.

A queen belongs not to herself but to her people.

"I need Hizdahr zo Loraq."

Daenerys V, A Dance with Dragons

Even feeding them had grown difficult. Every day she sent them what she could, but every day there were more of them and less food to give them. It was growing harder to find drivers willing to deliver the food as well. Too many of the men they had sent into the camp had been stricken by the flux themselves. Others had been attacked on the way back to the city. Yesterday a wagon had been overturned and two of her soldiers killed, so today the queen had determined that she would bring the food herself. Every one of her advisors had argued fervently against it, from Reznak and the Shavepate to Ser Barristan, but Daenerys would not be moved. "I will not turn away from them," she said stubbornly. "A queen must know the sufferings of her people."

Daenerys VI, A Dance with Dragons

A bride price paid in blood. Daenerys was weary of fighting this battle. Even Ser Barristan did not think she could win. "No ruler can make a people good," Selmy had told her. "Baelor the Blessed prayed and fasted and built the Seven as splendid a temple as any gods could wish for, yet he could not put an end to war and want." A queen must listen to her people, Dany reminded herself. "After the wedding Hizdahr will be king. Let him reopen the fighting pits if he wishes. I want no part of it." Let the blood be on his hands, not mine. She rose. "If my husband wishes me to wash his feet, he must first wash mine. I will tell him so this evening." She wondered how her betrothed would take that.

Daenerys VI, A Dance with Dragons

"Your Grace does not love the noble Hizdahr. This one thinks you would sooner have another for your husband."

I must not think of Daario today. "A queen loves where she must, not where she will." Her appetite had left her. "Take this food away," she told Missandei. "It is time I bathed."

Daenerys VII, A Dance with Dragons

Much of the talk about the table was of the matches to be fought upon the morrow. Barsena Blackhair was going to face a boar, his tusks against her dagger. Khrazz was fighting, as was the Spotted Cat. And in the day's final pairing, Goghor the Giant would go against Belaquo Bonebreaker. One would be dead before the sun went down. No queen has clean hands, Dany told herself. She thought of Doreah, of Quaro, of Eroeh … of a little girl she had never met, whose name had been Hazzea. Better a few should die in the pit than thousands at the gates. This is the price of peace, I pay it willingly. If I look back, I am lost.

Daenerys VIII, A Dance with Dragons

Soon Dany was as clean as she was ever going to be. She pushed herself to her feet, splashing softly. Water ran down her legs and beaded on her breasts. The sun was climbing up the sky, and her people would soon be gathering. She would rather have drifted in the fragrant pool all day, eating iced fruit off silver trays and dreaming of a house with a red door, but a queen belongs to her people, not to herself.

Daenerys IX, A Dance with Dragons

 

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11 hours ago, Lady Ella said:

I like Aegon. He seems like a decent, innocent kid who genuinely believes he is Rhaegar's son. Unfortunately, I do think he's doomed, and it's tragic. He's been taught from birth that it's his duty to reclaim his "grandfather's" throne. The poor kid never even had the chance to come up with his own dreams.

But he was taught how to be king by people who have never been king and have no idea how to be king. Of course he's going to fail. Varys thinks he knows what it takes to be king by observing Aerys Targaryen. How is speaking several languages going to help him in Westeros, where only the Common Tongue is spoken? How is learning about the Faith of the Seven going to help him rule the North and the Iron Islands? How is living like a peasant going to help him deal with lords he knows nothing about?

Aegon has the Sandsnakes in his corner.  The SS are a great asset to have because they don't play by expected Andal rules.  Oberyn almost beat the Lannister champion.  The SS will do what he started to bring death to the Lannisters.  Aegon's reign will be very short.  He is one of the false dragons whom Daenerys will have to expose. 

Varys just wants someone who will keep the peace and let the Small Council run the affairs of the kingdom.  Unfortunately the eunuch is blind to the existential threat coming from the North.  Westeros will be depopulated.  The few survivors will beg Daenerys to come and help them.  My prediction for the ending.  The people who make up the slave population in Slaver's Bay will populate Westeros. 

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41 minutes ago, Shi Qiang said:

The SS are a great asset to have because they don't play by expected Andal rules.

No comment on this phrasing.

41 minutes ago, Shi Qiang said:

He is one of the false dragons whom Daenerys will have to expose. 

Who are the others? And at what point did Dany see more than one, if this is about her visions from the House of the Undying?

42 minutes ago, Shi Qiang said:

Varys just wants someone who will keep the peace and let the Small Council run the affairs of the kingdom. 

Then why did he actively work to destabilize Robert's reign? Robert was a disinterested king and left everything to his small council, and he was a strong one and therefore kept the peace. This would have been ideal for Varys, if that's what he truly wanted.

43 minutes ago, Shi Qiang said:

Westeros will be depopulated. 

Radical and dark! But this story won't be a "whelp, let's save the few survivors who are left" sort of tale, I guarantee you.

44 minutes ago, Shi Qiang said:

The few survivors will beg Daenerys to come and help them. 

If you knew anything about Daenerys, you'd realize that she wouldn't wait to be asked to help. If you knew anything about the series in general, you'd realize that she wouldn't be alone. She has the magical means to deal with the threat, Jon has the mundane means, and Bran has the mystical means.

44 minutes ago, Shi Qiang said:

The people who make up the slave population in Slaver's Bay will populate Westeros. 

What about those who consider Slaver's Bay their home? Or those who consider their home to be places that aren't in Westeros?

 

At least this particular post was marginally more thought-out and somewhat related to the text than the others.

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56 minutes ago, Shi Qiang said:

The SS are a great asset to have because they don't play by expected Andal rules.  Oberyn almost beat the Lannister champion.  The SS will do what he started to bring death to the Lannisters.

What is going on with this? Had someone saying a slaver was the most 'underrated character', now people going on about how great an asset the SS is...

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On 2/27/2023 at 11:12 PM, H Wadsworth Longfellow said:

The plot will give Aegon a chance to step aside for the rightful heir, Daenerys.  I doubt George will let him remain ignorant of his true beginnings. He is a Blackfyre.  Which gives him some claim to the throne but it is not as good as Daenerys' claim.  Rhaegar died on the Trident while Aerys was still the king.  Aerys named Prince Viserys as his heir.  She is Viserys' heir.  Aegon might contest that and refuse to step aside.  What hurt comes his way will be deserved. 

you people think every character's arc is to choose between serving the true goddess, Daenerys, or standing against her.. don't you?

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8 hours ago, EggBlue said:

you people think every character's arc is to choose between serving the true goddess, Daenerys, or standing against her.. don't you?

This is why, if possible, I try and avoid having monarchs as my favourite characters, because with each (Dany, Jon, Rhaenyra, Stannis, etc.) we see a lot of exactly what you are saying here, where that person being the True Ruler is the bedstone and everything and everyone else is judged primarily on how readily they adjust to that, fuck w/e else they have going on in their lives. Even when as, say with Stannis fans and Renly, it expects ridiculous mental/moral gymnastics and a complete willingness to surrender their own power, agency and safety in order to do ‘the right thing’ from the other characters that they would never expect of realistic characters in another context. 

Edited by James Arryn
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On 2/26/2023 at 2:21 PM, King_Tristifer_IV_Mudd said:

He could be, we don’t know.

and in the context of the chapter, I do. I don’t see why Varys would lie to a dying man.

Varys lied to Ned Stark

In any case, Varys doesn't even have to lie. He can just be wrong.

On 2/27/2023 at 5:53 AM, Loose Bolt said:

To me (f?)Aegon is "incarnation" of Pyrrhus of Epirus. Or he will gain some victories. But in the end he will fail bc he will not gain enough support to secure his crown. After all there are many people who do not like either Dorne or Golden Company.

I thought that the problem with Pyrrhus was that he won but, in the end, he failed because his previous victory nearly destroyed him and he was unable to accomplish anything else.

I don't think it will be a case of Aegon not having enough support to secure his crown. I think Aegon's main problem will be the total lack of preparation on his part and that of his inner circle. Seriously, none of the people on Team Aegon are prepared to lead the 7K through what is guaranteed to be worst winter in living memory...and that's not even taking the Others into account. I don't feel like Illyrio and Varys really thought through this: not only was this Wot5K an absolute nightmare, but it isn't even over. Even if the Others never come and Daenerys never finds out the truth and gets mad, how are they going to keep everyone fed and warm? Team Aegon is (and sadly, will continue to be) so focused on destroying House Targaryen's enemies that they will not be prepared to reign and govern. Especially if Jon Connington and/or the Sand Snakes end up orchestrating mass executions and setting King's Landing ablaze with wildfire.

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I might be super biased, but I really want Varys to win and thus Aegon to hold the throne while they, at the very least, deal with The Others (whatever that ends up looking like). He's obviously probably going to die, but I at least hope it's on his terms, having made Westeros a better place for the brief time he was in it. 

I also think that Jon Con is set up for a tragic but beautiful end as well. He's one of my favorite character's in the entire series, so I really hope that he gets to serve as hand to the king that helps against The Others. But honestly, the Dany/Aegon/Cersei conflict is probably gonna be over by the end of Winds with Dany on top. 

Kinda unrelated, Aegon isn't Faegon, Varys just wants you to think he's Faegon so that the Golden Company will support him, Dany isn't the true ruler of Westeros I'm SO sorry to break it to you. 

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1 hour ago, GZ Bloodraven said:

Kinda unrelated, Aegon isn't Faegon, Varys just wants you to think he's Faegon so that the Golden Company will support him, Dany isn't the true ruler of Westeros I'm SO sorry to break it to you. 

I'm confused. Can you explain what you are trying to say here

1 hour ago, GZ Bloodraven said:

But honestly, the Dany/Aegon/Cersei conflict is probably gonna be over by the end of Winds with Dany on top. 

I don't think Dany will make it to Westeros in Winds

I think that she'll make landfall at the very beginning of Dream

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1 hour ago, BlackLightning said:

I'm confused. Can you explain what you are trying to say here

Basically, most people think Aegon is Faegon, a Blackfyre, maybe Illyrio and Sarra's son, maybe Varys' nephew. I don't think this is true: I think Varys wants the right people to think he is a Blackfyre, specifically the Golden Company and Illyrio (and the readers), but he is actually Rhaegar's son. And then the "Dany isn't the true ruler of Westeros" was in response to the person who said that Aegon better get off Dany's rightful throne. 

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I honestly don’t know.
The dance of the dragons had both sides with dragons, could this mean Aegon’s side will have a dragon? Who would ride it? Arianne or Aegon? There has to be a reason for the 3 heads of the dragon, it may have something to do with Aegon, since when he was born Rhaegar says he that needed one more. Dany even thinks there are two others out there that will ride her dragons. I know people think it’s Tyrion as the third dragon rider, but in Moqurro’s vision, he saw him snarling in between the dragons. The Toland girl saw dragon(s) dancing and people dying.

Tyrion will go to the side that gives him the most power and a ruler he would be able to manipulate. He can manipulate Aegon pretty good but can he manipulate Dany? Can he manipulate Aegon with Varys, Illyrio and Jon Con present? Or is Tyrion going to play both sides (Moqurro’s vision).

Who’s left in Westeros? Stannis/Roose, Euron, LF, Mace, Doran, Varys, Illyrio, and Cersei. They might instigate the entire war to get rid of both Aegon and Dany…and they will probably succeed therefore destroying the Targaryen lineage. 

Maybe Jon was supposed to be the Lord Commander that Dany and Aegon meet to bring them all together against the Others…but since he’s incapacitated, it won’t work.

And this why we are getting THAT ending..

Edited by Crona
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On 2/25/2023 at 3:21 PM, Craving Peaches said:

I got the impression from what he said and did that he was well-meaning if a bit naïve. Obviously Varys is not to be trusted completely and JonCon is biased. But if he is just like everyone else, where will be the narrative tension and conflict if/when Daenerys fights him? He would just be another pretender, another obstacle. I think it would make for a better story if he was nice and fairly competent, so when he dies it is actually a loss rather than just another greedy/selfish character being mowed down.

I also get the impression that he's pretty competent. The sad part is, we may never get a chance to see him actually rule so we'll have to settle with watching him rally support and lead armies. So far, he seems very good at getting people to join his cause. Tyrion comparing him to Joffrey was ridiculous. They share zero qualities. Joffrey was cruel and didn't have any interest in ruling or leading armies. Young Griff is actually interested in those responsibilities and takes them seriously. He is just a teenage boy who's tired of being "held back". That's normal for someone his age, especially after spending years being told they would one day lead a kindgom. It would make any teenager anxious and eager to take on that challenge. He's no different than Jon or Robb when they were unseasoned and untested boys, dreaming of glory and battle. Young Griff is just now taking on the very large responsibility of leadership, so it's difficult to judge his character until we see him truly tested. But so far, he's done a good job.

Edit: Reminder that we have seen every teenage character (pov) in the series throw a tantrum over insults that were thrown at their character.

Edited by Ser Arthurs Dawn
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On 2/25/2023 at 3:47 PM, Craving Peaches said:

I feel like he will actually be quite a good ruler, as well as being a decent person. The wounds of the Kingdoms will slowly start to heal, he will be well liked by the common people, things might be looking up for a bit...and then along comes Daenerys with her dragons. I know it would be really nice if they got along, but I just feel like it's not meant to be - I fear Quaithe's prophecy about the Mummer's Dragon will lead to Daenerys being very suspicious of F/Aegon and not trusting him, which in turn means he won't trust Daenerys. I think either a second Dance of the Dragons is possibly being set up, or F/Aegon won't have any Dragons so will be defeated in short order. So far he's be presented as someone who is fairly competent and also a good person, which of course means he won't last. What do you think?

One of his first acts will be to declare the debts incurred by murderers and usurpers to be their responsibility, not the crown's. This will prompt the Iron Bank to send a faceless man after him, just as Illyrio and his cohort, Littlefinger, are planning.

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On 3/8/2023 at 6:37 PM, John Suburbs said:

One of his first acts will be to declare the debts incurred by murderers and usurpers to be their responsibility, not the crown's. This will prompt the Iron Bank to send a faceless man after him, just as Illyrio and his cohort, Littlefinger, are planning.

As long as Braavos has stronger navy than Aegon VI and Pentos they could use their warships as collectors of custom revenues. So any ship sailing from/to Westeros or Pentos would have to pay protection money. Or they would make sure that only ships sailing there would be their own and so gaining monopoly of trade with Westeros and Pentos. Or they could just raid and sack some cities like Kings Landing and Pentos.

So unless Team Blackfyre has access to more warships than Braavos and Iron Bank their plan would fail bc Team Iron Bank could make Pentos and Westeros pay special operation that is necessary to gain back all money that IB had lost.

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The point is not that he knocked over the cyvasse table, it is that he made Tyrion pick up the pieces. He wasn't just pissed, he asserted his authority by humiliating Tyrion. The comparison to Joffrey was apt. 

 

Varys's whole spiel is bullshit, in the sense that trying to manufacture this situation does not yield the results that he claimed. In truth Aegon has lived in a bubble which he was the center of the universe and everyone was devoted to him, revolved around his heritage and destiny. The world according to him exists to usher him to glory. Worse, his isolation would not have allowed for any counterpoint to exist. The danger he was in was only theoretical and his reaction at the bridge of dreams shows that he hasn't been in physical danger before. In other words, apart from luxury, his upbringing is the same and even more exaggerated in some regards to all the other nobles.

 

In more practical terms, he is a prop for the ambitions of others, none of whom are decent people, even by Westerosi standards, all of them with different agendas. And he looks to be just smart enough to make things worse. 

 

He is shaping up to be the fulcrum for a new, even bloodied conflict, one that has the added religious element and from the narrative's perspective he is being set up as Dany's foil, so his odds don't look good. His "reign" is doomed before it has begun and between him and his supporters they look to unleash a fresh bout of atrocities. 

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IMHO, the problem for fAegon will be his supporters conducting a bloodbath of anyone associated with the old regime, in the capital, once they seize it.

I’d expect some of the worst scenes of cruelty in the entire series to ensue.

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5 hours ago, The Sleeper said:

The point is not that he knocked over the cyvasse table, it is that he made Tyrion pick up the pieces. He wasn't just pissed, he asserted his authority by humiliating Tyrion. The comparison to Joffrey was apt. 

Yes, after Tyrion provoked and was rude to him. Unlike Joffrey who would knock them over just for the sake of it and then order Tyrion to pick them up. I really doubt F/Aegon is another Joffrey. In fact that would be bad writing.

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On 3/10/2023 at 1:42 PM, Loose Bolt said:

As long as Braavos has stronger navy than Aegon VI and Pentos they could use their warships as collectors of custom revenues. So any ship sailing from/to Westeros or Pentos would have to pay protection money. Or they would make sure that only ships sailing there would be their own and so gaining monopoly of trade with Westeros and Pentos. Or they could just raid and sack some cities like Kings Landing and Pentos.

So unless Team Blackfyre has access to more warships than Braavos and Iron Bank their plan would fail bc Team Iron Bank could make Pentos and Westeros pay special operation that is necessary to gain back all money that IB had lost.

If the bank fails and the Braavosi economy collapses, they will have no money to pay sailors or outfit ships. They will have enough to deal with quelling the riots and breakdown of social order in their own city, let alone patrol the seas. There is no Iron Bank or Braavosi government to make Pentos or Westeros or anyone else pay for anything. They are gone.

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